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2 years in the life of a jazz-club
owner.
Annie Sinclair.
1 The Quickest way to make a million is to start
with two million!'
This is my version of recent events, other people
may have other versions. For legal reasons, real names have not been
used. I sprained my ankle badly so went to stay with my friend on the
Gold Coast. I went on a jazz cruise, fabulous idea, but poorly attended.
[Why didn't I hear any warning bells?] I met the organiser, Basil, who
seemed nice enough. I had turned up without any money, only a credit
card and I was moving to Sydney the next day! However, Basil very kindly
agreed that I could send the entrance fee on to him by post, including
an extra $20 spending money.
He mentioned during the evening that he
had done some market research which indicated that Brisbane could support
a jazz club Actually, it already had one, but he tended to discount the
Brisbane Jazz Club because it was run by amateurs. So that was my first
big mistake, believing him, thinking that because he was trusting me,
I should trust him too. He was a really good talker, and easily convinced
me of the fact that he had conducted surveys and carried out plans. I
was so excited and delighted at the prospect of owning a jazz club -
and, truth be told, that someone seemed willing to be friendly with a
wheelchair user, that I tended to sweep any small suspicions to the back
of my mind - like the fact that he didn't put up any of the money, only
ideas. [what an idiot I was.!
I suppose my excuse was my idealism, which
leads ultimately to the whole structure of society, or maybe just the
school curriculum - should ideals be lauded? (the ancient Greeks, the
Olympics) at any rate business should be taught as well. Also, the organiser
of a festival in Britain said that "where jazz is concerned one
is ruled by the heart, not the head." We talked quite often on
telephone, and by email and quickly agreed to start a jazz club.
We would
be co-owners, with me putting up the money and my contacts with international
artists, and him putting up the ideas, the PR, the marketing and the
musicians. Although I knew that I did not have nearly enough capital
to start such a venture in Britain or France, which would have been
my preferred locations, Basil thought that he could get it done and still
have a little left, which, with the money we would be earning, (he had
drawn up documents showing future earnings) should be enough to start
us off.
He did not provide a business plan. I returned to Britain ecstatically
happy, having arranged that Basil should come to Scotland in August and,
as well as seeing a bit of Scotland, come to the Nairn festival and meet
people, particularly these international musicians, many of whom I knew
already - because I went to several festivals round the world and would
repeatedly meet them.
Nairn was one of my favourites, partly because
it was so near my home region in Scotland; which led me to the thought
of how useful it would be for Basil to meet and hear them. I knew the
organisers of that festival, who were most suspicious of Basil, although
I was quite convinced of his honesty (apparent in his day-to-day personal
dealings!) and would not entertain the notion that he was conning me.
But I am indebted to Edna and Willie because I was going to split the
club 50/50 with Basil, and following their advice we made it 60/40 (which
made it possible for me later to terminate Basil's employment).
I was
a bit surprised that he didn't pay for his own room while in Scotland,
but my British reserve held me back from asking probing questions and
possibly encroaching on painful memories (because by then he had told
me that he had been living with a girl for 12 years before she left him;
that he used to drink but no longer drank at all, and that he had had
some kind of trouble with his credit card and now the bank would no longer
issue him with a credit card. So I had put 2 + 2 together and come up
with what was probably 5 - a story of how Basil, becoming an alcoholic,
abusing his credit card to the extent that the banks withdrew it, (he
did keep making me think that he would get back his credit rating soon.
and his girlfriend finally walking out on him in disgust.
Apparently
he had lost quite a lot of weight. He certainly had an extremely poor
diet - almost entirely coke, chocolates and cigarettes - except when
I bought him meals. I had two small misgivings: he once got very annoyed
with me in the car, flaring up over nothing and calling me a back seat
driver (which I am not). I put this behaviour down to the sress of driving
in a strange country, late at night with no certainty of a bed at the
journey’s end [I had forgotten to book ahead]); and my cousins
gave us a box of chocolates at the start of the journey, which he refused
to eat the next day because they had been opened the day before so germs
had got on them!
