Where We Live: Will’s Pub - Orlando, FL
If you’ve ever been a tourist in Orlando, and I’m sure many of you have, then you’ve been misled. Make no mistake, Orlando is the candy-colored ashtray of Florida. As a proud Floridian I am downright offended that when most people visit my state they are greeted by a creepy, unblinking dollar store party mask. However, the fact is that the buffet-laden, tourist trap zone of International Drive is only a fraction of the city’s sprawling land mass. Northeast of the Orlando everyone knows there is the real Orlando: a burgeoning art scene fighting to carve a pocket of reality into this fantasy land of Centex suburbs and evangelical mega churches. At the epicenter of this battle is Will’s Pub, the heart of Orlando’s music scene.
In 1995, the cinder block shell of a former furniture warehouse was decorated with a billiards mural and transformed into Will’s Loch Haven Pub: Pool, Darts, Friends. Pool and darts are easy to deliver, but friends? That’s a steep claim to make, but one that founder Will Walker delivered. Will’s is the dive bar that’s not a dive bar. It has that seedy, smokey, ambiance of classic dimly lit barrooms but it overturns that cliche. Old and young, hip and un - Will’s is for everyone. There are games to play, paintings for sale, and a fine selection of hooch. Making friends and having a good time is an inherent attribute of being at Will’s. Only the most ultimate jerks can resist its powers.
Unlike all the would-be hipster clubs in downtown, the bar’s cohesive environment brings out the best in every sect of counter culture. (After all, in a city that treats adults like children; where the curfew is at 3 and there’s no nudity at strip clubs, we’re all in it together.) Folk rock, 
death metal, electro, hip-hop - all genres, all crowds move through Will’s. Rising locals and national acts have forged and endearing connection with the real Orlando there. It is and has been the birth place of many musical artist’s Central Florida debuts. It’s where they come from and it’s where they return to. The fans are like family and the energy is warm. Will’s is the one true home of Orlando’s music.
It wasn’t always this way. There was a dark time for over two years where Will’s Pub was no more. Though the bar’s namesake owned the building, he did not own the land. The original Will’s Pub was demolished in the name of urbanization and progress. No more dingy Loch Haven Motor Lodge, no more boxy billiard lounge - just crisp, new buildings. Promises were made that Will’s would carry on, many false starts, nothing solid. The pub’s sound system was sold off to Taste, a slick bar, venue, and eatery in College Park. Indy rapper, and Jacksonville native, Astronautalis found his first true fan following in Orlando and Will’s Pub was where it all began. Last October, I interviewed him at Taste:
Will’s Pub was like my home when I played in Orlando years and years ago. [It was] nice to plug my stuff into old Will’s Pub… Plug into history.
We had all resigned that Will’s really was no more. As the man said… “history.” But just a month after that somber digression the leviathan reawakened. On the same street, no less.
Just South of where it once had been, Will’s Pub returned. It was a full recovery. Now adjacent to a launderette, and with a new logo, the exterior of Will’s Pub looks ever so 
slightly less like a dive than before. Only slightly. I don’t know how they managed, but the feel of the old bar is fully intact. Two years absent has given way to no change in ambiance or attitude — there are even some improvements. The old stage was barely a foot off the ground, intimate, but imperfect. The new stage is moderate in size but the real deal in height. Coupled with a still cozy performance room, the venue bottles sweaty, gyrating audience energy with the same Will’s Pub perfection. The only weird thing about the bar is the layout. Whereas once you entered a large room that was both the barroom and pool hall, with the stage in a room at the far back; now, you enter in the game room, to your left is the performance room, and at the back of that room is the bar, which is long and extremely narrow. Getting drinks can be cumbersome for sure, but hey, we’re all friends, right? The separate rooms feel more like rooms of a house than compartmentalized sections. Low Dough Mondays promise a dollar off all drinks 7 to 11, and every Tuesday they host an open mic poetry night, just like the good ol’ days.
My first trip to the new Will’s Pub was graced with the return of two acts who, like Astronautalis, gestated in the warmth or the original Will’s: Gil Mantera’s Party Dream and Cracker Jackson. After their opening song, Party Dream’s wild-eyed vocalist, Ultimate Donny clenched the mic and shouted “Will’s Pub is back motherfuckers and so are we!” Wild cheers and applause welcomed them home. Cracker Jackson had left the music scene but here he was, at Will’s, performing better than ever. During his last song he jumped off the stage to dance with me (What can I say? I’ve got moves.) and, lo and behold, I made a new friend.
