Letters of Support
Dennison Letter
January 19, 2007
Dear Boulder County Commissioners,
As the former co-owner of a nationally-known and respected live music venue, Id like to offer my support for the laudable contributions Greg and Debbie Ching make to music and musicians, and to their providing a venue where community is a verb.
My husband Tom and I met Greg and Debbie at our venue, The Acoustic Coffeehouse, in Nederland. They were regulars from the get go. They attended almost every concert we hosted - so fervent was their enthusiasm for the sport of live music that they became friends with many of our regular musicians.
Shortly after we sold our coffeehouse, Greg and Debbie told us of their plans to host house concerts. Not only were we not surprised by their news, we couldnt think of any two people better fit for the job of keeping our mountain music community alive.
It may shock, but there isnt much money to be made in the kind of music we hosted at our coffeehouse. We gave most of the door money (usually 90 percent) to our musicians, and paid our rent thanks to a genius plan we liked to call operation liquor license. My favorite saying about playing (or hosting) acoustic music is that, there are literally hundreds of dollars to be made in folk music.
The Chings dont have the luxury we did of selling sandwiches and pastries to help offset their costs. Nor do they possess the beer license. They lose money on every show they host. They do this because they love music, they love the sense of community they are able to provide, and because they are good people.
They do what the do so that others may succeed. For example, a house concert that TR Ritchie plays for the Chings can offset the drive he makes from his home in Moab to a bar in Jackson Wyoming. He might make more money playing in the bar in Jackson, but now hes got his gas money and his road trip food paid for, so that by the time he makes it home, via a show or two in Utah, he just might make some money.
Most importantly, though, the audience at the house concert will listen to the show. Its eerily quiet between songs. That kind of audience, Ive been told, is what every musician dreams of.
When Tom and I had our coffeehouse, our goal was to create the house concert feel in a venue that actually made money. We succeeded mightily at the first part. And if I had to choose between the two, Id say we succeeded with the right thing.
Ive attended a few of Greg and Debbies house concerts. Ive never seen anyone park on the road. Ive never heard any inside noise coming outside of the house. If you arrive late (like I do) you dont even know theres a concert going on until you open the door.
Not only are these concerts quiet, they are environmentally friendly to the extreme. You wont find a paper plate or a plastic fork at one of Greg and Debbies house concerts (theres a potluck before the show). They have efficient low-water toilets, and carpooling is always encouraged.
I live near the Chings, just off of Magnolia Road. I know them to be active members of our neighborhood and our community. They have both volunteered with our local fire department, and have supported many, if not all of our mountain area non-profits. Mostly, theyre good neighbors. They participate.
Wouldnt it be nice if more people, every few weeks, turned their house into a meeting place, where people got together for food and conversation, and to hear some music? What Greg and Debbie manage to create with their house concerts is something we need more of, not less.
Sincerely,
Dawn Dennison
1508 Lazy Z Road
Nederland
