JUGGLING A FLAIR FRANCHIZE! – James Hadhazy Interviewed

Who do you look up to in this Sport? Flair Bartenders that “Do their thing”. I look up to a lot of Flair Bartenders for just being themselves. I look up to Tim “Flippy” Morris for entertaining a crowd with an array of different techniques (not just flipping bottles). Colin Griffiths for his originality and always being able to “make a move better”–its soooooooo frustrating practicing with him ’cause you are sooooo excited to show him your new 2 tin, bottle move… He’ll watch it and say, “ya, that’s good, but it’ll be REALLY good if you add another bottle…mate” I look up to Dario Doimo for his dedication and his attention to difficulty. Rodrigo Cao for his unique mix of difficulty and showmanship. he brings the crowd in so well, when he hits a big move, the crowd cheers WITH him. You find yourself cheering for him ALL the time. Vache Manoukian also for his mix of difficulty and showmanship. But also for bridging the gap between “flipping bottles” and entertainment. Vache brings his other talents to the table and fuses them into his Flair. Ex. He is on the drums. He uses that along with his talent at Flair to take 2 of his talents to a new level. another bartender like this is Branden Stewart. He takes one bandanna and turns it into one of the best Flair rounds ever!! One bandanna… who would have thought of that??

Why did you compete at Bartenders Bash 2008? OK, I’ll be honest. Bartenders Bash has been my favorite competition for years. Its the ONLY competition I want to win. For the past three years I have practiced for this one for 2-3 months in advance. This competition is very laid back and its a very fun atmosphere. That’s what I love about it. The past three years I have finished 3rd, 2nd, and 3rd. As we all know, it is soooooooo frustrating when you put a lot of time and effort into something to fall short. But that’s the name of the game in Flair. When I fall short it makes me work even harder. All you can do as I always say is “Leave no doubt”. If you “Leave no doubt” in the judges mind, they can’t help but give you the highest points. If you “Leave the door open” which a lot of people do sometimes (its so frustrating) you let the judges decide where you finish. I have learned many lessons the hard way and I am already working on my routine for Bartenders Bash ’09 and one thing is for sure… Its gonna be a blast!!

Tell us about your experience at the event? Great!! As always. I started going to “The Bash” 5 yrs. ago. when Bill Long was running the comp. It was awesome then, and even better now. Rob Husted and BarWars LLC(www.barwars.info) has now fully taken over the facilitation of the event. The event has even bigger trophies and I think you even get a little more drunk with those guys around.  It was the time of my life this year… and I traveled alone. Yes… I wanted to go so bad I went alone, but like every year BarWars LLC and Holiday Isle didn’t disappoint.

What are your overall thoughts on Bartenders Bash and the history behind it? I LOVE this competition!! I talk a lot about how great is is seeing your buddies and getting drunk. But I’ll come clean. The reason I want to win this competition sooooooooo much IS the history. Earlier, when I talked about how great the stage is… you feel this eerie feeling when you walk onto that stage. A sense of pride to be standing where the greats made it happen, made what we do great, pushed the envelope. Do you know that not one Competition EVER has stayed in the same venue?? But this one. Every year I go out there and feel that energy of flipping bottles where Bill Long did. Where Rob “Tin Man” Ford did. Where Ken Hall did. And Juan Llorente, and Rick Barcode, and Nico Antivero, and Rob Husted, and Mauro Garrido, and Rodrigo Cao, and “Flairin” Erin Connelly, and Dorian Oldan, and Robyn Clossen, and Eric “Capt. Boogie” Holbert, and Danny Rossi, and Rodrigo Delpech, and Martin Janica, and Peter Medina, and Tony “Sweet T” Banawa Just to name a few. The feeling of winning a competition with such history frightens me. I guess thats why I choked so many times. lol.

How did you start out learning Flair? Well, like I said earlier, At TGIFridays (damn I give them too many plugs) I loved doing unique things with glasses and beer bottles. So when I became a bartender it was just a given to me that I had to do that something extra. With bartending and Flair you can be who you are. When your a server you gotta be nice and say “sorry” all the time. As a bartender, and especially being able to Flair you can relax and be yourself. That what attracted me soooooooo much to Flair.

How often do you practice? I recently had throat surgery so not much in the past few weeks.(I’m fine) But I usually practice at least two hours a day at work before I get to the bar. I have the set up in the garage for it that gets used constantly when I have a comp coming up.

What is your advice to some of the new people wanting to move to America for Flair bartending? America is the land of opportunity. I say go for it!! I moved to Vegas with $500 bucks in my pocket. I couldn’t even pay 1st month and security at the apartment I was renting. Hard work and dedication goes a long way. I am a big believer in not counting on anyone. I did it myself and you can too. I say it a lot “you have to take a step back to take a step forward”. Just think of that, it may be a lower paying job at 1st, but if you hang in there and be the best you can be. It always seems to work out.

What is the story behind the nickname “Franchise”? Well, I prefer it spelled with a Z but that’s OK.

