Gypsy Nuts || April 24, 2007

Last Thursday, I was lallygagging outside Club Dada and chatting with a few friends and acquaintances about the usual Dallas music complaints--radio, the scene, ugh--when Russell Hobbs walked up.

You might know him as the owner of The Door, the all-ages teen-friendly rock venues in Dallas, Fort Worth, and now apparently Canton, TX as well. Or you might know him as the born-again Christian who used to be a hellraiser as owner of the Theatre Gallery and Prophet Bar back when Deep Ellum was in even worse shape than it is now. I'm used to meeting people who've been around Dallas a helluva lot longer than me, and Hobbs is certainly on the top of that list.

As this was the first time I'd ever met the man, he quickly fit the profile I'd come to expect--nice but incredibly eccentric. Within two sentences, he informed us that he'd just come up with a great band name: The Minstrel Cramps. "Get it? Spelled 'm-i-n-s-t...-r-e-l.'" Nice to meet you, too.

Of course, I can't talk to someone in Dallas without hitting him up for news, so I asked Hobbs what the story was about his forthcoming move to the Gypsy Tea Room's building. This is where the story gets interesting: The move wasn't his choice.

Paraphrased: "Our landlord is tearing down the current Door [at the far east end of Deep Ellum] to build condos. And our landlord owns the Gypsy building as well. We told him to find us a new building or we'd move to Addison, which would work out for us anyway since that's where more of the teens who go to our shows live, anyway. So he offered us the Gypsy space."

But wouldn't that cost more? Rumor held it that the Gypsy was leaving partially because of a rent hike... Hobbs shook his head 'no' in response. "They didn't raise the rent," he said. I'm tempted to believe him--if the rent was raised, why wouldn't he go ahead and move to a cheaper building in Addison?

Hobbs didn't have a date for the move, but by the time the big switch goes down, word will surely have spread. Will keep you posted. -SM