by Timothy Rutt
The Coffee Gallery is looking at a series of fundraising activities as it attempts to raise money to keep within county codes.
The Coffee Gallery at 2029 N. Lake Ave. is actually two businesses under one roof: the Coffee Gallery, which is the coffee house up front, and the Coffee Gallery Backstage, the concert venue in the back. Bob Stane, one of the owners of the Backstage, sent out an announcement this week that both businesses are trying to raise $20,000 for their Conditional Use Pemit (CUP) and parking variance in order to keep the entertainment license. Stane said in his announcement:
We are in a mixed use residental/business area. The County requires a survey to approve parking and operating as an entertainment venue. The County is cooperating with us but we must file paperwork and pay for a survey of the area. It is the law and we must go through this about every 15 years. This single night’s income from ticket sales will not get us all the money we need, but it will help and we are pursuing other avenues of donations. Help us continue our good work in music and quality entertainment. Right now we have a deadline of February 15. A lot of money to raise in a short time.
A fundraising concert on Feb. 8 will be the Salty Suites, with special guest Phoebe Bridgers. The Salty Suites (Scott Gates, Chuck Hailes and Chelsea Williams) play roots and bluegrass. Gates has played with such artists as John McEuen, Nathan McEuen, Steve Martin, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Kenny Loggins and "a virtual Who's-Who of bluegrass players," according to Stane. Hailes is one of the top upright bass players in the country and a songwriter. Williams, who has been writing and performing her own music since she was 13, "currently makes her living by playing on the street for tips and selling a home-made demo, having sold thousands of CDs in recent months, one-by-one, simply on her own on the street," says Stane.
Singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers is currently studying music at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, and has played her own brand of acoustic folk all over Los Angeles, including the Troubadour, the El Rey, the Roxy, Genghis Cohen and the Grand Ole Echo. Hometown Pasadena called her a "local treasure."
The concert will be at 8 PM Wed., Feb. 8, and tickets are $18. Stane says that the artists are donating 100 percent of the ticket sales to the fundraiser, and any donations in excess of the ticket price are appreciated.
