This is what Trash Menagerie was throwing down during the month of September. Features, interviews, parties, and plenty’a mix and MP3 download. We’re snuggling in for the busy month of October. Have you started thinking about your Halloween costume yet? We’re looking for ideas, so please hit us up and let us know if you’ve got any. Last year we gave you a heads up on how to MAKE YOUR OWN DAFT PUNK COSTUME. Hipster Runoff offered up a bit of inspiration, “WTF SHOULD I B 4 ALL HALLOW’S EVE”, But is it “ok” to be a Justice this year, if you were a Daft last year?
A truly scary option, the United States Vice Presidential Republican
Candidate and current Governor of Alaska - Sarah Palin.
Hmm, I guess she didn’t get understand the memo regarding last year’s Halloween Party. It was a Nordic theme. Looks like she still won anyway, even though she didn’t really come close to qualifying.
Sarah Palin 7 Months Preggers “I can hide my belly in a sexy, yet sophisticated, little black business suit.”
Goodness, her belly is HUGE, she looks like she’s going to pop any day now, right?
This is what Demi Moore looked like when she was seven months preggers . . .
Photo: Vanity Fair
Sarah Palin’s Witch Doctor . . .
Other potential options - “Sarah Palin Mayor of Meth”, “Sarah Palin Miss Alaska”, “Sarah Palin Soccer Mom”. Wow, and to think, the election isn’t even over yet, we’ve still got a few weeks to go . . . goodness, i’m sure we’ll have so many more choices to choose from. Maybe i’ll pull off one of those “couple costumes,” and we can go together as “Foreign Palin Policy“. One of us will be Russia, and the other Alaska, and we’ll stand on opposite sides of the room and say “I can see ya over there, behave yourself!”
Even though September is coming to an end, streetwear supply company Krudmart’s September mixtape will continue to beone of my favorite mixes of the fall season.
Entitled, Autumn Love, Krudmart head honcho Steve Kream hand made this wonderful mix that stresses the feelings of fall. It’s getting darker earlier, the air is getting colder, leaves are changing colors and both sexes are wearing more clothing but romance, sex and love seem to be the highest this time of year.
Besides having great taste in music, Krudmart has great clothing and wares for purchasing. You can pick up a Mishka shirt, a pair of APC jeans, Sabre Vision Sunglasses, and head out on the town with Autumn Love playing on your headphones.
Tracklist:
1. The Jets - Crush On You
2. Fred Falke - Wait For Love
3. Holy Ghost - Hold On
4. Nicolette Larson - Lotta Love
5. Sebastien Tellier - La Ritournelle (Metronomy Mix)
6. Hercules & Love Affair - Blind
7. Herbert - The Audience
8. Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You
9. Morgan Geist - Most of All
10. Spiller - Groovejet
11. Human League - Don’t You Want Me Baby
12. When in Rome - The Promise
13. Masters at Work - Deep Inside
14. Pnau - Baby (Breakbot Remix)
15. The Juan Maclean - Love is in the Air
16. Knee Deep - Big Love
17. Puzique - Don’t Go
18. Anita Ward - Ring My Bell
19. Luomo - The Present Lover
20. Royksopp - Remind Me
21. CSS - Lets Make Love (Spank Rock Remix)
22. Felix Da Housecat - Ready 2 Wear
23. The Similou - All This Love
Summer is coming to and end, its been a good one, kept me busy, got to do some traveling, made my way across the country and back a few times, ran into old friends, made some new ones, found myself at more day events and festivals than clubs, which was really great. Soon enough its going to be cold here in New York, and ill be taking shelter in a club and paying $8 for cocktails. Since i’ve been slacking in the post department, i’m going to try and make up for lost time with a “summery” of my 2008.
Santogold @ sound check for Radio 1 - Annie Mac show, WMC March 2008
Saw Santogold perform a few times, although unfortunately, I missed her dates with Coldplay. I did however see her just about everywhere else I went, on the side of buses, in the subway, in magazines, TV, on the wall of Terminal 5 when I went to see Brian Jonestown Massacre (Joel performed, it was great, nobody got in a fight, bummer.) Anyway, you get the idea, Santi is everywhere, repping in style for Converse Connectivity. I have to say, the campaign is pretty tight, they did good, no one is trying to shove blatant adverts your way, the micro site is crafty, there’s a lot going on, you can even design your own kicks, and sonically, the artists on board, I genuinely like and listen to. Someone in the marketing department did their homework.
