Verse 3 - Hello Heidelberg!! Welcome to the real world.

This post is a continuation of The Bowery Station Story.

Graduating Champlain I was fortunate enough to immediately land a job with a tech firm that did contract work with the Army known as Vermont Systems, Inc. (An outstanding company I might add... and one that is the essence of true American capitalism... driven by creative individuals who out worked any competition!  I learned a lot about going the distance in customer service and dedication from the gang at VSI.)

In that job I traveled three weeks a month, found myself working 60 hrs a week on various military installations, and all for only about half of what I had previously been making taking pictures of Santa Clause.  I suppose that defines progress, right?  Regardless, the job did take me, and us, to Europe.  There I met a few folks that wanted to hire me directly for the Army, working out of Germany.  Who could have imagined... something that never could have happened had I stuck with the golf...and skiing...and odd jobs.  Could I possibly leave the town where I had gone to Grade school, High School, and multiple Colleges all within a mile of each other for a job overseas??  Could we leave family and lifelong friends for an experience of different cultures and travel?
Mom would get postcards, we bolted.

My job in Germany was based out of Heidelberg, but I traveled to most every Army post in Europe training folks on a proprietary software developed by my former employer VSI in VT.  Lisa joined me, and headed on down to the DoD schools to find employment.  They were very excited to discuss her employment...until they found out we weren't married.  Sorry, but unless we tied the knot, there was very little chance they could work her into a slot in the DoD school system.  We didn't feel it was the most romantic and sentimental reason to get hitched, so Lisa took a teaching position at the University of Maryland located just off post, and even did some online instructing.

Conveniently, after a year or so, a contract opened up for a position to join me in my efforts to deploy the program I was working with at the time.  Lisa applied, and was awarded the contract and suddenly we were both on the road together, working hand in hand at the same task for the Department of Defense.

So then, as more recently with Bowery Station, people frequently asked, "How can you live, work and travel together 24/7?"  Amazingly, we did quite well.  For some reason, we found a good synergy, and our strengths were compliments to the other's faults... well in other words, Lisa covered my ass.  We did quite well, where other couples may have disintegrated.  That was quite telling, and in the long run...may have started the story of the BS that is Bowery Station, or should I say... gave us the confidence that we could take on such an endeavor.

We traveled and we worked.  When we weren't traveling for work, we were traveling for pleasure.  It was a great couple of years...at a time when the borders were being erased and the EU was becoming a reality.   We were there for the advent of the Euro...one day we were using Deutschmark and Lira, and the next we would go to an ATM and out popped Euros.  Ryan Air ruled with low cost flights around Europe, and we were fortunate enough to get to the hometowns of most of our immigrant grandfolks....to say we had a great time would be the understatement of a lifetime.

But as all good things must come to an end, Lisa's contract was up, we missed our family and friends, and we found ourselves yearning for the good ol' US of A.  So we decided it was time to head back across the pond and see what awaited us there.

Our new found exploratory spirit begged us of the question..."But where too?"  Should we return to VT, and the freezing cold we always wished to escape...or...should we head to the Florida Keys and spend our vacations visiting the frozen north. After taking about a beer to think about these options, we decided.... Key West...here we come.

Stay tuned as The Bowery Station Story unfolds in our next episode.... The Move to Key West and Gardi's Internet Cafe!

Decisions.... Decisions

Well here we are in Decatur, GA on the eve before our flight out of Atlanta to Italy tomorrow.   Clearly faced with tough decisions regarding whether we should get on the plane for our planned three months in the homeland of our forefathers.   Will it be more challenging to encounter society's reaction to the Coronavirus, and or the virus itself in a foreign nation versus here in the States.  There are lots of ways to look at it, and many points to consider.  Fortunately there are more enjoyable decisions we are faced with as well, such as the huge array of Single Malts available at this fine Irish bar Mac McGee Irish Pub here in Decatur.   I started with an Aberlour 16 to start the th(dr)inking about our soon to come other choices.

Verse 2 - Make Hay When the Sun Shines

This post is a continuation of The Bowery Station Story.

Lisa is a smart woman. (Well, she married me, right?)  Having almost a full degree in accounting under her belt, and after having taken a pause from higher ed, she made the bold decision to return to College for a degree in education.  Her perseverance impressed me.  It made me think about my own development.  At the time, I ran a collection of small businesses, from DJing weddings, to building decks and lofts for College kids, to taking photos with Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny in area malls. I worked radio, even dabbled in flying, and worked the doors at area bars.  Of course, I had to dabble in politics, at one point even serving on the Burlington City Council.

