Christmas Tunes!

Yeah, yeah, Christmas was a few days ago... I have a holiday music fetish. Below, a track listing for the 10th edition of my annual xmas mix, and a link to a piece I contributed to the cool Seattle-based pop culture blog Monkey Goggles. Happy Holidays!

I Like Xmas Music, and So Do You (Oh Yes, You Do)

A DJ SODA POP CHRISTMAS 2010
Monte & Marsha Brown / Cajun Christmas
Casey MacGill's Blue 4 Trio / Egg Nog
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings / Ain't No Chimneys in the Projects
The Puppini Sisters / Let It Snow
Louis Prima / What Will Santa Claus Say When He Finds Everybody Swinging?
Huey "Piano" Smith / Doing the Santa Claus
Rufus Thomas / I'll Be Your Santa Baby
The Marcels / Merry Twist-Mas
Blind Boys of Alabama w/ Tom Waits / Go Tell It on the Mountaun
Benny Martin / Santa Claus is From the South
Little Jimmie Dickens / Barefooted Little Cowboy
Eddie Hazelwood / Blue Shadows on a White Christmas Tree
Loretta Lynn / To Heck With Oid Santa Claus
The Wailers / Christmas Spirit
Untamed Youth / Santa's Gonna Shut 'Em Down
Detroit Junior / Christmas Day
Debbie Dabney / I Want to Spend Christmas with Elvis (Heartbreak Noel)
Foghat / All I Want For Christmas Is You
NRBQ / Christmas Wish
Pink Martini / Congratulations (A Happy New Year Song)

What Time Is It?

Boy, I haven't posted in four months. That's a long time here in Blogville. Since we last met, I've played some weddings, most notably one for an esteemed roller derby alum from the team my lovely wife skated for; the Seattle Seahawkers booster club Halloween party; an 80s theme party fundraiser for the Leukemia Foundation. Some song highlights from memory:

Sockit Wench Alum Wedding:
"Admiral and Commander" from Battlestar Galactica - first dance
"Untouched" by the Veronicas - garter toss
"Let's Do It" by Joan Jett & Paul Westerberg - recessional

Seahawkers Halloween Party:
"Bo Meets the Monster" by Bo Diddley
"Trick Or Treat" by Otis Redding
"Transylvania Terror Train" by Captain Clegg And The Night Creatures

My Own Wedding DJs
Is there no better testimonial for a DJ than from another DJ? My lovely wife and I eloped Memorial Day in Vegas. Then we threw a circus-themed party for family and friends, complete with lollipops, Cracker Jacks, a popcorn machine, Dante's Inferno Dogs, live entertainment by The Aerialistas, The Shanghai Pearl and others. Our DJs were awesome. DJ Chairman Moe played circus-themed music early and set the tone. Maude Elletee played the ensuing dance party and brilliantly wove in our requests for such things as the J. Geils Band, Elvis, and Sam & Dave.

Rat City at KeyArena 2011
Yes, we've banged the gavel, the brutal contract negotiations have concluded in a happy manner which resembles something more pleasant than a piranha attack (very brutal: "so, you wanna be our DJ again next season?" - "uh, long as you guys are still separatin' the red M&Ms from the snack bowl per my hospitality rider, uh, YEAH!"

Getcha Rat City Rollergirls Event Info Right Here - Tickets On Sale December 16

Now, some wedding photos courtesy of the magnificently awesome Lilly Warner

Love is a Sockit Wench

The Sockit Wenches is a roller derby team. My wife played on this team, my sister was a captain and is now head coach. I see the girls on this team as sisters and cousins. I love 'em to pieces. So when Shovey Chase called and asked, "can you play a Guilty Pleasures themed dance party for us?" I said Yes for a few reasons. Interesting theme. Balancing the dance party and guilty pleasure elements would be fun.

Disclaimer: there were many requests and I like to honor those. My general policy is, if I have it, I'll play it. Here it went:

