Okay, I'm going to come out and admit it: I once, at the age of 13, danced in a Quinces. It gets worse: I was the main guy dancing with the quinceanera. It was horrible, I did it against my own wishes, but my mother forced me saying when I was older I'd look back at it and remember what a great experience it was. I'm looking back at it now; it fucking sucked.
Well Que Pasa MIA and The Vagabond are looking to bring back the nightmare of a Quinces party tomorrow with La Quinceanera. Yes, a Quinces party with promises of suprises, lechon and girls named Marileidys. Jose El Rey, DS363, Induce, Alex Caso, Madame Turk, Jon Vincent and Otto Von Santo (which I'm guessing is actually Schirach) will all be on hand. They also promise a secret, super famous DJ.
Oh and no, I shall not provide you with any pictures of me at the Quinces. It's better off forgotten.
Hell ya! Carmel Ophir's infamous Monday-night party Back Door Bamby returns this week for one night only on Saturday at where else but The Vagabond. If you've never heard or gone to Back Door Bamby, listen to me and listen to me carefully: YOU MUST GO! This party is legendary because shit gets crazy. I never had the opportunity to go to it back in the day and have been begging Carmel to bring the party back so I can experience what all the fuss is about. Well Saturday I'll finally get my chance.
There will be plenty of DJs for your listening pleasure including DJ Shannon and hot-slut-of-the-site Jessica Who? in the main room, while DJs Gregg Foremann and Ryan Evans along with Carmel himself will be spinning the in Bar Room. You can also expect appearances by Circ X, The Sex Kittens, Adora, Jose "Negro" Ramirez and Lovely Lola.
I learn something new every day. Thanks to Plum today I learned that people are fighting to save the Coppertone Girl sign that hangs on the side of the Concord Building at 66 W Flager St. When it was threaten to be torn down in the '90s some people thought it was deeply rooted in Miami's history therefore merited salvation. Here is where I thought "What does Coppertone have to do with Miami?" Well apparently Coppertone was developed by a Miami Beach pharmacist and the sign has been in Downtown -- although not at the same building -- since 1959.
According to the Biscayne Times, that precocious Coppertone Girl will be restore and moved once more. Why? Well the buildings around the area will soon obstruct her view. The MiMo Biscayne Association is looking to move her into the Upper Eastside where she'll probably feel at home among the MiMo architecture.
By the way, the sign is owned by the citizens of Miami and is part of the Dade Heritage Trust, so it's good to see measure are being taken to preserve her and bring her back to her former bare-bottom glory.
As the Ultra and WMC picture grows ever clearer - I can't help but feel a gaping hole in my heart for what once was the most cutting-edge of all mid-march Miami events, the M3 Summit. For those who never attended, the M3 Summit was a four-day festival held at the Surfcomber Hotel that sought to counter-program the WMC and represent a broader spectrum of music and ideas than the old tired veterans.
Starting in 2004, M3 took the panel-laden industry incest of the actual conference and filled it with people who actually mattered to the non-DJ. They featured Danger Mouse at a panel when his only achievement was the Grey Album, they featured MySpace Tom when MySpace didn't belong to Rupert Murdoch. Shit, they were even sponsored and partially programmed by Wired "I have nothing to do with electronic music" magazine.
But most importantly, because it looks so much better in retrospect - they featured a generous helping of bands we love to complain never come to town. Some acts to note: Hot Chip, Vitalic, Mylo, Diplo, The Juan Maclean, Jamie Lidell, Dizzee Rascal and Coldcut.
If Hot Chip ever comes to town again, I implore everyone to stampede the venue like a gas station after a hurricane. They are worth paying exorbitant badge prices to go exclusively see.
According to an excellent New Times article about it, promoters Flavorpill and founder David Prince canceled the event indefinitely in 2007 as it pretty much made no money at all. Intriguingly though, the article features this choice quote from founder David Prince:
His new project, which he hopes to launch in 2008, is being developed with the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts and the producers of the Sonar music festival in Barcelona, Spain. "It will be a version of Sonar in Miami," Prince says.
Sonar is another awesome European festival that takes place in Barcelona in June. Sonar is also fucking amazing. Does anyone know what the hell happened? I can't find a single shred of information about the fate of Mr. Prince, the Carnival Center's involvement or his glorious idea. Or better yet, does anyone know what the hell we can count on to actually bring cutting edge talent to town?
