Variety (December 1925)

t;-/ VARIETY MUSIC Wednesday, December 16, 1925 \:y ) BALLROOM REVIEWS Variety will review ballrooma hereafter, In the manner of the reviews below. They will bo ruvicwed in many cities, whoro correspondents of BtalT men of Variety may visit a ballroom. These reviews are not aimed to be critical; rather Informative, for those Interested in the ballroom busincsis. Uevifwors, however, may note matters for invlsive commonL They also will lend their show Inislness experience and knowledge as occasion arises. No order of precedence will be observed in the reviewing of ballrooms. Unless requested by the management, ballrooms will be taken In turn at the convenience of ihe reviewer. Upon request for a review, that ball- room will be given a preference. Iteviows of jallrooms euch as below have never been previously pub- lished In any theatrlca. paper. BAND LEADER'S PAID PUBUCin GUYON'S PARADISE ARCADIA, CHICAGO BHilruoin at Cian^orJ anJ Wa.sli.ngion. Capacity, 4,.iiK> n.iv<o..«. Aum.-H.^io.i b^uIo, 70c.-91. Louis IhiiIix Orchesira il-J. Chicago, Dec. 4. J. Louis Guyon lias inauu a tor- tune in tiie lust lu years lU li.s b.i.i- ruom. it has uecn reouili, rcta»n.iii; only the building shell of llie uaniijr Parauihe. 'llie iioor no»v nieusjie.; 250 by 88 feet, maiiing it easlfy the biggest dance suriace in ChiCago. 'iho new Paradise is bpamsii in design, with the diffused l.ght sys- tem on the ceiling for a blue-SAy efiect. A promenade balcony rund around the floof, with a refractory at one end. To insure against imperfections in the acoustics on account of the im- mensity of the room, a wire mesh celling has been hung. This was devised by Mr. Guyon himself. A wooden ceiling surmounts the mesh, and the combination is 100 per cent effective. The manager, Edward Don Levy, long connected with Trianon and numerous other ballrooms, has also done a little inventing on his own, having perfected a system for han- dling wardrobe. Ballroom influence The rebuilding of Paradise cost half a million, not counting the nick In receipts while the place was closed for reconstruction. This gives an idea of the impor- tance of ballrooms in Chicago, ■and particularly of Guyon's Paradise, which has had a pronounced Influ- ence • on the development of the neighborhood around Crawford and Washington boulevard. Cooney Bros, have started work on a mam- mouth movie palace, and Balaban & Katz may project a house for next year for .the same locality. "Mr. Guyon, fUr from fearing the opposition, sold the site to the Cooneys for a theatre. Paradise always has been the most conservative ballroom In Chi- cago. For a long while only the waltz and two-step were allowed. While the fox-trot and one-step are now okay, the "Charleston" does not flourish here. The clientele Is prob- a*ily somewhat older than at most of the baUrooms, but In K^nernl the dancers are on the lean side of 30. No Freak Stuff The Guyon formula does not In- clude any of the freak publicity stunts, specialty nights, novoltles, prizes, raffl'»s. etc. f)cca«ilonnlly n team of profos.^lonal dancers Is brought In to give an exhibition. t)Ut this is selrlom. Newspaper and ele- vated platform posters nre the prin- cipal forms of Paradise piiblicMtv H. P. .''os'vn h.Tnd'«^>< th" nre«iR end Big Drawinq Population The nearest ballroom to Paradise Is the Wltrvvam. whlnh has been un- der a serlf^s of m:in!i"pnirnts and has never really clicked. Th" we«« side ha-^ a drawlnsj ponu'iitlon of about 6'*0.000. Parndise is known to tan territory as far away ns five miles. Paradise Is. In fact, a gold mine. Louis Panlco has the orohestm. He is the famous rornetl.st. with Isham .Tones for so lonsr nt College Inn. His bnnd Is a good one. gen- erating a service "brand of donee music—penpy but not hot<»v-totsv according to the policy of the Insti- tution. The acoustics mnke th" muale c''»'\r and dlotlnct trnm nl' ang'es. T^e lnstnimenta»lr>n l« con- ventlonnl for n ll-man comMnnt'on Panlco hns ftd1u<»t<»d h'nioolf nlf'^'v to the hallroo"! Idea, whlr-h is ''"f- ferent from the cafe angle. The loner Intermissions common In rn'oa woi'ld ruin bus'noss In a nn'illr ballroom, where diinclncr 's a sr>rln'i« paatlme—not Inst one item of the evening, ns In a cafo. BaUroum. liroudiv.ty aii'l WILun avc.iuc Catjadiy. 'J,000 [Kr^tt'ii:^. kh:.i.c o. ^<illl.^olun, .,>-i.