You Can Haz Party too, at Hope Lounge in Williamsburg

On my nights out, I usually go to the same places and see the same friends. Why? Cheap/free booze, friends!

But this weekend, I found myself at bars and parties that I rarely attend. And what do you know? My friend Nicky Digital, urban culture photographer extraordinaire, was at those places too! It reminded me how fun parties in New York can be.

Last night I moseyed over to Hope Lounge, which was having its grand Can Haz Party party – something Nicky Digital plays a big role in.

The party celebrates summer because of Hope Lounge's open Williamsburg patio – equipped with a grill (hence the name of the party, of I can has cheezburger fame). The bar, located at 10 Hope St. near Roebling, has musical guests like Kids With Snakes and The Bad Decision DJs, while bartenders make the liquor flow.

There's a bar at the patio outside, where you can order up your favourite grill item (whether its a cheeseburger or hotdog or whatever), with a side of chips. A table has all the condiments you need, but beware: the pickles aren't that great.

The event is perfect for a warm summer's night. Yes, you can haz party – and you can have a cheeseburger at the same time.


Keep in touch with this and other great parties by following Nicky Digital on his Web site, Myspace and Facebook. Follow his Twitter to know where to be and when for some of New York's best nightlife.

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Patrick Wolf – The Magic Position

Gowanus Canal: To Superfund or Not To Superfund?

Tuesday, I spent five sweaty hours by the Gowanus Canal getting feedback from the locals on how they feel about the whole Superfund thing. It was interesting, but feeling the sweat trickle down my calf while interviewing someone in Carroll Gardens isn't my ideal image of journalism. But I did it! And my colleague wrote it up.

Story teaser:

A proposal for a federally overseen clean-up of the Gowanus Canal sounds like something that everyone can get behind, but it’s actually pitting neighbor against neighbor over facts and hearsay that are as murky as the waterway itself.

Posters clamoring for the Environmental Protection Agency to list the infamous canal as a federal Superfund site have materialized on storefront windows in Carroll Gardens and outside nearby brownstone homes almost overnight — even as anonymously written fliers have started showing up in area mailboxes claiming that such a designation would depress home values and not actually speed the clean-up of the fetid corpse of water.

While the activists fight it out, residents are caught wondering who — and what — to believe.

Read the rest of my story for The Brooklyn Paper here . . .

Above: The poster, designed by Anna Martin, that some residents and businesses are hanging in windows.

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Lou Reed – Perfect Day

Event: Sakura Matsuri at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

This year, the annual cherry blossom festival isn’t just about looking at pretty flowers. And it’s not just about traditional kimonos and samurai that one might imagine, either.

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s annual celebration of all things cherry will also feature performances by Japanese pop stars and DJs, and a panel discussion with the country’s best anime voice actors. It’s a fusion of new and old, with a pretty pink-and-white background!

Read the rest of my story for The Brooklyn Paper here . . .

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The Jackson 5 – Who's Lovin' You

Second Stop should be your first stop / Meet Craig Kafton

When you go to the bathroom at Second Stop café in Williamsburg, the owner is watching you. This may sound creepy, and you may be alarmed when you first notice it, but it’s just a photograph of Owner Craig Kafton, looking particularly enthused, on the door facing the toilet. I laughed.

He is quite a character, too. He’s unmistakable in his Buddy Holly-ish glasses, with a gray ponytail hiding coyly behind his head. He busies himself with making coffee and working the register at the café, located on Lorimer and Ainslie streets, which he opened two years ago.

Kafton working behind the register at Second Stop.

Kafton is from Howard Beach in Queens, but he hasn’t always lived in New York. He lived in Holland, Berlin before the Wall came down, and he still has a house in France. But he settled down in Williamsburg, and he lives directly above the café. When he and his partner, who owned the building, finally got a rid of a bad tenant, they decided to open up a café.

“Boy, this neighborhood needs a café,” Kafton had thought.

