Lp Breaks Silence . . .

[sobe2003]

From:

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/2003-10-16/music.html/1/index.html

Here Today, Gone Today

Who cares if Space 34 is closing? Do you?

BY MOSI REEVES

mosi.reeves@miaminewtimes.com

ROCKI COOK

Revelers wait in line for the first of Space's "closing parties"

Space 34

Details: Danny Tenaglia spins at 11:00 p.m. Saturday, October 18. Call 305-375-0001.

Where: 34 NE 11th St., Miami

Music

The Ying and the Yang

Is there a method to the madness of Atlanta's most bizarre rap duo?

Small World

The Reptilian Wedding Dance

Reptile Palace Orchestra renovates banquet band routines

Basshead

Understandable Smooth

Billy Paul Williams lives for South Beach

Rotations

Vida Blue

The Illustrated Band (Sanctuary)

The Rapture

Echoes (Strummer Recordings/DFA/Universal Records)

Various Artists

Desert Sessions Volumes 9 & 10 (Ipecac)

Beth Gibbons and Rustin Man

Out of Season (Sanctuary)

Jaylib

Champion Sound (Stones Throw)

Catch It Live!

Still Dreaming

LTJ Bukem excels outside the limelight

BuzzIn

Fresh Mynt

The hot ultra lounge shows off its new look

When Space 34 announced on October 2 that it was shutting its doors with an October 11 "closing party," two months after a highly publicized drug raid by the Drug Enforcement Administration that netted eleven arrests, all you could hear for days was the churning of the rumor mill. Some opined that Miami's dominant dance music club wasn't really closing, a theory that gained traction once Space added a second "closing party" with DJ Danny Tenaglia for October 18. Others figured that its owner, Louis Puig, would sell the club so fast that it wouldn't even have to close for a single weekend. One unnamed promoter floated a theory that it was closing temporarily to avoid losing its liquor license.

A deep-rooted cynicism seemed to underline the reactions and rumors swirling around the soon-to-be-defunct nightclub. For all intents and purposes, Space 34 is a business that grosses tens of thousands of dollars a week; unlike its more elitist South Beach neighbors, it unabashedly caters to working and middle-class young people from Kendall and Hialeah looking to dance and drink the night away. There's little sophistication in warehousing several hundred people inside a large building, selling alcoholic beverages at nine dollars and up, and entertaining them with dance music that relies heavily on flashy effects -- long percussive drum rolls, bass-heavy beats, and heart-tugging synthesizer melodies -- augmented by nonstop lasers and lights that zigzag across the building, making its main room appear to be a demonic Def Leppard video from the late Eighties.

But Ben Turner, creative director for DanceStar USA and founder of the popular U.K. dance mag Muzik, believes that Space 34 was a burgeoning force on the international dance music scene. "It is so sad that a brand should appear to end when it was so clearly about to receive global recognition," says Turner, whose DanceStar named it "Best Club Venue" at an awards ceremony held in March of this year. He compares it with Cream, a British superclub that, in spite of wild success and overflow crowds, was forced to close its doors in September 2002 after years of police surveillance and harassment. Was Space 34 destined for the same fate?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What will it take to print the entire interview?" writes owner Louis Puig. The embattled impresario doesn't want to do an in-person or phone interview, but has instead agreed to answer a list of questions submitted over e-mail. Now, after sending back a response, he wants to turn the interview into a paid advertisement. "I will pay for the page," he says. Though I respectfully decline the offer, I send a list of follow-up questions that he answers a few days later.

No one wants to believe Puig would give up on a venture that, by all accounts, was making money hand over fist. But he reaffirmed his belief that "bad press" was to blame for its closing. Then, tellingly, he added, "The sad thing is that everyone in the city turned their back on us." Though he wouldn't elaborate, he said, "I didn't expect to get any support from the media or other club owners but I always thought that I could count on the city to back us up. Our customers have been very loyal and supportive. They are the only ones that know how hard we try to keep this club clean."