<c. 1 r.e S.iioli.lT Uri'liLH.ra, lt> p.ecus; <.ba3. ClearJ Orcl>e.s:ra, lu pi cos. Mai Hallett's Advertising —Other Boston News News The Weymann Orchestra Banjo When you tmy a Wcymiinn Ilanio you are gettinR ttie worl(l'» belt — an InHtrumonl tvery- where prpforred by proreeslonala Write for Tata- losuo No. 56. Pept. V WEYMANN & SON not Chretn'at Ht^ rhllailrlpliln. Pa. Chicago, Dec. 5. Arcadia is somc>vii:u of a back nuiiiUer uinung t.ie smart bauruonis uhich ha\e sii/ung up in c'tiicago with.n llij last tow yea.s. No eUurt seems to liave been made to keep up with the times. It is ari'hiiec- turally unpretcntloiis, a handicap in competing wIlIi such palatial ball- rooms as Trianon, Marigold, Para- d.se, etc. While In easy propinquity to the Gold Plate district around •Wilson avenue and Sheridan road, Arcadia draws only a -limited attendance these days. Perhaps the amusement opposition of the theatres is excep- tionaliy keen, since the Uptown (pictures) opened but a few blocks away and the Riviera went over to the Orpheum circuit. Most baM- room men claim that theatres are not really opposition, as the crowds which go to the different amuse- ment institutions are quite unlike. Theatre men do not wholly agree wi.h this opinion. Two mediocre bands alternate continuously and supply a poor sort ef dance music. One is labeled' "warm" and the other "hot." The latter smokes a little, but never, burns. Sheiks and Shebas The patronage seems to be exclu- sively "sheiks" and "shetas," with the girls coming alone for 35c. and the stag boys for 73c. If they like one another's looks they mingle. Popularity here la based on the ability to twinkle an eccentric toe. Much of the dancing Is individual- istic, done In the corners where the stag line converge with the young frails. When the individual dance style pleases one of the opposite sex a team Is formed, and they venture out on the main floor. Everybody seems intent upon drawing the limelight In their direction. Fash- ions In stepping are exceedingly versatile and varied. In spite of the tremendous labor put Into the dancing, no one seems to grow thirsty; the soft drink con- cession Is dying on its legs. The boys and girls hit the floor around eight and stick until the last note of the last number. While i^rcadla goes In for "barn" dances and Bperlal nights of that description, they do not employ out- side entertainment. The reason Is that the boys and girls would prob- ably regard a team of profosslonal dancers with dl^-daln. And at that veryvfew professionals could Imitate some of the dnncing pulled by the Arcadia amateurs. Boston, Dec. 15. Mai Hallett left here Saturday night bound for Broadway and the Arcadia ballroom, after a most successful season touring New l^ngland. He closed at Crescent Gardens, Revere, Mass., with the biggest burst of newspaper adver- tising that any band has received here; all paid slufT, with Hallett paying the greater part of it himself. Hallett has the right idea as re- gards aJvertislng. $600 per week having been his regular weekly payment for display In the dailies, and the results more than Justified his expenditures. It's a question If any other band In the section which can outdraw him In the pub- lic balirooms at present. The Memphis Five Is here for a week at the Avalon bal'.room and rates as a real drawing card in Boston. They asked $250 per night their last appearance here, but it's not known if they're receiving as much on this solid week's booking. It's a very high figure for Boston. A great many small bands are around town, with little known about any of them. How any of the halls hope to build up through the con- stant use of unknowns is a mys- tery. It would seem logical to build up a "name" and cling to It. but the idea seems to be to get any band at the lowest possible figure. The Club Argonauta, night club, which broke onto the front pages of the dallies when it opened up here on a deserted wharf on At- lantic avenue, and which is spon- sored by L. C. Prior, manager of the Hotel Brunswick, has a Leo Uelsman band. Luceyenne Herval of the "Student Prince" company got herself son>e good publicity last week through an "interview" with a Boston dally in which she called cond)tIons at the Argonauta "worse than anything In Paris." The Argo- naut was not named In the story, but everything was so cued that a reader with any sort of inside In- formation could easily place It. The story ran front page, with a two-column cut of Miss Herval. The Argonauta. by the way, is running a Sunday night cabaret and getting away with, chiefly because the Mayor's hands are tied as far as investigating it goes. It is the only approach Boston has to the real night clubs of New York. Cinderella, Chicago Chicago, Dec. 3. Hallroom at Madison and Central. Ca- pacity, li.lXIO pct.ions. Sr.alft of adm aslon, ri(><--7,'^c : Tr.c.