Hanks Saloon is best known by Brooklynites as a somewhat grimy looking dive bar adorned by flames of hellfire on the corner of 3rd and Atlantic.
Walk through its doors, covered with stickers of every group that’s ever played there, and you’ll find a gritty, urban juke-joint where you can see real country bands, drink cheap PBR, and shoot digital deer on Big Buck Hunter 2. On Sundays you can grab good grub courtesy of Mi Familia Taco Truck at Sean Kershaw’s Honky Tonk Brunch from 1pm onwards. Head all the way back, and you’ll find bathrooms that rival those of the long gone CBGB’s.
Before becoming Brooklyn’s finest honky-tonk, Hanks was called The Doray Tavern, and was once a watering hole for unionized Mohawk Indian ironworkers, famous for their fearlessness of heights and instrumental in building many of New York’s bridges and buildings in the 20’s and 30’s. The bar changed its name to Hank’s when it was purchased by Dave Sheeran in 2000. Thanks to Kershaw, Hank’s began having live music in November of the same year, always keeping its rough and tumble ambiance.
About those early days, Kershaw states, “I started live music at Hank’s with my band the Blind Pharaohs. For the first few months we were the only band to play there.”
When Sheeran noticed more money coming in from the live music scene Kershaw was cultivating, he invested in a Mackie 808M PA, which still powers the vocals at Hank’s today. Kershaw adds, “word began getting around the neighborhood that there was a great band playing every Sunday night for free and that the bar provided free burgers and hot dogs. Pretty soon we had a motley crowd of old pensioners, veterans, Con Ed workers, corrections officers, hustlers, and underage punk rockers. Some folks from CBGB and Mars Bar started working and hanging out as well, which gave the venue some extra cred and a huge pool of music fans and bands to tap into.”
There were ups and downs with a post 9/11 funk dimming the public’s desire to venture out on the town, but eventually business picked up again. The Blind Pharaohs morphed into Sean Kershaw and the New Jack Ramblers hammering away on Sunday sessions and Kershaw recalls how sometimes things got wild. “There were bar brawls, semi-nude make-out sessions, and shenanigans I cannot divulge at this time. The cops just watched from their cars, munching free weenies. We were featured in the Village Voice, Timeout NY, The New Yorker, and NY The Times.”
Current owner Julie Ipcar took over in 2005 and notes that while somethings have changed, others have stayed the same. “Physically Hank’s hasn’t really changed that much even since it was the Doray Tavern, which I grew up with on that corner. When we took it over in 2005 we added a stage because we wanted to add more live music. We’ve seen the crowd change with the addition of the live music Wednesday through Sunday, which brings people from all over the city as well as further away. There has also been an influx of people moving into the neighborhood the past 5 years or so which has brought a younger crowd who aren’t intimidated by the “biker bar” look of the outside flames and stickers and enjoy the specialness that Hank’s has to offer.”
Mr. Lee Greenfeld of Dead Flowers Productions is the talent buyer/booker and has been a proud member of Hanks family since April 2013, having previously been co-owner at the now defunct Magnetic Fields, which was also on Atlantic Avenue. When asked about memorable moments, Greenfeld recalls, “Some of my fondest shows would be The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion as part of their Five Borough tour, every time David Hillyard & The Rocksteady 7 play, original 1970s UK punks the Pork Dukes, and Roddy Radiation from The Specials. That said, there’s been countless acts that have graced our stage of every genre that have left me smiling ear to ear or with my jaw on the floor.”
Ipcar adds, “Some of my favorite nights have been from local band (and my personal favorite) The New York Fowlharmonic. Also having participated in the Atlantic Antic street fair every year has been a highlight for us. We always have a great outdoor lineup and just really fun times to be had by everyone who attends.”
Sadly, the good times are fated to end soon, at this address anyway. After years of delayed development plans, the property was purchased by a new owner in 2012 who, while gracious enough to let the management occupy the space for the last five years, is now ready to build on the site.