Barry Manilow – Mandy
Neil Diamond – Crackling Rosie
Tom Jones - What’s New Pussycat
Average White Band – Pick Up the Pieces
Bon Jovi – You Give Love a Bad Name
The Monkees - Mary Mary
Run-DMC - Mary Mary
Prince – Gett Off
Queen – Fat Bottomed Girls
Cher – If I Could Turn Back Time
Justin Timberlake – Rock Your Body
Right Said Fred - I’m Too Sexy
Jamiroquai – Virtual Insanity
Scandal – The Warrior
Cheap Trick – Dream Police
The Time – Jungle Love
B-52s – Love Shack
Devo – (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
50 Cent – Candy Shop
Pitbull – I Know You Want Me
LL Cool J – Mama Said Knock You Out
Flo-Rida – Right Round
Grandmaster & Melle Mel – White Lines
Lady Gaga – Poker Face
House of Pain – Jump
C+C Music Factory – Gonna Make You Sweat
Digital Underground – the Humpty Dance
Salt N Pepa – Shoop
Naughty By Nature – OPP
Tag Team - Whoomp! (There It Is)
Abba – Take a Chance On Me
Warren G – Regulate
Cyndi Lauper – She Bop
New Kids on the Block – Hangin’ Tough
Michael Sambello – Maniac
Violent Femmes – Add It Up
Pussycat Dolls – Buttons
Kool & the Gang – Jungle Boogie
Madonna vs. Kelis – Holiday/Milkshake mash-up
Heavy D & the Boyz – Now That We Found Love
Color Me Badd – I Wanna Sex You Up
Old Dirty Bastard – Got Your Money
Katie Perry – California Gurls
Pink – Get the Party Started
David Bowie – Magic Dance
Lady Gaga vs. Journey – Just Stop Believin’ mash-up
Spice Girls – Wannabe
Bel Biv Devoe - Poison
Ludacris – Move Bitch
2pac & Dr. Dre – California Love
Nine Inch Nails / 50 Cent – Closer / In Da Club mash-up
Black Eyed Peas – Boom Boom Pow
M.I.A. – Paper Planes
Sir Mix-a-Lot – Baby Got Back
Beyonce – Single Ladies
Tone Loc – Funky Cold Medina
Marky Mark & the Funky Bunch – Good Vibrations
Snoop Doggy Dogg - What’s My Name?
Billy Squier – The Stroke
The Time – The Bird
Prince – Sexy M.F.
Britney Spears – Toxic
Rocky Horror Picture Show Cast – Sweet Transvestite
Toto – Africa
Jay-Z w/ Alicia Keys – New York State of Mind
Bruce Springsteen – Hungry Heart
USA For Africa – We Are the World

High School Reunion

Interesting gig tonight. I've played at King Street Bar & Oven many times. [disclosure: the owner, Troy, is a very good friend] Their Fat Tuesday event last year was a blast, playing 8 or 9 hours of New Orleans music. I did a Friday residency there from February into November 2009 which called for mostly Top 20 and hip hop, not my regular cup of tea but it was a good challenge to stay on top of current pop music. Tonight, it was a pretty specific niche occasion: the 30th reunion of Bishop Blanchet High School's Class of 1980. The task: only play music released between 1976 and 1980, go a little light on '76 because the Class of 1980 was in junior high for half the year, and go even lighter on '80 because half that year's music wasn't on the radio until the Class of 1980 was in college. The idea: focus on rock during cocktails and dinner, then shift to disco, funk and dance music after that, generally stick with the hits and not the obscure stuff. That's a pretty narrow well to dip into, but on the upside, '76-'80 was a rich, diverse and plentiful period which gave us a lot of great music that has held up over time.

A guy approached me about the play list. As it turns out, he attended this and another high school and he's in charge of the music at his other school's 30th. As fate would have it, I was keeping track of what I was playing in a notebook, just for fun. So I gave this web address to the nice fellow and promised to post the play list for him. Here goes:

Artist - Song (year of release)
Billy Joel - Scenes From an Italian Restaurant (77)
Peter Tosh - Legalize It (76)
Van Halen - Dance the Night Away (79)
Elvis Costello - Pump It Up (78)
Warren Zevon - Werewolves of London (78)
ZZ Top - Cheap Sunglasses (79)
The Police - Roxanne (78)
UFO - Lights Out (77)
Pink Floyd - Run Like Hell (79)
Steely Dan - Josie (77)
Prince - I Wanna Be Your Lover (79)
Hall & Oates - Rich Girl (76)
Jackson Browne - Running On Empty (77)
Bob Seger - Still the Same (78)
Gary Wright - Dream Weaver (76)
Heart - Straight On (78)
Bruce Springsteen - Candy's Room (78)
Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way (77)
Ram Jam - Black Betty (78)
The Rolling Stones - Shattered (78)
The Clash - Clampdown (79)
The Knack - My Sharona (79)
Talking Heads - Life During Wartime (79)
Rush - The Spirit of Radio (80)
Bob Dylan - Gotta Serve Somebody (79)
Marvin Gaye - Got To Give It Up, Pt. 1 (77)
The Grateful Dead - Shakedown Street (78)
The Who - Sister Disco (78)
KISS - Calling Dr. Love (76)
Steve Miller Band - Jet Airliner (77)
The Pretenders - Brass in Pocket (79)
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Here Comes My Girl (79)
Lynyrd Skynyrd - That Smell (77)
Aerosmith - Last Child (76)
Cheap Trick - Dream Police (79)
Atlanta Rhythm Section - Champagne Jam (76)
J. Geils Band - Come Back (80)
Blue Oyster Cult - (Don't Fear) the Reaper (76)
The Ramones - Rockaway Beach (77)
Led Zeppelin - Fool in the Rain (79)
Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing (78)
Billy Joel - Only the Good Die Young (77)
Boston - Rock & Roll Band (76)
The Eagles - Life in the Fast Lane (76)
Michael Jackson - Rock With You (79)

