Tag Archives: Boogaloo Omnibus

Danny Says: Let there be Boogaloo!!!

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DannySays3

Danny Fields is an unsung, non-musician, heroes of modern rock ‘n’ roll. He is the kind of guy who seems to have been at the right place at the right time and smart enough to know what he was doing. During the mid-late sixties, he was involved with the Andy Warhol scene, which then included Nico and The Velvet Underground; he had a radio show on WFMU during its early days pioneering the free-form format; he was involved with getting rock musicians on the covers of teen magazines; he worked at folk-oriented Elektra Records when it was becoming more involved with rock music; at Elektra, he helped publicize Judy Collins and The Doors (according to legend, it was Mr. Fields who suggested to Elektra that an edit of the seven-minute song “Light My Fire” would be a hit), and he got The Stooges and the MC5 signed to the label; he worked with The Modern Lovers; and he discovered The Ramones, even managed them during their early years.

That’s not all. He was a friend of Linda Eastman before she married Paul McCartney. He managed a young folk singer from Mississippi named Steve Forbert. He is an author and a photographer. And now he is the subject of a documentary called Danny Says—titled after a Ramones song that name-checks him. The film was recently completed and had its New York premier on Tuesday September 22 at the Players Theater in the West Village. Check here for more information on the movie.

After the premier, a reception for the movie was held at 49 Grove—an elegant, dimly lit, exclusive nightclub just a few blocks away from the theater. Hosted by the authors of the New York Punk Rock Bible Please Kill Me Gillian McCain and Legs McNeil. Asked to DJ the party was none other than Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus, who was honored to do so.

Unfortunately, due to the location of the DJ booth in the club—literally a hole in the wall that could easily be overlooked—The Boog was unable to identify most of the luminaries in attendance—except the tall Mr. Thurston Moore, who towered over everyone in the room. Other notable attendees were a whole bunch of folks who currently DJ at free-form radio station WFMU, including Todd-O-Phonic Todd, Miss Shiela B, Joe Belock and Dave the Spazz, as well as the Boog’s old pal and ex-WFMU DJ The Hound.  Danny Fields, of course, was too hip to be at his own movie premier and/or reception! The photos appearing in this post were mostly taken from inside the DJ booth (click on the photos and they will big-o-fi).

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For his part, Phast Phreddie played all sorts of records that were appropriate for the evening, which started when he played The Ramones’ “Danny Says”—which was played about three or four more times during the evening, as the occasion necessitated. Here’s a list of all the songs played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus at the reception for the film Danny Says:

