12inch Posted July 12 Report Share Posted July 12 Anyone see the fold out about surf club in the star ledger today? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endurance Posted July 12 Report Share Posted July 12 no what it say Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njdionysus Posted July 12 Report Share Posted July 12 Surf's up all night and day at Ortley Beach bar Friday, July 12, 2002BY LISA ROSE Star-Ledger Staff At Joey Harrison's Surf Club in Ortley Beach, you'll find sand and glitter, swim gear and evening wear, floppy sandals and severe heels, Jell-O shots and Cristal champagne. The 30-year-old oceanfront institution is a dance club, rock venue, restaurant, tiki bar, cigar bar, catering hall and private beach. By day, it's a splash-and-tan oasis with lifeguards, showers and a snack stand. After dark, it transforms from a beach club into a night club, serving slushy drinks and music that ranges from singalong oldies to the latest electronic inventions. Formerly a neighborhood tavern named Auggie Hoffman's Surf Club, the bar was remade into a tropical complex by Joey Barcellona, a Jersey night-life maven whose club credits include Joey's in Clifton and such defunct spots as Billy Budd's in Fairfield and Le Jardin in Kinnelon. The club is named for his late father, a boxer who had to anglicize his name for acceptance in the ring. Barcellona says that when he purchased Hoffman's bar in 1972, "There was no air conditioning. There were no soda guns or ice machines or outdoor bars. A guy used to come with big blocks of ice that we'd have to chop up." For Barcellona, the Surf Club was a case of opportunity knocking rather than a lifelong dream fulfilled. Although he was raised in the Garden State, the 62-year-old Garfield native has no halcyon memories of the Jersey coast from his childhood. "When I grew up, we never had the money to go down the Shore," said Barcellona, a former Brink's truck driver. "I knew very little about the Shore. I heard the club was for sale from a bartender. I came down, talked to Auggie and that was it." Barcellona's paradise has endured two floods, several hurricanes and the death of disco. They've hosted performances by everyone from veteran comic Pat Cooper to industrial metal act Meat Beat Manifesto. As pop culture evolves, so does the Surf Club. Where dance bands once performed the hottest hits of the Watergate era, DJs now spin 21st-century grooves. "I go with the times," said Barcellona. "Today, it's all DJs. Guys will come in, no shirt, and dance, dance, sweat, sweat. I don't listen to the kind of music young people like, but they're the ones who are paying the rent. All the (musicians) I like are dead, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr." The Surf Club does retain ties to the poodle skirt and leisure suit past. On Monday nights, they feature live doo-wop and disco with bands like Johnny Maestro & the Brooklyn Bridge, the Duprees and the Trammps. On Fridays for 10 years running, good ol' rock'n' roll reigns with Planet Surf, a concert series spotlighting original bands, reggae faves and cover acts. Tony Pallagrosi, whose Red Bank-based promotion company, Concerts East, presents the series, remembers when Barcellona invited him to launch a rock night. "I came down, looked at the place and it was a no-brainer," said Pallagrosi. "You've got the beach, the ocean, it's magnificent. It was like somebody had given me a bag of gold." Last Friday, the club hosted its annual Surfstock bash, a sandy music fest with live tunes from high noon till the witching hour. Performers included Matt Witte's New Blood Revival, 2 Skinny J's, Marah, Jimmie's Chicken Shack and headliner Jim Breuer, a former "Saturday Night Live" cast member (Goatboy anyone?) who fuses guitar riffs with comic riffs. In the club and on the beach were rock fans, bikini babes, sunning families and graying men in gold chains and floral shirts undone to the navel. Even during the bright afternoon hours, the stage area inside was dark as a cave, with a multi-hued swirl of disco lights and laser dots hitting random targets. "I'm not a beach person, but this is an exception," said Chris DeSarno, 22, of New Providence, wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with a headline from parody newspaper the Onion: "Drugs win war on drugs." DeSarno braved the Garden State Parkway to catch one of his favorite bands, 2 Skinny J's. "It's a great atmosphere. It's right on the beach, and I can just enjoy the show." The Surf Club, which starts pouring booze at 11 a.m. daily, is one of the few spots where you can sip spirits on the sand. There are washtubs stocked with bottled beer, a Jell-O shot stand, a thatched hut serving frozen drinks, and multiple indoor and open air bars. "I come here every week," said Fred Bott, 27, of Ortley Beach. "It's a nice, laid-back place that's off a little way from Seaside Heights. You don't get the wild Seaside crowd. Nobody bothers you. You can just go and drink a beer on the beach." With free-flowing alcohol and skimpy fashions, it's a hot spot for the unattached. Buff guys removed their shirts so the opposite sex could admire their ornate tattoos. Impossibly proportioned women were studied and contemplated like sculpture by male onlookers. This is too funny! "It's good food, a good setting, a lot of beautiful women," said Richard Zampito, 34, of Old Bridge. Zampito, owner of Jolly Rick's hot dog stand in Matawan, went Surfing for the first time three Fridays ago. He was so impressed with the club's many facets that a one-night jaunt turned into a weekend retreat. He returned both Saturday and Sunday at breakfast time and stayed till the wee hours, sleeping at the home of a new female acquaintance. "It's like you're at a resort," said Zampito. "Sunday afternoon here is great. You end the weekend on a good note and you look forward to it all week. It's something to live for." Contrary to recent rumors, Barcellona has no intention of selling the club. Although he's reached the age when many folks retire, he has no immediate plans to leave the Surf behind. He works seven-day weeks throughout summer and relaxes at his home in Florida during the snow months. "I like working and I love