INTRO

We want to begin this newsletter by stating that this is not a "Gilman" newsletter, but a "Gilman Booking" newsletter, which means that this is meant to be representative of the Gilman booking department and not the club as a whole. 

GILMAN BENEFIT SHOWS

Some of you may be asking, why does Gilman suddenly need so many benefits in 2009?  We already had one successful benefit show at the Balazo/Sub-Mission Gallery in San Francisco, which was booked by Gilman's main hardcore booker Max Montez, as well as the far less successful Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser that drew a very small crowd, even though the food was excellent (healthy and tasty) and easily worth more than the measly $5 donation asked, but we won't dwell on that one event.  Now, we have three benefit shows to end the year, taking place on December 25th, 26th, and 27th.  Each of these three shows features the younger, newer bands who began to make quite an impact on the club in 2009, and they are, aside from the hardcore scene, one of the most consistent and devoted of the many scenes that Gilman plays host to on a weekly basis.

No, Gilman is not in trouble, and there is nothing currently threatening it's existence.  We are coming off one of the biggest years in the club's history in fact (2008), and while 2009 didn't play out as well in terms of draws and sold out shows, we did have some memorable moments like the ZERO BOYS weekend, THORNS OF LIFE show, EXTORTION/IRON LUNG show, THE ZEROS, CRUDE from Japan, COFFINS from Japan, CEREMONY on Halloween, another packed CITIZEN FISH show, HELLBASTARD from England, one final BABYLAND show, TSOL, CHRIST ON PARADE/ELDOPA, and so on.  The benefits are an attempt to make up for some of the shortcomings we experienced over the course of this past year, and to keep us as close to the break even point as possible headed into 2010.  It's really something that should have been happening a long time ago, based on what we saw in the previous decade's year end financial reports.  Maybe that type of information was less accessible in years past, but for whatever reason these types of last minute benefits were never initiated.  If Gilman can avoid experiencing huge losses on a yearly basis, then it's going to be around much longer, and it will continue to host many of the bands who have volunteered to play these benefit shows for the club in the years to come.

COLLECTIVE or a NON-PROFIT?

Gilman is neither a collective or a non-profit.  Gilman is "not for profit", which would be similar to how Maximumrocknroll views itself, but neither of us is an official non-profit, which involves paperwork, accountants, and lawyers in some cases.  We are not able to receive tax deductible donations on our own, and instead we have to rely on less than efficient middle men organizations like Indy Arts in order for our supporters to make tax deductible donations.  What is Gilman then, and isn't it one of Berkeley's longest running collectives?  Gilman is basically run by 5 people and if it were an actual collective, then that would be thee collective, with the possible addition of maybe three or four bookers who are currently putting in a respectable amount of labor in regards to the project, but that is almost the opposite of how Gilman functions.  At Gilman, those who work the most, and I'm speaking for the last three to three and half years that I've been there, have no more say so or influence in official decision making than any traveler punk or even a yuppie who could manage to attend at least two meetings (you can't vote until your second meeting).  Is that a bad thing? Well maybe, if you consider the turnover rate of Gilman staff, especially the hardest working contributors to the project.  Or is it actually a little bit of a good thing?  If you are not currently volunteering at Gilman and you have some ideas of your own on how it could be better run, then this might be a good thing since all you have to do is round up about 10 friends who are willing to attend at least two meetings, and then you can pretty much make up any crazy rule you wanted to.  Chances are that with 10 votes on your side, you'd win the vote.  Hell, if you could get 15 friends together, then you might even be able to change club bylaws.  The folks who book the shows and coordinate the shows, and the folks in the stoar might oppose you, but their votes would carry no more weight than your 10 (or 15), regardless of how much time and energy they put into the project.  It's really that easy.

Gilman is a member of NoBWAC - http://www.nobawc.org - but that has more to do with a former staffer's (Jesse Townley aka Luscious) belief that they are an important organization for Gilman to be a part of organizationally and otherwise, and he is spot on in his thought process, but the irony has to be in the fact that most of Gilman's volunteers and its key holders (actual staff) are very uninformed about the ways a successful collective operates.

BOOKING STAFF

Here's the new booking schedule as head into 2010.

Tuesday from 7pm-9pm: Jay Unidos & Mike Avilez

Wednesday from 7pm-9pm: Jeff Armstrong, Danny Bailey, and Robert Eggplant

Thursday from 7pm-9pm: Max Montez, Joey 'Peaceful War', and Matt Kadi

Main Booking Page: http://www.myspace.com/officialgilmanstbooking

Thursday Booking, go here: http://www.myspace.com/924gilmancommunity

Thanks, 

Jay Unidos 

Gilman Booking 2009

* T.S.O.L. 

* OPPRESSED LOGIC 

* EVERYTHING MUST GO 

* JAMINATOR KILLERS 

* THE DISCIPLES 

* BUM CITY SAINTS 

http://www.myspace.com/924gilman25thdvd 

Videos, Photos, Flyers, etc There is a 924 Gilman 25th Anniversary DVD in the works and we need as much history as we can pull together! Please submit any flyers, photos, audio recordings and video recordings to Gilman staff or mail them in to: 

Alternative Music Foundation Attention: 

Dan Hashthrash 

PO Box 1058 

Berkeley, Ca 

94701