NYCBP Blog

The Black Crowes, a rock group classified by some as grunge and some as Southern rock, but not on the jukeboxes of any bars which get my business, are claiming that "Work Hard, Play Harder", performed by redneck woman Gretchen Wilson, is a rip-off of their 1991 song "Jealous Again".

The Gretchen Wilson tune in question recently was released to promote the TNT drama "Saving Grace", and has been used in TV commercials for that show.

According to numerous reports, the Black Crowes have had their own rednecks in suits, i.e., lawyers, serve copyright infringement notices on everyone in sight, including our darling redneck woman, TNT, record company Sony BMG, and publishing company J Money Music.

Videos of both songs are below, so you can make the call yourself. The opening few bars certainly do sound quite similar, but not the entire song. Whether or not that constitutes copyright infringement will be decided by people with whom you and I probably don’t want to have a beer.

According to another report, the songwriting was credited to Wilson, John Rich, and Vicky McGehee. Who wrote the lyrics, which do not seem to be an issue here, and who wrote the music, is not specified, but it seems likely that Gretchen had a hand in the lyrics, while Rich and McGehee had a larger role in the music as well as the lyrics.

Here are the two videos (and you can guess which one is better regardless of the copyright issue):

"Work Hard, Play Harder", Gretchen Wilson



"Jealous Again", Black Crowes

Labels: Black Crowes, copyright, country music, Gretchen Wilson, J Money Music, Jealous Again, John Rich, Play Harder, redneck woman, Saving Grace, Sony BMG, TNT, Vicky McGehee, Work Hard

This past Thursday night at Yogi’s did find an assortment of sweet young thangs there, although most of them looked like extras from “Sex And The City”, with their fancy handbags and shoes. But for the few hours I was there, none of them danced on the bar or even acted much rowdier than a bunch of yuppie-ettes at a sale at Bloomingdale's. Even usually surefire anthems from Gretchen Wilson and Dolly Parton did not elevate any of these young ladies off the floor (although I was told that a few had danced on the bar before I had arrived).

The two lovely bartenders that night, newcomer Emma and regular Brie, of course, kept us wolves satisfied, of course.



But the most fun the menfolk seemed to have was when the finicky jukebox played “Dueling Banjos”, and we all started banging away on the bar.



Crowded as it was, the atmosphere was so slow that the white-haired, late-night regular Bobby (“Yeah, baby!”) actually made sense and got a few laughs when he suggested that something should be done for the “horny old men” amongst us.

Brie and Emma did what they could, of course within the confines of the law. Brie liked this photo I took of her, commenting, “My boobs look huge!”

Yes, even cameras in cell phones capture that image.

I don’t know if it is a summer thing, but dancing on the bar at Yogi’s has been a rarity in these hot months. Maybe the redneck women are on vacation, or broke, or can’t risk violating their parole.

In any case, one place the outlaw women seem to be is in the new video celebrating them, from country group Jackson Taylor. Here it is:

Labels: bars, beer, Brie, Eddie Goldman, Emma, Jackson Taylor, outlaw women, Yogi’s

The bar on the corner of West 17th Street and Tenth Avenue, is closed for business.

Red Rock West Saloon is being sued in New York County Civil Court by Charmer Industries, the Wine and Distilled Alcoholic Beverage Merchant Wholesalers in Astoria. The case, CV-069855-06/NY, was filed November 24, 2006 in civil court. The case is active. In addition, the defunct Second Avenue establishment Red Rock Roadhouse also has an open case in New York County Civil Court. It is being sued by Manhattan Beer Distributors. That case, CV-062097-07/NY, was filed November 1, 2007.

However, this is not the only legal proceedings for the bar owners. On Nov. 15, 2007, in New York State Supreme Court, Emilio Barletta sued 453 West 17th Rest Corp, one of the bar's corporation names. Barletta asked for and was given a temporary restraining order and order of protection in February. The case is Index No. 115329/2007. On July 16 at 11 a.m. Judge Doris Ling-Cohan has a status conference about the case with the plaintiff and defendant. Barletta is represented by Kalnick Klee & Green PC.

