Rhinebeck Museum trouble

[Oswald]

NexStar7 and others,
Live music was performed by a number of local bands during the 2008 air show season. In fact, an informal count makes me think over half of the weekends had live music. These bands played appropriate music to very delighted visitors from inside the hanger next to the picnic area. Many of these bands played pro bono, although others were paid for the gigs they played. All of the bands played before the air show, stopping sometime before two. Visitors seemed to enjoy the live music while they ate their lunches, and happy crowds formed in front of the bands. One of these bands also lent their musical talent during the meeting of the Dutchess County Chamber of Commerce meeting held at the Aerodrome this summer. The music provided guests on a rainy day with something to do whilst they waited to see if a show would happen that day. It also provided a chance for employees and volunteers to open dialogue with visitors, questions about the band quickly segued into questions about the collection, allowing the kind of personal investment and communication ORA desperately needs to thrive. All of this was made possible by a very dedicated volunteer (who I won’t name without permission) who took it upon them self to improve ORA. It is my personal belief that the music brought to ORA this year was a very good thing, and to the best of my knowledge it will be continuing.
As far as the D-VII recovering happening before other projects, I simply have no knowledge at this point about that. The D-VII will need new fabric at some point, but it is still in good condition and airworthy. That said, the BOT can always decide to sideline one project in favor of another. As far as I know right now, the Camel is right at the top of the priority list.
Hope to see you all this summer!
-Oswald

[Bob_D]

IMO the past musical acts add nothing to the atmoshere at the ORA. If anything, bluegrass or country acts remove any connection to the pioneer or WW1 era. I always enjoyed hearing the period music (1900-1930's) over the broadcast system. It really set the mood for the times that these aircraft and their pilots were active. Any contemporary music acts are just another sideshow at 'the carnival'.

[BobGhee]

With regards to personal investment and communication, ORA had more
than it ever needed!! This long, glorious history has been removed by
something approaching a lobotomy...not much left when they're done.
ORA doesn't need to be turned into Duchess County Fair. The "chamber
of commerce" types really should leave;their performance thus far has
been only insult to the Cole Palen tradition which they purport to carry on.
The reason ORA succeeded for all those years was the aeroplane people...
not bluegrass rambles, raffle tickets, and Corvette clubs...a faded
Gordon Bainbridge sign in need of repainting should mean more than ANY
of those things....

[NexStar7]

In my 5 seasons I was with the Aerodrome (old guard, & proud of it!), we never needed to fill in "gaping holes" because ORA had none. The old guard didn't need an ice breaker to talk to people about the collection and purpose of the place.The ONLY way to improve the 'drome, is to re-instate the OLD GUARD back into place, not the cretans who are currently the residents. One by one, all the a/c it seems, are being sidelined with none of them returning to flight status: Camel, Nieuport, Davis,Great Lakes, Stampe, Fledgling, etc... and so on! Instead of paying LIVE BANDS to play, that money should be used to get these a/c off of the sidelines and back into the air where they belong!
I agree, the old recordings on the PA system was PERFECT to give the correct atmosphere to Old Rhinebeck, and anything other than that is an added insult to Cole & Rita!!!!
If I want to listen to LIVE MUSIC, I'll go to my favorite local club or a high profile concert. ORA is supposed to be about the history of early aviation - NOTHING ELSE!

NXSTR7

p.s.- Yes indeedy, pretty damn sad that the website is still showing 2008 season schedules, and we are almost halfway through 2009!!!!

[AAC Cadet Leader]

i see nothing wrong wirh live music at ora as long as it is kept to music from the pioneer era through lindbergh era to reflect the theme of the collection. they did have lots of music back then, you know, and there are musicians and bands that specialize in it. there are probably many ragtime musicians and maybe an oompah tuba player who would gladly volunteer their time to play at cole palen's ora or to exchange their services for a ride in the new standard.

