Langguth clinic almost diverted?

[Mathieu Benoit]

Well, well, well...

Looks like someone was trying to divert the Langguth clinic for their own purposes.

It was well known to anyone that knew about this clinic tour that it was being sponsored by Dave's sponsors (Vic Firth, Sonor, Sabian,ect...) and by authorized Sonor retailers. In this case that would mean Musicstop/Long&McQuade. However the Saint John event was almost taken hostage by someone else.

I was speaking to a hell of a good source, and found out something interesting. It appears that the patriarch of a local recording/film school, is old poker buddies with the patriarch of L&M. He requested that the clinic was diverted to his own "venue". Mr. Long was somehow convinced enough to discuss it with the regional and SJ store manager, that put a stop to it. The regional manager said, "No way."

Now that seems like a dickish thing to do, but before I give my 2 cents...let's explore the depth of this....

This has most likely seriously upset the regional and local levels of the retailer. Not that this relationship was great to begin with....v I actually know that their pissed about this.

It's just rude really...I think. But then again I know Norm teaches out of there and I love Norm, he's like one of my favorite people ever. Was this his intention? Is all this a big misunderstanding, or did Mr. K do this intentionally to help himself out.

Musicstop is hosting it at HVHS, there is NO cover, and there are prizes being given away too.

How much would Atlantica charged for this clinic? Hopefully not as much as the Larry Carleton one...

There's likely a bunch of stuff I don't understand about this yet... But I'm thinking if you all start putting our heads together, this could be an interesting thread.

[Malcolm Boyce]

What's that old saying... All's fair in....

This is the kind of thing that I'd be expecting to happen.

Good on the "local" guy to keep it real.

[Mathieu Benoit]

It pissed a lot of people off, is the word on street. But as you said, not unexpected either...

[weatherstation audio]

here's my perspective,
at some point the Langguth venue hadn't been secured... and this concerned/upset Mr. Calp, a mentor/teacher of Langguth and all around really nice guy... Mr. Calp convinced Mr. K that he should offer the school as a venue...

and not to compare apples to oranges, as I understand, Langguth is originally from SJ visiting members of his immediately family and Mr. Carlton was going completely out of his comfort zone to visit us in good ol' SJ.

free admission was proposed for Langguth clinic...

[Malcolm Boyce]

...
at some point the Langguth venue hadn't been secured...

Difficult to believe that anyone would take it seriously that L&M/Musicstop would not have a venue when it came time. It's a bit of an insult to suggest that they wouldn't have their act together as the host of the clinic. I think therein lies the problem.

BTW, my understanding is that Dave L. is doing a series of clinics, not just coming home to see Mom and Dad. Right or wrong?

[Mathieu Benoit]

That is correct Malcolm, this is a full on tour. He will be gone by the following morning.

The only reason they hadn't decided on a venue yet was because they had a host of options, it wasn't because they had no idea where they were gonna hold it.

Unfortunately I do agree with Goz on one thing... That this could be Norm being a little overzealous. I love him like a father, but this wouldn't be new.

In either case the result is a very upset L&M regional management. I can't see them being upset over something unless there was really something outta line.

My concern with this is if Goz is right, then why would Mr. K go straight to the head of the company, if they wanted to assist in finding a venue, then why not approach local management to offer assistance. This sounds a lot more like trying to strong arm the situation for me. That's the impression I get from this. "Here guys. let me help you out by going over your head and undermining you..." Just doesn't sound right...

If I'm off base, let me know. Just my 2 cents...

[Malcolm Boyce]

Regardless of the intent, the resulting actions seem out of line.

What Matt suggests would have been a more co-operative method of "helping" with the event... getting in touch with the locals first, instead of trying to flex some muscle from the big city.

[Redeye Mojo]

If the L&McQ gang are miffed, I can't say I blame them...

I can't help feeling that this scenario rose less out of raising Langguth's profile, and more out of raising the prospective venue's profile. I think the world of Norm as well, and I don't feel that his name needs to come up here at all. Unless I am way off base here, he is not the man calling the shots there. In other words, regardless of involvement, it is not his responsibility.

In the end, Karma will remain the steadfast bitch that she is.

[Mathieu Benoit]

I agree wholeheartedly with every word. Well put.

[Malcolm Boyce]

One of the things that we haven't touched on here is the obvious conflict between the Conservatory at Musicstop, and the "School of Rock" that wanted to host this event.

I hope the folks from Ontario were aware that they were talking to a direct competitor for music instrument education about hosting a major clinic event.

Once again, it's this kind of thing that makes what was taking place all the more unreal.

