Another bar closes - Johnstown Brewing Company

[moxham123]

The Johnstown Brewing Company Restaurant, Bar, & Microbrewery closed Sunday. They discontinued having full bands there a couple years ago but they still had acoustic acts and comedy shows.

Click here for more information.

http://www.tribune-democrat.com/cnhi/tr ... cturestory

[Gallowglass]

That sucks, my daughter takes Irish step dancing classes in Johnstown and occasionally my wife and I would stop on the way home and grab a bite to eat and a growler of steelworker stout to bring home. I hope they get back on their feet soon.

[JayBird]

Johnstown is turning into a shithole...worse than it is. Bars/venues are closing left and right and the music scene (in my opinion) is really struggling there.

[bassist_25]

I just told Greg Hatch that it's a shame about the Johnstown scene, because it could have so much potential if the outside forces that be weren't always working.

[DirtySanchez]

Johnstown is turning into a shithole...worse than it is. Bars/venues are closing left and right and the music scene (in my opinion) is really struggling there.

Here's some positive stuff goin on in J-Town:
http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrob ... id%3A48107

[songsmith]

Bummer! Sidestep used to play there, and they had good beer! I always promised my wife I'd take her there... just goes to show ya... seize the moment, people.------>JMS

[JayBird]

Hmmm...based on that article in the link...Johnstown is the third most thriving scene in the Commonwealth. That's funny...I've done probably 30+ national act shows over the past year and...I made money or broke even on only 2 shows and lost as much as $625 in one night. I had everything from punk, hardcore, metal, rock, hard rock. I had platinum selling artists, OzzFest artists, and up and coming bands...trust me...Johnstown really doesn't care from what I can see. I wish 709 all the best, but whoever wrote that article...hmmm...they should attend a show in Johnstown and see for themselves...Johnstown has a struggling music scene. Johnstown isn't breaking any records for show attendance. Maybe the article is biased and only focusing on one genre of music. But as mentioned...no one seems to care about Johnstown. I've dumped thousands upon thousands trying to build a club scene in Johnstown...it's a tough market and no one seems to get how that end of the industry works.

[DirtySanchez]

Hmmm...based on that article in the link...Johnstown is the third most thriving scene in the Commonwealth. That's funny...I've done probably 30+ national act shows over the past year and...I made money or broke even on only 2 shows and lost as much as $625 in one night. I had everything from punk, hardcore, metal, rock, hard rock. I had platinum selling artists, OzzFest artists, and up and coming bands...trust me...Johnstown really doesn't care from what I can see. I wish 709 all the best, but whoever wrote that article...hmmm...they should attend a show in Johnstown and see for themselves...Johnstown has a struggling music scene. Johnstown isn't breaking any records for show attendance. Maybe the article is biased and only focusing on one genre of music. But as mentioned...no one seems to care about Johnstown. I've dumped thousands upon thousands trying to build a club scene in Johnstown...it's a tough market and no one seems to get how that end of the industry works.

I think that article was written in a very optimistic light to get people to check out the underground scene that exists there. As far as being genre specific, I don't think so, but they do support DIY bands/shows/venues over anything else.

I think the problem with the club scene is most people go to get loaded and entertainment is secondary. More girls will be at a no cover club with a DJ spinnin LIL wayne's new shit than Paing 10-20 bucks to check out Some Band that played Ozzfest.

[Killjingle]

I think that article was written in a very optimistic light to get people to check out the underground scene that exists there. As far as being genre specific, I don't think so, but they do support DIY bands/shows/venues over anything else

I couldnt disagree more. I think its genre and venue specific in this case. I think its written by someone who obviously has affection for the band which is very cool; but the underground music scene is not what they are claiming.

But as mentioned...no one seems to care about Johnstown. I've dumped thousands upon thousands trying to build a club scene in Johnstown

At the end of the day Jaybird I think u tried to the best of your ability. In retrospect the only place that ever made sense to get a lot of the artists u did would have prob been UPJ. The demographic in Johnstown is all wrong for a club scene to thrive. It that nice place to raise a family atmosphere then ship your kids off to college and then its time to move away if u want to make a decent income.

Local radio is the guage. There is no modern music gracing the airwaves. When there is a modern tune its Nickelbag or Butt Fairy.

Channel 6 is the good ole boy network. Nuff said there.

There is no Jim Price that wants the area to succeed.

Thinking about some of the shows I saw 16-20 yr olds and some 30-40 yr olds. WTF were the young dumb full of cum adults?

