Those Dear Dead Days: Stoney O'Briens

 Artist Travis Simpkins pointed out that the establishment currently known as Nick's was formerly Stoney O'Briens. Which was basically one of many countless dive bars in Worcester at that time.

 

I thought after Travis's revelation about Nick's former life I'd do a little web snooping and the photo above is what I found of Stoney's.

 

To quote local Scallywag Jon Hansen: "What a dump!"

 

After Stoney's closed down, Nicole and Vincent bought the building. They cleaned it up and rechristened the establishment NICK'S. And as you can see below, its a vast improvement over the previous "dump".

 

 

Not only that, but Nicole runs a classy establishment that hosts unique performances. Including my own staging of a Sherlock Holmes play last may.

 

Millbury Street has always been a bit on the rougher side. However, even my folks who are long time residents couldn't help commenting that the area had improved considerably since the last time they were down there.

 

It says a lot on how adding a touch of class like a place like Nick's can improve an area.

 

 

 

American Hustle

You've probably seen the trailers for it on television starring Christian Bale, Jennifer Lawrence and several other actors I either don't know or are indifferent towards. However, did you know that parts of the movie were infact filmed right here in downtown Worcester Massachusetts.

Some of those scenes were filmed in Worcester's very own Nick's Bar and Restaurant. As seen above. Nick's was renamed The Barons in the movie. Which I don't think it was Nick's original name. Actually, there WAS a bar named The Red Baron on Main Street right across the street from where the Hanover Theater resides now. But Nick's never was.

Actually, if you know the name of the Bar Nick's used to be, feel free to post it in this blog.

However, if you happen to go out and see American Hustle in theatres (I probably won't) then keep your eyes peeled for the bar pictured below.

Mass Studios

There's been a few movies filmed right in Worcester in the past couple of years. The Maiden Heist at the Worcester Art Museum, Bruce Willis's film The Surrogates at the old Worcester Courthouse (good buddy of mine Andy Fish ran into Brucio while he was mailing a letter) and most recently a film starring Christian Bale and Robert DeNiro was filmed at Nick's as well as around the Woo. There was even talk Martin Scorese wanted to film a movie inside the now demolished Worcester State Hospital. But the city wouldn't allow it because of liability or something along those lines.

Recently both the Worcester Telegram and Worcester Magazine ran articles talking about a group called The Pullman Project LLC preparing to open a film studio in North Worcester which will be called Mass Studios in what was originally the home of the Pullman Train Car Company. Once the manufacturer of train cars and trolley buses.

That's right folks. A long time ago trolley cars used to run through Worcester. This is some of the reason why Kelley Square is designed the way it is.

However, since the trolley hasn't run through Worcester for many moons, the need for a company that manufactered them became redundant. And the building abandoned. The Pullman Project is looking to utilize the 125,000 square feet of that building into a working film and television studio.

The project is being spearheaded by founder founder Barbara Guertin, developer Anton Nel and producer Kristen Lucas. I got to know Barbara through Nicole Watson at Nick's. I was still in the process of looking for actors for my Sherlock Holmes production and Nicole connected me with Barbara whom in turn connected me with a young actor by the name of Connor Lee who did an excellent job in the role of Col. Sebastian Moran.

Barbara was a huge help in fitting that final piece of the puzzle for me and was able to offer really wonderful advice in getting what really was my very first production together.

Once completed, what would something like this offer the city of Worcester. Well, as mentioned in their mission statement, Mass Studios will be a premiere full-service independent studio campus dedicated to providing content creators of all kinds with the most technologically advanced user‐friendly, one-stop production studio and office facility in Massachusetts.

And what they will feature four state-of-the-art sound stages for film and television production, each with its own support space, pre and post-production offices, and writer’s office space, four audio editing bays, four video editing bays a back lot along with on-site parking.

The Mass Studios Campus is strategically located on approximately a 14-acre Site in the city of Worcester, MA. Sound stages, office buildings and back lot, are the primary permanent facilities used in the production of high value content for film, television and gaming entertainment.

The Mass Studio Campus provides a system that offers a wide variety of infrastructure, amenities, and services including high clearance, column free sound stage space, with adjacent support area for dressing rooms, offices, wardrobe storage, make-up rooms, and pre and post-production office space.

Personally, I think this sounds great. And when this comes to pass I would love to be a part of it.

You can read both the Telegram and the Worcester Magazine articles online to find out more or to find out how to contact Mass Studios

Alice and the Queen of Hearts (11x17 color print)

Full color measuring 11x17 and printed on high quality glossy stock. Signed and numbered. Another new print you will only be able to get first at stART on the Street: Canal District Spring Edition!!

Hope to see you all at stART!!

