After a summer festival that resulted in a lawsuit for Missoula County, this post will be taking a look at the music scene recently highlighted by CNN as part of its PR boost to market Missoula to the rest of the nation. Under the title There’s world-class wilderness in every direction, but Missoula is far more than a gateway, CNN frames our mountain town like this:
The American West is full of towns that serve as gateways into the natural world. Launching points, if you will, that sit on the edge of the wilderness and offer the infamous three Bs — a beer, a burger and a bed — to those seeking refuge.
But Missoula, Montana, is way more than a launching pad. Better to call it a basecamp, as one young college student working in a coffee shop put it, with plenty to do and see before you set out on your next outdoor adventure.
This article is structured in the way you would expect, depicting the past as all bad when juxtaposed to the all-good modern day opportunities of Missoula. But who will be the lucky spokesperson for this modern day Missoula?
Described as “fairly alternative,” “eclectic,” and “quirky” by various locals, Missoula is home to about 80,000 residents and a large student population attending the University of Montana. With world-class wilderness in every direction, there are endless opportunities for outdoor recreation, especially when it comes to river activities, like fishing and boating, as well as hiking and mountain biking.
Missoula was once an industrial lumber town, its ambiance haunted by black smoke and the buzz of saws. But today, things are different. Modern-day Missoula is outdoorsy, artistic and musical, with university roots that bring energy to its downtown.
The spokesperson introduced a few paragraphs later is someone our local elite can trust to tell the right story about the right people, and that’s because the owner of the Trailhead, Todd Frank, took his public $50,000 Tax Increment Financing payout, making him, in my humble estimation, MRA’s bitch. This was evident when the Missoulian tapped Frank to be a hilarious victim for the Russian/Ukraine war.
After introducing CNN readers to this unlikely victim of Putin’s aggression, they allow Todd Frank to give a figurative handjob to Nick Checota, giving this CNN audience the impression our “stagnant” music scene needed a nepo-savior.
When Nick Checota moved to Missoula about 20 years ago, the historic Top Hat Lounge had seen better days. Nearby, The Wilma theater was not much better off — it, too, was rundown and lacked the musical infrastructure (i.e. stage equipment) to consistently attract artists.
Where many saw stagnation, Checota saw opportunity. He went on to buy and restore the Top Hat as a “passion project,” then later, in 2015, he bought and renovated The Wilma. Then, in 2017, he created something brand new: the KettleHouse Amphitheater, a 4,000-person capacity, outdoor venue on the Blackfoot River, built on a property that was originally the Bonner Mill, another former timber processing plant.
“Nick was a game changer in our community,” Frank said. “He has done a number of things in the community in the music scene that have really changed the face of what we have available to us.”
While I don’t put much stock in what Frank has to say about Checota, I agree that Nick was a “game changer” because love of music, under the influence of Checota, has become love of money, with the recent Zootown Festival lawsuit offering the perfect example of what music means to modern day Missoula.
The litigation, filed by The Rhino, got a response from Missoula County and, wouldn’t you know, a Checota property is involved. According to the County’s response, The Rhino needed permission to work with a subcontractor, like the Top Hat, owned by Checota, but they didn’t ask for it, thus breaching the contract.
Attorneys for Missoula County have filed a denial of certain claims made by the Rhino bar in a civil lawsuit that alleged a breach of contract over alcohol sales at the Zootown Festival.
Missoula County filed an “Answer to Plaintiff’s Complaint” in Missoula County District Court this week. In that document, Missoula County denies many of the legal conclusions or factual assertions made by the Rhino.
In particular, Missoula County claims that the Rhino breached its obligations to seek and obtain Missoula County’s consent for retaining the Top Hat as a subcontractor to help with alcohol catering.
Though the festival promoter, Always On LLC, objected to the Top Hat being used as a subcontractor, one worker I spoke with who worked at the festival WAS a Top Hat subcontractor. Hmmm. Here’s the quote from the article showing that Always On is the entity that made issue of who the subcontractor was:
Missoula County says the catering agreement the Rhino had with the County requires any subcontract to be agreed to by both parties.
“The Rhino did not seek or obtain written consent for its proposed subcontractor,” Missoula County’s legal filing states. “Always On expressed its objection to Missoula County and the Rhino regarding use of this subcontractor. The Rhino persisted in its assertion that it could use the subcontractor to fulfill its obligations. The Rhino breached its obligations to seek and obtain Missoula County’s consent for any subcontract under the Catering Agreement.”
