IT’S BEEN A LONG, hard summer for Next Door (and for fans of the nightclub). The last you heard, Next Door was closed indefinitely for some hashing out of a few logistical issues. Here’s the latest: Co-owner and the face of the place Chris Kahunahana said today that the club will be open on a special-occasion basis for the next six months or so. What does that mean for you? It means that you can get your Next Door fix in small doses.

Next Door will be open tomorrow from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. for downtown’s First Friday festivities. It will host a poster art show and sale, and Chris even managed to get a temporary liquor license, so it’s full bar Friday. It’ll be like old times.

As for the future, Chris said he’s working with a few new financial partners to make the place what it was always meant to be: a fully functional multi-media space, complete with a mezzanine, stage and booming sound system.

Chris is also planning to be open Halloween night, and you can bet the place will go off like it always does.

I’M PICKING UP WHERE I LEFT OFF last time in the series of Next Door updates. I said I would try and get some solid info on the relocation of Next Door’s most popular ongoing events and this is what I know:

Kaleidoscope
The Tuesday night weekly is now happening at the Loft. Same time, same theme, different venue.

Acid Wash Wednesday
There were rumors that the Wednesday Night ’80s party was going to be relocated (and it was, for one night, at Indigo) but that’s not the case. The name “Acid Wash,” as it applies to the party, is a registered to Next Door and cannot be used by any other entity lest they find themselves in the middle of a lawsuit. So, long story short: Acid Wash is no more. At least for now.

Camera Obscura
DJ Nocturna, the superwoman behind this ultra popular monthly goth event, says she’s moving operations to The Loft. Camera Obscura happens the first Saturday of the month. Nocturna is really diligent about updating the Camera Obscura MySpace page, so a quick visit to the site will keep you in the loop.

Showdown in Chinatown
SIC is taking this month off to allow its regulars (and its organizers, no doubt) to compete in the annual 48-Hour Film Project. The national  traveling competition makes its Honolulu stop on the weekend of August 15. For more info on the event or to enter the competition, click here. SIC will return to the fast-paced world of shoot-and-burn film Sept. 13.

As for one-time events, the only thing scheduled to happen at Next Door was a Little Brother concert on August 16, which has been moved to the Loft.

IT HAD BEEN ANNOUNCED after last month’s closure, that Next Door would reopen Friday for this month’s First Friday festivities. Anyone who was downtown Friday looking forward to getting their ND fix, knows the place was still closed.

ND co-founder and co-owner Chris Kahunahana said he was unable to complete the renovation in time to reopen as scheduled, and that the nightclub will remain closed at least for a few more months while Kahunahana reapplies for their liquor license. In the meantime, he says the space will host specific events (like art and fashion shows and film screenings, which will likely be BYOB events) but it won’t keep regular nightly business hours.

Kahunahana says he will use the down time to reestablish ND’s original vision, which was to make the place more than just a popular nightclub. It was intended to be a multi-media space that would foster music, art, film and culture, in addition to being the go-to party spot. Consider this a returning-to-its-roots phase, a rediscovery.

Word on the street is that ND’s weekly events will be moved to other venues, but that hasn’t yet been confirmed. I’ll keep you posted on any updates I receive.

AFTER A SUDDEN CLOSURE TUESDAY night, rumors about why Chi-town club Next Door closed its doors were spreading faster than you could say the gentrification of Chinatown.

Event promoters who have regular gigs at the Hotel Street haunt said Wednesday that they had heard the place had been shut down because of some undisclosed violation of a Liquor Commission code, but people affiliated with the club were saying it wasn’t as serious as all that. Turns out both sides were right.

This is what we know:

•Initially, the folks at Next Door weren’t saying anything at all. Then they released an unofficial statement yesterday saying that they had closed because they were having sound problems and that they would reopen tomorrow in time for First Friday.

•A report issued June 6 by the Liquor Commission stated that Next Door has been put on probation. Liquor Commission administrator Dewey Kim said that the club is indeed having sound problems — and neighbor problems. Kim said there have been, and continue to be, complaints about the club’s noise level, prompting the probation. During the probation period of six months, commission officials will make routine visits to the club to monitor its sound levels. He said the commission did not order the club to close, and that Next Door has been making an effort to solve its sound problems by hiring a sound engineer and making improvemnets to the air conditioning system, which helps to buffer the sound.

