Tomorrow night we’re back for another evening at Le Poisson Rouge. It’s been quite a while since we all last played together, so you can expect a bunch of new tunes. We’ve also invited Steve Shakewell and Patrick Duckcomb of Sharegroove for a special guest set! Check out their appearance on A Downtown Affair for an idea of what’s in store.

As always it’s free, but to further sweeten the deal, we’ll be diving into some cake on the early side of the evening in celebration of my birthday.

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We are really starting the year off with some incredible guests. Last week on the show Lost and Found came through with four sets of disco, funk and soul. JBX, Honeydripper, Boogieman & Old Chris brought exclusively 45s so the playlist is pretty hefty. You can catch them every Tuesday night at Savalas from 10pm till late. I started off with a few records, but didn’t want waste too much time so JBX takes over at the fifteen minute mark. My personal favorites include Leroy Hutson “Getting It On”, Edwin Starr “Running Back And Forth”, William DeVaughn “Blood Is Thicker Than Water Part 2″ and Carrie Cleveland “Make Love To Me”. Enjoy.

Part 1: Tackleberry, JBX & Honeydripper

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Tackleberry:

Timmy Thomas “Sexy Woman” (Glades) 7″
Lillian Alexander “A Dream Without You” (Reynolds) 7″
The Voice Masters “You’ve Hurt Me Baby” (Bamboo) 7″
The World’s Funkiest Band “When You’re Alone” (California Gold) 7″

JBX:

Basic Black & Pearl “There’ll Come A Time, There’ll Come A Day” (Polydor) 7″
Gloria Gaynor “Searchin’” (MGM) 7″
Con Funk Shun “Who Has The Time” (Mercury) 7″
The Futures “Stay With Me” (Gamble) 7″
The Brother’s Guiding Light feat. David “Getting Together” (Mercury) 7″
Leroy Hutson “Getting It On” (Curtom) 7″
Black Ivory “What Goes Around (Comes Around)” (Kwanza) 7″
Lou Courtney “Somebody New Is Lovin’ On You” (Epic) 7″
Africano “Satisfactorize Your Mind” (Hi) 7″
Creative Source “Pass The Feeling On” (Polydor) 7″
Pleasure “Ghettos Of The Mind” (Fantasy) 7″

Honeydripper:

Ace Spectrum “Don’t Send Nobody Else” (Atlantic) 7″
The Temprees “My Baby Love” (We Produce) 7″
The Rhythm Makers “Soul On Your Side” (Vigor) 7″
Garland Green “Just Loving You” (Spring) 7″
James Gadson “Good Vibrations” (Cream) 7″
Crystal Clear “Stay With Me” (Polydor) 7″
Edwin Starr “Running Back And Forth” (Gordy) 7″
Dione Warwick “(I’m) Just Being Myself” (Wb) 7″
We The People “Right Now” (Lion) 7″

Part 2: Boogieman & Old Chris

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Boogieman:

Little Gary Ferguson “A Mother’s Love” (Mothers Records & The Snarf Company) 7″
Chee-chee and Pepe “I Know I’m In Love” (Branding Iron) 7″
The Eight Minutes “Looking For Brand New Game” (Perception) 7″
Merry Clayton “Keep Your Eye On The Sparrow” (Ode) 7″
Alice Street Gang “Brasilian Hustle” (Amazon) 7″
Honk “Funky Time, Party Time” (Creole) 7″
All Dyrections “Soul Makossa” (Buddah) 7″
Earth Wind & Fire “Moment Of Truth” (Wb) 7″
The Soul Searchers “Boogie Up The Nation Part II” (Polydor) 7″
Yellow Magic Orchestra “Computer Game (Theme From The Circus)” (Horizon) 7″
Unlimited Touch “Searching To Find The One” (Prelude) 7″
Mac Davis “I’m Just In Love” (Columbia) 7″
William DeVaughn “Blood Is Thicker Than Water Part II” (Roxbury) 7″

Old Chris:

