Your Questions–Now With FREE Answers!

Did you make up all the cocktails on your list?
About half of them, with a couple contributed by current and former staff (Gia and Drew). The rest are old recipes from legendary bartenders born so long ago that they’re no longer not dead.

I was in the other night…
Excellent. That’s…you know, awesome.

Let me finish. I was in the other night and a creepy guy kept asking me questions about cheese. What can you do about it?
That was me. I was trying to figure out what you wanted on your burger. And while I may be creepy, my mom says I’m cool and those who don’t just don’t know me well enough. Not that I’m desperate for anyone to like me better. P.S. Please like me better.

You know that one bartender? What’s his deal?
We have one bartender that’s part Ork. I’m not telling you which one.

Your fries taste unhealthy and delicious. I should be concerned about the “unhealthy” part, but I don’t care.
That’s not a question.

Can I have a job?
I don’t know, CAN you? I always wanted to do that. In your face, mom!

I heard you and your wife recently had a baby. Can I hold her?
We did, and they both make me happy now, as opposed to just one of them making me happy previously. And no, you can’t. Hey, sorry, I had no say in it. My little girl’s only six weeks old, but she makes the decisions. She’s got an iron will, despite not being able to hold her own head up yet.

I’m bored with all my music. What should I do?
If you like the rock, go buy all the Black Keys albums, a bunch of Hellacopters, and Baby by the Detroit Cobras. If you need some whiskey-throat country rock, buy Rebels, Rogues, and Sworn Brothers by Lucero. If you like the growly metal, get The Way of All Flesh by Gojira. There are more, but that should keep you busy for a couple days.

I was the guy who tagged your bathroom a couple months back. Did you enjoy my “art”?
Yes. I enjoyed it so much I’d like to discuss it with you more. There’s a contract for providing us with much more art along with a hundred thousand dollar cash advance back in the liquor room. Yep, right over there – just past where I had to jackhammer the floor up and dig a large hole for, uh, plumbing problems. Shhhhhhhhhhh…it’ll all be okay soon.

Do you know how to make a Flaming Monkey Ass Juice shot? My friends and I made it up the other night. It was orange.
Nope. I wasn’t there when you made it, remember? Wait, was I there? Stop freaking me out.

You look like you need a haircut.
I do. I apologize for my ugliness. Please refer to the question about the newborn baby for an excuse. I’ll be using that for a LOT of things for a long time. Matter of fact, why don’t we all go ahead and just assume that whatever question you have with regard to my appearance, tardiness, eye-bags, weight-gain, foot pain, mental aptitude, change-making ineptitude, order-taking forgetfulness, or thousand-yard stare will be answered the same way. It won’t always be true, but we can still play our little game.

All these questions are obviously fake. Can we ask real ones?
By God, if you’ve read this far, I salute thee and invite you to ask whatever questions you want via the comments. I’ll answer them all. Really. Please notice that I didn’t promise a time frame. Also please notice when I DO get a haircut, cuz it’s not like it’s easy to take 10 minutes out of my way. Thank you, and please remember what I said about the ghost that lives in the mop closet. Uh, wait, I didn’t mention that. Forget I said anything.

Heart,
Matt J

South Park Bridge – We Hardly Knew Ye

Getting a lot of calls about our South Park Bridge Memorial Wake party on Wednesday, June 30, 6PM. We were interviewed on KOMO Talk Radio last week, and e-mails from our South Park neighbors thanking us for acknowledging their situation.

If you live under the Ballard Bridge and don’t know what’s going on, the heavily-depended upon South Park Bridge (aka, “14th/16th Avenue South Bridge”) is being permanently closed on June 30, with no plans to build a new one. (And yet the City of Seattle is coughing up $20 million to tear it down and restore the Duwamish River around it. That’s some smart thinkin’ goin’ on at the City Desk.)

The SP Bridge, opened in 1931 (it took two years to complete), has far outlived its safety parameters. Kinda like us. But after that earthquake, or “Texas Hiccup” we had in 2001, the bridge has been steadily compromised to the point it’s no longer safe to drive your 18-wheeler across it. That is not in dispute. What everyone is rightfully upset about is that the City of Seattle knew the bridge was headed for the junk heap years ago, and yet did nothing to prepare for it (i.e., give our neighbors alternate means of commuting.) If the bridge was a sports stadium, it would’ve been replaced years ago.

So there you are. South Park businesses will be severely impacted, as will the side streets as thousands of motorists try to get to and from work. And having our own West Seattle Bridge debacle back in the ’80s, we feel their pain. So we’re having a solidarity party and building our own symbolic bridge the city can’t tear down. The night will be augmented with a freakin’ hilarious South Park Bridge memorial T-shirt, a themed drink custom-designed by our own award-winning drink making guy, Matt Johnson, and a few other surprises. Free to get in (21 & older) and proceeds from the shirt sales goes directly to South Park’s Providence Regina House, a vital clothing and food bank.

Come support our South Park neighbors – because no one else will.

