By Chaunce Hayden
There are loathsome creatures in this world that come out of the shadows and darkness
sometimes provoking an unpleasant but necessary reaction from me…. Normally I step on
them and quickly end the problem. I’m talking about things like roaches and spiders. But
sometimes creepy, crawly things come in other forms. Sometimes things as large as
delusional and sinister humans crawl out of their lairs and try to harm good people
with their social media web of lies and keyboard muscles. One of these slimy
beings is currently attempting to infest the world of a good man named Freddy
“Dingo” Barnes.
In case you haven’t heard, allow me to explain.
Freddy is the long time owner of the Clifton, New Jersey nightclub Dingbatz. Known
for featuring live rock and metal bands, Dingbatz with it’s CBGB style grittiness has
remained one of the last tristate area venues to provide a stage for original music.
The crowd that Dingbatz attracts is as diverse as its music – White, black, Latin,
bikers, punk rockers, goths, LGBT’s, tech nerds, cops and even guys like me are all
drawn to this music mecca. For decades everyone has gotten
along at Dingbatz in an environment that applauded one mutual interest…. Music.
In the era in which we live, live original music has almost virtually disappeared. Freddy has insisted Dingbatz remain true to the
art of creativity through the sound of crashing guitars, banging drums and jaw dropping vocals. I don’t think there is anyone
more dedicated to this pursuit than Freddy and the man simply does not have a mean bone in his body. He could have switched
his venue up to a more financially sound and mainstream concept at any time but Freddy is such a die hard music fan that he
could not stand to do that.
Sadly, all of Freddy’s good intentions have come under fire recently because of a troll who shall remain nameless at Freddy’s
request. Freddy will not lower himself to the tactics of this troll but the troll has publicly accused the club and Freddy himself of
racism. This claim slanders the name of a good man who has given so much to all of us. That includes the local Clifton community, his neighbors, the bands struggling to be heard and the thousands of misfits who don’t fit into the new unforgiving politically correct world we live in. Freddy has always been there for all of us. Yet, “Troll Boy” accuses Freddy of being a racist because of a one time event called “Vengeance Fest” that took place on October 20th.
The night of this event, the club was rented out to an outside promoter from California who had a tour coming
through the area by that name. Three bands on the bill were found to have racist lyrics in their songs. With
just three days prior to the event the club learned of this and immediately had the promoter remove these three
bands from the bill. The club even announced on social media that all three bands had been dropped from the schedule. The
promoter agreed to have them not play but unfortunately, the night of the show Freddy’s son had to be hospitalized for a broken
wrist and a concussion so Freddy was in the ER beside his son most of the evening. They had already played
by the time Freddy arrived. The promoter took full responsibility for lying to Freddy but because he is an outside
entity who does not even live here, there is apparently no social benefit or redemption in going after him for his
actions. Instead the decision was made by Troll Boy and a few others (you gotta love the moral bandwagon mentality)
to attack Freddy and call him a racist.
Apparently Troll Boy wants Dingbatz, Freddy and all the bands who have ever promoted their songs on this famed club’s stage
to lose this rock institution forever. As for myself, I stand by Dingbatz and I stand by New Jersey and I stand by rock n roll. I won’t sit idly by and allow one of the last few rock clubs to be swept up in the Salem witch trials of this new world order that convicts without trials. So to this human insect known as Troll Boy and all those who blindly follow his misguided agenda and hate-filled rhetoric I say……………… Hate Has No Home Here OR At Dingbatz!