Forming the café was the main project. “I think we saw it more as an art project, building it,” Kafton said. This is because the inspiration for the building’s restoration came from the original photos of the building at the turn of the century to the 1940s. The façade of the building, which was a grocery store owned by Kafton’s partner’s grandfather, is rebuilt from a 1929 tax photo.

“There’s a bit of every period represented in there,” Kafton said. They got that old-timey effect because the two owners are collectors of stuff. There’s a wooden carving of Abraham Lincoln (wearing an Obama pin) in the front window, many different dangling lamps, a white rusty chandelier, old wooden box speakers and a ceiling fan.

Then, during the building, Kafton became a sort of coffee aficionado, without any other café experience. Now, Second Stop features Stumptown Coffee and in-house baking. They have assorted muffins, from plain to blueberry glaze to the "donut muffin," all of which are delicious because of their home-baked goodness. The café also serves special bagel sandwiches, in which you can get avocado, turkey, cheese, and other great fillings. These items don't come cheap, as a simple iced coffee can cost you over three bucks, but the quality justifies the prices.

Kafton loves the neighborhood, and in between his busy shifts, he manages to say hello to prominent locals, like the woman who owns Hotel Delmano and Union Pool, two notable Williamsburg establishments and popular bars.


As welcoming as he is, he knows who his good customers are.

“Are you a regular?” he asked me. When I said that I’m not, he replied, “Right, I didn’t think I recognized you.”

Kafton imbues the cafe with a warmth that a lot of cafés lack. And the customers are like a community, leaving bags at tables knowing that others wouldn’t steal, and would watch out for them. And even if the customers don’t watch out, Kafton will. He’s always got his eyes out for his customers – even in the bathroom.

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Hanne Hukkelberg – Cheater's Armoury

Buy Hipster Grifter Kari Ferrell's matchbook note!

Image from Ebay

Forget Madonna's used napkin or Britney's gum; you can now buy a matchbook note written by Hipster Grifter Kari Ferrell.

Don't know who she is? Oh you should. Below is the Salt Lake City Police Department's Most Wanted Poster for the sweet swindler.
Read the original story in The Observer here.
And here is Gawker's coverage.

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Band of Skulls – I Know What I Am

Bushwick Country Club and Photobooths

If you're into old-fashioned black and white photobooth photos, you should check out Bushwick Country Club at 618 Grand Street in Williamsburg. They have one in back that produces gems such as these:

This is me with one of the bartenders, Thomas.

We invited The Teenagers (famous for the song "Homecoming") to the bar. They liked it so much, that they skipped out on a Vampire Weekend party to come back to BCC. This is the resulting photobooth.

P.S. It is commonly referred to as BCC.

P.P.S. Be sure to get your hands on a basket of cheese puffs. They're like the peanuts that an ordinary bar would serve to guests as finger food, but this isn't an ordinary bar. That's part of the reason The Teenagers loved it so. Dorian from the band had never tried cheese puffs, and he became addicted.

But the best photobooths I have ever done (by far) are the ones we got in Japan. Take a look:

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Vulture Realty – The Joke

Bloomberg's automated water meters and The Brooklyn Brewery's new plans

Mayor Bloomberg made an announcement last Tuesday about his plans to launch a program aimed at installing automated water meters on all city properties, and Williamsburg’s own Brooklyn Brewery was one of the guinea pigs. The main purpose: more accurate water billing.

The mayor claims that the initiative will save city dwellers and businesses money because the new machines will more precisely measure water use and provide faster news about leaks or problems. The meters will contain transmitters that, every six hours, will identify water usage.

The Brooklyn Brewery, which already pays about $12,000 a year for its water usage, does not expect its water costs to go down, however. Founder Steve Hindy says that he is looking to expand the business by moving to a larger facility (while also escaping the rising costs of its current location on North 11th Street, near McCarren Park). Another possibility for The Brooklyn Brewery: a possible beer garden.

If Hindy puts forth the water dough, I’ll pitch in by visiting his beer garden.

