Happy Birthday, Michael Jackson!

Today would have been the King of Pop’s 53rd birthday. Sad face. Luckily we can still remember him and his music (and try to forget about those crazy years towards the end there). Every year around this time, DJ BMF gathers his friends for a proper commemoration, Phat ‘N Jazzy style. This year, the 3rd Annual Michael Jackson Tribute Party is this Friday, September 2, at The Social and features Gerry Williams and Swamburger to name a few. It’s always one of my favorite parties of the year, hands down. So dust off your fedoras and get ready to dance, shout and shake your body down to the ground.

Rest in peace, MJ. We <3 you!!!

What To Do This Weekend?

Tonight you should go to this at Peacock:



And tomorrow you should join me at Semoran Skateway for my awesomely retro-fied roller disco birthday party!!!



Tube socks will be in effect. Sweet.

Lif + Larva

If you’re feeling political and hip-hop-y, don’t miss Def Jux's golden boy, Mr. Lif at The Social.



If you’re feeling artsy and bugged out, check out Doug Rhodehamel’s latest art installment, Larva (Get it? Bugged out? Larva? Anyways.) over at Will's Pub.



Here are the copy/paste-style details since the flyer is a tad small.

LARVA
an installation by Doug Rhodehamel

Will's Worm! Will's Worm! Party Time! Excellent!

On Tuesday May 26th I will create a giant, inflated, larva-like structure in the lovely Orlando Florida cozy spot that is Will's Pub.

This will be my first attempt at something like this. If all goes well, it should look really really cool!

Speaking of really cool, A Scissors, as well as Algarhythm will be making some music!

All for the unbelievable price of FREE!

Recap:

- Big air filled Larva.
- Music by: A Scissors.
- Free!

See? Not a single hater remark in this post! Aren't you proud of me? It doesn't matter - my opinions are what make this blog worth reading. You know you love it.

An MC Good Enough to Envy

Can Phat-N-Jazzy do anything wrong? Their persistent dedication to bringing the dopest names in hip-hop to our fair city continues to blow my mind. They are always so on it!!! Tonight they maintain their winning streak with the super talented MC/DJ, J-Live.



His first single, Longevity, was made popular by Mark Farina's first Mushroom Jazz mix, released in 1996. It's hard to believe the song could hold up this long and still be as awesome as it was back then, but it is. The title of the track pretty much says it all.

J-Live - Longevity.mp3

Here is a track off his new album, Then What Happened?, which dropped May 27th.

J-Live - The Upgrade (feat. Oddisee and Posdnous).mp3

And finally, while scouring the interwebs for J-Live info, I came across a promo mix from 1997 that gives a great example of what you may hear at The Social this evening.

J-Live Promo Mix (1997).mp3 (via Div Share)

Click the flyer for more info:

Feel Fantabulous

Since my day job has me trapped in post-holiday despair, here is the dealio about tonight via a Myspace bulletin from Phat-N-Jazzy.



tomorrow at phat and jazzy is a great line up...
beef wellington, divinci, swamburger, alex, bmf, and adeem of glue... will all be sharing the same stage at the same time... WOW

AND IT'S FREE... NO COVER
along with the bside artists blessing up the atmosphere.


swamburger

Tonight: Phat 'N Jazzy Presents: The Good Rub

I thought I didn't know who they were until this past Sunday when I was dining unexpectedly at hoity-toity Houston's in Winter Park. The jazz trio that was playing there consisted of a few guys I used to hang with in college: Tony and Willie from The Windham Group (on bass and drums respectively) and Harris from 11 Red Apples on piano. Turns out they are the ones who make up The Good Rub, along with another college friend Brian Mackey (aka "Slackey") on saxophone.

After this bit of information, I highly recommend seeing their new jazz collective at The Social tonight. They are all seasoned musicians who have graced the P-N-J stage in the past, improvising over BMF's DJ sets. Also playing tonight is Peter Baldwin, and resident DJs BMF and Slack.

Tonight: Third Thursday and Prince vs. Michael Jackson

No time to even breathe today!!! I'm this close to having the same kind of breakdown as Jessie Spano on the Saved By The Bell episode*** where she was addicted to speed. "No time! There's never any time! I don't have time to study! I'll never get into Stamford!!! It'll be okay... I just need one of these!"

I could probably do that all day, but again, I am wasting time by quoting SBTB.

*** Holy crap - I just found the Saved By The Bell episode redone by Jesus and Hitler. I <3<3<3 the internet!!!



So, anyways, tonight: Third Thursday at the City Arts Factory. I met an adorable woman named Consuelo Bellini a few weekends ago and was admiring her gorgeous necklace. It turns out she made it herself and is having an exhibit tonight from 6 to 9 at the Q Gallery to show off her jewelry. Get a sneak preview of the beautifully stunning pieces on her website.

