new work: avenue bistro ad/promo campaign

just finished up my recent advertising/promotion campaign for avenue bistro in clifton. you might remember them being on van houten ave in clifton near school 13. due to unfortunate circumstances out of their hands, they had to move their location a couple months ago. they've finally settled at a new location in clifton on grunwald street. it's a block over from dingo's den. the old angie's bar, if you remember where that is.

the new location has turned out to be a better choice. it has a full sit-down bar, and much more room for tables/guests. the food hasn't changed. if you were at the old location, you know the food was top notch and very affordable. if you haven't tried it out, i would absolutely recommend going there. they have amazing lunch, dinner and bar menus. you can get food from 11am and up til midnight most of the week.

anyway, the owner/head chef is my boy pat that i've known for many years. and my boy andy is also a chef there as well. they contacted me recently to get some stuff ready for their grand opening reception, which is this coming saturday (6/26). they asked me to put a flyer together. i laid out this flyer for them, which they actually didn't use:



although i thought the original flyers looked really dope and eye-catching, they didn't really want any kind of graphic. so we wound up going with something much more plain:



just goes to show, that with design, as much as you know something will catch people's eye and actually make them pick a flyer up and look at it, you will inevitably have to do it the way the customer wants regardless of what you think. but i digress. the last part of the campaign is a full-page ad for stepping out magazine. the ad is also pretty simple, but they wanted it really similar to the flyer:


all this stuff will be dropping this week. if you are around on saturday, come down to the grand opening reception. starts at 9pm. they will have free hors d'oeuvres along with $2 domestic bottles, $3 import bottles and $5 car bombs. there is also a live jazz band playing. the matt panayides group. they are pretty awesome.

if you build it, they will come.

once again i find myself needing to stress a few points to some inquiring minds in regards to my affiliations and work with dingo's den. as many people well know, i took over all the promotion and advertising for them. people have been wondering what i'm getting out of it and what i'm doing it for. and for all the inquiring minds, i'm going to break it down for you:

many people also know that i bartended and bounced at dingos for a few years. i was always a regular at dingos since i was old enough to drink. but when i started working there, my life was at a very low point. i had been fired from my previous job over some complete bullshit and i was collecting minimal unemployment and just barely scraping by with my bills and even putting food in my stomach. at this shitty time in my life, freddy dingo was kind enough to throw me a few bouncing shifts here and there for extra cash. i told him that i had bartended for many years, but there were no openings behind the bar. one night i went in for a bouncing shift, and one of the bartenders called out last minute. they asked me if i wanted to bartend and obviously, i said yes. it was all history from there. i wound up becoming a steady bartender there for a couple of years after that.

so obviously, i will always have loyalty to dingo's den because it helped me in a real time of need. but beyond that, i truly believe it is an awesome place with tons of potential. it is literally one of the only places in clifton and the surrounding areas where you have basically zero chance of running into guidos and such. it is the only place around that has such a diverse selection of music without a DJ. the selection of metal, rock, oldies, classic rock, 80's, funk, indy, hardcore, punk, thrash and everything else is second to none and its still being improved upon. there is definitely something for everyone. we never made the switch over to a digital jukebox, because i think some old-school things are better. but i challenge anyone to find a better selection in an old-school CD jukebox anywhere in this area. outside of possibly bars in manhattan or other parts of the city, i doubt you'll find it.

i've travelled all over the place. i've been to countless numbers of bars in different cities and countries. i can honestly say that dingo's den is a truly amazing bar. it is a dive bar and its dingy, rustic and old-school, and that's exactly what i like about it. in a lot of ways, i have a very old spirit. i enjoy simplicity and good times with good friends. i've gotten to a point where i've seen so much and explored so many places, that i can truly appreciate a place that just feels like home. i've met so many amazing friends in dingos. i've met so many talented artists and musicians. people from all walks of life. rich, poor, young, old. you name it. i've never been anywhere else that has such a diverse group of people that all like to hang out at the same place.

