Capital Swamp: The DC Resource Thread

@curmudgeon: your experience with Borlik doesn't resemble mine at all. He encouraged me to write about dance and performance art, and actively discouraged me from making any pronouncements about DC's "cultural deficiencies." I found him to be quite a good line editor, as well.

I just know the music "citylights" (previews) under him were 99.9 % indie-rock and everyone from the Kennedy Center to Lisner to Haitian music promoters to roots rock and zydeco promoters complained to me that their music events never got highlighted in the City Paper.

Ng-unit, nobody seems to be writing up dance or performance art for the CP these days.

I think that's more of a reflection of how shitty and thankless a job it is to put together something like City Lights. For an underpaid and overwhelemed editor, diversifying coverage tends to (unfortunately) take a back seat to policing Wikipedia plagarism violators and finding ANYONE willing to spit out 150 words on anything.

I'm gonna stubbornly insist that despite the problems you cite (which are all true), there are folks out there who will contribute because it can beat blogging or tweeting to just friends. But yea it takes work and dedication.

And yea the CP's one-time bankrupt status, reduced size, and various other issues also discourage folks from wanting to contribute.

I really like the new Svenonius band (with Brendan Canty)'s single - 600,000 Bands by Felt Letters

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.