I Got No Words For This... Just Watch

Upwardshandsplashesalldayson.

Monday Wake-Up Jawn

This past week has been (in the words of the illustrious Dude) ups and down, strikes and gutters. I've been abiding it all so far tho. Today's wake-up jawn is a sleepy slow-burner with great drums. It's kinda moody... but I've been working on a moody downtempo mix this past week that I may end up releasing sometime close to the new year. I got some new records from Turntablelab with my date guap from Kulture Klash, and I'm trying to make a stay under the covers on a cold winter morning mix using lots of the new wax. Anyway, this is Bonobo's remix of Jon Kennedy's track Tell Me How You Feel:

Melsontwitternow... checkhimout.

Monday Wake-Up Jawn

Today's jawn has a little bit of a story behind it. One of my top 3 De La Soul songs of all time has always been Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey), but laying hands on the original mix of the song has been most difficult despite years of record collecting. You see, there have been so many De La releases that include a version of Ring Ring Ring... from comps, to 12" singles, 7" singles, CD singles, the shitty one LP pressing of De La Soul is Dead, and many others. As always, the only way to get the good version of Ring Ring Ring (without the saxophone) on wax that you could actually play out at a show was to find the elusive promo (AND 2LP VERSION THAT INCLUDES ALL THE SONGS) copy of De La Soul is Dead.

Well with my payment from Kulture Klash, I bought some new records, and I now got my own copy of the promo De La is Dead 2LP, so I can play the original version of Ring Ring Ring:

Hopethatwasnttoohardtofollow... thatssomerecordnerdshit.

Kulture Klash 5 Video

In my previous post, I mentioned Adam and Aaron from Jewell&Ginnie filming us on stage. Well, they filmed a lot more than that at Kulture Klash. Check the slick editing and how they gave us some serious shine:

Kulture Klash V from Jewell&Ginnie on Vimeo.

Bigupstothosedudesforsure.

Monday Wake-Up Jawn (Post KK Edition)

Today's song to get you awake is Breakadawn by De La Soul:

Kulture Klash was crazy fun, but I'll start this story at the beginning... After getting off work on Friday, I stopped by Alex's (of Spaced Invaders fame) office on Broad St. He was projecting art work from the Fr3sh crew on the Daughters of the Confederacy building, and it looked amazing. Julie of Cavortress (who is a big fan of the BGBs) was also meeting Alex at his office to drop off some clothes for him. I might have to get her in my pocket somehow so I can get her to find me some clothes. Anyway, Alex and I walked down to the beer exchange and got myself a growler of this, which was awesome. After hanging with Alex at his office for a bit, I went over to Hunter's to practice our sets, which went really late into the night, so I crashed with him.

Hunter and I were up early on Saturday to sneak in some more practice sessions before heading over to the Kulture Klash location at noon. Jess made us a great lunch; and after picking up some equipment at my house, Hunter, Jeff, Dave, Alan and I made our way out to Kulture Klash. We got set up and sound-checked with no problems thanks to everyone from Big Hair Productions. After hearing the sound-check from the main stage, I was a little worried that we wouldn't be able to get loud enough to match the huge set-up they had; so I talked to Gustavo and Alex, and they got us enough sound to calm my concerns. Big ups are indeed due to Gustavo and Scott (who organized the event and made sure we had everything we needed all night and kept us having a good time), Alex and Jason of The Spaced Invaders (for running projections for us... see pictures below, editing together a visual Roc Raida tribute to go with our set, and hanging with us when we weren't playing), BadJon (official photographer for the event, and a super telanted dude), Jeff ET (who played brilliantly, more on that later), and everyone that showed up and partied with us on the loading dock stage.

