Re: [Harp-L] SPAH 2010 #'s and....

[Warren Bee <spahpublicity@xxxxxxxxx>]

Michelle is definitely speaking the truth. Time will not be kind in the near
future if we don't get a "boost". The young need to start NEW clubs. Nights,
weekends, whatever works. The old clubs need to hang on and be open minded
to making some changes to attract newbies. Hopefully there will be a
consolidation and tradition will continue.

I never belonged to a local club. I dove into the deep end with SPAH mostly
because there was nothing ever local to me. If there was, it was a secret. I
was hooked after my first SPAH convention. If I can ever settle down in one
place and get a steady cash flow I will indeed start a local club. In my
opinion the key is to focus on PEOPLE more than MUSIC. I have said this
before and I will say it again: The social aspects of harmonica gatherings
are FAR more impressive than the "licks in the air".

WB
On Sun, Sep 5, 2010 at 7:37 PM, joe leone <3n037@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>
> On Sep 5, 2010, at 7:17 PM, Warren Bee wrote:
>
> There were around 400 registered attendees this year in MN. The counting
>> system is a bit confusing. Some attendence purchases like day tickets are
>> not reflected in those numbers.
>>
>
> Why not? Get a steno book. You take their names..no? Place name (or even
> initials) on left of the rose colored line, and the amount on the right.
>
>
> Bottom line is that we had a nice fat crowd
>> of smiling harp players. The vending room was an awesome hit. Much of the
>> energy in the vending room came directly from the crowd that was shopping!
>> Listening to folks "test drive" the axes was a non-stop show in itself
>> from
>> 9-5 daily.
>>
>> I am proud to say that I was part of the Senior Citizen team that planned
>> and executed this years great event. The Twin City club is a bunch of old
>> farts too. They rocked! I would have to say that the average age of both
>> teams combined is closer to 50 than 80. Fact is that 50 is even too old
>> for
>> the average age of an organization. WE NEED TO ENCOURAGE YOUNG PEOPLE TO
>> STEP AWAY FROM THE SCREENS (tv&computer) GO OLD SCHOOL AND DO IT LIKE THEY
>> DID IN THE OLD DAYS! GATHER TOGETHER WITH LIKE MINDED PEOPLE. FACE TO
>> FACE.
>> SHARE YOURSELF AND YOUR PASSION FOR THE MUSIC WITH OTHERS. HELP TEACH
>> THOSE
>> "BEHIND" YOU AND LEARN FROM THOSE "AHEAD" OF YOU. CREATE RELATIONSHIPS
>> THAT
>> WILL LAST A LIFETIME.
>>
>
> It won't work under the club format. Young people don't want to join these
> clubs. Most meet in the daytime during the week. Working slobs aren't going
> to take off work. Most of the playing is on a seniority basis. New members
> go last. Imagine sitting there for 1 1/2 hours listening to everyone else
> play and then when it's your turn. half have left for a doctor's
> appointment. I could write a book. Michelle's post was G O L D. Take it to
> Wells Fargo.
> smo-joe
>
>
>
>
>> WB
>>
>> --
>> Warren "Bee" Bachman
>> SPAH Publicity Director
>> 631-521-0472
>> www.spah.org
>>
>
>


-- 
Warren "Bee" Bachman
SPAH Publicity Director
631-521-0472
www.spah.org