In other awesome music news: Radiohead's coming to town again at an unspecified date.
What once started as a quaint bar party at the Mark (R.I.P. best place no one knew about), is now moving to bigger digs at Parkwest. Yes, the party Damaged will now hold fort at Parkwest's Rehab Bar.
Damaged was always my favorite out of all of Joshua Menendez' (who now works for Parkwest) parties, but the location and people had more to do with why I liked it so much. After it moved for a short (very short) period to Rokbar, it was obvious it wasn't going to recapture the magic it had at the Mark. But in a Friday night slot, it is poised to give everyone feeling the pain of a obviously absent Revolver something to do again. What I hope is that Parkwest offers a good alternative to their upscale party right next door -- although, I admit, for an open format party I definitely think it's a great one, so I could see myself going to both.
Anyway, Damaged will give an exclusive preview Rehab Bar next Friday, January 11, with Obi T. and special guest Hatchmatik (Montreal). And yes, there will be complimentary drinks from 10 to 11 p.m.
Jesus, to think a bar could last nearly a century in a city that sees them come and go like bums through a soup kitchen. Celebrating it's 95 birthday, Tobacco Road is throwing a right proper bash Friday Nov. 9th. Featuring 8 bands, 3 stages, a 5pm 95 minute 95 cents happy hour and plenty of drunk Miami locals this is going to be a birthday for the ages. There's something about the 300 person watering whole that has kept it in business for so long and you certainly will not be disappointed making your way to Tobacco Road before you head out to the beach or downtown to end your evening of debauchery.
The Hurled put together a great piece on the top 10 most memorable games between the two interstate rivals. Anyone who lives in Miami (with the exception of Gator fans) knows that these games were truly the greatest ever televised. No other rivalry commanded such attention within the College Football nation. Each game between these teams virtually determined the BCS Championship for decades. Nowadays though this is not the case. Both teams will face each other unranked for the first time since 1977 this Saturday in Tallahassee. That speaks volumes about how dominant, important and great FSU and The U are to the history of college football. Gave me chills remembering all those great games and the endless replays of wide right kicks or swatted balls in the endzone..brrrrrr.... Here are a few of my favorites from the article:
1991
UM 17, FSU 16 (Tallahassee)
Pitting No. 1 FSU against No. 2 Miami in a showdown of unbeatens, no meeting had greater buildup. Or perhaps greater drama -- undecided until Gerry Thomas' 34-yard field goal sailed wide right for FSU as time expired.
The kick missed by perhaps a foot -- so close that Bobby Bowden trotted onto the field thinking he'd won until he saw UM players celebrating across the way. Ironically, it was the first year of an NCAA rule change pushing the goalposts closer together.
UM scored 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, capped by Larry Jones' 1-yard TD burst with 3:01 left.
1987
UM 26, FSU 25 (Tallahassee)
For the second time in eight years, the Seminoles went for two with less than a minute left. The end result was the same, as UM's Bubba McDowell swatted down Danny McManus' pass for Pat Carter with 42 seconds left.
Steve Walsh fired three TD passes in the final 16 minutes -- including a 73-yarder to Michael Irvin with 2:22 left -- as the Hurricanes climbed out of a 19-3 hole. That score was set up when Bennie Blades recovered a McManus fumble at the UM 11.
2000
UM 27, FSU 24 (Miami)
Commonly labeled ''Wide Right III'' -- FSU freshman Matt Munyon missed a 49-yard field goal as time expired -- it also is remembered as the coming of age for UM quarterback Ken Dorsey.
Trailing 24-20 with 97 seconds left, the skinny soph orchestrated a seven-play, 68-yard drive that ended with a 13-yard TD pass to tight end Jeremy Shockey. Dorsey finished with 328 yards passing and broke the UM record of 123 passes without being intercepted.
Heyyyy McFly, dust off your flux capacitor and strap on your Nike 2015's...it's time to go Back...TO THE FUTURE!
Apparently, the demand for the late, great DeLorean DMC-12 is so high that the once defunct DeLorean Motor Company may begin production of the nearly extinct car as early as 2008.
The original company, which was founded in Ireland by John DeLorean, began producing the cars in 1981, and had only produced 9,000 vehicles before collapsing in 1982. Despite the catastrophic failure of the company itself, the legend lives on with nerds, dorks, and geeks alike. James Espey, the vice president of the Delorean Motor Company (now located in --where else?-- Texas), believes there is a strong market for the car among the older and richer versions of the kids who once dreamed of owning a DeLorean time machine.
