Beyond the drink specials, clientele and even bartenders, there’s a quality that makes a bar or restaurant instantly more desirable than others – the vibe.
More often than not, the vibe at a location is centered around the music, whether it’s blaring or quietly serving as white noise for conversation. Over time, the once stately vinyl record jukebox has been replaced by something much glossier – TouchTunes.
Boasting placements in over 75,000 locations and “hundreds of thousands” of songs in the database according to its website, TouchTunes has become a ubiquitous presence in bars, both public and private.
Lancaster city, of course, is no different.
Through the TouchTunes mobile app, which relies on GPS data to find the nearest TouchTunes jukeboxes, patrons can buy 12 credits for $6, 24 credits for $12, and so on. Each song costs two credits, unless you want to skip the line and pay three credits for a “Fast Pass.”
It’s here where the concept flirts with chaos, because with everything from Motorhead to Bad Bunny at your fingertips, suddenly that precious bar vibe has been democratized to anyone with a few bucks in their pocket and an imagination.
“My buddy was sitting right next to me (at 551 West) and we were with another friend,” says Craig Trissler, an owner of 551 West in Lancaster city and River Trail Brewing in Marietta. “That first guy left, and all of a sudden “Your Body is a Wonderland” (by John Mayer) plays 20 times in a row. I kept skipping it and saying, ‘What is happening?’ Turns out it was the guy still sitting next to me.”
Aside from the occasional troll job by friends, Trissler says that the TouchTunes machines are a benefit to his bars. River Trail Brewing has a machine, as does both levels of 551 West.
“It’s funny, because the atmospheres have a different vibe and different music is played,” Trissler explains. “Upstairs seems more mellow, and downstairs is a little more upbeat.”
Over at the Shamrock Café, assistant manager Brandy Dennen agrees that the jukebox hasbeen a positive asset since the bar purchased the machine nearly 15 years ago, except for the times that patrons bug her with the Looking Glass hit “Brandy (You’re a fine Girl).”
“We actually get a really good mix, anywhere from Rihanna to Chris Stapleton, Grateful Dead, Michael Jackson, a lot of the older stuff, too. It’s nice,” Dennen says.
HOTTEST SONGS
Both Dennen and Trissler say that they take advantage of the machines’numerous backend options, as well. For example, operators can limit music with explicit language until later hours, as Trissler does until 9 p.m. Some bars program messages for patrons upon opening the app, such as Brendee’s Irish Pub (“Thanks for joining us!! Ask your Bartender about daily food and drink specials!!”) and Hildy’s Tavern (“WELCOME TO THE BEST DAMN DIVE BAR IN LANCASTER CHEERS!!!”).
Even more bizarrely, the TouchTunes jukebox at the Waffle House will give you two free tokens the first time you access it and automatically queue up the Waffle House jukebox classic “There Are Raisins in My Toast.”
A representative from TouchTunes could not be reached by press time.
In parsing the TouchTunes data of Lancaster city, trends do develop, both in line with national statistics and outside of them entirely. If one thing is for certain, both local and national watering holes alike cannot get enough of Chris Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey.” On TouchTunes's own listing of the top national songs of 2020 and 2021, Stapleton’s hit was either No. 1 or close to it. Both Stubby’s Bar & Grille and Dirty Ol’ Tavern each currently have the song in their respective “Hottest Songs” list.
Elsewhere, you’re just liable to walk into a bar and hear Salt-n-Pepa's “Shoop” as you are Alice in Chains’ “Nutshell.” It can be difficult even for a single bar to maintain its “hottest songs” identity week to week. As TouchTunes data was culled between the end of February and mid-March, restaurant and bar Villa Nova West on Harrisburg Pike went from blasting songs like “Know Your Enemy” by Rage Against the Machine and “In My Darkest Hour” by Megadeth to contemporary hits like “Pushin’ P” by Gunna and Future.
After all, it only takes one enterprising metalhead or K-pop stan to take over a bar.
“I can skip (songs),but I usually don’t,” Dennen says regarding an employee’s power over the jukebox. “We took the (Fast Pass) feature off because it was causing arguments, too.”
To acquire a machine, venue operators will generally work with someone like Doug Cisney, who is the owner of K&S Games, which supplies bar ephemera from dart boards to pool tables to customers. From there, each provider works out its own deal depending on the needs of the venue.
