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What this film won't show is the pre-1990s Mill Ave. I was 8 years old in 1964 when my family's sitter (we lived in Chandler) took us to Mill Avenue (my older brother and I) on a trip to ASU (she was a student there). The building were all wood. It looked like a scene right out of "The Rifleman" TV series. I remember the first time she took us to a resturant run by the Sikhs. The BEST yoghurt drinks I've ever had anywhere since.

Over the next few years, while our sitter went to ASU, she would take us to Mill Avenue and just drop us off. Mind you, this was four years before 1968 and the Summer of Love. Downtown Tempe was just coming out of a horrible period during the 1950s where it looked like a ghost town for most of that period. The 1960s was the start of the revival of downtown Tempe - hippies had moved in and set up shop. I spent countless hours in Tempe until 1976 when I left Arizona to go into the Coast Guard (I came back to Arizona in 1981).

This was a magical time. With Legend City just around the corner, going to Mill Avenue was a gas man. It was "groovy."

The counter-culture got it started again and that is the flavor that continued on through the 1970s, 80s and 90s until the City Council got its wish and "kicked those damn hippies out of downtown."

The entrepenurial spirit, along with the collective Changing Hands Bookstore (it's now a "partnership.") and the food co-op Gentle Strength formed the anchors for this community.

It's a shame the documentary didn't cover the true history of the rennasiance of downtown Tempe - from a 1950's ghost town to the height of a cultural haven in 1996.

BTW - My band performed downtown a lot After 1999 as well. We don't do it anymore because there's no friggin parking!!!

What this film won't show is the pre-1990s Mill Ave. I was 8 years old in 1964 when my family's sitter (we lived in Chandler) took us to Mill Avenue (my older brother and I) on a trip to ASU (she was a student there). The building were all wood. It looked like a scene right out of "The Rifleman" TV series. I remember the first time she took us to a resturant run by the Sikhs. The BEST yoghurt drinks I've ever had anywhere since.

Over the next few years, while our sitter went to ASU, she would take us to Mill Avenue and just drop us off. Mind you, this was four years before 1968 and the Summer of Love. Downtown Tempe was just coming out of a horrible period during the 1950s where it looked like a ghost town for most of that period. The 1960s was the start of the revival of downtown Tempe - hippies had moved in and set up shop. I spent countless hours in Tempe until 1976 when I left Arizona to go into the Coast Guard (I came back to Arizona in 1981).

This was a magical time. With Legend City just around the corner, going to Mill Avenue was a gas man. It was "groovy."

The counter-culture got it started again and that is the flavor that continued on through the 1970s, 80s and 90s until the City Council got its wish and "kicked those damn hippies out of downtown."

The entrepenurial spirit, along with the collective Changing Hands Bookstore (it's now a "partnership.") and the food co-op Gentle Strength formed the anchors for this community.

It's a shame the documentary didn't cover the true history of the rennasiance of downtown Tempe - from a 1950's ghost town to the height of a cultural haven in 1996.

BTW - My band performed downtown a lot After 1999 as well. We don't do it anymore because there's no friggin parking!!!

You know what killed Mill?

The smoking ban years ago. There was the beginning of the end.

Although we may not agree with all of the opinions expressed (key word here..."opinions"), don't dis the artists or the artistry. Nico's film was brave and bold. It's uncommon any more for a filmmaker to stand up for his beliefs, and to express them with such passion and reverence for our local musicians and music scene...and that is something to be admired.

Hans Olson's masterful narrative and unique storytelling ability is legendary in this town. The film is worth seeing if for nothing more than that. Add another hometown hero musician, Walt Richardson, to that...with his peaceful and thoughtful appeal that we all know and love...and Robin Wilson's intelligence and sincerity shine brightly throughout the film.

And if you're going to mention one of "the" Blues Legends of Arizona...Hans Olson...please at least do your homework enough to spell his name right! He's been performing here since 1969. It's spelled with an "O". Everyone knows that.

And your comment about the performers interacting with the audience, as if it's a "bad" thing...that's just another wonderful attribute of our Arizona musicians. They are friendly, approachable, and they appreciate their fans. There are no egos involved here. It's why bands like Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers, The Gin Blossoms, Jimmy Eat World, Meat Puppets, etc. are as popular as they are. They actually "communicate" with their audience. That's a "good" thing in my opinion.

I applaud Nico for his passion and perseverance in this project. For a struggling filmmaker to risk everything he has, and to push beyond the limits in order to prevail....THAT is what Arizona legends are made of. Dan Harkins' comment that the Valley Art Theatre WILL remain open no matter what...again...LEGENDS.

