My buddy Blake and a great group of guys who are part of the Purple Party Weekend in Dallas have organized an amazing Pride Tea. I am so glad they invited me to come and spin. Hopefully some of the people who had to relocate to Dallas because of Hurricane Ike will come out for dance therapy!
These all have great dance grooves, less focus on the lyrics. Most of these tracks can be purchased at Beatport.com
1 Funkerman “One For Me” (Funkerman’s Tribal Instrumental)
2 DJ Dextro “Animal” (Alex Ocampo mix)
3 Robbie Rivera “Move Move ft Rooster & Sammy (Alex Gaudino and Rooney mix)
4 Dudi Sharon Voze Voze
5 Jorge Montia “It’s Like That” (Edu Reyes Mix)
6 Zoomatra “Trinome” (Mixes)
7 Alexander East “Believe En Me” (LCG mix)
8 Mendo “The Birds” (Joubin & Nicola Torriero Hitchcock mix)
9 Friscia & Lamboy “Chunga” (Phunk Investigation mix)
10 Alex Cunha “Muusic” (Allan Natal mix)
Once again, as arguably the longest running American DJ, I will be playing Black And Blue for Montreal’s BBCM Foundation. The lineup on my night will include DJ Sin Morrero and Tracy Young!
Will be a blast, and I love playing in Canada. Their taste in dance music is very sophisticated. I am already doing loads of Beatport shopping and downloading.
On the RFamily cruise, when we anchored at Ptown, my son asked me if he could parasail. I said I didn’t think he was big enough (although being 4ft, 65lbs for a 5-year old is pretty big!). Ryan begged “promise you will check with the people?”. Thinking that our 5 hours in Ptown would him forget about parasailing, I promised I would check. Ryan was relentless all day in Ptown, and he was adamant about my promise as we walked back to the dock. When I checked they said “he has to be 80 lbs to ride alone”. “Oh, I am NOT letting him ride alone”, I insisted. “Well, he can ride tandem with you”, they said. Well, with us on the parasailing trip were 8 other tandem parasailers and 2 people hiding behind expensive cameras. I insisted that Ryan watch all of the 8 people before making a decision, thinking I would be able to see if there was any hint of fear in his eyes. The first two went, and they even dipped them in the water at the end before gently reeling them back onto the boat’s back deck. Ryan exclaimed, “I want them to dip me too, but only my toes”. So I withdrew my request not to dip us, and they guaranteed that they could be as precise as a toe’s dip. We watched the other 6 people parasail and chatted with the two nonriders. They both were marvelling at “what a little man he is!”. They both promised to take a lot of pictures and email them to us after the cruise.
We went up and entered the peace and quiet up above, far from all of the activity of Ptown’s harbour. It was as if Ryan and I were in a little bubble. We talked about a lot of things, especially how small the cruise ship and other things looked from way up there.
But the thing I remember the most is how I got choked up and said “Ryan, just a few years ago, you were my baby!”. It was a quintessential father-son moment for me, and I told him I would never forget it. Ryan said “I’ll never forget it either because it was my first time!” Can we go again……now?” As they reeled us in we held our thumbs up for the camera. Then, as promised, they dipped Ryan to his toes.
Ryan always laughs and tells people how (because he was suspended shorter than me) they dipped me to my bum and my wallet got wet. I always tell people how, when we were done, he immediately said “Can we go again……now?”
July 3rd at the Crown and Anchor in PTown was great fun. Always great to be there and see friends like Greg and Randy from Charlotte, local dj Chris Racine, and more! I also met DJ Pagano, a talent that I have long admired!
July 5th at Town was a big fun Saturday night. X-Faction performed to Rihanna - cool! Lot’s of fun people out. It was also the first time we got to use the smoke machine in the main room without setting off the fire alarms, which provided a more clubby feeling.
July 6th was the Amnesia Tea Dance reunion in Miami Beach. It was totally hot and old-school all the way. I went straight from the airport to Ray and Craig’s place, and got to meet their adorable son Liam. Friends Barbie, Julian, and Andre showed up, and we went to meet up with Hugo and go over to the club. When we got there, Lazaro was playing a great set, and there were lots of people who I hadn’t seen in years. My first song, was Sandy B’s “Make The World Go Round”, and everybody let out a huge cheer at the first note. Other classics got the same response:
Alison Limerick Where Love Lives
River Ocean Love and Happiness
Melanie Williams Not Enough
Your Love is Taking Me Over
Juliet Roberts I Want You
Mariah Dreamlover
Danny Tenaglia Bottom Heavy
and lot’s more
There were some hotties on the box right in front of me. One was a dancer who was dancing for free up there for an hour, and then said “I have to leave now and go to my paid dancing gig tonight” LOL. All the old-school people came out to say hi, which evoked a lot of emotion. When we closed at 10pm, everybody was cheering and clapping for me so much. Years of memories and all that support…..I could have cried! I will never forget this because it reminded me of the legacy I have helped to create.
The latest news is that I will be playing the Amnesia Tea dance from 6pm-midnight on November 30th, my birthday, officially for White Party weekend! WOW! Will keep everyone posted as the information and ads are available.
With Pre-K behind him, Ryan is working on his blue belt in (okinawan shuri-ryu) karate. I should be taking the class, because I am having to learn everything and practice with him. Ryan is also taking swim lessons. He shed his flotation device on the first day and loves jumping off the diving board in the deep end and swimming over to the side. He is going to do well in kindergarten.