While individually this odd assortment of seasonal endeavors seemed insignificant, collectively it made some good coin, and I enjoyed serious flexibility with my time.   I had a ski pass and two golf memberships...and more importantly, the chance to use them.  I could even break away to the Keys two or three times a year, or deer camp, or disappear for lost weekends in Montreal, Boston or New York.   Yes, admittedly, I was a jack of all trades, and most obviously... a master of none....but it was a decent lifestyle.

A bit off topic at this point, but very important to note.  One yearly endeavor I enjoyed was working in Jamaica as a DJ for college kids in March.  It was the heyday of MTV in Negril on Spring Break... and I was one of the boys at the helm of the mixing board coordinating drinking and other competitive collegiate events!  On one such jaunt, I acquired a ball cap from a drunken Ball State University student.  It read... BSU.  I wore it religiously back home for years.  Never had I adorned myself with a shirt, or cap that garnished so much attention.... almost to a person, people would noticed the hat and comment on it...they were fascinated, both with the BS, and the BS...U.   BS in my mind had begun.  Over the years I had dabbled in the potential of running a bar here or there, but I realized even then... if I ever really did, it would have to have a name whose initials were BS!

So why in the world would anyone ruin a flexible life with no real commitments, right?

Well, I had a good amount of learnin' under my belt, but nothing that amounted to a degree.  I had started at Cornell, but Electrical Engineering is as dry as it gets, so I dabble in other degrees at UVM and St. Michael's College.  I even, at one point tried to mix a more exciting degree with warm weather, and spent a semester at Embry-Riddle in Daytona learning to fly.  Hell, being in College and on Spring Break full time...sounded right up my alley.  Then I saw the student loans piling up and decided to finish my Commercial rating at a small FBO in VT.  However, evaluating the prospects of trying to pile up flight hours at $6 as an instructor compared with DJing a wedding on the weekends for what at the time was a couple of hundred bucks....and a full week off to ski and golf....I intuitively put flying on the back burner as well.

But time had passed, and I yearned for a profession that might garner more respect and potential.  I felt that the growing tech scene was slipping by me and I needed to know more.  So, inspired by Lisa who was ardently pursuing her goals of teaching, and with all my amassed scattered credits... and the knowledge I could eek out an Associates degree in a year...I slipped my way up the frozen hill to Champlain College, and signed up for another tour of doodie!  Hell, I had been to four colleges, why not make it five.  For the record, having attended Cornell, and Champlain, I can unequivocally state...Champlain is by far a better institution of learning... by far. All those Ivy lagers never matched up to a hometown brew.  Don't fall for the hype, learn something tangible.

A year passed and we both found that we had dun gradeated.  I'm sure taking seventeen years and five schools to earn an Associate Degree made my parents proud in comparison to the other Doctors and such they had raised.  Lisa took a job teaching at my former grade school, oddly teaching the children of my former grade school classmates.  Nothing spoke more to time slipping by than knowing Lisa was having parent teacher conferences with the girl, now woman, I had taken to my 8th grade graduation dance.  The concept of how fast time flies was finally thrust in our faces...and I felt like an old fart in my mid thirties.

Stay tuned as The Bowery Station Story unfolds in the next episode.... Hello Heidelberg!! Welcome to the real world.

Verse 1 - The Hay That Fed the Bull!

This Post is the start of The Bowery Station Story.

We like beer.  We like live music.  When I say we, I am referring to both me and my wife Lisa.

I grew up in Vermont and Lisa moved there in her early 20s, during the early 1990s.  We met in Burlington, which at the time had become a live music mecca...around the time Phish was just hitting stride, catapulting from the bars of Burlington into the national scene and onto the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine.

Their justified rise to stardom drew musicians from Boston, New York, and around the Country to Burlington, only to electrify the live music scene further.  Everyone looked for their chance to play the stage at Nectar's, the namesake bar of Phish's first album, A Picture of Nectar, and one of the stages they developed their unique sound on.  Lisa and I were blessed to be able to wonder out on any given night and find an array of live music options, with exceptionally high levels of talent.  The days of my youth in Vermont of sneaking in the fire exit of a smoke filled beer hall on a back road and listening to cover rock bands as underage kids were far gone, along with the mullet.  This was the early 90s in Burlington, and the live music scene was on.... big time.

