Where It's At! Special Guest DJ High Yellow!

Time:
Friday, October 28 at 10:00pm - October 29 at 2:00am
Location:
Mad Dog In The Fog
530 Haight Street
San Francisco, California

Join us this Friday night as we welcome special guest DJ High Yellow! (aka Richie Collins) of East Bay's Got Soul. We hope to see ya! Start off your Halloween weekend the right way...shakin yer bootay to some James Brown, maybe?!?! We've got lots of great tunes for your entertainment, so be sure to make it by to say hi! See ya Friday night!

Maggie's Farm

Again, thanks to "International Rare Groove" radio, I have found another amazing song. I already knew about this by Bob Dylan, seen here:

But the version I heard tonight is by Solomon Burke! I was in love within the first 10 seconds. Funky, soulful and fun. A very different rendition than what I am used to. Hope you like the funky side of "Maggie's Farm"!

Nomo "Nu Tones"

A few years back, I came across this band. I was lucky enough to catch their live performance at "Bottom of the Hill" in San Francisco. These cats were on fire! I loved what I heard from start to finish. Big brass, funky drumming and an electrified kalimba?! What else could I ask for?! I wanted to buy the album from them that night but unfortunately did not come with enough cash in hand, so had to pass it up. I still to this day do not own one of their albums, but after being reminded of them by "International Rare Groove" radio, tonight, I think I need to look again and make sure it finds it's way into my collection! Hope you enjoy!

It's a Lover's Question...

I did a little private record shopping from a friend this afternoon. Picked up a handful of great soul 45s! Just now finding some time to sit and give a proper listen to the haul. One of the tunes that I was particularly excited about is called "It's A Lover's Question". This is a tune that I grew up hearing and one that I always loved! The version that I know and love is the original, by Clyde McPhatter. The version I picked up today is by Otis Redding. If you've ever given a listen to an "Oldies" channel on the radio, I'm pretty sure you would have heard "Dock of the Bay", also by Otis Redding. I remember the first time I heard proper Otis, (other than "Dock of the Bay"), I didn't believe it was the same guy! Need I say, funky, energetic, soulful and danceable! And yes, his version of "It's a Lover's Question" brings all of these attributes to the tune.

The original by Clyde McPhatter:


Version by Brook Benton:


Version by Ernestine Andrews:


...and unfortunately, the full Otis Redding version that spawned this post in the first place, is nowhere to be found on the interwebs. The best I can offer is a clip from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001A814W4/ref=dm_dp_trk11?ie=UTF8&qid=1318826627&sr=1-1

Halloween is coming...

...what are you gonna be? I was the Bride of Frankenstein one year. I was pretty proud of my costume. I went to the library (this was before mass access to internet!) to do research on her costume and then went about fabricating a dress as similar to hers as I could with the amount of fabric I could afford! That year, I was in Jr. College and had been doing figure modeling for the costumed figure drawing class. I wore my costume for the class...man, how I wish I had one of those drawings! Anyway, below is my favorite classic movie monster. Do you have a favorite?

America Sister Golden Hair

Driving home tonight, this came on the radio. One of those oldies that creeped into my subconscious after years of listening to oldies stations. :)

FELA-bration 2011, Lagos Roots w/ members of Fela Kuti @ The New Parish!

This is where I hope to be Saturday night!


Time
Saturday, October 15 at 8:00pm - October 16 at 1:30am
Location
The New Parish
579 18th Street
Oakland, CA
Created By
Lagos Roots
More Info
KALX and Maisha Productions present

FELA-bration 2011

A Fela Kuti Birthday Tribute!

Join us as we bring it back to the root: straight to 70’s West Africa. Unfiltered, deeply-grooved and intense Nigerian Afrobeat -- tribal break beats keeping you dialed in on the dance floor and sweating to the music of the Kalakuta Republic, performed live by ORIGINAL Fela Kuti band-members!!!