And while you may not appreciate the film's take on the "evil empires" that have taken over Mill Ave., Kimber Lanning gave some astonishing figures of how much money is circulated back into the community from those corporations (not much), as opposed to the Mom and Pop establishments that gave Mill Ave. its start - and whose hard-earned money always went right back into the community.

And if you think the movie "didn't offer much history," then you weren't really listening when Hans Olson and Walt Richardson were telling the story of the earlier Mill Ave. days. If you stayed til the end of the movie, you would have seen that the package was beautifully tied up with a ribbon of Robin Wilson and Walt Richardson, along with others, talking about the future - and that change, however unwanted, has been accepted. No whining there.

As far as your comment "there was a distinct lack of facts or causes for the downfall of the Mill Avenue music scene????!!!!" Did you not hear Sara Cina, longtime manager of Long Wong's, talk about the demise of the jewel of Tempe? And did you not see the stunning words on the screen that the rent for the Long Wong's property was raised to $48,000 per month...making it impossible to continue? There were facts galore...and all the causes were outlined in great detail.

And if you don't think the Mayor of Tempe was a pretty good "voice" for the other side...then just who would have been?

I'm just wondering...were you at the same movie premiere as the rest of us?

And don't get me started about your comment about distractingly bad editing. The editing was out of the ordinary, which in my mind, made it extraordinary. Who wants to see the same old boring editing of every other run of the mill (no pun intended) movie. The editing gave an interesting twist to a documentary that could have been simply..."normal" or "average."

Right on, Nico Holthaus!!! :) What a refreshing and entertaining project that you have worked on long and hard. We applaud you! Oh that's right, we DID applaud you. A standing ovation if I remember correctly. And although the writer of the article thought that you singing a Doug Hopkins song was "a little much????" It was EXACTLY what we all wanted to hear...and we appreciated it VERY much!! And it wasn't honoring Mill Ave's Golden Boys, the Gin Blossoms...much as we love Robin and the boys...it was paying homage to one of our lost brothers...Doug Hopkins. But then...I don't see that you mentioned his name once in your article. It's spelled with an "I", not an "E".

Thanks for listening,

Terri Sussman
President
Arizona Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame

Wow.
Such differing opinions. And that is a big part of why I do what I do.
Only real bones of contention I have:
1. I DID realize what was happening (before the author of this blog assumes)--right after Edcel's and Six East and a few others closed circa '96. And for that reason started bringing my camera everywhere. It was no accident (to quote the narrator of Conan, haha).

2. I tried to get more voices "from the other side," but they're either hard to get hold of or didn't respond to my requests. I thought the primary city architect Stu Siefer and the Mayor would have sufficed. Not to mention many of the subjects on "this side"
offered counterpoints. Yes, I would have liked to have gotten more, but, for the reasons aforementioned, and that time ran out, I stuck with what we had. By the time the DVD is ready, I hope to have at least ex-Mayor Giuliano's statements. But we'll see. On a side note, I already know what the managers of Gap (of which Donald Rumsfeld is now CEO), Borders, etc, would say, and I'm sure the audience does too. So I didn't bother wasting time and tape.

3. Doing "Found Out About You" was something we all really debated about and unanimously and enthusiastically agreed upon. We wanted to do something that was pertinent, recognizable to all, and something we all knew how to play. My personal dilemma was "should we do this with Hopkins' family going to be there?"
As far as "the director singing at his own movie premiere," I was probably the most qualified in the theater TO sing it, having been known as a singer for a looooong time, long before I ventured into film (I moved here for the music, not school, as many wrongly assume). Lastly, those seemingly random "members of the audience who happened to be in local bands"--all those guys are nationally known. Kylie and Brent from Dead Hot, Scott from Gloritone, PC ("the 'real' Mayor of Tempe" hehe, and Josh Kennedy weren't just random musicians in the audience from "local bands."

4. The editing was neither amateurish nor concealing, as has been assumed by luckily only a few people. I love what Chris did with the editing--it gave a very frenetic rhythm that you don't see in other docs. I stand by him on this very intentional editing approach.

I wish the author had been able to speak with me after the show, as we'd agreed to do--at Yucca, but that didn't happen.
The mispresumptions in this article would have been cleared up before being published here. Ah well.
But thanks to all who showed up and support this. I've gotten hundreds of personal emails and calls saying they were blown away, crying (even I did at one point when the lights were out), and that they "got" the editing and the underlying theme, on top of being obviously entertained and shocked at the info.
ciao for now
nico h
PS Davelog: The smoking ban was something that I wanted mentioned, too--Mark Zubia DID bring it up in an interview. And the insurance hikes due to the freak White Lion accident was also brought up. As were several other issues that helped "kill the scene," but for a number of different reasons (some technical), we opted to not put them in. Maybe they'll resurface on the DVD.

