DJ Jazzy Jeff at Kansas City Power and Light District

On Saturday, June 8, 2009, a concert performance in the “Living Room” of the Power & Light District by DJ Jazzy Jeff was cut short when Jeff refused to continue the performance. At issue is what occurred to precipitate Jeff cutting his performance short? Jeff has stated that he stopped his performance because he was told not to play rap. P & L District officials contend that the volume of the sound was damaging the sound system.

In order to determine what happened, HRD conducted interviews and reviewed statements from those directly involved. We have sought to conduct other interviews with those who were directly involved but have not been successful. Darren Zarter was interviewed. Zarter is the Event Production Coordinator for the P & L District. He was on the scene and in charge during the event. Zarter said that he was the person directly in contact with the performers during Jeff’s shortened set.

Zarter said that during the sound check before the show there were no problems. He said that shortly into Jeff’s set he began getting text messages about the sound. One of the messages was from Tad Kuhl, the P & L District’s AV person. He was being told that the sound was distorted. He said that Kuhl came in and told him that the sound had to be fixed “now.” He said that the system was “red lining,” meaning that the volume was getting to the level that could damage the system. Zarter said that the way the system was set up Jeff had control of the sound such that they could not override his controls. He said that Jeff’s master control volume level was on 10. Normally it should run around 7 or 8. He said that the MC microphone volume was all the way up. He said that even though the system had limiters – devices that help control extreme volume – they can only do so much in a situation such as this one where the DJ has some individual control. He said that he called Jeff’s stage manager Darnell (LNU) over. He told him that the volume was too loud and asked if he could have the volume turned down. He said that he called Darnell over a couple more times complaining about the sound but the problem persisted. He said that the final time he called Darnell over he told him that either they adjusted the sound or he would have to shut down the system. He said that Darnell stated, “How am I supposed to tell an artist to turn his music down.” He said that Darnell then went on stage and said something to Jeff. Jeff then said to the crowd, “I guess they don’t want our type of music here.” Zarter said that he never told Darnell or anyone else not to play rap. He said that he never spoke directly to Jeff or Skillz, Jeff’s front man. He only talked to Darnell. He said that to his knowledge no one else from the P & L District spoke directly to Jeff or Skillz.

Zarter said that when he first saw Skillz on the stage he did not know who he was or why he was there. He said that as he understood the contract only Jeff was supposed to be on stage. He said that he didn’t think that Skillz should have been on stage. He said that he asked Darnell who Skillz was and why he was there. He said that he never talked directly to Skillz. Zarter said that he did talk briefly to Z-Trip, the artist who preceded Jeff on stage. He said that he told Z-Trip not to play any vulgar music. He said that he never told Z-Trip not to play rap. Zarter said that the system was damaged. He said that 9 of the 12 high end drivers were damaged. He estimated the damage at $3,000. He said that two events were scheduled for the next day. They both went on using the damaged speakers.

Zarter is responsible for booking acts in the P & L District. He said that he had no problem with the music that Jeff was playing. He said that he knew pretty much what type of music Jeff played when he booked him. He said that this was not the first time they had problems with volume. He said usually the acts that pose problems are rock bands. For the most part they cooperate when asked to adjust the volume. He said that there was one band – Lights & Sirens – that they actually had to pull the plug on because they did not want to cooperate. Tad Kuhl was interviewed. He works for Entertainment Concepts Investors (ECI). He is a Technologist Specialist. He said that he is very familiar with the sound system in the “Living Room” of the P & L District because he helped design it. He said that he came on the property at around 11:30 p.m. He said that as soon as he heard the sound he could tell that the system was in “major distress.” He said that he could hear the distortion. He surmised that the source was being overpowered.

Kuhl said that the amplifier went into “clip” status. He said that about 30 seconds later the music stopped. He assumed this is when Jazzy Jeff left the stage. He said that he would not have allowed the performance to go on much longer because of potential damage to the equipment. He said that the only performer that he talked to directly was Masterkraft, who came on stage after Jeff. He said that he told him how to adjust the sound beforehand. Masterkraft followed the plan and had no problem. Kuhl said that six high end drivers were completely blown and 3 others were damaged. All nine had to be replaced. He said that the concerts that were done in the days immediately following had no high end.