  • Ramones–Danny Says [from LP End of the Century] (Sire)
  • Bob Thiele and his New Happy Times Orch. with Gabor Szabo–Light My Fire (Impulse)
  • The Velvet Underground and Nico–All Tomorrow’s Parties (Verve)
  • Patti Smith–Piss Factory (Mer)
  • Tim Buckley–Aren’t You the Girl (Elektra; UK)
  • Mott the Hoople–All the Young Dudes (Columbia)
  • T-Rex–The Groover (EMI; UK)
  • Steve Forbert–Goin’ Down to Laurel (Nemperor)
  • The Doors–Take It as It Comes (Elektra; UK)
  • Lou Reed–Vicious (RCA; Germany)
  • The Stooges–Real Cool Time (Elektra; France)
  • The Velvet Underground & Nico–Femme Fatale (Verve)
  • Mink DeVille–Soul Twist (Capitol; UK)
  • The Byrds–Mr. Spaceman (Columbia)
  • The Rolling Stones–Get Off of My Cloud (Decca; UK)
  • Paul Revere and the Raiders featuring Mark Lindsay–Kicks (Columbia)
  • The Monkees–A Little Bit Me a Little Bit You (Colgems)
  • The Ramones–I Wanna Be Sedated (RSO)
  • The Velvet Underground–White Light/White Heat (Verve)
  • Eddie & the Hot Rods–Do Anything You Wanna Do (Island; UK)
  • Television–Venus (Elektra; Japan)
  • The Modern Lovers–Roadrunner (Beserkley; UK)
  • The Fleshtones–Remember the Ramones (Yep Roc)
  • Ramones–Sheena Is a Punk Rocker (Sire)
  • The Flamin’ Groovies–Shake Some Action (Sire; UK)
  • MC5–Looking at You (A Square)
  • New York Dolls–Who Are the Mystery Girls? (Mercury)
  • Patti Smith–Ask the Angels (Arista)
  • The Doors–Break on Through (Elektra; UK)
  • Les Baronets–Hello Je T’Aime (CanUSA; Canada)
  • La Lupe–Touch Me (Roulette)
  • Blondie–X Offender (Private Stock)
  • The Shangri-Las–Give Him a Great Big Kiss (Red Bird)
  • Martha & the Vandellas–Nowhere to Run (Gordy)
  • David Johansen–Funky But Chic (Blue Sky)
  • Talking Heads–Life During Wartime (Sire)
  • Roxy Music–Do the Strand (Warner Bros./Back to Back Hits)
  • Alice Cooper–Under My Wheels (Warner Bros.)
  • The Velvet Underground featuring Lou Reed–Sweet Jane (Atlantic; Germany)
  • MC5–Kick Out the Jams (Elektra)
  • The Stooges–I Wanna Be Your Dog (Elektra)
  • Ramones–Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue [from LP Ramones] (Sire)
  • Andy Wharol’s Velvet Underground–I’m Waiting for the Man (M-G-M; Germany)
  • The Rolling Stones–Mothers Little Helper (London)
  • The Equals–Police on My Back (RCA; Japan)
  • Elliott Murphy–Last of the Rock Stars (Polydor)
  • Jimi Hendrix Experience–All Along the Watchtower (Reprise)
  • Love–Little Red Book (Elektra)
  • The Doors–Soul Kitchen (Elektra)
  • Lou Reed–Walk and Talk It (RCA)
  • Pretenders–The Wait (Real; UK)
  • The Beatles–Helter Skelter (Capitol)
  • Iggy & the Stooges–Penetration (Columbia)
  • The Move–Brontosaurus (A&M)
  • The Doors–Not to Touch the Earth (Elektra; Portugal)

None of these records are for sale.

Gillian_Hound

Gillian McCain (Please Kill Me) and James Marshall (The Hound) swing at the reception for the “Danny Says” movie.

Out of Sight V!

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Moses Funk swings at Out of Sight!

Moses Funk swings at Out of Sight!

On September 17, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus returned to the Beauty Bar in Manhattan to swing at Out of Sight—the goovy soul dance party hosted by our pal DJ Xerox every Thursday night. This time his co-guest DJ was Moses Funk.

Mr. Funk is from Boston, where he hosted two fabulous dance nights: Cheap Thrills a’ Go-Go—a montly sex-a-dellic Go-Go party that the Boog once guest DJed at—and the Mambo Beat Club—a bi-weekly soul music event. He now lives in Brooklyn where a few years ago he started the Brooklyn Soul Club, which is currently on hiatus while Moses Funk develops some sort of scientific turntablist project. For Out of Sight, Moses Funk came armed with a box of old soul 45s and he played the hell out of them, too!!

