Album cover for Geneva Jacuzzi’s new album, Triple Fire
I’ve been hooked on Triple Fire, the latest album from Geneva Jacuzzi, since a promo turned up in my email a while back. As the August 23 release date approached, I listened to the album more often, trying to dig deeper into the stories within songs like “Laps of Luxury,” “Art Is Dangerous” and “Scene Ballerina” that are so vivid, yet so open to interpretation. The music, the lyrics, it all felt like it was already a part of Los Angeles.
Jacuzzi has been making music in L.A. since the ‘00s and first came to underground attention with the band Bubonic Plague, who were amazing live, btw. Triple Fire is her third solo album since 2010 and her first full-length for Dais Records.
Just wanted to update quickly with my set lists from Disco Matinee on Sunday, August 18. Thanks to those of you who made it out to Grand Star Jazz Club for the little day party that Jus’ B and I throw, now on the third Sunday of the month.
It was hot and the record store was small and bright. Jazz filled the room as I flipped through bins, side-eyeing price tags on ‘80s records. That’s what they want for the Go-Gos? I thought. That’s the kind of record you get from your relatives who went digital ages ago. In fact, at least one of my Go-Gos records came to me in exactly that way. I don’t even want to see the Fleetwood Mac prices here.
I headed over to the dance bin, just in case there was something that looked interesting. And there was. It was a copy of “Vamos a la Playa” with a $4.99 price tag on it. That’s weird, I thought. I can’t tell you how long “Vamos a la Playa” has been in the L.A. ether, but it’s one of the Italo disco jams that everyone seems to know. If you play it a club— and I think most of us DJs have done so many, many times— you can hear the crowd singing out on the floor. At least, they sing along with the chorus, “Vamos a la playa, oh-oh-oh-oh.” They usually don’t get all into the verse about radioactive winds blowing through your hair. It’s a strange song by today’s standards, but deceptively cheerful ditties about nuclear annihilation were totally a thing in the 1980s. Don’t believe me? This is probably the only time in my life that I will ever recommend listening to “99 Luftballoons” in English.
I had just returned home after a meeting and noticed a text asking if I could fill in for the opening DJ set at Splash!, which was set to start in a little over an hour. I said I could get there at 7:45, then ran out, got dinner, ate half a banh mi, wrapped up the other half for later that night, grabbed my laptop and the controller that I had yet to unpack from Nocturno on Saturday night, scheduled a ride and showed up at 7:43 p.m., which was more than enough time to set up and get started at 8 p.m.
Since I still had my Nocturno folder loaded into Rekordbox, I played more of an alt. ‘80s set, with a few other random songs that I either happened to have on my laptop or was able to download quickly. It ended up being a great night. I met some super cool people, dropped some tunes I hadn’t played out in a while (“Get the Balance Right,” “Our Darkness,” “No More Words) and finished with Pia Zadora and Jermaine Jackson’s duet “When the Rain Begins to Fall,” from the sci-fi epic Voyage of the Rock Aliens, because why not?
Here’s the set list. I’m still scheduling August gigs, so I don’t know when I’m playing next, so follow on Instagram and I’ll the next date when I have it.
In Sheep’s Clothing x Japonesia Summer Market at Homage in Chinatown on July 28. (Pic: Liz O.)
I almost regretted leaving my igloo on the last Sunday in July. It was hot af and I was still a little tired from the previous night’s DJ gig at Nocturno, but the In Sheep’s Clothing x Japonesia Summer Market was happening and that’s the one record swap that I try not to miss. So, I twisted my hair up and butterfly-clipped it, like at least 75% of longhaired L.A. this summer, and headed out to the brewery for a dig.
View from the DJ booth in the new wave/darkwave room at Klub Nocturno. (Pic: Liz O.)
There were a lot of requests for the new wave/darkwave room at Nocturno on Saturday night. Most of them came before the event and I started a separate playlist in Rekordbox just to keep track of them. The most requested song of the night was “Club de Vampiros” by French Police, which you heard a little after midnight at the start of my second set.
