Inside facts of stage and screen (March 29, 1930)

PAGE TWELVE INSIDE FACTS OF STAGE AND SCREEN SATURDAY, MARCH 29, 1930 Facts 9 Echoes From Melody Land y — ■ 1 1 1 " " Hot Lic\s of Music By JACK B. TENNEY Query from a proprietor who has had fifteen years’ experience in hir- ing and firing orchestras: “Why does a band invariably go stale after six months on the same job?” It is a fair question and deserves consideration, though we must ad- mit that there are darned few or- chestras Enjoying over six months on the same job. The query is doubly interesting when this par- ticular proprietor goes on to say that he dislikes the idea of chang- ing orchestras. He is somewhat removed from the centers where musicians are starving to death, and each time that he finds it nec- essary to make a change it costs money—and lots of it. He has other reasons for not changing. He pays excellent salaries, the hours are good and the boys are usually satisfied. Still they go stale, lose their pep and become lazy. It is his guess that prosperity ruins them—that when the last car-pay- ment is made they cease to care. Fortunately, I happen to know something of this particular pro- prietor and his methods. His in- tentions are the best in the world and personally he is tolerant and genial. And his establishment is well organized in every department except on the orchestra platform. His fifteen years’ experience has taught him everything in the world about orchestras and musicians ex- cept their organization. Everyone connected with his business has a finger in the band; every manager in the house has some particular friend in the personnel of the or- chestra and every influential ac- quaintance is trying to get some musician friend a job. The result is obvious. The leader becomes a bewildered figurehead with only the extra money in the pay en- velope to console him for the title. All sense of discipline and coopera- tion is gradually lost on the or- chestra platform. What can one expect from an aggregation like that? Organization is the first essential to a successful orchestra. A cer- tain amount of discipline is para- mount. An orchestra can’t be bet- ter than its leader. If the leader is hog-tied and handcuffed by the management there will be no or- ganization, consequently no disci- pline and, in conclusion, a poor ex- cuse of an orchestra. It is sur- prising that such an orchestra would last as long as six months. In this particular case I believe the proprietor is more to blame than the leader of the orchestra. If he recognized the "band as a necessary business unit and treated his leader as a department execu- tive, he would have no reason to change every six months. The leader would see to that. There are, however, orchestras that go stale without valid excuse. These are usually loosely organ- ized aggregations, probably under- paid and overworked. And no doubt the leader is asleep on the job. * * * My old pal, Slim Martin, is at it night and day rounding up his gang for the opening at Pantages’ Hollywood Theatre. No definite date has been set for the appear- ance of Slim and his musickers, but the big event will take place around the early part of May. Slim will m. c. the stage show and in- cidentally pick up the slip-horn for an occasional solo. Here’s hoping the narrow fellow repeats the sen- sation he created on his last ap- pearance in Hollywood, when he tied up the show at Warners’ The- atre every week with one of his original trombone specialties. * * * George Fabregat and his News- boy Band (of Solomon’s Penny Dance fame) have replaced Lon- doner’s orchestra at the Orange Grove Cafe in the basement of the Hayward Hotel. George’s aggre- gation is composed of Harry How- land, violin; Joe Desso, trumpet; Tommy Fabregat, sax; Russell Cheever, sax; Eddy Ellingo, sax; Philip Fabregat, piano; Dale Cur- tis, bass; Benny Merrill, banjo, and George Fabregat, drums and di- rection. It is almost a family af- fair with all these Fabregats read- ing from left to right. * * * Charlie Deaton and his orches- tra left the Palace at