[macboy]

Also check out another article in the same issue, by Space-hating journo Humberto Guida. Seems as though he ran into LP at Mynt...

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/2003-10-16/buzzin.html/1/index.html

[thephoenix]

yep, he's a jerk

[tranzwhore]

the end of an era

[CrzyC]

Nice job, LP.

[thehog]

that guy is a Saleen wana bee. he still has alot to learn.

[CrzyC]

Originally posted by thehog

that guy is a Saleen wana bee. he still has alot to learn.

Tru, this was already posted on CJ by POD. lol

What choo doing this weekend, Hog?

[laliux]

I think this Humberto Guida is banned from Space.

[CrzyC]

Ya think?

I wouldn't have the balls to show up with all the Cper's there.

[sobe2003]

Originally posted by sobe2003

From:

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/2003-10-16/music.html/1/index.html

Here Today, Gone Today

Who cares if Space 34 is closing? Do you?

BY MOSI REEVES

mosi.reeves@miaminewtimes.com

ROCKI COOK

Revelers wait in line for the first of Space's "closing parties"

Space 34

Details: Danny Tenaglia spins at 11:00 p.m. Saturday, October 18. Call 305-375-0001.

Where: 34 NE 11th St., Miami

When Space 34 announced on October 2 that it was shutting its doors with an October 11 "closing party," two months after a highly publicized drug raid by the Drug Enforcement Administration that netted eleven arrests, all you could hear for days was the churning of the rumor mill. Some opined that Miami's dominant dance music club wasn't really closing, a theory that gained traction once Space added a second "closing party" with DJ Danny Tenaglia for October 18. Others figured that its owner, Louis Puig, would sell the club so fast that it wouldn't even have to close for a single weekend. One unnamed promoter floated a theory that it was closing temporarily to avoid losing its liquor license.

A deep-rooted cynicism seemed to underline the reactions and rumors swirling around the soon-to-be-defunct nightclub. For all intents and purposes, Space 34 is a business that grosses tens of thousands of dollars a week; unlike its more elitist South Beach neighbors, it unabashedly caters to working and middle-class young people from Kendall and Hialeah looking to dance and drink the night away. There's little sophistication in warehousing several hundred people inside a large building, selling alcoholic beverages at nine dollars and up, and entertaining them with dance music that relies heavily on flashy effects -- long percussive drum rolls, bass-heavy beats, and heart-tugging synthesizer melodies -- augmented by nonstop lasers and lights that zigzag across the building, making its main room appear to be a demonic Def Leppard video from the late Eighties.

But Ben Turner, creative director for DanceStar USA and founder of the popular U.K. dance mag Muzik, believes that Space 34 was a burgeoning force on the international dance music scene. "It is so sad that a brand should appear to end when it was so clearly about to receive global recognition," says Turner, whose DanceStar named it "Best Club Venue" at an awards ceremony held in March of this year. He compares it with Cream, a British superclub that, in spite of wild success and overflow crowds, was forced to close its doors in September 2002 after years of police surveillance and harassment. Was Space 34 destined for the same fate?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What will it take to print the entire interview?" writes owner Louis Puig. The embattled impresario doesn't want to do an in-person or phone interview, but has instead agreed to answer a list of questions submitted over e-mail. Now, after sending back a response, he wants to turn the interview into a paid advertisement. "I will pay for the page," he says. Though I respectfully decline the offer, I send a list of follow-up questions that he answers a few days later.

No one wants to believe Puig would give up on a venture that, by all accounts, was making money hand over fist. But he reaffirmed his belief that "bad press" was to blame for its closing. Then, tellingly, he added, "The sad thing is that everyone in the city turned their back on us." Though he wouldn't elaborate, he said, "I didn't expect to get any support from the media or other club owners but I always thought that I could count on the city to back us up. Our customers have been very loyal and supportive. They are the only ones that know how hard we try to keep this club clean."

:laugh: :laugh: