that story just made this long ass week of work a tad more bearable.

When Tapia went over to Dada, Florence tested out the waters too. For a while, he even considered investing.

"It wasn't going well over there, from what [Baker] told us," Florence says. "We did our due diligence. We looked at the numbers. It just didn't seem like a smart move for us to get involved with. Ben jumped in head first with his heart fully in it. He wanted to go be the savior of Dada. And you can't blame him for that. But, from a business perspective, I didn't think it was a smart move."

And though he'd hoped Florence would join him at Club Dada, bringing with him his experience in the day-to-day managerial duties of running a venue, Tapia says he understood Florence's reasoning.

"He either didn't have the time, money or patience," Tapia says. "But he didn't want to invest in Club Dada. What was on the table wasn't enough to sell him on it. Obviously, he made the right choice."

Among Florence's causes for concern was this doozy: Dada hadn't paid rent on its space in more than a year and a half, leaving $30,000 to $40,000 in back rent for the new ownership to deal with.

does it take a lot of due diligence to see that and say "no fucking thanks"

I remember when those chicks were getting involved, and thinking (Tit and I talked about it ) WTF are they doing? They're pissing good money away.

And don't give me shit about how they were following dreams or wtf ever. When you get to our age (later 30's, early 40's) it's time to put things in their place.
Some things are hobbies.
Other things make you fucking money and let you live.

"It's not an everyday thing. When you're working the days and hours that I have, if I decide to do them, I'll do them. Everybody and anybody, if you're in this business, unless you're in a Christian band or Barry fucking Manilow, you do drugs. It's part of the game. And if you don't do drugs, hopefully you can play guitar like Angus Young and you don't need them. I drink two to four nights a week. But I'm a binger. If I'm gonna drink, I'm gonna drink to get drunk. If I'm gonna do a line of coke, I'm gonna do it until I don't have anymore. If I smoke a joint, I'm gonna smoke until I can't get any higher. But it's not a problem."

Yeh, color me shocked somehow this genius didn't save Club Dada.

He had to be doing drugs when you are 40k in the hole for back rent and you decide to send 20k on an renovation.

This is the dude that sits on a couch, smokes out, and decides yes, he CAN run for President. Then is shocked when he's nto elected.

a comment there that sums it up:

That's why I'm calling "bullshit" on this article. Why were the only three people quoted at length in the "story" the very folks who ran the place into the ground because they were too consumed with their own personal interests (ego, validation, getting high, etc.) rather than the interests of Club Dada itself or the Deep Ellum scene as a whole?

"Is there a Dada curse?" Amanda Warr asks. "I've been asked. I don't know if there's a Dada curse as much as there's a city of Dallas curse."

yeah because if you had run the same club in Houston or Austin the results would have been different???

I don't have any club management experience but I know if you don't pay your liquor tax they will shut your ass down.


So what is the removerowdy.com connection to this story?

Wait wait wait... Hugo invested in Verizon?

the chick Amanda, thru a variety of reasons, came unhinged and verbally attacked me.
I'd met her thru Jeffy. From what I'd heard, she'd always been mentally imbalanced. (Look, when you're in your mid to late 30's, it's probably time to start ratcheting down the partying.)

When I'd heard that she became a part owner of that place, I snickered. It sooo seemed like an ego move on her part. (Amanda used to work with Jeff and that chick Valerie at Verizon)

In real life, I don't wish failure on people, honestly, but this story caused me some serious smile mouf.

is one of the reason because you are a total dick hole? Did you bang her? Did you do the old "on your back or in your crack" bit?

Amanda Warr, then Amanda Newman, was struggling to keep the doors of the Deep Ellum club open. All the while, she was trying to keep her own life in order.



that's putting it mildly.

This deserves a repost.

Not that *I* know.

Like you said, she's batshit insane.

That Valerie chick isn't much better. Had a comfy life but then the midlife crisis hit. She leaves her husband--who didn't know what the fuck just happened--and she piggybacks on her friend's nightclub connection and eventually drives the shit and all her savings into the ground. Real bright. Plus, she thinks she's hot but she's a fug.

at least in Amanda's case, you can blame it on her being crazy as shit. (I think she remarried to a 24 year old dude. )
But that other chick? Um. Damn. Just become a fag hag to get your validation. Mix in a few lines of cok..oh, nevermind. That would result in shitting your money away too. Nevermind.

Is all this about the badass Dallas music scene and bands that everyone in the metroplex knows the names of except me?

I beginning to think coke is a good way to blow through a ton of cash. I may need further examples, however, if only for entertainment's sake.

This really did cause me to have smile mouf. Good fucking link.

If by badass you mean a couple of guys can play some jangly guitar chords and mope effectively, then yeah the Dallas music scene is pretty badass.

I enjoyed it too, but then I like seeing people fall on their asses.

there's a reason why bands play on Tuesdays here and on Thursdays and Fridays in Austin.

Because all the coke's gone by Wednesday?

that, and when they leave town after playing Dada, the bands liked saying "See you next Tuesday!"
The former female owners never quite got it.

