SERVIN' CONVERSATION .:Feb 06 09:.
Come check out our Saturday night spot at Gordon Biersch (5010 Mission
Center Rd, San Diego, CA 92108). I will be in the rotation this
Saturday, the 24th.
This is a very chill spot, where you can
come and listen to some dope beats, have a beer, and chop it up with
your fam. Most folks come through here before they start partying
Downtown or elsewhere. We play outside on the patio, but I must warn
you: dancing is strictly prohibited!!! It is partly covered, so don't
let the rain scare you away this weekend...
We have been doin' this gig in conjunction with Mel Kapone of 15West for over a year now.
Big Up to Jo_iLL
for designing the vintage flier. That pic makes me want to have a nice
cold Blonde Bock from GB, but I gave up drinking beer over a year ago.
Love the taste, but can't stand what it does to my spare tire!
So I had to stick with my other favorite drinks instead:
Scotch Whiskey...mmmmmm....My Father-in-Law brought over this Johnnie
for Xmas, so I had to introduce him to The Glenlivet. Personally I
prefer The Macallan. The best was when I bought DJ Hektik some
Johnnie Walker Black and he said it tasted like STEAK! Next time you
see Pauze, ask him about the time he kept drinking Glenlivet at a
Turntable Lounge gig...
Ketel One Vodka...on the rocks...yeah....so smooth...creeps up on ya.
Even my dog drinks it.
I recently tried Effen and it was pretty good. Those Dutch folks, man...
Kona Coffee.
Yeah I know, its not an alcoholic drink, but it is just as addicting,
yo. I once stopped drinking coffee cold turkey, and it was harder than
quitting cigarettes. Kona turned me into a coffee snob, though. Plus
I got this French Press now. Sheesh. The beans on the Big Island are
hand picked, so only the ripe ones are chosen. That way you wind up
with coffee that is so freakin smooth. Other kinds of coffee beans are
machine picked so you get all the unripe ones in the mix, making the
coffee bitter. My Uncle recently brought me back some Cafe Amadeo from the Philippines. Haven't tried it yet, but I hear its the ish, too...
- DJ Bojo
Lab Rat .:Feb 05 09:.
[IMAGES COURTESY OF KEEN OF "BEAUTIFUL MUSIC BABY"]
This
is my record collection. I've been buying records since '98, and my
collection pretty much takes up 95% of that 5x5 cube shelf thing
from IKEA. About 5 crates of these are a collection of funk and soul
passed down to me from my parents, aunts, and uncles. The rest is a lot
of underground hip-hop from 98' to the present; a small collection of
classic hip-hop; and a few crates of jazz, funk re-edits, uptempo,
midtempo, downtempo, electronica, nu-jazz, etc. And given the diversity
of my collection, I'm mainly known as a scratch DJ. And I only own
like 4 scratch records...1 of which I "borrowed" from DJ Argonaut in 2000 (thanks Jay...I gained much skill from that record). I remember when he used to always tell me to "return your rentals".
These
turntables get scratched on at least once a day. For a long time
scratching has been very therapeutic for me. Listening to your
technique, and mastering it is like learning a new language. The brain
waves coming from my mind, translate to sounds, and if recorded,
translate visually on screen in the form of a WAV. It has fascinated me
for years. When my mind is cluttered, scratching has always been my way
of "venting", and focusing my thoughts, and energy. I would share that
fun fact with kids sometimes when talking about hip-hop, and they'd
look at me all crazy.
Musically
with my style, I take a lot cues from jazz, old-school/foundation
scratch techniques, and I'll funk it up as best I can if the beat calls
for it. There IS a foundation and there IS
a vocabulary for scratching...no matter how much you want to say "I
don't really follow all that, I just do my thing". Well the elements of
"your thing" was probably created by somebody else. If you recognize
that, and build on it, then you will ultimately create your own style.
"Style" is a combination of technique and personality. Style is a
reflection of your influences since the day you were born. This is how I understand art...it's all about style and technique. 
I
haven't been mixing, or listening to my records as much as I would like
too ever since I've been pursuing graphic design as a career. But last
night while working, I was listening to my records, and realized how
much I've lost touch with them. It was refreshing to hear some of the
stuff I got. I need to remember a big chunk of my style came from
incubating myself in this room (as much as it has traveled). I am
looking forward to what 2009 has to offer. I will definitely be making
more music. Now is the time for me to build with new cats, expose myself to new things, and stay inspired.
- DJ Jo_iLL
John Legend Show .:Feb 05 09:.
So I had a chance to see John Legend at RIMAC Arena at UCSD a few weeks
back. It was the second time I saw him live. I usually have this rule
about not seeing an act twice but I had a friend who had a couple of
extra tickets and how can you say no to seeing John Legend. The first
time I saw him was a couple of years ago behind the San Diego
Convention Center. It was outdoors and Corrine Bailey Rae opened for
him. It was dope... we were maybe four rows from the stage. Norv
Turner had just been hired as the Chargers head coach and he was at the
show one row away from our seats. I actually have some old pictures I
took on my phone. John Legend came down into the crowd and he was
literally right in front of me.
This
time our seats weren't as close but John Legend was just as good.
Estelle opened up for him this time. I had no idea she was the chick
that sang that "American Boy" song. She even said during the show that
she was sick of the song but she had to sing it. She was actually
really good. I ended up picking up her vinyl online after the show. I
didn't know that John Legend actually executive produced her album.
She was really entertaing and sang this "eff you" song. It was madd
funny. John Legend was dope as usual. He played on his grand piano,
sang with passion and charisma and had some pretty cool display
monitors and lights behind him that had some pretty psychadelic images
and lights. The arena was packed. If you ever have a chance to see
John Legend, Corrine Bailey Rae or Estelle do it.
- DJ Argonaut
Romali on the cut at Jo_iLL's .:Feb 02 09:.
Romali and I spent the whole weekend together. He comes through to
Fremont to get away from his dorm mates, hang out, scratch, and eat all
the food that I cook. We tried recording a podcast but, he kept
picking the records I already played, and it's hard for him to stick to
the "U Ain't Hip-Hop" format...so, we ended up just recording this vid.
Romali can be a beast on the cut.
