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We loved reading Vanity Fair's fall guide to Manhattan. While we will leave it to our friends to nitpick over their favorite (and somewhat incestuous) restaurants, we were particulary intrigued by their choice of nightspots. Not that we disagree with their choices. It's more that their list is a bit deceiving. Most everyone knows that while Rose Bar has a number, it will not help you make a reservation. The number VF provided for the Beatrice Inn leads to a dead end fax machine. We aren't even going to touch the Box. So we feel sorry for Vanity Fair's loyal readers who thought they really were getting an inside tip on how to live the high fallutin Manhattan life. Maybe next year. More...

Steve Madden kissed a girl and...you know [Racked] Angry neighbors deny The Box [Eater] Lehman employees are down, out, and easy [Dealbreaker] NY nightlife not over until SL says so (never) [GNML] More...

Are you looking for that downtown feel in the Middle East? Then we have a place for you. Haven, a new restaurant and lounge, is set to open in a townhouse at 244 E. 51st. According to the press, Haven "offers the sexy feel of downtown to nightlife-starved Midtown Manhattan." Perfect. The space is not yet built out, but Haven is hosting a preview event for industry insiders and event planners to get them jazzed on hosting their new soiree in beautiful midtown. Haven opens next week, mark your calendars. More...

Mark this day in your calendars, because September 16, 2008 is officially the day that bottle service died in Manhattan. At least thats what JE Engelbert thinks, and he is putting his club where his mouth is. In another sizzling press release, JE says that his renovated club Prime will no longer cater to bottle service patrons, saying: With the new Prime comes a new attitude and a new goal creatingpleasure for the customer and making the party a fun party. Admissionwill no longer be driven by bottle sales. If someone looks good enoughto get in and comes with the right attitude, they will get in withoutbottles.That's nice to hear, but won't these just be the same people that were coming to Prime to buy bottles? And what if a customer wants to buy a bottle to impress someone? JE has an answer for that: More...

A silver lining? When I did the Palladium the second time around with my sidekick Kelly Cole, the economy was tanking like General Patton. We were revamping, re-launching, recreating, and reusing the old space - and part of my shtick was to make a big deal about staffing. Kelly and the rest of my crew placed ads in Variety, the Times, the Voice, everywhere; throwing out a large net in attempt to not only have a lot of quality sources, but to let the world know we were reopening. I think we had a 5pm call and by 4pm we had five hundred people on line. By the time we opened the line stretched from mid-block 13th street (the back entrance), up 4th avenue and around to the Palladium marquee on 14th. Thousands of people for two hundred jobs. The New York Times sent a photographer. I think our publicist called them, and the aerial shot made the front page. We decided to try to interview these folks as we needed staff, and they needed jobs. We set up desks on the street level where seven of every ten people interviewed by staff were rejected immediately. The survivors got up to see me and I believe it was Marc Altschuler and a couple of other assistants. We interviewed in groups of twenty, and I was told that we did six hundred people. I’m not sure of the math but there were thousands of people and we managed to handle it without arguments or disrespect. We had MBA's and architects begging for coat check jobs. In the end, a great staff was hired and the club went on to be very successful despite an economy that was real bad. All day long I’ve been getting calls about what it all means. The consensus is that Tenjune and clubs which cater to the Wall Street crowd will be most affected and that the highest end joints like 1 Oak and Rosebar will not see a difference. I believe Tenjune, Marquee and those "types" of joints will do just fine because of brainpower at the top. These guys will adjust, buckle down, trim fat, and find a way. The theory that bad news will drive them to drink has always rang true. Look for clubs heavily dependent on corporate revenue streams to be hardest hit, but even those will survive. It may be more weddings for the Capitale, Espace kind of spaces, and those might be less extravagant, but the sharp pencils at those places will erase some costs and come out ahead. Those in trouble are the marginal places run by fairly inexperienced operators who came in on the big wave of the model/bottle era and will surely crash into the beach. I expect vacancies with properties flipping into other hands. It may be a great opportunity for a reemergence of the fun fun fun dive clubs of the 80's. Landlords unable to develop properties may again welcome club runners to maintain a revenue stream until people can actually afford to buy condos again, or there are lending institutions that will actually finance them again. Editor's Note: Yesterday, Steve Lewis was scooped on the new Aspen Social Club which Steve is designing with partner Marc Dizon. As Steve's editor, I find it amusing that people can "scoop" him on his own project which he neglected to introduce to loyal viewers of his blog first. I am extremely curious as to what's going on in his head, and while I've asked him for an explanation he has yet to give me a suitable one. Apparently Steve wears many hats, and he seems to have forgotten about this one. Way to go Mr. Lewis Good Night, Mr. Lewis Written by Steve Lewis. Edited by Jessica Tocko. More...