Brian Jonestown Massacre, Terminal 5, New York July 25 08
Crowd gathering for Radiohead - Lollapalooza Chicago, Aug 1 08
Lollapalooza in Chicago was definitely one of the highlight’s of my summer, I traveled from NY with Spank Rock and crew - Amanda Blank, Devlin & Darko, and Natalie. Their schedule was as full as it could for the weekend, press, after parties, and of course, their Saturday performance on the Citi Stage. Everyone rolled in Friday night, and headed over to the festival site for Radiohead.
I ran into the Foals, which was a super unexpected and pleasant surprise. I grabbed a piece of lawn and had a few drinks with Yannis and Jack, caught up, talked about the past year, how things have changed since we had last had seen each other in New York, when they were recording their album. They’ve got the typical touring band schedule, traveling constantly, playing tons of great festivals, waking up and not knowing where they are. Yannis and I tried to recall what it was that we were debating a few months back in regard to minimal techno (we are both fans - Minitek!!! ), never did figure it out. Soon more Foals came to graze, a grass fight ensued, and it was truly an “Electric Bloom” moment when they started shoving chunks of earth down each others shirts, it was my “Warning Call” to make an exit, so I galloped away to wait in the mile long line for a Vodka and Vitamin water.
While I was waiting in line, Radiohead took to the stage, all day everyone I ran into was gushing in anticipation of their performance, I was no different. It had been almost 2 years to the day that I had seen them last, also in Chicago, but in a theater setting, this time, it was outside to a sold out crowd of well over 70k, I love festivals. When Radiohead went on, the masses were well into it as expected, I had a side view, so I wasn’t able to see much of the production, that being the massive LCD’s and light show, or even much of the band for that matter, but hearing was good enough. What I was able to see was the woman at the front of the stage signing Radiohead’s lyrics, dancing, and clearly having the time of her life. (Note to self - learn sign language, what a great gig to have.) During their performance I was filled in on the fact that Thom Yorke is in fact a big fan of Spank Rock, and listed the album, Yo, Yo, Yo, Yo, Yo, as one of his top 10 albums of 2007, my eyes bugged out of my head a bit. Really?
Spank Rock is also a big fan of Radiohead and Thom Yorke. For a slight second I wondered if there was anyway for the two of them to meet, considering they had this mutual artist respect thing going on. But I also realized it was probably next to impossible, i’m sure everyone and their mother was probably trying to have a chat with the band that night, plus, it was a massive show. I put to rest the idea trying to make the introduction, got back to reality. The band did a few encore’s everyone was blissed out, it was a very memorable evening. We took off right as they were doing their last song to avoid getting caught up in the mass exodus. 70k people all leaving at once is a bit much. After parties were popping off all over the city, Foals were DJ’ing, Bloc Party, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, all kinds of madness, but I was exhausted, and Saturday was going to be crazy so I called it a night.
Saturday, well, I ended up not hitting after parties, but went to a local bar and tied one on with some old friends. We made a late night run to Rockstar Dog’s, ordered a couple of “Los Lobos”, and “tots” and yeah, we felt like what we ingested. When we woke up the next day we asked ourselves what the hell were we thinking? Oh! We were not thinking, we were drunk.
No time to be hungover, there was stuff to do, no rest for the wicked. I headed over to the Hard Rock Hotel, to meet up with the Spank Rock crew for Spin & Metromix’s gifting suite. They threw down, excellent grub, fancy juices, energy drinks, spa services, and sweet schwag. This was good, I was starting to feel better. Then it was interview time, Ms. Amanda Blank was losing her voice, and was under Dr.’s orders not make a peep until the Lolla performance later that afternoon. She made a clever name tag and attached it to her shirt letting everyone know, hey, I can’t talk, and worked some sign language of her own. The girl is amazing, she still managed to convey what she wanted to say, and charmed everyone.
Spank Rock & Amanda Blank Interview for Metromix @ Lollapalooza, Aug 2 08
Interviews were over, the crew split up, Spank Rock (Naeem, solo) and I jetted off (actually crawled through major traffic) as he was DJ’ing at the Diesel store. It was his first gig outside of Philly, he’s been dj’ing regularly every Monday night at a party he started called The Jang House, it all goes down at the Barbary. I’ve been told by many this night is hot, and hella fun, so it’s on my “to do” in the very near future list. I’ve never heard Naeem DJ before, he plays an eclectic mix of retro, disco, mash-up’s, heard some Prince, said ‘oh yes, I love this too!”, when he threw on a remix of MGMT’s, “Electric Feel”, we both agreed the video was sexy as hell and wish we could have been in it.
