Appetite For Distraction

`I wanna rock 'n' roll all night - and party every day." When Kiss howled those lines back in 1975, they might have envisioned a place like Snitch, New York's only 24-hour rock club.
The new lounge at 59 W. 21st St. - which will stay open around the clock on weekends - boasts an impeccable rock pedigree.

Its owners include Scott Weiland and Duff McKagan of Velvet Revolver and Brett Scallions, frontman of the alt-metal band Fuel.

The three musicians, who all reside in L.A., set out to fill what they see as a gaping void in the fabric of New York night life: "a real rock 'n' roll getaway," says Scallions. "It's never really been done here."

So the leather-pants-wearing entrepreneurs thought up all the things they'd want in a lounge: Informal live music. Cheap beer. Good (as in, no techno allowed) deejays. Sports on big-screen TVs. Cute female bartenders.

And edible bar food - including the most important meal of a rock star's day, the late-night breakfast.

Snitch's menu was planned by its two other two co-owners, Michael Diamond and Jon Gabel, veteran club owners and resterauteurs who opened the hot Japanese/Brazilian restaurant Vela this spring.

"Food's an important part of any entertainment formula," says Gabel, who adds that he's wholeheartedly behind the Snitch credo.

"All the other [clubs] are about models and being seen and celebrities and just the whole chi-chi-ness of it," he says. "Rock 'n' roll ... there's nothing chi-chi about that."

Nothing, that is, except the menu - which includes conch fritters, fresh from St. Bart's; french fries with truffle aioli; and brioche french toast.

All the bread comes from Balthazar; the meat is all organic - even the "big gut-bomb cheeseburger," says Scallions, a native Southerner who made sure the menu also included down-home items like a chicken-and-waffles basket, and a gigantic, sloppy "Shut-Up Sundae."

Brunch, which will be served from midnight to 8 a.m. on weekends, includes Kobe steak and eggs, waffles, eggs Benedict, and, for the health-conscious aging rocker, granola and fruit.

"Snitch is going to be the place to have breakfast," promises Gabel.

But Snitch's real draw will be the clientele: Its owners are hoping for a steady stream of famous friends who'll play impromptu acoustic sets, in the style of L.A.'s famed rock club the Viper Room.

That tiny lounge has been a hot spot for memorable musical stop-ins by everyone from Pearl Jam to Johnny Cash. Its intimate size and low-key atmosphere have kept it on the radar for celebrities and A-list musicians since it was opened by Johnny Depp in 1993.

So, like that 250-capacity club, Snitch features a miniscule stage - complete with house instruments, so musicians can get on stage at a moment's notice and play. "If it happens, it happens - if not, no big deal," says Scallions. "But you can never tell who's going to be here."

They've already garnered interest from heavy-hitters such as Marilyn Manson, Green Day and Lenny Kravitz.

"'Snitch but don't tell' is our tag line,"says Gabel. "We'll never advertise who will be here."

McKagan, for one, plans to stop in frequently. "It's cool to have a home base in New York,"he says.

If and when Velvet Revolver's bassist, Slash, shows up, he'll be able to order the drink named for him. It's a nod to the former Guns n' Roses guitarist's well-documented love of whiskey: Jack and Coke, with a shot of Jack back.

Then there's the Fuel cocktail: sake infused with ginger. "It tastes like... fuel," says Snitch's manager, Joseph Stern.

They're still trying to work out the Keith Richards drink: "We can't find anything strong enough," Stern laughs.

"You need something to make the heart palpitate," adds Scallions. "Like Red Bull. Or an eightball."

And in a kind nod to struggling musicians, the 5 to 8 p.m. happy hour during the week will offer $2 Bud and Bud Lights.

"When you have to decide whether to buy strings or beer - do both," says Stern.

Sure, it's a little strange that two of the bar's owners have publicly gone through rehab - in Weiland's case, pretty recently (he just finished a six-month stint before heading off on a European tour in August).

But here's what you didn't know: The now clean and sober McKagan is a talented numbers-cruncher, which could come in handy for club management.

"Duff is a smart guy," says Scallions. "He's been studying finance at the University of Seattle."

Are they concerned that wayward celebrities could bring to Snitch the kind of tragic publicity the Viper Room received when River Phoenix died of an overdose on its sidewalk in 1993?

"I'm not worried about that," says Gabel. "The rock stars we've had here are pretty well behaved.

"Now, if we were a hotel, it would be different..."

With no rooms to trash, the rockers will have to channel the testosterone into a different arena: rooting for their favorite football teams on Sunday and Monday, on Snitch's 12 plasma TV screens.

"I think all musicians secretly want to be athletes, and all athletes want to be musicians,"says Scallions, who's planning to add some awards and memorabilia to the walls eventually too.

That image brings up unfortunate associations with tourist-heavy chain establishments like the Hard Rock Caf‚ and Planet Hollywood - but Scallions insists the club won't go that way.

"We don't want to turn into some cheesy novelty thing," he says. "We want to cater to real people, New Yorkers who've been waiting for a place to hang and listen to great rock and roll.

"The real locals."