Coming to you from the studios at the Illinois Rock and Roll Museum on Route 66, it's the Rock and Roll Chicago podcast. Hey everybody, it's Ray the Roadie. And Disbee Hollywood.

Disbee. Disbee Hollywood. Okay.

Why Disbee? I don't know. Why you Disbee-ing? That's the way it just came out. Just came out Disbee Hollywood.

I see. I see. Today.

So how you doing? I'm tired. How you doing? I'm tired. I've had an eventful past few days.

Have you? I understand you've got a new vehicle. I did. What'd you get? It's new to me.

Okay. I bought a 2016 Ford F-150. Nice.

Yeah, it's nice. It's a cool color blue and a whole bit. It was the kind of vehicle somebody bought as part of their fleet and it sat for like the past three years and didn't move or anything like that.

Nice. And the engine's clean. Did you get rid of the car? I will eventually because it's a company vehicle and that's the other thing that happened.

Oh, well. I quit my day job. Your day job.

You're kidding. So you can devote more time to the podcast. There you go.

This is going to be awesome. But I will still be late. You will be late.

Wonderful. Wonderful. No, no, I do have another job.

I can't really say a whole heck of a lot about either one of the things right now, but yeah, I do have a new day job and hopefully my days will become closer to eight hour days. Very good. And you'll be able to make it on time.

Traveling is still the same and everything and working out of the home and going, getting back to being the science nerd that I am. There you go. Yeah.

Nerd away. Yeah. Which we've done before.

Yeah. We, you know, we tell dad jokes with the best of them. So that's right.

So this week's guest comes from you. Yes. This is the lovely Jessica.

I'm late with everything. Not everything. Okay.

And, and, and with her, we have, I'm sorry, I can't remember your name. My name's Eric. That's Eric.

That, that's Eric. Right over there, everybody. That's right.

You know, you know, I noticed something that we have Jessica in the studio tonight. It doesn't smell like old men and weed. That's right.

That's right. It smells a little different in the studio tonight. It does.

We have a little nicer. We have a lovely, um, smart, very intelligent, very talented, um, manager of an awesome music venue in Lockport, Illinois called the Roxy. And I wanted to get you out here and, and talk about, uh, the place a little bit.

What I really want to talk about is I'm going to go, I want to go like do a deep dive into actually what the Roxy is because people have no idea what it is. Whenever I talk to people about the Roxy, they always say what that old abandoned movie theater in downtown Lockport, they have no idea that it's occupied, no longer abandoned. So what I would like to do is, first of all, let's start off by telling everybody how the Roxy came about.

Well, Trinity services is a nonprofit. Their headquarters are in new Lennox. They've actually owned the building since 1995.

They used it for their day programs and left it the way it looked when it was an old nightclub. So in 2017, they decided to completely renovate it so that it could be used, um, more for public events and for renting it out. So they renovated it and, um, Rigsby builders, they said, we're not going to show it to you until we're done.

So they had no idea what they were getting until it was all done. Then they got to see it and it opened in 2018 to be used for public events and they used to rent it for weddings and stuff, but we're not doing that anymore. Right, right, right.

The whole thing's kind of like an arranged marriage. It's like, here you go. This is what you're getting and Trinity services, right? What exactly does Trinity services do? They help adults with developmental disabilities.

So when a person turns 22, they age out of the school system and so they no longer get that help. Um, and so that's where Trinity steps in and they have group homes all around the state and I'm pretty sure in a couple other states as well. Um, and they have a wide range of abilities.

So there are people that are low functioning and then they, they're just basically taken care of, but they work with higher functioning people as well to help them learn how to cope with being around public and help them become part of the workforce so they can get jobs. So, right. And is it, is this whole thing non-for-profit or is there, is there a fee involved to the people that, uh, I guess take advantage of the services, have to pay for them or how does, how does that whole thing work? Um, Trinity service is nonprofit.

Um, I know they get grants from the government and the donations. Um, I, I don't believe that the clients have to pay, but you know, I'm not sure. I am technically an employee of Trinity services, but only in the capacity of running the Roxy.

I don't know all those ins and outs. Right. So I'm not sure if that specific detail is of if people have to pay back.

I don't think they do because they are nonprofit. I, I don't think that people have to pay for their adult children, um, to take advantage of the services. Right.

So, so are there, there, there's residents there, there's people that would live at some of the facilities. Are there people that don't live at those facilities, but still take advantage of some of the services they provide? Yes. Cause Trinity does offer day programs and some people just, just take advantage of that so that they can get used to being social.

Okay. It helps them with that. Um, but a lot of the clients are in the group homes.

Right. Right. So then, so then where did the Roxy come into play? Somebody says, okay, let's renovate this thing and open it up to the, I mean, what was it used prior to that? It was just kind of like an exercise room or what, what was, what was it being used as? Yeah.