While the first Zootown Festival will continue determining the value of its production in court, another venue/watering-hole in Missoula is busy determining the value of continuing to host punk shows.
In a mostly worthless article from The Pulp spotlighting the VFW’s decision to facilitate women watching a dating show (Love Island), I caught the REAL story hidden in the pathetic PR pitch. See if you can spot it in the following excerpt:
The unlikely event represents a shift in programming at the VFW, which has long hosted arts and music to support its nonprofit mission to serve veterans. House Committee Member Jared Perkins says the organization is moving away from hosting late-night local punk shows to offer more sedate events such as the popular Tuesday night trivia contest. “We’re looking for new ideas to showcase our little dive bar,” Perkins says.
Though the article doesn’t say it, another more “sedate” activity the VFW now emphasizes on their own website is gambling, specifically live poker. Who wants to gamble for a cause?
I’m not much of a gambling fan, or even all that knowledgeable about the game, but a little chat I had over the weekend (at a FREE music event at Kiwanis Park) gave me some insight into WHY the VFW might be interested in live poker–they allegedly allow their own members to play, which some might see as “the house” getting directly involved in the game, and you know what they say about the frequency of the house when it comes to winning, right?
Going back to the CNN article, the venues highlighted in the article are all Nick Checota venues. Here’s more about our alleged musical savior:
Today, visitors to Missoula can enjoy the town’s excellent music scene by bopping around these venues, plus occasional stadium shows held at the University of Montana. The KettleHouse has been especially beloved by visitors for its scenic, sun-soaked riverside vibes. Checota said that 67% of ticket sales in summer come from out-of-state zip codes, an admirable feat given Missoula’s remote location.
The ability to attract national acts is one obvious reason for the influx of visitors, Checota said, but he also thinks Missoula is becoming a destination for music lovers because of the deliberately and reasonably priced tickets. Lawn seats at the KettleHouse, for example, can be had for less than $50 for most shows — sometimes as low as $29.50.
Attracting (read booking) musical acts for non-Missoula guests is something Nick Checota appears proud of, considering he chose to highlight how 67% of ticket sales supposedly come from out-of-state, but a conversation I had recently with a friend who is a serious concert-enthusiast got me thinking about which musical acts are going where in Montana, and why. Remember, in addition to the “passion project” of purchasing and renovating the Top Hat, Checota ALSO has a venue in Bozeman called The Elm–a venue, I am told, where plenty of bands play instead of coming HERE, bands my friend thinks would be plenty popular if they were booked at a Nick Checota venue in Missoula.
My buddy’s theory, which tracks with Checota’s personality, is that due to feeling rejected by a wide swath of Missoula’s non-wealthy public, Nick Checota goes out of his way to musically cock-block shows out of pure pettiness. Could this be true?
While the truthiness of that theory is difficult to prove, it’s not difficult to prove the fact housing costs in Missoula have skyrocketed, and there’s no greater pressure on a local music scene being capable of generating its own stable of musical talent to play venues during non-tourist months than NOT being able to afford rent.
The timing of the CNN article coming out shortly before the announcement of a 100 million dollar hotel project launching for the site Checota once eyed, along with Mayor Engen, is just a little too convenient, but maybe that’s just because I’m old and jaded about almost everything. Thankfully that jaded disposition doesn’t stop me from showing up where the powerbrokers are circling-jerking themselves while ignoring the distinct possibility that our conspicuous lack of competent killer-catchers has created a covert thrill-kill industry that caters to the proliferation of psychopaths our culture creates, by design.
If you didn’t catch my somewhat rambling performance last week in the Hal Fraser boardroom of Missoula’s shadow government, the Missoula Redevelopment Agency, here it is again for your viewing pleasure:
While I introduced myself as a Lego Master and citizen journalist to our local elite, that doesn’t encompass the true scope of my talents, so let me end this post with my own song. This one is an apology of sorts to Tinkerbell for my obscene depiction insinuating an oral servicing of our President in my previous song.
Since I’m aware enough to realize a working-class barista doesn’t want to be subjected to my creativity every time I make something hilarious, I am dedicating this tune to the two bean-slingers who had to endure my warped sense of humor last week. I hope they accept my apology!
Thanks for reading!
P.S.-if you want free music that diametrically stands in opposition to the money whores pimping music for monetary gain in this town, Fridays at the XXXXs will continue showcasing the untamed heart of creative output that breathes life into the adjectives used in weak PR pitches on CNN.
You’re welcome.