Wang for Waller.

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Don Waller was a friend of The Boogaloo Bag writers for more than forty years. Suffice to say that he was pretty close to Phast Phreddie, especially during the latter’s years in Los Angeles (early Seventies to 1991, when he moved to New York). Early in their lives they influenced each other in very positive ways, most of which involved music. Waller died on November 17, after a battle with lung cancer that lasted nearly a year.

The Boogaloo Bag writers are much too saddened by Don’s death to supply much background information on their dear friend. They suggest you read his obituaries in the L.A. Times, the L.A. Weekly and one that our friend Steve Hochman wrote for buzzbands. By doing so, you will start to understand the scope of the person Waller was.

There is one truth in this world: No matter what happens, no matter if the event is tragic, terrifying, ground-breaking, or no matter how extreme, life will go on. The death of Don Waller has been devastating to us here at The Boogaloo Bag because he meant so much to us. However, life goes on; and so do DJ gigs.

It was with Don Waller in mind, about a week after his passing, that we selected records for our November gig at The Commodore. Waller dug all kinds of reet music. In the early Seventies, he turned us on to The Stooges, Mott the Hoople and The New York Dolls. Blue Öyster Cult adapted one of his songs, “This Ain’t the Summer of Love.” He dug The Clash and The Sex Pistols, X and The Blasters, The Faces and The Rolling Stones. He wrote a book about the great soul music record company Motown.

Don Waller loved soul music. After his book came out in 1985, he became the go-to guy for soul music information. He interviewed just about every living soul singing legend, semi-legend, and one-hit wonder still alive in the Eighties, from James Brown on down. He enjoyed every minute of it.

When it came time to select records for The Commodore DJ night, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus found himself picking records connected to Don Waller—either ones that Waller had played when they DJ’d together, had turned the Phast Man on to, had written about or had some other association with Waller. So The Boog decided to turn the night into his own personal celebration of Don Waller and their friendship. In all, about 300 or so 45s must have been pulled—way more than the Phast Man could ever play in the five hours allotted at the Friday night gig. It was hard to edit them down: He would only have time to play less than half that many records and his box only held about 160. So it was decided: Leave the hard rock, punk rock, and garage rock at home and bring only the soul and funk records.

The Boog did a little homework. He found a Waller set list from a DJ gig he did a few years ago in an old email and used it as a guide. It included many fabulous funk records, and The Boog noted that the opening and closing records were by Georgie Fame. Obviously, a preponderance of Motown (and associated) records was in order. Waller’s DJ name was Agent Double-O Soul, so the Edwin Starr record was a must (as was the Sonny Stitt instrumental version). When Waller interviewed a soul singer, he asked every one of them this question: Of your performing contemporaries, who do you think was the most underrated? Every one of them, except one, answered that they themselves were underrated. James Brown said Joe Tex. So Joe Tex records had to be played. Waller had seen Labelle play at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, so “Lady Marmalade” was played. Other songs we learned from cassette tapes that were sent to Waller by a Detroit music collector who was helping him with research for the Motown book. In April of 1980, The Clash played a show at the Roxy on the Sunset Strip. DJ Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus was the opening act with Don Waller as his assistant. The last record they played before the band went on was Otis Redding’s “I Can’t Turn You Loose.” At the time, The Clash was opening its shows with a cover of “Time Is Tight” by Booker T & the M.G.’s, which has a very similar riff. The group started playing while the Otis record was spinning and it sounded as if the band was playing along with it. Waller and The Boog cracked up!! So that event was sort of recreated at The Commodore. There was one LP track that was played–a song by Major Lance that Waller dug but was never issued on a 7″ 45 RPM record. The original version of “Back Door Man” by Howlin’ Wolf had to be played, since it was the name of the hard core rock’n’roll fanzine that Waller, Phast and their pals DD Faye and Tom Gardner (among others) worked on during the mid-Seventies. And so it went.