Kool Blues “Can We Try Love Again” (Capsoul) 7″
The Soul Investigators “It’s A Shame” (Timmion) 7″
Carrie Cleveland “Make Love To Me” (Audio-Ent) 7″
The Energetics “You Make Me Nothing” (Cobra) 7″
Willie Brown “Love That Stranger” (Tri-It) 7″
Sir Wales “What Ever You Want” (Innovation II) 7″
Jean Plum “Pour On The Loving” (Hi) 7″
Spice “Sweet Norma Jones” (Sound Gems) 7″
Paris “I Choose You” (Kelli-Arts) 7″
Peace Love & Happiness “Ain’t Nothing But A Love Thang” (Abab Intl) 7″
Jupiter’s Release “Never Never” (Owl) 7″

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Henry Maldonado, Darshan Jesrani and Doug Gomez came on the program this past Friday for a special guest set. Together, they PLAY IT LOUD! on a monthly basis at one of our favorite parties. We had them take over the full two and a half hours for good reason! Plenty of great selections, and material that hasn’t made it on the program in the past. I’m especially fond of Tee Scott’s mix on “If You Read My Mind”, the steamy Quincy joint that Doug turned me on to, and the cooled out vibes of Roy Ayers on the B-side of his 1984 release “In The Dark” b/w “Love Is In The Feel”. All killer, no filler!

Part 1:

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Feel “I’d Like To” (Sutra)
K.I.D. “Don’t Stop” (SAM)
Sequence “Simon Says” (Sugar Hill)
Newcleus “Automan” (Sunnyside)
Royalle Delite “(I’ll Be A) Freak For You” (Skyview)
Muscle Shoals Horns “Born To Get Down” (Dazz)
Morning Noon & Night “Feelin’ Strong” (Roadshow)
David McPherson “You Can’t Stop (Dub)” (SAM)
Rock Candy “I’ve Got Love” (Profile)
Cookie “I Can’t Judge A Lover” (Le Jazz)
Fresh Band “Come Back Lover” (are ‘n bee)
Quincy Jones “Betcha Wouldn’t Hurt Me” (A& M)
Columbus Circle “If You Read My Mind” (Elektra)
Thompson Twins “Love On Your SIde (No Talkin’)” (Arista)
In Flagranti “Additional Alpha Blocker” (Speak)
Evelyn King “I Don’t Know If It’s Right” (RCA)
Ripple “And The Beat Goes On” (Salsoul)
Tony Rallo and The Midnite Band “Holdin’ On” (Calibre)
Mandrill “Hang Loose” (Polydor)
Lenny Mac Dowell “Make That Body Dance” (ohrwurm records)

Mic Break:

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Part 2:

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Billy Nichols “Hold Me Tighter In The Rain” (CBS)
Womack & Womack “Baby I’m Scared Of You” (Elektra)
Linda Clifford “Runaway Love” (Curtom)
Gwen McCrae “Poyson” (Atlantic)
Cashmere “Do It Any Way You Wanna” (Philly World Records)
Lace “Can’t Play Around” (RFC)
NV “It’s Alright (Extended Version)” (Sire)
Thelma Houston “Used To Hold Me So Tight” (MCA)
Galaxy feat. Phil Fearon “Wait Until Tonight (DUBMIX)” (Ensign)
Roy Ayers “Love Is In The Feel” (Columbia)
Larry Graham “Sooner or Later” (WB Records)
Oliver Cheatham “Saturday Night” (Mca)
The Underground “Doin’ It” (SAM)

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Coming up this Sunday is a very special night of music curated by Love On The Run of Secret Rendezvous. The evening starts early at Von (3 Bleecker Street). Along with guests DJ Monk One (Waxpoetics) and Red Greg (Ebonite, UK), Love On The Run promises an evening of disco, boogie and soul with much of the proceeds going to the relief effort in Haiti. Half price wine and beer from 7-9pm courtesy of Regal Wine Imports and Fire Island Beer, Co. For a list of reputable charities, check out WNYC.

Check his hustle!

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Hey y’all – tomorrow night is the January edition of FineLine!

