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.


 
 

SUNTAN STU

by Bert Stratton

I knew a Cleveland comedian who moved to Florida and did impressions of Joan Rivers and Carol Channing, and even affected a New York accent.  She did OK on the condo circuit.  She and Yiddishe Cup shared the same booker, Suntan Stu, in Florida. The first time Stu phoned me, he said, “Vos machst du, man?” (How’s it going, man?)

“Remind me, Stu, how did you hear about my band?”

“When a band is as good as Yiddishe Cup, the word gets around!”

I lost $900 because of Stu.  He “booked” us at a Florida showcase (a talent show for bands) that never happened. I paid airplane cancellation fees. Stu’s website said he had worked with America’s biggest stars: Dolly Parton, Johnny Mathis and the Bee Gees.

Why did I fall for Stu’s line?  (Probably because I thought Stu would get Yiddishe Cup a lot of gigs.) We got gornisht. “Vos machst du, man?”  Next time somebody says that to you, run.

suntan stu
—

Check out the Schmotown Revue tonight  (7-9 p.m Wed., June 3) at Gigi’s on Fairmount, Cleveland Heights. Outdoors if the weather is good; indoors if raining. Soul music and klezmer.

Alan Douglass (L), Bert Stratton and Tamar Gray

Alan Douglass (L), Bert Stratton and Tamar Gray

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5 comments

1 Ken Goldberg { 06.03.15 at 9:57 am }

Sorry, but I just have to say it. You and Stu are both lacking in language skills (foreign and otherwise)…. “Comedienne” is still the more refined term and spelling. What kind of a woman is she, anyway? Also, come on now – both Stu and you (nice rhyme): Should be “Vos macht du, MANN.” [I’m not shouting; I can’t find an italics option on your blog.]

2 Mark Schilling { 06.03.15 at 11:00 am }

I wanna critique the publicity still. The lovely Tamar, the vocalist, should be front and center. You are not Benny Goodman and she is not Martha Tilton. End of rant.

3 Dave Rowe { 06.03.15 at 2:21 pm }

Throw the book at the guy!

4 Bert Stratton { 06.04.15 at 1:37 pm }

To Ken Goldberg:

“Vos machst du, man” is A-OK Yiddish. (The “man” part is English.)

“Comedienne”? Sounds archaic, which may be why I should use it!
—
To Mark Schilling:

The photo was originally taken for a gig by the “Klezmer Guy Trio.” Next time Tamar will be in the middle. Btw, she stole the show last night (at Gigi’s).

5 Ken Goldberg { 06.10.15 at 10:40 am }

Mixed language in the same sentence can be problematic. I know, I know, I’m kveching….

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