At the end of his holiday he used his silver tongue
again to say how impressed he was by my good qualities. I stayed on in
Scotland for jazz, while he returned to Brisbane, to carry on with his
job while looking for a suitable venue. [I heard much later from several
sources that he was out to rip me off for as much money as he could and
that the money I was paying him was being used to enrich his other business.
I gave him a list of criteria; first and foremost was accessibility.
I returned to Australia again in October '05. Basil played his cards
skillfully, showing me what was on the market (very little) before showing
me what became Milton Dome. My immediate reaction was that it was far
too big with 3 levels!!! But Basil was sold by the 'skylight room', as
it came to be called, and talked me round. I was also immediately struck
by its possibilities, so I was probably easily brought round. Apparently
the venue had been some sort of night club several times before, (my
inexperience showed, as no warning bells clanged - why hadn't they succeeded?)
but they had always been illegal (no-one had raised any objection. which
augured well.)
We determined to do it all legally. In retrospect, I don't
know whether that was a good idea or not, probably it was, because we
didn't have the fear of enormous fines hanging over our heads, but I
do remember the long delays - and the expense! The worst delay was waiting
for the permission of the body corporate for the change of use of the
building, because Christmas intervened and everyone disappeared on their
holidays. I was beginning to get worried about my miserably small fortune
running out, but Basil assured me that there was still plenty left.
I
was grossly overpaying Basil, but he was a good talker, and the fact
that we were doing everything legally was reassuring. And owning a jazz
club seemed so marvellous that I thought it was probably worth the expense,
because I was a bit flattered that anyone would consider throwing in
with a wheelchair user. At first it didn't seem too bad, Basil had hired
an assistant manager, JR-san, and all 3 of us were working, me wrapping
glasses left by the previous owner about 2 years earlier. and the other
two unsticking cardboard from the floor and ripping out old booths etc.
It was a bit more like the image I had in my mind, of owners starting
up a business from scratch, doing as much as possible themselves to save
money.
There was a long battle about whether or not we should keep the
green room for the musicians' convenience, and eventually I gave in,
so that we would be able to fit in more customers. (That was over-optimistic
- in our 2 years of existence we only needed the extra space less than
half-a-dozen times.) There was also a long battle about whether or not
to put in a dance floor, I won that one, and that decision has been completely
vindicated. (If only I had been as firm with other things.) Anyway, even
I had to agree that we needed qualified workmen - the place really had
been pretty comprehensively gutted.
We had already started getting quotes
in when Basil went to a family reunion, and met one of his relatives
who seemed confident of getting everything done for the money available.
I thought this seemed an excellent idea. and the man seemed calm and
unflappable, which proved to be admirable qualities as 'the opening night'
approached. I thought it best, given my instability, not to go in to
the club too much, as everyone knows how dangerous building sites are.
However, the first time I did go in, the workmen, after establishing
who I was, were obviously not used to a strange woman staggering about,
and were watching me with concern. So although I left sooner than I'd
intended so that the workmen could get on with their work, I nearly changed
my mind when Basil told me the same thing. "Don't teach your grandmother
to suck eggs.' was my angry reaction. But I tried to stay away, (see
my blog, 'www.travelsandjazz.co.uk') going horse-riding, walking about
(not too much or too often because of the heat, and my fair skin) and
going to restaurants and any jazz I could find.
I liked the Brisbane
Jazz Club, it had a fantastic setting by the river, it used be a boat
shed and its sloping floor appealed to the streak of eccentricity in
me. (they had demonstrations of terrific swing dancing there, which must
have been interesting on the sloping floor). While I was away from the
club, there was nearly a strike, or a murder! One day the workmen approached
JR-san and said that no-one would do any more work unless Basil left
the building, and that if he didn't, they would throw him over the balcony!
The opening night was postponed twice but finally everything was finished.