It took me five years of living in Orlando to figure it out. Tourist land is like a whole other world and the city is repugnant-ly mismanaged, not to mention corrupt (just read any of Orlando Weekly’s editorials). I’m happy that I’ve found where the actual heart of the city is, nestled in the oldest part of town, doing its damnedest to be real amidst the adversity of Orlando’s inherent plasticity. If you’re ever out my way shake the Mouse and head to East Orlando - a cozy microcosm of independent spirit. Catch a show, make some friends, and why go home after curfew? I know a tea house and sandwich shop that’s open 24 hours on the weekends. They serve a bowl of grits that will blow your fucking mind. Now that’s Orlando.
The Dirtbombs - “Ode to a Black Man” (Live at Will’s Pub 05/06/05)
Will’s Pub
1042 N. Mills Avenue
Orlando, FL 32803
(407) 898-5070
Upcoming Shows:
03/06 - The Goods
03/07 - Cherry Spoiler
03/08 - King Kahn & the Shrines / Strangers Family Band
03/09 - Joe Buck (Hank Williams III) / .357 String Band / Ben Prestage
03/12 - Casper & the Cookies / Marc With a C / Dish
03/13 - The Hi-Lifes / Vomit Pop / DJ Gomez / DJ Flatbak
03/14 - Wovenhand
03/15 - The Bland Ambition Comedy Tour
03/17 - Happy Valley / Altamira / Antarctic / Kahnn
03/19 - Buffalo Gun
Dan the only shithole is the one your talking out of. But now your gone and we can enjoy this place without you
1.) Who mentioned film kids? Personally I’ve gotten along with film kids pretty okay, they are a bit pretentious, but at least they don’t have their heads in headphones all day. While they might like shitty movies, at least I bet they were open minded enough to give other art forms (comics) a chance.
2.) I go to the Social when there is a band I like there, not my favorite venue, but it’s not bad. The ONLY time I felt outnumbered by lesbians was at a Tegan and Sara concert at the Social. They were cute, and fun to dance with. I regular there a few times a year for different bands. Different bands have different followings, I never got the feeling that it was a lesbo-bar. I would hardly base any one venue on a bad night I had at a Radiohead show in Tampa (different city than orlando).
3.) So you’re saying I shouldn’t give Chicago a chance, since you won’t give Orlando a chance? Fair enough. Don’t come back, it’s traumatic. I understand trauma. I had a bad hot dog once. Traumatized me, never could eat hot dogs again. It was definitely chicago style.
4.) Touché! You think you were actually making fun of me?! Haha. Good one! Ya got me! I seriously thought you had asbergers! Way to prove me wrong! You illustrated your point excellently and no one is laughing AT you, they are all laughing with you! Well illustrated my friend! WELL ILLUSTRATED. (obvious troll is obvious)
<3 <3 <3 -mike
“lol @ sportsbarfag
hotdogs are gross.
lesbians ftw. MOAR PLZ.”
Well, I mean, this is the type of response I’ve been getting from in this thread. Its hard not to make fun of them and/or use them to illustrate my point that Orlando is a shithole.
Dan, could you please go listen to some Marvin Gaye and lighten up some? For Christ’s sake, everything is always a put down. Are you really that snarky?
1.) I wish I could have met a film student at Full Sail that didn’t have shit taste in everything, especially in film.
2.) Obviously you have never been to The Social.
3.) I will never go back to Orlando.
4.) I don’t think Orlando has anything much better than Chik-Fil-A to offer in terms of cuisine.
5.) Orlando is a shithole.
1.) I wish you RA kids wern’t so full of yourselves, there’s been an exception to the rule here and there, but most think themselves too good to read a comic (yourself included). It’s art and words, they can be just as fancy as those phat beats you’re designing. You generalize orlando, comic readers, lesbians, I’ll generalize the RA department.
2.) LOL @ the continuous lesbian comments! what the hell happened to you dude?! Did a lesbian break your heart? I’m freaking sorry man!
3.) Dan, if you ever come back to Orlando you, me, and your buddy brad can all take a tour of the city and will show you the culture of this town. I expect you’d do the same for me in chicago.
4.) chik-fil-a has some fine chicken, but hardly the best part of anywhere. it’s like saying mcdonalds is the best part of new york city. did you notice jack’s comments? I think he nailed it on the head, but you choose to ignore it.
5.) I poke fun at you, because look how you present yourself, your first response to this love letter to an awesome place you say “orlando is a shithole”, of course I’m going to act more retarded than you, but at this point I realize you arn’t getting the joke, and something may be legitimately wrong with you.
