Celeb Shot: Arthur Gonick
The local blogger reveals his biggest pet peeve, why he refuses to date within Saratoga, and the origins of his iconic silver camera.
This is a tad bit meta, but I basically only got to know Arthur Gonick, a mattress salesman by day and Spa City party pic magnate by night, because he was a fan of this very newsletter. I’d known of him beforehand, from his The 12866 blog and its predecessor, The Daily Planet Arthur. And I’d seen at Saratoga social functions, where his meant-to-be-discreet silver Canon PowerShot A560 camera is always a dead giveaway of the identity of the well known Saratogian peering through its 4x optical zoom lens. (More on why Arthur prefers to use a palm-sized device rather than a Nikon “monstrosity” later.) But it wasn’t until I knew that the local blogger approved of my own blog-ish pursuits that I got up the nerve to approach him at AIM Services’ Carnival earlier this year. And we became fast friends. “Can you confirm that that’s the president of Skidmore?” I whispered to him later in the evening, gesturing to Marc C. Conner, whom I had only ever met on Zoom. “Oh, I’m not afraid to make a fool of myself,” Arthur replied over his shoulder, already on his way to boldly interrupt a conversation between Marc, his wife, Gary Dake and his wife. Before I knew it, I was posing for a picture with that very group of Saratoga power players. And, yes, the following morning I was refreshing The 12866 waiting for the previous evening’s party pics to appear.
“The people love ’em,” Arthur told me of his blog’s biggest attraction over a mug of Guinness at Morrissey’s. “The jury’s back. It’s over. This town loves its party pics.” As it turns out, the jury’s back on another verdict: This town loves Arthur. “He is a true Saratoga community member,” says Kimberly McConchie, who goes to nearly as many fundraising galas as her longtime friend and whose photo regularly appears on Arthur’s blog. “He loves what he does and Saratoga loves him.”
Part of the reason Arthur is so well liked, especially among Saratoga’s charitable community, is that while party pics are obviously what brings in the most traffic to his website, he also covers the nonprofits those parties raise money for—something that sometimes gets lost amid the who’s-wearing-what hoopla that follows a gala. “My number one thing is in the category of unsung heroes,” he says. “When I get to illuminate somebody who’s working hard behind the scenes for a nonprofit, just volunteering their heart out, I feel really good about that story.” Though it was outside the nonprofit realm, Arthur’s proudest moment of the year thus far was lobbying Saratoga’s City Council to honor the Saratoga Springs High School gymnastics team, which won its 20th straight Section II title in February. On May 3, he photographed the team and their families at City Hall to commemorate the occasion.
And now I must get meta once again: Arthur’s years of dedication to covering Capital Region charities and unsung heroes make he himself an unsung hero, and it is my absolute pleasure to illuminate him. Here’s a sliver of our two-and-a-half-hour interview/conversation/gossip sesh from Morrissey’s last week:
Where are you from and how did you end up here?
I’m from the New York City area—Queens through third grade and Nassau County through high school. I was the campus rep at Cornell for The New York Times, selling cheap subscriptions to other students. I had a great supervisor, and after college I got hired to be a supervisor. They gave me a territory that was mostly Upstate New York and I was dreading it, because I was living in Manhattan and all I saw in my future was Albany. But coming back from a meeting in Plattsburgh, I decided it was lunch time. I came to Exit 14 and it’s the classic Red Smith story. I had to go to Skidmore to put up signs, so I pulled off at 14, I see the track, I see the museum, I see Congress Park, and before I know it, I’m on a patio somewhere on Broadway. Just to be sure, I moved into the Holiday Inn for a week, and I said, “This will work.”
So you lived here for three years and then spent about a decade in Florida before moving back, but we’ll skip over that part. How’d you get into writing?
I had a very brief but memorable career—in fact, the last time anybody did a story on me it was in Saratoga Today, probably in 2007, about my music promotion business. I kept the calendars for Gaffney’s and Bailey’s and a few other places. I had good relationships with a lot of the bands around here: Rich Ortiz, Acoustic Circus, Sirsy—all of them made their debut at Gaffney’s because I wrote it in the book. The number one thing I’m proudest of is that the very first time the words “Soul Session” were written into a calendar it was at Bailey’s and it was by me. Garland [Nelson] even still says, “You were there before the beginning.” The guy that wrote the story about me told me he was leaving Saratoga Today. He was the entertainment editor. So I basically cold-called him and said how ’bout it? One thing led to another and from 2009–2016 I covered entertainment for Saratoga Today. I also covered the City Council, which gave me a big headache.
Then what?
After track season in 2016 I wanted to break out on my own. My first move was to start a blog at saratoga.com. It was a good experience, but after a couple of years I said I think I’m ready to leave the nest. I found the domain 12866blog.com, and that’s basically it.
How would you describe what you cover on your blog?