Here's some photos courtesy of BadJon:

Loading dock stage before doors opened

Once the show got going

Hunter warming up for our first set

Hunter and I opened the show at 8 with lots of instrumental jawns, a good bit of cutting, and a couple remixes (most notably D'Angelo's Left and Right). Adam Boozer from JewellandGinnie shot video of us spinning. I'm really looking forward to seeing what he shot. We came off stage at 9 very happy with the set and our performance of it, and Righcus came up and rocked it with DJ R-Dot. Hunter and I got back up on stage at 10 for our second set. This set went particularly well (especially the 10 Crack Commandments remix we did) until THE POWER CUT OUT FOR THE WHOLE VENUE. At around 11:25, at the height of our set's hypeness, everything shut off at once. I ran around the stage cutting everything off to protect all the equipment from a surge if the power came back on. After a couple minutes of talking with lots of people who liked our set and chillin with the Spaced Invaders in what we were calling the A/V tent, Gustavo came over to tell us the generator blew and a new one was on the way. The power came back on a couple minutes after midnight, and I re-routed all our equipment to the new power source. Basically, I wanted to be up and running before any of the other stages started, and that's what happened. Jeff went in from the start with one of my favorite Red Astaire songs, and he tore it down until 2 when the show got shut down. After packing up, and hitting the after hours VIP (Gustavo, true to form, gave me enough after-hours wristbands to take care of everyone that helped us break down equipment), we all went back to my house for an early-morning Street Fighter tournament.

Crazyweekend... Imgladthestressisover.

Monday Wake-Up Jawn

I hope everyone had a great Halloween weekend. I had a great time despite having to work at the library on Saturday and Sunday. This week, Hunter and I are in full-on Kulture Klash V prep mode, so if you don't hear from me before the show, I'm sorry. To wake up today, I bring you the Jay Dee remix of D'Angelo's Me and Those Dreamin Eyes of Mine:

Seeyouatkultureklash.

Friday Jams

First off, I hope everyone has a safe Halloween weekend. Don't eat unwrapped candy from strangers before letting mommy inspect it and shit... you remember the rules. If you see your boy, make sure to give respect in the form of a caucasian. Lemme start your weekend off with even more People Under the Stairs (I know, the blog is real one-dimensional right now). Here's PUTS with The Joyride off the Question in the Form of an Answer LP:

And here's PUTS representing the chill head-nod tip with Plunkin Em off the ...Or Stay Tuned LP:

and off the super rare (only 1000 copies pressed) American Men vol. 1, this is Pulp Fiction ft. Murs:

And although this is a repost, I'll never get sick of The Bomb Combo that only appears on the Best of LP off Om... but I couldn't embed it, so you'll just have to click the link.

Lastly, here's PUTS spittin the positive vibe on Give Love a Chance off Question in the Form of an Answer:

sowhenchasingthegoldgetsroughandsayslifesucks... remembertheliningssilverandthatsalwaysgoodenough.

Monday Wake-Up Jawn

Such a great weekend... more on that in a minute, here's People Under the Stairs with Listen off their new album Carried Away:

Got down to south Florida at 3pm on Friday. After dinner with my parents, I went to meet up with Sean. We caught up for a bit and made our way downtown to get a couple drinks. I ran into lots of St. Thomas folks, but it was great seeing Mike. I finally made it home to my parents' house at 5:30 and fell into bed.

I woke up at ten on Saturday and had breakfast with my parents. I scooped Sean up around one, and we made our way to the Clemson v. Miami game with my parents. Great game, and we had great seats to watch Clemson edge by the U in overtime. There were lots of funny stories involving a certain Miami fan who was talking mad yang to me and ended up crying when I "reinvented swagger" on my way out of the section. Afterwards, Sean came to dinner with us, and then he and I went out to a local pub to hang. Once again, I made it home around 5 after Sean and I drove around late night like we used to do in high school... then I flew home Sunday Morning.

Rollindownthestreetbumpinbeatssmellinlikebeer.

Monday Wake-Up Jawn

Had a great time in Clemson this weekend. Shouts to everyone I saw out there... we should do that again real real real real soon. Today's jawn to get you up and goin is Acid Raindrops live in New York by People Under the Stairs:

Suchanillysleepybeat.

Friday Jam

I only got one jam for you today. I've been listening to it for a few days straight. Here's People Under the Stairs with the last (and title) track on their new LP; Carried Away:

Forserious... gocopthealbum.

