|
The SideCar Pub, owned by Peron and Mary Beth Einkoff, opened December 4th, 1996. As soon as the liquor license arrived, the pair had it up and running, but not without some major elbow grease and determination. Over six weeks of building the club, essentially from the ground up, with only four hours off to celebrate Thanksgiving, produced one of Houston’s coolest bar atmospheres. The renovation was fruitful in another way; an interesting discovery was “unearthed” …mushrooms living on beer. Several plate-size mushrooms had a little commune under the old bar! Wow, wonder what they did with those?!
The European style pub always proves to be worth the haul to Houston’s northwest side. Booking some of the best local talent, as well as, pulling in several hot new national acts a month keeps this little out-of-the-way establishment happening. In Peron’s words, “The overall goal of the club was to build a club in northwest Houston that would give the people a reason to stay here rather than drive downtown on a weekend night.” It seems to be going well, not only are the locals hanging out, but several inner-loopers have been spotted on quite a few occasions out there on the “other side of the loop.” It’s just a great place to see great bands and there’s some really cool stuff hanging all around the bar.
Coming from experience, The Side Car Pub is a very band friendly venue. Several bands recently signed by large labels (RCA, Polygram/Universal, etc…) have expressed to Peron and Mary Beth that they will continue to come out and play this venue even when they are playing the Aerial or Cynthia Woods. Dedicated to keeping the original live music scene going all over Houston, it is their belief that “original music helps define a city and is also a sign of it’s future.” Peron also says, “we would like to get into helping Houston bands with booking and National tour routing. The bottom line is that we enjoy working with the original bands because they have an outlook and style that is a refreshing break from what is offered night after night on the Richmond Strip.”
Bands looking for a change of scenery and a real cool place to jam can send promo packs to Peron at 11202 Huffmeister, Houston, 77065 or check out the Tuesday Night Band Jam Contests run in conjunction with Evans Music City. The contest provides a way for bands to audition at the club while giving them a legitimate reason for coming out (there’s $1,000 in prizes).
Another Y2K goal for the club is to record bands live to put together a compilation CD. The idea is to provide a copy to the bands for their use but it will also be sent to booking agents and venues outside the city.
Sounds like Peron and Mary Beth are on the right track to being a huge support the local scene at the same time providing club patrons with “A great time in a true European pub atmosphere”.
A show you don’t want to miss this month at The Side Car Pub is Van Wilks on the 29th. The Headline, in conjunction with Ming’s Café, Saint Arnold’s Brewery and Super Bus Indulgence, is hosting a luxury bus trip to and from the show. It’s a great opportunity to check out the club and catch one of Texas’ most hailed guitar players while playing it safe on the road. For more information about this event, visit us at and be sure to cruise over to the Side Care website at www.sidecarpub.com.
|