Village People Cowboy Randy Jones Spearheads Same-Sex Reality Show

Nothing like being picked up by Randy Jones of the Village People and Olympic boxer Eric Kelly for a quick photo outside of Lucky Strike Lanes.

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
Randy Jones, best known as the cowboy from the Village People, is developing a new reality show based on same-sex marriages, the singer recently revealed to NiteSide.

"In each location, we're going to bring other couples that want to have same sex ceremonies or weddings," Jones said during Matt DeMatt's birthday celebration at Lucky Strike Lanes on Wednesday night. "So it's not just about us. It's about everybody."

The show follows Jones and his partner, who have been together for 26 years, as they travel to each state in America and to foreign countries in an attempt to set a world record in the Guinness Book of Records for commitment ceremonies and weddings.

Jones acknowledged that not every place may welcome the idea of same sex marriage, but he has a plan for when they encounter those situations.

"We're going to see if we can find somebody there that will marry us," Jones said. "If they won't, we'll listen to their reasons why they don't want to marry us."

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.

"30 Rock" Actor Dean Winters: I'm Indebted to Tina Fey

Me and Dean Winters at Lucky Strike Lanes

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
"30 Rock" actor Dean Winters, who had a brush with death after his heart stopped one year ago, said he is indebted to co-star and pal Tina Fey.

"Tina Fey is the most caring woman I've worked with in this business," Winters told NiteSide last night at Lucky Strike Lanes during nightlife kingpin Matt DeMatt's birthday bash.

"When I was going through a really hard time she pulled me out, and I have a debt of gratitude to her I'm not sure I can ever repay."

A bacterial infection caused Winters to collapse and his heart to stop beating for two minutes on June 19 of last year. Fey was instrumental in bringing him back to the set of the NBC show, he told the "New York Post" last year.

The health scare is a terrifying incident the actor, also from "Oz" and "Rescue Me," told NiteSide that he is still struggling to recover from.

"Life was rocking and rolling for me and then it just stopped," Winters said. "So now I'm learning how to press the play button again."

The 45-year-old said he values relationships more than he did before the incident.

"I learned what love is and what friendship is and those are things I think I took for granted for a while," Winters said. "Whatever I went through in this past year, it was worth it."

He also said that his roles on "30 Rock" and "Oz" were dream jobs -- but Winters still has at least one career goal.

"I just would love to rumble with Clint [Eastwood]," he said. "I would like to play his son or his long-lost son or whatever."

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.

Nightlife Kingpin Matt DeMatt Reveals Plans for HBO Show

Matt DeMatt at Lucky Strike Lanes

Photo by: Brooke Niemeyer

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
Nightlife guru Matt DeMatt dished last night on the TV show about life behind the velvet ropes that he is penning for HBO.

"It's basically all true experiences," the owner of Meatpacking staples Gaslight and G2 said during his birthday bash at Lucky Strike Lanes in Manhattan Wednesday night. "There's a moral to every story on the show too -- mostly about how to make yourself a better person."

The club owner, who claims to have helmed more than 50 venues in his lifetime, is working on the project with fellow nightclub guru Nick Kardaras. The show, which is still in the works and does not yet have an air date, is about two guys from Queens working in the industry.

DeMatt is also producing a show called "Woodstock -- You should've Been There" for Jimi Hendrix percussionist Gerardo Velez and is trying to bring regular shows to Caesar's Palace and Harrah's in Atlantic City.

"I always told people this is what I was going to do," DeMatt said of the cutthroat nightlife industry. "I love what I do and I think you should do things you love and then the money follows, not the other way around."

DeMatt had a back injury that caused him to not be able to do as much as he wants to but that doesn't stop him from going forward.

"I've had a really good life," DeMatt said.

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.

Olympic Boxer Eric Kelly Starts a New Fight

Eric Kelly and me at Lucky Strike Lanes

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
USA Olympic boxer Eric Kelly may have put down the boxing gloves, but he's taken on a new fight.

"I like to teach the things I've learned along the way," Kelly told NiteSide at the birthday celebration for Noel Ashman at Lucky Strike Lanes and Lounge in Midtown earlier this week.

"I'm very much about giving back to the community."

Kelly is speaking to high school students in his native Brooklyn, where he tells kids to stay in school and away from drugs. He also hopes to inspire.

"I just tell them if you believe in yourself and you've got a goal, stick to it, no matter what you do," Kelly said. "We're from a tougher neighborhood, but there are options and you can be the best ever."

Kelly said that he is also going to be working with Charitybuzz.com, an online celebrity charity auction site, later this summer to raise funds for Haiti.

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.

"Housewives" Star Danielle Staub Dishes on Her New Love

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
"Real Housewives of New Jersey" reality star Danielle Staub dished on her new love last night: creating music.

"I am excited to start a new adventure," Staub told NiteSide at the birthday celebration for New York City nightclub owner Noel Ashman at Lucky Strike Lanes and Lounge in Midtown on Wednesday night.

"I have realized that I love doing this."

Joining the growing ranks of "Real Housewives" starlets who have produced singles, Staube said she's excited for the mid-July release of her duet single "Real Close" with singer Lori Michaels and that the project happened "simply and organically."

"It was almost by accident really," Staub said. "I was just listening to a demo of hers [Lori Michaels] and humming along to it and then it all went from there."

Staub, 47, said there will also be a music video released.

"It's going to be quite beautiful," she said. "But it's definitely going to be something people won't expect."

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.