Yana Lil’ Jerk, Mr. Vacation, Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner, Lauren Krohn and DJ Rata swing at the WHAM-O WATUSI.

The September WHAM-O WATUSI was one of our favorites. Now into its third year, the Boogaloo Bag writers and host Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus are always happy to see our friends show up and groove at the Bootleg Bar on the first Saturday of the month for the WHAM-O. On September 1, there were plenty of pals on hand: Mr. Vacation, Reyes Rodriguez, Lauren Krohn, Yana Lil’ Jerk, Oweinama and Ryan Skeleton Boy are among the fine folks who dropped by to swing. Plus, they were well fed, as Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner–official baker of Boogaloo Omnibus Productions–made chocolate chip cookies, maple fudge and vegan brownies for the occasion.

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Helping out behind the wheels of steel was DJ Rata, who played his usual fare of hot Mambo and R&B records. It is always a gas working with him, since his rhythmic sense is so acute. Dig his Mambo Jambo nights at Otto’s Shrunken Head on the third Saturday of the month. Lately, he’s been bringing the same spice to Friday night happy hour at Diviera Drive for Ran Kan Kan.

DJ Rata swings the pinball machine at the Bootleg Bar during WHAM-O WATUSI.

At the end of the night–for the final hour or so–The Boog and Rata played DJ ping-pong with each taking turns spinning a record. At times it was sublime, such as when Rata played a banana record, The Boog answered with a banana calypso record, Rata spun another food record, then The Boog played “Fat Man!” Such is the way of the WHAM!

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus swings with DJ Rata at the WHAM-O WATUSI

Here’s a list of all the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus at the 38th WHAM-O WATUSI:

• Rusty Bryant with the Carolyn Club Band–Hot Fudge (Dot
• Hal Singer and His Orch.–Mr. Movin’s Groovin’ (Savoy)
• The Rebs–Renegade (Capitol)
• Sil Austin and the All Stars–Big Boss Man (Sew City)
• Lorenzo Smith–The Indian’s Monkey (Glenn)
• The Modern’s – Royal–Royal Express (Murecord)
• Gary Lee Fausz and the Savoys–Barracuda (TES)
• Duke Mitchell and Family; featuring the guitar of Sal Tino–Strike (Crystalette)
• Richie & the Saxons–Easy Now (Tip)
• Brown Brothers of Soul–Cholo (Specialty)
• The Meters–(The World Is a Bit Under the Weather) Doodle-Oop (Josie)
• Lee Harris–Skate Boogaloo and Karate Too (Forte)
• Angie Hester–Bump Step (ABC)
• Joe Quijano and His Orchestra–Saboo (Wabble-Cha) (Columbia)
• Percy Mayfield–Diggin’ the Moonglow (Specialty)
• Walter Pegeas with Johnny and the Charmers–Si-Si-Si (Swan)
• The Spartans–Can You Waddle (Web)
• Hannibal–Sputnik 69 (Pan World)
• The Dolphins–Dance (Tip Top)
• The Accents–100 Wailin’ Cats (Jive!!)
• The Trade Winds–Club Seventeen (Red Bird)
• The Revels–Comanche (Downey)
• The Rumblers–Bugged (Dot)
• Edwin Bruce–Rock Boppin’ Baby (Sun)
• Junior Gordon with Huey Smith Orch.–Blow Wind Blow (Ace)
• The Electras–Mary Mary (Lola)
• Bobby Darin–Keep A Walkin’ (Atco)
• Les Ledo–You’ll Be Back (Epic)
• Michael Clark–Work Out (Imperial)
• The Jades–I Ain’t Got You (Renay)
• The Berrys–Midnight Hour (Apex; Canada)
• The Vibrations–Stranded in the Jungle (Checker)
• Ziggy Gonzales and His Orchestra–Pick Your-Self Up (Glen)
• Jerry Green & the Passengers–Puerto Rico (Atlantic)
• Ralph Roig–Montuno Para Ti (M-G-M)
• The Lettermen–Guiro (Liberty)
• Hector Rivera–Do it To Me (Barry)
• Pablo Beltran Ruiz y Su Orquesta–Bang Bang (RCA Victor; Mexico)
• Tom and Jerroo–(Papa Chew) Do the Boo-Ga-Loo (Jerry-O)
• Round Robin–Roundest of Them All (Domain)
• Dinah Washington–Soulville (Roulette)
• The Meditation Singers–Don’t You Want to Go (Part 1) (Checker)
• Frankie Seay–All I Want Is Loving You (Tropical)
• Kim Tolliver–(Your Trying Too) Cop My Stuff (Rojac)
• Rudy Lewis–Baby I Dig Love (Atlantic)
• Georges Raudi et son orchestre–Stercok (Disques Vogue; Canada)
• The Moons–Gammera – instrumental (Date)
• Billie Davis–Make the Feeling Go Away (Decca; UK)
• The Squires–Going All the Way (Atco)
• Neal Ford and the Fanatics–Shame on You (Hickory)
• Love–Stephanie Knows Who (Elektra)
• The Searchers–Alright (Pye; Greece)
• Larry Paul–All Right (Mala)
• Jim Doval and the Gaucho’s–Right Now (Diplomacy)
• The Marketts–Cobra (Warner Bros.)
• Bobby Lewis–You Better Stop (Roulette)
• Sterling Magee–Oh She Was Pretty (Tangerine)
• Bobby Dixon–You Don’t Wanna Love Me (Probe)
• Don Alfio–Smack (UniFunk; Italy)
• Rosco Gordon–Surely I Love You (Vee-Jay)
• Cecil Knott and His Joybell Orchestra; vocal: Arthur Knibbs–Banana (MRS; Jamaica)
• Montego Joe–Fat Man (Prestige)
• Damaso Perez Prado–Sexomania (Orfeon)
• Les Brown and His Band of Renown–La Bomba (Columbia)
• Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band–Pachuco Cadaver (Straight; France)

