11/4/17
I. FACTS VS. AFM-EPF TRUSTEE SPIN
II. ASMAC WORKSHOP WITH CHRISTOPHER YOUNG – NOV. 11th
III. COMMENT
IV. EVENTS
…Absolutely guaranteed anonymity – Former Musician’s Union officer
…The one voice of reason in a sea of insanity – Nashville ‘first call’
scoring musician
…Allows us to speak our minds without fear of reprisal – L.A. Symphonic musician
…Reporting issues the Musicians Union doesn’t dare to mention – National touring musician
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I. FACTS VS. AFM-EPF TRUSTEE SPIN
Musicians for Pension Security has discovered documents from
the AFM-EPF’s own files that contradict their repeated claims
that the investment performance has been favorable. We now
have clarity on the subject:
Deep within an investment report recently posted to the AFM-EPF
website (you can find it here, see page 41) is a comparison chart
showing AFM-EPF investment performance versus the performance
of peer multiemployer pension funds. The answer is clear – the
investment performance of our fund is unbelievably poor. It is so
poor that it makes no sense that the Trustees attempt to put a
positive spin on it.
AFM Pension Fund vs Peer Multiemployer Pension Funds
The comparison group includes 23 multiemployer pension plans similar
to the AFM-EPF with assets over $1 billion. The 23 plans are then ranked
by the percentile they fall into with the 99th being the worst and the 1st
the best. The comparisons are made over different time horizons from 1
year, 3 years, 5 years to 10 years. The chart below (again, straight from
the AFM-EPF website) shows these time periods, rankings and percent
of return on investments.
1. The AFM pension plan produced a 3.2% annualized investment
return over 10 years. This placed AFM-EPF in the 99th percentile,
dead last in the peer group.
2. The AFM pension plan produced a 7.3% annualized investment
return over 5 years. This placed AFM-EPF in the 91st percentile,
another poor result placing us again at the very bottom of the
peer group.
3. The AFM pension plan produced a 4.5% annualized investment
return over 3 years. This put them again at the bottom of the
rankings in the 87th percentile within the peer group.
4. Finally, the AFM pension plan produced an 11.4% return on
investment for 1 year. This placed them in the 64th percentile
for the peer group, middling at best.
These returns are well below average and unacceptable, but if you
took our Trustees at their word, you would think the AFM-EPF is
doing well compared to other peer pension funds. President of L
ocal 802 Tino Gagliardi, AFM-EPF Trustee since 2010 and Investment
Committee member, just last week wrote the following statement
regarding the pension fund:
“In the eight years since the end of the financial crisis, the Fund’s
average annualized return is 9.8% before fees. That’s good,
particularly since, in three of those years, the fund didn’t make
its target 7.5% assumed rate of return.” This claim is taken from
his written statement handed out at a Local 802 Membership
Meeting on 10/18. Click here for the whole document.
If you were to only read Trustee Gagliardi’s statement, you
might think that the AFM-EPF investment performance is “good”
but the AFM’s own documents conclusively show that is not
the case. AFM-EPF plan participants now know that the
Trustees would rather spin numbers for us than be transparent
and accountable for their poor performance. It is time for the
Trustees to face the reality of the numbers in their very own
reports. It is time for them to accept responsibility for their
actions. It is time for them to get actively involved in seeking
out solutions to save our pension beyond taking the easiest r
oute: cutting our hard earned benefits.
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II. ASMAC WORKSHOP WITH CHRISTOPHER YOUNG – NOV. 11th
This coming November 11th, ASMAC will be having a
winning masterclass with Award Winning Composer
Christopher Young!
Join ASMAC for an exciting Master Class
with Christopher Young!
“Scoring Genre Films”
Moderated by Sylvester Rivers
Saturday, November 11th – 11:00am – 2:00pm
Over the years Chris has scored over 125 movies including Spider-Man 3,
The Rum Diary starring Johnny Depp, The Hurricane with Denzel
Washington, The Shipping News with Kevin Spacey and Drag Me
To Hell. Chris has been on the faculty of the USC Screen Scoring
program for over ten years, a two-term past president of The Film
Music Society and the president of the Madrid Film Music Festival
in Spain. Young teaches and mentors around the world in countries
including Bulgaria, Ireland, Germany and Australia and in 2010
established the “Tilden House” residency program, providing
housing assistance to those who might not otherwise be able to
start or continue their composing careers in Los Angeles
MODERATOR
Composer, arranger and pianist Sylvester Rivers has recorded with
numerous hit artists including Lionel Richie, Diana Ross, The
Jacksons, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dionne Warwick, Nancy Wilson,
Kenny Rogers, Johnny Mathis, Aretha Franklin, New Edition,
Smokey Robinson, The Temptations, Gladys Knight & The
Pips, Barry White, Marc Bolan & T. Rex, Ray Parker, Jr. &
Raydio, Deniece Williams, The Fifth Dimension and many others.
Composing, arranging and orchestrating for television and film,
as well, such as the television series, “Fame,” songs for the Kevin
Bacon/ Laurence Fishburne film, “Quicksilver,”
“Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo,” “The Arsenio Hall Show”
and numerous others, he has been prolific in producing music
throughout a wide spectrum.