We loved this little sign hanging in Barfly's window. Who knew that it is "The One Place to Get Every Game, Every Sunday"? It will probably be pretty crowded for the third week of NFL action. More...

Photo courtesy of AMF Unlike everyone else, we are already recovered from Fashion Week. How? We are tougher than you are. The highlight of our week? There were many. We loved walking into the Mini Rooftop for the first time, a truly unique space that gave us an extra week of outdoor love before the weather turns colder. Seeing the Standard NYC was nice, even though it is still a construction site and probably will be for a few more months. Perry and Dave Navarro's late night set at Rose Bar was amazing, as was seeing Keith Richards at Rose Bar the next night at Radar's Hearts On Fire event that Alexandra & Theodora Richards and Liv Tyler Dj'd. A much sexier trio than the MisShapes ever could be. And the clothes! We actually didn't see anything we like. Go figure. Until next year. More...

We know where to find our late night Euro fix [NYM] Beerfest could even cheer up our pals downtown [Urbanite] Cliffsnotes on the Wall Street meltdown [Gawker] Dwell95 is...awkward [Dealbreaker] More...

The Bowery Electric crew decided to hang a little sign up over the weekend. Funny enough, it's not electric at all. They opted to go with a simple flag. How quaint. We do love that logo though. More...

Friday we posted part one of Steve's conversation with Danny Devine. They discussed his transformation from work in fashion, to promoting, to PR, and finally becoming an owner of a nightlife establishment. If you missed day one, read it now. Otherwise keep on reading for day two. As a guy who builds clubs and such, I am always asked to recommend sound companies. I always recommend Joe Lodi. Many people swear by Mr. West sound designer, Dan Agnee, whom I almost worked with in a not ever completed project in Miami. During design phase I met with Dan a couple of times and we had different theories on sound design. The difference can be summed up like this. As far as sound design goes, he knows what he’s talking about and I only know a bit more than a layman, but I know what I wanted and Dan didn’t seem willing to give me what I wanted. It was my perception, and if I’m wrong I hope he corrects me as I only have respect for this extremely accomplished gentleman, that Dan looks at club sound like a fish tank. It seems to me that he tries to fill the club/fishtank to the brim with quality sound. The entire inside is equally wet. I as a builder of many clubs where conversation is important, indeed as important or more important than dancing, often require a sound design that is much quieter in perimeter seating areas where older fuddy duddies like me spend bucks on bottles. A dance crowd may catch a chat in a corner or by the bar, but the older or wealthier sets that pay the bills in small venues always have enticing raps and titillating stories to woo the gals back to the condo. Not able to get by on their good looks alone they need to be heard. Joe Lodi, who like Dan is winning awards for his work, has always understood my needs and made me happy at the end. I’m very curious to hear what gives or doesn’t at Mr. West. With my pal Jus Ske co-owning the joint with the divine Mr. Danny Devine, there is no doubt that some of the hippest DJs around are gonna give Mr. Agnee’s system a twirl. A real small room with a real big system and big name DJs on the dl sounds like a winner. If I go by and it’s great I’ll tell Dan he did a great job, I just hope I don’t have to yell for him to hear me. Steve Lewis: So now you’ve gotta wear another hat. You have decided to open up this space which is a little hidden jewel by the Chelsea Piers, and you’re an owner now. How are you going to take on that responsibility and what is the idea behind this Mr. West? What are you trying to accomplish? Danny Devine: Well, firstly we came up with the name Mr. West. SL: It’s a very gay name… is it meant that way? DD: I don’t mind you saying that it’s a gay name because that’s where we are located. Of course we will bring in the gay market because that’s where we are, especially on the fashion side of