None of these records are for sale. Some of them may have links to the youtubes to be used for the reader’s edumification.

Todd Colberg swings with his Jackie Wilson LP at Two for Tuesday!

Many years ago, at a bar called Matchless, in far off Greenpoint, Brooklyn, there was a night that consisted of a rotating crew of DJs who would come in and swing, called Hot Dog Night. Someone–was it DJ Jumpy?–got the idea to recreate that magic at Diviera Drive. Our pal Drew Redmond made it happen. It is called Two for Tuesday, because it features two drinks for the price of one at the garage bar where the DJ booth is located. The first gig was July 31. Some of the fine DJs who have signed on for this gig are Mike Crash, Mikey Post, Eric Davidson, Mr. Vacation, The Wig Doctor and Peanutbutter Brown. Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus took August 28 with Todd Colberg. The Boog was hoping to do an early shift, then flake off home to get his beauty sleep for the next day at work.

Long-time Boogaloo Bag writers may know that The Boogaloo Omnibus is involved with the Zen Softball League. The league is currently in its playoffs mode, with The Boog’s team, The People, up against the first place team Plan B. The Zen League playoff schedule can be fluid, to put it mildly, and there is rarely a game on Tuesday nights. However, the first of a three-game series was suddenly scheduled for August 28. The Boog, therefore, arranged with his co-DJ to go on later in the evening, allowing The Boog to pitch his game to victory. The Boog gets so wound up at these games that he often can’t sleep after them, anyway, so he may as well go somewhere and play his records.

Well, The Boog pitched, but unfortunately, not to victory. Suffice it to say, Plan B is not the first place team for nothing. After the game, he quickly biked home, showered, grabbed his records and made his way to the Drive.

What records did Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus play for Two for Tuesday? Funk! The Boog has a bunch of these records that have been collecting dust, so he decided to break them out for this occasion.

When he got to the club, The Boog met Todd Colberg–for the first time? Who can remember? The Boog meets so many people and his mind is most likely not firing on all eight cylinders like the olden days–if it ever did! But Todd was a nice guy, from North Carolina, who was wearing a cool Joe Belock Three Chord Monte T-shirt and played the kind of records one may hear on Mr. Belock’s show: Garage records, old and new, and some soul records. It was cool–especially the version of “Light My Fire” by Jackie Wilson! Man, the Boogaloo Bag writers dug that.

