Author Archives: Boogaloo Bag

All the way with Lenny Kaye!

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Lenny

On May 5, The WHAM-O WATUSI blew into the Bootleg Bar in picturesque downtown Bushwick, Brooklyn with a very special guest DJ: Lenny Kaye.

WHAM-O host Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus has known Mr. Kaye for more years than anyone cares to count. Mr. Kaye has been a hero, an inspiration and, most importantly, a friend. As guitarist in the Patti Smith Group, an author of books, a producer of records, and a singer of his own songs, he is often very busy. He enjoys DJing, and has recently started to take it a little more seriously than usual, but he rarely has the chance to do so. Mr. Kaye has a standing offer to DJ with the Phast Man whenever he wants, but the last time he was able to do so was December 2016–almost a year and a half ago.

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Often, when these two DJ together they follow a theme. At first it was the Doo Wop Hop, which usually took place on or around Valentine’s Day. Then they did a night or two of all instrumentals. Once there was a reggae night and there may have been a girl group night–if not, there should have been. This time, at the WHAM-O, there were no restrictions. Boy, did Mr. Kaye take to that!

Mr. Kaye’s sets were heavy on the garage rock, with some sixties pop, rockabilly and doo wop sprinkled in. After a few beers and perhaps a couple of margaritas (well, it was Cinco de Mayo), he played a Madonna record and followed it up with “Mona” by The Iguanas!!! That was wild, to say the least.

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus had his own little salute to Cinco de Mayo: He played three records in a row by East Los Angeles Chicano artists. These three rare recordings have been recently re-released in the form of a 10-disc set of seven-inch singles in a box by our friends at Vampi Soul in Spain (for which The Boog wrote the liner notes). Only 500 of these collections were manufactured, so if one is interested in obtaining this fabulous collection (entitled Takin’ Care of Business: Soul R&B and garage from the Rampart, Faro, Gordo and Linda labels 1963 – 1971) one should act soon. Locally, the good people at Earwax Records in Williamsburg may still have it available. Tell them you heard about it in the Boogaloo Bag.

It was great to see so many of our friends come out and hang with us, too. Ace DJs Drew Redmond and Josh Styles, as well as Bootleg Bar owner Bobby Rich all came by to get their photo snapped with Mr. Kaye.

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Bootleg owner Bobby Rich, birthday girl Lauren Krohn and Mr. Lenny Kaye swing at the Wham-O Watusi.

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Lenny Kaye and Drew Redmond point out another great record at the Wham-O Watusi.

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Lenny Kaye and Josh Styles goof at the Wham-O Watusi.

Another thing made this WHAM-O WATUSI more special than usual: our friend and ace photographer Lauren Krohn celebrated her birthday. All night her friends dropped by to wish her well. Boogaloo Bag photographer and baker Miss Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner baked some very delicious vegan cupcakes with creamy chocolate frosting for the occasion, along with her signature cinnamon-infused brownies. It was a chocolate overload kind of night.

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Miss Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner and Lauren Krohn pose with yummy treats at the Wham-O Watusi.

Toward the end of the night, Mr. Kaye ran out of records and sat to chat with the birthday girl for a spell. Luckily, our friend DJ Rata showed up with the Wig Doctor. They had come from some other party where they were DJing mambo records. As the Wig Doctor sat in the corner and made out with a lovely young lady, DJ Rata joined the Phast Man in the DJ booth to add a Latin tinge that spiced up this most perfect evening.

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Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus gets a little help from DJ Rata at the Wham-O Watusi.

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

None of these records are for sale. Many of them have links to the Youtubes for your home listening pleasure.

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Happy Hour at the Jupe!

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On April 21, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus was asked to swing the Happy Hour session (6 to 10 PM) at the Jupiter Disco. The Boog did so by playing an eclectic selection of funk, soul, reggae, Mod jazz, Latin soul and groovy pop records–but mostly funk–for the four hours allotted to him. He kept a solid groove happening and several folks in attendance approached the DJ booth in order to announce their pleasure with the selected tunes. The evening went very well, especially when our pal Nogood Nick showed up with some of this friends.

