It’s been a long time coming, but at last, Fresh Jamz is being reborn this Friday, May 18th. We know for a fact that Fresh Jamz has for a long time been the best and most lively happy hour in the Bay Area (possibly the world), and when we went on sabbatical last Summer we knew it would just be a matter of time until we found a better venue to re-open in.

So what makes Fresh Jamz so fresh? Like any recipe for a jam, you start off with the best ingredients—in this case, the people. This is one of those “friends and friends of friends” parties, so you know the people are good. Most work in schools or in related non-profits so you know they are energetic and ready to party.

A key part of making any canned good is to keep contaminants out. In this case, we are talking about stress and pretension. There is no cover, no dress code, no line… just a chance to celebrate the end of another good week and the start of the weekend with all your friends. And a great selection of beverages.

Lastly, when making jam you have to add an ingredient that will make it all gel together. In this case, it’s the music. DJ Odiaka and I guarantee that we will play great music—not just what you hear on the radio, but decades worth of classic soul, hip hop, reggae, and more. We will keep the dance floor moving, but we will also expose you to new and great music.

Bottom line, this is the party you don’t want to miss. We start at 5 pm but wrap things up at 10 pm, so arrive early and start your weekend right.

PS: There are quite a few great events happening just blocks away in Oakland afterwards, we highly recommend checking out the 45 Sessions at Disco Volante (all 7 inch records) featuring friends of the blog Platurn, Enki, and Shortcut. We also strongly recommend the always live Skillet party at the Layover featuring even more friends of the blog: DJ Crimson and Matthew Africa!

Here is a live recording of our last Fresh Jamz event… enjoy!

Today one of the most popular soul bassists of all time, Donald “Duck” Dunn, passed away. He started playing with members of what would become Booker T. & the MGs while in high school, and eventually became one of the most sampled bassists of all time through his time as the Stax Records house band. “Duck” Dunn was one of the first names I learned from reading old record labels, and one I was never surprised to see in the credits of my favorite rap songs. He never stopped playing, and in fact passed away while on tour in Japan. 

For a great introduction or retrospective, check out the homie DJ Crimson’s Tribute to Stax mix, and remember: don’t wait until they’re dead to honor them.

Midnight in the Desert

Yo! Had a great Spring Break a few weeks ago full of DJing and DJ culture. I gotta update y’all and show off the pics. 

First stop was my annual trip to the Mojave Desert. Great times with great folks, and I hope many of you reading this will join us next year… it’s fun as hell!

I started off Saturday morning with an all 45s set—you guys know I love playing 45s, and playing them in the desert (as the records warp in the sun, as they blow away in the wind, as the dust covers them) is a seriously fun challenge and a great way to stick a middle finger up at fate and caution. These records were meant to be played!

Saturday night I switched formats and played another few hours as we basked in the full moon. Sweet Soul music moved into Golden Age Hip Hop and then piles of Dancehall and club bangers. We had a great time—in the desert everyone is in the VIP booth, and anything goes.

That was my first experience using Traktor. I usually use Serato as my digital DJing interface and Traktor is their main competition. Amongst DJs it can be like the Apple vs PC debate, so it was interesting to experience the other side. I will definitely stick with Serato—I like the interface much better—but I can see the advantages of Traktor as well, especially if you play non-vocal electronic music with long blends that lend themselves to the use of effects. The “auto-sync,” while much hated on by many DJs, can definitely save you time… when it can actually get the beats right (not very accurate with reggae and many syncopated genres). It was also my first time using a “controller” (as opposed to vinyl or CDs to control the music), so I think that effected my Traktor experience as well. I guess in the desert, any format has challenges. I will post the set I played as soon as I have it.

After a great weekend in the desert, I had planned to head to Los Angeles to see some old friends and my old stomping grounds. This visit got a short delay when I was convinced to make a quick trip to Vegas. Oh well!

Once I made it to LA, the good times were instant and non-stop. In addition to catching up with tons of friends (and some of their new babies), I had to go check out all the record stores and the clubs where I used to be a fixture.

Hitting the clubs was great. LA has a very cool reggae scene that has only grown in the last 10 years. Q Bwoy, one of the proprietors of LAReggaeClubs.com and one of the best promoters in the history of show business was of course a gracious host and asked me to join him and the homie DJ Higher on the decks at PumPum Tuesdays in Hollywood. I first met these cats in 1998 when we were all cutting our teeth in the game, and it’s awesome to see how we’ve built our skills and careers.

The biggest changes in my LA experience were in record shopping. When I left, Amoeba was the newcomer on the block, and although the business was hurting there was still a decent record store in each section of LA. Since then, iconic stores like Aron’s, Fat Beats, and Rhino LA have closed, but the survivors have gotten even stronger and are definitely worth a visit.

