You Better Zep It, Babe
Exclusive Led Zeppelin karaoke interview, the Wall of Nothing poll and much more.
This week we are freezing our wee butts off and devoting the bulk of this issue to an exclusive interview with a notable local who is trying out a breakthrough new karaoke format that you can attend on Friday 1/24 if you dare. We also have info on: Hudson Restaurant Week, the Wall of Nothing, plus drama from local bridges falling down to trucks smashing into stores. Read on past the black gate of hearts, spikes & squiggles!
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🎤 Friday 1/24 at 8p: Single Artist Karaoke? Holy Stairway to Heaven, Batman!
Chris Tsakis a/k/a Chris T., pictured, has lived in Weehawken with his wife since 2007 and he’s about to try and blow up everything we know about how karaoke works. Namely, that you get to choose who you wanna sing. Chris thinks there’s another way, and he’s about to experiment with the new format in Weehawken, NJ starting this Friday.
Chris knows a thing or two about making waves… airwaves, specifically, having worked at CBS Radio, NPR's New York Bureau, SiriusXM, WFMU and WNYC. He currently hosts Aerial View (Fri., 6 pm ET on thehoundnyc.com & wherever you get podcasts), was founder/guitarist of NYHC legends Nihilistics. He also owns THAT CAVE Antiques.
We were super intrigued by the upcoming one-night-only Led Zeppelin karaoke night he’s hosting at the Weehawken Elks pub (or Grill room, or lounge… it goes by many names but it’s their downstairs bar) and we needed to know, is this ironic? He said nope, not it’s not ironic. Plus there’s no cover — and the drinks are hella cheap. So we said, “OK, tell us more.” Below is our exclusive hard-hitting interview about this upcoming event, followed by the flier.
Why only have one artist? Is single artist karaoke a thing? Or your invention? Is it a first-ever?
As a fan of The Loser's Lounge long-running single-artist live shows, it seemed beyond time to emulate that level of full immersion in a karaoke format. Single-artist karaoke–AFAIK–is a new innovation, presented for the first time ever!
Are you just trying to avoid hearing Total Eclipse of the Heart or Journey?
Nothing against Bonnie Tyler or Journey, but yes! Last time at a multi-artist karaoke night (at the gloriously decaying NJ Polynesian fixture Lee's Hawaiian Islander in Lyndhurst), I was astounded by the gargantuan size of the Karaoke binder. No kidding, this thing was bigger than my head, containing what must've been 10,000 songs. It was obvious some regulars just wanted to sing "their" number and some others were goaded into choosing something, anything, to eventually be massacred. By paring it all back, single-artist karaoke will hopefully offer a baseline comparison while, paradoxically, presenting opportunities for one singer to differentiate their style and approach from another's.
Why Zeppelin? Are you are big fan?
Because we're in a bit of a Led Zeppelin moment, with the just-released documentary Mr. Jimmy, about a Japanese Kimono salesman who dedicated his life to becoming Jimmy Page, and the soon-to-be-released fully-authorized documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin and because YES, I LOVE LED ZEPPELIN! As outlined in my newsletter NIHILISTIC, I owe Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin a huge debt of gratitude and can't say where I might've ended up absent them.
Is January or 2025 connected to Zeppelin in some way?
Yes! Jimmy Page turned 81 on January 8 and the aforementioned Becoming Led Zeppelin documentary — the first with the band's full participation — will hit theaters in February.
I know two Zeppelin songs but only one well. What do I do? Study? Or just sing Stairway to Heaven?
Now's a good time as ever to delve into their back catalog, no? You may find yourself becoming a fan. As for whether or not you sing "Stairway To Heaven," this is a first-come, first-served type of deal. There will be a sign-up sheet for the approximately two dozen songs and each will only be sung once. And if all the tech works, there will be multiple screens with the lyrics on them.
Anything else you want to tell us to persuade people to come? Let us know!
As someone who saw Led Zeppelin live at their last-ever concert in NYC when I was 14 years old, I feel more than qualified to be your emcee for this first-ever Elks Lodge Karaoke: Single-artist night. "The Lounge Under The Lodge" is open to all Elks and their guests and–beyond karaoke–offers darts, a pool table, a jukebox and more!
🍴Hudson Restaurant Week Includes New Offerings
Nestled in the deep dark winter, and before the Valentine’s Day crush, is a bright spot for trying out new grub with prix fixe menus. It’s thanks to Hudson Restaurant Week, which has now been a thing for two decades. Previously it was twice a year, but since the pandemic, you can only catch it in winter. This year it’s January 27 to February 7 and there are 30 restaurants participating “so far” according to NJ.com. We did find quite a few newcomers are on the list, both new to the restaurant week and new to the world. In Weehawken, Drift is offering a 3-course dinner for $65, and Faubourg is offering one for $45. This list shows the restaurants and the offerings, but be warned… on Instagram they tell potential diners that “not all restaurants participate all days. Please check websites for days, times and price points!” — so yes, if there’s a place you want to try, we recommend poking around and maybe calling to confirm the deals.
Wall Of Nothingness Gets Some Love!
Our Weehawken Wall Of Nothingness now has way more nothing! As we reported before, the wall at Weehawken’s Tower Plaza (that we wanted a bulletin board on, or really anything) was covered in lint, random schmutz, and yes, there was some writing scribbled on it here and there. But the Gazette was on the scene earlier this month to witness the wall being lovingly restored by two men. They repainted it white, returning it to its essence of pure nothingness:
This is an improvement to be sure. However we still dare to dream that there might be something here someday. On Instagram people are leaving their suggestions, and you can too. An artist based in Florida offered his paintings. A local print shop offered graphics. And there are other great suggests. But maybe we are wrong. Maybe the white wall brings people peace. Maybe in this overcrowded world a wall of pure zilch is calming. Maybe the pure absence of anything will draw in tourists to marvel at it. So what do you think? We have a poll below.
London Willow Bridge Is Falling Down?
Well maybe just a part of it. Just after the new year a user on Reddit shared photos that were allegedly pieces of the Willow avenue bridge that had dropped on their car and “crushed” it. It looked pretty bad. Another post shared “Residential permit parking under the bridge has been closed off after a few big chunks of concrete fell from above on shortly after midnight on Monday 12/30/2024.” The good news is that it seems no one was hurt, unlike when a tractor trailer crashed into the Target in North Bergen last Friday. Oy. Anyway, if anyone knows if the under bridge parking is back, and if we need a hardhat, let us know.
Source NorthJersey.com: Dump truck crashes into North Bergen Target, injuring six people
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Tah for now nice nabes!
Susie
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