I know they did rent a portion of it out. Um, there was a woman teaching tumbling there, like gymnastics, so that was one portion of it. Um, but I do know that they just, they used it for the clients to come and do some of those day programs that I was mentioning.

It was just a site for them to use for that. So was the stage always there or was that part of the renovation? Um, there was a stage there. I have an old picture actually, what it used to look like in there.

Um, I think there was a stage, but it doesn't look the way it does now. Right. Right.

We, we, I'm sure we can find a bunch of the pictures on, uh, online too. It'd be great to kind of throw together a slideshow or something like that as, as the podcast airs, because I think, um, people would be very interested to see exactly what it used to look like, what it looks like now and the painstaking process that they went through to, I mean, when you walk through the front doors of the place, you are transported back to like the 1920s and I mean, complete with the, um, the, the original like film projector when it was a theater is there when you walk right into the front door, there's this, there's this vintage antique, I don't know what you want to call it. Film projector.

That's absolutely amazing to see the thing there. People don't realize how big they were. I mean, they would, it would probably take up this, this wall over here.

So where it is, that's cool. Wow. So tumbling, uh, you know, things like that, maybe some exercise classes, you know, things like that.

So when did the whole, uh, when did the whole dancing thing kind of, kind of come into that? Was it a program that you started or how did that come about? Yeah. My dance partner, RJ Woodworth and I were out dancing at World War II days in 2014. We lived in the area and I was like, why is there a war going on outside? Like I forgot this event was happening.

I was like, what is happening? So then I remembered and there was an Andrew Sisters Review Band there. So we quickly got dressed and rode our bikes over there and people thought we were hired to be there. Um, but we weren't, we were just enjoying ourselves.

And then someone asked if we taught and we didn't. The next year, same thing happened. We got dressed up, we went over there and the same family came up as well as some other people asking if we taught swing dancing.

So we said, maybe we should. So in 2015, the Lockport swing thing was born and, uh, we were teaching in the park for a while, but then it got cold. So then we had the American Legion and then they had to give the room back to the Boy Scouts.

So we bounced around a few times and, um, the stage coach in Lockport, that building was empty for a long time. And we were looking in the windows one time and the owner's like, Oh, you want to, are you interested? And he's like, well, just looking at the nice wood floor is good for dancing. So because it had been empty for so long, this guy said, well, you know what? You can use it if you want.

And so we gave him a very small amount. Like if we charge for private dance lessons, we'd give him a portion of that, but we weren't really paying a lot. Um, but we did the work to clean it up and we had it as our home for a little while.

Um, we had live bands in there and stuff. And then he got like five offers for someone to buy it because it was being used. So it sat empty for years with nobody interested.

And so we helped him sell it. And then we didn't have a home. And I was like, you know what? I'm just going to check at the Roxy.

Said how much would you charge? We don't charge anything. We've always donated our time. The Lockport swing thing is free.

And because it was a weekday and they liked, they liked what we were doing. They said we could use the space. So, uh, before the pandemic, the Roxy became our home and then the pandemic happened and then it was closed.

And then when it was opening back up, the former manager, her previous help had moved out of state and she asked if I could help with her first event opening back up. She didn't want to do it by herself. So I was like, sure.

And then she said, do you, uh, do you want to do it again? And I was like, sure. I live five minutes away. Whenever you need help, let me know.

And, uh, and then it very quickly turned into, do you want a full time job? And then six months later she moved out of state and then I took over running it and I've been running it for a year and a half now myself. And so it is the home of the Lockport swing thing still. Now I'm just usually behind the bar instead of teaching.

So you weren't working for Trinity services prior to a year and a half ago. You kind of created a job for yourself and everything as you develop the Lockport swing thing. I just, yeah.

It was serendipitous. Wow. And, and I honestly, um, they don't even know this, but I, I almost gave my notice just before the previous manager because I, uh, I applied to be a flight attendant and I got through my first interview and I had my second interview.

But the day of my second interview, I woke up with a sore throat and I was trying not to cough. And I was like, so my interview, I'm like trying to swallow and not cough and not die. And my energy was like totally failing.

And I was like, I can't get through this. So the interview didn't go very well and I didn't end up getting the job. And then like two days later I found out that the other manager was leaving.

So I was like, okay, well that was meant to be because now I have the perfect job for me. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

Is, is, is dancing just like a hobby of yours? Is it a passion of yours? Did you always want to turn this into a job or, um, well I, I haven't told that I always danced when I was a kid. If there's music on, I would be dancing, but I never took formal lessons. I never did ballet or anything like that.