It was nearing Spank Rock’s 5:00pm stage time, we high tailed it outta the Diesel store, jumped in a car, and headed to the Lolla site. The first thing that reached our ears when we got on site, MGMT, of course, go figure. We sighed, got over the fact we were missing their performance, and jumped on a golf cart that delivered us to the Citi Stage. Booka Shade was just wrapping up their set. For me, seeing them provided some solace for the MGMT loss, hey were amazing as always. Spank Rock took to the stage and performed to a charged up crowd, Amanda’s voice was in top form, the crew brought the party, Plastic Little jumped on stage and did a guest spot, everyone was caught up in their energy, the stage and the audience may have well been one.
The Lolla performance was over, but the day was is not, one more interview with Fuse TV, then back over to the Hard Rock for an after party performance with Mark Ronson and Spank Rock. We were starting to feel like we might be hitting the wall, festivals are fun, but they are hot, and have the ability to suck the energy out of you. Besides being tired, everyone was hungry, we had dinner reservations at the China Grill, which thank god, we didn’t have to go far for, as it was adjacent to the hotel. Dinner was excellent, but now we were really tired, time to rest. We made our way out the door mumbling about various things in our food comas, then everyone got really quiet. After we walked outside the door, we looked at each other, and all at once started talking - “hey that guy looked really familiar?”,”do you know that guy?”, “who was that?”, “was that Thom Yorke?”, “That WAS Thom Yorke.” We snapped out of our comas. Damn, It’s Thom Yorke.
All things considered, Thom being a fan of Spank Rock, and vice versa, we should go over and say hello, right? It was kinda too ironic that we were having dinner in the same place at the same time. But everyone agreed, interrupting him, or anyone for that matter, during dinner, who probably already has a hard time in the “peace & quiet” department, we didn’t want to go there. So we continued on to our rooms where we twiddled our thumbs. It was definitely one of those “what would Jesus do?’ moments.
We discussed the irony at hand. I thought Thom & Naeem should meet, it was kind of a no brainer. And I admit, I had my own selfish reasons, I also really wanted to chat with Thom first hand about music industry politics. I think i’ve easily done 20 + posts about Radiohead and/or Thom. When the band released In Rainbows, it was kind of a big deal.
Everyone I know carefully watched how the band’s, name your own price, self release, limited edition box set concept was going to unfold. For weeks it was the hottest topic of conversation. So the release day came, people got online and placed their order, and continued to watch the concept unfold. In my opinion, it was a beautiful. No, Radiohead didn’t fix everything that was wrong with the industry, and what they did, most bands can’t really afford to do. (I discussed this with LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, read it here). They did kick open the door of the major labels, and sent a very strong message. They gave their fans a choice, they made room for both artists and others in the industry, to do even more inspired and creative things, perhaps even take risks they might not have before. They let people know, that yes, you can release music in a non-traditional way and it can work. Not only that, you can do it on your own, they exact way YOU want to do it, real freedom of expression. And isn’t that what everyone wants? Not only in art, but in life.
If you haven’t picked up on it yet, I live for these kinds of moments, i’m all for pushing the envelope, DIY, thinking outside of the box, stick it to “the man”, all those common cliches. I feel i’ve fallen off course at this point, so let me get back to the story and how it all ends.
I lived in Chicago for 16 years, it just so happens that I know the manager of the China Grill, I figure I might as well take advantage of that, so I head back to the restaurant, tell him the story. He tells me that Thom and his friends were almost done with their meal, and adds that they are really pleasant, he offered to ask them if they would be so inclined to meet us. I agreed this would be appropriate, and so it goes, “Thom would love to meet Spank Rock”.
I made my way back up to our floor, and my heart fluttered a bit when I told Naeem, come on, we’re going to go and say hello to Thom, and so we did. I hung back as they spoke about music, production, the writing process, how it can be difficult and unnerving process. As an artist, you second guess yourself, wonder if what your writing is good enough, you feel pressure to create something and your not always sure where you’re going with it, or what it is you want to create. Thom shared that he most certainly felt like that, and felt most everyone does, its part of the process of creating, and if those moments where you question yourself didn’t happen, that would seem to be a bit odd, and that perhaps was when an artist should worry. So as it turns out, Thom’s just like the rest of us, word. We spoke about their performance the day before, I told him I really only got to see the woman signing, he said she was great, stole the show. I got my politics on, we discussed the interview he and David Byrne did with Wired Magazine, on the real value of music.
