In no particular order, here’s a sampling of photos from last week’s trips. But first, commenter Martin wrote a great story in yesterday’s comments and I wanted to post it again in the Rewind post, just in case anyone missed it, it’s a classic story and I appreciate Martin taking the time to write and post it. Here it is:
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Ah Rudy’s! I’ve gotten drunk at Rudy’s more times than I can remember.
I had a Commercial Art studio on 45th between 8th and 9th from 1970 until this past June. In the early 70’s you could “sparked one up” if you were sitting in a booth and nobody even said a word.
One time I was sitting at the bar and this guy next to me asked me for a light, so I lit his cigarette, and we started talking he introduced himself as Bob. He told me he had done some dancing on Broadway. Over the next few months we’d have beers a few times a week, he’d stop by the studio and what-not. One night I told him I wanted to take my wife to a Broadway show for her birthday, he asked me which show we wanted to see (can’t remember what show it was), so he tells me he’s got a friend, who’s got a friend who can tickets to anything. The next night I see Bob at the bar, and he pulls an envelope out of his pocket with two tickets in it, I asked him how much I owed him and he told me not to worry about it. The next week my wife and I get to the theatre and to our surprise: we’re in the 3rd row center. Over the next few years we drank thousands of beers. Bob would, from time to time, throw me tickets to Broadway shows and concerts including really great seats for The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin.
One night we’re sitting in Rudy’s and he say he’s needs to run up the block to a theatre, and asks if I want to tag along. So we walk up the block and Bob knocks on a stage door, the door opens and the guy who opens the door says “Good evening Mr. Fosse”, I thought to myself Bob? Fosse? Holy shit, it’s Bob Fosse! I looked at Bob and said “You’re Bob Fucking Fosse?”
Bob laughed and said, “I thought you knew.”
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Great story, Martin!
Okay, here’s the photos and check back later tonight for a sneaky peek of my cheeseburger which will be posted tomorrow on the weekly, “Saturday Night Cheeseburger.”
Okay, time for the weekly, “Casual Free Food Friday” episode (I now am doing this on Thursday and posting it on Friday), where I make a weekly journey to a bar and sample some free grub. One of the best known places for free food is Rudy’s Bar in Hell’s Kitchen. They have free hotdogs there and not just at happy hour but all through the day and night (they’re open from 8 AM to 4 AM.) It’s a classic New York place, the only problem is that some night’s it’s just to crowded to even get a drink in there, much less a free hot dog, but since I have more free time for on my hands for awhile, I thought I’d go in the afternoon and see if it’s a little less crazy then. And I’m going to meet a TWM commenter that I’ve never met before! Who is it? Well follow along and you’ll find out!
Down into the subway we go as we make our way to Hell's Kitchen near Times Square.
A train has just pulled up as I get to the platform! I love it when that happens.
Obsessive texter alert! I swear she hasn't looked up for five minutes.
Wow, right off the train and already a celebrity sighting! Hello, Joan Rivers!
And here we are at Rudy's Bar & Grill, deep in the heart of Hell's Kitchen.
I love the giganzo pig and the customized "Rudy" door, let's go inside and check it out.
Wow, even at four in the afternoon it's crowded in here, but I see a spot at the end of the bar, so I'm going to snag it.
Here's the view from my perch at the bar.
Angel and Judy were working behind the bar, great and friendly people!
And here's Rudy's legendary free hot dogs, cooking behind the bar.
A free hot dog and a bottle of Budweiser in Rudy's bar as the jukebox is playing, "Desolation Row ." It doesn't get much better than this!
The beer list behind the bar. Note that bottles of Budweiser are just three bucks, cheapest beer in town!
Vintage lights hang over and illuminate the bar.
Here's the beers on tap, the house beers, Rudy's Red and Blonde are designated by the mini piglets.
A shot from the back of the bar.
The banquettes that line the wall opposite the bar are done up in what appears to be red duct tape.
Theodorah was seated at one of the banquettes enjoying a beer. She's got a beautiful smile!
Richard and Sherwood were hanging out at the bar. Richard is visiting from California and Sherwood lives in New Jersey.
And here's the TMW special guest star, commenter Jason! Jason works in the city and lives with his wife in New Jersey. It was great to meet Jason and have several beers with him. Jason's a very talented artist and sculptor, check out his work here: Jason Andersen Website.
Obligatory bathroom mirror shot!
And it's time to head out the door.
And nighttime has fallen on the city! I love it when that happens. Thanks for tripping out with me and we'll see you tomorrow.
After reading yesterday's record store post, TWM reader and commenter, Danny the Freelancer, sent in a couple of his prized records from his collection. The first is a limited Keith Richards release from his solo album, "Talk Is Cheap." Here's what Danny told me about it via email: "This is the Keith in a can CD. "Talk is Cheap." A couple of years after I bought the CD, Keith was doing in store signing at Tower Records on 4th St. My friends were in the front of the giant line and let me cut in. They all had black guitars that they wanted Keith to sign and I had a silver marker. Keith lived right on top of Tower Records at the time. I know because my friend pained his bathroom, eggplant purple with goldleaf trim on the moulding. So I did my bathroom the same way."