Um, I played music, but, uh, I didn't dance. And then when I was in college, I just took a, I took a ballroom dancing class for P.E. credit. Right.

And I did so well in there that I started teaching the class with the teacher. So he would have me come early, show me what we're doing that day. And then we split the class in two and I would teach the girls and he would teach the guys and then we'd bring it back together.

So that's, I guess how I started teaching was when I was taking class in college. Um, and then I was in Vermont and my Vermont, yeah, I moved from Southern California to Vermont. What I've learned is don't move across the country for a boy.

It will not work out. Yeah. Yeah.

So, um, I know a few people who have done that. I do too. Yeah.

It usually doesn't work. Um, but that's how I started dancing really was being there. My uncle's a chiropractor and one of his clients gave him a flyer and said, I'm teaching swing dancing.

Can you put this flyer somewhere? So he gave me a copy and said, you should do this. And then I was hooked. And, um, yeah, I definitely wanted to be like a traveling swing dance instructor or, you know, whatever.

But, uh, I'm okay with being a local swing dance instructor. Yeah. It's fun too.

I think you're doing pretty good for yourself doing that. Yeah. Wow.

See, everybody's got a story, you know, you know, Oprah Winfrey used to do a, an episode every year about everybody has a story and she just grabbed somebody out of the audience and say, okay, tell us your story. And you think your story is boring, but then everybody's captivated by the guy who, you know, left home when he was 18 years old and never finished high school or whatever his story might possibly be. And now he's running a plants and, you know, in some factory in Chicago, you know, somewhere.

And people are captivated by that because they're human interest stories. They really are. What's your story? Uh, my story is pretty much today.

I'm just kind of Jess, Jess is a wing man, I think. All right. She's hanging out, but, uh, everything she's saying, I'm actually learning myself for the first time.

So that's really interesting. But, um, as far as my story is recently, I started teaching at the Roxy swing dancing. Thanks to Jess and RJ allowing me in.

Um, I got a little inspired back in January and I was like, you know, I've been thinking about doing this for a while. I'm going to start talking to some people, figure out what I can do, see where I can get my foot in the door and just start teaching. I'm a teacher full-time.

I teach general music for, so it's already my main gig being a music teacher, but teaching dance dance is definitely a passion of mine. There's no doubt about it. Lindy hop, man.

It's the best. Yeah. You know, I mean, when you're dancing Lindy hop, I was like, I don't think about anything else in the entire world.

Wow. I have no idea what that is. Yeah.

It's just like, it's kind of like a meditation except like, uh, the adrenaline is pumping like 200% at the same time. Wow. I love that.

I've, I'm sure I've seen it, but I have no idea what, I mean, you could, you could make up whatever name you want for me. Well, here's the thing. I've seen you perform on stage though.

Yeah. And when you're singing, you got to tell, you're not thinking about anything else in this entire world. That's gotta be a moment where you're like, that's kind of very similar.

I totally get that. Yeah, I get that. Absolutely.

I'm also a guitar player, so I kind of know that. Sure. Sure.

That vibe. Right. Yeah.

Where do you teach? I teach in Burridge. In Burridge. Okay.

Nice. And at Pleasant Hill Elementary School. Pleasant Hill in Burridge.

I bet you, I know somebody that went there. Oh, for sure. Cause my, uh, my son's girlfriend lives out that way.

I'm, I'm, I'm guessing she may have. Oh, that's possible. I could have taught someone that, you know, yeah.

Wow. Interesting. So, so let's bring this all full circle.

We've got the Roxy. We've got dancing. We've got instructors.

We've got fantastic dancers. I mean, some people go to the Roxy when you guys have live bands, just to see who's going to show up and dance. They really do.

And you know, and most people will rush for the tables, but you know, the people who are there to dance, cause they're just kind of like standing around the walls, waiting for everybody to start dancing, hoping that they get asked to dance and they get to learn a new step. It's pretty, it's, it's pretty cool. So tell us the names of, uh, if you can remember some of the bands that you've had perform out there.

I have actually four bands that play there each once a month, specifically for swing dancing. Um, Outkast Jazz Band, they've been together for 40 years, almost 41 actually. Um, they're on the fourth Monday of every month and then, um, Mr. Lucky and his orchestra of tomorrow.

I know those guys a little bit. Yeah. They're there on the, um, the second Thursday of the month actually.

So they were just here on Thursday. Right. Oh yeah.

They were. And you know what they did to me? What? Jen Zayas, their vocalist, came and dragged me out from behind the bar, put me up on stage and made me sing Crazy by Patsy Cline. Did you really? I finally sang with a band for the first time ever.

Very nice. Did we get video on that or what? I do have a video. Oh, we've got to see that video.

So yeah, um, I love them. They're great. They're, they're, uh, like I said, the second, uh, second Thursday of the month.

