A couple of weeks ago I revived the Saturday Night Cheeseburger series for one evening at The Twelve Bar Lounge and had one of the best cheeseburgers in my life! I also had some fabulous cocktails and you can read about all of that right here.
In addition to wonderful and unique food and drinks, The Twelve Bar Lounge is featuring live music all summer long. Last Friday, DJ juanGoblin, the official DJ of The Marty Monologues hosted a Funk Night in the lounge and I was there! Keep on scrolling to see photos of this funky evening with juanGoblin gettin’ jiggy wit it at The Twelve Bar Lounge!
Here we are at the building that houses The Twelve Bar Lounge. It’s on the third floor, two floors above its sister restaurant, Edge By Chef Dustin Allen.
As soon as I walked through the doors I bumped into my friend Chris Kaergard elevating a drink and then I wandered over to the bar and got a beer from the lounges magical mixologist, Shane. The night is off and running!
I love the atmosphere in here.
It’s dark with circular bulbs in trails overhead and the windows stretch from the floor to the ceiling with a great view of Peoria Heights at night. There’s communal tables and comfortable lounge chars and couches.
As you can see, there’s a nice crowd here tonight, let’s go say hello to some of the smiling faces!
Hello smiling faces! Thanks to all these pretty women for posting for the MBIP Camera!
As I mentioned in the introduction, there’s a lively schedule of music happening here this summer. And tonight the music is being supplied by…
DJ juanGoblin! JuanGoblin has brought a feast of funk for this evening as he’s hosting one of his Funk Nights in here.
Here he is taking a quick break with his pretty wife Mae. During the day they both are part of Peoria Magazine, juanGoblin turns back to Jonathan Wright at his day job where he’s the Editor-In-Chief and Mae writes for the publication and is the Social Media Wizard there as well.
Back to work for juanGoblin as he returns to spinning his funky tunes.
As you can see, the crowd is definitely into these funky tunes! The dance floor is jammed!
He’s brought a truck-load of vinyl to choose the tunes from.
Meanwhile, back at the bar, I spy a couple of familiar faces! It’s my friends Chip and Jenny with their friend Elwell! They’re celebrating Elwell’s birthday here tonight, happy birthday, Elwell!
Chip told me he’s directing a musical version of Catch Me If You Can at Corn Stock Theatre this summer. The play is going to run from August 23-31 and you can read more about that and the other productions happening at Corn Stock this summer by clicking here.
Frank Abagnale who wrote the book about his life that the movie and play are based on sent a nice letter to Chip and Corn Stock thanking them for putting the production on and wishing them good luck. That’s so cool! I can’t wait to see this musical version because I love both the book and the movie!
And as I was getting ready to head back home, I ran into the owners of Edge and Twelve Bar Lounge, Ashley and Dustin Allen! They said things are going great at both the restaurant and the lounge and I thanked Dustin for that incredible Cheeseburger he made the other week! Great to see both of them!
I’ve wondered this aloud at the Marty Monologues shows and have never gotten an answer…why and how did you come up with the DJ name of juanGoblin?
A friend of mine used to call me "Juan" (for Jon), and one of my favorite bands is an Italian prog band called Goblin. (They scored a bunch of great 70s Italian horror flicks, like Suspiria.) Hence, juanGoblin. I used the name 15 years ago for a musical project and decided to keep it as a DJ.
How long have you been a DJ?
I've been playing records as a DJ for about seven years now. I've been collecting vinyl since the early '90s.
You only spin vinyl, right? How many records are in your collection? Do you have a favorite record store to shop for albums?
I generally only spin vinyl, but I will make an exception for weddings and some special engagements. In that case, if I don't have a specific song on vinyl, I can play the digital version. I have around 9,000 records in my collection. Favorite record shop is Reverberation Vinyl in Normal -- big shoutout to John Anderson over there.
You’ve done different mixes for the Marty Monologues and you did a funk night at Twelve Bar, from where these pictures were taken. Can people suggest a certain genre of music for a party or event and is there any kind of music you won’t play?
I specialize in funk/soul/R&B/disco, but I also play a lot of jazz, old-school hip hop, new wave, classic rock, world psychedelia, blues, etc. I can play almost any genre... but it has to make sense for the event and the crowd. I love doing themed nights (disco night, yacht rock, etc.). The only particular style I refuse to play is BAD music.
What’s the deal with the lava lamp (said in my best Seinfeldian way.)
The lava lamp is just an extra gimmick I like to include. It's fun and it reminds me of the '70s, which is kind of the vibe I go for. What's not to like?
Any upcoming shows? I heard a rumor that you’re going to be appearing at the next Marty Monologues show on October 20th at the Apollo Theatre. (And yes, I’m proud of the fact that I’m shamelessly promoting my own show within this interview!)
Of course I'll be doing the Marty Monologues show on October 20th! You can also catch me at Unum Fine Wine & Whiskey Lounge in Morton this Saturday night. Mark your calendar for the Boogie Night Disco Costume Party at the Contemporary Art Center on August 10th and the First Friday ArtPop Peoria Exhibition at Studios on Sheridan on October 4th. And, I'm happy to say that more dates at the Twelve Bar will be announced very soon! (Check out the Shows page on my website for a complete list of shows! And you can also follow me on facecrack and Twitter.)
What song would you play to close this interview out?
I'm obsessed with Sade right now, so I'm gonna go with "Smooth Operator." As it happens, that was the song I closed out the Twelve Bar with last Friday.
