'Boardwalk Empire' mania returns, compliments of the ACFPL, HBO, Caesars Atlantic City, "Nucky," and the Jersey Rhythm Devils.
ATLANTIC CITY — The famed seaside resort that is portrayed in HBO's hit drama series Boardwalk Empire celebrated the show's second season premiere on Sunday, Sept. 25, in a number of ways over the weekend.
First, HBO, in cooperation with Caesars Entertainment, plastered the city — and its entrance-way from the Atlantic City expressway — with billboards and signage pertaining to both the show's second season premiere, as well as a beautification project that HBO has gifted to the city, in a campaign that also included free tolls on the Expressway on Sunday, Sept. 25, "Compliments of Nucky."
The project is located off the Expressway entrance-way into the city.
Prior to a free premiere screening party, which was held inside Caesars' 1,600-seat Circus Maximus Theater on Sunday — Caesars Entertainment partnered for the second consecutive year with HBO to promote the award-winning series in a number a ways, inlcuding the aforementioned beautification project — Atlantic City buzzed with Boardwalk Empire related events.
On Saturday afternoon, Sept. 24, the Atlantic City Free Public Library hosted a "Music & Dance from the Roaring '20s" program at Kennedy Plaza on the famed Atlantic City Boardwalk.
Despite a threat of rain, the program went on as scheduled with Atlantic City's '20s music band the Jersey Rhythm Devils taking the stage for the show's first hour, performing about 15 songs from the era.
The locally based quintet; which features violinist Tamara deMent, mandolin player Mark DeVaul, acoustic guitarist and vocalist Jeff Schwachter (editor of Atlantic City Weekly), piano by Michael Hoebler and Linda DeVaul on lead vocals; played songs such as "Red Red Robin," "Babyface," "Shine on Harvest Moon," "Breezin' Along with the Breeze," "Bill Bailey," "Button Up Your Overcoat," and more.
(Listen to three songs recorded by the Jersey Rhythm Devils)
The sky was full of clouds, but the seats at Kennedy Plaza were full of people on Saturday afternoon, as the library program drew a hefty crowd.
(Click here for a photo gallery of the Jersey Rhythm Devils performance at Kennedy Plaza)
Some came to listen to the songs of their time, some came to dance. Some even came to learn how to dance — '20s style.
Following the Jersey Rhythm Devils' set, Melanie Brough (pictured) did a fun flapper dance demonstration, which included an audience participation portion, followed by Jim Craine and his long-time band doing a tribute to the '20s sounds and Al Jolson in particular.
That night, Caesars Atlantic City, despite having Darius Rucker in its big showroom, the Out in AC weekend of events happening at sister properties Showboat and Harrah's Resort, and everything else that goes on at a busy casino on a Saturday night, was in full Boardwalk Empire mode.
Aside from tons of sings throughout the property touting the season two premiere of the hit TV drama series set in 1920s Atlantic City — including an enormous structure that spells out Boardwalk Empire in large light bulbs located in the Temple Lobby across from Mia, and pictures of all the show's main characters along Caesars' Boardwalk facade — a private high-roller party featuring cast members from the show was taking place in one of the casino-hotel ballrooms.
Following its Kennedy Plaza show, the Jersey Rhythm Devils took the Boardwalk Empire stage in the Temple Lobby and played two straight hours of 1920s songs from 7-9pm.
According to the Hollywood insider publication Variety, HBO "will bring back the 12-episode third season of Boardwalk Empire on Sept. 16 while New Orleans saga "Treme" is back for 10-episode third season on Sept. 23.
'The whole world now will start listening and really finding out how great the music of the 1920s is. It brings it up to the forefront.'
New York big-band leader Vince Giordano talks to Atlantic City Weekly about working on HBO's Boardwalk Empire and its GRAMMY-nominated soundtrack.
"Eddie lived in a kind of musically optimistic 1920s place even though he had a shitty childhood. His parents died when he was young but his grandmother raised him and he was little and scrawny so he got beaten up a lot. He learned to make jokes so he could avoid getting beaten up, so from then on he realized this singing and dancing thing could work."
"When I recorded the first two songs I got to record with the band, which I prefer — in the same room, we did it live. Coming from a musical theater background, I prefer to sing live because there's just this synergy when you have a band playing behind you."
“It’s been my love and passion ever since I was five years old and I think this music moves people. People who come to see us, they say, ‘When I got here I was in kind of a blah mood, not so good, or depressed, or whatever and I come out in just a whole different place. I’m laughing, my spirits are lifted, it’s cheaper than going to a psychiatrist!’”
"We wanted to do it as if it was a behind-the-scenes video of the first rap video ever made [in the 1920s]. But we had trouble getting some of the props we needed for that, like a period movie camera — you know, that would have been our whole budget, just getting that camera."
Rothstein’s precise role in the matter has been argued for decades, as the related legal proceedings (plus actions taken by Major League Baseball) served more to obfuscate than clarify.
“So she sings it the way Sophie Tucker would have sang it? That’s good. It was the most unusual style [of singing] that she had. She had a staggered style of singing."
Plus Drew Toonz, the Album of the Week (Tom Waits), and local ghost tours.
Plus HERO Walk in Ocean City, Album of the Week and DrewToonz on 'Boardwalk Empire' Season 3
“Mr. Gomes once told me, ‘Keep your eyes on the news, and when you see that I’m opening my own hotel I want you to help me open it.'"
The HBO Emmy Award winning series Boardwalk Empire may be the talk of the town, but I bet you didn’t know that Terence Winter, Boardwalk Empire’s creator, gifted the cast and producers of the show with jewelry by local Atlantic County designer Paula Jerome to help celebrate the Emmys!
I’ve probably done a thousand location shoots, but none affected me more that this one. That’s because I can trace my family history back to this bawdy and tawdry period in Atlantic City’s history.
It was a windy and rainy mid-September night for the Atlantic City premiere of the much anticipated new HBO series Boardwalk Empire. Regional storms pounded the beach and Boardwalk with crashing ocean waves and assaulting wind gusts. We're talking not only hold onto your hat, but everything else, too.
Early in the premiere episode of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, a crowd of dapper Atlantic City movers and shakers, partying well into the night in a spiffy supper club, make a familiar countdown, cocktail glasses held high...
“[Empire’s] helped remind people of what a colorful history we’ve had as a city, and helped bring these things back into focus for some people. And I think the fact that the series is very well regarded only helps.”
Terry Winter, the executive producer, creator and one of the chief writers for the award-winning, Martin Scorsese directed HBO drama series Boardwalk Empire, has finally wrapped filming on the second season's last episode as of Wednesday, Sept. 7.
Plus DrewToonz, the Album of the Week and Margate's Fall Funfest
Laciura also learned that “Nucky would get up around 4:30 in the afternoon and Lou — Eddie — would make sure that he had his dozen eggs, pound of bacon, coffee and toast — that’s what he had every ‘morning.’
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1. Chuck Seacourt said... on Sep 26, 2011 at 08:08PM
“this was a sensational event Caesars - kudos for embracing the best thing to happen to AC since the Club Harlem opened - HBO's Boardwalk EMPIRE!”
2. JOHN H said... on Sep 28, 2011 at 04:47PM
“that band was incredible!! I haven't heard those songs from "my" day for years! Where can we buy a CD?”