Can you believe it? I know that I can’t because I didn’t expect to use this blog site as much as I ended up doing but that is okay because I love the freedom that it offers me as a provider of written and visual entertainment. When I launched PiercingKen.com, you might remember that it originally had a Blogger account for a few posts. If you don’t recall this, that is okay because every post was imported into the new WordPress medium we moved to only a few months after launching. Looking back on the creative year that it’s been I found a little surprise that I didn’t manage to start off the blog with an introductory post about its premise, but I guess I was just too eager to start delivering different content to a different audience from my PiercingMetal.com readership.
Since launching the site, its been fortunate enough to develop its own fan base and readership and I was happy to find this being the case. I’ve really strove to do a lot of postings that reflect my interests and passions and to do so in a manner that brings you readers into the mix and leaves you hopefully wanting more. I have no master plans for the second years posts but I can say expect a little bit of the same, a little silliness and perhaps even something to inspire. I don’t think too deeply on this and I suggest that you just sit back and enjoy the offerings. I’ve gotten our Facebook page up and running so please be sure to “Like” us over there or even Following us on Twitter. The links for these are below.
Closing up, thank you so very much for the time that you spend on this site. I truly appreciate it.
All posts by Piercing Ken
Wanting A White Mana Hamburger Right Now
I’m sorry, I just felt that you readers deserved to know that I was instantly made hungry by this single photo of the White Mana Diner in Jersey City this afternoon. It amused me that I found this image after having shot it about seven months ago while helping a friend move some of their things from an apartment to a storage unit, but here it was – just sitting in a folder of hundreds of shots that I had yet to determine a use for.
I took the photo while riding “shotgun” in my friends car, and I had the little Sony point and shoot camera with me, as I am often apt to have be the case these days and as we hit a red light, I drooled and said “Mmmm burgers”. Of course she was in a rush to finish moving her stuff so this was all I would see of the place and that bothered me after the fact when I learned it was in fact a historical landmark and is associated with the 1939 World’s Fair. I am not sure that my friend ever tried it but she did make mention that it was well-known and that made me look further into it. Too bad we didn’t have a few extra minutes because stuff like this just gets the curiosity going.
Read all about its interesting history via the Wikipedia entry HERE.
Now the only question I have left is who is up for an adventure out to Jersey City with one of the purposes being to visit and eat something from here? Summer is good exploring time.
Happy 10th Anniversary To Ragtag
Many years ago I pursued the challenging career of working musician and while I did achieve some local notoriety in bands from the region such as Eclipse and eventually Machine after them, I did not stick to the plan proper and remained more of an occasional jam here and there. Maybe a blog in the future will discuss that bit of adventuring. One of the dudes from my way back years is Rob Emery and reconnected a number of years ago and since that time I have been supporting his project that is entitled “Ragtag”. Sometimes the band sports an “NYC” after the name but I have not seen that lately so perhaps it has been omitted for good.
In any event, Ragtag is a three piece Rock/Funk outfit with Robbie singing and playing some serious axe while Alan Chan grooves on the bass and Sinehead Doug locks it down on the drums and 2011 finds the band celebrating being together for ten years. They play a mixture of originals and covers on any given night. I hit the recent gig at Sullivan Hall in NYC which is a venue I like even though they don’t really do much Metal over there. It’s a pleasant change of pace and even though I was not “working” my usual role as journalist and photographer, I did use my Panasonic Lumix to snare some video which I am sharing with you all. I figured this is a fun little side thing to offer readers of the PiercingKen blog, so let’s see how much more comes in the future. The video posted is a performance of their original number “Not Long Ago”.
Congratulations Ragtag on your ten years of making music together. I raise a glass to you my friends. Keep on rocking.
PiercingMetal.com Reaches Its Sixth Year Online :)
Hello there my readers and welcome to another posting on the PiercingKen.com blogsite. From time to time I’m going to be using this site to direct your attention over to something that is brewing with PiercingMetal.com and today that website of mine has reached its sixth year online. My thoughts on reaching this media milestone can be viewed by clicking that number six right below. Doing so will transport you over to the PiercingMetal site and that narrative. See you back here sometime soon with more interesting stories and visuals.
I’ve disabled the comments in this posting since its mostly a traffic sign but you can leave them on the post over there. I’ve also added some of our Social Networking links for you to examine if you’d like. We welcome all participants.
PiercingMetal on Facebook
PiercingMetal on Twitter
PiercingMetal on Tumblr
And So…….Acme Bar & Grill Has Closed :(
ARE YOU FRIGGING KIDDING ME?????
“You have to be joking!!!” is what I said to my friend when he said that he had learned that the popular Acme Bar and Grill over at 9 Great Jones Street had closed it’s doors after twenty five years in the location. I cannot tell you how upset that this news makes me. Oh wait, yes I can and I will as that is what the blog is for. With that being the case, the closure of Acme Bar & Grill really bummed me out because it was a place that I had been enjoying for about six years.
I realize that I had not been coming here as long as some other folks but I sure made good for it over those number of years that I had. I first ventured into its doors when the band Blackfield was playing at the Bowery Ballroom. I was hitting that show with Skeleton Pete and he suggested it as a dining choice. Having enjoyed the Cajun style of food I was totally down for this. I actually remember what I ordered that day for some odd reason and it was a chicken fried steak, with their mashed potatoes and some black eyed peas. This would become one of my favorite dishes at the establishment and a fail safe order for me in the event of indecision.
There was so much good about this place and after that night it became one of my continual picks as a spot to hold media discussions with press friends, enjoy the company of lovely dining companions or just chill out with buddies who were just wanting a good dinner and drink night out. The food never disappointed us nor did their wall of hot sauce. I wish I had photos of that in my archives but I never shot images of them because quite honestly I never thought I would be lamenting the restaurant’s having gone away. The place would start its diners off with an order of freshly made corn bread and while that is not the most calorie conscious kind of thing, it tasted so good that few would argue.
I also enjoyed their house brew which was a red ale of some kind. It was not too heavy and had a nice bite to it. Sometimes they would do $2 pints of the beers and that always managed to make for a fun night. I found the waitstaff for the most part to be friendly and on a number of occasions I met some interesting people in entertainment. Some were dancers while others musicians or actors and actresses. A typical New York situation. The other aspect of the restaurant was that it was also the home to the once called Under Acme Rock club which eventually became Ace Of Clubs. In my adventures as a music journalist I had covered a few shows at the space and also just went to rock out when the time was open for me to do so.
There was a rumor that Acme was going to reopen after being worked on but that doesn’t seem very likely since I read postings on popular regional blogs that said the whole staff had been terminated and that what all knew and loved as Acme was gone for the foreseeable good. I will miss the place for sure since it was such a good memory for me and those who enjoyed being here with me. The upside of being in NYC is that you can always find a new place and they can eventually become a favorite. That sure doesn’t take away the sadness at this restaurants closure. Thanks Acme, I will miss you very much.