The above "fake" magazine cover was drawn back in 1996. Who could have known that it would still be topical today?!? "Topical" like an ointment.

"THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS BAD PRESS"-Madonna

http://www.weshotjr.com said this:

The story of Deep Ellum's downfall has become as played out as the neighborhood itself, but the tale of Expo Park's rise is just starting to get interesting. Over the past several years, the small community of bars, cafes and lofts located at the corner of Exposition and Parry has emerged as an on again off again alternative to the dreary Deep Ellum and dude-brah controlled Greenville, providing an intimate and relatively hastle free environment in which several interesting things might (or might not) be happening within mere feet of one another on a given night. Places like the Amsterdam, Art Club, Fallout and Minc have all hosted at least a few solid shows (along with some bad ones as well) over the past three years, and the popular neighborhood spot Meridian Room has continued to be a favorite of many East Dallas and Oak Cliff residents. Expo Park does face it's share of problems- crime, inconsistent venue booking, and that annoying homeless magician in the parking lot, but one newcomer to the neighborhood might help to raise the bar in area that already seems to be on the up and up.

As I walked through the relatively empty space at the corner of Parry and 1st Ave that will soon be known as Sloppyworld, scene veteran and Sloppyworld proprietor John Freeman began to explain why he decided to risk a great deal of time and money to open a new music venue in a city that hasn't exactly been hospitable to such things lately. "Expo Park is the last cool neighborhood in Dallas," Freeman says, "and we can't let it die too. This might be our last chance." This kind of intensity and concern for the state of local music is a force that seems to guide Freeman in his vision for Sloppyworld, which will be Expo Park's first full time live music venue. He also seems to possess a keen sense of practicality.

"Dallas needs a cool mid sized venue run by people who are musicians themselves," he says, and any objective observer would have to admit that he has a point. With the closing of Gypsy Tea Room and Trees, as well as the emergence of the somewhat cold and corporate Palladium Loft and House of Blues, it is clear that Dallas could use a mid sized venue (200-500 capacity) run by someone who understands the city and the void that currently exists for more eclectic and experimental shows. Sure, places like Art Club and Doublewide will have a good show here and there, but due either to the size and/or booking preferences of Dallas' current venues, there doesn't appear to be a single place that is looking to consistently book the kinds of acts that many readers of this blog might enjoy. Like many in the area, Freeman realized that there was a sizable niche in the Dallas live music market that wasn't be satisfied, and he decided that it was prime time to seize a golden opportunity.

John Freeman's history in the Dallas and Denton music and art scenes is fairly well known, and his experience as both a musician, a venue employee and a promoter has been highly influential on his vision for Sloppyworld. He has seen and done a lot, working at the Argo, organizing as a member of the Good/Bad Art Collective, and most recently booking quality acts like Beach House for The Amsterdam. Learning from both the good and the bad, Freeman seems capable of taking the best aspects from some of those well known ventures and applying them to the concept and reality of Sloppyworld. "I can promise you that (Sloppyworld) will be like nothing you've ever seen," he says, adding that he envisions the place will be "kind of a mixture of the Argo, the old Good/Bad Art Collective, the Orbit Room, and a bizarre x factor that is all my own." He plans to have the venue open anywhere from 5-7 days a week, and hopes that the place will be seen not only as a venue, but as an epicenter for the musical and creative community in the area, hosting various activities and events in addition to the kinds of concerts that often have to venture north to Denton to find a home these days.

When I visited Sloppyworld a few weeks ago, the two things that became apparent from the get-go were it's size and highly desirable location. Located in 80 plus year old building that previously housed an antique store, the space's high ceilings, structural support beams and large, rectangular shape help create a spacious and warm atmosphere that is glaringly absent at places like House of Blues (duh). Furthermore, it's corner location assures that Sloppyworld will be one of the most highly visible venues on Perry street, situated a few dozed feet away from Meridian Room and Bar of Soap.