One of my informal categories is “Arthur shows where the money goes.” What is that? It’s a preview. Why should Natalie Moore buy a ticket to this gala? So often we cover events and we say, “If you like it, you’ll just have to wait a year and come back.” One of my pet peeves is with an organization that we know and maybe like: Live Nation. They always want a review, and I’m like, '“Why don’t we do a preview so that we help you sell tickets?” So one time I slipped into a review: “They were great, but by the time you read this they'll be in Baltimore.” So I enjoy writing about the not-for-profits and why you should attend galas, because I really feel it carves out a service. Even if my little website sells a half-dozen more tickets, that’s good. This town loves its party pics. But I think we can agree that doing a preview has the potential for better impact.
How would you describe Saratoga’s social scene to an outsider?
Here’s the thing. And it’s not that people are knocking themselves over trying to get to me, but I don’t date anybody that lives in this town. It’s a rule. You score points with me if you’re in at least Ballston Spa but preferably Clifton Park or somewhere else. And why? Let’s just assume I do. Chances are we’re going to have 100 mutual friends. Chances are those 100 mutual friends are going to drop you like a brick if you break up with the girl. I don’t want to lose 100 friends. Now, having said that, when you asked that question I was thinking to myself, “What if I brought somebody who I’m kind of dating to one of these things from out of town?” I don’t do that because when I’m working, I’m a really lousy date. Chances are if I show up with somebody, there’s going to be a lot of people wondering who the hell she is, and she’s going to get the third degree. This town can be a little suspicious of newcomers, but if you go in, don’t worry about what people think, because you’re going to have to deal with that mentality to an extent, but I think people put up a little bit of a front where they’re actually more welcoming than you think.
I’m not sure that answered my question, but good enough. What advice would you give to a newcomer to the social scene?
What you really should do is pick a cause. Start there. Don’t worry about the galas. Pick a cause and go to that cause’s event, because if you go on the H.O.P.E. Walk, you’re going to make friends. And then when the H.O.P.E. Gala comes around, you’re going to see people you remember from the walk and it’ll make that transition easier.
What’s one thing you’d change about Saratoga?
What I would like is for everybody to get along. I really am concerned about the approach we’re taking and I don’t mind saying it: these ideas about the metal detectors and to make Caroline Street like Disney World are beyond laughable. I think the way progress will be made is if the major parties contending here all get together and think, and say ‘we don’t want this outcome.’” And then way down but perhaps number two: We need real pizza. I don’t understand—we have all these people moving up from New York City. Doesn’t a retired pizza guy who’s tired of Brooklyn want to buy a pizza place up here so he can make it good? I’m sorry—I love Mama Mia’s and a few others, but it’s not New York. I’m going to start a diplomatic mission to go down to Brooklyn and lobby; if I see a pizza guy with snow on his head I’ll say, “You see these brochures of Saratoga? The land is cheap.”
OK, the time has come: What’s the deal with the camera?
It was given to me by a beloved friend who is a private investigator. And I love it. It’s coming to the time where I have to start thinking about getting a replacement. I will not get one of those big monstrosity cameras—no, no, no. First of all, I don’t need it for the web. Second of all, I can’t get into the nooks and crannies. And I believe those things intimidate some people. I can get into the nooks and crannies without being seen. And that’s what it’s designed for—it’s a spy camera. I was originally taking stuff with my phone and my PI friend picked it out of a pile of stuff and he said, ‘This is what you need’ and he gave it to me. It’s sort of a signature thing at this point. Some people laugh at it. But to me it’s not the size of the camera, it’s the magic behind it. And you’re thinking motion in the ocean—you thought I was going to go there. But no, it’s the eye. I could have this big-ass Nikon and I wouldn’t take any better photos. And these people with the Nikon? What, are they all of a sudden going to suck if they had to use mine? Now, do you ask everybody this, or am I known for this dinky little camera?
No comment. What’s next for Arthur?
One of the things I intend to do this year after going to everything year after year after year is to be a little more selective—make time for me. I bought some reserved seats at the track. I’m going to just go and not even wear my media pass. One thing I want to get back into doing, which I enjoy a lot, is going to the Roosevelt Baths. I want to be quicker to try new places like Rhea. I like the new restaurants and enjoy that scene, so I want to be a little more on it. And then I want to make a point to get to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. I’m just thinking how wonderful it is to have everything back at our fingertips post-pandemic. As I say to some people at galas, “Hello, I’m Rip Van Winkle. I just woke up and I’m here to take your picture.” I feel that way. We all lost many, many friends and relatives. We’re very lucky. And to have all this at the precipice? I can’t count all the blessings.
—Natalie
Quote of the Week
“Babe, you get us some oboys, I’ll get us a toilet.”
—Overheard at The Lumineers at SPAC
Photo of the Week
Party Pics
On Wednesday, the Dake Foundation for Children hosted its Child’s Play Tailgate for a Purpose fundraiser at Prime at Saratoga National:
And on Thursday, the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation threw a sold-out Porch Party at the Reading Room.
This Week in Saratoga Living After Hours
On Monday, we looked back at Saratoga’s military history with a special Memorial Day trivia edition of Game Time.
And on Wednesday, we checked the vibe on two magical Capital Region happenings: Schenectady’s brand-new Van Gogh Experience and LifeWorks Community Action’s May Day fundraiser.