things. I know girls will be drawn in here also by our in-house team. SL: Jus Ske. DD: He’s our partner and he’s also our musical director. I’m overseeing more of the marketing, and PR agencies are helping out as well. We do also have some silent partners… SL: So Mr. West is appealing to a straight crowd mostly? Is it a gay club, mix? DD: It’s mixed; we’re going to be introducing a menu in a couple of weeks. SL: Serving food? DD: Yes we’re going to be opening daily at 5pm. I want to attract the local neighborhood crowd as well as to become the pre-gallery, post gallery opening place to go. I’ve been living in this neighborhood for quite some time and there a very few places for people to take advantage of in the neighborhood. And then we’re going to transition around 10pm which is when our door man will be coming in, that’s where we transition to a late night lounge. SL: How many days a week are you serving food? DD: The kitchen will serve six days per week. Closed Sundays. SL: Are you going to have a late night menu? DD: We will stop serving at 11pm. SL: Is this a bottle service lounge? DD: Yes. SL: This space is a little bigger than The Eldridge over on the East Side. Are there any gimmicks or are you just playing it real? DD: No gimmicks at all. Our main concern here is service, hospitality, proper cocktails, and really delivering. A lot of people say it and they don’t deliver it. We have really thought out our processes behind everything and we will most definitely provide impeccable service. Our bottle could probably beat the customer to the table. We’re expecting to have a lot of repeat customers and regular clientele due to our service, our capacity, and the fact that we can have a really tight knit late night party. SL: Who is doing your door? DD: Fabrizio SL: Fabrizio is not at the Plaza anymore? DD: Yeah no more, he’s not at the Plaza. He’s joining us and he’s excited to have control over the door. SL: How many people does the place hold? DD: In and out throughout the night a few hundred I’d say, but we’re keeping it tight. We want the right clientele; we’re not looking to jam them in. SL: Is there a dance floor? DD: No dance floor, we don’t have a cabaret. The center is just for standing and socializing. SL: So you’re tables, lounging with some bottle service…. DD: Yes, and there’s an amazing sound system. SL: Done by who? DD: Dan Agnee, who’s done Cielo and 1 Oak. SL: What’s it going to be like working with Jus Ske? DD: Jus yeah. We have been friends for about fifteen years now, he’s a great guy…. SL: He’s much more stable, he’s older now. I think he’s developed into a really solid DJ. DD: He’s excited to have his own place in the city, and he’s traveling like crazy. Coming up he’ll be in Detroit, Tokyo, Paris, Milan - so he’s everywhere. I know a lot of his friends, a lot of the other DJs in the business are going to be excited to play here with him. SL: Jus Ske is known around town as a sidekick to Richie Akiva who co-owns Butter and 1 Oak, so it’s very interesting to see Jus Ske go out on his own. DD: Yeah well we’re all very close. I also grew up with Richie, known him for about eighteen years now. We threw parties together for years and so we’re kind of, you know, we support one another, and yeah - it’s nice for Jus to go out on his own. Good Night, Mr. Lewis Interview conducted and written by Steve Lewis. Interview has been edited and condensed by Jessica Tocko. More...

Relive fashion week one, two, three, and four times [Racked] Rose Bar rocks out with spawn of legends [DS] Not good in the [Olsen's] neighborhood [Gothamist] Bowery's latest victim of gentrification-itis [JVNY] More...

It's been a bang up opening week for the Eldridge. Socialites love it, Ray LeMoine hates it, and apparently, the place is already filthy. A Little Birdy passed along this little DOH inspection summary from the Eldridge, and it was hit with a whopping 67 violation points for the following: Improper Hand Washing Toilets Not Maintained No Food Protection Certificate So even though the Eldridge will cater to your every whim, you may just not want to eat what they bring you. It will still be open, buit a follow inspection will be coming soon. More...

