Houston's Unique HUSH Club is Making Profitable Noise

By Taylor Rau

When the sleek, black, stretched and speaker-laden 2002 Cadillac limousine, en route from Las Vegas to Houston, pulled in to the tumbleweed-friendly Nevada desert diner, the people there just didn't know what –– or who –– to expect. They, just as the people of Houston would soon discover, only knew that there was nothing at all quiet about the name this limo, its owners, and the new 25,000-square-foot club signage tout: HUSH.

Located on busy (in fact, soon to be a traffic-capable record at 24-lanes) Katy Freeway outside of bustling Houston, the illuminated column exterior of the mega-club beckons an estimated 300,000-plus passersby daily to pull in, maybe valet, and stay for a night of light-, sound-, dance- and premium-spirits-infused fun.

The vibrant lighting effects and sunken dance floor alone entice thousands of gung ho guests each weekend, all eager to experience what this pioneer of Houston nightlife has to offer in the way of parties and pure, unbridled entertainment.

Step inside and look around –– see for yourself. There's no doubt that Houston's HUSH is making plenty of noise.

Party Monster

“What started out as general conversation (with partner and longtime friend Kevin Johnson), was two and a half years later this all-out nightclub,” says Co-CEO Dan DesChamps. “Simple ideas and conversation led to this monster.”

And a monster this mega-club is. DesChamps and Johnson trotted the globe to put some reconnaissance behind their visions, traveling to Las Vegas, L.A., Florida, New York, Cleveland, Cancun and Paris.

“We were pretty much all over the U.S.,” DesChamps says. What did they discover? They wanted a club of their own and didn't want it to be upstaged by others, they said. But, after interviewing several designers, the duo's development was destined to be a project solely their own.

“We went through several designers,” DesChamps says, “but in the end we chose none of them. We wanted a contemporary industrial design, which they said wasn't practical or fitting in terms of layout, flow and design. So, we just designed it ourselves.”

The result of going with that gut feeling is an edgy environment with no fuzzy elements but rather a clean and seamless flow of settings, traffic and eye-appealing guest amenities.   The $7.5 million, three-floor behemoth –– two floors plus an elevator for the third-floor VIP Mezzanine –– is inviting largely because of its effective lighting and stray-from-the-norm décor, say DesChamps and Johnson.

“Before HUSH, there were a lot of clubs you'd go to in the downtown area to hang out, but they were all really small for the most part,” Johnson says, “and people would tend to drift from club to club … I think the impact we gave is a larger, more Vegas/Miami style of club –– a destination.”

From the moment guests walk through the door, they accordingly are greeted with ambient lighting and attention to patron-friendly detail –– an example being an entryway replete with a plush, crescent-shaped sofa containing color-washing fiber optic lights sewn into the top of its backrest.

Effective Effects

Highlights begin in the meet-and-greet waiting area and descend two curving ramps into the open front bar, which — especially at night — overlooks the traffic on the highway with its own glow from a tall, backlit bottle display in which 96 bottles slowly rotate under a color wash. From there, guests step down onto the 2,300-square-foot dance floor, surrounded by stage areas and an invigorating row of 16 Mach Ballister subs, where the music, magic and momentum take place.

“It was a huge job, but we felt it was important to put the dance floor on a different level to create that feeling of space,” DesChamps says. “With the sunken dance floor, the club is actually on about eight different levels.”

So, even with the action and energy on the dance floor, one can't help but look up at HUSH's magnificent lighting, on which $1.5 million was invested. The futuristic, spider-like truss –– suspended nearly 42 feet above the floor –– is the result of collaboration with HUSH's Technical Director Mike Guttman, Austin, Texas-based Creative Production & Design and Martin Professional's Dave Chesal, entertainment and leisure segment manager, and team. The finished product has double articulation in each truss arm, which allows it to raise up and down on a whim –– also good for suspending a disco ball or dancer's cage, for example. Two hundred forty LED lights that circle its concentric rings also round out its plethora of strobes and scanners.

“There's enough audio on this dance floor for a 5,000-person outdoor show,” Chesal muses.

All told, HUSH features more than 400,000 watts of power, and it has more than 76 plasma and video screen monitors for displaying the HUSH logo and/or surreal video imagery, such as a bird's-eye view fly-through of the downtown Houston skyline. Additionally, eight 12-by-9 foot video screens are mounted to the ceiling with projectors to create a unique video ceiling for patron entertainment and lighting enhancement.

Those fun- and finance-garnering features continue into HUSH's razor-sharp DJ booth, an organized conglomeration of equipment located on the second floor. Here, a Martin Maxxyz lighting control console –– paired with an 18-inch Mach M181T sub and two full-range Mach M12Ts –– function as booth monitors to ensure that the sound and lighting for the main floor integrate smoothly. Powersoft amp racks also are tucked neatly under the stairs leading up to the third floor. VIPs on the mezzanine have the pleasure of watching this high-tech display wherein lighting effects are monitor-displayed to a DJ and a coordinator moments before they appear to the crowd, so that the music and effects can be real-time adjusted for maximum crowd enjoyment.

