Machine and Dead of Night Light Up The Pedicab

In case you missed it, the most exciting thing in Southtown – and possibly most of San Antonio – last night was Dead of Night and Machine performing at The Pedicab.

Though temporarily hindered by electrical problems during their first song, Dead of Night screeched onward with a wailing, guitar-driven sound reminiscent of post-punk skate video soundtracks.  Dueling guitars, delicately distorted and revved-up to a car crash frenzy, provided nice atmosphere for Danny Holloway’s confident vocals.  Showcasing some of their musical influence, Dead of Night unveiled a song apiece by Joy Division and Nirvana.

Austin’s electro-duo, Machine, drenched The Pedicab in enough warbles, deep bass, and blips to suggest that the multi-colored liquid display projected behind them was a reality.  High-pitched, clear synth tones fell adequately like crystal orbs of rain into the rich pool of electronic modulation that undulated beneath the captivated youth on the dance floor.  Masterminds Jonathan and Chase bobbed adroitly back and forth between keyboards, turntables, gadgets, doodads, whatzits, and general hodgepodgery during their creation of what can only be described as mind-altering dance psychedelia.  And that’s a good thing.

Dead of Night and Machine will share a stage again July 3rd at Thirsty Camel with The Vanity Press.

Catch Machine at their free Pedicab weeklies:
June 8 w/ The Headshrinkers
June 15 w/ TBA
June 22 w/ TBA

The Pedicab Proper

I’m thinking about finding pleasure in toothache, perhaps more than a century too late, and while I’m no Doestoevsky, I can’t help but think of the immediacy of the past.  Always.  What I mean is my wisdom teeth are raging inside of my head on a Sunday night as I drive to The Pedicab to speak with its owner, Michael Urbano.

This is my groan.

It’s a quiet evening at The Pedicab when I meet Michael.  Like his bar, he’s cool and calm, respectable and respectful.  He doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who would have driven cabs in New York City for 8 years, but maybe I’ve been watching too many movies.  In reality, every cab I’ve ever been in has had a nonchalant driver who primarily kept to himself and mumbled monotonously into the Bluetooth attached to his ear.  So I change my mind; I can see Michael driving cabs in New York City.

And like so many people who relocate to different cities, Michael and his wife left New York in search of that all-too-elusive change.  After researching a few different major Texas cities, they decided on San Antonio.  Against the advice of friends and other do-gooders, Michael bypassed Austin to make his home here because he, unlike so many non-Texans — and unlike so many San Antonians, too — saw potential.  While everyone else buried their heads in the sand of the “Keep San Antonio Lame” mentality, Michael set right to work making a positive impact on his new home.

In a word, Michael’s plan is progress.  As a seasoned cabby, it was no stretch for one of his first business ventures to be a pedicab service in S.A.  He did his homework on Austin’s success and even the former success of San Antonio’s pedicab service when the Spurs inhabited the Alamodome.  It made sense for him to introduce the pedicabs to a city that had none, especially now when the green movement is in full swing, but it’s been an uphill battle most of the way struggling against city ordinances and curfews.  Undaunted, however, Michael continues to operate his cab service and continues to find ways to challenge some of those antiquated regulations that keep San Antonio a step behind 2009.

What started as a pedicab service led to something more.  In April of this year, Michael opened a bar on the storage site for his pedicabs.  The name of the bar?  The Pedicab.  His vision of The Pedicab is a community-friendly environment that caters not only to beer drinkers, but to art and music lovers; his vision is unique.  Stocking over 100 different brands of beer, Michael keeps his patrons curious about what else there is beyond their comfort zones.  He admits that at the end of the day, his regulars will stick to their Bud Light and Miller Lite, but that they at least have myriad options is the most important thing, and all at affordable prices.

Drinking isn’t the only option at The Pedicab, either.  From Wednesday to Saturday, The Pedicab offers delicious gourmet hamburgers also at very accessible prices.  With Angus beef and ingredients crumbled right into the patty, these hamburgers are sure to please the pallette of any burger fanatic, and if it’s only spice you crave, then try the “410 Burger,” a concoction of habanero peppers, serrano peppers, jalapenos, and chile piquin that will have you come down with a case of exploding head. 

But The Pedicab isn’t just accessible to spend-thrifty beer and burger lovers, it’s also accessible to those who love bicycles.  A good community of riders frequent the bar and Michael makes them his first priority; after all, cycling is the theme of his bar.  As mentioned, Michael wants to make a positive impact on his community, and he wants to use The Pedicab as a launch pad for community involvement centered around activity and art.  As we talk, a former employee comes to our table and suggests Michael have a bicycle sale at his bar and talks about the success of one he previously attended.  Michael is intrigued and eager for the help of his former employee and friend to make such a bike sale a reality.  Perhaps it’s Michael’s openness and willingness to new ideas that makes him so unlike San Antonio, but it’s what also makes him just what the city needs.