Thom said it was an interesting interview, rather quiet, not as much talking between the two of them as one might think. Which kind of surprised me, I would assume they would carry on for hours. However, I’ve seen a few live interviews with Byrne, he’s incredibly intelligent, insightful, (I closely follow his industry politics as well), but I could see why a bit of silence between the two, might be the case. There is a particular interview Byrne did that stands out, with Daniel Levitin (author of This Is Your Brain On Music), you can check it out at Seed Mag online. We also discussed the In Rainbows release, Thom was very humble, when I expressed how I felt about the release, he said the release was just a minor start toward rebuilding an ailing music industry, and that there is still a lot of work to be done, particularly when it comes to radio. We had been carrying on for some time now, espressos were to be had, they were off to a show the next day, and exhausted from a day of boating on Lake Michigan, we had our own show, call time was just an hour away, we said our goodbye’s and floated away.
Spank Rock hit the stage for the Spin & Metromix after party, the room was packed, but the crowd was a bit lethargic, however, when these guys hit the stage, it doesn’t take long to get a room going. Lindsay Lohan and Sam Ronson were in attendance with their posse, so in honor of the occasion, Spank Rock finished the set with Lindsay Lohan’s Revenge. I think the posse was caught off guard, as they exited the room before the song was over. Funny stuff.
Amanda Blank & Natalie - Hard Rock After Party, Aug 2
Naeem - Hard Rock After Party, Aug 2
I also hit a few Rock The Bells shows - saw Tribe Called Quest, Pharcyde, Mos Def, Nas, even a stellar, surprise performance in Denver from Black Star. Nas - Rock The Bells, Columbia, MD July 27 08
Black Star - Rock The Bells, Denver, Co Aug 23
All in all, great summer, and as this post is quickly becoming a novella, I shall end it here, and leave you with this entertaining video of what I can only assume are cheerleaders learning new dance routines at summer camp to “Bump”. The dude the runs out to lead them rocks.
Just to add insult to injury amongst a bursting weekend of events, Skream will be hopping across the pond for the 2nd time this Summer, playing Low End Theory at The Knitting Factory. Perhaps even an appropriate addition to Spank Rock’s Big Box Arsenal of progressive, out-of-the-box musicians, Skream has come to represent the true forging of the Dubstep sound. While Burial continues to be #1 in Dubstep searches across internet music sites, Skream is a producer’s producer while also staying honest to his roots.
Unlike Burial’s discovery of a Jack Jackson-like musical signature in bottle-popping drum patterns, the variety of musical influence in Skream’s productions are numerous. From Ragga, Jungle, and Dub, Skream has been able to synthesis the bass heavy leanings of UK’s club scene, into a tropical storm of ferocity and heat.
Playing at Dubwar earlier this Summer for their anniversary show and enjoying himself enough to make a video about it, it’s no doubt wortha trek to TriBeCa for a bass brimming Saturday. And judging by the quality of music here in NYC this weekend and the opportunities in which to see the young lad from the old country, it’s time to man-up, fill your tanks with Red Bull, and get a bellyfull of bass.
Below is Skream’s remix for recent Pitchfork “Best New Music” addition The Bug, as well as Skream’s seminal “Midnight Request Line.”
SPANK ROCK & GUERILLA UNION PRESENT . . “BIG BOX ARSENAL & CULTURE CLUB” EXPERIENCE Bringing the party element to the Rock the Bells Festival
Spank Rock & Guerilla Union, have partnered up to bring the “Big Box Arsenal & Culture Club” experience to The Rock the Bells Festival. The stage will set a precedent, featuring acts that have been cited as experimental, genre bending artists, paving the way for the future of a new musical landscape. Ushering in the next generation of talent, hosts, Roxy Cottontail and Pase Rock.
“The Big Box concept symbolizes an arsenal of powerful performers who break boundaries, set trends and do what the fuck they want. I feel like Afrika Bambaataa is the blue print, and we are the future. Teaming up with Rock the Bells is the first step in showing the world a new definition of young America.” – Spank Rock
Guerilla Union’s ROCK THE BELLS 2008 INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL SERIES POWERED BY SANDISK has established itself as a world-class hip-hop platform by hosting legendary performances by Rage Against the Machine, NAS, A Tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy, Lauryn Hill, Black Star (Talib Kweli and Mos Def), Hieroglyphics, Living Legends, De La Soul, Busta Rhymes, Cypress Hill and Jurassic 5 as well as reuniting Wu-Tang Clan for their last performance with ODB in 2004.
Guerilla Union, Spank Rock, and Trash Menagerie are giving away SPANK ROCK’s PACKAGE to 2 lucky winners and a friend in each city the festival hits – New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, & Seattle. Spank’s package includes - 2 tickets to the Festival, 2 VIP access passes to meet the artists, and a LOAD of Spank Rock merch & music, signed and delivered by the man himself.