I was at the show and also thought the Mill Ave. Inc. documentary was very good (I'm a fan of Nicholas Holthaus), the music show before the documentary was very good (I'm a fan of all those musicians); and the New Times reviewer gave a fairly positive and accurate review of the whole night. The New Times reviewer gave some favorable comments about the documentary,"...entertaining" and "...a welcome trip down memory lane..." About the music prior to the show, the reviewer wrote "...these veterans proved that the city may be running out of music venues, but it's not running out of talent." The reviewer had high praise for all the performers, including the documentary producer Nicholas Holthaus. About Holthaus, the reviewer wrote "Holthaus belted out a fine rendition of 'Found Out About You'."

The New Times writer did point out some areas that he thought was weak in the documentary; he wrote that there was a lack of facts or causes for the downfall of the Mill Avenue music scene in the documentary and the movie suffered from distractingly bad editing. I tend to agree with both of those comments, I think the documentary could have been even better with modifications in both areas. The documentary could have added more beef in making the case for large corporations being the downfall of the Mill Avenue music scene. As Nicholas Holthaus in his comments above states, there also may have been other reasons; the Tempe smoking ban and the insurance hikes due to the freak White Lion accident (whatever that was). About the editing, all I can say is I also found the editing style in some interview spots to be distracting, just a difference of opinion.

My favorite scene in the documentary? When someone asked Sara Cina what she missed the most about Long Wongs, and she looked around at the vacant lot where Long Wongs used to be, and slowly replied "Everything."

Lowell Hollars
Scottsdale

Across America a tourniquet held taut with the power of self interest and greed is cutting off our lifeblood: community. For generations individuality has spoken for the best of American ideals. Any good community demonstrates its identity through the vitality and creative power of individuals coming together. A real "community" is a point of pride.

Now it's being used as a talking point, a marketing tool, as evidenced by the interview with owner Gayle Shanks. What she represented in the interview as still being of importance to Changing Hands isn't supported by repeated observation. It was disingenuous at best to tell this outstanding, idealistic young filmmaker that 'community' and loyalty remain at the core of Changing Hands philosophy.

Contrary to the strong community family façade expressed in the interview, Changing Hands no longer remains a cohesive community oriented business. It no longer has the heart, soul and loyalty to appreciate the staff and loyal customers who helped it succeed. Can the owner be unaware of what's happened to her store's reputation in recent months? Or is she perhaps simply indifferent?

Maybe Holthaus will next explore the rationalizations that cause highly successful, beloved community businesses to quietly go to a "for profit, not a "for people" mentality. For thirty some years Changing Hands was proof that an independent business could do both. The owners and employees of Changing Hands along with the other independent merchants created a living, breathing downtown where people flocked to be with their community.

Given more time to nurture its unique identity Tempe's Mill Avenue would have been comparable to downtown Austin, perhaps eventually surpassing its worldwide identity as a one of a kind community of great music and arts. Changing Hands events like their community music nights were instrumental in the development of some of the very musicians mentioned in the film.

In 2007 the store won a prestigious national award for being the best independent bookstore in the nation. A large photo of the grinning staff together receiving the award remains prominently placed in the bookstore. It's great publicity, but, the people pictured, the ones who made it happen, are no longer there.

Beginning with the inexplicable 'disappearance' of one Changing Hand owner who had a thirty year history as a member of their 'community', long time employees toppled one by one like a tower of once lucky dice, in the fall of 2007 until in Spring 2008. Now there are virtually no more familiar faces on the floor.

The store's shift to corporate mentality is as undeniable as the weird, generic energy that now fills the store. What became the touchstone of downtown Tempe's community history and carved a niche in Tempe, filled a void and helped make Mill Avenue the linchpin of downtown Tempe is no more.

Why the store took this new and misguided turn is incomprehensible to all who believe in the ethos Gayle Shanks exhorts. Where are the long time members of their "community" she talked about? The ones who so lovingly put Changing Hands at the top of the New Times Best of Phoenix lists for many years? Loyal customers and staff are just "out of sight, out of mind." Their history appears to be irrelevant to Changing Hands except as good advertising tool.

Like so many heartbroken others, I don't want the store to fail. But it looks like another bridge has come crashing down. Come clean, Changing Hands: our tried and true community cocoon that was nurtured by decades of customer and staff "community" isn't a butterfly after all. Now it's just 'the only thing we've got' not the 'best we've got.'

