Tag Archives: records

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

All for the Love of the 45!

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Iris

Stephen Gritzan is an avid Boogaloo Bag reader. He is also one of the nice people who put on the Record Riot series of record shows—including our favorite, the Brooklyn Record Riot. Also, he runs a groovy little record shop in the heart of Jersey City, New Jersey called Iris Records. The Iris Records staff have recently prepared several thousand 45s to be put on sale, and to celebrate, they decided to hold a party on Valentine’s Day afternoon called For the Love of the 45. They had snacks and soda pop and they invited a bunch of DJs to come spin records during this event, including Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus.

When the Boogaloo Bag writers arrived on the scene, there were all kinds of folks in the store flipping through the 45s bins, including WFMU DJ Joe Belock, the king of the Batman record Pat Longo, and later Miss Kiki and Greg Tormo. Our pal Todd-O-Phonic Todd was whipping the room into a frenzy with the records he played from excellent DJ booth.

Todd-O-Phonic Todd swings at Iris Records as Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus looks on!

Todd-O-Phonic Todd swings at Iris Records as Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus looks on!

The next DJ to spin played a whole hour of silky smooth seventies soul songs that featured soaring falsetto male lead vocals with a group backing: The Stylistics, The Intruders, The Delfonics, Blue Magic. Romantic ballads were very appropriate for the day.

However, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus, soon took that mood and smashed it to pieces with an hour-long set of weird shit! At one point, he played an audio test record over a break-beat record! His third DJ gig in four days, The Boog must have been losing his mind!

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus lost his mind at Iris Records!

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus lost his mind at Iris Records!

Following The Boog was a cat who played mostly soul and funk records from the seventies, but cutting and scratching them into a fine rhythmic and artistic effect. It was cool.

It is very possible that the best customers that day were the DJs! Indeed, The Boog purchased a few records himself—including a hip rocker called “Drive In Movie” by Mickey Gilly for fifty cents—and he wished he could have stuck around to dig the other DJs, but it was Valentine’s Day, and his lovely date, Nancy Jeannie Gardner—an official Boogaloo Bag photographer—was keen on grabbing some Indian food back in Brooklyn.

And hey, if Mr. Gritzan had stuck around, he would have gotten his photo into the Boogaloo Bag!

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

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

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.

01_FineWine_Boog

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!