Nogood Nick swings with Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus at the Jupiter Disco.

The evening was made ever so tasty with the addition of the caramel thumb-print cookies baked by Boogaloo Bag photographer Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner.

Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner’s famous caramel thumb print cookies!

At exactly 10PM, The Boog turned the controls of the Jupiter Disco’s audio system over to DJ Mikey Perez, who followed The Boog’s program with a hot zouk number, then proceeded to spin platters deep into the night.

The Boog and Miss Nancy gathered their things–records, uneaten cookies–and obtained some quick nourishment in the form of tacos at nearby Los Hermanos Tortilleria, then headed into Manhattan, where our friend DJ Rata was holding forth with his Mambo Jambo night at Otto’s Shrunken Head. Guest DJ with him was DJ Alr!ght, who was visiting from Cleveland.

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus checks out one of DJ Alr!ght’s hot platters.

The Boogaloo Bag writers first met DJ Alr!ght at the Keystone State Soul Weekender a couple of years ago. He’s a cool guy with hot records and he played some boss sounds that night, as did Rata. Miss Nancy made sure to distribute cookies to the folks at Otto’s before heading home. DJ Alr!ght was due later that night to spin records at Ceremony with Drew Redmond and cookies were sent with him in order for Mr. Redmond to get his share.

Here’s a list of all the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus at Happy Hour at the Jupe:

None of these records are for sale. Some of them have links to youtubes clips so you can dig them in the privacy of your own head!

DJ Rata gave this groovy Batman 45 adapter to Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus!! Thank you Señor Rata!

WHAM-O WATUSI MAYHEM!

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Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus and Moptop Mike swing at the WHAM-O WATUSI.

On April 7, WHAM-O WATUSI took place on its regularly scheduled date–first Saturday of the month–at its regularly scheduled location–the Bootleg Bar in Downtown Bushwick–with its regularly scheduled host DJ–Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus. One thing was special and that was the guest DJ, Moptop Mike.

If ever there was an authority on garage rock records, Moptop Mike is it. In fact he wrote the book on the subject; a great book, too. Teenbeat Mayhem! is not only a story of the music, but a pretty darn complete discography, as well. At about 400 pages, it is jam-packed with all sorts of information that one would require in order to build his or her own collection of rockin’ garage rock records. It is a book that is referenced several times a week by the Boogaloo Bag writers. Dig a review of it that appeared on the blog of the ARChive of Contemporary Music. You can get your own copy through the Ugly Things website (now at a blow-out price, too!).

(Actually, he wrote two books on the subject, the second being Beyond Teenbeat Mayhem!, an updated, limited edition (now sold out!) supplement that corrects some errors in the first and adds much more information. This guy is committed to getting things right.)

Moptop Mike and his pal Fast Eddy swing at the WHAM-O WATUSI!

This marked Moptop Mike’s first DJ appearance in the New York City area for around ten years. He used to be a guest DJ fairly regularly at the Subway Soul Club when it was at Rififi, and at Smashed!Blocked!, the legendary Mod Freakout hosted by Josh Styles and Peppermint Twist at the Beauty Bar. Obviously, if he spins at those two hallowed events, he has good soul records and good garage rock records. During one of his sets, Moptop noted how happy he was to spin both soul and garage rock records on the same night. Often he is asked to spin one or the other. At the WHAM-O WATUSI, all things reet are hep, thus there is more freedom to really swing for all the guest DJs.

Here are some of the records Moptop Mike played:

Host Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus is well aware of Moptop’s keen sense of boss records, so he did not even try to compete with him. Instead, he played his usual fare of far out stuff. However, he did throw in a few modern records that had a Teenbeat vibe. Among them was a single by Kid Congo & the Pink Monkey Birds called “Bruce Juice” that Moptop Mike was still talking about a few days later.

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus and Moptop Mike goof at WHAM-O WATUSI!

Something else was special, too: Miss Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner, the official photographer for the Boogaloo Bag and official baker for Wang Dang Doodle events, cooked up some of her famous maple fudge, some vegan brownies and, at Moptop Mike’s request, some cherry squares. Man, there were plenty of treats to go around and the place was boppin’ on a sugar rush all night. The Boogaloo Bag writers were happy to see so many of their friends drop by and partake of the edibles and dig the music.

Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner is seen here with her yummy treats!

Here’s a list of all the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus at the WHAM-O WATUSI held on April 7 at the Bootleg Bar:

None of these records are for sale. Some of the above listed tracks have links to youtubes clips so you may dig for yourself.

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus gets visited by his pal Mr. Vacation at the WHAM-O WATUSI!

 

Rocket Number Nine Takes Off for the Planet Soul Clap!

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On Wednesday night March 14, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus got the call from Mister Jonathan Toubin–one of the world’s premier diggers of reet music. Can The Boog swing a few sets that Saturday (the 17th) for his sensational Soul Clap and Dance Off? However, this would not be just any Soul Clap and Dance Off; this one will feature James Chance & the Contortions and The Sun Ra Arkestra. This would be one night of hot music!

The reply: ¡No Problemo!

So, in two days, The Boog was able to assemble three very different sets of groovy music in order to perform the task at hand.

As you may remember from earlier Boogaloo Bag entries regarding Jonathan Toubin, he runs an enterprise known as the New York Night Train. It produces fabulous reet music spectacles–mostly the Soul Clap and Dance Off, but other events as well–that take place regularly in New York City, and semi-regularly around the country. Starting in January, his Soul Claps in New York have been happening at Elsewhere, a huge venue on the far reaches of East Williamsburg. The venue has a big concert room that could hold probably about 1,000 people, maybe more. It also has several smaller rooms where folks can hang out and buy drinks. One of the smaller rooms is called Zone One, and it has a small stage and plenty of room for dancing.

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus swings at the Soul Clap!

The Boog’s first set took place in the large hall, as a warm-up for James Chance. For this, he played some very funky things, as one can see by the set list below:

Although Mr. Chance is not as svelte as he once was, he is still a pretty compelling performer. He played his alto saxophone and sang and screamed and bopped around the stage as his band–guitar, bass, drums, trumpet–backed him with taut, angular rhythms that were perfect for his brand of funk. The room was pretty full when Mr. Chance was on stage and all the folks were into it. His version of the Gil Scott-Heron song “Home Is Where the Hatred Is” was very cool and he encored with a James Brown number.

James Chance and the Contortions swing at the Soul Clap!

After his set, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus played these records:

As the hep Boogaloo Bag Reader knows, the great futuristic jazz orchestra leader Sun Ra passed from this existence to another in 1993. With Sun Ra no longer physically able to lead the band, leadership of The Arkestra passed first to saxophonist John Gilmore, who died in 1995, then to Marshall Allen, another saxophonist who had worked with Sun Ra off and on–mostly on–since the late Fifties; so you know he has a good idea how to keep the Sun Ra brand of highly visionary and magnificent yet entirely enjoyable music alive.

And alive it is! The Sun Ra Arkestra, under the direction of Marshall Allen was incredible on this night–surpassed only by the first time the Boogaloo Bag writers witnessed the Sun Ra Arkestra in action in the spring of 1981 at Myron’s Ballroom in Downtown Los Angeles. To try and describe this performance would be futile, as there are no words in the English language that are accurate. Suffice it to say, the Arkestra consisted of about 20 musicians, including a woman singer, a full horn section and two violin players, all dressed in glittery costumes that seemed to harken to ancient Egypt yet were modernistic and of a space-age design. Although the band may appear to adhere to certain big band traditions leftover from the swing era, only a complete idiot would confuse this act with Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadian Orchestra. The show was as modern as it can get and included excellent chanting, hot solos from many of the members–especially from the 93-year-old Mr. Allen–band members marching through the crowd and psychedelic images projected behind the band. It was marvelous.

