We’re going to start today’s conversation with a little bit of club etiquette. I think it goes without saying that you shouldn’t act like a dickhead when you’re at the club. You should check your ego at the door and treat everyone at the party with respect. Sometimes, however, liquor and other libations make people forget their manners.
I went to see Optimo play at Nightmoves on Sunday night and there was one girl who wouldn’t stop staring at the DJs. When I say staring, she was going for full eye contact for their whole five hour set. She was parked right in front of the booth and would not move, just continued to stare. The manager came by and asked her to move and she wouldn’t. She was clearly intoxicated but it’s no excuse. When I spoke to Optimo’s JG Wilkes after the set he said her behavior threw him off his game. I don’t think people understand how their drunken antics can impact the party.
Funnily enough, this wasn’t the only club no, no I experienced this past week. When I was DJing a party on Thursday night, a girl came up to the booth and asked my DJ partner, ‘can you play 140 (BPM)?’ My DJ partner and I just laughed it off because it’s rare that we play over 130 BPM. But then, she came back and asked if she could go back to back with us. Honey, the answer is no. Anytime you feel the drunken desire to ask a DJ if you can play with them, I can guarantee you the answer will also be no.
I’m going to leave you with one last piece of advice, never talk to the DJ while they’re playing. If you love them and want to talk to them and tell them how much you love them, save it until their set is over. They’re going to appreciate hearing it, but only once they’ve finished playing.
Attending any party that puts music first is a participatory event. You are not just the audience, you’re an integral part of the experience. Your purpose for going is to make the party better, and you do that by having fun.
1.19 - ESCAPE with Jimmy Edgar at Paragon
Jimmy Edgar learned to play piano and "feel the music" in Detroit's Baptist churches. By the time he was 15, with help from a promoter friend, Edgar was spinning alongside hometown heroes Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson in local strip clubs and raves. Can you imagine, being 15 and playing at strip clubs with legends like that?! As he grew up, Edgar is now almost 40, he got more into music and has produced countless records since the early 2000s. He now resides in Berlin but is back in the States this Friday to bring his erotically charged robot funk to Paragon.
1.20 - Pleasure Jams at Good Room
Prepare for a night of danceable delights when Pleasure Jams takes over the soundsystem at Good Room. The Brooklyn party crew (who in our opinion have one of the best DJ names in the game) have been on the Brooklyn scene for almost a decade. The crew comprised of Stewey Decimal, Allie Bell, and Marosy are never afraid to dig deep into their record bags to make the party pop. For Saturday night’s excursion they are promising chunky house sluggers and sluggy chunk housers with blissful jams dispersed between.
1.21 - Dope Jams presents: Devotion at Gabriela
Eli Escobar has continued to think outside the box at his new club, Gabriela, giving old heads the opportunity to bring new ideas to the dancefloor. Enter Dope Jams’ new party, Devotion, this Sunday. This is the anti Saturday night party. A non-linear journey where the music can be all over the place and there’s no quest to make it to the manic peak of the night. Dope Jams’ Paul Nickerson will be behind the decks for this one where he’ll be playing music in the vein of his Slow to Speak reissues. Think Siouxsie & The Banshees, Fleetwood Mac, and Eddie Hazel but for the dancefloor.
Follow the links for mixes and playlists from the DJs and Musical Hosts who will be playing at these venues.
