Thursday, September 28, 2006

Sea-town is throwin' down this Weekend!

----- Thu Sep 28
Ramiro @ LSC
----- Fri Sep 29
Ramiro, Jen Woolfe @ SeeSound Lounge
Felix Da Housecat @ LSC
----- Sat Sep 30
Leschi Lounge @ Des Amis - Manos, DJ Fuel, Jen Woolfe
Uniting Souls Music Record-Release @ Baltic
3rd Annual Breast Fest fundraiser at Smarty Pants
Click here for more info!
----- Mon Oct 2
LTJ Bukem @ Element
----- Tue Oct 3
Scissor Sisters @ Showbox

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

NEXT GIGs: See'ing Sounds with My Friends!

Friday Sept 29
Uniting Souls Night w/
Ramiro & Jen Woolfe

Saturday Sept 30
Leschi Lounge @ Des Amis w/
Manos, DJ Fuel, Jen Woolfe &
live music by Jen Wagner & Sklobot

See Sound Lounge
115 Blanchard (bet. 1st & 2nd), Seattle
Free before 10pm

Des Amis
21+ , 8pm - 2am, $5
Des Amis (in the cozy basement)
1013 E Pike St. Seattle

Thursday, September 21, 2006

enjoy a mellow weekend

Thu Sep 21
dj set by James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem), Juan Maclean, Colby B @ Chop Suey
Fri Sep 22
Justin Harris, Sean Majors @ War Room
Tue Sep 26
DJ Krush @ Neumos (http://nwtekno.org/vb/showthread.php?threadid=103816&eventid=25978)

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

A Playa Magic Part II - They Our Love

We napped for a few hours before the heat of the sun. What a great feeling to be ready to expore the playa early Monday. After completing camp set up and proper rest (well, mostly) we had our usual first-day 3-bean salad for dinner and left on our bikes to watch the newbie's eyes' bulge at the grandeur of all that is in, on and around them. We followed Momo for a while, then Becka, who kept us pedalling from structural giant to structural giant, not able to find any words to describe our own amazement. The topper of the night -- perhaps of the whole week -- was what was to be known in Black Rock City as the 'Belgian Waffle', a giant structure made entirely of 2 x 4's splashed up the sides into two tunnels. Green lights sprayed on the outside and multi-colored lights danced on the inside among shadows of playans swaying to the DJ beats.

The rest of the week is pretty much a blur, best to be told linked by experience rather than linked by days. I spent much of my time at BRC Zu (located at 3:00 & Brave), a very tight-knit Seattle Theme Camp with a reputation for monkey business. I DJ'ed there on Wednesday and ate dinner there on Thursday evening. The dinner was a true playa gift. It was a 5-coarse meal. The Zu animals were out playing and serving, keeping our wine glasses full and our bellies laughing. It was a full dinner show and fun as well. Tuesday night for me was another playa gift. Jeremy Ball was filling some slots for friends at Camp Lemuria (2:00 & Fate). The camp was beautifully lit with El Wire Art and a DJ booth that looked like a spaceship. The sound system was fantastic. On that Tuesday night, unfortunately, there wasn't much foot traffic. But the Rockstar Orphans & the BRC Zu kidz, as always, were there to dance and cheer me on.

The most special gift in playing at Lemuria was that in the distance, I could see the Seattle Memorial Temple, the Temple of Light. This project was important to me, not only because I related to the kids in my communities who were killed, but also because many chances I'd had to help with the Temple were lost by something else going on in my life. Either I was working or DJ'ing or involved in family events. I've had one of the busiest summers of my entire life and I didn't find time to help on this amazing project. Yet by the luck of the playa, I was able to sing to those whose lives are celebrated within it's Light. I'd dedicated a mix to their struggle and was able to play it to them. I was gifted the opportunity to show them that even though I hadn't known them personally and wasn't able to help with their Memorial that I was still in debted to their sacrifice and am dedicated to bringing those in our community (and those who do not feel they have a community) together. I'd seen the Temple the night before, wrote on it and spoke to them. Their true sacrifice of life will not be lost. Their memories, burnt on Sunday night, were scattered into the air and breathed in by friends, neighbors & strangers -- family. They live on through our breath and through our lives. I sang to them. And they smiled.

part III, coming soon!

