Category: Louisiana politics

Telling the Good Guys from the Bad Guys

So now the truth is out: Mark Smith, former director of the film office for Louisiana, is a crook. (See the FBI Bill of Information here) And, when he walked into the offices of the Louisiana Music Commission (LMC) on May 18, 2005 to fire me, he was actively stealing money from the citizens of Louisiana. Smith was on a roll then, working with Scott Aiges and others to take over the LMC. He was in the middle of successfully passing legislation creating music tax credits (and letting Aiges get the glory) mirrored after the film credits he was actively scamming.

So, would he have pulled the same scam with music that he was doing with film? And what cast of characters might he have tapped to do his skim? We’ll probably never know. One, because to date not one single entity has taken advantage of the music credits; and, two, his scheme got interrupted when Bernie Cyrus got wind of it and told the secretary of the then-newly appointed head of economic development, Mike Olivier, whose signature was needed to complete the scam. Mark resigned from state service once word began to circulate in the halls of economic development. He moved on to a private sector job in the film business where he could lobby for the tax breaks and perhaps get paid legally.

The overall result for music in this tawdry scheme was the demise and purging of the LMC (See R.I.P. LMC). And, to this day the agency has not recovered enough to accomplish a damned thing.

As Louisiana reels from yet another public official on the take, further sullying our reputation, know this: Mark Smith is not from Louisiana, he’s from the Northeast. But make no mistake, Louisiana will once again be smeared.

I can almost smell the corruption and cynicism when people have all too often said to me (regarding Bernie’s whistleblower suit) “Why did Bernie do that? He’s going to hurt our film industry.” And I know that the folks saying this are more concerned with the bottom line than with honesty and stopping crime.

Let me say this, unequivocally and with all the passion and rage I can muster: CORRUPT POLITICIANS MUST BE STOPPED. I don’t want to live in a state where people turn a blind eye to political corruption. I don’t want to live in a state where people accept inferior government. And I wish my “friends” and colleagues would treat political housecleaning as being as necessary as wiping your ass. It’s ain’t pretty; but, if you don’t do it…well, misery is sure to follow.

So, now, Jan Ramsey, Scott Aiges, Lynn Ourso, Maggie Warwick, Johnny Pallazzotto, and whoever else out there plotted, schemed and stabbed us in the back for years….what have you got to say now?

I bet not much. And that’s too bad, because it represents business as usual and the same old same old.

I didn’t stand for it then. And I won’t stand for it now. We deserve better.

Music in the schools: A First Step PASSES

SB 299 by Sen. Broome is making its way through the Louisiana Legislature. The bill is part of the legislative package put forth by Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu and creates a system whereby there will be one hour per week of arts education available to K-8 within 3 years and K-12 the folowing year. The bill appears to be on a roll since it passed the senate unanimously. Though not a comprehensive solution, it is a major first step. As Ellis Marsalis advocates, for Louisiana to truly thrive, the arts must be mandated coursework required for graduation and should become a participatory/celebratory component of education that shares the same respect we give sports. Amen.

The Fiscal Note for SB 299 reveals budgetary details that explain how the bill will be implemented. This first step entails creating a system that, at first, will be available to all schools but will by utilized only by schools that budget for the program.

The bill unanimously passed both the House and Senate and now awaits the Governor’s signature. Congratulations to Lt. Gov. Landrieu and staff on this important victory!

Hollywood & Louisiana: A Love Affair in a Brothel

You know, it really upsets me how Louisiana politicians and press fall all over themselves for Hollywood. I mean, how is it that millions upon millions of dollars can be spent to help subsidize production for movies and people who are admittedly doing a job here, but whose lives, work and imagination are based elsewhere.

I know this may seem petty, but we are one of the world’s greatest creative wellsprings. We always have been. And yet this creativity is not nurtured.

The major media companies are nothing without content. We are a source of content. It’s long been said in these media-dominated times that “content is king.” Well then why the hell aren’t we king of the hill?

Because we’d rather invest in other people’s dreams than our own.

The prevailing wisdom in Baton Rouge and in the eyes of the few media hounds reporting on government is that an expert is someone from out of state with a briefcase and a plan. And we seem to be a sucker for “experts.”

