The Agora-Jigsaw quagmire has a big new lawsuit, and the Black Keys still don’t have their money.
In January, Akron’s Black Keys (pictured) sold out two shows at the Agora Theatre, moving a combined total of 3,800 tickets at $28.50 apiece. The band still hasn’t been paid. As of April, Terry Buckwalter, a partner in Euclid 5012 LLC. — that’s the corporation formed between Jigsaw Saloon and Stage partners Buckwalter and Phil Lara, plus Agora owner Hank Loconti, for purposes of running the Agora — had agreed to pay the Keys $5,000 a week. As of today, he hasn’t paid them anything.
Buckwalter, Lara and Loconti have refused to sign the settlement agreement, which would hold the parties personally responsible for the debt — as opposed to assigning the Keys’ overdue $50,000+ payday to the corporation. In short, if partners sign the payment arrangement as it stands, they’re concerned they might have to pay it.
Loconti — who says he was contractually barred from participating in the business at the time of the Keys concert — was named in the suit, and says it’s matter between the band and his partners. “I am not involving myself in that at all,” Loconti says. “They can drag me into it if they want to, but I am not taking any responsibility. I believe that’s going to be settled shortly.”
This article appears in Apr 15-21, 2009.
It is a damn shame what this Phil Lara mess and the subsequent repercussions have done to the local music scene in Cleveland-as if things weren’t f—-d up enough already!!Now these clubs and the bands who played in them are taking it up the ass and the paying customers,the fans are being made to suffer even fewer opportunities in a town that could use all the help it can get.Thanks for the economic stimulus Phil. A public stoning on Public Square, anyone?? — A LOYAL JIGSAW/R&R/CLEVELAND FAN