In a sad coincidence, two artists that Waller admired, Mose Allison and Sharon Jones, also recently passed away. So their records were added to the mix as well.

Although few people in New York City knew Don Waller, the folks in attendance at The Commodore enjoyed the evening. Who doesn’t love soul music? Toward the end of the night, during one of the funk portions of the program, the place went absolutely wild, with folks frolicking and falling all over themselves; losing themselves in the music—as did The Boogaloo Bag writers.

For more than twenty years, Don Waller lived with his partner Natalie Nichols—herself an excellent music journalist. Once the tremendous shock of Waller’s death has receded somewhat (it can never recede fully for those of us who knew him), she may plan a proper memorial in Los Angeles, where many hundreds of people knew and loved him. It may be a full-on party, where we can listen to The Stooges and The Miracles and The Sonics and The Zeros and Chocolate Watchband and Wilson Pickett and Patti Smith and Little Richard and watch the video of his band The Imperial Dogs and everyone there will understand and dance and laugh and sing as we celebrate the passing of this great human being.

Maybe then we can stop crying.

Here is a list of all the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus in tribute to his friend Don Waller at The Commodore on November 25, 2016:

None of these records are for sale.

Keystone State Soul Weekender!

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Julio Apollo XII is a Spaniard. David Raistrick is an Englishman. Somehow, they both ended up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They are record collectors and soul music DJs. A couple years ago, Julio  founded the Red Rose Soul Club there with DJ Salinger. Mr. Raistrick also lives in Skegness, England, where he runs the Tamala Coffee Bar and Record Shop. Early last year, they started planning to have a Northern Soul weekender in Lancaster. They found a beautiful venue for it—the Elk’s Lodge on N. Duke Street—and rounded up a bunch of DJs who were known nationally and internationally. One of those caught in the dragnet was Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus. The dates chosen were November 11th through the 13th. And so the Keystone State Soul Weekender was on.

Jason Thornton and Bruno Jerez swing at the Keystone State Soul Weekender.

Jason Thornton and Bruno Jerez swing at the Keystone State Soul Weekender.

By all rights, this should have been a completely joyous occasion—with frolicking and dancing and all sorts carrying on. However, a virtual cloud hovered over the event when the national election that took place on November 8 surprisingly selected a man whose fascist and extreme nationalistic tendencies are very troubling. Many of those who attended the Weekender worried about the future of our country. Being in deep Pennsylvania, a state that turned red for the first time after six elections, felt a little like being behind enemy lines. However, here we all were at a boss soul weekender with some of the finest soul music DJs in the world, trying to make the best of it. You can be sure that the music that was played was fabulous. We were happy to see smiling faces and dancing feet that came from all over the place—especially a contingent of our friends who came from New York City that included Lady Dawn of the Subway Soul Club and Connie T Empress of the Empire State Soul Club.

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Among the DJs who took part were: Quincy Bright (Philadelphia), John Burns (Philadelphia), Tom Dechristofaro (Cleveland), Kev Draper (England), Ian Friend (Pittsburg), Bruno Jerez (a Frenchman living in New York), Gene Merideth (Allentown), Andy Powell (England), DJ Salinger (Lancaster), Jason Thornton (Boston), Greg Tormo (Hoboken, NJ) and The Thing With Two Heads (Bazooka Joe and X-Tine 16 of Dallastown, PA). Each of the DJs brought their own style to the dance—especially The Thing With Two Heads, which will never be confused with a Northern Soul DJ, but its excellent choice of hot R&B numbers had the place boppin’.

The Thing With Two Heads swings at the Keystone State Soul Weekender!

The Thing With Two Heads swings at the Keystone State Soul Weekender!

The Volcanoes made great records that Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus likes to play!

The Volcanoes made great records that Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus likes to play!

