If you’re a regular follower of the #ROC Twitter scene, you have undoubtedly come across the musings of Lonely Medley Centre. The parody Twitter account @MedleyCentre 
has racked up over 1,000 followers since February and has catapulted into this year’s Best of Rochester contest alongside @RachelBarnhart.
No one seems to know who is behind the account which describes itself as “Just an empty mall looking for a few friends.” So I thought, as an empty subway tunnel, maybe we could hang out and get to know each other…
Last week Lonely Medley agreed to sit down with me for an exclusive interview. Even after several drinks, the down-and-out shopping mall never really revealed its true identity, but it did drop one heck of a bombshell: As of October 31, @MedleyCentre will go quiet for good. Here’s the full, almost-unedited interview…
Has anyone ever interviewed you?
Who would want to interview an empty mall? But, no, never…
An empty mall interviewed by say… an empty hole in the ground. What’d ya say? Would you let Rochester Subway interview you?
We could do it here or via email. Let me know.
That’s could be funny.
I want to publish the medley manifesto before I shut this down in a few weeks and this might be just the vehicle.
Great. Let’s get into it right here. Seems fitting, as you’ve become a ROC Twitter all-star recently. Why did you take to Twitter anyway?
I guess I felt the “empty edifice” market was under filled. There was you and the Wegmans Twitter account- which I recently found out…
WASNT a parody account and that was it. Also, the ROC Twitter-verse seemed to be a bit lacking in terms intentionally silly none sense…
..with no sense of purpose. Unless of course you included what Rachel Barnhart is doing.
I should back up and ask the obvious question. Not to get all Barbara Walters on you – but who are you, really?
Ohhhh, I don’t know. Isn’t a little anonymity in social media world where everyone is looking for some sort of weird Internet fame…
A good thing? I would think it’s refreshing for people to have someone out there who doesn’t want to sell them anything, have them click…
Their usually ham handed and dopey blog and just want to be an empty mall for a few months.
Here’s an New Yorker article that is pretty good and probably explains better than an empty mall can..
Come on, pretty please? Just a little hint?
I’m talking to Adam Bello, yes? You have to tell me if I guess it.
Close!! Armand Schaubroeck. House of Guitars needs more space and Medley Centre is right down the road…
I don’t think Armand knows what a computer is though, so no one is going to believe that
AH! Blue Nosed Guitar Man! I had a feeling. Cool, now I feel like we’re getting somewhere.
It doesn’t matter who we are…what matters is our plan
You have a plan?
In all candor, the plan is TBD. A little “fluid” on the plan…
ok…I got no plan.
Alright Medley (mind if I call you Medley? Or Lonely?)… take us back to your youth. What are some of your earliest memories.
I think to understand the Medley we know today, we need to learn how you got your start.
Agreed. To get the essence of Medley one must understand the origins of Medley.
I was born in the golden age of malls. It was the early 90’s. Grunge. Flannel. Cell phone kiosks on every corner. A simpler time
Rochestr was a different place then as well. The D&C cost a quarter, WCMF ruled the airwaves like a rock god. Malls were the hub…
Of interactions with the young folks. Acid washed jeans and un-ironic mullets as far as the eye could seeeeeee
You came to Rochetser in the 90s correct?
Yes. 1995. I remember it well. Good times.
Exactly! I still got a box of “The Nerve” bumper stickers around here…
Oh yeah, hey, what ever happened to The Nerve? Y105? That’s probably a whole nother story right there.
So the Nerve was owned by a guy who tried to get a classic rock format off the ground for years. He landed on modern rock and it worked..
Rochester had never had a station like that. But he ended up selling it to the group that owned WCMF, this was at the beginning of the…
Radio mergers that created, or added to, the crap that’s on celestial radio
Your right, it’s a good story, a guy by the name of Orest Hrywnak could tell you all about it. Tell him Medley sent ya
WBER is still kind of interesting, I guess. I like that station. That and Muzak which I still get piped I’m here
But back to you…
And these questions may get a bit personal so I apologize in advance…
Who’s the most famous person you’ve ever had inside you?
Hahah. I’m not Kim Kardashian, you know.
Fair enough. I can see why you wouldn’t want to answer that one.
So what happened to you? I mean 3 or 4 anchor stores, two awesome levels, a great carousel and a fountain!? How’d it go so bad so fast?
The Internet and Eastview didn’t help. Wilmorite say the writing on the wall before anyone else that landscape was changing….