Jim Watry was interviewed. Watry is the Operations Manager for ECI. ECI owns and operates several bars in the P & L District. He said that he was in the District when Jeff’s set started. He said that he could hear the distortion and that the speakers were too loud. He said that he texted Zarter to see if everything was OK. He said that he went down front where Zarter was. He said that he was with Zarter during one of his conversations with Darnell. He said that Zarter asked that the volume on the DJ’s controls be turned down. He said that while he was there no discussion took place about the type of music that was being played.

HRD has not been able to locate Darnell, who was the person from Jeff’s crew who had direct contact with P & L District staff. We contacted Jenni Weinman from Jeff’s staff in San Francisco. She in turn put us in touch with Lawrence Vavra who she said was Jeff’s manager. Vavra did not respond to attempts to contact him. We reviewed statements from Jeff’s camp from people who were present during the show.

Jeff said that he was kicked off stage for playing hip-hop. He said that his road manager (presumably Darnell) came up to him and said that they were having problems with the music that he was playing. He said that after three more songs the road manager came back and said that he had to kick Skillz off the stage, change the format of the music or quit. He said that he was told to play Top 40. He said that at that point he stopped. He said that one of the P & L District officials asked him to go back on but without Skillz. He refused. Skillz was the MC for Jeff. He said that the sound was never an issue. He said that they were never told to turn the music down. He said that after he was told what was happening he announced to the crowd that they had to stop because they didn’t want rap played there. He said that after that he was escorted off the property.

Z-Trip, the performer who went on before Jeff issued a statement. He said that while doing his sound check, he was asked not to play any rap music. He said that hip-hop is prevalent in his repertoire and he proceeded with his set as planned. There were no problems during his set. He said that he watched Jeff go on stage immediately following him. He said that while he was standing on the stage, he saw Jeff’s tour manager talking to Jeff about what he assumed were complaints the District had about the music he was playing. To complete this investigation, HRD sought to talk to the people from the Barcardi Tour who had direct contact with the P & L District personnel. Specifically, we have tried to set up interviews with Darnell, Jeff’s road manager, and Z Trip, both of whom we know talked directly to District staff. We left messages for Juliana Plotkin of Ink Tank in Los Angeles, Z-Trip’s publicist, in efforts to contact him.

At this point in time HRD can not conclusively say what happened that caused DJ Jazzy Jeff to leave the stage during his show. Obviously the stories from the two sides are diametrically opposed. From the P & L District’s perspective, they have submitted invoices for repairs of the damage purportedly done to their speakers. The invoices total less than $3000. From the Barcardi Tour participants’ perspective, two things bear noting. Although Zarter stated that he did not talk directly to Skillz, he did state in his interview that he was not happy about him being on stage. He said that this was due to Skillz not being part of the agreement between the District and the Barcardi Tour. He said that he did question Jeff’s stage manager as to why Skillz was on stage. Keeping in mind that Skillz said that he was told that Jeff could go back on without him, there is a distinct possibility that Zarter’s displeasure with Skillz being on stage may have been conveyed to him. Z-Trip stated that he was told not to play rap by a P & L District official. Zarter noted that he did discuss what to play with Z Trip but stated that he only told Z-Trip not to play any vulgar music. Zarter stated that the District has a policy that no vulgar music is to be played at the outside venue. It is conceivable that the message that Z-Trip got from the conversation was that he was not to play any rap. It should be noted that Z-Trip went on with his set as he had originally planned, which included rap, and there were no incidents with him.

Kansas City News

Kansas City Neighborhoods - A Breakdown of KC Neighborhoods

Kansas City Neighborhoods - a breakdown

I think that Kansas City is probably one of the most tricky cities regarding good and bad neighborhoods. If you don't know any better, you might end up with some serious buyer's remorse.

If you're planning on moving to Kansas City, you'd better understand the different neighborhoods before buying that dream... - or nightmare home.

In order to understand this blog, you might want to pull up this Map of Kansas City for reference. Kansas City is flat with no bodies of water so the streets here run in a perfect "grid" with the numbered streets running East to West, and the named streets running North and South. Isn't that handy :)

Let's start by defining Central Kansas City:

We're not going to discuss downtown Kansas City or any suburbs of Kansas City in this article - we'll do those in another blog. We're just going to focus on the area between 39th and 103rd and between Holmes Road and State Line (look at your map - or picture a square area). This is Central Kansas City.

The first rule of real estate in Central Kansas City is easy - Anything East of Holmes Road is the ghetto. This is true all the way from 5th Street (downtown) clear up to 135th street (Kansas City's most Southern point). Don't move there, enough said.