How did this turn from a simple movie review to a bash-a-local-businesswoman tirade by theanachronymph? Is theanachronymph's main complaint that Gayle Shanks is a successful business woman that has adjusted her business with the times, and was also featured in the Mill Ave Inc. video? It may be true that theanachronymph's friend lost her job at Gayle Shank's bookstore, and that theanachronymph no longer feels that the new faces are familiar; but as Shakespeare wrote "beware of jealousy, ...it is the green-eyed monster."

And why hide behind the screen name of theanachronymph?

How did this turn from a simple movie review to a bash-a-local-businesswoman tirade by theanachronymph? Is theanachronymph's main complaint that Gayle Shanks is a successful business woman that has adjusted her business with the times, and was also featured in the Mill Ave Inc. video? It may be true that theanachronymph's friend lost her job at Gayle Shank's bookstore, and that theanachronymph no longer feels that the new faces are familiar; but as Shakespeare wrote "beware of jealousy, ...it is the green-eyed monster."

And why hide behind the screen name of theanachronymph?

Kudos to Nico Holthaus for documenting a great part of the local music history, it brought back a lot of good memories for me; my thanks to all those that contributed to the video, especially the people interviewed in the video and the musicians who played that night. And my praise for James Golfen of the Phoenix New Times for
his superb review of the night.

Like poster Loose Cannon, I also feel a video on Tempe and Mill Ave. from the '50' thru the mid-60's would be a dynamite video. It's funny how we remember events slightly differently. Loose Cannon remember the 60's as the start of the revival of downtown Tempe, after the hippies moved in and set up shop. I remember the 60's as when the hippies moved in which started the decline of the downtown. All the businesses begin to move away, most moved into South Tempe, even the original City Hall on Mill moved to a new location. I had returned from Viet Nam in '73 about the time Tempe created the Development Community Block Program formed to help revitalized downtown, a few years before Loose Cannon left the area. Welcome back, I loved reading your above memories.

On a side note to posters Yvette and Victoria, good point you make about the above anachronymph entry; that entry had nothing to do with the Holthaus movie, and seemed more of a personal attack on one of the fine businesspeople that helped make the video. Instead of anachronymph's whining about their broken heart because someone else doesn't run their bookstore to please them, anachronymph should go out and create their own bookstore to run, one with less "weird, generic energy" perhaps.

Like Terry Sussman of the AMEHOF, in the video I also heard Sara Cina talk about the demise of Long Wongs. Although I didn't hear Sara herself mention that an increased rent was the reason for the closing of Long Wongs.

On the contrary, I've heard Sara say on several occasion the exact opposite, that Long Wong's didn't close because of the rent issue. In the video Sara said something to the effect that she really didn't know what happen.

So the video was confusing in this area, maybe due to the editing style, different things being spliced together.

The video was an enjoyable history lesson of Mill Ave., release that DVD Nico!

I've not had the pleasure of meeting Sara Cina; although having worked on Mill Ave for many years I do remember that Long Wongs was supposed to have reopened in the same location (newer, nicer building; higher rent), but the new building never got built for some reasons. Both Terry Sussman and the Mill Ave Inc video seem to be in error in implying that the rent for the Long Wong's property was raised so high that it made it impossible for Long Wongs to continue. In reading Sussman's effusive review of the video, I had the feeling that was not an objective review, that there was some other agenda involved. Since Sussman signed as President of the AMEHOF, I'm assuming AMEHOF is connected with the video, so accolades to AMEHOF for whatever part they played in producing the video.

On a related issue, I also was curious about the above write-up by the person calling themselves 'the anacronymph,' I ran 'anacronymph' through a search engine and found out 'anacronymph' is another officer with AMEHOF. She has a myspace account where she posted the same criticism of the owner of the Changing Hands bookstore earlier this year, almost word for word. Two different AMEHOF officers at the show, two different opinions; one gushed over the video, one strangely did a hatchet job on one of the main subjects of the video.

Hi, Claudia. Maybe you're right that my review was a little effusive, but definitely no other agenda. Sorry if I offended anyone. A lot of people just felt that the article was bashing Nico, the movie, the editor, the musicians that performed, etc. I was just speaking up in defense of all of that. If my wording wasn't exactly right, I apologize. But my intention was simply to defend Nico and the project. That doesn't mean that I agree with all of the opinions expressed in the movie, as I said in my review, but neither did Nico. He was simply chronicling the views of other people involved in the situation.

