crowds are staying the same age. we're getting older.
Exactly. People don't understand this. Who goes out to clubs and even bars? Mostly single people. If you are an oldhead at the bar, nobody is trying to see you dance anyway.
Any music that young people are not feeling is relegated to niche parties.
My personal experience is that it's getting harder to play funk for the kids, since the sound's more removed from the popular dance sound, which is more electronic (and not really sampled in big hiphop tracks, with some exceptions). Might be my imagination, but I definitely think it's gotten harder the last three years. I can definitely relate to being ice grilled for playing Mandrill and the like...
My personal experience is that it's getting harder to play funk for the kids, since the sound's more removed from the popular dance sound, which is more electronic (and not really sampled in big hiphop tracks, with some exceptions). Might be my imagination, but I definitely think it's gotten harder the last three years. I can definitely relate to being ice grilled for playing Mandrill and the like...
If I was back in the game , 60'e era Funk would consist of maybe %5 of my ammo. And I d probably shift my ammo from mid to late 70 funk and do way more early 80's to mid 80's jehri curl shit. At least there are 30 somethings in the club that remember that shit. It's all relative to so many factors. If you had 25 hot Beckys coming to your Christmas Music All Year party, dudes and the rest will follow.
one of the only good things about JB passing, was people playing JB sets for the 2 weeks after. Other than that funk is pretty devoid around NYC. There's always bumpshop and Jared's night at Savales, but to be honest, I really don't want to go out and hear one genre all evening...no matter how good it is.
My personal experience is that it's getting harder to play funk for the kids, since the sound's more removed from the popular dance sound, which is more electronic (and not really sampled in big hiphop tracks, with some exceptions). Might be my imagination, but I definitely think it's gotten harder the last three years. I can definitely relate to being ice grilled for playing Mandrill and the like...
If I was back in the game , 60'e era Funk would consist of maybe %5 of my ammo. And I d probably shift my ammo from mid to late 70 funk and do way more early 80's to mid 80's jehri curl shit. At least there are 30 somethings in the club that remember that shit. It's all relative to so many factors. If you had 25 hot Beckys coming to your Christmas Music All Year party, dudes and the rest will follow.
Definitely, we had a regular club for about three years that folded last summer, and we had a bunch of regulars that would dance to the funk stuff and support. One night about a year ago the room was full of kids who just wandered in, and it was one of the few recent times I can recall when the whole room was standing around the dance floor, staring at me, pissed off that I was playing shit they couldn't dance to. Even "One thing" didn't go over that well. Luckily one of the dudes I played with had a bunch of dancehall with him, which saved the day.
I really don't want to go out and hear one genre all evening...no matter how good it is.
I don't think I've ever been to a club that plays just one genre of music. Clubs that pronounce themselves a Funk club, will almost certainly play a mixture of soul, r&b, possibly some boogaloo, 70's crossover, mod, modern, disco or whatever.
I really don't want to go out and hear one genre all evening...no matter how good it is.
I don't think I've ever been to a club that plays just one genre of music. Clubs that pronounce themselves a Funk club, will almost certainly play a mixture of soul, r&b, possibly some boogaloo, 70's crossover, mod, modern, disco or whatever.
LOL, I think to a lot of folks here that mix = funk night
hahahaha...yeah man. you can bounce around all the little nuances in the genre, but i'd like to hear some rap music, and maybe even some pop shit. i'm corny like that.
snobby dorks having music conversations while drinking microbrews sounds really depressing.
hahahaha...yeah man. you can bounce around all the little nuances in the genre, but i'd like to hear some rap music, and maybe even some pop shit. i'm corny like that.
snobby dorks having music conversations while drinking microbrews sounds really depressing.
I can appreciate this sentiment, and I understand that a lot of it has to do with what type of experience you're looking to have.
That said, if the volume of music is low enough for you to have a conversation, you're probably not going to the right funk parties. Neither Dante's monthly night at Danny's in Chicago, nor the monthly funk night in Detroit are anything like that.
Danny's is always packed. ALWAYS. And not with stiff-collared wallflowers either. People go there to dance and get fucked up. I am fully prepared to black out whenever I go. This is a Wednesday(!) night we're talking about too. Add to all this the bread lady (RHKTD) and a large contingent of the Chicago record mafia, and it's a lock.
