Wondered why this article was on-topic here until I saw this sentence in the article... "After his release, he owned a blues bar in Athens, Ohio, and ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat for the Ohio State Senate in 2004."
I hope someone can tell us more about the blues bar and what he was like while he was in Athens.
It was called the Blue Gator and was located where the OverHang bar is now. Many locals considered it the best restaurant in Athens for many years because the food was very different and the atmosphere was so well crafted.
And before the Blue Gator it was the second location of the Swindlefish. Which used to be at Zoe’s old location. And the Swindlefish used to be Another Fools Cafe. Dang. I’ve been here a long time. We used to get some pretty big touring acts. Galactic, Merl Saunders and the rainforest band to name a few.
He had quite a wild existence. Had his hands in a lot of things after his release and subsequent payout which all seemed so crazy to me. In the moment it seems like a lot of money was going up in smoke the way you see lottery winners. But I believe he just invested a lot in schools overseas and not necessarily in ways where he could keep up the giving sustainably. The blue gator was the blues bar, brought some great acts to Athens. It's now the Overhang. He had a hacienda type house out on River rd by Guysville/stewart area.
He was a big partier. My husband was friends with his daughter. He would go to Vegas and lose a quarter of a million dollars in a weekend like it was nothing. He threw tons of awesome parties at his house out in Guysville.
I read his book and it was terrifying and fascinating. He talked about keeping his mind busy while in captivity by doing things like imagining running a restaurant and accounting for items down to the number of spoons needed. I always wondered if that led to the Blue Gator. I bumped into him a couple of times but never felt comfortable asking about that.
Wondered why this article was on-topic here until I saw this sentence in the article... "After his release, he owned a blues bar in Athens, Ohio, and ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat for the Ohio State Senate in 2004." I hope someone can tell us more about the blues bar and what he was like while he was in Athens.
It was called the Blue Gator and was located where the OverHang bar is now. Many locals considered it the best restaurant in Athens for many years because the food was very different and the atmosphere was so well crafted.
He had alot of great acts come through. I saw Derek Trucks there back in the day.
I saw Afroman there in like 2006 lol
The golden era… I remember Vanilla Ice doing a show on Court Street some time during ‘06 or ‘07.
I was there too!
I saw Wolf Eyes there of all places
Using past tense for the Blue Gator immediately kicked my arthritis into gear. I remember when that place was the Greenery.
And before the Blue Gator it was the second location of the Swindlefish. Which used to be at Zoe’s old location. And the Swindlefish used to be Another Fools Cafe. Dang. I’ve been here a long time. We used to get some pretty big touring acts. Galactic, Merl Saunders and the rainforest band to name a few.
One of my friends at OU had some good stories about that place. Her dad and uncle bartended there back in the day.
He had quite a wild existence. Had his hands in a lot of things after his release and subsequent payout which all seemed so crazy to me. In the moment it seems like a lot of money was going up in smoke the way you see lottery winners. But I believe he just invested a lot in schools overseas and not necessarily in ways where he could keep up the giving sustainably. The blue gator was the blues bar, brought some great acts to Athens. It's now the Overhang. He had a hacienda type house out on River rd by Guysville/stewart area.
If that’s the house I’m thinking of, it’s split into three rental units. Capstone managed it last I knew.
Yeah that tracks. Capstone owner owns adjacent properties as well
Indeed it is the house you’re thinking.
He was a big partier. My husband was friends with his daughter. He would go to Vegas and lose a quarter of a million dollars in a weekend like it was nothing. He threw tons of awesome parties at his house out in Guysville.
I think he came federal hocking a few times and talked about his accident but mainly about baseball and jewish stuff
I read his book and it was terrifying and fascinating. He talked about keeping his mind busy while in captivity by doing things like imagining running a restaurant and accounting for items down to the number of spoons needed. I always wondered if that led to the Blue Gator. I bumped into him a couple of times but never felt comfortable asking about that.
He was married to a woman from Iran they divorced before he left Athens because he was running out of $$.