Saturday, Oakland 15, 2011

with
LAGOS ROOTS Afrobeat Ensemble
feat. Members of Fela Kuti & the Afrika 70, Sonny Okosun, & more!

plus
dj JEREMIAH a.k.a "Mr. Afrobeat"

The New Parish
579 18th Street, Oakland, CA
Showtime: 9:00PM
Tickets: $8.00/adv, $10.00/door
18+ over

Get tickets here:
http://www.thenewparish.com/event/59327

more information:
http://www.lagosroots.com/
http://www.thenewparish.com/
http://afrofunk.org/jeremiah.html
http://kalx.berkeley.edu/

follow us on twitter
http://twitter.com/lagosroots

The Blackbyrds "Lady"

Put quite a bit of time into enjoying this tune this afternoon! I think 4 times is good enough for one day! You can find this one on the 1976 album: Unfinished Business. I own 6 out of the 8 LPs they released between 1974-1980 and I have to say that each album is well worth owning! Consistent quality, smooth rhythms...all around excellent albums!

Tribute to Leonard Dillon...RIP

On September 28th, another vocal great was lost. Leonard Dillon, vocalist of The Ethiopians, passed away from cancer at the age of 69. Click here for an article about his life and death found in the "Jamaican Observer": http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Leonard-Dillon-of-the-Ethiopians-is-dead_9808680

At age 19, I bought a cassette tape of The Ethiopians. I can tell you that I listened and listened to that thing so many times! Looking back, that tape was definitely a major part of the soundtrack of my first year post high school. Thanks to these guys for providing the musical entertainment and the good memories that I have of those times!

Below is a selection of rare Ethiopian tunes as compiled by Boss Harmony. A great collection and worth a listen or two. I'm already on my second listen for the night!


http://bossharmony.podomatic.com/entry/2011-09-30T18_58_52-07_00

VAMP SOUND OUT! (Sidewalk Society / Mod vs Rocker DJ Battle)

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=197610316979343


Saturday, October 15 · 4:00pm - 10:00pm
Sidewalk Society
Rising from LA’s soul, garage and mod scene come Sidewalk Society. They’ve just recorded a sensational new EP breathing new life into Brit-psych cult classics such as “Lazy Old Sun” (The Kinks) and “Dandelion” (The Rolling Stones). They’re also on the verge of releasing a great new album of original material recalling The Yardbirds at their Jeff Beck/Jimmy Page peak.

Check out The Sidewalk Society sound below:

http://youtu.be/ACYfHvpuG7w

http://youtu.be/YZ06F8v-TXs

http://youtu.be/7PiIOLbwR0M

http://youtu.be/-dgIbJ-Z5Tw

Schedule:
3-6pm Mod vs Rocker DJ Battle - see who will be the last person standing(on the dance floor) - (Dream Team's to be announced)

6-9pm The Sidewalk Society (Live)

3 lucky people will receive The Sidewalk Society's new 7-inch

BYOB plus bring a dish if you like -

PLUS!!!
Five & Dime Scooter Ride Before the show - meet at Blue Bottle in Jack London 300 Webster Street, Oakland, CA at around 11:30am - Ride will end at Vamp(547 Athol Ave) for a potluck & entertainment

Tortoise Djed

A memory of my college years...

Junkculture: Drink Words

This is really cool!
Junkculture: Drink Words: A cocktail mixing typewriter? Yes please! Morskoiboy created this amazing hydraulic typewriter that literally converts letters into cocktail...

SOUL! Fantasitc NYC PBS weekly from November 1, 1972

A couple of years back, my brother and I were talking about music. He had just come across this website:
http://www.thirteen.org/soul/

What a great resource of musical acts from the early 1970s. Great, LIVE performances from some pretty amazing cats. I'm linking one of the videos here, but I cannot recommend enough for you to go to the site and watch all of the ones they have available! Unfortunately, this series has not been compiled onto DVDs (or VHS for that matter!) and apparently, other episodes are floating around out there somewhere, but are very hard to come by. I shared this link with Clifton 'DJ Soft Touch' Weaver, the mastermind of several amazing LA dance clubs, including Funky Sole at the Echo every Saturday! He's been on the look out for additional episodes since then as well. I'll update you if either one of us ever tracks them down! Until then, catch this one and do make sure to invest the time to watch the others and read about what the show was all about!

Please click this link to watch the episode from November 1, 1972:
November 1, 1972