I bought a bar because we got banned from playing everywhere else. We were too nuts, and everyone was scared of us. It was Des Moines, Iowa, remember.
Most people who get into the business are social animals by nature, but do they have the financial abilities to manage a business? A great bar owner has both.
I thought I wanted to work in music production for a while. I worked for a film producer. Then I was given the opportunity to open a bar in New York. So, I was like, 'You know what, I'm going to give it a shot.'
If your main reason for opening a bar is to have somewhere for you and your friends to hang out, then build a bar in your basement, and stay out of the industry.
I never wanted to do anything else but fight, when I was a kid. I never had any broader perspective of my own perspective. I didn't know anything about anything else. I just wanted to fight until I could fight no more, and then I wanted to own a bar and drink and tell war stories.
I opened my first bar that I owned in 1989. The first one I ever owned was in downtown St. Louis.
Every man in the back of their minds would like to own a bar or a racehorse.
'The Deuce' came about when David Simon and I were put in contact with a guy who, along with his twin brother, owned a couple bars in Times Square.
