Danbury's Ian Bick + Tuxedo Junction Featured on HBO Docu-Series

Ian Bick grew up in the private and wealthy Lake Waubeeka community in Danbury, CT. Ian graduated from Danbury High School in 2013, immediately went into the club business and at 19, Bick was the owner/operator of Tuxedo Junction.

"Tuxedos" was legendary for it's party scene for decades and it opened its doors well before Ian Bick was born. Over the years, the club played host to a wide variety of acts that include Blues Traveler, Twisted Sister, The Ramones, Live, Blue Oyster Cult, Sonic Youth and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.

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When Bick ran Tuxedo Junction, it wasn't just the age of the owner that was different, so was the music scene. Instead of Rock and Roll, it was EDM (Electronic Dance Music). I asked Bick about the music scene he'd created at Tuxedo Junction when he ran it. Who were some of the acts he booked? Who was the most famous? He replied:

"I turned it into an electronic dance music venue with a warehouse vibe to it. We dealt with large EDM DJ's that were global acts such as: 3lau, Zeds Dead, The Chain Smokers, Adventure Club, and hip-hop acts such as 21 Savage, Kid Ink, Big Sean and Tyga. The biggest act we booked was The Chain Smokers and then Steve Aoki."

The party did not last long, by the time he was 21 years old, Ian Bick was a felon. He was convicted of wire fraud and money laundering in 2016 and after serving time in federal prison he was released in 2019.

Authorities say Bick would lure investors in with promises of healthy financial returns and a revitalized Downtown Danbury. The people who invested with him got neither, one investor had this to say about Ian Bick to the News Times in 2016:

I believed in the kid and I believed in his goals to revitalize downtown Danbury but he put me 20 years behind financially. I drank the Kool-Aid and I regret it to this day.

Prosecutors say instead of the investor money going where he said it would, Bick used it as his own and covered losses with new investment dollars.

The story of a young kid, handling millions of dollars, running a club and committing crime was bound to get the attention of TV or film producers and it did.

HBO Max will debut a new true crime series called: "Generation Hustle" on April 22nd. The series consists of 10 episodes, each highlighting another unbelievable true crime story. The story of Ian Bick and his rule over Danbury's Tuxedo Junction will take centerstage in the show.

Tuxedo Junction was a place where young people went to blow off steam since 1985 but now, the entire legacy is Ian Bick.

The place and the memories people made there are bigger than one young man, or maybe they are not. The results are the results and he is the story for better or worse.

I used to go to Tuxedo Junction with friends, and I have my memories but my Tuxedo days were well over by the time Bick took the reigns. All I know about Bick is what I've read in the papers and the rumors people have shared with me, which is to say I don't know him.

Bick has reached out to me (my organization) several times. I co-host the I-95 Morning Show with Ethan and Lou (I'm Lou), it's kind of big deal in the Greater Danbury Area. Ian has come up in our segments, especially when his crimes made it to the local papers.

Since his release, it's gone something like this, Bick or Tuxedo Junction come up in conversation on the show, he sends a message to the I-95 Instagram account and offers himself as a guest and I ignore it.

It happened again, on Wednesday (4/14/21), this time Bick didn't wait for us to find out he was in the news or hear us talk about him. He sent us a link to the trailer and I decided it was time to get him on the show.

More than anything, I'm a curious person. If the interview is done right, I may get the answers I want. Since I don't trust anyone but me to ask the right questions, I think the time is right and the interview is worth doing. In case I didn't make it clear enough, I believe I'm a brilliant interviewer.

I'm not excusing his crimes, I'm just asking questions. You can hear the questions and the answers when Ian Bick joins the Ethan and Lou Show Friday morning (4/16/21). You can hear the show on 95.1FM, or stream it on the i95 Rock Mobile App.