Monthly Archives: January 2015

Watch This Boogaloo!

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Grace of Spades makes sure the levels are correct as Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus cues a record for the "Watch This Sound" show.

Grace of Spades makes sure the levels are correct as Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus cues a record for the “Watch This Sound” show.

Our friend Grace of Spades hosts a groovy radio show on bbox.com, a Brooklyn community radio station that goes out over the interwebs. Her show is called Watch This Sound, and it takes place every Tuesday from 8 to 10 pm. On her show, she features lots of reggae records, but also quite a bit of soul and funk. Due to a sort of convergence of the birthdays of two great soul singers, Etta James (January 25) and Sam Cooke (January 22), she decided to feature these two great artists on her program that was aired on Tuesday January 20 (which just happened to also be the anniversary of Ms. James’ death three years ago).

Miss G figured it would be nice to have an oldster on the show, in order to play a couple Sam and Etta tracks and/or stuff related to them, and possibly drop some science in the course of the program. For this she turned to Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus.

Grace started the show with a cool selection of Sam Cooke and Etta James records, along with a whole bunch of reggae covers of Sam Cooke songs, most of them by the great Ken Parker. After an hour of this, Grace played Sam Cooke’s original version of “Twistin’ the Night Away,” and then asked The Boog to take over.

The Boog—ever the imp!—commenced by playing three versions of Grace’s last selection; two in funny languages and one an instrumental work-out heavily based on the song. He then proceeded to play a track by L.C. Cooke (Sam’s brother), three by singers that were mentored by Mr. Cooke, then four covers of Cooke songs before ending the set with Sam Cooke’s lovely rendition of the old chestnut “Summertime.”

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Grace of Spades and Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus swing with Sam Cooke at “Watch This Sound” radio show.

 

Then, Etta James records wrecked the place; she has such a tough voice! Sure, Ms. James had the ability sing a ballad as well as anybody, and Miss Grace played several in the first hour, but what was heard on this show was a handful of screamers before time ran out. Just before the automated bbox comput-o-thig-a-ma-jig clicked over to the next show, The Boog was able to sneak in most of another reggae version of a Sam Cooke song.

Here’s a list of all the tracks played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus on the Watch This Sound radio show:

None of these records are for sale.

 

Dig the show by listening to it on the Bbox Radio Archive here!!

The Boog displays great Etta James record on "Watch This Sound" radio show.

The Boog displays a great Etta James record on “Watch This Sound” radio show.

Boogaloo Blues Dance!

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Shadow_Dancers_2

When Mr. Jonathan Toubin calls asking you to guest DJ at one of his parties, it is always best to take the gig. His event—usually coming under the banner of the New York Night Train—will always be the most stupendous thing going on that night, no matter what night, no matter what is going down around town. J.T.’s event is the place to be! Thus, when Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus got the call to guest DJ with Mr. Toubin at the Boogie Night Blues Dance, he answered in the affirmative. When he found out that Daddy Long Legs and The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion were on the bill, he nearly flipped!

It all happened on Saturday January 10 at a joint way up in Greenpoint, Brooklyn called St. Vitus. Daddy Long Legs were there, not only to play a set of its raucus punk-inspired blues rock jams, but to record the whole thing for a live album. We noticed that the Boogaloo Bag writers in attendance were situated in a location adjacent to one of the room microphones to make certain that when they clapped their hands, their hands will be on the record!

Daddy Long Legs recorded a live album at the Boogie Night Blues Dance.

Daddy Long Legs recorded a live album at the Boogie Night Blues Dance.

When Daddy Long Legs took the stage, about a quarter to ten, the place was packed and the joint exploded with the bossest, most blues-wailin’ trash ever heard. This band is great. The group’s two records, on the Norton Reords label, are highly recommended and essential listening for all Boogaloo Bag readers. Man, this is going to be one fine live album! As fabulous as the show was—and it was very fabulous, as all Daddy Long Legs shows are—nothing was more fabulous than the shoes of the trio’s guitarist, Murat Akturk.

The fabulous shoes of Murat Akturk!!!

The fabulous shoes of Murat Akturk!!!

Wow!

 

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion made a loud noise at the Boogie Night Blues Dance!!

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion made a loud noise at the Boogie Night Blues Dance!!

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion also excited the crowd with it’s hot blues-inflected licks and revved up, dynamite punk action.

Jonathan Toubin works his ass off at the Boogie Night Blues Dance!!

Jonathan Toubin works his ass off at the Boogie Night Blues Dance!!

After the bands played, Mr. Toubin set up the DJ booth and played some heavy, heavy blues records as two lovely shadow dancers shook their own action on the stage, making the scene a total happening!

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Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus—no stranger to the blues himself—played two sets of super, non-stop, jumpin’ blues rhythms. He stretched the concept a bit by playing a couple garage covers of blues jams, but it was all rockin’. You know that everything is right with the world when a bunch of young people dance around to Howlin’ Wolf records. The night was stupendous, as is expected of an event staged by Mr. Jonathan Toubin!

Jonathan Toubin and Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus swing at the Boogie Night Blues Dance!

Jonathan Toubin and Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus swing at the Boogie Night Blues Dance!

Here’s a list of all the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus:

None of these records are for sale.

Instrumentally Speaking!

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Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus and Mr. Fine Wine swing at the DYNAGROOVE!

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus and Mr. Fine Wine swing at the DYNAGROOVE!

Now moving into its fourth year, The DYNAGROOVE is going strong at Teddy’s Bar & Grill. To celebrate, host DJ Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus asked one of his favorite DJs to be his guest: Mr. Fine Wine. Also, he presented the following proposition: that only instrumental recordings be played!

