Variety (Dec 1942)

Wednesday* December 16, 1942 38 Gas Rationing Restricts Pitt Tooters, CnttHig Off Lucrative Suburban Jobs Pittsburgh, Dec. 19. No out-of-town jobs at all for the holiday season are being accepted by Local 60 of musicians union on ac- count of the gas problem. Suburban dates have long been a source of heavy revenue for the music fra- ternity during Christmas and New Year's, but any calls beyond the limits of Allegheny County are now being turned down flat. In addition, flocli of local orchs booked months ago for big party dates all over the district are cancelling right and left because of their inability to get extra rations. Although Local 60 has made an effort to land B cards at least under a blanket arrangement for its mem- bers, union so far has met with little success. Individual applications have been received with no consistency from the ration boards, some having granted B's, while others flatly nix such requests. Men on steady jobs in many cases have- been forced to take up temporary residence in rooms near their places of employ- ment Inasmuch as the late hours the musicians generally work make use of public conveyances out of the ..Qiiestion. Spot job situation is practically impossible, too, especially for drum- mers, buU-flddlers and others with large instruments, since they can't use the busses or trolleys because of recent overcrowding. As a result, spots where occasional dance music is used, generally on weekends, are getting flat refusals now on calls to the union. Although Local 60 has more than 250 members in the armed service, there are plenty of men left and officers see an unemployment situation as a result of the transpor- tation problem about which they can do nothing unless boards grow a little more lenient. Flock of members who work in de- fense plants by day and in orches- tras at night are also having their gas troubles, since rationers are tightening up on them, too, claiming they're not using their extra gas strictly for war purposes. Ditto In MUwankee. Milwaukee, Dec. 15. Stephen Swedish orch. which has been in demand throughout Wiscon- sin for several years, played a Sun- day night date in Kenosha, then an- nounced that all further out of town appearances were ofF for the, dura- tion due to the transportation situ- ation. Band now flnds Itself able to keep booked solid right here in the city, due to the fact that there are fewer visiting orchs., and also due to the fact that out of 1,400 mentbers of Milwaukee musicians' Local 8, 350 are now in the nation's armed forces. What few visiting bands do come here now are generally short of men and rely upon the local union to supply flil-ins. In some cases this has not been possible, particularly in brasses, as there simply are no men to be had. Trayeling Bands Retnni Minneapolis, Dec. 15. After a brief interruption due to cancellation of Jack LeMaire, Happy Hour here resumes its traveling band policy Dec. 23, when Fletcher Henderson comes in for a three- week return engagement. Following Henderson, Freddie Fisher's 'Schnickelfritz' outfit comes back Jan. 20 for six weeks. Lanny Mclntyre is spotted to foUow, and then Tiny Hill. Gov't Gets Right To Carry AJJW. Case to Sup. CL Chicago, Dec. 15. -Judfee-Jofnrl Barnes, of (he U. S. District Court here, who dismissed the Government's anti-trust suit against James C. Petrillo and his American Federation of Musicians two months ago, granted the Gov- ernment an appeal last week and the case will be routed directly to the U. S. Supreme Court and probably be heard sometime next spring. The petition of appeal, filed by Thurman Arnold, chief of the anti- trust division of the Department of Justice, and J. Albert Woll, U. S. District Attorney, claimed that Judge Barnes had erred in holding with the defendant's contention that the case was essentially a labor dis- pute. Also claimed that Judge Barnes erred in his holding that the Petrillo ban on electrical transcrip- tions in broadcasts was merely a part of union effort to maintain a ^closed shop in the industry. Arnold argued that labor disputes were specifically excluded by various acts of Congress. 