Capital Swamp: The DC Resource Thread

Saw them live once but haven't heard the single yet.

Lots or recent DC releases it seems, on sockets records and more http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2010/01/25/local-vinyl-round-up/

I missed the Sockets release event but I saw Jim Bennett & Lady Mary Saturday night do a mix of Southern soul originals and covers out at Omia's Grill in Herndon near Route 7. Yep, they packed that little place--meaning around 40 people.

Lots of

Leitko with another DC rock post, this time one about a dc based label that hates DC rock bands and names names.

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2010/01/27/fan-death-records-to-d-c-bands-stop-sucking/

Donny Simpson's last WPGC morning show tomorrow

sheesh that's some bleak stuff xpost

any Drive-by Truckers fans in the area should check out this new documentary premiering at AFI Silver:

http://www.afi.com/silver/new/nowplaying/events.aspx#secre

Hey DC'ers: I am heading your way in a few weeks: 2 questions. What is the best record store for used vinyl (if any) and, I'm hoping to see Tortoise at the Black Cat. Should I buy tix in advance? Do you think it will sell out?

Thanks

used records: smash or red onion, i would think. both in adams morgan.

SOM Records right on the same block as Black Cat might also have some stuff you want.

No idea re Tortoise's following.

Thanks!

Sugar Bear from EU, Dr. Cornel West, Steve Harvey and others saying their farewells to WPGC's Donnie Simpson this morning. He was on WKYS years before and on BET. He's got the bucks to retire I'm sure, but he doesn't want to. He's gonna be at Ben's Chili Bowl saying goodbye from noon to 2 today.

Nick Nichols, owner of Metro Cafe, passed away this Tuesday at the age of 45. He gave hundreds of bands, DJs, and MCs their first shot at performing at a time when there far fewer venues than today. RIP.

Wow, that's terrible. I remember him and that place. RIP

http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/1461/uhall100317aeroplane.jpg

SCORE

Congrats, your place will finally be opening

This Friday, 2/5
Moneytown @ Dahlak (1771 U St. NW DC)
10pm-3am, no cover
DJ Nitekrawler w/ special guest:
David Griffiths (NY)

About our guest:

Soul music collector/DJ/Producer, David Griffiths is currently restoring two vintage unreleased LPs for first issue in 2010. One is an all instrumental long player, for his new Orivious Records imprint, to be distributed by Daptone Records. The other, documenting a couple of true eccentric soul men, Buffalo, NY’s Key & Cleary, is to be released on Now-Again records.
Past projects include an album by Buffalo, NY lost soul legends Bob & Gene http://www.daptonerecords.com/bobandgene.html , as well as the creation of Daptone's Ever-Soul imprint http://www.daptonerecords.com/eversoul-records.html . David has also collaborated on many projects with house music legend Kenny Dope for his imprint http://kaydeerecords.com/ .
Along with his partners, David started Bumpshop at APT in Manhattan, a monthly deep funk party that ran monthly from 2004-2009, and has hosted many guest DJs including: Cut Chemist, Kenny Dope, DJ Spinna and DJ Shadow.
David created and maintains a website documenting independent soul music from upstate NY, http://www.newyorksoulrecordings.com .

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/blueimage/Feb2010Mtown.jpg

Nitekrawler I just e-mailed you at your g-mail account. I need info on the 2-14 record fair

yeah, Nick looked out... R.I.U.

Was there an obit for him in any newspapers?

I couldn't find anything googling...just tweets & a short blog post or 2.

More comment battles over at the City Paper Arts Desk blog re Head-Roc complaints re local clubs policy of polling audience members to see who they came to see, in order to determine how much to pay bands. This is tough on new bands and those who don't have tons of friends versus you need to hype your band and get people out...

Fort Reno's accepting demos from bands now. Does that mean their summer schedule will be announced earlier than usual? Probably not.

"DC in the 70s " doc on WETA TV tonight at 9--includes Chuck Brown, quiet storm dj (the late) Melvin Lindsey, and WHFS's Cerphe

Anybody see J. Robbins' recent appearances---with his new band or that duet with a cello player? How were they?

Benefit for local salsa dance teacher Eileen Torres (who has lots of medical bills) at Zanzibar Wednesday. Just about every local salsa dance teacher and dj will be there

DC Reggae Awards on Saturday and Wammies coming up on Sunday. Re the latter, far from perfect in their nominations but they look a little better (and yea, they asked me for some names for the first time)

One of these Fridays I will make it to Soundclash, the roots reggae thing at the Marx Cafe once a month

Soundclash has great guest and resident djs and now posts mixes online

So have you "dance" folks been having a good time at the T & T clubhouse, Muse Lounge and elsewhere? Or are you just waiting for "I Died"'s new place to open?