New WIZARD OF OZ print (11x17 color)

From a pen and ink original. Image colored digitally and printed on high gloss stock. Signed and numbered. A five print limited series.

And you will only be able to get it if you come out to stART on the Street: Spring Canal District Edition taking place next Sunday June 2nd on Green Street in Worcester Massachusetts from 11AM till 5PM!!

Hope to see you all there at stART!!

stART on the Street: Canal District Spring Edition is June 2nd!!

I can't believe I'm saying this but it's almost June!! And June means stART on the Street: Canal Edition!! Having the event on Green Street in the Canal District started last year after a few years of having the event on Main Street.

Bunny and the Badger will be there!! And so should you!!

Green Street proved to be a huge success and now they are having it in the Canal District for a second year in a row!! And you all should come!!

To be honest with you all, I was really surprised with how much the city has cleaned up the Green Street area. Before stART the last time I had been down Green Street was between 1998 and 2000, and it was not the type of place you'd want to bring your family down for an event.

But that's changed with the way they've really cleaned up the area with some really great restaurants. Including my wife Syd and my favorite place Smokestack Urban BBQ. There's no place better in the Woo.

I might do a blog at some point about some of the places they've either cleaned up or are attempting to clean up. You might be surprised with what you discover. However, that's not the suject of this blog.

Syd and I are doing stART on the Street again this year. The event kicks off at 11AM and ends at 5PM.

Syd will be selling some brand new jewelry she has just finished creating recently and I will hopefully have copies of my new book A Study in Sherlock: 13 Years of Sherlock Holmes Artwork by the time of the show. We will also have copies of our own book Memento Mori as well as my previous graphic novel of The Casque of Amontillado. I'm also going to get a few new prints done before the event.

More information can be found on stART on the Street's website. Hope to see you all there June 2nd bright and early at 11AM!!

Come spend an Evening With Sherlock Holmes tonight at Nick's

Well, I've been spending that last couple weeks putting up flyers in some of the various establishments around this fair metropolis we know as Worcester. So you might have seen one when you were having breakfast at Paris of the Eighties or lunch at the Theater Cafe.

Or you might have read about it in the latest issue of Worcester Magazine.

But tonight's the night!! Tonight's the opening of THE CROWN DIAMOND: AN EVENING WITH SHERLOCK HOLMES at Nick's Bar and Restaurant.

It's been nearly six months of planning, getting a cast together and rehearsing. With many nights spent between Devon, Ed and Jared's place reading through lines and working through stage direction over good food and good spirits.

I mean both the drinks and the company.

Now the set has been hung, the costumes have all been gathered up and after six months of planning that night has finally arrived.

But for me this has been 13 years in the making. Originally I wanted to do something like this at one of the local theatres like the Foothills. I had even chatted with the fine folks who used to run the Foothills the possibility of staging William Gillette's Sherlock Holmes with my artwork as set design back in either 2001 or 2003. I can't remember. Although, nothing materialized and the Foothill sadly shut its doors, there was a part of me that wanted to do something like that up here. Doing the set design for Gillette's play for the Kentucky Rep just made me want to do that more.

Enter Nick's. What's funny is the fact I found out last night after the dress rehearsal Nicole Watson who runs that fine establishment actually worked as a costume designer for the Foothills. So, in some ways I AM working with the Foothills...

...sort of.

But I am very excited. If you have not been to Nick's Bar and Restaurant, why not make tonight your first visit? It's a great place with a great atmosphere. And for one night only, the famous stage at Nick's will be transformed into that familiar sitting room at 221B Baker Street.

The show starts at 7PM and it's a mere $5.00 per person at the door to see the show. So if you're looking for something to do tonight, why not take a trip down to Nick's on 124 Millbury Street in Worcester Massachusetts and spend An Evening With Sherlock Holmes?

The Crown Diamond Promo Art

Well, here's the poster for THE CROWN DIAMOND: AN EVENING WITH SHERLOCK HOLMES taking place at Nick's Bar and Restaurant May 10th. Please could you do me a favor and repost it on your own blog, Facebook page, Twitter site or website?

Many thanks and I hope to see you at Nick's on May 10th!!

First look at the set design for The Crown Diamond

I've basically spent a couple mornings up in studio 205 working on the set design for THE CROWN DIAMOND: AN EVENING WITH SHERLOCK HOLMES.

 

And here it is.

 

The play opens for one night only May 10th at Nick's Bar and Restaurant on 124 Millbury Street in Worcester MA!! Everything gets underway around 7PM, so be sure to arrive an hour to a half hour before showtime if you want to order a meal or drinks before the show.

 

Copies of my own Sherlock Holmes graphic novel as well as my other books, artwork and prints will be available for purchase the night of the show.

 

I hope to see you all there at Nick's!!

