I wasn't going to say this publicly but hey, I'm going to voice my opinion.
I wasn't going to say this publicly but hey. I'm going to voice my opinion. Last
night, the Funk Box was insane. From the moment I saw Duce and NuNu at the door
until I left it was all love.
But let me not get ahead of myself.
Sundays, for most people, are usually lazy days. Some people go to church and
come home. I spent this Sunday in the studio. Worked on a remix for a Brazilian
song we did on Louie Vega's EOL project. I think the original is amazing.
However, it's more of a song I'd rather listen to than dance to.
Louie sent the vocals over to me and I bumped up the speed, and tricked it out a
bit with some sounds. It now has dance floor appeal. I'm thinking "if I finish
early enough, I can send it to Louie, he can check it out. If he digs it, he'll
play it tonight."
Well... At 10:12pm I get a text from Louie. "I'm in the tunnel."
DAMN! I'm too late. Ah well..
Funk Box is almost a 2 hour drive for me. I need to get going anyway. So I bring
the song to give to Louie. He'll check it when he gets home.
I arrive and park. "How long you gon be?" the African man said handing me a
ticket. He had rice and food in his teeth. One of his teeth had a gold cap!
Gold!
"That'll be $41."
I don't know... That's what it sounded like. African accent, cous cous and grain
in his teeth.. Come on.. Work with me here.
So I get to the spot and the energy was weird.
There is something familiar about our people even if we never met. And this just
ain't the right vibe.
Let me read Father Chris' text again.
I see where I goofed. I thought the Funk Box was held at 13th and University.
That's where the Wepa parties are.
I learn that it's over at the Sullivan Room.
All good. Let me get my car and go. It's about 3 miles or so away.
"That'll be $27 dollars" the gold tooth guy said.... WHAT??????
I've been here for under 10 minutes!! $27???
"It's not my price Boss" Kunta says while smirking.
I wish I had a spear or a poisoned dart or something. I'd teach this brother a
thing or two.
Well anyway, I get to the correct place and there was Duce "Yoooooo". Nu Nu
waves at me. Now already I sense the love. This is more like it.
I'm still in the car and I can't wait to park.
Random thought; Why does VooDoo Ray look so young and friggin healthy? I mean what?
Is he drinking blood? What's the secret bruh?!?!?! And what is he doing that makes him
always smile?
Anyway, I go in and there's Lamar Wyze telling me, "Yo. It's crazy in there."
Doris is there with the merchandise as usual. You gotta hand it to Louie. He's
consistent with his events. Doris, Vanessa and Quinsessa are always part of his
events. And they're always smiling and in good spirits representing his brand.
That's nice.
So I'm in the party and Louie is rockin. And I mean rockin. The crowd is on
fire. Everybody is dancing. I see Tracy Fortson and she gives me the biggest hug
ever. I'm making my way to give Louie the remix I told you about and there is
Vanessa with her smile and vibe.
It's almost like Louie's team is a part of his events. I really like that.
There's Louie working the crossover on a jam. So everybody knows not to mess
with the DJ while he/she is cooking. So I tap Moises(Louie's right hand man) to
give Louie this song. I wave at Louie and escape the booth.
Phil D is there and it's always good to see him.
Father Chris is there doing his thing.
There's that dude I met early in the summer, Greg. You remember the guy
with the crazy house in Long Island?
Yea.. Greg.
Where did Tracy go? If I'm going to enjoy a drink with someone, it'll sure nuff
be Tracy. Just real cool people and always shootin straight. No bs type woman.
"How's Gloria?" she says firstly. LOL!!! You gotta love this woman. So we're
drinking, music is playing, it's turning out to be a good night. Tony Touch
comes over and buys me a beer. How cool is that?!??? And then Peven Everett
comes over to meet me! I'm here to see him do his thing and he's coming to me.
WOW!!
I was floored. Desiree Barcelo was there chilling and Stephen Lucky Benson was
taking flicks as usual. Ian Friday looked as though he may have been dancing!
Anika was twirling! Man, I love my job.
I discovered something about The Funk Box. I've not danced or moved a muscle and
I'm soaking wet! Everybody is. It's HOT! It's a Funk Box!
Peven is about to perform and Louie's music is perfect. It almost feels as
though he's setting us up to hear something amazing. Hey.. It's MasterKev in the house!
Everybody loves that guy.
Peven goes on and I must say, that man can sing. He's performing without a
keyboard or a band. He's doing this performance with just a mic. My man is in
good voice. The crowd loves him. He's doing a few of his jams but they sound
remixed. Hey... It's Peven. And he sounds great.
After the performance, I'm thinking I should bounce. It's late.
So I shake some hands, hugged a few folks, and...... Wait. That soun... I know
this song..
Louie is playing the jam I did today!
CRAZY!!
I was so happy to hear the jam in a room like this. And people were dancing!!!
Usually after a performance people are walking around regrouping. But they were
dancing!
Not only that but as a DJ I know that I would absolutely never, under any
circumstance play music that someone gave me on the night of my set. If I'm
playing a song, I'd have to be familiar with it. The only way I'd play a jam
blind like that is if I knew and trusted the producer it came from. Not only did
Louie play the record but he showed his respect for my musicality. That was
huge.
So he went on to play some more music we did together. I never take it for
granted that I'll hear my music in a club. It's always nice to be appreciated
and recognized for what you do.
I walked out of there feeling on cloud 10. Would have been Cloud 9 but the
Patron kicked everything up a notch. I walked Tracy to her car. Check her out.
Fancy car and all. Go head Trá! She drove me to my car. I'm feeling like I could
snack on something and I notice she has some Cajun, trail mix type food in the
back seat. So needless to say......
The night was lovely.
Tomorrow I start my diet. Great way to end my eating binge. Trail mix. Great.
LOL.
