rogue festival and clearchannel

Hello, my name is Jaguar Bennett. I work for the Rogue Performance Festival, and I would like to clarify the Festival's relationship with Clear Channel.

Some local Fresno radio stations, owned by Clear Channel, donated some air time for Rogue Performance Festival promotional messages. Clear Channel has not tried to dictate the content of our promotional messages, or any other aspect of the Festival. If Clear Channel had tried to control any part of the Festival, the Festival would not have accepted the air time.

Clear Channel has not "taken over" the Rogue Festival, and I ask that all who read this come to the see the performances at the Rogue Festival for themselves.

The Rogue Festival is one of the freest forums for artistic expression in the San Joaquin Valley. No one dictates the content of any show in the Festival, not even the Festival organizers. This is a non-juried festival where every kind of performer has a chance to reach an audience.

The Rogue Festival is a valuable independent voice in the Fresno community, and it deserves your support.

You can find some real information about the Rogue Festival in this month's issue of Fresno's Community Alliance Magazine, http://www.fresnoalliance.com/home/magazine/2004/Mar_2004.PDF, and please also see the Rogue Festival website at http://www.roguefestival.com

The left has really got to stop shooting itself in the foot all of the time. If we have a disagreement with something another group is doing, we should sit down and talk with them about it. A boycott or demonstration should be a last resort after all other avenues of resolution have been exhausted. Get together and see if you can work something out. In the last year I have heard of groups in this community (Fresno) who claim to be progressive talking about protesting Jessie Jackson, demonstrating against the Martin Luther King Day activities, Earth Day, and now the Rogue Festival.

How does that old joke about the left go? Oh yeah...

Question: How does the left form a firing squad?
Answer: They form a circle!

We can do better...

cvac [at] risup.net, would you mind identifying yourself? Oh wait, given your other posts I guess you would mind.

The Rogue Festival is not a political organization, nor is it a media democracy grou
p to my knowledge.If a local station that happens to have the misfortune of being own
ed by Clear Channel wants to give the Rogue free airtime, I say more power to 'em.
I know Jaguar, Marcel and other founders of the Rogue Festival as well as many of the artist who are involved in this effort, and their dedication to the arts -- no strings attached. And this post is a tremendous disservice to what they have managed to do in the name of artistic expression in Fresno. This festival is as good as it gets when it comes to free expression and speech in this otherwise hellhole for rogues, and deserves our wholehearted support.

For the performance schedule and more information about the Rogue Fest, see: http://www roguefestival.org

Debbie Speer
KFCF 88.1 FM

dude... lay off it. mental masturbation is unfulfilling these days. boycotting the rogue festival is just about the most ridiculous idea i've heard outta you.

by the way folks, "cvac" is NOT an organization here in fresno. it is the efforts of one individual so please dont generalize all anarchists in the area with that person.

peace.

dude.... lay off it. mental masturbation is unfulfilling these days. boycotting the rogue festival is just about the most ridiculous thing i've heard outta you.

by the way folks, "cvac" is NOT an organization here in fresno. it is the efforts of one individual. please do not generalize all anarchists in the valley with that person.

peace.

boycott shouldnt have been the word i used.
let me clear my postition.
i think the rogue festival is one oof the most orginal fucking things on earth to see clear channel,a defenite non rogue.
i would never boycott the festival,just clear channels attempt to look like the cool dude helping out the struggling art scene.
there will be no actual boycott of the rogue festival,justa phamplet on clear channels media concentration efforts and the like.
now,this looks lame that i even have to do this,
cvac is not a effort of one person(but only one wants to try rather than mope and be cynical)cvac is part of raan,http://www.redanarchist.net,and affilitiated with DAAA in modesto.modanarcho [at] yahoo.com is their adress to completly discredit the post by louis.this "comrade" has had nothing to do with the start of cvac,and often goes from back and forth supporting to denouncing,depending if something is going to go right.(those who might have e-mailed while louis was supporting the network whould get reply from "chaiman meow")

debbie, if you want to meet with me and see me face to face,do it.
my name is jeff,my e-mail adress is listed above.
i worked with act up radio,cvac,and others.i dont mind facing anyone who wants to tell me off about how great clear channel is for helping out the filmakers in fresno,i'll be at the rogue festival,with a phamplet saying that clear channel wants to indulge in such things as the rogue festival to expand its markets and not do a service to anyone except to commodify art.

