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.
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.
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:
- John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman–Lush Life (impulse)
- The Latin All Stars–Goin Out of My Head (Roper)
- The Nite Caps–Haunted Sax (Chess)
- Pancho and His Orchestra–Dark Eyes (Decca)
- Count Basie and His Orchestra–007 (United Artists)
- Cannonball Adderley Quintet–Work Song (Riverside)
- The Dells–A Whiter Shade of Pale (Cadet)
- Paulo Alencar & His Brazilian All-Stars–Zirigidoom – Bossa Nova (Atco)
- Kenny Graham’s Afro Cubists–Bongo Chant (Afro; UK)
- Earl Grant–One Note Samba (Decca)
- Gato Barbieri & His Orchestra–Last Tango in Paris (United Artists)
- Bobby Summers–Pad (Capitol)
- The Bill Beau Trio–The Giggle Wiggle (Gee Kay)
- The Noc-A-Bouts–Jungle Safari (United Artists)
- The Byrds–Goin’ Back (Columbia)
- Arthur Louis–Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Island)
- Eric Donaldson–You Must Believe Me (Dragon; UK)
- Quartette Trés Bien–Boss Trés Bien Part 1 (Norman)
- The Jazz Tribe–The Ritual (Little Star)
- The Who–I’ve Been Away (Reaction; UK)
- Augusto Algueró para sus Amigos–Tartufo (Algueró Discos; Spain)
- Jimmy Witherspoon–Hey Mrs. Jones (Reprise)
- Gary (U.S.) Bonds–Workin’ for My Baby (Legrand)
- Nino Ferrer–Mao et Moa (Riviera; Canada)
- Johnny Goode–Payback (Solid Hit)
- Joe South–Same Old Song (M-G-M)
- Beverley–Where the Good Times Are (Deram)
- Benny Poole–Pearl Baby Pearl (Latin Boo-Ga-Loo) (Solid Hit)
- Floyd Cramer–Good Vibrations (RCA Victor)
- The T-Bones–Walkin’ My Cat Named Dog (Liberty)
- Dave Pike–Sunny (Atlantic)
- Ted Lyons & His Cubs–Jan Pehechan Ho (Capitol Soul Sinners; Switzerland)
- The Latin All Stars–Soul Bossa Nova (Roper)
- Jack La Forge His Piano and Orchestra–Comin’ Home Baby (Regina)
- Bar-Kays–Soul Finger (Volt)
- Small Faces–Here Come the Nice (immediate)
- Perez Prado and His Orchestra–Bongo Bash (Yemaya) (RCA Victor)
- The Ventures–Instant Mashed (Dolton)
- Hermínia Silva–Chunga Chunga – Sugar Sugar (Decca; Portugal)
- Lori Burton–Bye Bye Charlie (Mercury)
- Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five–Point of No Return (Tangerine)
- Zalman Yanovsky–As Long As You’re Here (Buddah)
- Tommy Boyce–Pretty Thing (You’re Out of Sight) (M-G-M)
- The Chords–Incense and Pepperments (Hit)
- The Telltales–I Saw What You Did (Decca)
- The Beach Boys–Don’t Worry Baby (Capitol)
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!
So, mixing records inbetween those of Sheila B and Mr. Vilhunen, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Ominbus played these 45s:
- Joe Nardone’s Allstars–Ride Your Pony (Red Bird)
- Los Johnny Jets–Cul Jerk (Cool Jerk) (Discos Columbia)
- Ozz & His Sperlings–Somebody to Love (M.I.O.B.)
- Marie Claire–Nitty Gritty (Citation; Canada)
- The Lovin’ Spoonful–Summer in the City (Kama Sutra)
- Los Yaki–Murmullo (Hush) (Capitol)
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.