After he had worked so long and hard on this project, it's always rough for someone to have their work critiqued in a way that would make him feel bad. Indie filmmakers have such a hard time, and he had his heart and soul in that movie.

And maybe I did misunderstand the meaning of the rent issue being displayed on the screen during Sara's interview...and it definitely could have been due to the editing. But I still believe the editing made for an interesting documentary.

So, no other agenda, just feeling the need to speak up in support of our local talent. I'd hate for Nico to get discouraged to the point of not continuing with his passion of filmmaking.

Maybe by the fact that the movie has inspired such controversy, means that he reached his goal as a filmmaker in this case, that at least people are still talking about it!

Same with the writer of the article. Obviously he did a pretty good job of shaking things up with his review! So he did his job well also.

Keep up the good work, Nico,
Terri

Terri

First of all, my apology for referring to your earlier as "Terry," I just misread your name. Secondly, I'd like to say (with the exception of the entry from theanachronymph) I've enjoyed reading all the above comments from everyone, it seems as though everyone above enjoyed the Mill Ave Inc video, including the New Times reviewer.

But I am puzzled by your comment where you say you are defending the producer from all the "bashing." What bashing are you referring to? I just looked up the word bashing and got "bashing is when you deliberately attack a person using offensive and/or inappropriate language," and "bashing is a harsh, gratuitous, predjudicial attack on a person." There was no bashing in the New Times review, that was just an honest review of the night, and had mostly pleasant things to say about the video and the music. The video received lots of good pre- and post- coverage by the New Times. You know what a "bad" review would be? A "bad" review would be no review at all.

So this all begs the question, who are the people saying that the article was bashing? You sound like an intelligent person, surely you are not one of the people that feel the article was bashing (you didn't say you were), or is it just some of your associates? And who are these associates? Associates that also went to the video screening, or associates (perhaps from the AMEHOF organization) that didn't actually see the video, but have a vested interest in it? Terri, you seem to be the only person using the bash-word in print, or in any way implying the review was negative. "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

I think I'm starting to agree with C.T. Duffy that there appears to be some other agenda going on with the comments from the AMEHOF group, yours and the one from theanachronymph. Last week I took C.T. Duffy's advice, did a search on anachronymph and found out what Duffy was referring to. That was quite an unwarranted, brutal, personal attack by theanachronymph on one of the innocent women in the video. I'm surprised New Times even published theanachronymph's comment-up since it had nothing to do with the video itself, and was just a rehash of something theanachronymph published earlier on her own site. If anyone is still reading this site and has an interest in the earlier article by theanachronymph, you can find it at this URL, if it doesn't get removed by the time you read this, ( feed://blog.myspace.com/blog/rss.cfm?friendID=122846688 ). See the article titled 'Loyalty, Devotion and Relentless Work Equals: Out of a Job.'

Terri, don't worry about the producer; if the New Times review of Mill Ave Inc is the worst he ever gets, then he's sure to be a big success.

By the way, is the producer a member of the AMEHOF? Is that what all this mother bear defending her cub stuff is about?

Was the AMEHOF involved in the video production or screening? I hear the AMEHOF does lots of wonderful things, so my compliments to you and your group.

Far be it from me to steer clear of even a mild form of controversy, so I'll step in again ;)
No, there was no involvement of AMEHOF, other than the occasional referral to someone I need to contact.
No, there is no mother bear, and I certainly am no cub, who, by inference, could be dissuaded from his brand of educating and story telling. I will continue to make movies that hit upon subjects that many won't touch for fear of retribution or scrutiny.
Yes, I would call at least one thing in the review truly "bashing:" "distractingly bad editing..." I wish the reviewer could have asked me or Chris about it before posting that judgement. The intent of this editing was to string all the interviewees together so that it was essentially one conversation. Most of the time, as was edited, someone would immediately "interject" and give his/her opinion, at the verbal cue of what the previous speaker had just said, just like in a real life argument between people. I wouldn't use subjective terms such as "bad" or "good."
I can't apologize (for me or Chris) if this storytelling approach wasn't "caught" by a few people, and it therefore may have appeared raw or "distracting." Arguments between people typically aren't tidy, hehe.
While on the subject of editing, Mill Ave Inc is especially grueling to edit, primarily because Chris and I don't agree on the the basic fundamental and philosophical tenets that underly the entire movie. The whole "behind the scenes" process of making Mill Ave Inc is trickier than that of the usual documentary.
I also didn't want a "too polished" doc, as that would have been disingenuine, considering a lot of the subject matter (illustrated by so many mentions of the "stinky old eyesore" clubs, e.g.) that made Mill unique and vibrant at one time. Hell, at least two community leaders advised that I use the "raw, punkish" version of Hey Jealousy off the Dusted album, rather than the NME version the entire world has heard.
Regardless, I think all this hubbub here and on other fora is a positive sign, and in general the review was positive, even if some of the facts were off or underinformed.
Please do, as one person above noted, direct any commentary toward me or the movie itself.
thanks again
nico holthaus