I'm sure all the parties involved have shaken hands and gone back to their corners...

[Mathieu Benoit]

I'm sure all the parties involved have shaken hands and gone back to their corners... Rolling Eyes

I think they have by now...

All that being said I'd like to state, in case it wasn't already known. I take full responsibility for anything that I post. They are my opinions and I speak for no one but myself. Just in case anyone ever has any concerns about what I say. Feel free to call me on any of it. Members or guests alike.

That being said... I love this place!!!!!

[Malcolm Boyce]

C'mon Mathieu... We all know you're just a puppet of "the Man"...

[Mathieu Benoit]

Haha... you're right. I just didn't want anybody reading to think that I had outside influences. Last thing we need is rumours spreading that someone else put this idea in my head.

[Malcolm Boyce]

So things have taken a serious turn with this little topic and I'd like to take a few moments and give my take on it, as of today.

I understand Mathieu's comments have ruffled some feathers, including some from away, as well as some from nearby. Some of the feathers that have been ruffled are friends of Matt's who seem to be getting caught up in the moment and not reading what has been said, to a clear understanding.

It is interesting that when people removed from this event are told the basic facts about what has taken place, they come to the same conclusion that Mathieu, and myself, and several of our other members have made. This is facts presented without bias, to people who don't know any of the players involved.

The biggest concern right now is that Matt has in some way offended Mr. Calp, who I understand to be a close friend of his. Upon my re-reading this entire thread right now, I see nothing that Matt has said about Mr. Calp that could be considered rude, offensive, disrespectful, or even the least bit negative in any way. In fact, in his original post with:

...It's just rude really...I think. But then again I know Norm teaches out of there and I love Norm, he's like one of my favorite people ever. Was this his intention? Is all this a big misunderstanding, or did Mr. K do this intentionally to help himself out....

I read Matt offering up Mr. Calp's involvement as perhaps the only legitimate reason for this to have taken place.

I understand that later on, after Marc's post Matt offered this observation:

...Unfortunately I do agree with Goz on one thing... That this could be Norm being a little overzealous. I love him like a father, but this wouldn't be new...

If this is the offensive part of this thread, we are doing pretty good here on the scale of offending people. If the worst thing I ever get called around here is "overzealous", I'd be pretty happy, including from my close friends...

Finally, for all the lurkers enjoying our little place here, and making issue with Mathieu's comments in private. This thread is in a public forum, where anyone and everyone can participate. I would encourage anyone who may have some insight that we are currently unaware of about the situation contained in this thread, to join in and enlighten us. If any of what has been said is false, or any of the conclusions made unjust, now is your chance to correct them.

Sincerely,
Malcolm

[Mathieu Benoit]

I'm glad to know that not everyone got the wrong idea of my intent in posting this thread. My intent was to raise questions as to the method that was employed in trying to "help" L&McQ in finding a venue. I was commenting on the facts that were presented to me by numerous sources.

The only reason I ever brought Norm's name up, was to present a possible scenario in which there was some sincerity to this situation. I was suggesting that his involvement would have made the whole thing completely legit in intent. The decision to not discuss it with the locals first, was and still is in my opinion, not a good way to go about it. But that has nothing at all to do with Norm. He would have gone to the local retailer and offered suggestions directly, if he was involved in any of this at all and concerns. He's alway sincerely honest and upfront. All he ever intends to do is to help people, we should all be so brave.

I'd like to emphasize, that if I offended anyone, with perhaps an improper choice of words, I apologize.

However, that is not the topic that I intended, it was to ask a simple question: Why did the question of the venue go so far up the totem poll? Everything else was information to try and discover the answer to that question, and not an intent to create scandal. I hope this helps to clear up a few things.

[Malcolm Boyce]

There's likely a bunch of stuff I don't understand about this yet... But I'm thinking if you all start putting our heads together, this could be an interesting thread.

I refer again to your first post in this thread where you state honestly that you were hoping for more information and communication on this topic.

The conclusions I drew were my own, based on the information I received here and from others who are aware of what was/is going on with this.

Never once did I get anything from this thread, or from anyone else, that Mr. Calp had anything to do with what I perceive as an attempt to use Mr. Langguth's appearance as a way of drawing attention to the "Atlantica" organization. One thing I do understand is Mr. Calp wanting to be involved in the presentation of his student, of which I'm sure he is very proud of. This, I hope, would happen regardless of where the event took place, or who was presenting it.

When the day comes, to the people that really care about this individual's visit, all this will be meaningless, and the event will be what matters.