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Wavves – Wavves

DJ Hardcore Makeout and DJ Skinny Naked Baby: Every Other Friday at Sweet Ups

“Spinning” tracks as a DJ has taken on a new meaning – as long as you can handle spinning the wheel on your iPod. For two New York University students, that’s just the way to do it. Williamsburg bar Sweet Ups allows these two fledgling DJs to showcase their music collections without making them dust off the old vinyl in the attic.

DJ Hardcore Makeout, otherwise known as Kristen Mukai, performs with her partner, DJ Skinny Naked Baby, every other Friday night at the Williamsburg staple. Sweet Ups, located at 277 Graham Ave., is well known throughout the ‘Burg of the borough. The two DJs have made it a home for their bi-monthly gigs.

“My friend and I made up our names one night as a joke, but then we actually became DJs,” DJ Hardcore Makeout said. “And we have shorter versions too. I’m DJ Homo and she’s DJ Snob.”

The two girls play everything and almost anything. You might hear some Joy Division, maybe a Beyonce song, some old punk or blues, indie-rock, classic rock, a French chanteuse, some random Italian pop song, or whatever they happen to be into that night. One thing is for sure: they always play Mariah Carey.

“Oh, we love Mariah,” DJ Hardcore Makeout said. “We generally play her ‘Fantasy’ remix with [Ol' Dirty Bastard] because that’s a crowd pleaser. There are some artists we play every time, like Metronomy or Late of the Pier. And Snob loves Aaliyah.”

Is there anything they won’t play?

“MGMT,” DJ Hardcore Makeout said. “We will never play MGMT.”

Why not? DJ gig regular Anita Stahl clarifies: “You can hear MGMT at any club in Manhattan. People love it, but everyone plays it. DJs Snob and Homo like to play stuff that you haven't heard, or something you may have forgotten about. But they always play music that is sure to get the crowd moving.”

According to DJ Hardcore Makeout, the two girls got the gig one night when the bar was empty. DJ Skinny Naked Baby took out her iPod and requested that the bartender play it for them and their friends – the sole customers. Turns out the bartender was really into their music and offered them a trial performance. Since then, they have established their every-other-Friday set and have become part of the Sweet Ups family.

“It really is a family here,” Stahl said. “People come from Manhattan to Sweet Ups, just to revel in the culture that this tiny place has established. DJs Snob and Homo pull a lot of normal Manhattanites out here. It’s a great place to be.”

And on those Friday night gigs, DJs Skinny Naked Baby and Hardcore Makeout sit at the end of the bar with their mixer and their iPods, bobbing their heads and shouting when a personal favorite comes on next.

“We know what people like here, but we don’t cater to anybody in particular,” DJ Hardcore Makeout said. “We just play what will sound good next, or what will keep the bar pumping. It just so happens that people love what we do.”

The bar itself is a gem, too.

The wallpaper is dimly lit, and a red-wine colored pattern that looks half-Victorian and half-grandpa’s den brings out a deep maroon glow to the entire scene. Employees scatter candles across the bar to extend the glowy effect. Maybe it’s the lighting, or the liquor serving as a social lubricant, but everyone seems to get along here.

“It’s our music,” DJ Hardcore Makeout said, half-joking. “Our music puts everyone in a good mood. I hope! I mean, beats. We got ‘em. You want ‘em!”

The wallpaper under dim lighting at Sweet Ups
Photo from www.jaunted.com

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Solid Gold – Who You Gonna Run To?

Brooklyn in Tokyo

I left my mark on Tokyo! BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

I just came back from a nine-day trip to Japan, including Kyoto and Tokyo. Independence Bar in Asakusa (an area in the north-east side of the capital) is something to see. It was a gem among dive bars, like something you might find in Williamsburg around the Lorimer or Graham L train stops.

Independence has cheap beers – at least in comparison to the other parts of the city. Happy hour runs from 10-12 and the two lovely little Japanese girls who own/run the place will churn out both good and bad hip hop until dawn. Hell, they'll even let you DJ off of youtube if you want. They asked us to tag their billboard and the huge barrels they had. So, I did. Several times.

If you ever go there, tell them I say hi.