I think you need to get one thing straight about the Rogue Festival and Clear Channel -- they didn't come to us, we came to them.

The sole concern of the Rogue Festival organizers is to get people in the seats to see what amazing things our performers are doing. So we do everything we can to promote the Festival.

We wanted to make sure that our message got on the radio -- and no, we didn't carefully vet radio stations for non-corporate ownership. We can't afford to. We need to reach a large, general audience to make this Festival a success. That means we need to reach the media outlets that most people see and hear -- and in this country that means corporate media.

So we went to Clear Channel stations and asked for some free air time. And some local radio station managers, at local radio stations, donated public service announcement time, out of support for a community event. And, out of our gratitude for these local radio managers doing a good, kind, generous, community-supporting thing, we listed their company as a sponsor of the Festival.

The Clear Channel corporation did not come to us in an "attempt to look like the cool dude helping out the struggling art scene." The Clear Channel corporation doesn't even know the Rogue Festival exists. We came to the local stations in an attempt to publicize the Festival.

And as a matter of fact, the radio stations are helping the struggling arts scene -- and you, Jeff, are not. It is hard enough to get a conservative community like the Fresno-Clovis area interested in independent art. We don't need sniping from the left. I ask you -- is the Festival obliged to make sure its sponsors are acceptable to you, or anyone else?

When you criticize the Rogue Festival, you're not criticizing Clear Channel, you're criticizing the performers and the hard work they have done to bring their art to the public.

Now, if you want to distribute anti-Clear Channel pamphlets, that's your right. But Rogue Festival venues are not the place to do it. The Rogue Festival will not tolerate disruptions to performances. It is disrespectful to the performers.

And think about the possible consequences of your actions. If Clear Channel gets a black eye for supporting community arts, the corporation will direct its local station managers to not support community arts events. That means next year the Rogue will not have as much publicity or as large an audience. That will hurt the Festival and the performers, but it won't hurt Clear Channel a bit.

I find it truly ironic that you're criticizing one of the best free speech venues in Fresno in the name of defending free speech.

If you believe in the arts, if you believe in free speech, the Rogue Festival deserves your support. I encourage you, and everyone else reading this, to come to the Rogue Festival, see the performances, and judge for yourself the importance of this Festival to the community.

i contacted mr.bennet when he contacted me,we talked about the community arts and what not but when it came to me asking questions about clear channels involevement,it became sorta sketchy.
he said they went to radio stations and not clear channel corporate,then,mr bennet is clear channel corporations clearly listed as one of the sponsors if you only went to the radio stations?again clear channel is clearly listed aside from the radio stations then you only went to.
in the same breath you said clear channel doesnt know the rogue festival exists then why is the name of the corporation that doesnt know you exist on the poster of your event,can you explain that?
also mr bennet said clear channel station give a wider audience who mr. bennet said he wanted to attract"people from the northside and clovis" to come to the rogue festival,now this whould only mean that rich burgeosise yuppies will be invading our neighborhood,to spend their money on admission(didnt the rogue festival used to be free of charge?) and then leave back to their homes on the other side of town.(a agent said to me all that was attending the night he worked where white and rich,not a POC to be found)
dont the artist have to pay 35$ dollars to show their art and is not admission being charged,now doesnt this step into the realm of private art?
i told mister bennet the rogue festival was along the same lines as starbucks sponsoring the independent film awards(who{starbucks}does not control content but contributes advertising to a wider audience) then i said"whats so independent about starbucks?" i got no reply just forced chuckle.
you can say all you want,clear channel does not support this community,i've been a artist for some time,i know alot of artists,these artists support themselves and their community,not you,the "rogue" festival or fucking clear channel.real artists dont allow their work to be privatized by neo liberal white bread yuppies who want to make a buck and convert guerilla art into privitized "contemporary" art for the northside/clovis consumer you want oh so bad to support what ever it is you front with.
mr.bennet,you are 2 faced,on the phone you refered to me as"one of us" then you post bullshit on the internet,if you want mr.bennet,i call you out to talk shit to your face,and anyone else who wants to see it,you can talk a mad amount of shit here but what about when i can call it on you to your
face?
i talked to some of my friends in santa cruz who used to live in fresno,i asked them about the rogue festival their reply"oh the one sponsored by clear channel" then snickers and "isnt that fucking lame".
i supported the rogue festival after i talked to mr.bennet,now i believe it to be a front to create a private art scence charging consumer and artist alike,you should be ashamed for,what the kids call,"faking the funk" or mr. bennet your frontin' and no one has balls to call you out,well i do,your a faker so is the "rogue" festival,clear channel is clearly listed aside from the channels you went to(and they sponsor events without knowing it?"),you want people from predominantly white areas to come to the tower to spend their money on your festival(in a predominantly latino area)and i guess this is to imply clearly a upper class and white dominated attendance,you said that it was not appropriate to pass out anti-clear channel at the "rogue" spots so i went on to public area and passed them out(you seem to be protecting the interests of your sponsor,even though they dont know about the festival)if clear channel didnt sponsor this why are you up in arms about the flyers?there was nothing denouncing the festival,only clear channel,you are very defensive about,looks like you have something to hide about it.
mr.bennet,i support my artist friends,i dont charge them anything to show their art,when they are hungry (from buying art supplies)i'll get'm food,when they are fustrated by festival sponsored by corportations who charge to show art,ill call the fuckers out.
you festival is a sham,just there is nothing indepentdent about starbucks,like there is nothing rogue about clear channel.
so,you wanna front?
do it.
a sincere fuck you,
~soymilk!~aka jeff

