In two weeks, Caps and I are celebrating three years of DJing, dancing, drinking, toilet breaking, crowd surfing, beer spraying, strip teases, snowball fights and Fast Times at Savalas in Brooklyn. If you enjoy any of the above, you would do well to attend. No excuses! I’m flying across the country for this.
Meanwhile, I’m a week into a five-month stint interning at an organic farm in the Sierrar Nevada in California. There will be a big, hearty post on that when I get my camera, because my words will not do it justice. It’s really beautiful and I’m having a grand ol’ time. Spent this morning down by the river panning for gold. Nuf said.
Finally, be sure to check out the C&J summer barbeque mix for Krudmart. It went live last Friday and has already been downloaded over 10,000 times. Holy smokes! Tracklisting:
rush - spirit of radio
the fixx - one thing leads to another
cyndi lauper - she-bop
flock of seagulls - space age love song
head east - never been any reason
thin lizzy - jailbreak
kansas - carry on my wayward son
black sabbath - behind the wall of sleep
joe walsh - life’s been good to me so far
blue oyster cult - godzilla
weezer - the world has turned
sonic youth - teenage riot
dinosaur jr - freak scene
blondie - hangin on the telephone
the clash - remote control
tom petty - yer so bad
the cyrkle - red rubber ball
joe walsh - in the city
As an added bonus, it fits snugly onto an 80 minute CD with our XMU mix from last summer. Bring the heat to your next barbeque, bonfire, beach party, or bake sale.
The trip to Toronto was epic! Friday was a huge bro-down in Buffalo during which I violated my vegetarianism twice, hump-danced an entire dance floor to life, fell several times, and pressed my bare ass to the window of Krudmart. Saturday I was remarkably un-hungover and free to fully enjoy a tasty pre-party dinner in my friend Naeel’s penthouse, a gnarly event both in name and in action, and an afterparty that stretched until 7:30 AM. Even the ride back was action packed: a flat tire that saved us from getting a speeding ticket (or enough sleep) and an impossibly bright, HUGE double rainbow - at the same time! It was so surreal, maybe the second full rainbow I’ve seen in my life. And I guess the third, too! Too bad I left my digital camera in Toronto…
And now I’m back “home” in New Jersey. Why the quotation marks? Well, what with the road trip and all I haven’t felt like I’ve had a proper home in a while, and I still don’t know where I’ll be settling when all’s said and done. Furthermore, my mom just took a new job in Chicago (congratulations, ma!) and the house is going up on the market ASAP. My two-week trip back east, which was supposed to be spent lazing about and visiting flea markets, has turned into a madcap journey through the spacetime of my amassed possessions from the first 24 years of my life as I pack for the imminent relocation.
I’ve spent the last couple days trying to isolate the truly indispensable items in my library, music collection, and wardrobe: the special somethings that tug at my scrap of a sentimental side, the future heirlooms, the rarities that I’m too selfish to cast into the hands of strangers, and most frequently the scattered but truly awesome cultural artifacts that I intend to revisit frequently throughout the foreseeable future.
Most of my CDs already got the axe before my road trip. They’re by and large impersonal and soulless objects that serve, to me at least, merely as unworthy vessels for the sweet sounds stored on their shiny surfaces. Records I’m a bit more fond of, but most of my acquisitions were made in the mindset of a DJ, not a listener, and in the Serato era most of my collection is completely obsolete: 12″ singles of songs I’ve long since ripped or downloaded, mediocre LPs purchased for a single dancefloor-worthy song, classic albums scarred from years of poor treatment. The product of 10-odd years and countless - probably thousands - of hours acquiring and accumulating reduced to so much dead weight.
As I mentioned previously, I don’t consider myself especially sentimental, particularly regarding objects. The hours of searching, and the brief moments of glee upon finding the sought-after, are far more valuable than the paper and plastic itself, and they are in unlimited supply for the rest of my life. The time spent amassing the collection can’t be sold off, nor can it be preserved by retaining the records. The music itself sounds just as good, at least to my non-audiophile ears, emanating from a far more portable and convenient digital device. Hell I’m even selling one of my turntables. I’m retaining what looks to be about ten percent: The upper echelon, the grade A material. Once you start getting A’s on tests, you take the B’s off the fridge, nahmean? These are the albums I love to listen to all the way through and are too rare or too cool or too beautiful to isolate from their vinyl into strings of ones and zeroes.
The books are getting the same treatment: unless the content is profound or beautiful or personal enough to justify it constantly being within arm’s reach, it’s getting shipped. Towns build libraries so that I don’t have to.
What does all this mean? Nothing really. Just trying to get in the habit of writing here more. I wish I had that damn camera, because this is a lot of text to slog through with no breaks. If you made it this far, I thank you for your vigilance.