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

  • Pieces of Eight–Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (A&M)
  • Hank Jacobs–Monkey Hips & Rice (Sue)
  • The Cooperettes–Don’t Trust Him (Brunswick)
  • Naomi Davis Shelton & the Knights of Forty First Street–Forty First Street Breakdowne (Desco/Daptone)
  • Martha Reeves & the Vandellas–I Gotta Let You Go (Gordy)
  • Joe and George–You’re Gonna Miss Me (Now)
  • The Passions–Hi Jacked Part I (Tower)
  • The Sweethearts–This Couldn’t Be Me (Kent)
  • Bobby Wilson–Feels Good (Volt)
  • Gene Chandler–I Can’t Save It (Constellation)
  • Rose Batiste–That’s What He Told Me (Golden World)
  • The Glories–No News (Date)
  • Herbie Mann (vocals by Little Milton, Swee-Tea and Percy)–It’s a Funky Thing – Right On (Part 2) (Memphis Underground) (Atlantic)
  • John Roberts–Sockin’ 1-2-3-4 (Duke)
  • Johnny Tolbert–Check Your Battery Part I (Jasman)
  • Jerry Washington–Set Your Soul on Fire (Excello)
  • The Exception–You Don’t Know Like I Know (Capitol)
  • Buddy Miles Express–Memphis Train (Mercury)
  • Lorraine Ellison–Call Me Anytime You Need Some Lovin’ (Mercury)
  • Smokey Robinson & I Miracles–Non Sono Quello Che Tu Vuoi (Tamla/Motown; Italy)
  • Pat Lewis–Can’t Shake It Loose (Golden World)
  • Roy Head–I Want Some Action (Mercury)
  • Charles Bradley & Larose Jackson–Luv Jones (Dunham)
  • Aretha Franklin–Pullin’ (Atlantic)
  • Judy White–Somebody Been Messin’ (T-Neck)
  • Frankie Newsome–My Lucky Day – Part I (GWP)
  • James Brown–I Love You (King)
  • The Hot Tamales–Out of Sight (Diamond)
  • Gary (U.S.) Bonds–Copy Cat (Legrand)
  • George Jackson–Tossin’ and Turnin’ (Mercury)
  • Paul Peek–Rockin’ Pnewumonia and Boogie Woogie Flu (Columbia)
  • Maurice Simon and the Pie Men–The Git-Go (Carnival)
  • Jimmy McQuade and the Unique Echos–Bongo Talk (Swan)
  • Gladys Knight & the Pips–Cloud Nine (Soul)
  • The Delights Orchestra–Do Your Thing (Atco)
  • King Solomon–The Moon Walk (Highland)
  • Tommy Strand & the Upper Hand–The Trik (R)
  • J. Hines and the Boys–Funky Funk (Part 1) (Nation-Wide)
  • ‘Wee’ Willie Walker–Ticket to Ride (Goldwax)
  • Cresa Watson–These Boots Are Made for Walking (Charay)
  • The 5th Dimension–Sunshine of Your Love (Liberty; Germany)
  • The Magnificent Men–Almost Persuaded (Capitol)
  • Wilson Pickett–Funk Factory (Atlantic)
  • H.B. Barnum–Blessed Mother (Cozy)
  • Otis Redding–Look at the Girl (Atco)
  • Lester Young–Barefootin Time in Chinatown (Barry)
  • Wallace Brothers–Airborne Shuffle (Jewel)
  • Andre Franklin with the Preston Epps Trio, Jim Ashford – drums–Say Yeah!! (Polo)
  • The Counts–Chitlins, Etc. (Panorama)
  • Howard Peters–Tighten Up the Slack (Coral)
  • Mason & Dixon–Soul Power (Buttercup)
  • Vigon–Baby Your Time Is My Time (Egg; France)
  • Jerry-O–Scratch My Back (Boo-Ga-Loo)
  • Chuck Jackson–Good Things Come to Those Who Wait (Wand)
  • Toussaint McCall–I’m Gonna Make Me a Woman (Ronn)

None of these records are for sale.

Ursa Major swings at Boogaloo Movement!

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Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus and Ursa Major swing at Boogaloo Movement!

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus and Ursa Major swing at Boogaloo Movement!

As all regular readers of the Boogaloo Bag know, the fourth Friday of every other month is the time when Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus brings a fantabulous DJ night to The Commodore in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Over the last few years, there has been some really boss nights. This most recent event, held on July 24, was certainly one of them. Called Boogaloo Movement, it featured the most excellent 45 rpm record-spinning of Ursa Major—a swingin’ hepcat with an amazing record collection.

When it comes to DJing, Mister Major has been around the block a few times. He used to guest DJ at the Subway Soul Club, plus he often hosts a night of his own, at the Banter Bar, the Grand Victory and other swell joints around town. Ursa Major is part of a DJ collective known as Legio SPQR, and as such, has traveled internationally playing his records. Also, Ursa Major is the drummer for a hot Oi! punk band called The Templars, a group that has made records and toured Europe.

Ursa Major and some of his pals enjoy a night of wompin' good music at Boogaloo Movement!

Ursa Major and some of his mates enjoy a night of wompin’ good music at Boogaloo Movement!

Mostly, when Mister Major swings it is with his ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul records—of which he has thousands. He also has some of the finest freakbeat records you’ll ever hear—plus some cool French stuff. At Boogaloo Movement, he delighted the crowd with all that and more. Place was jumpin’ all night long. In fact, before the end of the night, drinks were spilled and glass was broken: another exciting Wang Dang Doodle event took place!!!

