Dres tha Beatnik pulls the plug on Mic Club at Apache Cafe
THE LAST STAND: Mic Club host/promoter Dres tha Beatnik (middle) says Mic Club won’t die. (photo by Zack Wolfe, taken from Mic Club’s MySpace page.)
After holding it down for 6 years at Apache Cafe, Mic Club — which won CL’s 2007 Critic’s Pick for Best Club Event — is calling it quits.
Next Tuesday’s show will be the last, says host and 4 Kings Entertainment promoter Dres tha Beatnik, who blamed the event’s sudden demise on failed renegotiations with Apache Cafe owner Asa Fain.
“They don’t want to give us what we need to stay,” says Dres.
According to Dres, his long-standing arrangement with Apache guaranteed him 60 percent of door receipts, but the best updated offer he says he received from Fain was a 70 percent take on door receipts on nights that net $1,500.
Fain counters that Dres “wanted 100 percent of the door and 20 percent of the kitchen and bar. I just don’t do those kinds of deals.” He admits the Tuesday night event was well-attended but disputes Dres’ average attendance numbers of 275.
“It’s a little bit insulting and disappointing because this show does mean something to a lot of people in Atlanta,” says Dres.
Fain says Dres let “pride get in the way” of what was originally a partnership that included the late Quinton “DJ Ox” Bradford Jr. and Fain’s own band.
“Now Dres wants to justify that it’s his thing, but now he’s made his bed and he’s gotta sleep in it. I’m not glad it’s over.... We had a great time. It was a blast. I’m sorry to see it go, but things change. It’s cool. I think people will miss it a little ... but it’s time to get with the new.”
A monthly Mic Club event could be on the horizon, says Dres, who is looking at the Masquerade and Variety Playhouse as possible venues.
Meanwhile, Dres hopes other promoters in the city can learn from his experience.
“I wanna be able to have this serve as a lesson to up and coming promoters to know what to do and what not to do, and also for the general public to know how much this venue and this city devalues independent hip-hop.”