That’s right, the first DYNAGROOVE of 2015 was an all-instrumental affair, with Mr. Fine Wine easily able to answer the call. Mr. Fine Wine is known for his excellent collection of soul music 45s, and so, indeed, he played many soul and funk instrumentals; but he also played some cool organ grooves and some things that were rockin’ and wicked. All of it was groovy, as it should be and so it was.

As the astute Boogaloo Bag reader will certainly know, Mr. Fine Wine has been hosting a weekly soul music get-down at Botanica Bar in Manhattan for nearly 20 years. Quite possibly it is the longest-running soul music weekly in the world! Certainly it is one of the finest. Plus, he has been hosting a soul music radio show on WFMU for nearly just as long, if not longer (who can keep up with these things?). Perhaps when The Boog asked Mr. Fine Wine to guest DJ on this evening he was hoping a little Fine Wine longevity magic would rub off on him. One can only hope that in twenty years, The DYNAGROOVE will still be going strong at Teddy’s.

At any rate, the evening at hand, Friday January 9, 2015, was a fine one indeed! As everyone was waiting for Mr. Fine Wine to appear—he had to come all the way from the WFMU radio studio in Jersey City, New Jersey, since his program was presented earlier in the evening—The Boog entertained the diners and groovers with some wonderful selections, including a set of nine movie themes in a row.

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Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus inspects one of Mr. Fine Wine’s records at the DYNAGROOVE.

 

When Mr. Fine Wine made the scene, he had his box of 45s ready and went right to work.

Here’s a list of all the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus:

None of these records are for sale.

DYNAGROOVE swings into 2015!

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Gaylord Fields and Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus swing at the DYNAGROOVE NEW YEAR'S EVE SPECTACULAR!

Gaylord Fields and Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus swing at the DYNAGROOVE NEW YEAR’S EVE SPECTACULAR!

New Year’s Eve is one of those once-a-year events that usually promises more than it can deliver. To put it bluntly, the DYNAGROOVE NEW YEAR’S EVE SPECTACULAR, held at Teddy’s Bar & Grill, delivered. With guest DJ Gaylord Fields, the great WFMU DJ, how could it not?

The evening started with DJ Bernard playing some cool jams from the bird’s nest DJ booth that hovers over the bar. He is a friend of the club and often helps out. As he was playing records, Mr. Fields and DYNAGROOVE host DJ Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus had dinner, taking full advantage of Teddy’s  fine cuisine. By 9 O’Clock, The Boog was working the DJ booth on the stage and The DYNAGROOVE was in full effect, with groovy jazz and mambo records eventually giving way to cool soul and provocative pop sounds, and then…

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus cues "Auld Lang Syne" as Gaylord Fields keeps an eye on the time at the DYNAGROOVE NEW YEAR'S EVE SPECTACULAR!

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus cues “Auld Lang Syne” as Gaylord Fields keeps an eye on the time at the DYNAGROOVE NEW YEAR’S EVE SPECTACULAR!

The clock struck midnight and noise was made, party hats were worn, vast quantities of champagne was imbibed and there were balloons all over the place. After “Auld Lang Syne” was aired, the dance portion of the evening really got into full swing—until the PA system went out!!!

A record would be played and the sound would cut out, and then come back on about a minute later. Only about two minutes of music could be heard at a time—about two minutes on and a minute off!! This was a perplexing and frustrating turn of events. A few of the DYNAGROOVERS were getting uppity and something had to be done. Teddy’s owner Mr. Kirby and DJ Bernard worked desperately to get the audio to work properly. Everything was checked out; even the mixing board was changed. Finally, the DJ booth was rigged around the offending amplifier and things went smoothly for the rest of the night.

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus tries to keep a lid on things at the DYNAGROOVE NEW YEAR'S EVE SPECTACULAR!

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus tries to keep a lid on things at the DYNAGROOVE NEW YEAR’S EVE SPECTACULAR!

In spite of these technical difficulties, the DYNAGROOVE NEW YEAR’S EVE SPECTACULAR was a complete success. The Boogaloo Bag writers were very happy to see so many of their beloved friends in the house wanting to spend the early moments of the new year boppin’ to groovy sounds. Both DJs, Gaylord Fields and Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus, played fabulous records all night long and it induced much dancing and carrying on. The Boog even played several records by (and/or related to) Joshie Jo Armstead who was performing across town for the Dig Deeper event that same evening. As the SPECTACULAR was drawing to a close, Mr. Fields and The Boog alternated playing records. When the great Gaylord played a monkey record, The Boog followed with another and several were subsequently played, ending when Gaylord played “Don’t Monkey With Me” by The Lollipops, then it was all girl group sounds until Mr. Fields played the last record: “Do You Come Here Often” by The Tornados.

As you may recall, DYNAGROOVE was initiated on December 31, 2011. Thus, this evening marked three years of DYNAGROOVE magnificence! The year 2015 will certainly be the year when The DYNAGROOVE becomes even more magnificent than ever. The DYNAGROOVE will continue to take place on the second Friday of the month at Teddy’s Bar & Grill. Be part of it!

Gaylord Fiels cues another magnificent 45 during the DYNAGROOVE NEW YEAR'S EVE SPECTACULAR!

Gaylord Fiels cues another magnificent 45 during the DYNAGROOVE NEW YEAR’S EVE SPECTACULAR!

Here’s a list of all the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaoo Omnibus:

None of these records are for sale.