•At 3:15 today, Next Door issued an official statement saying that it will be closed until August 1 for renovation. The statement said:

The venue will be working on some improvements including adding more air conditioning, re-doing interior decoration, and re-organizing and improving the sound system.
As we approach our 3rd anniversary, we want to improve the quality in ambiance, sound, and our entertainment … All in-house promotions including Acid Wash Wednesday, Chinatown Sessions, and Chinatown Social Club will be postponed until August. These events will NOT be moved to another venue.

It’s still not clear why the club decided to close so suddenly and without notice. Phone calls to Next Door staff members have not been returned.

DJ Nocturna is this city’s queen of the night. She’s been hosting gothic-themed events around town for years and has just secured a regular monthly spot at Next Door for her “Camera Obscura” party. She works the turntable at her events and hosts the KTUH show, “A Feast of Friends” Saturdays from 6–9 p.m.
The April installment of Camera Obscura happens this Saturday at Next Door. Doors open at 9 p.m., $10 at the door, 21+.

1.Where are you right now?
We are always in a constant state of becoming. I think I am constantly growing, changing and evolving to where I want to be.

2. What is the last album you bought or downloaded?
Bauhaus’ newest release and first studio recording since 1983 called Go Away White.

3. What song always makes you dance?
I love to dance to many songs but one song that really moves me is The Cult’s “Wildflower” or any of the new wave, alternative ’80s/dark ’80s and old-school industrial.

4. What is the last book you read?
Camera Obscura I did last month indulged me to read Arthur Schnitzler’s Dream Story, the literary inspiration behind director Stanley Kubrick’s last film, Eyes Wide Shut.

5. What are the most overrated bands of all time?
Taking the term “overrated” … for me when a band becomes “overrated,” they’re becoming mainstream or appreciated by the majority. There’s nothing wrong with that because they’re making money, they’re popular and that’s probably where they want to be. Sometimes they don’t have control over becoming overrated. They put out a good tune and people like it. It gets attention from everyone. We may or may not all necessarily like their music, but we may like or appreciate what they stand for.

As being part of the KTUH family, we support the underground/alternative music scene and play the music of bands that don’t necessarily get the opportunity to be heard. They have a unique sound, great lyrics and an interesting history and philosophy behind them.

However, not all bands that are popular are overrated. David Bowie, for example may appeal to a wide audience. Perhaps his most popular album once upon a time and one that would instantly be recognizable to most people is Let’s Dance, and I like the album because some tracks are danceable and I play it at Acid Wash, but the early works of David Bowie, are probably his finest to me and also appreciated by another type of audience. Is David Bowie mainstream? Not the Ziggy Stardust I know or the Spiders from Mars.

6. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?
I’m very happy being in Honolulu but I also love to travel. Traveling to a foreign country or visiting places I’ve been to before have always been the happiest times of my life. If I could be anywhere in the world right now, I would say anywhere in Europe. To be more specific, London. Probably in the tube during rush hour and listening to a recording, a voice with an English accent, which plays before the next stop: “Mind the gap” and waiting to get off to the freezing English rain, wearing a black leather jacket, holding an umbrella in one hand and a concert ticket in the other.

7. You’re running for president. Who’s your running mate?
Someone intelligent, loyal and with a good sense of humor. Someone who is not afraid to speak up for what he or she believes in, who shares the same morals, same values, same principles, same work ethics and same vision. Someone accountable. Someone driven by passion, just like me. Someone who is like me in many ways, but yet not identical because I need someone who can give me a different insight, opinions and views of the political issues and of the current events of the world. Someone complementary. Like colors, complementary colors make a strange pair. They are opposite, yet they require each other. They incite each other to maximum vividness when they are together.

8. What’s in your refrigerator?
A bottle of Propel invigorating water beverage
Several water bottles 16oz
1 Red Bull
A box of pure baking soda
A bag of sugar
1 papaya
A bag of apples and oranges
Pesto sauce
A bottle of flax oil
A bottle of relish
A bottle of pickles
Ketchup
Mustard
Butter
Eggs
Mayonnaise
Asiago Aged Cheese
Natural Monterey Jack Cheese
Cheddar
Mozzarella

9. What’s your guiltiest pleasure?
My mother’s homemade, deliciously scrumptious and delectable meals.

10. Complete the sentence: I want to…
… evolve to a higher state of being to become a better person.