"My Father's Place" Roslyn, NY Long Island-any memories of the place?

I have a couple of really good quality John Kay/Steppenwolf shows recorded from the early 80's when they played on Long Island at "My Father's Place" in Roslyn; I never got the chance to go there but if I got the info right it was a bowling alley that was converted to host music acts, and held about 600-700 people. Man, the crowds on both these shows were really bananas, screaming and really into it. If you ever saw a show there and can relate some memories about the place I'd appreciate it-I understand that it doesn't exist anymore.

Thank you!

 

Saw many shows there. It was, by far, the best venue on Long Island. One especially memorable one was Randy Newman opening for Jim Croce. Flo & Eddie's home base.

 

mfp was like a 2nd home to me. saw tons of shows there. i worked for a local band called the sheiks for a while in the 70's so we played there a lot opening for national acts and headlining too. i got to know the owner and staff so i had the run of the place. too many great musical memories; muddy waters with johnny winter, flo and eddie, stephane grapelli, peter tosh, kingfish, john cipollina, larry coryell, capt. beefheart, lou reed and so many many more.

http://www.myfathersplace.com/

 

i miss that place...favorite show there was Fripps "League of Gentlemen" show...first time I "danced"....haha...

 

was that you that knocked me over?

 

Tons of great memories for me.

Saw the Blasters. Got their autographs before the show. After the show, we hung out with them in the dressing room for about ten minutes. Gene Taylor was in a dark back room, and we were only allowed in for about thirty seconds.

Saw the Good Rats. Peppi Marchello threw a rat at me. My date claimed that she knew the drummer, but we didn't get to meet him.

Saw Blue Oyster Cult performing as the Soft White Underbelly. Had a great time at the Blotto show. Etc., etc. My favorite venue on Long Island.

 

I was at that gig, too. I remember someone took a picture of Robert Fripp and he jumped off the stool he was sitting on and tried to grab the camera!

My brother and I saw a number of bands there from the mid-late-70's into the 80's; 10CC, The Buzzcocks, The League Of Gentlemen, etc. In fact, I played drums in a band, called Collision, that opened for The Monochrome Set sometime during 1980, or so.

 

eppy the owner was a huge reggae fan and managed to get just about everyone there except for bob marley. one of my fondest reggae memories was the club debut of toots and the maytals with the mighty diamonds as support. toots was like a reggae otis redding. what a show!

 

I saw a show there in early to mid 75' and can't remember who it was.

Funny, what I do remember is... I had to park my MGBGT under the 25A overpass and a bunch of pigeons ganged up and turded the thing up pretty bad. I was pissed but it was funny - I think I was on a date.

Trying to find a list of shows from early 75'...

 

I saw a few Good Rats shows there. I too, got a Rat...........and I still have it!

Used to go with my Independent Biker buddies from the Rubber Duck in Baldwin.

 

Thanks guys for the replies! Was I correct when I said it was a converted bowling alley and held around 600 or so people? The several pictures that I ever saw of the crowd looked like it was a jam-packed, sweaty place where the fans were jammed right up along the stage....sounds like a great place!

 

they just finished completely rebuilding that overpass, that went on for years, the bridge always makes me think of this club, now a restaurant called Dianes.

 

Saw Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers do an amazing show there - before the show, JT was walking around the audience, bumming slices of pizza. he stopped by our table, we spoke with him a bit, & got invited backstage before the show, got to meet the rest of the band. a fun place, my only time there.

 

i remember seeing him there and he was really out of it. he had the guitar on upside down so the strings were facing him. no wonder he couldn't tune it. during the set he collapsed behind one of the p.a. stacks for a few minutes but managed to make it back up before the song ended. walter lure saved that show.

 

I saw Television there twice. Great shows that were recorded by an audience taper for the Arrow bootleg LP and later issued as The Blow Up on ROIR cassette and (later still) CD.

It was a long haul from New Jersey... I was living with my parents at the time after graduating from college.

 

in march of 1978 i recorded stephane grappelli there. i did the late show and i borrowed the early show tapes from the house engineer with the promise of returning it the next night. i went to the club where there was a long line of punk looking folks waiting to get in. i walked in during television's sound check and returned the tape as promised. i stuck around for a few minutes and left. at that time, during my long hair days, the waiting crowd gave me a hard time as i exited.

 

Very nice! I'd trade away a few rock & roll memories to have seen that.

 

Never been there but I have a long-distance memory of it. In the late '70's the local college radio station did a fundraiser week every year and ended it with a big Springsteen special. One year they suggested that fans should stick around for the end for something special and hinted that it wasn't something that should be played on the radio. I stuck around to hear the DJ explain that we were about to hear a recording of Bruce Springsteen playing at My Father's Place in NY. My first bootleg! That experience led directly to me spending way too much time and money searching for "special imports" in record stores in the pre-Internet days.

 

Saw the Good Rats there, too!

 

Les--I would say capacity was more like 400 but I don't think it was 600.
It was an old bowling alley and in fact they used the wood from the lanes to make the long thin tables. They had great shows there and I saw many of them. The local radio station, WLIR broadcast weekly concerts from there. The kind of joint that booked a little of everything--and the kind of joint that doesn't exist anymore.

 

Clearly I grew up on the Island during the wrong era. But I am glad that I was here while the Donkey was around. Miss that place.

 

Though I wasn't there and have never been to New York, As mentioned before, Springsteen played some great early career shows there.

 

Saw Flo and Eddie, Allan Holdsworth, Stepane grapelli. Kind of like a beat up bowlin' alley, long tables, dirty floors and restrooms. From what I understand, Mike Oldfield played the joint! That, and the Doors at Westbury, are two shows I would have LOVED to see!

 

Jorma 1981 - 1985

I fondly recall seeing various incarnation of Jorma Kaukonen, Acoustic (ovation guitar w/ flanger effects) and Electric Trio "Vital Parts", promoting new 1981 "Barbecue King" RCA LP. Including unique versions of "Embryonic Journey, Good Shepherd, Water Song" to electric band versions of Carl Perkins "Money Honey" and Robert Johnson's "Walkin' Blues".

For WLIR_FM 92.7, Jorma played at MFP for THREE live broadcasts in 1981, March, July and Oct (the night before he guested on 2 songs & interview with Tom Snyder on "Today" NBC TV show).

Also saw a great Jan 1985 "Big Band" show of Jorma's "There Goes The Neighborhood" including Jaco Pastorius and Rashid Ali.

And Jack Casady, Brian Marnell, Nick Buck and Bill Gibson (Huey & The News) in SVT at MFP.

www.tunabase.com

 

Saw a few shows there in the late 70s, early 80's - Johnny Winter, Jonathan Edwards, Carlene Carter, Go-Gos, Ramones... the one I remember the most though is the show by Rockpile - they blew the roof off the place! Great rock-n-roll, tight playing. Not a long set, but very memorable indeed...