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Chances are, you’ve never heard of the Saratoga-based band Get Loose. That’s because, until very recently, the fearsome foursome played almost exclusively in a residential garage in a neighborhood off Grand Avenue. But thanks to some forceful lobbying by Get Loose founder and bass guitarist Joe Bunk, the middle-aged rockers have begun to push the boundaries of what a garage band can be.

“I’m the kind of person that, once I say I’m going to do something, I basically do it,” says Joe, who resides in the house attached to the aforementioned residential garage and whom I first met riding up the Gore Mountain gondola several winters ago. He used our 15 minutes together to pitch me a story about his recent basement renovation, and gave me his phone number. A year later, our Design Issue needed one more small story, and I realized a short piece on a local basement renovation would be perfect.

It was then that I realized that Joe Bunk usually gets what he wants.

In the story I ended up writing about the DIY-ed basement man cave dubbed “Joe’s Bar,” I learned that in addition to always wanting his own bar, Joe also always wanted to learn to play an instrument. When Joe’s son surprised him with a bass guitar from Saratoga Guitar, Joe’s Bar became the perfect place to hone his new craft. “I don’t have any musical talent at all,” Joe says. “But I knew my neighbor, Al [Darmofal], was a guitar player, so I said, ‘I have this dream to learn how to play the bass guitar, and I understand that you are a guitarist. Can we get together?’ He was a bit skeptical at first, to say the least, but we would meet at Joe’s Bar once a week. We started off as a twosome.”

Thus began the hunt for more local musicians to round out Joe’s dream band. The next recruit was guitarist Paul Furuta, a friend of Joe’s brother- and sister-in-law who Joe conscripted when he ran into him, portentously, at a Midas auto service center. When he found out that Larry Britt, the husband of a woman who plays Mahjong with his neighbor, was taking drum lessons, it was over; Larry didn’t really have a say in the matter. “He shows up, and he doesn’t have drums,” Joe says. “I’m like, ‘Where are your drums, man?’ And he says, ‘I don’t know if I’m good enough to be in this band.’ I said, ‘You’re good enough to be in this band.’”

And with that, Get Loose was complete, though the band had outgrown Joe’s Bar and moved to Joe’s garage. Their weekly practices began drawing a crowd—neighbors would sit out on their porches to listen, while others would stop by on evening walks. This year, Joe plans to put a bench in his front yard, so passersby have a place to sit and listen.

While Get Loose has played at several private parties in the past (in its early days, Joe and Al played the four songs they knew two times each at a neighbor’s 80th birthday), it wasn’t until recently that Joe decided they were finally good enough to play for the public. But, he figured they should stick to what they know. And that’s how Get Loose went from playing in a small, residential garage to—well—a bigger garage.

Last Friday, Get Loose made its local debut at the grand opening of Rowland Street Garage’s new garage, which enables the auto repair shop to work on larger vehicles including RVs. The band performed songs by The Marshall Tucker Band, Jackson Browne and others on a lofted area of the garage overlooking several vehicles that were being worked on by employees, as guests milled around in the garage and parking lot.

Wondering how Get Loose landed such a prestigious gig? Well, Joe asked, of course.

“He hounded me,” Rowland Street GM Brian Coe clarified when I chatted with him at the event. “I said, ‘Joe, you’re not playing my grand opening.’ And here they are.”

We looked up to the loft to listen for a moment before Brian turned to me and admitted, “They do sound pretty good.”

—Natalie

“We’re going to bring a lot of visitors up here, and they’re going to come back. Because that’s what people do when they get to see Saratoga. They come back.”

—NYRA President David O’Rourke on bringing the Belmont Racing Festival to the Spa City

Months after we began hearing rumors about a potential city-wide, week-long Belmont celebration coming to downtown Saratoga next month, the news about Belmont on Broadway is out. The festivities will begin on Tuesday with Therapeutic Horses of Saratoga’s Embrace the Belmont handicapping event followed the National Museum of Racing & Hall of Fame’s Belmont Gala, the DBA’s window-decorating contest, a HARDY concert at SPAC, the Opera Saratoga Gala, and Belmont watch parties all around town. The main event (besides the Belmont Stakes itself) will be a family-friendly Belmont weekend kick-off concert headlined by Blues Traveler that will shut down Broadway between City Hall and Van Dam Street on Wednesday.

“This is our opportunity to shine,” Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce President Todd Shimkus said in a press conference this past Wednesday. “And to show that we are a major events destination to the world.”

For the first time ever, the Saratoga Springs City School District has cancelled school because of the track. Typically, school’s out for summer when racing is going on at The Spa. But this year, the Belmont Racing Festival falls on two school days—Thursday, June 6 and Friday, June 7—the latter of which will be a day off for students of the district. NewsChannel 13 reports that the move was made in part because buses would have a hard time navigating the city’s smaller side streets when they’re packed with parked cars. The day off will also give upperclassmen, many of whom work the Saratoga racing meet, the opportunity to work the Belmont Racing Festival that day.