Our economic development orientation is consistently focused on finding the big fish. And those big fish evidently are not from Louisiana. So our leaders spend their time and money courting German steel mills, Asian automakers and Hollywood developers while back at home our citizens are living, breathing and weaving a creative quilt of cultural riches that is the envy of the world.

The controversy today is whether the movie tax credit system has been abused and misused. Whether or not that’s true, the fact is our indigenous talent has long been ignored by the same people who jump to spend tens, if not hundreds of millions supporting out of state entities while Louisiana talent struggles.

I don’t know what you call it, but I call it a lot of things. And since I don’t want this blog to resort to profanity, I’ll leave it at that.

Orientation, Bloviation, Platitudes and Attitudes: How Not to Re-start a Small Government Agency

Warning: this post, like the meeting it covers, is looooonnnggg…..

The Thursday, April 26 meeting of the Louisiana Music Commission was attended by only 4 people who weren’t either commissioners or state employees: me, Eric Cager and his Cutting Edge Music Business Conference cohort Vernon P. Thomas, and Carlo Ditta, founder of the Louisiana Independent Music Manufacturers Association (LIMMA) and Orleans Records.

Because there was no true Public Notice (and still no website), the public didn’t know about the meeting. However, the Hainkel Room, a senate meeting room in the Capitol–an ironic location since the late Sen. John Hainkel was a strong supporter of the past LMC–was filled with folks from Louisiana Economic Development (LED) who were required to attend at the behest of their boss, Asst. Secretary Don Pierson.

With Chairman Maggie Warwick happily ensconced at the dais, and Pierson at the table, the meeting proceeded with 2 hours (!) of orientation for the 10 (of 15) newly appointed commissioners attending. Oh what a well-oiled machine LED must be.

They started with introductions. The LMC members were brief. Then Chairwoman Warwick took over and basically told her life story (later she told the story of Elvis and the Hayride, and not the short version for she likes to tell stories). We all sat enraptured as she regaled us with us how she moved to Shreveport in 1960 (from Texas) and played on the Louisiana Hayride, then in its final year (it ended in August). She moved to Nashville for the next 20 years and returned to Shreveport in 1981 when she married Alton Warwick.

Now you know this is very important to the musical history of Louisiana. How else could it be, since the Warwicks, in 1999, successfully filed for a federal trademark of the phrase Louisiana Hayride. And thus, an artist who had nothing to do with founding, producing or otherwise establishing one of the nation’s most important radio shows, and whose experiences with it constituted less than a year, now owns the name.

Ah, the entertainment business, a bastion of ethics and fairness. Oops, this is the Ethical & Fair LMC, as Ms. Warwick and Lynn Ourso repeatedly emphasized. Surely there’s nothing unusual going on here.

Or is there?

Of course the Warwick’s FAME Foundation, which seeks to spend $300,000,000 developing property around the Municipal Auditorium, some of which the Warwicks and their business partners own (see the latest article on their plans here, and be sure to read the comments at the end of the story), for the benefit of musicians in Shreveport and which is set to receive $500,000 in Capital Outlay funds this coming fiscal year from the State of Louisiana, that’s ethical and fair, isn’t it? I mean, just because you’re Chair of the state agency dedicated to developing music doesn’t mean you can’t get state money for your “nonprofit” foundation to develop the biggest music project in the history of the world, right? That seems about as ethical as things can be in Governor Blanco’s Louisiana.

Don’t you agree?

Sorry, I digress. But so did the meeting, for it extended to 3 hours.

The introductions revealed a some very qualified new commissioners, particularly Loyola’s John Snyder (see his very helpful website here); educator, legendary jazz musician and Mayor of Greenville Dr. Ernest Lampkins; attorney Dino Gankendorff; musician, educator and producer Greg Davis; and music activist and manager Cynthia Simien all bring strong music business experience, both past and present, to the table. (I apologize for not knowing much about some of the other members’ music business backgrounds.)