Ocean Park and opened at the Swift’s Palais Ballroom in Los Angeles. * * * Pete Pontrelli and his Serenad- es followed Charlie and his gang into the Palace. It is composed of Bob Snell, Kohne Hilliard and Pete Pontrelli, reeds; Bob Steven- son, Chick Thick and Evan Tiss, brass; Don Swander, piano; Buddy Johnson, drums; Leonard Mojica, banjo, and Clarence Rand, bass. Mojica is acting as manager and Swander doubles as assistant di- rector. And Signor Pontrelli plays accordion when he isn’t directing. * * * Herbert Nixon goes to Tucson, Arizona, to take charge of the or- gan console in the new Fox The- atre there. Herb has been the fea- tured organist at the Pacific Coast Club at Long Beach for the last four years. We know the Tucson- ians will like Herb and we hope that Herb will like Tucson. * * * The A. B. W. Club at Algodones, Mexico (near Yuma), has been sans orchestra the past month. Song Leaders LOS ANGELES A blanket would cover the ten leading horses in the current week’s song race, and several others that fall very little short of making it. In addition to the ten listed below as leading in popular sales, “Lucky Me,” “Man From the South,” “Aren’t We All?”, “Wom- an In the Shoe,’ ’“Danger In Your Eyes” and “Love Parade” are bunched for consolation honors. Here is the scoreboard: 1. ‘Happy Days”—Ager, Yel- len and Bornstein. 2. “Springtime In the Rockies” —Villa Moret. 3. “Should I?”—Robbins. 4. “Romance”—Donaldson. 5. “Cryin’ For the Carolines” —Remick. 6. “With You”—Berlin. 7. “Congratulations” — DeSylva, Brown and Henderson. 8. Beside An Open Fireplace" —Santly Bros. 9. “Singing a Vagabond Song” —Santly Bros. 10. “If I’m Dreaming”—Harms. Recordings 1. “Putting On the Ritz”—Leo Leo Reisman (Victor). 2. “Vagabond King Waltz”— (Columbia). 3. “Happy Daye”—Leo Reis- man (Victor). 4. “Cryin’ For the Carolines”— (Victor). 5. “’Tain’t No Sin”—Geo. Ol- sen (Victor). 6. “Beside An Open Fireplace” —Rudy Vallee (Victor). 7. “Love Parade”—Chevalier (Victor). 7. “Lover, Come Back”—Ask- am (Victor). 9. “If I Were King”—Dennis King (Victor). 10. “Rogue Song” — Tibbetts (Victor). SAN FRANCISCO The first three song leaders re- mained the same as last week but runners-up in the list were shifted about somewhat in the current week’s market. Leaders were: 1. “Springtime in the Rockies” —Villa Moret. 2. “Should I?”—Robbins. 3. “Happy Days”—Ager, Yel- len and Bornstein. 4. “There’s Danger In Your Eyes”—Berlin. .5. “Cryin’ For the Carolines”— Remick. 6. “Kiss Me With Your Eyes” —Villa Moret. 7. “Woman In the Shoe”—'Rob- bins. 8. “Lucky Me, Lovable You”— Ager, Yellen and Bornstein. 9. “Mona” — DeSylva, Brown and Henderson. 10. “Lucky Little Devil.”—Ber- lin. S. F. Recordings 1. “Danger In Your Eyes. Cherie”—Harry Richman, Bruns- wick. 2. “With You”—All. 3. “Springtime in the Rockies”— All. 4. “Happy Days”—Johnny Mar- vin, Victor. 5. “Should I”—All. 6. “This Thing Called Love”— Leo Reisman, Victor. 7. “Crvin’ For the Carolines”— Guy Lombardo, Columbia. 8 “Man From the South”— Rube Bloom, Columbia. 9. “Talking Picture”—All. 10. “After You’ve Gone”—Paul Whiteman, Columbia. IN SWEETEN BAND SEATTLE, March 27. — Owen Sweeten has completed the per- sonnel of his band at the Fox Theatre as follows: Arthur Kloth, Larry Smaltz. violin, trumpet ajid mellophone; Whitney Tustin, vio- lin, oboe and English horn: Irv Antes, piano; George Shelton, Clarence Cumins, William Arndt and Angelo Recchia, clarinets and saxes; Billy Ulman, banjo and fea- tured vocals; Billy Stewart and Kenny Ayres, trumpets; Gale Claggett and Bud Jenkins, trom- bones; Frank Don, bass, and Ray Watkins, drums and tympani. LU OUDEEN SEATTLE, March 27.—Lu Ou- deen, for several years with the Remick Song Shops here and in Portland, and now buyer of the sheet music department in the S. H. Kress store here, is currently confined to her home with a slight illness. SUCCESS TO FRED WARING AND HIS PENNSYLVANIANS ON THEIR OPENING AT MASON THEATRE. ANOTHER CLASS ORCHESTRA ADDED TO THE LOS ANGELES ROSTER OWEN FALLON AND HIS CALIFORNIANS NOW IN SECOND YEAR AT WILSON’S BALLROOM (Formerly Cinderella Roof) LOS ANGELES, CALIF. TO BE AT ARLINGTON CHICAGO, March 27. — Don Bestor and his orchestra, which has just finished a successful four weeks’ engagement at the Muehle- bach Hotel, Kansis City, will be featured at the Arlington Hotel, Hot Springs, broadcasting over Station KTRS daily before re- turning to Pittsburgh. The M. C. A. is handling the bookings. 