Funny BGB Shirt Ideas

Hunter and I have been joking around on Gchat lately about some funny T-shirts we'll most-assuredly never get made. Here is the best idea we came up with:

BGB's: The Politest DJs in the Holy City

Youllneverseethisonanactualshirt... wellmaybe

New PUTS Album

For those that follow the blog, you already know that I am a big fan of People Under the Stairs. In case you didn't know, their 7th(!) album comes out today, and it's called Carried Away. The nice folks over at fifty-two.five hooked me up with a copy on Friday, and I haven't listened to anything else but Carried Away since I got my hands on it. I've played snippets from the disc for a few friends (Cam, Mel, Rob) and everyone's really feeling it. The CD (and double vinyl next week, if you get down like I get down) come with lots of extras (download codes for ringtones, the Trippin at the Disco video, a live track, and a drinking board game that you play along to the album). Basically, go out to your local record store and cop that shit. If you live in Charleston, be sure to get it from fifty-two.five... you'll need a forklift to pick up your jaw when you hear the last track.

Iwannagetcarriedaway.

Monday Wake-Up Jawn

So... about ten minutes after I finished posting the last edition of Friday Jams, I went to soulstrut, and DJ Day had just posted the official video for People Under the Stairs' Trippin at the Disco. It's super funny, and a great way to start your week. Peep:

Nicetohavethefunbackinhiphopmusic.

Friday Jams

This week has been all about the laziness. I've been listening to a lot of records lately, tho. Hunter and I are getting are sets ready for Kulture Klash 5 (Nov. 6th and 7th), and you should definitely mark those dates in your calender. We're working on a whole grip of surprises for that show. This show will be unlike any other Bubbleguts show, and we're looking forward to flipping the script for our fans and showing a whole new audience what we do.

Anyway, People Under the Stairs have a new album coming out on Tuesday, and I already have doubles of the advance single; Trippin at the Disco:

Lemme just say right off... that song is my fuckin jam. The snippets from the album that I've heard got my nose open like Woody Allen sneezing on the blow in Annie Hall.

The B-side of the TATD 12" has a DJ Day remix that is even better than Thes One's OG (no youtube post yet). If you don't know about Day, that's one of my heroes on turntables. Kid is stupid creative and inventive with his mixes and blends. Here's one of his first releases; Four Hills:

One of my favorite DJ Day jawns (and although this is a repost, I don't care) is his remix of Nas' It Ain't Hard to Tell. Just listen to it, it doesn't need any hype:

To close things out, here's DJ Day live at Morefire Mondays in Cali:

MOREFIRE MONDAY W/ DJ DAY from EK5OBITION BRAND on Vimeo.

Gobackandlistentothesonesverseabouthipstersontrippinatthedisco.

Monday Wake Up Jawn

Today's wake-up jawn is De La Soul's Dog Eat Dog:

This past weekend was crazy. Hunter stayed with us while Jess had a bachelorette weekend at their house. He brought over his turntables, and we set up four turntables in the middle of my living room:

On Friday, I went to the beer exchange with Bochet to pick up growlers for the practice sesh. Hunter got to the spot pretty early in the evening, and we drank growler beer and practiced until Rob showed up. We showed him some melody samples and drums we like, and he made beats from those samples while we practiced cutting with Jeff. After a late trip to Recovery Room, and a pit stop at D'Als on the way home, we eventually got to bed real late.

Saturday was mostly chill time, another run to the beer exchange, and football watching until Rob showed back up. There were more beats made, and more cutting. Scrunchyface Flatbroke (of the Spaced Invaders) came through around ten with a deep crate. He even had doubles of this elusive De La 12". We blended for a while and just enjoyed having so many heads in the same room rotating on the two sets. Kutter (of UFO/Joeski fame) came through after getting off work around midnight, so we nerded out with a cut session. Mostly, Kutter and Hunter traded four bar phrases over a Rob beat while Jeff, Flatbroke and I bugged out. At around 4 in the morning, Hunter and I realized that we had been spinning for almost 9 hours straight, so I went to bed feeling like my brain would never function normally again. They stayed up until 5 watching cut videos on youtube.

I got a late start on Sunday, but I made it to brunch with Alan. Afterward, we went to the bike shop, did some repairs/modifications on our whips at home, went to kickball, and made our way to the new Moulin Rouge for the open jam.

Needlesstoday... Imtiredasshittoday.

Pics from the ELA Lock-In

I just realized, I never mentioned the Eye Level Art Lock-In that the BGBs DJed last weekend. It was a great time. Here are some pics:



Bigupstocarolineandjeff.

Friday Jams

I think you can always tell how someone's feeling by what they're listening to at the moment. I'll let you infer how I'm feeling today, but I don't think it'll be hard to tell after listening to this collection of el-p songs and productions.