Of course, with so many upsides to a place that will be located in the economically depressed Fair Park area, it would seem that the city of Dallas would be more than accommodating to a business owner like Freeman. But unfortunately, things have not gone as smoothly in the planning and permit stage as one might hope. After several unsuccessful and unassisted attempts to figure out what kinds of permits were needed for the venue, Freeman's original opening date had to be pushed back several months in order to get all the paper work in place. "I had been to the permit building in Oak Cliff seven times over three months before they just told me that I needed a special use permit," Freeman said, "so then I had to go to City Hall, and it takes two months to process." City officials were largely indifferent throughout the process, but the problematic delays in construction were at least somewhat mitigated by some of Freeman's helpful neighbors and friends. "The girls at Doublewide have been amazingly supportive. Bar of Soap, Meridian Room, Fallout Lounge, and even Club Dada and Rubber Gloves have all sent their support. They're smart enough to realize that a new bar/venue in this area could only help everyone and bring more business to the area, which benefits everyone."

With the official opening date now set some time in mid to late September, Sloppyworld is just a few months away from opening it's doors. Of course, one new venue is not going to change the face of the neighborhood or the Dallas music scene at large, but talking with Freeman convinced me that he has the experience, integrity and musical knowledge to book good shows and run the venue in a way that should be beneficial to patrons and performers alike. Not every show will be something we're all into, but considering some of the highly respectable names he mentioned when discussing possible bands to book (I promised I wouldn't tell who), Sloppyworld's presence on the scene seems like one of the most promising developments in Dallas music in some time. "I plan to book bands that might not get shows here otherwise," Freeman says, "and I like strange and interesting bills where you have a mixture of bands on the same evening that may not seem to fit on paper, but when you put them together, some kind of rock n roll alchemy makes it the best show you've ever seen." How many Dallas venue owners have said something like that recently?

http://www.bigDlittled.com said this. Thanks, Sam...

View entire article thru the link above but here's an excerpt:

GOOD POST OFFICE ENCOUNTER

New hobby: selling crap on Amazon.com. This means I'm at the post office more often as of late, where I'm typically forced to endure spoiled Lakewood children and the housewives who ignore them. But a few days ago, I had a better time, because I ran into John Freeman, the former Dooms UK madman who currently performs as The Dutch Treats.

Rather than prod him about his large box smothered with "FRAGILE" tags, I instead asked him about his latest venture: Sloppyworld, his forthcoming music venue/alternative shop in Exposition Park. You may remember Freeman as the man behind the brief New Amsterdam booking renaissance (the Beach House gig from a while back being a particular highlight). After parting ways with the bar, he decided to start a house of his own. In spite of some red tape, Freeman succeeded where the likes of Fat Daddy's failed, and the place is set to open "this summer" with what should be a solid booking mix of the beautiful and the bizarre. Considering I love Exposition Park about as much as I love everything Freeman's laid his insane hands upon around Dallas, I can't help but get excited about what Sloppyworld may do for local music. And since Freeman's an incredibly nice guy with good music connections, something tells me he won't have trouble fetching some unique and must-see out-of-town bills.

THANKS TO KRAKHAUS FOR THE FOLLOWING TOUCHING TRIBUTE:

Sunday, December 25, 2005

John Freeman. One-man Rock Assault!

An extremely late Merry Freakin' Christmas to all you unwashed masses! And Happy New Year while I'm at it. It's about time I paid tribute to a man that you are probably famliar with if you live in the DFW area, and pay attention to local undergound music. If you don't live here you might have heard of some of his bands, and since relocating to New York a few years back he's taken to spreading his disease there as well. He's had a buncha these "groups" but some include: The Dooms U.K., The Dutch Treats, The Meat Helmets, The Cockouts, The Psychos, Duck Duck Annihilation, Telethon, Danza, Alan Parson's Projectile, The Delicious Bulls, Pink Mistake, The Golden Vipers, and The Thrilling Chilling Sounds of the Haunted House. John Freeman (also known as Johnny Murder, Uncle Sloppy, etc.) started out as simply "The Dooms" when he wrote a set of songs about Emmanuel Lewis, Patrick Swayze, Chewbacca, and other noteable subjects to be performed with his own guitar accompaniment at a friends's party in Denton, Texas. He soon had a band that seemed to start out with the intention of being a "rap and roll" band (mind you this was the early '90's). They quickly evolved into a more experimental beast that came to full fruition with the release of the now classic album Greasy Listening. Though truly a band, it is widely accepted that John was the "brains" behind the group, writing the lyrics and forging the direction in which they would head. His songs inhabit a world I can truly relate to; equal parts Bad T.V. and Pop Culture, Dungeons and Dragons, Punk/Metal, Extreme Sarcasm, Ernest Borgnine and a encyclopedic knowledge of Rock and Roll both good and bad. The word genius gets tossed around a lot these days so let me throw this fools name into the ring. (Robert Wilonksy said nearly the same thing in this weeks Dallas Observer, but I wrote this before I saw that rag.)

