Will the REAL Article Please Show Up?

Recently I wrote an article for a local publication which shall remain nameless. Due to what I would like to call 'editorial fascism,' my article was almost completely altered, rendering it virtually unreadable. For those of you who look to that paper to see what I write, you will find only a semblance of my original production in this week's edition. Since this is my blog, I have included the original version below. Enjoy...

You’ve heard of the Grand Ole Opry.

You’ve heard of the Ryman Auditorium.

These two still-standing country music monuments virtually ooze with tradition as, over the years, performers like Merle Haggard, LeAnn Rimes, Alan Jackson, Reba McEntire and Hank Williams Jr. have graced the stages of these respective concert halls with their talents. These venues are very popular tourist attractions and fans of country music from all over the world are drawn to them each and every year.

Perhaps you’ve even been to one of these historic landmarks, both situated very close to downtown Nashville, Tennessee. If you have been to either or both of them, you know it requires at least five to six hours of your time to get there by car from just about anywhere in the Upstate. Factor in gas at an average cost of three bucks a gallon these days and you’re almost better off flying – assuming you can afford that, too. Regardless of the difficulty you may find in getting to Music City, it is certainly worth the time and money you will spend.

But please don’t go all the way there just to get a taste of the tradition of country music – or music in general, for that matter. We have our own example right here in the Upstate. Nestled in the heart of downtown Spartanburg is a venue that rivals both the Opry and the Ryman in the number of country music superstars it has seen roam its halls during the past quarter century.

You may know that.

However, what you may not know is that the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium (SMA) has also featured – unlike its Nashville counterparts – rock n’ roll artists like Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Widespread Panic, Phish, Dave Matthews and Stevie Ray Vaughn, just to name a few.
Would you rather have a little more R & B flavor in your music? The late James Brown brought some soul to SMA. So did Patti Labelle, B B King and the Temptations.
Okay, maybe music isn’t your thing. Then try comedians like Jeff Foxworthy, Jerry Seinfeld, Carrot Top and the Smothers Brothers; they have all performed there.
Still not impressed? Then the rest of your family might be with shows like Sesame Street Live, the Magic of David Copperfield and the Lipizzaner Stallions - again, just to name a few.

Since its opening on December 1, 1951, the SMA has seen its fair share of eclectic performers and shows. When the honky-tonk sounds of Dwight Yoakam or Travis Tritt fill the air one night and Gallagher is busy smashing watermelons on the front few rows the next, you know you’re witnessing entertainment variety at its finest.

But this thirty-two hundred seat auditorium, which was really in its heyday during the country music boom of the late 80s and early 90s, has seen better days. The multi-million dollar renovation that was completed in October of 2000 has not brought back the glory days of the venue. And, in more recent years, the SMA is more likely to feature child and family-oriented shows such as Sesame Street Live than it is the rambunctious performances of college bands like Widespread Panic or Phish. Consequently, getting artists like Kenny Chesney or Ben Harper to return would be a tall order as well.

Most of this is due to the fact that performers and their promoters (and their record labels) are more drawn to the large arenas and stadiums than they are to the smaller, more intimate settings of places like SMA. Money, of course, has a large part to play in their decisions. Guys like Dave Matthews, in particular, have often shown an affinity for the smaller venues, but the record executives usually make the call and would rather see the artist perform at places such as the Bi-Lo Center or Philips Arena. Imagine an acoustic Dave Matthews or Billy Joel armed with just his piano cozily singing some of your favorites in a room no bigger than the auditorium of a large Baptist Church. This is what many of the concerts were like at "The Showplace of the South" just a little more than a decade ago. Performances like that created a buzz both in and around the auditorium that translated into tremendous success for all involved.

It has happened before – and it could happen again.

Steve Jones, the SMA’s General Manager, and his staff have worked very hard as of late to bring back some of the magic that has been lost.
This is evidenced by the fact that country music legend Loretta Lynn hits the stage for a one-night-only performance on May 5th. Then, just two weeks later on May 20th, SMA welcomes John Anderson and Marty Stuart to the stage. If you visit SMA’s website at www.crowdpleaser.com, you’ll notice that a local country radio station is working with the auditorium on the promotion of both shows. Working hand-in-hand with radio stations and agencies to bring in big name talent is what will help get more artists like Lynn, Anderson and Stuart in, and that’s exactly what Jones and his crew are doing. That being said, these two shows collectively could signal a potential renaissance of country concerts at SMA. If that’s the case, and the auditorium is readying itself for a resurgence, then the staff is ready.

I spent a few minutes the other day with one of the essential members of SMA’s staff, a local music lover named Bryan Wagner. Bryan does it all around SMA; one day you might find him backstage, the next he may be in the ticket office and the next he could be helping to promote an upcoming show. He was nice enough to take me on a behind-the-scenes tour of the auditorium.

Generally, when working on a story like this, a writer has to ask several questions about a given topic to get the interviewee to open up.
Not so with Bryan. While we walked around, he was very candid as he entertained me with stories and anecdotes of how he came to work there, why he continues to work there and how much he really loves the place. He astounded me with facts and figures (SMA seats exactly 3,217 people he quickly pointed out without needing to check for verification) and before I had a chance to ask what I thought were very important questions he said, with a tinge of nostalgia in his voice, "I love the building. Being someone that loves the arts, loves music, I just wanna be here."

Do you love where you work that much?

To say the staff and supporters of SMA want to see the venue resurrected as "the place to be" in downtown Spartanburg is an understatement. Most of them have been there long enough to remember how it was when it was "the place to be." Atlee Pettit, the current Operations Manager, is the patriarch of the place, having worked there off and on for nearly forty years. Jonathan Pitts, the Assistant Manager, has been there for almost twenty years, as has the aforementioned General Manager, Steve Jones. Their combined experience alone is enough to keep SMA plugging along.

But it is the storied history of the venue and the continual focus by its staff on bringing in a variety of both fresh and established artists that will help re-create a buzz. Jonathan Pitts put it like this: “I think we have such history here and we do so well with local events that we’ll be fine. Steve [Jones] is constantly in touch with agencies who promote the artists. We’re tracking who’s up and coming and who’s hot. But we also have to be selective and supplement it with local stuff.” A good variety of local and non-local shows is what helped establish SMA during its prime, and that’s exactly what its management feels will keep it successful for years to come.

But these guys – Jones, Pitts, Pettit, Wagner and the rest of the staff – are in it for more than just being successful. They want Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium to be what it once was: a place where both up-and-coming as well as established artists can be proud to perform while they entertain Upstate fans in an intimate and inspiring setting. When that happens, the venue will once again live up to its mantra as "The Showplace of the South."