The Return Movement Weekend
The Return of John Clees
Live Vinyl Birthday DJ Set
WSG: Raybone Jones
@ SPKR BOX, Detroit | Monday, May 27th, 2024 | 3PM-5PM
Stop through on the way to another after or unwind before the ride home.
Have a great summer!
It’s been 2 years since I closed it out — I make my return for another Birthday set.
I hope to see some of you there!
Time Slot – 3 PM to 5 PM
Past Events
John Clees – Live Vinyl Birthday DJ Set
WSG: Raybone Jones
@ SPKR BOX, Detroit | Monday, May 30th, 2022 | 10PM – 2AM/Close
Stop through on the way to another after or unwind before the ride home.
Have a great summer!
The picture was taken from: https://www.metrotimes.com/food-drink/detroits-former-urban-bean-co-coffee-shop-rebrands-as-spkr-box-bar-but-keeps-love-of-techno-and-espresso-30106383
[“Detroit’s Capitol Park neighborhood has changed a lot since Josh Greenwood first acquired the funky Mid-century modern building at the corner of Grand River and Griswold back in 2000. When he first opened his Urban Bean Co. coffee shop there, he installed a DJ booth as a nod to its former tenant, Blake Baxter, a techno DJ who ran the Save the Vinyl record store in the space in the ’90s.
“Nobody was in Capitol Park,” back then, Greenwood recalls. “There weren’t even streetlights. It was just like me and basically Larry Mongo [of next-door Cafe D’Mongos Speakeasy] holding down the neighborhood. He lived above his place, and I lived here at the store for a number of years.”
The Urban Bean Co. has opened in fits and starts, closing in 2008 and reopening in 2013, after Dan Gilbert relocated his Quicken Loans headquarters downtown and brought in an influx of young workers. In recent years, it seemed that Greenwood’s gamble was finally paying off, as Capitol Park now buzzes with a multitude of retail and restaurant options.
Then the pandemic happened.
Greenwood says he decided early on to use the forced closure to reimagine his shop, which resulted in rebranding it as SPKR BOX and acquiring a liquor license.
“As [Capitol Park] transitioned into what it is today, which is a thriving neighborhood, it only makes sense for us to get a liquor license and provide some booze and some coffee, and polish this thing up,” he says.
Greenwood has a deep love and appreciation for techno, having booked DJs for 25 years, including at his former Eastern Market nightclub Push. He’s gearing up to open SPKR BOX in time for the Movement festival, planning to draw techno fans to the renovated space with a number of DJ events.
The $750,000 restoration saw Greenwood and his partners, which also includes Tony Sacco of Mootz pizzeria, simultaneously bringing back elements of the building to their original glory while also adding new features. For example, over the years, as its windows broke, the previous owners replaced them in sections, resulting in a patchwork of uneven break bars. But now the glass window panes are restored to the original design, and Greenwood claims they’re now the tallest in the city at 14 feet and three inches high.
Additions to the space include a brand new bar and equipment, as well as the construction of a cozy private nook and a smaller, second-floor bar. The custom DJ booth’s wood panels have also been upgraded with bright yellow upholstery.
To helm SPKR BOX’s beverage program, Greenwood tapped Thomas Phillips, who comes with experience at Tallulah Wine Bar & Bistro and Bella Piatti in Birmingham, and Red Crown in Grosse Pointe Park, among others.
Phillips says he is building a menu around coffee-infused cocktails but wants the bar’s offerings to be well-rounded.
“If you walk in and you want a Margarita, or a Screwdriver, or a French 75, we can make that,” he says. “I want to establish that standard, and you can always have that here. But what we want to have fun with is kind of just like playing with coffee cocktails.”
“Before, it was a coffee shop with really good espresso and some fun lattes,” Greenwood adds. “And now we’re totally West Coastin’ it.”
For food, Greenwood says he’s partnering with a local company called Village Hand Pies, which makes what he describes as a cross between a croissant and a pasty. Phillips describes them as “adult Hot Pockets.”
SPKR BOX will be open daily 7 a.m.-2 .am. Greenwood says he is hoping to fill a niche in the local bar scene for “third-shifters,” noting that most bars in town don’t hold early morning hours.
Naturally, the renovations also include a new sound system, and Greenwood says he plans to pipe the music to an outdoor speaker to entice people walking down the street.
He’s lining up a number of DJ events for Movement weekend. That includes “The Juice is Loose” party from 3-8 p.m. on Friday, May 27, featuring DJs Sara Simms, Alley Kay, Animkee, Psy-Chick, Rirkin, VSRL, Zen Zero, Adam Charles, and Andrea Kalajian. On Saturday, May 28, the AM, Shigeto b2b Scott Z, and Isaac Prieto will also spin from 10 p.m.-4 a.m. There’s also a free drum and bass-themed party with DJ Rec starting at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 29. A Movement afterparty is also planned for Tuesday, May 31.
Greenwood says he’ll also continue a tradition from the Urban Bean Co. days, recording the internet radio show Planet Funk for 313.fm on Wednesdays. The show features two guest DJs spinning live in the cafe, who are then interviewed.
