Monroe Underground

I have long been a supporter of local bands in this area, even enough to have visited The Blue Monkey and its date rape bathroom on many, many occasions. The local music and arts scene in Monroe is one of the best things that this town has going for it. I think our music and art is so great because all of us have grown up in such a repressive town full of lameness that our creativity can’t help but come bursting out.

Makes sense to me, at least.

In the last few days, there has been a large and public war between several local musicians and Coda Bar and Grill. There has even been a Musicians Against Coda facebook page set up, that already, after only a couple of days, has over 160 fans.

The general complaint is that many of the bands who have played at Coda feel as though they have been cheated on the money that was taken at the door.

I, personally, can only attest to one incident of this happening, since I don’t generally go to Coda to hear bands. The case that I am referring to is Rhoda Brown’s birthday party when The Downtown Wigs (awesome band!) played. I saw for myself how many people came in the door that night and I actually sat for a while and watched the guy who was “taking the money at the door.”

My friends from out of town were there to see Rhoda. They had never even been to Coda before, but since we were sitting near the door, they kept their eye on “door money” guy as well. If I remember correctly, the statement from my friend Jesse was, “Why does he keep leaving his post? Oh, maybe he keeps going to the bathroom for some blow.”

This guy did not stay at the door. People were streaming in constantly and the place was packed. It wasn’t until several days later that I heard about The Downtown Wigs getting completely kind of screwed on the money situation. Which really sucks because A: they are awesome and B: they were only playing because it was Rhoda’s birthday.

Since this is my one and only personal account on this argument, I tend to think that these musicians against Coda might have a point. When you’ve been playing gigs for a while, you can take a look at the crowd and make a pretty good guess at what the take will be that night. When you see a packed house and you get paid for about 17 people, something’s fishy.

On a purely personal note, I’ve been watching the discussions on the Facebook page and whoever was posting in the name of Coda was getting pretty nasty. From a PR standpoint, getting nasty with your customers in a public venue that can be CTRL + PRTSC’ed all over town is a pretty bad fucking move.

Here’s a quote:

HA! DAM! We actually hope every other band as crappy as Revamp does boycott us. You guys should take that 13 dollars you earned and you and your groupies can hit up the waffle house because you can’t afford to eat or drink in our establishment. Maybe you can play there too. And if any other crappy local bands have a …problem with us feel free to comment. That’s why we love facebook too.

I’m not really sure what their problem is with Revamp, but a couple days ago, they were offering free shots to anyone who came into the bar and said “Revamp sucks”. Way to honor the local music scene guys. Super fucking professional.

The admin of the Coda facebook page has made it known that their business plan caters to a certain clientele. This is why they overcharge for their food. ( I do have to say, though, I love their red beans and rice.) The problem with that is, the clientele that they are aiming for is not the ones who keep them in business on the weekend nights when bands are playing and they are drinking.

Hell, I would have saved up for a week if I had had to so that I could go hear The Downtown Wigs play there. It’s not about the money. Anyway, we all know that the hoochies in the short skirts and g-strings who are standing outside the door on Friday and Saturday nights are where the bulk of the money is coming from. I’ve seen many a guy buy an overpriced drink for a hoochie in a short skirt.

The venue is absolutely gorgeous. I love going to The Rising Sun, but the damn door is never open. I was told about 3 months ago that they are doing a revamp (ha!) on the whole she-bang, but I really don’t know what is going on there. Coda is a place that I would be proud to bring my out of town guests. It’s beautiful and the food doesn’t suck too bad as long as you can afford it. The drinks are over priced and I have had some really crappy service there, but the atmosphere makes up for it.

What the oh-so- beautiful atmosphere does not make up for, however, is DOUCHE BAG comments such as the ones left on Facebook (most of which have been deleted, btw). It also does not make up for the non-professionalism of the owner who feels the need to act out on Facebook in such as childish manner.

As of today, the Coda page has made an apology. Somehow, I don’t buy it. I’m not saying I’m never going to eat their red beans and rice again, but I will never go see another band play there. Most of the bands I like don’t play there, anyway. I’ll stick to Enoch’s, thank you very much.  The Jeters have somehow managed to create a place where hippies and hoochis alike can come and drink and enjoy some music. If I went out more, I would probably be all over Tsunami. I have a lot of respect for the local bands who play there and people like Donnie who are doing everything they can to help out local musicians.

As far as you, Coda, you just lost my respect. I truly hope that you get your managerial problems worked out and learn how to act in a professional manner. I love your building, but I hate your fucking attitude.

Tags: bands, bars, coda, local music, louisiana, monroe, musicians, poor management, restaurants