This year, the Kentucky Derby has taken somewhat of a backseat to all the Belmont hype, at least in Saratoga. So, in case you missed it, today’s Derby Day! In honor, we asked Saratoga Living Sports Editor Brien Bouyea to share some insight into today’s Run for the Roses:

Mike Repole hasn’t had much luck when it comes to the Kentucky Derby. In 2011, his reigning 2-year-old champion Uncle Mo had to be scratched the day before the race because of a gastrointestinal infection. Last year, Repole’s reigning 2-year-old champ Forte was scratched the morning of the Derby with a minor foot ailment. Perhaps the third time will be the charm for the passionate owner—I certainly think it will be. Repole Stable returns to Churchill Downs for the 150th Kentucky Derby with another reigning champion in Fierceness, who is coming off a 13½-length romp in the Florida Derby. With Hall of Fame connections in trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey John Velazquez, Fierceness has a lot going for him as he enters the gate for the Run for the Roses, including an abundance of talent. A bay son of City of Light out of the Stay Thirsty mare Nonna Bella, Fierceness is a Repole homebred who has been training exceptionally well entering the Derby. I think the great Johnny V. will negotiate a clean trip and we will soon be talking about Fierceness as a new superstar…maybe even a Triple Crown contender.

Fun fact: Repole campaigned both Nonna Bella and Stay Thirsty, the 2011 Travers and Jim Dandy winner.

Brien Bouyea’s 2024 Kentucky Derby selections:

Natalie Moore’s 2024 Kentucky Derby selections:

He may be a long shot and he may be named after a street in a Colorado town, but as a former resident of Washington Street, I’m rooting for West Saratoga!

Join us for our fourth annual Cocktails & Clairvoyance gallery-style medium reading at the Gideon Putnam on May 22. This year, we welcome back life-long psychic medium Christine Seebold-Walrath, owner of The Mind Body Spirt Center in Saratoga, Clifton Park and Colonie as well as the Saratoga Energy Enhancement System Healing Center. Attendees will have the opportunity to get answers to questions they may have for loved ones who’ve crossed over, and will get to witness Christine’s supernatural talent in action. Tickets include a happy hour (with a complimentary drink and hors d’ouevres), as well as the group medium reading.

If you have a yard, chances are, you’ve been thinking about pulling out your lawn mower soon. Sustainable Saratoga says to hold off. Bees, moths, butterflies and other pollinators are emerging from their winter ground homes and searching for nectar nourishment this time of year. Refraining from mowing allows them to do so safely. “Our Earth’s pollinators and all insects are fighting for their very existence,” says Paul Murphy, chair of Sustainable Saratoga’s Pollinator Committee. “We can all help increase pollinator populations by keeping mowers in garages and sheds and letting our lawns go natural through the end of May.” To show your support for the No Mow May initiative, you can reserve a lawn sign (recommended donation: $10) now.

While you should be ignoring your own lawn this week (save the bees!), there’s another lawn in town that’s calling your name. Wednesday, May 8 begins Live Nation’s annual Concert Week, during which fans can purchase $25 lawn seats to a whole host of shows at SPAC, including Lainey Wilson, Hootie & The Blowfish, Train, Creed, Tedeschi Trucks Band and more. Just visit LiveNation.com/ConcertWeek and filter your search by location.

Most of the books in the Sam Lawson mystery series are set in Texas, but author David K. Wilson says he’s been wanting to bring his books’ titular character to his hometown of Saratoga Springs for a while now. Enter: Murder in Spa City, the seventh installment in the Sam Lawson series, which will be released this Wednesday. “I wanted to write a book where locals could easily recognize settings and location, while also helping to showcase the city to those not as familiar with all Saratoga Springs has to offer,” David says. “Of course, the primary goal is to tell a captivating story.” This time around, Detective Lawson is attending a wedding in Saratoga, but is thrust into the investigation of the murder of a wealthy local businessman. The suspects? They’re all members of the victim’s dysfunctional family. Copies will be available on Amazon and in select bookstores beginning this week.

This week, I had a conversation with Saratoga National Bank’s Dave DeMarco about a coworking trend we’ve both been noticing. Businesses, or in many cases sole proprietors, some of whom may be in direct competition with one another, are actually joining forces to share resources and ideas. I saw it recently at Buffalo’s Downtown Bazaar food court, and Dave brought up Albany’s Blake Annex, a coworking space for nonprofits. In a way, Saratoga Joinery is another example—woodworkers don’t need a ban saw all to themselves, so it makes sense to share a communal one.

The latest industry to hop on this trend locally is the interior design field. When Interior Designs Atelier owner Linda Gerace-Skinner purchased existing Franklin Square coworking space The Worker’s Club earlier this year, she figured, why not share her knowledge, resources and contacts with other designers? So while The Worker’s Club continues to operate as a coworking space for professionals of all stripes, on Thursday Linda welcomed the design world to check out Saratoga Design Collective, a coworking space just for interior designers that’s chock full of samples of wallpaper, fabric, trim and more. Read all about the new venture here.

Lola Saratoga is Selling a $40K Crocodile Birkin Bag

Recipe: Stacy’s Scratch Kitchen’s Cremini Mushroom Stroganoff

Vibe Check: Saratoga Mom Prom

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