‘Go to Hale: Quips and Clips’ Annual Show Digs Into the Vault August 29

Go to Hale: Quips and Clips, an annual archival music show, is a very special Santa Barbara treasure. Organized by Richard Salzberg and created by Hale Milgrim in 2008, each show has been unique. Every year, these music fanatics carefully assemble little-seen music performance footage and history to present in an on-screen compilation. This year’s theme is “Music from the Vault: Hidden Treasures & Found Footage,” inspired by the search for special quips and clips to share on August 29 at the Lobero Theatre. Proceeds from the event benefit the theater.

“The premise is simple: Some of the most magical music moments happen far from the spotlight in intimate clubs, rehearsal rooms, private homes, and those spontaneous moments when nobody even realizes a camera is rolling. Much of this rarely seen footage has remained buried in personal archives for decades … until now,” Salzberg says. 

I had the privilege of getting a behind-the-scenes look into their process when I interviewed both Salzberg and Milgrim in Salzberg’s home. They showed me Salzberg’s extensive music collection of CDs and a high-quality Blu-ray collection of archival music footage that they considered for the show. An early cut of some of the clips spotlighted classic and loved artists full of passion for music that exuded through their performances. 

Both men’s lives have been entrenched in music. Milgrim has lived in Santa Barbara for 33 years, and long before that, he worked in a record store, Discount Records, in Isla Vista in the 1960s. He then went on to work for Warner Brothers, Electra/Asylum/Nonesuch Records, and eventually became president and CEO of Capitol Records.

“I’ve been here ever since I worked at the Santa Barbara Bowl on the Bowl Foundation as a board member for a little over 12 years. In 2008, I started doing Go to Hale at the Lobero Theatre. Richard and I met a few years later,” Milgrim said.

The creative director of the project, Salzberg, a k a Santa Barbara’s “Music Maniac,” is a passionate music appreciator and archivist. He moved to California from New York in the 1970s. “My interest in music goes back to my childhood, when I was foraging through my parents’ record collection. I remember sitting on the floor with records, and I was just fascinated. From that point on, I have literally collected every format of music that is imaginable, from albums to cassettes, eight tracks, my dad had a reel-to-reel player, CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray audios, and so on,” Salzberg said.

“Hale and I both have, through the artists themselves, or through our connections outside of the country, been able to get our hands on things that people have not had access to. For us, we’re constantly turning each other on to our finds, so to speak, and we love sharing that with the community,” Salzberg said.

“We thought it would be fun to find artists that people knew, and some newer and some older artists that people may not know, and showcase them in intimate venues,” Salzberg said. This show requires countless hours of watching, selecting, editing, and creating with their team.

Both emphasized the adventure and excitement of the search, a passion akin to Indiana Jones himself, who inspired the hidden treasure theme of this year’s show. “We’ve been able to do things that we love doing in our lives, and whenever you can enjoy your work, then it’s not really work to some degree. It’s more passion that drives the boat to what we want to feature,” Milgrim said. 

This show doesn’t feature one genre or artist; it features a collective feeling of the joy of music creation and performance. Featured artists are a surprise every show.

“I’ve lived in many cities around the United States in my life, and I don’t think I’ve ever had the feeling that I have at the Lobero Theatre,” Milgrim said, noting that the theater’s intimate setting is perfect for the show. Both will be present on bar stools on stage in conversation with the audience. They want attendees to feel engaged and welcomed in this one-of-a-kind experience. 

“Music from the Vault: Hidden Treasures & Found Footage” will play at the Lobero Theatre (33 E. Canon Perdido St.), Saturday, August 29, 6:52 p.m. See lobero.org.