In 1967, Patrick Kenny arrived on the scene and created the legendary club Kenny's Castaways. Patrick, my father, became a spiritual father to many of the musicians who came in droves to Bleecker Street to cast their fortune and tell their story. The visible traces of Kenny's history and my dad's presence are preserved in stories told on our bar stools and the smell of the whiskey soaked floors.

Every time I walk into Kenny's I feel the force of my father's presence and the ghosts of all those who inhabitated there such as: Doc Pomus, Otis Blackwell, Jeff Buckley and many others and I know I am home. My dad was always dreaming and gambling on ideas. He had so many wonderful stories -- and dreams of what music was about, what Kenny's was about at its core. He always said it was about creating memories for people and creating a sense of possibility. He believed and by sheer force of his personality he made you believe in the possibilities.

Kenny's Castaways located at 157 Bleecker Street has seen it's share of history. The building, No.157 has been a part of New York history since it's erection in the 1820's. James McCabe, author of Lights And Shadows Of New York Life , noted as early as 1872 that Bleecker Street was the headquarters of Bohemianism and the New York paper The Press in 1890 noted the Slide located in the basement of no. 157 Bleecker Street was the wickedest place in New York.

More or less untouched since the 1820's, the old Slide remains in existence today as Kenny's Castaways, a well known rock and blues nightclub, and much of it is still recognizable from the 1891 drawing and description in The Herald newspaper "a high barroom in the front with a stamped tin ceiling and a dancefloor and orchestra at the back, flanked by two staircases to the right and left that lead up to a gallery." The ceiling, woodwork, and ceramic tile floor are all 19 th century. A staircase leads down to the basement from a street door, and the owners since 1967, the Kenny family, recall that during construction in the basement they discovered a warren of cellars and cubicles with old possibly original plasterwork, doors, and plank boards with writing on them small women, large women, arrows, sheets, and prices depicting its former self as a brothel.

In 1967, Kenny's Castaways immediately became the venue of choice among up and coming acts. It all started when Patrick Kenny opened the doors to live, new, original music. Kenny's became the place to play presenting acts such as Professor Longhair, Aerosmith, The Marshall Tucker Band, Patti Smith, Blues Traveler, Bruce Springsteen, The New York Dolls, Jerry Jeff Walker, Willie Nile, Steve Forbert, Bonnie Raitt,, The Smithereens and the list goes on...

In 2007, Kenny's celebrated 40 years of great music. With the passing of Patrick Kenny in 2002, the Kenny family has dedicated upholding his legacy of showcasing new talent and offering opportunities for artists to develop their voices. They are also renovating the interior without disturbing the historical integrity of the building or the ghosts that inhabit within.