After the Sun Ra Arkestra played, Phast Phreddie moved his activities to Zone One, where our pal Kid Congo was setting up the turntables for a dance event that would feature Mr. Congo, James Chance (his debut as a DJ) and the Phast Man. This was a sort of sideshow to the main event, the Soul Clap, in the large room. There was some confusion at first, as it took awhile for the sound technician to get the equipment to work properly, and more when it was pointed out that Mr. Chance was only prepared to work with compact discs. Once things got sorted, and a CD player was hooked up, Mr. Congo played some hot records that got those in the small room excited enough to bop around the dance floor. There was a full room and it looked as if it would turn out to be a fun night.

James Chance and his trumpet player swing along to the songs Mr. Chance played in Zone One!

After a while, Mr. Congo turned the show over to James Chance. He opened his set with the Ramsey Lewis version of “Wade in the Water,” during which Mr. Chance and his trumpet player proceeded to play their instruments along with the song. At first it seemed kind of cool and rather novel. The trumpet player, and sometimes Mr. Chance on his alto saxophone, then proceeded to play along with many of the tracks he aired. The songs he played were pretty cool, actually, but they were mid-tempo soul records that did not go over well on the dance floor. The punters were not taking to this at all and eventually they left the room. After about six or seven songs, Mr. Congo directed Mr. Chance play two more. His final selection (played after almost a minute of dead air!) was a pop standard sung by a male vocalist that sent the last four dancers out of the room. He and Mr. Congo then exited the Zone One room to join Jonathan Toubin for some sort of performance during the Soul Clap and Dance Off.

James Chance is instructed in the high art of playing records to a room full of dancers by Kid Congo!

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus swings for the kids in Zone One.

At this point, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus took the reins. His job: get those folks back! Not easy, with such hot action as the Soul Clap going on in the big room, but it was hoped that perhaps a few folks may be overwhelmed by the crowd in the large hall and seek more intimate dancing space in Zone One. The Boog played some of the hottest records in his Vintage Astro Sounds a’ Go-Go arsenal. Dig:

Folks eventually returned to Zone One to bop around. Half way through the set, the place had filled up nicely. By the time The Boog played his last record, the room was jumping again. Then Kid Congo returned to work Zone One and he was able to finish the night with an excellent room full of dancing bodies. The Boog and the Boogaloo Bag photographer Miss Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner visited the big room to dance around a bit to Mr. Toubin’s fabulous Soul Clap sounds before heading home.

Jonathan Toubin swings at the Soul Clap and Dance Off!

None of the records listed above are for sale. Some of them have links to the youtubes clips–click on them and experience some of The Boog’s portion of the sensational Soul Clap! (Note that all of the record played by The Boog were 7″ singles; some of the clips have the LP version, which may be the only version on the youtubes.)

Mr. Jonathan Toubin prepares for the Soul Clap and Dance Off in the Green Room.

Jonathan Toubin swings at the Soul Clap and Dance Off!

Kid Congo unlaxes before a night of swingin’ at the Soul Clap and Dance Off!

WHAM-O goes Bossa!

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Greg Caz and Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus swing at the WHAM-O WATUSI!

The WHAM-O WATUSI is known internationally as an evening of boss DJs spinning 7” 45 RPM records imbedded with the reetest of sounds. On Saturday, March 3, it was a completely different WHAM at the Bootleg Bar. Guest DJ was Greg Caz. He played 99% LPs that spin at 33 1/3 RPM. In any other instance, this would be considered heresy of the highest order. However, Greg Caz is Greg Caz–a cat who was born in New York City and has been DJing his entire adult life, and quite possibly much of his adolescence, too.

First off, Greg Caz is internationally recognized as the King of Brazilian Records. He has had some legendary DJ nights of folks jumping around as he plays hot records from that Portuguese-speaking South American country. Indeed, Mr. Caz often goes down there to buy records and he is a popular DJ there, too. New Yorkers can hear him turn his records just about every Wednesday night at Nublu in the East Village. Greg also does time at the Brooklyn Bowl, Studio 151, Our Wicked Lady and other fine establishments in town.