In addition to making music this Super-Nova is a cartoonist, writer, actor/voice over dude and Nanny to the stars. His comics are really funny, and drawn in his trademark jittery style, and though I'm most familiar with his writing via his song lyrics, what little else I've read was very well done. I have witnessed a "performance" of one of his plays, and the name escapes me but it took place at a science fiction/comic book convention in the '80's. Needless to say...It was a gut-blasting riot. Watching him perform live is the best way to get a feel (if you know what I mean) for his whole shtick, as he is an amazing improvisational comedian. I guess a large part of his appeal is that he is literally one of the funniest people ever to grace this world, and I can't undertand why he isn't at least as well known as any of those Blue Collar Comedy tour guys or Ruth Buzzie. I didn't make it up to Dan's Silverleaf in Denton for his only DFW appearance this year last night but I can only imagine there were smiles, and lots of bodily fluids all around.

I'll never forget the time I was treated to a very intimate solo performance of "Waterfalls" by TLC in my truck during a run I took John on to retrieve his guitar to play some keg party, or the time he scared an army of zoned-out hippies by opening the Fry Street Fair with the song "Hippies". (basically a rallying cry for the death of that type of hairy person.) The Dooms U.K. realeased one more album enititled Art Rock Explosion which documents the later Dooms fairly well.

MORE AWESOME INSIGHTS FROM THE GREAT, GREAT KRAKHAUS AT:

http://50waystoloseyourliver.blogspot.com/

DALLAS OBSERVER BLOG SAYS:

Last Night: Lollipop Shoppe at Sloppyworld

Sun Nov 18, 2007 at 06:52:40 PM-Lollipop Shoppe-Nov. 17, 2007-Sloppyworld

I thought I was going to get Ziggy Stardusted at last night’s Lollipop Shoppe party but the makeup table wasn’t too discernible from any of the other tables with empty beer bottles and plastic cups on it. Either that or the glare from all the glitz got in my eye being the art and music collective’s Glitter Glamboree. Unfortunately, I arrived late and missed the mod fashion show and the Ether Bunnies’ set but just in time to see the Lollie Dollies get on stage doing their '60s choreography reminiscent of background girls dancing in the Technicolor discothèques world of Modesty Blaise.

The raised stage with extended runway remained fairly empty afterward as DJs Panda Flower, Captain Groovy and Tiger Bee spun on the floor while people congregated to chat, dance or both. The drunken chick who proceeded to imprint her breasts in my arm while I was texting threw me for a loop, and so not in a good way. She declared she was a poet and between cigarette puffs, she tickled, wait, make that creeped out my left earlobe with a fairly impressive and impromptu poem. I could only think about asking her to rhyme the words “personal space.”

If the venue’s name is based on the fact that air conditioning doesn’t seem to exist providing collective sweat pits then it lives up to the moniker without question. But at the very least, Lollipop can place Glitter Glamboree in the success column with a fairly huge turnout that crowded both in and out of Sloppyworld.

The night continued as I ran into the Lek Brothers, who were making all the rounds in Expo Park. Going between Sloppyworld and minc, we caught the tail end of singing DJ Colette Push doing the album release party thing at the latter. As the clock soon struck 2 a.m., the after-party led me to an upstairs loft where DJs Woody Rosen, Redeye and London mixer Shur-i-kan kept up their turntable duties. The darkened loft with glowing blue lights hosted a healthy crowd with the most number of straight guys dancing I’ve ever seen with nary a female in sight. But 4 a.m. quickly closed in and the brothers and I decided it was time to exit. Besides, I had to rush home since the line for the restroom was way too long at the loft. Way. Too. Long. -- Rich Lopez

CHECK OUT THIS LINK:

FULL ARTICLE ON SLOPPYWORLD IN THE OBSERVER