Melody Bar

The Melody

The Melody
Address	106 French Street New Brunswick, New Jersey, US
Location	Between Plum and Prospect
Coordinates	40°29′37″N 74°27′4″W
Type	Music venue, dance club
Genre(s)	Alternative rock, goth, New Wave, electronic music, punk, post punk, house, hip-hop and emo
Opened	March 1981; 43 years ago (1981-03)
Closed	2001; 23 years ago (2001)

The Melody Bar was a live music and dance club on French Street in the 1980s and 1990s in New Brunswick, New Jersey.^[1]

Background

The venue, formerly a neighborhood bar serving the large midcentury New Brunswick Hungarian community, was opened in March 1981 by Cal Levine and Steve Flaks. The duo kept the name, Melody, after the daughter of the former Hungarian-American family owners.^[2]

The Melody rapidly became a hot spot for artists and musicians in the region.^[3] The music played and performed at the Melody Bar tended towards alternative rock, goth, punk, New Wave and post punk.^[4] DJs spun tracks by bands like The Smiths, The Cure, and Depeche Mode, as well as played genres like dance, house, electronica, and hip-hop on its small dance floor.^{[5][6][7][8][9]}

The venue drew individuals from the art and music communities in and outside of New Brunswick like Miles Hunt of the Wonder Stuff, Mick Jones of the Clash, and Beat generation poet Gregory Corso. In its later years it served as a performance venue for post-hardcore and emo bands such as Thursday^[10]

MTV late-night alternative-music television presenter and local radio personality Matt Pinfield deejayed at the club prior to MTV, drawing packed crowds.^[11][12]

The Melody also exhibited and incorporated visual art from local artists from the city and Mason Gross and its walls became a local attraction. The venue closed without advance announcement in 2001.^[13]

See also

• The Court Tavern
• Fluxus
• Bands from New Brunswick
• WRSU
• QXT's Nightclub
• New Jersey music venues by capacity

References

1. Jordan, Chris. "A Melody (Bar) that lingers on in New Brunswick". Asbury Park Press.
2. Jordan, Chris. "French Street memories: Melody Bar tribute nights in New Brunswick and Asbury Park". Asbury Park Press.
3. Media, Greater (January 20, 2011). "Film recalls famed music scene of 1980s – Central Jersey Archives".
4. "Memories From The Melody, Part 2: The 1990's - New Brunswick Today | New Brunswick, NJ Local News".
5. "20 Years After Its Sudden Closure, New Brunswick Still Remembers The Melody Bar - New Brunswick Today | New Brunswick, NJ Local News".
6. Journal, Jim Testa | For The Jersey (March 11, 2011). "New Brunswick's music scene of the Nineties reconvenes at Maxwell's". nj.
7. New Brunswick Music Scene Archive, NJ004, Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries. https://archives.libraries.rutgers.edu/repositories/11/resources/391 Accessed September 01, 2023.
8. Sacher, Andrew (April 24, 2017). "New Brunswick music scene subject of new documentary (watch a new trailer)".
9. "A Tough Act to Follow: Little Dipper Revisits 1990's Hub City Rock Scene - New Brunswick Today | New Brunswick, NJ Local News".
10. Jordan, Chris. "The Melody Bar haunts their reverie: Why the former New Brunswick club still matters". Asbury Park Press.
11. Jordan, Chris. "Melody Bar of New Brunswick: Hundreds come out for Matt Pinfield-era reunion SEE VIDEO". Asbury Park Press.
12. Jordan, Chris. "Matt Pinfield talks book, rehab, MTV, WHTG and Melody". Asbury Park Press.
13. Columns, Bob Makin (September 1, 2023). "Makin Waves with Tom Kanach". The Aquarian.