In an era when online interaction often overshadows real life, the road to success for an aspiring musician is filled with potential shortcuts. But all the likes, shares and streaming statistics can’t replace an artists’ ability to connect with a live audience, says Joe Germanotta, the owner of Joanne Trattoria, the Italian restaurant on the Upper West Side that is providing a stage for developing performers.
“You can record all the thumb drives and do all the social media posts until you’re blue in the face, but to get discovered, you’ve got to perform. They need to build a personal relationship with you.”
When Germanotta explains the Emerging Artist Showcase at Joanne, which is celebrating its 15th year in business, he’s speaking as someone who had a front-row seat to the development of one of the globe’s most popular performers, his daughter Stefani, known to the world as Lady Gaga. He watched as she clawed her way from New York’s bars to clubs and eventually the arenas and stadiums that she performs in today.
At Joanne, an artist who wins over audiences, starting with the open mic nights he hosts on Mondays and earning a slot at the Emerging Artist Showcase on Wednesdays, has a direct pipeline to two prominent clubs in Manhattan.
It’s a similar path travelled by Gaga herself. In those early days, “she represented herself,” her father says. “You go to The Bitter End now, and over the bar there’s a picture of her. We developed a relationship over the years because she went back and did a special show there after she became famous.”
Entertainers that perform particularly well at Emerging Artists land a slot at The Bitter End or Arlene’s Grocery, “which is wonderful for them because then on their resume, as they’re building their career, they can say, ‘I performed at The Bitter End,’ and “I performed at Arlene’s Grocery,’” which is big time,” says Germanotta.
Sometimes he’ll bring back an Emerging Artist for a residency at Joanne, like Shaila Murdock, who also works as a manager at Joanne.
“She went to performing arts school and she wanted to do Emerging Artist, so she did open mic, and then she did the Emerging Artist show, and then she played Arlene’s,” says Germanotta over breakfast during a rainy morning at Joanne. “She developed her skills. So I gave her Sunday, she sings soul every Sunday night.
“The mission here is to give them a stage, and it’s really rewarding to see that people in the neighborhood come and listen not just to Brian Newman play, but they’ll come in to hear an emerging artist,” he says, referring to the Grammy-winning artist known for his long-time collaborative connection with Gaga.
Joanne also livestreams performances on its website, via Twitch.
Germanotta has scheduled special events to mark year 15 of Joanne, including an anniversary night on Oct. 3 and a listening party to mark the 10th year of Gaga’s “Joanne” album on Oct. 17. Additionally, Newman will host a vinyl release party for his album “Song For Lonely Lovers” on Nov. 6.
Gaga named Joanne, the restaurant and the album, for Germanotta’s sister, who died at age 19 in 1974 from complications due to lupus.
“She named the restaurant,” says Germanotta. “My wife and I were both retired. Stefani said, ‘Mom, you’re going to start my foundation,’ the Born This Way Foundation, ‘and dad, you’re going to own a restaurant,’ because she knew that’s what I always wanted.”
He tears up and says, “As you can see, I get emotional. And she said, ‘You’re going to call it Joanne.’ This is a good kid. Then she wrote the album.”
Germanotta was born to Sicilian parents in New Jersey before he met his wife, Cynthia, who is from West Virginia. They moved to the Upper West Side, where they raised their daughters.
The restaurant is rooted in the Italian American tradition of family dinners; the tight-night clan still gets together for the holidays despite Stefani living in California. The Germanottas’ younger daughter Natali, a fashion designer, lives in New York but spends a lot of time in Las Vegas.
Popular dishes at Joanne include the lemon artichoke chicken — “My mother used to make that all the time,” Germanotta says — and the chicken parm with vodka sauce.
Germanotta, an entrepreneur who worked to bring Wi-Fi to hotels in the early 2000s when it was a luxury mostly reserved for elite properties, created his own AI platform to help run Joanne. He shows me how he can track the most popular dishes, what servers do the best business and where his patrons come from — most are tourists, he says.
The businessman, who graduated from Michigan State University’s hospitality program, also launched Art Bird & Whiskey Bar, with celebrity chef Art Smith. The concept had locations at Grand Central and at Live Nation concert venues. “I can tell you, we sold like $8 million of chicken sandwiches” at the Live Nation properties before the massive concert promoter ended its celebrity chef program, Germanotta says.
Germanotta and Smith have also developed Varsity Bird, a quick-service chicken business tailored to college campuses. You can find Varsity Bird at Michigan State football and basketball games.
Joanne Trattoria, (70 West 68th Street New York, NY 10023 (212) 721-0068). For schedule and more info visit the website
Leave a Reply