What a week!   Let's start with the obvious.  The bottom of our marquee was removed.   We can now see what we are dealing with.   When Jordon Caldwelll sent the dumpster, he said "you should always get the next larger size."  Looks like he was right.   We need to remove more to see what we have.   Considering the structure is 108 years old, it's not that bad.  

 

We discovered that aside from the steel beams, it looks like the marquee is wood!   That is a surprise.  The wood decking under the roof appears to be somewhat OK.   Still, this is the time to give it a fresh start.   We checked with other theaters of the same era, and they too have steel support, wood structure, and metal wrap.  

 

We need to upgrade our marquee to LED panels.   The weight of the new panels is 1350 pounds.    This is the entire reason for the investigation.   Last week a sign vendor gave us a quote for just those panels.  This does not include any other work to the marquee or a new vertical.  The quote was $112,000.   That, to say the least, caused our hearts to stop.   As with all things with the Strand, we need to figure it out. 

We will be talking to local contractors about the process to replace the wood that needs replaced.   The work is beyond the skill level of our volunteers.   The size is quite small compared to most projects, but will still need to be done in a manner to ensure that several generations will not have to deal with this again.

 

As of now the next step is to remove a little more, then get our structural engineer to take a look.   We will keep you posted.

 

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Costaki Economopouls performed at the Strand on October 11, 2024.   There is lots of local collegiate football for him to follow!   We enjoy having Costaki make a visit.  Thank you to those who attended.

 

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This week Fleetwood Gold performed at the Strand.   They were joined for several numbers by the Shelbyville High School Marching Band.    What can we say?    The performance and energy was electrifying.   Fleetwood Mac music filled the Strand the first set.  I was taken up a notch when the SHS Band joined.   Musicians were on stage and throughout the auditorium.   This was surround sound at its finest...all live!    The marching band started with Tusk...of course they did!    The rhythmic drum introduction set the stage for the rest of the evening.  The woodwinds and brass joined and the sound was incredible.   

 

The Strand has a very strict 100dB policy.   This is the maximum allowable volume of sound.   To date we have only allowed that to be broken twice.  For Hip-Hop and for Fleetwood Gold.    Average dB was 99 with a peak dB of 108!   We had earplugs for those who wanted them.   The sound literally went through you.   

 

Tusk was followed by Don't Shout, then Second Hand News.      The band said that the Shelbyville High School Marching Band was the best prepared and best performing ensemble.    They also gave a shout out to the band parents.   When the phrase "well oiled machine" is used, people are obviously talking about the SHS Band Boosters.    From the moment they arrived (absolutely on time) until the time they left, the parents helped load, solve problems, and supported their students in an incredible manner.   

 

Next week we will share comments posted on our social media pages.   Every performance David asks audience demographic information via applause.  We were surprised by the overwhelming number of first time Strand attendees.   We love that!

 

Steve Frazee commented that Fleetwood Gold was one of the easiest and best prepared acts to load-in.   Total load-in time from start to soundcheck was less than two hours.  This is all their sound, video, and merchandise set up.   Sound check took a total of 10 minutes.   We had the same experience with Twitty & Lynn.   Our community has the chance to experience top flight professional touring entertainment on our stage. 

 

Interestingly enough 89 year old volunteer Bob Schlick mentioned something that really hit home.   We had 16 volunteers to manage the theater on Saturday night.  It took all of us.  Bob posed the question "how did the owners of the Strand manage an audience of over 800?"   The original capacity of the Strand was over 800 when built.  

 

For the first time in our history we sold Standing Room Only tickets.    Thank you to the overflowing patrons, Fleetwood Gold, the Shelbyville High School Marching Band led by Mrs. Anderson and Mr. Montgomery, and the incredible Band Booster Parents.   It was a great night.

 

 

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The week our Tuesday Night Film Series features the October appropriate THE LOST BOYS (1987).  This dark comedy has had enduring success.  This despite Variety giving it one of the most entertaining critiques we can remember.  They said it is "a horrifically dreadful vampire teensploitation entry that daringly advances the theory that all those missing children pictured on garbage bags and milk cartons are actually the victims of bloodsucking bikers."

 

The movie starts at 7:30pm.  Tickets are available at the door. 

 

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Our performance of JOHNNY CASH/NEIL DIAMOND TRIBUTE is postponed until April 12, 2025.   We look forward to Doug Allen Nash's interpretations that are selling out venues throughout the midwest.    If you bought tickets online they will be automatically refunded.   We look forward to April!

 

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The Strand has lots of moving parts.   This week we were certainly jugglers.    This is all because of your support, thank you.   See you at the Strand!