Sidenote: Johnny Palazzotto is back on the LMC. The longtime owner of a record label, he has very admirably produced the Baton Rouge Blues Festival and its Blues in the Schools program for the past decade. However, he complained that he couldn’t get his CDs listed on iTunes…Duh, JP, I wouldn’t say this in public if you want to be taken seriously as a music biz VIP worthy of being on the LMC. Most Louisiana labels are on iTunes, figure it out Mr. P!

Back to the action: Don Pierson, truly a master of the government committee room meeting, held the commissioners spellbound as he explained what each LED team member in the room could do for the LMC. With new Entertainment director Sherri McConnell reorganizing her charges into a triple threat of Film/TV, Digital and now Music, Pierson revealed an organization poised to help the LMC with its every need: a marketing director to develop a marketing plan and to handle media relations, the Human Resources contact, the Fiscal manager to help them with their compensated travel to and from meetings, the Small Business director, even the Advanced Materials director was there.

(Note: to gain insight into how well LED is handling the film business, see this article in 225BatonRouge.com.)

After hearing from this team of eager experts, one commissioner asked the obvious question: what is the LMC budget? Pierson then dropped the most obvious bomb: zero, for the LMC no longer has a line-item budget. However, he quickly added, the commission is part of the LED family and, though music must compete against all the other components of LED for money, it is part of an accredited economic development organization. I know their faces didn’t reveal the glee they were feeling, but the LMC sure seemed pleased. They didn’t ask another question about why there was no LMC budget.

Pierson happily noted that the LMC’s enabling legislation has a unique clause about raising money from “public or private” sources. And he then made the connection: the LMC can raise money by staging events, or soliciting companies or foundations. Or, as Bernie and I expressed it, they expect the organization to sing for its supper.

You have no idea how many cockeyed plans were made in years past: concerts (to take advantage of musicians by having them play for free), fundraisers, events, etc. to raise money for the LMC. But, the reality is, nobody wants to attend a fundraiser for a state government agency. We already pay taxes. And music brings in tens of millions in taxes. The LMC deserves a budget.

For the record, at least while we were in charge, no matter the cause: you have to PAY THE BAND. Musicians should not be expected to play for free to raise money for a state agency or for most charity events.

Can you imagine a fundraiser for the Department of Insurance? Oh, wait, I had a $600 surcharge on my homeowner’s policy for Louisiana Citizens. I guess that department figured out a better way. Besides, we were told long ago that there was no legal mechanism to receive and disburse any funds raised for the LMC and that such funds would wind up in the General Fund of the State of Louisiana. I bet you can’t wait to donate to the cause.

Since nobody licenses musicians or otherwise regulates the music industry in a way that produces a revenue stream, the LMC always faced a problem in lobbying for a reasonable budget. And, ever since LED budgetarily absorbed the LMC (in 2005), there has been no line-item component of the state budget for the agency. Talk about starting over. There is NO BUDGET for music in the world’s most musical wellspring. Thanks, Ms. Blanco and friends. You’re doing a heck of a job!

So the meeting plodded on. At one point, an attorney from the Ethics Board explained the basics of serving on the LMC and how members could not profit from their service or do business with the agency. The FAME Foundation wasn’t mentioned during this part of the meeting.

After the 2 hour orientation, most of the LED folks left, leaving an even smaller audience for the next exciting component: what should the LMC be doing? A Strategic Plan was recognized as being the next logical step. And the formation of an Advisory Board was discussed. That allowed Ms. Warwick to bring up the name of her favorite music business attorney, Joel Katz. Don Pierson had one more thing to add at this point: LED could pay for a weekend retreat for the LMC to work on the new Strategic Plan.

How nice.

After purging 14 years of files and data and 8 years of the website that made 3 past strategic plans available to all, LED would spring for a working weekend retreat. I wonder if they can book a nice location like the beach? I wonder if they’d let me sign up?

The only member of the audience asked to speak was Carlo Ditta who expressed his desire to expand the role of LIMMA. The LMC then got a little sidetracked discussing how they could try to help make musicians successful. As if government can make the music business work! Fortunately, commissioners Gankendorff and Davis provided a reality check by noting how badly broken the industry currently is and how little anyone can do about it.