Friday, September 15, 2006

you lucky bitches

Thu-Sun Decibel Festival (see Jdub’s guide below) http://www.dbfestival.com/2006
Fri-Sun Earthdance NW (directions) http://www.earthdance.org/portland/

Sat Sep 15 Trevor, Ramiro, Sol Coldron, Joey @ Des Amis – FREE!
Mon Sep 18 Suicide Girls Burlesque Show

Jdub’s guide to Decibel
Get your all access pass http://www.dbfestival.com/2006/?q=InWindow/tickets

Friday:
8:00p Eddie @ Barca Lounge*
9:00p Jeromy Nail @ Chop Suey
9:30p Mister leisure @ Chop Suey
10:30p Brett Johnson @ Chop Suey
12:00a Jacob London @ Chop Suey
1:15a Alex Smoke @ Neumos
2:00a Claude Vonstroke @ Chop Suey*
3:00a Shameless Afterhours* – call 778.5822 for deets

Saturday:
1:00p Reason 3 clinic @ Broadway Performance Hall
5:00p Abelton Live clinic@ Broadway Performance Hall
6:00p Derek Fisher @ Barca Lounge
8:00p The Perfect Cyn @ Barca Lounge
9:00p Suntzu Sound @ Baltic Room
10:30p Jerry Abstract @ Neumos
11:15p Plan B @ Chop Suey
12:15a Green Velvet @ Neumos*
2:00a Kristina Childs @ Neumos

Sunday:
8:00p Manos @ Barca Lounge
9:00p Greg Skidmore @ Barca Lounge
10:00p J-Sun @ Barca Lounge
12:00p Kadeejah Streets@ Barca Lounge*
12:45p Paul Edwards @ Bad Juju
1:00a Electrosect @ Bad Juju

*don’t miss

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

A Playa Magic Part I -- Starlala-lala-la-la

Of course, the best year (as is every year) of Burning Man is THIS year. But this one for me was certainly different than the last 4. It’s so hard to remember exactly the events of this yearly event each time. Even though I spent more time on the playa this year than all the others, I felt like the time passed quickest of all. Maybe it had to do with arriving and leaving at night. Maybe it was because of the 12 amazing first-year burners we were introducing to this crazy event. Or maybe it had to do with me DJ’ing 4 out of the 7 days I was there. Whatever the reasons, it was no less challenging than the others. And no less beautiful.

Part I - Starlala-lala-la-la

The first challenge was storage - how to move 17 campers' food, water, shelter, bikes & playa supplies to a remote desert location. Momo Swells solved this issue the most sensible way - by buying an RV! Even though it seems like a risky move to buy a 1971 ford RV just 3 days before we leave for a 1200 mile trip to the dry desert, it still felt right. We knew the previous owners of the RV & the history. Still, introducing anything new into any mix can bring about more challenges that one realizes. This was also true for our borrowed Van, the newly-purchased Rockstar Orphan trailer, and our camp’s main Shade Structure, which Pink (and ultimately many of the other members of our camp) spent 3 back-breaking weeks working on just before the burn. Still, despite the challenging learning experiences, we all pulled thru and at 5pm on Friday night 2 cars, 1 RV, 1 van and trailer (holding the completed shade structure) were on their long trek down to the playa.

The trailer made it as far as Tacoma.
The RV, Portland.
But our minds and hearts were set on making it to Reno on Sunday.

We picked up our 4 Portland companions at 10pm, but were still waiting on the van and trailer to make it thru traffic. They’d had a blow-out in Tacoma and then were stuck in the usual Friday South I-5 lull. Even though the PDX crew was excited to hit the road, the thought of 1 more night in their own beds after a long day of packing and preparation was comforting. The rest of us slept on the Portland boys' living room futon like sardines while ESNCE played slow breaks melodies and Liz sang us to sleep with Jack Daniels.

