A Terminology Issue – Was it the Beer?

Welcome back to Thebeerchaser.  If you are seeing this post through an e-mail, please visit the blog by clicking on the title above to see all of the photos at the end of the post and so the narrative isn’t clipped or shortened. (External photo attribution at the end of the post. #1)

In a recent entry in my daily devotional, the author illustrated his point by quoting Proverbs 20:1:

“Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.”

Reading this led me on one of my typical internet research projects which my wife says occupy far too much of my free time, although it was prompted by a recent NBC.com article entitled:

” Morgan Wallen arrested after throwing chair from rooftop of Nashville bar, police say.”  (#2)

And while this incident was not a brawl per se’, it was not his first encounter with police because of scuffles with others:

“Wallen was arrested around 11 p.m. Sunday night outside Chief’s on Broadway, a Nashville honky-tonk bar that his fellow country musician Eric Church opened in March.

Per a police report, officers were standing outside the bar when a chair landed intact on the ground several feet from them. Staff members reportedly told the officers Wallen had thrown the chair from six stories above…” (emphasis added)

Since it involved a bar, I obviously was curious.  Chief’s on Broadway, opened just in April, evidently celebrates the career of Eirc Church and has about 4,000 posters from his country-western singing career.

It may well be the tallest bar in the United States:

“Chief’s is a six-story bar, restaurant, event space, and live music venue designed to celebrate Eric Church’s ever-expanding musical legacy.

Located in historic downtown Nashville, Chief’s will feature a ticketed music venue, inspirational interiors, and a thoughtful focus on unique live performances, offering fans an unparalleled entertainment experience in Music City.”  MusicCity.com  (#3 – #4)

Given the short duration since opening, there are only three Yelp reviews so far, but it’s obvious, the rooftop incident will play for some time:

“Super nice bar and good drinks. Almost gave it 4 stars (rather than five) because the chairs are so light and tossable.”  Yelp – April 8, 2024

Before leaving this thread, a few more comments on the distinction between beer and wine as illustrated by quotes:

“Beer is made by men, wine by God.” – Martin Luther

“In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria.” – Benjamin Franklin

And my favorite which is unattributed except I located it in an ad on the website of the Sherlock Holmes British Pub in Dubai, United Arab Emirates:

“Beer, because one doesn’t solve the world’s problems over white wine.”

Of course, we shouldn’t give short shrift to whiskey and Irish playwright and critic George Bernard Shaw, no stranger to controversy, who opined: (#5)

“Whisky is liquid sunshine.”

Not many dives I’ve been to have served wine.  If it were available and could lead to “mocking” as the scripture asserts, it might result in a brawl with those consuming quantities of beer. (#6)

I was also struck that an internet search reveals a number of athletic teams named “Brawlers.”  I assume that their post-game libation is beer.

The Boston Brawlers – a football team based in Harvard Stadium – a charter member of the Fall Experimental Football League (FXFL) – a professional football minor league that played just two seasons in 2014 and 2015.

The Bricktown Brawlers – a professional indoor football team based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They were a member of the Lonestar Division of the Intense Conference in the Indoor Football League (IFL).

And one I don’t really understand:

The Philadelphia Brawlers a team that plays in Division III of Blitz: The League II – an American football video game. (#7)

In contrast, I didn’t find any athletic team named “Mockers” – only two bands – one a pop band from New Zealand that performed from 1979 to 1988 and Los Mockers – a 1960 rock band from Uruguay. 

The latter, pictured below, do not look like they could hold their own in a brawl… (#8)

I won’t mention The Mocker – comic book character 

Moving on to Another Legendary Country Singer

I have rather eclectic taste in the music I listen to – ranging from Big Band, Classical (especially with beautiful oboe solos, Christian instrumental, 1960’s rock-n-roll and last but not least, old-time country western.

This is not the contemporary western pop, but renowned vocalists like the four shown  clockwise below:

George Jones, Alan Jackson, Hank Williams and Don Williams. (And no, I can’t sing a decent version of either Amanda or Tulsa Time.…)  (#9- #12)

Well, one of these crooners recently passed away.  The legendary Toby Keith died in February 2024 of stomach cancer.  Although not an ardent fan of his songs, I was captivated by his songs, “Beer for My Horses” as well as the 2003 single “I Love This Bar” – it reached #1 on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks.

Keith released nineteen studio albums, two Christmas albums, and five compilation albums, totaling worldwide sales of over forty-million albums.

He charted sixty singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including twenty number-one hits and twenty-two additional Top-Ten hits. (Wikipedia) (#13)

I love this bar
It’s my kind of place
Just walkin’ through the front door
Puts a big smile on my face
It ain’t too far
Come as you are
Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, I love this bar

The song captures perfectly the sentiments I felt when I decided to start my Beerchasing hobby in 2011, as stated in an article entitled:

“The Meaning Behind The Song: I Love This Bar,” in the blog Oldtimemusic.com  (#14)

“The song is about finding a sense of belonging and comfort in a local bar. Keith sings about all the different types of people that frequent the bar, from bikers to college kids, and how they all come together to have a good time.

The chorus of the song proclaims Keith’s love for the bar, stating that it has everything he needs, from cold beer to good company. The lyrics paint a picture of a place where everyone can let loose and forget about their troubles.

I became more interested after I started a data base on bar articles. It caught my attention that Toby Keith’s bars were having some problems other than what might be caused by unruly patrons.

