We reach Franz Diego by phone to chat about the Dinkytowner’s plight and talk about the growing pains for music artists in Minneapolis.

To all the fans coming to Franz Diego’s The Hookup: Franz Diego Mixtape Release Party on Saturday at the Dinkytowner, it was a night to enjoy some sick beats and cheer on their favorite emcees. But even before the show started, Diego was standing with booking manager, Bill, hearing not so sick news:

“Pretty sure the Dinkytowner is closing… It looks pretty serious and from my perspective it’s gonna be big.”

Diego could not believe what he was hearing. The fact that a well-respected promotion company 10K Breaks was bowing out of the Dinkytowner was enough proof. 10K Breaks was putting on his show that very night, its very last show with the venue.

Diego recalls when First Avenue closed late 2004, creating a temporary scare in the music community. His rap group, a prelude to his current Illuminous Three project, supposedly played the last show. Those tenuous days were of self-reflection. Did the community care enough about First Avenue, about Minnesota music, to begin with? How could the place that made Prince popular actually go out of business. Former managers and the building landlord quickly reassembled a financial portfolio and reopened by the end of the month with GWAR.

Across the freeway Kim Anderson fought city licensing for several cold months in 2007 until she finally reopened Hard Times Cafe. It seems in the past decade, small businesses were more fragile than we thought.

Diego recounted over phone countless times spent at the Dinky.

“I was at the Dinkytowner three to four times a week, that intensely. It’s the default spot to go when there’s nothing to do. There’s always someone you know. I went there for breakfast after bar shows, birthday parties… (Tonight) for Funkmass, Last of the Record Buyers, all the shows [series]… My group has been playing there since 2002.”

Poignantly, he also noted that local youth organization Yo! The Movement consistently pushed the Kickin’ Spot shows for two to three years to the all ages crowd. They gave many aspiring kids their first time onstage. All ages shows are near extinct in the Twin Cities, especially after the demise of the Youth for Tomorrow series at The Quest. Today youth centers in suburbia fill the gap such as Enigma in Shakopee and THE GARAGE in Burnsville (of which I was a former Board of Director).

Besides accommodating age groups, the Dinkytowner filled niches for people who didn’t believe in them:

“I don’t have an idea of where else in the city you can go that can have so many different types of people [with an attitude of] whatever. There are no places in the city that cater to that demographic of people who don’t fit in the frat bars or bougie clubs [yes the bougie Fergie sings]. Even in the punk rock scene, there’s nothing like that.

Diego thinks house parties will be on the rise if the Dinkytowner indeed closes on May 31st and no replacement is found soon after. He suggested the Red Sea might work as an alternative hangout but said “that fell apart.” He noted he might go to the Kitty Cat Klub but out of choice, not necessity. We like the KCK at TwinCityScene but it definitely has a variable crowd, you don’t know who show up. The Nomad was last on his list as a big runner up.

It seems if the Dinkytowner leaves that a hole will form in the continuum of music clubs. You can sit at a bar in Stadium Village and listen to the radio or pay big entry fees and fit the dress code for clubs. First Avenue has garnered a reputation for different aged nights and music themes but tends to focus more hipster and older.

For artists and club owners, it comes down to the bottom line. Diego has some good info:

Big nights are still Thursday through Saturday. I haven’t noticed any huge change. People still want to pay for entertainment, drinking and partying.

Aaandd, he left us with one secret tidbit, his new project Grips of Syrup will be announced soon.

Check it out: SATURDAY MAY 16 AT THE TURF CLUB IN SAINT PAUL – ILLUMINOUS THREE, TOKI WRIGHT AND MORE ARTISTS