Category — Interviews

Cupid’s Loveshack Party at The Joynt! from Jen Knoedl on Vimeo.

Whether you are on a date, want a date or footloose-and-fancy-free. ..

Come celebrate ALL the things you LOVE at…

CUPID’S LOVESHACK!!!

Wear RED or PINK and your first cocktail is on CUPID!

PLUS…

$6 SWEETIE-TINIS!

* Appetizers from LA SCAROLA
* Desserts from DESSERT CONCEPTS
* Special guest performance by singer-songwriter DAKOTA
* LIVE JAZZ music by Steve Biossat at The Deep City Band
* DJ BOOGIEMAN
* Sweet RAFFLE PRIZES from ANIKO SALON & SPA, DANA HOTEL, LA SCAROLA, AND DEVON’S SEAFOOD & GRILL!!

The GRAND PRIZE raffle will be:

ANIKO GOLD SPA DAY- (valued at $290) and includes the following: Aniko Massage (90 minute), Stress Solution Spa Facial, Aniko Spa Manicure, Aniko Spa Pedicure and Lunch!!!

Cupid's Loveshack party flyer

Appetizers from LA SCAROLA • Desserts from DESSERT CONCEPTS
Special guest performance by singer-songwriter DAKOTA
LIVE JAZZ music by Steve Biossat at The Deep City Band
DJ BOOGIEMAN • Sweet DOOR PRIZES • And much MORE!

$10 tickets: http://cupidsloveshack.eventbrite.com/
$15 at the door

Wear RED or PINK and your first cocktail is on CUPID!
PLUS… $6 SWEETIE-TINIS!

“Gimme 5!” Interview
An unscripted, barely edited five minute video interview with JenChicago. After the initial introduction, the clock is set and an “off-the-cuff” discussion begins with the topic of the guest’s choice. When the alarm sounds, the interview is over. Jen and guests slap hands, as in “Gimme 5!” The show will be uploaded and shared on YouTube, Facebook, JenChicago.com and relevant sites. Please contact jen@jenchicago.com for more information.

This is The SAUCE video for the week beginning October 22, 2009.

Original and unedited script is available here for the hearing impaired.

*The following is my original script with ideas for video.  Many edits have been made.**

Hey Everyone, I’m JenChicago, this is Toto and you’re watching The SAUCE. Maybe you expected the SAUCE yesterday, but we had to toss the SAUCE from yesterday… It just wouldn’t do.  So here it is- a day late, but remade with love and from scratch.  So eat it! 

Weird Al’s video “Eat it?”

*witch cackle*

What a week we had here at the Joynt, Toto! Stan’s long time friend, Joe Piscopo and gal pal, Jess, came in town Saturday night- just in time for Sweetest Day. *aww* The guys are moving forward with Ari Golan and Jimmy the Hat on preproduction of the sweetest variety show to hit Chicago in a very long time.  The Joynt After Dark, hosted by Mr. Piscopo, is creeping forward to shoot in November. *scary growl or evil laugh*

Joe and Jess came into town and a few of us went out for a scrumptious dinner at N9ne Steakhouse. Big thumbs up to Bruno for taking care of us at the table, and of course our buddy, and manager Tim Griffin; who also has the fine taste enough to frequent the Joynt on a regular basis. The surf and turf I ordered was outstanding! And the Ketel martinis straight up with 3 blue cheese olives were so good, I think we made a believer out of Jess. From there we went back to The Joynt, where Joe had the whole crowd singing and swaying as he and Dakota sang “New York, New York”.
 [VIDEO]

Fun right?! I know! There was all kinds of excitement going on Saturday night! Which is why I didn’t catch any of Joe’s comedy on camera… I was in the Grand Bar celebrating DJ Jack’s birthday with a big ol’ cookie cake and then… he played my song and I just had to get my boogie on…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGjC0wbUXzk

*dancing* Now THAT’S a good song, even Napolean Dynamite thinks so! And speaking of good songs, after my dance, I popped back in the Piano room and what do I find?!? Joe!  Rocking out on the drums and doing some cool freelance thing with Zachary on the congos or bongos- I forget which is which. Anyway, it looked like so much fun, I can’t to watch it again right NOW!

