On April 5, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus was employed in two capacities: 1) as a reciter of his original poetry with the boss funky soul instrumental group Freek’s Garage; 2) as a DJ for Pete Pop’s Shim Sham Shimmy. Luckily, the two gigs were not that far apart, geographically speaking, and the Freek’s gig was early and the Shimmy goes late, so both events were covered.

Freek’s Garage is made up of some very groovy cats: drummer Doug Wygal (owner of Rocket Number Nine Records in Kingston), guitarist Jake Guralinick (manager of cool rock acts), bass player Mark Sidgwick (Holly & the Italians) and organ player Tim Geaney (professional photographer). For some reason, they ask the Phast Man to recite his psychedelic poetry at crucial moments during their recent performances. This particular one took place in the early evening at the Tinker Street Tavern in Bearsville—only about 20 minutes away from the Salt Box in Kingston, the scene of the Shim Sham Shimmy.

Poetry was recited as Freek’s Garage supplied an appropriate backing track, as per the script, then it was off to Kingston. When we got to the Box, Pete Pop had the Shimmy going in full effect: folks were boppin’ to his groovy sounds: rock’n’roll, R&B, rockabilly, mambo, rockin’ blues and other reet audio recordings. At the Shimmy, Mr. Pop and Phast trade off playing short, three-record sets. This keeps The DJs on their toes, always involved, always thinking about the next record to play. One may notice occasional three songs in a row that may be related. Sometimes the first song is an answer to the third song of the previous DJ. Usually none of the songs flow together in any meaningful way. This kind of action is dynamic and must be experienced.

Here’s a list of all the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus at the April Shim Sham Shimmy:

• Les Nobels–Les Oignons Verts (Tèlèdisc; Canada)
• The T-R’s–Soul Meeting (West-End)
• The Soul Reps–Soul Food (Limelight)
• The Twiners–Twine Baby (Wheel City)
• Moe Koffman Quartet–Koko-Mamey (Jubilee)
• Ernie K-Doe–Love Me Like I Wanta (Duke)
• Gene “Bowlegs” Miller–Frankenstein Walk (Hi)
• Elton Anderson–Sick and Tired (Capitol)
• Smokey Smothers–Twist With Me Annie (Federal)
• The Genies–Twistin’ Pneumonia (Warwick)
• Philip Jones – Johnny “Spider” Martin Orch.–Hey Let’s Everybody Twist (Spider)
• Ramona King–Soul-Mate (Eden)
• Larry Bright–Bloodhound (Tide)
• Rick & the Ravens featuring Ray Daniels–Just for You (Aura)
• Perez “Prez” Prado and His Orchestra–Marilyn Monroe Mambo (RCA Victor)
• Tito Puente y su Orquesta–El Rey Del Timbal (Tico)
• Dick Dale–Night Rider (Capitol)
• Rejean et ses Fawcons–Mary Lee (Sofége; Canada)
• Barry Martin–Minnie the Moocher (Freedom)
• Smiley Lewis–She’s Got Me Hook, Line & Sinker (Imperial)
• The Original Playboys–Hey Little Willie (Smash)
• Ike & Tina Turner–Tina’s Dilemma (Sue)
• Dorothy Williams–Watchdog (Volt)
• Little Willie John–All Around the World (King)
• Bobby Bland–Yield Not to Temptation (Duke)
• Little Richard–Slippin’ and Slidin’ (Modern)
• Cuco Valtierra–Hay Que Bailar Rock and Roll (Musart; Colombia)
• The Rockin’ Aces–Thunder (Mercury)
• The Cool Tones–Ginchy (Warwick)
• Willie Cobbs–I’ll Only Love You (Riceland)
• Slim Harpo–I’m Your Bread Maker Baby (Excello)
• Johnny Otis—Baby, I Got News for You (King)
• The Peridots–Hully Gully All Nite Long (Deauville)
• Fay Simmons–Everybody’s Doin’ the Pony (Senca)
• Pierre Lalonde et Donald Lautrec–Ah! Vive Les Filles (Apex Francais; Canada)
• Frank (Dual Trumpet) Motley and His Motley Crew–Honkin’ at Midnight (DC)
• Chuck Higgins and His Mellotones; vocal by John Watson–Motor Head Baby (Combo)
• Laurie Tate with the Joe Morris Blues Cavalcade–Rock Me Daddy (Atlantic)
• Danny Zella and his Zell Rocks–Wicked Ruby (Fox)
• The Shirelles–I Met Him on a Sunday (Ronde-Ronde) (Decca)
• Earl Grant–Honky Tonk (Decca)
• Larry Liggett–Jumping at the Woodside Mambo (Chess)
• Arnie and His Soul Brothers–Look-Out (Emmes)
• Elroy “Shadow” Peace–Yeah Baby (Keen)
• Rusty Isabell–The Blast (Brent)
• Teddy and the Rough Riders–Thunder Head (Tilt)
• The Thunderbirds and Band–In My Thunderbird (Holiday)
• Perez Prado and His Orchestra–Black Horse (Caballo Negro) (RCA Victor)
• Billy “The Kid” Emerson–The Whip (Part 1) (M-Pac!)
• The Ad Libs–On the Corner (Blue Cat)
• Carl Holmes and the Commanders–Mashed Potatoes (Part I) (Atlantic)
• Big Maybelle–Rock House (Savoy)
• Chuck Berry–I’m Talking About You (Chess)
• Willie Dixon and the Big Wheels–Uncle Willie’s Got a Thing Going On (Federal)
• The Capitols–Dog and Cat (Karen)
• The Montclairs–The Hunch (Fame)
• Professor Longhair–Cuttin’ Out (Ron)
• Sam Butera–Equator (Prep)
• Betty Lavett–Shut Your Mouth (Atlantic)
• The Chello’s–Chicken Back Twist (WFW)
• Ronny Kae–Twistin’ Rumble (Band Box)
• Paul London & the Kapers–Never Like This (The Big Bad Twist) (Check-Mate)
• The Storms–Thunder (Sundown)

None of these records are for sale!