Musicians playing gigs at all of Seattle’s concert venues—from the Tractor Tavern to the Paramount Theatre—share a complaint: Why can’t I enjoy a fucking drink while I’m performing?
“It really hurts goodwill with performers,” explains Tractor owner Dan Cowan. “And it puts staff in the uncomfortable position of having to remove drinks and police that behavior.”
But as bar and club owners repeatedly explain to musicians, comedians, and burlesque dancers, it’s the law—a law uncommon in the United States. “We’ve always considered entertainers to be employees of venues, which means they can’t be disorderly, appear intoxicated, or drink while onstage,” says Anne Radford, a spokeswoman for the Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB). The first violation results in a $500 fine or a five-day liquor license suspension. The fourth could cost a club its license. Radford says she doesn’t know of any other state that enforces a similar law.
But the rules could change, thanks to a bowling alley and casino owner in Richland who filed a petition last spring to allow entertainers to drink on the job. On October 12, the WSLCB will hold a public hearing on the issue. Entertainers would have to drink from “nondescript” containers and refrain from promoting alcohol. These are caveats club owners can work with. “We’re pretty self-policing,” says Cowan.
For more information about how to change this idiotic rule, see Granted. The board will vote on the rule change on October 19. 
The WSLCB may have “always considered entertainers to be employees of venues,” but I can’t think of any other government agency that does. The venue doesn’t pay any benefits to the entertainer, doesn’t pay any employee tax burden on his behalf, and doesn’t (to my knowledge) cover the entertainer under its L&I policy. Further, the WSLCB may have “always” thought this, but this rule was *never* enforced until around 2000-2002.
‘Entertainers would have to drink from “nondescript” containers and refrain from promoting alcohol. These are caveats club owners can work with. “We’re pretty self-policing,” says Cowan.’
I really hate to be this guy, but this caveat, while seemingly innocuous, is exactly the kind of loophole the Liquor Control morons would use to fine someone reminding the audience to tip their bartender or something equally stupid. it sounds wildly paranoid, but honestly these people haven’t instilled me with a lot of confidence over the years.
PROVE ME WRONG, WSLCB.
@Luckier: Yes, and the venue frequently doesn’t pay the performer, period! I know music is a labor of love and all, but after expenses, most bands lose money when they play at Seattle bars.
It is about time. Is it legal for a bar to water down booze?
I hope this INCLUDES DJ’s! DJ’s are performers too. DJDUI?
Janis Joplin, the lizard king and countless others just wig out from jet lag and months on the road and all too often try to escape the pain and loneliness by becoming alcoholic Junkies.
I so don’t need to see any more drug drunk entertainers void of any logic hiting the floor like a salmon whipped at a 60 year old house wife tourist visiting the fish market from Nebraska
@6 you’re fawkin OLD!
@3 When they are shitty-assed “bands” like yours, yup, no money involved. Why would anyone pay for that noise?
What’s next, will the WSLCB consider allowing women to go out in public without wearing burqas? Could grown adults ever hope to be liberated from playpens – er, “beer gardens” – at outdoor festivals? It still kills me that smoking pot is almost more legal than drinking alcohol in this state.
@7 Experienced, Seasoned or just overqualified.
The college chicks do call me old icky though so don’t call me old, call me old icky.
hmm, when did this start? i remember seeing the butthole surfers about 6 times in seattle and gibby always had a bottle in hand.
@4 It is not legal in Washington state to water down the booze in a bar, nor is it legal to leave out the liquor if a customer orders an alcoholic beverage (i.e. if you need to cut a customer off, you have to be up-front about it– you can’t try to trick them into thinking they’re being served).
could a “nondescript container” be,… a glass?
@6 & @10: So, “old icky” slade, what band do you play in? Experienced, Seasoned or just overqualified describes me, too.
Janis Joplin—now there’s a name I haven’t heard in a while!
Jim Morrison would have loved to drink on stage. Actually, I think he did anyway despite the cops and consequential time in jail.