meeting different people," said Barcellona. "I see people retire, and they're bored to death. I go to Florida in the winter, and when summer rolls around again, my batteries are all charged." CLUB CRAWLING Joey Harrison's Surf Club Days: Beach open at 9 a.m. weekdays; 8 a.m. weekends, with breakfast available Afternoons: Happy hour Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on the patio with reggae, acoustic duos and DJs; Saturdays from 2 to 6 p.m., live pop hits and standards from the Swingin' Johnsons; Sunday from 2 to 6 p.m., DJ Mike Masters Nights: Fridays, Planet Surf concert series; Saturdays, dance party with DJ Kirk Lopez; Sundays, guest DJs spin club beats; Mondays, oldies concerts; Thursdays, teen dance party Live performances coming up: Friday, Third World; Monday, Johnny Maestro & the Brooklyn Bridge; July 19, Steamroller Picnic; July 22, the Trammps; July 26, Big Orange Cone, July 29, the Infernos Diamonds restaurant: Serves lunch and dinner daily. Where: 1900 Ocean Ave., Ortley Beach How much: Beach access is $4 weekdays; $5 weekends and holidays; night club admission ranges from $10-$15. Call (732) 830-8000 or visit www.joeyharrisonssurfclub.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LatinaZee Posted July 12 Report Share Posted July 12 NJDIONYSUS YOUR THE BEST!!!SURFS UP DUDE!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12inch Posted July 12 Author Report Share Posted July 12 some good pics too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endurance Posted July 12 Report Share Posted July 12 surfclubs the shit :party: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djprime Posted July 13 Report Share Posted July 13 Originally posted by njdionysus [With free-flowing alcohol and skimpy fashions, it's a hot spot for the unattached. Buff guys removed their shirts so the opposite sex could admire their ornate tattoos. Impossibly proportioned women were studied and contemplated like sculpture by male onlookers. This is too funny! If there was no sensoring in the news papers it would say:With Free Flowing Miami Vice Mix Drinks and Sluts in Fuk It shirts its a Hot place to Get Laid. Steroid infested Juice heads get to show off there investment so the Guidettes can Look at there incredible pecs..and unbalanced Women with 8 pounds of saleen in the breast area are studied and made fun of as the Juiceheads grab there asses....lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kostaP Posted July 13 Report Share Posted July 13 Originally posted by njdionysus All the (musicians) I like are dead, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr." Joey Sr. is tooo funny!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misk Posted July 13 Report Share Posted July 13 Originally posted by kostaP Joey Sr. is tooo funny!!! nothing wrong with a little sinatra!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kostaP Posted July 13 Report Share Posted July 13 Originally posted by misk nothing wrong with a little sinatra!!! youre telling me apparantly you havent heard my collection of dean martin frankie sammy. etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misk Posted July 13 Report Share Posted July 13 Originally posted by kostaP youre telling me apparantly you havent heard my collection of dean martin frankie sammy. etc. apparently i must have been wiping soco from my eyes while u were showing your collection! lol..........r u down the shore this weekend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kostaP Posted July 15 Report Share Posted July 15 Originally posted by misk apparently i must have been wiping soco from my eyes while u were showing your collection! lol..........r u down the shore this weekend? If you dont start showing your ass at merge pretty soon Im gonna get pissed. I swear danfury will not pour anymore soco/lime in your eyes. Its not as bad as Brian 1500 chucking limes in your eye though. Next saturday Richie's birthday???See ya there. With the --> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misk Posted July 15 Report Share Posted July 15 Originally posted by kostaP If you dont start showing your ass at merge pretty soon Im gonna get pissed. I swear danfury will not pour anymore soco/lime in your eyes. Its not as bad as Brian 1500 chucking limes in your eye though. Next saturday Richie's birthday???See ya there. With the --> next sat? ....it is a possibility.....pre-tempts i think......i have been TRYING to take it easy.....as in...being able to remember the night before......as u may have guessed....it isn't working!btw~i got a new hat...and i think i told one of the bartenders at merge 7/3 that he could have it......guess i won't be wearing that hat! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kostaP Posted July 15 Report Share Posted July 15 Originally posted by misk next sat? ....it is a possibility.....pre-tempts i think......i have been TRYING to take it easy.....as in...being able to remember the night before......as u may have guessed....it isn't working!btw~i got a new hat...and i think i told one of the bartenders at merge 7/3 that he could have it......guess i won't be wearing that hat! LOL are you friggin kidding me. Now Im pissed. As the hat fan over here you go and give it up to some one else. I was waiting the whole time... All right George were throwing down for the hat. If it wasnt you forget cause i aint going after schaffer or Mike:laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misk Posted July 15 Report Share Posted July 15 Originally posted by kostaP are you friggin kidding me. Now Im pissed. As the hat fan over here you go and give it up to some one else. I was waiting the whole time... All right George were throwing down for the hat. If it wasnt you forget cause i aint going after schaffer or Mike:laugh: LOL!! it wasn't george!! it was another guy....i think his name was pete??? i was soooooooooooo mangled! i could not even tell u how many shots we all did that night.......and he liked the hat....so my drunk ass was like...i'll give it to u!! LOL....that was just one of the many weird things happening that evening! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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