Tentacle News

How the Grinch Stole Xmas: IRS Denies 501(c)(3) Status for Tentacle

"You have an information calendar of events, but these are not educational..."

In a letter dated November 9, 2000 ­ 20 months after we first submitted our application ­ the Internal Revenue Service formally denied tax-exempt status to the Tentacle, citing three basic reasons.

First, in what could be termed a technicality (albeit a false one), the agency claimed that the Tentacle failed to submit an endorsed copy of its amended articles of incorporation. This is an outright lie, and is an unsupportable charge owing to the agency's acknowledgement and inclusion of said document in prior correspondence.

Second, the agency contends that the Tentacle does not meet the charitable standards set forth by law because, while we claim to be an all-volunteer organization, we state that although we cannot compensate our writers monetarily, we "hope to offer tickets" to events when possible. The IRS had hinted to our attorney that there were other "irregularities" that led them to view the Tentacle as a commercial enterprise, but none of these (such as our reliance on advertising revenue exceeding our receipt of charitable donations) were cited in the denial letter.

Finally, the IRS found the Tentacle's activities, including the magazine, to be devoid of educational value. The agency states: "There is nothing educational about the magazine, you provide information as do most magazines. [The Tentacle] serves no particular educational purpose." This last contention has certainly ruffled our scales, especially after revising our mission statement and submitting documents to prove our various educational outreach activities (lectures, a radio program, concerts, workshops, etc.) in the Northwest music community.

To add ice to hypothermia, the IRS continually delayed responding to calls and letters from our attorney ­ claiming that our IRS representative was on vacation or out of the office ­ so the application process that should have been completed by December 1999 was held up ad infinitum. Our tentacles were tied for the past year as we awaited the IRS decision with little or no dialogue from our purported case manager. Our attorney, though not an expert in nonprofit administrative law, was shocked and dismayed by such "ineptitude."

The Tentacle now faces a difficult decision. Do we appeal the IRS ruling through the same attorney, or via one who specializes in nonprofit concerns? Do we start over and reapply as a different organization with a more traditionally "educational" structure? Or do we just forget about it, which is exactly what the IRS expects will happen with "little fish" like ourselves? Whichever course we choose, the Tentacle has been through the wringer with the Infernal Revenue Service, and wonders why religious institutions posing as educational charities who pocket money from their constituents are sanctified by the IRS, while grassroots organizations like the Tentacle that put thousands of hours of volunteer labor into a marginalized community are routinely thrown overboard to the sharks. Sadly, it's an all-too-familiar scenario for purveyors of unorthodox music.

Call for Artists: 2001 Art-Nature-Literature Festival

The Nature Consortium is currently seeking artists for the 2001 Art-Nature-Literature Festival to be held at West Seattle's Camp Long on August 18 and 19. Organizers are looking for installations to fill six cabins in the "museum of sound"; artists will receive a $500 stipend/fee for the weekend in addition to free use of a cabin for their installation and lodging for the weekend.

"We are looking for multidisciplinary ideas to fill the cabins ­ blending sound, music, and visual arts. We will be creating a Zeno's Circle (of Sound) that will begin in and encompass the forested perimeter of the camp and then converge in the open field (game and parade ground). We need sound, movement, voices, instruments, etc. to orchestrate this circle. Also needed: strolling performers, musicians, costumed characters, etc. to infiltrate the festival landscape; $50-100 honorariums will be paid for these positions. We're also specifically looking for nontraditional choral groups and a hand-bell choir.

"Festival 2001 will have two stages at the north and sound ends of the game and parade ground: the "Roots and Branches" stage for bluegrass, world music, reggae, gospel, and jazz, and an "Open Ended" stage. All bands and staged performances will be paid fees tbd. We're looking for ideas ­ tell us what you're thinking!"

Send demo tapes, CDs, etc. to The Nature Consortium, 4210 SW Oregon St., Seattle, WA 98116, or contact info@naturec.org

Rocket Grounded

As reported in the mainstream media, 21-year-old Northwest music magazine the Rocket has finally folded, citing falling advertising revenues after its recent sale to a new publisher. (Some Rocket insiders blame the collapse on managerial incompetence.) Originally a spin-off of prototypical alternative paper the Seattle Sun, the Rocket grew into a Northwest music institution and helped launch the careers of numerous local rock musicians, artists, designers, and writers. For all that, we at the Tentacle feel little sense of loss for what had become an increasingly irrelevant paper whose gossip-filled pages glorified standard-issue "alternatives" and seldom deigned to notice the Northwest's more adventurous musicians.

The Rocket is survived by all the other publications in town featuring barely distinguishable music coverage largely controlled by major corporations and other advertisers, and by Johnny Renton.

Habitat Closure Derails Their.Own.Devices Series

The Tentacle regrets to report that the estimable Their.Own.Devices concert series, held every Sunday at Seattle's Habitat Espresso, has been left without a home because of the venue's sudden closure. Opened in 1997 by entrepreneur Jeff Reifman, Habitat was unusual in that it donated the majority of its profits to charity; alas, declining business forced Reifman to throw in the towel. (There is no truth to rumors that the café closed because of damage inflicted by a certain maniacal improviser last summer.) Ably curated by Phil Petrocelli (aka soultheft), Their.Own.Devices grew out of the earlier All the Transients weekly experimental music series organized by John Schuller and Mark Schlipper. An appreciative tip o' the tentacle goes out to Phil, John, Mark, and Jeff for providing a vital outlet for local sonic adventurers ­ here's hoping that the series will be able to continue at a different space.

Ears Hot

A leviathan tip o' the tentacle goes out to Seattle's Earshot Jazz organization for their herculean efforts in putting together one of the finest and most adventurous Earshot festivals to date. Director John Gilbreath, the Earshot staff, and a small army of volunteers presented 10 days of events that will long resonate in this city, including memorable performances by outside musicians Cecil Taylor, Trio 3, Paul Bley, Coleman Barks/Charles Lloyd/Hamza el Din, and other important artists who expand the parameters of jazz and improvised music, alongside keepers of the jazz tradition. Our only quibble was that acts with similar audience appeal (Taylor, Bley, Trio 3) were sometimes scheduled on the same nights, forcing decisions as agonizing as those some of us faced on election day. For information on Earshot's activities year-round, visit their Web site at www.earshot.org.