Monthly Archives: November 2025

Smash! Crash! Booo!

Posted on by Standard Reply

As noted in an early Boogaloo Bag post, our friends Peter Aaron and Sean McDJ host a fabulous night called Smash! Crash! Bash! on the last Friday of the month at the Salt Box in Kingston, NY. The October Smasher landed on Halloween, which triggered two things to happen: 1) it was going to be fun; 2) Sean McDJ was bound to get another gig somewhere else that night! Both happenings happened. Due to the second happening, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus was once more called in to sub for Mr. McDJ.

Smash! Crash! Bash! is known for its eclectic mix of all things rockin’—especially punk and new wave records. On this night, Mr. Aaron and the Phast One played those kinds of records, but also quite a bit of scary-ish type of records in order to celebrate Halloween. A funny thing happened that night—a party of about twenty folks came upstairs to the Rumpus Room where the DJs are. None of them were in costume. They hung out for about an hour then left. After that, there were a bunch of folks upstairs in all sorts of costumes; witches and goblins bopped around all night. Yeah, it was a fun night.

The most impressive costume of the night had to be the fellow in the shark outfit!

Miss Nancy was able to round up a whole lot of treats for the occasion: brownies with eyeballs in them, chex mix, a candy assortment, Fab! cookies, gummy eyeballs and a jello brain! Wow! Plus, she supplied the room with a crawling brain and a walking severed hand (as seen in the photo above)!!!

Peter Aaron played a rich variety of his punk and new wave records (and he’s got an impressive collection of that stuff), plus other rockin’ jams, as he always does. Phreddie Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus played these records:

None of these records are for sale.

Smash! Crash! Bash! Boogaloo!

Posted on by Standard Reply

[WARNING: this post is way out of order—the Boogaloo Blog writers apologize profusely for any confusion that it may incur]

Peter Aaron and Phast Phreddie swing with cool records at Smash! Crash! Bash!

Our friends Peter Aaron and Sean McDJ have a swingin’ DJ night they call Smash! Crash! Bash! that takes place on the last Friday of the month at the all mighty Salt Box in Kingston, NY. On these nights they tend to play a lot of punk, glam and new wave records, as well as old garage, soul, latin, funk—whatever they feel like playing. Both DJs are very eclectic, however, most of the night one will hear a lot of records from the seventies and early eighties. Miss Nancy likes to attend these affairs because they will play Devo, Bowie and T-Rex records, which she likes to dance to. The Boogaloo Bag writers like to attend these affairs because the DJs always play cool stuff they’ve never heard before—and that makes it interesting.

DJ Peter Aaron

Peter Aaron is a musician (most famously a member of The Chrome Cranks), a radio personality (Go-Go Kitty on Radio Kingston), and an arts editor for the Hudson Valley culture magazine (Chronogram), and the author of books (most recently a biography of Ric Ocasek). He’s a busy guy who still finds time to collect groovy records and spin them at the Salt Box.

Sean McDJ

Sean McDJ is equally busy as a photographer, a computer specialist, a professional DJ (weddings, parties, anything) and, we think, several other employments that he doesn’t talk about. He’s also a neat guy who is happy to talk about any record you can think of.

This particular Smash! Crash! Bash! was held on July 25. Originally, Sean McDJ was planning on being absent due to other arrangements. Because of this, Peter Aaron asked Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus to step into his shoes for the night. However, as it turned out, Mr. Sean was able to make the scene after all. Instead of kicking the Phast One off the bill, they decided to add him into the mix. Usually Peter and Sean take turns playing one record at a time. This time, the three of them traded three-song sets. Our pal Pete Pop showed up to dig the scene.

This was a gas for Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus, who had a chance to break out many songs he hadn’t played in a long time, including some new-ish ones and several by his friends from the olden days. He’ll be back on Halloween, as Sean has another gig that night!

Here’s a list of all the songs played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus at Smash! Crash! Bash!

None of these records are for sale

Keystone Number Nine takes off for the planet Soul!!

Posted on by Standard Reply

The Ninth Annual Keystone State Northern Soul Weekender took place on the 24th, 25th and 26th of October. As has been reported in previous Boogaloo Bags, this is one of the most fantastic weekends imaginable! A bunch of great DJs—friends, all (or soon to be!)—playing great records almost non-stop for three days in a row. Plus, folks selling records. Plus, folks dancing to records. Plus, the new location is right next door to a really good Mexican restaurant. You couldn’t get closer to heaven if you said the Hail Mary a hundred times a day for the rest of your life!! It is held in Lancaster, Pennsylvania at the Moose Lodge, which has a fabulous wooden dance floor.

Julio Fernandez is the most gracious host imaginable. There were several first-time DJs at this year’s event—so many that Julio cut his own DJ time in order to make room for them.

Please note that the new DJs are not new to DJing—just new to DJing at the Keystone event. Each of them have had plenty of DJ experience in their respective home towns, as well as nationally and internationally. Among those who worked the Keystone for the first time were Gabe Besaw (Nor’easter Soul Club, Albany, NY), Jon Friesen (Santa Ana, CA), Kenneth MacDonald (Scotland), Michael Chriestzberg (Wig Out, Seattle), Marc Muller (Emerald City Soul Club, Seattle), Gordy Greenawalt (Title Town Soul Party, Pittsburgh) and Kevin Higham (Rare Music Direct, UK).