First off, here's el-p with Deep Space 9mm:

And Cage ft. Camu Tao with The Death of Chris Palko:

Mr. Lif's Live From the Plantation:

Finally, here's Company Flow with Linda Trip. If you don't know the story behind this song, Sole (of bitch-made Anticon records... seriously, get off their dick you hipster, they suck and always have) recorded a dis against el called Dear Elpee. El called Sole, got him on tape actin seriously hurt and scared, then flipped it into the illest battle beat ever made and flamed Sole. Best dis record ever made... especially the "he needs me" ride out. If you wanna get the full experience, read along with the song by checking the lyrics here. Enough hype, peep:

Ilovecompanyflow... idontwannabeagainstyouguys... iwannabedown.

Monday Wake-Up Jawn

Courtesy of Hunter (and the J. Rocc mix cd I woke up with today), here's Tom Scott & the California Dreamers with Today:

Bigshoutstoalex... thiswasalwaysoneofhisfavorites.

Friday Jams

Todays jams are all some of my favorite late night songs. Jawns I put on when I get home from the bar and wanna chill for a little before going to bed. Here's A Band of Gypsys with Stop:

And The Doobie Brothers with Long Train Runnin:

And lastly, Help Is On the Way by the Whatnauts:

Sorrysoshorttoday.

Friday Jams

It's a gloomy day outside. I'm diggin how the temperature is going down, but I'm hoping for a rain-free Friday. Here's one of my favorite gloomy songs to wake up to; DJ Shadow's Fixed Income:

And here's Cannibal Ox with Painkillers... believe it or not, this is by far el-p's most positive-sounding beat:

And from Raekwon's OBFCL2, here's Hunter's pick from the album; Ason Jones:

And keeping with the classic/gloomy theme, here's Nas with The World is Yours:

Ending on the positive tip, here's Soul Position performing Priceless live in Minneapolis:

Prollynevercatchmetryinaflossorshine... ifyouseemeoutimonmygrind.

Monday Wake Up Jawn

This weekend was extra busy, lots of fun, and even a little bit sad. But before all that, here's the slow burn jawn Karina by the Menahan Street Band:

Friday's show at fifty-two.five was great (and I got some top-shelf craft beer as payment). Helping Matt move to Clemson this weekend was partly fun, but also kinda sad. Alan is a champion U-Haul driver; especially considering how we got to Clemson after 10pm, immediately went to the bar, closed it out, went back to Matt's new place to unload the U-Haul, stayed up drinking, went to bed at some point, and got up at 7 am to drive the U-Haul back. After getting back early on Sunday, we went to AC's for brunch, I took a nap while Alan went to kickball, and we cleaned up the house/arranged our new furniture courtesy of newly-engaged Bochet at Emily (big ups).

Seriously.... nicefurnitureforfreeisalwaysmuchappreciated.

Friday Jams

It's been a minute since I posted anything here... I'll chalk it up to a combination of being busy and lazy. I've been getting ready for a show I'm DJing tonight from 7 till 9 at fifty-two.five records. Also, my roommate Matt is moving out tomorrow, so I've been getting the bills switched-over to my name, finding a new rommmate, and trying to show Matt a good time before he leaves. Anyway, for today's Friday Jams, I'm bringing you nothing but the feel-goodest of the the feel-good jawns. To start, here's Green Tea with Wonderful Beats:

You may remember that I previously posted this gem from the Phenomenal Handclap Band before, but I doubt you've seen them perform Baby live:

I've had Baby stuck in my head for a few days (I'm gonna drop it when my set is over tonight to melt face while I break down equipment), but if one song can usurp the king of catchy retro-funk, it's Home Again! by the Menahan Street Band. Here's a great live studio version done for Spinner:

In keeping with the feel-good funky jams performed live, here's Lee Fields' (Daptone Records) cover of Got to Get Through to You:

Finally here's the Bozo Meko edit of Earth, Wind and Fire's Gazillion Rhyme... and now it should be impossible to have a frown on your face... your welcome:

Comedowntokingstreetafterworkandchecktheset.

Monday Wake Up Jawn

I'm back to work at the library after spending a long weekend in Philly with my sister. We had lots of fun, went camping, did a little record shopping, and she introduced me to a great show called Party Down. I listened to mostly Funkadelic on the plane to and from, and rediscovered how much I like America Eats Its Young. Here's one of my favorites from that LP; I Call My Baby Pussycat:

Donttriponthefunk... itsdeep.