On the horizon for this weekend

Apart from planning lessons for my Spring Classes starting up this weekend at the Worcester Art Museum... tomorrow is ALLEGEDLY the first day of Spring as well as my brother Mathew's Birthday... there is quite a lot of fun and excitement going on this weekend.

Up first I have had the esteemed honor to be selected as one of the judges for the Grafton Fine Art and Music Festival happening this coming Saturday, March 23rd: 11am-8pm in Grafton MA. Stop on by and check out all the great artists involved. Go to the Grafton Festival Page.

Saturday night Syd and I will be taking part in the Antiquinox Masquerade Ball taking place at 120 Commercial Street in Worcester MA from 8PM till 2AM. Syd and I are spending the week working feverishly on new art and jewelry that will be available at the show. Tickets for the show are available here.

Then on Sunday it's Castles and Dragons for Family Fun Day at the Worcester Art Museum. So, if you're looking for something to do with the kiddo's, why not come out and make some castles and dragons.

Set and Costume Design for The Crown Diamond

Here is the set and costume design planned for The Crown Diamond which will take place at Nick's Bar and Restaurant in May. The only costume design missing and I need to finish is Merton the Boxer.

 

The set itself is being designed to fit the stage at Nick's. The walls are roughly 11x11 feet. Which, for a play of this nature, is the perfect fit.

 

What I'm planning on doing for the set design is to have it colored in sepia tones. I had suggested sepias when I did set design for the Kentucky Rep's staging of William Gillette's Sherlock Holmes and I am planning on doing something similar with this play.

 

If you would like to read the play itself, it is available to view at the Diogense Club's website:

 

The Crown Diamond: An Evening With Sherlock Holmes 

Sherlock Holmes at Nicks Bar and Restaurant

Well!! Time to let the cat out of the bag. I've been chatting with Nicole, the proprietress of Nick's Bar and Restaurant about staging a performance of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's play The Crown Diamond: An Evening With Sherlock Holmes.

 

The play itself is perfect for the stage area at Nick as seen above. It's one act, one set design and only five actors top. Maybe two or three at tops at a time on the stage.

 

Chatting with Nicole about it has been great!! She is also a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes and wants to do it justice with the right casting. One big problem at the present. I need to search for a lead actor to play Holmes. Unfortunately, the chappie I had originally intended for the part, Mr. Susurrus Din (seen holding a monocle in the picture above) is  moving to Philadelphia with his wife tomorrow for a better job.

 

Which I am very happy for them both. But it means I have to say goodbye to some very good friends. As well as goodbye to a very good choice for Sherlock Holmes.

 

So now I must find a new Holmes. I have a few leads but nothing concrete.

 

However, it shall be done. And the play is scheduled to be staged May 10th with a live dress rehearsal on May 9th.

 

More news to come later on. So stay tuned... 



Worcester Magazine's Year in Review Comic Edition

For the last couple of years I've taken part in Worcester Magazine's year in review issue. The last couple of years a few of my artist friends have done parodies of famous comics. I thought I'd give that a try this year and do a tribute of sorts to my favorite strip Bloom County. To check out the artists involved in this year's issue you can click here.

Indie Art Market at Beatnik's is TONIGHT!!

 

If you have yet to check out Indie Art Market at Beatnik's in Worcester Massachusetts, I highly recommend you check it out tonight!! Especially with the holidays rapidly approaching, why not get all your shopping done tonight and buy some unique items for family and friends this year.

 

Along with the new book MEMENTO MORI I completed with my wife Syd, I will also be selling some of her fine jewelry at the show tonight.

 

So come on down, grab a Wormtown Ale on tap and a bite to eat and buy some unique art items!!

stART at the Station Artwork

I completed a couple more illustrations for stART at the Station that is taking place this coming Sunday December 2nd!! I plan on having four more completed before the show.

Spoooooky Storytime at Annie's Book Stop of Worcester

 

I will be reading THE NINNIES by Paul Magrs as part of SPOOOOOKY STORYTIME taking place at Annie's Book Stop of Worcester on Saturday October 27th.

 

The age groups have been broken down into time blocks. Stories appropriate for ages 3 to 7 will be read from noon until 3pm. Stories appropriate for ages 8 to 12 will be read from 3pm to 5pm. Stories for ages 12 and up, including some scary stuff for grown-ups, will be read and performed from 5pm until 9pm.

Other readers which will be included are local poet Susurrus Din who will be reading the famous cautionary tale THE SPIDER AND THE FLY as well as his own work. And Dr. Chris Denmead (of radio fame) who will be reading from his brand new spooky children's book GIVE ME SOMETHING GOOD TO EAT.

 

I will be reading in the 5PM to 9PM block.

 

Costumes are encouraged and embraced, but not mandatory. If you have children who like to hear a good Halloween yarn or you would like to hear one yourself.