We woke early the next day, showered (not together … well, mostly), enjoyed some Portland coffee and hit the road! We made it as far as --- the next street. Seems our new and much-loved RV (who we’d named Starlala-lala-la-la while Becka and M to Tha lovingly laid fur all over her insides on the ride into town the day before) was having trouble starting, despite her brand-new battery. To our luck, a few streets up from the boys’ apartment was a battery/alternator specialty store. So we took her there and enjoyed a big breakfast while the expert had a look-see. Halfway thru my toast & egg, we received the condition - a bad alternator, possibly destroyed during a recent check-up. He would have to operate, and there was a 50/50 chance she would live. ‘Go for it!’, Momo said. ‘We need her to live.’

The operation was a success! And 2 hours later, we were on the road again. Our next stop - Mt. Shasta.

When we arrived into the small town in the shadow of Mt. Shasta, we found the tiny 1-room cottage of a new-found friend and sprawled again like sardines on our air mattresses. But we didn’t mind the close-knit quarters. We were excited and exhausted. We awoke only once during the night to the sound of Liz’s car alarm waking up the entire town to an intruder - herself. The next morning, we found the only happening coffee shop, full of locals and traveling bikers. We loaded up on coffee and gooey snacks and made our way thru the mountains of Northern California and toward the flat and burned out desert of Nevada. I rode with Harinama in the van. It was a pleasant time to learn about his life. Nothing like a road trip to turn a stranger into a friend. We had lovely chats and he shared the peace pipe that he had received from a Native American friend almost 20 years before. No coincidence that Burning Man itself was also celebrating its 20 year anniversary. It began in 1986 with a few friends burning some wood on a beach in San Francisco. They let go of a memory to build a dream.

And we were there - almost. In Reno, we stocked up on water and supplies. By 10pm we were on our way to our usual pre-burn stop, Pyramid Lake. But it was almost midnight, and we were too tired and ansy to set up camp just to break it down again four hours later. Why not wait out the moments until the opening of the pearly gates with a car nap and roll onto the playa at midnight?

Starlala-lala-la-la gave us one more small scare in the town of Gerlach (population 500, whose numbers includes the neighboring town, Empire) to remind us that technology still lays in the path to control of our own destiny. The small Shell station was out of gas and Starlala was 8 gallons short. To make matters more difficult, the remote area did not have cell phone reception (much less a Hotel or a Bar). Not being able to hold out any longer, I parked the van in a dark corner (actually, it wasn't that dark -- there was a motion-sensored street lamp that kept flashing on & off) to catch a few Zzzz's, pulled the bill of my hat over my eyes and let the chips fall as they may.

"THUD, THUD, THUD!!" I awoke with a start to Momo rapping on the window.
'C'mon! We're headin!' Within the hour, Momo had found the solution -- a pay phone sitting idly nearby. She called our late traveller Zoe to have Moriah & Da Man pick up what we needed when they headed in on Wednesday. Both stumped and then saved by Technology! Alas, some early technological genius was still sound...

We rolled towards the playa not long past midnight, behind a long line of red lights doing the same. I amused myself from the jabberings of some burners on the walkie-talkie, Channel 5. By the time we found our camp spot and began setup, the sun was rising over the horizon. Our first sunrise in its glorious beauty. We'd beat the odds on our 3-day journey down. And were bringing 12 playa virgins Home.

go to Part II...

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

NEXT GIG: Jacks, Queens & Kings

Kind werds from Harinama, after spending a week with my & my wax in the desert: 'Jen: OMG, your sweet music removed all the crap in my mind and heart. It is a powerful, transforming tool.' --- thank you, Harinama!

Thur Sept 14
Jacks, Queens & Kings
This month we have VERY SPECIAL GUESTS Pete Spinning and Derek Andrew from Monkey Do! Productions in Los Angeles. Pete and Derek are visitng us on their way to headlining Earthdance NW this year!

View Vudu's flyer

Trinity Nightclub
111 Yesler Way
7pm - Close
No cover

Friday, September 08, 2006

back from the burn

I’m back from Burning Man and burnt as ever! A few exciting things for the weekend ~

On Sunday come by Golden Gardens early afternoon for a Burning Man Decompression with Manos, J-SUN, myself and more of the BURNED!

Also check THIS out! I’m now officially a DJ and Writer… shejay.net published one of my blogs! http://www.shejay.net/articleDetail.php?articleID=436

I also found some great videos of burning man 2006!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xmv-wAxQ6Rw