![\"\"](\"https:\/\/img.lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/24152207\/live_stream_promo_image-819x1024.jpg\")
It\u2019s not for lack of content, to be sure. Nearly 20 interviews were recorded at the bar last week\u2014some eight hours of content, Hernandez said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re just trying to figure out how we\u2019re going to break them up,\u201d he explained. \u201cWe\u2019re in full scramble mode, this live stream stuff, none of us have a background in this. We\u2019re just trying to see what [other] folks are doing and come up with our own deal. It\u2019s either going to be really awesome, or really bad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Highly unlikely, the latter outcome, with the guests and team behind the project. Interviews led by Nate Jackson, journalist and local musician (Devil Season), include Adrian Young, No Doubt\u2019s drummer, Adrian Maldonado from the Sweet and Tender Hooligans and session drummer Josh Freese (A Perfect Circle, The Vandals). Que Sera\u2019s camera-shy owner, Ilse Benz, stepped out of her comfort zone to talk about her dismal, for lack of a better word, situation<\/a>. As did 4th Street Vine\u2019s Jim Ritson.<\/p>\n Sound engineer Bill Black, a ubiquitous part of the live-music landscape who\u2019s \u201c[\u2026]done pretty much every tour you could think of, for every type of band\u201d shared his perspective on the state of the industry. Jackson said that Black was so \u201cbrilliant he should have his own podcast.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s also DJ Dennis Owens, the turntable mastermind behind the city\u2019s longest-running funk and soul night, The Good Foot. On Saturday, in honor of their 22nd anniversary and the bar that’s kept their DJ night alive, the entire Good Foot crew\u2014Owens, DJ Lili Bird and DJ Scott Weaver\u2014will play a four-hour stream intermixed with some interviews from Owen\u2019s and others.<\/p>\n Unlike the empty-roomed sets from Fartbarf and Mike Watt airing Friday, The Good Foot crew entertained a few swaying bodies\u2014couples from the same household that were sectioned off, along with some roller skaters.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s weird to describe but [when you see it] you\u2019re like oh, this is great. They were able to really make something out of this crappy situation that feels kind of familiar,\u201d Jackson said.<\/p>\n Despite having an extensive roster of people to call on in the 20 years he\u2019s been operating his venue, Hernandez is keeping the stream localized, inviting local musicians and industry types to appear on the show. It\u2019s scene pride, sure, but what\u2019s going on at a local level reflects everything that\u2019s happening to the greater live-entertainment industry.<\/p>\n \u201cAlex\u2019s is a barometer for everything else everyone is kind of having to deal with,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cHe [Alex] is very much keeping an eye on what\u2019s going on and trying to benefit the ecosystem in which he exists.\u201d<\/p>\n In the months that live music has disappeared, it seems that local, state and federal government have forgotten the \u201cbillions of dollars this industry pumps into the economy,\u201d Hernandez said. Live music attracts people from all sectors of life and directly benefits surrounding businesses, like restaurants, retailers, and art spaces.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we do spreads out into the community,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don’t serve food, so people will pop into Joe Josts\u2019s and eat dinner and have a beer or go into Los Compadres, Long Beach Thai, Famous Burgers across the way. All those restaurants get a bump from our shows.”<\/p>\n Not to mention the intrinsic value a strong music and arts community adds to the city.<\/p>\n \u201cMusic and the arts is part of what gives this city prestige. Much like a lot of other major cities, a lot of reason people move to this place is because people are attracted to the flavor of [the] Long Beach [music scene],\u201d Dennis Owens said. Without spaces like Alex\u2019s, \u201cwe\u2019d be losing a big part of what makes this place special.\u201d<\/p>\n With the plan to put on the live-stream events on at least once a month, Hernandez is hoping to do it more often, but it\u2019s been, understandably, a struggle finding bands that are willing to play live concerts even in his empty venue, \u201cpeople have a different level of caution,\u201d Hernandez said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re definitely trying to do more stuff but it\u2019s a negotiation and we\u2019re trying to reassure people that we\u2019re doing a COVID safe production,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/img.lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/24152308\/good-foot-flyer-1110x1387.jpg\")