Thanks, Nico. Wow, this is a rough crowd on here, isn't it! Wasn't expecting THAT! :) This is a new experience for me. I thought we were supposed to comment on the review of the film. I didn't realize people would be reviewing the reviews of the reviewer! This could go on forever! Had I known my comments would be critiqued, I should have brushed up on my writing skills a bit more. Now it seems that I am the one being bashed for my use of the word "bash."

In another dictionary, the word bash means: Verbal attack.

Here are the sentences in which I felt there might be a little bashing going on:

1...never rising above the level of disgruntled people reminiscing about the way it used to be.

2...The movie also suffered from distractingly bad editing

3...This amateurish editing, mixed with some mediocre camera work and storytelling

4...Singing “Found Out About You” at the premier of your own documentary about revealing the evils of corporate takeovers is a little much.

To me, this sounded like bashing of the Editor, the Cameraman, the Storytellers (which are all local musicians and business people) and Nico himself. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, as is the writer of the article, whom I did say did his job well...but I thought the whole point of the comments section was to point out the opinions of his to which we are opposed or disagree.

Thanks for the kind words about our organization. Yes, it's a great organization. And yes, we do tend to defend and protect our friends, associates and colleages in the music and entertainment business. It's a rough business in which to earn a living, and a good review of your art can make all the difference. So if I was a little sensitive, that's the reason why. No other agenda. No, AMEHOF was not involved in the production of the movie. And even though the Mill Ave. music scene is not what it used to be...we have been trying to gather the music community back together...and events like the screening of Nico's film do just that.

Mama bear defending her cub. That's kind of a cute analogy. However, anyone that knows Nico knows he is not a "cub." That one made us all smile.... :)

I guess next time before I submit comments on a film review, I should read the fine print about being criticized for my comments.

Lesson learned. Thanks! :)
Terri

Wow, I'm gone for a week and come back and find all kinds of interesting thoughts on this site, seems like everyone liked the video (including me in case I failed to be clear about that in my earlier post).

Nancy, Claudia; excellent point you make about the increased rent not being the reason for Long Wong closing, good catch, kudos to you both.

Terri, I think the point Nancy and Claudia were making about your review having some other agenda is a good one. I didn't pick up on that originally, but it's clear now based on what you said in your last two posts, you were simply defending a friend and not giving a true objective review. I believe that is the reason your comments are being critiqued by others at this site, because you are not being honest with the rest of the New Times readers.

You mentioned that the AMEHOF is a great organization that defends and protect its friends, associates and colleages in the music and entertainment business. What about the New Times artist that wrote the review, isn't he in the music and entertainment business also? Doesn't he deserve respect from your group? He spent a whole night going to the video screening, taking photos, plus writing an excellent review, having the review published and giving the video great exposure; and you refer to his work as bashing? Even using your milder definition of bashing (verbal attack), if you are honest with yourself you will recognize that the 4 critiques (actually just 3 if you look at them) you hi-lighted are simple opinions of the writer, not verbal attacks, just a few things about the video he didn't like. On the last sentence, the reviewer even stated that was a "personal bias" of his. That is not bashing, that's what reviews are, reviewers giving their honest opinions. Plus his overall review of the video and music was very favorable.

Nico, do you really believe the one expression about bad editing is "bashing?" Have you considered that a fellow artist just might have a difference of opinion? Do you really feel that a reviewer should check with you before writing his review?

Before I shut up, here's what I think you 3 AMEHOF members should do. Nico, I think you should write an email to the reviewer and thank him for his time and effort in publishing the review, thank him for all the nice comments he made about the video and the entire night (and there were plenty of favorable comments), and thank him even for his opinions that you don't share. Then get on with your life and make more excellent movies. Terri, I think you should not allow your friendship with a fellow member of the AMEHOF to get in the way of your objectivity as President of the AMEHOF. (Since you didn't answer Nancy's question about Nico being a member of the AMEHOF, I checked the Internet and found that to be the case.) Did you consider that writing reviews might also be 'a rough business in which to earn a living,' and that by labeling the reviewer with the 'basher' word you might be making it even rougher for him? The New Times reviewer may himself be nominated into the AMEHOF some day (as well as Nico). Wouldn't it be nice if they both were? And lastly, to AMEHOF's "theanachronymph," I recommend you stop writing period. I recommend you request the New Times to delete your write-up from this site since it had nothing to do with the video. Then follow up with a letter of apology to Gayle Shanks.