One thing Lisa and I both noticed on our almost nightly ventures bouncing between blues, jazz, grunge and zydeco venues while sucking down the suds of the evolving Vermont Craft beer scene was.... it was friggin' cold.  I mean full on bugger freezing cold.  People whom have never experienced the term, or it's inspiration, don't get it...  you step outside, and even if you don't suck air in your nostrils, you feel everything that is exposed to the air begin to freeze immediately... immediately.  That's bugger freezing cold.  The kind of cold that hurts to breath.  When it wasn't cold, it was raw.  Damp, rainy, dreary and well ....still damn cold.  Summer, which might occur for a week or two sometime in July or August depending on the cold fronts, was short.  Like weekend short... over before you know it kind of short.  Like, don't take too long a nap short. Thus standing in line to hear your favorite musical act was more than likely a painful wait...but ultimately worth it as always.
The bugger freezing cold led us to expand the radius of our outings....like for EIGHTEEN HUNDRED MILES of an expansion.

As often as we could we would scrape together enough gas money, and Lisa and I would jump into whichever vehicle of ours at the time showed the most promise of making it... and make an old school road trip to Key West.  I had done this on my own since High School and during my many spring breaks in Colleges...  (Seventeen Years and Five Colleges to gain an Associates Degrees to be exact) and had already learned it was never good enough to simply make it to points in Northern Florida such as Daytona, or St. Pete, but rather, one must dig deep and go the distance... yup, Key West always offered a guarantee of shorts and flip flops.  There wasn't nearly as much craft beer, and the music was much more Buffett-centric at the time, but the need to thaw out took precedence over our other entertainment priorities.

It needs to be mentioned that I had played guitar most of my life...well I should say that I played with guitars.  The reality was that I never really seemed to get past a collection of five songs that I had currently memorized at any one time to really impress any chicks.  I also, frequently put it down long enough to lose any sort of callouses I had developed, making the choice to pick it back up that much more painful.  I occasionally would try to check out an Open Mic in Burlington, but inevitably due to the talent base in town... someone like Trey Anastasio would step on stage for an all night jam with comparably talented musicians... thus it quickly dashed any hope I had of auditioning my bastardized version of Country Roads for all the world to see.  As well it discouraged my interest in developing my talent any further on the ol' six string.

Ultimately,  I relegated myself to the friendly Vermont campfire, although I'm sure my friends were none too thrilled with my sixth rendition of Brown Eyed Girl as they roasted their marshmallow and swigged back 32oz Gennie Cream Ales.  Needless to say, I left the performing for the pros, but always wished there was a venue or stage to showcase my level of performing, and get the experience of playing through a sound system in front of a crowd.

Stay tuned as The Bowery Station Story unfolds in the next episode...Make Hay When the Sun Shines!

When in Rome....

Trevi Fountain here I come!   I found this nice little garden to appreciate as we anxiously await to depart for fair Italia.

La Bocca Del Toro

The Mouth of the Bull... AKA How BS began...

So, as folks that never knew where Apalachicola was, nor would have ever thought we would have run a music venue in the panhandle of Florida, we find ourselves in a very strange paradigm, and ask ourselves often...  well.... how the hell did we get there??
Now that we have sold and began to move onto new adventures, we thought we would write a book (originating in Blog format)... well not so much a book but rather an explanation or better said ...an exploration, or even more so an exploration... of why... or how.... but ultimately a tale about the trials and tribulations of how something, anything for that matter, manifests itself.  But in particular in this case that something that manifested itself, or festered like a disgusting infected boil... became Bowery Station.  Essentially and ultimately...well... why.... That's BS!

What will follow in this escapade of a tortured memoir, is a history, a down to earth, real life explanation of how Bowery Station came to be, and perhaps why it ended.  From the essence of who we are, who we were, and what inspiration created the small, humble, lost in time music venue that had become what it was...a space so many found to be home... the joyful, performer centric music venue in the last part of old Florida that we all have come to love and appreciate.

Herein, entwined in factual history, you will find truth, guttural honesty, detailed information, mixed with embellishment when needed, and even yarns of service industry woes. (Not to mention run on sentences!)  Those painful and empathetic tales of the service industry will be easily recognized by those who serve the public, and this is coupled with some straight out bitchin'... cause we all bitch.  Anyone who takes on a creative project knows, you will be faced with adoration mixed equally with critique... which requires a vent to exhaust such frustration.   Deal with it.  You will find it herein as well.