For his part, host Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus also went with an international flavor, playing records from such countries as Japan and Jamaica, Canada and Germany, Spain and France, England, Holland and Italy! It was a groovy night, to say the least. Make sure you, dear Boogaloo Bag reader, are able to make it to the next Commodore night—September 25—because it, too, will be boss. Make your plans now.

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

None of these records are for sale.

The Commodore has a new tropical fish tank!!

The Commodore has a groovy new tropical fish tank!!

Boogaloo gives Satisfaction!!

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DJ Zerox and The Boog swing at the Copycat Cover Song Night Tribute to the Rolling Stones!

DJ Zerox and The Boog swing at the Copycat Cover Song Night Tribute to the Rolling Stones!

As every Boogaloo Bag reader should know by now, Copycat Cover Song Night is always a good time. Hosted by our pal DJ Xerox, who picks an artist and invites bands and DJs to come to Otto’s Shrunken Head and honor that artist one way or another. Each band will add several songs by that artist in its respective set. Sometimes a band will form in order to perform only songs by that artist. The guest DJ usually plays songs that pertain to the artist in one way or another—or at least cover songs of some sort.

On Wednesday June 10, the honored artist was The Rolling Stones. The bands were:

LadyJanes

The Lady Janes—formed just to play a set of Stones songs.

 SaintRocco

Saint Rocco

 ElectricPeople

Electric People

 

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus was guest DJ and he only played Rolling Stones songs as performed by everyone but The Rolling Stones! He took requests from the floor—name a Rolling Stones song (preferably one from the sixties)—and he was able to play a version of it; sometimes instrumental, sometimes in a funny language. Although The Boog usually plays only 7” 45 RPM records, he played a few cuts from LPs as some tracks only exist in that format. Also, a full dozen of the 60 records he played were from the Norton Records Rolling Stones cover song series. Norton Records continues to be one of modern music’s secret weapons. It regularly releases great reissue titles (the recent Soul Clap series of hits hand-picked by our pal Jonathan Toubin is essential), as well as new music by such fabulous current stars as Daddy Longlegs and Miriam. The Rolling Stones series is a genius concept where a different act presents its rendition of a Rolling Stones song on each side of a 7” single. The 12 songs played by The Boog at Copycat Night is just a taste of the 32 releases—66 songs in all, counting the four songs on the Their Hispanic Majesties Request two-disc set of songs sung in Spanish! This extensive Norton action was intended to salute Norton head honcho Billy Miller, who has been experiencing some health issues recently. Get well soon, my friend!

The fun did not stop there! One of the greatest songs in all Rock’n’Roll is “Satisfaction”—officially titled “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” The opening riff is one of the most identifiable pieces of music of the last fifty years. It may be no exaggeration to say that it has been recorded more than a hundred times. After the bands played, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus played 26 versions of the song in what can only be described as a Super Rock Mega Mix! When it was all over, everyone in Otto’s could easily state that they had received some sort of “Satisfaction!”

Here’s a list of all the songs presented by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus at the fourth annual Copycat Cover Song Night Tribute to The Rolling Stones:

None of these records are for sale.

Sh-Boom! Sh-Boogaloo!

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Josh Styles, Sheila B and Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus swing at Sh-Boom!

Josh Styles, Sheila B and Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus swing at Sh-Boom!

Sheila B is a girl on the Go-Go! She puts together groovy compilations of cool music. She DJs at the swingin’est nightclubs. She travels around the world buying records and playing them. She has one of the best blogs on the entire Interweb. She has recently become a fill-in DJ at radio station WFMU. She also is hostess for Sh-Boom, a very hip DJ night that is held monthly at one of Lower Williamsburg’s newest venues, Baby’s All Right. Boogaloo Bag readers will be familiar with her because she frequently guest DJ’d at the Dynagroove—especially the all-girl artist nights called Sophisticated Boom Boom. So, everybody knows Sheila B can deliver the goods at her own show…and does she ever!

Sheila B picks another great record to play at Sh-Boom!