Click the flyer for more details.



Next door to the Q Gallery is the Pound Gallery, where Patrick Fatica will also be showing off his artwork from 6 to 9. The frames on his paintings are brilliant and compliment his pieces so nicely. I just recently found out why -- he paints the frames and puts them on himself. Very nice.



While you're in that area, stop into Urban Flats downtown between 8 and 11 for a bite and listen to the deep-rooted battle between two music gods: Prince vs. Michael Jackson.



It's been done before and it will be done again, but tonight (and every Thursday) it will be done by BMF. Personally, I would like to see him change it up each week - Stevie Wonder vs. Chaka Khan? Earth, Wind and Fire vs. Heatwave? Kool and the Gang vs. The Commodores? What about a straight up Quincy Jones party??? The opportunities are endless!!! But I guess those parties would be wasted on the Urban Flats happy hour crowd, anyway.



Of course, the main thing going on in town tonight and this weekend is the Florida Music Festival but I am not going to cover it. Go to their website if you want details.

Tonight: Phat 'N Jazzy with BMF and Q-Burns Abstract Message

What happens when two of Orlando's best DJs team up to create a new brainchild? The answer lies within tonight's episode of Phat-N-Jazzy. Here's some background info:

"From beyond the stars comes the mysterious John Bigbooty, an interstellar super-group prone to dusty vacuum tube beats and distorted hyper-melodies blasted out of hi-fidelity megaphone speakers. Delicious breakbeat buffoonery mingles with hip-hop sample catching in four outrageous studio productions bound to start a dancefloor pogo riot.

John Bigbooty is rumored to be a one-off collaboration between Eighth Dimension stalwarts Q-Burns Abstract Message and DJ BMF arising from a presumed-forgotten session of beer drinking and beat making. It's been unearthed and repackaged for widespread release and is a sure-fire winner for fans of labels like Wall Of Sound, NinjaTune, and Bastard Jazz. Lap it up."



I have to be honest: I'm a fan of both of these DJs but the name John Bigbooty is terrible. I'm not sure why, but it reminds me of a two-person horse costume.



Still, all things aside, the music should be pretty dope. In addition, tonight is also advertised as "Swamburger's Expo Tees" but I'm not really sure what that means. I'm guessing there will be t-shirts to buy. The B-Side Artists will be doing their thing, and Maria Diestro, the driving force behind local house promoters Hoochie Productions, will be celebrating her birthday.

Radiohead VS. Kid Koala

Choose your own adventure for this evening:

#1 - A road trip to the land of Fake Plastic Trees, Pink Plastic Watering Cans, Paranoid Androids and Bodysnatchers (turn to page 27)
# 2 - Stay in your own backyard to see Your Mom's Favorite DJ who likes to cut records and make drawings on brown paper (turn to page 352)

If you chose #1: Congratulations! you're on your way to the Ford Amphitheatre to see Radiohead. There, you will be joined by thousands of sad emo rockers for a night of weeping and joy. In all seriousness, I went through a pretty big Radiohead phase and I've heard their live show is amazing. However, the best thing anyone has ever said about the band is this:

"Radiohead is boring music for white people who have no soul at all." -- DJ Mega

If you chose #2: Congratulations! You will be joining the B-Boys for the Kid Koala show at The Social. He's not a kid OR a koala, BUT he is a dope ass DJ, turntablist, producer and illustrator. Lots of creative juice coming outta that guy... wait, that sounds kinda gross. Anyway, he's playing tonight with DJ Jester the Filipino Fist and BMF.

Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday

Lately, I've been hearing that Tuesday nights at the Matador are going off. The flyer already makes it awesome.



If you feel like bustin' a move to Kris Kross and Vanilla Ice, Tuesdays are 90's Night at Voyage. According to their Myspace page, they promise "NO Lil' Wayne, NO Rhianna, NO 80s backbeat with a new hip-hop vocal, NO Reggeaton, NO CRAP!!!" Fulfilling this promise tonight will be DJ Y-Not and LT Smash.



Or, join the hip hop kids over at Phat-N-Jazzy with music by BMF and live art from the BSide Artist.

Feliz Cumpleaños, Swamburger

Tonight, the Solillaquists of Sound will be hosting Phat 'N Jazzy to celebrate frontman slash artist Swamburger's birthday bash, and apparently try to get him elected as a public official. Kind of like the time Billy Manes tried to run for mayor. Or not. Either way, Swam and co. will be joining the absolute hands-down best DJ in Orlando (and nicest man on the planet) Mr. BMF for a night celebrating music and art, P-N-J style.