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.


 
 

NOTHING ETHNIC

by Bert Stratton

“Don’t play any klezmer music, nothing ethnic,” the mayor’s assistant said. Why did the city hire Yiddishe Cup?

Our contract rider stipulated a fruit platter, bottled water and diet colas. A good gig, food-wise, but what were we going to play? I said, “You don’t want to alienate anybody with ethnic music?”

Wolf & Hake Soltzberg (with unknown child). Russia. Bert's great-grandparents

Wolf & Hake Soltzberg (with  daughter). Ukraine. Bert’s great-grandparents

“That’s the mayor’s thought,” she said.

“How much non-ethnic music do you want?”

“All or mostly.”

“Can you give me a percentage?”

“Ninety-percent American music,” she said.

It was an Orange Jews crowd. With pulp. About 90-percent Jewish. (Orange, Ohio.)

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4 comments

1 don friedman { 04.24.19 at 12:40 pm }

She said that you don’t want to alienate anybody with ethnic music? Kind of a racist statement in that particular environment. If I attended a concert around W. 25th st and didn’t hear any latin rhythms I would sue. I would have called the mayor and spread some guilt on her. Was she a republican? p.s. Orange pulp is really good for us!

2 Ken Goldberg { 04.24.19 at 9:39 pm }

“Albert Soltzberg”…. Has a nice ring to it!

3 Dave Rowe { 04.26.19 at 10:47 am }

You guys ought to hit them with some Hank Williams.

4 Ken Goldberg { 05.01.19 at 9:45 am }

Maybe you can open a chain of milk bars, and attract the pretty young milk maids…. Btw, in you’re in the market for tasteful cow lawn statuary I can help.

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