That's too bad, cuz that's the one thing that could've made their venture work.

You think their sacks of Arby's woulda helped?

This comment on PegasusNews.com in an article about the Green Room sums up Deep Ellum perfectly:

Guess what? Nobody cares about how great a time you had in the nineties. It's over. Deep Ellum is a cool lookin' neighborhood with some interesting buildings and people. Those 42 year olds who were getting wasted and eating and business ABC123 in 1991 aren't driving back from Frisco to do a repeat. Those of us who weren't here then, well, sorry but one Nirvana show does not a city history make. Get over it. You can enjoy a meal once, but puking it up on the plate and attempting to reproduce the experience by eating it a second time is guaranteed failure.

So true. I spent plenty of time down there in meh early 20's. I have no desire now to go have a drink at the neighborhood Chili's, much less a shithole homeless magnet like Deep Ellum.

Have you been down there at night lately? It ain't safe.

^skeered of darkies^

Only the ones that hunt crackers for sport.

one more comment someone posted on that Observer story:

Ok, Pete, this is complete bullshit. Everyone knew that the real story was the thousands in cola that went up the owner's noses ... by the height of the 'rock star' period, Val was so fucking coke-addled I couldn't stand to be around her. And Ben... christ could that man drink! Coked-out AND liquored up. Every single friggen nite, after a (short) while. He was looking defeated, just disembodied. And THAT's the simple story of the Death of Dada.

I'm not gonna slam you for this Pete. I know you were there too, and you and Frank and Val's old friends all wanted to see everything succeed. You did great things in this very rag to help promote what was happening, above and beyond, etc. Lots of ppl offered to help and chipped in and what not. But as far as I know, I was the among the very few that actually ever said "Val, you've got a cocaine problem." Not that it made any difference. I blame Helen as much as any single person, and I'm sure the locals know what I mean.

But Pete, it was always obvious you had a half-pound hard-on for Val... and ok, so did I. But do you think you should consider whether you let your personal feelings affect your journalism here? (And what kind of bs is that, "Beard didn't have anything to add"!! I roflmao at the very idea.)

Someone who was there.

When I grow up, I wanna be a coke dealer. Seems there's no limit to idiots who blow their life savings on the shit.

it's the gift that keeps on giving. Another delicious comment:

I just wanted to clarify something: when Val first got involved w/ Dada, cocaine was not any kind of an issue. It wasn't until Tapia get his hooks into her that she hit the slopes so hard. She buys him a car, a guitar, a bar, and roof over his head, and he rewards her by seducing her with piles of cocaine. And if I told you the ways he very deliberately fucked Val over it would not only make you hate him, it would make her hate me. But GOD I wish I could tell the REAL reason he blew all that cash redoing the other room -- just to get rid of the fucken couch... yuck. Anyways.

Don't blame Val, except for being human. Ben, on the other hand, is just flat-out evil. Imho.

Val was (and is) a thoroughly wonderful sweet gal who got fucked in every way by big-city Ben... and it just makes me sad that she still thinks they have some kind of future.

I saw that. That's clearly Batshitgirl.

Look! *points to the night sky* It's the BatShit signal!!

More fun-ness:

"Interesting story. Only problem is that the people given voice within are the very ones who have no credibility due to their collective conduct. Liars and thieves. I'm a firsthand witness of this. By the way, anyone know where I can find Amanda Newman ("Warr"). If so, please send the info to CTCTexas@aol.com, or just tell her to drop by for a visit anytime - my office is exactly where it was when she disappeared from her commitment to a contract agreement. I guess I would be the mean 'ol landlord pertaining to the "eviction" that she mentions in the article. Truth be told, she was not evicted - although she was eligible for that measure of enforcement several times during the term of the lease. In fact she abandoned the premises well in advance of the expiration date of the lease with a balance owing (surprise, surprise). Due diligence was withheld, which would be an easy court judgment in my favor. Mercy, you might say, and her unresolved file still sits atop my desk to this day, returned NSF checks included (and that's a real no-no according to the law). It's not really the money so much, at least at this point, but if I could get her address I'd just like to send her a Christmas card - you know, season's greetings and all."
Comment by Mean 'Ol Landlord from Deep Ellum on Dec 12th, 2009, 23:09 pm

"Hey Mean ol' Landlord,

If you do happen to run into Amanada Newman-Warr-whatever the hell her name really is, please have her give me a ring, too. She embezzled about 600-bucks from me, lied, cheated, had affairs with married men, and I believe was OUSTED by Dada due to theft and more lies. I know, first hand, that Amanda Newman-Warr-whatever the hell her name really is, never EVER had anyone else in mind other than Amanda Newman-Warr-whatever the hell her name REALLY is.

She's a pathetic self-absorbed loser who cares nothing about Deep Ellum or bands or musicians or what's "Best of Texas" or anything other than her next con job and who she can fuck over and get away with it."
Comment by Jordan from Dallas on Dec 14th, 2009, 09:01 am

Is this that crazy gal that was friends with Ceepe?

the one with the talking puppet?

Which was not funny.