To enter, send an email to SPANKROCK@TRASHMENAGERIE.COM
In the SUBJECT line of your email, list the CITY you want to enter to win, in the BODY, your NAME. One entry per person, per city - New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Seattle.
Winners in each city will be notified the day before the show via email. Tickets and passes will be available or pick up at will call the day of the show - and then watch the mail for the merch to arrive!
Stay tuned to Trash Menagerie as we follow the tour, exclusive footage, artist interviews, music, behind the scenes antics, and a few surprises along the way!
Hailing from not one territory, rather spanning four, Hong Kong, Italy, Canada, and London, the Sunny Day Sets Fire quintet are making our world a bit brighter with their latest full-length “Summer Palace” released 8th July on IAMSOUND. A collective pool of worldly influences, SDSF offer up a smattering of catchy pop riffs, shades of psychedelia and spacey bits, giving them a surreal sound.
Ever since their February remix EP release of “Stranger” (IAMSOUND), featuring CSS, XXXChange from Spank Rock, The Cool Kids and Diplo, we’ve been anticipating the delights “Summer Palace” would bring our way. This is the stuff that you hope to hear upon opening up that special music box or toasting your marshmallows at the bonfire. The latest remix of SDSF comes by way of Triobelisk who ignites “I Dream Along” with wandering synth rhythms. Read on as he clues us in on how it all came to be.
“IAMSOUND was looking for some new folks to make some promo mixes for the SUNNY DAY SETS FIRE upcoming album last year and I ended up on their radar, so the mix is kind of an “early” Triobelisk work as it is a tad more open and focuses on synth rhythms similar to my other material during this time.
I initially approached the track a little bit like a minimalist take on KAVINSKY as I’m a big fan of his 1986 EP so wanted to capture a similar “adventure” feel to the composition on the first half. I strayed rather far from the original song but I wanted to create something completely different with only the background chorus vocal to be the recognizable motif in order to make a “have I heard this before” feeling to club-goers/listeners. If I were to make keywords to the track I would write: adventure, 80s, driving, miami and flash gordon.” – Triobelisk
Stay tuned as Triobelisk is in the studio creating some spacey disco, cinematic-type tracks for your consumption!!
Yes that is me in the hoodie on the beach…yeah I know. And yes that is Blaqstarr wearing an Ed Hardy sleeve tatoo shirt. Killin it. Here we are at theScion party in Miami, watching Calvin Harris sing his adorable little heart out.
Miami is like summer camp for DJs. You all wind up on eachother’s flights, excited to see each other even though you see each other all the time. “Where are you staying?” is asked over and over again. You make new BFFs and bond with new people that live in other places. You room with your best buds. You make out with your peers. You get absolutely no sleep at all even though you have to be somewhere early in the morning. HA! Good luck with that! I was usually still awake while the real world was getting up. 4AM Jess in full effect.
I am no newbie to WMC in Miami for it is my hometown. I remember being 16 years old and thinking “Wow there are so many parties this week!” I am never one to miss a good party. Every year I do my best to go to events that I am not able to go to in NYC. I find that a lot of people just stick to where there friends are, what guestlists they are on, and where they are comfortable. But I do not go to Miami to do things I can do at home. This year I probably went harder than I have ever gone because there was SO much great stuff going on. I couldn’t say no to any of it and I took every opportunity that I could to see DJs, even if it was at the Apple Store for an hour. Here is my full recap.
Me and the girls arrived early on a Tuesday so we could lay in the sun but it was cloudy and cold, go figure. We got some rest before the party, kicked off our night with a DJ set by Ewan Pearsonat the Apple Store. You know the music is great when you are dancing in a retail store.
Then went to see Trash’s own Local Hero, and Drop the Lime play at the JAKUL8/Dust Traxx party. I have known Local Hero since last WMC and I have never seen him DJ before. It was quite a treat. He is great DJ with great taste in music. I don’t need to tell you that Drop the Lime killed it because you already know that. Then we headed to the DFAparty at Rok Bar to catch Rub n Tug and JDHthrow down! The night was pretty full for a Tuesday. Usually it is really empty but there were definitely a decent amount of people.
Wednesday I woke up early (noon) to catch DJ Craze at FYE. I needed a Miami Bass fix and I needed it quick. I wound up shopping around and buying an old Lords Of Acid CD. Then I went through so much old Florida dance music….oh memories…I am so glad I live in NYC now. That night I went to the Dubsided party, caughtDrop the Lime and Annie Mac, then headed over to Bass Sessions. Here are Local Hero and I at Studio A. I’m still wearing a hoodie.
