Maxwells | johnozed

It was a humid day today, but maybe that was me. But when walking around Hoboken I saw people that weren’t bundled up, in fact I was relatively overdressed. A bit sweaty when I came home. I didn’t mind, it wasn’t raining and the temperature has been predicted to drop quite a bit.

Last night I went to the McSwells holiday party. I wasn’t invited per se, but I did go as Chris Repella’s chaperone and also as Roda’s guest. I didn’t really know what to expect since I hadn’t been to the McSwells holiday party in a long time, at least when I used to write it as Maxwells.

I don’t recall it starting at 9:00, maybe it started at 8:00. I DJ’d it a few times, Steve Fallon would make a run and brings back dozens of White Castle burgers. An occasional pot luck and an open bar with 2 irregular regulars behind the bar, one a high school teacher and the other part of the scene at the Elysian Cafe down the block.

It was always a good time, drinks flowing, people running upstairs to various apartments to sniff or smoke various things that couldn’t be done in public. Nobody got hurt, no fist fights, just a general good time.

The first time I went I did feel privileged to be there and had Rand as my guest. One time his sister showed up after seeing him and Rand had to tell her she couldn’t stay, she wasn’t invited. That was how exclusive it was, if exclusive was the right word.

Mainly it was all about the love for Steve Fallon and his family, from the workers and regulars. Last night it was a different scene, quite crowded and no open bar. That was a shocker. I had a couple of singles for tips but not enough for an actual drink, thinking that it would be a freebie.

I met up with Chris and we strolled up. Once inside, I saw Rand & Lisa chatting and it was crazy crowded in the front room as a two man band played some funk and soul classics. It was fun for me but for others it’s was the same bloody thing they’ve had the past four years.

I saw Roda and he is much loved there, or at least he was last night with various people among his co-workers saying and slurring how much they loved him. He is a loveable guy. I tried to get a Guinness but couldn’t get served though most everyone else around me at the bar seemed to have no problem.

I decided to leave, perhaps vanish and no one would notice, I hoped. But the coat rack was laden with winter coats and I couldn’t find my navy pea coat on a rack, mixed in with other coats, much the same color.

After about 10 minutes of searching, Lisa and Chris both saw what I was doing and asked where I was going. I said I was going to the ATM to get some cash and they both said forget about it, they’d buy me a beer.

So I stayed and had a beer. I was swept into the backroom where a DJ was playing some old and obscure 45’s of soul and garage songs. Lisa was on the floor dancing and Rand and I were holding up the wall when Chris grabbed me by the arm and soon had me dancing on the floor.

It was fun, Rand & Lisa, me & Chris, Todd Abramson and his wife, Gaylord Fields and his wife, and quite a few others all doing whatever frugs or watusi’s or foot stomping required. I wished it was Madison Time myself.

I was quite sweaty by then. Went out for a smoke with Roda and should have worn my coat, but got over it. More dancing in the front room to the two man band playing Brick House by the Commodores and Give It To Me Baby by Rick James.

It went on like that for a while. Finally Roda got me and asked if I wanted to take a walk so walk we did. A good walk, a bit gossipy and a bit fan boy, talking about the Dark Knight movie and how good it was. Also how McSwells had changed from people that showered daily (when I worked there) to guys that proudly did not.

Heard about one guy who used to be quite friendly, ~~Chris Ward~~ and no longer around in NJ, out west somewhere who treated Roda like crap, enough so that Roda had to threaten to belt him just to get out of his face.

Yep, Maxwells had changed into McSwells and apparently I got out at just the right time. And so did Steve Fallon. Who would want to deal with the ABC, the Health Inspector, taxes, Hoboken politics and various bands? After almost 20 years, that would be enough.

Still times being the way they are lately, if offered a job there I’d probably take it. But that won’t happen since Todd doesn’t like me very much.