Sheila B picks another great record to play at Sh-Boom!

Sh-Boom features all sorts of groovy sixties music, ranging from pounding Go-Go rhythms to swirling Freak Beat organ stompers; girl group grooves to soulful R&B tracks; from hot soundtrack themes to Euro-pop coolness; from Japanese female funk to fuzzed-out garage rock madness. It is all happening at the Sh-Boom!

 

On Friday April 24, her guest DJs were Josh Styles and Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus.

 

Josh Styles was at the controls at Sh-Boom!

Josh Styles was at the controls at Sh-Boom!

In this town, Mr. Styles is the undisputed king of the Freak Beat record. He’s got a ton of great ones and he is especially adept at knowing when to play them. And how! Plus, he swaps gears gracefully by injecting an R&B basher or an organ-driven monster. When Mr. Styles is at the controls, you will want to be on the dancefloor!

 

Miss Sheila also played some great records—many of which had a distinct international origin; jet-set jams that really swing. The place was jumping all night long.

 

All of our friends came out to swing at Sh-Boom!

All of our friends came out to swing at Sh-Boom!

In order to keep up with these two fabulous youngsters, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus trotted out some of his most favorite records in the world—dig: DC5, CWB, Las Moskas, Ambertones, “Slurp” and “Satisfaction!” Dig it all—every record he played is listed here, some with links to the youtubes so you can, like, really dig them:

None of these records are for sale.

James Hunter Rules!

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The James Hunter Six

The James Hunter Six

James Hunter is a blue-eyed R&B singer and guitarist who has been active on the London scene since the mid-Eighties. At that time, he was in a band cleverly called Howlin’ Wilf and the Vee Jays. During the Nineties he formed his own band and played in pubs and club. Soon after the turn of the century, word of Mr. Hunter’s fine, fine music finally spread and he has become a significant cult favorite among those who know.

James Hunter’s music is cool. He has obviously been influenced by such R&B legends as Little Willie John, The “5” Royales, Freddie King, Lee Dorsey and Sam Cooke. But when he writes his own songs and when he sings those of others, being British, he adds his own original stamp and is not just a nostalgia act. Hunter recently released a new LP called Minute By Minute produced by Gabriel Roth (Daptone Records, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings) and, as this is being written, Hunter and his band is in the United States touring and promoting it. If he comes to your town, go see him.

On April 22, The James Hunter Six, took his excellent show to the beautiful new Living Room in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus was enlisted to spin records for an after-show party held in the front bar. The party was a gas, with members of the band, and a full Daptone posse, including Mikey Post, Neal Sugarman, Gabriel Roth, Nydia Davila and Sharon Jones in attendance.

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

None of these records are for sale.

Rebel Night is a Blast!!!!

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RebelNight

Rebel Night is one of the most rockin’ DJ nights in the city. It recently moved from Otto’s Shrunken Head in Manhattan to the Grand Victory in Williamsburg and it has retained its unique Japanese flavor, as hosted by our pals Hiromu, Seiji and Junichi. Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus has been asked to be a guest DJ at Rebel Night several times, and was called to duty for their event on Friday March 20. The new location is perfect for Rebel Night; the dance floor seems bigger, though it may not be, and the music goes throughout the long club, so you always feel you are part of the scene, even when you are obtaining a frothy beverage from the bar—unlike at Otto’s, where the bar was in another room.

DJ Hiromu swings at Rebel Night!

DJ Hiromu swings at Rebel Night!

Just two nights before this one, The Boog was at the Bell House observing live rock’n’roll action in the form of Dave Alvin, Phil Alvin and the Guilty Ones on stage. Mostly they sang tunes from their new album of Big Bill Broonzy songs, but also several written by Dave and sung by Phil in The Blasters. The Blasters were a very important group to The Boog. He has been pals with Dave and Phil since around 1980 or so; Dave gave much encouragement to Phast Phreddie and Thee Precisions, booked the group’s first two gigs opening for The Blasters, and even played on their first record. This was still heavy on The Boog’s mind when he walked into the Grand Victory on March 20 and DJ Hiromu was blasting The Blasters’ “So Long Baby Goodbye” at great volume! It made The Boog feel right at home. In honor of The Blasters, The Boog opened his first set with “Walking With Mr. Lee.”