And then the third Tuesday of the month, I, I have the falconers orchestra. And then when I do them every other month and the other months, I'll have someone else come in. So sometimes it's Doug Horn and the Rhythm Makers Orchestra in August, my birthday week.

Um, I have, uh, the Rhythm Rockets. They've been together as a band for a long time. I've seen the Rhythm Rockets.

Yeah. So they're going to be at the Roxy August 15th, I think it is two days before my birthday. Okay.

I'm excited about that. And then, oh, shout section, big band, the first Sunday of the month, the other one. So those are my regular swing dancing ones.

And every once in a while, I'll have, um, Rosie the Rivets on a weekend when they're available. Um, um, yeah, but a lot of my weekends now are for things like Demi Klara's, um, storytime songwriter showcase that I had yesterday actually was, sorry, not yesterday. Yesterday was Mother's Day, Saturday, 10 artists, 10 local singer songwriters, all playing original music.

And it was so cool. Some of my friends were on that stage. I think I saw some, some videos of that.

It was really good. And for those that are interested, Rosie and the Rivets is episode 43 of the Rock and Roll Chicago Podcast. Yes, it is.

And Mr. Lucky is episode 113. Yeah. Yeah.

So, so Mr. Lucky, um, did Kevin steal all of the horn players from Cadillac Groove? I think he did. I think he did. Yeah.

Yeah. We, we mentioned Cadillac Groove on the show, um, quite often for obvious reasons. Yeah.

But, uh, yeah, Kevin. I still haven't seen the check. Yeah.

Yeah. Kevin, Kevin was our baritone saxophone player for quite a while. And so I think he's got John Harp playing trombone with you guys.

Carlo with the belly. Carlo's playing trumpet. Um, is that, is it, is it just three horns? I think it might just be those three.

Those three guys. Yeah. I mean, believe me, that's plenty.

The three of those guys, the three of those guys have a big sound. Yeah, absolutely. Wow.

Interesting. I'm gonna have to get out and see that. I haven't seen Mr. Lucky yet.

Next time they're there, I'm going to have to go out and just heckle them a little bit. There was a great time. They actually played, um, I think it was a, uh, it was a weekend night.

They actually played there one night and Mike and the Stillmasters, my other band was playing across the street at the studio and they, as well, no check from Maxi. You'll get a check as soon as we get a check for this. So we're looking for sponsors, everybody, if anybody's interested, but no, they, they left the Roxy and they came across the street and it was just perfect.

I think we were in the middle of, of covering, uh, the song Vehicle by The Ides of March. And all of a sudden we heard this extra set of horn players because I think we had one or two horn players with us that night. And all of a sudden these three guys come marching in from across the street and the roof went off the studio that it was, it was a pretty, it was a pretty cool event when that happened.

I wish they had told me they were going to do that. Cause I would have followed him over there and he's locked the door. I'm like, I'll come back and clean up, but it may have been a spur of the moment decision, but I mean, they came over, I mean, it was, it was great.

They didn't even have their, their cases or anything with them. They just walked in with their instruments. And actually I think John Harp did a live video as he was walking.

So you can see all these people on the streets that are so excited to see them. And that's a pretty cool video. Yeah.

He did do that. Cause I remember he posted that. Yeah.

Yeah. And then, so then when the weekends come around, uh, do you just have random bands whenever you need to or how, how does that work? And actually I'm really filled up. Um, I still have a few private events on the schedule that were booked before we made the change.

So I still have a few more weddings to get through, but I don't think I have any Saturdays left because actually bands keep contacting me. I don't know how they're hearing about the Roxy, but it's kind of cool. I think it's just word of mouth.

And then they, they get really excited to play there there and then they're excited to meet me, which I'm like, really, you're okay. That's cool. All these people are excited to meet me, but, um, yeah, I just, I'm getting excited to meet me too.

So yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. For different reasons though. It's more like, ah, excited.

Not like excited. But yeah, I, uh, I do have, I do have a lot of bands that are looking to get hired to play, which unfortunately we can't do being owned by a nonprofit. We don't have a, have a budget for that, but, um, we are happy to give them a space to play.

We do encourage donations for Trinity, like Cadillac Groove. You guys donated your tip bucket, which was really nice. Um, so yeah.

And as long as bands are okay with that, they may not, there's no minimum amount that they're going to earn for the night, you know, cause it's up to them to try to get their crowd there. Um, they're playing for the cover charge basically. Right.

Yeah. You know, I think we need to, uh, Cadillac Groove needs to start letting everybody know that our entire band is pretty much just a charity case because the night that we said we were going to donate the money to charity, the, the, the tip bucket get full. It never gets full like that.

