Now that CMAS is chugging along well, I'm ready to invite more of my friends and business contacts to visit the site.  Please feel free to send your friends and co-workers as well.

I'm giving a great deal on office party DJ's.  Let me know!

~Josh~

We're Hiring!  We have been continuing to add events to our calander, and are in growth mode.

If you would like to work as a bartender, DJ, or think you fit in our puzzle somewhere else, we'd love to know about it!

Please fill out our "Work with Us!" form and we'll see if we can get you out at a couple of events.  Or maybe we can partner up and help you with an event of yours?

We're looking for fun, energetic people to join the team!

Talk to you soon,

~Josh Law~

Here we are, use us!  

We've been doing events for 3 seasons now, with much of it being wedding work.  There are some things we've learned.

Be early, every time.
Bring extra(everything)
Be flexible
Be happy to be there
Be fun!

Its great that so many people have invited us to be a part of their special days.  I'm looking forward to many more, so bring it on!

Also, if you're keeping tabs on us, we're now on YELP.com as well as a Groupon type website called "Trubates".  If you can find us on there, you may be able to snag a deal on one of our bar tending packages.

See you there!

So, I have to give a shout-out to two different places today.  I'm working with two different bars doing country nights.
First, on Tuesdays we've got The Bar 10 Doors.

This place is pretty great.  Its really close to UIC campus.  The menu is eclectic.  You can't go wrong with 3 dollar Jameson shots EVERY NIGHT.

I tried the 10Doors burger tonight.  Rachel brought me a huge burger with egg and bacon on a pretzel bun.  Medium rare- done just right.

I'm actually playing as I'm writing this, and I've got to say the manager Patrick is really nice and laid-back.  You can catch him anytime chatting up some of the regulars.

Where does the name come from?  Check this out:

Bartenders
Bar-Ten-Ders
Bar-10-Doors

Get it?  Good.  See you there.

So on Friday nights I'm in WrigleyVille at a bar that is practically on the same block as the Cubs:  Mullen's

I tell you, when I play here on Fridays, this place gets awesome!  


The kitchen stays open until 1:00am, a rarity in the area.  There are drink specials all night, and the clientele is ready for a good time.  You can often spot Cubby fans running all over the place in their various sports apparel.

Its definitely a weekend, rowdy, fun-loving crowd.  I've seen some crazy stuff while working in the area too.  People getting stuffed into cop-cars never gets old, especially when the guy is obviously not in his right state of mind and talking back to the cops.  LOL.  

Another bar in the area that I've begun to love is Irish Oak.  One of the managers, Eric, comes in occasionally to say hi.  I've headed over there to check out the area, and everybody is like family over there.  Props.

So if you want to meet me out on Tuesdays or Fridays, those are your best bets.  See you there!

~Josh~

The "Beef Tornado".  Not something you're familiar with?

You should be.

A new restaurant opened up nearby my place in Wicker Park.  MC Restaurant and Lounge.

Good gosh.  You don't need to read the rest of this blog.  Just go get you some Beef Tornado.

It had been a rainy month, but the sun was out and it is al fresco season.  So I ate outside.  We were greeted by a server right away who seemed to have no affiliation with the culture(s) of the food, she seemed neither French nor Vietnamese.

She was not exceptionally knowledgeable in the menu either.  She gave a shot at saying some of the authentic names for the dishes, but you could tell they weren't under her control yet.  Not that my tries would have been any better!  She mentioned that she was new here.

I settled on the recommendation that she gave saying that the "Beef Tornado"($13) was very popular.  I was interested.

I settled on Crab Rangoon(one of my faves, $5) for an appetizer.

I tried to order a drink, but I had forgot my ID, so like a good new server, she didn't let me order from the bar.  Although I did note that they have inexpensive domestics and a small assortment of imports and specialty beers.

I kind of expected a nice place like this to have a specialty cocktail page, but was disappointed when  a small section of the menu was dedicated to telling me that "MC Restaurant & Lounge offers a wide variety of exceptional mixed drink and fine wine.  Ask your server or bartender for details."

I personally don't take issue with asking for a more exotic offerings, but I(and most patrons) would like to know what the appropriate options would be.  That what the menu selections should be, an "appropriate to the cuisine" selection of drinks. 

If you went to a japanese restaurant you would expect to see sake on the menu.  Korean restaurant, soju.  I would like to know what the cuisine calls for.

/rant

So the crab rangoon comes.  Not the best version of it.  The shell was ok, very little crab, very little cream cheese.  Meh.

So right after I'm finished with that comes the big guns.

BEEF TORNADO!!!!

This dish hit me right in the mouth with flavor.  I'm not exactly a foodie, but this was just rich in delicious seasonings.  Plenty of beef fillet, side of white rice.  Awesome sauce.

As I was finishing up, the rain started coming down, hard.  We were under an umbrella and the rain wasn't hitting us at all, so we just took it in.  A guy came out smoking, and insisted on saying how good the restaurant was and mispronouncing "Vietnamese" 14 times.  Guh.

Go here.  Try the Tornado.

I'm sure I'll be back, and when I go, I'll report on the bar situation.

~Josh~

I know that everyone wants to hear their favorite song get played, but seriously...

Not everybody has the same taste in death-metal as you.
Not everybody has the same taste for the Bee-Gees as you.
Not everybody has the same taste for Country as you do.
Electric Slide
Hard Rap
YMCA
Hip-Hop
The 80's
Lady Gaga

LOL.

Seriously, getting requests is the best way for the DJ to know and learn about what people like to hear at events.  So bring them early and bring them often!

... but ...

Please don't be upset when we don't have time to accommodate every request.  You also should consider that the happy couple(in the case of a wedding) or organizer has probably already given pretty clear directions to the DJ on what types of music to include.

We also consider the group as a whole when we make our play-decisions.  Hip-hop is great when there are fifty 20-somethings on the dance floor, but when the grandparents of the bride are out, it is not such a wise choice.

Enjoy the music, and request responsibly!

I just posted a personal website and got it up and running.  Just the basics for now, but more to come!

I also used weebly.com to make the other website.  It is a super easy way for someone like me(with no web design background) to get something to look just like you want it to!

www.joshlaw312.weebly.com

This video is going insane viral. For those of you who are looking for the model of a unique proposal, here it is!

It's got all the right elements, and is done tastefully.

Enjoy!

Opening a new bar/restaurant in Chicago?  Work with what you've got!

On the Ashland/Division/Milwaukee intersection with the Division Blue Line stop there once stood the proud MB Financial building.  Recently its no longer run by MB, and the first story has been turned into a CVS.

The basement where the vault once was, is now:  "The Bedford"

They opened May 2nd under the guidance of Mark Steuer, formerly of The Gage.  They are working with what they were given.

The walls are lined with safety deposit boxes, and a portion of the seating is literally in the vault.  The floors and woodwork all seem like they came with the place too.  Marble floors, antique deposit slip tables, and high ceilings all harken back to what the building once was.

Craft cocktails are specialty here, I tried the "Jackknife Judy" a Templeton Rye concoction.  It came in classic glasswear and was crafted by Pete Gugni, who has been featured for his work in the New York Times, USA today, and E!.  It was a complex sipping cocktail that complimented the duck confit entree that I had ordered.

The waitress mentioned that they weren't ready to serve a dessert drink deemed, "Boozy Milkshakes".  It sounds to me like it will be similar to my own crafted drink, "Paddy's Shakedown".  I'm looking forward to ordering one of those up next time around.

The Bedford is located at 1612 W. Division Street, keep your eyes peeled though, because the entrance isn't well marked.  They can be reached at 773.235.8800