Last night the club we were playing at was dead (Wednesday is not the best night, but unusually dead.) In Montgomery, a new smoking ordinance requires businesses to be either non smoking or smoking. If you are a "smoking" business, you cannot allow individuals under 18 in. The club we were playing at had to make the decision to be "non smoking" because of their daytime food sales, and wide demographic during the day. It has killed their night business for the time being. The owner was telling us that she may have to advertise on radio, etc. as your smoke free place for live music. This evening, we will be across town at another club. I don't know which way they have gone, and I am wondering what kind of night we will have there. Not smelling like smoke when I came home was cool, but having 15 people to play for is not that great. Anyone else have this going on?
Who cares, you're not having your lungs poisoned and your eyes destroyed by those who wish to poison and destroy theirs.
hey man, it's a blessing in disguise.. we have the no-smoking law in bars here in Cali and at first they thought it was gonna affect business, but it doesn't. people will go outside if they wanna smoke. you'll feel much better after playing too. no stinky clothes, no hacking up chunks, no opening your bass case when you get home and have it stink of old nasty stale bar cigs. dis-freakin-gusting.
and, for what it's worth, what effect it has seems to die down pretty quickly. when they passed that law in Massachusetts, there were all sorts of barflys on the news saying "it's like a police state around here, I'm just not gonna go out anymore". Sure, pal, you're gonna turn around a lifetime of hanging out in bahs (they're bars everywhere else. In Boston, they're bahs). After a couple of weeks, they were all back Sully's throwing 'em back. I'm usually pretty leary of government regulation in personal matters, but I think this is a rare example of "about friggin' time". Worse case scenario: thousands of saved lives every year.
You are right. People are going to go out and drink no matter what. Hopefully, it will settle down in a couple of weeks. I have been second hand smoking in clubs for over 20 years.
//user edit : I wrote something nasty about you. Im trying to be nice to people and accept that maybe they have different views to me, and their views might be vaild. So in the interests of peace and harmony, I've edited away. I'd still love to hear why you used to rolleyes smily. Go on, tell me.
+1 They passed the same law in my city, where every publc place in now non smoking, and being an asthmatic, I am very thankful for that, as it increases the number of places where I can go and have a good time with family and friends. As for the threadstarter, I say give it time, and you'll probably find a non smoking audience just as large as your smoking one was. The radio ad should have a positive effect on business to.
eh , i guess i see both sides of the argument. * too much government { local } control , blah blah , blah ... * the right of non-smokers { like myself } to not end up with some horrible cancer ... hmm , i think i actually like the ban . jmo
as most of you know, i'm now a non-smoker and was a heavy smoker at one time. when i smoked, i would always go outside - smoking inside is just not cool. when i take a piss, i try my best to get it in the urinal, not all over the guy standing next to me in the bathroom.
" lounge funk " , ha , i like that ... Smash : no lecture needed , i agree with the ban, remember ? Toasted : your edit to post # 9 : you are cool , be yourself ... i have not seen the decline in bar business that everyone , including myself , expected . being a non-smoker , i really like to come home not smelling like an ashtray ... although , i did like to having my wife tell me " get undressed right now ! " after the gig , but thats another story ...
When I was in Santa Cruz in 1998 I saw Tortoise at a local club there and remember thinking how amazing it was to go to a club and see live music and to NOT come out smelling like smoke. brad cook
I dunno. It'd be good to go to a show, and not smell like a cigarette and weed afterwards, but I think if you are playing gigs, that could hurt a potential crowd going. And for people who want to see shows at smoking areas who are under 18 will be screwed. But luckily I will be 18 somewhat soon, so all should be well eventually.
In Toledo, OH. city council decided to pass a smoking ban regardless of what others thought about it. Business declined, BIG time. Some went out of business, others have been complaining of massive losses ever since. The music scene (great place for GOOD cover bands) was for the most part killed by it. The club owners, and several people pleaded to put the issue on a ballot, to let THE PEOPLE decide which laws they wanted passed (I thought that was how this was supposed to work anyway). The city government fought them all the way, defeating their first attempt to put it on the ballot. Second time, they managed to get it on the ballot, back this past November. Guess what? Smoking won. I'm not debating that it isn't a disgusting habit, I just agree it is wrong for a group of council members to tell everyone how they are going to run their businesses, period. It's your choice whether you would like to patronize them or not.
I say thank god for smoking bans, wherever they happen. If the whole country became a smoke free zone, I wouldn't shed a tear. I'm so fortunate to live in the Boston area, where smoking in bars is no long allowed. Were it not for the ban, I wouldn't be able to be a gigging player - I've got asthma, and I'm not going to put my life at stake because dumba$$es want to stick a piece of burning paper in their mouths and fill their lungs full of cancer. What a disgusting habit, and the worst part of all is the effect it has on others, i.e fellow patrons, bar staff, and musicians. :scowl:
We thought the world was going to end when California put its ban into effect. I believe that only a year later statistics showed an increase in bar/restaurant patronage. Just ride it out.
Personally, I'd rather see 100% prohibiton than this kind of stuff. Sure would be easier to quit anyway.
you know, the harshness of quiting only lasts for about a week and a half - it's really not that hard
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