record stores:
park ave + park ave jr. - overpriced, really hip indie shop. don't expect to find diy music here. park ave is currently on the corner of park ave and fairbanks ave across from rollins college, though it's about to move to corrine drive, across from stardust. park ave jr is located in the student union on the ucf campus. (407) 629-5293
rock n roll heaven - huge shop with little to no organisation. gigantic dollar records section that kinda rules, but other than that, the prices tend to suck alot. they don't know anything about indie music post-1978 so they charge alot to make to make up for it. sometimes you find a great deal and others you're seeing third press, black vinyl with a missing booklet for $15. 1814 N Orange Ave Orlando, FL 32804-6415.(407) 896-1952
i setup my distro at pretty much all diy shows in orlando, so you can always catch me atleast once or twice a month.
Places To Eat:
no blood no bones - absolutely the best vegan food in orlando. prices ranger between $8-12, but you get a huge amount of food. the bbq (un)chicken seems to be most popular. the menu is a mix of soul food and jamaican. the employees are pretty nice, too. seating is limited to only one table, though it's hardly ever taken. it's pretty far from most everything else i orlando, but well worth the drive. 4759 Raleigh St. Orlando, Fl 32811. 407-296-9441.
garden cafe - pretty decent vegetarian asian cafe. the whole menu is vegetarian and about 90% of it is vegan. the food is pretty good, nothing to rave about, but it's right outisde of downtown orlando and convenient when going to shows and such. it's closed on mondays. 810 W Colonial Dr
Orlando, FL 32804-7312. (407) 999-9799.
Florida Hospital - absolutely everyone from outside orlando thinks we are nuts when we suggest this as a place to eat. truth is, the cafeteria is features a huge vegan menu, providing plenty of fake meats served on sandwiches, in salads and even main course-dinners. it's cheap and open late. this place is sort of an after-show tradition as it candle handle large groups and is cheap enough for everyone, including touring bands. parking is pretty bad lately as they're doing construction, but it's do-able late at night. open until 2am and they only accept cash. 2520 N Orange Ave.
stardust - stardust is a indepent video store/coffee house/cafe/art gallery. the food is a mix of vegetarian/vegan and non-vegetarian, though the meat is usually free-range and whatnot. the prices are between $7-10 and the portions are pretty big. 1842 Winter Park Rd Winter Park, FL 32789-5819.(407) 623-3393.
the vegan hot dog stand - they setup on orange ave in downtown orlando, across from the social, bar bq bar and independant bar. vegan hot dogs are $3 with all the toppings you want, including spinach, muschrooms, chili, cheese, bbq onions, etc. they also have vegan nachos and bottled drinks. they setup around 9pm and stay out until 2:30 or so almost every day.
orlando food not bombs sets up at lake eola park in downtown orlando near the amphitheater every wednesday at 5pm. if you want info or wanna help out, contact adrien at systemcollapse@gmail.com.
stuff to do:
there are no regular diy venues in orlando. most shows take place at stardust and every once in a while we find a house. for a list of upcoming shows, check out theset-up.com.
for non-diy events, check out:
sunday night mutiny at back booth. every sunday at 10pm. it's a garage/trash punk night with 2-3 bands and a dj. cheap beer, etc. $5, 18+. www.backbooth.com
the social hosts pretty much all of the bigger "indie" shows in town. www.orlandosocial.com.
the peacock room offers everything from noise and indie rock to dj's in the back room. the front rom is a bar/art gallery. weekdays are free and there's usually no one checking i.d.. friday and saturdays are $4 and strictly 21+. be warned: it's a really expensive bar with a crowd made up of yuppies and older hipsters. www.peacockroom.com
damc - the downtown media arts center is on the corner of pine street and magnolia ave in downtown. it's a indie movie house, coffee shop and art gallery. the movies are extremely underground. there's weekly local showcases and short film slams. the coffee house makes good chai tea latte's and there's occassional events in the gallery. www.dmacorlando.com
for dancing, there's crush at back booth every monday. it's $3, 18+ and there's a free keg of pbr while it lasts. the music is made up of pretty much anything dancable.
at back booth on wednesdays, there's footloose, an 80's night. it's $4 and also has free beer while it lasts. back booth is downtown on pine street.
thursdays, everyone dances at indepent bar (i-bar for short). the music is pretty much anything alternative and dancable. it gets really crowded, so be prepared. it's free until midnight for 21+. ibar is on the corner of orange ave and washington in downtown, next to bar bq bar and the social.
if you're a smoker, all three dance nights (and alot of shows) are good places to be as the kool and camel promo people are always around giving out two free packs of smokes to each person with an i.d..
fun, non-club stuff:
every sunday at 3pm there's kickball games at cady way park. we get anywhere between 12-50 kids a week and it's alot of fun. we play for about 3 hours before going out to eat or hanging out at the gay not gay house, which is right down the street. for info, check http://groups.myspace.com/orlandokickball
there's also a new event starting up: iron chef orlando. check out http://groups.myspace.com/ironcheforlando
more stuff, like a weekly beach crew will be coming up over the summer.
for more info or a list of local shows, just email me at fuckingflorida@theset-up.com