MR. WEST IS IN ONE OF THOSE AREAS JUST TOO FAR FROM AND JUST TOO CLOSE TO THE REST OF THE CLUBWORLD. A stone’s throw from the Chelsea piers, too far to walk from either the meatpacking club kingdom or the outer Chelsea club mall; it needs to be spot on to make it, as people will tend not to go back if it isn’t good one night. Just a little bit larger than the Eldridge or a breadbox, Mr. West features sound by Dan Agnee and musical direction from everybody’s favorite DJ co-owner Jus Ske. Danny Devine, known about town as a promoter and PR, also owns a piece of the joint. Fabricio, formerly of everywhere and most recently Danny A’s Plaza, will be at the door. The charming Kelly Brody, who I know as Turtle, will be running the table service. She’s real good at her job. Evan Frost, a bright light will be managing. The problem with a small club is there is a limit to how much revenue can be generated and you still have to pay bottle hosts, managers, door people at the same rate a giant club pays them. With multiple owners, investors, rent and insurance etc., it just gets tough. Mr. West holds about a hundred and fifty people if they’re the skinny model/bottle types expected. It is a restaurant early and that might help if it bangs, but it looks like a club to me and that restaurant turns into a club thingy works only sometimes. Launching with the Zac Posen Fashion Week party says they’re serious. Steve Lewis: I’m sitting with Danny Devine co-owner of Mr. West, a space on 22nd Street just east of the Chelsea Piers, between 10th and 11th right? Danny Divine: Yeah between 10th and 11th on the West Side Highway. SL: It used to be Open right? DD: Open yeah. SL: Was it anything else? DD: It was another place called Opus 22 SL: I’ve known you for many years as a PR. A promoter and now you’re an owner. DD: I’ve promoted before, originally when I came into the business in’94, ’95. I was working in-house at that time with DJ Corbett and Matt D. SL: Corbett just Facebooked me the other day. Is he a cop now? DD: I think he’s been a cop for some years now. SL: He was a DJ and then became a cop. DD: Yeah. So I was working with those guys and then I started doing all the prep school parties. I worked uptown with Junior Sanchez. It was basically just all the prep school kids promoting. SL: That was a long time ago. So you were part of that uptown crowd. There’s downtown and uptown – and it’s hard to get downtown to go uptown. DD: Yes that’s right - uptown goes downtown, downtown doesn’t go uptown much. SL: So how many clubs have you promoted at? DD: Over the years? SL: Yeah. DD: I did all of Peter’s clubs, from Palladium to Limelight and Club USA, and then after that Club Expo. I worked there for a long time, and I used to do Saturday with Unik and Kiki, and 2Pac was always there. SL: 2Pac? So you made a transition, at one point you made a transition into PR. Tell me how that happened. DD: Well I went away to school so I was going in and out of the business; I went away to school in Rhode Island. I actually started doing parties in Boston and then I was offered the position of Director of Events for a clothing designer, Nino Cerruti. I was with them for a while before I left and started the Rydan Group. SL: Ok and that has something to do with your name right? You’re the Dan. DD: Yes, mine and Ryan Jacklone’s. SL: Ok, what was the basis of the Rydan Group? DD: We started doing weekly parties at night at various spaces, and we were also doing a lot of events for different fashion companies. SL: How did you make the transition to PR? DD: While we were working on the events I just got into doing event press, and actually working with some other agencies. Then a lot of the clients wanted to come back to us and that’s when we started taking on month to month retainer clients. I don’t have the exact date that Ryan and I basically went our separate ways but I purchased him out of the company eventually. We’re still great friends, and he’s in fashion now as well. But that’s when I started working with different venues on their events, I would do the PR SL: PR and promotions, you would mix it up a little bit. You were the only man out there that did both at the same time. you not only do you get the name in Page 6, but you actually throw events and bring people to the club on a large scale. Most public relations firms throw events and bring people sporadically but you actually were as good as most promoters at bringing crowds. Now that it’s many years later, you’ve given up the PR… DD: I still do a little PR with some events directly. I’m producing a fashion show and an after party in Paris for a lingerie company on the 28th of September and I did a concert overseas with Stevie Wonder in June in Austria, during the soccer championships. I am one on one taking on projects and also taking on the PR as well for that particular event, although not really taking on the retainer month to month. More...