Danny also sent in a picture sleeve 45 of the Ramones, "Bitzkrieg Bop," signed by every original Ramone. As Danny notes, the photos on the 45 are from a Ramones show at C.B.G.B. Very cool, thanks for sending these in, Danny!
If somebody told me as a kid that record stores would be in danger of going extinct, I’d have thought they were flat-out nuts. But sadly, record stores, along with book stores, are being greatly hurt by the internet. The majority of young kids would rather download their music and listen to their iPods rather than going out and graze through records and compact discs at a store. I can’t begin to tell you the number of hours I’ve logged in at record stores throughout my life, flipping through albums, looking at covers, reading liner notes and talking to the people that work there. Record stores can be a real social experience of finding new and old music and meeting like-minded people. So it’s sad to see record stores shrinking.
In the last couple weeks there’s been news that two well-known record stores were leaving their retail spaces. On January 26th Ken Mac reported from his great photo blog, GVDP, that the word on the street was saying that iconic record store, Bleecker Bob’s was closing and that a Starbucks was moving in. Luckily, this turned out to be somewhat wrong. What is happening is Bleecker Bob’s is looking for a place in the East Village due to the crazy-ass rents in the West Village. They’re not planning on closing, but they are definitely moving out of this space that they’ve inhabited for over thirty years. After that news, Jeremiah Moss reported four days later that East Village Rockit Scientist Records was closing it’s location on St. Marks, where they’ve been since 2002 (the shop was first opened on Carmine St. in 1996.) Their lease is ending and owner John Kioussis tried for a rent reduction, but the landlord won’t budge. So it’s closing on March 31st. John’s going to mail order for awhile and continue to look for a new spot for his fine record store.
So, hopefully these two places will live on, but I wanted to get photos and document both of them before they left the spaces they were in. And so, it’s off we go.
I thought we'd first travel over to the East Village and check out Rockit Scientist Records. I've always loved the name of that shop. The gate is open, let's go inside.
As you can see, it's a long narrow railroad space in here.
Here's the front counter, Aaron was showing long-time customer John an album.
As you can see, the store has a great selection of compact discs, one's you won't find on Amazon or at a Barnes and Noble.
And there's also a lot of albums in here, definitely something you won't find at Barnes & Noble or at a Best Buy. One of my favorite things to do in record stores is to look at album covers, let's check out a few.
A classic cover, The New York Dolls first album. I remember listening to this in Peoria when I was in high school. Never dreamed I'd be looking at it in New York City decades later.
I've never seen this Bo Diddley record before. That's what's so fun about going to record shops, you always see something you've never seen before. Now I'm thinking about the New York Doll's cover of "Pills."
Here's the Rolling Stones "Satanic Majesties Request" with the original 3-D cover. I had this as a kid and traded it for a bag of pot when I was around 15-years-old. This one's going for 75 bucks! I should've held on to it, as I remember it was kind of shitty weed that I got for it!
I love the hand-lettered record dividers in here!
Owner John Kioussis holds up my purchase of the Dave Clark Five to shield himself from the TMW camera! The first 45 I ever got was "Catch Us If You Can," by the Dave Clark Five and it's on this album. I never got it back when I was a kid, but I have it now. Thanks to John for letting me come in and take photos. He's a great guy and has a lot of entertaining stories about owning a record store in New York. I told him he should pitch it as a movie idea. If you want to check out and find some cool records and compact discs here, the clock is running, Rockit Scientist Records is closing on March 31st. Stop in and make a purchase while you can.
Joey sells records out in front of the store. He's a nice, soft-spoken fellow who says he's been doing this for 22 years. I asked him what he thought about what was happening to the neighborhood and he thought about it and then said with a shake of his head, "It sure is changing." Those four words pretty much sum it all up. Okay over to Bleecker Bob's.
And here we are at Bleecker Bob's on Third Street in the West Village.
Bleecker Bob opened his first record store here in New York in 1968 on Bleecker St. It's been in this location for over thirty years.
I love old cash registers and this one's a beauty.
Here's something you don't see much of these days, vintage vinyl 45's.
And here's something you pretty much only see in Bleecker Bob's, 8 track tapes!
A poster of The Ramones from the late '70's. Hard to believe that Tommy Ramone is the only one still alive.
There's a huge selection of CD's available here.
And row after row of vinyl to peruse.
Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks. The Hawks later evolved into The Band.
More hand-lettered dividers in here. Hey, The Yardbirds are in the back.
I've never seen this Yardbirds compilation, so that's my purchase from Bleecker Bob's for the day. I've always loved them and I traveled to Memphis with their drummer, Jim McCarty back in the early '90's. A story I need to write up one of these days.
There's a place in Bleecker Bob's where you can leave flyers and cards...hey, looky there! If you know of a space in the East Village, feel free to call Bleecker Bob's and let them know, the phone number is below. I wish them good luck with the move and will be anxious to see the new store. For now, I'm glad the old one is still there, you should check it out while you can.
In no particular order, here’s a sampling of photos from last week’s trips. But first, commenter Martin wrote a great story in yesterday’s comments and I wanted to post it again in the Rewind post, just in case anyone missed it, it’s a classic story and I appreciate Martin taking the time to write and post it. Here it is:
Bob Fosse, 