Well, this has been a long time comin’ and it’ll be a short time here. I’ve spent the last 6 weeks or so in California, DJing, uhhh… you know, just doing California stuff, dig? That’s the short answer. The long answer’s too darn long. The past is a grotesque animal, not unlike our gun toting rabbit friend up there. Let us move forward!
Tomorrow I’m flying “home” to New Jersey for a couple weeks. I’ll be in and around NJ, NY, and PA so let’s hang out!
The Honorable DJ Caps and I are going to be reunited for the first time in four months, working on new mixes and playing drug-themed songs with Cousin Cole and Dougie Boom in Toronto:
Sneaky Dee’s is at 431 College Street and at past events have been quite buck.
OTHER C+J MUSIC FACTORY NEWS:
Caps recently wrapped up an 80-minute Aaliyah tribute mix for The Fader Magazine to compliment their special issue commemorating the tenth anniversary of Baby Girl’s untimely passing. The issue’s on stands now, and the mix should be available any day now on the Fader site. It is an outstanding mix, epic and understated, that you will listen to loud and often this summer.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe, Modular has uploaded the podcast (or, “Modcast”) I made for them last year. I consider the delay my procrastinatorial comeuppance. Check it out if you haven’t already, or if you want to see how the file sounds upside down.
DJ Tom Hanks, bka Red Matt, has been one of my best friends for 8 years now. We met in high school at some weird overachievers conference our schools sent us to. I saw him one day and asked, “You bought the new Radiohead album (Kid A) the day it came out, didn’t you?” His response was “I skipped the first three periods so i could get it and listen to it the whole way through.” Done deal. The man has good taste!
However, he doesn’t have much software savvy, so while staying with him in LA (I’m in San Francisco now, you didn’t know?) I helped him record this demo mix. The ideas are all his, I just acted as engineer to piece things together. As in high school, he’s on top of his new music game. I hadn’t heard the majority of these songs before, and I think they’re swell. LA partygoers should definitely watch for him on bills around town, especially if, like myself, you’re sick of nights of relentless electronoise, and LA promoters should put him on!
DJ Tom Hanks The Pigeonkiller
Hot Chip - Made In The Dark
Foreign Born - Union Hall
Panthers - Goblin City (Holy Ghost Disco Dub)
Black Mountain - Bright Lights
Crystal Castles - Crimewave
Glass Candy - Beatific
Hail Social - Cherry Cola Funk (STA Mix)
MGMT - Kids
Holy Fuck - Royal Gregory
Dan Deacon - Wham City
Blaqstarr - Smack
Santo Gold - Creator (Scottie B Mix)
The Tough Alliance - Neo Violence
The Shocking Pinks - How Am I Not Myself
Clipse - Wamp Wamp (Co.Fee Remix)
Ninjasonik vs. The Death Set - Negative Thinking About Tight Pants
Jay Reatard - It’s So Useless
The Exploding Hearts - Your Shadow
Shellac - Copper
More music on the way! Working on a mix with Bay Slayer Vin Sol, one for Black Sheep Skate Shop in Charlotte, an all 45s tape, and the long long long awaited Caps and Jones full length, which just might get finished this year. We’ll see. Did I mention I’m in San Francisco? Only til tomorrow though…
It’s me! Kickin’ ass and taking names! Speaking of taking names, be sure to RSVP to danceright@gmail.net to ensure admission. Thanks to Matt, Devin, and Pube$ with a dollar sign.
Really just an excuse to show off the new headphones I crafted in the wake of the Atlanta Technics Explosion, and to share this amazing track with an Easter Bunny reference:
Two posts in two days! I’m on a roll!
Visited my aunt and uncle and cousins in Augusta, Georgia. They’re super-sweet. Thanks so much!
Huge stash of pristine soul and funk 45s. Serious heaviness forthcoming.
A night and a day in New Orleans with a couple hospitable girls from couchsurfing.com. Free Po’ Boys! Beautiful town.
A visit to my friend Ayres’ family farm in Natchez, Mississippi. So awesome. Didn’t talk for like 24 hours.
A few days with my friend Dustin in Houston. Multiple house parties and a Death Set concert across the parking lot from his apartment. Played a grown and sexy set at The Flat with the gracious DJ Sun.
Austin for my first SXSW. DJed too much, didn’t hear enough bands. Lesson learned. Saw my dad, plus tons of friends from all over the country. If the festival lasted six months, I wouldn’t need to take the road trip. Highlights: The Death Set, David Banner, The Homosexuals, The Tough Alliance, Amanda Blank, Devin The Dude, and Sabbath In The Park.
Headed west with my friend Matt, who I met during a Law Conference in High School. A night in El Paso and a morning in Juarez. Virtually uneventful, but I’d never been to Mexico before. Unsurprisingly, the huevos rancheros and margaritas were supreme.