The opening night was the beginning of the end for Basil, (although I
did not realise it at the time). This so-called marketing expert, who
had been worrying about the quantity of press invited for weeks before-hand,
had not asked them! (I should have realized that they had never been
invited, with 2 postponements.) So there we were, with this fabulous
club, Bob Barnard, one of Australia's best-known musicians up for the
opening night, and practically no-one knew it.! And for the next six
months, while Basil remained the manager it continued much like that.
People who came found it wonderful, but news had not got out to the general
public. We were making a loss of about Aus$40,000 per month! By that
time my husband was supporting me financially, as all my savings had
gone. Every three months, because of the immigration laws, I had to leave
the country, which seems a bit unfair now, after all the money I've paid
to Australian businesses and jobs I've provided. This gave me the excuse
to go on visiting jazz festivals, although I realize now that I should
not have made my absences so long.
I was back in Britain, with a full
programme of jazz festivals to attend, when my husband, who is an extremely
experienced business manager, said that I had to return to Australia
and try and get a proper business plan out of Basil, and to replace him
as manager. I failed on both counts, Basil talked and I procrastinated,
he said the poor figures were commensurate with the winter months in
the hospitality business everyone, even people back in the UK, were telling
me that.
One of the good things Basil did was back in July when he had
hired an extremely able, efficient and organised PA. She finally got
fed up of not being given a set of keys, so that she had to hang around
outside the front door until Basil arrived. She was able to send my husband
reports, but unfortunately she left in August just after I arrived. She
had finally got fed up of her working conditions. One evening the dishwasher
did not turn up, and this, together with the poor working conditions,
culminated in the cook walking out after a heated exchange of words with
Basil, who, determined to have the last word, went running after him
to tell him that he was being fired!
Afer hiring a temporary chef, one
came who seemed like the answer to our prayers. 'Superman' certainly
knew how to cook, making some delicious dishes, including his own ice-cream
and bread –warm chocolate bread, straight out of the oven, with
melting butter – mmmm! He did not get on well with Basil, strongly
resenting his over-interference - he often used to threaten him with
the meat cleaver. He also had quite a strong personality, liked coming
to the bar and chatting to the customers, and was 'vague' about his past,
which seemed to have been eventful, working in Europe and Melbourne,
he was trying to stay one jump ahead of the wife support system.
He had
supposedly had an affair with Superwoman, the extremely capable head
waitress and unfortunately had a very crude way of speaking to the other
waitresses, (and I think may have helped the departure of 2 or 3). He
soon recruited an assistant chef, a pleasant, placid and dependable young
man. There was nearly always a problem with the air-conditioning. There
was none at all in the kitchen, which had a corrugated iron roof so it
got extremely hot. The body corporate was adamant that there was no timer
in place, yet at the weekend, when all the office workers had gone – so
had the air-con! JR-san contacted the firm, who spent ages crawling around
in the roof-space trying to locate the fault getting dirty, dust and
hot – to no avail. We
finally installed a split system in the skylight room, but in retrospect
we should have closed the skylight room and installed the air- con in
the restaurant.
I went to the USA for some jazz, and while I as there
a sixth sense told me that I should go back. So I did, to be met by the
assistant manager who informed me that 3 of the key members of staff
had said they would leave unless Basil resigned. So I had no option but
to fire him. and by 6th. December Basil had gone. Atfer that the jazz
club finally began to be fun.
In the first week after Basil had left
we heard 2 really funny stories. One had happened 7 or 8 months previously,
when renovation work had been going on. A skip was parked at the back
for the rubbish. One day Basil had found a plastic bag full of hair cuttings
and so had stalked round to the nearby hairdresser's, demanded to see
the manager and, producing the evidence, sternly requested that they
refrain from using HIS skip for THEIR rubbish. (at the same time as losing
prospective customers and their goodwill).
We also were told that the
media were on the point of blacklisting the club. When they heard that
Basil had left the director suggested that they celebrate by opening
a bottle of champagne!