So from now on, every Cadillac Groove, we're just, you know, this band, we're a charity case. It's a charity kind of like this podcast, right? It is. It is.

I'm Christy from Crime Cave podcast. I've had a huge interest in true crime since my days of watching marathons of snapped back in the mid nineties. I needed an outlet to talk about the cases that have haunted me for a very long time.

With each episode under 20 minutes, I shine a light on some of the most bizarre cases in the last 50 years. Join me in the Crime Cave. As somebody that has played the Roxy and has been to the Roxy and I got to go into the bowels of the Roxy in the whole bit, if I can just take a minute, when you walk through the front door, you really feel like you are transported to another time.

And we actually, when we played there, we actually asked all of our fans to dress up for the occasion. There's going to be swing dancing going on. This place looks great.

And I was so pleasantly surprised by the amount of guys that weren't jackets. We had a few ties, women wearing skirts or dresses. It was great.

The way the whole thing has been redesigned and decorated, you literally are transported. I mean, there's like the full marble bar that's there and the marble floors that are there and the curtains. And I mean, just the way everything is, you have to go there and you have to see it.

It looks like they could use it as a movie set. And they treat bands extremely well, too. There's a fantastic green room downstairs.

Is it really green? No, it isn't really green. It's like silver and white and all kinds of stuff like that. And a pool table down there.

Because if I was there, I'd get lost. I'd be looking for the green room and there's no green room. Yeah, there's no green room.

Yeah, some places call it a green room for other reasons, but yeah, it's true. The chairs are kind of bluish green. Yeah, they are.

They are. But yeah, sectional sofa and everything down there. Very nice.

It's a really nice place to go. Cocktail menu. It's not just like a movie theater.

There is a cocktail menu, so you can go there and have a cocktail. No food, though. No, we let people bring in food, though.

I will clean up after if you bring in food. Wow. That's very nice.

I'm going to go to Popeye's then before I go there. So tell us something about the Roxy that we don't know. What's coming up, maybe? I'm not sure when this podcast is airing, so I don't know if I want to tell you what's happening this Friday.

Why don't we shoot for about a month and a half from now, I'd say. Let's talk July. July.

Yeah, what do we have going on? Let me pull up my calendar because I don't remember. And do you guys get involved? Do you guys get involved in things like or do you do things for like the car shows and stuff that go on? Yeah. I usually am open during the car show just in case people want beer.

I'm kind of disappointed, though, honestly, I wish they put the cars back where they used to be, because now you have to choose between the cars and the music. It's like two separate events now. Yeah, there is.

And I mean, yeah, I guess it looks cool with the cars on State Street. But a lot of people are disappointed because it's not as safe to walk around. They feel like their kids are going to get hit by a car driving by whatever.

So I'm disappointed because then I have to be at the Roxy instead of over dancing at the live music. So I might I might just lock the doors at 6 p.m. and be like, I'll be back. You guys can be here.

You can have beer between four and six after that. Get it elsewhere. But yeah.

So normally, yes, I am open during the car show and I'll just be open for whoever comes in. I don't usually have another event going on during it. Right.

I'm just there. So that is one thing that happens. Oh, I do have something really cool coming up in July.

Actually, July 7th, I've got an American prayer. They are a Doors tribute band that apparently are quite well known. So that's exciting.

Oh, and Nick's Nick Scarpinato. He's a singer songwriter who is super fun. I really like his music.

I got to see him at Crema Coffee Roasters, actually. They did a little music and art thing that Elijah Svoboda put on and and he was one of the artists there. So I was like, you should play at the Roxy and he was like, oh, my gosh, I would love to.

And so we put him on the schedule. So he's there in July. So do you have singer songwriters in on the weekends or do you do that during the week or if? Well, I asked them what day they'd like of it, like like to do it.

And some people will ask for a Wednesday or Thursday. But most performers do want a Friday or Saturday. OK.

All right. Yeah. I've had some swing dancers will say you should have something on the weekend.

And when I book a swing dance on the weekend, it's not as big of a crowd as the weeknight. So that's kind of strange. I'm not sure.

But that is weird. Yeah. But I like the weekday events, honestly, because parking is a lot easier for people.

Right. And so I was going to ask you, because you said the one band plays on Monday nights and you get a good crowd on Monday. Yeah.

They probably draw the biggest crowd of the four that regularly. Yeah. Yeah.

I mean, a plug for Lockport. I mean, I've been living in the area for, gosh, 25 years or so. And there was a time where nobody even gave Lockport a second thought.

And now you go down on a Friday night or a Saturday night and parking is a problem. There's a few free public parking lots, but there's no multilevel parking garage or structure. And I don't as far as I know, I mean, I'm not the mayor of the city, so I wouldn't know if there's anything planned or in the works.