The funk night in Detroit has been going on forever. Last Friday of the month in a spacious two-room gallery with a big open courtyard in back. Party starts at 12am and finishes sometime around 6am. People typically flood the place around 2am after the bars close, which makes for a pretty excellent atmosphere. Plenty of beer and wine on hand, but you can also bring your own (love this!). Lots of girls, lots of dancing, lots of fun.
Of course, it also helps that the people playing at these nights have incredible arsenals of music.
do any of you think it would be possible in your areas to have a successful funk weekly compared to all these monthlies?
Monthly is just long enough to create the joneses.
I've developed a twitch since moving to the Bay. We need to get something going out here.
It's astounding that there's not already a night like that in the Bay. With guys like Veltri, Joshes Bea and Davis ( ), Justin, and now you there is way too much firepower.
do any of you think it would be possible in your areas to have a successful funk weekly compared to all these monthlies?
No way. Tried it in Chicago and it was not working...the magic disappeared. Monthly is just long enough to create the joneses.
I have to agree with this, monthly is where it's at.
Keys on getting your night to pack out, in my experience:
1 Have great records, and keep finding new ones 2 Know how to use them 3 Have a good to great sound system that is LOUD 4 EQ said system 5 Medium size spot - must be dark as hell - don't try to break new territory pick a spot that people know. 6 Do it monthly
Also, I've never seen the hip hop / funk nights really go off like a straight funk spin. I'm not trying to say they can't work, I've just never personally witnessed it.
And for the person who asked about a midwest night this weekend- Sat. in Milwaukee @ The Riverhorse 10 till 2:30 with Andy Noble and myself.
do any of you think it would be possible in your areas to have a successful funk weekly compared to all these monthlies?
Monthly is just long enough to create the joneses.
I've developed a twitch since moving to the Bay. We need to get something going out here.
It's astounding that there's not already a night like that in the Bay. With guys like Veltri, Joshes Bea and Davis ( ), Justin, and now you there is way too much firepower.
Sayin'! DJ Om can play a MEAN funk set too!
I don't have extensive experience with Bay area crowds like so many others on the board do, but I've heard from a few people that locals can be a bit finicky when it comes to unfamiliar styles of music. I'd like to think that a properly promoted night could draw a good crowd, but I really don't know anything about the local scene.
Oh, I should mention that there is a low-key monthly soul night in the mission headlined by couple Strutters/GM workers that has a very nice vibe to it. Said heads were kind enough to let me play some records UNANNOUNCED(!) a couple months ago, and I had a real good time. Still indebted to them for that one.** Nice as the venue is, the night really isn't geared toward dancing, or to funk for that matter (I think they made an exception when I showed up looking mad disconnected, and nervously clutching a box of 45s).
**I would like to add, on the record, that the Bay area dudes I've met to this point have just been unbelievably kind and welcoming. Way beyond the call of duty. Y'all know who you are.
I just wish there was a funk night in my city (CLEaVErLAND), so if anyone is having trouble in their own city, move here...
mazi jahi used to do some KILLER funk nights here in cleveland marsaru...
you seem to have missed alot of special guest nights here, there are a couple guys that bring out funk related djs often.
check when muamin does a night or the guys that used to have that urban magazine.
yeah i will say that nitty gritty parties are done but thats only cause the support died for them as well as not really having any venues to play that stuff at. stay tuned though cause a new small spot is about to open and the kid doing the hiring is all about funk/soul....i know he is looking to have a wednesday with djs playing that sound.
also, i have read your blog and you say you shop at BC....that dude would never clue you in about a night like that cause he dislikes that type of music...just sayin
The funk night in Detroit has been going on forever. Last Friday of the month in a spacious two-room gallery with a big open courtyard in back. Party starts at 12am and finishes sometime around 6am. People typically flood the place around 2am after the bars close, which makes for a pretty excellent atmosphere. Plenty of beer and wine on hand, but you can also bring your own (love this!). Lots of girls, lots of dancing, lots of fun.
Of course, it also helps that the people playing at these nights have incredible arsenals of music.
this still going on? the contemporary parties were rocking, but it i couldnt keep up with the frequent moving. wheres it at now?
so is keb darge the only worldwide full time funk 45 dj that makes a "real" living at it? who else?