It’s okay buddy, let it all out. Tell me what happened, show me on the map where you got molested by lesbians in orlando:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl
-mike
1.) Love Chicago, always have.
2.) I didn’t “hate my classmates”, I was annoyed by the douchebags that made up that comic shop’s customer base. Seriously, those people were unbearable.
3.) I had a car. If there was anyplace worth driving to in Orlando, maybe I would have mentioned it earlier. But besides Park Ave. CDs and a couple mediocre lesbian hangouts on Orange Ave., there isn’t.
4.) Did the intern thing, now I’m working full time doing unrelated work and investing all my funds into the audio production company me and another graduate founded. I foresee that company to represent most or all of my income by this time next year. We have some cool projects coming up and I am very optimistic about the future.
Also, for the record, Chik-Fil-A does not suck.
So, Dan how are you enjoying Chicago?
Friendly confines on the corner of Aloma and Semoran? A Comic Shop’s superheroes on the corner of Semoran and University? Chick-fil-a just down University, across the street from fullsail. You hated your classmates, who hung out at A Comic Shop which happens to be across the street from fullsail.
Did you not have a car in Orlando? Because all these spots are in walking distance and suck (with the exception of A Comic Shop)
Did your fullsail degree work out for ya?
<3 -mike
I live in Chicago. Completely satisfied, thank you.
BTW, not being a fan of Chik-Fil-A means you hate Jesus.
Dan, if you (or anyone else) are dissatisfied with the city you live in, here’s three things you can do about it:
1) Start contributing to the culture. Once you start creating instead of complaining, you may find that all those disagreeable aspect of your city don’t loom so large in your consciousness.
2) Move to the City of you Dreams. But your dreams may quickly fade in the daylight of hard reality.
3) Continue to complain. Things will never get any better this way, but you may feel better about things for a while.
BTW, being a fan of Chick-Fil-A hardly qualifies you as a cultural critic in my book.
Thats 3 assholes from Orlando. Notice a trend? Almost everyone who resides there is this way.
Whoa………Dan and Brad…together forever!!!!….tools didnt even get the article!!!…..you fellas keep goin to friendly confines, and working out at metro muscle and stay away from all the cool little places (inclucding wills) that you have no idea about………awesome…..thats how we “friends” like it….your as plastic as the mouses side of town……
peace…
See what I mean? There are so many Brad and Mikes in Orlando, its no wonder the place is a cultural wasteland.
PS - CHICK FIL A IS AWESOME! Sucks they are closed on Sundays. Fascists.
“Sure, there are exceptions.”
I totally agree with you Dan. There are some exceptions, and there is one at Will’s Pub! I thought Orlando totally sucked until you pointed out that there are some exceptions! I am glad I found somebody else who can find the cool things to do in Orlando just like I did.
You are right, any place that can’t sell a good Chicago style sausage should shut down. I hope they at least served a good Chicago style pizza!
And I totally know what you mean about the lesbians. I am always trying to pick up girls downtown and they tell me they are lesbians. Usually I insult them to their face and they get sooo pissed off because they hate dominant males. So I am totally with you man. These lesbians in Orlando really are awful. I am pretty good looking, as I am sure you are, so there is now way they could all be lying about their sexual orientation.
You sound like a pretty cool guy, we should go work out at the Metro Gym on Magnolia. It is open 24/7 and is really cool to people like you and me. Just a couple of guys who don’t like mean women, loath any place they live instead of finding interesting things to do, and absolutely LOVE THE CHICAGO STYLE ANYTHING!
One love.
Brad
The reason there is no culture in Orlando is because its inhabitants aren’t interested in culture. Most of them are complete tools or complete rednecks with very little else. People in Orlando are just DUMB. And usually very rude. Sure, there are exceptions. But most of the time, its hard not to feel like you are among the lowest common denominator while walking around Orlando.
There are a million other problems… Orlando has by far the worst infrastructure I have ever encountered in any city. Not to mention people can’t drive. I would be shocked if the Orlando area is not home to the highest auto collision rate in the country. Also, the entire city is irritatingly commercial. Almost every business that exists in the Orlando area is a corporate chain of some sort. And there are billboards EVERYWHERE. There is very little in the way of parks or any sort of greenery at all. Not that you would be able to enjoy them because it rains every fucking day and is always super hot and super humid. I could count the amount of nice days during the year I spent there on one hand. Good bands rarely tour there because 1.) the residents of the area have shit taste in music, 2.) its so far out of the way, and 3.) the people that do go to shows are usually assholes or bitchy lesbians. When I saw Radiohead in Tampa I could barely hear the music over the idle chatter.
