Last month our sister Sandbar in Ottawa featured live music on the beach. Well, the beach volleyball court behind the building, which is the closest thing to a beach around here (unless you count our fake beach upstairs).
The Barnyard Boys, a local band, performed that night- and a few weeks later a video popped up on YouTube of their performance. If you like bluegrass music, you'll love the Barnyard Boys.
It doesn't look like their website has been updated for awhile, so I can't tell you when they're playing again, but if we find out we'll let you know.
Back in April, I saw a tweet from a customer who had been in the bar the night before and visited our fake beach. I thanked her for coming in, and she responded with this:
Whoah, what? I couldn't let that fun fact go by without an investigation. A short conversation (on Twitter, naturally) and a link to another blog later, I had a story. Turns out, Sally's dad supposedly lived in the apartment after Mr. Buffett, and then she took up residence in apartment #223 in 1998.
The short version:
Our favorite beach music maker attended Auburn University for one year in 1964. He lived in the Plainsman Apartments, pledged a fraternity, and learned how to play the guitar so he could win the ladies' attention. Lucky for us, he decided music was more important than school. And the rest is history.
The long version is available here. It's actually quite an interesting story from a blog dedicated to all things Auburn. The author researched the rumors surrounding Buffett's attendance at Auburn, and with the help of a biography called "Jimmy Buffett: The Man from Margaritaville Revealed" by Steve Eng, he had his answers.
Pretty cool that we have a resident among us who lived in Jimmy Buffett's college apartment!
We have something fun to announce: you can earn free jukebox credits at The Sandbar (in Lawrence only, for now).
If you use Twitter, you're probably familiar with location-based social networking tools like Foursquare, Gowalla, and Whrrl. The big buzz about these types of networks is the growing ability for merchants to offer freebies and rewards to customers who "check in" with one of these services. Kansas liquor laws don't allow us to give away or discount alcohol, but we can offer merchandise.
You don't have to be a Twitter user to use these apps. Check out their websites for more information about how to use them.
So what are we offering?
The first service we're offering rewards on is Whrrl (because right now it's my favorite). Check in to the Sandbar between 5-9 p.m., any day of the week, and you can earn 5 free jukebox credits. You have to show the offer to the bartender, and he/she will load your credits on to the jukebox.
Here are some screenshots of what you'll see in the Whrrl iPhone app and what you need to do:
1. First, check in on your app. You can see below that I'm "checked in" at The Sandbar. Click on the section circled below in the first picture.
2. A page comes up that shows details about the Sandbar- who else has checked in, and tabs for more information. Click on the Recs/Offers tab (circled in picture 2).
3. Once you've navigated to the Recs/Offers tab, you'll see our Special Offers! You can also see what users have marked the offer as "to do" or "did it." Click on the offer- if we had multiple offers available they would all show up here, but right now we only have one to choose.
4. A new page opens with the offer and a "Redeem Now" button.
Click on the Redeem Offer Now button, and the next page that comes up is what you need to show the bartender.
This page tells you how many times you've checked in to the location, and what your status is in the "society." It also instructs you to show this page to redeem your offer.
I've requested to set up a reward on Foursquare, too, but I haven't heard back from the company about it. However, at least one customer has seen it, so it's out there. Every third check-in on Foursquare earns you five free jukebox credits. I don't have a screenshot from Foursquare yet because I haven't seen the offer.
Please be patient with our staff, and please only redeem one offer per day, per check-in service! These promotions are very new and different for us, and it may take some time for all of our staff to really understand how this works. It's a learning process for all of us!
Dave and I were at the Sandbar early today before it opened, trying to get a few things done so we could search Lawrence for $5 bills, since we didn't make it to the bank before they closed.
Shortly after the Coleen, the afternoon bartender, arrived, a group of young guys piled in the door.
"Are you open yet?" they asked. To which we all replied, "Of course!"
In a flurry of activity- much like a hurricane- the group ordered Shark Attacks, requested an indoor hurricane, inquired about t-shirts for sale, and exponentially raised the energy level in the bar.