Stop one was of course Amoeba. I’ve been shopping at the Berkeley location literally since the day it opened in 1990, and the same is true of the LA store in 2001. IIt was a good time shopping there and I came up on some fun 45s. Later that day I checked out Turntable Lab, a store I’ve bought online from many times. Although the record selection is not their strong point, it is one of the few places where DJ equipment is in stock all the time and you can actually put your hands on it and ask questions of the knowledgeable staff.

The real come up was on the way out of LA when I stopped at Record Surplus in its new location on Santa Monica Boulevard.

Come-ups included a Star Wars picture disc, a white vinyl version of Barrington Levy’s Place Too Dark (some dubs of which are featured on my Dub mix), and a 10 inch single vinyl of Gregory Isaacs’ “Night Nurse.” Never even knew that pressing existed. I picked up a couple other classic reggae 10 inch singles on the Island/Mango label as well, along with the “usual” pile of 7 inch singles.

All in all, the perfect vacation. Good friends, great music, and a stack of good records!

Happy Cinco everybody! Last Summer, the wifey & I got to enjoy the city of Puebla, México where the battle celebrated by Cinco de Mayo took place. We actually got to visit the site of the battle as well. The highlight of Puebla, though, is definitely the food. The song below is the one that was stuck in my head the entire time we were there. Enjoy.

I have some very talented friends, and this is what happened when they all collaborated on  a film about a possible future for American education. Check it out!

Big up Tina Mabry, Karim Ahmad, and Angela Badami on their work!

As many of you know, education, particularly public education is an issue near and dear to my heart. It is my employment and my passion. In fact, my passion for music developed with my passion for education—music is one of the best ways to educate that humanity has ever developed. While things in urban public education are no where near as bad as they are portrayed in Tina’s vision of the future, the reality is that with the unstructured growth of charter schools accountable to no one, immoral lawmakers prioritizing campaign contributions and war mongering over children, and changing demographics in urban areas, the solid public education that helped build our nation is very much at risk. There will always be people who do not compromise and will educate children come what may, but these people need to be supported and we must encourage more talented individuals to join them.

This is not a politics or education blog, so I will keep it at that. If you’d like to dialogue more, please use the comments section or let’s chat in person!

If you like this episode, there is an entire series of Futurestates films, written and directed by some of the world’s most talented filmakers, and overseen by the proven eye and skill of Karim Ahmad. Check them out!

Jah Sun Feat. Peter Morgan, real nice tune here. And featuring Ras Terms, one of my favorite artists!

Well here it is folks, the last edition (for now) of my mixtape series dedicated to 45s. This is Volume 3.

This time I had a slightly different philosophy when I hit record. First of all, I had unearthed two key stacks of vinyl that I had temporarily misplaced. The first stack was a few tunes that I had bought back in the late 80′s on 45. They were mostly hip hop. The other stack was a real treat—a few hip hop 45s that I had bought in Holland when I was there in 1997. I went to the Amsterdam Fat Beats but had no money. I met a guy outside the shop who was trying to get rid of some vinyl but the store wasn’t buying. We cut out the middle man and both got what we wanted (there were crazy hip hop picture sleeves in Europe on the 7 inch singles). You all reap the benefits.

The other change in the recording process was that I took my time. I spent much more energy arranging these songs than I did on the fist two volumes and as a result the mix is a little more coherent and a lot longer than the others. The cuts between songs are quick in many instances, but it fits with the over all flow (I hope). Check it out here to stream or download, if you like it please click the little “like” button and pass it along to a friend!

This mix pretty much had to contain most of the remaining “must play” 45s I had. As I was going through them, I sort of arranged them into four stacks of records, with some kind of theme for each pile.

Tracklist:

The first little chunk basically answers whether or not I really felt like making another mix using only 45s. I just have too many great ones to not play ‘em, so the Staple Singers explain my philosophy. I recorded the mix in January, and a friend was talking about Mardi Gras. The next few tunes are about that, and moves into a meditation on sampling. But yes, I do have two copies of Bob James’ Take Me To The Mardi Gras.

Chunk number two is all about the breaks, as Kurtis Blow explains. Not Just breaks in general (hell, the whole series is about them), but about the songs that really inspired much of the original breakin movement. For a while I did an event in LA that attracted a lot of b-boys and girls, and I was always amazed at the effect some of these tunes had on the crowd. The last tune hopefully will be an eye-opener for some—I was first exposed to 45 King‘s “900 number” as a very young teen, and finding the original was one of my first digging successes. The DJ Kool track is one of most famous uses of the 900 number, I was surprised to find it on 45 since it sounds like it was recorded at a house party!

The next set is obviously West Coast Hip Hop samples. As a California boy, many of these songs shaped my sensibilities of what music should sound like, and I always snapped up copies of the original samples. In retrospect, I see where my connection with Southern Soul, specifically on the Stax label, began.

“What You See Is What You Get” is sort of the definition of 45s: there are no shortcuts or digital tricks involved in this mix. Just years of digging combined with my rather rudimentary technical skills on the turntables. The rest of the set is sort of the leftovers that I just had to use in a 45s mix, great songs that really defined certain times in my music-listening life. Some of them I purchased when they were released, some I purchased years later. Of course it had to end with an all timer—an extra crackly version of an Otis song on a Stax 45.