Now that we've ruled out everything East of Holmes Road, let's start with the area between 39th Street and 47th Street - East of State Line and West of Holmes. This area is pretty much considered the Westport area. Westport has gotten pretty bad lately. There is a shooting in westport almost every week. The shootings happen late at night when the ghetto folks start "cruising" the Westport bar areas - they're not there to buy anything or go into any of the nightclubs - but just to cruise around with their boom-boom music playing and sporting their tricked out cars (who's cost probably kept them from paying that month's mortgage). They are extremely rude (especially to whites) and they will shoot you. So that's nighttime in Westport - as far as the daytime goes, Westport is pretty much full of lower class "hippie" type folks who enjoy the coffee shops and the Pitch magazine. There used to be a lot of gays in Westport but most of them are making their way downtown towards the Power and Light District condos.

South of 47th Street - North of 63rd - West of Holmes - East of State Line. This area contains the Plaza, which has made Kansas City famous for it's lush fountains and top shelf shopping and dining. The plaza is a great little area and contains everything from expensive condos to affordable apartments. Plaza living is very nice - the only drawback is that there is only one grocery store within miles and it is a MAD HOUSE. South of the plaza to Gregory Boulevard is a fairly upscale neighborhood that contains a popular dog walking / picnic area called Loose Park. This area is usually defined as Brookside and it is filled with great little shops, restaurants and neighborhood bars. Brookside is getting older, however, so the upkeep on a house would probably be a huge factor - most of the houses in Brookside are well over 60 years old. The other downside to living in Brookside is that it has ZERO access to any highway.

South of Gregory - North of 85th - West of Holmes - East of State Line. This area, more commonly known as "Waldo" is a lower class area that is deteriorating fast. Abandoned buildings are everywhere, and we're starting to see more PayDay Loan shops and Fried Chicken chains opening up - oh, and pawn shops too. Always a bad sign. For some reason everyone who lives in this part of town has a dog, and all of the men wear sandals. I would stay clear of Waldo.

South of 85th - North of 103rd - West of Holmes - East of State Line. This area includes Santa Fe Hills and the Ward Parkway "mall" - if you can call it a mall. This used to be a great area but it has gone to the dogs. The lower class folk have moved in and it is NOT a good place to live.

South of 103rd - North of 135th - West of Holmes - East of State Line. This area is still fairly nice and includes Red Bridge, Bridlespur and Verona Hills. Those who live there are looking over their shoulder, however, because they know that this will be the next Kansas City neighborhood to fall. Let me just stop and explain something here: The lower class are moving their way south and west - basically to get out of the ghetto that they live in and to get away from their own kind. In reaction to this, the wealthy people are moving South and if they can afford it, WEST into beautiful and expensive Leawood, Kansas to avoid the oncoming ghetto folk. For a good example of this movement, take a look at how far south they have built up on Metcalf - wealthy people are running SOUTH. Back to this neighborhood...The best thing about this neighborhood is 435 highway. It's just blocks away. This neighborhood will be safe for about another 5-10 years before turning lower-middle class.

To be continued...stay tuned for North Kansas City, Grandview, Independence, Lee's Summit, Blue Springs and downtown kc.

KC's Trolley System: Right Idea, Same Old Poor Execution

By March of 2010, there should be a trolley system that runs between the River Market and Waldo. Seed money worth $200,000 was approved to be given by the City Council to the Westport Regional Business League for this purpose. An estimated cost of $15 will allow customers to ride the trolley's between the hours of 7:00 P.M. and 3:30 A.M. The purpose is to provide safe transportation and attract people to the city's nightlife.

The current proposed route will stop at 8 different areas known for their restaurants, shopping, and nightlife. Initially, the trolley's will only run at night. The trolley's will make stops at the City Market, the Power and Light District, the 18th and Vine area, Martini Corner (31st and Gillham), Westport, the Plaza, Brookside, and Waldo. If the execution is successful, there are hopes for plans to expand the trail to Zona Rosa in the Northland and I-435/State Line in the South.

Once again, Kansas City becomes thrifty and is trying to work with hand-me-downs. Major Metropolitan Cities, REAL Major Metropolitan cities, make a way to find the funding to do things right. Kansas City passed on the Light Rail system. Any major metropolitan city that takes itself seriously has or is in the process of building a Light Rail type of system. Once again, Kansas City is half-assing it and continuing its downward spiral to be one of the worst major metropolitan cities in the country.