But you go down the side streets and there's actually a private valet parking service where people are valeting their cars, you know, because parking is a problem and it is that popular around there. There's a lot of great venues up and down that street. That's cool.

And it's working out really well. I really wish that they, I like going to the car shows. I usually park over by the studio and I bring my motorcycle out.

And the one thing I wish they would do is if they're going to have the car show, block the street off. Yeah. Because like you said, there's still cars whizzing by, you know, in the whole bit and everybody's trying to park.

There's ways to get around that little block there, but it'd be really great. I've noticed because all of the other places on the street will have a solo performer in front of them. Yeah.

I've seen that. And you could do the same thing. I think, I bet you, you'd get a lot of people going to hang out in front of the Roxy.

There's more room over there for sure. Yeah. And as with the valet parking is actually free.

So there is free valet parking on Fridays and Saturdays in Long Beach. Wow. Yeah.

So that is helpful. Yeah. And then they're parking the cars, I think, down in the train station lot where nobody wants to park down there and walk themselves.

So those poor guys are running back and forth quite a ways, but yeah. Parking is tough, but at least they're trying to provide something by providing that free valet parking. Right.

Right. So how can people help your cause even more? Because, I mean, you've got a great charitable organization that you're working for or working with. And whoever's listening to this, by all means, go and visit the place and, you know, for an evening out.

But you're helping a great cause by going there as well. How can your performers help you, I guess? How does that work? How can we help you utilize the performers in helping to raise money and helping to support the place? Well, I really appreciate it when the bands will talk about Trinity Services or ask me to get up on stage so that we can encourage people to donate, because even if everybody donated a dollar or two every time they came, you know, that adds up. And I definitely want to continue doing what I'm doing.

I definitely prefer the live music and the dancing over the weddings. Weddings are a lot of hard work. But yeah, so I really hope that people will show how much they care about their oxy by donating.

I mean, supporting the bar, too, but our prices are really, really low, too. I probably should look at that because prices are going up on everything. We should probably maybe look at raising those.

But six dollars for a cocktail, you know, you're not getting that anywhere else, though. Yeah, no, absolutely not. So, yeah, I just I would just really appreciate it if if people would would make donations instead of just they're coming there to support the bands.

But I've had people come and they don't even they don't even get anything from the bar. And I'm like, well, if you appreciate this place and you like what we're doing, at least throw me a dollar or two to turn in as a donation. Right.

Right. So so when most of your performers, you know, play there, it's it's a donation basis pretty much is what it is. You're not charging a cover for everybody.

There is a cover charge. You know, most bands do ten dollars and they do get that because I feel that bands should be hired to play places. So I feel I certainly don't feel like I can charge a band like I'm not going to charge Outkast Jazz Band with 19 guys in it, charge them to to play because I mean, they're not taking home much money anyway.

If everyone just pays ten dollars to get in there, each guy is not taking home much, you know, and they're usually turning around and spending it at the bar because they get their first one on us. But then they'll buy more, you know, so musicians that drink no, no, no. Yeah.

So imagine that. So, yeah, before, when they were still renting for private events, if a band wanted a weekend spot, they'd still have to pay like two hundred and fifty dollars or so. But then they'd turn around and try to charge like twenty five dollars a ticket and then they wouldn't get a crowd.

So then it was like, well, we're still not making any money. Our bar is not making any money because there's no one here. Right.

Read the room. I mean, you know, if you know, you're not the only place, you know, that has kind of like that that pay to play kind of thing. But if it's only two hundred fifty bucks, come on, you know, you can't charge twenty five dollars a head.

Right. Right. Yeah.

So I don't know. I I wish that I could make it so that, you know, I could guarantee that the bands are going to make a specific amount of money when they come in. But I can't do that.

And so I have had bands. They say they don't want to play at the Roxy because they want to get paid to play. Sure.

Sorry. You know, and then we're not necessarily the type of venue that's a pay to play kind of place because there's not scouts there. You're not going to get signed on a record deal like you go to Los Angeles.

You pay to play because you're going to be seen. You know, Roxy is not that place. But but that's also a way to vet your bands, you know, because, you know, you want bands that are going to draw people there.

Right. So if the band is confident enough that they're going to bring people in, they don't mind paying two hundred fifty dollars if they know they're going to get two hundred people through the door at two hundred, you know, at ten bucks a head. Yeah.

You know, that's that's pretty that's pretty reasonable. It is a way to vet the bands. It's for sure.

And in a place like the Roxy, I think that's perfectly acceptable. I mean, it's it's the nicest place around to play. It really is.

So what can we how can we get these bands to come to the Roxy? What can we do to make them want to come there and play for nothing? Right. I got a question right off the top of my head. Sure.

