Tuesday come on down to Koko's for TWISTER!

After some adjusting and thinking about how often I should offer my new DJ night, it has been decided that it will be every other Tuesday night, or more specifically, the first & third Tuesdays! March is a special month, because we've got 5 Tuesdays, so we get a bonus Twister! Come on down for a fancy concoction or a good old standby brew and some smooth tunes to get your dancing feet movin'! 6:30-9:30pm @ Koko Cocktails! See ya there!

Free Moral Agents to play at Bottom Of The Hill in SF on Saturady, 3/28!!!

An old friend of mine from my days in the LBC is a member of Free Moral Agents and they are headlining a show at Bottom of the Hill in SF on Saturday night. I'll be there and you should be too!

Here is their bio, as found on their myspace page:

"Free Moral Agents is the brainchild of Isaiah Ikey Owens, Grammy Award-winning keyboardist for The Mars Volta & De Facto.

The Long Beach, CA-based Owens initially started Free Moral Agents as a solo project. It has since expanded into a group effort, a result of Isaiah's decade-long career of collaborations with artists as diverse as El-P, Mastodon, Sublime, Saul Williams, and Z-Trip.

Free Moral Agents released their debut Everybody's Favorite Weapon on GSL Records in late 2004. With freestyle moments layered over vibrant melodies, heavy beats, and jazzy interludes, Everybody's Favorite Weapon was just the beginning of something that was no longer considered just a side-project.

While out on the road with the Mars Volta, Isaiah kept thinking of ways to expand Free Moral Agents. In 2006, FMA went from a solo effort to full six-member group and started improvising new material. With the lineup of Mendee Ichikawa (vocals), Reid Kinnet (Rhodes), Jesse Carzello (guitar), Dennis Owens (bass), Ryan Reiff (drums) and Isaiah jumping from keyboard to keyboard, FMA quickly came up with much new music and was in and out of the studio several times in 2007 and 2008,

Free Moral Agents is now gearing up to release their new album Honey In The Carcass Of The Lion, an EP titled Control This and a 10" vinyl collaboration with legendary Fela Kuti's drummer and Afro Beat co-founder Tony Allen titled North Is Red."

For more info, sample songs or to get connected, check 'em out here:
www.myspace.com/freemoral agents and www.freemoralagents.com

Next Wake The Town is April 4th!

Come on down for the best monthly dance club in San Francisco: Wake the Town! Hot shots of Rocksteady & Reggae! It's the place to be! This party happens every first Saturday of the month with some of SF's top "Jamaican sounds" DJ's. Mr. Ryha, Bryan Martin & Shawn (from the old Upsetter @ Mad Dog in the Fog) throw down some heavy tunes. This months special guest is Crystal! Be there or be square!

p.s. Flyer is another bit of my handiwork. If you like what you see, give me a shout...I'd be happy to hook you up with a flyer too!

Guest DJ spot with Adam @ FIRE CORNER!

Last Saturday night I, along with Mini & Bryan were the guest DJ's for Fire Corner, a bi-monthly Rocksteady/Early Reggae Revive party hosted by Adam (aka Revival Sound System) at Koko Cocktails! It was a bit of a slow night...I think the rainshowers kept people home, but in spite of that, we all had a great time and the music was as tasty as ever! I met a couple of interesting folks, had some good conversations and a few enjoyable drinks! A father & son duo who are German tourists happened into the bar and kept all of us pretty entertained. They kept telling me the party is only starting at 2am in Germany! Ah well. I got a free beer and a funny story outta chatting with 'em!

Fire Corner happens every first and third Saturday nights from 9:30pm-2am. Adam has a variety of guests share the turntables with him, many who have other similar or related nights around town. Koko's is a great place and Fire Corner offers great tunes to get your feet moving! (all details on flyer)

In case anyone's interested, here is my set list for last Sat.:

The Heptones - EVERY DAY EVERY NIGHT - Freedom Line
Johnny Osbourne - SEE AND BLIND - Come Back Darling
The Cables - LOVE IS A PLEASURE - What Kind Of World
Carlton and the Shoes - THIS FEELINGS - Love Me Forever
Dobby Dobson - LOVING PAUPER - Hottest Hits Vol. 1 Treasure Isle
Clancy Eccles - AUNTIE LULU - Fatty Fatty 1967-1970
Jackie Edwards - KEEP ON RUNNING - Sincerely
The Tennors - MASSIE MASSA - Rock Steady Intensified
John Holt - YOU BABY - 1000 Volts of Holt
Toots and The Maytals - COOLIE BABY - Slatyam Stoot
U-Roy - STICK TOGETHER - Version Like Rain
Count Stiky - WHAT DO YOU SO - Moodisc Quad Star Revolution
Prince Buster - PHARAOH HOUSE CRASH - Wreck A Pum Pum
Alton Ellis - REMEMBER THAT SUNDAY - Hottest Hits Vol. 2 Treasure Isle

i am a NIGHT OWL!!!

— Jodie Hurt. Via [poppytalk]

Hahahaha! Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to stay up late. I remember having a bedtime of no later than 9pm on weeknights and 10pm on weekends and how I'd lay in bed, unable to fall asleep...just staring at the walls and up at the cottage cheese covered ceilings searching for faces & animals & cars, whatever...like a regular kid might do in the daytime while laying in the grass at the park doing the same thing with the clouds overhead!