Then the meeting ended. I went up to the dais and introduced myself to some of the members, gave out a copy of the last strategic plan and of the educational interactive CD ROM script the late Tad Jones wrote and offered to make myself available to anyone who wished to learn more about what the LMC did for the past decade and a half.

Then I drove back to New Orleans, back to something that made sense–the first weekend of Jazz Fest.

Gov appoints Music Commission then announces impending retirement

After 3 years of neglecting music, Governor Blanco finally appointed 15 people to serve on the Louisiana Music Commission, see the list here. Within a week, the governor then announced that she was not running for re-election. Thus, the new LMC has less than a year to somehow re-start, re-staff, relocate and (presumably) craft legislation to fix what the current administration has broken. Good luck.

The first meeting is scheduled for April 26 at 1:30PM in the Hainkel room in the basement of the Capitol (I had a hard time finding this out despite the fact that the LMC is subject to the state’s Sunshine Laws requiring public notice of meetings), at a time when at least 6 of the new members will find it difficult to attend, that week being the start of the state’s 2 biggest music events, Festival International and the N.O. Jazz & Heritage Festival.

Among many questions that should be raised are: what is the LMC budget? What is the status of the LMC files, plans and reports? Why did the current administration abandon the LMC website and allow the domain name to be lost? Why is there no LMC office in the New Orleans area, as decreed by law? How can the current LMC be effective if their tenure likely will be a year or less? There are more questions and I’m sure some of the new members will have plenty to both ask and say. I plan to be there.

So, considering the governor appointed 2 members who spent 14 years undermining the work of the LMC, and Lynn Ourso, who titles himself Director despite Louisiana law which indicates that he is not legally holding the position, I wonder what this group can and will do. And it will be equally fascinating to see how these particular members assert themselves. If the past is any indication, these 2 members are sure to say and do something interesting, if not outrageous.

I will don my armor, attend the meeting and return here to tell the story.

For those of you who care enough to read some of the missing reports and plans, here are a few good documents that I saved. I greatly appreciate any feedback and/or time you spend reviewing these detailed papers.

LMC Summary Report 1992-2003

LMC Strategic Plan 1998-2003

LMC 1992-2003 Comprehensive Report

Music in the Schools! Music in the Schools!

And so went the chant at the recent anti-crime march on City Hall in New Orleans. There were several moments during speeches when the crowd reacted collectively. A chant of “shame, shame” briefly took hold when a speaker was chastising city leadership. But, after hearing from impassioned brass band musicians, the crowd seized upon “music in the schools.” It became the phrase that carried on the longest and loudest. And for good reason.

The crowd’s collective common sense expressed what seems to be a growing awareness of the need for music in the schools. Every intellectual, every fan of music, every insightful critic of education, stands firmly for music and arts education. Despite this reality; and, despite years of studies, countless meetings and the efforts of tens of thousands of dedicated arts activists, music still has not acheived its rightful place in education.

In Louisiana, music is ingrained in the fabric of life more deeply than any other state. Yet there is no educational leadership ensuring the legacy continues. This past week, however, Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu boldly took a stand in support of music in every school.

Speaking at his poorly promoted third Cultural Economy Summit (I challenge you to find the link on the CRT website http://www.crt.state.la.us) Landrieu proclaimed that he was going to work to bring a music teacher to every school. He becomes the highest ranking Louisiana official to make such a bold declaration. Hopefully, unlike his predecessor (and current governor) Kathleen Blanco, who showed timid support for music in the schools as lt. governor and zero support for music as governor, Landrieu might actually do something. At least he’s talking about it, which is more than anyone else in state government is doing.

Louisiana Music Commission: Still on the Back Burner

As Kathleen Babineaux Blanco and her administrative leaders head into the final year of her first term, music continues to languish.

When the Blanco admininstration assumed power three years ago, you could hear the air hissing out of the Louisiana Music Commission (LMC) as it’s funding shrank with each new fiscal budget. Now, nearly a year after the end of the unprecedented 14 year run of Chairman Ellis L. Marsalis Jr., whose impeccable leadership was tapped by 3 governors, Governor Blanco still has not made appointments to the board.