It is a history, a story riddled with rumor and whereby we will set the record straight.  Some may see their face in the story line, others may feel they resemble an individual character, but rest assured all the names and faces have been fairly well replicated so as to portray exactly who the scoundrels are, but we will cover our asses well enough to provide plausible deniability.  So let the lawyers sort it out if there are any "crybabies," .... after we publish and make our millions on selling this poor excuse for toilet paper...of course.   Some folks and businesses will be referenced by their real names, mainly because we trust them not to sue us, or we hope our yarns will compliment their own business efforts.

Sections of this diatribe will be denoted by an historical and factual section, alternating with service industry woes, and ultimately painfully true anecdotes that have occurred at Bowery Station.  It is composed primarily in the first person, from my perspective, but representative of OUR perspective, both Lisa's... my proofreading consigliere... and mine.

So enjoy, or should this rambling eventually make it to print form... use each page as a much better purpose...if you have placed it appropriately atop the old crapper tank as bathroom reading material.

Stay tuned as The Bowery Station Story unfolds in the first episode.... The Hay That Fed the Bull!

(*Please note that all blog posts associated with the story of BS will all appear under the category of The Bowery Station Story)

The Living Street rocks LaBelle Florida

A strange thing happened on the way to Southern Florida... we ran into The Living Street in LaBelle FL!!   As always they are putting on a great show, and opening eyes.  It reminds me of one of their first journeys into Apalachicola and we enjoyed watching them grow a following.   Shannon Lease.... where is my dance partner!!!???

Infamous Stringdusters rule!

We were able to catch the Infamous Stringdusters for a blowout show at a place called The Attic in Tampa.  The band was absolutely amazing, putting on a high energy contemporary folk show!  The venue left a bit to be desired as the crowd stood for the show.  Very very tall people in Tampa.... and being the short Italians we are made it a bit of a challenge.  We ran into some Bowery Station fanatics in the crowd, always good to feel the BS love in places faraway!  We recommend catching these guys if you ever get the chance.

Checking out the scene in Ybor with our friends Susan and Jorge

It's nice and toasty warm down here in the Tampa area as we hang with our good friends Susan and Jorge.  Eating and drinking our way through Ybor City and chasing down some tunes as well.  Next week we are back up at a house on SGI for our last week before we head to fair Italia!  Hope to catch up with all our Island peeps then.

What a great day playing Paddy's Raw Bar

What a fun day it was catching up with everyone at my show at Paddy's Raw Bar.  We all braved a few sprinkles, but we brought the sunshine with all the smiles.  Thanks to everyone for turning up for the afternoon, it was like old time BS with the family!  The Stop Playing tip bucket was overflowing... thank you one and all.

BS Pop up event at Paddy's Raw Bar on SGI

All right friends, it's going to be a fun day today at Paddy's Raw bar, as we are excited for a BS Pop up event and gather with old friends for the afternoon, rain or shine!!  Fear not, we have the Stop Playing Tip bucket tuned up and ready!  Hope to see you there!

Heading Back North up the West Coast of FL

We left our friends in the Keys, to scope out a little on the West coast of Florida once again.  A stop in Goodland was very cool, tiny little hamlet close to Marco, but very laid back.  Then we were pleasantly surprised by how Bradenton had progressed,  especially it's historic district.  Some nice little pubs and restaurants. The beach of course was packed out for the season, and finally a stopover in Cedar Key for a nice sunset.  But alas, back towards Apalachicola and SGI soon for our pop up BS gig at Paddy's raw bar!

Key West Love

What better way to start our voyage of vagabondness than to head down to Key West and visit with old friends.  We were able to catch up with old friends Al and Donna (We have actually known them a long time too) at the up and coming Stock Rock Cafe on Stock Island.

Of course, the bum behind the bar was our good friend Mike Delise, world famous pole dancer, and one of the friendliest barkeeps around.  We suggest you check out this place and enjoy Mike's service.

And talk about feeling at home on the road, check out the BS Burger on the menu!!!

The Lobsta Sendoff

In the waning days of January, as we were almost completely vacated from our rental house in Apalachicola, (and preparing for a nomadic life on the road) we were treated to a farewell dinner of Maine Lobsta by our good friends John and Leslie. 

 These two Maniac transplants to Apalachicola have been some of the kindest, most sincere friends to us over the years and to know them is one of the rewards we experienced from our time running Bowery Station.   Leslie even showed us the time honored tradition of Lobsta Hypnotizing... an art well crafted from her childhood as a Lobsterman's daughter.

 We enjoyed a great evening with great peeps.  (Even though they tried to serve us unsalted butter!?!?!... but I digress, I mean who's complaining)  We look forward staying in touch with this salt of the earth duo over the years.

