Monthly Archives: March 2015

Rebel Night is a Blast!!!!

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RebelNight

Rebel Night is one of the most rockin’ DJ nights in the city. It recently moved from Otto’s Shrunken Head in Manhattan to the Grand Victory in Williamsburg and it has retained its unique Japanese flavor, as hosted by our pals Hiromu, Seiji and Junichi. Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus has been asked to be a guest DJ at Rebel Night several times, and was called to duty for their event on Friday March 20. The new location is perfect for Rebel Night; the dance floor seems bigger, though it may not be, and the music goes throughout the long club, so you always feel you are part of the scene, even when you are obtaining a frothy beverage from the bar—unlike at Otto’s, where the bar was in another room.

DJ Hiromu swings at Rebel Night!

DJ Hiromu swings at Rebel Night!

Just two nights before this one, The Boog was at the Bell House observing live rock’n’roll action in the form of Dave Alvin, Phil Alvin and the Guilty Ones on stage. Mostly they sang tunes from their new album of Big Bill Broonzy songs, but also several written by Dave and sung by Phil in The Blasters. The Blasters were a very important group to The Boog. He has been pals with Dave and Phil since around 1980 or so; Dave gave much encouragement to Phast Phreddie and Thee Precisions, booked the group’s first two gigs opening for The Blasters, and even played on their first record. This was still heavy on The Boog’s mind when he walked into the Grand Victory on March 20 and DJ Hiromu was blasting The Blasters’ “So Long Baby Goodbye” at great volume! It made The Boog feel right at home. In honor of The Blasters, The Boog opened his first set with “Walking With Mr. Lee.”

Seiji

DJ Seiji swings at Rebel Night!

Employment issues seem to keep Junichi from DJing as much as he would like these days, but he did make an appearance on the dance floor. Both Hiromu and Seiji played some fabulous records and had the place jumping all night. DJ Tony Salvaje was also on hand to add his outstanding DJing skills—and he added to the spirit of The Blasters by playing Little Willie John’s “I’m Shakin’.” As the Rebel Night folks put it so precisely, “only record hop but killer party!” And so it was, and always will be.

Tony

DJ Tony Salvaje swings at Rebel Night!

Here’s a list of all the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus at Rebel Night, March 2015:

None of these records are for sale.

Here’s a gallery of records played by DJ Seiji. Click on them and they will big-o-fy:

45_Pizza45_Mumtaz45_Tootsie

RebelNight2

DYNAGROOVE goes out with a Sh-Boom!

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The Last DYNAGROOVERS!!! Nogood Nick, Gaylord Fields and Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus

The Last DYNAGROOVERS!!! Nogood Nick, Gaylord Fields and Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus

Teddy’s Bar & Grill is a landmark in Williamsburg living. For those of us who lived in the Northside during the Nineties, it was one of the few places where one could go for a decent meal in a comfortable environment. Thus it was with great pleasure when, during the summer of 2010, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus was asked by Roger Barr—ex owner of The Ottoman, now working for Teddy’s—to have a Wang Dang Doodle-associated DJ night there on the second Friday of the month. When it comes to Teddy’s Bar & Grill, signature events always seemed to be on Friday the 13th. The very first time a Wang Dang Doodle event was presented at Teddy’s was on Friday the 13th of August, with guest DJs The Thing With Two Heads—Bazooka Joe and XTINE16. Various sonic happenings took place over the months before The DYNAGROOVE began, including an Exotic Delirium night with Charles Gaskins, a Twist-Action party with DJ Shimmy and an Astro Mambo Jungle Rhythm affair. Also, for some of the nights during these months, exotic dancer Brooklyn Babydoll pranced around as part of the entertainment.

Gaylord Fields swings at the Last DYNAGROOVE!

Gaylord Fields swings at the Last DYNAGROOVE!

On January 13, 2012, The DYNAGROOVE was ready to make the scene. The DYNAGROOVE was a concept developed in the Wang Dang Doodle laboratory that mixed mastication with music in a memorable and marvelous manner. It was simple: Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus started the evening with two hours of mod jazz, light funk, elegant mambo, afro pop, classy lounge and mid-tempo soul music as diners enjoyed the delicious food. This was followed by a guest DJ who would swing for an hour. Then The Boog returned to move the tempo up a notch or two until the place was jumping with exciting Go-Go beats.

Nogood Nick swings at the Last DYNAGROOVE!

Nogood Nick swings at the Last DYNAGROOVE!

