A Few Quick Notes

~ DJs! Dancers! If you have more info or a correction/addition, please message me. I would love for this to become a collaborative, Wiki-type guide to BAK DØR and all the amazing people who made it possible. I know I have missed a few names (especially with guest DJs, venue staff, and sound crew), so please do not hesitate to send me info <3

~ Usually, the first time an artist’s name is mentioned, it will appear in this blue font, that means it is a click-thru link to check out their work. (If your name is listed with no link, I could not find one - please send it to me!)

~ This is a multi media experience designed for viewing on a laptop (a screen larger than your phone!). Plug in some headphones too as there will be music from nearly every DJ we booked to sample as you scroll.

~ Once you have reached the end of the history below, be sure to head to the PRINT SHOP to see which images are available for purchase (each sale includes a donation to Detroit’s amazing Ruth Ellis Center. You can read more on my Prints For A Purpose concept here).

From 2013-2015 we bounced around a diverse array of clubs, bars, and assorted locations - tweaking each party to suit that particular line-up and atmosphere. While we wanted to go all night and have a chill-out room from the onset, that was unfortunately not practical. I clearly recall the joy of finally having a party somewhere that simply allowed a fog machine. Tyler and I performed b2b sets during this time as Submixxive, holding down extended residencies at a few spots including Motor City Wine & The Whisky Parlor. The latter’s DAY SIX parties allowed us to cross paths with the talents of both DJ Holographic and John Joseph. After collaborating with Rex Bravo on his COMMUNION party in the basement of St. Cece’s, he also became an integral component of the Norway collective. This busy period also brought us both Lindsay Marie (whose skills at marketing quickly paid off at the door) and a partnership with Audio Rescue Team (who would supply BAK DØR with its massive sound system).

If you made it out to one of those formative evenings (especially STUE with Loren or EKKO with John Ryan / Bileebob) you could easily see the seeds of what would become BAK DØR. Clever video projections (drone footage over the fjords of Norway, clips from The New Dance Show), liberal use of fog, and complex art installations hung from the ceiling (usually made with odd items we repurposed or sourced from thrift stores) were there from the beginning. Looking back, some of these feats may have been even more impressive than what we pulled off later at Grenadier. How about the dozens of orbs, including globes and fishbowls with real living fish? Or the tin foil cubes that reflected light at the black-out party? Even specific pieces like the inflatable whale and dolphins that became so integral to BAK DØR were born with these parties in 2015. During this era we were fortunate enough to host guests including Mike Huckaby, Jason Kendig, Alton Miller, Chuck Daniels, Jeffrey Sfire, John Santos, Josh Caffe, Brian Gillespie, dat, and D-Wynn.

As each piece fell into place heading into 2016 - all that remained was finding the perfect venue…

The exact details of how Steven, Tyler, and Rex found the Grenadier are still a mystery to me. But I know it happened in January, and I am sure their reaction to the space was the same as mine a month later: too good to be true. What part of town is this? It’s through a weird back entrance and upstairs? We can do whatever we want and we’re going every week from midnight to 6 am?! Somehow we had struck gold on this perfectly unassuming block of Detroit. Not only was the building structurally perfect for a rave - the staff was amazing and treated the Norway group as family from the first Friday. We are still so grateful to the small group of people that worked basically every party - Ricardo Leos, Kristen Zahr, Amber Dawn Shattuck-Pipe, Andrew Duesbout, and Mark Weatherspoon among many others I wish I could include here who made such an impact on party’s success. Furthermore, Kristen Zahr deserves special mention for all of her hard work and dedication, as she had our back from the beginning. There was also a great security/door crew: Redd, Big Joe, and Vince (if you know anyone I have left out please message me & I will correct this and I am so sorry!)

FEBRUARY

With the right spot and sound in place, the rest of the BAK DØR cocktail was completed with rotating resident DJs Rex Bravo and DJ Holographic mentoring Tyler and I on the main room decks. Although no artists had yet been commissioned for visuals in the main room (the only room for this initial month), Steven and Tyler ably transformed the sprawling ballroom with a floor-to-ceiling bubble wrap wall, video projections, a mannequin, an inflatable whale, a few flood lights, and a whole lotta fog. For the most part, these first few weekends were spent enjoying the music and being dumbfounded at our collective luck. No one could have guessed how much more we would eventually end up squeezing out of that brick building on McDougall street.

