THE KOOTZ / SHORTWAYS BARN / Hawthorne

NEW JERSEY'S ULTIMATE SINGLE'S MEET-UP GROUP, WHERE THE FUN NEVER STOPS!

Let's enjoy lunch & baked goods while we enjoy live music by THE KOOTZ at SHORTWAYS BARN.

THE KOOTZ are a 50's, 60's 70's 80's & 90's classic rock, pop, soul & blues band guaranteed to get you singing and dancing.

Their collective passion for classic rock, pop, soul and blues... and just plain old making great music has been a driving force, even a mantra, in assembling THE KOOTZ BAND.

THE KOOTZ hail from Essex, Bergen, Morris, Union, Passaic, Sussex, Monmouth and Ocean Counties, and have been around for over 20-years! That's a pretty long-run for any band!

Starting out in the late 90's, it all began as a nucleus of 5 or 6 musicians who informally jammed at various member basements and even played an occasional gig or two. Back in the day, the band was called 'OMJ' (short for 'Old Man Jam'). By 2001, it was unanimously decided by co-founders Chris Bolger and Glenn Taylor with the full-commitment of the other charter-members, Ben Asher, Tony Dente and (the late) Dr. David Frisch, that this fledgling-outfit would try and make a go of it, seeking more exposure and acceptance, as well as gigs!

They continued to hone their repertoire of covers of classic rock, pop and blues-tunes from the late 1950's through the 70's, staying true to why they originally started playing together in the first place! It was the collective and genuine love of this genre of rock 'n roll.

OMJ became "THE KOOTZ" in 2002. The re-naming was sort of a self-chuckle, or poke at themselves, based on the fact that most of the members were already over 50 years old, hence, the "Kootz-Credo", "Rock 'n Roll With Fiber", is quite-visible on the band's banner, which is hung in plain-sight whenever they perform-live.

The hard work and intensity with which band-leader, Glenny-T, publicized the group and began to bear fruit by 2004. He was able to book the band more and more frequently, and the word began to get around about these 'old-guys' who could really rock! Besides the pubs and clubs, there were private corporate events and municipal concert opportunities that began to appear on the Kootz-plate! These Northern NJ-guys also started crossing the Driscoll Bridge (or NJ Mason-Dixon Line) a LOT more frequently and began performing at many of the shore area's hottest venues between Point Pleasant and Long Beach Island. Before-long they were performing over 250 shows a year, all around the tri-state area, as well as taking to the road for shows in such exotic, far-away destinations as Cape Cod, Cooperstown and Philadelphia.

A debut CD entitled 'Tales From The Endless Bus Tour of New Jersey' followed in 2005, with guest appearances from Tommy James (as-in Shondells) and Smithereens-drummer, Dennis Diken. Produced by Glenny-T at his own production-studio, 'Taylor-Made Productions' (www.taylormadeprod.com) this debut-album, a combination of KOOTZ-penned originals and a few classic covers has achieved over 30,000+ downloads on i-Tunes, as well as over 10,000 units of the hard-CD sold at last-count!

All the while, the band was metomorphisizing, adding additional members. With so-many shows being-booked, THE KOOTZ began to rotate from their pool, as well as import some occasional guest-performers. This stable of KOOTZ has grown over the years to currently include 15+ core-members in all, as well as 7-10 guest-artists, enabling the band to play as many as 280 shows annually, sometimes with 2 on the same night - simultaneously! This has yielded several different and exciting KOOTZ-combinations, while maintaining that same pursuit of the classic 60's thru 90's musical genre! It is in this way that THE KOOTZ are a truly unique rock 'n roll band... It's kind of like a small rock 'n roll corporation comprised of these diverse and talented musician friends!

In January of 2010, THE KOOTZ were hosted for 2 separate TV shows on Spotlight-NJ, a News-12 NJ program that reaches all of the Northeast United States. Performing as a semi-acoustic quintet, in a two personnel configurations, the appearances included six-original KOOTZ songs, as well as two interview-segments with show-host, Della Crews. You can see the shows by clicking HERE!