Drop the Lime giving some love to the camera.
When I got to Bass SessionsMr. Mixx was playing and it was awesome. The most Miami Booty Bass you will ever hear. I really thought I had never heard of him but then I was informed that he was the DJ from 2 Live Crew. DUH! Sooooooo fun, I am so glad I rushed up to the rooftop to catch him when I did because he made my entire week. Then there was Craze. We all know I love Craze.
We left Bass Sessions and somehow wound up at a strip club across the street with several other DJs and tastemakers (I will protect the innocent by not revealing names). Did you know that strippers dance to blog house? We watched some girls take their clothes off and then headed over to the Early Bird party where Justin Martin absolutely destroyed Miami. I am telling you this man is a beast. He played one of the best DJ sets I have ever heard and the dancefloor was packed at 630AM. We had so much fun and didn’t get home until about 10:30.
Thursday I was an absolute genius because I woke up and immediately started drinking champagne (my head loved me later). I walked to the Scion party. Got there right as Boys Noize was going on. Another pleasant surprise. He played only a little bit of the obvious including that Michael Jackson song that goes on for about an hour, but he also played whatever the F*&% he wanted including some crazy gabber and bassline-ish tunes and everyone was really impressed. I kept hearing “Is this still Boys Noize?”. I have always been a fan of his Dj sets but this one definitely made him a favorite.
Thursday night I passed out from the champagne, woke up at 3AM and since I am 4AM Jess….I went out. I went to the Minusparty to see Richie Hawtin but it was so packed that they weren’t letting anybody up on the roof. I was so bummed so I went next door to the Get Physical party. M.A.N.D.Y. was top notch. I am glad the night worked out the way it did. We were just about to go back to the hotel and then I realized it was 8AM. Hmmm maybe the rooftop of Nocturnal wasn’t so packed anymore? So I went back to Nocturnal, walked up the stairs only to find I was able to go up on the roof and it was full of German techno fans rocking mullets and streetwear. Magda was just getting on and everyone was wild. It was the craziest part of my trip and of course I did not have my camera. Go figure. There is nothing more awesome than a good minimal techno party at 8AM…outdoors.
Friday I was so dead that I missed my appointment at the gifting suite but I somehow managed to make it back to the Scion party at the Raleigh again.Calvin Harris is so awesome. No one seemed to know who he was when he and his band were on. I had a bunch of randoms ask me “Is this a band?” “Whats this guy’s deal?” “Is he British?” “I like this”.
Friday night I headed over to theFools Gold party which was absolutely insane. Check the pictures here. Some ultra epic moments and several surprise guests. The place was packed and the crowd was wild. I was able to catchNacho Lovers and LA Riotsbefore I headed over to the Mad Decent Vs. Turntablelab warehouse party. That party was in the hood. I grew up around. When I was little my mom used to tell me that if I was ever driving around there at night I should run the red lights. And there we were dancing around with a cowbell to House Music.
When I got there Cosmo Baker was bringing it, as per usual, but I have to say the highlight of my night was when Eli Escobar unexpectedy jumped on the decks and brought the party to a whole new level, with Blaqstarr on the mic.
It was cool to see Bart Bmore DJ and Spank Rock performed really late at night. Then around 4AM Drop the Lime and Star Eyesshowed up to DJ. I am kind of sad that I missed Sabo. I heard his set was unreal.
And for Saturday. I woke up, checked out of my hotel and basically had to sneak into the Beatport party to see this guy.
It was my mission of the week after that Minus party got all messed up. Once again a bunch of techno heads going nuts during the day. I couldn’t ask for anything better than that. At this point I was also exhausted and danced out. I had to go to theStones Throw party for a bit to escape the rave.
I have to admit I am pretty dumb for not going to the Fixed party. It was too much of a mission and we were on an hour of sleep. We kept it local by going to Purdy Lounge for yet another Scion party and another epic DJ set from Drop the Lime, who tag teamed withJokers of the Scene. So fun.
But the ending to my trip could not have been more perfect. The Rub really made my entire WMC. Here is Cosmo Baker and DJ Ayres. Dj Eleven is not pictured. And yes Ayres is wearing an airbrushed shirt that says “Tiesto 2008″.
This was what the crowd was doing at 5AM
I am going to leave out my airport experience and make you think that was the ending of my night. I also would like to add that on top of the pictures I received from the lovely Susan Holland I also stole some pictures from Ian Meyer at Crewcial.org,Oxycottontail.com and Fools Gold.
