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.