But that’s not all; Mr. Caz is an all-around DJ. At the WHAM, he played some cool Brazilian beats, that’s for sure, but he also played a bunch of other boss tracks. He’s the kind of guy who can dig out an album and find the one cool track on it to play; like a Duke Ellington record with a funky drum break or a version of “A Night in Tunisia” that sounds as if it were recorded in outer space! He played some rock things, some funk things, some reggae things; and it was executed with excellence and beauty that only Greg Caz can supply.

How does a mere mortal DJ keep up with Mr. Caz? WHAM-O WATUSI host Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus played a bunch of rhythmic things: reggae, Afro-groove, hard funk, along with the usual surf and soul records he spins at every WHAM. He played a full half-hour set with no lyric sung in English. He played all six of the Brazilian records he owns. He played records from Jamaica and Colombia. He played two of the bossest records ever made by Perez Prado. Hopefully, that will suffice.

Vegan brownies and pecan tassies baked by Miss Nancy!

Once again, the WHAM-O WATUSI was graced with some delicious sweet things baked by Nancy Gardner: pecan tassies and vegan brownies! Man that was good. Just ask Greg Caz, who ate a bunch of them and even took some home to treat the family.

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

None of these records are for sale. Some of them have links to the youtubes in order for the reader to dig.

The Real Stormy Monday

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On Monday, February 19, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus and the official Boogaloo Bag photographer and baker Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner trekked out to the furthest point of East Williamsburg in order to entertain the troops that happen to show up at the Jupiter Disco that night. Appropriately called Stormy Monday–it rained all day–The Boog had a box of old 7” records and Miss Nancy had a container of home-made fudge.

But before The Boog went to work, the couple shared grease at Los Hermanos–quite possibly the most excellent taqueria in the world. The dining area is actually the loading dock for a tortilla factory. Get your fresh tortillas here–a 30 oz. bag for one dollar! It is only steps away from the Jefferson Street stop on the L Train, on Starr Street. Once filled up on tacos and quesadillas, the scene was made at the Jupiter Disco, a couple of blocks away.

Stormy Monday is the Jupiter Disco’s official retro/Sixties night. Each Monday, a different DJ is asked to come and swing. The February 19 date was The Boog’s third time working this hustle and each time is a gas, even though he swings for five solid hours without a break.

As previously mentioned, Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner brought along her borough-famous, cinnamon-infused fudge and it was the hit of the evening. Our pal and fellow DJ Drew Redmond was on hand to devour much of it! Also, she took all of these photos.

DJ Drew Redmond comes to Stormy Monday to get fudged up!

Here’s a list of the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus at Stormy Monday–all 120 of them:

None of these records are for sale. Some of them may have links to the youtubes. Click on them to listen to the boss sounds.

Here’s WHAM on your Face!

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On February 10, the 31st WHAM-O WATUSI was held at the Bootleg Bar. It took place on the second Saturday of the month instead of the first in order to accommodate the host, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus, whose presence was required at the fabulous Subway Soul Club event on February 3rd. However, the WHAM-O went on without a hitch, spruced up immensely by the presence and the records of guest DJ Kurtis Powers.

The Wham-O Watusi was visited by DJ Captain Heartlock, seen here discussing the situation with Kurtis Powers.

Mr. Powers is a cool cat who we have known on the scene for many years, but only recently had the pleasure to work with. He has recently acquired an online streaming radio station that he calls The Face Radio. It blasts all sorts of cool, Modernist sounds: soul, funk, rare groove, jazz. He is also an internationally renown DJ–in fact, less then a week after he spins at the WHAM he will be on a DJ tour of Great Britain for two weeks. At the WHAM, he played a ton of great old soul and R&B records that had the place hoppin’.

Phast Phreddie played a few soul records, too. Also, since Fat Tuesday was later in the week, he played a set of seven records from New Orleans. Plus, he played four “monkey” records in a row!

Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner is seen here displaying her fabulous brownies at the Wham-O Watusi!

Also on hand to spiff up the evening was the Boogaloo Bag photographer Miss Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner who baked some delicious brownies–including some vegan ones–and passed them out to those in attendance. At the WHAM-O WATUSI one can literally dine and dance! What other DJ night brings you yummy treats along with boss sounds for your feets?