Saturday afternoon at the Elks Lodge was very special. Some vendors were set up to sell records and the legendary soul vocal group from Philadelphia The Volcanos sat and signed autographs. Singer Steve Kelly wrote a book about his experience with the group, and The Trammps into which The Voclanos morphed, called Behind the Curtains. The book was available and he signed a copy for The Boog. On Sunday afternoon the event was visited by Howard Washington of The Tranells and Dennis Brennan of The Intentions.

Julio Apollo XII, Howard Washington of The Trenells, David Raistrick and Dennis Brennan of The Intentions swing at the Keystone State Soul Weekender.

Julio Apollo XII, Howard Washington of The Trenells, David Raistrick and Dennis Brennan of The Intentions swing at the Keystone State Soul Weekender.

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus, though the resident DJ of the Subway Soul Club, is not really a pure Northern Soul DJ—unlike most of the DJs who selected at this event—but his sets were well received, especially the one on Saturday that featured Go-Go dancing by Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner!

Nancy "Jeannie" Gardner" Go-Go dances at the Keystone State Soul Weekender.

Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner” Go-Go dances at the Keystone State Soul Weekender. Photo by Frank Lipsius.

On Sunday morning, the Keystone Record Collectors’ monthly record show took place at the Continental Inn—perhaps the best monthly record show east of the Mississippi. Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus was attending said event when he got a call from Miss Nancy: our close friend Billy Miller of Norton Records and The A-Bones had just passed away. He had been very ill, but still, this was incredibly sad news.

Phast Phreddie hurried to the hotel room and quickly confirmed that this was true, as per a posting by his wife Miriam Linna on the facebooks. Billy had been fighting diabetes, cancer and seemingly a half-dozen other ailments in the past two years that kept him in and out of the hospital—mostly in.

Phast Phreddie had committed to an afternoon DJ slot back at the Keystone State Soul Weekender and he was determined to fulfill that commitment unless he had a broken leg. So he decided to do so with a broken heart. Phast Phreddie returned to the record show to look for a good record to end his set with, in order to salute Billy Miller. Although he was a heavy record collector, Billy Miller didn’t really like Northern Soul music, so it is with a bit of irony that this salute was done at all. However, Phast Phreddie couldn’t justify executing his set that day without some sort of tribute to his fallen friend. So it was for Billy Miller that Phast Phreddie closed his set with a song by The Shangri-Las—one of Billy’s all-time favorite acts—and one by Andre Williams—one of the acts whose career Norton Records helped to revitalize. The Thing With Two Heads was also very close to Billy Miller and its Sunday set was cancelled.

Directly after his set, Phast Phreddie and Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner climbed into their rented car and drove back to Brooklyn, wiping tears from their eyes the whole way.

Here is a complete list of all the songs played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus at the Keystone State Soul Weekender:

Friday Night set list:

Saturday Night set list:

Sunday Afternoon set list:

None of these records are for sale.

PS: Thank you so much to Julio Apollo XII and David Raistrick for asking The Boog to spin records at their wonderful event. All of the DJs played amazing records every night. The Boogaloo Bag writers made so many new friends and were very happy to hang with some old ones. Here’s hoping that there is another event next year, and that everyone we know stays healthy!

Andy Powell

Andy Powell

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus

David Raistrick, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus, Bettie Mojoros, Julio Apollo XII

David Raistrick, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus, Bettie Mojoros, Julio Apollo XII

Dave Raistrick, Greg Tormo and Gene Merideth

Dave Raistrick, Greg Tormo and Gene Merideth

Dave Raistrick

Dave Raistrick

friends

Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner, Kiki Lenoue, X-tine 16, Bazooka Joe, Greg Tormo, Connie T Empress

Gene Merideth

Gene Merideth

Ian Friend

Ian Friend

Julio Apollo XII

Julio Apollo XII

Quincy Bright and his record dealer!

Quincy Bright and his record dealer!

Quincy Bright

Quincy Bright

Tom Dechristofaro

Tom Dechristofaro and Ian Friend

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus on Sunday.

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus on Sunday.

Tom Dechristofaro and Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus

Tom Dechristofaro and Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus

 

WHAM-O’s Extra Hour!