but i digress.. basically what this boils down to is that i ain't making shit from all the advertising and promotion that i do for dingos. not one single dollar. i do it because it's something that i believe in, and something that i'm taking on like a school project in a sense. it used to be packed 7 nights a week. now its packed on weekends and randomly during the week. obviously, i understand the economy tanked and people had to curb a lot of spending, but i really believe we can get it back to its rightful place. as of late, i have done many major improvements to start getting people back. anyone who knows me, knows that i throw good parties and fun events.

here's a breakdown of everything we are doing:

DAYS:

HAPPY HOUR 12PM-7PM / 7 DAYS A WEEK

SUNDAY - FREE BACKYARD BBQ 12PM-9PM (WEATHER PERMITTING) / FREE HOTDOGS AND BURGERS FOR EVERYONE AND YOU CAN ALSO BRING ANYTHING YOU WANT FROM HOME OR THE STORE AND USE THE GRILL LIKE YOUR OWN.

NIGHTS:

SUNDAYS, MONDAYS AND TUESDAYS: $2 DOMESTIC PINTS / $3 IMPORT PINTS 9PM-CLOSE

WEDNESDAYS: LADIES NIGHT - $2 LADIES DRINKS / $2 PBR CANS FOR ALL 9PM-CLOSE / HALF-PRICE APPETIZERS 9PM-2AM (INCLUDES 3 VARIETIES OF WINGS, CHICKEN TENDERS, BROCCOLI OR JALAPENO POPPERS, CHICKEN QUESADILLA ROLLS AND BAR PIES)

THURSDAYS: $2 BRING YOUR OWN MUG (DOMESTIC BEERS ONLY / 32oz MAX / MUST HAVE A HANDLE)

EVERY NIGHT: THE DINGO'S COCK AND BALLS SPECIAL - ONE DOMESTIC BEER AND TWO SHOTS FOR $10

WE HAVE 5 TVs IN THE FRONT ROOM FOR ALL YANKEES, METS, WORLD CUP, NBA, HOCKEY, FOOTBALL OR ANY OTHER GAME YOU WANT TO WATCH.

BACK ROOM HAS ITS OWN JUKEBOX ALONG WITH TWO POOL TABLES AND A DARTBOARD.

i put a lot of time and effort into all the improvements and i learned a lot in the process. i talked to literally hundreds of people over the last few months and got suggestions on music for the jukebox, specials and all kinds of other things. we are really trying to make it a bar for the people, by the people. if you have any suggestions, please send them my way.

and if you haven't already, please add the offical facebook page. click here. thanks!

i've seen the future and i've left it behind.

subterranean subway blues.

swedish subway system:










(via)

new work: dingo's den full page ad

so after two weeks running with that horrendous mutation of my original half-page ad (read about it here), i finally got a new full-page ad finished and i just sent out the artwork today:

phase one.

so i'm in the process of really getting this graphic design thing legitimate and into full swing. finally found some reliable printing. still putting my website together. got so much stuff to organize. hopefully i can roll out my website and have business cards in circulation within the next month or two. in the meantime, if you need print flyers for your band or any event, please get in touch with me.

for starters, here are some standard flyer prices:

4x6 double-sided / full-color:

500 flyers - $100
1000 flyers - $125
2500 flyers - $225

i can do smaller and larger runs than this, but these are the most common orders. if you need any other quantity or different size flyer, let me know and i'll get you a price.

prices include design and printing. if you need it shipped somewhere, you will have to pay extra for shipping. if you are local, i can meet up with you for pickup. you can do payments through paypal or in cash when you pick them up.

i can also do posters and business cards as well. if you need them, give me a shout and i'll get you a price.


give me a shout HERE if you need anything.

my yellow in this case is not so mellow

posted this on my facebook page, but also wanted to post it here and elaborate a little more. feeling a little sentimental today.. this song popped up on my playlist today and made me wish i could simultaneously reach out to every person that's ever touched my life and let them know how much it truly means to me. sometimes my life is just a blur of drunken days.. sometimes that's just a defense against the pain in this world.. sometimes its just because i like to have a good time, plain and simple. but regardless, i go floating along and i sometimes don't even stop to think how truly blessed i am. i have more great friends than most people will ever have in a lifetime. i've lived through some truly crazy experiences and shared them with some really amazing people. thanks to each and every one of you.