Can a bar be considered a dive bar without a bit of bathroom damage? Probably not. A Little Birdy snapped a pic of the bathroom at the Rusty Knot, where a patron decided to scratch a little something into the painting that hangs in the stall. How considerate. But this will help speed up the aging process for the nautical themed bar on the West Side highway, helping fortify the aesthetic. More...

Derelict is so the new black [Radar] Nary Manivong's cruel party favor tease [GoaG] Places to chalk a cue [GS] As fashion week ends, the sausage fest begins [Urbanite] More...

Last night DBTH headed to the bowels of Chelsea for the DSquared launchof he and she wood fragrances. So tres chic. Inside the ex industrialbuilding that now houses offices of only the hippest sort, we weretransported via manual elevator to the mainly empty top floor, where welearned that the real party was on the rooftop. Perfect evening formingling under the starry sky with the city as a backdrop with loads ofbitchy gay hipsters, trannies, and male models. Though we hadalready drank our fair share earlier in the evening, the champagne +vitamin water signature drink was a surprise hit (or maybe we werealready too tipsy to care). All in all, chill yet standard fashion weekfare: see and be seen. And the fragrances themselves weren't toobad. Regift city fer sher. Fer sher. More...

Photo Credit Milk and Honey didn't invent the cocktail, but we can certainly attribute its opening to the renaissance of cocktail bars that have invaded the City. Despite the competition, Sacha is still sticking to his original guns of keeping his original joint underground. According to a Little Birdy, "Milk & Honey changed their phone number again. Two weeks ago, I was able to get a reservation with the 718.#$%.^&*( number. Itexted them yesterday to get a reservation, and I never got a response, so I calledthe number and discovered it was a non-working number. Hopefully they just changedthe number to minimize the riff-raff." Did you ever consider that maybe you are the riff raff they want to minimize? Just kidding LB. Thanks for the heads up. More...

Editors Note: Mr. Lewis had a bad night; seriously down with the flu. He will be back again tomorrow but for now a sneak peak at the new restaurant/lounge Mr. West, which will be open tonight for a private Zac Posen after party. Tomorrow he will have an interview with Danny Devine, Mr. West’s co-owner. PRESS RELEASE Contact: Susan Blonde, Inc. Elizabeth Rosenthal, 212.333.7728x105, erosenthal@susanblondinc.com Dani Dalesandro, 212.333.7728x120, danid@susanblondinc.com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MR. WEST LANDS IN NEW YORK New York, NY, August 27, 2008 – Over the years, New York City club-goers have been lured to the newest hotspots by gimmicks of all shapes and sizes. But this fall, New York nightlife will get a taste of something straight-forward with a venue whose décor and service speak for itself. Nightlife veterans Danny Divine and DJ Jus Ske have teamed up to create Mr. West, a relaxed, yet trendy locale that will transform flawlessly from happy hour hotspot to high-energy lounge each night. With a staff whose attention is focused on personalized service rather than creative contrivances, bottle service will be invariably prompt, wait staff will be attuned to the customers’ needs, and bartenders will mix cocktails as they were meant to be crafted. The 1800 square foot space is a powerful blend of luxurious elegance perfectly matched with touches of modern simplicity. Upon entering, guests will view an extensive, granite bar adorned by a custom built, six hundred strand, crystal chandelier. As patrons continue into the main space of Mr. West, they will view a cluster of handmade, oversized lampshades dripping with LED-lit cascades of crystals hung above eighteen black velvet banquets wrapped around the dance floor. Adding depth to the room is a bronze mirrored wall running the length of the space, made three-dimensional by alligator cutout paneled overlay. Completing the overall look of the room will be a wall-sized photograph hung above the state-of-the-art DJ booth; a gift from celebrity photographers, which will rotate seasonally. As the West Chelsea are continues to grow into a hot, new business locale with companies including Commes des Garons and Balenciaga moving in, Mr. West will cater to the young, trendsetting professional looking for a place to relax and unwind after a long day with coworkers and friends. Personal mixologists will attend to the needs of bottle service clients while our talented and well-trained bartenders serve up cocktails including our basil grapefruit martini and cucumber cosmo, made with fresh pressed, organic juices and garnished with seasonal fruits. Mr. West will also offer guests with a small plate menu, which will feature various tapas-style dining options. For the patron in search of the most decadent experience possible, Mr. West will offer limited edition, white-gold plated jeroboams of 1995 Dom Perignon for the price of $25,000. More...

