The NBA lockout hasn’t prevented Knicks owner James Dolan from making music and having fun at the expense of his ballclub.
Dolan, who has been the front man on the blues band “Straight Shot” since 2005, debuted his new song “Fix the Knicks” on July 27 at the Jones Beach Theatre on Long Island as the warmup act to Aretha Franklin.
The rendition of “Fix the Knicks,” which wound up on YouTube, makes references to Isiah Thomas, Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks’ swiss-cheese defense.
Dolan writes all his songs — and this one was clearly meant as a parody, and not a threat — when he sang the lyric last week: “I check with my friends, call Isiah Thomas. Pay no mind to those nasty critics.”
An audible groan could be heard from the Jones Beach crowd at the sound of the former Knicks president’s name being sung by Dolan. The Post has reported Thomas is not a candidate to inherit the presidency now occupied on an interim basis by Glen Grunwald.
Dolan is on the owners’ negotiating committee and has attended most of the labor meetings, but missed the last one on Monday. Garden spokesman Barry Watkins declined to comment on the song.
Undoubtedly, Dolan was poking fun with “Fix the Knicks,” tapping into all the Knicks clichés relating to their foibles. The song appears on his recently released CD, “Can’t Make Tears.” The chorus goes: “Fix the Knicks and make them shine; Get ’em to win like its ’69.”
The Dolan song begins: “Everywhere I go I hear everybody say; What you gonna do to make that team play; Walk across the street at 34th and 6th; Yelling from the cars, ‘Hey, man, fix the Knicks.’ ”
And then there’s the reference to Anthony and the Knicks’ poor defense that has marked the last 10 downtrodden seasons in which they have not won a playoff game: “Know they’re getting Melo, we spare no expense; They score a lot of points, but where’s the defense?”
Lyrics to “Fix the Knicks:”
Everywhere I go
I hear everybody say
What you gonna do
to make that team play
Walk across the street
at 34th and 6th
Yelling from the cars, “hey man fix the Knicks”
(CHORUS)
Fix the Knicks
and make them shine
Get’em to win like its ’69
Hittin’ all their free throws and no more shooting bricks
Time to get it right
and fix the Knicks
Doing my best,
yes, that’s my promise
I check with my friends, call Isiah Thomas
Pay no mind to those nasty critics
They haven’t the thing to fix the Knicks
(CHORUS)
Know they’re getting Melo, we spare no expense
They score a lot of points, but where’s the defense
Everyone’s an expert
so trade your draft picks
You gotta get this guy
to fix the Knicks
(CHORUS)
— Additional reporting
by Matthew LaFemina