Motown On Mondays is moving to The Continental, Bar, Lounge and Patio, with it’s first weekly party scheduled for Monday, May 11.

The the future location of the popular Monday-night party had uncertain—or at least officially uncertain—since the local DJ crew behind the local MOM branch, the MOM SJ Players, abruptly announced it would no longer be spinning at 55 South, the first San Jose home of the nationwide franchise.

Comprising members of three local collectives—BVMO, The Bangerz, and Universal Grammar—the MOM SJ Players took to Instagram to make the announcement they will be taking up residence at The Continental:

MONDAY MAY 11th! Join the #MOMSJPlayers at their new home at The Continental, as they celebrate their 1 year anniversary. Special guests will be in the house, as well as your faithful MOMSJPlayers to bring you the real dynamite soul you love. More info coming soon! Follow @mom_sanjose on IG/Twitter for all the latest! #MotownOnMondays #MOMSJ #MOMSJPlayers #MOMFam #ReturnOfTheReal

A video posted by McGillicutty Ranks (@cutso) on Apr 20, 2015 at 12:01pm PDT

Motown on Mondays (MOM) is not unique to San Jose. In fact, the brand stretches from coast to coast—with official MOM parties held in major U.S. cities, including San Francisco, Oakland, L.A., Denver, Chicago and Brooklyn, every Monday night.

Word of an impending move became public on March 23, after DJ Cutso (of The Bangerz and MOM SJ Players), along with Shea Butter (of BVMO and MOM SJ Players), each posted messages to social media announcing that the MOM SJ Players were done performing at 55 South’s Motown On Mondays party, which had been going strong for about a year.

Paul Chun, owner of 55 South, claimed that he had the rights to throw the Motown On Mondays party in San Jose; the MOM SJ Players disputed that claim, but declined to comment in detail on the matter.

Asked about Motown On Mondays moving to The Continental, Chun said he had no comment.

A dispute erupted early Monday between 55  South and the MOM SJ Players—who together have been producing the popular Motown on Mondays weekly party in San Jose for a little more than a year now.

The first signs of trouble came this morning, when members of the MOM SJ Players—a collective of local DJs and producers—announced that they will no longer be spinning Motown-influenced dance music at 55 South, as they have every Monday for the past year.

Today at 9:40 a.m, DJ Shea Butter—a member of BVMO and the MOM SJ Players—wrote on Facebook: “Due to circumstances beyond our control, effective today, the #MOMSJPlayers will no longer be playing at 55 South on Monday nights. Please stay tuned as this situation develops.”

Following suit, DJ Cutso, a member of the Bangerz and the MOM SJ Players, announced via Twitter in a since-deleted tweet that his group would not be performing tonight:

Effective immediately, the #MOMSJPlayers will no longer be playing at 55 South on Monday nights. Stay tuned. #MotownOnMondays #SanJose

— Cutso (@cutso) March 23, 2015

However, the party isn’t going anywhere, says 55 South owner Paul Chun.

“Motown lives, buddy!” Chun said. “It’s just a parting of ways, a changing of the guard.”

Motown on Mondays (MOM) is not unique to San Jose. In fact, the brand stretches from coast to coast—with official MOM parties held in major U.S. cities, including San Francisco, Oakland, L.A., Denver, Chicago and Brooklyn, every Monday night.

Chun said that he has some new DJs lined up to play tonight’s Motown on Mondays party. He added that he has the rights to produce the Motown on Mondays party locally—a claim at least one member of the MOM SJ Players disputes.

Metro reached out to Thomas Ramon Aguilar for comment. In addition to running the locally based live-music production house, Universal Grammar, Aguilar is also a member of the MOM SJ Players—along with members of the BVMO and Bangerz crews.

“We are in limbo right now,” Aguilar wrote in an email. “I cannot comment on this beyond that.

“I can comment more on the subject of the 55 South vs MOM SJ once things have settled.  At this time, both parties have lawyered up. … We own the brand for SJ made permissible by the MOM owners.”

Chun emailed Metro a copy of what he said is the final contract between 55 South and MOM DJs & Events. Chun said that the agreement stipulates that 55 South may choose to end a relationship with a group of DJs.

“Any issues between local DJs and their respective venue should be resolved between those two parties and should not reflect upon the MOM brand or management,” the document states. “MOM DJs are instructed to respect all rules and wishes of their respective venue, or otherwise be terminated by either venue management or MOM DJs & Events.”

Chun said that he reached an impasse with the MOM SJ Players over how the individual performers would be taxed for their services, for which they were paid.

