7 minute read
Music
MAJORITY OF CLEVELAND MUSIC VENUES STILL WAITING ON FEDERAL AID FROM SVOG
By Jeff Niesel
Advertisement
OF THE NEARLY 14,000
application submitted by independent venue owners and concert promoters from around the country for relief from the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program, only about 1,400 have been approved as of early last week.
Forty-four of those 1,400 grants have gone out to Ohio-based operators. Northeast Ohio-based Jilly’s Music Room in Akron, the Berea Oktoberfest and the Auricle in Canton have received approval, but other venues have not. Rush Concerts Limited out of Mechanicsburg, OH, for example, received more than 6 million dollars but most of Cleveland’s music clubs have yet to receive a dime.
An online system crash in early April took down the application portal for weeks and frustrated many applicants, some of whom were in the middle of completely the lengthy application.
This week, a bipartisan group of representatives including Ohio senators Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown sent a letter to the SBA urging quick action in disbursing funds under SVOG.
“With each passing day, more independent businesses are forced to shutter permanently or file for bankruptcy,” the letter reads. “Landlords and banks are no longer permitting deferrals and are pressing for immediate payment of past due accounts; businesses are receiving eviction notices; mom-and-pop businesses are being forced to sell. The Administration’s announcement is critical to these businesses as they work to meet existing debt obligations during these unprecedented times.”
Despite a self-imposed June 9 deadline to start rapidly disbursing funds to businesses most grievously impacted by the pandemic and resulting closures, venues and promoters have gotten little in terms of concrete action from SBA.
Local promoter Jim Wadsworth says he’s been approved for funding but hasn’t received any money yet. Wadsworth, who booked shows at Nighttown, the Cleveland Heights bar and restaurant that’s closed for remodeling, is currently booking concerts independently in various venues.
“I have produced three shows this month at the Cleveland History Center, and there will be three free shows this summer at Lakeview Cemetery,” he says in an email. “I am also programming music at Maiden Lane Live in Akron, which is affiliated with the BluJazz and Musica Clubs. It has been low volume so far, but I always have something on the books, and there is more in the works.”
He says that the pandemic has been “a case of hunkering down and waiting for the conditions to get better.” The SVOG grant money would allow him to put on more concerts.
“I may take on some other projects as well,” he says. “It is too early to say. I do plan on carrying on, and hopefully I will be able to increase my volume as time passes. The grant will open some doors for me, and for the musicians I work with, so I am excited to be back in action. There is a lot to process, so I am taking it one day at a time.”
Mike Miller of the Music Box Supper Club says his club was in “rock solid shape” prior to the pandemic but could still use the federal aid. His application is still pending approval.
“This business is all about cash flow,” he says. “Our cash flow is still very tight but so is staffing. If staffing had rocketed back to full speed, I’d probably be in trouble on cash. SVOG will hopefully dovetail with staffing and help with our weekly costs. Right now, not having staff means we’re not selling tickets to full capacity. We have sold out every show. That sounds fun but it isn’t. The phones ring continuously with regulars who can’t get tickets. We feel bad. We have open seats, but we wouldn’t want people to come and have a bad experience, and we don’t want to burn out our staff either.”
Because the Grog Shop has experienced more than 90 percent loss of revenue, it’s in the highest priority of applicants, but the club’s application has been “under review” for two weeks.
“It’s ridiculous,” says owner Kathy Blackman, who also owns B-Side Liquor Lounge, which is located underneath the Grog Shop. “And now they’re saying we won’t see any money until July 4. I opened in May and everything was broken. I had three broken coolers and a broken air conditioner. That’s just upstairs. I also had two broken coolers downstairs [in the B-Side Lounge], and I had to buy furniture because I was trying to pivot to be seated. I basically moved forward as if I was going to get this money. I didn’t even want to just open my doors. I wanted to be better. Thank god for [special Grog Shop-themed] Vans tennis shoes [the sales of which helped raise funds for the venue]. They kept me afloat for a few months. That was a really good thing that happened and a nice chunk of change.”
As of last week, other local music venues such as the Winchester, Wilbert’s, the Beachland Ballroom and the Happy Dog were still in a holding pattern despite having applied for funding.
“We’re hoping we get funds by the time we open,” says Happy Dog owner Sean Watterson, who says the club has been approved but had not received any money yet. “It’s like running on fumes on the last lap at the Indy 500.”
Cleveland Mourns the Death of Dave Molnar, Friend and Vital Member of the Local Music Scene
Months later, Cleveland continues to mourn the sudden death in spring of Dave Molnar, a vital member of the local music scene.
Molnar, who was a musician, teacher, sound engineer, and beloved family member and friend, passed away unexpectedly on April 28th. He was 42 years old.
Known for his sharp intellect and wit, his kind heart, and prolific musical talent, Molnar was a ubiquitous presence on the scene, whether playing in one of many local bands, teaching at the School of Rock, or operating the sound board at Happy Dog.
“Dave had an energy that could light up a room. He was big-hearted, opinionated and hilarious. From the moment we met, it was as though we’d been friends for years,” said Mara Robinson, close friend, bandmate and band photographer who has spent the last few months cataloguing his work and intimate images she’d taken of him performing.
Molnar was a member of or influential in local acts such as The Dreadful Yawns, New Planet Trampoline, Expecting Rain, The Hot Rails, Volcano Fortress and The It*Men. He released a solo project under the moniker The Artificial Sweeteners in 2007.
“It’s terribly sad and awful to lose Dave,” said Tony Cross, GM of the Happy Dog and notable local musician. “He was a real sweetheart of a person, extremely talented, and an integral part of the Happy Dog family. He was a real musician, and I always loved any project he was in because he brought his intuition and character and it always shined through. He was one of the great ones - he will be missed.”
“Dave could play virtually any style; that was one of his greatest strengths,” said Nick Tolar, former bandmate and member of Herzog. “He had very good taste and had an incredible memory. Also we shared a musical vocabulary and that really helped get things done. If I told him to make a part ‘Beatlesy,’ he could do it just like that.”
Out of all of the people who knew and played with Molnar, one man probably played with him more than anyone. This is close high school friend and bandmate Ben Gmetro, who helped found The Dreadful Yawns, The It*Men and New Planet Trampoline among others.
“As a sound guy, he wanted bands to sound their best, sometimes in spite of how they presented themselves. As a guitar player, he could rip a Hot Rails solo, space out with New Planet Trampoline, or be gentile with Expecting Rain,” said Gmetro. “I had the pleasure of playing with him in a couple different Halloween cover bands and it was awesome. I asked if he wanted to do ZZ Top, and he was all about it. Then I let him know he had to sing lead too and he grudgingly went along. Even did the choreographed struts on stage because he was all in. Next year we did James Gang and that was a blast too…He had your back and wanted the best for everybody.”
Dave’s family and specifically his twin sister, Kristin Molnar, provided some biographical information for this article and said of their family, “We are still trying to process all of this… We have a long road ahead of us for dealing with this tragedy as well as sorting out all of that that has been left behind.”
– Shawn Mishak