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Bat For Lashes – Prescilla

"Orpheus and Eurydice" by the Brooklyn Repertory Opera + special depression ticket prices!

You may have just lost your job — but the last thing you want to sacrifice is your opera tickets.

But next week, thanks to the Brooklyn Repertory Opera, you won’t have to, as the mostly volunteer-run company offers the unemployed a $5 ticket to “Orpheus and Eurydice.”

Read the rest of my story at The Brooklyn Paper site here.

(Yeah, it's not in Williamsburg, but hey – that's pretty cool. I am definitely going to try to check it out, if only because the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice is one of my favourites!)

And, speaking of Orpheus and Eurydice, here's a clip from one of my favourite films, based off that tale. It's a Brazilian film: Black Orpheus.

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Asobi Seksu – Nefi and Girly

Event: Handmade Music Night at 3rd Ward

When things are “handmade,” they tend to be overpriced, underappreciated and largely unknown. The Handmade Music Night, held on the third Thursday of every month at Brooklyn artist facility 3rd Ward, fits two of those designations – and overpriced is certainly not one of them. The event is not only free, but the organizers also hand out free Pabst Blue Ribbon all night!

According to the 3rd Ward Web site and fliers, the event is “part party, part mixer, part Science Fair, and part performance,” and it is “an informal chance for geeksters and the geek-curious to come together, relax, and discover new sounds.”

Eric Beug and Peter Kirn, of handmade product market site Etsy and www.createdigitalmusic.com, respectively, were there to run the show. The event began when the companies combined the idea of handmade items with new musical possibilities, and opened up a forum for others who had done the same to showcase their work.

“Whether it’s flower pots or computer software, it’s important for the musicians to shape what music they’re making,” Kirn said. “This is just kind of a sharing space for anyone interested in making their own music.”

And for this monthly night of handicraft harmonies, Kirn and Beug have seen just about every kind of instrument you can imagine, from a musical ironing board to mannequins, from a giant wall of light switches to a man with musical crutches, which he made the day of the event.

“People just come out of the woodwork with this amazing stuff,” Beug said.

On Feb. 19, a band called Electric Junkyard Gamelan performed its Indonesian-inspired “new Gamelan” music. (Gamelan music is traditionally an ensemble of musicians where the instruments take more focus than the performers.) Terry Dame is one of the leading members (as singer, organizer, and multi-strange-instrument builder and player), and she said playing the show was worth it.

“New York is tough,” she said. “I’ve lived here so long and it’s always hard to draw a crowd. It’s nice to play events with a built-in crowd [such as Handmade Music].”

Though the band doesn’t get paid, Dame said that the group sold some CDs and filled their email list, which is all they could ask for.

And her display of instruments are, indeed, fascinating, from a drum set made of pots, pans and other metal objects to a xylophone-like set-up created entirely from flower pots.

Two musicians from Electric Junkyard Gamelan playing clay pots.

“I find rusty metal things beautiful,” she said. “I just have things lying around that I turn into instruments.”

She even told a story between songs about somebody once emailing her saying that she was “the Pete Townshend of clay pots.”

Dame has gadgets that looked so refined and professional, like her sitello, a string instrument based off of a plank of wood that lies in the musician’s lap. Knobs jut out from on top, balancing delicate strings that play sound at even the slightest touch. And the band members play each tune with delicacy and precision.

Made-up instruments galore for Electric Junkyard Gamelan.

The wondrous appearance and sound of these tools fascinated the audience members, including Simo Vassinen, a native of Finland living in New York for a few months. The handcrafted contraptions were interesting, Vassinen said, but he was really captivated by the band’s talent and knowledge.

“You could tell that they were pro musicians as opposed to random hipsters picking up shit and playing around, making goofy sounds,” he said. “I was surprised by how melodic it was, instead of just being noise.”

And how did Vassinen find out about it? Through a friend.

So let’s get the motors to your mouths running, because this homemade event deserves to be known, shared and appreciated – just like the musicians it exhibits.


Video of Electric Junkyard Gamelan playing:

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Ninjasonik – Art School Girls