My last comment is this; I enjoyed the video, I enjoyed the music, I enjoyed reading the New Times review. Kudos to Nico Holthaus for his fine video, kudos to Joseph Golfen for his excellent review, kudos to all the musicians. But boo for AMEHOF for their phony, self-serving, transparent review they wrote just to "protect one of their own," and triple boos for the personal attack they did on Gayle Shanks, owner of the Changing Hands bookstore.

And no I am not a New Times employee, nor do I know the New Times reviewer or the video producer, or anyone else involved.

And yes Terri, Nico (and theanachronymph), you are welcome to the last word, I've said what I wanted to say, I'll not respond to any follow-on you might add.

Respectfully, Chy

If you really want to know what a negative review of this video is, go to the following site. Scroll down toward the bottom where the reviews start.

http://www.azpeacemakers.com/wholebb/viewtopic.php?t=37789&sid=23d58986189cda0eb8faed2db5faa82b

The first review starts at time stamp Wed May 21, 2008 11:45 pm.

Now these can be considered negative reviews!

Mill Avenue was a mysterious place when we were first trying to get gigs in late '92. We had witnessed great performances by the Gin Blossoms, the legendary Varmits, Dead Hot Workshop, and countless others, but it seemed to be a bit of a closed community. This notion was quickly dispelled when we managed to land our first live performance at Long Wongs with the Piersons. Bands that just went for it were quickly embraced by the crowds and the clubowners; this was, for us, what made the scene on Mill so unique. Oh yeah, if you needed an amp or a bass rig or a drum kit, you didn't need a corporate sponsor, just ask and you would receive. Maybe you had to be there...but it's not there anymore.
Enter Nicholas Holthaus, local filmmaker and author of "Mill Ave. Inc." Nico spent countless hours down on the Mill with his trusty camera, documenting what we all somehow sensed was coming, the demise of this thing we all held dear. The premiere of "Mill Ave. Inc.", with the stellar performances by true dues-paid local musicians, was a rare glimpse of what was and what can't quite happen again. Nostalgia? Yes, maybe some with the passage of time. But the spirit and the guts were there in force that night, right down to the local players that got up and went for it with Nico's take of the late Doug Hopkins' song "Found Out About You.” Pure improvised balls on signal (no rehearsal, keeping with fine family tradition.)
Local bands are everywhere still, hungry for gigs and playing for nothing. "Mill Ave. Inc." serves as a document to what is now local legend, and will inspire the up and coming musical generation to carry on a tradition that was established decades ago.

greg from FH

Well, I'm not big on giving "the last word," as was indirectly cajoled of me by Mr (or Ms? Mrs?) Davis... Not trying to sound sarcastic at all--the name "Chy" is even more unusual than "nico." ;)
But I do feel the need to yet again clarify some things that are off the mark, presumably due to lack of info.
AMEHOF had no part in Mill Ave, Inc, except, again, in that one of its members gave me a contact at Harkins.
I'm quite proud to have been invited to be a member of this organization. But, before anyone starts reading more into this statement, it should be made clear that there was and is no "agenda," i.e. promoting me, Mill Ave Inc, or defending either as "one of their own." In fact, I've not even been to one of the AMEHOF meetings, nor even know personally most of its members. There is no favoritism.
Most people who know me know that I am quite alone. In fact, I take more of a Machiavellian approach to life, never relying on or taking to heart--nor expecting--praise, insults, defense, or attack. But I will jump in to correct misinformation from time to time.
That's not to say that I'm a cold, insensitive, ungrateful bastard; I DO want to express my appreciation for Terri on her defense of my and others' efforts, as well as for all the people on here who've given favorable light for said efforts and for the film itself.
As for a couple other parting shots taken, all I can say to those "shooters,": please reread what I'd written previously, especially in regards to the exchange after the premiere between the author of this blog and myself.
Also, because of the way Sara Cina's portion was edited, it cannot be deduced that Wongs' closing was NOT because of astronomical rents, because, ultimately, it was. There were other circumstances, but they were essentially peripheral. I've seen it with independent places all over the country, and Wongs is no exception. In a nutshell, the entire process of "cool place attracts big money, and the cultural downfall and defection begins" is the underlying theme of Mill Ave, Inc, and of the docs I'm doing in many other cities across the country.
So please, before any more conclusions are reached and more errant (or personal, grudging) opinions are disseminated, ask me, whether through this public forum or through my the contact email given at www.millaveinc.com. I'm quite sure I can set records straight. It's kinda what I do ;)

Ciao for now,
nico h

The producer doth clarify too much, methinks. :)

Nico

About your comment of "because of the way Sara Cina's portion was edited, it cannot be deduced that Wongs' closing was NOT because of astronomical rents, because, ultimately, it was....," I just did a little research and ran across the article published in the GetOut magazine on 5-18-08, see the following URL, http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/116595 .