The first DYNAGROOVE guest DJ was Girlsoul, who played sixty minutes of superb sweet soul music. Other DJs included Mr. Vacation, Ol’ Stark, One Mint Julep, Peanut Butter Brown, DJ Ratta, Friar Popwell, Selector Bunny Punch, DJ Shakey, Avi Spivak, Neal Sugarman, Greg Tormo, Carlos Tropicaza and DJ Xerox. Occasionally there was a theme, such as the Doo Wop Hop that featured Lenny Kaye, or the Blues nights that featured Mr. Fine Wine, Eli “Paperboy” Reed or Brian “Daddy Long Legs” Hurd. Sheila B was on hand for a couple all-female artists nights. Lenny Kaye and Mr. Fine Wine were also involved in all-instrumental nights (one of which was memorable for the appearance of DJ Miss Sepia Tone), and the New Orleans R&B Mardi Gras night with Mr. Fine Wine will go down in history, as it was the impetus of a famous record trade.

Two of the most popular guest DJs were Gayord Fields and Nogood Nick. These two were asked to swing on Friday the 13th of March, 2015, when The DYNAGROOVE roared for the last time. After more than 25 years of ownership, Mr. Kirby and Lady Felice are in the process of selling the restaurant. The new owners have promised to keep Teddy’s intact for the most part, but will eschew entertainment. Thus The DYNAGROOVE will be on sabbatical until we find a new place where the kids are hip.

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus, as well as the Boogaloo Bag writers, would like to take this time to thank them for diggin’ the sounds that The Boog put down over all these years. For The Boog, it was a joy and an honor walking into Teddy’s every month with his box of records to set the scene for The DYNAGROOVE and the several New Year’s Eve parties that he was involved with. We are going to miss it.

However, the Last DYNAGROOVE turned out to be one of the best. How could it not, with the double dynamite fireworks of Gaylord Fields and Nogood Nick. Mr. Fields presented the provocative pop music he is so famous for. The Nogood One swung with mod jazz and sweet soul music. There were dozens of good friends on hand, and each commented on the stellar choices the guest DJs made when selecting tracks to air. Mr. Fields left about two in the morning, since he had an early wake-up call for a WFMU fund-raising event the next day. Nogood Nick and the Phast One stuck around for another 45 minutes, playing records and digging the scene for the last time. Here’s a list of the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus:

Still riding the high of the Last DYNAGROOVE, The Boog and the official Boogaloo Bag photographer Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner made their way to Baby’s All Right, a groovy new club where our pal Sheila B was presenting her new DJ night, Sh-Boom! with guest DJ Sampsa Vilhunen from Finland. As soon as they walked into the club, Miss Sheila insisted that The Boog go back to the car and grab his box of records and play a few for the crowded dance floor!

The Boog and Sheila B swing at Sh-Boom!

The Boog and Sheila B swing at Sh-Boom!

So, mixing records inbetween those of Sheila B and Mr. Vilhunen, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Ominbus played these 45s:

When it was all over and everybody was finally heading home, Miss Jeannie commented, “Man, that was a fun night!” And so it was.     None of the records listed are for sale.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Paris

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The Tri-State Conspiracy in action!

The Tri-State Conspiracy in action!

 

Jeffrey Paris is one hip, stylish and intelligent cat! He is well dressed when he goes out, goes to every Subway Soul Club event, and once fronted a rockin’ teen combo called The Tri-State Conspiracy.

This band may become one of the great forgotten bands of all time. The group’s righteous blend of soul music, ska and big band swing—all brought to you with a punk rock enthusiasm—was unique and exciting. Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus was honored to have DJed at several shows that featured The Tri-State Conspiracy before it broke up in 2013. So it may not have been a big surprise when Mr. Paris asked The Boog to provide sonic atmosphere for his 40th birthday party, held at the St. Mazie Bar & Supper Club in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on February 28.

The St. Mazie Bar is a cozy little joint, tucked into the corner of Grand Street near Marcy. It is long, and, unfortunately, the DJ set-up was across the room from where Jeff and his buddies were swinging, so proper photos of the birthday boy were not taken. Thus, an old photo of The Tri-State Conspiracy—taken off a website somewhere—is our graphic of choice for this blog entry.

Speaking of the Subway Soul Club, on the DJ side of the bar, by pure coincidence, Lady Dawn was having a few sips with her escort and some friends from England. Watch this space, because a Subway Soul Club event is in the planning stages!

In keeping with the spirit of The Tri-State Conspiracy, The Boog played a bunch of soul records, spicing it up with some ska and rocksteady beats. By the party people’s reactions, it was a most successful event and Mr. Paris was well pleased with what he and his friends heard. Here’s a list of everything that was played:

None of these records are for sale.

The Boog swings at St. Mazie.

The Boog swings at St. Mazie.