Scott Newman and Marc Santo, Revel In NY

We've posted videos here from Revel In New York before, and we thought it was finally time to talk to the two people behind it: Scott and Marc. What better way to get to know them, then through their own work. They just posted their latest video, with Lorie Karnath — president of The Explorers Club, a private club that began in Manhattan in 1904. Be sure to click around and check out their other profiles of New Yorkers as well — all well worth the watch. And below, get to know the men behind the lens a bit better.

When and why did you start Revel? Scott: We started shooting stories for Revel in New York about a year ago, and the site launched this past August. Having lived here for so long and grown up around the city we felt that there were too many interesting people and subcultures here, that we had to document it.

Marc: I had been working in television and was getting frustrated with the lack of good ideas that actually make it to the screen. There are some really great ideas that people come up with, yet with a mass and very mainstream audience, the safest and unfortunately a lot of the weaker ones are the shows that we actually get to see. We like the idea that on the internet you don’t have to stick to a formula and you can produce content relatively cheaply. We set out to make something entertaining that also provides practical information. So we came up with a video based city guide.

S: It’s a work in progress and we’re just starting to figure it out.

Can you tell us about your idea behind it, what you hope to accomplish? S: Revel in New York came out of a discussion Marc and I had a few years ago about internet video. In a sense the playing field has been leveled and independent producers can reach a lot of people. Our hope is not so much to attract mass audiences but to cultivate a scene of people like us who are interested in art, music, food and so on. By curating New York and the culture world beyond it, by presenting our subjects recommendations, we’re able to help like minded people navigate the city and entertain them with video at the same time.

M: We’re hoping to accomplish a number of things including perfecting what we have and expanding upon it. We’re working on new concepts for the site as we speak. We have a lot of ideas on interactivity and we’re hoping to add things that will make visitors totally feel like their in New York. If we do it correctly, visiting the site will be like attending a Fluxus Happening or some weird loft party.

How do you go about finding and contacting the subjects? M: Some of them we know personally, others are friends of friends and others we just read about somewhere and contacted them. Most of them are down to do it. We’ve only had two people deny us so far. One was from a woman who hosts naked wrestling matches in her loft. She was worried that the publicity would shut her down. The other was from Tom Scharpling who does the radio show, ‘The Best Show on WFMU”. He said no because he lives in NJ.

S: We always have a huge list of people we want to shoot. One of our subjects, photographer Tod Seelie, says he tries make heroes out of his friends and his work is a celebration of them. I like to think we do something similar.

Who has been your favorite subject so far? M: I liked them all in different ways. Jim Walrod, Tod Seelie and the guys from Ad Hoc are just really cool guys who know a lot about different subcultures, etc. They’re great to talk to. My least favorite shoot was the Pigeon Lady. Even though she’s an insanely cool lady, I hate pigeons and we had to shoot in a dirty pigeon coop.

S: Ann Liv Young has definitely been one of my favorite subjects thus far. It’s not just because people deem her crazy and provocative but she’s also really brilliant. The shoot was so much fun and she’s really nice and easy to work with. The response all over the world has been great for that video.

Which New Yorkers would you love to profile that you haven't yet? S: I think one of the cool things about what we are doing is that we look past celebrities to find interesting people around us. Hester Diamond, who’s Mike D of the Beasties Boys mom, said she did the video with us because we gave “dignity” to a foot fetish prostitute. That made me feel really good. That said, I’m not against doing celebrities and I’d really love to do a video on Lou Reed.

M: There are so many. We actually keep a list and right now there’s over 200 people on it.

What do you have planned for the future? Do you think you'll ever document New York nooks and crannies or will it always be people-based? M: We’re talking with a lot of people and collectives and we’re trying to build a platform that will curate the city more in depth on the web. There’s going to be different channels with all sorts of weird and interesting things going on at all times. Hopefully it’ll be like attending a happening, with all sorts of different portals taking you through interesting subcultures and live events.

