Daniel has a social-work master\u2019s degree and does free counseling. \u00a0For instance, when the musicians go out — like to CVS for candy bars and clubs for drinking — Ducoff hangs back with me\u00a0 and says:\u00a0 “What\u2019s a couple extra bucks for beer and Snickers for the boys to to keep them happy?\u00a0 Don’t fret. \u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel handles all contract negotiations. \u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s not right for the bandleader to yak on the phone about \u201cwiggle room\u201d for the Oshkosh Opera House contract.\u00a0 That\u2019s Daniel\u2019s job.<\/p>\n
Ducoff handles<\/strong><\/span> the press too.\u00a0 Reporters ask, \u201cWhy is this klezmer band different than all other klezmer bands?\u201d\u00a0 Daniel\u2019s\u00a0 answer: \u201cYiddishe Cup plays naked.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 The <\/em>reporters — shlubs<\/em> who sit in cubicles all day — buy it.<\/p>\n Daniel, who swam competitively in high school, calls ahead for dimensions on\u00a0 pools at hotels.\u00a0 Nobody likes to pull up to an \u201cOlympic pool\u201d that is four raindrops.<\/p>\n Daniel knows his way around snack shops.\u00a0 Sun-baked chips are popular with the band.\u00a0 Daniel says, \u201cSun baked chips are still chips<\/em>, guys. You think the sun zapped the calories out?\u201d<\/p>\n Daniel Ducoff<\/p><\/div>\n Daniel know<\/strong><\/span>s<\/span><\/strong> how to find exquisite — by Midwest standards — sourdough pretzels at all Pilot and Duke truck stops.<\/p>\n Ducoff is also<\/span> the enforcer.\u00a0 For example, Yiddishe Cup\u2019s drummer, Don Friedman, occasionally blasts hard-bop jazz, like Art Blakey, inside the van. \u00a0 This is borderline acceptable; it gives the band a certain panache when we pull into Bob Evans in Celina, Ohio, with\u00a0 “Moanin\u2019\u201d blaring. \u00a0 But, Don, turn the jazz off already!\u00a0 That’s Ducoff’s job to tell Don.<\/p>\n Daniel Ducoff is the all-in-one machine.<\/p>\n — —-<\/p>\n SIDE B<\/big><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n More klez fiction.\u00a0 Readers demand it.\u00a0 <\/em>Certain readers, that is.\u00a0 Pete Rushefsky, a NYC klezmer musician, told me, \u201cI don\u2019t read any of your real estate stuff.\u00a0 I skip that and read the klezmer.\u201d\u00a0 There are 398 klez fans in the world.\u00a0 They read this blog.\u00a0 Enjoy.<\/em><\/small><\/p>\n GREEN MAN GROUP<\/strong><\/big><\/big><\/p>\n I auditioned<\/span><\/strong> for Green Man Group at the Cleveland home of klezmer violinist Steve Greenman<\/a>.<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t play clarinet for Greenman.\u00a0 I played my eyes.\u00a0 I looked maniacally Jewish, then playfully Jewish and, finally, soulfully Jewish. I thought \u201cEinstein\u201d the whole time.<\/p>\n I got a callback! \u00a0\u00a0Me and five other guys.<\/p>\n At the callback<\/strong><\/span>, Greenman sprayed us green and had us play fiddle patterns in E minor.\u00a0 This was awkward for me because E minor is a bad key for my axe — clarinet.<\/p>\n But I did OK.<\/p>\n I made it to the final audition.\u00a0 Me, Pete Rushefsky<\/a>, tsimbl<\/em>; and Jeff Warschauer<\/a>, mandolin. \u00a0Greenman knows us all personally.\u00a0 (That\u2019s show biz.)<\/p>\n We didn\u2019t<\/strong><\/span> get sprayed green this time, nor perform. Greenman interviewed us separately.<\/p>\n GREENMAN: A deer jumps on stage while you\u2019re performing.\u00a0 What do you do?<\/p>\n STRATTON: I play \u201cRudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer\u201d in E minor, then shoot the deer.<\/p>\n GREENMAN:<\/strong><\/span> A customer in a wheelchair says, \u201cStop talking and start playing!\u201d<\/p>\n STRATTON: I say, \u201cI\u2019ll start playing when you stand up.\u201d<\/p>\n GREENMAN: Can you make hot hors d\u2019oeuvres pop out of your instrument?<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.yiddishecup.com\/blog\/home\/yiddis6\/public_html\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/dan-the-machine1.jpg\" "\\"dan")
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\nThis post, “He Gets Paid Extra,” is 49-percent true. It’s klez fiction.<\/small><\/em><\/p>\n