Spotlights Performers that Connect with Jersey Cityâ€s Diverse Community

By Sally Deering

 The stage isnâ€t very big at Fox & Crow, the hip pub and “parlour” on Palisade Ave. in The Heights. Nevertheless, itâ€s a great Jersey City venue for some pretty big talent and nobody knows that better than the clubâ€s music curator/booking manager Margo Parks.

For more than a year now, Parks has been scouting the acts for Fox & Crow; just one of her many jobs in the music industry. She also works at Kaleidoscope Sound recording studio in Union City and books talent for the annual A-Town Get Down in Savannah, Georgia. Married to popular musician Walter Parks (lead guitarist for the late and great Ritchie Havens), Margo Parks books gigs for her husbandâ€s band, Swamp Cabbage, too. Although not a musician, per se, Margo Parks spends most of her time and energy with musicians– and thatâ€s just fine with her.

This is not a line of work Parks just fell into. She holds a Bachelorâ€s Degree in Music from NYU, where she studied the business of music; and she has spent the past 20 years honing her craft as scout and booker.  And when sheâ€s not curating acts for Fox & Crow and gigs for Walterâ€s band, Margo and Walter host art happenings at The Statuary, their home in The Heights, on JC Fridays.

“Swingadelic” performed at Fox & Crow, Jan. 20

On a recent Friday night, Parks invited an all-female band Vicki Kristina Barcelona to perform at Fox & Crow and they wowed the crowd with two sets of Tom Waits†songs that melded beautifully with their originals. On Fri, Jan. 20, Swingadelic grooved the parlour. And Parks already set Februaryâ€s entertainment schedule with acts like Chrissi Poland, Adam Falcon and Jon Shain.

 RVO:  We loved Vicki Kristina Barcelona, how did you get them for Fox & Crow?

MP:  Walter, my husband is a musician and Terry Radigan of Vicki Kristina Barcelona Band hosts a roundup once a month in Brooklyn. She invited Walter to that a couple of times. Her group also performed. Iâ€ve known Amanda, whoâ€s also in the band, through other groups.

RVO:  Your husband Walter Parks played with the late Ritchie Havens?

MP: Walter is a guitarist and singer. He has his own band Swamp Cabbage, and he plays solo. Walter was touring with Ritchie Havens for 9 or 10 years as lead guitarist. Three or 4 days a week, he was on the road. Heâ€s on the road a lot, these days, but mostly with his own stuff.

RVO: How did you get to be music curator for Fox & Crow?

MP: The owners wanted to have live music in the back room. That was about a year ago.

 I offered to help and it became a job. I love it. Iâ€ve been working in the music world for almost 20 years.

RVO:  How did you get into the business of music?

MP:  I studied music business in college. I went to NYU and got a Bachelorâ€s of Music – it was a specialty offered in the music school. I took all of the basic business courses in the business school, took basic music courses and courses that specialized in the music industry. The concert promoter for the Beacon Theater was one of my teachers. He taught us about contracts, publicity, the angle from the music industry. It was interesting. We did internships, too. I interned with Channel 13 and Monmouth Records. I worked with an artist manager, sort of what I ended up doing, and she worked with several different artists and I would help her with radio promotion. I ended up working with Empress Records. I was one of their first employees.

Chrissi Poland performs at Fox & Crow Feb. 25

RVO:  You also worked with Rachel Sage as her label manager?

MP:  With Rachel, I was an assistant, and then became her label manager, I talked to the distribution company, went to music conferences and we would have a showcase where we would bring in artists. I stopped there in 2004, and started working for Grassy Hill Entertainment. We did a lot of showcases like the Folk Alliance, and we would bring in other artists to do the showcases once or twice a year. I would say the time I would start to scout was when I helped found a festival in Savannah called A-Town Get Down. It started as a benefit for Alex Townsend, who passed away way too young. His family are friends of ours. It was our tribute to him. It ham Its become bigger than that  music event We is family are friends of ours. It was our tribute to him Its become bigger than ts become bigger than that first time, a real art and music event.

RVO:  What do you do at Kaleidoscope Sound?

MP: We do a wide variety of music, but mostly world music and jazz. I handle all of their bookings and scheduling. Thereâ€s a theme here. Itâ€s probably another way I learn about a lot of musicians, because I have musicians and bands calling.

Adam Falcon performs at Fox & Crow Feb. 18

RVO:  What exactly is The Statuary?

MP: The Statuary is our home. We bought it in 2005 from the Jersey Statuary that made religious statues, a family-owned business that made Marys and Jesuses and painted them for about 80 years. They were the only people doing it for a 200-mile radius. Then they retired. We renovated the building, and the first floor we keep as a gallery space. On JC Fridays weâ€ll have a free cultural event, an artist and music event. The first time we did it as a tribute to the family that owned the business. They still lived in the neighborhood and we wanted to show what the building had become. Thatâ€s what we had promised them; that we would keep it standing and would renovate it. It was inspiring to see the neighborhood come, people who had been to our house when they were kids. We had over 100 people come to that first event; it was a fun group of people. We try to keep each one thematic and different.