A weak marketing blitz pays off for Mr. West. After bombarding our in box with anonymous tips, we can proudly say that construction on the new lounge on West 22nd has finished just in time, and they will be prepared to host the Zac Posen party tonight as Fashion Week begins to wrap up. Mr. West, along with the Standard Hotel and Cooper Square Hotel, went into overdrive to host an event this week, but is this really a successful strategy? Is it better to kill yourself to bring in a bunch of fashion freeloaders, or would these venues be better off taking their time to make sure they get it right? After all, there is nothing more important than a first impression. Only time will tell for the two hotels, which are long term investments. But for bars like Mr. West, it seems that throwing a good fashion week event could possibly lead them down a successful course. Or doom them to failure and ridicule. More...

Shadster runs The Box [Gawker] Lawsuit knocks 230 5th off a high [NYM] De Santos kicks off with muy caliente preview party [Eater] So over Cooper Square [HC] More...

Just a few weeks after declaring itself New York's most exclusive nightclub, El Bano has already been outdone by New York's latest bastion of exclusivity. Behold El Evator, "the most exclusive elevator club in the entire world!" El Evator features drinks "mixed by a nuclear scientist in a sealed lab . . . in Munich, Germany", as well as a full, pig heavy menu by Executive Chefs Jimmie Dean and Marie Callendar. To find El Evator's location, you must simply solve the equation posted on the website. Seems simple enough. El Evator is slated to open during Administrative Assistants week in late September. When asked for comment, the management of El Bano said "El Evator? Is that supposed to be a joke? We've worked too hard to deal with this." This is more exciting then the potato sack race we saw in Prospect Park last summer Click through to read El Bano's entire statement after the jump. More...

Last night, we were invited to attend a little anniversary party for Rose Bar. It was just two short years ago that Ian, Nur and the entire team unleashed their vision on New York City, and the place is just as strong as ever. There was a legitimate mob scene outside last night, with Damion announcing "if you aren't on Nur's list, you are not getting in". Good thing for us, we were on the list. We made our way inside and the place was packed. Beyond packed. So packed that as we tried to walk to the back bar, we got so stuck that we could not advance in any direction. We finally decided to push our way to the front, where we graciously accepted several tasty cocktails from the open bar. We saw club owners, actresses, musicians, reality TV stars, them, her and everyone else, including the always effervescent Corynne Steindler. The highlight of our night was the special live performance by Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro, who manuevered through the crowd to play a few songs. Towards the end, Perry wondered "when did everyone get so fashionable? Remember when we all dressed like freaks?" Deep. Congratulations to Rose Bar on turning two. We can't wait to see what happens when you turn three. More...

