Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Blasts from the past, or, the social media vortex sucks me in ...

Uh oh. Somebody created a Facebook group dedicated to The Beat, an infamous rock-n-roll bar once located in Port Chester, NY, at 34 Adee Street. Moby used to DJ there, among other minor claims to fame. The place apparently closed in the late '90s and is now a law office.

And I spent much of my time hanging out, hooking up, and drinking way too much at The Beat from ... oh ... I thought '86, but really sometime in '84, until maybe 1990. I broke in my fake ID at the place, so it had to be ... Could I have started going there in '83? My peak time was the summers while I was home from college, when I was a regular ornament at the place. The last time I dropped by was in '96 for a mid-day beer and a dose of nostalgia.

Jeez it's all a blur. And I used to drive home ...

The group has plenty of photos and info on folks I haven't talked to or heard about in years.

Anyway, I know you don't give a damn where I got drunk and laid 20 years ago. But it's just amazing how this sort of thing can suck you in, reestablishing contact with people, some of whom I only knew by nickname or face. It's weirder than pawing through an old box of photos, because the actual people are suddenly all in one place, sharing war stories.

Oh, this won't kill too much time.

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5 Comments:

Blogger akaGaGa said...

Interesting, JD. I roomed in Port Chester when I was in college, albeit a decade or so before you're talking about. I don't remember The Beat, though. We used to go to a place just over the line in Connecticut ... can't remember the name.

December 16, 2008 11:36 AM  
Blogger J.D. Tuccille said...

The Beat opened in 1981, I think, so it just might not have been there when you were in town. It was quite a dive, though. And a lot of fun.

December 16, 2008 11:42 AM  
Anonymous Lyle Sande said...

Thanks for posting about The Beat. It really was a special place. I went there from '89 until the early 90's. Many bigger name acts would play there on Sunday or Monday nights, as they were in the area to perform in NYC at CBGB or the Continental Divide and at Maxwell's in NJ. The Smashing Pumpkins played there, Reverend Horton Heat... among others. I remember Moby playing solo with his electric guitar and a couple of effects pedals at a shared artist's loft down the street. His talent was so obvious then.

It was a quite a mix of people that came to this Port Chester club to feel a touch of city grunge, punk and hip hop. Located just over the Connecticut border, well bred Fairfield county youth, mingled with SUNY Purchase grads and those of us that were employed by the very affluent of the surrounding area. Did I mention the many hot au pairs? Don't forget Jeff Loh's record shop, 'The Vinyl Solution' and Marty's down the street.

I ran jam nights at The Beat for over a year and met many fine musicians both local and from overseas, some of which remain very good friends today. The Beat was a very supportive haven for artists and a fun place to dance!


Lyle Sande

January 17, 2009 12:45 PM  
Blogger J.D. Tuccille said...

Lyle,
I remember the oh-so-wonderfully tastelessly named The Vinyl Solution well (Marty's less well, because I'd stumble into the place late ...).

I was one of the Connecticut contingent myself, and I dated a couple of those au pairs. There was one named Jodi ...

And there were two French au pairs who ... umm ... worked as a team. I can't remember their names.

Thanks for sharing some memories.

January 17, 2009 1:05 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Say, does anyone remember The Fleshtones playing there, around 86, 87?

March 23, 2009 3:39 PM  

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