What's Better Than One Big Mouth Billy Bass? A Bar With 70 Of Them
We love a good story about a bar that goes above and beyond for its patrons. Whereas many institutions provide a mere jukebox or live acoustic performance to entertain customers, the Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club in Chicago understands that what people really want is a wall of 70-plus Big Mouth Billy Bass animatronic fish novelties serenading them with a playlist of updated hits.
According to WGN9, Royal Palms co-owner Ashley Albert coordinated with experimental designer Adam Lassy to bring the stairwell's fish wall to life and "choreograph" the props' singing to their fin-flapping. "We created custom hardware and software and editing software to make this all happen," Lassy said. He explains that they began by dissecting each fish to rewire them, which is one more visual to add to the already nightmarish carousel of Big Mouth Billy Bass imagery currently squatting in our collective memory.
WGN9 notes that the fish currently sing "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees, "Once in a Lifetime" by the Talking Heads, and "Choices" by E-40. Asked why she would undertake such a project, Albert said, "This was a big, blank wall, and I wanted something for people to enjoy on their way up to our roofdeck."
"I've raised the price now in the market of Big Mouth Billy Bass fish," Albert added.