[VIDEO]

 Talented guys… Joe was really nice and gracious, too. He took pictures with anyone that asked, which was a lot of pictures- even by my standards. Our buddy and best-selling author Bill Zehme took a break from writing his upcoming book to join us in the fun.  I’m not allowed to say who it’s about *mouth or cough Johnny Carson, or hold up sign* but I know it will be an incredibly interesting read because Bill is an incredibly interesting character.  He may not say much, much when he does, it’s always really cool and smart. *duh* I guess that’s why he sells so many books. 

Okay, back to Saturday- At one point, Brandy and I step outside for some air and the next thing I know, we’re singing “Tyrone” by Erika Badu on the sidewalk at the top of our lungs for anyone that will listen!  Too silly!  Ladies, if you haven’t heard Ms. Badu, here’s a little taste…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VABStIYzepY
Oh snap! *snap fingers* Guys, sorry, we women just shared a little moment there, but everything’s ok… it’s just a song. You can borrow our phone.  But make it fast.

Okay, that was pretty much Saturday night, and then rewinding back to Friday… we had the Meals on Wheels Celebrity Chef Ball at Macy’s.  Pretty ladies peppered the party, like poppies on the way to Oz. Among said beauties were Theresa Carter, Meagan Pulia, Desiree Prieto, and Michelle Molina. Michelle, coincidently, wins a date with Toto here, for being such a great sport and hard-working volunteer.

Then, we followed the yellow brick road all the way back to the Joynt and kept the party going. Oh, yeah- you don’t have to go to the movies to see “Where the Wild Things Are”. Just pop in here on the weekend!

Ari Golan from Atomic (not to be confused with Ari Gold from Entourage) is throwing a HUGE party on Halloween, aptly titled Graveyard Millionaire! And if you’re anything like me, you’ll go to this party AND the JOYNT party on Halloween!  Ari’s fundraiser benefits Adaptive Adventures and includes spirits, dancing, hors’ dourves and prizes. Get the full 411 at AtomicImaging.com or search Graveyard millionaire on FB.

Last night, River North belly laughed as comics performed one after the other for a very good looking crowd.  Stand Up Against Cancer Benefitting Imerman Angels was standing room only as Vince Carone, Brian Neufang, Mike Maxwell, Prash-anth Venkat-Arama-Nujam Andrew Woodhull and Prescott Tolk from Premium Blend on COMEDY CENTRAL kept us in stitches all night long. Kira Soltanovich headlined the show last night and here’s a little taste, if you missed it. 
I also had the chance to chat with Kira after the show and “yes” she’s just as funny in a chair as she is on stage.  You can find the rest of our interview along with all of the comedic performances on our YouTube Channel or Facebook Page. 

Why did the dancing skeleton go to The Joynt? To see DJ BoogieMan. *drum beat for joke* That’s right, starting this Friday, and just in time for Halloween, we have DJ BoogieMan mashing up beats, so all you ghouls can shake your groove bone! And if you want even more Groove… the ladies of Groove Dynasty will be performing in the Piano Room once again this Friday.

[VIDEO]

*dancing* They always pack the room- so get here early and get some food from Lloyd, in the kitchen! The Spicy Grilled Shrimp is my personal favorite! *slurp*

NBC’s Art Norman may be retired, but that hasn’t slowed him down one bit.  Thanks for dropping in, Art.  We miss seeing you on the air.

I think it’s time for some more October birthdays!

Happy Birthday to…

Michael Essany (age 27)
Christina Foster
Carlos ChiiCity Lopez
Elizabeth Jackson age 27),
Kurt Scholle,(
Ann Marie Belcore (age 39),
Sandra Smith-Doghmi (age 68)
Angelo Eliades,
Bernardo Rodarte (age 28),
Susan Schatz,
Tom Cooper (age 55)24 -
Brad Serot,
James Wilson,
Saya Hillman (age 31)
Jaime Vela (age 24),
Lisa Boren Gordon,
Pam Adair
Mark Beringer,
Thom Ward
Jo Blitz A. Escotal,
Matt Redding (age 38),
Sasha Techet
Charles Whitlock (age 45),
Chef Jeff Goldfarb (age 40),

 As you can probably surmise, the fun never here at The Joynt and we would love for you to be a part of it! As Phillip Speciale author of *Mia Cuchina Pazzo” says about the Joynt, “If you don’t appreciate style and class, then this is not the place for you.” Touche, Mr Speciale. We agree.

