8 = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
COVERSTORY
THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 2002
Jukeboxes hit right note
Alexandra Horn, St. Louis senior, thinks a big part of going out is the music played in bars and clubs. Jukeboxes add a soundtrack to students' nightlife.
Bars turn up tunes keep Lawrence revelers rocking all night long
By Peter Black Jayplay writer
You may not realize it, but they have probably shaped some of the your fondest memories from college. Chances are you've heard a song at a bar that has influenced you to take another drink, get up and start dancing or go talk to that person you've been eyeing all night.
They provide you, bar patron, with the soundtrack of your life.
For Evan Fox, Garden City junior, playing songs at bars is almost worth more than the beer he drinks.
"It is an empowering rush to play a set of songs and to look around and see people starting to enjoy themselves because of something you played," he said.
Jukeboxes play a major role in the Lawrence bar scene and serve as a fun way to kick the night off the way you want it.
Self-proclaimed jukebox expert Alexandra Horn, St. Louis senior, thinks a big part of going out is the music that you hear.
Area Jukebox Ratings (out of 50)
"I love music and I love jukeboxes because they let you listen to songs that you love from CDs you may not have, and line up a set of songs that will set the tone for the entire night," she said.
So where are the best jukeboxes in town? We critiqued several local jukeboxes, considering the following: number of plays for your money, variety, ease of use, volume, location within the bar, currency of selections, chillability, and danceability, and whether the jukebox fits with the mood of the bar.
A new digital jukebox is the centerpiece of Johnny's Tavern. The $8,500 machine offers more than 50,000 songs which are updated every month.
O'Dell's 48
Johnny's Tavern (digital) 48
Rick's 42
Jetlag (digital) 41
The Wheel 44
The Crossing 39
Yacht Club 37
Sandbar 37
Harbor Lights 36
Quinton's (digital) 35
The Hawk 34
Louise's Downtown (digital) 31
Jefferson's 29
Go to kansan.com for a break-down of the scores.
O'Dell's, 733 Massachusetts St., and Johnny's Tavern, 401 N. Second St., emerge as jukebox standouts. Their boxes offer selections spanning many musical genres and play at the perfect volume — loud enough to hear but not so loud it blocks out a lame bar conversation. The Wheel, 507 W. 14th St., offers the best deal — four songs for a $1, 10 for $2, and 25 for $5 — but O'Dell's and Johnny's offer reasonable prices and CDs that aren't found anywhere else.
"Since a large portion of our crowd is regulars and locals, we are willing to take a local band's CD and put it in our jukebox," she said.
Brooke Corcoran, a bartender at O'Dell's, said the bar was dedicated to its local clientele.
Corcoran added that bartenders paid attention to the type of crowd on a given night, and adjusted the music to fit.
The jukebox at Jefferson's, 743 Massachusetts St., on the other hand, has no CDs that stick out as unique selections. Plus, the majority of choices are mellow songs that run against the grain of the bar's sporty atmosphere, such as a slow Frank Sinatra
song that irritated Micki Prinster, St. Charles, Mo., senior. The Jefferson's jukebox is also plagued by fiscal problems: the price-per-play sign is covered up, leaving the cost a mystery.
Lawrence bars cater to different crowds
and the selection in the jukebox helps to give each location a character of its own.
The Crossing, 618 W. 12th St., The Wheel and the Sandbar, 117 E.Eighth St.,
SEE JUKEBOXES ON PAGE 9