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..."
cool reply frank ummmm so let me get this straight......Berliners don't want to know fuck about rare greasy american funk 45s but they do wanna hear serge gainsbourg, nucleus, placebo and string beat? wow as for 40+ djs off the top of my head danny krivit tony humphries keb carl cox/d tenaglea/francois k etc M.A.W. giles peterson carlos soulslinger biz marky lol add on....
ummmm so let me get this straight......Berliners don't want to know fuck about rare greasy american funk 45s but they do wanna hear serge gainsbourg, nucleus, placebo and string beat?
Think you got it backwards. His Berlin night was the funk night. New Yorkers wanted to hear the other goods you describe (hence the reason for his moving to Berlin).
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
hey there.
i've never heard of mazi jahi's nights... must be too out of the loop. i know the guy that started Nitty Gritty and used to go to those parties whenever I could, including some of the more funk centric ones at Touch back in the day, but too often than not, I kept seeing dubstep and broken beat artists at the most recent parties.
great news about the new spot, though! will definitely keep my eyes peeled. any other info?
I know a Strutter does a night in Akron, but it's just too far to drive there and drive back on a work night.
Thanks for reading the blog. I've been lack on it fairly recently, but have a stack of new stuff to review. As for BC, well, yeah, I wouldn't really go to him for news on funk or anything, but I've got other interests that interesect with his, so it's cool.
so is keb darge the only worldwide full time funk 45 dj that makes a "real" living at it? who else?
cool reply frank ummmm so let me get this straight......Berliners don't want to know fuck about rare greasy american funk 45s but they do wanna hear serge gainsbourg, nucleus, placebo and string beat? wow as for 40+ djs off the top of my head danny krivit tony humphries keb carl cox/d tenaglea/francois k etc M.A.W. giles peterson carlos soulslinger biz marky lol add on....
maw, humphries, krivit, cox etc... dont play funk. 1000 people are not showing up to a maw/krivit show expecting to hear third guitar. they are going to hear keri chandler records and maybe if your lucky you will hear some disco.
only in europe it seems we are able to get away w/ spinning sets dominated by funk/soul/disco
america is the land of super trend, overly clever, cliche crap imo. remix of a remix to the remix. while some remixes can be great...how many more times am i gonna hear the same missy/ sean paul accapella over another beat ? time to dig up some other accapellas....say...antoinette ?
Thanks for reading the blog. I've been lack on it fairly recently, but have a stack of new stuff to review. As for BC, well, yeah, I wouldn't really go to him for news on funk or anything, but I've got other interests that interesect with his, so it's cool.
yeah i go in there for other music i listen to as well, cant beat his out there imports and all that kind of stuff.
cool reply frank ummmm so let me get this straight......Berliners don't want to know fuck about rare greasy american funk 45s but they do wanna hear serge gainsbourg, nucleus, placebo and string beat?
No, actualy, it's the other way around. In NY folks didn't seem to be into the Funk 45s and favored the more "exotic" and "suave" euro stuff while in Berlin I had 300-500 people getting down to the roughest Funk 45s until 6 in the morning. It seems however that there are more successful Funk bights in NY nowadays. Bumpshop at APT and so on.
so is keb darge the only worldwide full time funk 45 dj that makes a "real" living at it? who else?
cool reply frank ummmm so let me get this straight......Berliners don't want to know fuck about rare greasy american funk 45s but they do wanna hear serge gainsbourg, nucleus, placebo and string beat? wow as for 40+ djs off the top of my head danny krivit tony humphries keb carl cox/d tenaglea/francois k etc M.A.W. giles peterson carlos soulslinger biz marky lol add on....
maw, humphries, krivit, cox etc... dont play funk. 1000 people are not showing up to a maw/krivit show expecting to hear third guitar. they are going to hear keri chandler records and maybe if your lucky you will hear some disco.
only in europe it seems we are able to get away w/ spinning sets dominated by funk/soul/disco
america is the land of super trend, overly clever, cliche crap imo. remix of a remix to the remix. while some remixes can be great...how many more times am i gonna hear the same missy/ sean paul accapella over another beat ? time to dig up some other accapellas....say...antoinette ?
actually, Danny Krivit is one of the last bastions of soulful music in the dance scene in NYC.
surprised no one has mentioned funky sole @ star shoes, has anyone here been? i've been going for the last 5-6 years and 80% of their playlist is straight-up funk (there's a little modern soul and tropicalia thrown in now and then, and early hip-hop when cut chemist is on). its consistently wall-to-wall folks, and while there are definitely dudes geeking out standing around the turntables, its also got a really good mix of folks of all ages/ethnicities/genders who are all there to "get on the good foot." there's a lot of other really good spots out here willing to throw funk into the mix, and folks are definitely diggin it, so yeah, things definitely don't look too bad out here....
