Ft. Myers, Fl

[Dallas]

Rumor has it that Gazzo is in jail after staging a sit in/ hunger strike at the Times Square pitch on Ft. Myers beach.
After paying $80.00 for a permit, they refused to give him one.

I've heard ALOT of bad things coming from a pitch that I worked so hard to open up.

Sorry to hear it, hope things work out!

[martin ewen]

Oh man this is great.
We need to find out who personally is the decision maker here and then go for the two pronged prank call pincer gambit.
One call a reporter getting the official line and another call an irate resident commending the move, complaining bitterly about performers, perhaps from a retail standpoint and asking what can be done to rid the place of these distractions. Record. Compare and contrast. Polish. Publish. Embarrass.

You volunteer to enter the us penal system you're an idiot.
Still, someone should start having fun on the phone or email.

[jeep caillouet]

Word travels fast. Heard it it something to do with some guy named Joey over a spot, Kinda?

[martin ewen]

Breathe easy fellers. We dressed rumple up as a cop and sent him in there to rescue gazzo. What could go wrong?

[Joey Hopper]

Hi all,

I figured I should get on here and post a few of the facts of this whole mess, since I know there are a lot of people wondering what went down here this week. I will do my best to get the facts right based on the knowledge I have of the situation at hand.

Earlier this week, Gazzo came down to FMB to perform. From what I understand; he paid an $80.00 fee for a background check, which is a prerequisite to obtaining a permit here. He got his receipt, and started working. At some point, we were told, a vendor called the police for some reason. Police came to the pitch and checked permits. Nothing significant happened. The next day, everyone was out working, and they came again. On this day, the officers apparently told Gazzo what was already stated in the rules for this spot, something along the lines of, “you can't actually perform until you get the permit in hand.” This, of course can't happen unless the background check has cleared. I don't know exactly what transpired thereafter. What I do know is the following day I went to the pitch to set up for a show and a few minutes later Gazzo was staging a sort of “protest,” blocking the only circle pitch. Rather than doing a show and getting in the way there, I decided it was probably best for me to take the day off. I left. Later, I got word that Gazzo had been arrested for trespass. It seemed to be popular opinion that he was causing a scene, more than staging a protest. That last sentence is a deduction from conjecture based on the buzz I've heard from people talking in the area as of late. So That brings us to the next order of business.

Somehow, my name is being dropped into the middle of all this as some sort of driving force behind the arrest. Rest assured, the police department here is not a privatized army that caters to the whims of street performers. Hard to believe? Read the paragraph above again! I need to lay out a few more happenings to make this more clear.

For the past several years, and more recently, the town has been scrutinizing permits from the performers on a regular basis. This is a fact that we performers on the spot have made well known to anyone interested in performing here. It's pretty simple. Apply, pay for the background check, pass it, get the show approved, obtain the permit after it has been sent to be printed. A lot of this next part is hearsay, however, it has been said that people thought I wanted to get rid of Gazzo because I used a few of his lines in my show. I use the past tense, because he asked me not to while he's here. No problem! I dropped them all! I went to the town personally and told them that he was a legendary performer, and “If it weren't for Gazzo and a you-tube clip I saw several years ago, I would never have become a street performer.” After speaking on his behalf, I was told they would do what they could. However, this was before the protest and after the second permit check. As far as refusal of a permit, I don't know anything about that, you would need to ask someone who was there.

As far as, “wanting to get rid of Gazzo” I used my resources to score him a discounted rate on an apartment when he got here and had no problems with civility. That is not the action of someone trying to get rid of someone else.

This whole situation is very simple as I see it: He was asked not to perform until the background check came back to make sure he was who he says he is, and he isn't dangerous to the public. He was simply given a receipt and asked to wait. Personally, I love the fact that public safety is a consideration taken seriously based on some of the things I've seen from others in the past. He performed without a permit, got shut down, challenged it in a way that was seen as causing a negative disturbance, and was asked to stop. He didn't, he was arrested. The space here is, from what I understand, private property. The owner asked him to leave, he didn't. This whole thing sucks! Make no mistake about that. But, it is a simple case of patience is a virtue, and reserve judgment until you have the facts. I hope this clears up a little bit of this swampy issue for those of you who are curious about it. I figured I better say something since we all know rumors spread quickly.

[nick nickolas]

Thanks Joey,

how/where is he now?

oh America the Land of the Free,,


Nick

[martin ewen]

Well just as long as your dads not the police chief and hitting poor gazzo with a phone directory until he spills all his lines so that after he's shot trying to escape you get a bunch of new material and go on to write a book of one liners that all sound vaguely familiar then I guess that's all right then.

Thanks for the further episode of the soap opera.

Gazzo uses my stuff all the time. It's no biggie. You know the pauses between the words and the sentences? That's all my material.