Peter Shapiro was a guest on a local FOX 5 newscast about the impending danger facing The Capitol Theatre and many other venues across the country on Monday morning.
The concert promoter, venue owner, media publisher, and jam music shaman appeared on the broadcast to stress the importance of the Save Our Stages Act before the senate. The bill, introduced last month by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and John Cornyn (R-TX) would provide six months of small business grants from the Small Business Association to qualifying venues.
The segment finds Shapiro talking with FOX correspondent Dan Bowens on the empty stage of The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY. Donning a Capitol Theatre hat, Shapiro still speaks with that infectious love of live music that helped bring him into the professional side of things in 1997 when he bought Wetlands Preserve in the TriBeCa neighborhood of New York City.
Related: David Byrne Talks Saving Small Stages On ‘TODAY’ [Watch]
“Yeah there’s nothing like being at a show, being at a concert, and the air between the performer and you,” Shapiro said. “You know, it’s got magic in it.”
Yet that magic in the air has been severely lacking at the Cap, and around the country since the pandemic closed down all live events back in March. Shapiro, while definitely feeling the effects of a months-long stretch with no revenue, feels that this turn of events has come to make people appreciate that magic all the more.
“The pandemic, what we’ve all been through these last few months has probably made us realize how much there is magic in the air when you’re live and in person,” Shapiro said.
Bowens takes viewers through the rich history of the theater with concerts by The Rolling Stones and David Bowie in the 1970s, and the Grateful Dead playing 18 times over the course of a year. “But then it went away in the 80’s,” according to Shapiro, and remained in decrepit disrepair until he bought the venue in 2012 and renovated it. Since then, “The Cap” has held over 800 concerts, including a performance by Bob Dylan to reopen the storied venue.
It is the work that Shapiro and The Capitol are doing now, however, that is making headlines. In an effort to give fans a chance to own a piece of their favorite venue, and help bring some money in the door, Shapiro is selling personalized tiles outside the venue. Fans can inscribe the tile with a favorite show, band, friend, or memory from the famed theatre.
“So right now we’re in the tile business at The Capitol Theatre,” Shapiro said. “We used to be in rock n’ roll, but we’re gonna do rock n’ roll, into tiles, back into rock n’ roll.”
Personalized tiles outside The Capitol Theatre are available for $450 each, with a limit of four tiles per person. For more information on how to order one click here.
Watch the FOX 5 news segment with Peter Shapiro and The Capitol Theatre below.
FOX 5 – Peter Shapiro and The Capitol Theatre