well i got to dj this weekend at a festival out here called langerado, and i played quite a bit of funk, mixed some disco and some soulful detroit house and it went over well. folks were dancin and the people that brought me out dug it too. unfortunately someone put somethin in my drink and i got super sick and started trippin. thank god it was after my set. im still feelin like someone blew my stomach up.
innit tho... the rockabilly I play at the end of my sets always seems to go down well... but fuck playing it at the start otherwise it would be 's all round! I'd get kicked out
surprised no one has mentioned funky sole @ star shoes, has anyone here been? i've been going for the last 5-6 years and 80% of their playlist is straight-up funk (there's a little modern soul and tropicalia thrown in now and then, and early hip-hop when cut chemist is on). its consistently wall-to-wall folks, and while there are definitely dudes geeking out standing around the turntables, its also got a really good mix of folks of all ages/ethnicities/genders who are all there to "get on the good foot." there's a lot of other really good spots out here willing to throw funk into the mix, and folks are definitely diggin it, so yeah, things definitely don't look too bad out here....
More information on Funky Sole can be found at the link below.
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
hey there.
i've never heard of mazi jahi's nights... must be too out of the loop. i know the guy that started Nitty Gritty and used to go to those parties whenever I could, including some of the more funk centric ones at Touch back in the day, but too often than not, I kept seeing dubstep and broken beat artists at the most recent parties.
great news about the new spot, though! will definitely keep my eyes peeled. any other info?
I know a Strutter does a night in Akron, but it's just too far to drive there and drive back on a work night.
Thanks for reading the blog. I've been lack on it fairly recently, but have a stack of new stuff to review. As for BC, well, yeah, I wouldn't really go to him for news on funk or anything, but I've got other interests that interesect with his, so it's cool.
Jugo from Nitty Gritty spins funk every Friday at The Lava Lounge...matter fact just about every DJ at the Lava Lounge spins funk cept on Sat- Sun.... I was gonna connect you with Mazi but you never called me.... the scene in NE Ohio is in Akron as far as soul nights........ Smokin Soul @ The Lime Spider every Thursday..............
There some "old black man" bars that I always imagined pitching a "funk" night to. "Come on let me bring in back to the way it used to be" type steez. One cat told me "Once you advertise a DJ up in here, you tend to draw a younger demograph....." He wasnt too keen w/ that. There's a great bar in midtown manhattan (A bar w/ a Boxing theme/owner trained Ali) that has a ridiculous jukebox of "oldies". Ive fantasized playing that type of shit for some real Local Black Exp. But then again I hate to be confined to one genre.
There some "old black man" bars that I always imagined pitching a "funk" night to. "Come on let me bring in back to the way it used to be" type steez. One cat told me "Once you advertise a DJ up in here, you tend to draw a younger demograph....." He wasnt too keen w/ that. There's a great bar in midtown manhattan (A bar w/ a Boxing theme/owner trained Ali) that has a ridiculous jukebox of "oldies". Ive fantasized playing that type of shit for some real Local Black Exp. But then again I hate to be confined to one genre.
Whatever....just babblin'.
Shingaling and I are on the cusp of this...there is an old school, real jukejoint(beer only served in quarts)still in operation here in Memphis called WildBill's. Although we would probably keep it in the early 60s RnB vein rather than funk we are getting a little resistance. They just heard "white boys want to DJ here" and they said..."oh hell naw...we dont want any of that Rap shit in here" As soon as we can convince them we arent going to play anything remotely resembling Rap, I think we can get a gig there.
There some "old black man" bars that I always imagined pitching a "funk" night to. "Come on let me bring in back to the way it used to be" type steez. One cat told me "Once you advertise a DJ up in here, you tend to draw a younger demograph....." He wasnt too keen w/ that. There's a great bar in midtown manhattan (A bar w/ a Boxing theme/owner trained Ali) that has a ridiculous jukebox of "oldies". Ive fantasized playing that type of shit for some real Local Black Exp. But then again I hate to be confined to one genre.
Whatever....just babblin'.
Shingaling and I are on the cusp of this...there is an old school, real jukejoint(beer only served in quarts)still in operation here in Memphis called WildBill's. Although we would probably keep it in the early 60s RnB vein rather than funk we are getting a little resistance. They just heard "white boys want to DJ here" and they said..."oh hell naw...we dont want any of that Rap shit in here" As soon as we can convince them we arent going to play anything remotely resembling Rap, I think we can get a gig there.