Straight-ahead go-go seems to be nearly invisible these days. All gal band Bela Dona who I blogged about for the CP are performing at the Wammies, otherwise not too much attention. The rap cover filled sets of most of the younger bands are not reaching beyond their core following (which is still large as there are go-go shows every night)

I tend to hibernate in the winter, so I haven't been out much at all lately. That said, I am planning to venture out to see Metro Area at Bar7, which I guess is a new venue? Looks like Efdemin is tentatively scheduled to play there too.

And of course I'm eagerly awaiting the opening of U St. Music Hall.

I did go to Muse once a few months ago and did not enjoy it at all.

contrasting views on the state of DC rock (noted by the CP blog)

http://www.avclub.com/dc/articles/title-tracks-john-davis-on-the-joys-of-noncollabor,38042/

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/goingoutgurus/2010/02/in_defense_of_the_dc_rock_scen.html?wprss=goingoutgurus

i haven't been to any of those places you mention, curmudgeon. in fact, i haven't been out dancing in a long time. parties that don't get good until too late are one reason. i'm old now, & need my sleep. and hanging out with ppl who aren't really into dancing enables this tendency to say fuck it and end the night after a good dinner and a few drinks. dancing's fun, i miss it a bit, but this is good too.

Fri. 3/5
Moneytown @ Dahlak (1771 U St. NW DC)
10pm-3am
DJ Nitekrawler w/ special guest DJs:
Jason Hamlin & Mike Murphy(Mercy, Richmond VA)
Free.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/blueimage/MtownMarch10.jpg

A Q and A with WPFW dj Jim Byers who is hosting "Casbah to Zanzibar" a panel discussion on the history of DC Latin clubs plus film, video and music Saturday 2 to 4 at the Smithsonian Anacostia Museum

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2010/02/26/metro-mambo-casbah-to-zanzibar-free-concert-and-lecture-saturday/

Has Zanzibar now been sold to the owner of the Juste Lounge? It's now the Water Club?

x-post--The Casbah to Zanzibar thing at the Smithsonian Anacostia Museum was nice. So I learned that the Casbah was next to Ben's Chili Bowl and open in 1960. Interesting panelists with some good anecdotes; while it was not all quite music geek detailed enough for me it was mostly pretty good. Richmond's Bio Ritmo were good. Nice to see and dance to 'em for free. As with my previous trips to Fort Dupont Park in Anacostia, there were very very few palefaced folks there. It's a museum with its own parking lot; yea it's not exactly on top of a Metro station but still...On the other hand, the folks who packed the small room had a good time and that's all that matters.

I don't expect folks who do not get into Latin dance music to have gone to that, but I know based on the Facebook listing for the event and the amount of salsa dancing things in NW that there are fellow white people interested but did not go. Maybe I'm beating this into the ground and should just move on to talking about something else---

another subject I've beaten into the groud, the Wammies are tonight and they left lots of people off the nominations list that should have been included, for the millionth year in a row.

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2010/03/01/the-wammies-are-good-performances-and-good-intentions-good-enough/ Blog post on the Wammies

The nomination list was better this year, but as that post points out, there are structual limitations that are just going to prevent the Wammies from ever being worth paying attention to.

good post, i didn't know much about the wammies and now...i do

Thanks.

http://inabluemood.blogspot.com/2010/03/wama-can-someone-explain-why.html

A blues and soul fan takes WAMA to task here for not honoring both living African-American blues and soul musicians; and in the WAMA Hall of Fame, deceased DC blues and soul musicians.

Chris Richards on Metro Area's DC appearance

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/clicktrack/2010/03/in_concert_metro_area.html

Googling last night I realized that I had forgotten I had mentioned on dcist.com in '08 that WAMA had stupidly nominated the 2 member indie-pop Evens under "hard rock," a category by the way that they no longer have. Also, if I want to keep piling on and beating them into the ground, I see that Brightest Young Things is sponsoring a bill of DC rock bands in Austin at S x SW (but not WAMA, who don't even know about the existence of such DC bands); and WAMA omitted nearly all of the local Caribbean bands that played at the Haiti benefit on Sunday at the Crossroads.

I had a last-minute cancellation from a friend on my other free pass for Saturday night's Gilberto Gil show at Lisner. My other pals all seem to be busy or aren't interested in Brazilian sounds. There's a ton going on that night, but if anyone is interested in that one free pass (I have to pick up 'em up at the box office) let me know.

ritmika (at) hotmail (dot) com

U Street Music Hall opens next week with an Aeroplane DJ set. Anyone else going to be there?

I will!

Ha.

Ok, I had a winner for the Giberto Gil show ticket for tonight. There's so much going on this evening--DamFunk on NY Avenue; Barbara Carr at the Solar Eclipse; RustBuckit at Iota;dancehaller Mavado at Club 24; acoustic blues Eleanor Ellis at the Washington Ethical Society; and some indie rock shows I was reading about but have now forgotten.

I forgot that there's also some avante/improv thing at Velvet Lounge I think plus acclaimed jazz (and hiphop) pianist Robert Glasper at Bohemian Caverns.