| |
It
was this frustration that acted as catalyst for
local guerrilla artists, JaGoFF to
take to the streets. "We felt as
though nobody was speaking for the indie artist
not to mention the fact that it would open up
far too many gray areas that
could easily be exploited. One only needs
look as far as the entertainment industries to
see where the potential for abuse
and misuse lays," says JaGoFF's
Sir Real. "This ordinance is a threat
to the creative communities throughout the country
and sets a very dangerous precedent
- as one city goes, so goes the rest."
What
began as the simple act of handing out flyers
and hanging posters, morphed into a full-blown
documentary. "The beautiful thing about summertime
in Chicago is that millions of folks flock to
the festivals, so where to hit was a no-brainer.
What did catch us off guard were the incredibly
passionate responses that we were getting from
the street. Everybody knew about it. That’s
when we decided to start recording people."
Sir Real explained. "It's amazing
what you can accomplish with a copy machine, a
roll of tape, and a digital camera."
The
irony in all of this is that prior to the ordinance,
JaGoFF was working with the former Dean
of Chicago-Kent College of Law, Henry
H. Perritt, Jr. on a task force,
studying the effects of globalization on Chicago's
independent artist community. "Basically
we were trying to figure out ways in which to
promote Chicago’s music assets in an effort
to prevent our talent from moving to other more
welcoming cities," JaGoFF's Trenchdigger
explains. "When this ordinance resurfaced
we were in shock, as it was in total opposition
of what the city was trying to accomplish
with the study. That’s when we realized
we had to do something. We started a campaign
on the social networks, message boards and our
site and immediately contacted Henry"
Henry
responded to the proposed ordinance by writing
a white paper entitled, "Why
the Event Promoters Ordinance should be rejected",
which found the proposed law to be unconstitutional
in the fact that it seeks to regulate
speech over-broadly, which is a clear violation
of the First Amendment. "Hank's
paper was the key," says Trenchdigger, "it
ultimately was the foundation on which we based
the documentary."
Chicago-based
artist advocates, TheRecordIndustry.com stepped
up to the plate for the effort and offered a platform
in which to launch the film along with the usual
in-depth DIY resources that the site is known
for. Founder, John E. Showbiz: "You have
to notify police seven days prior to event! I
mean, what’s the city going to do?
Take more police off of the streets to answer
the party line? The whole thing is just
garbage.”Look, we were
founded on artist rights issues, so when something
as ridiculous as this is happening in your own
backyard, you have to do something.
If you don’t, you’re done for.”
John finishes, "Chicago is the home of jazz,
blues, gospel, soul, house - so on and so on ...
I think the culture of this city deserves far
more respect than this."
For more info:
TheRecordIndustry.com
or contact:
JaGoFF:
JaGoFF@TheRecordIndustry.com
John
E. Showbiz
JohnEShowbiz@TheRecordIndustry.com
|