After Sanctuary Memorial Weekend, Luke and I can’t wait to play together again. Although, it is one of my Global Groove tour events, we are leaning toward doing a tag team repeat due to the hot reception we got at Sanctuary. We’ll keep you posted.
NYC PRIDE KICKED OFF BY THE USUAL. I FLEW INTO LA GUARDIA AND HEADED STRAIGHT TO ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS IN THE WORLD, ROBERTO NOVO. I MET ROBERTO AT THE WHITE PARTY AT VIZCAYA IN THE EARLY NINETIES WHEN HE ASKED ME IF HE COULD DANCE BEHIND THE DJ BOOTH ON A LANDING THAT SAT UP AGAINST THE MANSION. HE WAS MY PRIVATE DANCER FOR THE NIGHT, AND HE SAID TO ME “SAME TIME NEXT YEAR?”. I SAID “ABSOLUTELY”, BUT WE SOON BECAME FAST FRIENDS AND SAW EACH OTHER WHENEVER I PLAYED AT THE PALLADIUM IN NYC.
ROBERTO AND GABRIELLE AND I HAD A QUICK DINNER IN HIS SALON, AND IT WAS OFF TO SPLASH TO DJ WITH ALEXANDER. WE SPENT THE FIRST TWO AND A HALF HOURS TAG TEAMING, PLAYING ONE RECORD EACH AND SWITCHING OFF. THE HARMONY IN THE BOOTH AND ON THE FLOOR WAS PRESENT, AND THERE WAS A LINE AROUND THE BLOCK TO GET IN. IT WAS A GREAT NIGHT! ROBERTO AND I WENT TO BREAKFAST IN THE VILLAGE AND THEN WENT TO HIS PLACE TO REST UP FOR THE PARADE.
AFTER EXACTLY 87 MINUTES OF SLEEP, I WENT TO MEET UP WITH PAUL AND MARK AND JOEY, THE FRIENDS I INVITED TO RIDE THE GOOGLE PARADE FLOAT (A VERY COOL, SHRINKWRAPPED DOUBLEDECKER BUS). WE TOOK A TAXI UP TO THE 50′S AND ARRIVED AT THE STAGING/WAITING AREA FOR THE EXTRA LARGE FLOATS. I CHECKED IN MY GOOGLE BOSS, EXTRA LARGE STRAPPING JOHN FLIPPEN, FORMERLY OF ATLANTA. WE GOT ON OUR AMERICAN APPAREL, SPECIALLY DESIGNED, GOOGLE PRIDE T-SHIRTS, BUT NOT WITHOUT FIRST STYLISHLY CUTTING THE SLEEVES OFF. WE WERE TO BE UP ON TOP OF THE BUS THE WHOLE TIME, SO WE SLATHERED ON THE SUNSCREEN. THEN WE WAITED, WATCHING THE PARADE TO PASS, UNTIL WE JOINED UP WITH “GAYGLERS” (GOOGLE MARCHERS). THE PARTY WAS ON, AND WE ROCKED ALL THE WAY DOWN FIFTH AVENUE. NOT EVEN THE RAIN AND THUNDER AND LIGHTNING COULD HOLD US BACK. EVEN THOUGH THE SOUNDSYSTEM WENT OFF ONCE, I PUT ON A SPECIAL PREMIXED SET WHILE IT HAD TO BE COMPLETELY COVERED WITH A TARP. THE FEELING WAS IMMENSE, ESPECIALLY IN LIGHT OF THE FACT THAT THE PARADE AUDIENCE ENDURED THE BAD WEATHER. WE EASED ON DOWN, PAST THE FLATIRON BUILDING AND OTHER FAMILIAR PLACES. EVERYONE KICKED IN TO 6TH GEAR WHEN WE TURNED ON TO CHRISTOPHER STREET! ALONG CHRISTOPHER, THE CROWD TRIPLED IN NUMBERS AND THE ROAD NARROWED. ALL OF SUDDEN, IT WAS AN INTIMATE PARTY OF THOUSANDS OF “FAMILY” MEMBERS. PEOPLE WERE ON THE STREETS AND ON PRACTICALLY EVERY BALCONY AND STOREFRONT ALONG THE REST OF THE ROUTE. JUST IN TIME FOR MORE RAIN, WE FINISHED THE PARADE, GATHERED OUR THINGS, AND HUGGED EACH OTHER GOODBYE. THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT WE ALL SHARED SOMETHING SPECIAL ON THAT GOOGLE BUS, AND I SINCERELY AM GRATEFUL FOR THE EXPERIENCE!
My friend and colleague, DJ Alexander, and I will be showcased as a dj team for John Blair’s NYC Splash Pride party this Saturday. We will have some of the greatest hits and hottest new tracks to play, along with a smidge of that Pride spirit thrown in. Come on by and celebrate Pride with us!
PLUS:
If you are going to the NYC Pride Parade, check us out at the Google float. The float will be a huge doubledecker bus….just like the one Google put together for last year’s EuroPride (check out the picture below). Believe it or not, this is my first ever NYC Pride Parade performance! I am so glad that my friends Joey Murphy, Ryan Colbeth, Paul Freistuhler, and Gervais Frechette are going to accompany me. I am also grateful that former Atlantian John Flippen from the Google “Gayglers” (he now lives in NYC and works as general counsel for YouTube) thought of me and contacted me for the job!
