The Bodega
via ChiefBodega.com
In the last 3 months New York City has felt a quiet roar coming from across the Brooklyn Bridge. Off the JMZ to Myrtle Avenue, deep in the heart of Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood, is a bodega. But this bodega doesn’t sell $1 40’s, $0.50 Twinkies, or cheap cigarettes, but it does sell an affordable time of your life. The Bodega is an up and coming project from the Chief Magazine boys Andy Smith and Ed Zipco, and it’s working. A cheap, out-of-the-way venue, in which lots of people somehow find there way to and go bat-shit crazy.
Arriving at The Bodega was for me as much of a whim as any other music-related gem I discover via the internet or word-of-mouth. Luckily the night I decided to attend, it was one something of a treat for The Bodega. Playing out that night was Morsy of Nanachill.com and a bright young B-More/Bootybass talent, as well as Famous Friends (Finger on the Pulse), and Mr. Andersonic with a live MPC-set. From the moment I arrived and felt the first trickle of sweat along my forehead, there was no doubt that this was the best party I’ve been to so far (exception goes to Diplo @ T&B for obvious reasons). More than even the urgent sounds of throbbing Booty Bass, it was the crowd that was staggering.
Certainly Daft Punk at Coachella 2006 was enough to make people lose their shit, not to mention the occasional Studio B performance by M.I.A., or most often at Death By Audio. But that Thursday night (yes, Thurs.) brought one of the more diverse (skull caps and dolphin floatees) and apeshit crowds I’ve ever witnessed. At even the slightest sound of the Baltimore Club clap and shake, kids were applauding and jumping with praise. At one point in the evening, the invisible and visceral ooze of crowd pleasure has reached a peak and out came a large stuffed horse, probably won by a lucky girl at one of the many Coney Island water-gun games. The horse, in a flurry of passion and impulse was thoroughly molested by a twosome of B-Boys in the middle of the dance floor. Between furious humpings and the occasional launch into the air, there was little if anything anybody could do to justify what was going on.
Arriving at Bodega at 1AM and leaving at 4AM felt short-lived. But walking out the door I made sure to ask a Bodega faithful what the deal was. I was then introduced to the General Manager Steve, who being extremely accommodating agreed to meet with me in the coming week. After a casual walk around Union Square and a few riffs on the current musical scene, Steve put me in touch with the founders/owner Andy Smith and Ed Zipco. And after a few $1 PBR’s at Soundfix, I came to understand the stoppage in time that was my Thursday night.
Much like any young party-throwers, Ed and Andy liked to throw big ones. At their old loft space in Bushwick they threw dozens of police-happy ragers. These weren’t just ragers though, they were concerts. With friends in bands and as DJ’s, they became notorious for their themed parties for events like the Super Bowl and Halloween. Unfortunately some of these ended with blacked out girls peeing on neighbor’s A/C machines and providing a golden rain to those unlucky enough to be nearby. As the ease of party throwing quickly gave way to the forces in blue, they took them to bars and music venues.
But like any established venue here in New York, these events came with large cover fees and $12 drinks. Dissatisfied with the traditional annals of party throwing, it was time for a creation of their own. With Chief Magazine as their original baby, Ed and Andy had already built a DIY space. And when they caught wind of a crooked bodega space going up for lease last April, they went for broke.
Rotted, dying and possibly full of dead, the space they decided would be their new project was more of an adventure than a project. Filled to the brim with junk, rotting walls, and surgical equipment(they don’t hypothesis on this one), they invited their friends and family to camp out inside and begin renovation.
Andy On His Lunch Break
Over a month later and 12-hr days every day, they rebuilt walls, hauled innumerable amounts of trash and filth from the belly of the bodega, and stacked more debt than all of it combined. By the first week of June they had their first party, and people showed up. Despite a broken stage their first night and a few construction errors, they had, for all they knew, the biggest financial mistake of their lives sitting on 1089 Broadway in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
Looking at the Myspace page for The Bodega, you’ll notice a series of dates for the month of August. Particularly though, you’ll notice that this week is booked in its entirety. Ed and Andy when I talked to them said they were willing to try anything at this point. That they haven’t had a “bad night.” (Save for a punk set ending in shattered glass and a bloody lead singer). At Santo’s Party House, Andrew WK’s mixed blessing, they require $8000 at the bar in order for outside booking to come play. Ed and Andy offered me a chance to play out before I left, ya know, just for fun. To the Chief boys, The Bodega is our space, and if you or I think we can throw a great party, they think so too.
Ed and Andy told me they didn’t have a grand vision necessarily, but just wanted to continue the success of their projects (Chief Mag, The Bodega, Chief Records) and see their musician friends garner the success they deserve. But if everything truly works out, the Chief boys have something unprecedented on their hands. With the excpetion of Fader’s rising FADERlabel, there is no other triad of business force like what they have begun.
With plans to have arts installations, a liquor license, and a fully operational basement space, The Bodega is most certainly here to stay. Perhaps next in line should be the Chief Rail, transporting the young and the restless from the Island and to the BK. But no matter, The Bodega location is almost like a filter, as only the dedicated and truly restless (passionate) come to witness what they’ve been itching for here in New York for a long time.
Friday night will mark the 2nd “Night of the Jams” since I’ve been here. DJ Tameil of the infamous Unruly Records. Unruly Records, for those who don’t know or are too lazy to click the aforementioned link, is the very first Baltimore Club label, started by Scottie B and Shawn Caesar. Other notable Bodega artists include, Chief Record’s family Ninjasonik, Japanther, Juiceboxxx, The Death Set, Danger, Spitzer, and The So So Glos.
On Friday night, the evening of Night of the Jams, take a moment in your “face-down-ass-up,” to look around the Bodega walls and around the room at those in attendance. Most likely you’ll see Ed and Andy, beers in fist, smiling and laughing at what they created, still in disbelief, but having the time of their lives for the 4th time that week.
From Right to Left: Ed Zipco, Andy Laumann, Dude
Lil Wayne - A Milli (DJ Tameil Remix)
