Ex-firefighter Joseph Hunt is a tough-to-miss dude. His 6’9” stature, long curly hair and general swagger make him stand out all the more as a regular at Mister Sunday. Asking him for a quick chat, Joe dropped some knowledge, in a style that was truly his own. We were pretty tempted to post some the audio from our interview, so you could get a taste of his perfect Brooklyn accent, but it’d be better if you just greeted Joe at the next party you see him at. He’s a good guy to talk to. Joe currently manages and tends bar at a pub in Brooklyn called Shenanigans. Here’s a short excerpt from our chat with him.
MSN: What’s your background, Joe? Joe: Hey – I manage Shenanigans and let me tell you something – as a bartender I watch the crowd. Love and sex are the weird things, because people always do it differently. MSN: And you said you used to promote parties and stuff like that? Joe: I’ve been in the scene a long time. This is one of the best parties of all time. Since I was 23 years old, I was managing the floor of the Hall, the Roxy, Envy – you name the nightclub – The J.H., the Fifth Profession – especially in the mid-90’s. I’ve been waitin’ for some good scenes to come to Brooklyn, and this is the best. I make it a point to be here as much as I can. Sometime life intrudes, but if I’m gonna have a good time – on Sunday? – I’m comin’ to Mister Sunday. MSN: And you’re originally from Brooklyn? Continue reading “Mr. Mister Sunday: October 14th”
Peter Correa has been a regular attendee for quite some time now, so it was only fitting that he and his lovely daughter Michaela share a few minutes in the spotlight. Peter has been witness to – and an incredible part of – New York dance music history. Read on!
MSN: When did you first start coming on Sundays? Peter: I first came here probably about four years ago, when it used to be called The Yard. Omar S was playing. But I saw Justin Carter for the first time at that party, and he was playing some of the old stuff from the Paradise Garage days. MSN: Did you go to the Garage? Peter. Yes. MSN: You were a card-carrying member? Continue reading “Mr. & Ms. Mister Sunday: September 15th”
It’s nice to be able to finally meet people that you’ve seen time and time again, whether at a party or elsewhere. If you get anything from these little “interviews” that we conduct, it should be that approaching people like Stefany and Cesar is a good idea, because cool people are abound in life and at Mister Sunday – especially when the weather is as amazing as it was this past weekend.
MSN: Stefany, we’ve seen you at these parties a bunch of times. How did you start going to Mister Saturday or Mister Sunday? Stefany: I believe Cesar was the one who brought me here for the first time, maybe about a year and a half ago? It was an evening, a Saturday Night party. Quick after that I came to a Sunday party and I realized that I really like day drinking better than night drinking, and it’s much easier to get home at 9pm as opposed to 4am. So I started going regularly ever since. Also, I feel like the crowd is always really relaxed and mature. A lot of parties can get very young and silly, and I’m kinda over that. That’s in the past for me. MSN: What about you, Cesar? Cesar: My sister was the one who told me about Mister Sunday. She was dating a DJ at the time – Drew Lustman, aka Falty DL – who I guess tipped her off to these parties. So about a year and a half ago, as soon as I found out about the idea of the party being outside, and at a place where the emphasis is on the music rather than anything else, I decided to come. That’s what brought me here and that’s why I’ve stuck with it. MSN: Cool. Where are you guys from originally? Stefany: I’m from Great Neck, Long Island. Now I live in Astoria, right by the beer garden. Cesar: I grew up in Miami. I guess also for you guys growing up in New York, House music on the radio in the 90s was a big thing for me. Stefany: Yeah, let’s talk about the music Justin and Eamon play! MSN: Well, the guy we have on the first release, Anthony Naples, is also from Florida… Cesar: Yeah, he’s from Broward! MSN: OK, so you know. He mentioned at least one station that was big for dance music in Florida. Cesar: Power 96. Stefany: Hey, do you remember WKTU? MSN: Oh yeah! [sings] One-oh three-five…K-T-U! Cesar: Yeah, that was Power 96 for us. And they had a new mix, and it was all house and freestyle – T.K.A., and The KLF. Crazy shit. Stefany: Hilarious. Remember 92.7? WLIR – Long Island Radio? Back in the mid-90s, that was really hot. Cesar: It’s all music and stuff you can hold on to. I feel like with a lot of the DJ culture that