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Mike Mortician and Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus swing at the WHAM-O WATUSI!

Mike Mortician and Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus swing at the WHAM-O WATUSI!

What’s not to like about Mike Mortician? He is a groovy cat who sells sharp suits for a living. He is also the lead singer for The Memphis Morticians—a band that seems to play once every five years, but is one of the finest psychobilly bands you will ever hear. For a while, he was DJing regularly at Otto’s Shrunken Head for an event called The Midnight Monster Hop, but he doesn’t do that very often any more. Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus has DJ’d with him before—most notably at a Mods Love Rockers event several years ago at the Bushwick Beauty Bar. That was a gas; Mike Mortician played some most excellently rockin’ sides that drove all the hep cats in attendance wild.

Mike Mortician mixes another monster musical gem in to his set at the WHAM-O WATUSI!

Mike Mortician mixes another monster musical gem in to his set at the WHAM-O WATUSI!

When Mike Mortician agreed to DJ at the WHAM-O WATUSI on November 5, we expected more of the same—and brother, did we get it. Mike played some boss jams that kept the folks at the Bootleg Bar boppin’ all night long. Since this was only a few days after Halloween, both Mike and host Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus spiced up their DJ sets with monster records. Plus, because the clocks were adjusted back an hour in order to return to Standard Time at 3:00 AM that Sunday morning, The Bootleg Bar opted to stay open an extra hour and Mike and Phast obliged with an extra hour of rockin’ tunes!

Here’s a list of all the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus a the November 5 WHAM-O WATUSI (don’t forget to check out the links to the youtubes in order to dig the actual tracks!):

None of these records are for sale. Photos by Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner.

The Boog and Mike in a pensive mood at WHAM-O WATUSI!

The Boog and Mike in a pensive mood at WHAM-O WATUSI!

 

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The Internet Archive Turns Twenty!

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The Internet Archive is saving civilization—it is that simple. It is performing the Herculean task of making as much information accessible on the interwebs as possible, for free. One of its most popular features is the Wayback Machine, a place where old websites are archived and saved, sites that are often no longer available. [The Boogaloo Bag writers were especially gassed when they noticed that even some of the Boogaloo Blog—the precursor to the Boogaloo Bag—have been saved! This is important because very often the Boogaloo Blog is not working, due to the capricious nature of its host.]

At the Internet Archive website one can also find old movies, concert recordings (including nearly every Grateful Dead show, but also a bunch of shows by our pal and musical hero Steve Wynn), books (the scanning of books is VERY big at the IA), legacy software and computer games, images and most importantly (at least this is what ties us all together here) sound recordings [including thousands of 78s that were donated by and mounted with the help of The ARChive of Contemporary Music—Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus’ day job].

A few years ago, The Internet Archive and The ARChive of Contemporary Music entered into a partnership where some of the holdings of the ARC were being shared with the IA. For instance, thousands of the ARC’s music books have been scanned and available for loan like a regular library (though most are not readily available to the public yet).

The Internet Archive has been doing this work since Brewster Kahle founded it twenty years ago and this anniversary was celebrated on October 26 with a fabulous gala, presentation and dance party at its main building in San Francisco, California. The event commenced with excellent taco truck food and drinks as interactive demo-stations showed off several aspects of the IA—including the playing of 78 RPM records on an old Victrola by ARChive of Contemporary Music staff associates. Then, in the Great Room of the building—a couple thousand-seat theater—Mr. Kahle looked back at some of the IA’s achievements; there was a presentation on how the interwebs have made an impact on the 2016 election; and Paul D. Miller, AKA DJ Spooky, presented a short cinematic montage comprised of video clips and sound bites that were all taken from the Internet Archive website. This clip, entitled Memory Palace, was sensational, and it featured very clever usage of spoken word, old movies, technical films and who-knows-what! A flexi-disc of the audio portion of the film was distributed to each attendee.

Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle and his wife Mary Austin do the Boogaloo at the Internet Archive 20th Anniversary Party!

Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle and his wife Mary Austin do the Boogaloo at the Internet Archive 20th Anniversary Party!

Since the ARChive of Contemporary Music staff was in San Francisco preparing 20,000 78s to be digitized, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus was asked to DJ the dance party section of the celebration. For this he brought songs that most folks may know, but mostly not in the way in which they are known, with a couple odd things to spice it up. Here’s a list of all the 45 RPM records played at the party, some of which will have links to the Youtubes (if there is no link it is because there is no link, or you should know the record by now!):

None of these records are for sale. However, the ARChive of Contemporary Music will be having its fund raising sale in December!

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus swings at the Internet Archive 20th Anniversary Party!

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus swings at the Internet Archive 20th Anniversary Party! Photo by B. George.

It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad WHAM!!!

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October 1 was one of those 25-hour days for Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus. That morning was the Allentown semi-annual 45s- & 78s-only record show about 80 miles away. That night was WHAM-O WATUSI night.

The Phast Man drove a rented car, accompanied by a pair of women record collectors, Yana Lil Jerk and Miss Melissa, who were able to get up and out of New York City by 6:00AM in order to get to Allentown on time for the 8:00 early entry. Suffice it to say records were bought, including a few 78s. Somehow, this seemed to be the fastest Allentown record show ever. As we were in line to drive back through the Holland Tunnel around 6:00PM, Miss Melissa pointed out that we were just there 12 hours ago, but it seemed like just a few minutes.

That night, the WHAM-O WATUSI took place at the Bootleg Bar in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Guest DJ was Mister Brandon Peck Pierce, who somehow finds great records to play without traveling tall the way to Allentown! Although Mister Brandon doesn’t seem to have a regular DJ night at the moment, he has excellent records and knows how to spin them. Plus, he is a fantastic illustrator and he made a very groovy, Mad Magazine-themed poster for the night (see below) that inspired The Boog to drag out his “It’s a Gas” record. This particular WHAM turned out to be one of the greatest of all WHAM-dom! The place was jumping all night, with folks dancing and jumping about, diggin’ the wild sounds being churned out by the two DJs. Miss Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner was on hand to take some photos and hand out crunchy, spicy treats from India.

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Here’s a list of all the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus at the WHAM-O WATUSI. Those with an asterisk were picked up that day in Allentown…

None of these records are for sale.

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The Beauty of Provocative Pop!

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Gaylord Fields swings at Provocative Pop!

Gaylord Fields swings at Provocative Pop!

On Thursday September 29, our friend DJ Xerox was scheduled to host one of his fabulous DJ nights, Turtleneck (“a retro futuristic playground”), at the Beauty Bar in Manhattan with his co-host Ursula 1000. However, due to events that took both DJs out of town on that day, the night had to be filled with some other activity. Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus got the call to bring in one of his many fine WANG DANG DOODLE franchises to take the night. Thus, PROVOCATIVE POP took place with special guest DJ Gaylord Fields.

Mr. Fields is the king of the fine pop song. His show on radio station WFMU (Sunday nights at 8:PM) is very eclectic but mostly incorporates a pure pop ethic. It is for that reason that he is always chosen to be guest DJ when a PROVOCATIVE POP event is called for, as it was for this Beauty Bar fill-in.

Mr. Fields clearly took it seriously. He played some of the finest sixties pop records imaginable. Plus, he had fun with it. For instance, he lead off each of his three sets with a “Beatle” instrumental. That is to say, an instrumental recording that had the word “Beatle” in its title. Dig:

Quite by coincidence, Phast Phreddie also started each of his sets with instrumentals! Great minds think alike, eh? The night went pretty well, with several of the Beauty Bar’s hep clientele commenting on the fabulousness of the music–sixties pop, rock, soul and girl group sounds. Gaylord Fields left the scene around 2:00AM, leaving The Boog to carry on for the rest of the night—which, being a Thursday, might have been a short one. By 2:30 the club was a little bare, but by 3:00, somehow the place filled up again with folks bopping to the sounds and PROVOCATIVE POP swung right until the bar closed at 4:00AM! At the end of the night, even the bartender and the security guard made comments regarding how much they enjoyed the music. Perhaps the Beauty Bar will have the PROVOCATIVE POP team return at some future date. One can only hope.