-Jt.'JS. Beattle llurmoiiy lvin«t (12) (Urctiestra). An hour's ride direct west of the loop brings you' to this ballroom, spotted in the heart of the residen- tial district known as Austin. Two years old. Cindcrcllu is one of the largest ground floor ballrooms in the city. It operates nightly except Monday, the regular off night In ballrooms, and Wednesday, usually a rental affair. Friday nights and Sunday mat- inees, the crowd Is almost strictly collegiate, with the rising genera- tion garbed in Oxford bags and the other distinctive attire of the rah- rahs. On ordinary nights the step- pers are recruited from less pic- turesque groups, the collegiate gang being home preparing lessons. .loiias I'er berg manages Cinder- ella. HU efforts are not confined to Austin. He is perhaps the most nctlve promoter of "Charleston" contestH nnd exhibitions in town. It Is ft dull night for Mr Perlberg wlien, after doing hia sliiff at Cin- derella, he doesn't go to the other end of Chio.'igo to odlciate as Judge. m.'iHler of riTt-monlea or something. He 1.1 constantly, on Ihe move and Is f>ne of the best customers of the Yellow t.TXlr.ib. Doesn't Plufl Stunts .lonas uses some special stunts but does not plug this angle to the extent It Is plugged el.'iewhere. On the night Cinderella w.-is looked over, he was staging drat a "Charleston" nnd then a waits con- test, with Ihe caph prizes going to the couple in each 9a8e brlngfng the MAX B. MABKS' VACATION Max B. Marks, for over a genera- tion heading the business depart- ment of his brother's firm, the Ed- ward B. Marks Music Co., has left for an extended vacation trip through South America. The music executive, who In his 30 years with the Marks firm paid out over $3,000,000 In royalties is taking the trip to celebrate his 25th wedding anniversary. most popular applause from the side-lines. It was an observable fact that the youngsters applauded with zeal and determination for a middle-aged couple who entered the waltz contest. This team from an earlier generation accordingly won. Cinderella is happily situated so far as cpposition of any sort is con- cerned. It has almost none; no big theatres or other ballroom with- in a radius of a mile. The music Is dispensed by the Seattle Harmony Kings and this band Is dance perfect. Plenty of heat and pep but none of the raucous blare of the tlnpanny out- fits. In fact, the Seattle Harmony Kings are okay for much more Im- portant show places. Patrons on Honor An Interesting fact about this ballroom is that it employs no hoiincers or floor men. Perlberg puts the patrons on their honor and he slates he has almost no trouble. When It does become necessary to slow up some oxer-exuberant youth, ne Is quietly drawn aside after the dance and not on the floor. Then he l.s cautioned to either be more conservative or to leave. Cinderella is probably a moderate winner, making money for all con- cerned without grossing sensa- tionally. . ,, , . „ .,_ ... Ted Lewis 1 Week At Strand, New York Ted Lewis and his band, from the Parody Club, open Sunday at the Strand, New York, for one week's engagement. The booi:lng was consummated by Joe I'lunkett through the William Morris olllce. Lewis will have 10 men on the stage. Including himself, along with Bobby Arnat as a feminine accom- panist. The Strand has twice played Lo- pez and his unit so far this fall with tho Cosa Lcpez aggregation scheduled to appear one week at tills picture house about i very four or live weeks for the ronialiider of tho season. Tho boo:dng of Lewis Is appar- ently to bolster business iluring the pre-Chrlslmas siiimp, Lopez having played there but two weeks ago. Copyright Dropped OfF With Music Last Year Washington, Dec. 15. A total of •!,477 dramas, listed ns "Dramatic or dramatic-musical compositions"; 8,701 picture plays, 699 picturef^ nnd 3C,S62 pieces of music were deposited with the Reg- ister of Copyright during the last fiscal year, according to the annual report of Thorvald Solberg. With the exception of tiie musical compositions. Increases are noted by Mr. ^Iberg In all of the above. Music dropped from 37,950 to 36,862. Frank Tours Supervising Picture House Music Frank Tours, musical comedy orchestra leader, Is returning to England under contract for three years as supervising musical direc- tor for Famous Players new picture, due soon to open In London. Tours is rated the highest sal- aried leader In his field here. He sailed last Saturday with his wife (American) and their children. Bands for Florida Harry Rosenthal and his orches- tra open Dec. 17 at the Royal Da- nell Hotel, Palm Beach. Marlon and Randall also open there as fea- tured dancers. Eddie Peabody and hia band of 10 open at the Casino, Miami, the end of the month. Peabody is an exclusive Banner' recording artist and also solo recocder with Jazz fiddle and vloUn numbers. Peabody has played picture houses and will return to the west coast after the Florida engagement, on a picture house tour. Roger Wolfe