The Musicians Association Of Ventura County

I had a musician ask me last week why I belonged to the Union. What does the union do for me? I thought for a moment and replied that it is like asking why a person belongs to a particular religion. I believe in the concept of Unionism; the power of acting collectively without sacrificing your individuality. The Musicians Union means many things to many people. Some are members for the benefits, gig referral, low cost medical and dental, instrument insurance, pension, etc. Some are members because being a member of the AFM gives them a sense of legitimacy as a professional musician. Most of us would look suspiciously at a lawyer who did not belong to the ABA, or a dentist to the ADA, and who would trust a surgeon to operate on them or a loved one who did not belong to the AMA? In the same light, why would one hire a musician to play at a special event like a wedding without the AFM credential?

BUCK PAGE RIP
Recently, Union Brother and former Executive Board member Buck Page passed away. He was a member of the AFM for over 60 years. Buck founded the "Riders of the Purple Sage" and appeared in over 100 movies and on countless recordings as a studio musician. Last year, Eric Clapton invited him to play at The Crossroads Guitar Festival in Texas where he performed with guitar legends such as Clapton, B. B. King, Joe Walsh, Jeff Beck and ZZ Top. He released his final solo recording earlier this year. Local 581 will be hosting a Memorial Tribute Concert to Buck at the Ventura Moose Lodge, 10269 Telephone Road, Ventura CA on Sunday, November 5, 2006 from 1pm to 6pm. Admission is free and all Buck's Union Brothers and Sisters are invited as well as his friends and fans. If you would like to participate by either sharing a story, recollection, or tribute, or wish to perform, contact Local 581 at 805-650-0023, venturamusic@sbcglobal.net or at our web page at venturamusic.com. There will be a pot luck dinner so we are asking that you bring a dish to share.

I would like to thank the membership for re-electing me for another 2 year term as your President. I would also like to congratulate Ron Sexton, Sharon Cooper, Warner Sankman, Joe Hunsinger, Mariana Franco-Sommer, Mike Ley and Bob Morock upon their election.

At this time I would like to thank Mike Ley for his service the last four years as Vice-President of the Local. He served in a dual role as Office Manager and Vice-President and did a great job in both capacities. He will be continuing to serve as member of the Executive Board.

The information age is going much faster than most of us can go. Things that were the newest and greatest inventions last year are now ancient history. We here at Local 581 are trying to keep up to speed and we need your help. WE NEED YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS. This will enable us to notify you of upcoming special events or announcements (elections, memorials, meetings, gigs, emergencies, etc.) without using "snail-mail" when possible. It will save the Local mucho time and money. A typical mailing costs the Local more than $75 and takes about 8 hours to prepare. The "Bandwagon" alone costs about $150.

Last week I needed to contact two of the piano players that normally play at Fry's on the weekends. I got lucky. I was able to contact them both in only three days. If I had their E-Mail addresses I could have cut that time down considerably. I know that a lot of our members go out of town from time to time and their availability becomes limited. Most of us check our E-Mail even when on the road and that would enable our office to contact you much quicker. We had a gig for a member a while back and couldn't get in touch with him. As it turned out, he was staying at his sister's house and kept forgetting to check his voice mail. He said he checked his E-Mail from her place and if we had been able to leave him a message he would have gotten it. OK! But he missed out on a gig!

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO. Send us an E-Mail message at venturamusic@sbcglobal.net or your can go to venturamusic.com and click on "Contact Us" and do the same thing. Tell us if you want us to publish your address in the directly. We will only use it the way you want us to.

This will be the last time I will write this column. I was privileged to be able to nominate Ron Sexton for Vice-President. He will do a great job. I am proud to have been once again elected to serve on the Executive Board.

Our membership now stands at 174, which is an increase of 47 members, or 36% since January 1st, 2005. Pretty good work for a local of our size. Some recruiting points I've tried to stress are the Pension plans, the Dental plan and other insurance that we offer. Of course, networking among our members is a big selling point. Being able to exchange information with other members about jobs, musical ideas, union situations, or updating your own profile to other people is a definite plus. Hopefully, we will continue to get more members as our ideas find more musicians.

As you may have heard, we lost one of the greatest innovators of Western music August 21st, 2006. Buck Page died from natural causes in his sleep. So much has been written and said about him from coast to coast. He was a great musician and a dear personal friend. He taught me many things, how to use my musical knowledge in ways that I hadn't thought about. His last CD was, and still is, getting lots of radio play around the nation.

We will have a Tribute and Memorial for Buck on Sunday, November 5th, 2006, at the Moose Lodge, 10269 Telephone Road, Ventura. Anyone who wants to help me with anything, including ideas, please get in touch. We will have notification in the papers, and hopefully on the radio. We want you to attend, and pay homage to this great man.

President: Michael J. Smith
Vice-President: Ron Sexton
Secretary/Treasurer: Sharon Cooper
Executive Board: Warner Sankman, Joe Hunsinger,
Mariana Franco-Sommer, Bob Morock, Mike Ley
Alternate Delegate to the AFM Convention: Mike Ley

(Our by-laws state that since all candidates ran un-opposed - no mail-in election is necessary)

You've heard the name around the area for many years, and you may have listened to him at one of the many venues he has worked for the past 30 or so years. Scott MacDonald is one of the most accomplished pianist to ever hit the California music scene. He has been playing piano and writing compositions since the age of 7. His history is full of remarkable accomplishments, from international travels to Hollywood film soundtracks.

Scott has traveled all over the United States, Australia, The Pacific Islands, and Europe. He has worked the cruise ship scene, always playing his original compositions along with the current popular music of the day. He has credits on film scores as pianist for Lalo Schifrin, well known Hollywood composer. Also, he has performed with Shaun Phillips and Jimmy Seals, of Seals and Crofts. His "Solitude" album is a masterful piece of beautiful music. If you can find it, you'll love it.

Scott's mother was a great classical pianist, and had a firm hand in Scott's development as a musician. In his high school years in Ojai, Scott played piano for the Nordhoff High Jazz Ensemble, and studied music theory and composition, eventually becoming the Music Director at the Ojai Valley School.

Scott performed at the old "Charlies" for 14 years and continuously performs at various venues in the area, such as the Spanish Hills Country Club, Los Posas Country Club, Pierpont Inn, and of course, his steady gig for the past 20 or so years, every Friday and Saturday night at the California Grill in Camarillo.

Scott has our admiration for being a single parent and raising his now 14 year old son, Tommy, alone from birth. A very good man, as well as an accomplished musician, and that should be enough reason to join Scott's many fans every weekend for a memorable musical journey. Throw a few bucks in his tip jar and you'll feel even better.

(Note: the Bandwagon will profile a Local 581 musician or group in every upcoming issue.)

NEW MEMBERS
Mark Pigman - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar Michael Perkins - Electric Guitar, Vocals Levi Manes - Electric Bass, Vocals Matt Jacen - Drums Jacob Wells - Electric Guitar, Vocals Shareen Torres - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar Rusty Scott (Russell Cornwall) - Drums, Electtric Bass Thomas Turner - Viola James Bruce - Bass, Percussion, Vocals Liz Watts - Violin John Wilson - Electric Guitar, Vocals Vera Dragilevich - Violin, Piano Daniel Andrews - Piano

OUR NEW ADDRESS
Musicians Association of Ventura County
674 County Square Drive
Suite 308-B
Ventura, CA 93003
TEL: (805) 650-0023
FAX: (805) 650-1155
E-mail: venturamusic@sbcglobal.net
Web: venturamusic.com