Soul Kitchen appreciation (old head related)

tonyphronetonyphrone 1,500 Posts
edited March 2007 in Strut Central
From Dallas Penn.com:
When the 1990???s came around New York City was without a specific Hip-Hop club. Mars on West 13th Street tried to fill that void with their ???TRIP??? parties while a host of promoters would have loft parties on Broadway in the SoHo area. One of these parties called ???Payday??? had an interesting mix of promoters who were classic and current Hip-Hop fans. They hired a dee jay named FRANKIE INGLESE to spin for their small Monday night party at Brother???s Bar-B-Cue. The party was primarily a cool out for the music industry people that worked in the neighborhood. Doors opened at 10pm and there were free bar-b-cue wings along with quarts of Colt 45 sold for a ridiculous three dollars. Suffice it to say this was my Monday evening dinner party.FRANKIE INGLESE kept it funky all night. Classic hits from Parliament Funkadelic, the Meters, Sly and The Family Stone, Average White Band, Rufus, Rick James and so many other great musicians played on through the night. FRANKIE had the original 12 inch vinyl records for all the music that rappers were sampling. He even had stuff that hadn???t been discovered yet by Hip-Hoppers. This was where I first heard the extended version of JAMES BROWN???s ???The Big Payback???. It???s a song so rich and complex with melodies that several songs have been sampled from that record and most of them sound different from one another. It was as if you could get an endless amount of samples from one JAMES BROWN record.If you wanted to become a Hip-Hop producer then Franky Jackson???s Soul Kitchen became the only party that you needed to attend. There was a moment when everyone who was involved in Hip-Hop was coming to this party. I credit this party with restoring the popularity of artists like GEORGE CLINTON, WILSON PICKETT, BOOSTY COLLINS and MACEO PARKER, but bigger than all of those guys was the man who inspired their music. Franky Jackson???s Soul Kitchen helped me appreciate why JAMES BROWN was called ???The Godfather???.
I used to go to this party in high school (the pre Guiliani/Dinkins era- ho!) and this is the party that got me interested in soul/funk/etc. The vibe was dope and we used to always see the big rappers of the day chillin there drinking 40's - for real! I remember summer of 92 or 93 - it was at the wetlands and GURU, A.D.O.R. ("Let it all hang out")and Zhiggee were there and we were geeked!Anyone ever go to this? I know Frankie Inglese still does the 80's night at Don Hills' (which is dope for what it is) - but he was killin it at the Soul Kitchen.
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  • CosmoCosmo 9,768 Posts
    REAL HEADS KNOW THE DEAL TIMES INFINITY. Soul Kitchen and Giant Step were two parties that really solidified my taste in music in a way.

  • tonyphronetonyphrone 1,500 Posts
    Giant Step



    back in the supper club/buddah bar era. When Digable Planets would chill.

  • I got most of my funk schooling from the late 90s shows of "Accross 110th St." on WCKR FM (columbia U), hosted by Frankie, Danny Rudder, Chairman Mao, Amir, and Ricky Powell. Still have about 3 years worth of tapes. That show blew my mind, 45 new artists every week, and they listed the setlists too.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    No doubt.

  • The great thing about this party was it never got hung up on "raer groove" and was the farthest thing from a sausage festival you could imagine. I was on the young side when this party was at its apex and it left a lasting impression on me.

    While we're on the subject I also loved:
    Cafe Con Leche
    Chill Factor w/Stretch Armstrong (these kids were my older brothers and raised me in the club culture)
    Blow Pop
    Flip Squad parties at Palladium
    Don Hills
    Tunnel Sundays
    Essos (this had to be the most violent club in the world, I swear someone got shot EVERY time I went there)
    The Limelight (nothing could possibly be more of a mindfuck for a 16-year old suburban kid).

  • DongerDonger 854 Posts
    Soul Kitchen was the shit. I only went a few times though. I went to Giant Step almost every week at one point, but if I had found Soul Kitchen first, things would have been much different.

    I did think it was funny much later on when they tried to restart the Soul Kitchen party and moved it to Cielo, based soley on the fact that everyone was walking around Cielo drinking 40s which I thought was a pretty funny sight. Not to mention the soundsystem in that space was bad ass. Kind of a funny coincidence, because Soul Kitchen was the party that also made me hear "The Big Payback" in a whole new light after hearing it on that loud assed soundsystem. There is no 12" version of that is there? Homey must have drank too many 40s that night...