Not that I'd want to claim to be in the same league as Keb but I've made a living DJing Funk 45s in Berlin for 5 years straight and that with only two nights a month... Before doing the funk night, I made a living doing a weekly in NYC for 4 years playing european softporn soundtracks, mohawks-style euro-hammond funk and french 60s pop. Noone seemed too interested in a Funk night in NY at the time so I went to Berlin and tried it there ( after 4 years, I was really sick of spinning the european rare groove stuff and desperately wanted to play out my funk 45s).
I haven't had a "real job" in a very long time and never missed it. And no, I never had any financial support from family or such.
I guess if you really concentrate on it and do a good job, Funk will always work. It's great music and will always be great music.
As some of you know, I'm currently taking a break from DJing while cruising around West Africa and stocking up on African Funk. I don't know when and where but I definately plan on going back to DJing and try to make a living out of playing African records which will probably be my biggest challenge. I'll see if it will work. My biggest worry is if clubbers will accept a 40+ DJ or not. As someone else said it "the crowd stays the same age but you're growing older..."
do any of you think it would be possible in your areas to have a successful funk weekly compared to all these monthlies?
No way. Tried it in Chicago and it was not working...the magic disappeared. Monthly is just long enough to create the joneses.
on keeping the funk night a monthly.
my weekly still has lots of deep funk, soul, and rare grooves, but i most definitely spin classic hip hop, quality reggae, and have just started to throw in more rock breaks, which always is a pleaser.
Comments
As a fan of Dante and Courtland's soul/funk night (and as co-DJ of my own)...AMEN.
Exactly. People don't understand this. Who goes out to clubs and even bars? Mostly single people. If you are an oldhead at the bar, nobody is trying to see you dance anyway.
Any music that young people are not feeling is relegated to niche parties.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH72y1J5NNk
http://www.gigmasters.com/Funk/FunkBand_Cleveland_OH.asp
It is a small venue and it pcks out really early. There's usually a line to get in from around 12 onwards.
as per the midwest, well of course it's the best for these kind of nights - it's the best for records too!
If I was back in the game , 60'e era Funk would consist of maybe %5 of my ammo. And I d probably shift my ammo from mid to late 70 funk and do way more early 80's to mid 80's jehri curl shit. At least there are 30 somethings in the club that remember that shit. It's all relative to so many factors. If you had 25 hot Beckys coming to your Christmas Music All Year party, dudes and the rest will follow.
Definitely, we had a regular club for about three years that folded last summer, and we had a bunch of regulars that would dance to the funk stuff and support. One night about a year ago the room was full of kids who just wandered in, and it was one of the few recent times I can recall when the whole room was standing around the dance floor, staring at me, pissed off that I was playing shit they couldn't dance to. Even "One thing" didn't go over that well. Luckily one of the dudes I played with had a bunch of dancehall with him, which saved the day.
I don't think I've ever been to a club that plays just one genre of music. Clubs that pronounce themselves a Funk club, will almost certainly play a mixture of soul, r&b, possibly some boogaloo, 70's crossover, mod, modern, disco or whatever.
Congratulations, by the way, for the success you and Brad have had with your Ann Arbor night. From what I hear it was bumpin' from the first night!
LOL, I think to a lot of folks here that mix = funk night
Haha - oh dear.....
snobby dorks having music conversations while drinking microbrews sounds really depressing.
Totally - hopefully the days of filling the dancefloors at certain Northern gigs with tables and chairs so you sit and make notes, have long gone.
I can appreciate this sentiment, and I understand that a lot of it has to do with what type of experience you're looking to have.
That said, if the volume of music is low enough for you to have a conversation, you're probably not going to the right funk parties. Neither Dante's monthly night at Danny's in Chicago, nor the monthly funk night in Detroit are anything like that.
Danny's is always packed. ALWAYS. And not with stiff-collared wallflowers either. People go there to dance and get fucked up. I am fully prepared to black out whenever I go. This is a Wednesday(!) night we're talking about too. Add to all this the bread lady (RHKTD) and a large contingent of the Chicago record mafia, and it's a lock.
