Jeff Cleary and Andrew Lowder have been getting drunk and rambling in San Francisco bars for a long ass time. The two spent their salad days living in a rent-controlled apartment on 16th and Albion, drinking in the heart of the then-thriving 90s dive scene in the Mission District. But like most people, “life” took hold at some point, sending Andrew to a job in The Bronx and Jeff into the world of being a stand-up comedian.
Fortunately, Andrew came back to the Bay Area, and since every stand-up has to have a podcast these days, the two started recording their conversations in local bars.
The result in the San Francisco BarKast (also on iTunes), which in its short existence has become one of our favorite podcasts. It's much more than just casual conversation: they review the place they're drinking in (of course), tell stories and discuss histories, feature guests, and often bemoan/celebrate the ups and downs are various local sports teams.
Now that they've surpassed the 20 episode mark, we shot Jeff and Andrew over a few questions about what they've been up to, what they have in store, and what they were up to in the 90s:
Uptown Almanac: What inspired you guys to start the BarKast?
Andrew Lowder: They say do what you know. If there's anything we know better than sitting in a bar and talking a whole load of shit, we haven't come across it yet.
Jeff Cleary: Some people are gonna say SF BarKast is just a flimsy excuse for two old friends to drink and discover new bars, but those people are completely short-sighted and don't understand post-modern art. This just in… the Pacific Ocean is damp.
UA: Did Jeff being a comedian have anything to do with its creation?
JC: Comedy has a lot to do with it, but the conversational format of podcasting is something I love. I did stand-up for five years and was completely immersed in the Bay Area comedy scene, but podcasting is a completely different animal. Most comics are complete sweethearts, but every once in a while you hang out with someone who is constantly doing material and it's unbearable. Comics are naturally funny, but we want to bring that out in conversation, which is essential podcasting.
However, call me an idealist, but I think everyone has something interesting to say, so we don't want to limit the BarKasts to comics. I want to have an episode with just people who have lived in the city for a long time to talk about all the changes, I want to have one with a panel of completely sober guests, I want to have a panel of all single women to explain why it's so horrible to date in SF (so I've heard), a panel of young people who just got here, a panel of old people who've been here for a while, etc. All those future episodes will rely on our interviewing skills, but all those angles are interesting to me.
It is great, though, to draw upon amazing local comics, but we're all over the map. We talk about movies, music, current events, sports, science, sex, culture, whatever you want to bring (except Scientology, which is a fraud).
UA: So far, what's your favorite bars (or episodes) been? Any surprises?
AL: Discovering new places like The Broken Record & Hi Tops have been great, but old favorites like The Uptown and Lucky 13 bring out the best stories. The House of Shields was also a lot of fun since there's so much ridiculous speakeasy whores and hooch history there.
JC: Not to be a shameless self-promoter, but I have to say the last one we did, The Lucky Horseshoe in Bernal Heights with [Amnesia's Open Mic host] Rajeev Dhar, is one of our best. Also, I love that one because it was a come-back BarKast. The one before that, The Phone Booth, was woeful. Yeah, we're not gonna insist everything we've done is gold. The Phone Booth was brutal, even me to listen to, because I showed up hammered—not a good idea. One of the appeals of the SF BarKast formula is we progressively (or degressively) get more lubricated. That all goes out the window if you walk into the bar slurring. Fear not, we've made a hard rule to not do that again.
UA: What bars are you looking forward to doing?
JC: I was told to check out 21 Club in the TL because it's “the toughest bar in SF.” I rode my bike down there to check it out and the whole story is retold in the Uptown episode. Spoiler alert: it involves bleeding in the middle of the street.
UA: You guys have a segment on the show about old, out of business bars. Since you both used to live together above The Albion before it was Delirium, do you have any good stories about that place (or other Gone But Bot Forgotten bars in the neighborhood)?
AL: Doctor Bombays is probably my favorite former bar in the Mission. To me, the 90s in the Mission meant hanging out in a phony Egyptian dive listening to Smashing Pumpkins and The Pixies on the jukebox…
JC: I think I told both these stories on the BarKast, but my 16th & Valencia “Gone But Not Forgotten” would be Mop Tops, which was (if I'm not mistaken, was where We Be Sushi is [on Valencia]). It was a fish & chips joint owned by a Korean junkie obsessed with the Beatles. The food was okay, but every weekend, his band would play Beatles songs just a little slower than usual before he nodded off.
As for the Albion/Delirium I have a story about that first week in SF where smoking in bars became illegal. I was sitting in the old Albion with a friend, he looked around and lit up a cigarette. Suddenly, the bartender points at him and screams, “YOU, GET THE FUCK OUT!!!” Totally fine. We got out post haste. Once on the street, my friend says, “You did see why I did that, right?” No. “The people at the table right next to us were blowing lines of coke. So, yeah, we're the problem?” Goodnight, sweet Albion.
You can listen to SF BarKast on iTunes and Stitcher and follow them on Twitter and Tumblr. (Also, you're humble and horrible editor was a featured guest on The Broken Record episode, should you want to hear my thoughts on mac 'n cheese.)