    BTW Chill Factor deserves a thread of it's own. It was the last great party of the late 90s, with the best looking guestlist/doorman I've ever seen in my entire life.


  • yoigotbeatsyoigotbeats 1,667 Posts
    I used to make beats with Frankie - schooled me crazy on records/production (he produced The Ave.). That place was way ahead of it's time.


    Bumpshop should have him do a saturday night.

  • yoigotbeatsyoigotbeats 1,667 Posts
    who else was there when D&^%e punched that girl????

  • BTW Chill Factor deserves a thread of it's own. It was the last great party of the late 90s, with the best looking guestlist/doorman I've ever seen in my entire life.


    Yeah Chillfactor was special as hell bro and also I think it was the last time that "real"(I know, super-loaded term) house and "real" hip-hop coexisted in a club setting. I also think most dude have zero idea how incredible of a party dj the dude Stretch was. I've never seen a guy who could beatmatch that clean without even putting the headphones on.

    It's funny (sad) that about the only two nights I wasn't there were when the shootings took place.

    Remember Nick the owner, I KNOW you do. Lol.

  • who else was there when D&^%e punched that girl????

    Dude, throughout my teenage years and early 20's I think I must have seen this dude get into two-dozen fights.

  • CosmoCosmo 9,768 Posts
    Man Stretch used to KILL it in the back room at the Roxy back in 95. Crazy times there no doubt.

  • Man Stretch used to KILL it in the back room at the Roxy back in 95. Crazy times there no doubt.

    I heard the Roxy is no more. So fucking sad, even though the security staff there literally tried to kill me once. Memories...

  • CosmoCosmo 9,768 Posts
    You know back in 94 and 95 when I was DJing Saturday nights at Den of Thieves, it was probably the hypest and the best party I had ever seen in NY. Personally biased and all, but I mean that was SO DOPE. EVERYTHING WAS WIDE OPEN... and then Rudy killed it. And New York has never been the same again.

  • yoigotbeatsyoigotbeats 1,667 Posts
    Dude, throughout my teenage years and early 20's I think I must have seen this dude get into two-dozen fights.

    He certainly was a scrapper!!! Rolling to the Bell Cafe after Soul Kitchen was always a nice end of the eve.

  • Dude, throughout my teenage years and early 20's I think I must have seen this dude get into two-dozen fights.

    He certainly was a scrapper!!! Rolling to the Bell Cafe after Soul Kitchen was always a nice end of the eve.

    I know you go back man, did you ever go to "Sheets and Pillows" when Stretch was still Adrian B or Skinny Bonez?

    Oh, also gotta give the big up to Sticky Mike's.

  • yoigotbeatsyoigotbeats 1,667 Posts
    I know you go back man, did you ever go to "Sheets and Pillows" when Stretch was still Adrian B or Skinny Bonez?

    THAT'S THAT SHIT!!!! I remember hanging with Stretch one time and all he was talking about was CoCo Realio Was I the only cat to totally sweat that chick Grayson????

  • I only knew Frankie for a small amount of time, but I knew back in 95' this man was serious with records. I remember Chairman Mao and Frankie used to do a show 'Across 110th Street' with Ricky Powell on WKCR before Danny Rudder and I took over from Mao and Frankie. I have to say I loved hearing what Frankie used to play..dude was WAY ahead of his time.

    Amir

  • By the way, could you make copies of some those tapes for me man. I never got to get copies of when Danny and I were doing the show.

    Amir

  • DJPrestigeDJPrestige 1,710 Posts
    I got most of my funk schooling from the late 90s shows of "Accross 110th St." on WCKR FM (columbia U), hosted by Frankie, Danny Rudder, Chairman Mao, Amir, and Ricky Powell. Still have about 3 years worth of tapes. That show blew my mind, 45 new artists every week, and they listed the setlists too.

    cosign on that...

    ricky powell once did a slideshow at one of my DJ nights, what a nightmare! that's for another thread. the radio show was dope though.

  • I know you go back man, did you ever go to "Sheets and Pillows" when Stretch was still Adrian B or Skinny Bonez?

    THAT'S THAT SHIT!!!! I remember hanging with Stretch one time and all he was talking about was CoCo Realio Was I the only cat to totally sweat that chick Grayson????

    On a totally different tip, I used to LOVE Body and Soul until it became totally overrun with Chelsea queens. Anyone ever go? Joe Claussel+Francois K+Danny Krivit=

  • By the way, could you make copies of some those tapes for me man. I never got to get copies of when Danny and I were doing the show.