Turns out, the boys are scattered around the country, and last month they booked plane tickets and made plans to be in Lawrence this weekend- assuming that KU would be playing in the Final Four and then the National Championship game. And they wanted to be in Lawrence when KU won it all.
Lucky for us and the town of Lawrence, they continued with their plans even though KU didn't deliver.
We ran a hurricane, and a couple of the guys put on the mermaid costumes, hopped on the bar, and read the poem. They all danced and drank and even broke a glass. (They were very apologetic.)
After the hurricane was over, we played the other popular dance-along songs- Car Wash and Shake Your Tailfeathers. And then, Dave leaned over and whispered to me:
"Should I play Party in the USA?"
"Yes! Do it! Let's see what they do!" I responded.
And holy cow, you should have seen it. After just a few beats of the song, the boys all cheered like sorority girls and threw their hands in the air and danced around the bar.
What a super fun, and unexpected, treat on a Saturday afternoon. Guys, if you're reading this, thanks for coming in. You're the kind of customers we love to see- the ones who have fun, embrace the cheesy atmosphere, and are just plain nice.
I even managed to get a short video clip of the boys doing the Car Wash.
We're extremely proud of the Sandbar jukebox, and although everyone might not agree we think it's the best one in town. It's full of music from at least seven decades, and includes favorites like Frank Sinatra, James Taylor, ABBA, Disney tunes, and every Jimmy Buffett song you could dream of.
However. Times changes and people change.
Recently, I got an iTunes email receipt that ratted out the Miley Cyrus fan in the house. I didn't download "Party in the USA," and my dog, although extremely smart, hasn't mastered the computer yet. The only culprit was Dave.
Of course, he quickly used the bar as an excuse. "But you should see them dance!" he exclaimed when I called out his music taste. "Even the boys get up and dance!" he said. And it's always more fun at the Sandbar when the crowd is dancing. Dave's got a special playlist on an iPod that he can kick on whenever the jukebox music just doesn't deliver- and lately, that's been happening a lot.
We've decided it's time for a jukebox overhaul. This has never happened before, and in fact hands have been slapped when they tried to sneak a new CD (looking at you, Scotty Mack). But, we aim to please, and the masses clearly want new music.
Sad to say, Buffett may not make the cut. For some reason, people in a tropical bar just don't want to hear tropical music anymore. We're reviewing jukebox records to see what other songs haven't been played in the last few months, but they probably won't be missed.
As we go through this process, we'd love to hear your suggestions for new music. What songs will make you get up and dance?
What does the Sandbar have to do with a giant steak?
Earlier this month on March 5, Dave’s friend Bret called to tell him that members of their favorite band, Jason Boland & the Stragglers, were on the road in Texas. Before their show that night, they planned to stop at the Big Texan Steak Ranch.
The Big Texan is home to the 72 ounce steak challenge. Basically, if you can eat the entire meal in one hour, it’s free. There’s a list on their website of everyone who’s completed the dinner since 1991- they’ve been doing this since 1962, but their records were destroyed in 1976 by fire and again in 1991 by a sprinkler system accident. The list is long. And it looks like it’s all men.
The other interesting thing about this challenge: it’s broadcast live on the internet through webcams aimed at the tables.
Anyway. Roger, the band’s guitar player, and Mikey, one of their crew, were up for the challenge. According to Bret, Roger also planned to wear a Sandbar shirt that Dave gave him the last time they played in Lawrence.
Here’s a picture of them filling out their disclaimer forms (courtesy of the band’s Twitter feed). Although it’s hidden by his jacket, you can see that Roger’s wearing a blue Sandbar shirt:
Dave watched part of the challenge online, and indeed he got a glimpse of the Sandbar shirt. Roger completed the meal in 57:40 according to the Big Texan’s record list. Mike didn’t- but he’s probably better off.
Roger and the rest of the Stragglers are in Lawrence again tonight. If you like good, traditional country music don’t miss this show. It’s at The Granada, and the opening band- the John D. Hale Band from Missouri- is good too. The guys from Kansas City Limits, a radio program in Kansas City, will be at the Sandbar early this evening to give away some tickets.
