Loser's Lounge

For over three decades, a rotating cast of New York City musicians has gathered under the banner of the Loser's Lounge. This ongoing tribute project spotlights the songbooks of artists like Queen, Neil Diamond, Paul Williams, Elvis Costello, Serge Gainsbourg, The Beach Boys, Lee Hazlewood, Paul McCartney, XTC, and David Bowie. Each performance either dives deep into the well-known and obscure corners of a single artist’s catalog, or sets two musical forces against each other—for instance, Blondie versus The Pretenders, or The Smiths versus The Cure. The revue draws performers from across the musical spectrum, from mainstream stars to underground experimenters. Past participants include Paul Williams, J Mascis, Sean Altman, John Flansburgh, April March, Ronnie Spector, Debbie Harry, Alice Cohen, Richard Barone, J. G. Thirlwell, Brian Dewan, Carol Jacobanis, and Cyndi Lauper.

The Loser's Lounge was created in 1993 by Joe McGinty—a former keyboardist for the Psychedelic Furs and session musician for bands like The Ramones—alongside performer Nick Danger and singer/songwriter Andrea Egert. Its earliest shows took place at the Pink Pony on Ludlow Street in the Lower East Side. Later performances at Fez under Time Cafe featured guitarist David Terhune’s backing band, The Kustard Kings. Several of those musicians—Terhune, guitarist Julian Maile, drummer Clem Waldmen, percussionist Eddie Zweiback, and bassist Jeremy Chatzky—still regularly perform with McGinty and backup singers Connie Petruk, Tricia Scotti, Sean Altman, and Katia Floreska. For years, Fez under Time Cafe was the revue’s home base until the venue closed in April 2005. Since then, the Loser’s Lounge has continued with bi-monthly shows at Joe’s Pub. It has also appeared at larger New York City venues like the Allen Room at AOL Time Warner Center and the Bowery Ballroom, as well as out-of-state spaces such as MASS MoCA. The group has performed at notable local events including Midsummer Night Swing at Lincoln Center and Celebrate Brooklyn.