'This case,' the petition said, 'raises issues of great importance since it Involves a program of action by the union, which if permitted to con- tinue, ultimately will deprive the public of the means of recreation hitherto available at small cost and will deprive the nation In wartime of important radio communications.' Wimbish Vs. Teagarden Complicated by Lawyer's Faflore to Fde Defense Jack Teagarden and his former manager, Paul Wimbish are battling before the American Federation of Musicians' trial board. Wimbish last June filed a complaint with the union claiming he holds a contract with Teagarden calling for $100 weekly and a percentage of the.net earnings of the Teagarden orchestra. He wants an accounting of the band's earnings and his split, which, he claims, he never received. AFM last week granted Wimbish's demand for an accounting, but the decision has been complicated by the fact that Teagarden never filed a de- fense in the action with the AFM. According to the leader, he gave the case to an attorney on the Coast and before the latter could prepare the papers, he was inducted by the Army. Upon being advised of the decision against him, Teagarden ex- plained things to the AFM, which now has his answer under advise- ment. About three years ago, just after Wimbish took the Teagarden band under his wing, the leader filed a petition in bankruptcy to the tune of approximately $26,000, which, at that time, was the highest of all band bankruptcies. It has since been sur- passed; —'— Wimbish took an Army physical in N. Y. Wednesday '(9) and was turned down. He is now in Florida for an operation, after which he wants to join the Air Force. New Rialto, N. a Wartinie Clkk Where Peacetime Danceteria Brodied Records, Cocktail Units and Cafe Attractions Will get Mpert analyaia from John Hammpnd, Jr. May Johnson Jack Bertell in *Show Business at War* theme of the . 37th Anniveraary Number of Tony Zimmers Ali?e Tony Zimmers, widely known tenor sax player who was reported killed in action in the Solomon Islands several months ago, is alive and well. He is a musician in a U.S. Infantry band in Panama. The soldier cited in the dispatch from the Solomons, and with whom Zimmers was confused, was Anthony Zimmers. The musician's first name is Antone. When the false reports of his death were circulated, Zimmers' family, living in Pottsville, Pa., made frantic efforts to check them, since they had received no such word officially. Band biz understood the report to be accurate, since it was first published in the American Federation of Musicians journal. Everett Hoafland and band are current at the Reforma Hotel, Mex- ico City, where they will be for the next several months. Glen Island Badly Hit on Weekdays, Nay Shut Jan. 6 Bobby Sherwood's orch closes at Glen Island Casino, New Rochelle, N. Y., Jan. 6, after which the . spot Is likely to close, at least until sum- mer. Spot has not been doing too well lately, mid-week business hav- ing fallen off sharply. Weekend biz has been okay, however. Of the three suburban name band stands in the New York area, only Frank Dalley's Meadowbrook, Cedar Grove, N. J., has stood up under gasoline and rubber restrictions. However, the Log Cabin at Armonk, like Glen Island, does business only on weekends, with midweek trade virtually nil. Joe Marsala is at Log Cabin; Charlie Spivak is at Meadowbrook, giving way tomorrow night (Thurs.) to Cab Calloway. New Rlalto Ballroom, N. Y. oa the site of the defunct Danceteria, which served dancing and chow for the one admission until a starved b.o. brought the shutters, appears to be heading for a successful run. This is one of those war'born ven> tures begun with a minimum of cash outlay. It doesn't take an experi- enced interior decorator to realize that comparatively little coin was spent to ready the spot for its de- but At 7Sc a head the dancery is draw- ing fairly good business during the week, with two unknown bands as lures, and on weekends it has been virtually capacity. As expected, and similar to thto other pubUc ballrooms along Broadway, a good-sized slice ■of the business is represented by service men, with and without es- cort. They can quaff beer only (and ice cream sodas) at a bar or at one of the half-dozen