New York City

[awagner]

Whoever designed the roads in Boston had to have been tripping on acid, though.

My theory has always been that the Boston roads were designed by New Yorkers.

 

[mcarter]

We use to rehearse in the studios by Times Square and check out guitars on 48th st. We each paid $300 a month for a three bedroom apartment in the East Village. Am I crazy to miss junkies, sex workers and street crime? Great pic!

 

[davismanLV]

I have a REALLY great meme with overhead shots of NYC and Boston that's hysterical, but I can't share it here because of the language. Sad really, it's funny..... maybe someone could edit it and make it LTG friendly?

 

[F312]

!967 and 2002 was a good time to be had in NY NY, however, how long will I have to wait to be had again.

 

[geoguy]

Cattle . . . Boston street routes were established by cattle.

 

[Midnight Toker]

During the 90's, the band I worked for played NYC every couple months. I LOVED it. It was a bit maddening though if you're not used to how things are done there. A typical club on a fri/sat night can have up to 6-7 bands playing at all hours of the night. What in a normal world would be the best spot of the night...from 10pm-12am, in NYC would be the slow time. Going on a 1am is where the crowd just starts filling in!. And at some clubs, like the Lion's Den on Bleeker, the man at the door was asking folks what band they were there to see as they paid the cover, keeping tabs for each band, and that's how you'd get paid. We also played The Wetlands Preserve numerous times. (miss that place (we did get a quick mention in the documentary about the place)) and the New Music Cafe, and also the old Le Bar Bat, which was an old church that was then converted into Media Sound Studios where everyone from Sinatra to The Stones, to Hendrix, to Billy Joel and countless others cut records. The acoustics were amazing in there. At the time, the weekday house band were partly SNL and Letterman bandmembers, and the club owner always used to ask if we wanted the SNL horns to play with us, but it never happened. I just remember the mgr being uber anal about set times. He'd be looking at his watch and say, "ok, let's start playing in 5,4,3,2....GO!" We all just looked at each other and laughed. Last I heard, the place became a snooty (or shall I say...snorty!) trust fund kid hangout w/ a velvet rope and $30 cover just to get in the bar....w/ no band playing. That scene wore out as soon as a new snooty place popped up somewhere else and it eventually shut down. It was an amazing room for music though. All I know is, playing NYC on a sat night would throw my whole schedule upside down for a while. Packing your gear and just getting ready to drive back to Md at 4:30-5am!! Insanity. It sure was nice to have been a younger man once upon a time.

 

[mcarter]

During the 90's, the band I worked for played NYC every couple months. I LOVED it. It was a bit maddening though if you're not used to how things are done there. A typical club on a fri/say night can have up to 6-7 bands playing at all hours of the night. What in a normal world would be the best spot of the night...from 10pm-12am, in NYC would be the slow time. Going on a 1am is where the crowd just starts filling in!. And at some clubs, like the Lion's Den on Bleeker, the man at the door was asking folks what band they were there to see as they paid the cover, keeping tabs for each band, and that's how you'd get paid. We also played The Wetlands Preserve numerous times. (miss that place (we did get a quick mention in the documentary about the place)) and the New Music Cafe, and also the old Le Bar Bat, which was an old church that was then converted into Media Sound Studios where everyone from Sinatra to The Stones, to Hendrix, to Billy Joel and countless others cut records. The acoustics were amazing in there. At the time, the weekday house band were partly SNL and Letterman bandmembers, and the club owner always used to ask if we wanted the SNL horns to play with us, but it never happened. I just remember the mgr being uber anal about set times. He'd be looking at his watch and say, "ok, let's start playing in 5,4,3,2....GO!" We all just looked at each other and laughed. Last I heard, the place became a snooty (or shall I say...snorty!) trust fund kid hangout w/ a velvet rope and $30 cover just to get in the bar....w/ no band playing. That scene wore out as soon as a new snooty place popped up somewhere else and it eventually shut down. It was an amazing room for music though. All I know is, playing NYC on a sat night would throw my whole schedule upside down for a while. Packing your gear and just getting ready to drive back to Md at 4:30-5am!! Insanity. It sure was nice to have been a younger man once upon a time.

We played at the Wetlands all the time. Our bass player was a fry cook there!

 

[Midnight Toker]

We played at the Wetlands all the time. Our bass player was a fry cook there!

Nice. We played there a lot in the early 90's. Back when the monthly calendars had Blues Traveler, Dave Mathews, Leftover Salmon, Headstone Circus, 311, Everything, New Potato Caboose, From Good Homes, Blind Man's Holiday, Rusted Root, and a slew of other east coast touring jam bands we crossed paths with from NY to Alabama.

Here's one lone print ad I managed to find. From 93. I guess we were co-bill'ing w/Acoustic Junction on Thur the 29th.


I think even Hootie and the Blowfish opened up for us once there. Then they got signed and we never saw them again.

This is what my typical life was like in those days. No cell phones, no GPS. My own personal Road Manager hell! Lol

 

[F312]

I have often said, and think, the roads around Dallas, Tx. were beaten paths of late, formed by horse and cattle routes and that's why you seldom see a straight road or street. Now take Chicago for instance, they had a great fire, and now most of the roads and streets are mostly uniform, N, S, E & W. You could say, it took another cow to straighten things out.

 

[Rich Cohen]

I was born in Newark, NJ and grew up in Maplewood, Essex County, NJ. We used to go into NYC for entertainment. I never felt comfortable there. Even now, when I drive there I get hyper....thought the layout of the streets in Manhattan are mostly logical. If you're patient, driving in NYC is okay. I couldn't live there....never. It's too hyper. I work there for nine month in the early 90s. It was CRAZY!

 

[Walter Broes]

Been to NYC three times as a tourist, loved it, want to go back. It felt safer, cleaner and friendlier than a lot of other places I've been.
And I've had some of the best food there I've had anywhere.

 

[krysh]

I love nyc since i was there in 2011 and twocorgis took me around. Hope to repeat this soon.

 

[mcarter]

Nice. We played there a lot in the early 90's. Back when the monthly calendars had Blues Traveler, Dave Mathews, Leftover Salmon, Headstone Circus, 311, Everything, New Potato Caboose, From Good Homes, Blind Man's Holiday, Rusted Root, and a slew of other east coast touring jam bands we crossed paths with from NY to Alabama.

Here's one lone print ad I managed to find. From 93. I guess we were co-bill'ing w/Acoustic Junction on Thur the 29th.


I think even Hootie and the Blowfish opened up for us once there. Then they got signed and we never saw them again.

This is what my typical life was like in those days. No cell phones, no GPS. My own personal Road Manager hell! Lol

That's great- all those bands and Phish too. We were in the opposite direction. We played during the punk nights. You had to be really good to get the Saturday night gigs. Thanks for posting that.

 

[mcarter]

Nice. We played there a lot in the early 90's. Back when the monthly calendars had Blues Traveler, Dave Mathews, Leftover Salmon, Headstone Circus, 311, Everything, New Potato Caboose, From Good Homes, Blind Man's Holiday, Rusted Root, and a slew of other east coast touring jam bands we crossed paths with from NY to Alabama.

Here's one lone print ad I managed to find. From 93. I guess we were co-bill'ing w/Acoustic Junction on Thur the 29th.


I think even Hootie and the Blowfish opened up for us once there. Then they got signed and we never saw them again.

This is what my typical life was like in those days. No cell phones, no GPS. My own personal Road Manager hell! Lol

Speaking of Hootie and the Blowfish, somehow our punk band played late night after they finished their sets in Columbia SC. I look out at the audience, cowboy boots and hats and dead heads. I said we are screwed! Then a bunch of punks show up and the punks and cowboys start fighting just as we go on. We got banned from the club and the city I think.

