Joe Joe’s Bizarre City Pop Night at Silverlake Lounge on September 6, 2023. (Pic: Liz O.)
I love it when I don’t know the music at a club. Maybe that’s a DJ thing or a music snob thing. It could just be a Liz O. quirk, IDK. Still, I’m the last person who will run up to the booth and say, “play something I can dance to.” I will, however, run up to the booth and compliment the DJ for playing something that’s unfamiliar to me, but sounds like funky Cocteau Twins, which is what happened on Wednesday during my friend Elvin Estela’s set at Silverlake Lounge for Joe Joe’s Bizarre City Pop Night.
I’ll be your Dolce Vita DJ at The Mermaid (where you can see this mermaid video projection) on Tuesday, September 12. Stop by and check out these other L.A. music events throughout the week too.
Having a hard time keeping up on L.A. music events? Yeah, same here. But, to try and make it a little easier for people to get out and see what this city has to offer, I wrote up a list of events that I’m interested in attending this week. (I’ll for sure be at two of them, since I’ll be DJing.) Check it out and if you make it to any of the shows or parties listed below, let me know on Instagram.
I’m back at Club Underground with Larry G. on Friday, September 8 for Siouxsie and the Banshees vs. Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Both rooms of Grand Star Jazz Club will be open and advance tickets are available now for $8 on Eventbrite.
It took a while to get this recording on to Mixcloud, but you can now hear the first hour of my set from Club Underground for Gorillaz x Daft Punk night, recorded live at Grand Star Jazz Club on August 11, 2023.
What are you doing Labor Day Weekend? If you’re in Los Angeles, head down to Chinatown where I’ll be playing twice at Grand Star Jazz Club over the holiday weekend.
Michael Quatro at Melba Moore records found at the In Sheep’s Clothing x Japonesia Night Market at Homage Brewing in Chinatown (Photo: Liz O.)
In July, I wrote a story for LAist about how there are loads of cheap or free concerts happening in L.A., but finding out about them has become increasingly difficult because social media sucks and local music coverage is virtually nonexistent. It was a popular story. I ended up talking about it on LAist radio twice, including a spot that ran on Morning Edition. Loads of people told me they were having the same issue finding out about shows. Someone even came up to me while I was DJing at Underground and mentioned reading it.
Since I’m playing a darkwave and post-punk set at Underground x Shadowplay this Friday night and have Disco Matinee coming up on Sunday, I wanted to bring together all those styles in this month’s Beatique mix, which you can listen to now on Mixcloud or via the embed below.
I think about vinyl a lot. You might have already figured that out. I’ve written about my digs through the used bins. I’ve interviewed other collectors, as well as some of the people behind some of L.A.’s longtime recordstores. Plus, organizing my own stacks is a never-ending task that sometimes turns up old tunes that sound new and end up in the occasional all-vinyl DJ sets I play.
My latest Beatique mix is now live. To listen to the hour-long episode, either tune in on Mixcloud or via the embed here. Here’s the full track list for you.
Disco Matinee is a new day party that my pal, Jus’ B, and I are bringing to Grand Star Jazz Club on July 2 from 3 – 7 p.m. We hope you’ll join us for an afternoon of good vibes filled with disco and related jams.