S: We’re also working on beefing up the city guide section of the site and we’re already in the process of developing new features that are definitely going to include some other views into the city. Our first guidebook is coming out soon too and it poses a unique New York experience. This is something we’ll be distributing free around town early this year.

Please share your strangest "only in New York" story. M: About 10 years ago my friend and I got into a cab in the East Village really late at night and it smelled like burning plastic. When we shut the door a women’s head popped up from between the cab driver’s legs. She screamed and he exhaled a cloud of crack smoke into the car and started laughing.

S: I was at a store opening on 5th avenue a few years ago and found myself next to Mary J Bliege and a friend of mine who was the manager. I looked up and saw the orthopedic surgeon who did my knee surgery in a full yellow jumpsuit acting weird, bumping into people and being generally disruptive. I heard Mary J say “Oh man, look at that guy” and my friend, the manager, moved to have him escorted out. I didn’t tell anyone I knew him.

Which New Yorker do you most admire? M: There are so many. George Plimpton was pretty cool. Peggy Guggenheim was cool. David Mancuso who did the disco “Loft Parties” and Sam Rivers who did the Jazz loft parties in the 70’s must have some great stories. Izzy Young who ran the Folklore Center -(Bob Dylan wrote about him in his song, ‘Talking Folklore Session” and maybe even dissed him in his song, “Positively 4th Street”), probably has some good stories as well. La Monte Young should be mentioned. So Should Judith Malina and Julain Beck from The Living Theater. Oh, and Glenn O’Brien, has had a really interesting career.

S: There is nobody more fashionable and eloquent than Knicks play by play announcer, Walt "Clyde" Fraiser.

Given the opportunity, how would you change New York? S: I would make it cheaper to live in.

M: I would clean up the beaches. It’s a shame that we live on series of islands surrounded by polluted water. Especially in the summer, when it’s absolute torture.

Under what circumstance have you thought about leaving New York? S: What I love about being here is the food, art and cultural diversity. You can experience just about anything you want, whenever you want it. I’m not so naïve though to believe that other cities don’t offer the same.

M: It’s too expensive to live here, which forces a lot of people to have to think commercially. While I can justify paying so much money to live here to have access to all the good food, music, films and art, I sometimes think other cities are having more fun in the mayhem sense of it all.

Do you have a favorite New York celebrity sighting or encounter? M: I was once in a crowded elevator. The doors were closing and all of a sudden a hand comes through the door to stop the elevator. The doors open and Puff Daddy walks in. Everyone was silent. He got out at the next floor and when he left the tension in the elevator erupted with laughter for some reason.

S: I almost got run over by Owen Wilson coming out of Virgin records once.

What's your current soundtrack? S: We’re finishing up a video on Veronica Vasilka and her synth pop label, Minimal Wave. So, right now I’ve been listening too a lot of that kind of stuff and going through all my old Kraftwerk.

M: I like the stuff coming out on the Sacred Bones label a lot. Also that whole Brooklyn Weird Records thing is cool.

Best cheap eat in the city? M: Cheap Eats is my favorite thing about the city. Tanoreen in Bay Ridge is always good. I like some of the taco places in Bushwick and Sunset Park. I like Lucali’s Pizza in Carroll Gardens and the zucchini pizza at Sullivan Street Bakery. I’ve been going to Pauls ‘Da Buger Joint” since high school, so that’s kind of nostalgic for me. My favorite Laksa place in Chinatown closed, so I’m looking for a replacement, but in the meantime it’s New Malaysia in the Chinatown Arcade. Saltie in Williamsburg has a great sandwich they call The Captain’s Daughter. I also like the roast beef heroes at Fiores in Hobokken, which isn’t technically in the city but close enough. You have to get there early on Saturdays, which is the only day they offer gravy.

S: El Castillo on the Lower East Side has good Cuban. David Bagels in the East Village has the best bagels and any of the Polish diners around are good value.