Excitement filled the air on Saturday morning for the day was bringing the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony for me later that night. But before then the Positively Cleveland crew still had much to show me in the lovely city of Cleveland.
Our first stop for the day was Big Fun. I have been to Big Fun many times over the years starting in their first and much smaller location. It has been a stop for me nearly every time I'm in Cleveland and this was to be no exception which I was extremely happy about. Being the founder of Rock and Rummage this store is paradise for me. Big Fun is packed wall to wall with the coolest pop culture items assembled in one place. You have complete sections in the store dedicated to collections of He-Man, Star Wars, and GI-Joe figures. You have Barbies, comic books, old school video game consoles, and a old school photo booth ready to pop out that strip of pics for you. And there's even a section dedicated to the great Pee Wee Herman. I could easily spend hours in this store just looking at the displays and artwork let alone the merchandise to purchase. You can't leave this store without smiling. Big Fun's owner Steve Presser opened the doors early for us and even hooked me up with a Vanilla Ice Bubble Gum cassette tape along with the box after I told him it was the item I first purchased from him at my first ever visit to Big Fun years prior. We left Big Fun way to early because of our schedule, but I'll be back and so should anyone reading this.
A couple doors down from Big Fun was the independent record store Record Revolution. I didn't have much time in here due to the tour being behind, but I was in there enough to check out some cool vinyl including a Blowfly and Dolemite album. The wall next to the register was signed by visiting celebrities including Hank Williams III and the late great Harvey Pekar of American Splendor fame.
Next on our agenda was lunch at Cleveland Heights Melt Bar & Grilled. Melt is famous for over 20 varieties of grilled cheese and over 100 varieties of beer. Melt is a rock restaurant at heart. The menus are printed on the back of record sleeves and the place is covered with kitsch items including the Christmas Story leg lamp, Halloween decorations, and Kiss figures. For lunch I had the Porky Cheese grilled cheese and my first ever fried Twinkie. Both were fantastic. Yummy. Melt's owner Matt Fish came out to talk to us. He use to be in several bands himself, but rock and roll wasn't paying to bills so he started Melt Bar And Grilled. He treats his place like a rock band in regards to promotion. Melt has a promotion that if you get one of three of the Melt Bar and Grilled logos tattooed anywhere on your body you get 25% off your bill for life. How many people would do something so crazy you ask? Over 300 and counting. See for yourself what the hype is all about when your in Cleveland.
Next stop was the Grog Shop which turns 20 years old this year. The Grog Shop is another staple of Cleveland I've been going to for years and was the destination on my first ever trip to Cleveland in 1994. This is another spot that has moved over the years to a bigger and better building, though I will always have a place in my heart for the Grog's oh so small room in it's original location. We were greeted by the Grog's owner Kathy Blackman who gave us a tour of the Grog Shop, which is another Cleveland venue that has two venues in one building. B-Side is downstairs. They can either have separate shows on any given night or open it up as one. Capacity is about 400 persons. Nice to see some of the original Grog was still around in this location including artwork, press photos, and the original marquee. If your in town and want to catch a good show the Grog may be your spot.
We followed up one venue with another. We made a return trip to The Beachland Ballroom where we caught a show the night before. This time we met with Beachland owner Cindy Barber. Cindy is a huge supporter of The Waterloo Arts District that she helped shape with The Beachland Ballroom. The Beachland is yet another great venue that I have discussed in my previous blog. This is the first venue The White Stripes played in Cleveland and they played on the floor since the Ballroom didn't have a stage yet. It's also the sight of the Black Key's first gig. Lot's of history at this venue and it's another one I've been supporting through the years. I've shot lot's of video here with my film company Ambervillain Films. And the Tavern has the best Chili Fries in the Midwest in my opinion.
Right down the street from the Beachland and in walking distance are two independent record stores- Music Saves and Blue Arrow Records. We made a brief stop in both. Blue Arrow was more superior and it's floor was covered in vinyl record sleeves. A amazing collection of music books, vinyl, and memorabilia. I scored a Dwarves Come Clean poster here which made my day.
A little downtime at the hotel and then it was off to dinner via a Limo. This marked my very first time riding in a limo.
Up until this moment we were traveling in the Rock and Roll Van which ended up being dubbed the "Dono VAN".
Dinner was at DANTE. We were seated at a table in the kitchen. We could see everyone preparing food all night long which was a very busy place, but everyone knew what they were doing and progress was being made. My progress this evening was eating some fantastic chicken and the best thing I put in my mouth this whole trip which was a Chocolate Peanut Parfait for dessert. DANTE is located inside an old bank and the vault and old bank fixtures are still intact. You can even eat in the vault.
The owner and chef Dante Bocuzzi came over and hung out to tell us his background which included being a musician. Cleveland sure loves it's music and the musicians sure love their food. You can't really lose.
So with a full stomach I entered the champagne stocked limo which was ready to take me to the 2012 Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony.
And that will be another blog entry all together my friends. Stay tuned !
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Please visit the websites of the stops mentioned above.
Big Fun
Record Revolution
Grog Shop
Beachland Ballroom
Music Saves
Blue Arrow Records
Dante
I plan on reporting daily on my Cleveland experience starting Thursday so stay tuned to MOTORCITYBLOG for updates.
You don't have to be a V.I.P. to take part in the numerous Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Week festivities. Come down to Cleveland this week and visit http://www.clevelandrockweek.com/ for details.
Follow my adventures in Cleveland...
MCB INVITED TO CLEVELAND FOR ROCK HALL INDUCTION
DAY ONE (THURSDAY) BLOG
DAY TWO (FRIDAY-Part 1) BLOG
DAY TWO (FRIDAY-Part 2) BLOG
DAY THREE (SATURDAY-Part 1) BLOG
DAY THREE (SATURDAY-Part 2 + Epilogue) BLOG