Grazie!

Grazie!  Grazie!  Well, friends and family, the dust has settled after having sold Bowery Station and we transitioned out the door on New Year's Eve!  In all the mayhem, excitement and usual debauchery that went along with those final days, Holidays, and some of the best live music in the world, we found ourselves lacking in one clear area.... and that was to extend our sincere thanks to so many fine folks.  It's impossible to cover all our bases in that area, and with every blink of an eye, we can think of someone else that is deserving of our greatest gratitude and immense appreciation!  But try we must...

Let's work backward....

The Send Off Party

First, thank you to Janine, Kathy and Lori for planning an absolutely fantastic farewell gathering, and equally so to Kai and Sabrina for hosting over 100 folks at their awesome house.  Thank you to all of you that attended and contributed to the effort as well.  What a fantastic day, from musicians to customers, all of whom we consider to be the best of friends. Genuinely said, it was the greatest day of our time here in Apalachicola.  Folks from as far as Pennsylvania came to share the day with us, and so many from Tally and PC and points in between... tears were flowing, beer and wine flowing, pigs and oysters were cooking... thank you to everyone who made the effort to be there, for the gifts, and for the fine camaraderie, we will always remember the day as a highlight in our lives!  To all of you that made that day happen and were a part of it... we say GRAZIE!!

The Musicians

We started Bowery Station with only one small concept in mind... could we run a business whereby we could make a living doing what we would do most often... when we were not working.  To that end... I mean drinking beer and listening to live music.  Throughout our lives we have seen the best, the best local bands, the best venues, the best performances....throughout the world.  Or so we thought.  This area of the country has by far, hands down the best talent, and most humble and professional musicians we have ever seen, and we are so thankful to have enjoyed them on our stage.  Obviously, there are far too many to mention, but we can never thank enough those few who took a shot on us in the beginning.  A small room, with only beer and wine, in a small town off the beaten path.  Those talents in the beginning took a chance to play for a pittance to a handful of eager live music enthusiasts in our small hamlet of Apalach.  Our never ending thanks to all of them, and sooo many more (Too many to mention) who took our stage and built it into what it became!  As it grew we were blessed to have more musicians join us, first from Panama City and Tally, but ultimately from throughout the Country.  Again, the list is too long, and to all of them we are indebted.  These talents took a shot on getting off the beaten path and made their way to our stage and to Aplachicola and understood our philosophy of not over-saturating a small market.  Then you, our customers, made it up to them.... and they quickly realized the magic of the partnership between musicians, venue, and our customers!!  Then of course there were those folks that grew up on our Open Mic stage and they themselves have become local legends able to perform their own gigs!  To all of those talented individuals that worked with us throughout the years... we say GRAZIE!  

The Customers

None of what was created could not have happened without our customers.  There were so many, from around the world, that have been with us through thick and thin.... again far too many to mention.  Through your generosity we were able to raise well over $100,000 for local charities over the years, including The Riverkeeper, The Humane Society, The Apalachicola Library, Senior Centers, Victims of the Eastpoint Fire, SGI Cat Allies, Area Volunteer Fire Depts, Friends of St. Vincent Island, and the list goes on and on.  And through your participation, energy and enthusiasm for our shows and events we were able to create that fun, festive, and unique environment that was Bowery Station.  To all of you, both local, and from all over the world that became our friends, and gave so much ... we say GRAZIE! 

The Businesses

Of course we also owe a debt of gratitude to all those businesses on the Forgotten Coast who worked with us and believed in the concept that a rising tide lifts all boats.  It was great to know so many had our backs in times of need, and we could rely on each other for support and assistance over the years.  Again, too many to mention, but OCBC, Paddy's, Up the Creek/Stairs/etc, Fathom's, Harry A's, Indian Pass and Haughty Heron, The Tap Room, Chowder House, Enjoy Apalachicola, Forgotten Coast Fly Company, Riverside Mercantile, Woodduck's Guide Service, Peregrine Charters and so many other Charter Captains, again too many to mention, all of whom helped us immensely during the last six years... to all those businesses we had the pleasure to work with over the years.... we say GRAZIE!

Beyond that, we know we are missing so many others that lent a hand when we needed it, but ultimately you do know who you are, and you should know if we missed mentioning you that we are thankful for every one of you that helped.

Also, please remember, before we head out of town, Matt will be playing the Paddy's stage on Thursday, February 13, from 2-5pm.  Come on out and join us at this BS pop event and hang with all the old crew for what should be a fun afternoon of frivolity!