The bar has been shuttered since mid-May.

Labels: bars, chelsea, red rock west, saloons

The votes are in, and Gretchen Wilson’s version of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” has won the online poll conducted by ESPN.com of nine artists' renditions of it to mark the 100th anniversary of that song!

Here, again, is the winning video:

Labels: Baseball, Eddie Goldman, Gretchen Wilson, Take Me Out to the Ballgame

I have been looking to buy some decent green tea, and was advised to check out Trader Joe’s in Union Square. I finally made it there Sunday afternoon. I wish I had been told that this place is completely swamped with customers, elbow to elbow, aisle to aisle. Even so, I had already made the trek from my uptown world headquarters, and was planning to visit Doc Holliday’s afterwards anyway, so the half-hour wait on the checkout line only came out of my drinking time. The staff there, also, was beyond pleasant, helpful, and patient.

Labels: beer, Budweiser, Doc Holliday’s, Eddie Goldman, green tea, Li, Mayo Clinic, MySpace, Trader Joe’s

A long time ago I spent several years living in St. Louis, and I've always been partial to Anheuser-Busch products, the Cardinals, and pretty much the entire Midwest. So today when I went looking for something to speak to the potential, and highly likely, takeover of A-B by InBev, I found this song by Phil McClary, a dude who really likes his Bud, the Cardinals, and America. The lyrics:

KISS OUR GLASS
by Phil McClary

We've got Momma's apple pie and baseball too,
Lets not forget we were the first up on the moon...
Great accomplishments aside one things perfectly clear,
America is not for sale and neither is her beer..

Oh AB you're Americana as Americana can get,
Don't sell your slice of the American dream cause
History won't forget,
All you hard working Americans stand up and show some class
Have a drink with Mother Freedom and tell InBev to Kiss your Glass...

I drank a bunch of cold Budweiser's,
watched Dale Sr rule the track,
Toasted a frosted mug of Bud light,
To every soldier in Iraq
I got silly drunk and crazy,
Praise the Lord I never wrecked,
I had a designated driver the day I married my best friend
Bud Select-

Oh, Augie I never knew you,
Nor any of your kin,
But sell the stock, this world will rock,
We might just switch to Gin..

All you hard working Americans stand up and show some class
Have a drink with Mother Freedom and tell InBev to Kiss your Glass...

Now God Blessed the Clydesdale,
the Arch and Old St Louis,
Mr. Buck and Mr. Shannon
God Blessed both of you too...

Every time I think of Baseball, Busch Stadium, Cold Beer...
It's A.B. Products that makes every memory Clear...
Oh AB you're Americana as Americana can get,
Don't sell your slice of the American dream cause
History won't forget,

All you hard working Americans stand up and show some class
Have a drink with Mother Freedom and tell InBev to Kiss your Glass...
Kiss your Glass,
Have a drink w/Mother Freedom and tell Inbev to kiss your...
RED WHITE & BLUE GLASS!

Labels: beer, music, video, web finds

As we wrote about last week, a poll is being held on ESPN.com to mark the 100th anniversary of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”. Originally, videos of this hallowed song by nine contemporary artists were posted on that site, with voting open to the public.

Now that list has been pared down to just three, and, to the surprise of no one who has ever waded through the pools of water in Yogi’s men’s room, one of those versions is by our favorite redneck woman, Gretchen Wilson.

I already reviewed Gretchen’s video in the first post on this topic, but some comparison to the other finalists is helpful.

The remaining two videos are actually not bad.

One, by Ozomatli, gives the song a Latin flavor and has a tenor sax lead. But when they tell us to “root, root, root for the Dodgers,” they automatically lose.

The other finalist is by the Punch Brothers. Theirs is a sort of folk-bluegrass version with lots of strings in their band. While their advice is certainly less loathsome, to “root, root, root for the Cubbies,” who are currently atop the National League Central and have the best record in that league, it still falls short to the more energetic version by Gretchen.