Several paintings adorn the walls of Michael’s bar and he charges the artists nothing to display their work.  This way, artists aren’t obligated to over charge for their work to compensate for the high cost of public display, and it also opens the doors to a broader range of artists.  This may come as a shock to most, but some artists, especially budding artists, don’t have a lot of disposable income to show their art when most of it goes to supplies and materials.  Michael appreciates this and offers his establishment as a safe haven from the greed of other venues eager to squeeze a dime out of anyone in any way they can.

He feels the same way about musicians.  As a no-cover venue, The Pedicab doesn’t take part in driving away new audiences with stiff admission.  Furthermore, Michael is not interested in pigeonholing himself into a certain wedge of the scene, and leaves his booking wide open to any genre of music.  His pay-out is fair and his establishment is a lot nicer than most of San Antonio’s age-old bars that are still hanging on to the glory days of some long-past era very few remember.  Most importantly, Michael is wary of many of the local promoters who have corrupted the music scene and who have been tossed from venue to venue like trash.  You know who you are.

Michael admits to me that he doesn’t want to get rich off The Pedicab.  He even admits that it may not even be a possibility.  This isn’t defeatism, it’s awareness.  Michael, as a business owner, is in touch with something that so many small business owners are not:  reality.  He is comfortable with the moderate success of his other ventures: the pedicab service and his downtown segway tours.  The Pedicab is merely something fun for him, something that should be fun for its patrons, as well.  It’s less of a bar and more of a message; a message of support; an answer to the emptiness.

It has a hint of something altruistic, a hint of something from the past, as progressive as it is.  It calls to mind a San Antonio that few defended because they saw potential instead of just giving up and slapping a “Keep San Antonio Lame” sticker on a vehicle and admitting defeat.  It reminds me of a time when there was more to S.A.’s underground scene than image.  I’m keeping Michael’s vision close.  I believe in it.  ”While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavement’s gray, I hear it in the deep heart’s core.”

I drive back home on a Sunday night, smiling to myself about finding pleasure in toothache.

- N. Gonzales

No, not ‘petty’… ‘PEDI’!

When it comes to live music venues, San Antonio certainly struggles to stay competitive.  In a city where Legs Diamond and Judas Priest shows still tally stupefying numbers, the pressures of drawing a crowd without worrying whether or not Michael Prince has died increasingly vex many small club owners.  And if you’re anything like me and had to do some googling to figure out who Michael Prince was, then you should definitely keep reading this article.

It’s true that the epicenter of San Antonio’s alternative music scene is central S.A., largely concentrated around the famed-though-long-dead St. Mary’s strip, but more and more local bars are opening their doors to musicians hungry for a much needed departure from the waning trend.  Some of these bars are way off the mark despite their very honest attempts to diversify their clientele and offer their existing patrons something new.  Take, for example, Martini Ranch inside the loop on West Ave.  A nice local dive with a great built-in regular crowd, full bar, and abundant drink specials.  Its biggest problem, however, is that it doesn’t properly serve the expanding St. Mary’s genre either through its clientele or accommodations.  Unless, of course, you’re a musician keen on assembling the “stage” yourself which requires stacking enough tables and chairs to allow your band to set up in a cozy, semi-partitioned corner of the bar.  Or perhaps you like listening to a nice medley of Nickelback and booty music between sets?

Such is my skepticism when approaching these new venues eager to embrace alternative music.  Such was my skepticism when I approached The Pedicab.

Located in Southtown, the heart of San Antonio’s artisanship, The Pedicab serves as storage  for the cycle rickshaws fairly new to downtown; it also stores over 100 different brands of domestic and imported beers.  This cash-only, beer-only, no-cover venue is not only new to the city, but new to musicians interested in breaking the St. Mary’s cycle.

I initially had mixed feelings about The Pedicab when I first explored its trendy interior.  The decor was nice, although typical: corrugated tin, exposed ceiling and lots of painted, lacquered hardwood.  The furniture arrangement was disorganized and the chair to table ratio was about 3:1.  The “stage” was another story, dominated by a metal staircase that led upwards to who-knows-what and was surrounded by boxes and miscellaneous junk.  It had a lot of potential, it was just… cluttered.

But if Martini Ranch refuses to sweeten its invitation to local musicians, The Pedicab is not going to follow suit.  Within 2 months of my initial visit to Southtown’s newest venue, it not only organized the furniture in a more inviting fashion and reduced the chair to table ratio, but removed the unecessary staircase and even built an actual raised stage on which bands can perform.  Innovation is something to which S.A. has only all too recently been privy, and its trickle-down effect is overtly present in grand and minute details, from green-inspired pedicabs to venues that actually give a damn about its musicians.

The Pedicab isn’t just attractive to musicians, either.  With an eclectic collection of beers, and all reasonably priced (averaging $2 for domestic beers and $3 for imported), it’s sure to draw a good crowd year-round.  Whether you’re a patron looking for a new bar, or a musician looking for a new venue, The Pedicab opens it arms and its doors to you. 

The Pedicab, located at 415 E. Cevallos St. behind La Tuna, offers over 100 brands of domestic and imported bottled beers at an average price of $3 per bottle.  It is within walking distance of the Blue Star Complex.