This means we spend our time telling stories that have rarely been heard outside of our own neighborhoods and local communities and have yet to be included in standard depictions of Detroit’s musical history. Since our founding in 2012, we have preserved and celebrated Detroit music history from below. OUR JOURNEY WITH THE CLUB HEAVEN SOUND SYSTEM Salvaging Sound, featuring pieces from the Club Heaven Sound System, is up now through April 7th at the Detroit Historical Society. “Retro Amplifier Rack CAD Drawings” via Audio Rescue Team.
#ElectronicArchaeology process has begun (and it’s no joke).
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To get involved, sponsor ongoing restoration, or propose a Phase 1 or Phase 2 curation, please contact our director via email at or call direct at 31 2020 UPDATE Please use the hashtags #thesearchforheaven Now with our community partners we are helping to give life back to the Club Heaven Sound System.
In the tradition of Chicago’s Warehouse and New York’s Paradise Garage, Club Heaven gave life. In fact, Metro-Detroit lost 75% of its gay bars since Heaven’s doors opened, but Club Heaven’s Sound System and cultural movement remain relevant and active.Īfter a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2018, we are currently conducting electronic archaeology and restoring an assembly of amplifiers, cables, drivers, horns, and speaker cabinets that helped produce the emergence of house and techno music, as well as global recognition of vogue dancing and ballroom culture. Like too many queer spaces, the building that sheltered this after-hours oasis at 7 Mile and Woodward has disappeared. Damon “Magic” Percy, The House of Charlesįor just over a decade beginning in 1984, a generation of DJs, performers, dancers, engineers, club promoters, and especially Black LGBT youth came together to create a kingdom for expression and imagination at Club Heaven in Detroit. Tim Lawrence, author, Love Saves the Day The potential understandings, engagements and adventures that can come out of the restoration of its sound system are huge. It’s thrilling to be able to believe that Detroit’s Club Heaven is entering the frame. The exploration of these histories is providing us with a sense of what the future might hold. It turns out we’re living in an era that is paying ever closer attention to the hidden histories of sound and dance scenes. We preserve and celebrate its legacy with our community partners. Club Heaven, a legendary and primarily Black LGBT afterhours club in Detroit, gave life.