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November 14, 2006: Click here to be directed to our new forum pages! 12/16/04 Dear Supporters and Signers: We at takeittothebridge.com are extremely pleased to announce that yesterday, at the last possible minute--at the end of our demonstration--a settlement was reached with the new management of KnitMedia! The details of the settlement will soon be posted here in a press release. Because of this, we are calling off any plans for a boycott of the Knitting Factory clubs and labels. This settlement not only benefits the 28 artists who had signed on to the suit, but ANY Knitting Factory recording artists who come forward, within a year, to get the full rights to their masters (and any masters themselves if they can be found) and be able to retrieve any undestroyed CD stock left (again, if it can be dug up) at $2 a disc. The artists who actually signed on to the suit itself will get some compensation in addition to the above (check back here soon for a press release with more details.) We wanted to write and thank all of our supporters so hugely for helping us achieve this truly historic victory. We could not have done it without your signatures, your words of support, and the fact that so many of you showed up to stand with us and demonstrate side by side with us, even in the bitter cold. It was unbelievably moving and inspiring to us...to know that despite the increasingly difficult odds, the arts DO have such a strong community that is still hanging tough in New York City!! Takeittothebridge.com's mission will not end here. We realize that this unprecedented success for a group of independent artists trying to stand up for themselves was made possible in part by utilizing this spot on the web as a gathering place for the artists and our supporters, where we could gather strength and disperse information in a way that had not been possible in the past. It has served us well, and we are hoping now to adapt it in some way to serve musical artists everywhere, as a support network and backbone for their causes. So stay tuned!! Or untuned, as many of us experimentalists would rather say!!! Our thanks again go out to you all, for all the strength you gave us. We want to thank the Musicians' Union, Local 802, again for their extraordinary help: the legal support, resources and counsel that made this all happen--Joe Eisman, Harvey Mars, Summer Smith, David Lennon, Mikael and everyone at Allegro (the union newspaper), all the union staff who helped us, and their affiliates (especially Seattle! For flyer-distributing at the LA KF club.) May this be the beginning of a new era in the Union's great endeavors, and a collaboration takeittothebridge.com hopes to continue. Thank you, Graham Schreiner--for making such amazing posters and flyers for us!! You are amazing. Thank you, Bruce Gallanter and Manny Maris of Downtown Music Gallery for your support of our action; thank you, John Zorn, for your help; thank you, Joel Schlemowitz; thank you, Phil Hartman for your tireless support of us both at the HOWL Festival and giving us space and pizza at Two Boots--thank you Teamsters for lending us the big rat and standing strong beside us! To all the musicians who came out and played at our demos: the magnificent Kenny Wollesen, Jessica Lurie and friends...Our very own Stephen Bernstein, Dean Bowman--who stood up and sang in a voice that echoed thru all of downtown New York....Wayne Kramer--to all the musicians we have played with who came and stood with us... takeittothebridge.com will be there for you if you ever need us. Happiest of Holidays to you all.... peace and best wishes... The TakeItToTheBridge.com crew: |