Buffalo, NY (WBEN) Local live music venue owners lit their sites red overnight in an effort to convince state and federal lawmakers to let them reopen. One local venue technical director says he has a plan in place.
"It's stage four and we're still in the dark," says Chuck Antolina of the Riviera Theater in North Tonawanda. "We did our last show on March 13th, and we knew there would be a struggle and we'd have to wait to see wait happened," says Antolina, with concerts being canceled week by week in the hopes a show could happen soon.
Antolina says he's getting no direction from Albany at all. "The Riviera Theater went to all the relevant lawmakers in the county and the state, including the governor himself, and told them we have a plan, we can do this safely, in the hopes of having a show on September 25th," says Antolina. "The plan has been approved by the Niagara County health inspector, and we're wondering what's going to happen. But sooner or later, we're going to have to go back to regular life, just be smart about it." Antolina says the plan calls for no concession sales or intermissions. "It's get them in, do the show, and get them out," explains Antolina.
He says tickets for shows in 2020 are still being sold, and those who bought tickets to shows postponed are hanging on to those tickets. "I think six months without live entertainment, it's killing me. Being with my friends, they want to see a show. They want to be in a venue with live music," notes Antolina.
T. "Quake" Mark is a production manager for Stone Temple Pilots, who is among those who have been without a paycheck since the pandemic started. "96 percent of the production companies and promoters have cut up to 96 percent of their staffs. 77 percent of those workers, myself included, have lost 100 percent of our income," says Quake. With a diminished capacity, Quake says bills don't change and many venue operators have a large staff.
He says this is a human issue, not a political issue. "We have liberals and conservates, Democrats, Republicans alike," says Quake, regional manager for the Red Light Restart. "We're a multiracial, mulitethnical group of people. We're an industry of 12,000 people, and every one has seen a drop in their income."
Quake says local response has been impressive. "From the Town Ballroom to Sportsman's Tavern, to Artpark and Key Bank Center, they'll be lit up" in red to send Congress a message to reopen. "The emotion from people I hear from is thank you; that someone is paying attention. We're not asking anyone to donate money, we're asking for help and the government has the resources to do this." He says the restart act has been in front of Congress before the summer break. He says the bill was six votes shy of passage.