At this point, we made a change. The way we'd set the DJ area, the music could only play through the main PA speakers on the dance floor, which is normal in most venues. King Street has satellite speakers on the far end of the room and outside under the canopy of the beer garden, and while the sound board inputs are at the dance floor, the brain of the system is located in a closet office on the far end of the room. In all the nights I've played here, the current set-up allows what I'm playing directly into the PA to also pipe through the satellite speakers which makes for even distribution of sound, i.e., we don't have to blast the main PA in order for the music to be audible to people on the far end of the room and outside. It's a nice system which I enjoy, all the gear is top-notch and distributed sound is simply better than a PA in one corner - which makes sense given that Troy is a serious music buff and among the things that separate him from most bar and restaurant owners (and people), he identifies with the value and importance of music and sound. But tonight, for reasons none of us can figure out - not I, not Troy, and not Jeremiah the bartender who doubles as sound guy and has been priceless in all my gigs at King Street - it seems everything is wired the same as it ever was, but it just isn't working the same way tonight. With the music only playing through the main PA, it's too loud for those close to it, too soft for those on the far end, and there's no sound outside. If we abandon the DJ station and just play music from a laptop in the venue's office, we can enjoy the benefits of fully distributed sound but will be limited to only playing through one laptop. Tonight, I'm working with two laptops and a case of 200 CDs. We're faced with a choice between distributed sound with far less music options and flexibility, and the PA-only system which offers three times the music options and flexibility but which will drown out half the people's conversation while the other half won't hear much of anything. Troy decides and we all agree, distributed sound for this occasion is the priority. So while I played a longer song at the DJ station (Zeppelin's "Fool in the Rain" clocks in at 6:12), Jeremiah migrated one of the laptops to the closet office, I jumped over and got the next song going in time, created an iTunes playlist of late 70s dance/disco/funk which would get 'em through the night while playing the last four songs on the list above, then ran the new playlist on shuffle with a 3-second crossfade and let it ride.

Tonight's gig was not ideal, but thanks to some good people (Troy, Jeremiah) and our collective ability to improvise, adapt, and overcome, hopefully we were able to provide a seamless soundtrack of music that brought Bishop Blanchet's Class of '80 back to the tunes they knew and loved in high school.

To the guy I posted tonight's playlist for, email me for tips on the dance party side of things. sodapopseattle@gmail.com

Weddings!

Tonight, I played a very fun wedding. In a rare set of circumstances, the couple was perfect - they love music and have great taste, totally have their stuff together, know what they do and don't want, have communicated and been accessible with perfect clarity every step of the way, while also being delightfully laid back and open to ideas and suggestions... have I mentioned they, their family and guests are just the nicest people you could ever hope to meet?

Wedding Season is upon us. With (typically) three generations of people in the room, (often) small factions of people who know each other but not anyone else who gather in a handful of places throughout the room, and the resulting "you can't please all the people all the time" reality... weddings can be challenging. How does a DJ deal with that? It varies. If you're looking at wedding magazines and conventions, you'll find DJs who are good and professional but who only play the standard schlock, anything from the Electric Slide and the Macarena to YMCA and the Chicken Dance. The hippest song you might hear is Brown Eyed Girl and the DJ is almost definitely using a lighting tree.

As a DJ, your job is to play to the crowd, spin music that will best facilitate the people within hearing distance having the best possible time. No matter the event or venue, it's not enough to simply play good music. You've got to play the right stuff at the right time, manage the tempo, choose thoughtful sequences, handle requests - find ways to reject the ones that don't make sense without offending the requester, adjust your flow to honor the ones that do in a timely manner. Take the time in preparation to know the audience and play specific artists, songs, eras and genres to connect with the folks, the occasion, and any circumstances which inspire a particular piece of music. With a wedding, this means learning about the bride, groom, and their family & friends. Where are they from? What do they do for a living? What are their hobbies and interests? Where'd they go to school? What'd they study? Answers to these and other questions help personalize the experience for the audience, not to mention the wonderful folks who've thoughtfully chosen to hire you to manage and administer the soundtrack for their wedding, the celebration of the most meaningful decision of their life together.