MAIN RØM

• RESIDENT DJs: Ghita Sisters Andrea Ghita & Monica Ghita / 313GYPSY

• RESIDENT GUESTS: John Johr, Golf Clap

• VISUAL DESIGN: Steven Reaume & Tyler Yglesias (bubble wrap wall, half mannequin with red flood light, glitter-painted inflatable whale as disco ball over dance floor), Robert Guzman designed visuals for the projectors under his Babyclick Media alias

• ROTATING RESIDENTS: DJ Holographic, Rex Bravo, Bunny Hop (TYLR), R.J. Stefanski

MARCH

By the time March rolled around, a true identity around BAK DØR had formed. There would not only be a rotating monthly resident DJ (who was free to invite as many peers to the decks during their sets as they wished), but also a rotating monthly visual artist to transform the space. Not to mention the addition of an entirely new area devoted to chill out music (a modest corner room tucked behind the bar was converted into RØM2). Detroit had embraced a new favorite after-hours spot with buzzing word of mouth and a steady stream of dancers ‘til 6 AM. A number of guest performers joined us in March, including good friends Peter Croce (in the main room) and Rebecca Goldberg (in the ambient room). Eventual rotating resident John Joseph also made his Grenadier debut as our circle continued to grow.

Main RØM

• RESIDENT DJ: Ryan Dahl

• RESIDENT GUESTS: So Vague, Loren, Peter Croce, Ben Scott, Dru Ruiz, Roque Ybarra, Mike McNamara

• VISUAL DESIGN: Michael Waxer (large fabric installations hung as flags on stage and draped in long triangle formations over the dancefloor with suspended interior spotlights), with Reaume/Yglesias

• ROTATING RESIDENTS: Rex Bravo, DJ Holographic, R.J. Stefanski, TYLR

  RØM2

• RESIDENTS: R.J. Stefanski, TYLR, DJ Holographic

• GUESTS: JC3 (John Joseph), Rebecca Goldberg (playing a special live soundtrack to “A Voyage to the Moon”)

• VISUAL DESIGN: Inflatable dolphins, glow in the dark stars, green light bulbs, bubble wrap soundproofing

APRIL

As winter slowly thawed, the party only grew. As hiccups like blown fuses and iffy toilets were corrected, BAK DØR truly began to feel like a machine by this point. Every Friday afternoon we arrived at that nondescript corner outside of Eastern Market and painstakingly rebuilt both rooms with all the now-customary touches. The elaborate decorations had only become more elaborate. In addition to the bubble wrap wall, there was now the tarp-lined hallway to RØM2 with its own pieces including several analog TVs on static. I can clearly recall having to reassemble the curtain of grey pool noodles that hung in the doorway behind the bar every week. Most of these DIY touches were never meant to survive the entire evening, although I was often surprised how many withstood having dancers literally dangle on them. The main room welcomed more guests than ever as Chuck Daniels brought in numerous pals from his Sampled Detroit label.

Things continued to blossom in RØM2 as well, with not one but two live performances from Andrew Dall’Olmo’s .kite project. We also began to have more access to turntables (a big thanks to Rex’s generosity in supplying his own equipment for RØM2 throughout) and welcomed the very talented producer Blair French.

MAIN RØM

• RESIDENT DJ: Chuck Daniels

• RESIDENT GUESTS: Jason Hodges, Oliver Dollar, Chuck Flask, Christian Worthy, Golf Clap

• VISUAL DESIGN: Kasper Ray O’Brien & Andrew Dall’Olmo (tarping and lighting display on stage, fish tank lighting in ambient room) with Reaume/Yglesias (plastic cylinders draped over the dancefloor with suspended interior lighting and grey pool noodles hung in clusters)

• ROTATING RESIDENTS: Rex Bravo, DJ Holographic, R.J. Stefanski, TYLR

  RØM2:

• RESIDENTS: R.J. Stefanski, TYLR, DJ Holographic, Rex Bravo

• GUESTS: .kite (live), Blair French, John Joseph

• VISUAL DESIGN: Fish tank lighting by Kasper & Andrew, large mirrors behind DJ booth, green flood lights

MAY

Due to the Movement festival every Memorial Day weekend in Hart Plaza, May can be an odd month for throwing parties in the city. There is an influx in both attendees and promoters. We definitely felt a need to kick things up another notch (somehow), with both the bookings and the art installations. One major change was the very deserved promotion of DJ Holographic from rotating resident to that month’s headliner. This opened up a slot for our friend and terrific DJ/producer John Joseph. We were honored to have the amazing local painter/muralist/artist extraordinaire Michelle Tanguay design two stunning pieces for the main room.

Things continued to evolve in the chill out space as we eventually found the perfect layout configuration and decreased the sound bleed that was reaching it. This allowed us to book an even wider array of guests to play live experimental music including Stellar Clouds (member Ryan Gumbleton provided acoustic guitar textures over a collage of field recordings) and bileebob (who performed a hybrid live/DJ set).

