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
