Stephen Gritzan is an avid Boogaloo Bag reader. He is also one of the nice people who put on the Record Riot series of record shows—including our favorite, the Brooklyn Record Riot. Also, he runs a groovy little record shop in the heart of Jersey City, New Jersey called Iris Records. The Iris Records staff have recently prepared several thousand 45s to be put on sale, and to celebrate, they decided to hold a party on Valentine’s Day afternoon called For the Love of the 45. They had snacks and soda pop and they invited a bunch of DJs to come spin records during this event, including Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus.

When the Boogaloo Bag writers arrived on the scene, there were all kinds of folks in the store flipping through the 45s bins, including WFMU DJ Joe Belock, the king of the Batman record Pat Longo, and later Miss Kiki and Greg Tormo. Our pal Todd-O-Phonic Todd was whipping the room into a frenzy with the records he played from excellent DJ booth.

Todd-O-Phonic Todd swings at Iris Records as Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus looks on!

The next DJ to spin played a whole hour of silky smooth seventies soul songs that featured soaring falsetto male lead vocals with a group backing: The Stylistics, The Intruders, The Delfonics, Blue Magic. Romantic ballads were very appropriate for the day.

However, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus, soon took that mood and smashed it to pieces with an hour-long set of weird shit! At one point, he played an audio test record over a break-beat record! His third DJ gig in four days, The Boog must have been losing his mind!

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus lost his mind at Iris Records!

Following The Boog was a cat who played mostly soul and funk records from the seventies, but cutting and scratching them into a fine rhythmic and artistic effect. It was cool.

It is very possible that the best customers that day were the DJs! Indeed, The Boog purchased a few records himself—including a hip rocker called “Drive In Movie” by Mickey Gilly for fifty cents—and he wished he could have stuck around to dig the other DJs, but it was Valentine’s Day, and his lovely date, Nancy Jeannie Gardner—an official Boogaloo Bag photographer—was keen on grabbing some Indian food back in Brooklyn.

And hey, if Mr. Gritzan had stuck around, he would have gotten his photo into the Boogaloo Bag!

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

• Henry Salvador–Le Martien (The Martian Hop) (Disques Salvador; France)
• Billy Stewart–Summertime (Chess)
• The Rivingtons–Mama-Oom-Mow-Mow (The Bird) (Liberty)
• Young William and the Jamaicans–Limbo Drum Part I (Dimension)
• Frank Olvera–Huggie’s Bunnies (N.R.M)
• Lee Dorsey–Four Corners – Part I (Amy)
• The Dap-Kings–Nervous Like Me Beats (Kay-Dee)
• [unnamed speaker]–Audio Frequency Responses [from EP Columbia Record Club Test Record] (Columbia)
• Grupo Santa Cecilia–Africa Bump (Orfeon)
• Rick James–Super Freak (Part I) (Gordy)
• Jack Costanzo, Mr. Bongo–Chicken and Rice (Discomoda; Colombia)
• Captain Beefheart–I’m Gonna Booglarize You Baby (Reprise)
• Maytals–Pressure Drop (Shelter)
• Eldridge Holmes–Pop, Popcorn Children (Atco)
• The Sessions–Bouncing Bass (Fontana)
• Dave ‘Baby’ Cortez–Hurricane (Clock)
• Nino Ferrer–Les Cornichons (Monkey) (Riviera; Canada)
• Teddy and His Patches–Suzy Creamcheese (Chance)
• Los Yaki–Nadie Como Yo (Capitol; Mexico)
• Ronnie Cook and the Gaylads–The Goo Goo Muck (Audan)
• King Coleman–The Boo Boo Song (Part 1) (King)
• Los Johnny Jets–Bule Bu (CBS; Mexico)

None of these records are for sale. Photos by Nancy Jeannie Gardner.