the things i wrote about mr.bennet are completly a misunderstanding time of the posts.i though he posted it the same day after i had talked to him and met him later that night.but the post was in the morning,not later.
so i apologize about saying the rogue fesival was a fake and so was he.
but fundamental problems do arise.

>clear channel.i dont think that working with the system,even if it may seem harmless now,down the road this could be a problem.while the rogue festival really is a aset to the central valley free speech,i believe clear channel to be anti thesis to free speech.hopefully next we can work to change the clear channel sponsor and still recieve the same attendance numbers and stay completly independent,without clear channel sponsor.

hopefully people can understand this and forgive my words.

~soy~

i do hope we have this all cleared up. i am one of the co-founders of this little guerrilla festival. we conceived this movement in the belly of a charter school for at-risk kids (those who had been kicked out of public schools for various reasons) where we had our theatre group set up and performing with the blessing of the school's management. within one year it blossomed into something we felt could be achieved, but we had not asked for.
now, we are something that no one in fresno can ignore and we are truly unique. we do not censor (other than stating that nothing may be done on stage that breaks the law...like open fire or full-on nudity), we do not adjudicate (which means that if you pay the entry fee on time and there is a slot available, then it's yours), we do not judge (which means that if i know you and don't like you i'm still not allowed to lose your application).
we are completely aplolitical. our core covers the spectrum of politically affiliated people. maybe that's why the left and the right are uncomfortable with us. we don't care, though. we are alive as a group to promote art, not specific points of view. we are, also, here to promote economy. as we grow, so do the numbers of people who come to our community each year and spend money. they spend money on the performers who get all of the box office (did you get that?), they spend money on food, drink, they look at and shop at the Tower District's stores. we get people in from all over this large city who would not ordinarily come to our neighborhood and they love it.
this year, we had a musician from london, england. we had a singer from new york. we had a stand-up comedian from san diego. and we had numerous artists from right here in fresno who would, otherwise, have had no opportunity to express themselves on stage locally.
we contacted clear channel, because (by law) they are required to provide Public Service Announcements to any group that asks...for free. we asked. In our program, we thanked them...just as we did on our website. that is called common courtesy. not coercion or payback. we thank people for helping us, regardless of their "persuasion". we don't wear blinders when it comes to making the most of what someone can or has to give. and we don't put on political goggles when it comes to facilitating art within a city that is crying out for it.
i live in a town that is 500,000 strong. it has now been labeled the 6th best city in america for music. we've known this for a number of years (bordering on decades). it's always been a hotbed for all types of artistic expression. we just happen to be the ones who chose to act on it and put our necks on the line.
oh, and if you think we're being idealistic...ha. we started this, because we wanted to create a market where our theatre company could thrive...but you can't thrive without incorporating the outside world. luckily for us, the outside world wanted in.
i would encourage anyone who wants to be a part of something pure to come here next march and see a show. it's fun, it's rootsy, it's non-ego. and it will continue to grow despite the fact that some people have a hard time accepting it as a non-political entity.
it'll be fun, you'll see.