Book 'em

Great gigs and where to find them

by Bob Gulla

The Cav crew: Andrea Miller, Sylvia Moubayed, and Keith Bakos

If you're booking your own gigs, a lot of questions need to be answered before you even pick up the phone. So, as a service to the musical among you, we've taken on a sporadic new feature designed to help musicians answer those questions without risking embarrassment. The interview below is the first installment in this ongoing series, which will eventually cover the area's most viable performance outlets for local bands. Clip 'em and save 'em all!

Cav, 14 Imperial Place, Providence, (401) 751-9164
Booker/Owner: Sylvia Moubayed
Capacity: 150

Q: Do you provide sound and lights?
A: The sound system is small, but perfect for the room. It's an excellent P.A.

Q: When do you feature live music?
A: Our music is on Friday and Saturday nights. Once a month on Thursday we have folk music. All music starts at 9 p.m.

Q: What age group attends?
A: All ages are welcome. Our patrons run 20 to 75.

Q: What is the bar situation?
A: We offer a full bar. It compliments our restaurant.

Q: How often do you have local bands? National?
A: We have the best of local music. Much of our talent is nationally recognized: Greg Abate, Dan Moretti, Paul Geremia. We have regional acts fairly often. Rose Weaver and Justin Holden play here. Many international groups as well.

Q: What kind of local bands do you book?
A: We have blues, jazz, world, folk, flamenco -- the Sonic Explorers, the Ken Lyon Blues Band, Joe Parillo, Geri Verdi, Quetzal, Hurricane, Folks Together.

Q: How do bands get paid?
A: The door. Often a good percentage -- up to 100 percent, depending on the talent.

Q: In your opinion, what makes people enjoy a band?
A: Energy that gives the audience something to connect with. Some music is full of such joy that the audience is uplifted. The audience feels connected. I don't want any one to feel alienated from themselves. My mission at Cav is connection and joy. I am looking for a spirit. Music that is cerebral is not Cav. Cav channels your spirit and gets you involved. It has to speak to your heart -- but serious music, not vanilla. Great art, whether music or visual, changes you. You can see and feel in new ways.

Q: What are some of the biggest mistakes that bands make when performing?
A: Bands think they have to break you ear drums. Great music does not have to be loud to get your attention. If someone is not listening, try whispering. The acoustics here are great, so you don't have to assault the audience.

Q: Are you getting the talent from the local scene that you need to successfully book your club?
A: Yes. We have one of the highest [cities] per capita of artists. It's amazing here.

Q: Is the talent drawing?
A: It depends. Some people have an extraordinary draw. You have to have a balance with discovering new talent and booking proven acts.

Q: If you find talent that is really hot, but completely unknown, how would you develop them?
A: Publicity. This man from Mozambique played the most beautiful music. People look for Cav. The Phoenix and Providence Journal try to support the scene here. We had 10 balalaika players from Ribinsk, Russia. They heard of us and came to play on short notice. The Journal helped to pack the place.

Q: How much responsibility is on the shoulders of the band to draw?
A: I would like a band to have a following, but I don't cover my costs from music. It's the great food that keeps it going. The music part of the mission is to support that.

Q: Why is it so hard to break a scene?
A: In Rhode Island we don't have a scene that supports its music. The audience will only come out if they're already known. People here take less risks. Cav is different because people come for dinner and at 9:30 the music begins, so some people stay and discover it.

Q: What would you do for the local scene in your club if you had the budget?
A: If I had the money and a huge budget, I would pay huge fees to everybody, but I can't. This place is a dream for me. I try to make this place beautiful, to sing, to be special.

Q: Where is the music scene heading?
A: I think more and more are interested in good music. I think different people like different things. I think every kind of music has an audience. Many come here for food, others for jazz. There are focuses but they are created by the media. If there was equal coverage, we would do better.

Q: Are you making a living from it?
A: No. Bands don't understand. They think that if a person plays for 30 people at the club that this is profit for the club. That is not so. Music enhances but it is not everything. I do it to enhance the joy in people's hearts.

Club date interview by Joe Bartone.

WANDERING EYE. If you're lookin' for a real good time, trip the light fantastic at a weekend dance workshop at Stepping Stone Ranch down in Escoheag. On Saturday and Sunday, April 29 and 30, Eric Fahey presents Mona "Zydeco Queen" Wilson from Louisiana, with Leroy Thomas and Slippery Sneakers. They say the workshop's for "non-beginners," but you might be able to fudge your way in with the right attitude. It starts on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. and goes right through to 8 p.m. on Sunday, with instruction, great music, and lots of nice people. If you do it up, it's $75, though the night shows are attendable ala carte for $15. Contact Eric Fahey at (401) 539-8508 for additional info or e-mail: ericf@riconnect.com.

This just in: Gigmania (www.gigmania.com), a prime source for live music listings on the Internet, announced an agreement to carry and stream programming produced by the Digital Club Network (www. digitalclubnetwork.com). Under the agreement, Gigmania will link their schedule of live music directly to Digital Club Network's exclusive archive of performances, allowing users to preview bands online before hearing them live in a venue.

The Digital Club Network is the Internet's only source for live music from top venues across the country. Among the Digital Club Network affiliates which will have their schedules appearing on Gigmania are New York's Brownies, Lakeside Lounge, S.O.B's and Arlene Grocery; the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC; First Avenue in Minneapolis; Toad's Place in New Haven, Connecticut, and many others. It hasn't reached Providence yet, but is, according to corporate sources, closing in on it.

As part of the relationship, Gigmania will actively market and promote both the live and archived concert events featured on the Digital Club Network. Gigmania will provide a complete schedule of all programming on the Digital Club Network searchable by artist, venue and city. Live concerts will be promoted from Gigmania's "Live Online" section, a directory of daily live music Webcasts.

Errata: Got the URL wrong for Equal Rites two weeks ago: it's http://www.iuma.com/IUMA/Bands/Equal_Rites/.