When bands play there, who's doing the sound? I do encourage bands to bring their own sound person. Otherwise, I have a list of people that they can choose to work directly with and hired directly. I actually I personally did the sound for Saturday's event with the ten ten.

I got lots of compliments. But I had two bartenders come in, so I was able to do that. I try to limit the amount of bartenders I have to come in because that's another expense for Trinity.

They're paying them to be there. And you have a sound system there. There's a PA in the whole bit.

Yeah. It's a full stage. Extra everything.

That's a that's a bonus. You know, that's what I'm saying. Like, just to bring in your own sound person and not kind of feel like you're handcuffed.

Because a lot of times you walk into a bar and you're trying to play in a bar and they're like, I want to bring my own sound guy. And they're like, no, you don't. You're going to use our guy.

And then that guy's asleep at the mixer. Oh, yeah. You know, set it and forget it sort of thing where you just bring your own person.

So it's like one little bit. Yeah. It's one little bonus.

That's that's what we did. I mean, we we have our own sound guy. Eric is great.

So we we actually brought our system in and patched it into your system because that is really helpful. We're all wireless on a stage. All our monitors and everything are all wireless.

So we brought Eric along and we patched right into it. So it works. I mean, bands that have a big stage set up, half the battle is is one right there.

But the fact that you guys have a good sound system and also the nice thing. Well, OK, it's not always nice. It's a very live room.

So it's nice because the sound does carry well. And it does make my job easier if if a band doesn't have their own sound person. I only make the vocalists because you don't have to make the drums and you don't have to put a mic in front of an amp.

You don't need to do that. Most of the time it's already too loud because the bands don't listen to me and they turn up their amps too loud. And I'm like, you know, so that that makes it easy.

I don't have to run a whole bunch of different mics and do a whole bunch of mixing because it's just it's just there. And it just it's just the sound carries and it sounds great. But at the same time, the the doors, the doorway that separates the bar area from the performance area, if you step beyond that door, the sound does all of a sudden just kind of like stop like come to a screeching halt.

I mean, people are in that especially by the bar talking. Yeah. Yeah.

So it makes it makes it nice. Yeah. So so that is the one nice thing about making everything and having it come through is that I do have separate volume control in the bar so I can turn it up.

Usually what I will do is just turn up because I only have the the vocals mic'd. I'll turn the vocals up in the bar so people can hear that. Well, depending on how loud they're being, you may not hear the music, but you can still hear the music come into the bar.

Right. But it's not killing your eardrums like it might in the other room. And then I just pop up the vocals so you can hear the vocals over everything and then still get the background music.

And it's usually a pretty good experience. And then we have the camera on so you can see everything on stage on the TVs in the bar. Right.

So you're still part of the group. Yeah. And that works nice.

You know, a lot of times, you know, a good sound guy knows that, you know, you're not miking everything on stage because you want it to be louder. You're miking everything on the stage because you want to control it. Yes.

Yes. You know, and then and then you tell you then you tell your bass players to turn down. Turn it down.

Yeah. They just they don't listen to me. I don't think I don't think I've ever heard anybody yell at a bass player to turn down.

It's always those darn guitar players. That's right. That's right.

But I have bands that require their demand that everything is mic'd. And so, OK, we mic all their stuff, but their stuff is up so loud, I just cut it at the board anyway. That's right.

It's too loud. Yeah. Oh, my God.

Just for show. You have the mics there because you wanted them. But if they don't listen to me and turn down their amps, then it doesn't matter.

So you're a sound person in the making. You know, I actually went to school for audio technology a billion years ago. Oh, look at this.

But I just I I did two semesters at Mount Sinai Center Community College in Southern California. And it was all recording, though. I didn't get into live sound yet.

So the live sound portion is new to me. But yeah, I have my dad owned a recording studio in Southern California. I grew up in a recording studio around that all the time.

So it's definitely something I'm interested in. So drummer's going to hate me for this, but since the room is so live, have you considered the drum shield idea? Yes, I was actually just talking to someone else that does sound there occasionally for other bands, and he's going to actually make some custom ones just for the cymbals. Some drums.

Now they've got like round ones that they put up in front that you're not sitting in a fishbowl. Yeah. Yeah.

Drummers hate that because I tell you, I always point at them and stuff and I laugh. The reason why those guitar amps are sold out, it's because you got to play over the drums. OK.

I'm pleading the fifth. But I'll tell you what, the best is to be on in-ears. If you have in-ear monitors, you let your sound guy do whatever you need to do and it's dude, that's the best.

That's utopia right there. And you never have to fight for sound as a guitar player, you know? And the other thing is, is by the end of the night, if you're not using in-ears, you get that, you know, that hearing fatigue. Oh yeah.