“I have nothing bad to say about these guys. They’re all great guys. We had a great year,” Chun said. “But when it comes to the brand, I’m the one that went out and licensed the party. They can say whatever they want to. At this point, they opted out. They quit.

“For them saying that this party is done is totally off-base.”

Metro reached DJ Cutso by phone but he refused to comment in detail. “This issue is unresolved, and I have no comments at this time,” he said.

Aguilar wrote in an email that “even though 55 South owners are still promoting the event tonight, who ever DJs this has not been approved by the MOM brand owners (Gordo Cabeza, Madrone, SF), or us.”

Reached by email, DJ Donovan Gordo Cabeza, co-founder of Motown On Mondays, declined to go into detail. “Will get back to you as soon as all the details are in, everything at this point is just heresy,” he wrote.

Metro will update as more details become available.

A well-dressed yet casual crowd of varied age sips craft cocktails as they’re serenaded by the timeless voice of Marvin Gaye. While the legendary crooner’s delivery remains untouched, he’s supported by a hip-hop backdrop, complete with booming 808 kick. It seemed like the day’s rain may scare some away, but it’s 10:30pm on a Monday and 55 South is full.

Though just five weeks old, San Jose’s edition of the nationwide weekly dance party Motown On Mondays (MOM) has been a runaway success.

MOM has become a Monday institution in cities as varied as Austin, Oakland and Honolulu since first launching at Madrone Art Bar in San Francisco in 2009. Using the celebrated Motown label and its signature sound as a launch pad, the party re-examines a key period of American popular music by presenting originals alongside more contemporary remixes and close relatives of the sound.

“That’s the great thing about us: With all the MOMs, you have people from different walks of life giving their interpretation and their experience of what they think the music is,” says local DJ the CME, one of MOM SJ’s resident DJs.

San Jose’s eclectic roster of DJ covers all approaches, with some focusing on classics and others providing a more contemporary approach based around remixes.

Though Paolo “Cutso” Bello was the major force behind MOM’s expansion into San Jose, which he admits hit hyper-drive a month before its March 10 debut, the idea to pursue a Motown-related event had been bouncing around for close to two years.

Previously, Bello and fellow MOM SJ resident Tommy Aguilar (DJ Chatos1013) paired to present a string of successful one-off tribute parties at Pagoda Lounge. After nights dedicated to Prince, Michael Jackson and the Native Tongues crew, Motown was next on the list.

When Bello became a resident with MOM’s LA chapter, he was asked about the possibility of bringing the party to San Jose. At the time, the problem was finding the right venue.

Enter 55 South. When co-owner Paul Chun attended a MOM SF event two and a half months back, he was immediately inspired. He knew the party would fit the aesthetic of his spot.

“When I walked in, it just struck a chord,” he recalls. “I’ve been doing this for so long that you know when somebody’s doing something that’s unique and really catches people.”

Bello pitched him the MOM SJ idea shortly thereafter, and Chun was more than eager to make it happen. While 55 South wasn’t the only space Bello pitched, they were definitely the most enthusiastic.

“He was really putting everything on the table,” Bello says, remembering Chun’s enthusiasm for the idea. When MOM’s founders provide their blessing for the space, Bello rushed to finalize plans. Two weeks later, the party made its debut.

While Bello expected the night to be a “sure shot,” he didn’t expect its rise to be so meteoric. “What place in San Jose has a line going outside on a Monday night?” he says. “Not since Cactus Club have you seen something like that.”

Lowrider Oldies

San Jose’s connection to soul music may seem curious to some, but both Bello and Aguilar trace it back to the city’s ties to lowrider culture.

“Chicanos and that whole culture embraced soul music,” notes Bello. “Also, if you have a relationship with hip-hop, you have a relationship with Motown, whether you like it or not.”

Aguilar elaborates: “Mariachis and Motown—that sums it up right there. It was the main part of the soundtrack for that community. We embrace it as our own.”

Thanks to the fame of the MOM brand—and what all parties involved describe as a need for a format outside the typical club top 40—MOM SJ has found instant success.

“It’s a 50/50 thing: There’s definitely people that want to go out and hear this music, and there’s definitely DJs that want to play this music,” says MOM SJ resident SheaButter. “That’s where it’s a team effort.”

Resident DJs:

Cutso (The Bangerz)
DJ Dstrukt (BVMO)
Shea Butter (BVMO)
SmoovGroovs (BVMO)
DJ Quantum (Headhunters)
The C.M.E. (Slapnasties)
Chatos 1013 (Ungramr)

Hosted by Dandiggity (PLSTK)

Mowtown on Mondays is every Monday at 55 South. More info.