Sunday, April 26, 2009

THE ROOM WAS TIPPING

Several pages into this Kid Congo Powers oral history thing, I'm beginning to get some of that reading-on-the-internet-for-too-long feeling. Woof. Still, his most recent album, Dracula Boots, is so fucking good that I feel somewhat obligated to finish this thing tonight. A standout quote from his tenure in The Cramps:
"If something bad was happening, Ivy would snap her fingers and point and we’d have to go beat someone up. It was like being in a gang - like a juvenile delinquent band… and it was great! It was my juvenile delinquent fantasy come true."
Watching people go crazy over Congo's "Black Santa" and "Waterfall" by Quintron last night was really gratifying. At one of the last Dark Matters, I watched every person dancing leave the room the minute a surf track came on. These jams are close to my heart and it's painful to kill a dancefloor. Last night, the vibes were top notch and nobody blinked when the evening ended with "Exploration in Terror"* ("The Dark Matter Theme" Geoff called it).

It seems like Brian rarely comes to gigs so when he texted me beforehand to say that he was coming, that this Dark Matter had a "magic vibe to it," I was really pleased. A little over 500 people stopped through over the course of the night. Unbelievable. Erin, Mike Jones and Maggie were slammed at the bar; Galloway and Mike were killer doormen; Aaron, Raj and Geoff all slayed. It'll be a welcome return to Elks next month.

* Ventures in Space was the first LP I owned -- the copy I play out is the very same one I got back in junior high.

Friday, April 24, 2009

FROM THE ARCHIVES: (EXCERPT FROM MOBY DICK BY HERMAN MELVILLE)

"Put down your guns and give me all your stuff... or whatever. Put it all on the ground..." said the burglar. "Do it!"

The sun beat down on the men.

"'Now!" he shouted.

The policemen were too emasculated to make the arrest and unholstered.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

WHAT IS TRUTH, REALLY?!?!?

So, I've been thinking about trying Red Bull Cola (RBC) for some time now but Red Bull is not something I've ever really liked (nor is cola now that I think about it). A couple weeks back, I bought a can of RBC along with a can of Purple Stuff on the way to Easter dinner, drank the Purple Stuff and forgot the can of RBC at Erin's mom's house. It's probably still there and I'll probably still drink it despite having just finished my first can which gets an emphatic two thumbs down! [Note: Red Bull Cola has nothing to do with the Tall Man.]

Erin and I have listened to Quintron every day since the show and I'm thinking about devoting an entire week to nothing but the Born Bad compilation series (subtitled: Songs The Cramps Taught Us). Someone asked me to play a show but I had to turn it down which stinks but got me thinking about putting a set together. A musical set, that is. Lots to be inspired by right now. 

Speaking of sets, here's a half-hour DJ set from last Saturday's Permanent Green Light. Thanks to Robert Wells for the second Donald Byrd track.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

HONEST TRUTH

Disseminating this beautiful piece of work is doing the world a big ol' favor. Please enjoy. Repeat often.

Friday, April 17, 2009

DAP REDUX (FOR SHELLEY)

I take it back: the 10+ minutes of Psychedelic Horseshit screwing around with the sound guy should not have been the performance. It shoulda' been those 10+ minutes plus the eight-minute 'this is our last song but guess what we're going to drag it way the fuck out ha ha ha' breakdown (it's funny cuz I did guess! and I bet everybody else did too!). It wasn't free jazz -- it was free horseshit. It was the icing on the horseshit cake -- it may be the sweet part of the cake but it's still horseshit! I could go on!

Anyway, after P.H. completely decimated attendance, everybody came back to see Miss Pussycat's laugh-out-loud puppet show. It was shorter than expected but good. Quintron was everything I hoped for and the song choice was spot-on. Erin and I are incredibly anxious to visit Spellcaster Lodge as methinks that's the most choicest of spots to witness the damage/brilliance.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

DAP

Last night, Psychedelic Horseshit opened for Quintron & Miss Pussycat at the Old Miami with what was one of the most amazing -- in its own way -- shows I've witnessed. Following 10+ minutes of screwing around with the sound guy (this should have been the performance!!), they successfully cleared the floor of all attendees save for Shelley. Alone and mere inches from the stage, Shelley busted out what was left of her Pita Kabob "sandwich wrap" and heartily chowed down. These doods are the lowest point on a measuring stick; your band will sound awesome next to them, eating a wrap next to the stage while they play will prove more entertaining.

Detroit has amazing powers. It's difficult not to feel invigorated in some way there, difficult not to feel like you could really let your freak flag fly. It's strange to me how many people see ugliness in Detroit.

MP3 FOREST JUZIUK - Grease Fantasy

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

SHIT LIST?????

Woof. "Satellite of Love." What a grooveless, herky-jerky piece of you-know-what. This isn't that. This is a mix I made for Erin last year, probably a few days before she left for Europe. You will find no Lou Reed on it anywhere. It's definitely more on the garage tip from what I can remember.

MP3 FOREST JUZIUK - Everything All This Yeah (For ENB) [right-click & DL, plz!]

Friday, April 10, 2009

LIPOSUX'D BUTT

Ohhhhhhhhhh shit! It's been a couple weeks since we last spoke, friend, and daddy hopes this finds you well. Last night, Raj & I DJ'd a German dining hall with no dimmer switch on the lights and it was bad in many ways. I can't figure out how I was strangely (sadly?) totally on, if not in my selections then at least my tt-skills (perhaps the light? the lack of inebriation?). Anyway, Erin, our friend Claire, and I scoped out spots for the next Dark Matter and it looks like we'll be in the old Leopold Bros space. Strange but cool, the place looks great without all the giant lame-oid picnic tables in there.

SF was a blast, Axelrod or not. My former underling, Lloyd, played host as we ran back and forth between Oakland (two thumbs up to Groove Yard) and San Fran (three thumbs up to Aquarius), doing impromptu DJ sets at his awesome apartment (1 of 2 mixes I did will find a home here post-haste), and forgetting records to play at a party in SF. Damon P was a true champ for hooking me up with... everything. Revolver USA let me scope out their warehouse which was overwhelming/exhilarating. All of it was so nice but my sleep schedule is fucked.