“There are alot of different scenarios,” Cisney says. “Some places want the jukebox in, but only to play background music, which doesn’t really make any money, so we have to put a minimum on how much we get out of it.”
Due to the amount of data the machines compile, Cisney says that he can arrive to work in the morning and access the information on each of his machines to see what songs were played and how much money was made instantly. In some cases, when a bill acceptor or another part of the machine isn’t working, Cisney says that he has known a machine isn’t working before the bar owners do.
Ultimately, it’s all in service of democratizing the vibe of an establishment. Gone are the days when one music-minded employee would create a night-long playlist – now, for the right price, everyone is a DJ, and everyone else is the audience, at least for the length of the song.
Tell us your go-to Touch Tunes songs:
551 West
-”PhiladelphiaFreedom” - Elton John
-”IWant You to Want Me” - Cheap Trick
-”SinceU Been Gone” - Kelly Clarkson
551 West Skybar
-”Hangin’ Around” Counting Crows
-”YouMake Loving Fun” - Fleetwood Mac
-”TongueTied” -Grouplove
Brendee’sIrish Pub
-”GirlU Want” - Devo
-”Shoop” - Salt-N-Pepa
-“Watching the Detectives” - Elvis Costello
Country Garden 6-Pack Restaurant
-”Pa’llaVoy” - Marc Anthony
-”Sonambulo” - Tito Nieves
-”TodoTieneSuFinal” - Hector Lavoe
Dirty Ol’ Tavern
-”Welcometo My House” - Nu Breed & Jesse Howard
-”TennesseeWhiskey” -Chris Stapleton
-”Keepthe Wolves Away” - Uncle Lucius
Dominion Pizza
-”VivirMi Vida” - Marc Anthony
“Es MiMujer” - Tito Rojas
“Dos HombresBebiendo" – Luis Vargas
House of Pasta
-”NightTrain” - Jason Aldean
-”CrazyTown” - Jason Aldean
-”SlipperyPeople (Live)” -Talking Heads
House of Pizza
-”BlameIt” - Jamie Foxx
-”You’reMines Still” - Young Bleu
-”VivirMi Vida” - Marc Anthony
Hildy’s Tavern
-”Dior” - Pop Smoke
-”WhiskeyGlasses” - Morgan Wallen
-”Nutshell” Alice in Chains
O’HalloransIrish Pub & Eatery
-”Essence” - Wizkid
-“Juicy” - Notorious B.I.G.
-”GirlsWant Girls” - Drake
Prince of Subs
-”Essence” - Wizkid
-”PokeIt Out (Feat. J. Cole)” - Wale
-”LaCura” - Frankie Ruiz
Q’s Duke on Liberty
-”Sideways” - Citizen Cope
-”TryLosing One” - Tyler Braden
-”OneMan Band” - Old Dominion
Shamrock Café
-”TrackStar” -Mooski
-”YouStay” - DJ Khaled
-”GoCrazy” - Chris Brown &YoungThug
Stubby’s Bar & Grille
-”Drunk(And IDon’tWanna Go Home)” - Elle King
-”ColdHeart (PNAU Remix)” - Elton John & Dua Lipa
-”TennesseeWhiskey” - Chris Stapleton
Tobias S.Frogg
-”LockedUp” - Akon
-”Quicksand” - Morray
-”Starboy(Feat. Daft Punk) - TheWeeknd
Villa Nova West
-”OnMe” - Lil Baby
-”Pushin’ P (Feat. Future) - Gunna
-”SharingLocations (Feat. Lil Baby & Lil Durk)” - Meek Mill
Waffle House [DillervilleRoad]
-”ElAmante” - Nicky Jam
-”Mia” - Bad Bunny ft. Drake
-”ElPerdon” - Nicky Jam
Yorgo’sRestaurant & Lounge
-”Body(Feat. Brando)” - Loud Luxury
-”Livin’ On a Prayer” - Bon Jovi
“I Gotta Feeling” - Black Eyed Peas
Your Place Lancaster
-”LayDown Sally” - Eric Clapton
-”SayYou Love Me” - Fleetwood Mac
-”BabyPlease Don’t Go” - Van Morrison
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