Djnyc Funk n' Soul, nyc dj

Jamaica Ska Kore Roots Reggae/ Rocksteady Compilation

Picking up where our top roots reggae tracks list left off, this is one of the first compilations I bought that get me into roots reggae/ rock steady music.  While I think like any genre you have to pick through it to find the choice tracks there are several on here worth mentioning.  Some of them appear on other compilations like this so I'll leave those out.  But my favorites from this one are Never You Change by The Maytals and Soul Ska by Byron Lee which is such a great song.   

Our next event is at the Westside Loft

Our event next week will be held at the Westside Loft.  We've been in that location several times before, for a party at Penthouse 15 and another event at Loft Eleven.  It's a great space with amazing views of the Hudson river.  When spaces like this are rented it's usually a little different for the vendors because instead of having a staff Maitre'D and restaurant employees there is a separate catering company, flower company, photographers, and djs.  There is an upside to this in that they are usually a little less pricey per plate than somewhere like the Bryant Park Grill, the downside is that you have to be responsible for a lot more aspects of your event than you would at a turnkey type of place.  It's key to have an event planner if you're having an event at a place like the Westside Loft to oversee everything.

More photos from Tobacco Warehouse - 9-15-07

I've been meaning to post a few more photos of us at the Tobacco Warehouse a couple of weeks ago and below you can see both Sean and myself there in the background of the second two photos.  Invariably at events getting photos is usually one of the last things on our minds since there usually are so many other details involving music, coordination, planning etc that are more relevant for the moment. 

Photos from the Carlton Hotel - 9-23-07

Here are a few photos from the first part of the event on Sunday.  We've gotten requests for more photos of us at events so you can see me here at the Carlton.  It was a little bit odd of a setup, they had the dinner on one side us in this small middle section and the dance area off to the right.  It was an amazing view from both rooms into the atrium of the Carlton which is quite beautiful.   You can see a closer shot as well of Alexandra and Joel.

Mix from the Carlton - Alexandra and Joel

To illustrate their amazing taste in music I posted the CD jacket of the mix they gave everyone. I was too lazy to type all the songs.  There are some newly found gems on there, particularly Donald Byrd's Spaces and Places and Gal Costa's Barato Total.

Last night at Flute Bar Grammercy

Last night was excellent, we went very late until about 4 am. Alexandra was from Venezuela and Joel was from London so it was an amazing opportunity to play all kinds of music from Manu Chao to Wilfredo Vargas to Ray Barretto to Willie Colon, it helped that they had great taste in music.  Below our a few photos of Alex and Joel dancing on the bar at the after party while we were spinning.  Will post some more photos tomorrow. 

Here's a list of some of the tracks for below

Depois Do Carnaval -  Azymuth            
Tudo Que Voce Podia Ser  - Azymuth            
Hot N' Cold    Basement Jaxx            
Watch Out Now - Beatnuts            
I Know You Got Soul - Bobby Byrd                      
Viejo Socarron - Eddie Palmieri            
Águas De Março - Elis Regina E Tom Jobim            
Congo Man - Ernest Ranglin                     
Quitate Tu - Fania All-Stars            
Usted Abuso - Fania All-Stars            
Nappy Root    Funkadelic            
You Can't Miss What You Measure - Funkadelic
Barato Total - Gal Costa            
I Get Lifted - George McRae            
Happy Friends    The Greyboy Allstars            
Jungle Strut - The Greyboy Allstars                   
Lowdown Popcorn - James Brown            
It's A New Day - James Brown                              

It's Dancing Time - Mr Scruff & Quantic            
Suena Tu Bongo - Ocho            
La Cosa Se Pone Fuerte - Ocho            
Spottieottiedopaliscious - OutKast                     
The Heart's a Lonely Hunter - Thievery Corporation
Ran Kan Kan    Tito Puente            
Timbalero    Tito Puente
Che Che Cole - Willie Colon   

Some of the music for this weekend

Every once in a while we'll be hired be someone who is very passionate about music which is so excellent. Especially to be able to share with others music you think they'll love and vice versa, really the essence of being a dj.  This weekend we are excited to be playing a range of music where some of it is our favorite stuff.  I attached a list of some of the songs selected as well as the albums we'll be spinning.  It's a one way street to Tito Puente blvd.

Headed to the Carlton Hotel and Flute Bar this weekend

We're gearing up for some big events this weekend at the Carlton Hotel on Madison Ave and the Flute Bar in Grammercy.  The client that hired us is a big fan of the BBC radio shows with Gilles Peterson and Norman Page, so we're looking forward to spinning a nice mix of trip hop, electro jazz, afro soul, latin soul, roots funk, etc.   

More photos from Tobacco Warehouse DUMBO - 9-15-07

Waiting for the prints from the other camera which was used later in the evening but here are a few more photos.  It was a smaller event, about 65 people, but we were still able to play all kinds of music from salsa to brit pop to punk to latin soul to funk.  We were there for six hours so it was an opportunity to play all kinds of music.

Should you hire a dj for your event?

