I have been in the music business for over 40 years. I performed in front of large crowds and have worked behind the scenes for many national artists all over the country. I have worked in venues from 100 -170,000. I am older than the normal demographic of what most of the venues in Central Iowa are looking for. I am with many friends that do go out and experience live music that are in this highe
r age bracket. We all have jobs and most own our own homes. We spend money in venues for food and drinks. We usually go out 3 out of 4 weekends a month. We will spend at least 3-6 hours each night in a venue that has live music. Most of the venues in Central Iowa think of adding live music as an afterthought. They haven’t provided a professional stage or even enough space for live music, proper power for the equipment, a place to change clothes with a restroom for the artists, proper load-in/out capabilities, paying the artists a reasonable fee for performing, have a proper capacity to handle the crowds that do show up, proper security for the capacity of the crowds, enough bathroom stalls for the capacity, cleanliness of these bathrooms, proper exits for emergencies, compacting the few chairs and tables in a tiny space for large crowds,… I could go on and on! As a patron I want to have a good experience watching live music. I want a chair to sit in with a table. I want to feel safe inside and outside. I want to eat some reasonably priced food and have a few drinks with an attentive waitress/waiter. I am friends with most of the local musicians. They have been working on their music for decades and generally are very good at what they do. They need more venues that play live music so they can try to eke out a living doing what they are good at. They need to feel safe when they play. They need to have proper logistics supplied by the venue. Most of these musicians have done their job. They are known throughout the area and will put butts in seats just with their name and reputation. Most have to work a full time job during the week and work more than another 40 hours practicing and performing music. Area venues are paying musician fees that have not increased since the 1970’s. I am not just going to complain about the live music scene in Central Iowa, we have a plan to help remedy the situation. We have a business plan, financial projections, floor plans and more to build, set-up, operate and flourish with a new and different venue. We are asset up on a crowd funding site called fundme.com/3vets. You can help and tell your friends to assist us in getting funded. https://www.fundme.com/en/explore?query=3vets