Kahn is another slated for Florida at the Biltmore. Miami, during February. Kahn's sub-unit, the DeauvlUe Dozen, will deputize, at the New York Biltmore In his absence. Musicians 50% Idle Chicago, Dec. 15. The Chicago local of the A. F. of M. in a recent check up on member- ship and those holding transfer cards showed that there are 6.300 members attached to the .ocal. The total number of musicians engaged at present Is estimated to be Just a trifle of 3.000. with half of the membership unemplojed. A vast number of organists are In- cluded In this group. MILLER'S DEFAULT JUDGMENT Ray Miller gave a note for $1,235 to Joseph M. Ordens Jan. 20, 1923, and was served Nov. 23, 1925, In a suit to recover About this time Miller wa.-y called to the HoteJ Ad- dison. Detroit, which may account for Judgment for that amount being filed against him by default. Miller Is slated to leave the Addi- son soon on a tour with Ted Lewis following him -In. Miller Is still a Brunswick recording artist, all re- ports to the contrary notwithstand- ing. Miller holding a contract for another year with the Brunswick. jnonE JOY'S COLLEOUTES San Antonio, Dec. 16. Jimmie Joy's orchestra at the S;t. Anthony hotel here Is another col- legiate outfit, having been In ex- istence five years and dating back to the University of Texas where It was founded. Thfir hotel engagement at the St. Anthony Is in its 86ih week. The liaiid Is an exclusive Okeh re- corder and broadcaata regularly from WOAL ,, ( ■, ; ,t: . ORCHESTRATION ROYALH PAID BY LEO FEIST Takes Lead in Full Con«» si deration of Writers^ Pays Same as for Sheet That the music business can be operated In a c:oan-cut, hgiiimate fashion, with full consider.!Hon for all concerned, is evidenced by the new Leo Fel.'^t. Inc. ruMng nnent ad- ditlonnl royal '.s to be paid so:s- writers on the sales of orchestra- tlona. E. P. Bltner has formally notified all Fclst writers that bo-hinlng Jan. 2. 19:6, a royalty will be paid on orchestrations sold although or. chestratlons given away gratl.i for exploitation purposes are non- royalty payable. Tho same rale of royalty as governs tho sale o( sheet music will be paid the au- thors. Considering that thousands of amateur musicians and many pro- fessionals buy their orchestrations slnie, under a recent M. P. P. A. rul- ing only certain "blue list" orches- tra leaders receive new issues gratia In reciprocation for their exploita- tion, the income from the sale of printed arrangements Is quite si.:e- able. The Feist firm feels that the writers are entitled to remuneration for their creation similar to the sale of the sheet music and particuiarly where an Instrumental number Is concerned, such as "The Vamp." "Dardanella," etc., where the sheet music might not be particularly ap- pealing. It would make up to the au- thors for their efforts. Other Writers^ Hope It has remained for a firm llks Feist to show Us contemporaries the way, and It Is hoped by other writers that the other publishers will similarly make provision for royalty compen-satlon on orchestra- tions. Feist today Is the only "popular^ house paying 3c. sheet music royalty as against the others' 2c. per copy except for established hit writers. Feist also Inaugurated the holiday bonus system for its employes with the result an unusual esprit de corps obtainj In the Feist organization. Writers receive no royalty on dance folios. These folios contain a dozen or so hit numbers bound in book form, retailing at 50c. The songs are the latest hits but minus the lyrics. The folios cut in on the sales of tho regular sheet muslo since the words become easily fami- liar apd are not needed. For 50o. one gets 10 or 12 hit numbers with- out words. For the same amount, two songs with lyrics can be bought in sheet music form. More Orchestral Schools ^ What Is considered a big boon to Individual musicians throughout the country and especially thoss "breaking In" Is the orchestral school. In the midwest, orchestral schools are quite popular and more are cropping up In the east. One of the last schools tobs formed Is that by the Cleveland Institute of Music, which will have th& principal members of the Cleve- land orchestra as Its teachers. The schools will naturally turn more musicians Into the profes- sional channels but the Interest li such where the schools are oper- ated that the results are considered well worth the effort by those re- sponsible. Lentz in Philly Restaurant Al Lentz and That Band close Dec. 20 at the Melody Club, New York, nnd open three days later at the I'Iccadilly restaurant. Phila- delphia. The picture house tour has been deferred until later* in the winter. Fhe Human Broadcasting Station BBiB AT HTATION F.l'.N. LITTLE CLUB Nmr fiRi.BANH