19-yiIouifi GETS M, C. BERTH SAN JOSE, March 27.—A 19- year-old lad will get his first big break when Art Miller, manager for Fox West Coast Theatres here, shoves Eph Engleman into the master-of-ceremonies berth at the Fox California this week. Engle- man, who has been drummer in the house orchestra, succeeds Dave Good as m. c. Engleman first put his finger into the m. c. pie when Jay Brower headed the stage shows here and under the latter’s tutelage he has built himself up to where Fox officials gave him the job. House plays Fanchon and Marco “Ideas” half the week and a stage show built by Peggy O’Neill for the latter half. LONG DISTANCE ORDER SEATTLE. March 27.—The S. L. Cross Music Corporation was this week in receipt of an order, accompanied by bank draft, for 200 copies of the firm’s current number, “Rock-a-Bye to Sleep in Dixie” from a music store in Japan. This is believed to be a record for distance and distribu- tion for local publishers. The music was shipped to Yokohama. SNYDER IN S. F. SAN FRANCISCO, March 27.— Ted Snyder and Mort Harris were here from Los Angeles conferring with Ed Little of Sherman, Clay and Co. on some of the pair’s new tunes which the local pub- lishers will put out. NEW MANAOIS TUNE Joe Manaois is backing his new- est number, “Am I the Only One for You?” as a sure winner. He reports response to date ft 01 ) 1 radio broadcasts has shown it is set to catch popular fancy on a big scale. MUSICIANS MOVE TO EDUCATE PUBLIC VANCOUVER, March 27.— Totally unexpected by the mu- sicians, the Capitol Theatre posted notice on its band. This means 17 more capable flesh-and-blood per- formers thrown out of employment by canned music. Teddy Jamieson, former leader at the Orpheum and house leader at the Capitol, is the only mu- sician of the 18 in the Capitolians who will not be unemployed. He goes back to the Orpheum, replac- ing E. Toveys on tympani. Business at the Capitol has been averaging up well, and the pres- ent move is due to the fact that the Strand has been able to dis- pense with F. and M. “Ideas,” then its band, and still pull in big business with an overhead of about $4500 per week chopped off. A year ago in Vancouver there were about 100 musicians with per- manent engagements, today there are 27. The R-K-O Orpheum uses 11 of them, three at the Empress, ten make up the Vancouver Hotel dance band and the remaining three are in the hotel concert trio. Local No. 145 has appointed a special committee to work on the unemployment situation. The ex- ecutive board has been empowered to grant generous privileges to orchestras and leaders who may desire to promote concerts on a cooperative basis, for the purpose of providing the public with liv- ing examples of music against which to compare the “canned” variety now epidemic. A 40-piece band is being organ- ized to broadcast a series of week- ly radio concerts, preceded by an announcer who will explain the musicians’ position and request support for their battle against the “talkies.” It is rumored that Ben Bernie will open at the Montmartre Cafe, Hollywood, following Gus Arnheim. HAROLD HOWARD AND HIS ORCHESTRA B.B.B. CELLAR CAFE Hollywood, Calif. AL BURGESS Welcome* EDDY VAN to the Office of ROBBINS MUSIC CORPORATION As PROFESSIONAL MANAGER GLEN BUCEY And His POM POM HI HATTERS With Ellis “Red” Thompson, sax; Jimmy Balderas, piano; Leo Hagan, trumpet; William Alexander, hanjo and guitar; Russell Harrison, trombone, and Jean James, piano. Pom Pom Night Club, Hollywood Indefinite WILL PRIOR CONDUCTOR NEW STATE THEATRE. SYDNEY. AUSTRALIA TED HENKEL MUSICAL PRESENTATION CONDUCTOR and DIRECTOR CIVIC THEATRE Auckland, New Zealand Pit Orchestra of 30 - : - Stage Band of 20