Library of Vinyl Experience

Hey all. Last week I got a short notice request to join flack and wayne at Beat Research tonight. I decided I’d use the night to showcase some of my favorite local ragamuffin hip hop. And when you are doing that, you are basically playing stuff from Jr. Rodigan’s Mastermind Records. Everyone knows the classic ragamuffin hip hop sounds popularized by Bobby Kondors via Massive B Records. Lots of folks also know the collection of stuff on Profile (including the seminal Daddy Freddy and Asher D track) not to mention all the stuff on Nervous. What most people don’t know is that in the mid-90’s, Boston was putting out raggamuffin hip-hop as good as anyplace!!!! Believe it. Like all things hip-hop, Boston’s contribs have gone less recognized than some other places. Until now.

Mastermind Monstamix

I offer this Mastermind Monstamix to prove that the Bean was rocking the ragga sound as hard as anyplace in the mid 1990s. As usual, its pretty much unedited and done live with two decks and included here warts and all. Its also clearly not ALL mastermind stuff and veers into a little paid in full mini-mashup by the end complete with Wayne flowin’ over a PM dawn IM (which always makes me smile).

Respect to Rodigan and his collaborators including the prolific Bingy Twins who co-produced many of his hottest raggamuffin hip-hop dancefloor burners! I’ll be rocking Boston Raggamuffin Hip Hop Classix tonight at Beat Research for anyone in town.

Bigup to the beantown massive. Stay tuned for the Monstamind Master Mix that will be highlighting some lesser known scientifikal rappers from MA.

peace

P.S.

Last night, I had the honor of meeting Jr. Rodigan and playing a set of his classic 90s track while he sat and listened. Talk about pressure. He shook my hand at the end of the night though, so I guess I did it proper. Listening to his verse on One in the Chamba while he sang along next to me has to be one of my all time best musical moments! More on that track in a minute but for now, keep those Boston beats bumpin’.

Folks, what can I say. I had so much fun at the All American City Beard and Moustache Contest this weekend that I had to share some YouTube links pics and stories! Not only was it packed with supportive onlookers and fans, the facial creativity was in full effect (as the videos will attest). Two particularly awesome moments included the 12 year old kid with the barely started fuzzstache who won second place in the mustache contest and the elderly Sikh gentleman who won in the natural beard category with his wonderful whispy white beard. So great! Somerville was certainly showin’ the love this Sat.

Along with all the nice community feeling, it also gave me an excuse to play some classic rock tunes and drink free Naragansett tall boys in the afternoon. What could be better? Well, how about an impromptu DJ lesson for the kids to wrap it all up?

I have often noticed this when I play family style events. The kids always seem fascinated with the DJ rig and often come up wanting lessons. At one wedding, I was literally swarmed with a ring of Lilliputian onlookers all decked out in their finest. Of course, being a teacher at heart, I am always glad to mess up the mix to explain the technique to inquiring little minds.

All in all, a pretty sweet weekend. Hope to see you all next year.

I’ll be spinning a rare afternoon set at Precinct in Union Sq. Somerville tomorrow, Feb 13 from 3-6. Its a facial hair party/competition, so expect plenty of classic beard rock (ZZ top, Allman’s, Steppenwolf, etc) sprinkled into my regular sonic salad. I’ll be getting itchy and scratchy all afternoon.

I know some of my local people just culled, but come represent even if you are bald faced by choice or necessity. Whatever your follicular situation, come give the hirsute among you some love! In this age of increasingly plastic people, you know we need it.
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Get Your Beard On Saturday
Saturday, Feb. 13, 3-6pm
Precinct, 70 Union Sq.

Sponsored by the Somerville Arts Council

A contest & party sure to tickle your chin. Previous contests have been held in other parts of the world but nothing like this has happened in your own backyard. Jimmy DelPonte will emcee; a panel of bearded judges will issue the verdict; and DJ Pace will create the scratchy sonic backdrop. We will nibble, drink and hob-nob within a roomful of artistic facial hair. What better way to spend a winter afternoon? Contestantswill vie for prizes in 5 categories: natural full beard, free-style full beard, free-style moustache, free-style partial beard, (which includes goatees, sideburns and any other creative combination of the above), and for follicle challenged, best fake beard. To register/questions: GetYourBeardOn@gmail.com Co-produced with Todd Easton.
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Here’s a little youube to get you in the mood. Reminds me I might want to bring some classic Greek Orthodox tunes too.