Now, as an adult, I find myself with the same patterns, staying up well past midnight, sometimes to 2 or 3am and then wanting to sleep in till 10 or 11am. 9-5 jobs are NOT my friends! This morning, I was scanning over the news page and noticed an article entitled "Top Jobs For Night Owls". Hmmm...well, sounds interesting! The job list doesn't really matter. What I found interesting is that there is actually a scientific name for people like me! Here's the intro to the article:

"At 2 a.m., most workers are asleep in their beds, blissfully unaware that their alarm clocks will sound in a few short hours. But for 41 percent of Americans, this is the time of day when they are most productive, according to a 2005 poll by the National Sleep Foundation.

You can probably pick these folks out of your own office -- they're your co-workers who slouch into work, never a minute early but often several late, bleary-eyed and lackadaisical during the earlier part of the workday.

Some might call it slacking, but science calls it something else completely. People with severe night-owl symptoms may be suffering from Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder, a condition characterized by extreme difficulty falling asleep before 2 a.m. and trouble waking early, according to the Sleep Disorder Channel. When people with this condition are forced to rise in time for 9-to-5 jobs, they are rarely at their most productive."

Okay, so next time I work on a 9-5 job and I get called into HR to be reprimanded for my 3 months of tardiness, I can recite "Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder" as my certifiably scientific reason! Hahah!

TWISTER! was a success!

Last Tuesday night Justin and Koko Cocktails in SF were so kind as to allow me a chance to put a long held idea into action. I had my debut night of my new bi-monthly Happy Hour DJ sonic experience: TWISTER! Steve Roberts the mastermind of The Aces High Rhythm & Soul Society (which I also belong to) was my first guest. We had a great time...a lot of our friends came out to support and even some of the bar regulars also chimed in on the enjoyment of our tune selections! We are still working out the exact schedule for the night, but be sure to check us out again next Tuesday, March 24th, 6:30-9:30pm. My special guest for this night will be Mark Gorney, AKA Tip Top Sounds and the host of two very amazing clubs of his own, Feel the Rhythm @ The Make Out Room, every 2nd Wed. 10pm-2am & Music Like Dirt @ Skylark every Friday Happy Hour 7:30-10pm, both in San Francisco and featuring classic reggae revives, rocksteady & the like.

TWISTER! is a musical journey through space & time...you will hear everything from 60s & 70s jazz, soul, funk & country, disco, 80s, UK sounds, Jamaican sounds, reggae, Brazilian, etc., etc. I hope you will come down to Koko's to join in the sonic journey! See ya there!

Oh, for a sampling of my last musical selections, in as close to played in order as I can remember:

Donny Hathaway - THE GHETTO - from Everything is Everything
Donald BYRD - STREET LADY - from Street Lady
Dr. Buzzards Original Savannah Band - SUNSHOWER - self titled album
Wilson Pickett - HELLO SUNSHINE - I'm In Love
The Isley Brothers - SPILL THE WINE - 45rpm
Leon Haywood - KEEP IT IN THE FAMILY - 45rpm
The Jacksons - BLAME IT ON THE BOOGIE - 45rpm
Silver Convention - FLY, ROBIN, FLY - 45rpm
Klymaxx - VIDEO KID - 45rpm
Leon Haywood - I WANT'A DO SOMETHING FREAKY TO YOU - 45rpm
George McCrae - ROCK YOUR BABY - 45rpm
Johnny Osbourne - HE WHO KEEPETH HIS MOUTH - from Come Back Darling
The Melodians - IT'S MY DELIGHT - from Rivers of Babylon
Miriam Makeba - PATA PATA - 45rpm
Alcione - OLERE CAMARA - from O Samba
Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 - YE-ME-LE - from Foursider
Stereolab - CADRIOPO - from Aluminum Tunes
Kraftwerk - NUMBERS & COMPUTER WORLD - from Computer World
Devo - GIRL U WANT - from Freedom of Choice
Action League - WE ARE SO FRAGILE - 45rpm
Joe Jackson - THROW IT AWAY - from Look Sharp!
Buzzcocks - I DON'T MIND - Singles Going Steady
Monkees - MARY MARY - from More of the Monkees
The Rolling Stones - SUSIE Q - from 12x5
Spencer Davis Group - KEEP ON RUNNING - 45rpm
Maxine Nightingale - RIGHT BACK WHERE WE STARTED FROM - 45rpm
Shorty Long - FUNCTION AT THE JUNCTION - 45rpm
David Ruffin - MY WHOLE WORLD ENDED (THE MOMENT YOU LEFT ME) - 45rpm
Eddie Floyd - I'VE NEVER FOUND A GIRL - 45rpm
Four Tops - SHAKE ME, WAKE ME (WHEN IT'S OVER) - 45rpm
Wilson Pickett - FUNK FACTORY - 45rpm
Major Harris - AFTER LOVING YOU - 45rpm
The Sweet Inspirations - SWEET SENSATION - 45rpm
Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose - TREAT HER LIKE A LADY - self titled
Deon Jackson - OOH BABY - from His Greatest Recordings
James Carr - THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO KNOW - from You Got My Mind Messed Up
Chuck Brown and The Soul Searchers - BUSTIN' LOOSE - from Bustin' Loose

scooter

scooter
Originally uploaded by allerleirau

Found this while browsing on Flickr today... At one point in my life, I was what might be known as a "scooter girl" and even after all these years, I most definitely hold images related to scooters dear to my heart. Fun illo and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!