Two nights camping at the Grand Canyon. 20 degrees. Turned my SXSW cough into a full-blown cold. Still hiked 13 miles.
My dad got us a room at the Westin in Las Vegas. Thanks, pop! Sick and sore from the Canyon, I barely left the hotel: steam room, hot tub, shower, and then 13 hours of sleep. I’m heading back soon for the full rub.
Arrived in LA last night. I’ve officially crossed the country. West coastians, don’t be shy.
I’ve wanted this tattoo for over three years and the stars finally aligned. My friend Billy drew the outline, and arch-duke Aaron in Savannah permanently zapped it into my flesh. Thanks, dudes. I’m happy as a clam. And sore.
Hello, friends. Big gap there in the updates. Two weeks!? My B. I’m finding that between DJing, driving, sleeping, and visiting friends there’s barely enough time to plan where I’ll be DJing, driving, sleeping or visiting next and hardly ANY time to write about the D/D/S/V that has already transpired. And then, or course, the longer I wait between updates, the more stuff there is to write about. Time to nip it in the bud.
Palm Beach Gardens: Stayed with my college roommate, Brandon. Beach. Beer. Bored. The town is a giant mall. I love Brandon but I feel bad for him. He just moved down there, and his sanity will soon be pushed to the limits. The first week in Florida was barely worth writing about, but I should have barely wrote about it sooner. High light? A landfill on the highway with thousands of gulls and hundreds of hawks hunting for tasty rats. You know you’re in a shitty town when the main attraction is the garbage dump.
Orlando: Pleasant surprise! Stayed with my friend Jeff, who I’d never met before but only talked to on the phone while trying to line up DJ gigs in town, and Keith, a supremely righteous music nerd seen here playing drums with Dan Deacon outside a little league game:
Drinking at a great beer bar. Amazing bartender. Free beer! Fell in love for about two hours. Dancing at soul night at the Independent Bar. Decor as tacky as the website. Art school girls. Played Jeff’s wing man. Twisted the night away. Houseparty @ Jeff’s on Wednesday. DJed with my portable turntable and a 4 channel mixer from the 80s with no cross fader. The neighbor’s seven year old son took over DJing for about an hour and it was the most incredible thing ever. Young Seamus. So much enthusiasm, grinning ear to ear every time a new song came on. I can’t even describe it. Best single experience of the trip so far. Pictures? I wish. The flashless Lomo was useless in the dark. However, my missing digital camera was found in Washington DC and will be rejoining me shortly.
Thursday, Jeff, Keith, and I headed up to Atlanta for a surreal weekend at the Furry Convention. Oft-maligned in popular media as perverted freak-fests (thanks, MTV) the cons are as harmless as I imagine the ones for Star Trek or Comic Books or Wiccans or what-have-you, reprehensible only for the amount of pasty whiteness on display. I DJed one about 4 years ago in Philly, but I went into this one knowing only Keith, Jeff, and my friend Jill, who I hadn’t seen in four years and was kind enough to invite me. I met some cool folks and generally had fun, but at times I found myself frustrated and bored. Roctakon, after “accidentally” attending a Convention in San Jose observed that “Furries are ugly people,” which may be a bit harsh but in general is neither untrue nor skin deep. Attendees were predominantly white males, which seems to be de rigeur among nerdier hobbies and subcultures, and the insularity of these people’s individual lives and of the scene they share in common contributes to staggering levels of ignorance. I was constantly amazed and repulsed by the racism and xenophobia that pervaded the weekend and more than once I had to walk away from clusters of clusterfucks to avoid punching myself or someone else in the face.
Luckily my humble life extends beyond the realm of anthropomorphic animal fandom and I only invested a fraction of my weekend out at the Sheraton. Praised by Charlotteons as a bigger version of their awesome town, ATL delivered the goods: very navigable, with diverse and beautiful neighborhoods a stones throw from the skyscrapers. Spent my afternoons cruisin’ in the ATL, eating at a couple of awesomerestaurants and flirting with the hipster girls who work at Little Five Points’ overpriced vintage stores. Didn’t make it to the Poole Palace or the Pink Pony, but I played Decatur Social Club and Afterlife, two parties thrown by the gracious and groovy Preston Craig. My headphones exploded on Saturday night amidst a flurry of technical difficulties and I almost had a nervous breakdown on stage, but pulled it off with a little help from DJ Sega. Thanks to all who attended.
Spent last night in Athens with Jill and Joe and Joe’s dog, Kade. Top notch hospitality. Thanks, dudes!
I’m in Augusta now, hometown of James Brown, gearing up for a set later tonight. Savannah’s next.
PS: A glimpse of FWA ‘08. I wasn’t present for this but it’s still a highlight of the weekend. Watch til the bitter end.
