Sleeping giants pittsburgh nick's fat city Continue 1998 Donnie Iris and CruisersLive live album! The Nick's Fat CityLive album donnie iris and cruisersReleased1998RecordedSeptember 12 and 13, 1997Nick's Fat City, Pittsburgh, PAGenreRockLabelPrimaryProducerMark AvsecDonnie Iris and Cruisers chronology Poletown(1997) Live! The Nick's Fat City(1998) Together Alone(1999) Professional RatingsView ScoresSourceRatingAllmusic[1] Live! Nick's Fat City is the first live album by American rock singer Donnie Iris, released in 1998. Nick Fat City is a now defunct nightclub that was located in Pittsburgh, the South Side Apartments neighborhood. Track List Agnes (Avsec, Iris) - 6:05 Am You Calculating? (Avsec, Iris) - 4:52 10th Street (Avsec, Iris) - 4:09 Cool World (Avsec, Iris, Hoenes) - 5:29 I Can't Hear You (Avsec, Iris, McClain, Hoenes, Valentine) - 3:45 That's The Way Love Ought To Be (Avsec, Iris) - 4:52 Poletown (Avsec) - 6:06 This Time It Must Be Love (Avsec, Iris, Hoenes) - 4:39 Injured love game (Avsec, Iris) - 8:43 Minnie Moocher (Calloway, Mills, Gaskill) - 6:14 Love is like a rock (Avsec, Iris, Hoenes, McClain, Valentine) - 6:39am Ah! Leu! (Avsec, Iris) - 7:06 rapper (Iris) - 5:15 Staff Donnie Iris - vocals mark avsec - organ, Accordion, Synthetics, Piano, Vocals by Marty Hoenes - Guitar and Vocals by Paul Goll - Bass and Vocals by Tommy Rich - Drums Production Mark Avsec - Producer Rick Witkowski - Co-producer Links ^ Allmusic Review ^ Unofficial Donnie Iris Site - Live! The Nick's Fat City Retrieved from Nick's Fat City 16 and Carson Streets was the hottest showcase club for fans of Pittsburgh's mainstream rock acts during the 1990's. Twelve years ago it was a place to see Clarks, a gathering field with Bill Deasey, Brownie Mary, Donnie Iris, Grapevine, Buzz Poets and more. Even the boss, mr. Springsteen came to double jam with his friends Joe Grushechy and Houserockers. National acts have also made their way to the Southside club including Warren Zevon, Hootie and Blowfish, Strokes, and Coal Leafs. Billed as Pittsburgh's Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Stars he housed a showcase collection of Pittsburgh musical celebrities and honored pittsburgh music legends with star-footed walk of fame. Southside Revival in the early 1980s formidable Southside J&Amp;; The L Steel Mill is closed turning Pittsburgh's Carson Street into a ghost town with an empty bullet and a beer mill worker bars, churches and shops. Pioneering investors Bob Pesselona and Td Nypaver brought Southside back to life by opening the popular restaurant Mario's South Side Saloon at 1514 East Carson Street in 1983. With patrons lining up to get to Mario's they opened Blue Lou's Bar in 1988. They sparked a Southside renaissance. Today Carson is street entertainment in Pittsburgh with more than 100 restaurants, music venues and drinking facilities. Wanting to create a theater music venue for Pittsburgh bands Southside, Ted Nypaver and Bob Pessalano bought two adjacent buildings in 1989 with a bar and a doctor's office on Carson Street. However, Southside residents have organised south side nuisance bars for the Legal Defense Fund to fight the establishment of more bars. A three-year legal battle has been fought over the right to open a Southside music venue. In April 1989, the City of Pittsburgh Zoning Board stopped construction of a planned music venue, saying it would add to parking and traffic problems. Pessolan appealed the decision to the Commonwealth Court. In December 1990, the Commonwealth Court reversed the Zoning Board's decision and allowed construction to begin. Pessolano and Nywaver have invested about $500 thousand in renovations. Architect Gene Rees has been hired to build a new Art Deco-style nightclub. Both buildings were gutted and a second story was included in the creation of a 3,400-square-foot showcase. Installed was a large traction stage, black and white terrazzo stone checkerboard dance floor, lower and upper bar, and seating two hundred. With a standing room the total capacity was 600. The place was decorated with music flourishing. Behind the scenes was hung a large 20-foot black Fender Les Paul guitar. The tops of the bar counter were painted to look like piano keyboards. Video monitors behind the walls of the top bar allowed patrons to view the show while waiting for drinks. The club's art-deco lame and neon exterior was clad in a sleek 1920s-style black carerra glass, with stainless steel doors, an old movie-style ticket booth and a large neon marquee. Rock N Roll Hall of StarsPessalona worked with Joe Rock, manager of Skyliners and Jaggerz, to choose the influential Pittsburgh music stars to be honored in the Hall of Stars. Fifty-eight musicians and bands