    Amir

    I've been planning on digitizing them for a while. I'll definitely make you copies.

  • Much appreciated..thanks bro!!!

  • tonyphronetonyphrone 1,500 Posts
    "Sheets and Pillows" and Sticky Mike's.

    you are bringing back strong memeories man...I haven't thought about those parties in years. what high school did you go to? did we have math together?

  • "Sheets and Pillows" and Sticky Mike's.

    you are bringing back strong memeories man...I haven't thought about those parties in years. what high school did you go to? did we have math together?

    I am a Jersey bwoy, but my whole extended family (grandparents, cousins, and shit) live in the West Vill and so I started going out way early. I used to run around with a bunch of cats (the Donger included) who were involved with alot of these parties, especially Zone at Redzone, Cafe Con Leche (the MESSIEST party in the world, Latin Kings pushing up on drag queens and shit), and of course Chill Factor. Too young for Sheets and Pillows but Sticky Mike's was the shit. I also must not let this thread die without invoking one of the grimiest places I ever set foot: Planet 28/Demerrara's. I KNOW you must remember this place? The basement was like a death trap with sketchy dudes pushing up on chicks in the dark corners and fucked off security with burners and the whole place looked like it was gonna fall down. Threw some dope parties there.

    Also- El Flamingo, Club USA, John "Gungy" Rivera ruling the latin scene. I've worked the door at some of the roughest spots in NY. I remember one night at Speeed when I wouldn't let this dude in and he whipped a butterfly knife into my face. I remember watching Pun's people get into it with Roc-a-fella cats and crawling for the exit when I saw a bottle soaring from one crowd to the other.

    I remember when Peter Gatien used to call me and bitch about "why is the community board fucking with me, I'm an honest businessman" then turned around and did me and my partner so ugly.

    Parties I was too young to go to that are spoken of with awe:
    House Nation
    Arena
    Zone at Redzone (big up Joe Sheridan, Andre Charles, Ever TCT)
    Daddy's House

  • who else was there when D&^%e punched that girl????

    For some reason I thought that happened at one of Stretch's parties at Irving Plaza?

    G, what was your favorite edition of Soul Kitchen: Don Hill's (before it was Don Hill's - what was it called? My memory is gone...), S.O.B.'s, Wetlands?

    Best f*ckin' party...

  • tonyphronetonyphrone 1,500 Posts
    what was your favorite edition of Soul Kitchen: Don Hill's (before it was Don Hill's - what was it called? My memory is gone...), S.O.B.'s, Wetlands?

    Best f*ckin' party...

    for me it was wetlands-i didn't know it was a hippie/jamband place until much later. that's how good that party must've been!

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    what was your favorite edition of Soul Kitchen: Don Hill's (before it was Don Hill's - what was it called? My memory is gone...), S.O.B.'s, Wetlands?

    Best f*ckin' party...

    for me it was wetlands-i didn't know it was a hippie/jamband place until much later. that's how good that party must've been!

    Wetlands.

    What about HomeBase?

  • DongerDonger 854 Posts

    I also must not let this thread die without invoking one of the grimiest places I ever set foot: Planet 28/Demerrara's. I KNOW you must remember this place? The basement was like a death trap with sketchy dudes pushing up on chicks in the dark corners and fucked off security with burners and the whole place looked like it was gonna fall down. Threw some dope parties there.

    hahahaha

  • DongerDonger 854 Posts

    What about HomeBase?

    Never fucked with it, I heard violent stories that made me never want to go to that place.

  • DongerDonger 854 Posts
    Man Stretch used to KILL it in the back room at the Roxy back in 95. Crazy times there no doubt.

    I heard the Roxy is no more. So fucking sad, even though the security staff there literally tried to kill me once. Memories...

    I was lucky enough to bless the main floor soundsystem several times playing some deep house stuff for Tom Mello's parties. I also got to spin some hip-hop & classics type shit in the upstairs VIP room too. Great times, I was lucky to play some of those amazing nights.

    Stretch is a great DJ, it's too bad though the last time I heard him (at Lotus) he was playing Z100 style techno-house remixes of shitty pop and hip-hop tunes. His set sounded VERY Euro, and would've fit in perfectly at a Greek guido club in Astoria. I have no problem selling out and playing all that pop stuff (I do it all the time), but are those Z100 late night Astoria Euro techno-house sounding remixes really that neccessary???
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