It's funny - not funny ha-ha, but funny odd - that in these guys minds, white DJ's automatically equal rap. I'm surprised they didn't try to target y'all as Pearl Jam fans or something.
I was looking for something away from the strip and hit up The Get Back last weekend (April 7th). 80s were playing inside and funk/soul on the outside. Jedi and Phoreyez were on the 1s and 2s...Nice!
Comments
cool reply frank
ummmm so let me get this straight......Berliners don't want to know fuck about rare greasy american funk 45s but they do wanna hear serge gainsbourg, nucleus, placebo and string beat?
wow
as for 40+ djs off the top of my head
danny krivit
tony humphries
keb
carl cox/d tenaglea/francois k etc
M.A.W.
giles peterson
carlos soulslinger
biz marky lol
add on....
Think you got it backwards. His Berlin night was the funk night. New Yorkers wanted to hear the other goods you describe (hence the reason for his moving to Berlin).
hey there.
i've never heard of mazi jahi's nights... must be too out of the loop. i know the guy that started Nitty Gritty and used to go to those parties whenever I could, including some of the more funk centric ones at Touch back in the day, but too often than not, I kept seeing dubstep and broken beat artists at the most recent parties.
great news about the new spot, though! will definitely keep my eyes peeled. any other info?
I know a Strutter does a night in Akron, but it's just too far to drive there and drive back on a work night.
Thanks for reading the blog. I've been lack on it fairly recently, but have a stack of new stuff to review. As for BC, well, yeah, I wouldn't really go to him for news on funk or anything, but I've got other interests that interesect with his, so it's cool.
It seems however that there are more successful Funk bights in NY nowadays. Bumpshop at APT and so on.
Looking forward to your forthcoming return to Bumpshop too, Frank. Last year's party was a blast.
Best,
Mao
surprised no one has mentioned funky sole @ star shoes, has anyone here been? i've been going for the last 5-6 years and 80% of their playlist is straight-up funk (there's a little modern soul and tropicalia thrown in now and then, and early hip-hop when cut chemist is on). its consistently wall-to-wall folks, and while there are definitely dudes geeking out standing around the turntables, its also got a really good mix of folks of all ages/ethnicities/genders who are all there to "get on the good foot." there's a lot of other really good spots out here willing to throw funk into the mix, and folks are definitely diggin it, so yeah, things definitely don't look too bad out here....
Becky Henchman#2 - "That'll show him."
Becky Henchman#1 - "Yeah, he'll never play that 45 again!"
innit tho... the rockabilly I play at the end of my sets always seems to go down well... but fuck playing it at the start otherwise it would be
I can't wait, I had a blast last year!
I got so much new stuff in the meantime, really can't wait to play this shit out!
More information on Funky Sole can be found at the link below.
http://www.myspace.com/funkysole
Jugo from Nitty Gritty spins funk every Friday at The Lava Lounge...matter fact just about every DJ at the Lava Lounge spins funk cept on Sat- Sun.... I was gonna connect you with Mazi but you never called me.... the scene in NE Ohio is in Akron as far as soul nights........ Smokin Soul @ The Lime Spider every Thursday..............
http://www.myspace.com/hogwashjumpjoint
www.myspace.com/thegetbackvegas
Thu March 22nd
Park Slope, Brooklyn with Mr. Finewine, Opiated-Black and Andy Nobel ??? (not sure of the venue for this as Matt never let me know)???
Fri March 23rd
Hot, Funky & Sweaty @ Lucky Cat, Brooklyn with Nick Cope, Opiated-Black and Andy Nobel
There's a great bar in midtown manhattan (A bar w/ a Boxing theme/owner trained Ali) that has a ridiculous jukebox of "oldies". Ive fantasized playing that type of shit for some real Local Black Exp. But then again I hate to be confined to one genre.
Whatever....just babblin'.
Shingaling and I are on the cusp of this...there is an old school, real jukejoint(beer only served in quarts)still in operation here in Memphis called WildBill's. Although we would probably keep it in the early 60s RnB vein rather than funk we are getting a little resistance. They just heard "white boys want to DJ here" and they said..."oh hell naw...we dont want any of that Rap shit in here" As soon as we can convince them we arent going to play anything remotely resembling Rap, I think we can get a gig there.
It's funny - not funny ha-ha, but funny odd - that in these guys minds, white DJ's automatically equal rap. I'm surprised they didn't try to target y'all as Pearl Jam fans or something.
we played alot of vietnam themed tunes as closers.
got to be pretty depressing eventually.
literally reeked of authenticity tho!
---
I was looking for something away from the strip and hit up The Get Back last weekend (April 7th). 80s were playing inside and funk/soul on the outside. Jedi and Phoreyez were on the 1s and 2s...Nice!