The frontman (vocals/guitar/piano/harmonica) of “R&B orchestra” Quinn Devlin and the Bridge Street Kings shares his go-to spots for skating, soul music and the best BYOB burrito experience
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Dodge 112
Dodge 112 — the name is a room at Columbia — is the new recording studio/venue space my good friends have built in Boerum Hill/Gowanus that is growing each day.
It’s people I’ve made music with, people I went to school with. It’s cool because the time they got [the space] at the beginning of [last] summer, also coincided with the last member of The Bridge Street Kings to get out of college. Up until then, we were still rehearsing at Columbia. Then we started rehearsing here before our shows, and we did a show here, which was really fun.
It kind of marks a new era of my group of musicians and friends — now we’re all out of school and most people are in various areas of Brooklyn.
217 Bond Street, instagram.com/dodge_112_
Taqueria Milear
This is a solid hole-in-the-wall BYOB Mexican place on Nostrand.
I’d just moved into that area and went down looking for somewhere to eat. I’m a big fan of burritos. This is a cool place — it’s good. Affordable, and you can’t beat the BYOB nature of the establishment!
752A Nostrand Ave, (718) 484-8005, taqueriamilear.com
Brower Park
Everyone knows Prospect Park, and for good reason, it’s beautiful! I’ve gone on many a runs and bike rides there. But there is also the smaller Brower Park that’s two blocks away from my apartment, and it’s got some nice little benches to hang out on if the day is nice. Also, it’s got a small skatepark that has helped inspire a return to skateboarding after giving stopping in high school / college in the pursuit of elite distance running, which leads to the next spot…
Brooklyn Ave & Prospect Pl, nycgovparks.org/parks/brower-park
Skate Brooklyn
This shop is where I bought my first skateboard coming back [to skating]. The guy that works there is really cool. He’s an artist and he makes his own decks, which is sick. They have mini ramps in the back, so when it gets cold in the winter, you can skate there. Great local skate shop vibe.
78 St. Marks Pl, instagram.com/skatebrooklyn
Friends and Lovers
Friends and Lovers I discovered from a show when I was in college. A friend ran a blog called Rare Candy out of Columbia, and they had their first print release party there. So when I moved back here, I went back there, like, this is the one place I know!
Every first Saturday they do a soul night, which has the feel of what I imagine Northern Soul nights in the ’70s in Europe were like at places like The Wigan. I think it’s a really cool thing that they do, and unfortunately I have not been to enough of them.
641 Classon Ave, (917) 979-3060, fnlbk.com
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Follow Quinn Devlin on Instagram and check out his website for shows, music and more!
Feature image: Ben Curry
[This interview has been edited and condensed.]