MAIN RØM:

• RESIDENT DJ: DJ Holographic

• RESIDENT GUESTS: Loren, Just Alexander, Dru Ruiz

• VISUAL DESIGN: Michelle Tanguay (one “54” painting, one “EAT ME” light display) with Reaume/Yglesias (large moon/spoon out of Styrofoam, dozens of suspended mini-LED twinkly star lights, mesh netting)

• ROTATING RESIDENTS: Rex Bravo, John Joseph, R.J. Stefanski, TYLR

  RØM2:

• RESIDENTS: R.J. Stefanski, TYLR, Rex Bravo

• GUESTS: Adriel Thornton, Stellar Clouds (Ryan Gumbleton), John Bileebob Williams

• VISUAL DESIGN: Tin foil walls behind DJ booth with green flood lights

• RØM2:

• RESIDENTS: TYLR, R.J. Stefanski

• GUESTS: Issac Prieto, Alexander Schwank, Jakob Harris (Fusegrade), Rebecca Goldberg

• VISUAL DESIGN: Mannequin heads hung in cluster, red flood lighting, inflatable dolphins, bubble wrap

JULY

We knew July was going to be bittersweet from the onset. The flip side of the perfect underground venue is… how long can this really last? Even if the Grenadier had not been facing mounting suspicions and pressure from outside forces - there was clearly something to be said of going out while still on top. To try and cope, we packed the schedule in the final month with as many of the people who had joined us throughout BAK DØR as possible. Each week tried to encapsulate a unique version of the party with different headliners, guests, and decorations. An obvious highlight was being able to host Carlos Souffront with a stellar opening set from Isaac Prieto. Later in July we welcomed back Chuck Daniels, but this time with Shaun J. Wright for a b2b set packed with house gems.

Looking back at the July schedule - I am shocked at just how much we packed into RØM2. Multiple live sets, b2b dance parties, vinyl only sessions - we were clearly trying to go out in style.

MAIN RØM:

• GUEST HEADLINERS: Ghita Sisters, DJ Holographic, Carlos Souffront, Chuck Daniels/Shaun J. Wright, Loren/Ryan Dahl

• MAIN ROOM GUESTS: Issac Prieto, Ted Krisko (Ataxia)

• ROTATING RESIDENTS: Rex Bravo, TYLR, R.J. Stefanski, DJ Holographic

• VISUAL DESIGN: Reaume / Yglesias essentially collaged all the cumulative decorations from the first five months, bringing back favorites like the whale and the mannequin.

  RØM2:

• RESIDENTS: DJ Holographic, R.J. Stefanski, TYLR,

• GUESTS: Adriel Thornton, Emperor Penguin (Gabe Banas), Jakob Harris (solo and collaborative set w/ R.J.), John Joseph, Dave Kloosterman (Ill Fusion), Alexander Schwank, The Cashew Sisters (LALKA and SKNDLSS), Matthew Daher, Isaac Prieto, Todd Modes, .kite (live soundtrack set)

• VISUAL DESIGN: Various decorations from all the set-ups: battery powered candles, mannequin heads, analog TVs on static, inflatable dolphins, and lots of bubble wrap.

A QUIET PLACE

By the second or third weekend, I had a realization while retreating to the small dark room behind the bar. A select few had discovered this intimate space and used it to give their eardrums a break, have a smoke, and chat with new friends. Why not turn this area into a chill out room? The following Friday the space was soft-opened with basically just Steven’s home stereo system and my laptop. To say the bonus room was well received would be an understatement. The BAK DØR crowd was always a more mature group who knew their rave history, and no one seemed puzzled by this odd, semi-hidden stage that focused on experimental drones and nature sounds. In fact, it only took about a month before RØM2 would sometimes have a larger crowd than the main room as sunrise approached.

As the party picked up steam moving into the summer, you never knew what you may find down that candle lit hallway. Some nights would feature dance music (but with the tempo slowed to 105 bpm) and a packed, sweaty room of 20 or so dancers. The next weekend might focus on abstract live sets with video projections. Some evenings, these disparate genres may follow one right after another. This helped fuel the steady procession of dancers from the main room, who used the chill out space as a rest stop to visit multiple times over the course of the evening. Each time you returned the mood could be completely different.

3YR

(03.26.19) OLYMPUS THEATER / MENJOS COMPLEX

By the time we were able to regroup in 2019, Grenadier Club was sadly no more. Although we had moved to the northern outskirts of Detroit - the new venue still offered two very unique stages and more than just a little of that raw energy that was so important to the character of BAK DØR. The full cast of resident DJs was able to reunite and the interior concept was handled by Robert Guzman. In the chill out room we welcomed back Rebecca Goldberg, while Zac Bru made his debut with a bewitching live set under the Detroit Bureau of Sound moniker.

MAIN RØM:

• TYLR, John Joseph, DJ Holographic, Rex Bravo

RØM2:

• Detroit Bureau of Sound [Live Set], R.J. Stefanski, Rebecca Goldberg

Click below to visit the Print Shop for this feature, with 16 different print options and 15% of all profits going to the Ruth Ellis Center in Detroit.

All text, design, and 90% of the images in this feature are the property of R.J. Stefanski. No reproduction or distribution of these copyrighted works. The remainder are the posters, images, logos, and graphic design work of Steven Reaume with additional work/photos from Robert Guzman. Their work is also not to be downloaded, distributed, or reproduced in any way without permission. Please view more of their amazing work below: