Tag Archives: Phast Phreddie

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:

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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.

Instrumentally Speaking!

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Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus and Mr. Fine Wine swing at the DYNAGROOVE!

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus and Mr. Fine Wine swing at the DYNAGROOVE!

Now moving into its fourth year, The DYNAGROOVE is going strong at Teddy’s Bar & Grill. To celebrate, host DJ Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus asked one of his favorite DJs to be his guest: Mr. Fine Wine. Also, he presented the following proposition: that only instrumental recordings be played!

That’s right, the first DYNAGROOVE of 2015 was an all-instrumental affair, with Mr. Fine Wine easily able to answer the call. Mr. Fine Wine is known for his excellent collection of soul music 45s, and so, indeed, he played many soul and funk instrumentals; but he also played some cool organ grooves and some things that were rockin’ and wicked. All of it was groovy, as it should be and so it was.

As the astute Boogaloo Bag reader will certainly know, Mr. Fine Wine has been hosting a weekly soul music get-down at Botanica Bar in Manhattan for nearly 20 years. Quite possibly it is the longest-running soul music weekly in the world! Certainly it is one of the finest. Plus, he has been hosting a soul music radio show on WFMU for nearly just as long, if not longer (who can keep up with these things?). Perhaps when The Boog asked Mr. Fine Wine to guest DJ on this evening he was hoping a little Fine Wine longevity magic would rub off on him. One can only hope that in twenty years, The DYNAGROOVE will still be going strong at Teddy’s.

At any rate, the evening at hand, Friday January 9, 2015, was a fine one indeed! As everyone was waiting for Mr. Fine Wine to appear—he had to come all the way from the WFMU radio studio in Jersey City, New Jersey, since his program was presented earlier in the evening—The Boog entertained the diners and groovers with some wonderful selections, including a set of nine movie themes in a row.

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Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus inspects one of Mr. Fine Wine’s records at the DYNAGROOVE.

 

When Mr. Fine Wine made the scene, he had his box of 45s ready and went right to work.

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

None of these records are for sale.

Non-Stop Doo Wop Hop!

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Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus and Lenny Kaye goof at the Doo Wop Hop! Photo by Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner.

The DOO WOP HOP was held on Friday December 12 at Teddy’s Bar & Grill, during a DYNAGROOVE event, and it was most likely the best one yet. It featured the fabulous record playing of our pal Lenny Kaye. He and DOO WOP HOP host Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus have known each other now for exactly 40 years, having met when Lenny was guitarist with the great Patti Smith and her (at that time) trio playing at the Whisky A’ Go-Go in Hollywood in November of 1974. They have kept in touch ever since and last week they had a few laughs spinning their best Doo Wop records for some very close friends and fans and the groovy Teddy’s clientele. Lenny still plays guitar for Patti Smith, and he and The Patti Smith Group are gearing up for some holiday shows, but Mr. Kaye found time to gather a box of old 45s and make the scene at Teddy’s.

Lenny Kaye and Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus swing at the Doo Wop Hop. Photo by Nancy "Jeannie" Garnder.

Lenny Kaye and Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus swing at the Doo Wop Hop. Photo by Nancy “Jeannie” Garnder.

One of Lenny’s all time favorite songs is “I’ll Be Forever Loving You” by Jordan and the Fascinations. He played it, and also played a version of the song by a girl group, The Juliettes. The Boog played the original version by The El Dorados. Who can say which was the best, when the song is so good you couldn’t hurt it if you beat it with a stick (as our pal Doc Savage used to say all the time)! It is obvious that we will have to track down the versions by Lola Dee, The Marcels and The Bel-Aires. Are there other versions out there?

Oh, yes, it is December, so a few seasonal tunes were mixed into the fun. Santa done got hip, indeed!

All night long, fabulous group vocal after fabulous group vocal was played—then another! Is there any other music better than Doo Wop? The writers of the Boogaloo Bag think not. With any luck, the next DOO WOP HOP will take place sooner rather than later—the last one was more than two years ago.

In order to honor the great Doo Wop performers, Ruben Guevara’s wonderful Doo Wop-styled patriotic anthems were played at the beginning and at the end of the night. Here’s a list of all the songs played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus, who even snuck in a couple vocal groups from Jamaica:

 

None of these records are for sale. Roll your curser over the song titles to dig some hot links to cool jams!