[Oswald]

To be clear, the normal music played through the PA system did play during all the band performances. The ageing PA system Barley reaches the picnic area, so the bands and PA didn’t really compete. Also, I would like to reinforce my belief that one of the best things that could happen to ORA would be for the BOT to issue apologies to all those who were forced to leave and ask them back. I would love to welcome back all the old guard, but that’s simply not in my power. Also, I don’t think paying a band $20 to play period music is a setback to any restoration program. The Camel, Great Lakes, Stampe, and Fledgling are all in the process of restoration, along with the dolphin. The Davis isn’t high up on the list because it needs a complete rebuild, starting with a sandblasting of the fuselage. The Nieuport 11 isn’t going to see the light of day for a long time, it is totaled, only the tail section and upper wings would need a little work and be fine, the entire rest of the plane is twisted scrape and wood.

-Oswald

[ONEALM]

I really don't see much issue with the music either. Keeping to period stuff would be great , but it's not realistic given the few musicians who are willing (or able) to play sets from the right period.

I always thought ORA could drum up business by having the blue grass/country (fill in the genre) bands play immediately after the shows or just prior ro or post-season to get a few more people through the gate. It would keep folks on site a little longer if the bands played after the airshow and maybe even get a few folks to come to the airshow who would otherwise skip it.

Oswald, you sound like a decent sort. Anyone who thinks the old guard should be back at ORA is on the right track. It's unfortunate that the BOT does not have the same sense of contrition (or intelligence) on this point that you seem to have. Maybe, just maybe, when the wind blows the right way and the current crop of miscreants are just a quickly-fading painful memory, you will find yourself at ORA with the just the people who appreciate the tradition and history of the place.

Keep the faith. If our duely elected public officials and government appointees EVER get around to doing the job they are getting paid to do, this will come to pass.

Chin up,
Mike

[SL DIII]

I think the addition of live music to the Aerodrome should be seen as a step in a positive direction. Historians of Cole’s Aerodrome will recall that Gordon Bainbridge had the creativity to write Aerodrome related lyrics to be sung along to various well-known old-standards. I wasn’t around during this time, but I understand that they used to sing some of these songs at the end of year banquets. In Gordon’s book he also mentions how Cole’s first very colorful Fokker D.VII was dubbed the “Flying Purple People Eater” in reference to the popular tune of the day that played regularly on the radio in the shop (not that I want to hear that one played live...just making a reference to music at ORA). Some visitors may also recall seeing the late Andy Ross and his wife singing and playing live folk music in the museum buildings on weekends during the summer months too.

I happen to know some of the acts that played at the Aerodrome last year and they are all very talented musicians. There was an excellent Django Reinhardt, Gypsy-Jazz cover band, an amazing Bluegrass band (Too Blue) and a few other folk acts that I have seen at other venues in the area that I believe would enhance the atmosphere there with their presence & performances. They may also help to bring in some more people through the gate, who might not have visited otherwise, which could potentially help income.

Regarding an earlier comment about the Chamber of Commerce, I think that the Aerodrome’s participation with the local community and local businesses needs to be more of a point of focus for them.

Best regards,
Tom Polapink

[Sandy Spigot-Colon]

Speaking from this side of the pond, I think a bit of live music is a good thing.
At Shuttleworth we usually clear a space in Hangar five for either a trad jazz band, the local pipe band (that's Scottish bagpipes) or a local Glenn Miller style outfit.

It's very popular as they tend to play over the lunch time period before the flying and vehicle parades.
It always has to be remembered that quite a lot of punters come for things other than watching a 1909 Bleriot or a Sopwith Pup flying around.
A family day out is a case in point--the Swiss Garden helps and we've even got a bird of prey centre too..!

Last July when we had The Memorial Flight Association over from Paris and God chose to turn a pressure washer on us from dawn till dusk, the jazz band agreed to play on and we were even treated to the prospect of the chief pilot and his partner having a little dance and the French tapping their feet to the music.

I realise that ORA has a load of historical issues (I'veread a load of this thread) but surely anything which brings in the punters should be a positive thing.

Andy

[BobGhee]

By "chamber of commerce" types, I meant the current management seeking
to minimize the history, and maximize the dollars, yet never improving anything. I agree that practical necessity would point to partnerships
with local business concerns. The aerodrome seems to be,however,
a closed society...