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

None of these records are for sale. Many of them have links to the youtubes. Click on them and recreate the WHAM in the privacy of your own home!

Special thanks to our pal Robbie Busch for letting us use this groovy image he created for our poster.

Subway Soul Club Action: 2018!

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Happy feet time at Subway Soul Club. Photo by Lauren Krohn.

The Subway Soul Club started in December 2001 when Lady Dawn and some of her friends, fellow Brit Jeff Valle and Dr. Scott Bulleit organized the first event, held at a small joint in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Since then, Lady Dawn would draw up the beautiful flyers, dance around in vintage Mod frocks and take names for her mailing list. Jeff and Dr. Scott, along with a guest DJ or two, played cool records that got folks on the floor dancing. SSC then moved around a little bit, and in the confusion, Jeff and Dr. Scott both moved back to their respective hometowns (Dr. Scott is from San Francisco Bay area) by the summer of 2002. At this point, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus was asked to step in as resident DJ. That July, he helped find a new home–Raffifi on East 11th Street–and it was there that SSC lived so well for so long. When Rififi closed, about four or five years later, the Club became homeless, but carried on nearly every month at several different venues for a few years. The most steady was The Loft in Williamsburg, where SSC held forth until May 2011, when Lady Dawn decided to give it a rest.

Lady Dawn and Jumpy at the door, greeting folks at Subway Soul Club.

Subway Soul Club was resurrected in 2013 when it became an irregular, periodic affair. Since then, there has been at least one SSC happening a year at such venues as Grand Victory, Coco 66 and Lucille’s Blues Bar at BB King’s.

Here we are, just barely a little over a month into 2013 and we have already had a Subway Soul Club event. Held on February 3rd at the Gemini & Scorpio Loft, any one who attended will tell you that it was one of the best ones since leaving Riffi.

The Gemini & Scorpio Loft is an unmarked door on a side street in Brooklyn, just a short walk from the Gowanus Canal. It is a large room, smartly appointed with suns and moons and cosmic curtains and low lights and most importantly, a wooden dance floor! One of the things that made this SSC special was the fact that all of the available advance tickets were sold about a week before the event actually took place. Everybody who was in the house was there to dance and dig fabulous Soul Music from the Sixties. There were no looky-loos, hodads, or creeps who accidentally drop in from the street. Also, it was such a gas to see so many familiar faces–many of them regulars from the Riffifi days, and others that have picked up on SSC along the way, plus many new people who now can’t wait until it all happens again.

And what fabulous music, too! Joining the Phast Man at the DJ booth was DJ Honky and Connie T. Empress who played some incredibly great Soul records all night long.

DJ Honky gets ready to spin another great record at Subway Soul Club!

DJ Honky is a legend among Soul Music aficionados. He was one of the hosts of Dig Deeper, a series of Soul Music concerts and dances that resurrected such great Soul singers as Don Gardner, Darrow Fletcher, Renaldo Domino and Sugar Pie DeSanto and put them on a Brooklyn stage in order for their fans to admire them. These shows were great. Many of these singers had not performed in decades, yet each show was fabulous. Before and after the live portion, DJ Honky and his co-host Mr. Robinson, and some times an internationally renown guest DJ, would play some of the rarest and most obscure Soul records ever. These guys new their stuff and were happy to share it with the world. DJ Honky recreated some of that magic during the four sets he worked at Subway Soul Club.

Connie T Empress swings at Subway Soul Club!

Before there was a Subway Soul Club, there was the Empire State Soul Club–New York City’s original Sixties Soul Music dance. It’s driving force and den mother was Connie T Empress, known as the Empress of Soul. When the Boogaloo Bag writers discovered the ESSC in the mid-Nineties, it was packing them in at Irving Plaza–a large concert hall near Union Square. However, like all good things, it, too, came to an end. Miss Connie was one of the key DJs, always playing jumpin’ records while wearing a sparkly dress and a be-jeweled tiara. The Empress of Soul recreated some of that magic during the four sets she worked at Subway Soul Club.