Mixing apples and oranges Yesterday we posted part one of Steve's conversationwith Ricky Greenstein. They discussed what his company, Moodswing360 is allabout, and well as spending some time wrapping their heads around the conceptof the “mash upâ€. If you missed day one, read it now.Otherwise keep on reading for day two. Yesterday I briefly touched on Ricky Greenstein’s client, Tommy Lee, lending his good name to PETA’s no fur campaign. I wanted to put out a little background on how that was part of club policy at my joints four different times. The idea of banning fur coats from nightclubs came to me one night while watching Warren Beatty’s “Heaven Can Waitâ€. In this movie Warren Beatty’s character suggested that one of his companies’ subsidiaries, a tuna canning conglomerate which was under attack for the accidental killing of dolphins during the fishing/netting process, adopt methods to prevent their harm. A minion suggested the cost of saving the dolphins would be prohibitive. Beatty’s character suggested taking on the cost, saving the dolphins, charging a bit more, and advertising that they were the “good guy tuna companyâ€. I had become friends with Dan Matthews of PETA and was always looking for ways to help them in their most noble cause. The idea of banning furs at Tunnel nightclub, making the statement that fur was not fashionable, and people wearing it would be denied entry as part of the dress code, came to me. I approached Peter Gatien and to my surprise he was all for it. PETA had agreed to supply us with a celebrity to help publicize our statement, and also agreed to throw a star studded event at the club. The publicity generated by ours and PETA’s advertising and marketing, plus money from the event would easily offset any loss of revenues. Kim Basinger became our poster queen. We plastered her on every blank wall in Manhattan and Peter stuck to his word. We were screamed at by the fur trade, we banned celebrities, and even kept out Gianfranco Ferre and a herd of Italian woman in fox and mink. These milf’s were miffed. A few years later at Life we did it again with Pamela Anderson leading the way. It was a huge publicity stunt, and having another beauty aligned with us and selling us again protected the bottom line. Roy Stillman, the owner of Life, was also enthusiastic in this supporting this endeavor. We did it at Spa as well with Dominique Dunne posing for our poster. Owner David Marvisi, a bottom line kind of guy, never complained as he became convinced that this ban indeed helped generate revenues. Axel Rose couldn’t get in one night at Spa wearing his fur, and supposedly threw a fit and quit Guns and Roses saying something like, ‘If I can’t get into a NYC club then why am I in this band?’ The story seems to be true and I chatted with him one night at Aspen. I apologized that he seemed to be treated poorly back then, but not for my policy. He was polite, and that week as promoter pal Vegas escorted him around town we’d do stop and chats. Yesterday I mentioned Tommy Lee going out of his way and doing the poster/party thing with Home, and I guess I didn’t mention Jon B, Home’s owner, who was again very helpful and cooperative with this noble cause. In the next couple of weeks as the winter approaches, I’ll be knocking on some doors and trying to do it again. Fur is no longer necessary in today’s fashion as fake fur has become so realistic. Fashion week has gotten me riled up again and I’ll be trying to forge another alliance between a club or clubs and PETA. I’m not normally political, but my pets are like my children. Wives have come and gone and I’ve had good and bad days, and years, but through it all my sixteen year old Chihuahua, Arturo has been there for me. The cruelty of man to make intelligent and emotional creatures into clothes for vanity offends me. P.s. - if any of the club owner/management types are interested in getting on board I guarantee you I can help make this a sound business decision. If it worked at Tunnel, Life, Spa and for three years at Home all run by extremely saavy businessmen, then it can work for you. Steve Lewis: So I’m working on this idea that in the 1940’s you had swing music, in the 1950’s you had folk and jazz, in the 60’s you had rock n’ roll, 70’s you had disco, 80’s you had hip-hop, you had house. Has there been a musical genre since? There doesn’t seem to have been a genre since aids. In the 1980’s when aids happened, it seems that we have not had a musical genre, and that we are basically living on past genres, and the mash up trend comes along The reality is there hasn’t been a musical genre that I can think of. What has happened in this technological age is a mixing, of everything is mashing up or open format. Is it the new genre? We’re talking twenty-five years since the birth of a genre. Ricky Greenstein: That’s extremely interesting, I never really thought of it like