Upcoming show: Blackstone Canalfest September 8th 2012

 

I will be doing my very first (but the fifth annual) Blackstone Canalfest will take place Saturday, September 8, on Harding Street in Worcester, directly above the buried canal. The show itself will be taking place from 11AM till 5PM.

If you happen to be in the area, please stop by. I should have copies of The Casque of Amontillado available just in time for the show.

Plethora of Poets at Annie's Book Stop of Worcester

Annie’s Book Stop of Worcester is holding a reading and signing for six different, local poets from 7 pm to 9 pm on Friday, July 27th. The poets that will be there include Lori Desrosiers, Eve Rifkah, Joshua Michael Stewart, Susurrus Din, Dan Lewis, and Paul Richmond. All... poets will be reading from their own works, and signing books.


Lori Desrosier’s first full-length book of poems, The Philosopher’s Daughter, is forthcoming from Salmon Poetry in 2013. She has a chapbook, Three Vanities (2009). Her poems have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies.


Eve Rifkah is author of Dear Suzanne (WordTech Communications, 2010, and Outcasts (Little Pear Press, 2010). She was founding editor of the literary journal Diner, and co-founder of Poetry Oasis, Inc., a non-profit poetry association for local poets. For more on Eve Rifkah, check out: http://www.everifkahwriter.com/


Joshua Michael Stewart has had poems published in multiple journals. He currently has two chapbooks out, Vintage Gray (2007) and Sink Your Teeth into the Light (2012). Visit him at http://www.joshuamichaelstewart.yolasite.com/



Susurrus Din owes much to the Masters of the Macabre, Gothis Horror, and World Myth/Folklore. A tome of his photography and poetry, Mendicant the Hidden, Votary of the Sepulcher, has been recently unleashed.


Dan Lewis lives on the edge of the Patch Reservoir in Worcester, MA. He is the author of the chapbook, Tickets for the Broken Year, and a full-length poetry collection, This Garden. His work has been published in many journals.


Paul Richmond started writing 37 years ago by keeping a journal. Many of his works have been collected to create "No Guarantees – Adjust and Continue" and "Ready or Not – Living in the Break Down Lane" with a third book due out in June 2012. He runs Human Error Publishing. Visit him at: http://www.humanerrorpublishing.com/

For more information on the event, please contact Annie's at (508)-796-5613 or check out their website at

http://www.anniesbookstopworcester.com/

Take a Cartooning Class this Summer at Annie's Book Stop of Worcester

Annie's Book Stop of Worcester has invited me to teach cartooning classes on fridays from July 20th till August 31st at their store at 65 James Street in Worcester, MA.

You have a choice between taking either a morning or afternoon session for $87.50 each or you can take both the morning and afternoon class together for $175.00 total.

In Session One, I will be teaching Cartooning in the morning from 10 AM till 12 NOON and in the afternoon I will be teaching Comic Art.

In Session Two, I will be teaching Create Your Own Super Hero in the morning and Drawn Animation in the afternoons. These classes are scheduled for the same time periods as the first session.
If you wish to sign up for two classes, you can either sign up for consecutive classes in the same session or sign up for one class in the first session and another in the second session.

If you're interested you can either stop by Annie's Book Stop of Worcester during normal business hours to pick up a sign up sheet or e-mail me to find out more about the classes.

Deadline for sign up is Friday July 13th!! So don't miss out!! Sign up today!!

Smokestack Urban BBQ

Syd and I were mighty impressed with our visit to Smokestack Urban BBQ located near the Canal District in Worcester Massachusetts. We decided to give it a go coming home from work on Saturday night and we're already looking forward to our next visit.

It was first brought to our attention when we recently took part in stART on the Street's Spring Show on Green Street. A kid had been passing out menu's to everyone at the show. He had also mentioned that the vegetarian chili was even more popular than their regular chili. Since Syd's been a vegematarian for the past 20 years, it's always nice to find places that accomodates the veggie crowd.

And there are actually quite a few in the Woo that do.

The restaurant is located in what appears to be an old Mill Building. Parking could be a bit of an adventure, but we were able to find a spot. The first thing that struck me when we walked in was how spacious the place was. Even though it seemed to be hopping even around 8:30/9PM, you don't get the feeling like you're cramped in a phone booth waiting for a table the way some places can be.

And it was very clean while maintaining that funky old mill look.

And the food was great!! I had a Stacker Burger which is a burger topped with Pulled Pork. Syd had a vegetarian burger which looks like it could rival the one she had at Local Burger out in Northampton. It was equally as hearty looking.

And they had a decent beer selection. Any place that has Narragansett Lager for $2.25 is tops in my books.

I recommed checking it out. Great BBQ and great ambience.