After totally schooling Andrew in a game of 21 (fade away jumpers, skyhooks, floater along the bass line, late-game free throw streak), we made our way to DJ a private party.
Will from Lambert's hooked us up. His roommate was turning 27 years old and wanted to throw a party on the rooftop of the Brown Building downtown (8th and Colorado). It is one of the few condo/loft buildings in downtown Austin that wasn't build specifically as a residential complex, but has been converted into one. A few certified bros might remember this rooftop, Alex Fry's mother lived in the building and he had people over a few times.
If you haven't been to the top of the Brown Building, which is safeguarded by a residential key-card system, it is fucking swank. You're 10 stories up in the middle of downtown, staring at the capitol and it feels like you're really a part of the skyline. Most of the rooftop is gravel and industrial piping etc., except for a nicely furnished wood deck raised about 6 feet off of the ground. Dark stained wood chairs and tables, rope lighting, very classy.
Unfortunately the bartender (open bar provided by birthday boy) was late, so we were in a big hurry setting up, and in addition to that we had some, cough, equipment problems. Things got started late, but luckily the birthday boy didn't arrive until an hour after his party was supposed to start so it was all good.
I played hip-hop white people like and got a lot of compliments from rich white men wearing polo shirts tucked into jeans. I got one or two terrorist fist jabs in appreciation of my selections. The crowd stunk of money, and as Will put it nicely as he left at the end of the night, "In case I didn't preface it before, most of those people were actually douchebags." They were pretty nice to me, but I really had trouble telling them apart. This isn't some hipster snobbery, all thirty or so men at this party, with the exception of one or two in expensive t-shirts, looked exactly the same. Early in the party I was pressed by one of these young professionals to point out the guy who I had given the rooftop keycard to and I realized that I had no idea, they all looked the same.
The women on the other hand were phenomenal. It was like a meeting of the Trophy Girlfriends of Austin Club. These were girls who go to the gym, if you know what I'm saying. And then after the gym they go to boutiques and buy tiny cocktail dresses. And then they go to parties like this one. And then they end their night untucking the polo shirt of a man who carries a money clip thicker than my wrist. I learned that girls like this love Rhianna, but not Beyonce.
The highlight of the night had to be playing "Mo' Money Mo' Problems". Staring at young, beautiful, rich people on a downtown rooftop is really an optimal place to listen to that song, second only to the deck of a yacht. My regrets of the evening include failing to infiltrate the Trophy Girlfriends of Austin Club and forgetting to play "Money Ain't a Thing" by Jay-Z.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Brown Building Rooftop Gig Report
Monday, July 7, 2008
Big Willie
I wanted to make a little response to Ervin Berlin's previous post about Will Smith.
-In case you didn't know, Nas has writing credits for lyrics to the single "Big Willie Style" as well as three other tracks on that album. Take a moment to imagine him brushing the blunt ash from his clothes as he wrote arguably the biggest crossover hip-hop hit of the 90's.
-I'm not sure that Will Smith was ever supposed to be a sex symbol. He was always marketed as a rapper and actor that white people could feel incredibly comfortable with. He didn't use profanity, didn't talk about drugs, didn't talk about sex. He was just really charismatic and fly in a non-intimidating way. I don't think there are any overtly sexual references in "Miami", but you're right, maybe those back-up singers are supposed to add some sexxappeal.
-For the record I owned DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince's fourth album Homebase as a child. My favorite song was "You Saw My Blinker". Wikipedia tells me it's one of the only two songs on the record that uses a curse word. I really liked it because of that curse word. The song tells the story of a woman who crashes into Big Willie's car as he's driving. The chorus goes "You Saw My Blinker, Bitch!"
-I'm also really all about the song Summertime, despite the incredibly canned video. Hidden Beach Recordings do a great RnB cover of it, which I would post but I've only got it on vinyl. Also here's a pretty great remix of it by UK producer Yam Who? . Play it at your cookout.
Ain't No Stoppin' Summertime (A Yam Who? Remix) - Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Boulder Gig Report #3
Final gig in Boulder. At the Tusk Lounge, with DJ Senile once again. I showed up around 10:30 after making some delicious couscous with shrimp.
Highlights:
-Watching a 45 year old couple grind to Ice Ice Baby
-Realizing the secret to accessible hip-hop bass lines. The bass line has to hit on the downbeat for the first three beats of a two bar phrase. This allows people who don't really listen to hip hop to easily catch the groove. Think Ice, Ice, Baby, 1-2-3-4- by Coolio, and Rapper's Delight by Sugarhill Gang. The next measure of the phrase then adds a small amount of syncopation to the bass line, the "get crazy party" whose rhythm is completely ignored by the people dancing.
-Finally talking to the beautiful bartender.
-Hearing people go "Ohhhhh shit!" at the intro to "Wrong Way" by Sublime.
-DJ Senile talking into the headphones to pump up the crowd during "Wrong Way" by Sublime.
-Realizing a woman who I thought was over 40 years old was actually 22. I found this out after she disappeared into the men's bathroom with DJ Senile for about 15 minutes and then introduced herself to me.
-The first 75 minutes of the Russia v. Netherlands quarterfinal Eurocup soccer game. I got the bartender to put it on on the TV on the wall behind the DJ booth. So I was pretty much DJing with my back to the crowd from 1-2am, pretending I was looking at my laptop. Thankfully the game went into extra time, so I caught Russia's game-winning goal after speeding home.
-Getting booed for playing the Holertronix remix of Paul Simon's "Call Me Al" and arguing with the 1:45 a.m. crowd of 7 people, eventually ending the discussion by calling them idiots.
-DJ Senile explaining his beef with local music store Bart's CD Cellar . He was receiving poor customer service when previewing CDs. When he complained, the girl working the counter revealed she had just been diagnosed with AIDS earlier that day. Senile's response? "That's not my fault!"
- DJ Senile paying me with a 10 dollar bill to "cover my gas."
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