Or at least farewell to this cool JC spot as we knew it
In an impossible to believe business decision, the owner of The Corkscrew (61 Congress St) in Jersey City fired the entire staff last week and canceled all upcoming bands and DJs. I found this out on Friday when I ran into my friend Bill who was slated to DJ that night. At first I thought he was telling me that the Corkscrew had closed, which would have been enough of a tragedy.
Instead, he told me that less than a week after this move to oust everyone, the owner re-opened the bar as a simple watering hole and lame sports bar. By the way, before my friend Joe Condiracci began booking bands and DJs here it was a complete failure of a bar. It was the music that turned it around and defied the odds to succeed. Now for some reason the owner wants to return to a shambled existence, attracting mean drunks, drug dealers and other assorted vermin.
In a funny but sad twist, Bill said that on the first night of the ‘new’ Corkscrew, the owner couldn’t even figure out how to turn the lights on. Now I never openly wished for a bar to fail, but this move is so fucking stupid that I cannot help myself. Already the word has spread thru the community to avoid this place and I urge the same. There are a number of really cool places in Jersey City perfectly willing to welcome us.
Rumor has it that Caruso’s (457 Baldwin Ave) will soon have bands. They’re in the process of making the place more presentable for such a crowd.