Monday Lunch-Time Jawn

I got the late shift at the library today (had to trade since I'm going to Philly on Wednesday and I needed someone to cover my late shift on Thursday), so I'll post a song to chill to on your lunch break before getting back to the grind. Here's David Axelrod with Human Abstract:

Sampledbydjshadowformidnightinaperfectworld.

Friday (Bonus) Jam

Steve Gadd is the king of the skins on the tasteful ambient tip. Check out Paul Simon's 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover... but be sure to pay attention to those drums. Peep:

Scrunchfacedthewholetime.

Friday Jams

I'm really looking forward to getting off work and getting my weekend started today. I need to relax a bit and do some practicing on a new mix. Hunter and I are putting together a Bubbleguts Bros. mixtape. We've been bouncing ideas around for a title, but we prolly won't settle on anything until we have the mix done. More news to come on that as it progresses.

Anyway, here's an ill video I found on the lab of a dude named Red doing a crazy Roger Troutman-esque beatbox routine. Check I Should Tell Ya Momma On You:

Red even got his joint flipped by Stones Throw/HVW8's own Dam Funk. Here's Dam Funk dropping his remix Live at the Do Over:

And speaking of the lab, they just restocked the first volume of the Motown Remixed EPs. I've got volume 2, but I've been waiting to cop this gem so I can have Z-Trip's remix of I Want You Back to use as a dancefloor landmine... and the EP even has the ill drumbreak Z-Trip chopped up. Check:

That's a hard jawn to top, so I'll flip it to the mellow tip... here's Mobb Deep with the classic (off The Infamous LP) Up North Trip:

And finally, and in keeping with the boom-bap flavor of that last one, here's KRS-One with The Return of the Boom Bap:

Wannabe[DJs]butreallycouldnttryus.

Weekend Update Steez

I had a pretty good weekend... so much so that I was too tired to post a wake-up jawn. Anyway, here's how it went:

Friday afternoon was the usual: get off work, head to the beer exchange, go chill with Gus at Suite Sole, and hang with my roommates. Once the sun went down, I went over to Cam's to chill, then made my way to Recovery Room, had a few beers, and went on the midnight mystery bike ride. The route for the ride was real fun, and we ended up in Hampton Park where we cooled out, and I eventually rode home.

Saturday started late (I didn't get up till 2), but I made up for that with lots of activity. I got lunch at Groucho's with Cam, and then watched some soccer over at his place. My roommates grilled brats for dinner, and then we went to Suite Sole for the Mock Couture party. After that Rocky Horror asked me to DJ an afterparty with him, so I did. I had lots of fun cutting to his electro mix, and lots of people came out to check it. I made it home around 3, and fell into bed.

I woke up around 11 on Sunday, and Alan asked if I wanted to go to the beach... so I went. When we got back, we made some lunch at Shelley and Nathalie's house, and then went to kickball. It was raining like crazy while we played, but I had a good time despite pulling a muscle. Afterwards, Alan and I watched Bringing Out the Dead on DVD, and I went to sleep.

Iwishifeltthisfulfilledaftereveryweekend.

Friday Jams

To start off, a great driving/biking home from work on a Friday anthem; Party Enemy No. 1 by People Under the Stairs:

The show on Wednesday went great. Hunter and I got to the Pour House a little late; but we got set up and sound-checked well before 9 (when we were supposed to go on), so I had a smoke and we both pulled all the records we would need for the sets. We ended up getting started a few minutes after 9, and the opening set went swimmingly. We love playing at the Pour House, because it always sounds great for the audience and on stage. It's really easy to put long blends when you can hear yourself so clearly.

Another of my favorite PUTS jams from Fun DMC is Enjoy. Such an ill low-key party song:

One of the best parts of the show for me (and every time we do this particular set) was when Hunter dropped Ghostwriter by RjD2. He blends in an out of it so well. By about ten, we had John Kutter from the UFO crew on stage with us rocking cuts during lulls in the set. Kid has so much flavor on his flares, and is simply clean as fuck on the cut.

