Well, here it is, some 20 years now since I first stepped foot into a famous Gulf Coast bar that would eventually change my life forever (more on that to come at a later date). The Fiesta in Biloxi, Mississippi. MAN, WHAT A PLACE!!! You have probably ended up here after some Google search...maybe on Fiesta, maybe on Biloxi....more probable a combination of the two.
If you experienced Biloxi, Mississippi nightlife in the late eighties and early nineties, before the casinos came to town, then you most likely knew of The Fiesta. If you had ever been there, it most likely was a memorable experience. If you liked your first visit there, then you most likely eventually became a Saturday night regular...at least if you were in your late teens or early twenties like I was at the time.
Here I am now, 40 years old, married, with 3 kids, 2 cats, a dog, and some fish all under one roof...and this bar, these life experiences from so long ago, still come to mind....These memories still invade my mind like a flashback. It's maybe something someone says, or something someone does, or most usually, a song...Yes, a song, for the music was truly an important part of the experience at The Fiesta. Chico mixing it up until the wee hours of the morning. OH MAN...there were some fun nights spent there, and long days that followed after leaving...but we'll address that later as well.
I wanted to start a blog for several reasons...Most importantly, to share the music. As mentioned above, it was such an integral part of the Fiesta. I wanted to have a place for people to go and find the names and artists of their favorite songs from the Fiesta. Once you find several of the "oldies", you can go to Limewire or Napster or any of the other music websites and download the songs and make your own "mix-tape" or "mix-CD" I should say.
I also wanted to create a place where people can post any memorable experiences that they had that included the Fiesta....Lord knows I have many. I myself did a Google search on the Fiesta one day and came across a guy's blog posting that described his first time going to The Fiesta. It was kinda funny, and I saw where several people had replied with their experiences too. I credit that guy with giving me the idea to start this one and expanding on the concept of what he started.
Lastly, I figured that people who shared my interests 20 years ago, probably have grown up, got real jobs, got married and had kids like me too. Chances are, we now share similar interests as well, so I thought this might serve as a site for social sharing or social networking things of interest for the X-Fiesta/Ex-Fiesta crowd...You know....like, whats a good place to take the kids on the weekend....maybe the Chili Cook-Off is in Mobile, or the ShrimpFest is in Gulf Shores....or, is there a good concert or show coming up at one of the Casinos that the wife might enjoy....You know, whatever comes to mind that involves getting out of the house and having some fun....not necessarily as much fun as we used to have at The Fiesta, but you know what I mean =)
OK, so I'm starting to babble on now. I said this would be a place to find some music from the Fiesta days, so I'll include some of that in a separate post to follow. If you have something to suggest to make this better or more enjoyable for everyone, please let me know. If you have a memorable experience from The Fiesta, by all means please share (some of mine to come in a later post). If you can remember some of your favorite songs from "back in the day", post them for me and others...Hell, maybe we can even setup some type of voting on the site one day and have a TOP 40 FIESTA FLASHBACK COUNTDOWN.
All comments, suggestions, and even criticism appreciated....Be sure to check out the archive on the left side of the page for additional blog postings.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
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A friend shared your link with me... As I read through your blog, I couldn't help but smile remembering those days.... What GREAT times!!!
ReplyDeleteHow about the hot ass torches at the front entrance, the cool Escher pictures in the Night Gallery and the way the ceiling fans would “spin in slow-motion"... How we'd pass the bottle of rush around upstairs in the Sports Bar... Even the night the place got raided....
It’s hard to believe that it was half a lifetime ago. The anticipation on the ride over on Saturday night used to kill me…sort of like being the kid in the back seat on the way to Disney World…are we there yet? Once we actually arrived is when I really felt like a kid, set free in an enormous playground filled with limitless possibilities…Wish I’d been a smarter man (I was still a boy) and thought to buy myself one of those giant Fiesta at the Fiesta glasses they used to sell filled with Too Drunk To Fuck (wasn’t that what they called that neon blue drink?) or Sex on the Beach…strange they looked like Grandma’s old hurricane oil lamp…that would have made quite a souvenir from a place that provided myself and friends many nights of pleasure…
ReplyDeleteBesides the obvious, the music was always what was most important to me in that place…I felt like I died and went to heaven hearing some of the stuff they used to play up in there. It’s not like you could hear it on the radio or really anywhere but there. It was remarkable…I saved every “mix tape” I managed to lay my hands on from the time, and they proved rather handy when Napster hit the net…damn Metallica! I curse you! I was a much smarter man then, and spent every waking moment for the better part of a year scouring Napster for ever possible song I could remember or had a sample of on one of Chico’s old tapes…some of the tapes from the time also came from Aliens and Kenny Vincent’s Southside in Metairie…why should the party stop when the Fiesta closed…right?
So here’s my first list of some of my favorites…some you may remember and other not, but they are all from a certain time and place…Hope you like!
Looking From a Hilltop – Section 25 (Probably my favorite, period…took months to find from just remembering “I just want to see your face”)
Cuts You Up – Peter Murphy
A Different Story – Peter Schilling
Rigormortis – A Split Second
No Promises – Icehouse
Headhunter 1.0 – Front 242
Cruel Lovin’ – A.K.A.
Change On Me – Cynthia
Russian Radio – Red Flag
Germany Calling (Razormaid Mix) – Houseman
It Tickles – U Know Who
Security – The Beat Club
A subtle wink…familiar smile…a certain scent, controls the air. Another day, another night, another place, another time….
One of the strongest memories that I have from the place was that certain scent that controlled the air…the smell of that faux-smoke from the smoke machines…it’s unmistakable and transports me right back to the place every time I am fortunate enough to catch the scent…. it’s sort of like Playdough, you never forget it….Why don’t clubs have those smoke machines anymore? Probably gives us cancer like everything else….
Thanks for taking me back man...more later. I'm out!