West Coast Blues Society
3629 Martin Luther King Jr Way, Oakland
December 12, 2025
The temperature may have technically been above 32 degrees, but I was freezing my moneymaker off as we hustled past various loitering locals down the litter-strewn sidewalk along Martin Luther King Jr. way. Our destination was Eli's Mile High Club, site of the Street Spirit winter fundraiser party.
For the past 30 years, Street Spirit has been an independent monthly newspaper dedicated to covering homelessness and poverty in the East Bay. The printed publication is written and sold by and for housing insecure people in Berkeley and Oakland.
The vendors who sell the paper don’t pay anything for the papers they sell. According to the publishers, Street Spirit prints 8,000 copies of the paper each month, and all sales proceeds are retained by the vendors themselves.
As I pulled up to the bar and purchased a bourbon, the West Coast Blues Society’s Caravan of Allstars Revue was playing an upbeat instrumental piece on stage. Though missing its entire horn section for a variety of reasons, the Revue did have keyboardist Kenny “Kenny Man” Winters, a long-time Street Spirit vendor.
When the band finished their instrumental, a steady rotation of singers graced the stage, starting with Chief, who led off with a rendition of “Hipshakin Woman.”
After a few more songs, Rooster, aka Mr. Zero, started his set with Bill Withers’ “Who Is He (And What Is He to You)?”
Kenny Man, the vendor/keyboardist, was featured playing and singing Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give it Up.”
Then, Detroit’s DeJeana Burkes grabbed the mic. She hit a homer with “You Can Have My Husband (But Please Don't Mess With My Man).” Then, with what was perhaps the evening’s only ballad, she followed with Etta James’ “I’d Rather Go Blind.”
Bay Area legend Fillmore Slim closed out the live performance portion of the evening with several uptempo numbers, including Stevie Wonder’s “Superstitious.” Chief joined him on stage for a few more upbeat songs before the ensemble finished with a dance-party inducing “Make it Funky.”
Scarce when I arrived, the mixed but mostly white crowd steadily grew throughout the night. Similarly, the dance floor had been empty until the James Brown classic made it not.
As the crowd swelled, Street Spirit Director Alastair Boone took the stage to introduce several vendors. Vernon Dailey, a vendor and a contributing writer as well, said he felt blessed to have a car and studio apartment now, thanks to his involvement with the paper. He is now working on a book. Charles Dollar, Sr., a handyman from Berkeley, lost his job when his car was wrecked by a driver who ran a red light. He spoke of how vital Street Spirit is. “It helps some of us get off the streets.”
Taylor Del Rosario of Richmond, Jimbo the Hobo from the Albany Bulb, and Joel Scott from Oakland also spoke, followed by Editor Bradley Penner, who hitchhiked to the East Bay at 18. He said that getting involved with the publication helped get him off the streets of Berkeley.
Then, the electronic dance party started. Curated by NO BIAS DJs Bored Lord, RITCHARD, and bastiengoat, they got moneymakers shakin’.
Out in the fresh air on the back patio (Eli’s has apparently resolved their issues with city building inspectors), patrons braved the cold temps to sit down at the picnic tables and semi-private “booths” and play pool.
There was also printmaking by the Poster Syndicate of San Francisco, a Street Spirit merch table, and a silent auction. I grabbed some t-shirts and my plus one tried to win some Oakland Ballers’ tickets, but was outbid. Nonetheless a great time with funds raised for a great cause.