Yet another great jam from Fun DMC is Critical Condition:

Hunt and I got real excited when the Hypnotic Body Rock crew came to the front and got a B-Boy cipher popped off. We love spinning when people dance, and having them there fueled us to keep the mix smooth and EQed on point. By the end of the set (right around 11), Fred from UFO came up and spun some ill soul breaks. Hunter, Kutter, and I had a question and answer cut session while Fred kept the set moving. That was real fun... but mostly because my cuts sounded pretty good... or at least much better than they had earlier in the week at practice.

Finally, for your late-night/fall asleep happy Friday cool-out jam, here's People Under the Stairs with Montego Slay:

Idigcratesforthelategreatexistenceofblackplates.

Monday Wake Up Jawn

Hunter and I have been practicing for the UFO vs. Bubbleguts Bros. show on Wednesday at the Pour House. We're not sure how long we have to play, but we go on right at nine; and we're not holding any of the neck-snap slow hip-hop back. The set is coming together superbly. We got some reggae in the set, and lots of other surprises. I'm not sure what the cover will be to get in the show, but I hope it's not much so everyone can come out and check it. Hunter and I are both crazy excited to have an opportunity to do straight hip-hop and not have to worry about making people dance. We're looking forward to just doing us and showing skills.

Anyway, here's People Under the Stairs with People Riddum. We're not playing it on Wednesday or anything (I still gotta get Fun DMC on wax), but I really like this jawn. Peep:

Ihighlyrecommendpickingupfundmc.

Friday Jams

I've been spending this week practicing on my turntables and trying to come up with good records for a slower boom bap set for the next Bubbleguts show. In case you didn't hear yet, Hunter and I are battling the Unfadeable Fader Operators (UFO) on Wednesday the 29th at the Pour House here in Charleston. The way it's looking, it'll be me and Hunter on stage with Fred and Kutter on eight turntables at the same time. We're gonna try to do some collaborative cutting/blending, and I'm pretty sure there will be a long question and answer scratch session. To get hype for a show, I usually listen to Menahan Street Band's The Contender right before we go on... so I figured I'd post it here to get you hype:

At the battle, you can expect to hear lots of boom bap instrumentals. We're tryina make you break your neck to the head nod. You'll prolly hear Kool G Rap and DJ Polo's Ill Street Blues:

And you'll almost definitely hear Black Moon's How Many MCs:

For sure, you'll hear Jeru the Damaja's Come Clean:

And I'ma try to fit in Afu Ra's Whirlwind Thru Cities:

But I'm also gonna try to get Hunter to do his infamous juggle routine of Company Flow's Patriotism:

Ifyourefeelingluckyduckthenpressyourluck.

Monday Wake Up Joint

Had a pretty good weekend. Woke up with a headache today, but I'm gonna be busy at work (plus, I got rehearsal with Hunter tonight for our show at the Pour House on the 29th) so I'm trying to force myself into a good mood. Listening to People Under the Stairs will usually do that, so here's PUTS with The Fun:

Justacompletelyperfectsong... bestiveheardinawhile.

Friday Jams (New Uptempo Mix Edition)

I've been working on a new mix this past week, and I'm pretty proud of it. I put together a 3 hour set by extending my hour-long set from Kulture Klash IV and steadily building up speed. The result is something that is sure to rock the party. The mix starts at 92 beats per minute and builds to 128 bpms over the course of three hours. From hip-hop, to ill neck-snap funk, to smooth soul, to early native tongues hip-hop, to funk re-edits (think the Somebody Give Me a Rock tape... if you have one), to funky house, to Miami bass. I've never made anything like it before, and I'm pretty proud of it. It's sort of a continuation of the idea for my What I Put On mix, where I'm trying to trick people into not even noticing it's getting faster. Anyway, here's some of the songs from the mix:

From the Motown Remixed LP, here's Let's Get it On:

A Tribe Called Quest's Youthful Expression:

Greyboy's Unwind Your Mind:

Red Astaire's The Come Down:

and it ends with Ghost Town DJs' My Boo:

Sohappyitstheweekend...

I Gotta See People Under the Stairs Live Before I Die

Here's the infamous PUTS crew with a little snippet from Time to Rock Our Shit... I think it's impossible to not nod your head when the beat builds back and Thes starts jumping. Peep:

And in case you liked that... here's the studio version, where Thes spits the oft-quoted by me "I shoot the gift like NRA members of Christmas morning" line. Peep:

Thesonelacethetracklikeabluntwiththeweirdsmell.