The masterclass will take place at
Rancho Cordillera del Norte
9015 Wilbur Ave
Northridge, California 91324
ranchodelacordillera.com
Cost will be $25 for members and students.
$40 for non-members
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III. COMMENT
Re: Ripinsky – Moving company is holding
our archive. Being kept safe.
2,400 sq. foot area for archive.
74 filing cabinets of contracts.
some out -of-work musicians could be employed to
go through all 74 cabinets of those contracts, and
with Mr Ripinsky’s guidance, find some of us the
money we will never have otherwise. (i wonder..
how many contracts were destroyed in that
mysterious fire ?)
i have suggested this to union bigwigs since Max
Herman days; they all looked atme like i was nuts.
there’s work dues in those files, you idiots !
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IV. EVENTS
DEAN AND RICHARD
are now at Culver City Elks the first
Friday of
every month.
7:30pm-10:30pm,
11160 Washington Pl.
Culver City, 90232
310-839-8891
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10/26/17
Tall & Small 11 piece Band NW: New Frontier Lounge
featuring:
Pete Christlieb & Linda Small
October 26, 2017, Thursday 8 PM – 10 PM
New Frontier Lounge
301 E 25th St, Tacoma, Washington 98421
(253) 572-4020
Presented by The B Sharp Music Society, dedicated
to the presentation and promotion of live music:
Pete Christlieb and Linda Small
The Tall and Small 11 Piece Band NW
featuring: Pete Christlieb saxophones and
Linda Small trombone
saxophones: Travis Ranney, Jeff Kashiwa,
Jack Klitzman, Bill Ramsay
trumpets: Kevin Seely, Ollie Groenewald
piano: David Deacon Joyner bass: Michael
Glynn drums: Tim Malland
cover $10. two for $15
TICKETS
Directions
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11/8/17
The BBB featuring Bernie Dresel
3 year anniversary / Bernie Birthday Bash
(13 horns, guitar, slap bass, and plenty of drums!)
THIS WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER(nie) 8th
from 8:30pm-11:00pm
at Joe’s Great American BBBar & Grill
NO COVER CHARGE!! No reservations necessary!! 21 and older
4311 W. Magnolia Blvd. BBBurbank, CA 91505
We will be debuting 3 NEW CHARTS on WEDNESDAY
including one by Tower of Power founding member Greg Adams!
AND we’ll be swingin’ & rockin’ selections from Live n’ Bernin’
submitted in this year’s Grammy
BBBEST SURROUND SOUND ALBUM category.
You can find the:
BBBlu-ray audio 96k/24bit (stereo/5.1 surround/9.1 Auro-3D surround)
at Amazon.com, CDBaby.com, & ElusiveDisc.com
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11/9/17
Orchestre Surreal
Thursday November 9th – 8PM
The El Portal Theatre
5269 Lankershim Blvd
North Hollywood, CA 91601
Ticket Price – $30
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11/12/17
DOCTOR WU at VITELLO’S
Sunday, November 12th, 2017
If you love the music of Steely Dan, please join us for this
special night as The Doctor Wu Band returns to Vitello’s
(upstairs) for another great show. This is a beautiful listening
room with delicious Italian cuisine. With the passing of the
great Walter Becker, co-founder of Steely Dan, shortly after
our last show, we are honored to be back and playing this
timeless music for you once again.
** Table reservations/Advanced Tickets are $10 and strongly
recommended. Click here to make your reservation:
http://www.vitellosrestaurant.com/purchase-tickets
Please note: Vitello’s recently implemented a $10 increase
in the cover at the door on the day of the show so be sure
to reserve in advance **
818.769.0905
4349 Tujunga Ave
Studio City, California 91604
Valet or street parking
About the The Doctor Wu Band:
Steely Dan produced an amazing number of recognizable
radio hits well known to all. The Doctor Wu Band’s recreations
of this astonishing string of chart-toppers and album favorites
have thrilled fans all over Southern California for over a decade!
With a full line-up that includes a 4-piece horn section, this
talented group of professional players love to have fun and
share the joy of performing the music of Steely Dan.
Members of Doctor Wu have performed and recorded with the
likes of Chicago, Dave Benoit, Echo & the Bunnymen, Stanley
Clarke, UB40, Dionne Warwick, Chaka Khan, Poncho Sanchez,
The Temptations, Jay Graydon and more.
Line up:
Tony Egan: Lead Vocals
Leigh DeMarche & Lauri Reimer: background vocals
Gil Ayan: Guitar
Steve Bias: Bass and backgorund vocals
Mark Harrison: Keyboards
Roch Bordenave: Trombone
Jeff Dellisanti: Saxophones
Frank Villafranca: Saxophones
Kurt Walther: Drums
Andy Weiner: Trumpet
We look forward to seeing you there!
The Doctor Wu Band
http://www.doctorwuband.com/
https://www.facebook.com/doctorwuband
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UNTIL NEXT TIME, THE COMMITTEE FOR A MORE RESPONSIBLE LOCAL 47