After a while, Mr. Colberg received a message that the L Train that would take him home was closing down in 30 minutes, so he begged off early. As one may guess, a Tuesday night at Diviera Drive is not always the most exciting. As the evening grew late, The Boog had a gas playing records for Spencer the bartender, our pal Eugene and some young women attempting to play pool. The Boog played nine “Thing” records in a row, then played a few “Bump” records. Spencer was diggin’ it and was kind enough to make a ginger-infused, tutti fruiti mocktail for his troubles. Thank you, sir.

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

• Lyn Taitt–Out on a Funky Trip (Randys)
• Curtis Mayfield–Freddie’s Dead (Theme from ‘Superfly’) (Curtom)
• The Fatback Band–Njia (Nija) Walk (Street Walk) (Perception)
• Johnny Griffith accompanied by Billy Sha-Rae’s Band–Do It (Triple ‘B’)
• The Vibrations–Expressway to Your Heart (Neptune)
• Inez Foxx–Watch the Dog (That Brings the Bone) (Volt)
• Al Green–Right Now Right Now (Hi)
• Don Covay–Everything I Do Goin’ Be Funky (Atlantic)
• Don Julian and the Larks–Shorty the Pimp – Part 1 (Money)
• Gwen McCrae–Leave the Driving to Us (Columbia)
• Lloyd Hendricks–Keep on Moving (Mala)
• O’Jays–For the Love of Money (Philadelphia International)
• Maceo & the Macks–Cross the Track (We Better Go Back) (People)
• Babatunde Olatunji–Takuta (Paramount)
• Smokey Johnson & Company–The Funkie Moon (Intrepid)
• The Maskman and the Agents–Stand Up (Vigor)
• Maxine Brown–Treat Me Like A Lady (Avco)
• Aretha Franklin–Pullin’ (Atlantic)
• Sugar Billy–Super Duper Love – Part 1 (Are You Diggin’ on Me) (Fast Track)
• Everyday People–I Like What I Like Part 1 (Paramount)
• James Brown–Part Two (Let a Man Come in and Do the Popcorn) (King)
• Ed Robinson–Hey Blackman – Part 11 (Cotillion)
• King Floyd–Groove Me (Chimneyville)
• Keith Richards–The Harder They Come (Rolling Stones)
• Eddy Senay–Hot Thang (Sussex)
• Willie Hobbs–Do Your Own Thing (Seventy 7)
• The Soul Children–Tighten Up My Thang (Stax)
• The Electric Express–It’s the Real Thing – Pt. I (Linco)
• The Unemployed–Funky Thing – Part 1 (Cotillion)
• B.B. Jones–The Real Thing (Magic Touch)
• The People’s Choice–Let Me Do My Thing (Phil-L.A. of Soul)
• The Isley Brothers–Pop That Thang (T-Neck)
• The Electric Express–I Can’t Believe We Did (The Whole Thing) (Linco)
• Fred Wesley & the JB’s–Watermelon Man (People)
• The Three Degrees–There’s So Much Love All Around Me (Roulette)
• The Impressions–(Baby) Turn on to Me (Curtom)
• Millie Jackson–All I Want Is a Fighting Chance (Spring)
• Tyrone Chestnut–The Bump (Intrepid)
• Top Hat & Little Jeff–Mississippi Bump (C.J.)
• Oliver Sain–Booty Bumpin’ (The Double Bump) (Abet)
• Kool & the Gang–Funky Granny (De-Lite)
• Hi-Fi White–Bulldog Pt. I (Sandman)
• Vernon Garrett–You Blew My Mind (Kapp)
• Marvin Gaye–You’re the Man (Part 1) (Tamla)
• Masters of Soul–Right On (Ovide)
• Fred Wesley & the J.B.’s–Rockin’ Funky Watergate Part I and Part II (People)

None of these records are for sale. Some of them may have youtubes links in order to provide the reader with a little rhythm.

Lupe Loop, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus, Drew Redmond and Mr. Lee swing at Spin to Win!

Earlier this year, it came to light that the government of the United States of America was separating immigrant children from their parents at the border–a policy many of us considered extraordinarily cruel. It aroused a lot of empathy towards the people coming here to try to make better lives for themselves and their families–just as nearly all of our ancestors did many years ago.