Seiji

DJ Seiji swings at Rebel Night!

Employment issues seem to keep Junichi from DJing as much as he would like these days, but he did make an appearance on the dance floor. Both Hiromu and Seiji played some fabulous records and had the place jumping all night. DJ Tony Salvaje was also on hand to add his outstanding DJing skills—and he added to the spirit of The Blasters by playing Little Willie John’s “I’m Shakin’.” As the Rebel Night folks put it so precisely, “only record hop but killer party!” And so it was, and always will be.

Tony

DJ Tony Salvaje swings at Rebel Night!

Here’s a list of all the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus at Rebel Night, March 2015:

None of these records are for sale.

Here’s a gallery of records played by DJ Seiji. Click on them and they will big-o-fy:

45_Pizza45_Mumtaz45_Tootsie

RebelNight2

DYNAGROOVE goes out with a Sh-Boom!

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The Last DYNAGROOVERS!!! Nogood Nick, Gaylord Fields and Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus

The Last DYNAGROOVERS!!! Nogood Nick, Gaylord Fields and Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus

Teddy’s Bar & Grill is a landmark in Williamsburg living. For those of us who lived in the Northside during the Nineties, it was one of the few places where one could go for a decent meal in a comfortable environment. Thus it was with great pleasure when, during the summer of 2010, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus was asked by Roger Barr—ex owner of The Ottoman, now working for Teddy’s—to have a Wang Dang Doodle-associated DJ night there on the second Friday of the month. When it comes to Teddy’s Bar & Grill, signature events always seemed to be on Friday the 13th. The very first time a Wang Dang Doodle event was presented at Teddy’s was on Friday the 13th of August, with guest DJs The Thing With Two Heads—Bazooka Joe and XTINE16. Various sonic happenings took place over the months before The DYNAGROOVE began, including an Exotic Delirium night with Charles Gaskins, a Twist-Action party with DJ Shimmy and an Astro Mambo Jungle Rhythm affair. Also, for some of the nights during these months, exotic dancer Brooklyn Babydoll pranced around as part of the entertainment.

Gaylord Fields swings at the Last DYNAGROOVE!

Gaylord Fields swings at the Last DYNAGROOVE!

On January 13, 2012, The DYNAGROOVE was ready to make the scene. The DYNAGROOVE was a concept developed in the Wang Dang Doodle laboratory that mixed mastication with music in a memorable and marvelous manner. It was simple: Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus started the evening with two hours of mod jazz, light funk, elegant mambo, afro pop, classy lounge and mid-tempo soul music as diners enjoyed the delicious food. This was followed by a guest DJ who would swing for an hour. Then The Boog returned to move the tempo up a notch or two until the place was jumping with exciting Go-Go beats.

Nogood Nick swings at the Last DYNAGROOVE!

Nogood Nick swings at the Last DYNAGROOVE!

The first DYNAGROOVE guest DJ was Girlsoul, who played sixty minutes of superb sweet soul music. Other DJs included Mr. Vacation, Ol’ Stark, One Mint Julep, Peanut Butter Brown, DJ Ratta, Friar Popwell, Selector Bunny Punch, DJ Shakey, Avi Spivak, Neal Sugarman, Greg Tormo, Carlos Tropicaza and DJ Xerox. Occasionally there was a theme, such as the Doo Wop Hop that featured Lenny Kaye, or the Blues nights that featured Mr. Fine Wine, Eli “Paperboy” Reed or Brian “Daddy Long Legs” Hurd. Sheila B was on hand for a couple all-female artists nights. Lenny Kaye and Mr. Fine Wine were also involved in all-instrumental nights (one of which was memorable for the appearance of DJ Miss Sepia Tone), and the New Orleans R&B Mardi Gras night with Mr. Fine Wine will go down in history, as it was the impetus of a famous record trade.

Two of the most popular guest DJs were Gayord Fields and Nogood Nick. These two were asked to swing on Friday the 13th of March, 2015, when The DYNAGROOVE roared for the last time. After more than 25 years of ownership, Mr. Kirby and Lady Felice are in the process of selling the restaurant. The new owners have promised to keep Teddy’s intact for the most part, but will eschew entertainment. Thus The DYNAGROOVE will be on sabbatical until we find a new place where the kids are hip.