Meanwhile, here’s a list of all the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus at PROVOCATIVE POP (note, many of the songs have links to the youtubes so the reader can dig at home):

None of these records are for sale.

 

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The Fall of the BIG TEN INCH!!

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It was a beautiful fall early evening when The BIG TEN INCH returned to the Hi-Fi Bar on September 25. There was an excellent crowd on hand, including some BIG TEN INCH regulars, some folks celebrating their big win in their hockey league and various folks who drop by to use the clean bathrooms at the Hi-Fi. As far as record-bringers, only Adam Lore, who got there early, and Rich Sibello, who got there late, came with stacks of shellac.

Which meant that the those two, and host Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus got to play many, if not all, the records that they lugged all the way to Manhattan. Even more exciting than that, Boogaloo Bag photographer Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner baked some terrific pecan tarts that were verily consumed. As you can see below, Miss Jeannie also took some photographs. Click on them and they will magically big-o-fi!

 

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78_andre 78_barbie 78_bodiddley 78_artiesims78_champs 78_billmoore78_elvis78_flatfoot78_glennm78_countryjim78_clifton78_chin 78_floyd78_harlem78_ballou78_pepharris78_slimharpo78_monroe78_lunceford78_leroyw78_diablos78_lonnie78_ricky78_paulpeek78_sticks78_wynonie78_floyd78_diablos78_elcapris 78_jackd 78_jax

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s a list of all the 78s played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus, some of them with links to the youtubes for solid listening:

 

None of these records are for sale.

Smashed! Boogaloo!

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Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus and Josh Styles swing at The BEAT SCENE!

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus and Josh Styles swing at The BEAT SCENE!

The BEAT SCENE was one of the most fabulous nights ever held at The Commodore! The BEAT SCENE featured music that just exploded in the room. With guest DJ Josh Styles at the controls, how could it not?

On Friday September 23, The BEAT SCENE swung a might noise. All night long, Josh Styles and host Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus spun great sixties records—mostly garage rock and freak beat, but also a few soul records and girl group sounds—and the room was packed nearly the entire time.

Josh Styles selects another boss record at The BEAT SCENE!

Josh Styles selects another boss record at The BEAT SCENE!

Josh Styles, as the astute Boogaloo Bag reader may remember, has been DJing boss records for this entire century! His Smashed!Blocked! night from the beginning of it was one of the most fabulous DJ nights of all time. He has since hosted many others that have been nearly as legendary. Check out his Midnight Offerings which he co-hosts with Drew Redmond on the second Saturday of the month at the Bootleg Bar. Also, let’s not forget that Mr. Styles drums for a very hep rockin’ blues combo called Daddy Long Legs—which has recently been inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame! Congratulations are in order for the group: Brian Hurd, Murat Akturk and Josh Styles.

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus and Josh Styles calmly discuss versions of Link Wray's "Ace fo Spades!"

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus and Josh Styles calmly discuss versions of Link Wray’s “Ace of Spades!”

Plus, along with the boss sounds, Gumby videos were shown on the TV screen during the BEAT SCENE, supplied by Boogaloo Bag ace photographer Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner. So you know this BEAT SCENE was clean!

 

Here’s a list of all the 45 RPM recordings played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus at The BEAT SCENE. Don’t forget: some of the songs listed have links to the youtubes so you can check them out!

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None of these records are for sale.

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¡Rata Phink y Boogaloo ala Wham-O!

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Rata & Boog swing at the WHAM-O WATUSI!

Rata & Boog swing at the WHAM-O WATUSI!

