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| R&R Hall of Fame Blame Game |
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You've seen the ambush on Fox 2's Problem Solvers and you've read the anonymous posts, the brutal insults, and the defensive tirades of all the victims at Detroitmusic.com. Now you can get the news from a name you trust. Mitch Phillips gives you his in depth report on, The "Rock & Roll Hall of Shame Blame Game" based on interviews and phone conversations. Click "Read More" for the whole story. Hell, print it out and read it in the bathtub.The Hall of Shame Blame Game
by Mitch Phiilips
Battle of The Bands: What a novel idea.
From the start, selling a Battle of the Bands with a grand prize of a chance to play at The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame seemed like a great idea at Freq Media, a Mt. Clemens based promotion company. Freq was primarily responsible for organizing and promoting events for The Hayloft and The Emerald Theater.
The Battle was the brainchild of Christine Kotila (CK), a bright, engergetic and by all accounts capable employee who was given the go-ahead to run with the project by co-owners Joe Nieporte and Aimee Spencer.
In theory, 48 bands would compete over sixteen weeks resulting in four finalists who would play a showcase at The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The bands were booked for The Hayloft, press-releases were distributed, and the show was on. The contest was to be judged by three disc-jockeys from WPON, an A.M. radio station located in West Bloomfield that supports local music.
But the fourth semi-final never took place. This is where things get a bit murky.
Dropping The Proverbial Ball
Christine Kotila decided to leave Freq Media before the contest was over to pursue her dream of opening her own promotions company that focuses on parties and special events - not bands. "To be honest, I won't do anything in the music realm for a long time. DJ's will rule my events! LOL!" wrote Kotila in an e-mail interview.
Needing to tie up loose ends before her departure, Kotila talked to her boss, Aimee Spencer, who, according to Kotila, said she'd take care of the Hall of Fame booking for the three existing finalists: Mindrought, Crazy Flying Giants and Burner. Spencer already had a contact at The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame named Lisa Viciquera who helped her book two previous shows for Paradigm and Bliss 66. But according to Aimee Spencer, CK said she'd contacted all the interested parties, explained that the contest was essentially over, and everything was set - so she put it out of her mind.
"In the past CK had excelled at every project I had ever given her," Spencer stated by e-mail. "Considering this was her baby, persay, I assumed that she would take care of everything from beginning to end." She assumed. You know what happens then.
So, CK left Freq Media on good terms by all accounts and the matter was forgotten. Forgotten by everybody but the bands who had yet to claim their prize. What happened next, nobody at Freq Media saw coming.
Hall of Shame Blame Game
Hall of Fame? Hall of Shame? Perfect fodder for reporter, Rob Wolchek and The Fox 2 Problem Solvers who (at the behest of WPON) ambushed Spencer outside her office after, according to employees, scoping the place out for several hours. No calls were made, no appointments set, just leap out of the truck when you see your target and stick a microphone in their face. Got to capture that element of surprise; just like on Jerry Springer.
The Hall of Fame blame game made for entertaining local TV news, but unfortunately, didn't fix the problem. Unless you consider humiliating people on camera "problem-solving." Nieporte claims he didn't even know there was a problem until a hysterical Spencer and Rob Klatt (better known as "Mr. Nobody" or "The Goon" thanks to Fox 2 - Can you say, "Defamation Suit?") stormed into his office. Nieporte tried to calm things down, allowed the camera crew to come into the building and was promptly forced to defend himself and his partner by a seemingly hostile Wolchek, who, in popular form, wouldn't let 'em get a word in edgewise. "You did nothing. You did nothing at all. You haven't done anything at all." he redundantly scolded Nieporte on camera.
True, Nieporte didn't just fold. And he didn't say, "Yes it's our fault and thanks to the FOX 2 Problem Solvers we'll never make this horrible mistake again!" In fact, his even mentioning a former employee (Christine Kotila) in this context was probably not a swift move. He should have said, "We're looking into the problem and I'm sure we can come to an equitable and fair solution that will make everybody happy." But "Problem Solvers" don't give you a second take or a fair shake if you've been targeted as "the problem."
"I tried to draw the cameras on to me," said Nieporte in a recent phone interview. But apparently that strategy never made it through editing. Spencer was visibly shaken and surprised by the TV crew, but managed to tell the truth as she saw it. No, she did not call The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Yes, she did say the prize was a gig at that very same venue.
Thanks to modern jounalistic practices and selective editing, Nieporte, Spencer and Curry came off like bumbling idiots who deserved the scorn of WJBK's audience, regardless of al the things they've done to promote local music in the past.