I’m pleased as punch to be joined by fellow LGS founder Mike McGill in The Kontrol Room. Should be a real smooth-type gathering – even the weather gods have granted us some karma after last month’s snowed-in fireside affair. Mike is “dusting off his r&b records” which is great to hear.

Its free as always! Come through and tell us about your big 2010 plans over a beer, while serenaded by tasteful tracks! Invite yourself on Facebook if you’re so inclined.

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I left this 12″ behind the first time I came across it in a Bed Stuy record shop. On my next visit I decided to chance it and picked it up. From what I can tell, this is the sole release from Salaam Records out of Cambridge, MA. The Whizdom Kids bring a peculiar combination of down-tempo child R&B and Muslim proselytizing. The tracks are also ripe with sax solos and searing guitar work. I especially love the spoken word sections of “My Imam”. Despite a lack of information on the group or label, the producers and engineer were pretty active in the MA scene. Producer Erik Nuri had an early political rap track on Tryon Park and worked alongside associate producer Victor LeComer and mixer James Nichols at Beantown Music. ENJOY.

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I bought an edit record from a thrift store in Miami this summer. The track was called “Genius at Work,” and across the pink label, the previous owner had used a ballpoint pen to scrawl “Mixed by a Columbian DJ.” From the wide open harmonica, and then inexplicable plinking dub section in the middle, I’ve played it to death since then, on just about every radio set or live show I’ve done. While doing some unrelated research on allmusic.com today, I got a hunch and tracked down the original. A cool track in its own right, here’s Area Code 615 doing “Stone Fox Chase” (1970). Enjoy!

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This week’s show was something special. I got a call from Love On The Run of Secret Rendezvous on Thursday saying he just played a night with Jeremy AKA Underground Paris and wanted to know if we’d have him on the show. Nothing was planned for Friday, so we welcomed in a last minute guest. Jeremy brought an amazing crate of records over from France and has been bouncing around the area playing gigs while finishing up the mastering process on the first release for his new label.

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Part 1: Underground Paris

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Maureen Bailey “Takin’ My Time With You” (eMBee Records) 7″
Jerline and Friends “Joy Trip” (w/l) 7″
Aged In Harmony “Your A Melody” (Mor-tones) 7″
Pete Dunaway “Supermarket” (Som Livre) LP
Johnnie Haastrup “Feel My People” (Afrodisia) LP
Achuta “El Rego Et Ses Commandos” (L.A. Aux Ecoutes) 7″
- “City Express” (Studio G) LP
The Crusaders “Sweet ‘n Sour” (Capitol) LP
- “Discovery” (Bruton Music) LP
Dave Grusin “Flight of the Condor” (Capitol) LP
The Dougler Boys “The Pledge” (BMI) LP
The Rita “Erotica” (Princess) 7″
Serge Gainsbourg “Psychastenie” (Philips) 7″
Beauregard, Violletti, Ste-Claire “Ce Soir” (CBS) LP
Som Nosso “Pra swingar” (CBS) LP
Claudia “Salve Rainha” (CBS) LP
Marcia Maria “Amigo Branco” (Capitol) LP
Leila Pinheiro “rudo em cima” LP
Heave Sent & Ecstasy “I’m A Lady” (Jamieko’s Records) LP
Deep Heat “Precious Woman” (Excello) 7″
Lite Year “Do The Funky Dog” (TSOV) 12″
Sil Austin “Disco Music” (Jerri Records) 7″
Le Stim “A Tribute To Muhammed Ali” (Nacnudah) 12″
Cloud One “Don’t Let My Rainbow Pass Me By” (Golden Flamingo) 12″
KIM Band “Jugoslavija” (RTB) LP
Aguste Agar “Cristina Disco” LP
Willie Hutch “-” (Motown) LP
Tulio de Piscopo “Stop Bajon (Inst.)” (Zyx) 12″
Strutt “Said You Didn’t Love Her (inst)” (Brunswick) LP

Mic Break:

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Part 2: Mike McGill & Tackleberry