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus, as well as the Boogaloo Bag writers, would like to take this time to thank them for diggin’ the sounds that The Boog put down over all these years. For The Boog, it was a joy and an honor walking into Teddy’s every month with his box of records to set the scene for The DYNAGROOVE and the several New Year’s Eve parties that he was involved with. We are going to miss it.

However, the Last DYNAGROOVE turned out to be one of the best. How could it not, with the double dynamite fireworks of Gaylord Fields and Nogood Nick. Mr. Fields presented the provocative pop music he is so famous for. The Nogood One swung with mod jazz and sweet soul music. There were dozens of good friends on hand, and each commented on the stellar choices the guest DJs made when selecting tracks to air. Mr. Fields left about two in the morning, since he had an early wake-up call for a WFMU fund-raising event the next day. Nogood Nick and the Phast One stuck around for another 45 minutes, playing records and digging the scene for the last time. Here’s a list of the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus:

Still riding the high of the Last DYNAGROOVE, The Boog and the official Boogaloo Bag photographer Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner made their way to Baby’s All Right, a groovy new club where our pal Sheila B was presenting her new DJ night, Sh-Boom! with guest DJ Sampsa Vilhunen from Finland. As soon as they walked into the club, Miss Sheila insisted that The Boog go back to the car and grab his box of records and play a few for the crowded dance floor!

The Boog and Sheila B swing at Sh-Boom!

The Boog and Sheila B swing at Sh-Boom!

So, mixing records inbetween those of Sheila B and Mr. Vilhunen, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Ominbus played these 45s:

When it was all over and everybody was finally heading home, Miss Jeannie commented, “Man, that was a fun night!” And so it was.     None of the records listed are for sale.

Watch This Boogaloo!

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Grace of Spades makes sure the levels are correct as Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus cues a record for the "Watch This Sound" show.

Grace of Spades makes sure the levels are correct as Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus cues a record for the “Watch This Sound” show.

Our friend Grace of Spades hosts a groovy radio show on bbox.com, a Brooklyn community radio station that goes out over the interwebs. Her show is called Watch This Sound, and it takes place every Tuesday from 8 to 10 pm. On her show, she features lots of reggae records, but also quite a bit of soul and funk. Due to a sort of convergence of the birthdays of two great soul singers, Etta James (January 25) and Sam Cooke (January 22), she decided to feature these two great artists on her program that was aired on Tuesday January 20 (which just happened to also be the anniversary of Ms. James’ death three years ago).

Miss G figured it would be nice to have an oldster on the show, in order to play a couple Sam and Etta tracks and/or stuff related to them, and possibly drop some science in the course of the program. For this she turned to Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus.

Grace started the show with a cool selection of Sam Cooke and Etta James records, along with a whole bunch of reggae covers of Sam Cooke songs, most of them by the great Ken Parker. After an hour of this, Grace played Sam Cooke’s original version of “Twistin’ the Night Away,” and then asked The Boog to take over.

The Boog—ever the imp!—commenced by playing three versions of Grace’s last selection; two in funny languages and one an instrumental work-out heavily based on the song. He then proceeded to play a track by L.C. Cooke (Sam’s brother), three by singers that were mentored by Mr. Cooke, then four covers of Cooke songs before ending the set with Sam Cooke’s lovely rendition of the old chestnut “Summertime.”

Grace_Boog

Grace of Spades and Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus swing with Sam Cooke at “Watch This Sound” radio show.

 

Then, Etta James records wrecked the place; she has such a tough voice! Sure, Ms. James had the ability sing a ballad as well as anybody, and Miss Grace played several in the first hour, but what was heard on this show was a handful of screamers before time ran out. Just before the automated bbox comput-o-thig-a-ma-jig clicked over to the next show, The Boog was able to sneak in most of another reggae version of a Sam Cooke song.

Here’s a list of all the tracks played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus on the Watch This Sound radio show:

None of these records are for sale.

 

Dig the show by listening to it on the Bbox Radio Archive here!!

The Boog displays great Etta James record on "Watch This Sound" radio show.

The Boog displays a great Etta James record on “Watch This Sound” radio show.