Peter Steele & Jimmy Duff at the bar

Jimmy Duff, proprietor of Duff’s Brooklyn, posted this to his Myspace page today, following the reported death of Peter Steele,  Brooklyn-born singer for Type O Negative:

Since Josh has publicly confirmed the passing of Peter, it’s now appropriate to comment on this very sad loss.

First of all, my sincere condolences go out to Peter’s family, as well as Johnny, Kenny and Josh, Paul, Steve and Joey. I extend the same to all of  Peter’s friends and fans worldwide at this very difficult time.

Peter was an amazing artist, a true friend, and one hilarious character. He was a tortured soul as well, but that’s part of what ultimately made his art so compelling. He’s at peace now so that’s the one consolation. That and the music and memories of good times that will always live on.  Thanks for all the music and laughs Peter, you will never be forgotten, and always missed.

J. DUFF

Word comes in from Brooklyn the Borough of a new bar in Prospect Heights that is by the former owner of Siberia, Tracy Westmoreland. It is to be called Manhattans and opens at 769 Washington Ave.

“Hipsters call the city the Manhattans, the name grew out of Brooklyn,” he said over the phone two days before unveiling the new saloon. “Hopefully when enough people know the bar, when they’re making plans to go out, they’ll say, ‘Wait, are we going to the city, or are we going to Tracy’s bar?’ It’s a perfect circle.”

While the article does mention Siberia, it doesn’t mention Tracy’s bar that he owned before that, which was one of my favorites of all time: KGB. It was located in the 50th Street station on the IRT. You had to actually be in the subway station to get into the bar. It was glorious and one of the greatest dives in the city. When it went tits up, forced out by the MTA, it was alleged that Jimmy Fallon (and my pal Luke) helped Tracy move to Siberia Bar. I think he named the new place Siberia because of the Soviet connection to his old place, which legend had it was a dead drop for Russian spies.

I never fell in love with Siberia Bar, like so many others did. I preferred the much cooler and way more friendly Bellevue Bar, which was around the corner. When Jimmy Duff ran Bellevue Bar, it was heaven. It had the best vibe, best music, and most incredible bartenders. It was always a freakshow. Jimmy moved to Brooklyn five years ago and opened Duff’s, and I believe Tracy was a part-owner of the old Bellevue, which folded soon after Jimmy went across the river. Now Tracy has followed Jimmy to Brooklyn.

So now there is a “new” Siberia, located in Brooklyn. will it take off?

[UPDATE: New York Observer has an interview too]

So we finally heard from Jimmy Duff about what he is doing with his bar in Billyburg. It is moving about a mile next week. The scoop:

Some facts for ya:

The last night at DUFF’S present location is Saturday, November 29. “Last Call at North 3rd Street” (This location at North 3rd will remain open afterwards as Rock N’ Roll dive bar THE BUNKER).

DUFF’S will be opening in our new location the following weekend at 168 Marcy Avenue in South Williamsburg, December 5th and 6th, along with all the DUFF’s employees & jukebox. The new location is approximately 1 mile from the current North 3rd Street bar. We hope you’ll join for some of the best parties of the year, and thank you for your continued support!!

This one also comes from Murphguide. Our friend Aaron (of Coyote Ugly fame) is hosting this benefit party at his bar South 4th in Williamsburg…

Sunday, November 11
Benefit Fall Ball
For those of you who are wondering what South 4th is up to, it’s means they are having a PROM. The theme is the Best of the ’40s. Most importantly, the special reason why they are having the Fall Ball is that it will serve as a benefit this Sunday night for Gary Gray’s father who was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor.

So we will be selling tickets to the Prom, and all the proceeds from those tickets will go directly to Gary’s dad to help with his medical expenses during this tough time.

RSVP: kimmyhale@aol.com

If you RSVP for the Fall Ball, that will serve as your reservation for tickets.
Tickets are $25 per person, or $40 per couple, so specify how many tickets you would like when you RSVP
7pm-Mdnight
at:
South 4th
90 South 4th St. (Berry St.)
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
(718) 218-7478

Jimmy Duff sent me this press release today, if you want to be famous and are a chick, read on, here it is in all its glory:

Saturday, September 8, 2007: 11:00pm – 12:30am
DUFF’S BROOKLYN
28 North 3rd St.
Brooklyn, NY 11211

Casting Directors from VH1/51 Minds Entertainment (Christopher Catalano &
Douglas Howington), will be looking for girls 21+, single and who are looking to win the love of the ROCKSTAR of their dreams. Auditions will be held in Manhattan the following week and girls that we approve will be given an individual audition slot and have an on-camera audition.

ALL girls are required to be at least 21 years of age as of November 1, 2007
and MUST be single. Single means they are not engaged, separated from spouse, “getting” divorced or married. Single means, divorced is final, and not in a serious relationship. We of course want ALL ethnicities and ALL types!

So here is the information I have so far for the show: I am casting for VH1/51 Minds Entertainment, the Producers of “The Surreal Life”, “Flavor of Love”, “I Love New York” and “Rock of Love”. I will be in New York and surrounding areas, (Long Island, New Jersey) from September 4-12, 2007, looking for SINGLE WOMEN, 21+, with big personalities for this VH1 ROCK N’ ROLL RELATIONSHIP SHOW, where 20 girls will compete for the chance to date the ROCKSTAR of their dreams. (the rock star has not been announced yet, but I would think someone that makes the girls wild and girls would do anything just to meet this guy, a Tommy Lee type of rocker).

There currently is a show on VH1 called Rock of Love with the lead being ‘80s pop metal band POISON frontman, Bret Michaels. Bret sets off on a determined search for a mate. Michaels needs a woman who can handle his rockstar lifestyle: someone who won’t get jealous of his main mistress: music. Bret will design challenges to test each girls’ ability to handle every aspect of his life. The women that rock his world will be given VIP passes and will be allowed to stay in his house. The others will be sent home until in the end when one lucky lady will be a true Rock Star Girlfriend.

So we’re looking for girls of ALL types. In my opinion ideally they would be 24 years old and older. I want hardcore rocker chicks, tattooed, big hair, drinks beer, rockin body and looks like a rockstar wouldn’t mind bringing her on his arm to any star studded event. Most of the girls would be Caucasian, but that is not all I want. At the end of the day I want girls that are HOT and have a ton of personality.