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Trinita “High Feeling” (Carrere) 12″
Ronnie Baron “I Can Give It To You” (LA) 12″
Tender Aggression “Crying Wind” (Morning Star) LP
Barrett Strong “You’re A Mighty Good Lover” (Coup) LP
Jackie Stoudemire “Run Away Hide From Love” (Numero) LP
Miami Sound Machine “Different Kind Of Love” (Cat) 12″
Front Line Orchestra “Don’t Turn Your Back” (RFC) 12″
Wardell Piper “Super Sweet” (Midsong) LP
Crown Heights Affair “Say A Prayer For Two” (Delite) LP

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Looking ahead to 2010, we’re excited to keep pressing forward. While continuing to bring in guest deejays we dearly respect, we’ve got some ideas about expanding the format of the program in interesting ways. All the while we’ll remain dedicated to the cause of tasteful music programming. Stay with us, we’ll be here a while.

2009 really was something special. We’ve had plenty of people come by to play records on A Downtown Affair. I’ll do my best to share some highlights. Thanks y’all!

Foreal People – Nov 18th 2008 (OK, this was late-late ‘08, but seemed to fall in the same phase of early ‘09)
Josh Dunn, Benguin, and Love on The Run pulled in last minute after a scheduled Leather Bar gig didn’t materialize. I suspect they reshuffled the crates, as Benguin and Richie strung together an array of soulful disco and boogie material before Josh dimmed the lights for the midnight mix; a testament to their knowledge and taste.

Stewart Upchurch – January 9th 2009
Stewart rolled in with his man Giorgio, replete with full shades and fur, and I knew things were really going to take off that night. The vibe was too right to pack things up at 1AM, so we kept the broadcast going for another hour until our crates emptied. This program’s stacked with some great selections, many of which found their way into the repertoire of ADA over the course of the year.

Cowboy Mark

We scheduled Mark to join us for somewhat of a blue moon calendar coincidence – Valentine’s Day on Friday the 13th. Alex hooked this up, and I recall being a little uptight after the first record or so, thinking to myself “I’m feelin’ this, but dude knows it’s kind of a um… disco program right?” Alas, no worries. Soon after the cult beauty “She and I” things started to head towards home. Plus, Mark got chat about his times at summer camp over a German porn soundtrack. Ace! For the second half, Alex and I tripped out some Italo, Cowley megamixes, and darker boogie material to capture the pairing of fright and tender.

Jeremie Delon
I’ve been buying records from Jeremie over at A1 Records for years – he’s turned me on to some of the boogie records that ended up as touchstones in the progression of my taste, leading me to fetishize new nuances of production from the early ’80s, and unabashedly getting into vocal stylings that used to make me quiver. When he was chatting me up about the program and expressed interest in coming on I was ecstatic. I had no doubt he’d bring the heaters, but I was curious what he’d pick out for the show. This one’s still in rotation, and reminds me why a shop like A1’s really something special.

Josh Dunn and Bennett4$enate
I wanted to get Bennett and Josh on the program together -these two cats share a taste in dignified R&B, the seemingly ironic record that really makes you feel something, and a skill in programming records that lends itself to the radio format. This night, Bennett was sending out fresh promo copies of his mix Wine Coolers and the phones were ringing off the hook. We all stepped on the mic and rapped about the newly discovered format. Some of the year’s banter highlights are nestled somewhere between one of Bennett’s signature club dubs and one of the many chart-topping R&B hits from ‘81 to ‘82. Go get it.