The funk night in Detroit has been going on forever. Last Friday of the month in a spacious two-room gallery with a big open courtyard in back. Party starts at 12am and finishes sometime around 6am. People typically flood the place around 2am after the bars close, which makes for a pretty excellent atmosphere. Plenty of beer and wine on hand, but you can also bring your own (love this!). Lots of girls, lots of dancing, lots of fun.
Of course, it also helps that the people playing at these nights have incredible arsenals of music.
No way.
Tried it in Chicago and it was not working...the magic disappeared.
Monthly is just long enough to create the joneses.
I've developed a twitch since moving to the Bay. We need to get something going out here.
It's astounding that there's not already a night like that in the Bay. With guys like Veltri, Joshes Bea and Davis (
I have to agree with this, monthly is where it's at.
Keys on getting your night to pack out, in my experience:
1 Have great records, and keep finding new ones
2 Know how to use them
3 Have a good to great sound system that is LOUD
4 EQ said system
5 Medium size spot - must be dark as hell - don't try to break new territory pick a spot that people know.
6 Do it monthly
Also, I've never seen the hip hop / funk nights really go off like a straight funk spin. I'm not trying to say they can't work, I've just never personally witnessed it.
And for the person who asked about a midwest night this weekend- Sat. in Milwaukee @ The Riverhorse 10 till 2:30 with Andy Noble and myself.
Sayin'! DJ Om can play a MEAN funk set too!
I don't have extensive experience with Bay area crowds like so many others on the board do, but I've heard from a few people that locals can be a bit finicky when it comes to unfamiliar styles of music. I'd like to think that a properly promoted night could draw a good crowd, but I really don't know anything about the local scene.
Oh, I should mention that there is a low-key monthly soul night in the mission headlined by couple Strutters/GM workers that has a very nice vibe to it. Said heads were kind enough to let me play some records UNANNOUNCED(!) a couple months ago, and I had a real good time. Still indebted to them for that one.** Nice as the venue is, the night really isn't geared toward dancing, or to funk for that matter (I think they made an exception when I showed up looking mad disconnected, and nervously clutching a box of 45s).
**I would like to add, on the record, that the Bay area dudes I've met to this point have just been unbelievably kind and welcoming. Way beyond the call of duty. Y'all know who you are.
mazi jahi used to do some KILLER funk nights here in cleveland marsaru...
you seem to have missed alot of special guest nights here, there are a couple guys that bring out funk related djs often.
check when muamin does a night or the guys that used to have that urban magazine.
yeah i will say that nitty gritty parties are done but thats only cause the support died for them as well as not really having any venues to play that stuff at. stay tuned though cause a new small spot is about to open and the kid doing the hiring is all about funk/soul....i know he is looking to have a wednesday with djs playing that sound.
also, i have read your blog and you say you shop at BC....that dude would never clue you in about a night like that cause he dislikes that type of music...just sayin
this still going on? the contemporary parties were rocking, but it i couldnt keep up with the frequent moving. wheres it at now?
Not that I'd want to claim to be in the same league as Keb but I've made a living DJing Funk 45s in Berlin for 5 years straight and that with only two nights a month... Before doing the funk night, I made a living doing a weekly in NYC for 4 years playing european softporn soundtracks, mohawks-style euro-hammond funk and french 60s pop. Noone seemed too interested in a Funk night in NY at the time so I went to Berlin and tried it there ( after 4 years, I was really sick of spinning the european rare groove stuff and desperately wanted to play out my funk 45s).
I haven't had a "real job" in a very long time and never missed it. And no, I never had any financial support from family or such.
I guess if you really concentrate on it and do a good job, Funk will always work. It's great music and will always be great music.
As some of you know, I'm currently taking a break from DJing while cruising around West Africa and stocking up on African Funk. I don't know when and where but I definately plan on going back to DJing and try to make a living out of playing African records which will probably be my biggest challenge. I'll see if it will work. My biggest worry is if clubbers will accept a 40+ DJ or not. As someone else said it "the crowd stays the same age but you're growing older..."
my weekly still has lots of deep funk, soul, and rare grooves, but i most definitely spin classic hip hop, quality reggae, and have just started to throw in more rock breaks, which always is a pleaser.