Fireside bowling night1/24/2024 "Hopefully someone will turn around and open something better. "It's kind of amazing Fireside was open as long as it was," Johnson said. Other musicians and record label owners agreed and hope that the loss will spark the local music community to create someplace new. Still, Johnson said he knew Fireside wasn't going to be around for forever. Most of their fans are too young to get into clubs, and they are too. For example, he's got one all-girl punk band called The Groodies who are only 18 years old. The closing creates some obstacles for bands on his label and other local punk groups trying to build a following of fans, he said. "I don't think he knows what he had in the Fireside and what the Fireside meant to people," Johnson said. Mike Johnson, who runs a local punk record label called Failed Experiment Records, said although he's disappointed that Fireside is becoming a bowling alley, he doesn't fault Lapinski for deciding to change. "There were people upset, but I gave it 10 years and it's time to do something different," Lapinski said. He knows some people will be disappointed that the Fireside rock shows are gone, but he says the kids who went there will find a new place to hang out. "It won't be all ages anymore," Lapinski said. The shows will be different too-older and milder than the punk shows of the past. On most nights the lanes at the Fireside Bowl are silent, but the shabby bowling alley at 2646 W. The major focus will be bowling, he said, and music will be offered only when it doesn't interfere with that. He plans to continue offering live music, but not as frequently as before. Fireside Bowl has been in his family 40 years. "It's time for me to do some changes," said Lapinski, who started letting shows play there 10 years ago because the bowling business was getting slow. He was able to pick up some equipment-automatic scoring machines and ball lifts-when another bowling alley closed down. But once it was clear the expansion wasn't happening, he moved forward with the rehab, he said. He wasn't going to invest money in fixing the place up if it was going to be torn down. In fact, the park expansion plan kept owner Jim Lapinski from going back to bowling earlier. Several years ago, the Chicago Park District expressed an interest in using eminent domain to take over the building to expand nearby Haas Park. Reggies is synonymous with the Chicago metal scene, and the Holiday Of Horror will be a guaranteed night of nonstop metal from beginning to end.įor more information, including times and admission prices, visit IE.The change may have been abrupt for some-there were no big announcements about the switch-but rumors of Fireside's demise have been swirling for years. There’s also a free midnight after party in The Joint with Black Sabbath tribute band After Forever. It’s pretty cool to be asked to be a part of it.” “Both the event and the venue have been going strong for over a decade each, with no signs of slowing down. “This will be my first Holiday of Horror, both attending and performing,” Molder guitarist/vocalist Aaren Pantke says during a recent email chat. It was very cost efficient and the staff was very friendly Parking is great, and we ordered pizza from Firelake Pizza, which was delicious Will visit again December 2023. Chicago’s horror metal trio Macabre (who also played the very first HoH) is headlining the 17+ showcase in the Rock Club with openers Molder, Through N Through, and Advorsa, while the crusty death metal horde Nequient (who replaced Bones) headlines the 21+ crowd in the Music Joint, with openers Imminent Terror and King Hell. Holiday Of Horror will be running on both sides of the venue with staggered set times, with each band beginning as the last one ends. Most bands aren’t touring around Christmas, so it’s the perfect time for a big local show.” “If you have any involvement in the scene, you will know people there. “I like to think of it as the metal scene’s annual holiday get-together,” Pawlak says through email. Rodney Pawlak, who runs The Chicago Metal Factory ( has been promoting the Holiday Of Horror since the beginning. Initially hosted at the Fireside Bowl in 1998, it has since moved to the iconic Reggies Rock Club, which took over the event at least a decade ago and is pulling out all the stops for this year’s event on December 23. The Holiday Of Horror event has been a longtime Christmas tradition in Chicago.
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