That’s only the start of it. Vin Sol came on and dropped some silly records fresh from SF. James Mulry & Matt Harrison selected some material that had callers fawning. We had back to back sets by Kamui and Mark Murphy, the former was ripping through a crate of boogie & funk 45s, while Mark’s plays included some program staples aside some seriously deep heat. Asaf dropped by and played some records I’ll probably never hear again (fitting as only a portion of the show was recorded!). Teddy King put together a seamless program of soulful classics before closing out with Nolani Cypriano’s Lihue. We had the Mister Saturday Night residents Justin Carter & Eamon Harkin come into the studio to share some music, and vibe on Kashif for a quick second. Stegs and Russell of Vietcong Disco rolled through and made me more confident in putting down some of those seriously questionable R&B records – likely because we were seriously throwing beers back in the studio that night. Benguin hooked me up with Steve Shakewell and Patrick Duckcomb, aka Sharegroove, who put me on to some real shit! These dudes are versatile! Plenty of new plays on this show; super soulful, super tasteful. Not only did Jared (aka JBX, aka Big City Records proprietor) put us in touch with several of the deejays who eventually came on the program, but he also graced us with a beautiful all 45s set. Mark suggested we have DJ Fucci come play on the show (dude, thanks!). Fucci was also kind enough to give a proper explanation of ’schmaltzy disco’; for reference check the show. We also had Danny Auster from the A1 shop come in for a guest set. We all got deeply tangled in disco vibes and decided the only solution was to start a night together, so we’re still LIGHT(ING) UP THE NIGHT over at Le Poisson Rouge on a monthly basis.

And then there’s the many nights that Alex and I manned the ship, burning through records on a weekly basis while still hustling and struggling to ensure we’re keeping it fresh and turning heads. For a full look at the archived radio programs, click through here

I can’t wrap up the year without sending out some love to the listeners. Hearing from y’all (and those who have never arrived at our internet outpost) makes it a lot more satisfying to spend so much time digging for records and lugging them into Manhattan each and every Friday night. Heavy callers like Paul, Chris, Lance, John, Nancy, and those that I’m missing – ya’ll are it! From Flushing to Glendale, Bay Ridge to Bed-Stuy to City Island to the East Village to the Port Authority… we got you! Expect another year of dedicated programming brought to yours truly.

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Popping off towards 2010! Here is the recording from last week’s show. Unfortunately the recording of the second half of the show was compromised, so as of now it is unavailable. I will attempt to restore it, and with any luck it will be up here shortly.

Part 1:

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Discotheque “Disco Special” (Carrere) 12″
Fonda Rae “Over Like A Fat Rat” (Vanguard) 12″
Dr. York “Don’t Stop” (York Records) LP
Play It Safe “This Love Is Real” (Que) 12″
Krystal Davis “So Smooth” (Urban Rock Records) 12″
Ellie Hope “LUCKY (inst.)” (RFC) 12″
Pino D’Angio “Ma Quale Idea” (P.B.I.) 7″
Steely Dan “Peg (B& D edit)” (Community Service) 12″
Venus Dodson “Where Are We Headed?” (RFC) 12″
Ramona Brooks “I Don’t Want You Back” (Q Records) 12″
Caprice “Candy Man” (People’s Potential Unlimited) 7″
K.I.D. “Hupendi Muziki Wangu?!” (SAM) 12″
Aurra “In The Mood (To Groove)” (Dream Records) 12″
Goldie Alexander “Show You My Love” (Chaz Ro) 12″
Midnight Star “Midas Touch” (Atlantic) 12″
Mona Raye “Do Me” (Park Place) 12″
The Crusaders “Street Life (Special Full Length US Disco mix)” (Mca) 12″
Roundtree “Get on Up” (Omni) 12″
Dr. York “Roll-a-Rock” (Passion) 12″

Part 2:
(Currently unavailable, but will attempt to recover the recording!)
Rufus & Chaka Khan “Do You Love What You Feel” (Mca) 12″
Peaches & Herb “Funtime” (Polydor) LP
Mouzon’s Electric Band “I Still Love You Baby” (Vanguard) 12″
Shirley Alston “Feel The Fire (mike’s (so) hot edit)” (N/a) CD
Project “Love Rescue” (PBI) 12″
The Shades Of Love “Come Inside” (Scorp Gemini) 12″
Mouzon’s Electric Band “Everybody Get Down” (Vanguard) 12″
Soiree “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” (Unison) LP
Powerline “Journey” (Prelude) 12″
Goody Goody “It Looks Like Love” (Atlantic) LP
Francine McGee “Delirium” (RCA) 12″
Dinsoaur “Kiss Me Again” (Sire) LP
Aquarian Dream “East 6th Street” (Buddah) LP

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