Returning DJs included Scott Boyko (Garden State Soul Club, NJ), Debbie Benjamin-Koller (Heart of Chicago Soul Club), Sean Connors (Philly Soul Club, Philadelphia), Aret Sakal (Windy City Soul Club, Chicago), DJ Bywell (Soul Buzz, San Diego), Mr. Fine Wine (Downtown Soulville, WFMU), Eric Svirida (Long Island), Yana Lil’ Jerk (Strong G+, Brooklyn), Connie T. Empress (Empire State Soul Club, NYC) Mikey Post (Daptone Records), Jay Boxcar (Garden State Soul Club, NJ), Chey Frazier (Easton Vinyl Assassins, Easton, PA) and, of course, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus (he and Mr. Fernandez are the only DJs who have appeared in all nine events).

Another fellow who has become a regular at the Keystone Weekender was Brother Weems, who has been the MC for at least 7 or 8 years. He’s a friendly chap who, when not announcing the DJs, is on the floor dancing.

This year’s event was very well attended and folks were on the dance floor nearly the entire time—especially during the two evening periods. All of the DJs did such a swell job that, if one were to put a gun to the Boogaloo Bag writers’ heads and ask who was best, they’d end up shot!!!

Although she was unable to make the scene, Miss Nancy baked some very delicious cookies that were properly devoured: Double chocolate cookies and pumpkin flavored cookies.

The Keystone Soul Weekender family!

[try clicking on the photos and they may big-o-fi magically!]

FRIDAY NIGHT

Although he was a late add to the Friday night roster, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus was able to round up a few good records to play:

The Four Larks–Groovin’ at the Go-Go (Tower)
Roy Handy–Baby That’s a Groove (Stephannye)
Cliff Nobles–Your Love Is All I Need (Atlantic)
Maurice McCallister (formerly of The Radiants)–Baby Hang On (Chess)
The Cavaliers–Hold To My Baby (RCA Victor)
Carl Carlton–I Can Feel It (Back Beat)
Shirley J. Scott–Goose Pimples (Stephanye)
Sidney Barnes–You’ll Always Be in Style (Red Bird)
The Jay Walkers featuring Mickey Holiday–Can’t Live Without You (Swan)
Don Covay–Fat Man (Atlantic; France)
Claudine Clark–Buttered Popcorn (Jamie)
The Wailers–The Jerk (Island; UK)

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

During the daytime events, DJs double up on their 30 minute sets. The Phast Man was paired with Gordy Greenawalt from Pittsburgh. This was a reunion of sorts, as Mister Greenawalt was enlisted to be a special guest DJ at a New Year’s Eve Subway Soul Club event many years ago. They hadn’t seen each other since. They traded off playing records and it was a gas. Dig Phreddie’s selections here:

The Honey Drippers–Impeach the President (Alaga)
Kenny Gamble–The Jokes on You (Arctic)
Junior Wells–(I Got A) Stomach Ache (Vanguard)
Ellie Greenwich–Niki Hoeky (United Artists; Philippines)
Herb Fame–You’re Messin’ Up My Mind (Date)


SATURDAY NIGHT

This is the big night. Folks were arriving at the venue early, so Phast Phreddie, who was the first DJ of the night, started a little early and was able to sneak in a few extra spins:

Rex Garvin and the Mighty Cravers–Queen of the Go-Go (Tower)
Lydia Marcelle–Everybody Dance (Atco)
Joe Medwick–Whatever It Takes (Westpark)
The Soul Twins–It’s Not What You Do It’s the Way That You Do It (Karen)
The Charmaines–Eternally (Date)
The Willows–Hurtin’ All Over (M-G-M)
Amanda Humphrey–Power of Love (U.S.A.)
Jewel Akens–A Slice of the Pie (Era)
Isley Brothers–Got to Have You Back (Tamla)
The Happy Cats–These Boots Are Made for Walking (Omack)
Millie Small–Carry Go Bring Come (Fontana; UK)
Jun Mayuzumi–Black Room (Capitol; Japan)
Pal Rakes and the Prophets–Can’t Deny the Hurt (Verve)
Theresa Lindsey–I’ll Bet You (Golden World)

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

Once again, Phreddie was teamed with Mister Greenawalt for this brunch-time event. This is a time when the DJs get a little crazed with their selections. Also once again, folks were arriving early so they started spinning early and thus had some extra time on the air. Hence these jams:

Lyn Taitt–Out on a Funky Trip (Randys)
Timmy Thomas–Have Some Boogaloo (Goldwax)
Nino Ferrer–Les Cornichons (Monkey) (Riviera; Canada)
Little Bob–I Got Loaded (La Louisianne)
J.J. Jackson and the Jackaels–Oo-Ma-Liddi (Prelude)
Dave Bartholomew–Shrimp & Gumbo (Imperial)
La Tribu–Para Que (El Eclypse)
The Tammys–Egyptian Shumba (United Artists)

None of these records are for sale!

The Boogaloo Bag writers urge all of its readers to join the Keystone Northern Soul Weekender group on Facebook in order to become aware of the next event—and make sure you be there. You won’t regret it.