I kept seeing headlines such as those below:

Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar abruptly closes   Bring Me The News – June 25, 2015

Rascal Flatts restaurants failed nationwide. Did a Mafia soldier pull the strings?  The Republic March 13, 2029

Former crime boss, owner of defunct Toby Keith restaurant in Foxboro pleads guilty to fraud   Arizona Sun Chronicle – August 13, 2021

Toby Keith’s Restaurant Chain Was Once Involved in a Wire Fraud Scheme by an Ex-Crime Boss    Distractify – MSN 2024  (#15 – #16)

Fans of the late singer will be happy to know that Keith was not the owner.  Rather his song was the inspiration for the bar and his name licensed by Boomtown Entertainment. Toby Keith evidently did make surprise visits to franchises, where he performed and socialized with fans. (Wikiepedia)    

 The ownership by Boomtown was under the control of one Frank Capri. (see below). 

The story is too complex to convey here, but you might check out the links above and it can be summarized by stating that after his death and a series of closures and scads of lawsuits, only two locations of “I Love this Bar” remain open – both in Oklahoma and neither of which is now owned by Boomtown Entertainment.

“Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill offered mall owners a special recipe. Equal parts eatery, roadhouse and concert hall, it promised steady foot traffic during the day and an after-hours bonanza of drinking and dancing. It proved to be a recipe for financial disaster.

Combined, four Arizona developers won $13.1 million in judgments against Capri and his companies. Greenville joined a list of 19 other cities from coast to coast where Boomtown said it would build Toby Keith restaurants that never opened.

Those cities included Anaheim, Colorado Springs, Jacksonville, Boise, New Orleans, Lansing, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, San Antonio and Portland, Oregon.”  Greenville News – 11/1/2027  (#17)

“Capri’s Phoenix companies built 20 Toby Keith restaurants beginning in 2009 and announced plans to build 20 more that never opened. By 2015, all but one had closed. Allegations of fraud and theft followed. 

In lawsuits, developers claimed he stiffed contractors, broke lease agreements and took millions of dollars meant to pay for construction.”  (Arizona Republic – 3/13/2019)

As has happened many times when celebrities collaborate with entrepreneurs (and mobsters…) the result is not positive.

The story essentially ends as reported March 2022 in City Beat – a Cincinnati publication: 

“Frank Capri, a former mobster turned government witness turned developer who scammed The Banks with a Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill-branded restaurant, was sentenced last week to five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and tax evasion.”

I guess as one of the verses in the song goes, a lot of investors and contractors came out on the short end:

We got winners
We got losers
Chain-smokers and boozers
We got yuppies
We got bikers
We got thirsty hitchhikers
And the girls next door dress up like movie stars
Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, I love this bar (#18)

Cheers

Internal Photo Attribution

#1. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:Aaron Burden 2016-05-02 (Unsplash 1EbsMYrAu-s).jpg – Wikimedia Commons) This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Author: Aaron Burden aaronburden – 2 May 2016.

#2.  Wikimedia Commons (File:Morgan Wallen Concert November 13 landscape.jpg – Wikimedia Commons)  Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.  Author: Paul to my Linda – 13 November 2021

#3. Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083809501460).

#4.  Music City.com (Chief’s on Broadway | Visit Nashville TN (visitmusiccity.com).

#5. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George_Bernard_Shaw_1936.jpg) This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired and its author is anonymous.  Author: Anonymous – 1936.

#6. Image courtesy of Pam Williams

#7. Flickr’s Common (File:Brawl.jpg – Wikimedia Commons)  This image was taken from Flickr‘s The Commons. The uploading organization may have various reasons for determining that no known copyright restrictions exist.  Author: British Library 7 December 2013.

#8. Public Domain  – Wikimedia Commons (Los Mockers by Olga Masa, 1965 – Los Mockers – Wikipedia) This image is in the public domain because the copyright of this photograph, registered in Argentina, has expired. Author:  Olga Masa  – 1965.

#9.  Public Domain  – Wikimedia Commons (File:George Jones.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Secisek at English Wikipedia. This applies worldwide. Author: Secisek at English Wikipedia – June 2002.

#10. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:Alan jackson at pentagon.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) This image is a work of a U.S. military or Department of Defense employee, taken or made as part of that person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain in the United States.

#11. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:Hank Williams publicity.jpg – Wikimedia Commons)  This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published in the United States between 1929 and 1977, inclusive, without a copyright notice. Author:  MGM Records – 1952

#12. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (By DJParker39 at English Wikipedia. – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14549573) DJParker39 at English Wikipedia – 5 November 2006.

#13. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:Toby Keith in concert.jpg – Wikimedia Commons). This file is a work of a sailor or employee of the U.S. Navy, taken or made as part of that person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, it is in the public domain in the United States. Author:  Lenny Francioni – 31 August 2005.

#14. Wikimedia Commons (File:Saloon San Francisco 2014 (15278844981).jpg – Wikimedia Commons). Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license). Author:  Mobilus In Mobili – 14 May 2014.

#15.  Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar – Bricktown Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/TobyKeithsBar).

#16. Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar – Bricktown Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/LowerBricktown/photos/t.100064824877178/10156417149528039/?type=3).

#17. Wikimedia Commons (File:Toby Keith’s in Las Vegas.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.  Author: David Shane – 11 July 2018.

#18. Wikimedia Commons – Public Domain (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Michigan-exterior-toby.JPG) The copyright holder of this file allows anyone to use it for any purpose, provided that the copyright holder is properly attributed. Redistribution, derivative work, commercial use, and all other use is permitted.  Author: ArizonaLincoln – 3 March 2010.