This is a question we've gotten in the past and there are a lot of considerations as to whether or not you need a dj. After djing for years in Los Angeles and New York City the biggest advice I can offer is that you simply can't plug in an ipod and wing it. Or hire the friend who's really into music but has never really done it before.  Especially in New York City where people tend to be highly selective about the music they like and do not like.  What if the system you rented goes down? Do you have a backup system? What if the speaker falls on someone or something accidentally, or it accidentally gets knocked over? Are you insured for that? What if you've invited 200 people to your event and they are various ages and cultural backgrounds?

If you are having a cocktail party or smaller event where dancing, etc are not as important you might be able to get away with hiring a friend, but the reason why you hire someone who has a lot of experience is their ability to keep everyone interested and ethusiastic for 4-6 hours.

A few ceremony photos from Tobacco Warehouse

Saturday started out gloomy, with rain and clouds in the morning, but by 1pm turned out to be one of the prettiest days of the year, with a slight breeze, no humidity and partial clouds.  The photographer was telling me how excellent the weather was for photographs, and since it was outside he was able use a few different lenses. The Tobacco Warehouse is in interesting place, and it's absolutely amazing they were able to cement their landmark/ state park status in that location.  If they were permitted to drop that left wall a bit the view would be even better. 

CMJ Songwriters Showcase @ Joe's Pub - 9/20

Have to diverge for a minute, I just found out about this, a show not to be missed.  One of my all time favorite singer songwriters, Patty Griffin, and amazing R & B artist Allen Toussaint, will be sharing the stage next Thursday at Joe's Pub for the Country Music Songwriter showcase.  I saw Patty Griffin earlier in the year on the heels of her new album Children Running Through and it was by far one of the best concerts I've ever been to.

Gearing up for the Tobacco Warehouse this weekend

We preparing for an event at the Tobacco Warehouse this weekend and it turns out to be a tricky place to set up equipment.  We were told there is only one outlet which is all the way on one side of the space and where we would be set up would be about 250 feet away, so we thought we'd have to be prepared to wire 500 feet of electrical cords.  Thankfully they've hired a lighting designer who will provide the power.  It should be an interesting day. 

The Warehouse was constructed in the early 1870's and originally designed to be a place to inspect tobacco.  I was thinking if there was some really early bluegrass or Tin Pan Alley we could play which might fit the history of the space, or some hit singles from the post civil war period like "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny" or "The March King", but I'm not sure anyone besides Sean who is a history buff would get it, not too mention that Tin Pan Alley doesn't exactly get the dance floor pumpin'.

Willie Colon - The Player

This album is on the Ipod today, favorite tracks are Malo, The Hustler, Che Che Cole, La Murga y Siembra.  Willie Colon has some of the best classic album covers in addition to some of my favorite Fania latin music.

A few more photos from 24 5th Ave

More photos from 24 5th Avenue

There were so many nice photos from the event we dj-ed at 24-th I thought to post some more.

Tito Puente and Charlie Palmieri lighting up the Bronx

The Pioneers cont'd

Getting back to our roots reggae discussion and my complaints about Starbucks, the song Starvation by the Pioneers is actually one of my favorites by them.  You can check out the clip below, give it a second to load...

The Pioneers in Starbucks

We often arrange to meet people in a Starbucks in Manhattan if they are interested in us for an event. Last night while I was waiting for everyone to arrive I couldn't believe the music that was blaring out of the speakers.  A while back I posted our top 20 roots reggae tracks and 9 of those twenty songs I heard amidst the drone of the Starbucks machine noises busily draining the soul out of the neighborhood, or in this case block, since there are 3 others in the vicinity. 

It's a company that always struck me as faux finish, with the occasional environmental bone thrown to South America or some other location while they expand at Trump level greed proportions and charge $5 for coffee drinks.  But then to hear some of the most sacred roots reggae (to me anyway) tracks playing like the Pioneers Long Shot Kick De Bucket struck a chord. I ran over to the Starbucks Entertainment Rack and was expecting to see Toots on the cover of the CD and the Starbucks CEO on the back.  To my relief it was XM Radio's The Joint playing, where at least the djs there are music afficionados.

New York Hilton for Ad Tech 2007

We'll be at the New York hilton at the beginning of November again for the Ad Tech 2007 conference.  Last year was excellent, were able to play music from Jamaica, Senegal, Detroit, France, Brazil and Venezuela.  This year we'll probably play a similar set with some additional eletrco jazz, trip hop and roots funk thrown in. 

Back to the Rhineback scholarly thoughts...

Pardon the resolution this was from a small point and shoot digital camera. Click on it to play

Classic - Muddy Waters and Sonny Boy Williamson

I like the Jimmy Smith version better but this is great!  Click to play, need to add controllers to these things.

Scholarly thoughts on Rhineback, wine and song.

The video to be posted in a few days, it'll be funny I promise.  What we've realized after djing these gigs for a while in New York City is how much easier it can be to have a gig at a venue a little bit outside the city.  Often times the majority of the stress is getting there, unloading, setting up etc.  The Rainbow Room and it's security were really strict, they had fingerprint machines, 4 levels of security, but waiting to get in at the end of the night really reminds you of how key it is where the event will be held.