The same as we couldn't build a baseball park downtown. The same as we couldn't rebuild the K. The same as we couldn't rebuild Arrowhead. We will not be building a public transit system that would help this city's citizens stay safe and increase business throughout the city. Kansas City, once again, is wearing hand-me-downs. The saddest part, people are actually excited about it.

Let me spell this out. Yes. It is great that we are getting some drunks from behind the wheel. However, it is only for a brief period. This may actually make it more dangerous as people feel the comfort of taking a trolley between bars. Guess what, they still have to drive home. Despite the push, our downtown areas aren't exactly filling up with tenants. Many people still live outside the city and still have to get home at the end of the night. It isn't going to be on a trolley.

To be even more honest, there are actually cabs you can grab around the downtown area and get in between areas for less than $10 bucks. Granted, you have to put up collateral to get home at the end of the night if you live more than a mile away. At least it can be done. If you want to get home from the Zona Rosa area at the end of the night, you better start walking because you can't even get a cab up there, and thus are forced to drive.

In conclusion, I absolutely love the idea of public transit between the cities popular spots for nightlife. However, this is putting a band-aid on a bullet wound. It's small time and a reflection of how this city operates...2nd rate. Great ideas. Poor execution. Keep it up and see what happens.

Don't be Confused by some of the Chiefs Moves...yet

In watching Herm Edwards fill in on Mike and Mike this morning on ESPN, I thought about how much I respect the man as a person, but how much I also like to see him on the ESPN sets instead of our beloved sidelines. Even the least passionate Chiefs fans know that there has been a ton of needed change at 1 Arrowhead Drive. It started, of course, with Scott Pioli and Todd Haley. In their wake, there has been a continued effort to add more people to create more competition, as per their promise.

The off-season began with the acquisitions of Matt Cassel and Mike Vraebel from New England. Despite his success, I think a guy that hadn't started a game since High School may not be the guy we need behind a swiss cheese offensive line and weak receiving core. Vraebel tags up with Bobby Engram and Zach Thomas to start their farewell tour from the NFL. All three have been potent threats in the past, but those days are well behind them. Trust me.

That being said, the Chiefs did need some senior leadership. The past few years showed Carl Peterson and Herm Edwards running most of the veterans and team leaders out of town. Don't get me started on Jarred Allen. With the recent trade of Tony Gonzalez to the Atlanta Falcons that would leave...um...Brian Waters. So, I guess these player/coaches could be of some value.

My confusion comes with the addition of Amani Toomer and most recently backup Quarterback Matt Gutierrez. But hey, they released Ingle Martin at QB to make room for Gutierrez. Yeah, I wouldn't make out the flashcards trying to remember either of these guys names any more than they should be purchasing property while employed in the NFL. Still, I see the method in the madness as Gutierrez backed up Cassel in New England. In addition, if we have Brodie Croyle battling Tyler Thigpen for the number two and three spots respectively, I really get it.

This brings me to the well dressed Amani Toomer. I have a ton of respect for this guy, but I think he rounds out the number four spot on the "All-will-be-retired-by-the-end-of-the-season-team." That is, of course, assuming they see time on the field. That brings the Chiefs tally to two receivers that should be watching football on television on Sunday and ten receivers total in camp. DWAYNE BOWE...DO WE NEED TO SPELL IT OUT? CATCH THE DAMN BALL!!

All that said, my opinion is that the Pioli and Haley are trying to bring as much talent as can be acquired at this time of the year to create as much competition as possible in camp. Don't be surprised if half of these guys don't make the team this year. If you will recall, we had Fred "Fred-X" Mitchell on the team last year for a few weeks before the season started. As some of these trades happen, please keep in mind that we have a GM and Coach with winning traditions. Let's not call these moves bad...yet.

Kansas City Chiefs News

Sales Tax Free Kansas City for Three Days!

You heard it here first, Kansas City will be sales tax free for the three days of August 7th, 8th, and 9th.

Due to the strained economy and the need for parents to purchase school supplies, Kansas City is going sales tax free on certain items such as notebooks, computers, clothing, shoes and other assorted back to school supplies.

The tax free break is called The 2009 Back to School Sales Tax Holiday.

Clothing must be under $100 in total value and be categorized under "back to school". Laptop computers must be designed for personal use only and be under $3500 in value.