I could go on and on… Pretty much the only thing I miss about Orlando is Chik-Fil-A.
i think what dan needs to understand about orlando is that it’s not easy to build any kind of culture at the doorstep of the mouse house. orlando can be a difficult place to fit into often due to the simple fact that so many people move to orlando for whatever reason and instantly apply their opinion of what a city should be, and then move within a couple of years. they want their ideas heard, and have all the solutions as to how we should change our city, and then leave. it makes it hard to even care about your opinion.
sorry that orlando couldn’t hand you the culture you were looking for dan. if it is such a shit hole in your opinion, make your own contribution, or like so many others, just leave.
@ James
The #1 source that led me to finding the cool stuff in Orlando was the Orlando Weekly. If there’s anything cool to check out or interact with it’s in there. Their yearly “Best Of” articles are awesome one-stop shopping for neat people, places, and things in and around Orange County. I’ve found some of my favorite aspects of Orlando through their helping hands.
Best of 2007:
http://www.orlandoweekly.com/features/story.asp?id=11680
Best of 2008:
http://www.orlandoweekly.com/features/story.asp?id=12502
And a really cool thing happened last week that’s certainly going to help hammer down a firm creative community: Ignite, a multi-city creative presentation group. opened an Orlando chapter. It’s an awesome focusing point for the creative people in town to form a more cohesive and interactive community.
http://www.igniteorlando.com/
Mike and the thousands of people like him are a big reason why Orlando is a shithole.
I’ve recently moved to Orlando, and it’s always nice to hear that there actually is some culture hidden in this city.
Dearest Dan,
GTFO NEWFAG
I’ve lived in Orlando for more than half a decade and I’m sorry your two years at fullsail made you hate your fellow classmates.
But here is your problem:
You were at a Tegan and Sara concert trying to pick up straight chicks. I love Tegan and Sara as well, but the lesbians will outnumber you there, deal with it. Rock and roll.
Also:
You goto sports bars, and eat hot dogs. Sports bars are fuckin lame, and hot dogs are fucking gross. I’m sorry that the planets couldn’t align for you in orlando, and make you have a shit sports bar serve you the proper hot dog. Why don’t you suck a cock instead, it would be just as satisfying.
Here’s how a comic shop can be innovative, they do more than dress up as “obscure” super heroes like Spider-Man, Thor, Iron-Man, Deadpool, the Flash and Green Lantern.
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/020924-Ideaology-Epilogue.html
scroll down and read the past articles, than go an hero.
-mike
Dear Mike:
Live in Orlando for a while then tell me its not a shithole.
lol @ sportsbarfag
hotdogs are gross.
lesbians ftw. MOAR PLZ.
A Comic Shop is actively trying to change the regressive and moronic way the industry is run and how it is perceived by the rest of the [retail] world. They emphasize comics as an entertainment art medium and not some creepy fat person’s version of the stock market.
Their efforts have been so well received that the owner of the store was asked to write his own column, Shop of Ideas, for Newsarama (THE place for comic news) where he promotes these changes.
I forgot to mention the absolute worst thing about Orlando: a restaurant calling itself “The Friendly Confines” does not serve Chicago-style hotdogs, but does serve coney dogs. wtf?
Lesbians are a problem when there are more of them at any given show than there are non-lesbians. And when they are all ugly and bitchy. I don’t know anything about A Comic Shop other than all the people that annoyed me at school basically lived there. And they had people dress up as obscure superheroes and dance along 436. Also, how can any comic shop be “innovative”?
It took me a long time to gravitate out of the “Orlando is a shithole” stance and yes, it is NOTHING compared to a real city (since being an actual city is something that Orlando’s government only pretends at).
BUT there are more than enough awesome things about the community and local businesses that when I leave I will legitimately miss it. Park Ave CDs is terrific, as is Rock ‘n’ Roll Heaven, but there’s also the most innovative comic shop in the country - A Comic Shop. The local businesses and art scene are particularly endearing because they have to fight Orlando’s inherent suck factor to persevere and they’re made stronger entities for it. This adversity has built a terrific community of people who struggle together to make Orlando worthwhile.
And since when are lesbians a problem?
Orlando is a shithole. Park Ave CDs is about the only good thing about that place. Firestone and The Social are alright I guess, when they aren’t overflowing with lesbians. Still, fuck Orlando.
yes!!!!!!!!!