Why did you move to Las Vegas? Money, Money, Money. I moved to Las Vegas to make a fortune. Instead I found stability and a home. I first moved here to taste the good life I’ve heard so much about. When I got here there was a long road ahead. I didn’t know. I guess you gotta start at the bottom?? Union?? What?? I can’t work a night shift?? I can only work 2 days this week?? How frustrating?!!!!! Well, that life. I found the harder and longer I worked here, the money was decent but the stability of my job and life rocks!! Most of the other Flair Bartenders that work here in Las Vegas are genuine and great people. People I don’t want to leave behind. The friendships that I have formed with people here in Vegas will Never be forgotten. It feels like home.

Tell us about currently working in Las Vegas as a Flair bartender? Working in Las Vegas as a Flair Bartender rocks!! I love that I can go to work everyday and do what I love!! Beware people, when you are having a bad day you STILL have to Flair at work. It comes with the territory. I feel I work the best hours too. 4pm-12am. That is sooooo awesome because I can go out after work and Vegas is still fun after midnight. And I can sleep in all day. Although the Rio may not be the best right now, I still remain optimistic about the future of Flair and I am glad to be a part of it.

Tell us about your experiences competing in Las Vegas bartending competitions? I have been involved in over 200 competitions. There are some great comps out here. There are ones that I would like to see back like Flair Vegas and Flair Fest. And there are ones that I’m glad they are gone. I have competed in almost every comp you can think of out here and it was like a roller coaster ride. Some were great like Flair Fest (at Boulder Station) and Nations (at Icehouse lounge). I have won plenty and lost horribly and chocked a couple of times as well. I won comps like the “Las Vegas Centennial”, “Flair Fest” and Tommy Rockers a few years ago. I’ve also made the finals in every Vegas comp I have ever entered (sooner or later) except for UFBC.  I think there is enough diverse comps in Vegas to go around. You have the respectable Legends and Nations comps. And the fun Red Room and Kahunaville comps. Kahunaville has a weekly “in house” competition which is bad ass. If anyone is here in Vegas on any Thursday, you can go watch people like Dario Doimo, Colin Griffiths, Sean Story, Rodrigo Cao, Joey Torres or Danilo Oribe compete with each other in a really fun setting. Overall this is what I want to see, Flair Vegas back and the Kahunaville comp open to all competitors.

Tell us about your first Flair Bartending Competition and your experiences there, What were you feeling, Did everything go as planned? Wow!!! I was Sooooooooooooooo bad. I remember walking into Adobe Gila’s in Orlando (BTW when is the reunion comp Brian??) and asking about the “Bartender Competition”. Someone told me to wait and went and got Brian Loukmas. He explained that it was 3 min. and gave me a copy of the rules and drink list. So, I remember thinking 3 MINUTES… piece of cake!!! I’ll just throw all my good stuff n time will be up. I don’t even have enough time to drop anything. Boy was I wrong. I went there the night of the comp and I didn’t even know what a routine was at that time. I was soooo nervous my knees were shaking and when I tried to stall a bottle it wouldn’t stay because my hand was shaking so much. Anyway they counted me down and BOOM I dropped, and then BOOM i dropped again, 30 more drops later and time ran out. I said to myself “Wow, that’s a lot harder than I thought”. I scored a 9 out of 100 and Levi Donaldson had won. So that night I went home and practiced in my room for a few more hours and went to sleep with Levi Donaldson being my new hero.

If you could help influence Flair to change our sport somehow, what would it be and why? I am trying to influence this business right now. Myself and Matt Maze ran a comp last year called Flair Fusion which had no liquor sponsors. And no judges. And a text vote. Ya, it was VERY different. Vache Manoukian wound up winning and I’m very happy that he did. His mixture of entertainment and Flair is really making leaps and bounds for this business. Hey, it was different and new. Good or bad. There was plenty that competitors liked about it like the personal grand entrances for each of the finalists. And plenty the fans liked about it like the interaction of The text vote. I feel like everyone thinks there is only 1 way of doing things. When you look at the big dog there is. But if you roll down to F L A there are plenty of other ways to run comps like “Summer Flair” and the “Bartenders Bash”. Bartenders Bash was there before any of them. And has never changed, its still great.

How do you help connect with the crowd while you are on stage and how is it different when you are at work behind the bar? I think work and competitions are very similar. Although I use A LOT more techniques to interact at work. A smile goes a long way. If you are happy, they are happy. when I want to evoke an emotion out of the crowd, I make things look easy. They might be like “WOW” or they might be like “what a cocky bastard” but its an emotion either way. Facial expressions are a great way of doing this. Or maybe shrugging your shoulders. I like to use my surroundings at work lot. I do a lot of stuff off the back bar and in tandem with whomever I am working with. A lot of unexpected moves get great crowd reactions such as napkin Flair or garnish Flair. I think that’s why everyone goes nuts when you throw a lime into the top of the drink. Its unexpected.