Overall, I feel good about the mix and it’s varied enough that I think it will keep people entertained for while. Let me know what you think in the comments section or click “like” on the soundcloud or mixcrate pages!

And now for some digger’s porn:

Not very creative but at least it's a picture sleeve!

Check out our previous Mixtape Monday features for more great tunes & interviews!

Mixtape Monday: 45-7 Volume 2

Mixtape Monday: 45-7 Volume 1

Mixtape Monday: DJ Crimson’s Tribute to Stax

Mixtape Monday: Delgado in Dub

Mixtape Monday: Matthew Africa’s Soul Boulders 2

Mixtape Monday: DJ Skyscraper’s Tupac Originals

Mixtape Monday: DJ Enki Breaks It Down

Mixtape Monday: DJ Delgado’s Wifey’s Request

Mixtape Monday: DJ Pipo’s Bringin 88 Back

Mixtape Monday: DJ Gaffle’s Hip Hop Heads Rejoice

Mixtape Monday: DJ Treat U NIce’s Girls Mix

Mixtape Monday: DJ Delgado’s Fire Volume 8 (Old School Dancehall)

Mixtape Monday: DJ Platurn’s Best of A Tribe Called Quest

Mixtape Monday: DJ Delgado’s Fire Volume Vol 4 (Old School Dancehall)

Mixtape Monday: DJ Boom Bostic’s Fast To Slow

Mixtape Monday: DJ Delgado’s Bicycle Mix

Mixtape Monday: The 10 Best Hip Hop Songs of All Time?!?!

Mixtape Monday: DJ Joe Quixx’s Heavy Duty Volume 1

Mixtape Monday: DJ Odiaka’s Soul Meeting

A Taste of Honey's version of Sukiyaki, this is the 45's picture sleeve.

Well, it turns out that it actually wasn’t called Sukiyaki at all. The original version, as

Original cover for "Sukiyaki"

recorded by Kyu Sakamoto, is called “(Ue o muite arukō)/Anoko no Namae wa Nantenkana,” which more or less means “I shall walk facing up.” Capitol thought it would be a hit outside of Japan as well, and distributed it worldwide. However, they were concerned about the title being inaccessible, so they renamed it for a well known Japanese dish. Clever or disturbing (or both), the ploy worked and the song is the only Japanese language song to reach number one on the American Billboard Hot 100 charts, which it did in 1963.

Eighteen years later, one of the members of A Taste of Honey wrote her own lyrics to the same tune. Again, the subject was heartbreak and the sales were terrific, reaching number one on the Billboard soul and adult contemporary charts, and number three on the the overall hot 100 chart. However when granted permission to use the song, she signed away all the rights to the recording as well as the royalties. I guess some songs just need to be made, regardless of what’s in it for the song writer.

Listen to both versions below, and check out the amazing whistling on the original.

Here is a recording of the 45 I bought at the White Elephant sale:

And, just to “run di riddim,” here is a you tube video that has the song in seven different languages.

I’ve already had a post called the best hip hop songs in history—here is another list, presented in beat box form.

I’ve scoured the world (literally) for dope music on 45, but sometimes I do not need to look far. This week, one of my Dj homies joins us with a very special interview about his own release, a rework of a classic tune we all know and love. This week we have Vancouver’s own DJ Soo with his first ever 45 release: “The Message.”

Enjoy the track here, read the interview below and support vinyl by buying the record here!

A good piece of advice that I’ve been trying to adhere to is to try to separate composition

DJ Soo says: "Don't get caught up in the details!"

from sound design and mixing. For instance when you decide to work on writing your tune, make sure you spend that time actually writing it—don’t worry about making that bass synth sound just perfect or making your drums pop in the mix, just spend that time writing the song. Schedule separate times to work on things like the sound design or the mix down of tracks so you can keep your time efficient. There’s nothing worse than finding your creativity come to a grinding halt as you struggle to tweak your synth just right and the next thing you know, you’ve lost a bunch of ideas you had intended to implement because you spent an hour fiddling with the knobs instead of actually doing any writing.

Well, I can’t say there was too much of a process to be honest, I made a track I thought was hot, posted it on Soundcloud and got a ton of attention (I believe it peaked at #6 on the Soundcloud “Hot Tracks” list) and then Ghetto Funk came calling. I’d already been loosely associated with the label in the past since my partner DJ Wood had had a bunch of stuff released on it. I am also friends with a bunch of the artists on the label who have been supporting my stuff so it wasn’t like it was a cold call…

The first is purely superficial: it’s just cool to have stuff on 45. It’s cool to have stuff on vinyl these days, but to have it on a 45? That’s easily a +5 to coolness especially in today’s digital world.

Find out more about DJ Soo at www.WoodnSoo.com, and find him on soundcloud, facebook, and twitter!

Here’s the video of the original, in case you are in the mood for some nostalgia!