Short notice but I wanted to shout about a benefit tonight for DJs for Peace (a new initiative being brought to you by local peace/hip-hop activist Cindy Diggs). As a local DJ/Peace and Global studies graduate and Cindy fan I am definitely there. Not only that but the lineup looks amazing.

Here are the deets. But even if you can’t go, send some love Cindy’s way. She is doing amazing work as always.
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Every year since 2006, Peace Boston has premiered their promotion for the year in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday dubbed by Peace Boston as The Ultimate Peace Weekend. This year is no exception.

On Thursday, January 21, 2010, The DJs for Peace – seventeen of New England’s best – will light up the wheels of steel, demonstrating the art of DJ battle and old school tribute as a benefit for youth fundraiser and danceoff The Beantown Bounce IV!

This year’s spin-a-thon will take place at Club Choices, 379 Somerville Ave, Somerville MA and is 21+

The event will feature special guest performances by DJ Act One’s breakdance crew The Krazy 88’s; Boston Music Award winner Lisa Bello; and a Run-DMC Tribute with DJ Cruz featuring Big Scythe and Visionary Da 3rd. Other DJs on deck for this occasion: DJ Black, DJ Daz-One, DJ Def Stef, DJ Dex, DJ Dru Nyce, EJ Spin, DJ Greg G, DJ Inkognito, DJ Jon Jack, Killer DJ, DJ Knucks, DJ Lil Nes, DJ Nestle Quick, DJ Val Beatz, and DJ Vixxx. Chip Greenidge will host.

The first forty-five patrons will receive a free gift from Peace Boston.

The Day of the DJ Meet & Greet at 7PM (for DJs only)

Guests are encouraged to dress for the occasion to win the Best of the 80’s Dress Contest and to participate in the 80’s dance competition.

Doors open for the public at 7:45. Show starts at 8:01 PM.

Admission is just $10. Guests may also purchase a copy of Peace Boston’s youth and anti-violence programming benefit CD PEACE IN THE STREETS for an additional $10.

Presented by The Knights of the Turntables and Peace Boston

For more information contact:
peaceboston@gmail.com

….finally became clear us as the global catharsis caused by his recent passing unfolded in real time. Like so many others, I was struck/surprised by how much his loss affected me. I felt the need to pull out all my Jackson records and MP3s and spent a week awash in tunes so funky/familiar they feel encoded in in my DNA. On the day of his death, a few of us gathered at the Chicken Loft to listen and talk in a beer fueled (and ironically emotional) farewell. Earlier I had festooned my decks with all the Jackson records I could find and noticed that Destiny was right in the front. Funny/strange. Then I found the Thriller 12″ (I got where?) and realized it was the perfect size for an Album Face. So I created a little shrine and snapped away.

With Umass cap over heart, I caught this super ironical shot in which Michael looks back at his Destiny and my many, many faces. Perfect.

Farewell. Say “hi” to Elvis for us.

Thriller Instrumental for all MPFreejays! Njoy.

When you have thousands of records, moving day is time of reckoning. Its the day when all those Sunday thrift store purchases come home to roost. Its the day when you wonder whether all those doubles are really necessary. Its the day when mp3s start to make sense. Its the day when you wish you had hired the cast of Ben Hur instead of the three skinny movers who just arrived from the former Soviet Union only to find themselves trapped in a different kind of gulag.

But when you are moving into a 2000 sq. foot chicken loft,  its all worth it in the end. And that’s just what we did.

Last weekend, we moved our base of operations to the legendary Chicken Loft in Cambridge. More on that soon. But we are already off to a good start. On the very first day, as we sat and sipped a bottle of Wayne’s home made wine, he looked down at his tweetyphone and exclaimed with shock and honor, “holy shit guys, MIT just saved my life”. He learned he had been selected as an MIT Mellon Fellow. Congrats Wayne. Auspicious beginnings.

