The show must go on. For a production company called Disco Kitchen, it goes on tonight.

Agata Popęda here with a mix of good and bad news. The bad news is that the fledgling Monterey music production company, Disco Kitchen, that has been operating underground on Tyler Street since at least March 2023 got busted. The good news is Disco Kitchen is not giving up and you can check out their skills as concert organizers as early as tonight, albeit in a different venue (the Stanton Center, at Custom Plaza).

But what exactly happened? “We had complaints about loud music coming from the place, and about people drinking.” says Monterey Police Lt. Jake Pinkas. That being said, the police, though they heard gossip, couldn’t quite figure out “who” and “where,” until Pinkas encountered a post on social media advertising an event on Sunday, Sept 3. 

Disco Kitchen organizers report the group was only shooting a music video in the downtown location. The company is a loose coalition of friends and musicians, desperate to bring a live music venue to Monterey that they find lacking. They feel there's a need, appetite and audience for events with an audience of 300-400, done with the right equipment.

“We knew that there was someone trying to get a permit for the location,” Pinkas says, though he can’t say whether it was Disco Kitchen guys, or someone else. But the bottom line is the Tyler Street location has just one entrance and one exit, and that’s why it qualifies only as a storage location, as Pinkas discovered after reaching out to the City’s Building Permit & Inspection Division. It is not suited for occupancy nor for holding events.

“Once I knew there was no permit, I reached out to ABC,” Pinkas continues. “There was no alcohol permit.” Strike two. 

So on Sunday, Sept. 3, two undercover Monterey Police officers went to Disco Kitchen. Pinkas reports they found a group of people inside. “They were playing music, the bar was set up and they were about to shoot a music video.”

This is where the police and Disco Kitchen’s version of events starts to differ. Pinkas says one of the officers asked for a beer and charged $5 for it via Venmo. Mike, Cowboy and Kelly (the last two are members of Disco Kitchen’s home band, Hella Red) say the beer was free, and that that's what the undercover officer was told when he asked if he could buy one; they say he put a $5 bill into a tip jar. They also have a video that shows the undercover officers having a blast, dancing and waving.

“We identify as Disco Kitchen, not really as individuals,” Cowboy says, explaining why they don’t use their last names publicly in this instance—although there is another reason. “Our regular jobs don’t really know what happened.” 

According to the police, the undercover officers stayed a while to see what evidence they had, and then they called uniformed officers who handed over a citation for selling alcohol without a license. There were no other charges, no one is going to prison and no felony was committed, Pinkas notes. The police investigation is done.

But there is a new chapter starting for Disco Kitchen, and the underground production company is not giving up—instead they’re going aboveground. They are starting a series tonight at the Stanton Center, with live music from 7-11pm. The lineup features Gabi Bravo, a self-taught keyboardist, vocalist and lyricist from Watsonville; Santa Cruz-based band GTRI; and DJ Baby Dizzle. Doors open at 6:30pm and tickets are $20, available via Venmo.

As for the controversial location on Tyler St., for now Disco Kitchen members will use it just as a space to practice. The building once held a music store and has a great tradition of music being cultivated inside, so Harrell and Heerdt are hopeful there is more to come.

“This is just the beginning of our journey,” Mike says.

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