Where else can you get a thrash guitarist DJing with a window on a strip club?

Scott Ian takes over DJ duties tonight at Dead Man’s Hand at The Playground, just like he’s doing every Friday night in the month of December. Except Christmas. Because even metal takes Christmas off. Except for that one time Lemmy got all the elves drunk, but that’s a whole other Rankin-Bass special to deal with. Click for more words and pictures »

By Jason Scavone

What, no one from Britny Fox was around?

The latest in rocker-owned bars opened Friday night, with The Playground’s Rock Room giving way to Dead Man’s Hand. The joint, co-owned by Scott Ian and Jerry Cantrell got things started Friday with Kerry Simon and — showing up late, as always — Phil Hellmuth in the crowd to hear John Dolmayan hit the stage.

Dolmayan did a brief set on the kit with his band Indicator before Scars on Broadway guitarist Franky Perez got on stage to kick out System of a Down’s “Lonely Day” and Scars’ “They Say.”

For the second night, it was The Starf**kers with the Stray Cats’ Slim Jim Phantom and Teddy Andreadis, who played keyboards briefly for Guns ‘n Roses. Tera Patrick made the scene, as did former Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul, The Apprentice’s Omarosa, and poker pros Annie Duke, Chris Ferguson, Jeff Madsen and Casey Thompson. The full grand opening hasn’t been settled on, but it’s being targeted for later this year.

In just a few more weeks, Ian is going to take over DJ duties on Friday nights in December. This will make the average Friday night 80 percent more metal than your typical Friday evening of sitting at home catching up on How I Met Your Mother reruns.

By Jason Scavone

Scott Ian totally should have had a cameo on Deadwood. (Via Anthrax.com)

When you’re already playing guitar for Anthrax, playing pro poker for Ultimate Bet, writing a comic book and helping kick off the Hard Rock Cafe at new Yankee Stadium, why not go ahead and throw “opening a rock club” into the mix?

Scott Ian got together with longtime friend Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains to turn The Playground’s Rock Room into Dead Man’s Hand — which makes its soft opening Friday night. It kicks off with a performance from System of a Down drummer John Dolmayan and friends, then on Saturday brings up a comedy set from Buffet Jackson, Jason Harris and Brandon “Gooch” Hahn from 8 to 10 p.m. before supergorup The Starf**kers hits the stage. Poker pros Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke, Brandon Cantu and Joe Sebok are expected to be there, as are Vinnie Paul and Tera Patrick. After all that, Ian is going to be doing DJ sets on Friday nights in December.

We talked to die-hard Yankee fan Ian, who did a performance at the Stadium Hard Rock with Ace Frehly in the spring, on the eve of Game 1 of the World Series when he was sweating the Bombers. Now that it’s 3-2 and headed back to the Bronx, we hope he’s not as anxious. Click for more words and pictures »

By Jason Scavone

It’s the perfect place to take the Time to get Caught in a Mosh if you’re full of H8 Red … Hy Pro Glo.

OK, seriously, we’re pretty sure it’s turning into a conspiracy. First Vince Neil opens up Feelgood’s on Sahara, then Sammy Hagar is bringing Cabo Wabo to the Miracle Mile Shops. Now Anthrax’s Scott Ian and Alice in Chains’ Jerry Cantrell are teaming up to turn the Rock Room at The Playground into Dead Man’s Hand.

You can scoff all you want, but when you’re lining up in November to vote for Mayor Dave Mustaine on the Megadeth ticket, maybe then you’ll admit we had a point.

Cantrell and Ian will get up to do impromptu sets in the 200-person venue, which was just recently redone in the Playground’s overhaul to give it a lush, dark vibe. Alice in Chains, which put out its first new album since the 2002 death of frontman Layne Staley, Black Gives Way to Blue in September, will be at The Joint inside Hard Rock Cafe Dec. 11. If you’re planning on doing any Cantrell-spotting at Dead Man’s Hand, that’s a good date to have circled on your calendar.

By Jason Scavone