June Upcoming Events

Since it appears we’re not gonna get any consistent summer weather for a while, you might as well plan on staying indoors. Preferably ours. Here’s how we’re gonna take your mind off the never-ending winter…

VINYL COUNTDOWN II: A LIVE ROCK ‘N ROLL AUCTION
Sunday, June 27, 2PM – 5PM
The first Vinyl Countdown was a hoot, with people bidding in real-time on cool rock stuff, both new and vintage. All the proceeds benefit the Animals First Foundation, who are paying off the vet bills for our furry friends. (No, not Uriah Heep, doggies and kitties.) We’ve seen some of the stuff being donated and you’re gonna want to be here. And we’ll give you a groovy paddle with which to rock and roll.

SOUTH PARK BRIDGE MEMORIAL WAKE
Wednesday, June 30, 6PM
The City of Seattle has screwed our South Park neighbors by permanently closing the South Park Bridge. This effectively forces thousands of daily commuters to find their way through the maze of neighborhood side streets, just to get to work. Our gripe is not that the bridge is closing (it’s 80 years old and ready to fall down like its London counterpart), but that its deteriorating condition was known for years, and still the city did nothing. In support of our neighbors, we’re having a bridge memorial wake and building a symbolic bridge. We supply the materials, you help us construct. We’ll have drink specials, themed music and some other cool surprises.

U2 PRE-FUNC PARTY
Postponed
U2 frontman Bono (no last name given) had emergency surgery to fix his back. Thanks a lot, Bono – you totally wrecked our cool party. We’ll reschedule when he does.

IRON MAIDEN POST-FUNC PARTY
Tuesday, June 22, after the show
Nothing officially organized, just playing late night Iron Maiden for those coming back from the band’s concert at White River Amphitheater. A bunch of us are gathering here before the show to get some more iron in our diet. Heh.

Coming soon…

THE ULTIMATE GUITAR
Early-mid July
You have to see this thing to believe it: a fully functioning guitar unlike anything you’ve ever seen. We get it for one night only, and it’s free to look at. Or, if you’re so motivated, put a bid on it as the guitar goes up for national sale the next day. Bring your cameras – this thing loves attention. Specifics posting on our website shortly.

WITCHBURN CD RELEASE PARTY
Thursday, July 29, 9PM
We’re thrilled to be the first to premier the new album from Seattle’s Witchburn. These ladies (and two gents) rock like rock should be rocked. Come meet the band, get your picture taken with them, and hear their album before anyone else. The name of the album? Visit their MySpace page to find out.

SUNNDECK
Opening soon
We’re almost ready to open our 40-foot outdoor deck for your lounging pleasure. Still need to modify a few things and then wait impatiently for good weather. We’ll have a deck party to commemorate its debut. Keep your weather vanes crossed for some decent outdoor weather in order for us to make it all happen.

There’s LOTS more coming this summer, so don’t wander too far off.

The Art of ArtWalk

One of the questions that get hurled at us with surprising regularity is “Are you guys gonna do the ArtWalk this month?” We’re huge supporters of the local art scene and our endlessly talented artists, and while we came outta the gate strong with The Paint Ball and Smashing Pumpkins: A Punk Rock Pumpkin Carve-A-Thon, consistency has not been our strong suit. We have a good excuse: not enough man (or woman) power to devote to doing it right and doing it the Feedback Lounge way, which is to be different and more rock ’n roll.

It’s one thing to put art/photographs on display and stand around trying to figure out what the artist was trying to say, while sipping a dry martini with pinky extended. Art, to us anyway, has more meaning when you can see it being created right in front of you. Hence, the Paint Ball, where we had five artists starting with a blank canvas and gave them each two hours to paint something from scratch while our customers/art fans watched. You could even go up and talk to the artists while they were creating and ask stuff like, “So what are you trying to say with that Cobalt Blue Exterior Acrylic that you’re unable to express with Phthalo Green?” Each of the finished paintings were donated by the artists and auctioned off, with the proceeds benefiting the West Seattle Food Bank. Every piece was sold.

Point is, it takes a LOT of time to set up these kinds of events, time we have precious little of, thanks to that darn bar floor that needs to be mopped every single day. While we can do it every so often, participating regularly in the monthly West Seattle ArtWalk is tough, given how high we raised the bar (no pun intended) for ourselves. But by no means are we out of the picture (no pun intended). In the planning stages are several “art jams,” where we’re gonna push the envelope further by bringing in even more artists to “perform” live. We’d rather do it this way and be unique than just tape watercolor paintings to the wall and call it an ArtWalk.

If you’re an artist and think you might wanna get in on this action, shoot us an e-mail: feedbacklounge@gmail.com. Can’t say when we’ll be doing the next one (likely this summer), but we’ll participate in one form or another. And a special thanks goes out to the Hotwire Coffee’s exceedingly charming Lora Lewis, one of the ArtWalk’s organizers, for having patience with us. (She got us hooked on her highly-addictive hot chocolate mix.) Art is in our blood. And sometimes on the floor. Which needs to be mopped tomorrow. And the day after that. And the day after that. And…