The beauty of guerilla marketing is that not only is it budget friendly, but it’seasily noticeable. Love him or hate him, Broward County rapper Lyrikilldotcom, best known for sabotaging local news telecasts to advertise his website, is a mastermind at generating interest via guerilla marketing tactics. When he’s not annoying news anchors, Lyrikill is parading around town with his oversized, tacky neon necklace, announcing his area code 754 phone number, or falsely titling YouTube videos with names like Rihannas Picture to generate views. Besides his insanely catchy jam I Love My Hooptie, I am not crazy about his music. Can’t say I haven’t watched all his shenanigans on the internet though.
Driving down US1 the other day, I noticed a sign posted high up on a telephone pole in Dania advertising a website Hungrerapper.com . It’s a simple guerilla marketing strategy — pick up some posterboard at the Dollar Tree, write your website on it with a thick Sharpie, and post it out of reach of the old timers who might try and rip it down. Not as flashy as Lyrikill, but still an admirable and cheap form of guerilla marketing. Unfortunately for Hungre Rapper, it appears his site is down at the moment; however, with a little internet sleuthing, I was able to find an alternative URL (and much more logical web address), http://HungryRapper.com . Here’s the quick rundown about this local entrepreneur/hip hop artist:
Hungre Rapper, real name John Hungre, is sick of the roofing industry, so he’s decided to focus solely on becoming Mr. 954. He has a new album titled Hungre Life that’s only $5 on his website. The most notable song on his website is a song about the 3 Kings that has ingenius lyrics such as “Vince Carter, you old farter”, “Dwight Howard is as soft as a flower”, and “Amare Stoudamire, it’s time to retire, you’ll never get a trophy out there you dumbass”. This jack of all trades is also asking for investors for his proposed TV series called Hungry Roofers, a show about hurricane chasers who “help/save” victims of tropical storms. Sounds cool, but he’ll need about 250,000 Abraham Lincolns from investors to buy an amphibious armored truck and other required items for proper storm chasing.
My advice to John Hungre to further promote himself, start some beef with another rapper like Lyrikilldotcom. I’ve already got a creative title for my FTLC post when you do, Guerilla Marketing Warfare. As a fellow dreamer, good luck.
Here’s Hungre Rapper’s song about the Miami Heat winning the next 5 championships:
Ernie’s BBQ & Lounge has been a popular institution in Fort Lauderdale for far longer than I’ve been alive.It’s impressive longetivity, the promise of BBQ, it’s attractive exterior, and the close proximity to the my favorite back alley club 1921 has always intrigued me. However, because of poor reviews from friends, I always seem to bump it down on my list of must-try restaurants. Finally, yesterday evening Strawberry Jam and myself decided to dine at Ernies, anticipating South Florida’s potentially best conch chowder and some sweet Bimini bread.
Local old timers have a bad habit of blindly preferring the old over the new. To these group of stubborn locals, a bar or restaurant is never as good as it used to be 20 years ago. This type of comment continually popped up on various food review websites describing Ernies. Most of the time, I disregard those remarks as typical local banter. After trying the average food at this underwhelming establishment, I tend to think there might be some validity to the common string of comments. When so many better places to eat go bankrupt so quickly, the only explanation for Ernie’s survival is its past reputation.
For starters, disregard the word BBQ in the name. The menu shows a diverse list of run-of-the-mill bar food, with a few unauthentic BBQ dishes sprinkled in. By this logic, Ernies is as much a BBQ restaurant as Quarterdecks or McDonalds during McRib season. Because I don’t believe in ordering two of the same dish, S Jam ordered a regular size conch chowder that came with their locally famous Bimini bread and I reluctantly ordered the open face pork sandwich with fries and slaw .