We immediately re-hired two of the staff, one
of whom, Superwoman, was with us to the end and proved invaluable. In
one of my many absences Basil had hired an IT manager. He was hampered
by a lack of funds, we had never really recovered from that bad start.
But he managed to do really well, and in the traditionally low period
of the hospitality trade, (after Christmas) our takings went up by $2,000
per week for the first six weeks of the year.
The IT manager, Baby Blue,
got our venue into all the free gig publications, as well as several
of the more prestigious newspapers and magazines. We slowly began to
get our name known, but we never recovered from missing that press evening/media
launch at the opening. But between Baby Blue and JR-san we were definitely
beginning to do better. JR-san worked very hard and did have some brilliant
ideas – like moving the dining area downstairs. This not only made
it much easier for the wait staff, but people began to come for the dining
experience alone - with a small group or duo or trio playing it was very
enjoyable. Both JR-san and Superwoman, were extremely hard-working and
capable. He was responsible for moving her into the office, where she
took over the role of functions manager. Because they spent so much time
together, and were both eager to see the club succeed, he almost had
an affair with her, which led to the break-up of his long-standing relationship,
which was a real tragedy. Superman said quite emphatically and repeatedly
that he would not leave, then suddenly he gave us a week's notice.
Luckily
Superwoman came up with a marvel, who had lots of brilliant points. He
was very enthusiastic about everything, be it presentation, flavours,
odours - he had one marvellous trick. just before people would arrive
for their evening meal, he would wander round the dining-room waving
a frying pan of rosemary and garlic, to whet their appetite! His Moroccan
chicken and apricot medallions were tasty! Unfortunately he drank to
excess (not on the job), and would get had up for speeding. He was an
accomplished musician, and quite often, when his cooking duties were
finished, would join in with the band, either on saxophone or flute.
He overlapped with a talented waitress who also played the flute marvellously
- in fact, I had seen her play at the Brisbane Jazz Club before she even
joined our staff. She was also an accomplished singer, with a very pleasant
voice. I remember in particular one Sunday afternoon, when both Samsax
and Happy joined in with the Jazz Generation Trio, improvising and imitating
each other brilliantly. The joy of that afternoon is what I always wanted
for Maggie Blacks.
Several people left without giving us notice. Funny
phenomenon, in the hospitality business, the lower in rank that people
are, the more concerned they are about being reliable workers. But we
had one chef, one cook and two night-managers who left without notice,
or very little. We also had a chef and a night-manager who were prone
to drink - and the manager was caught for speeding! The worst thing was
that all these people who left had all sworn to me that they would not
leave and they loved working here. And then bang!
I would like to pay
tribute here to one particular class of people, the dishwashers. Of course
more and more businesses are getting dishwashing machines, although we
did have one, the kitchen was too small to fit a large enough one, (even
if we could have afforded it). Ab stayed a long time, and when he left
a group of Nepalese helped us enormously.
That summer, 2007, we let the
room out to a group of salsa dancers; lovely nubile smooth-skinned young
girls with fishnet stockings, flounces and plumed head-dresses. The evening
went well, but we never had any repeat requests. In Feb.2007 the building
was put up for sale. Over a million dollars! I put in a bid, but it was
too low. So the building was sold. However, the new landlord did not
take over till Dec, and as the club was doing better we did not make
any provisions, and it was 'out of a cloudless 7 sky' that we received
an e-mail giving us options.
At first we thought we could stay on one
level, but that would mean stopping our business for seven or eight months
while construction was carried out, which was not on. So we thought we
would have to leave, and there were various surveyors etc. coming round
the building at different times, which was all unsettling. So I came
out of it having to pay over $34,000 for breaking the lease (which the
landlord himself had hastened.) In hindsight, we reacted too quickly
to things.
Also, Christmas was a bad time to close, one never gets much
in auctions and closing down sales, so we decided to sell privately,
but people only bought drips and drabs and we ended up selling things
even cheaper to get rid of them - then someone called Lucky? bought everything..
the trouble was, he didn't pay! I am still waiting. |