Your ears just get so tired that that's why you're like, oh, I feel like I got to turn my amp up again. Right. You know, no, we can hear you just fine, but you're, you know, you're hearing is, you know, getting tired over the night after hearing all that loud sound.

That's why we do it. They do it. I use in-ears now.

So I don't do that anymore. Yeah. Yeah.

Nice. So where can people find you social media-wise? I do it for Facebook, Roxy Lockport on Facebook. And I designed the website myself too from scratch, roxylockport.com. I'm very proud of it.

Go look at it. It looks good. Yeah.

Very good. I, it does have an Instagram that the former manager started. I'm just really bad about using Instagram.

So I don't post on there as much, but I'm trying to get more active about that. I just, I don't have as much time to make graphics and stuff like I used to when I first got the job, I was in charge of making graphics and doing the website and stuff. And now I'm doing all of the things.

Now you need an assistant. And so I'm like, okay, well now I, I make sure, you know, bands are, are taken care of their end of things. So they're creating their own graphics.

I'm not doing that anymore, but you know, I'd still need to get better about sharing it on Instagram, but Roxy Lockport is what we're called. So you can find us there. And I don't have TikTok.

I refuse to use that, so I'm not going to use that. And prospective bands can contact you through the website and say, Hey, I got this band and I'd love to play there. Yeah.

I haven't started booking for 2024 yet, but I'm pretty full for the rest of this year. It's a good thing to have. Yeah.

Actually, I did have a cancellation. I'm sad. Uh oh.

Tying back into your podcast again, Leah Caton. Oh yeah. She was supposed to be there September 16th, I think was the date she had to cancel.

And I was looking forward to that. Yeah. She's going to be at the studio though.

Yeah. I think June 23rd. She is going to, she is going to be at the studio with Mike Aquino.

Correct. Yeah. Who was also on the podcast at one point in time.

That's right. Yeah. You gotta look that one up now.

Oh, geez. She had some scheduling challenges and had to, I don't know. But oh, bummer.

Anyway. So I have that day available. I think I offered to someone, but I feel like I'm waiting to hear back from multiple different bands and then I, I'm like, I don't want to offer everyone the same date if they all end up wanting that date.

So, but most of my Saturdays are full. Excellent. Excellent.

So bands, uh, go out and find Jess, go out and find the Roxy. Go find her. Look around.

Yeah. Wander around Lockport. Yeah.

Might see her on the street. Yeah. Dancing.

Yeah. Dancing. Maybe valet car, valeting cars down to the bottom of the hill and back.

She does everything else. She does. Yeah.

She does. You'll definitely see me out there changing the marquee, standing up on the top of a ladder and all that. See? There we go.

Yeah. But yeah, if you like live music and you like dancing, the Roxy is the place to be. Excellent.

Excellent. Well, thank you very much for coming out tonight. Yeah.

Thank you guys for having me. Good luck with everything you're doing. Thank you.

So there you have it. Jessica from the Roxy. The Foxy Roxy.

Yes. Boy, how do we come up with that stuff? I don't know. I'm just quite intelligent.

You know, and they say we need writers. We don't. I know.

We just come up with stuff. No, we don't. No, absolutely not.

Why would we need a writer? You know? And now the weird thing is that we can see ourselves. We got cameras. We can see ourselves.

Oh, yes. I don't need, I don't need that. Well, we, and that's what we have.

That's our first video podcast, folks. If it works out, we'll see what happens. Yeah.

Definitely. Yeah. And we did it with the folks in the Roxy.

That's kind of cool. That's a great story. That's a great story.

Yeah. Go and see. Go to the Roxy.

Pick a band. Pick an event, whatever it is that they've got going on on their website, and just go one night. Right.

And if you go once, I guarantee you're going to go twice, and if you go twice, it's going to become a regular thing. That's right. That's right.

And it's for a great cause. Absolutely. All non-profit.

Come on. Right in the heart of downtown Lockport. That's right.

We've got a lot of friends down there in downtown Lockport. Yeah. All you folks around the world, you have no idea where that is, but I'll tell you what.

Come to the U.S. and visit Lockport. And stop at the Roxy. It's, yeah.

Visit Chicago and come to Lockport. It's not too far away from downtown Chicago. That's right.

And we've got a lot of live music venues there, and one of the best being the Roxy. That's right. So make sure you take a trek out there.

And as usual, thanks for listening. We'll see you guys next Tuesday for another exciting episode of the Rock and Roll Chicago Podcast. See ya.

The Rock and Roll Chicago Podcast is edited by Paul Martin. Theme song courtesy of MNR Rush. The Rock and Roll Chicago Podcast does not own the rights to any of the music heard on the show.

The music is used to promote the guests that are featured.