THE KOOTZ perform the kind of music that always makes you FEEL GOOD!!!

SHORTWAYS BARN HISTORY:
Born on July 23, 1893 in Warren Point, NJ, Anthony Tunis was the son of Harry and Maud Hoek Shortway. Tunis was an athlete and one of the best pitchers in the Metropolitan area. Everyone called him Tune. In his prime, he pitched baseball against such greats as Honus Wagner and Jim Thorpe, famous Major league baseball players. He could have played in the Major Leagues, but salaries were so small that he couldn’t make enough to support a family. He became a mason contractor and built houses. In 1913, Tune married Anna Aupperlee. They had 2 sons, Harry and Anthony, whom everyone knew as Tex. They lived in Paterson. In 1928, Tune bought land in Hawthorne, which was mostly farmland. There was a house, a gas station and a barn with a 3 car garage and 2 horse barns. During the prohibition years, Tune made his own booze. Everyone convinced him to build a small bar and open it up as SHORTWAYS BARN. Then he applied for a liquor license. In September 1933, the doors were opened legally. A bar without food did okay, but Tune decided to sell the now famous hot roast beef sandwiches on hard rolls and kept adding food to the menu. SHORTWAYS was one of the most popular places in town! Tune passed away in December 1942. The Barn and the farm were left to Harry and Tex.

Harry married Marjorie Holmes in 1936. Tex and Mage ran the Barn while Harry worked at Curtis Wright Corporation. In the early 1950’s, Harry bought his brother’s share of the business. The Barn would go through many changes, always keeping up with the times. During the 50’s, it was a stop for truck drivers, coming in for the acclaimed hot roast beef sandwiches. As the clientele changed, so did the Barn. The place was renovated into a larger bar, and the back room booths were removed. In the 60’s and 70’s, go-go dances were featured and business boomed. Once again the place changed. Harry passed away on October 26, 1981, leaving Marge as the owner of the Barn. In 1982, there would be more changes in store. The entire building was gutted, and a new SHORTWAYS Barn was born. Out with the pool table and go-go girls and in with a new decor. It has taken many years to replace the reputation of a “man’s bar”. SHORTWAYS BARN sure has come a long way!

Through the years, Marge was an avid Yankee fan, enjoying the games with her customers. Just as Yankee Stadium become known as “The House that Ruth Built”, SHORTWAYS BARN become “The House that Marge Built”. Her love of family and friends has given the Barn a warm and friendly atmosphere for everyone. Her endless energy brought her to become the first woman elected to the Hawthorne Council. She served the Borough for 15 years, from 1990 to 2005. Marge became known as the First lady of Hawthorne. On September 21, 2005, her daughter, Debra passed away, leaving an emptiness felt by Marge and her other ten children. Debra was a hardworking bartender dealing with kidney disease. She lived her life to the fullest. Fifteen months later, on December 20, 2006, Marge passed away, and a void was felt within the family. On September 6, 2009, Marge’s son, Tunie passed away. He was everyone’s “handy man” and always helped out at the Barn. Marge’s wishes were to continue the SHORTWAYS BARN tradition through her family.

Come on out and enjoy live music by this fun and very talented band, and enjoy a little history and the special vibe and home-town feel of SHORTWAYS with MINGLE AROUND SINGLES.

Arrive at 8:00 p.m. to find parking and seating, and socialize, mingle and mingle with MINGLE AROUND SINGLE'S Meet-Up members before the 9:00 p.m. performance. Show ends at midnight.

To watch & listen to YouTube video of the band, click here:
The Kootz Live

Great food at SHORTWAYS BARN.
Kitchen closes at 10:00 p.m.

To check out the menu, click here:
SHORTWAYS BARN MENU

DON'T BE SINGLE...COME OUT AND MINGLE!

EVERYONE IS WELCOME!