Speaks for Itself

One of my favorite scenes from a very good movie:

Goodwaytostartyourday.

Steez Update

Since its been a while since I posted anything (besides this morning), here's what I've been up to:

I went to go see my parents and sister in North Carolina for the week before 4th of July. We had a great time playing games (I won the Mele family lawn-Olympics), watching movies (including season 1 of TrueBlood), riding on the boat, and just relaxing. I had such a good time chilling with my sister and her boyfriend, that I'm heading to Philly in August to hang for a few days and go camping.

I got back to Charleston on the 4th, and I headed out to Seabrooke Island for LPs steezathon. Unfortunately, I was extra tired from driving all day to get back... so I didn't make it too long on the party tip. Good times tho for sure.

Since then, I've been hanging with my roommates, practicing on my turntables, buying records, working at the library, and generally keeping it steezy.

Imalwayskeepingitsteezy... smelt?

Monday Wake Up Joint

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, hopefully I'll get around to writing what I've been up to these past couple weeks... but for now, I'll just post some music to get you up. Something kinda new for a wake up post, here's People Under the Stairs doing an interview and some of their best songs live in Chicago. Peep out the Live Access:

updatescomingsoonhopefully.

Friday Jams (Funky Bubbleguts Edition)

Hunter and I are doing the Bubbleguts thing tonight at Shine from 11 till 2. Come out and party, but bring comfortable shoes, cause we're playin deep funk breaks for one of our sets. Gonna be lots of hard drums and some quick mixes. We're also gonna do the usual long/smooth blends on our hip-hop sets, but we're taking it back to the bronx in the 80s (before there were hip-hop records) for an hour tonight. For today's Friday Jams post, I figured I'd give you a preview of some of the breaks we are going to use tonight.

One of my favorite jams (and a new-school break) is a cover of Planet Rock by Breakout. Such a great 7" with two different versions of the Zulu Nation classic. Here's Part 2:

And here's the super-funky (and oft sampled) Hector pt. 2 by The Village Callers. Another great 7" with alternate versions of the same jam on either side:

Also, here's The Hidden Cost (of the MFSB family) with Bo Did It:

Lastly, here's The Highlighters Band with The Funky 16 Corners:

bubblegutsfittinamakeyoudance... makinholesinyoursoles.

I Wanna Play for the Azzurri

Just so I can be involved in this:

gattusoisapirate.

Monday Wake Up Joint

I'm extra tired after two nights DJing this past weekend. We should be back at Shine spinning the boom bap with the hot sauce on Friday (pending confirmation with management, so stay on the lookout). Anyway, to get you up this muggy Monday morning, here's De La Soul with I Am I Be:

gonnaneedanaptoday.

Friday Jams

I'm super busy at work today doing library stuff and preparing for the Bubbleguts show at Shine tonight, so not much time to post the new new jams for you. I'll hit you off with a favorite of mine real quick tho.

Here's Old Scottish with Wild Style:

comeoutandrepforthebubbleguts.

Big Ups to Menahan Street Band?

Not really sure if I'm happy or sad for the Menahan dudes over at Dunham Records, cause one of my favorite jams from the Make the Road by Walking LP just got chopped and ripped-off by 50 Cent.

You read that shit right... Hunter put me on to this. 50 has a new mixtape out called War Angel (nah, I ain't puttin no link to that shit) and on it, there's a song called Talking in Codes that completely bites Menahan's slow-burn heater The Traitor. Not quite sure how to feel about it. Anyway, you can make your own opinion.

Here's 50's Talking in Codes:

And here's Menahan Street Band's The Traitor:

Iaintevenmakinthatfiftyvideopurple... disrespeck.

Forgotten Gem

I realized just now, I've never played Money Maker by A Tribe Called Quest at any shows or on any mixtapes. I've never even included it on this blog, but it's always been one of my favorite jams by ATCQ. One of the best build-ups to a funky boom-bap dilla-flavored beat. I think The Love Movement is a very underrated album. Is it Tribe's best? No, but it is better than most of the bullshit that came out in '98. I wouldn't like Tribe any better if they hadn't released this record, and including 6 bonus tracks (making the vinyl release a 3LP) was great for those who hadn't collected ATCQ original 12" records to get the Scenario Remix or the Oh My God Remix. Anyway, peep Money Maker:

youshouldgobuythelovemovement.