Building to be torn down
About the decision to shut down Greenfeld states, “It was less a decision and more a forced closure as the building will be torn down to be another unnecessary dwelling for rich transplants. I truly believe that big real estate greed has nearly ruined this town. Of course we all wish that Hank’s could remain on the corner of Third Avenue forever, with all the history in that wonderfully damaged building, but sadly the changing face of NYC made that an impossibility.”
As to how its closing will affect the local scene, Ipcar says, “It will definitely affect not only the music scene on that corner in Brooklyn, because it was so near all major transportation, so it was easily accessible, but it will also be extremely sad for the community we have built between our staff and customers who will not have a place like Hank’s to go to anymore in that neighborhood. There are very few dive bars left in our neighborhoods where people can come and hangout with cheap drink specials and staff that has been working there for over 20 years, like Jeannie who remembers everyone’s birthdays and makes all feel welcome.”
Kershaw concurs. “Hanks is pretty much the last old school live music dive in the five boroughs. There are actually a lot of great venues now, but none that have the history, the neighborhood charm or the naturally amazing sound. Or the century of grit. There is something spontaneous and organic about Hank’s that can’t be duplicated. But we’ll keep it going until Dec 16 when we plan to throw a roof-raising hoedown with everyone we can find who’s played with us over the years.”
Exactly what will built on the current plot remains to be seen. What’s clear is that come mid-November, Hanks will move onto greener pastures. Ipcar explains, “Hill Country BBQ reached out to me early this year when they heard we were looking for a new home. They had a venue located on Adams Street and Willoughby and thought we would be very comfortable there. We just have to do minor renovations and then bring over some items from the original Hank’s to make it a little more special. It will never look like what Hank’s does now obviously, since it’s a new space and very different, but we hope to continue the music scene in downtown Brooklyn with our staff and create another new community over there.”
Michael describes the new locale and seems optimistic about its future. “The new Hank’s will be on the second floor above the food court at Hill Country. It will be a stand-alone bar/venue with a much-improved sound system and slightly more space than we have now; it will remain open after the court closes for the day. I hope everyone will give the new space a real shot and know that I plan on continuing booking the way I always have, and we’ll do our best to infuse the new spot with as much of the spirit of the old Hank’s as possible. We are still sorting out an opening date, but it will be sooner than you think.”
Crevulators say farewell
On Friday, September 28, three fine groups played a “Farewell” concert including Blank Baby & The Adults, blues guitarist extraordinaire Andy Seagrave, and “Eclecticana” regulars The Crevulators.
Lit by the gauzy glow of Christmas lights, lead singer Justin Wertz, drummer Charlie Shaw, and guitarist “MC-Obb” of Blank Baby & The Adults ripped into classic covers by Eddie Cochran, Chuck Berry, and Johnny Darrell. A bit later on the same stage backed by a fading American flag, Andy Seagrave brought the house down with his own brand of blues adding massive Hendrix like riffs to tunes new and old, originals and covers. His cracking trio featured Dan Green on bass and Sebastian Chiriboga on drums. An appreciative crowd cheered and hoisted pints of cheap suds.
Headliners The Crevulators came on at roughly 11 and played a set of all original tunes in a classic Americana vein. The Crevulators consist of New Zealanders Stan Mitchell and Andrew White on drums and bass respectively and this author on lead guitar and vocals. The sound is eclectic Americana aka “Eclecticana” and the band name is a play on ‘carburetor’, i.e. the thing that makes an engine go. The concept comes from the kind of car talk so popular in deep northern New England, i.e. ‘My Crevulator broke, so I couldn’t make the show.”
As the night wore on, friends, fans, and fellow musicians pressed in to support each other, some leaning against the jukebox stocked with classic country and punk rock. Sound waves ricocheted off of cement floors and friendly banter blurred over booze late into the wee hours, perhaps the last of their kind as yet another Brooklyn institution is slated to be swept aside in the rising tide of gentrification.
– Mike Cobb is a Brooklyn based musician, writer, and multi-media producer. You can reach him at michaelcobb70@gmail.com