[jangel]

Hmmm I thought the underground scene was about coal mining

[KyleMayket]

Hmmm...based on that article in the link...Johnstown is the third most thriving scene in the Commonwealth. That's funny...I've done probably 30+ national act shows over the past year and...I made money or broke even on only 2 shows and lost as much as $625 in one night. I had everything from punk, hardcore, metal, rock, hard rock. I had platinum selling artists, OzzFest artists, and up and coming bands...trust me...Johnstown really doesn't care from what I can see. I wish 709 all the best, but whoever wrote that article...hmmm...they should attend a show in Johnstown and see for themselves...Johnstown has a struggling music scene. Johnstown isn't breaking any records for show attendance. Maybe the article is biased and only focusing on one genre of music. But as mentioned...no one seems to care about Johnstown. I've dumped thousands upon thousands trying to build a club scene in Johnstown...it's a tough market and no one seems to get how that end of the industry works.

I know these kids who run that 709, and they're the same stuck up kids who were in vocal youth and flood city fury, they're full of themselves, and if you're not a part of that "scene", then they couldn't care less about you, JDFS went several rounds with them, and they're a bunch of unappreciative kids who's parents buy them all their gear, and then brag about it and write bad songs about how bad they have it... "They"... (for the most part, Endless Mike and the Beagle Club are a true class act, and very good friends of mine)... are a joke and do nothing but bring down the music scene in the end, all they do is divide and destroy. These kids are the reason that all the firehall and local venues closed by fighting and drinking and doing general dumb shit... My advice to anyone who might want to check them out, is stay as far away as you can, for your own good.

[Killjingle]

all they do is divide and destroy

This was my understanding as well. A friend of mine tried to befriend many of these cats trying to tie the music scene together but got a huge F*CK YOU for his efforts. Its a shame cause JonBRagin is the most supportive guy I have ever met.

[bassist_25]

A lot of those cats just seem to take joy in disparaging successful bands for whatever reason. I've been to the site and have read slams on the Alumanti more than once, which is funny, because the Alumanti would have blown a lot of those ametuer garage bands right off the stage. We had a little board war with some of those cats about two years ago. There are some cool people tied into that scene, but from the outside, it looks like there are enough douches involved for me to say, "Thanks, but no thanks." I'm sure some people come to Rockpage and say the same thing, though.

[Killjingle]

Alumanti would have blown a lot of those ametuer garage bands right off the stage.

Perfect example.

[JayBird]

Yeah...every show I posted on there...well...they basically told me to leave the site. For a good time...search Lost Ledny, Subdue, The Alluminati...oh the list goes on. Just read what they wrote about some of those bands, then let me know how supportive that "group" of people really are. Hell, they even slammed me personally in some of posts on Vocal Youth.

Kyle from The Alluminati who now plays for SOLEGION actually works for me...that kid has no clue how much talent he has. Yes, he would destroy all those bitching scene kids.

[DirtySanchez]

OK! I get it. It's not good for the scene.

HAHA fuck you guys. Leave me alone. I'm from Altoona.
I saw that article about J-town and posted it. Didn't know it scarred so many of you emotionally. Get off my dick. I'm sorry. Fuck Johnstown, I hope it floods again.

[songsmith]

This all makes me kinda proud. As crappy as the Altoona scene can be at times, occasionally I'm reminded that, on the whole, Toonatown's still pretty good, relatively speaking. We were discussing the Jaggard St. underage scene, which from a distance seems pretty hopping (of course, I keep my distance...Megan's Law and such ). There aren't as many adult venues as there used to be, but I think that's brought the overall quality up, same for the PLCB fascists... fewer patrons means more competition for patrons, and you'd better bring your A-game. Altoids tend to do well outside of Altoona, as well. It's all about how tough Altoona audiences are... you get good, or get gone.
As for Richie Rich's mommy buying him all his top-end gear, that's okay with me. I'll buy it from him for pennies on the dollar when he needs coke. Plus when those guys hit my age, they'll brag about how cool their band was then. I brag about how cool my band STILL IS.
Celebrating 25 years on "the scene,"------->JMS

[DrumAndDestroy]

Johnstown is turning into a shithole...worse than it is. Bars/venues are closing left and right and the music scene (in my opinion) is really struggling there.

Here's some positive stuff goin on in J-Town:
http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrob ... id%3A48107

I am anxious to see how 709 Railroad Street is...the Scraps are playing there on July 11th. Seems like it could be fun.

[REDillon]

Just thought I'd put my 2 cents in. I live in the mecca that is Johnstown, and I can tell you first hand the music scene blows. It doesn't suck mind you, it blows. The only music that does well here is dance music or classic rock or dead head shit. Not that there is anything wrong with any one of these genres, but there is so much more music out there that it's a shame that people can't enjoy a wider variety of radio. Basically people only come out if they can DANCE to it or if they've heard it fifty billion times since they've chewed their way out of their mama's womb. I used to play in a dance band & we did fantastic. I've also done original music & music that's not mainstream and the crickets LOVED us. I do hate to be so friggin negative but unless you want to be a glorified jukebox and entice the crowd to do the Cambria County Two Step, Johnstown is not the place to play music that defies the masses. So with inflation and the price of gas, my 2 cents is now 50 cents. That will be cash please.