Playing Down & Hyping Up
Ultimately, the responsibility of providing the prize for the event falls on the owners of Freq Media; Joe Neiporte and Aimee Spencer. Why the gig wasn't booked before Spencer stated, on the air at WPON, that the winners would play The Rock & Roll hall of Fame is anybody's guess. She thought it was already booked? Perhaps. Bad planning? No Doubt. A simple case of miscommunication between Spencer and Kotila on the latter's sudden departure? At least one local band doesn't think so.
Local hardcore rockers Mindrought have been riding the high-profile tide since their appearance as the vicitims of the "Hall of Shame" piece on Fox 2. According to band member Tim Kasperek, otherwise known as TKO, Mindrought has recieved several offers for the band to play at other venues since the story ran. But he doesn't mince words when referring to Freq Media or Aimee Spencer.
"It was total fraud," said TKO in a recent e-mail. "Aimee promoted the show without ever contacting the Hall of Fame. They have no record of her ever calling. This should have been done before the contest was EVER announced. If the date fell through, shouldnt we have been contacted? Either way?"
TKO claims that the band lost money due to cancelling gigs in July so they could go to The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. But he's not sweating the outcome in the midst of all this attention. When asked in a recent e-mail whether he'd heard from Nieporte or Spencer or thought they'd make it up to his band, he said, "No. We actually could care less. We have heard we are going to be blackballed. Dosent that sound great? I have spent 14,000 dollars on my band, is this what we get for winning a contest? They have not contacted us AT ALL. I don't think they ever will.."
Gettin' It Fixed
But just as this reporter was playing phone tag between TKO and Spencer, the latter did call the former (I provided the phone number) to arrange a meeting and work it all out. I know from my conversation with Aimee Spencer that she wants to clear her good name in the local scene. As the former music editor of Real Detroit and an avid fan and promoter or local music, she's worried about the effect the Fox 2 story will have on her reputation. Joe Nieporte's not so worried.
"I would offer to fix it but now that it's aired (The Fox 2 story) and damaged our reputation, I don't have anything to motivate me to fix it," Nieporte said on the phone. But then he conceded, "We've been in contact with Lisa (Vinciquera) over at The Hall of Fame and we might be able to do something later on."
'Later on' turns out to be April of 2003 - the earliest date available to book The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, according to Spencer, who called Vinciquera on the Friday following the Fox 2 ambush. That date didn't sit too well with TKO, but then, he doesn't have a signed agreement guaranteeing Mindrought a gig at The Hall of Fame in July of 2002. Bit late for that anyway.
"Nothing was ever asked to be signed. We considered them (Freq Media) a legitimate and credible promoter," TKO wrote. "Won't do that again."
Mitch's Take
Indeed. Any band whose participating in a Battle of The Bands competition should get a signed copy of the rules. Any promoter considering a Battle of The Bands had better confirm the availability of a prize before they promote it. But there's little chance that any of the players in this saga, band or promoter, will ever be so foolish again. And that may be to the detriment of the local scene and bands who want their shot at head-to-head competition with their peers in the future.
You can sick the media on your perceived enemy to get things done, but hopefully, only after all other resources have been exhausted. In this case, I'm not entirely convinced they were. Joe Nieporte and Aimee Spencer seem sincere in their desire to settle the matter; I had no problem in contacting either one of them or getting them to return my calls (And lets face it, Michiganbands.com aint exactly The News). The solution is simple: All the affected parties need to sit down and work it out. As Joe Nieporte said, " I don't know why they didn't contact me in the first place."
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Re: R&R Hall of Fame Blame Game (Score: 1)
by Whitman (comments@83rddream.com) on Friday, August 09, 2002 @ 08:11:02 MDT
(User Info | Send a Message) http://www.83rddream.com | | Great article Mitch! Way to look at all the sides. Integrity is the foundation at michiganbands. Thank you. |
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Re: R&R Hall of Fame Blame Game (Score: 1)
by ChrisZilla on Friday, August 09, 2002 @ 08:33:13 MDT
(User Info | Send a Message) | Entertaining read , I am glad I got more facts here than in the so-called "news" report aired on FOX. I think "problem solvers' exists for those Jenny Jones , Springer fans who shop in their hair curlers anyway.
Tabloid journalism at its finest, FOX is ONE STEP away from the Weekly World News in my book.
It may have been a mes from the start, but at least both camps made sense in this article.