My favorite request came in person at the club, maybe a little before 1 a.m. Someone asked for Miguel Bosé, which I was happy to oblige. For a minute, though, I feared that I wouldn’t be able to play it after all because the night was coming to a close and I kept thinking of big songs that hadn’t been played yet, like “Tainted Love.” Fortunately, though, “Amante Bandido” made an appearance right before the last song of the night.
As always, Nocturno was a blast. Thanks for dancing and thanks for the requests. Keep reading for my set lists.
There’s a Real Life song that’s creeping into my DJ sets and it’s not “Send Me An Angel.” I’ve played “Openhearted,” from the band’s 1983 debut album, Heartland, in my sets at Splash! twice this month. Most likely, it will keep turning up in my new wave sets, at least at bar gigs or early in the night, because it’s a good alternative to the Australian band’s big hit, packed with drama and a sticky melody. Also, the song has been stuck in my head for most of this month, so I probably need to keep playing it until I dislodge the earworm.
But, I have to make a confession about “Openhearted.” I totally, 100% swiped this Real Life song from Voyage of the Rock Aliens. In fact, I wouldn’t even know the song were it not for that bonkers movie and I probably should be embarrassed for saying that. But, also, I’m from L.A., where “Send Me an Angel” has been such a dominant banger for so long that any other Real Life song has long since faded from memory. That is, unless you are so baffled by Pia Zadora’s turn as a high schooler torn between her controlling rockabilly boyfriend and a new wave alien that you watch Voyage of the Rock Aliens every time it pops up in your Tubi recommendations.
Christmas in July continues at The Mermaid. (Pic: Liz O.)
It was totally last minute, but I filled in for Splash! at The Mermaid on Tuesday night, playing ’80s music from 8 p.m. until last call. I was in a Roxy Music, Japan and Duran Duran mood, which manifested in the set. Plus, I’ve had the Real Life song “Openhearted” stuck in my head on-and-off for a few weeks, so that made an appearance in the set too. Check out the set list below.
The Mermaid’s Christmas in July tiki mugs, including a Christmas tree, a sand/snow man and a gingerbread man. (Pic: Liz O.)
Splash! is Dolce Vita’s new Tuesday night ‘80s party at The Mermaid. You’ll still hear Italo disco in the mix, but you’ll also hear new wave, synthpop and more subgenres of the decade’s dance music . I played for the first time since the rebrand for the first half of the night tonight and it was lot of fun to get to drop some of my Italo favorites (Ken Laszlo, Pino D’Angio) with a few of the ‘80s night standards (OMD, The Cure, etc.), some tunes that I don’t get to play out so much (Olivia Newton-John “Twist of Fate”) and a few tracks from the era that are actually new to me (Angelyne “Sex Goddess,” thanks to the Dark Entries reissue). Oh, and I was able to work in the best song from Voyage of the Rock Aliens (Real Life “Openhearted”), a movie I’ve been trying to write about for a while, but I still can’t make sense of it, which might be the point. My only regret is not adding Pia Zadora to my ‘80s virtual crate. Next time.
Also, it’s Christmas in July at The Mermaid. The tiki mugs in the top photo are part of the promotion. You can buy one solo or with one of the drinks on the Cocktails for a Cause menu, all of which have Christmas horror names, like Santa’s Slay. The mugs were so cute— my favorite is the sand/snow man in the center of the photo— so I had to take a photo.
Disco Matinee hit its first anniversary. We celebrated at the Grand Star, who has kindly hosted us on the first Sundays of the month since July of 2023. The coolest people on the planet were there. One of them is a friend of mine who I’ve known since the days of dialup internet. She brought me the sweet disco ball pen seen in the above photo. You might notice the blur in the photo. That’s because the disco ball spins too! You might also notice that I haven’t done my nails in quite a while. That’s because I don’t care about your Instagram beauty standards dictating that hands should only be seen when they are freshly manicured.
Anyhow, here’s what I played. Thanks to everyone who came out and danced with us.
Set One:
Michael Zager Band – Let’s All Chant
Anita Ward – Ring My Bell (Pontchartrain edit)
Evelyn “Champagne” King – Shame (Mr. Turner edit)
Cerrone – Supernature (Ethan Wood edit)
Kano – It’s a War (Purple Disco Machine, Lorenz Rhode edit)