Control+Alt+Delete. Talk to you again as soon as I unpack!

As many of you know, I’ve been workin’ on an article about the history of Boston’s early rap scene for better than a year now. Its finally off to the press and I’ll certainly post it as soon as it hits the streets (if not sooner). A big part of the project was locating (and visiting!) the legendary Lecco’s Lemma tapes.

Back in the fall of 1985, DJ/painter and local music legend Magnus started a rap and electronic music show on Saturday afternoons at WMBR in Cambridge, MA. In addition to being one of the earliest rap shows in the country (which puts him in the company of folks like Mr. Magic and Red Alert), it was the first in the Bean to feature local artists regularly. As a result, it was the hub of the Hub’s earliest rap scene. Shows like Beat Street were soon to follow, but Magnus was a critical pioneer and superfan who helped to launch the careers of artists like Gangstarr, The Almighty RSO, Edo G, Big Chuck, etc. To this day, he refers to the regular attendees as “the kids” and he loved them like an older brother. Based on the interviews I did, the love and respect still flows back to Magnus from everyone who remembers the show.

According to folks like Rusty Pendleton (whose legendary Funky Fresh Records is in danger of closing – so go by a cd y’all!!!), the Lecco’s Lemma show was THE SPOT to be back in the day. He should know. After all, he was rocking the decks with his TOES back at the Talent Nights while the New Kids took notes in the background!

Still don’t believe a PhDJ/professor of management? (I don’t blame you really). Check out D. Scribe’s words on the matter from back in 2005. Or how ’bout a post from my very own early bloggy days with critical history from Type 4 and Magnus himself chiming in. For that matter, head on over to the Lecco’s Lemma page Matt put up with streamin audio and all!

The amazing thing about Magnus is that he saves everything (everything good that is). Over the years, whispered words of a lost Lecco’s Lemma tape archive were passed around among Boston hip hop junkies but no one had ever seen them or knew whether they existed for sure…until now.

Last year I was honored to visit my old friend Magnus in his lab in rural Maine and see the Lecco’s Lemma tapes. (More on the visit soon as its a story in itself). Sitting above his equally legendary collection of reggae 45’s, the three wooden wine boxes contained a litteral treasure trove of early Boston rap tapes! The first one I opened knocked me off my chair.

That hand written tape on the top says “This one’s called she’s a mutt by Edo Rock of the FTI crew”. OMG! There was Guru’s “For Magnus” tape when he was just back from college and appearing as MC Kiethy E. Right up front was Malden’s Top Choice, there was TDS Mob’s whole TAPE (!?!) on Race Records, a hand made demo tape of Boston Goes Def…and on…and on…until the break of dawn. I spent a sleepless night surrounded by Magnus’s psychedelic bio-mechanical paintings taping everything I could in 12 hours. (If you look below, you might notice that my portable protools rig is connected to…what’s that? No, no, not the cool ass reel to reel. Try the 1/8″ jack of the ca. 1989 “all in one” stereo Magnus pulled out for the purpose! More on that later)

I’ll be sharing some of the gems in all their hiss and glory this Monday night at Beat Research at the Enormous Room in Cambridge, MA.(567 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA)

The Lecco’s Lemma listening party goes from 9:30-10:00 at which point, Flack, Wayne and I will trade sets. You can be sure mine’s gonna have plenty of classic Beantown tracks in it (along with a healthy dose of the random dancefloor killers I have collected over the years).

As promised, MUM ripped a hole in the funkiverse last Saturday night. My favorite moment? A toss up between Todd showing up in a space suit with a can of Tang (?) and the bikers showing up late night with a chopper rigged up with a disco ball on a rotating 10″ high pole.

There is a short video here.

Keeping in the video domain, there is a Scion-sponsored screening of the new documentary Heavy Metal in Baghdad this Tues Sep 2 from 9pm-12am at the Coolidge Corner Cinema in Brookline. A documentary on an Iraqi heavy metal band complete with a DJ (the ever ill Jayceeoh), drinks and free admission with just an RSVP to Scion. Can you beat it?