being asked for an artist that you are spinning
Artichoke
112 Posts
spinning a.a.b.b. in a bar 2 weeks ago and dude comes up to me asking me to play some james brownme: "this is james brown" long uncomfortable silence...does this happen to you guys much
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I was playing Tom Tom Club - Wordy Rappinghood and some kid comes up to me and says ???what???s the original of this????
- "Dude...This is the original of this!"
Frickin' christ!
- spidey
Hahaha i've had that exact conversation.
ouch
On the other hand, I can't count the number of times I have been playing something like Eddie Bo and have some Becky come up and ask me to play something "more funky". "Sure, why don't you bring me your mama's drawers and I'll throw them on the table", is the only thing I can think to say at such a moment.
I have come to the conclusion that this is easily the biggest song of the year. Generation-defining? Only time will tell.
I've had a person offer me money on the spot for a song I was still playing. The song: Superpeople. The offer: $5.
Dude didn't even know that Mayfield didn't produce it ("yes, he did"), and he's trying to insult me with a lowball bid, and then treats me like I'm passing up the deal of a lifetime. The FUCK outta here.
same here, given that we live in the same city i can't help but wonder if it was the same person...
b/w
last week at a club, playing joe cocker woman to woman, "what's this song from?"
"Hank, the day after Thanksgiving is, in my opinion, the biggest shopping day of the year."
In all fairness, it's a bit inaccurate to equate James Brown and the Above Average Black Band. It's not like he was a part of the band (as far as I know), he was just the producer. That record doesn't exactly sound like typical JB either, with the string section and all. Consider yourself lucky to be playing for patrons that request records relevant to your current set, instead of birthday girls requesting "Pour some sugar on me"
As soon as the record starts, I leave the booth for a minute and track her down. "Say, I think I know you, are you _______?"
She says, with a smile, "if you play my Funkadelic, I am!"
In the meantime, Funkadelic's "I Got A Thing..." has been playing in the background all this time and she doesn't recognize it. (Although, to be fair, she may have been expecting one of their later semi-disco songs like "Knee Deep" or "One Nation Under A Groove"; she wouldn't have made the connection to some acid-funk record like "I Got A Thing...".)
This happened to me with Too $hort, I was playin something from Short Dogs in the house and dood asked if i could play Too $hort..funny shit
i've been there and i might just hijack that saying for the next time it happens...
Even so, 98% of most JB productions seemingly had him somewhere in the background, even if all he's doing is hollering. I would have equated James Brown and the AABB myself. I wouldn't be surprised if that was the JB's under a different name. Those James Brown's Funky People compilations may as well be JB albums with guest vocals, 'cause whether Fred Wesley is playing his trombone or Lyn Collins is singing. the man cannot resist lettin' people know he's in there, ha ha...
This was always my policy when I was playing out. The only exceptions were made for cute girls, and only if I liked the song they requested. Otherwise it was "I'll play it for you in a little while, aiight?", and a little while ended up being never.
I hate how it is always somebody's birthday when I am playing out somewhere and a certain song is 'their favorite' and they 'have to hear it'.
The 'I don't take requests' and 'sure I'll play it in a little bit' work like a dream in most situations.
no shit. I remember once being asked to play Metallica at a funk night.
Care to elaborate on who this was...
Do the the requests for "be thankful" pour in after you drop "blood is thicker than water"? It's happened to me.
This is the thing. Most times, if they're asking for reggae, they aren't asking for LLoyd Charmers or Sonya Spence, they're asking for Marley or Tosh or Bam Bam. If they're asking for James Brown, they sure as hell aren't asking for Sometimes.
My response to requests is "if I have it, I'll play it", and then I'll play Is That Enough and it will go totally unnoticed because really they were hoping for How Sweet It Is or Heard it Through the Grapevine.
this is what I say and then the inevitable follow up question is "well, what do you have?" then I will hand them a small stack of 45s, and then 99.9% of the time, they wont know one single record and they hand them back and walk away, never to return.
lol - you are much kinder about it than I am. I don't get asked if I have it, but some do ask if they can look through my records and they get "No."