that… SL: It’s something that I’m really starting to believe is true. I keep talking to the people in the music industry about this. RG: It definitely started with guys who took hip-hop and rock and mashed them up together, and now it’s become this electro house music now mashed into that. If you go to these clubs today a lot of it is high-tempo stuff with electro house beats, hip-hop over and rock played over it. They mash it all up. SL: So at this point we have a new genre. RG: I’d have to say it all started fully happening a couple years ago with what I call the Vegas lottery. There was a lot of competition going on because DJs would go around and play a lot of different spots in Vegas. Then one guy came up and said, ‘I’m going to pay you a lot of money, just play my spot exclusively,’ and quite frankly it was probably the best thing that ever happened. DJ AM took the gig and showed everyone his mix in an open format. He wasn’t the original one to do it, but he certainly got a lot of attention, and therefore became a catalyst of it. SL: Of course, he’s at the highest grossing club in the country. RG: It was the birth of casino night clubs; it was the birth of this open format genre. But now it’s developed into AM and Travis playing together, which was Travis on drums. I guess that sort of gave me the idea to have Skribble with Dave Navarro with on the guitar. SL: I saw him (Dave Navarro) a couple weeks ago with his band over at Webster Hall. RG: Yeah. Camp Freddy, they were amazing. We actually book them now exclusively. SL: Camp Freddy is beyond belief; it’s a cover band, the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard. I mean, normally you go to a concert and you know five of the bands’ songs, you wait there through a set that you don’t know until the hits are played. . But Camp Freddy, they are doing covers of every song we know. Dave Navarro is extremely talented. RG: He is. And at first when I asked him to be the guitarist that would play with Skribble, Dave had to refer to a couple friends and be like, ‘Is this the cool thing to do?’ I guess they said yes and so they went into they studio for two months. You have to check out the show… SL: Ok, so the crowd comes in - is the DJ just laying low or is it automatically in full performance mode? RG: No. Like Skribble would come out and DJ and Navarro would join him basically right away. It’s not really like an entrance kind of thing. SL: Is it an all night thing? RG: It’s normally a forty-five minute show; yeah he rips the guitar for about forty-five minutes straight. He’ll be playing a Jane’s Addiction song over like a Jay-Z beat or something. SL: Does it have the quality of a jazz jam where anything can happen? RG: It’s actually mostly rehearsed, and thank god because it comes off a lot better that way. I think at first they probably jammed… SL: So cool. RG: It is, and you know we’re trying to come up with more things like it. More mixes of DJ’s with drummers and such. SL: I touched on Tiesto and I know his tour over the summer did twenty-three million dollars or something like that. Sarah Cunningham (Publicist): Yeah. I’m not going to talk about numbers but he did sell out three nights. SL: These are rock star numbers; this guy’s getting Billy Idol numbers without needing the entourage. Billy is playing tonight over at Roseland and I’m seeing some of the familiar faces from his band in this hotel lobby where were interviewing. So Tiesto tours with relatively little equipment and virtually no entourage. RG: It’s literally a laptop and that’s basically it. SL: This is an extremely lucrative new development. Now Roger Sanchez types and the regulars are getting $50,000 fees. RG: Yeah they have, some of them do. SL: So the DJ is the new rock star. RG: I’d say yes. SL: And rock stars with DJs is something were going to see a lot more of. RG: I agree. Good Night, Mr. Lewis Interview conducted and written by Steve Lewis. Interview has been edited and condensed by Jessica Tocko. More...

Image courtesy of NY Mag DBTH would like to wish Richie Akiva a very happy 30th birthday. We hear that the 1OAK and Butter impresario has very big things planned for his very special day, with a Little Birdy telling us "he is apparently handing out invites personally that say his birthday is hosted by like 30 celebs." That sounds like a lot of work in celebration of yourself, but whatever floats your boat. Happy Birthday! More...

According to Open Table, AvroKo's newest restaurant Double Crown will be open for business as of Tuesday the 16th. Good news for all. We also learn that the separate basement lounge will be called Madam Geneva, which was what gin was called in England when the spirit was first introduced in the 18th century. The Madam will serve "delectable tea sandwiches and crisp gin and tonics until 4am." Somehow we think there will be just a few more options than that. More...