Speakeasy style night at Tasty Thai was super fun again last night. Sketchy backdoor, low lights, and a real eclectic set between myself, Party Dad, and JeffET made for a good start to Saturday. Best part of the night, tho… super drunk girl tries to steal Party Dad’s car after the gig, thinking it was hers… wow! She just gets it started as P. Dad jumps on the hood and scares the shit out of her!!
In other news… Diplo, a big inspiration for all of us just put out a new mixtape for a blog called Pomp&Clout. Just when you think he can’t surprise you anymore, we get ‘Chasing The Dragon’, a crazy mix of 60’s and 70’s acid rock, slow funk and soul, and pure rock’n'roll. Check it out and get it!
I came here to get a little vaca with the lady, but I secretly hoped there would be some electronic music to be found somewhere. The first night we arrived in San Juan we happened upon a Full Moon party promising a “3 DJ Jam” with jello shots and fire dancers. I maybe peed myself a little. I was possibly a little too hopeful…
The party was at a bar right on the beach. Amazing. Two huge subs and two huge cabs plus lots of flashing lights. Amazing. The DJs: le sigh. They were spinning decent enough electro house plus some dutch sounding stuff, and the glow glasses were free! So, Nicole and I made bananas out of plantains and went apeshit, naturally. Note the dope ass Coke crates the DJ is standing on. I got drunk. What do you expect? I’m at a rave, bitch!
Guess we’ll just stick to the surfing here in Nicaragua, which is amazing enough once you get down these third world roads. More on that next post. Also, I have a gig coming up next week in Dominical, Costa Rica. I’m going to try and melt those Costa faces off.
Turn off your iTunes, people; it’s time to watch some Party Dad TV!
I’ve been getting really into italo disco lately, so I thought I’d expose the uninformed by posting a few choice clips from the genre. “Italo disco” is a bit misleading as a genre name, since the music it signifies was being produced not only in Italy, but pretty much all over Europe during the 80s, where disco lived on for years after having been pronounced dead in the US.
In the late 70s, DJs like Daniele Baldelli pioneered the sound by incorporating new technology like portable drum machines and synthesizers into their sets, layering new beats and sounds over the records they were already playing. Early electronic artists like Kraftwerk and Gary Numan were definite influences, as were producers like Giorgio Moroder and Patrick Cowley. More and more producers latched onto the idea that you could make great disco records without having to hire a roomful of crack studio musicians, and pretty soon the genre’s futuristic, circuit-borne sound was nearly ubiquitous throughout Europe. Even three decades later, this music still sounds like it’s being beamed in from outer space, and since the videos are completely insane I thought they’d be perfect for Party Dad TV. Here’s a few of my current favorites:
Ladies and gents, Qingdao is amazing! The beaches? Beautiful. The mountains? Right next to the beaches. The women? Fine. The food? Funky.
Mystic mountains within a few miles of epic beaches, Qingdao’s got what you need. From the hoodest of hoods (seriously: we feel safer in North Charleston) to the most mansionly of mansions.
Sorry, only the hood is pictured here, the rich people weren’t so down with American style paparazzi. But really: ghetto-rigged barbed wire made of broken beer bottles? Awesome, but apalling.
What is also apalling is the driving. It’s a running theme here in China. We’ve got some video to post later… but yeah, we’re on dial-up over here.
Despite the wild automobiling, everything else is amazing. The weather here is superior. Sunny, but not too hot. It’s no California but it’s as close as China’s gonna get. We’ve taken advantage of this weather and gone out and explored the local scenery in search of a place to carry out one of our favorite activities: rock climbing. We were 100% successful.
Last night was another “Beach Boddin’” at Torch Monday. JeffET mixed with me dropping all vinyl all night long and things got a little out of hand, in a very good way, thanks to our killer monday night crowd and some new intelligent lights. I dropped a live version of my latest mix tape, Nice & Noisy, which was intense but well received and free to download HERE (Nice & Noisy)
JeffET and I are also changing things up at NV this Wednesday for our weekly MARMALADE party.
Just $3 cover til 12am,
$2 PBRs!, and
new dress code: be cool
Come dance with us!! To tide you over… Bart Bmore, one of the best up and comers in the electro/dutch house scene. Here’s one of his latest releases for ya.
-CMNDer
We’re trying something new at Tasty: dim lights, cheap drinks, and you have to come in the backdoor to get in. I personally love getting nasty at Tasty.
The Vent Mag team hangin’ out
Finally, got a picture of Jasper worthy of all the bad pictures he has of me!
Top 5 in the EF dance team
Also top 5 in the EF dance team
Party Dad, gettin’ down
Making the rounds
CMNDer
Jess bringing out the jean shirt, yes she did
JeffET and Brad, wearin’ golf hats and asking questions
Electric Friends were at O-Ku last night for an after party/fashion show of the ever talented Anna Lassiter hosted by Charleston After Dark. The place was packed to capacity for most of the night, and it was a pretty standard fashion show until Rainbow Brite showed up with a glowing hula hoop and decided it we should have a rave party. I think that’s encouraged the heavy electro house and miami bass set that followed, which ultimately culminated in a scuffle between an O-Ku patron and the management. There was apparently a disagreement about the acceptable use of chairs. Worry not: at the end of the night, everyone was okay, and the only things harmed were a few broken glasses and some ruffled feathers. Again: well done, Anna.
Congrats to the super modest Ben Ellenberg and his label, Mirror Universe, for yet another mention on a huge music blog and for the forthcoming release of the Yu(c)k cassette (Weakend EP which has already sold out! Kudos again.).
I was casually checking out Gorilla Vs. Bear a moment ago and saw Ben’s label tagged in a post. Ben has released so many amazing cassettes, including tapes for Washed Out and Toro Y Moi. Everyone in Charleston should know his name, and it’s a crime if you haven’t heard of him yet. In my opinion, this guy has done more to help Charleston than Joe Riley.
We got to kick it in Columbia last weekend for our first show at downtown hotspot The Whig. There was a great turn out in the super cool, literally underground venue. Amidst framed bugs, surrounded by taxidermy animals, and with an old bank vault as the green room we dropped a set that brought us back to our Electric Friends roots. Thanks, Columbia!
Here’s what happened….
A special shout out to Amy Long and Brandon Verkaik for bringing us up there and promoting the show. Awesome job. Dino and the Whig were unbelievably excellent to work with, as well, so we hope to get back up soon.
Congratulations are in order for one Party Dad of Electric Friends Records for his first feature write-up! Well done, sir. And an excellent job on the article by our good friend, Paul Pavlich.
Tonight, Party Dad will be performing at the Sale Soiree benefit fundraiser 7PM-10PM. Electric Friends will be spinning the officially after party and fashion show beginning at 10PM at O-Ku, hosted by Charleston After Dark. The party will feature fashion by the lovely Anna Lassiter, one of Charleston’s emerging designers who currently sells her work at Eden Boheme. The show will involve some models actually walking around, mingling with partygoers rather than walking on a runway, which I think is a pretty novel approach to displaying your fashion in its natural habitat. Well done, Anna.