Anna Anabolic hosted Spin to Win! An All-Star DJ Revue Benefit at Hank’s Saloon.

One of our friends, Anna Anabolic, decided to do something to support the immigrants, hoping to help in some way. She asked a bunch of her favorite reet music club DJs if they would like to spin a few records for a good cause. She was able to round up more than a half-dozen of them, including Lupe Loop (Robert Bar), Mr. Lee (Dead Flowers Productions), Mr. Fine Wine (WFMU, Botanica, Soul Night), Todd-O-Phonic Todd (WFMU), Mikey Post (Daptone, The Jay Vons), Drew Redmond (Pinball Rock, Brooklyn Soul Society, Sleeze to Please), Yana Lil’ Jerk (Bangarang, Living for Kicks) and Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus. Miss Anna was also able to get some really amazing prizes to raffle off, including musical equipment, art, and gift certificates to popular Brooklyn establishments (companies and organizations who donated items for the raffle are listed below). She called the night Spin to Win! An All-Star DJ Revue Benefit–DJs spin boss records; attendees win fabulous prizes.

The Boogaloo Bag writers are happy to report that the fundraiser was a great success. Held on Saturday, August 18 at Hank’s Saloon in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, the club was full of people that showed enthusiasm for the cause. The scene was set when the first DJ of the night, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus, played a series of socially aware records that emphasized the theme of the evening. Lupe Loop followed with a program of fabulous funk records then each DJ went into his or her own thing, including hostess Anna Anabolic. Some of the DJs also worked within the benefit’s theme. Todd-O-Phonic Todd, for instance, played garage rock songs that were all sung in Spanish–mostly from acts who hail from south of the border. Mikey Post played The Honey Drippers’ popular “Impeach the President,” which has skyrocketed in value since the rigged election a couple years ago. Many of them played a song or two by Aretha Franklin, who had passed away just two days prior.

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Comedian Dave Hill was the MC at Spin to Win.

MC for the evening, was Dave Hill, a comedian who has a funny show on WFMU. He announced the raffle prizes and kept the banter light and fun.

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Anna Anabolic should be whole heartedly congratulated for assembling such an amazing selection of prizes (see below) and so many fine DJs who worked for free in order to support the cause. Nearly $2,500 was raised and the money has gone to the ACLU, which is working to get the families back together, and an organization called Make the Road that works locally to help immigrants succeed in this city. Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus was very happy to have been a part of Spin to Win. Sure, in the grand scheme of things, $2,500 doesn’t seem like a lot of money; but it is something. What have you done?

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

• Marion Williams–I Pity the Poor Immigrant (Atlantic)
• Gil Scott-Heron with Pretty Purdie & the Playboys–The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (Flying Dutchman)
• Nina Simone–Revolution (Part I) (RCA Victor)
• Sons of Slum–Right On (Stax)
• Thee Midniters–Chicano Power (La Raza)
• Della Reese–Compared to What (AVCO Embassy)
• Marlena Shaw–Brother Where Are You (Cadet)
• Timmy Thomas–Why Can’t We Live Together (Glades)
• Syl Johnson–Is It Because I’m Black (Twinight)
• The Salem Travelers–Give Me Liberty or Death (Checker)
• James Brown–World (Part 1) (King)
• The Impressions–This Is My Country (Curtom)
• The Honey Drippers–Impeach the President (Alaga)
• Aretha Franklin–Respect (Atlantic)

None of these records are for sale. Some have links to the youtubes clips so you can check their heavyosity!

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus working at Spin to Win!

Amazing raffle prizes were donated by these fine people; thank you fine people:

• Academy Records
• Beacon’s Closet
• Brooklyn Bowl
• Brooklyn Tattoo
• Catbird
• Criterion Films
• Daptone Records
• Dunlop Guitar Gear
• EarthQuaker Devices
• Element Natural Healing Arts
• ESP-Disk’ Records
• Eventide Audio
• Gowanus Wine Merchants
• Grade A Fancy
• Greenlight Books
• Valter Guevarra, artist
  
• Guild Jetstar Guitars
• La Newyorkina
• Merge Records
• Orange Amp
• Luke Ratray Photography
  
• Recording King
• Worship Vintage