is developing right now, there is a lot of ego in it, and that’s what I like about these guys. And you see it in the emails – they’re like, “Guys, there’s not much here to see. You’re here to dance, right?” and I appreciate that. Stefany: Yeah, there’s no pretense at all. I think it’s the honesty and sincerity that keep people coming back. MSN: And so what are you guys into other than music? Careers, hobbies? Stefany: I’m a textile designer and a fashionista. I have a few hobbies – I take photographs, I paint – I like to play with different mediums. And I love vintage, and I go thrifting all the time. [Check out Stefany’s awesome website/blog Pretty In Thrift] MSN: Since you’re in Astoria, do you ever go to the Salvation Army on 34th Avenue and Steinway Street? Stefany: Yeah, I was just there yesterday, and not to brag, but I found a Valentino dress for $15 dollars. MSN: And it should have been… Stefany: Oh, I don’t know – 600, 800 dollars. MSN: Wow! And Caesar, what about you? You live in the area? Cesar: Yeah, I live down 3rd Street. I work for the city – I’m an attorney with a deep interest in the local arts, music and fiction writing scene. I’m reading this novel right now called The Sugar Frosted Nutsack by Mark Weiner. It’s outstanding. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to have a good laugh. You can get through it in three days, its pretty bananas. I generally like humor writing, and non-fiction humor, like David Sedaris. And who knows, maybe I’ll stick my hand into music contracts or artist contracts someday, to respond to the need that a lot of Brooklyn artists have right now. MSN: Very cool, artists are definitely in need of proper representation. [As we are conducting this interview next to the merchandise table, a bird suddenly poops on one of our display t-shirts. Hard to follow that one up.] So, any parting words for the reading audience? Stefany: Eamon and Justin rule! Cesar: Yo, go get a sangria and dance!
Maggie Rempe is one of the sweetest girls you’ll ever meet. As the cocktail waitress at Mister Sunday she appears small, but her hustle is big. Please order a drink from her this Sunday, and give her a generous tip.
MSN: Where are you from, Maggie? Maggie: Indianola, Iowa. MSN: How long have you lived here? Maggie: I’ve been here about five years this summer. MSN: What brought you to New York? Maggie: I had this really great, terrible boyfriend that brought me to New York, and then I wanted to stay. Kicked his ass to the curb! MSN: OK! And how did you start working with Eamon and Justin? Maggie:I met them through Mark who owns Botanica [he also runs the bar at Mister Sunday]. Mark and I are friends, and I used to work for him at a coffee shop. He offered me a summer gig to make a little extra cash, and it’s been magic ever since. MSN: You started working last summer, or the summer before? Maggie: Last summer. MSN: So other than this, what else are you up to? Maggie: I work in a specialty coffee shop in Manhattan. I read a lot of fiction, and I write some. MSN: What are you reading right now? Maggie: I’m reading “Self Help” by Laurie Moore. It’s a collection of short stories. MSN: What kind of writing do you like to do? Maggie: Uh, short stories. MSN: Can you give us a brief synopsis of a story that you might be working on? Maggie: Um…one that I’m working on now is about a pair of teenagers from the Midwest whose car breaks down on the side of the road. They get into an argument, and the car belongs to one of the teenager’s parents. It’s about their argument. MSN: Cool, excellent. What got you into writing? Reading? Maggie: Yeah. I’ve always been bookish. And now that I’m 21, I’ve been drinkish! MSN: Ah, sweet! You’re 21? Maggie: Well, I’m 24, but after you turn 21 – MSN: – You can really flesh out the whole writer-drinker thing! Maggie: Yeah, booze and books really go together. You know, like Hemingway. MSN: How was growing up in the Midwest? Maggie: It’s really boring. There’s not a lot to do. So you end up watching a lot of television, listening to a lot of music, watching a lot of movies, reading a lot of books…’cause there really isn’t a lot of happening. It’s very vast. Lots of country. MSN: So these parties were your first introduction to dance music and stuff like that? Maggie: Yeah, well I guess when I first moved here, I would go out with my girlfriends to all the parties that I read about. Like those Ruff Club parties at The Annex. My friend Tracy worked at Webster Hall for a long time, and she was like the Queen Of Nightlife. She works at Happy Ending now. MSN: Cool. Any parting words? Maggie: Stay hydrated. It’s very hot out.
