Hello gang! I’m currently knee-deep in writing the liner notes for an enormous 60s girl-pop project, and have thus sworn off most DJ gigs + nightlife for October / November, but I’ve got two gigs coming up this week that I wanted to tell you about. This Thursday October 20th from 7pm-10pm, Frangry + Michele of WFMU’s Shut Up Weirdo will be throwing a meet-up party at the beautiful mid-century-inspired cocktail bar, El Cortez, 17 Ingraham Street, Brooklyn. I’ll be spinning 45s along with WFMU DJs Gaylord Fields and Duane Harriot. Check out the flyer below and the facebook event is here. And the following evening, Friday October 21st from 10pm – 4am, I’ll be hosting my regular sexy ’60s rock n’ roll party Sh-Boom! and my guest will be the ever-classy rock n’ roll DJ Matt Clarke (of The Above, Quitty and the Don’ts + WFMU’s What’s Happening!?!? with Matt M.). Plus the razzling dazzling go-go star Anna C Cabanna, projections of vintage erotica to keep you hot n’ bothered and soul, garage, girl-pop R&B 45s spinning all night long. 10pm – 4am + free! Here’s the Facebook invite. Also, WFMU just lost its regular 6am-9am morning programming, JM in the AM, which means a sizeable chunk of our … Read more
I spent the final night of my 2-week European tour DJing with Coconut Jim at Brass Monkey, a beautiful low-lit, bamboo-covered tiki bar in Copenhagen. And I remember this specific moment—when Coconut Jim played Ted Taylor’s “Somebody’s Always Trying” and a gang of us danced together in the tight spaces between the tables and chairs. I thought, this is a record I’ve heard in New York, Helsinki, London, Boston, Baltimore, LA, and now Copenhagen. This lil’ soul record from 1964! Unknown to the majority of the world, yet cherished and adored by a select few music lovers and record collectors, and played at soul parties across the globe. And that really summed up the magic of spending two weeks traversing the European continent, meeting folks in London, Helsinki, Budva (Montenegro), Copenhagen, and Paris, who, like me, love digging up old records and sharing them with the people. DJ Coconut Jim sorting his 45s at Brass Monkey, Copenhagen Joining me on that final night of my tour was Mick Patrick and Phil Chapman (who had flown over from London), my fellow Danish girl group lovers Peter Andreasen + Per Frederkisen, Sofie Jekel, who used … Read more
Hello gang! I’m heading off on my first European DJ tour on Saturday, but not before hitting it hard this Friday August 12th, with three hours of Sophisticated Boom Boom on WFMU from 3pm – 6pm EST, followed by my 60s go-go party, SH-BOOM in Brooklyn from 10pm – 4am. The supremely talented + magical Swedish songstress El Perro Del Mar stopped by WFMU last week to record a live session + to chat about her new album, Kokoro. I will be airing it this Friday August 12th. She wrote a very touching piece about how she approached this new album, which really speaks to her depth as an artist. “The heart cannot be protected,” she writes. “Not from pain, not from happiness. Not from love, not from corruption.” It made me love her even more. WFMU’s SOPHISTICATED BOOM BOOM Last week I found myself in a radio rut—I couldn’t find anything new that sounded good enough to play, I felt I had maxed out my best 60s girl-pop 45s, and was just feeling uninspired and blah. Then I stumbled upon this quote by DH Lawrence—“The human soul needs actual beauty more than bread”—and thought, “That’s it! I’m going to do … Read more
Hello friends: I’ve made numerous attempts to write this entry, wanting to address the many tragedies we’ve been witnessing over the past few weeks. But everywhere I turn there is outrage, fury, blaming, shaming, and endless opinions on how we can fix the world. History shows us that change is incredibly slow, that the pendulum swings between tolerance and open societies to intolerance and closed societies, that the ugliest traits of humankind are as much a part of us as our most wonderful traits. But there is always light and beauty and wonder and kindness, even in the darkest of days. This concept is so beautifully illustrated in Viktor Frankl’s book “Man’s Search For Meaning,” where he writes about his ability to find joy and love in the bleakest of circumstances—as an inmate at the Auschwitz concentration camp. “Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love.” —Viktor Frankl I hope that in these dark times we can each find the light and love and make them bigger. WFMU’s SOPHISTICATED BOOM … Read more
As a fanzine-writing teen, I remember the joy of meeting up with fellow ‘zinesters around the country and comparing notes on music, printing nightmares, and penpals. We would refer to each other by our ‘zine names—I was Sheila Plume. There was Mike Caught In Flux, Lisa Die Right Now, Jen Tease, Gail Chickfactor. It’s been years since I’ve felt that cozy community spirit that was so abundant in the 90s ‘zine world, but a few weekends ago, when I hosted a crew of record collectors + DJs at my monthly party, Sh-Boom, I looked around Our Wicked Lady and realized that that community spirit was very much alive and well in that room—packed with WFMU DJs and friends who, like me, spend much of their lives championing old records. It was such a treat to get to spend proper time with my fellow DJ co-hosts Jason + Stacy Thornton (a dream record-collecting couple who met over one of the sweetest soul records ever made—Doris & Kelley’s “You Don’t Have To Worry.” Too much!!!), Rob Macy (who runs the hugely popular Save Your Soul party in Baltimore), Ty Jesso (host of the … Read more