[KyleMayket]

OK! I get it. It's not good for the scene.

HAHA fuck you guys. Leave me alone. I'm from Altoona.
I saw that article about J-town and posted it. Didn't know it scarred so many of you emotionally. Get off my dick. I'm sorry. Fuck Johnstown, I hope it floods again.

No offense to you, you just read the article and posted it. the point of my post was to explain that that article was written in a VERY positive light. Also I was just explaining my past experiences with that group. If they changed, and want to support ALL music, then that's great, but how long do you have to wait for those spots to change on a leopard? None of what I said was to reflect negatively on you, and as for J-Town flooding again... I'm with you, we need a new start.

[Griff]

I hate to see any bar or club close, I played many shows there and had lots of fun at that place, most of it was back when it was Lino's I allways had a good time there.

[DrumAndDestroy]

we don't really know many bands from johnstown except for the static transistor, endless mike, and maybe 1 or 2 others...and they've always been really nice to us. so i'm not too sure what the 'scene politics' are like in that area.

but if it's like altoona...then yeah, there will be scene politics for bands in the punk, hxc, metal genre. it's just like that with poser bands.

[DirtySanchez]

OK! I get it. It's not good for the scene.

HAHA fuck you guys. Leave me alone. I'm from Altoona.
I saw that article about J-town and posted it. Didn't know it scarred so many of you emotionally. Get off my dick. I'm sorry. Fuck Johnstown, I hope it floods again.

No offense to you, you just read the article and posted it. the point of my post was to explain that that article was written in a VERY positive light. Also I was just explaining my past experiences with that group. If they changed, and want to support ALL music, then that's great, but how long do you have to wait for those spots to change on a leopard? None of what I said was to reflect negatively on you, and as for J-Town flooding again... I'm with you, we need a new start.

Kyle. My post above was all sarcasm. I like to think of You, Chad and Jaybird as friends. I really have nothing but good stuff to say about all of you, as you have given my band opportunities to play in places and to people we never would have without you guys giving us a shot and supporting us. So if you say these dudes are less than credible, I'll take your word over some biased newspaper article anyday. Hopefully they'll grow up. I can remember being a snotty elitist brat not so long ago, and it got old rather quickly. Since I've quit worrying so much about my scene cred and focused more on my music and supporting everybody no matter their musical taste/genre, I've made many more friends and been introduced to a much better scene. As well as some kickass local music.

[bassist_25]

For a good time...search Lost Ledny, Subdue, The Alluminati...oh the list goes on. Just read what they wrote about some of those bands, then let me know how supportive that "group" of people really are.

Yeah, I decided to do that, and it reminded me of why I never understood the whole "scene mentality" that surrounds metal, hardcore, punk, and to a certain extent, emo and indie music. It's a shame, because I like a lot of that music, but my God, if there isn't a lot of douchery prevalent in those scenes. I know that any scene, whether it's a club scene or a DIY scene, has its quirks and politics, but the scene of the VY people seems to be steeped more in following some predefined collective philosophy of what you should and shouldn't do as a musician; and if you break these rules, may there be mercy upon your soul as you'll be alienated from everyone else and blackballed from playing any shows with the hip scenester kids. I think that time is better well spent getting better at playing music and having my band succeed rather than worrying what band X does, because if they break the sacred code of "No corproate sponsors" or "liKe OmG, tHeY siGneD wiTH a BooKing AgEnt. THey"RE Big SEllOutS," I can't respect them. It seems like some people's priorities are seriously fucked up. I hope my friends have big crowds, make lots of cash, get their music out to as many people as possible, and have this crazy business treat them well. Anything less is just being petty and jealous, IHMO.

[RiffRandell]

I'm originally from Johnstown and I've been to 709. I can say that I do dig Endless Mike's music. If you get a chance you should check them out. That Mike dude seems like a really good guy. I think it's a great thing what the kids are trying to do with their venue. It's a really strange setup though. I just think they haven't figured it out yet.

I've been on their forum. Yes, it's a clique. It's not a scene. I don't want to get into it or talk shit because I don't know any of them personally.

I can say that there are 2 things that drive me fucking crazy though.
#1 they claim to have "started" the punk scene and punk shows in johnstown. what they don't know is back when they were still breastfeeding, this shit was already going on. And those shows weren't like a teen dance setting. And they didn't have people selling books & vegan cupcakes.
#2 they set up shows with like 7-10 fucking bands playing in one night. why why why do they do this?? it kills me! it takes them more time to set up than it takes to play their 5 song set.

well, that's all i have to say about that.

Oh...the music scene does SUCK in johnstown. it's NOT because there isn't anyone playing it. it's because bar owners and people in general are idiots.