If you will note one of the reader's comments to the article ( at the above URL) is from Sara Cina (her screen name is longwong, I've seen Sara use this screen name many times at other sites). In this written comment longwong (Sara) says (and I'll quote the comment). "Long Wong's didn't close because we didn't want to pay higher rent. Our landlord was supposed to tear the building down and rebuild within that same year. We were planning on reopening in the new building. The building wasn't torn down until a year and a half later and a dirt lot still sits there to this day." Note, there is no mention about the increased rent being so 'astronomical' that it drove Long Wongs out of business.

I recall the same thing that Nancy Agust mentioned, that in the video Sara said something about she didn't know why a new building was never built. But apparently Long Wongs were ready to accept a higher rent for a new and better building.

My point is not to argue with you or AMEHOF's Terri Sussman about why Long Wongs went out of business, but to emphasize the video could have more accurate in this area, or perhaps clearer would be a better term. The two charts edited in with the Sara Cina clips seem to be misleading in suggesting an astronomical rent increase forced Long Wongs out of business.

Keep up the good work Nico, it was an excellent video.

I've been following the comments about this film and find it heartening that people care enough to comment so energetically for so long. Actually the comments about the Changing Hands interview did have to do with the core intent of the Mill Ave documentary. The film was about the importance of retaining America's truly independent businesses.

The comment in question is just one individual's point of view on a store that chose to be part of a public documentary at a time when the store was changing paths. But I suspect the interview was done before the decision to make the changes occurred.

Gayle Shanks is an outstanding business woman for whom I have always had the highest regard. In fact she is highly regarding nationally in the "book world." And I believe Gayle would understand and appreciate why customers who supported the store since its beginning might have a strong emotional reaction to what she said in the interview, considering the store's big changes and the timing of the interview.

Unfortunately this switch to a "corporate model" is occurring in independent community bookstores and other independent stores across the country. I agree a follow up nationwide documentary on this subject would be illuminating.

These independents begin and grow due to community support, building upon one to one relationships, mutual respect and loyalty between a store and its long time customers. Changing Hands has been a shining example of this for thirty years.

These customers make up the store's community, and these independent businesses succeed because they are very much a "family" affair. Members of a long standing, tight knit family react strongly to a 'divorce' so to speak.

There is nothing wrong with changing a business model, but many of us who are long time customers of independents all over the country are alarmed and feel betrayed by what appears to be a fundamentally sweeping change in the U.S. independent business ethos.

As far as I know, Gayle Shanks has always embraced her community for better or worse. As the bookstore's original founder, I think she'd agree that any customer has the a right to speak about the store, especially when it's brought up in such a public forum. Change has repercussions.

Gayle is a smart and strong businesswoman who surely knows it's part of the territory and can handle it with grace. Unfortunately the well meaning people who came to Gayle's defense in the way they did toward that customer (i.e.: 'whining about their broken heart') unwittingly did Gayle Shanks and Changing Hands a disservice.

People do use screen names all the time. Obviously this person was speaking only for herself. Though I understand the intensity of their responses, Gayle's 'defenders' behaving like Sherlock Holmes is a bit silly.

The silver lining is thank goodness we have ALL these people who passionately care one way or the other. It takes courage to speak out no matter what is said. It's a compliment to the store that there are such deep feelings about it.

Thanks for hearing me out.

When I read the above author coming to the defense of theanachronymph by bad mouthing the reviewers on this site, my first thought was "What flavor Kool Aid is this lady drinking, whatever it is I want some!" LOL! Then I realize it was actually theanachronymph penning under a new name.

Wow, don't you AMEHOF people ever stop with your trickery and dishonesty? Remember, this site is for review of the video "Mill Ave Inc."

When I read the above author coming to the defense of theanachronymph by bad mouthing the reviewers on this site, my first thought was "What flavor Kool Aid is this lady drinking, whatever it is I want some!" LOL! Then I realize it was actually theanachronymph penning under a new name.

Wow, don't you AMEHOF people ever stop with your trickery and dishonesty? Remember, this site is for review of the video "Mill Ave Inc."

Sorry about my double post, fingerware problems! :)