In January, the weather in New York City can get pretty cold. On the evening of the first WHAM-O WATUSI for 2017 (January 7, to be exact), it was twenty-four degrees Fahrenheit. That is chilly. What the WHAM needed was a hot guest DJ, and, boy, did we get one: Matt Clarke.

Matt Clarke swings at WHAM-O WATUSI!

Mr. Clarke must be one of the busiest men on the scene today. Most folks know him because he is in two of Brooklyn’s best rock’n’roll combos: he plays guitar for The Above and bass for Quitty & the Don’ts. He also hosts a program called What’s Happening! on the WFMU Rock ‘n’ Soul Ichiban Stream that airs every Tuesday from 3pm to 4pm. The show is heavy on the Sixties Beat Scene: British Invasion, garage rock, freak beat, Euro Beat, sunshine pop—you get the picture. (The shows are archived, so feel free to listen to them any time you need an hour of boss beat power.)

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus and Matt Clarke say, “Dots nice!”

Mr. Clarke is also a snappy dresser. For this special occasion, host Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus snapped up his attire as well.

With the temperature outside the Bootleg Bar way below freezing, inside the venue the DJs heated the place up with their super groovy sounds. Both played songs from the Sixties—fuzz-toned garage rock, yeah! Also, some wicked R&B and soul records were thrown into the mix for keen effect. Folks were jumpin’ around and ballin’ it up. It was a hot time at the Boot, that’s for sure!

Here’s a list of all the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus (many have links to youtubes clips so you can instantly dig them!):

• The Strangers–Mindreader (Liberty)
• Bob and the Messengers–Splash Down (Rust)
• The Bikinis–Crazy Vibrations (Top Rank)
• Jerry Cole and His Spacemen–Pokey (Capitol)
• Les Cooper & the Soulrockers–Garbage Can (Everlast)
• Mod Singers & Mod Lads–Let’s Have Some Fun Part I (Wand)
• Les Mersey’s–Je Suis Las (TéléDisc; Canada)
• The Naturals–It Was You (Liberty)
• The Exterminators–The Beetle-Bomb (Chancellor)
• The Fourmost–Just in Case (Atco)
• Los Mustang–Dandy (Le Voz De Su Amo; Spain)
• The Footprints–Never Say Die (Capitol)
• Frank Alamo–Heureux Tous Les Deux (Happy Together) (Riviera; France)
• The Five Emprees–Gone From My Mind (Smash)
• Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart–Where Angels Go (Trouble Follows) (A&M)
• The Fun and Games–The Grooviest Girl in the World (Uni)
• Baby Terry Hall–Shake-A-Fin (Philips)
• The Merseybeats–Good, Good Lovin’ (Fontana; UK)
• The Gonks–Gonk Song (London)
• Mike Adkins–The Invaders Are Here (RCA Victor)
• Lonnie Mack–Nashville (Fraternity)
• Them–One, Two Brown Eyes (Parrot)
• Bo Diddley–Mama Keep Your Big Mouth Shut (Checker)
• Clyde and the Blue Jays–The Big Jerk – Pt. I (Loma)
• The Bad Boys–Balliamo il Jerk (Style; Italy)
• The Supremes–The Happening (Motown)
• The Kittens–Shindig (ABC-Paramount)
• The Girls with the Harry Betts Orchestra–Way…Way Out (20th Century)
• The Carnabeats–Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um (Philips; Japan)
• The Rajahs–Kiss Me Now (Leedon; Australia)
• The Taffys–Bongo Man (Amy)
• Marvin Gaye–I’m Yours, You’re Mine (Tamla)
• The Yorkshires–Switch Time Part I (Mammoth)
• Carl Wayne and the Vikings–Shimmy Shammy Jingle (ABC-Paramount)
• Willie and the Travelaires–The Fiery Stomp (Milky Way)
• Gary Lewis and the Playboys–Little Miss Go-Go (Liberty)
• Dave Clark Five–Forget (Epic)
• Boy’s Wonder–All Tied Up (Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace) (Lowland; Netherlands)
• Johnny Hallyday–Psychedelic (Philips; France)
• The Rationals–Look What You’re Doin’ (To Me Baby) (A Squared)
• Loose Ends–Tax Man (Decca; UK)
• The Kinks–Ev’rybody’s Gonna Be Happy (Reprise)
• The Jalopy Five–I Like It Like That (Hit)
• The Buffalo Springfield–Mr. Soul (Atco)
• The Third Rail–The Shape of Things to Come (Epic)
• Blue–Sad ‘Bout Us (Iris)
• The Who–A Legal Matter (Decca)
• Dave Clark Five–I Know You (Epic)
• Danyel Gerard avec Les Champions–Sugar Shake (Vogue; Canada)
• Los Blue Angels–Donde Esta Mendocino (Del Gordo)
• Los Yakis–Agnete Secreto (Capito; Mexico)
• Liverpool Five–The Snake (RCA Victor)
• The Peddlers–Comin’ Home Baby (CBS; UK)
• The Ones–Don’t Let Me Lose This Dream (Motown)
• Nancy Ames–I Don’t Want to Talk About It (Epic)
• The Temptashuns–Strawberry Man (Federal)
• Travis Phillips & His Wonder Boys–Do the Everything (ABC-Paramount)
• The Chants–Choo Choo (Verve)
• Angel & the Devines–The Octopus (Siana)
• The Reflections–Oowee Now Now (Golden World)
• Katy Richards–Judy’s Turn to Cry (Hit)
• The Headliners–Tonight’s the Night (V.I.P.)
• James Duncan–Too Hot to Hold (King)
• Big Bo and the Arrows featuring Fred Lowery–I Done Got Over It (Checker)
• The Sherry’s–No, No Baby (Mercury)
• The Rollicks–Things of Love (CBS; Germany)
• Harbinger Complex–I Think I’m Down (Brent)
• Dino, Desi and Billy–It’s Just the Way you Are (Reprise)

None of these records are for sale.