The conch chowder was tasty, but nothing I’d tweet about. Keep in mind, I am not an expert on what comprises a good chowder. As an example of my lack of knowledge, I actually expected the soup to be white — turns out Bahamian-style conch chowder is red. It didn’t impress me or S Jam more than a full sodium can of Campbell’s vegetable soup with tiny conch chunks. If you’re a conch chowder connoisseur though, their soup might be worth a taste.
The bread was good, but when is fresh bread not good? In my opinion, it tasted like every other bakery bread. I wanted it to be sweeter, but maybe that’s typical Bahamian-style bread. In fact, I’d bet that bakery on Las Olas (Gran Forno is the name I’m pretty sure) can make a better loaf of Bimini bread.
The bigger disappointment was the pork sandwich. Living in NC for 9 years, I’m used to a proper pulled pork sandwich. Ernies version of the sandwich was thinly slices of pork, akin to a deli or sub shop. The meat tasted fine, but not exceptional. Let’s face it, even the questionable “Manager’s Special” pork from Winn Dixie tastes ok. In addition, the BBQ sauce was bland and the thick slice of Bimini bread used for the sandwich should be replaced with a thinner, buttery bun. In hindsight, it’s laughable to even try and compare their pork to an actual BBQ restaurant.
On the plus side, the decorations and atmosphere of the restaurant was refreshing. It’s not the best view, but the open-air upstairs patio is a nice place to enjoy the breeze, have a couple beers, and watch Tuesday night Sun Belt Conference football match-up. I enjoyed looking at the vintage photography on the walls, especially the 80’s FTL Spring Break photo by the restroom that showed A1A as one giant mass of college students. And who can resist rubbernecking on US1 to check out Ernie’s bright orange and yellow exterior. Remember this photoshopped picture:
After that epic BBQ tease, I’m really looking forward to trying out the highly praised Tom Jenkins or Georgia Pig in the next few weeks. Feel free to comment with your thoughts on Ernies, past or presnt, and recommend some other places with real BBQ that I should add to my must-try list.
Ernie’s is located at 1843 S Federal Hwy in Fort Lauderdale.
It’s Friday morning, and you still haven’t figured out your costume for the big parties this weekend?!?! No worries. FTL Collective has some simple yet creative costume ideas that scream Fort Lauderdale and don’t break the bank.
1. Coat Man (also known as Running Man or Dennis Marsala)
Materials:
photo taken from Daylife.com
fake or real moustache
martini glass glued on a plate
Richard Petty black glasses
short shorts
streamers
dress tie
I dressed as Coat Man last year and it was a hit with the people that actually recognized the costume. You can always take the costume a step further and write MARS on the tie, wear a rats nest on your head, and run around Himmarshee Street nonstop. The above materials will suffice though.
2. HOLLA (also known as Bikini Man or Charles)
Materials:
2 piece bikini
a Sharpie to write on your forehead
lipstick
extra dollar bills
I would never dress like this Ft Lauderdale beach bum turned novelty act, but I won’t judge. Put on a two piece, lipstick, chug a bottle of Jack, and write HOLLA on your forehead — that’s all it takes. Who knows? You might even make a few bucks on the side.
Surprisingly, with no notice, the new club Vibe located on Las Olas in downtown Ft. Lauderdale opened to the public on Wednesday, sort of. After months of being draped in shockingly tall black screens on the corner of Southeast 3rd Ave. and Las Olas, Vibe finally had its soft-opening. Brought to you by the creators of YOLO, and immediately adjacent to YOLO, the outside unsurprisingly has a very YOLO-esque fire pit (this one rectangular, with brick painted white), to bring the total number of fire pits in that plaza to two. The door man checking his guest list on his iPad, which is apparently good for making lists, said the hard-opening is on Friday, sans list. But Wednesday night, despite the list, he graciously let this FTLC correspondent inside despite my icon not popping up on his tiny computer.
Having come from free-drink heaven at YOLO’s ladies’ night, I expected expensive drinks at this new club, but upon ordering a Miller Lite and a white wine spritzer for my friend, it was all free! Ahh…Wednesdays. Ahh…soft-opening at a new club. That’s what she said. Anyway, I’m classy so I poured my beer in a glass.
