"The Griffon was the bar in town that the students on campus loved. It had cheap drinks, cool atmosphere and usually had some great live music. After Woodstock II, Green Day supposedly stopped in there to play a quick set. Every now and then a pretty big act would roll through for a surprise set on their way from Albany or Poughkeepsie, so the place was always packed, especially on Friday nights. I went there mostly for the music and have my obligatory one drink." - Jake Howard
It's time to talk about the setting again, and this place is pretty important in the story and in my life.
The Griffon was the first bar I ever went to. I think it was to see a show and I know I wasn't of age to be there so it must have been a teen night. I know for sure I wasn't 21. I didn't go there to drink anyway, I went for the music. As soon as I walked in, this place felt special to me. Just something about being in this dark club made 18-20 year old me feel rebellious.
I wasn't, not by a long shot.
Bobby Downs owned this place (and a few other places in the following years). I never met the man, and if I did I had no idea, but for whatever reason The Griffon has always held a special place in my heart. In fact, after I moved to Jersey and met my future wife, I brought her up to NY to meet some friends and saw with my own eyes that The Griffon had become a Japanese place. I was heartbroken, but it never left my heart.
I might be romanticizing it a little bit because this was over twenty years ago.
Once I had the setting and era of my book down, I KNEW I had to have The Griffon in it. The Griffon is the bar that Jake, Scott and the other characters go to. I'm trying to be careful with what I say here, but in my story The Griffon is almost a member of the cast. A lot goes down there, both good and bad, throughout the story and in a little over a week you guys will read what I'm talking about.
On a side note, I may have cried a little bit yesterday seeing my book on Barnes and Noble's site. Just a little bit...
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