Me & Roda are 'The Thing with 2 Heads!' Photo by Lisa

Lisa & me dancin' dancin' dancin'! Photo by Rand

Getting my groove on, thumbs aloft! Rand's forearms! Photo by Lisa

Saturday, definitely out of the ordinary. Started out ordinary. Slept really well. Watched TV last night, of course since I hardly ever go out anymore. Not that I watched much of anything of importance. Do I ever? That’s a good question. I think occasionally in the wasteland called television, I find an oasis from time to time. Bill came home as I was watching Led Zeppelin live at the Royal Albert Hall in like 1969, a period where I don’t really care for Led Zeppelin wise. Bill thought it was the Who or Nirvana, might have even guessed the Stones, but the long hair on Robert Plant and Jimmy Page had him stumped. Just as well since Zeppelin are relatively unknown to him. Pink Floyd would definitely leave him in the dark since they were even more faceless than Led Zeppelin.

I stayed up until around 1AM, watched the Simpsons and Scrubs before turning in. Slept really well. Woke up around 8:30, Bill was running off to the Bronx to get some stuff from his cousin’s house. She sold it and Bill has to get his crap out of there, or at least throw it out. I woke up, made some coffee, showered and even shaved. I wanted to look good for the afternoon. A nice breakfast followed. Read the papers and did some laundry. Then it was just a small matter to kill some time before I went over to the Hoboken Historical Museum. It’s been a day I had been looking forward to since the summer. My brother Frank was supposed to come by but he was fatigued.

You see today at the Hoboken Historical Museum, it was all about McSwells, and XXXXX was coming to town. I have to admit, I really love and admire XXXXX. He was always very supportive of not just me but a lot of other people in Hoboken and around the country. New and upcoming bands from the eighties from this country and beyond. I hadn’t seen XXXXX since about tens years ago. He was a great boss who could have fired me a few times but always gave me a second, third and occasional fourth chance. I walked up Hudson Street towards the museum and saw XXXXX with Chaz Charas, Todd Abramson and Steve Shelley as well as Geri Fallo headed in that direction.

I called out XXXXX and XXXXX turned around and we greeted each other with a hug and a kiss. He mentioned the blog actually, specifically mentioning the entry where I wrote about if you saw XXXXX at McSwells smoking a Newport and drinking a Rolling Rock, it meant it was going to be a long night. He mentioned the circumstances that that would happen, and I was glad I didn’t write about that. He wasn’t the only one. I know that I participated as well and that’s all I have to say about that particular subject. It was all a lot of fun.

The presentation was funny, XXXXX was talking so fast he was losing his breath. Not one for public speaking, not our XXXXX. But he was entertaining nonetheless. The introduction was lifted from Wikipedia which is where XXXXX was getting his speech from. So that was scuttled and he had to wing it. He did an admirable job, he explained that McSwells was so successful was because of the bands that were able to play there cheaply, since they weren’t playing in Manhattan. Also the club was a favorite for the music press who could focus on the music since there were very few distractions. But ultimately a good part of the success was because of the staff, some of whom, myself included, were in attendance.

Todd Abramson also had a few remarks about when he and XXXXX were running the show, before XXXXX walked away from it. It was an overwhelming hassle dealing with the task of running a club six night’s a week. I’ve butted heads with Todd a few times, but basically he’s a good egg. XXXXX had a loyal team supporting him and that is hard to find nowadays. Back then it was organic, it seemed to spring up all around him.

After the museum a few of us made it down to McSwells, Chaz and I had pints, everyone spread out in the restaurant. It seemed like old times. XXXXX made a point to say that it was important to still support McSwells, that it’s a good thing to have. I had to agree and decided that though I won’t be going there like I used to, at one point even having my mail delivered there, but a pop in for a pint every now and then wouldn’t be so bad.

Tonight, some bitch was the richest man in Hoboken.

Here’s some pics from the past few days. I hope Annemarie gets her computer fixed.

The Watcher