Word! I’m back, after what was WAAAAAY too much time in Miami. I had the pleasure of falling asleep at the pool, if you see me out and about - “Rock Lobster”. So anyway, I got A LOT of catching up to do, a plethora of amazing music came my way whilst I was away, so I’m delivering an onslaught.
Ready? OK!
Staring things off with my Philly posse. Santogold brought it at Radio One, and Spank Rock, well, I’m alive to talk about it, if I say anymore, I will mos def incriminate myself, and I’ve destroyed the evidence.
More Philly in da house with Pink Skull, love these cats, Julian, you are my hero, and I still have the “wizard” you gave me. Gonozo’s Cointreau is from Zeppelin 3, the first full-length album from Philadelphia’s electro-psych outfit, and the follow-up to the group’s 2006 debut EP Blast Yr Akk.
Mr. Dave Taylor aka Switch, one of my favorite producers, after MIA, he hit the studio for some production on Santogold’s album (which drops April 29, and of course it’s amazing), and he’s also now throwing down and working with Tricky. I heard some of the beats, they are SIKKKKK!
From the land down under, a longtime Trash Menagerie favorite - Aussie producer, Miami Horror. Miami is part of the Sidekick Posse, home to Young & Restless, Gameboy/Gamegirl, Flamingo Crash, kick ass artists in general!
Infants have been in the studio working on a new album, but they did send us this smashing Popular Workshop remix they recently finished. They’ve been playing a few shows, but have been hibernating in the studio for the most part. (From the pic above, looks like their shows have been quite fun, eh/) The have a nifty remix play on their Infancy myspace. Few side projects going on as well, Gum Takes Tooth, they have a photo on their site is frikken’ scary, don’t look if you’re going to the dentist anytime soon, or ever for that matter. Real Feal is their other side project, this, not so scary looking, kinda cute in fact.
This Infants remix is an oldie but goodie, one of my fav Drop The Lime remixes, but sheesh, I gotta come clean, they all pretty much kill it. We’re posting a brand spanking new Drop The Lime DJ mix in the next few days, we’ve been sitting on this for a week, starting to get antsy, it will slay, be forewarned! Luca is currently touring Australia for the next 2 weeks - check him out if you can, dates - Drop The Lime Myspace. (Maybe he’ll run into Miami Horror!?!?)
The Scienticians remixing Portishead, who are about to release one of the best albums i’ve heard so far in 2008. These Chicago cats and I have some history, fellow old school raver (ha, sorry, had to bust us out there ; ) Angel Alanis and TM’s very own Local Hero.
We didn’t think the line up, featuring - Spank Rock w/Amanda Blank, The Rapture DJ’ing, Busy P, So Me, JD Samson, Tippy, Dances With White Girls, Andy Pry, and Eamon Harkin could get any better, well, we were wrong . . .
Yes, finally, its true! To get the super secret squirrel email link to purchase tickets, just sign up for our the Mas mailing list, and you’ll get an email filling you in on where to go and what to do. Oooh, its kinda like a rave adventure, but we didn’t involve any eggs. (90210 reference, for those who remember that goofy show and episode.)
Being on the mailing list instantly turns you into an UBER VIP person. You’ll get a bunch of nifty little perks, invites to secret & free shows, first dibs on nabbing tickets before they are up for grabs to the general public, advance music and digital promos, and a bunch of other fun things we’ll throw your way.
We sold out of our pre-sale tickets for the Bootay Shakin Blow Out, we had 400 available for $12, but they went fast.
So, we’re going to sell 200 of our $15 door tickets to our Mas mailing list peeps in advance. This way, you won’t have to bother waiting in line to purchase them the night of the show, more time for fun. Once these 200 tix are gone, they are gone, but you can get them at the door night of the show until we reach capacity.
And because we’re super excited for Friday, and want to get you just as hyped, after you purchase your tickets, you’ll get an email link that brings you to a site where you can download free mp3’s from The Rapture, Spank Rock (Bangers & Cash), Tippy, and JD Samson.
I’m about to jump on a plane and head to the great Midwest. I only have 20 minutes, so this post won’t be as in depth and link up as I would like it to. Perhaps i’ll revisit in the next few days and do it up proper. Perhaps not : (
I’ll be spending my NYE in Chicago at Smart Bar with Dave Taylor, known to most as Switch. He produced M.I.A.’s latest album “Kala”, which hit many “Top of 2007″ lists this year, including #1 on Rolling Stone. He’s also been doing a bit of production work on Sanogold’s debut album. It’s a bit ironic that Santi was also named Rolling Stone’s #1 artist to watch in 2008. SO! Without further ado, here is my Top of 2007 list (to the best of my recollection).