Gretchen, a Cardinals’ fan raised near St. Louis in Illinois, does wear a Redbirds’ cap and shirt, but keeps the lyrics traditional, singing “root, root, root for the home team.” For whatever reason, budgetary or otherwise, her video has higher production values, and is based around Little Leaguers, and not just her band playing. The young pitcher at the start of the video has a Yankees’ cap on. The focus on the kids adds a more universal and cheerful tone to this one, which was my choice anyway even before seeing the other two finalists.

Voting is continuing now, with the winner to be announced July 13.

So vote, vote, vote for the redneck. And have some beer while you’re at it.

Labels: Baseball, Eddie Goldman, Gretchen Wilson, Take Me Out to the Ballgame

If you like the food at the Hog Pit, this is your last summer to enjoy it. Since the place is closing in January, make tracks now. No word on Hogs yet, but it is hanging in there. Will it be the only bar left in the neighborhood?

Labels: news

Nine-to-fivers will disagree, but for us nocturnal beer drinkers, would that the week had many, many Mondays. That way we could go to Yogi’s several times a week to drink with the electric Janet.

I know some of you had to watch those Robin Byrd shows from twenty years ago on channel 35 and then have dates with Five-Fingered Mary, but you’d have been better off postponing such bliss and heading over to Yogi’s. I got there around 1 AM, and you never know who will wander in.

There was some raven-haired girl dancing to the songs next to the bar. I told her if she danced on the bar, she could become famous. She said no way, and that she was already famous. I then asked her how she had become famous, and she said she’d tell me for a dollar. I wonder what 50 cents would have gotten.

Around 2 AM, guess who moseyed on in?

Labels: beer, dive bars, Eddie Goldman, Janet, New York, Tommy McNeil, Yogi's

I hereby apologize to all my barfriends and bartenders: Because of work (I’ve been called the hardest-working person in my biz) and family issues, I was unable to fulfill my obligations this weekend to go out drinking.

Labels: bars, beer, drinking, Eddie Goldman, Janet, New York, Yogi’s

While I pay little attention these days to the national juicetime, in favor of more civilized sports like boxing, I still am somewhat sentimental about some of the culture and traditions of baseball which evoke the innocence and grace we once believed were inherent in the sport.

The grand old song “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” is part of that revered tradition, and now there is a poll which is being held on ESPN.com to mark the song’s 100th anniversary. Nine artists recorded videos of this song, which were first played on ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” and then posted online. Voting has started already, and runs through July 6.

Our attention, of course, centers on the version sung by Redbirds’ fan and Redneck Woman, Gretchen Wilson. Here, for your viewing pleasure, is that video:

Labels: Baseball, Eddie Goldman, Gretchen Wilson, Take Me Out to the Ballgame

When I saw this story in the news, it made me think of some of the NYCBP crew:

A convenience store became an unwilling drive-in when a 74-year-old woman plowed her car through the front window and then tried to buy a six-pack of Budweiser, police and the owner said.

Labels: news

The broke folks, the weekend drinking dilettantes, and the tourists tend to show up far less at Yogi’s on Monday nights, and I guess at many other bars, than they do most of the rest of the week. That has made it a haven for serious boozers and partygoers that night over the many years this wondrous dive has been open. Legendary bartenders have ruled Monday nights for over a decade, including Elizabeth, Myriam, and Julie. (Look up their pictures on the site, or let Kevin add them here.)

Since February of this year, a veteran beerslinger has called Yogi’s her home on Monday nights: the one and only Janet.



Janet had already made her mark at the grand old Village Idiot, but now has inherited this prized slot to entertain the crowd while helping getting them all jacked up. While her predecessors largely made their reputations on Monday nights at Yogi’s, Janet took over this spot with her place in the Hall of Fame long ago reserved.

Now she has been joined, for at least one night, by a newcomer to this little subculture of bars, the lovely Krystle.



Krystle comes to New York from the great state of Alabama, and though new to Yogi’s and The Patriot, she had heard many of the songs on their jukeboxes back home. She moved to New York to become an actress, and until she becomes a superstar or whatever she wants to be, we will see her here, as she has recently been hired by Tommy McNeil’s brain trust.

So there is plenty to drink at Yogi’s.

Labels: beer, Eddie Goldman, Janet, Krystle, Yogi's