Happy Halloween!

If you live in and around Unionville you have probably driven by this home on Main St. owned by friends of mine, Juanita and Pete. They spend countless hours turning the outside of their home into the notorious pirate ship "The Black Pearl" with masts and all. It is really quite impressive.

However the interior has just as much going on as the exterior which sets an awesome backdrop for a fantastic Halloween party held every year.

The Black Pearl

When I first met Juanita a few years ago Djing down at The Bistro she asked if I could Dj her Halloween party. Sure glad I accepted since the last two years have been truly amazing. The guests come out fully dressed in costume and come to dance and party into the wee hours of the morning. This year just like last did not disappoint!

Took me a while to figure out what to wear (last year went as Austin Powers) but last second decided to go with a Canadian cousin of the Duck Dynasty brothers. All I needed was a beard, bandanna some sun glasses and some camo from our friendly neighbourhood hunter across the street.

Moi as a Duck Dynasty cousin....

Wine and Drink was enjoyed out of ghastly goblets, Captain Jack Sparrow never left the dance floor and the one eyed alien kept watch over everyone! This year I decided to bring my sub woofer.   A little over powered for the space but the low end punch made the sound so much better.  Just carefully moved a few vases in close proximity :)

Alien Eye checking out the dance floor!

Didn't play hardly any Halloween-esque music tracks this year... I forgot to play Nightmare on My Street by the Fresh price.  But did play one of my favorite remixes of Michael Jackson's Thriller - The Soundbluntz Bootleg Version.  If u can find it check it out. Song of the night though had to go to Paradise By The Dashboard Light by Meat Loaf.... By request.... Oh boy....

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

It's a Small World...

Yes as the saying goes...it is a small world. Last night I Dj'd a 40th birthday party. A good friend of mine Lahav was in charge of putting together a play list for his friends birthday.  Instead of a playlist he brought me in to DJ the party.  As I was loading in gear I heard someone call behind me "John?  Is that you....?"  I turned around only to be greeted by an old high school friend.  Someone who I have not seen in over 20 years!  We were really close in our later high school years only to lose touch when I went off to University (yeah back then we didn't have Facebook or cell phones...)

Myself with an old high school friend Bob!

 

What a surprise!  Anyhow party was hosted at the home of the birthday boy and was catered.  Finger foods were amazing as was the bar service.  I set up in the backyard as it looked like the rain would hold off.  The humidity was killer but didn't seem to bother the guests.  I kept it pretty chill at the beginning and then slowly ramped it up.  Was fun to play a lot of the older classics. Got a little nice classic house set going just before they brought in the birthday cake.  The reaction from some of the guests was fun to see.  I love some of these tunes:

Follow Me - Aly Us
Do You Know What I Mean - Number 1
You Used to Hold Me - Ralphi Rosario
I Can't Get No Sleep - Masters at Work Feat India
I'm Hot for You - Lil' Louis
Deep Inside - Hard Drive
In & Out of My Life - Adeva
Good Live - Inner City
Twilight for Some - Mark Rogers
Work it to the Bone - LNR

Yep those are some classic tunes.  Anyhow good times had by all!

Bond. James Bond.

"I'll have a vodka Martini  says the man in the tuxedo as he takes a seat at the bar. "Shaken or stirred?” the barman asks; "Do I look like I give a damn?” - That was probably my favourite line from James Bond in Casino Royale!

Last night I headed back to Roy Thompson Hall for another Pop series concert - James Bond: The Music. Here is the primer:

"Bond, James Bond! Conductor John Morris Russel returns to the TSO to highlight the dramatic music of the blockbuster 007 film franchise.  You'll feel like film's most infamous spy when you hear the cool bossa nova beats and passionate torch songs including Diamonds are Forever, Live & Let Die, and Goldfinger"

James Bond: The Music

Now that I got to hear a bunch of 007 themes back to back my favorite is a toss up between "Skyfall" and "For Your Eyes Only." I may be a bit more biased towards Skyfall only because I watched Adele perform it live at the Oscars not to long ago which was incredible. However listening to vocalist Capathia Jenkins last night, who did a pretty good job on her own with Skyfall, was simply amazing all night. She definitely gave Sheena Easton a run for her money when she sang For Your Eyes Only. Probably one of my favorite Moore era Bond Films - probably because it takes place in Greece and I actually visited Meteora and took a picture of that famous monastery!

Right after the break they did a quick "Spy-Fi" segment including the theme songs from Austin Powers, Mission Impossible & Pink Panther amongst others. Learned that Mission Impossible has 5/4 timing which is very rare in music and difficult to dance too! During Pink Panther the conductor had everyone snap there fingers along and the crowd did a good job keeping on beat. It really showed how awesome the acoustics are in that building.

As always the TSO put on a great performance. Conductor John Russel was super enthusiastic about the performance and his Bond history lesson along with his witty comments between songs was a lot of fun. Vocalist Ron Bohmer was also great - having to change singing styles as much as his outfits throughout the night.  This must have been tough but it did show some versatility in his singing abilities.  Capathia Jenkins however definitely stole the show with each performance more powerful then the next. She was superb!

As always a great time at Roy Thompson Hall and the Pop Series.

Here is the setlist:

James Bond Main Theme
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Thunderball
For Your Eyes Only
Dr. No (Suite)
Tomorrow Never Dies
Surrender
From Russia with Love
Diamonds are Forever
Live and Let Die

Intermission

Soul Bossa Nova (Theme to Austin Powers)
Johnson: The Avengers
Peter Gunn Theme
The Avengers
Mission Impossible
Pink Panther
Theme from Shaft
Skyfall
Licence to Kill
The Look of Love
You Know My Name (from Casino Royale)
Nobody Does it Better

Encore: Goldfinger

John Morris Russell, conductor
Capathia Jenkins, vocalist
Ron Bohmer, vocalist

St Patrick's Day!

Geez...last post was in January! Well...hockey refereeing has finally come to an end for the season. What a time killer! So figured let's get the blog going again...

Last week was St Patty's day! Can say I have never DJ'd a party with green beer so was looking forward to it. Was invited the week before by Mike at the Dragon Bistro, my old stomping ground. Jakes has a band every year so I was out! So played traitor Dj for a day.... Anyhow had to quickly get a catalogue of tunes going. Some quick internet research and itunes and I found myself with a play list of over 100 St Paddy's day favorites! itunes is great for this type of thing by the way. Picked up two 50 pack albums for less then $10 each!

Green Goodness!

Unfortunately the crowd was not where the ownership wanted it to be but there was a steady flow of customers coming in to enjoy some beer with green dye dropped in and an Irish flavored menu (damn I missed out on on the Irish Stew...) I did imagine an out of control drunk fest where everyone was singing top o the lungs with singing and dancing on the tables but that didn't happen. Nonetheless still had good time playing tunes as always!

I mixed in a bunch of top40 and rock with the Irish music. But here were some of my favorite St Paddy's day tracks on the night:

1. The Wild Rover - The Blarney Lads
2. Rocky Road to Dublin - Waxies Dargle
3. Muirsheen Durkin - The Blarney Lads
4. Culchi Lad - Irish All-Stars
5. Streams of Whiskey - The Pogues
6. Seven Drunk Nights - The Kilkenny Brothers
7. Paden O' Rafferty's - Irish All Stars
8. P Stands for Paddy - Irish All Stars
9. When Irish Eyes are Smiling - The Limerick Rovers
10. The Night Paddy Murphy Died - Great Big Sea

I guess special mention should go "I'm Shipping Up To Boston" by the Dropkick Murphys.  Those guys seem pretty angry!

Cheers!