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus swings at Subway Soul Club!

For Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus, the Subway Soul Club is his premier DJ gig. Since becoming its resident DJ 15 or so years ago, it is the event that he most looks forward to and laments that it does not happen more often. He has a couple of boxes at home full of records that he has noted as SSC-appropriate–adding to it frequently. Also, he maintains a database of records that he has played at his DJ gigs and consults it frequently when assembling the box of records he is to play at his DJ events, so as not to play the same record too frequently, in order to keep it all fresh. It is with this fastidiousness that Phast Phreddie hopes to bring a little magic to the game.

Lady Dawn has her own magic, too. She worked hard promoting the event, setting up the advance ticketing situation and dealing with the club. She designed the beautiful flyers–and has done so since the very beginning. Indeed, her handbills and posters of past Subway Soul Club events are collectable and cherished among cognizant hep cats. In fact, her superb designs have been the only constant thing with the Subway Soul Club–well, that and the excellent vibes of folks dancing around to groovy old Soul 45s.

In the cool blue light of Gemini & Scorpio Loft, Mr. Robinson and DJ Honky reminisce about Dig Deeper at Subway Soul Club!

Those who know DJ Honky, know that, aside from being a great DJ and a fine example of a human being, he is an excellent cook. He likes to bake things and the things he bakes are delicious. Phast Phreddie is exceptionally fond of his ginger snap cookies. DJ Honky was gracious enough to bake some for Subway Soul Club attendees. (He also circulated copies of the Dig Deeper 6-Year Anniversary 2-CD sampler that he and Mr. Robinson assembled, containing some of the rarest soul records imaginable. Added to the mix were some most excellent chocolate chip cookies baked by Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner, the official photographer for The Boogaloo Bag.

What’s left of DJ Honky’s ginger snaps!!

Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner’s excellent chocolate chip cookies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although the Gemini & Scorpio Loft was an excellent venue for Subway Soul Club, it may not be possible for another event to take place there in the near future, if at all. Lady Dawn and Phast Phreddie continue to hunt for a permanent home, a place where SSC could take place three or four times a year. It could happen. But who knows… maybe the Gemini & Scorpio Loft will be the place, but perhaps only once or twice a year. We shall see.

Here’s a list of all the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus at the Subway Soul Club:

None of these records are for sale. Most of them have links to the youtubes clips, so the reader may click on them and dance around in the privacy of your own home.

Trash and Boogaloo at Rebel Night!

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Rebel Night is New York City’s most rockin’est dance party. The hosts are a bunch of crazy Japanese fellows who like to swing-dance with pretty girls in hoop skirts to rare rockabilly records played really loudly. This attitude is very infections. Everyone who drops by Rebel Night can’t help but join in on the fun. One simply cannot walk away from a Rebel Night event without an enthusiasm for up-beat records from the Fifties and early Sixties. On Friday, January 19, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus was asked to join in on the excitement as guest DJ, so he packed some heat in an 8-inch-cubed record tote and made the scene at Diviera Drive in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Seiji swings with a hot rockabilly number at Rebel Night!

The Boogaloo Bag writers showed up a little early for the gig, but not early enough to partake in the gratis dinner allotted the DJs. By day, Diviera Drive is a four star Italian restaurant. At night, the tables are moved to an empty room and rock’n’roll takes place. The Rebel Night hosts, Seiji, Hiromu and Junichi were all in attendance, as was the other guest, DJ Trash Only. Also on hand was Akinora, who is a long-time friend of the regular Rebel Night hosts; indeed he has been present at every Rebel Night that the Boogaloo Bag writers have ever attended. However, on this night he actually spent some time behind the wheels of steel, playing some great records and keeping the dance floor packed. Aki seems to have taken up the slack after Kikuchi, one of the founders of Rebel Night, moved on to other things a few years ago. This is the first time we heard him play records, and he played some fine ones.

Akinora swings at Rebel Night!

DJ Trash Only gets ready to go to work, as Hiromu places another 45 on the turntable at Rebel Night.

