Lakewood’s Hi-Fi Club (11729 Detroit Ave.) is reinventing
itself as Breakfast Club Cleveland. The new name is partially a
nod to the Breakfast Club, a cover band featuring new partner
Dave Brooks and Hi-Fi owner Billy Morris, whose hair-metal
résumé includes a stint with Warrant and hired-gun work
with Quiet Riot. It also indicates a new direction for the venue.
“We’re rebranding the club,” says Morris. “We’re going for more of
an adult crowd. The ’80s are popular.”
Morris says the Lakewood venue will keep Heavy Metal Karaoke, its
Wednesday live-band karaoke night. It will still host some metal and
indie-rock shows but plans to add more cover bands. They’ve installed
booths and plan to emphasize the reopened kitchen. The club will now
open at noon and stay open until 4 a.m., serving a menu designed by the
new cook, “Whiskey Steve” Williams, formerly of Whiskey Island.
The spot tried to reboot before, most recently as part of the Jigsaw
Saloon debacle.
“It’s going to happen this time, I swear,” says Morris. “Who does
’80s better than me?”
Grand-opening week kicks off with the Breakfast Club on Saturday,
November 21, hair-metal also-rans Bang Tango and D’Molls on Sunday,
November 22, and the 35th Peanuts Thanksgiving Eve All-Star Jam on
Wednesday, November 25.
Brooklyn rapper Flawless will shoot a video during his
Saturday, November 21, show at Peabody’s (2045 E. 21st St.). Doors at 9
p.m., tickets $12 advance, $15 day of show.
Kiddo singer Liz Wittman returns to Cleveland for a live set
with her new and darker dance-electro project, Lettercamp. The
group opens for Ohio Sky and This Is a Shakedown on Saturday, November
21, at the Grog Shop (2785 Euclid Heights Blvd., Cleveland Hts.). Doors
10 p.m., tickets $8. Take a listen at MySpace.com/Lettercamp
The JiMiller Band will record its sixth annual Thanksgiving
Eve all-Grateful Dead show at the Winchester (12112 Madison Ave.) for
possible use on a new CD. Doors open at 9 p.m. $7 tickets include
food.
Visit C-Notes, Scene‘s music blog, to see “Spain,” the new
video from local rock duo Mr. Gnome.
This article appears in Nov 18-24, 2009.
The death of another venue for locals. Just wonderful. Why don’t you just have bands perform using Rockband and a big screen. Ohhh wait…. I just gave you an idea…. dammit.
lol @ EofA
That’s real stuff man,
I enjoyed playing at The Hi-Fi. I thought it was an ok local club. All of the employees were pretty nice to us when we played. It always did seem like the best market for that venue (and one run by morris) would be one themed from the 80s. The RockBand comment was pretty extreme. I wouldn’t be surprised if they actually use that though.