RVO: There seems to be an art renaissance happening in The Heights. Whatâ€s your take on it?

MP:  We have so many artists and musicians that live up here. This community is very active. Thereâ€s the Lumberyard series, the Farmers†Market, the Washington Park Association that has the Art & Music Festival. I think theyâ€re doing more throughout the year. The Holland Street Project, the Riverview Jazz Festival and the Riverview Art Association. Corkscrew has music on a regular basis. Art House does a lot of theater as well as art events. Itâ€s a wonderful community.

Jon Shain performs at Fox & Crow Feb 17

RVO:  Fox & Crow seems to have taken off as a go-to destination for live entertainment.

MP: At Fox & Crow, people are coming out just to see what weâ€re doing in the Parlour. There are so many places that have rock and roll and the blues. I try to do something different than what you typically get in a bar. Itâ€s such a small space, I want to keep it a listening room vibe.

RVO:  Do you like your work as a music curator; is it fun?

MP: The fun part for me, I love looking for live music and listening to whatâ€s out there and I like bringing music to the community. I like being able to introduce quality, culturally diverse music, especially when people respond to it. Last year, I had a young woman from Chicago who does a tribute to Edith Piaf. People came out and were excited and respected what she was trying to do. Those special nights are really exciting for me.

If you go

Fox & Crow Pub & Parlour

594 Palisade Ave, JC

www.foxandcrowjc.com

Coming up in the Parlour

Every Sunday in the bar, Adam Melchor, 5 – 8 pm  

 Fri, Feb 3     Sean Kiely, 10 pm – 12 am

Sat, Feb 4     Ray Corvair, 10 pm – 12 am

Tues, Feb 7   Backroom Broadsides (spoken word series), 8 – 10 pm

Fri, Feb 10    Pat Van Dyke w/ DJ Prestige, 9 pm – 12 am

Sat, Feb 11   Tyrone Cotton + Julia Patinella, 10 pm – 12 am 

Fri, Feb 17    Jon Shain, 10 pm – 12 am

Sat, Feb 18   Adam Falcon, 10 pm – 12 am

Fri, Feb 24    Dan O’Dea and Eagle Ridge, 10 pm – 12 am

Sat, Feb 25   Chrissi Poland, 10 pm – 12 am

The post PARLOUR MUSIC Margo Parks books the Acts that Draw the Crowds at Fox & Crow first appeared on River View Observer.

 Imagine Kanye West and his entourage blowing into Jersey City to check out its club scene. Thatâ€s exactly what happened on Feb. 11^th when West made a surprise visit to The Dopeness on Second Street.
The rapper stopped by The Dopeness to check out the clubâ€s vibe and according to owners Anthony Gude, Steven Schlatmann and Jonathan Scanlon, West sat and listened to the band on stage, shook hands with fans and then blew out the door with his entourage. He connected with The Dopeness and thatâ€s exactly what Gude, Schlatmann and Scanlon want as the take-away for all their customers.

With a pending liquor license, itâ€s BYOB at The Dopeness. They offer a kooky menu of comfort foods – much of it bacon-wrapped – and entertainment thatâ€s anything goes. And, of course, that dopeness vibe.

“Weâ€re like a local arts venue,” Schlatmann says. “Some artists are good at what they do. We host them to build their networks. The Jersey City artist community is a big supporter.”

Last Friday, The Dopeness featured a juried film festival of emerging filmmakers. On Thursdays itâ€s spoken word poetry and on Saturdays, live music. They also present open mic and comedy nights. And whatever they charge at the door is split with the performers.

“Weâ€re food and events,” Gude says.

The menu is an homage to bacon.  There are bacon-wrapped hotdogs like the Viva La Mexico which comes with avocado, sour cream, jalapeno peppers and steak chili; and bacon blue cheese fries, too. Thereâ€s a taco bar and chicken tender variations like the Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Chicken Waffle and General Tsoâ€s Chicken Fingers. The guys actually went on a road trip across the U.S. stopping at local eateries to discover tasty dishes they could put on their  menu that would meld with the Dopeness vibe.

“Our food is American Fusion,” Schlatmann says. “Thereâ€s something on the menu from everywhere we stopped.”

The food doesnâ€t seem to be the reason Kanye West stopped by The Dopeness that chilly Wednesday night.

“He just showed up at the door with his entourage,” Scanlon says. “My wife was at the entrance and she looked up and there he was. She ran and got me and I gave him a walk through.”

“He sat at the bar and listened to the music,” Gude says. “He had his car double-parked outside. He shook hands with everybody. He was a nice regular guy.”

“Kanye West, he has the dopeness mindset; he lives a dopeness lifestyle,” Schlatmann adds.

And what does “The Dopeness” stand for? According to Schlatmann, itâ€s a kind of shared coolness.

“Itâ€s like when a super cool community collaborates under one roof,” Schlatmann says. “Itâ€s a cool collective state of mind. Kanye got it when he was here.”

Local clubs in Hudson like The Dopeness seem to be mixing things besides cocktails. Their entertainment menus are including a more diverse array of entertainment and along with live bands, they present stand-up comedy, improv, poetry slams, trivia nights, open mics, even film festivals. Hereâ€s a sampling of some local hotspots that offer live entertainment for their customers and opportunities for local artists to express themselves.

HUDSONâ€S ClubSCENE

 LUCKY 7 TAVERN, 322 – 2^nd St, JC. (201) 418-8585, www.lucky7tavern.com. . “Best Jukebox in Town”. SAT, MAR. 6 at 8 pm: A Handful of Friends w/TV Sound, The Big Easy and Stuyvesant. Singer/Songwriter Showcase on Tuesdays; Punk Funk DJ on Wednesdays; Ladies Night Thursdays; and Industry Sundays. Bands on weekends.

THE BRIGHTSIDE TAVERN, 141 Bright St, JC. (201) 435-1234, www.brightsidetavern.com.

Mon, 8 pm-12 midnight: JAZZ JAM with more than 15 musicians and singers participating; Tues, Wed, 9 pm-12 midnight: KARAOKE; Thurs, Sat & Sun, 9 pm-12 midnight: OPEN MIC.

 THE DOPENESS, 332 – 2^nd St, JC. (201) 963-4277. Feb. 28: NGHTCRWLRS album release show w/ Cicada Radio, Dentist, France. Mar. 14: Flylight, The Black Sox Scandal, Monitor, Scotch Mist. Mar. 28: The Gray Company with three TBA bands. Apr. 11: Morningside Lane, Debt League, Japanda, Dollys.

 MAXWELL’S TAVERN, 1039 Washington St, Hoboken. www.maxwellsnj.com. Sun, Mar. 1, 4-6 pm: HOBOKEN: CASK & CARRY: AN IRISH WHISKEY TASTING. Tix: $45-$55; (201) 798-0406. “Sample one half-dozen authentic, imported Irish Whiskeys, whiskey cocktails and a small-plates dinner sponsored by Jameson Irish Whiskey to benefit Liberty Humane Society. Each curated taste will be guided by a whiskey expert and served with delicious, hot, tapas-style plates. Held in Hoboken’s storied Maxwellâ€s back room, this private evening event will educate new whiskey drinkers and thrill whiskey aficionados.” MON, MAR. 2:  FRIENDS TRIVIA. Prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place. Reservations at rsvp@triviaad.com.  MAR 5 AT 8 PM: HOBOKEN COMEDY AT MAXWELL’S TAVERN. Myq Kaplan (Late Night w/ Seth Myers), Dan Frigolette (Boardwalk Empire), Matt Richards (BET), Stone and Stone (TruTV).

 NORTHERN SOUL, 577 First St. Hoboken. (201) 963-9122, www.northernsoulbar.com.

Wed, 8-11 pm: The Peopleâ€s Open Mic. Arrive early to secure a spot. Thurs, 8-11pm: LIVE MUSIC. Fri & Sat, 10 pm – 3 am Special Guest DJs. “With weekly live music, art shows, awesome bartenders, great craft beers, billiards, darts, dancing, and lots of laughs, Northern Soul is a bar for the people who enjoy good things without any attitude.”

 THE KOLO KLUB, UPSTAIRS AT PILSENER HAUS & BIERGARTEN, 1422 Grand St, Hoboken. (201) 683-5465. www.koloklub.com. Kolo Klub, located upstairs of the Pilsener Haus & Biergarten presents live jazz, blues, and rock, and DJs, comedy acts, and theatrical performances. Fri, Mar. 20 at 8 pm:  Off the Record performs.

WILLIE MCBRIDES, 616 Grand St, Hoboken, (201) 610-1522. www.williemcbrides.com.  Irish Pub & Restaurant. Live bands perform. Fri, Feb. 27: Battle of the Bands. Sat, Feb. 28:  The Amish Outlaws.

ClubSCENE is a new section in River View Observer. Send your weekly events to riverviewobserver@gmail.com or call 201-776-9222 to have your events included in ClubSCENE. All listings are FREE.

The post CLUB COOL The Dopeness is Back! Jersey City Club connects Artists and Community with a Cool Vibe first appeared on River View Observer.