On this night, Junichi didn’t bring records, but Seiji and Hiromu did. These two guys have excellent, raucous recordings and they like to play them at a high volume and jump around.

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus congratulates Hiromu on another fine set of rockin’ sides at Rebel Night!

DJ Trash Only is one of our favorite people. He makes his coin as a clothier in a storied midtown department store. In his free time he hangs out with his ballerina girlfriend and sits around diggin’ the groovy trash he has accumulated through his life in Brooklyn, with a soundtrack of reet, rockin’ 45s. He is lead singer of one of our favorite psychobilly bands, The Memphis Morticians. Until fairly recently, he was a co-host of the Midnight Monster Hop and Chills and Fever. He’s got boss records and he knows how to play them. He sure did at Rebel Night. Dig his set that featured The Sonics and The Wailers; demolished the dance floor!

DJ Trash Only displays his fabulous Poor Boys 45 at Rebel Night!

To honor his friends who hail from the Land of the Rising Sun, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus commenced his first set with an appropriately titled instrumental. He followed that with two “Hole in the Wall” records for no particular reason. Most records that were played ran from around 130 to 210 BPM. They like to bop at the Rebel Night, that’s for sure. Whenever the beat slows a bit, many of the gals will take over the dance floor with what they like to call The Stroll but is really the Electric Slide, or some variation thereof. It’s a sight to behold and such was the case when “The Road Runner” was played.

Aki prepares to spin the last record of the evening as Junichi announces it at Rebel Night!

Here’s a list of all the records spun by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus at Rebel Night:

None of these records are for sale. Some of them have links to the youtubes; click on the links to dig ‘em.

 

WHAM-O breaks a record!

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Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus presents DJ Hiromu at the WHAM-O WATUSI!

On Saturday, January 13, the 30th WHAM-O WATUSI was held at the Bootleg Bar and hosted by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus. On hand for guest DJ duties was Hiromu Yanagiya–one of the resident DJs for Rebel Night, the rockin’ party hosted by three Japanese DJs whose taste in rockabilly records is most excellent.

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus and DJ Hiromu swing at the WHAM-O WATUSI.

Mr. Yanagiya was born in Hawaii and has lived in Brooklyn for over 10 years. He is also the bass player for a punk rock band called Vandalizer. At the WHAM-O he played some great stuff: the rockabilly records one would expect to hear at Rebel Night, for sure, but also jumpin’ R&B, soul and even some modern recordings; and it was all very boss.

For his part, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus hoped to make DJ Hiromu and his date, the lovely Aya Ishihara, comfortable by playing several Japanese records, and by introducing him to the Bootleg audience by preceding his first set with “Hawaiian War Rock.” During the course of the evening, The Phastman even presented Hiromu with a copy of “Blue Comets ’66” by The Blue Comets–a very hip surf instrumental by a Japanese Group Sound band.

Aya and Phast discuss the time he visited her home town of Kyoto, Japan.

The person who really made the night swing, though, was Miss Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner, who provided freshly baked caramel thumbprint cookies. (She doesn’t really stick her thumb into each cookie. What happens is, once the cookie dough is set in the pan, she presses the back of a spoon into each one, creating a little dip. Once the cookies are cooked, she pours some yummy caramel into the dip, then drizzles some melted dark chocolate on top of that.) Folks, the cookies were out of sight and were the hit of the evening!

Miss Nancy’s cookies!

The evening went along swimmingly, except for one thing: a record was broken! In his haste to close his record box in order to make way for one of DJ Hiromu’s sets, The Boogaloo Omnibus snapped a piece out of his copy of “Campus Rock” by The Tyrones. It’s a jumpin’ little record by a white rhythm & blues combo from about 1956. The record is not very common, yet it doesn’t go for much money. However, it is very difficult to find records like this in the near mint condition this copy was in. Once this blog has been posted, Phast Phreddie is going to go to his room and cry.

NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Here’s a list of all the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus at the 30th WHAM-O WATUSI:

None of these records are for sale. Click on the links to dig them.