A couple of Sundays ago we celebrated the (temporary) farewell of a great friend and great guy, Gareth Solan, who was set to leave the following day back to his native city of Dublin. Gareth shot us an email about three months ago, and in it he introduced himself (studying in Boston, working in NYC for the summer, loves dance music) and asked if he could get involved in the production of the parties. Judging from the tone and honesty of his message, we thought he’d be a swell guy to work with.
Gareth proved to be a massive contribution to the team. Amongst many other things, Gareth has helped us stamp and pack records, sell merchandise, and load up the U-Haul truck with our sound system. But more importantly, there’s a certain special level of people that one can meet and work with within this world of parties and music, and Gareth is one of them. To be acquainted with Gareth is to be treated like an equal and a friend.
Early in the afternoon before things got busy, we sat down at a picnic table to try and conduct a serious interview.
MSN: You’re from Dublin, right? Gareth: Yeah. [laughs] How’d you know that? Someone tell you? You heard? MSN: Oh well, through the grapevine…yeah, I know how Eamon sneaks you guys in. The Underground Irish Railroad. Gareth: Yep, there’s a whole band of us! Comes in straight from the city. MSN: Ah, that’s great. So what brought you to the States, Gareth? Gareth: Well, I’m studying Marketing at Northeastern University in Boston. I was lucky enough to get an internship here for six months. The internship is actually totally unrelated to my major. More like technology. So, I’m in NYC, and I came to these parties because I heard it was a good party, and I wasn’t wrong! It’s been a new experience for me in every aspect, really – new field, new city, new people. MSN: First time here? Gareth: Well, no, I’ve been here a few times before, but living here, yes. MSN: How old are you? Gareth: 22. MSN: What other parties have you been to over here that you really like? Gareth: I went to some of the parties that Verboten ran. BLKMarket was also good for techno. House music parties, I don’t think anything can hold a candle to what these Justin and Eamon do. MSN: How’s the scene different here than in Dublin? Gareth: Here’s there’s way more house. A lot more house. Also more outdoor parties, because of the weather here and all. MSN: Less house, more…? Gareth: Techno’s probably bigger, and there’s an extension of the UK scene that is kinda big too. The parties tend to be not that dissimilar in size, but there are less of them. There are a couple of spots – the Twisted Pepper and The Bernard Shaw – where the scene kind of revolves around. They’ve done so much work for the scene there at home. They’ve really brought it on and are doing it right, and they’ve inspired a lot of people to do that as well. It’s good. MSN: What are the names of some of these parties? Gareth: Well, one of them is called Pogo, every Saturday night at the Twisted Pepper. Another is Mud, which is like a UK dubstep party – originally started as a dubstep/jungle night. They have a huge following and book some great acts. There’s also Twelve, which happens at the Bernard Shaw, and it’s an all day party. It’s kind of similar to here, but we don’t have the weather to do it outdoors, so they just do it inside, but sometimes it goes outdoors too. There’s a lot of other promoters doing other things, but not as well as those guys. They definitely fuel the fire at home. MSN: What was one of your best experiences here in NY? Gareth: Man, too many. Too many to remember, too many to even do that question justice. You know dude, I can’t even put it down to one thing, but every day when I go to the grocery store, I have to walk up two blocks from my house, but the block in between, Clinton Avenue, there’s a view from the city. And it’s the most beautiful view of the city. As they say the best thing about Manhattan is the view from Brooklyn. The exact address is Park and Clinton. You gotta make the trip down, it’s spectacular. The city’s in the background, and in the foreground it’s all the cranes from the Navy Yard. Any time of day is amazing, but particularly at nighttime, right around midnight. So seeing that is kinda like a special moment each time. I don’t think I could get sick of that view. It’s pretty special.
Well, Gareth, a view of Manhattan is pretty nice, but what about a collective bear-hug from 50+ partygoers? At the end of the night, Justin got on the mic, pointed out Mister Solan on the dancefloor, announced that it was his final night in NYC and instructed everyone to gather around and embrace him farewell. And everyone happily obliged. Now THAT was something special – a instantaneous dancefloor scrum of love.
