Disco Heat is rising, friends. Beginning March 2, I’ll be dropping classic and modern disco alongside some of my favorite L.A. DJs every Thursday night at Songbird in Chinatown. The party will now start at 10 p.m. and go until last call. There’s still no cover. RSVPs are recommended, just head over to Eventbrite and click on the date that you want to attend.
Jus’ B, who has been playing with me at Songbird since Disco Heat launched in December, will be back monthly, and you can catch him next on March 2. For the rest of the month, we have an eclectic mix of top notch DJs. Each has a distinct style, so you’ll hear something different every week. I’m excited to play with Fluency, Marcus, Don French and Rose Knows.
Suede live at Hollywood Palladium back in November 2022
In case you haven’t already heard, there’s talk about raising visa fees for musicians, amongst others. It’s a significant increase too. Resident Advisor reported that the P visa, which is for touring artists, would skyrocket from $460 to $1615, while the O visa would go from $460 to $1655.
I sent in a comment expressing my concerns over this fee hike. If you’re opposed to this, you should do the same and have until March 6 to submit one.
This isn’t the comment that I submitted, but it’s why I’m opposed to the fee hike. Feel free to adapt the info as you wish when you submit yours.
Obtaining a visa to tour in the United States has long been a complicated and expensive process. Those of you who go to a lot of shows can probably recall at least a few instances where a band dropped off the bill at the last minute citing visa issues. On top of that, touring has grown increasingly expensive for everyone. Raising the visa fees is going to create a barrier of entry so great that only those artists with major financial backing will be able to do it.
U.S. artists benefit international artists touring here. It’s often U.S. artists who are the support acts on the road, plus local bands and DJs open at specific shows. These can be amazing opportunities to raise the profile of lesser-known or emerging artists here.
International touring artists are often big draws for local venues. Particularly in the case of indie clubs, these shows can both provide necessary revenue and raise the overall profile of the venue. This is all very important given that nightlife is still struggling to recover from the pandemic shutdown of 2020/21.
A rise in visa fees means a rise in the costs related to international artists playing any gig in the U.S., which could mean that corporate behemoths Ticketmaster/Live Nation and AEG will be the only ones who can afford to support international artists in the States. Do you really want to support anything that will help strengthen their stranglehold on live music?
Recently, I wrote about how and why you should support your local music scene. Part of that is supporting the touring artists who stop through our cities as well. If we want our hometown music scenes to survive, we need to make sure that bands from outside of the U.S. can play here too.
Catch Los Angeles-based DJ Liz O. at one of her upcoming gigs.
This Friday, February 3, tune in to The Lunar Saloon on KLBP 99.1 FM in Long Beach or klbp.org online to hear a very special mix that I made for the show.
Paul’s Boutique display inside Beastie Boys Exhibit
The first song I heard inside Beastie Boys Exhibit at Beyond the Streets and Control Gallery was “Goo Goo Muck,” The Cramps’ weirdo classic that recently went viral via Netflix. I don’t know what the song had to do with the exhibition. In fact, save for the very few actual Beastie Boys’ songs that played over the course of a half-hour or so, I don’t know what any of the music had to do with the show. It was playlist that sounded as if it were generated by an algorithm rather than a human.
French Disko is Thursday, January 26 at The Stowaway
On Thursday, January 26, I’ll join DJ Pierrot at The Stowaway for French Disko. The French pop party starts at 9 p.m. and there’s no cover. It is 21+. The Stowaway is located at 416 S. Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles.
I pulled vinyl from Jocelyn Brown, Cissy Houston, Suzi Lane, Ziad Rahbani and more for January 12 at Lost But Found.
On January 12, I’m playing vinyl for Disco Heat at Lost But Found here in downtown Los Angeles. Our guest DJ for the night is my pal Clifton, who is one of L.A.’s best and busiest DJs and always plays amazing sets. This night will be a real treat.
Since I don’t play vinyl that often these days, preparing for this gig is a fun opportunity to go through my collection. I pulled some of my favorite disco tracks and found a few tunes I haven’t played out before. Here’s a sneak peek into my crate.
Dolce Vita is Tuesdays at The Mermaid in Little Tokyo
If you love Italo disco, Dolce Vita at The Mermaid in Little Tokyo should be your regular Tuesday night haunt. The weekly party is presented by L.A. Industrial and features a rotating roster of DJs dropping Italo disco jams from 9 p.m. until last call. Catch me there on January 24.
Disco Heat returns to Lost But Found on January 12
I’m happy to announce that Disco Heat will be back at Lost But Found on January 12 *and* that DJ Clifton will be our special guest. Clifton is one of L.A.’s best (and busiest) DJs and his taste is impeccable. Plus, we haven’t played together since Sunday Sessions at Grand Park back in August of 2021! All that said, you really don’t want to miss out on this special night.
This Little Twin Stars CD booklet still holds my secret weapons from the ’00s.
One of the songs I played most in 2022 didn’t come out this year. In fact, “Drop the Numb” is an indie dance mashup that dates back to the mid-’00s. I retrieved it from my Little Twin Stars CD booklet filled with music from the heyday of Soulseek and music blogs.
I still don’t know the name of the remixer who fused together Mylo’s club hit “Drop the Pressure” with Scissor Sisters’ cover of “Comfortably Numb.” I wish I did, just so I could say thank you for this banger.
Your record collection should reflect how your interests have grown over time. Seen here: The Velvet Underground, Giorgio Moroder, Green Velvet, Cissy Houston, Throbbing Gristle, The White Stripes, Leonard Cohen, Mike Oldfield, Fun Boy Three
In many ways, I don’t think of myself as a record collector. I’m someone who happened to start DJing when CDJs were not as user-friendly as turntables and vinyl, particularly dance and alternative music from the ‘70s and ‘80s, fit my college student budget. Many years later, though, I’ve managed to build a record collection that I still sometimes use to DJ. Mostly, though, it’s a source of personal enjoyment.
Over years of crate digging, I’ve learned how to build a record collection. I’ll share what I learned here, beginning with how to source records in a way that’s sustainable for you.
