Last week, a blog post about a change in personnel at Durham rock club Casbah got a few key facts wrong. The article incorrectly stated that former talent buyer Steve Gardner had been fired from his position; he was laid off.
The article also quotes Gardner’s replacement, Elysse Thebner, saying that she plans to increase the number of local bookings. As Gardner points out, Thebner’s quote incorrectly represents the ratio of local and touring acts booked during his tenure at the Casbah. Attendance records produced by Gardner verify that at least 73 percent of his 2012 bookings came from the area. More than 230 area bands played the venue during that time.
“It seemed to be an article about how I was fired because I didn’t book enough local music,” Gardner said during a follow-up interview. “That’s just not true.”
Asked to clarify her assessment of the club’s previous booking, Thebner replied: “My evidence of that statement was purely anecdotal, from being an employee at the venue. I think [Gardner’s] statement is fair. … I’m going to take the work Steve has done in a little bit of a different direction.”