On September 3, The WHAM-O WATUSI returned to its regularly scheduled slot on the calendar: the first Saturday of the month. It also marked the return of DJ Rata—who has now been the guest at The WHAM three times. “Why is that?” you may ask. Because he plays boss records. The Boogaloo Bag writers, who have a voice in selecting guest DJs, like the way he mixes tough R&B and rocksteady records with mambo records. What can be better? Host Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus spent the whole night diggin’ the tracks he laid down.

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DJ Rata’s own event, known as Mambo Jambo and usually held at Otto’s Shrunken Head, is an excellent mish-mash of records that contain bongo bashin’, guitar thrashin’ and mind trashin’! He brought plenty of that to The WHAM, that’s for sure. The Bootleg Bar’s clientele was very enthusiastic and appreciative as they spent much of the night on the dance floor. Man, ya shoulda been there.

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Our pal Roger and his wife Maria from Barcelona dropped in and did the hully gully, before they moved on to another scene. It was great to see Señor Roger, who played host to The Boogaloo Omnibus when he was in Spain about twelve years ago.

Roger y Maria bop at the WHAM-O WATUSI!

Roger y Maria bop at the WHAM-O WATUSI!

Here’s a list of all the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus at The WHAM-O WATUSI held on Saturday September 3 at the Bootleg Bar—including four Rufus Thomas covers in a row and a cool one by Memphis Slim, who was born on that date 101 years ago. Plus, because DJ Rata is a fan of Batman records, The Boog started each of four sets with one. Dig it all here:

 

None of these records are for sale.

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Boogaloo swings with Mr. Fine Wine!

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As this blog post is being written, the Boogaloo Bag writers are listening to Downtown Soulville, the wonderful soul music radio show presented by Mr. Fine Wine each Friday night on WFMU. Although it started as a straight soul music show, it has, in recent years, opened the floor to doo wop, R&B and blues. Indeed, he just played a cool Guitar Slim track. At the moment he is playing an ultra hip song by The Miracles called “Save Me.” On his show he plays a LOT of ultra hip tracks, many of which are barely known outside the realm of hard-core soul music enthusiasts. Mr. Fine Wine’s show has been aired for over twenty years. Luckily for the world, many of his shows are archived and nearly all of them have their set lists noted at the WFMU website.

Lately, Mr. Fine Wine and his lovely wife One Mint Julep have been spinning soul records together at a Brooklyn club called Friends and Lovers. It’s a good soul night, with folks dancing until dawn to the great music that these two put down. They also have a popcorn oldies night at the Robert Bar.

Mr. Fine Wine swings at Botanica every Wednesday night!

Mr. Fine Wine swings at Botanica every Wednesday night!

It has been noted several times in the Boogaloo Bag that Mr. Fine Wine also spins records at a cozy Manhattan club called Botanica. Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus has DJ’d there with him on several nights, but always special event nights—ie, record release parties, anniversaries, etc. However, on the last night of August, he was asked to be Mr. Fine Wine’s sole special guest at Botanica.

So, what does one play when one is in the company of such a significant presence? Any attempt to out Fine Wine Mr. Fine Wine would be embarrassing and futile. So instead, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus played a few records that Mr. Fine Wine may not have heard (mostly because they are of foreign origin), records that he may dig (ie., he’s a big fan of versions of “Green Onions,” thus the opener), a few weird things, and some recent acquisitions. The Boogaloo Bag writers were very happy to see several of our buddies in attendance, including Jenny Wasserman (Sweet Divines) and DJ Rata (Mambo Jambo). With Mr. Fine Wine presiding, it was a splendid night of splendid soul music, as every Wednesday night at Botanica is.

Mr. Fine Wine can be seen selecting his fine 45s from Houston Street!

Mr. Fine Wine can be seen selecting his fine 45s from Houston Street!

Here’s a list of all the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus the night he was guest DJ for Mr. Fine Wine at Botanica:

None of these records are for sale.

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