"Hot House West" - "Patron Saint Django"

AndyW · February 22

I thought this might be of interest - vintage swing outfit "Hot House West"'s new album is called "Patron Saint Django" and is inspired by Django and Gypsy Jazz.

I'm hearing more of the Western swing and not so much Jazz Manouche, but who doesn'y like a cross-genre project? ;-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo8eYDuHu0g&list=OLAK5uy_lEvHBFcGtELhGzEZE-qkuS4oUNp58uxMs&index=1

wim · February 22

Wow. A whole swing orchestra in Utah and they've been on the scene for almost a decade. Who knew!?

https://www.youtube.com/@HotHouseWest/videos

Buco · February 23

Been following them on YT for a while. Their production is super impressive, big band and everything.

Scoredog · February 25

Very slick!

Buco · February 28

Latest one just out, super fun

https://youtu.be/OdjCV1CliBM?si=wIThP-v_Cgwdtun9

evindorkin · February 28

Hey all! I play in Hot House West. So glad to see people finding our new record and sharing it around. We've been playing gypsy jazz as a 4-7 piece band since about 2011, but we expanded to a 14-piece big band in 2023 because we wanted to branch out and incorporate elements of Western Swing and early forms of American Jazz into our sound and didn't want to restrict ourselves to only traditional gypsy jazz. Our newest album "Patron Saint Django" is our homage to our biggest influence - the man himself - Django Reinhardt, and is the debut of the big band. There are 40+ Utah musicians on the record and it is representative of what we are trying to build in Utah - a vibrant acoustic swing/jazz music community. We restructured HHW as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in early 2023 with the aim of getting more people playing and listening to this music. If you ever make it out to SLC, hit us up to come sit in and play with the band. Or, look for us out on tour this Summer and come say hi!

billyshakes · February 28

@evindorkin Must be fun to have that many people making great music! Can you share some of your experiences with the 501c3 route? Why did your group particularly choose that route? What sort of paperwork and auditing do you need? Does this mean when you play a gig, you just ask the venue for a donation to your 501c3 in return for a performance? Is there then a "recommended donation?" Do you still compensate the musicians? Curious on anything you feel comfortable sharing.

evindorkin · February 28

Hi @billyshakes , for us the 501(c)(3) route has been perfect for what we're trying to do. There are a lot of misconceptions surrounding nonprofits and the idea that means "not getting paid." Quite the opposite. All the nonprofit really means for us is that we cannot distribute any profit to ourselves and there isn't really an "owner" of the organization. All of our musicians, including myself, still receive normal pay for gigs, workshops, etc., just as we did when we were an LLC. Only real difference now is say we make $15,000.00 for a gig and agree to pay the 14 musicians $1000.00 each for their performance. That remaining $1000.00 has to be "reinvested" into one of our programs (of which we currently have 4 - education, performance, a record label, and a music collective), or needs to be used to further our mission in a measurable way.

We initially chose to become a 501(c)(3) to open up opportunities for grants and other funding to help us pay 14 people, but as things quickly grew, so did our vision for greater impact in our community. We have not had issues getting everyone paid fair market rates for gigs, and have instead been able to use grants and donations to grow our programs and focus on community building. We now host our own monthly event in town that features local music performances (swing, jazz, bluegrass, etc.), local artwork, swing dance instruction (with a social dance), food, beer, an open jam session with members of HHW, and partnerships with other local nonprofits. We just did one last week to feature the music of Fats Waller and sold around 350 tickets. So the community is responding to what we're creating!

As for setting up the 501(c)(3) - it is a bit of a pain with the IRS. Lots of paperwork and of course, you have to be super strict about how you are using money and keep very detailed records. We are still learning a lot of the ins and outs, but it has helped us reach more people in our community and has given us more credibility with folks as far as us trying to do more than just "be a band."

Hope this helps! Happy to answer any other questions about 501(c)(3) you might have.

billyshakes · February 28

Thanks for the great response! Sounds like you are making an impact and keeping this music alive through a vibrant scene.

Buco · February 28

@evindorkin wow, that's amazingly inspirational. I bow to you all for making it work, bringing great music to people while managing a decent pay for musicians.

I went to Park City at least 5 times up until 2015. Hopefully I'll make it to SLC again soon, I'll look for you then.