Espey added: "There are guys who were in their teens when they first saw the movie, who are now in their late 30s or early 40s, who are at that point in life when they can get the car they wanted when they were a kid." Oh sweet exploitation!
The plan is for 20 to 25 hand-built and made to order cars per year, and there is currently a nine-month waiting list.
If, on the other hand, you're not as rich and successful as you hoped you'd be back in 1989, and you can't quite afford your dream car, perhaps you can afford your dream shoes! That's right, go on over to the McFly2015 Project and join the most worthy cause I've found in years to sign my name to. But Maybe you'll strike oil in your mom's backyard and be able to afford the car by the time Nike gets around to giving a shit.
Jorge R. is doing well. His cancer is totally becoming chemo's bitch, and the doctors are happy with his progress. Evidently he's still feeling well because he sent me a text deriding my sense of fashion and telling me I should kill myself. Some things never change. The doctors are considering doing a transplant anyway because they're crazy like that.
Molly is doing much better. When I got her back from the vet, she was troublingly anorexic, farting constantly, having violent nightmares and her back legs were flailing around like she was on ice skates every time she tried to run. Now she only farts sometimes.
Tara, unfortunately, is no longer with us. She was bitten by a rattlesnake while tending to her family's 200 acre farm in the heart of beautiful downtown Boca. The ensuing struggle and ruckus angered a nearby nest of Asian giant hornets and she drowned in a canal while trying to evade them. She died while en route to Wuerzburg Army Hospital after they were unable to stabilize her condition during the 16 hour flight. You will be missed.
To make the drastic switch easier on you, today you will get both! Hooray. But count your mp3s now, by next week you'll be stuck with me. All alone. In a sticky basement filled with moldy records.
The point of the Wednesday Auditory Orgasm was to educate you with new - and hopefully good - music that you might not otherwise know about. The purpose of the new and improved Wednesday post is to broaden your horizons just a little bit more, and give you something new that you might like, and --if i feel like it-- to give you something old that could have inspired it. I get quite a lot of stupid requests while DJing and my goal here is to equip you with requests that are...well, not stupid.
So for the first edition of Stupid Requests with Jessica Who? we're takin' it back to the old school. Real old school. And since everyone seems to be such a superfan of our French friends across the pond, what with this 'fa-rench eh-lectro cah-raaaze' that's been haunting me for the past two years, we're going tres hip!
I came across this Ca$hmere track somewhere on the interbrain (Ca$hmere's not French, I know, Can I finish??) the title of which made me stop and go "ce qui?"
'Le France Gall' is a catchy little number with roots reaching back to 1964. The title of this track takes its name from one of the most popular so-called 'ye-ye girls' of 1960's France. While the United States was engulfed in the 'British Invasion' of the early 60's, the youth of Europe was simultaneously engulfed in all things American. Film, fashion and music inspired the boom that is somewhat comparable to the modern street culture of Japan, although significantly less over the top.
Out of this period came a musical explosion based on pure whimsical campiness and naive sexiness, called 'ye-ye'. Along with Bridgette Bardot and Francoise Hardy, France Gall was one of the biggest stars of the 60's in Europe. And in 1964, legendary poet/songwriter/actor/singer/sex addict Serge Gainsbourg wrote the song 'Laisse Tomber Les Filles' for her. Ca$hmere's updated take on the track is pretty damn good, and if I didn't already know it was written in 1964, I wouldn't think twice to hear it nuzzled in between a couple of those Fahrench Ehlectro songs at your neighborhood Ehlectro Partay.
I've also included an English remake of the song by April March. This version of the track was the first one I heard, thanks to a good friend of mine who was awesome enough to include it on a cd for me. "Chick Habit" recorded in 1995, is somewhat of a more bangin' version of the original. It has new lyrics written by April and for all its over the top comic effect her lyrics are surprisingly true to Gainsbourg's original French version.
Okay, I'm going to come out and admit it: I once, at the age of 13, danced in a Quinces. It gets worse: I was the main guy dancing with the quinceanera. It was horrible, I did it against my own wishes, but my mother forced me saying when I was older I'd look back at it and remember what a great experience it was. I'm looking back at it now; it fucking sucked.