Decor…the walls are white and lumpy. Upon closer inspection those lumps (sorry Fergie) are…butts! And boobs! Although honestly, the boobs seemed a bit subtle for Las Olas…again, classy. Regardless, it looks damn cool. Sidenote, that enormous butt in the picture accompanying this article is outside…inside the butts are smaller, or at least the ones on the wall.
Vibe has a stage-ish area for live music next to the dj booth. A live flamenco band (with a booty-shaking dancer) played until sound issues almost-immediately ended their set, never to return. Here’s hoping that going forward the sound is fixed and we get some good live music downtown. You never know.
One interesting fact: no mirrors in the bathrooms. Surely this aggression against all Las Olas is about cannot stand. I am confident Vibe will obtain mirrors.
The most interesting party night of the year is nearly upon us. It’s that special time at the end of October when kids beg to complete strangers, typically stable adults decorate their front yards with fake skeletons and mutilated pumpkins, timid girls strip the excess fabric off timid costumes, and people try and compete for the highest BAC on Himmarshee Street. Luckily for us, there is something going on almost everyday to celebrate this strange and sadistic holiday. The FTLC has highlighted a few:
Take a shot every time you see a Jersey Shore costume
Tuesday
Of all the days this week, this is the least eventful. Today is probably the best day to check out the art exhibit at the Bear and the Bird Gallery above Tate’s Comics in Lauderhill. The show is titled Monsters Under My Bed: Childhood Fears Group Art Mega-Show and focuses on the childhood fears of the artists. Usually, I’m not too keen on art shows without cheap booze or live music, but this one sounds interesting.
Wednesday
Here’s your first chance to break out the costume. Monterey Club is hosting an indie dance party titled Ghoulish Gathering. There will be prizes for the best costumes. Andie Sweetswirl and DJ Lindersmash are spinning. No cover.
Thursday
As usual, lots of interesting stuff happening in FAT Arts Village. This year they’re throwing a 3 week celebration of Day Of The Dead. Obviously, we’ve missed some events since it started on October 9th; however, this Thursday they’re hosting some intriguing events, including a free puppet manipulation workshop and a burlesque cabaret.
Friday
One more day until the big street party; no use in trying to save yourself for the big night when The Bubble is having their second annual Halloween party. Like every IWAN party, there will be tons of art by local artists, live music, and cheap keg beer ($10 all you can drink). New Orleans’ band The Green Mantles have returned to play The Bubble, and are joined by The Necrophiles and VJ Dark Intersection. Apparently, there are also less publicized parties on Saturday and Tuesday, November 2.
Saturday
Giant block party on Himmarshee. This is always a fun street party and excellent people watching opportunity. Local crazies Viva Le Vox, as well as The Green Mantles, will be performing at Poorhouse as well.
It ain’t over yet. Most of us have to work on Monday, so you might want to take it kind of easy on the 31st. Trick or treating is always an option (age is just a number). However, it’s probably a better idea to check out some haunted houses. Village of Horrors at the War Memorial in Fort Lauderdale is probably your best bet.
Lastly, in anticipation of my favorite holiday, I’ve decided to watch a horror movie every night until Saturday. I will only be watching movies I’ve never seen before and write only a few sentences for my review of the film.
The first film for inclusion into this week long series titled Mig’s Horror Movie View Party is called The Devil’s Playground.
My two sentence review: I’m a huge fan of zombie movies, but this British movie doesn’t add any new ideas to the subgenre. It’s entertaining and well made, but you might as well re-watch 28 Days Later which does the same plot a whole lot better.
As usual, loads of fun stuff going on this weekend, especially on Saturday. Here’s just a sampling of some of great events in Broward for the next 3 days.
Friday
Fright Night on Las Ola
Save The Tatas, a charity event at Monterey Club with a bunch of bands
By Mig