were honored with inlaid 3-foot stars of indoor walk of fame including Henry Mancini. Stephen Foster, Perry Como, Bobby Vinton, Skyliners, Marcels, Jaggerz, George Benson, Billy Eckstine, Shirley Jones, Lena Horne, Billy Price, Silencers, Grenade Brothers, Larry Lee Jones, . Porky Chedwick, Jimmy Roach and Steve Hansen, BERT Taylor, Joe Negri, Joe Grushecky, Johnny Angel, Clark Race, and a decade later. Pittsburgh music celebrities lined the halls and walls. Two lines of 50 guitars autographed by Joe Negri, Tony JanFlone Jr., Anne Feeney, Frampton Brothers and others festooned side walls. Donnie Iris' yellow suit jacket from his Back to the Streets album cover hung on the side wall. Also hanging from the walls were Kenny Blake's Saxo, Spider Rondinelli's drumsticks, Porky Chewick's T-shirt and Donnie Iris glasses along with. Framed T-shirt and tour There were also celebrities from national artists who performed in Pittsburgh, including Steive Ray Vaughan's autographed snake skin boots, Jethro Tull flute, and neon sanctuary Elvis. The bar offers drinks named after Pittsburgh musicians such as Iris Eyes and Blue Velvet. Grand Opening July 1992Caro was named after Pessolan's daughter Nicole and the old Fat City Lounge Swissvale (home silencers and Norman Nardini). The grand opening of Nick Fat City was held on Tuesday, July 7, 1992. The first show to be broadcast live on WDVE FM. The opening night act was pittsburgh All-Stars with Joe Grushecky, ENT Taylor, Pete Hewlet, Frank Czuri, and Rick Witkowski With their front door finally opened nick's fat city offered live entertainment Tuesdays through Saturdays. But the going has been slow due to strict Liquor Control Board rules. Since it was connected two separate buildings Pessolano had to apply for an extension of the liquor license to the scene, which was in the doctor's office, and the new second floor. Until the license has been extended drinks can be sold only on the original side of the bar location. A chicken wire fence was installed to separate the bar from the rest of the club. Customers who bought beer at the bar had to carry them past the chicken wire in the area of the scene unopened into a paper bag. That inconvenience has kept many potential customers away People have asked for months Is the fence still? The full liquor license was granted three months later in December 1992.Pittsburgh's Rock N Roll showcase. Once the chicken wire came Nick Fat City became a club where many Pittsburgh-area groups found their fan bases, held their CD release parties to make live records, and took their final bows. S.P.U.D.S - Special people under the supervision of a doctor and the opening act of the Thunder played the first New Year's Eve show in Nick's Fat City in 1992. Iron City Houserockers reunited for a reunion show on March 6, 1993. R& Group B Sputzy and Soul Providers had a crowd dance in Nick's in 1993. Clarks and new bands Gathering Field and Brownie Mary made their first appearances at Nick's in 1994. Holding CD release parties for Nick's in 1995 were Flash Cats, Dharma Sons, and Sleeping Giants. Affordable floors made their last appearance ever on Nick's in the summer of 1995. Going into 21st century Voodoo Babies, Buzz Poets, and Vibro Kings were popular acts of Nick's. Nick's Fat City celebrated its 10th anniversary on July 10, In 2002 with the show starring Clarks, Too Tall Jones, Grapevine, Shonuff and Uncle Sam.Other acts that appeared in Nick's Fat City were Push, Juliana Theory, Nixon Watches, New Invisible Joy, Kelly Affair, Bitter Delores, Shari Richards, Solara, Cheryl Clay Band, Chris Robinson, Earth Mud, Redwalls, Mercury, Breaking him, O.G. plays, Big Bean Theroy, Evanescence, Ike McCoy Band, Redwalls and Loko Phylum.The Clarks BarThe Clarks, which grew to popularity at the graffiti showcase in Oakland, launched its longtime Nick's Fat City in 1994 and made it its home base. They played many multi-night sold-out CD release shows. On September 18 and 19, 1998, he recorded a live album, The Clarks Live. They appeared in Nick's during 2003.The Pot Brownie BandTaking of his name from Mary Rathbun, who was arrested for issuing marijuana cakes to cancer and AIDS patients, Brownie Mary, was one of Pittsburgh's most popular stone acts during the 1990s. They were formed in 1993 led by lead singer Kelsey Barber. After winning the Graffiti Rock Challenge in 1994, they released the CD That's Me. While playing on the college circuit, they built a fan base that stretched from Columbus to New York to Sarasota florida. Nick Fat City was their home base in Pittsburgh. In 1998, he released the album Naked Atlantic's Blackbird/Sire label and toured the country, playing 250 dates with dave mathews, Green Day and Fuel.