Monday Wake Up (Late) Joint

Woke up a little late today, so I had to get myself up and going real quick. For that, I listened to The Pharcyde's Passin Me By (Brixton Flavour Remix):

gottaloveabeatwithsleighbells.

Friday Jams

Just to start things off, here's Steve Gadd showing you his ultra-famous drumbreak for 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover:

And speaking of drummers (and I know this is a re-post, but fuck it) here's the illy lick by James Gadsen; Let a Woman Be a Woman and a Man Be a Man by Dyke and the Blazers:

And here's Fried Chicken with Funky DJ:

Lastly, here's Eddie Bo and Inez Cheatham's Lover and a Friend:

Gonnagetfunkythisweekend.

Some Pictures from the Spoleto SCENE Party

The wonderful people over at Charlie Magazine have launched their newly-updated site this week. Along with many new features and an updated social calender, they posted some pictures from their Spoleto SCENE events. Big ups go to photog Matthew Morse for these pics.

The BGB Experience:

Here's Hunter:

And Me:

And here's Jess, Hunter's step-sister, and Cam Camelwalk:

clickonthephotostomakeembigger.

Monday Wake Up Joint

Here's The Budos Band performing T.I.B.W.F. from their first (and self-titled) album Live at Southpaw in Brooklyn:

greatsongtowakeupto.

Monday Wake Up Joint

Been a lazy Monday morning for me so far. Maybe that's because I put in work this weekend and didn't get a chance to just chill until Sunday. Here's A Tribe Called Quests' 1nce Again Remix to get you awake (but not too alert):

The show on Friday was great. Hunter and I got to the spot (above Vanity on King St.) and got completely set up before ten. Biggest of ups are deserved for Caroline from Charlie Magazine for putting us on. She even twittered about us on her page. Prolly the first time I've been tweeted on. Peep:

Ginormous ups are also in order for Sonar from the Spaced Invaders for letting us use his PA (and helping us lug it upstairs and set it up at the spot) and Cam for helping us with anything we needed throughout the night. Cam's gettin real close to being an official BGB. The sets went real well. We got off to a bit of a rocky start, and realized about halfway through that we would need to fill some time. I spun instrumentals, and Hunter cut the illy over some DJ Spinna, RjD2, Dilla, and DJ Premier. That seemed to really get us into the groove, cause our second set went over real well. We loved seeing Jess, Becca, Cam, Jessica, Hunter's mom and step-dad, Caroline, and many others dancing throughout. Them dancing got lots of other people on the floor to get down. After the show, we unloaded at my place (again, big ups to Cam) and I drove Jessica home (her car got towed).

Saturday was for fixing my bike, cleaning my room, getting the PA back to Sonar, going to Suite Sole to see the new sneakers/celebrate the launch of their webstore, and checking the Spaced Invaders set at the Customs House. The had a tough crowd to deal with that was spent after the band before them played the hypest of cover songs. They played through all the challenges very well, and did a great half-hour set to a crowd that was unfortunately not listening. After that; Alan, Matt, and I bike mobbed to Upper Deck and drank Mickeys.

Sunday was cool. I chilled with Bochet for a bit, did some laundry, and watched the hockey game at night. Jessica and I watched The Promotion. Not a good movie.

Nextontheagenda... abubblegutsbrosmixtape... for serious.

Friday Jams (Untouchable Edition)

Some mornings are really rough. Today is one of them--and it's not even hangover related if you can believe it--making the positive mode I woke up on hard to keep, but I'm persisting. Got all my work for the day done before ten am, so all I gotta do is make it till 3 when I leave work. Today, I bring you the untouchable jams... those that it's impossible to not smile while listening to. Peep Blackalicious' Swan Lake and check the ill sleepy beat by DJ Shadow (if you got good headphones, use them here):

I'm feeling so steezed out, I don't even care that I'm re-posting this jam... peep People Under the Stairs' Suite For a Beaver pt. 1:

This funky-slow piano brought to you courtesy of Kero One's In All the Wrong Places:

Lastly, here's DJ Mark Farina with Piano Grand:

ahumanaintahumanifhedontmakemistakes... andthenameofthissongisswanlake.