tables. Bands under Willie Farmer and Augustus Maya, latin stylist, service the approximately 50 - by - 70 - foot dance floor, which is cheaply railed all the way around. Farmer's combl* 'nation, which numbers four sax, two trumpets, one trombone, piano, bass, drums, and accordion, is a fair group that needs more weeks of playing. Maya's eight-piece outfit is okay. Charlene Francis and the young son of Tommy Morton, who runs the place, sing with Farmer. Spot has another floor upstairs which it uses only on weekends,. but it was dark on this particular evening last week. It hasn't been done over, but remains the same as in Danceteria days. Wood. Joey Beynolda has added Dave DuBarry, pianist, and replaced Eddie Meyers on trumpet with Gene Evans, former Bob Astor horn-tooter, in his band at Trelon Cafe, Pittsburgh. Arthur Bavel orch, booked into William Penn hotel, Pittsburgh, for two weeks, renewed for four more. SPITALNY GIRLS DRESS UP GOVT.'S T AWARD Phil Spitalny and his all-girl or- chestra have been bought by the Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcter, Mass., to entertain em- ployees while the Army and Navy decorates the company with an 'E' award for Its war production efforts. Affair will be held at the Worcester Auditorium tomorrow night (Thurs.). Transportation for Spitalny and his bevy of girls almost stymied the date. Band is drawing approximately $3,- 500 for the Job. Chester B'krupt, But Still Using His Assets Another meeting of Bob Chester's creditors has been scheduled for Jan. 13 In N. Y. An initial get-to- gether was conducted last Thurs- day (10), but since Chester is on the road with his band little could be a oomplished. Leader filed a pe- tition in bankruptcy last summer for approximately $60,000. One of the items reviewed at the meeting last week, and which Ches- ter will be asked to answer, is why he ,1s using his two cars on the cur- rent tour. They are supposed to be >n cpatpily. a? part of his assets. "Show Business At War" THEME OF THE 37th ANNIVERSARY NUMBER of To Be Published Late In December USUAL ADVERTISING RATES PREVAIL Special Exploitation Advantages Reservations and Copy May Be Sent to Any Variety Office NEW YORK HOUYWOOD CHICAGO LONDON 154 W. 48th St 1708 No. Vine St 54 W. Randolph St 8 St Martin's PL HnbSymph Signs Victor Deal but Won't Record Untfl PetriDo Lifts Rai Boston Symphony, which recently joined the American Federation of Musicians after years of resisting that organization, has been signed by Victor Records to a contract that doesn't become effective until after the present ban against recording is lifted. At the same time Victor's president, F<'ank Walker, signed the Boston Pops Orchestra, under Ar- thur Fiedler. Boston Symph, conducted by Serge Koussevitzky, has recorded for Victor in the past. Its first discs were released about 25 years ago^ when the outfit was conducted by Dr. Karl Muck. Koussevitzky's first discs for Victor as leader of the group were made in 1929. HUB HOTEL m OWN SAT.WGHTPROMOTER Boston, Dec. 19. Jack Teagarden's band proved • successful guinea pig for Managing Director Chauncey Depew Steele's Copley Plaza experiment of using the usually vacant main ballroom Saturday night for general dancing. Bard drew 725 at $1 cover. As a result, Steele plans to make this a regular event in addition to the Oval Room, currently featuring Morton Downey and Eddy Oliver's orchestra, while John Kirby's band is in the Colonial Room. AD did capacity biz last Saturday night (12). Instead of conducting dances In usual ballroom fashion, Steele haa tables and chairs in the ballroom for the hoofers, with resultant added business in food and liquor. Stabile in Uniform Dick Stabile entered the Coast Guard at Manhattan Beach, N. Y., Saturday (12). He has been given a Chief Petty Officer (Bandmaster) rating. Band, now miilstrped by Gracie Barrie (Mrs. Stabile), is be« ing booked now by General Amuse- ment Corp., and personally managed by Billy Burton, handler of Jimmy Etorsey. According to Miss Barrie the idea of her assuming leadership of th« outflt after Stabile's enlistment waa founded on a recent 'Variety' itory citing t^e lijcff^|ng, ieminioe IttiiifSy^ "" '" the business. '■