Monthly Archives: April 2018

WHAM-O WATUSI MAYHEM!

Posted on by Standard Reply

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus and Moptop Mike swing at the WHAM-O WATUSI.

On April 7, WHAM-O WATUSI took place on its regularly scheduled date–first Saturday of the month–at its regularly scheduled location–the Bootleg Bar in Downtown Bushwick–with its regularly scheduled host DJ–Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus. One thing was special and that was the guest DJ, Moptop Mike.

If ever there was an authority on garage rock records, Moptop Mike is it. In fact he wrote the book on the subject; a great book, too. Teenbeat Mayhem! is not only a story of the music, but a pretty darn complete discography, as well. At about 400 pages, it is jam-packed with all sorts of information that one would require in order to build his or her own collection of rockin’ garage rock records. It is a book that is referenced several times a week by the Boogaloo Bag writers. Dig a review of it that appeared on the blog of the ARChive of Contemporary Music. You can get your own copy through the Ugly Things website (now at a blow-out price, too!).

(Actually, he wrote two books on the subject, the second being Beyond Teenbeat Mayhem!, an updated, limited edition (now sold out!) supplement that corrects some errors in the first and adds much more information. This guy is committed to getting things right.)

Moptop Mike and his pal Fast Eddy swing at the WHAM-O WATUSI!

This marked Moptop Mike’s first DJ appearance in the New York City area for around ten years. He used to be a guest DJ fairly regularly at the Subway Soul Club when it was at Rififi, and at Smashed!Blocked!, the legendary Mod Freakout hosted by Josh Styles and Peppermint Twist at the Beauty Bar. Obviously, if he spins at those two hallowed events, he has good soul records and good garage rock records. During one of his sets, Moptop noted how happy he was to spin both soul and garage rock records on the same night. Often he is asked to spin one or the other. At the WHAM-O WATUSI, all things reet are hep, thus there is more freedom to really swing for all the guest DJs.

Here are some of the records Moptop Mike played:

Host Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus is well aware of Moptop’s keen sense of boss records, so he did not even try to compete with him. Instead, he played his usual fare of far out stuff. However, he did throw in a few modern records that had a Teenbeat vibe. Among them was a single by Kid Congo & the Pink Monkey Birds called “Bruce Juice” that Moptop Mike was still talking about a few days later.

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus and Moptop Mike goof at WHAM-O WATUSI!

Something else was special, too: Miss Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner, the official photographer for the Boogaloo Bag and official baker for Wang Dang Doodle events, cooked up some of her famous maple fudge, some vegan brownies and, at Moptop Mike’s request, some cherry squares. Man, there were plenty of treats to go around and the place was boppin’ on a sugar rush all night. The Boogaloo Bag writers were happy to see so many of their friends drop by and partake of the edibles and dig the music.

Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner is seen here with her yummy treats!

Here’s a list of all the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus at the WHAM-O WATUSI held on April 7 at the Bootleg Bar:

None of these records are for sale. Some of the above listed tracks have links to youtubes clips so you may dig for yourself.

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus gets visited by his pal Mr. Vacation at the WHAM-O WATUSI!