And people didn’t have to drive into the city. But ultimately it was ineffective leadership at the local level and an owner ill prepared..
To actually run a business. They got in way over their heads and the iron politicians kept hoping it wouldn’t implode on their watch..
And make no mistake I will stand as a testament to that lack of leadership for at least 7 more years. The real people that got scammed..
Are the taxpayers of Irondequoit, this dump is theirs for years as Congel drags this out in the courts. That’s the strategy now.
Do I sound bitter?
Understandably so.
I like photoshopping Rich Funke’s wig on people better than all this politics stuff.
Congel owes some money right? So what’s happening right now? Will the County (or Town of Irondequoit) be able to take the property?
Hey, I’m just a parody mall account, what do I know. But one might look at what happened with Destiny in Syracuse to see the strategy.
but that’s just a guess
You’ve been quoted in the media as saying,
“He might want to throttle back the great recession narrative. We get it. Times were tough, six years ago.”
Do you believe Mr. Congel is putting on a charade?
I forgot I said that. I’m saying nobody cares about the problems you had 5 years ago. Most people went through that and paid their bills..
You don’t get any sympathy points from that anymore.
And to suggest that taxpayers cut you some slack because your financing fell through is disrespectful and tone deaf
I think most Rochesterians are fed up and the current regime lacks any credibility. It’s beyond fixing is what I think most people would say.
Me, I’m just a parody mall account who makes jokes about Louise Slaughter. What do I know..
I will give you a scoop for being such a good interviewer though…
An abandoned mall should have an abandoned Twitter account. It’s the nature of the universe. Ying and Yang stuff
This account will cease to be updated on Halloween this year.
That’s right. Medley will be leaving the building!
I’m going to fade off into Bolivia like Mike Tyson said
UNBELIEVABLE! Was it something I said? Or was this always your intent? How will you be spending all your free time if you’re not Tweeting?
Yes. All your fault. You thought I was Bello. How dare you!!
No, there is a shelf life on all of these Twitter accounts, especially ones like this, and we would rather be the last season of…
Breaking Bad than Dexter, if you get me.
I plan to write my memoirs “A Life of Medley” and spend time prank calling Sears. Maybe grow a beard. Sky’s the limit…
Is there anything else you would like to know?
Do you think you might return to Twitter in the future if some new Medley Centre developments were to finally get going one day?
Boy, I don’t know. Never say never but I’m thinking I’ll probably be busy growing that beard.
I like your website and what you are doing, btw, keep it up…
Aw thanks dude! I really appreciate that. Ditto. It’s going to be a little lonelier in the Twitterverse without Lonely Medley.
Is there anything else you want to say to your fans, or the Rochester public in general?
We have a GREAT city. We are probably are biggest critics and we make mistakes but it’s a town full of very funny, very interesting people..
I think we are really tough on ourselves. Maybe celebrate the good things more? And don’t settle for garbage on Twitter..
The most accounts with the most followers are usually the loudest, most obnoxious and most self important and lack any self awareness..
That’s it. I will see you….. out there.
Wait! One last question…
How did I get so handsome?
Sure. And do you have any predictions for 2015?
Medley will still be a dump, there will be a scandal in the Mayors office and the Red Wings will win the governors cup.
Thank you Armand— err, I mean Medley.
You’re welcome. I enjoyed our chat.
Tags: @MedleyCentre, Adam Bello, Armand Schaubroeck, interview, Irondequoit, Irondequoit Mall, Lonely Medley Centre, Medley Centre, Rachel Barnhart, Scott Congel, Twitter
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on Friday, October 17th, 2014 at 12:51 am and is filed under Art + Culture, Interviews, Rochester News.
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3 Responses to “Lonely Medley Centre Tells All… sort of”
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patsy6 says:
Entertaining interview, Rochester Subway and Medley! Medley’s memory must be fading, however, or it would have mentioned that perhaps the most famous person to have “been inside” it was Audrey Hepburn. She visited the mall more than once, I believe, in the early 1990s. Her partner Robert Wolders’ family lived in Irondequoit.
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Kudos to the team. Joke twitter accounts are CRAZY harder than they look. Trust me.
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“RochesterSubway.com
Sure. And do you have any predictions for 2015?
Lonely Medley Centre
Medley will still be a dump, there will be a scandal in the Mayors office”
Talk about safe predictions! Although I guess if he’s predicting that there will be ONLY one scandal in the Mayor’s office, then that is a quite brave prediction.