I love playing weddings for all the above reasons.

This one was particularly fun. Cocktail hour had some of the bride and groom's personal favorites, including Wilco, Snow Patrol, Mountain Goats, and Death Cab For Cutie. Dinner music included anything from Sam & Dave and Tony Bennett, to Medeski Martin & Wood and the Brand New Heavies. Dancing included contemporary stuff from Sean Kingston, Lady Gaga and Flo-Rida as well as older stuff by Ray Charles, and 90s gems from the likes of Bel Biv Devoe, Young MC, Marky Mark & the Funky Bunch, and Ton Loc. As the couple is moving to Boston, we closed the night with the Dropkick Murphys "I'm Shipping Up To Boston" and as the Chairman must be present at all weddings, "Summer Wind."

Rat City Championship

Tonight was the Season Six championship bout for the Rat City Rollergirls at Key Arena. I've been their DJ this year and it has been a blast, the most fun I've had as a DJ. I get to play what I want, enjoy the supreme professionalism and preparedness of the production staff at the arena and the skaters who run the show, primarily Jordan, Nancy, and Jen - thy REALLY have it together and it translates straight to a five-star experience for everyone from the DJ to the volunteer stage hands to the skaters to the paying public. Tonight's sold-out house of around 7,000 set a modern roller derby world attendance record. What a blast! Here's the playlist:

Warm-ups:
Frank Sinatra – The Lady is a Tramp
Elvis Presley – Viva Las Vegas
Chuck Berry – Maybellene
The Ronettes – Be My Baby
Pink Martini – Let’s Never Stop Falling in Love
Max Raabe & the Orchester Palaste – Uptown Girl

Doors open:
Johnny Cash – Get Rhythm
Siouxsie & the Banshees – Peek-a-Boo
T. Rex – Mambo Sun
Holiday / Milkshake mash-up
Gorillaz – DARE
LCD Soundsystem – Drunk Girls
B-52’s – Pump
Space – Female of the Species
David Perry – RCRG Theme remix
White Stripes – My Doorbell
Sparks – This Town Ain’t Big Enough For the Both of Us
Presidents of the United States of America – Kitty
Stone Temple Pilots – Vaseline
Screaming Trees – Nearly Lost You
Marvin Gaye – Can I Get a Witness
Morris Day & the Time – The Bird

Intro & Begin Bout 1 Half 1:
The Dollyrots – Brand New Key
The Cure – The Walk (Infusion Mix)
Ozzy Osbourne – Let Me Hear You Scream
Led Zeppelin – Communication Breakdown
INXS – Need You Tonight (Static Revenger Edit remix)
Def Leppard – Rocket
The Muffs – Don’t Pick On Me
Devo – Through Being Cool
Sex Pistols – Anarchy in the UK
Kiss – Detroit Rock City
Sammy Hagar – I Can’t Drive 55
Jimi Hendrix – Foxy Lady
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Dig, Lazarus, Dig!

Bout 1 Halftime:
The Juliettes – RCRG Anthem
Gnarls Barkley – Crazy
Raphael Saadiq – 100 Yard Dash
John Williams – The Imperial March

Bout 1 Half 2:
Gin Blossoms – Hey Jealousy
The Big Pink – Dominos
.38 Special – Caught Up In You
Talking Heads – Life During Wartime
Mudhoney – Touch Me I’m Sick
Culture Club – Do You Really Want To Hurt Me
Billy Squier – Everybody Wants You
Metallica – Hit the Lights
Blondie – One Way Or Another
Urge Overkill – Positive Bleeding
The Runaways – Cherry Bomb

Post Bout 1:
Elton John – Rocket Man
Queen – Flash

Halftime:
Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feeling
Michael Jackson – Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough

Bout 2 Half 1:
Black Sabbath – Children of the Grave
Motley Crue – Kickstart My Heart
Drivin N Cryin – Fly Me Courageous
Andrew W.K. – Party Hard
Reverend Horton Heat – Big Red Rocket of Love
Franz Ferdinand – Do You Want To
David Bowie – Rebel Rebel
Flo Rida - Right Round
Sealth – Punk Rock Party
The Clash – Brand New Cadillac
Soul Asylum – Somebody to Shove
Cheap Trick – She’s Tight
Devo – Whip It

