Help: HIGHLAND MUSIC CENTRE

Subject: HIGHLAND MUSIC CENTRE
From: Max Tone
Date: 16 Feb 01 - 08:20 PM

Been offline awhile, folks, 'cos of wacky projects, like below. Hi, again!

HIGHLAND MUSIC & ARTS CENTRE

I'm assembling a team to buy and run

DALMORE HOUSE, Alness, Easter Ross, Scotland

as an education and performance centre for Traditional Arts, with every conceivable music, craft and muso/arts biz course available + spaces to rent to young performers, tutors, promoters, and entrepreneurs.

It's the old owners mansion for neighbouring Dalmore Distillery (a fine single malt), with extensive space for accommodation (18 big bedrooms), offices (7), studios, instrument building/pottery/crafts workshops, rehearsals, tuition, bar, performances and sessions, plus 22 acres FESTIVAL FRIENDLY (I was there!) grounds, 4 staff cottages, kennels, outbuildings, 2 acre organic walled garden (with permission for new house), Salmon & 1/2 mile Trout fishing, visible from main A9 road, own wooded avenue to rail station, 150 yds from local High School, with tech/classroom facilities and 500 cap. car park, full disabled access, catering and smaller kitchens, fire ticket, Public Ents. and Market Trading licences and HUGE local pool of musicians, artists, promoters, songwriters, tutors and supporters.

Offers over £320,000, (about $500,000) for the lot. Seemingly good structural & decorativc condition (1935 build), but the decor's no' ma taste! Big building running costs

We have vocal and written messages of support from the local and national Music, Whisky, Hotel, Tourism, Trad Arts & other businesses, Local council, Scottish Arts Council, Scottish Parliament members -- it was discussed favourably by the Trad Arts Cross-Party group on Wednesday.
In the new Scotland, we meet with the politicians in the pub, and the last item on the agenda is ---- tunes & sangs !!! Wicked.

Loads of local and national media coverage, so far, and we're still pushing.
No committed investors or CASH yet, but local & well respected muso hotelier doing business plan, School head/adminisrator + Scots historian/Lighting designer/show-wise combo interested in coming in, plus we're hitting regional rich muos/impresarios like Sirs Tim Rice and Cameron Mackintosh.

We're appealing to the internet Folk/Blues community for feedback/support on the plan + interest from potential overseas students for song/tune/instrumental/craft holiday courses, active/passive investors in the building and/or project running, as well as contacts with possible sponsors.

Please post any interest in such a Scottish Music centre, and we'll add your names to the petition running round the Highlands just now.

We're particularly looking for SERIOUS contacts with the JIM BEAM USA group. They own next-door DALMORE distillery & single Malt name, + 40 odd Blended Scotch brands, as well as other famous malts, & their European Group HQ in Glasgow is called .......Dalmore House. If we can't market Dalmore Foundation Trad Arts & Heritage centre beside the whisky round the world, we might as well go home. Likewise Scots music and Scotch, generally. Where would Rabbie Burns have been wi'oot a dram?

JB have huge US Rock/Country foundation and grants system, administered by serious names, such as Pat Dinizio, presidents of Gibson, Warners, Columbia, and other musbiz bigwigs.

We're hyping it R & R style all the way to the closing date for offers. Please sign up below, or leave message on my board.

Rob

Subject: RE: Help: HIGHLAND MUSIC CENTRE
From: Susanne (skw)
Date: 16 Feb 01 - 09:15 PM

Seeing that Balnain House in Inverness has closed I wish you every success with your plans. Maybe I'll even get to drop in some year!

Subject: RE: Help: HIGHLAND MUSIC CENTRE
From: Julia
Date: 16 Feb 01 - 10:52 PM

Sounds Great!! keep us posted Julia Lane Castlebay Music Round Pond Maine USA Fred Gosbee Castlebay Music Round Pond Maine USA

Subject: RE: Help: HIGHLAND MUSIC CENTRE
From: Jock Morris
Date: 17 Feb 01 - 12:11 PM

Ambitious plan Rob; would be a wonderful resource to have. Best of luck with your efforts.

By the way, I haven't got round to re-tuning the concertina yet, but the bellows have been patched up.

Scott

Subject: RE: Help: HIGHLAND MUSIC CENTRE
From: GUEST,MacTattie
Date: 17 Feb 01 - 02:15 PM

What does R&R style mean?, and what is your/the future organisor's idea of TRAD.arts?. It seems like a brilant idea and more power and success to your endevours particularly if this brings in NEW money and resourses. Over the last fiew years in the folk/traditional world it seems (true or not?) that when something new opens up money, resourse and favour dries up for other events or organisations. By the by, what are the midgies like arround Alness and particulary Dalmore House.

Subject: RE: Help: HIGHLAND MUSIC CENTRE
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 17 Feb 01 - 06:37 PM

Great place, Alness. Or rather it used to be. Ruined during the oil boom years by the influx of lowland Scots who came to make big money, got laid off when the oil boom ended and figured it was a better place to live and raise their families on welfare than going back to Castlemilk or whatever.

Still, I wish you all the best with the venture.

Murray

Subject: RE: Help: HIGHLAND MUSIC CENTRE
From: Max Tone
Date: 18 Feb 01 - 04:20 PM

Cheers, Folks,
Ta fer yer support. Keep it coming, an' pass the word round yer mailing lists. The word on the project's already been multiplied by several kind helpers with own contact addresses.
It's called market research and advance publicity rolled into one!
By R & R style, I mean the way the rock world markets gigs/shows/albums/concepts with MAX publicity and brass neck, --- before signing the contract, if poss !!!

By Trad Arts, we mean a ROOT in, and booking preference to, Scots Music, dance and sang, but the facilities will be available to groups doing related courses and events, such as art, pottery, music biz/marketing and tech skills, organics, crafts, antiques, as well as other musical styles. I love art fusion!! If the house and grounds are full of creative types, it'll be FUN and wonderfully productive.

Thanks again, Rob