CK's tries to resuscitate city nightlife.
Petey Pablo is raising a ruckus inside CK's Night Club. On this particular Wednesday night the rapper's gritty hoochie anthem "Freak-a-Leek" provides the drum roll for the club's fledgling efforts to become a splint for the city's broken social scene.
…Freak-a-leek! Shamika…Keisha…Tara… Freak-a-leek! Shonda…Sabrina…
And…nothing. There is no sign of Shamika, Keisha or the
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rest of the girls. If they are here, they're probably grinding a pole next door at Cheeks.
"We haven't seen much progress on Wednesdays so far," says independent promoter Rik Arredondo. "There is a lot of potential here though. The whole focus is to try and make this the hottest club in town."
Arredondo is part of a five-person street team that has been working for about a month to inject a little adrenaline into Santa Fe's tepid nightlife.
"There's nothing really for people in that 21 to 35 age group to do in Santa Fe right now," says Diego Baca, a Cheeks doorman and member of the DIY promo team. "In the last year, we've seen Chilaca's close down, Bar B close down, the Paramount, Rodeo Nites and now Swig. We're just trying to give people somewhere to go other than driving to Albuquerque."
With Swig undergoing a facelift after a buyout by the owners of Osaka, the options for music-live or otherwise-has dwindled. Paul Groetzinger, a member of the Santa Fe band D Numbers who also spins under the moniker DJ Feathericci, says any new sign of nightlife is welcome.
"I think everyone is excited when there is a new place," Groetzinger says. "We need it bad. I think they're off on the right foot just trying to get club stuff up and running."
The music venues that have survived-like WilLee's Blues Club and the Cowgirl-cater to niche genres like blues, country and folk. Bands like D Numbers are subsisting on a smattering of shows while DJ Feathericci has been spinning at Osaka and The Lodge.
"That is a total statement of the climate." Groetzinger laughs. "We're playing sushi bars and hotel bars."
If nothing else, CK's has location, location, location. The club is under the same ownership as Cheeks and wedged between the strip joint and an adult store (Arcade News).
"There are pros and cons to it," Arredondo says. "Some people may be attracted to it because of Cheeks and some people may be turned away by it, but they're two separate things. What's going on over there doesn't have anything to do with what we're trying to do over here."
Baca says they're trying to create a venue that will eventually be capable of sustaining everything from hip-hop and rock to electronic music and country. For now, CK's is relying on hip-hop to get the club on its feet. The street team has worked to attract notice with flyers, word-of-mouth promotion and even its own Myspace page (
) while the club entices customers with drink specials and no cover charge.
Joe Ray Sandoval, whose DJ cooperative Chicanobuilt has been the city's most successful hip-hop institution, says he's had preliminary discussions about performing at CK's. Sandoval says he has also had interest from the new Swig ownership as well as from Zia Cross and Danielle Miranda, who are planning to transform Club Alegria into a steady music venue in July.
As for CK's, success thus far has been minimal, but it isn't for lack of effort.
"A lot of heart is going into this," Baca says. "A lot of blood, sweat and tears. We want this to be a club for everyone, not just the hip-hop scene, and there's no reason why we can't succeed."