Hello gang! Next weekend I’ll be hosting the closest thing I’ve come to a 60s weekender. I’ve got 9 DJs spinning at my monthly party SH-BOOM on Friday May 20th. They are Claire Kalvis (Intoxica, London), Rob Macy (Save Your Soul, Baltimore), Jason Thornton (Boston), Josh Styles (Rebel Rouser), One Mint Julep (Soul Night, Brooklyn), Ty Jesso (Providence / Boston), Stacy Thornton (Boston), Todd-O-Phonic Todd, and myself. And then the next night, Saturday May 21st Todd-O-Phonic Todd and I have put together an 8-hour party called Youth Beware! at Berlin (Under 2A) in NYC, with live bands Jacques Le Coque, Crazy and the Brain, and the Von Mons, followed by a rock n’ soul dance party with DJs Rob Macy (Save Your Soul, Baltimore), Jason Thornton (Boston), Ty Jesso (Providence / Boston), Stacy Thornton (Boston), Todd-O-Phonic Todd, and myself. Sh-Boom! FRIDAY MAY 20th, 2016 10PM – 4AM OUR WICKED LADY 153 Morgan Avenue Bushwick, Brooklyn Sh-Boom FB event page Youth Beware! SATURDAY MAY 21st, 2016 8PM – 4AM BERLIN (UNDER 2A) 25 Avenue A New York City Youth Beware! FB event page I hope you’ll join us for a weekend of records, bands, booze, and zero sleep! Last … Read more
Hello gang! It has been a mighty fine few days. This past Saturday night I DJ’d for a packed house at the Half Moon in Hudson, New York. It’s a beautiful bar with wood-paneled walls, a stage draped in red, and the atmosphere of an old Twin Peaks haunt (Julee Cruise was born to perform here) . But as the dancefloor started heating up, all the stomping and thrashing about caused immense record-skipping. So the more enthusiastic the crowd, the more my needle jumped the grooves. There was one rather big-boned boy in combat boots who was practically moshing to the music, and thus the main culprit in the record-skipping quandary. And I must thank Marty Shane for helping me hold down the turntables during my most stomping 45s (and for kindly asking big-stomping boy to stomp less, which unfortunately resulted even harder stomping….ARGGGHHH!). But it was a joy to spin for such a wild crowd on the best sound system I’ve heard in years. And today I just got home from a full day of mastering reel-to-reel tapes for a new project I’ve just started working on, so I … Read more
It was the 60s British Beat Girl that changed my life forever. I had moved from New York to London with dream-pop in my eyes, but found a city under the spell of Oasis versus Blur. I was 18 years old, living on my own, and spending my evenings glued to the sleevenotes of Sequel Records’ Here Come the Girls series, which compiled 1960s British girl-pop 45s on the Pye label. I found solace in regular trips to the record shops on Hanway Street, Intoxica on Portobello, Beanos in Croydon, and weekend expeditions to big and small-town record fairs, where I picked up pink Pyes, blue & silver Deccas, black Columbias—all 60s Brit-girl 45s—my first true love. Reissue label RPM Records then launched their own tribute to the 60s British beat girl—the Dream Babes series, by which time I had pretty much dedicated every waking hour to the pursuit of these fine fine 45s. Both Here Come the Girls and Dream Babes packed up long ago, but Here Come the Girls founder Mick Patrick (now of Ace Records) decided it was time once again to turn the spotlight on the many … Read more
Too much WFMU marathon heat (and back-to-back Megadeth gigs) has left me with a hellish flu and a high fever. So I’ll have to miss both my beloved boom-booms tomorrow—Sophisticated Boom Boom and SH-BOOM. As if missing one wasn’t harsh enough. Ouch! But you’ll be in the very capable hands of Josh Styles, Todd-O-Phonic Todd, and Anna Copa Cabanna at SH-BOOM, which is Friday March 25th from 10pm – 4am at Our Wicked Lady, 153 Morgan Avenue, Brooklyn. Josh n’ Todd will be spinning tasteful, upstanding records like “Music For Orgies” and “Sex Match” as well 60s girl groups, freakbeat, garage, soul, popcorn, and instrumentals to keep the dancefloor swinging! Here’s a link to the Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1527381360891540/ And ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ host Julie B. will be filling in for me tomorrow Friday March 25th from 3pm – 6pm on 91.1 FM + http://wfmu.org In other news, WFMU made its $1.2 million goal, so thank you so much to all of you for your generous donations and help in keeping freeform radio alive! When I asked my mom what she thought of my two marathon shows, she replied, “You … Read more
Friends! Feast your eyes on this delectable Japanese illustration of a thigh-high booted mini-skirt-swishing go-go gal—the obvious cover girl for Go Go! Mini Mini! Ye Ye!: Groovy Japanese Girl-Pop 1958-1971, a compilation I put together exclusively for my beloved radio station, WFMU’s fundraising marathon, happening right this minute! The Marathon is how WFMU manages to stay commercial-free, corporate-free, college-free and gloriously independent! We completely rely on listener donations for our survival, so we are at your mercy, my dear readers/ listeners. If you enjoy my show, Sophisticated Boom Boom or many of the other freeform radio programs on WFMU, I ask you to please open your wallets this fundraising season. If you pledge $75 or more to Sophisticated Boom Boom directly (which I’ll tell you how to do in a minute), you will automatically receive a copy of Go Go! Mini Mini! Ye Ye!, featuring 24 Japanese girl-pop tracks never before released in the West. For those of you that are familiar with my Nippon Girls compilations for Ace Records, I wanna point out that none of the songs on Go Go! Mini Mini! Ye Ye! have been issued on Nippon Girls. I’ll be … Read more
