Real Music & Real Estate . . .

Yiddishe Cup’s bandleader, Bert Stratton, is Klezmer Guy.
 

He knows about the band biz and – check this out – the real estate biz, too.
 

You may not care about the real estate biz. Hey, you may not care about the band biz. (See you.)
 

This is a blog with a gamy twist. It features tenants with snakes and skunks, and musicians with smoked fish in their pockets.
 

Stratton has written op-eds for the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Washington Post.


 
 

NEXT STOP PINSK

by Bert Stratton

Yiddishe Cup sidemen show up promptly and don’t complain. Years ago we had a player who was late all the time, and it drove me nuts.   My band has never been late, or missed a gig, in 20 years.  We run like the Tokyo bullet train.  Next stop, Pinsk.

I like to start early.  I tell the client the band is like a taxi; the meter starts running right at the downbeat.  That way when we quit, nobody is pissed or misled.

Sometimes we get “undertime,” which means we quit early because almost everybody has gone home.  We don’t usually play for less than 10 people.  Well, once a client made us keep playing while she wrapped up centerpieces.  She wanted her money’s worth.

Jews — or  at least this one — have a thing about 10 people.  I won’t play till I see 10 people in a room.  Otherwise you blow your chops out for a gaggle of teens inspecting the gift table.

—-
Tomorrow:

SIR DANCE-A-LOT . . . He plays the duck whistle.  That’s about it.  He dances.

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3 comments

1 MARC { 05.20.09 at 11:39 am }

So you need a minyan to play? All male or do you accept
women?

2 lea grossman { 05.27.09 at 9:08 am }

What about ‘stinky, stained carpet rolls that landlords leave behind, tucked away into the water boiler closet, eh?

Next time in Montclair, New Joisey. Amen!!!

LOVE YOUR BLOG ‘KEIN EINEH HO’REH’!!!

3 david { 05.27.09 at 5:10 pm }

Hello Bert and (who but certain people will understand this next reference?) Pippi,

so nice to see the blog — I enjoy a good piece of writing. Like a good smear of chopped liver on a heel of challah, there is a richness, a savory quality, and just a little bit of it goes a long way. This is is especially pleasant on a Saturday afternoon when the snack is leftover from a really hamische shabbos meal you ate on Friday night. I enjoy your gigs when you are in the neighborhood — especially since I seem to leave Capital City so rarely anymore. What I find somewhat surprising — what with my not being a blogger or even blog-worthy myself — is that I also enjoy reading about your gigs. (Gigs, yes. Writing about gigs, also good. Good writing about good gigs, a definite must. Someone could accumulate enough data to write Gigging, and I’d read the damn thing, too.) anyway, loved the references to Micky Katz and Bob Feller. Both pitched a few perfect games, altho when Micky pitched a smart guy ducked. At least. Maybe shot back. anyway, this is far too long for a comment on your blog stuff but I wanted to let youse guys know i was around, and JMW says Hi too. See alt home email address. Note that crucial middle intitial commemorating namesake (you know who), who was Veep of Beth Jacob 80 years ago (BJ celebrates 100 years of keeping kosher in 2009).

dgk

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