 

[chazmo]

During the 90's, the band I worked for played NYC every couple months. I LOVED it. It was a bit maddening though if you're not used to how things are done there. A typical club on a fri/sat night can have up to 6-7 bands playing at all hours of the night. What in a normal world would be the best spot of the night...from 10pm-12am, in NYC would be the slow time. Going on a 1am is where the crowd just starts filling in!. And at some clubs, like the Lion's Den on Bleeker, the man at the door was asking folks what band they were there to see as they paid the cover, keeping tabs for each band, and that's how you'd get paid. We also played The Wetlands Preserve numerous times. (miss that place (we did get a quick mention in the documentary about the place)) and the New Music Cafe, and also the old Le Bar Bat, which was an old church that was then converted into Media Sound Studios where everyone from Sinatra to The Stones, to Hendrix, to Billy Joel and countless others cut records. The acoustics were amazing in there. At the time, the weekday house band were partly SNL and Letterman bandmembers, and the club owner always used to ask if we wanted the SNL horns to play with us, but it never happened. I just remember the mgr being uber anal about set times. He'd be looking at his watch and say, "ok, let's start playing in 5,4,3,2....GO!" We all just looked at each other and laughed. Last I heard, the place became a snooty (or shall I say...snorty!) trust fund kid hangout w/ a velvet rope and $30 cover just to get in the bar....w/ no band playing. That scene wore out as soon as a new snooty place popped up somewhere else and it eventually shut down. It was an amazing room for music though. All I know is, playing NYC on a sat night would throw my whole schedule upside down for a while. Packing your gear and just getting ready to drive back to Md at 4:30-5am!! Insanity. It sure was nice to have been a younger man once upon a time.

MT, do you still gig in NYC? That's crazy that you'd commute to a gig from Maryland. It sounds like you had a lot of fun there though.

 

[matsickma]

That picture looks like a scene straight out of a Batman movie! Beautiful picture with the sureal fog, mist and cloud cover!

 

[Midnight Toker]

MT, do you still gig in NYC? That's crazy that you'd commute to a gig from Maryland. It sounds like you had a lot of fun there though.

No, I've been off the road since the late 90's. We did over 250 shows a year for close to 10 years. We'd never just commute to NYC and back. We'd do trips like Pittsburgh, Binghamton, Albany, Burlington, Boston, NYC, then drive home that night.

 

[awagner]

This thread is really bringing back some great memories. My friends and I regularly frequented Bleecker Street bars like Mills Pub and Kenny’s Castaways, where we saw bands like Blues Traveler when they were still a bar band. We were also huge fans of a guitarist named Kenny Guinn (sp) who was the best cover artist I ever heard. We saw bands like the Disco Biscuits many times at Wetlands, and I almost hired Uncle Sammy to play at my wedding before that idea was vetoed.

My friend Dean, who I have sadly lost touch with, is the author of the Phishing Manual and Jam Bands, and he directed the Wetlands documentary. Through him I was able to attend many Allman Bros. and Phish shows, and see some other great bands, even though I would not consider myself a JamBand aficionado.

New York rocks.

 

[lungimsam]

Manhattan is too busy for my pace. People too packed in. Last time I was there I was getting sneezed and coughed on by people in the street (could see the spray in the winter sunshine). Yuk! This was before covid. Too much overload. Circuits fried. Lotsa interesting stuff to see though.
My nephew lives in Queens (much quieter) but we always go to NYC for a day when we visit.
I am a suburban/rural mid Atlantic kinda guy. Quiet and lotsa space is more my speed. But I think NY-ers would find it boring.
My nephew likes visiting us and enjoys the Indian restaurants here. He says NY has no good ones, which I find hard to believe.
One thing about NY I like though is you can find any type of restaurant you could possibly imagine if you are into international quisine.

 

[crank]

There's a whole neighborhood of good Indian restaurants in NYC all bunched together.