Everyone who’s been to Frank’s Chop Shop knows that music can be a big part of the haircut experience.  The soundtrack at the Chop Shop, hand-picked by the barbers, is always full of especially good conversation pieces; every time you come in, you’re bound to leave with a new band or a new song to go searching for.

Starting this week, we’ll be talking regularly with the legendary Chop Shop barbers Mr. Bee, Chris and Fritz about the unique soundtrack they bring to the exclusive Chop Shop clientele – what they’ve been rocking, what’s the best song to trim a beard to, what won’t get Chop Shop play… you get the idea.   

FRANK151: Since this is the first time we’ve done this, let’s start with the basics – what role do you think music has at the Chop Shop?

MR. BEE: Definitely a big role.  It’s like anywhere.  The music’s a reflection of our style and attitude.  There’s no better way to put it.  That’s why it varies.  That’s why we try to keep it very eclectic, as eclectic as possible.  We try to be the most well-rounded barbershop in the city, and I think the well-rounded music we play reflects that.

FRANK151:  Just so out-of-towners know, it’s been brick-cold this week in New York, with snow and freezing rain to boot.   Has that had any effect on the music you’ve been playing?

MR. BEE: Whenever it’s miserable out, I wanna play the Smiths.  ‘Course, when it’s sunny out, I also wanna play the Smiths.

CHRIS: [The Smiths] make me all slow and sluggish, so usually I gotta put on something more fast paced.

FRITZ: My input is this – I like when Chris acts black and puts on Wheezy.  I just got introduced to the Smiths, but Chris hates when Bee plays them, so…

CHRIS: Fritz is the only black man in the world who knows all the lyrics to the Smiths.

FRANK151: What else have you guys been playing alot of in here the past couple weeks?

CHRIS: Nothing but Earth Crisis.

FRANK151: Did you really just say Earth Crisis?

MR. BEE: What was their big hit?  Oh yeah, “Firestorm”…  

(At this point, the customer in Chris’ chair pointed out that Earth Crisis is playing a reunion show soon)

CHRIS: Who even goes to an Earth Crisis reunion?

FRANK151: Yeah… Anybody who drinks or eats meat will be killed.

CHRIS: That’s right!

FRANK151: But, seriously, what else have you been playing lately?

CHRIS: Bouncing Souls, Social Distortion…   

MR . BEE: I want to plug my friend’s band, Blonde Acid Cult. 

CHRIS: They suck. 

MR. BEE: They don’t suck.  They’re really good.  They’re actually playing tonight at Le Royale. 

FRANK151: Well, maybe this will be posted in time to give them a shout out for that show…. 

(Unfortunately, it wasn’t. But they’re playing tomorrow night at Galapagos, 8 pm, so you can go check ‘em out)

MR.BEE: We play the Explosion a lot, this punk band from Boston.  My friend Damian is the bass player for them.  And he’s also in Blonde Acid Cult.  They sound a lot like the Charlatans, or Primal Scream.

FRANK151: You’ve been playing a friend’s band; could there be any nepotism in the way you guys choose music to play?

MR. BEE: No, not at all.  It might be a coincidence, but never favoritism.  We’re just fortunate to know some really great musicians.  We do our best to stay up on what’s fresh.  And we try not to gravitate too much to one thing.  You may hear a lot of old punk rock, but we try to play a little bit of everything, from Northern Soul to reggae. 

FRANK151: Have you guys ever had any strong really strong reactions to the music you’re playing in here?  Like people who really love it and gotta have it, or people who want to make you turn it off?

CHRIS: When we get families in here, which I hate, I’ll put on the crazy stuff, like racist stuff or something, to try to get them to leave.  Or when we get really bitchy girlfriends in here, who boss their boyfriends around – I’ll put on the really rude stuff.  You probably shouldn’t write any of that.

FRANK151: Fritz, what’s your take on the music these guys throw on?

FRITZ: I try not to get too involved.  They expose me to a lot of new things, like I said.  They introduced me to the Smiths, who were a big influence on a lot of other bands I already knew.   I never knew, but Bono sounds a lot like [the Smiths’ lead singer] Morrissey, you know?   And so I get to learn a lot about who were the influences on the bands that I’ve already heard.

FRANK151: Have you guys had any recent discoveries here at the Chop Shop?

CHRIS and MR. BEE together: Jay Reatard.  

CHRIS: He’s awesome. 

MR. BEE: He’s playing two shows here in April. 

FRANK151: And how did you guys hear about him?

CHRIS: Actually, my girlfriend works for Fader.   Maybe you shouldn’t write that, if they’re the competition or whatever.

FRANK151: I think it’ll be okay.

CHRIS: Well, she put us onto him.  It sounds like early Wire, but it’s pretty goofy.

MR. BEE: It’s great garage rock.

CHRIS: Yeah.

MR. BEE: So, when is this going to be up?

This entry was posted on Friday, February 29th, 2008 at 11:01 pm and is filed under Music, Chop Shop. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.