“We don’t necessarily always play techno,” Greenwood says. “I mean, there are people that come in and play all these 45s and jazz and funk and r&b. … We kind of mix it up — but there’s no trance. We don’t allow trance here. Actually, there’s one person that’s allowed to play trance, but he only plays like once a year. He gets a pass because he’s a sweetheart.”
He adds, “We’re excited about opening and excited about the team. We’re gonna kick some ass on this corner. It’s not your normal coffee shop.”
“Like, we can be loud,” Phillips says. “That’s what I want, to be different. Like we want to be loud and proud, and blast jams, and have fun with it.”
SPKR BOX is located at 200 Grand River Ave., Detroit; more information is available at spkrbox.bar.”]
Under Construcdtion: https://spkrbox.bar/
Just posted events on RA website:
Including donation Redsoul Records Annual & Monthly Donation Drives.
https://ra.co/dj/johnclees/past-events
( T h e – D r o p – O f f )
1st Annual : RedsoulRecords.com
Detroit Donation Drive @ The Works
Venue: The Works
1846 Michigan Avenue; Detroit, MI 48228; United States
Date Fri, 14 Mar 2008 10ish – late
LINEUP
Seth Troxler – spectral / wagon repair / crosstown rebels / beretta
J Hunsberger – live pa – revolver / mutek
John Clees – redsoul / matrix / unfound
Patrick Russell – circus company / mentalux
Mike Grant – metroplex / mood & grooves Kikoman – rhumba muzik
John Johr – paxahau
Todd Weston – deep heat detroit / bang tech 12
Greg Campbell – ? Special front room ambient set
Promotional links DetroitLuv
Cost$5 / $7 / or $10 ..see description
Another fund/cloths/food raiser for the homeless and those in need.
Many struggle every day without food, clothing, or shelter.. $5 all night – (with) can goods.
* Min of $2/$7 without donation after midnight $10 (after) 2 a.m. – $7 with donation
* Donations can also be an article of clothing / hats / mittens / t-shirts / sweatshirts / old coats / boots…. ect..
Get there early – help support the bar – non-alcoholic drinks (also) available donated proceeds to DRMM- Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries “rebuilding the inner city, one life at a time”
Each and every day, through out this year, [DRMM] programs touch the lives of over 1000 men, women, and children.
( T h e – R e d – T r e e )
2nd Annual Redsoul Donation Drive for Detroit
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To be continued…
Flyer Credit: Jason @ Klever Design – Detroit, MI
July 3rd
I’m very excited to announce.
[HOME] : Donation Drive : Homeless
John Clees w/ special guest: DJ Minx
1st Sunday of every month
( D e e p & M o o d y )
August / Rick Wilhite
TV BAR
2554 Grand River Ave.
Detroit, MI 48201
In the past, some have asked, so a donation can be anything you can part with that may not fit or something you may not have use for. Can goods, ANY article of clothing. hats / mittens / t-shirts / sweatshirts / old coats / boots / ect… I head the biggest thing that people need is shoes!
I’ve contemplated for over a year and instinctively feel obligated to do something positive for the community once again. after seeing grown adults in the middle of winter with temperatures below freezing and having nothing but a t-shirt on I can’t help but move forward and turn this into a monthly. I wish for this to be a continued gathering of minds to support and collect donations for the homeless in Detroit.
Please join us at a newly updated venue for many of us just to relax, and hear quality music, while doing something which lifts the spirits of many of those who are less fortunate than ourselves.
Detroit needs your help once again this year.
Donations will be given to D.R.M.M.
Mike Grant -Live Dj Set @ TV Bar – Detroit : [HOME] : Donation Drive
256 kps / 86:51 mins.
I finally have mike grants set on from TV BAR (his last performance before he serves our country in Afghanistan for over a year); let our thoughts and prayers be with him.
Very positive energy : I hope some may enjoy.
Services
Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries provides services ranging from emergency shelter to job training. Every day, the services we provide touch the lives of more than 1,400 men, women and children in the Detroit community. The DRMM is much more than a homeless shelter or soup kitchen. Our evidence-based services address the needs of the whole individual. We assist those who are addicted to drugs and alcohol toward their goal of obtaining sobriety. We help teen mothers finish high school and learn critical parenting skills. We help those recently released from prison obtain employability skills, and find housing and gainful employment. We work with S.A.Y. Detroit Family Health Clinic to provide 24-hour medical care to children and families. Yet, there is more that can be done.
The need for our services has gone up 30%. Read more about the vital services we provide and consider making a donation to help us meet the expanding needs and continue this important work.
You Can Help Rebuild the Inner-City, One Life At A Time
DRMM Accreditations
– Over 1 million meals to the hungry
– More than 146,000 nights of emergency lodging
– Emergency shelter, transitional housing and substance abuse treatment
– Transitional housing for teen moms and their children
– 1,100 inner-city children with a Christian summer camping experience
– Food, shelter and a strong spiritual emphasis to more than 1000 people daily
– Recreation and prevention programs for 450 children and youth
– More than 75,000 clothing items to the poor
– Residential substance abuse treatment for over 1,000 men.
