Good mornin' Monday...let's not talk about basketball anymore, ok? I am relieved it's all over but what a ride it was.
So David and I were shuffling some songs this am during morning drive time, and "Waiting on a Friend" came on. Not only is this a great song and amazing video, but it also showcases one of my favorite old bars in NYC, the St. Marks Bar. I used to hang there when I first moved to New York and drink Jack and Cokes. Strangely enough, David used to hang there too- it was just a cool, kind of shitty chic, rock and roll bar. They always played good music, and there was always the slight hint that someone like Keith would come in. Never happened for me, but still had a great time there. I was too young for Max's Kansas City though I can imagine it would have been somewhere I would have gone every night. One can only imagine the revelry...
Last week, two of my girlfriends and I were having a Stella at the Spring Street Lounge, another great little boite in New York City. It's not much really- but there's great beer on tap, wood floors, and huge windows of which to observe all the cute people strolling through Nolita. My friend Andrea mentioned that if she were to have a bar, it would look and feel very much like Spring Street Lounge, which made me think- you can tell a lot about a person by what kind of bar they'd like to own. Andrea is a no bullshit kind of girl who loves beer and baseball and a laid back vibe. My friend Rebecca wanted a more loungey bar- with low seating and dim lighting and a cool, chilled out feel. Rebecca is a chic woman who likes to wear good shoes and handbags but is also not really the mega club type, though a sexy lounge is more up her alley. As for me, I'd go for a bar in my favorite genre- the rock and roll bar. I have extolled its virtues on this blog- bars like St. Jerome's on the Lower East Side, Three of Cups in the East Village, The Whiskey Bar in the Paramount (back in the day, natch- when all the waitresses wore catsuits), and the bar in the Sunset Marquis in LA. Oh and who could forget the glory days of Don Hill's, one of the best bars to ever exist? Oh those Squeezebox days...
If I owned a bar it would be rock and roll all the way, with some hip hop mixed in for good measure- dark, intimate, and with bartenders who look good in skinny leather pants- both male and female. Perhaps there would be an original print of Keith from the Exile days, maybe there would be a Bowie night (probably Wednesdays), and there would most definitely not be any irony in the drinks- as much as I love cool cocktails, I think my bar would know how to make the perfect bourbon and water, with maybe a signature drink like the dark and stormy, an all time favorite. There would be vintage rugs and comfortable chairs and feel a bit like like that sick house in the movie Laurel Canyon- rock and roll but not dirty, a bit more chic. In any event, I would love it to be the kind of place bands come after a gig, the cast of SNL might pop in after the after party, and folks could just come and hang out and be surrounded by like minded music geeks, mixed in with local artists, mad ones, and raconteurs. Oh and maybe I could even have rock and roll book club- an idea I had ages ago where rock kids could meet and read a different rock bio a month, and discuss (the rock book genre is one I am well versed in. I can't get enough).
What does this say about me? I'm not entirely sure, draw your own conclusions. It's a fun exercise nonetheless. So I ask you, on this manic Monday, what type of bar are you, anyway? And can we hang out there?
Cause that's what's up this St. Marks of a Monday in the MIA. Bottoms up. XO