According to the website of the Louisiana Department of Economic Development (LDED), Lynn Ourso, who held the job of Executive Director more than twenty years ago, has again assumed the position. However, since state statutes that create the LMC clearly note only the board hires (and fires) the director, how can Ourso legally hold the job? LA R.S. 25:315 also states, “The Louisiana Music Commission is hereby created within the Department of Economic Development and shall be domiciled in the greater New Orleans area.” Ourso works out of the offices of LDED in Baton Rouge.

The Blanco administration began dropping the ball with the LMC long before the tragic flooding and devastation of the storms of 2005. What hurts now is how state and local government continues to miss the enormous opportunity caused by the worldwide outpouring of support and assistance for music in Louisiana. Fortunately for musicians, private sector institutions are doing an amazing job.

Like tens of thousands of people, I lost my belongings to the flood, including 3 guitars, 3 amps, a piano and decades of personal musical history. I feel blessed to have received assistance from NARAS/Music Rising, which helped me replace some of the instruments I lost.

Thousands of musicians like me are being helped by private organizations. Nevertheless, there was and is a role for state and local government. Via the LMC, the state should be providing resources, information, coordination and LEADERSHIP. It hasn’t happened.

The Blanco Administration, and LDED Secretary Mike Olivier, acting on bad advice from power-hungry people with strong conflicts of interest, crippled then dismantled the LMC. Now there is no strategic plan to restore, renew and rebuild music in Louisiana. As this administration heads into an election year, will music continue to be mishandled?

The Blanco administration’s plan for music is clearly overdue. And if current polls hold true through election day, it might be too late for them to take effective action.

Is LA R.S. 25:315 no longer a binding statute? It would be nice to hear a legal opinion on the matter.

Peace on Earth and Happy Holidays to All!

R.I.P. LMC?

In case you didn’t know, I worked at the Louisiana Music Commission from 1992 to 2005. I was Assistant Director from 1994-2005. It was an amazing time to be involved in both Louisiana music and technology. We started our website in August 1997 and I was the webmaster. We were the first state agency to post our strategic plan online and worked to provide public access to all our written documents, reports, plans and other useful data. We also provided news, information and links to tons of data, cool sites and historical archives. When the folks at the Louisiana Department of Economic Development decided to get rid of me in May 2005, they didn’t bother to interview me or otherwise allow me to assist them in transitioning the office. Thus, all the LMC computers and data were essentially thrown out.

Three years of dutifully entered music by Louisiana artists was tossed. 14 years of contacts, information and data was disposed of via the state’s surplus property system. Nobody in charge cared about the information. Nobody in charge cared about the work. And today, apparently nobody in charge of state government cares much about music.

During our tenure at the LMC, we spent 10 years working to eliminate the Amusement Tax on live music in New Orleans and succeeded. We strove to pass legislation that would solve problems and stimulate the industry. One of those laws invloved how workers compensation is paid. The state’s main workers comp agency, LWCC, without warning started telling live music clubs that they had to pay workers comp on the musicians and bands that played their clubs. Since the vast majority of clubs hire musicians on an irregular basis, they did not need to pay into this system. Liability insurance adequately covers whatever might happen to a band in the case of accidents. Workers comp is for regular employees, not irregular contractors.

It took a couple of years, but we finally amended state law to clarify how workers comp was to be paid by music venues. And the LMC website provided links to the law in case anyone questioned it. But, today, there is no LMC website and no link to the law. Which is sad because LWCC is again trying to hit struggling clubs with fees for musicians. And it’s going to cause music clubs to close. Thanks to the boneheads at the Louisiana Department of Economic Development, ready access to the needed information is gone and nobody at LDED knows a damn thing about this law.

I’m pissed. These idiots threw out 8 years of archives on the web. 8 years of news of passings, of events, of issues, of Louisiana’s music history. And now the people who orchestrated the elimination of my job and of the work Ellis Marsalis, Bernie Cyrus and our staff aren’t even there to pick up the pieces.

It’s shameful that Governor Blanco, Lt. Gov. Landrieu and LDED Secretary Olivier have allowed this to happen. And it’s a shame that offBeat and other music and news publications didn’t delve deeper into the demise of the LMC.

I don’t intend to sit idly by any longer.