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Re: R&R Hall of Fame Blame Game (Score: 1)
by Izzy on Monday, August 12, 2002 @ 09:49:57 MDT
(User Info | Send a Message) | | In my opinion, Freq Media is totally to blame. How can you promote such an event and not have all of the entitilements secured? If you are a professional company than be one. I don't buy the miscomunication thing. As for TKO - dude, take the gig in April, remember it's about the music man, just get it out there and keep rockin! |
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Re: R&R Hall of Fame Blame Game (Score: 1)
by Sternblos on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 @ 14:13:10 MDT
(User Info | Send a Message) | Nice try at writing, buddy. Perhaps you should take a class or two, or at least READ some other articles to get some vague idea of how to write. Your article reads not as an article, but as some 15 year old kid's weblog entry for the day. If you want to write an article and bash Rob Wolchek, write an article about bashing him. But do NOT mislead readers by disguising your article as an accurate representation of how things "really happened".
Who the hell cares what someone may have done in the past, when the focus is on a criminal act that they just commited? Should we excuse O.J. from a double murder because he was a good football player? People like you make me sick. The Fox 2 problem solvers are providing a long needed service to the community, and you are actually pissed that they're helping you out. Let me guess, you'd be mad if they exposed your favorite grocery store for selling tainted meat? You'd rather eat e-coli and die than have your favorite store exposed? Keep living your life the way you do. When you are the victim of your own lack-of-esteem-induced arrogance and ineptitude and find yourself in a gutter, I will not even know of your previous existence. |
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Re: R&R Hall of Fame Blame Game (Score: 1)
by Mitch on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 @ 18:53:36 MDT
(User Info | Send a Message | Journal) http://www.michiganbands.com | Nice try at arguing, buddy, but if you want to criticize my writing ability, you'll have to do better than spew ad-hominem attacks and hateful invective. Support your assertions with arguments about style, cohesion, purpose, syntax, etc... - otherwise, consider your personal insults dismissed. It's the last defense of a weak argument. If you wanted to criticize, you could have stated that my playing devil's advocate was an unwise choice based on my intended audience. I took a very unpopular viewpoint. But you didn't - too late.
As to your other points:
1) 'If you want to write an article and bash Rob Wolchek, write an article about bashing him. But do NOT mislead readers by disguising your article as an accurate representation of how things "really happened".'
Misleading? True: I took advantage of Rob Wolcheck's story on Fox2 to include my opinion on the "Problem Solvers" and ambush journalism in general. But the story isn't really about Rob Wolchek, is it? So, your point is valid in that sense. I painted Wolchek in a bad light. (Thanks to you, now we ALL know how that feels) But I wonder; is it any more misleading than claiming to be a "Problem Solver" and not bothering to hang around to solve the problem? Wolchek confirmed that he had no plans to do a follow-up. He called me the day I posted the story, complimented me on my writing, but said I really should have contacted him first. In retrospect, I wish I had. I didn't intend to write a story about Rob Wolchek, but it sort of came out that way, didn't it? He was cool about it and made sure I didn't have any problem contacting him in the future.
Inaccurate? False: If my article is somehow inaccurate, I'd like to hear why. Which fact is inaccurate? Be specific. If you have evidence to support that what happened at Freq media is just another instance in a pattern of criminal misconduct, and not just a managerial screw-up, I'd like to hear about it. But I stand by my story and the facts as stated therein.
2) 'Who the hell cares what someone may have done in the past, when the focus is on a criminal act that they just commited? Has a crime been committed? I think you'd have to prove an intent to defraud. As I wrote in my so-called "weblog entry", I'm not entirely convinced there was an intent to defraud. Aimee Spencer told me it would cost Freq Media about $1000 to book the Hall of Fame for P.A. and security. She'd already booked two shows there previously. Am I supposed to believe that she and Joe Nieporte would risk their reputation and their business for that kind of money? It's a lot to me, but I doubt it's a lot of money to Joe Nieporte. Again, if you know something I don't, enlighten us all.
The Fox 2 problem solvers are providing a long needed service to the community, and you are actually pissed that they're helping you out. I'm not pissed, I just have a real distaste for ambush journalism. They came, they humiliated the "bad guys" and they left. That's not problem solving and it's not helpful if The Emerald, The Hayloft and Freq Media start ignoring local acts because of the hassle. In any case, Fox 2 and I came to the same conclusion: Freq Media screwed up. Now all I want to know is what they're going to do about it.
Oh, and if I ever find you down in the gutter, Sternblos, I'll probably make the mistake of helping you out. I'm a sucker for the defenseless. - Mitch
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Average Score: 4.91
Votes: 12
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