Funky Kingston

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A few months ago, our pal Dungaroos Kipawah arranged for Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus to swing at the beautiful Kingston, NY bar for which Mr. Kipawah bartends. The Boog named the event Funky Kingston. It took place on July 29. For this event he rounded up some of his favorite funk, hard soul and boogaloo records, and spiced it up with a few Afro-beats and Jamaican rhythms.

It all happened at The Salt Box, a fairly new but very groovy drinkery located in beautiful downtown Kingston—New York State’s first capitol city. One of the great things about the place is the historic building it resides in—it even has its own Wikipedia entry! The building was constructed during the 18th century with uncut stones. This makes it very difficult for audio wires to be strung through the walls for the disco system. Instead The Salt Box utilizes a wireless system that has a two-second delay from needle hitting a groove until it bursts out of the speakers. The Salt Box DJs need to be awake in order not to miss a transition mix. Luckily, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus had been to the venue several times before in order to observe top local DJs Pete Pop, Peter Aaron and Sean McDevitt work the hustle, and so he was prepared.

The Funky Kingston experience took place on the upper floor of the building. The Boog had to lug his turntables and records up a narrow flight of pre-regulation stairs and set up in the corner. The room had some tables and chairs and some games for folks to fool with. The Bat Signal was employed in order to ensure a full-on Wang Dang Doodle event was taking place. Miss Nancy had several flavors of her homemade fudge and vegan brownies available for attendees with sweet teeth.

For this initial Funky Kingston, we are happy to report that plenty of folks came out to groove to the scene, including some old friends and some of our new Hudson Valley friends. It’s always a gas to see familiar smiling faces.

The Funky Kingston will take place on the fifth Saturday of the month, when there is one. There are two more this year, September 30 and December 30. For this Funky Kingston, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus was the only DJ. Future Funky Kingstons may feature guest DJs brought in from New York City or parts unknown. Make your plans now to make the scene.

Here’s a list of all the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus at the very first Funky Kingston:

None of these records are for sale.

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