ClaudeVonStroke@Triple Crown: "Look Up, .. Down, .. Out!!"

     What to do on a Wednesday when the weekly you're accustomed to hitting up is no longer running (in this case the now defunct Infatuation).  Asides indie-electro hipspot Beauty Bar, there's The Triple Crown  literally serving up a dish of food, drink and proper sounds!  And being ready for a nice dinner, that was the plan!  But before making my way there, where Barclay Crenshaw, aka CLAUDE VonStroke of DirtyBird Rec.'s, was the evening's special guest dj, I found my way into one of SF's newest digs- The Smuggler's Cove , a tri-level saloon decked from top to bottom in what could be called "ship-hull chic"; and the drinks, whether you're a fan of rum, or new to it all together, are awesome!  Thankfully the friend who'd suggested the voyage, had sent me a warning text message: pace yourself.  Good advice, thanks!  I'll add my own advice: Refrain from pirate-speak, please!

     I finally made it to Triple Crown; it'd just started to get crowded and I happen to make it in and over to the bar, but to my chagrin the kitchen had just closed.  A couple of pints would have to do.  Manny, aka Dj M3 and the bar's owner, is warming up the now nearly packed place from the dj booth, and the crowd's anticipating Claude to take the helm.

      Word on the street was this was an all-vinyl night.  It was.  Later disclosed by Jon Holiday was that CVS had stopped in at Red Sky Records in SoMA, and was shopping for dub-plates from thy crates.  I recall 11 years ago at the loft of my friend Callaway and I, 1145 Griswold (just off of Capitol Park / 1217 Griswold St.), I'd met Barclay.  Here's the kicker: for those who didn't know, as prolific as CVS is, his musical stylings are rooted in Drum and Bass / Break-beat culture.  And in that vain, when hand dropped the needle on the literal groove, introduction faded in, and that familiar amen-break  of DnB nomenclature fired off, breaking the mold; & quite the mind-f_ck it was too, lol!  In attendance whom I saw and saluted along the way were, Mal (1/2 of 2Cents) of Compression-SF , newcomer to the West Coast Jules Measures, Jenelle  & Corey (Sleazemore), Jessica Neideffer, Linden C, and even my ex co-worker Richard Soulspin from over at TempleSF (it's been a minute!)  At any rate, it goes to show that it's not really about the genre of music you represent, but what each person brings to the gathering.

     Supposedly some in attendance vacated, for the fact that they came to hear neither the drum(s), nor the bass. . it can be nice to view things from outside of the circle, so to speak, and this night was no exception.. Somehow it all faded away, just like night's-out of yester-day, -week and -year...

Made To Play Rec. | Scion | US Mini Tour | *Free Downloads*

     Gratitude to Berlin based label Made To Play for eek-ing in a 4-City U.S. Mini Tour that includes: Miami, NYC, Austin and Los Angeles; peculiar, but obviously well mapped out nonetheless! ;)  Sponsored by Scion, this may be just a glimpse of future events on the horizon in 2010 (WMC, ..., SxSW..)

 

^ Riva Starr's RCRD LBL Page + Free downloads (Riva, ZDS, Thunderheist, & More GO go GO!!) ^

          Jesse Rose, Riva Starr, Zombie Disco, Idiotproof, Oliver $, (+ heavy-weight locals).  Holy Friggin' Ay!  Amidst all the hoopla, excitement and cheer about 'When I Was Drunk' and whether or not (more like WHEN-) Mr. Starr was going to make an SF appearance, I can't believe I nearly got caught sleepin' on this one!  So, now I'm sleeping on the idea of blogging this (fuck that, I wanna go down to LA!!)..   Just in case, I wanted a vicarious experience, and tweeted my homie Billy "Mr. Badass" Campbell who recently relocated to NYC, about this one; hope you could make it.  Caitlin, Eden, Elle, or Ms. Sin-Tricate down in L.A..?
          Words cannot describe my excitement, regardless of whether or not I can make attendance (lesson: get plenty of rest, and don't forget to set an alarm!);  and in more anticipated news on Riva Starr, promoters LIGHTS DOWN LOW have locked down an SF booking from the London based Italian, and have struck an agreement to expand to the L.D.L. franchise to Paris; launch-date: Jan. 8, 2010. (Congrats Sleazemore, & the LDL Crew!)

El Otro Mundo & LEATHAL Returns presents JEFF MILLS, Sat. Dec 12, 2009 @ Project One - SF

     Jeff Mills' career spans at least a decade before he had his first release/s on such notable labels as Tresor, Underground Resistance (name of both the label and the group he was a member of) as well as on his own labels Axis and Purpose Maker. In the early 80's, fresh after the blippy electro synth stylings of Kraftwerk's "Numbers", and the electro-funk/break-dancing rap explosion of notables such as Afrika Bambaata and the Soulsonic Force ("Planet Rock"), one could tune on the radio in Detroit and listen to his fantastic 'master mixes' (as was the term then) performed and broadcast under his alias: The Wizard! (mind you, techno as we know had yet to be invented, and Mr. Mills was and still is one 'hella' proper electro-funk turntablist!)..

     And as is still customary for dj-demo/mixes, the program of Mills' amazing sets began with a clever sample: "We're off to see the Wizard, the wonderful wizard of ozz..." (*beats fade in* & *body 'erk'd and jerked* in the form of a smurf, school-craft hop, etc.)..

     Some 25 years later, somethings never change. Jeff Mills will be in San Francisco, Saturday Dec. 12, 2009 at Project One (251 Rhode Island St.).  Regional ambassadors of (proper) techno, LeathaL (duo Paul Leath and Chris), who were gracious enough to invite me to spin on their web-show EOM Sessions on DeepMixFM.com when I was new to the SF Bay Area, return to DJ and co-host the event with El Otro Mundo.

     Local Heads on the 1's and 2's: Alland Byallo, Derek the Rhythmist, and Gagarin.  Limited Capacity + High Demand = Pre-Sale tickets are selling very fast!  Click to View more event info and to BUY TICKETS Here.