Reggae: Past, Present and Future

When I received a copy of the judge’s ruling this morning, a note from Meeka Ferretta asked if I might want to talk with Tom Dimmick. I said, yes, and got a call from him this afternoon.

How do you interpret the judge’s ruling? The press release says it “clears the way.” How do you see it? Is it as cut and dried as that?

It’s definitely a step in the right direction for me, and maybe a precursor of things to come, with the preliminary injunction and ultimately the lawsuit situation. It’s basically the equivalent of winning round one or whatever.
I think it’s a motivation for the Mateel to revisit its stance and its approach towards me. Hopefully it will open the door to some of these settlement concepts that have been getting kicked around for quite a while.

Can you give any detail on what you’re offering?

What I hope we can arrive at is a settlement that makes everyone happy. I’d love to see the Mateel make the money it needs to from the Reggae event, enough to continue doing its thing. And I need to have my long-term security needs met as far as feeling like the event is properly staffed with experienced people. All the offers are about nailing down the right amount of money so everyone can walk away feeling good.

Are you still talking about licensing the Reggae on the River name to avoid confusion? In Humboldt County people are more aware of what’s going on with the festival. On a national and international level they may not know what Reggae Rising is. Bottom line, would you like to get the name back.

There’s a lot attached to that name, both good and bad at this point. I think internationally, Carol Bruno’s name is as important as Reggae on the River, when it comes getting the good artists and the respect of the people who’ve come to enjoy this amazing show over the years.

That may be true for those involved inside the reggae business, record labels, managers, booking agents and so on. But what about the average reggae fan? Will it make any difference to them? I guess what I’m asking is, how important is the name?

Maybe not as important as it was six months ago. It’s just really sad what’s happened here over the course of this dispute. I’m not saying that the name is off the table, but...

I’m assuming you announced a festival with a new name because you felt you had no choice.

That’s right.

There were licensing offers...

Definitely.

So, is it too late to revisit that idea?

I guess I can say that that idea is not all that attractive anymore, basically because of all the negative comments about it being a corporate take-over, which is ridiculous because we’re all people. We all work together; we’re from the community. I have to be evasive about that... let’s say it’s not a priority.

What do you think it will take to heal this wound? That’s the way I see it from the perspective of Northern Humboldt, that the community seems torn apart by all this. What will it take to end it?

It’s going to take a creative solution, a reasonable settlement and a good solution that everyone can get behind and work toward. When we find that and can do it, we’ll look back and say, wow, that was something, but hey, look where we are now. In the end it has to work out.

You use the word “settlement,” which is a legal term. Is that what you’re thinking at this point, to end things out of court by settling between the two parties?

That’s been the concept the whole time, but communications broke down. It just a matter of getting the people together to come up with a real solution and do it.

In your press release you say you “remain open to working together on this.” What do you mean by that exactly.

That if we’re going to make a settlement it needs to work for everyone. We’ve all suffered losses in this dispute. If it’s going to work, we all have to work together.

At the Planning Dept. hearing Thursday you made a comment that seemed to be a response to rumors that there are plans to turn Dimmick Ranch into some sort of year-round concert facility. Do you have any more to say about that? From talking to the Planning Dept. [Michael Richardson] I know that that the EIR could be amended to allow for more concerts.

For 362 days a year it’s a quiet peaceful place and we love it. Now with all the infrastructure and everything there, there’s an opportunity also. Certainly down the road, we would like to add some really top-notch entertainment, but presently we’re just trying to get through the situation right now.

I can see how you’d be eager for this summer to be over.
Returning to the court decision. What everyone seems to be asking is, now that round one is over, what happens next? Has anything changed?

We’ll see. It’s not over. Again, I’m hoping that the door’s open to make a settlement. The clock is ticking. It’s so late in the year. For any event to happen, decisions need to be made right now.

Is there work to do on the site?

Not really. The site is pretty much there. There’s some fencing and stuff like that to be done here and there, but no major construction efforts for this year.

Because all that was taken care of last year...

That’s right. In fact that was basically what led to the whole dispute.

You mean the fact that the added cost of setting up the new site meant there was not as much profit?

That’s right.

Presumably without the set-up costs, there’s more potential for profit this year...

That’s absolutely correct.

One has to wonder, what if...

(Tom is quiet for a little while thinking...) You know I know the answer to that, but I don’t want to go there. We need to get beyond all that.
If you look at what happened at the Planning Commission meeting, it appeared to be a concerted effort to discredit People Productions. It was just ridiculous.

From were I was sitting it seemed pretty self-destructive. All the commissioners were going to decide was how many tickets you can sell, and those limits will be made on whoever does a festival. I can’t imagine what they left that meeting thinking.

Things were blown out of proportion and exaggerated. It was really a sad thing. I hope that the event can bounce back from that.

The planning staff had recommended selling less tickets. I’m thinking whoever does the show just lost a couple of hundred thousand dollars from that night.

Pretty much. I have to say, I felt somewhat vindicated in my choice of producer at that point. It was a choice I made a year and a half ago, and I plan to stick with it long-term.

Anything else you want to add?

Just that we’re working toward a solution that the whole community can get behind. I’m actually cautiously optimistic that we’ll reach a solution, and fairly soon. I’m hopeful. I think we can get there.

So you’re feeling optimistic?

Cautiously optimistic, but yes, I am.