These things can be difficult, I always feel someone or something is missing . . . ufff!
Favorite Track of 2007
“Hustler” - Simian Mobile Disco
This was more than just a track, it was an anthem!
“Drop The Phone / Down On Yourself” – Shy Child
Albums of 2007
Simian Mobile Disco - Attack, Sustain, Delay, Release
Dandelion Gum – Black Moth Super Rainbow
A Place to Bury Strangers – A Place to Bury Strangers
The Ponys – Turn the Lights Out
The Black Lips - Good Bad, Not Evil
+ - Justice
Joakim - Monsters & Silly Songs
Mystery Jets - Zootime
Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew - Spirit If . . .
Spektrum - Live At The Gymkhana Club
Plastic Little - DJ Lowbudget Presents The Immaturity Mixtape CD
Noisettes – What’s The Time Mr. Wolf
Party Crew of 2007
Trouble & Bass / Cut – Brooklyn, New York
Promoters of 2007
Fixed - NYC
I Love Neon – Montreal
Ricardo Tejada - Mexico
Favorite Weekday Party of 2007
Tuesday’s at 205 w/ Jacques Renault & Justin Miller
Best Parties of 2007
Daft Punk after parties – Ed Banger, Throne of Blood, Mas
- Mighty, San Francisco
- Green Dolphin, Chicago
- Studio B, Brooklyn - New York
Justice after party with Erol Alkan - Fixed
Masters of the Universe – Trouble & Bass / Cut DJ’s + Diplo, Surkin @ Studio B
Best Performances of 2007
The Reactable (sorry this was the highlight of her set) w/Bjork – Friday @ Coachella
Coachella, Saturday in the Mojave tent - !!!, Justice, LCD Soundsystem, & The Rapture
Kings of Leon @ The Aragon, Chicago
Daft Punk & The Rapture @ Greek Theater, Berkley
Daft Punk @ Lollapalooza, Chicago
Daft Punk & The Rapture @ Keyspan, Brooklyn
Rock The Bells – San Francisco
Simian Mobile Disco @ Gramercy Theater
Philip Glass – Einstein at the Beach, Carnegie Hall
Craziest Performance of 2007
Spank Rock, Yo Majesty, Santogold, Amanda Blank, Devlin & Darko, and half of the audience @ The Fillmore, NYC during CMJ. Can’t even explain, you just had to be there . . .
Best DJ Sets of 2007
Laurent Garnier @ APT
Drop The Lime (on more than one occasion)
Diplo (again, on more than one occasion)
Busy P @ Dafter Party, Green Dolphin, Chicago & at Studio B, Brooklyn
Favorite Producers of 2007
James Ford
Mark Ronson
Switch
Favorite Remixers of 2007
The Glimmers
Van She Tech
Erol Alkan
DJ Mehdi
Favorite Bands/Acts of 2007
Home Video
Illinois
Ghostland Observatory
Shy Child
Noisettes
The Warlocks
The Rapture
Plastic Little
Spank Rock
A Place To Bury Strangers
My Favorite New DJ of 2007
Still at #1 of all time - Laurent Garnier
Diplo
Drop The Lime
Star Eyes
Pase Rock
Artist / Designer of 2007
Dan Stiles, US
Face, Face, Face – Mexico
So Me, FR
Dust La Rock, US
Best DJ Mixes of 2007
Go Commando – JDH & Dave P – Defend Music
Fabric 37 – Steve Bug - Fabric
Fabriclive 36 – James Murphy & Pat Mahoney – Fabric
Favorite New City to Party in
Philly, yo!
Favorite Labels of the Year
Transgressive, UK
Ed Banger, FR
Ghostly, US
Modular, AU
Downtown, US
Favorite Books of 2007
This Is Your Brain On Music – Daniel J. Levitin (Audio Version)
The Culture Of Collaboration – Evan Rosen
Favorite Music Subscription Service of 2007
Emusic
Best Music Discovery Sites of 2007
Last.fm
Hype Machine
Forward Thinkers of 2007
David Byrne
Thom Yorke
Jay-Z
Favorite Manager’s of 2007
Pedro “Busy P” Winter - Daft Punk, Justice, Ed Banger Crew
Oli Isaacs – Simian Mobile Disco, Black Ghosts, Findlay Brown
Music & Technology Publications of 2007
Five Eight Magazine – UK
Wired – US
Drinks of 2007
Jack or/ Jameson & Ginger
Vitamin Water – Endurance (the peach-mango kind!)