Bout 2 Half 2:
Blur – Song 2
Wolfmother – Woman
Social Distortion – Bad Luck
Manowar – Wheels of Fire
Cyndi Lauper – She Bop
The Gits – Spear & Magic Helmet
Judas Priest – Freewheel Burning
Dropkick Murphys – I’m Shipping Up To Boston
Iron Maiden – Run to the Hills
Guns N Roses – Welcome to the Jungle
The Gossip – Standing in the Way of Control
AC/DC – Thunderstruck

Post Bout 2:
Queen – We Are the Champions
Bon Jovi – Living on a Prayer

Exit:
Bruce Springsteen – The Fever

Gay Football and Derby Queens?

sodapopseattle@gmail.com

I played a fundraiser tonight for Seattle Gaels, a Gaelic football and hurling club. What a fun group of folks! My DJ partner in crime was the lovely Jo Jo Stiletto, who selected some tunes (her choices were on the money every time, as always) and kept me company all night (this never gets old). A group of Irish footballers is quite the fun crowd to play for, these guys and gals in particular, they were awesome. Adding to the fun, a healthy handful of athletes from the Rat City Rollergirls were there and were delightfully complimentary of the music. This means a lot to me because I know them to have good but artistically discriminating taste. Speaking of Rat City...

Women's Flat Track Roller Derby is awesome.
As the Rat City Rollergirls' DJ this season, I get to play at Key Arena, former home of the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics and current home of the WNBA's Seattle Storm. At all the matches I am on the arena floor, on my own little stage, playing the music bed from the time doors open until the last of 'em have left the building. It's 100% fun and I'm given free reign to play whatever I want, which means all corners of the musical universe ranging from heavy metal (Motorhead, Iron Maiden), old school hip hop (LL Cool J, Run-DMC), showtunes ("The Time Warp" from Rocky Horror, "Cool Rider" from Grease 2), old soul and r&b (Sam & Dave, James Brown), and classic rock (Rush, the Stones), etc. Now, this is not the same roller derby you saw in the 70s with Raquel Welch in the Kansas City Bomber, and it isn't exactly the same as what you saw in last year's Whip It with Drew Barrymore. The main difference is, with a couple exceptions (Los Angeles and one of the two leagues in Austin) the 21st Century edition of roller derby is played on a flat track and not the traditional banked track with steel railings around the perimeter. The result? It's a real sport now, not a pro wrestling circus with a dash of sport as we previously knew. Chances are, women's flat track roller derby is being played in your area right now. For more info., check out the governing body for all the derby leagues in the U.S., WFTDA. Lastly, a great documentary film was made during the Rat City Rollergirls' second season (2006), it has shown in a slew of indie film festivals, has picked up some awards along the way and is now available wherever you buy or rent DVDs - amazon, Netflix, etc. - check it out: Blood On The Flat Track: The Rise of the Rat City Rollergirls

The Virgin Post

For now, this blog will serve as my website. Baby steps, people! I fell ass-backwards into DJing in 1995 when my cousin Paul, brother Ed, roommate Fran, buddy Seth and I used to throw parties in Chicago. We'd split the cost of room rental and bar inventory, make fliers and invite everyone we knew. Seth got us a sweet rate on the rental, half of a high-rise penthouse floor on Lake Shore Drive. Ed tended bar and brought the Fairmont and House of Blues crowds. Paul brought the Northwestern grads, the kids who f**ked up the Bell curve for the rest of us in school. Fran brought the Glengarry Glen Ross crowd. I played the music, using an old but powerful hi-fi system with huge speakers made when they doubled as furniture (I wonder if any speaker manufacturer's motto in the 70s was, "we're not afraid to use a lot of wood"), a couple CD players and a certain disposition. Those parties were legendary. The first one fell on a night when the weather was -40 with the windchill, coldest night of the year in a city already known for its cold. The room held 200. 300 showed up. Something... I'm not sure exactly what... was born that night.

I didn't fancy myself a DJ back then. Someone I didn't know called to ask if I was available to play a Leukemia Foundation fundraiser at a bar called Parkway Tavern. I advised her, I am not a DJ. She laughed and said, "Yeah, I've been to your parties." I was tickled that someone I'd never met was calling to exploit my apparent skill of playing the right music in the right sequence to help make a party more fun. I don't even know how she got my number. And so it was. The event was off the hook, everyone had a blast and they raised a ton of bread. Since then, a few years in Chicago and a few in Seattle, word of mouth has kept me just busy enough to never grow tired of playing music for people at events. Alas, I am a DJ.

My strong suit is not that I'm flashy with a bag of tricks and the technical dexterity to beat-match and sample your socks off - I'm none of those things, really. What I bring to the party is a thoughtful approach to the music that will enhance your event.

Need a DJ? Let me know! sodapopseattle@gmail.com