A groovy mural was drawn by Ju Young Ku for the Internet Archive Celebration.

Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library offering millions of free books, movies, & audio files, plus billions of saved web pages in the Wayback Machine. It has been doing this for 21 years. For the last two years, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus has been asked to DJ at its annual party. On October 3, he did so for the third time. (Phast Phreddie hooked up with the Internet Archive a few years ago via a partnership with his day job, as an archivist for The Archive of Contemporary Music.)

The annual Archive celebration runs like this:

Around five o’clock, folks start showing up. All around the Archive building on Funston Avenue in San Francisco there are about a dozen booths that are  managed by Archive employees. Each booth is an example of the work that the Archive does. Many of them are hands-on, giving attendees an opportunity to understand Archive operations. Most of them are fun; for example, this year temporary tattoos were made out of GIFs that have been collected by the Archive or one was able to play a virtual reality game. Many of the booths were educational; one could see how a book is digitized. This year, a booth was set up to register people to vote and hand out copies of the U.S. Constitution. Tacos are served via taco trucks parked on the street in front of the building. Starting last year, during these first two hours of the event our friend Chas Gaudí spins 78 RPM sound recordings in the back yard–swing, pop, bop, hillbilly, blues, R&B, rock’n’roll. He made sure to play one by the great bluesman Otis Rush, who had recently passed away.

Voters were registered at the Internet Archive party!

DJ Chas Gaudi swings with some old 78s at the annual Internet Archive Celebration!

DJ Chas Gaudi played his signed copy of an Otis Rush 78!

MMMMM!!!! Tacos!!!!

At seven o’clock, folks are asked to step into the Great Room–a huge auditorium that holds about a thousand people. It is always full. There, Archive people present a show-and-tell regarding the different activities they have been involved with and the assorted collections it has acquired over the year. It is hosted by Jason Scott, and founder Brewster Kahle always talks up the exciting things the organization has done or will be doing in the future. This year’s theme was Building a Better Web, and the evening was a showcase of how the Internet Archive was helping.

A crazy person dressed in a patriotic costume at the Internet Archive party!

Around eight o’clock or so, folks are handed an ice cream sandwich (Three Twins–the best!) and a gift (this year a handy IA tote bag) and directed to the back yard, where cocktails are served and they can dance to the boss rhythms of 45 RPM records, as selected by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus. He always plays songs that people know–but not how they know them. This time, he threw in some Latin boogaloo records, some hit songs and a few weird things.

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus swings at the Internet Archive party!

Thanks goes to Caitlin Oslon, Katie Barrett and all the groovy Internet Archive folks who requested the return of DJ Phast Phreddie. Here’s hoping we can all be back next year for more. The playlist of all the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus at the annual Internet Archive Celebration is as follows:

• The Moon People–Hippy, Skippy, Moon Strut (Opus #1) (Roulette)
• Ricardo Ray–Mrs. Robinson (Alegre)
• El Chicano–Eleanor Rigby (Kapp)
• Copperfield Brass–American Woman (RCA)
• King Curtis & the Kingpins–Changes – Part I (Atco)
• Los Bravos–Swingers for Coke (Coca-Cola)
• The Happy Cats–These Boots Are Made for Walking (Omack)
• Chris Montez–Let’s Dance (Monogram)
• The Gilberto Sextet–Good Lovin’ (Cotique)
• The Selective Service–Green Onions (Main Line)
• The International Bongo Band–Congo (Challenge)
• Mongo Santamaria–Lady Marmalade (Vaya)
• Stevie Wonder–You Haven’t Done Nothin’ (Tamla)
• The Temptations–Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World Is Today) (Gordy)
• Maytals–Funky Kingston (Shelter)
• Mongo Santamaria–Sunshine of Your Love (Atlantic)
• Coasters–Love Potion Number Nine (King)
• Gloria Jones–Tainted Love (Champion)
• The Supremes–You Keep Me Hangin’ On (Motown)
• Ray Anthony–C’mon and Swim (Capitol)
• The Carnabeats–Mony Mony (Philips; Japan)
• Harvey Averne Band–Stand (Fania)
• Richard Anthony–Dans Tous Les Pays (Dancing in the Street) (Columbia; France)
• Dave ‘Baby’ Cortez with Lonnie Youngblood and His Bloodhounds–Jumpin’ Jack Flash (Norton)
• The Neapolitans featuring The Essentials–Crosstown Traffic (Hot Funky & Sweaty; UK)
• Pigmeat Markham–Here Comes the Judge (Chess)
• The Honey Drippers–Impeach the President (Alaga)
• Aretha Franklin–Rock Steady (Atlantic)
• The Slickers–Papa Was a Rolling Stone (Ice; Jamaica)
• Black Blood–A.I.E. (A Mwana) (Mainstream)
• Les 409–Donne-Moi Ton Amour (Gimme Some Loving) (RCA Victor – Canada International; Canada)
• Billy & the King Bees–Susie Q (Volt)
• Nancy Sinatra–Day Tripper (Reprise; France)
• The Beatles–Taxman (Apple; Japan)
• Donnie Brooks–Hush (Happy Tiger)
• Les Yper Sound–Psyche Rock (Fontana; Italy)

None of these records are for sale. Some may have links to the youtubes for your edification.