*tug on neck* Whew!  What a surprising spurt of warm weather we are having, ay? But alas it shall become cold and rainy, once again this weekend. But we will not let the weather ride in on her broomstick to spoil our fun!  Nope, we’ll click your heels together 3 times and remember… *whistfully* …everything we’ve ever really wanted is in our own backyard of downtown Chicago.  And there’s no place like the Joynt. Right, Toto?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YKn53vWIHA (heels click)

A lot of you have been asking about the SAUCE and it gave me a brilliant idea!  You are invited to the shooting of the SAUCE next Tuesday October 27 at noon.  Watch us shoot, while you eat and network on your lunch break.  RSVP to jen@jenchicago.com and I’ll even feed you.

JenChicago, NBC Chicago Street Team

There’s something funny going on in River North on Tuesday, October 20^th. Sarah Vargo of Maven and Fred Farris of Key Management have teamed up with The Joynt to host Stand Up Against Cancer which benefits local charity Imerman Angels. The party and the awareness are going down at 650 N. Dearborn (@ Erie) and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate all the good things that are happening under Johnny Imerman’s inspiration!

The show starts at 6:30 and features a laundry list of talented comedians along with headliner Kira Soltanovich, from Girls Behaving Badly and The Phony Phone Booth on The Jay Leno Show. Have you seen this bit? It’s hilarious! What WON’T people do for a free picture?!?! You can find the clips here or check it out in this week’s edition of The SAUCE, hosted by Yours Truly, below. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door with limited seating.

*PRESS RELEASE*

**Hugs and Kisses from JenChicago.com!

JenChicago, NBC Chicago Street Team

So, I’m at SOBcon for the second year in a row this past summer and I’m meeting all kinds of cool and great people, and I meet David D. “Griff” Griffin. And he’s cool and great too! He’s talking about creating a social media bootcamp for everybody looking to leverage this style of marketing.  We all agreed it should happen.

Well, David didn’t waste any time and began planning right away!  He was then incredibly wise in asking yours truly to present.  Yes!  Video Revolution will be every bit as exciting as is sounds!

And back to David… He and his team use social media to make all the necessary connections, announcements and arrangements… Next thing you know, “Voila”, we have a conference this weekend entitled “My Kung Fu is Stronger Than Yours“.

Hmm… it’s a cool name, but what does it mean? Stick around to watch me call David and have him explain. Long story short, if you like the idea of learning about social media as if it were water coming out of a fire hydrant, then you should definitely consider coming this weekend.  Plus there’s just no substitute for the face-to-face connections you’ll make. So do it already… click here.

What’s up with “Kung Fu & Social Media”? from Jen Knoedl on Vimeo.

So, you know I’m gonna leave you with some ways to find me through social media here, right?

Find me on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn!

JenChicago, NBC5 Street Team
If you are any kind of a night owl, like I am, you are looking for something great to do on any given night of the week. Well, I’ve got you covered for Tuesday. Fatt Finger is a great band playing at The Joynt every Tuesday night starting at 9:30! The perform originals and covers from many genres of rock. Come out for drink specials and a classic rockin’ good time! I’ll see you on the dance floor! (No cover.)

PS: Here’s a little sample song from last week:

Fatt Finger: Use me up! from Jen Knoedl on Vimeo.

JenChicago, NBC5 Street Team

I feel as though I have told this story a thousand times, and yet, it still makes me smile…

When I first moved to Chicago, I went out by myself… a lot. It was exciting to try new places without knowing anything about them in an effort to find “my spot” for “this or that”. One of the “spots” that needed to be found was a place for me to dance. Preferably to live music. I’m not much of a sit-and-drink kind of girl. I never really have been, unless I’m eating or watching a show. I like to keep moving. And by “moving”, I mostly mean “dance“. And the best kind of music to dance to is live music! Agreed? The energy of a great band moves me in a way that makes me feel as though I am part of the music. I love it.

So, I sauntered into The Joynt one day, a little less than a year ago, and it just felt “right”. I knew this was my spot. It is essentially four (5 in the summer) clubs in one! The Grand Bar, The Retro Club, The Lounge and The Outdoor Cafe are all fantastic rooms with different personalities for each one! And then there’s my personal favorite… The Swing Bar.

Anyway, long story short… I started shooting at The Joynt here and there until I finally asked Stan Wozniak and Pauly Babcock to let me play with an idea on the weekends. The video below is the first edition of a bi-monthly series. The premise is simple.

Everyone in Chicago has a story. The following are just a few… STORIES FROM THE JOYNT.

Stories from the Joynt: Friday, May 22, 2009 from Jen Knoedl on Vimeo.

Come see me at The Joynt on Friday and Saturday nights!