Even the Bathrooms

Even the main, downstairs bathrooms in HUSH are conversation starters. Creatively implemented by Johnson and DesChamps, when the light level in the bathroom exceeds the level in the bar area, a large mirror lit with LyteTrak Light Bars (separating the two rooms) becomes transparent, giving guests in the bar a peek into the dual-gender primping zone. Additionally, LED lights for each of the bathroom stalls indicate whether the space is occupied, and each stall is fiber-optically lit from above to give each guest his or her own, private light show.

If this isn't enough to please, a nearby bathroom attendant also is on-hand with a display of various cigarette brands and other toiletries, available for sale and convenience.

Raising the Bar

HUSH operators aim to please at the bar as much. The clean, chrome-accented lines of the club lend themselves to 258 linear feet of bar in the club, a key to maintaining smooth traffic flow. No matter how packed the club gets, there is still plenty of elbow room and room for guests to relax with their drinks and friends away from the dance floor, Johnson says. A 4,000-square-foot outdoor, tropical-decorated patio also allows for fresh air and beverage enjoyment.

Inside bar service is sped up by utilizing AZBAR Premix Serving Technology –– a computer-controlled device that enables bartenders to make a consistent, quality cocktail in less than a second. Waitresses also use hand-held palm pilots to take orders, never having to leave their service area(s), as drink runners work as cocktail catalysts. What cocktail, beer or wine label guests choose may take them more time, however. HUSH plays host to a wide portfolio of brands and spirit styles –– perhaps non-traditional for a hard-hitting, full-on nightclub, DesChamps says.

“It's Louie on down … Cristal, Cabs, Chards –– you name it, odds are we have it. In traveling, my grievance with other clubs I visited was that often they didn't have a full selection. At HUSH, it's a nightclub, but you can get a bottle of Jordan cabernet.”

He and Johnson say this appeals widely to the club's spectrum of guests, who median in the mid-to-late 20s but range from 21- to 60-years-old.

On Target

These Wednesday-Saturday adventurers may all come to HUSH for one primary reason –– to have an incredible time –– but it's safe to say they didn't all become aware of the club by one method.

Johnson, DesChamps, Marketing Director Kelli Lineé and Director of Operations Jay X take the beverage spectrum approach to the venue's marketing as well.

When HUSH went live in August 2003 to the massive Houston populous, step one was raising as much awareness as possible. Television, newspaper, direct mailing –– television spots –– launched it into the limelight.

“We just wanted to blast the city, which we did,” DesChamps says. “We pretty much just attacked this town.” Today's result? HUSH has become a household name in the Houston and surrounding areas. Johnson says it is common for people to drive an hour and a half or more to the club for a night (morning with a 3 a.m. close) of revelry.

“I always see fresh faces because of our size and because of distance drivers,” Johnson says. “Radio had a large part in that, I think, but we'll see guests come in from Austin, Galveston, Clear Lake, Corpus Christi…”

This now translates into a marketing reposition. Goals have shifted toward targeted marketing; the shotgun is being steadily replaced in favor of the laser beam.

DesChamps cites as an example that there are 600,000 people currently living within a 10-square-mile radius of HUSH. Knowing that, the club's marketing team is doing demographic research, such as per capita income. Take those aged 21-45 within 10 miles who earn more $75,000 or more per year, DesChamps says, and invite them to come in for a special event –– make regulars of them. For example, take HUSH's recent FLAUNT party. Deem 12,000 potential guests demographically desirable, invite 8,000 of those and anticipate a return of 2,000, DesChamps says. This sets up the program for future revenue resource.

What makes this strategy even more interesting and feasible is the HUSH team's teams. Indeed, the department is sub-divided into small focus groups who concentrate their efforts to individual promotional nights. For planning weekends and large special events, everyone comes back together. DesChamps says it's boosted concentration, productivity, guest traffic and corporate party interest as a result.

“We kind of stumbled into this mode of marketing, because in meetings, we were all over the map. This newer setup we have works very well.”

E-mail and flyer street teams help to get the buzz going once promotions are mapped out. Standard by scheduling standards, HUSH's Wednesday College Night, Thursday Latin/International Night and Friday Singles Mingle/Ladies' Night bring guests in by the thousands. Saturdays typically are all-out dance nights, DesChamps says. When the 400,000 watts of   power kick in and intricate lighting effects and superlative sound begin, he and Johnson say the weekend has arrived.

Hush Hosts

What aids in the marketing of this action, though, is that HUSH has something for everyone. It's over-the-top without being overbearing, DesChamps says. Whether the after-work business crowd is enjoying the club's   4-7:30 p.m. Happy Hour, VIPs are playing Xbox on plasma TV screens in the upper mezzanine, or a group of 20-somethings are cutting loose to the latest dance tracks, HUSH hosts.

“I think we were playing catch up with the other major cities, but for HUSH to have come along when it did was perfect timing,” says patron and former heavyweight boxing champion Reggie Johnson. “It's a landmark in itself. It's like the U.N. –– it brings all types of people together … it's something new and different, giving the people of Houston what they've been seeing in L.A., Miami and New York.”

Dave Chesal says, “HUSH is a very important club that goes beyond Texas. There's nothing like it in America. It has put Houston on the map worldwide as a destination location for clubgoers.”             NCB