Switch It Up

Let’s go back in time for a moment. The date is March 28, 2008 and it’s a million and one degrees. I’m sweating my face off while hanging out poolside at the Southseas Hotel in Miami Beach. This is my ninth straight year of attending the Winter Music Conference and I still haven’t learned my lesson: I’m not dressed properly for the scorching heat and am getting trashed on mojitos way too early in the day. My friends and I are at the Windish Agency day party, eagerly awaiting the major headliner of the moment: SWITCH. As the day goes on, more drinks are consumed, Groucho Marx novelty glasses provide much amusement and we dance to Drop the Lime and DJ Medhi. Somewhere in my drunken haze, I ask Mike Feinberg what time Switch is playing.

"He’s not."

Another WMC lesson not learned: sometimes the headliners bail. Had I been less drunk, I might remember why. His agency canceled, he’s double booked, he missed his flight -- it’s all coming to mind. (Although, I could be confusing the latter with Bloody Beetroots, who also missed their Rockbar gig.) The news is quite a blow, considering we’re specifically at this party to see him. The next morning at breakfast I beg Feinberg to bring Switch to the artist formerly known as the Saturday/Thursday party at Firestone. He tells me it’s already in the works.

Fast forward a few months: Saturday/Thursday is dead, leaving few options to host this big-name producer slash DJ from the UK. There aren’t many Orlando venues that can deliver a paying crowd without promoters losing their ass. Not to mention Orlando might not be the number one destination for a man of such accomplishment: he’s behind the music of M.I.A and Santogold (to name a few) and the founder of Dubsided Records, not to mention XLR8R’s Artist of the Year of 2007.

But Mike Feinberg and Pauly Crush are smart. Knowing Switch may not be overly eager to stop in the Sunshine State, they have set up a mini-tour to make it worth his while. So now it’s all up to YOU. In the name of all that’s good and holy, you MUST support their efforts!!! There are three options to catch the man in action and it is your duty as a club-going Floridian to be at one or all of them.

Thursday, December 11th in Orlando
Catch him at Icon with Pauly Crush, Mot, Andrew Spear and Queso
***Spend $30 at Covert or Beta and get a free ticket!***



Friday, December 12th in Ybor City
He’ll be at Pulp with Pauly Crush, Justin Scott and Estrange



Saturday, September 13th in Miami
Playing at the Heathrow Lounge with Pauly Crush, Jessica Who?, Keen One and Damaged Goods



And just for good measure, here are some of my favorite Switch remixes.

P Diddy Ft Christina Aguilera - Tell Me (Switch Remix).mp3

Freeform Five - No More Conversations (Switch Remix).mp3

CSS - Music Is My Hot Hot Sex (Switch Feat. Mapei Remix).mp3

The Futureheads - Worry About It Later (Switch Remix).mp3

Please do whatever it takes to get to one of these shows. Sell a kidney if you have to. Yes, he's just that good.

Tonight: Felix Cartal and Suprise Guest DJ!

Photo by Kcoll Designs

Canadian super electro-kid, Felix Cartal, will be gracing the tables with the guys of Carnival this evening. Although his Myspace page lists him playing at Studio B tonight, he's actually playing at the more idiotically-named Suite B (Yes, it was unoriginally named after their address. Yes, and everyone thinks you're saying Sweet Pea).

Felix has certainly proved himself to be a big dog in the electro game, remixing the likes of MSTRKRFT, Dragonette and Franz and Shape, to name a few. And I must say, anyone who can make me like a Britney Spears or Ashlee Simpson track must have some skills.

Not necessarily his most recent, but here are some of my favorite tracks:

Felix Cartal - Drugs.mp3

Felix Cartal - Moss vs. Tree.mp3

Britney Spears - Outrageous (Felix Cartal Remix).mp3

Ashlee Simpson - L.O.V.E. (Felix Cartal Remix).mp3

Now, onto the real fun of this post: a section I like to call, "Guess the Heavily-Advertised 'Surprise Guest DJ'!!!"



Assuming there actually is a surprise DJ, let's look at the options. Based on Felix's "Top 8" (yes, most of my research is based on Myspace), here are the choices:

The D.A. - I have to be honest: I have no idea who these dudes are. Maybe a Canadian DJ crew of sorts? All I can gather is they are also from British Columbia and they're "sort of like an abortion but with more cursing." I can't even Google search them without a million Da Vinci Code pages coming up, so I'm ruling them out.

MSTRKRFT - They were just in O-town on the 14th + they're playing in Norway tonight = I am crossing them off the list.

AM - Lol... straight from his website: "You know a party is hot; high profile and happening if AM is the DJ. A-Listers show up to events not to be seen but to hear AM spin and tear up the dance floor to his records of choice." Yeah right. They're showing up because he dated Nicole Richie. I'm guessing the most pretentious LA DJ alive is not the one playing tonight.

Miko - Um, I think this is Felix Cartal's manager and he isn't even a DJ. So.... no.

The Bloody Beetroots - I heart these guys so much and wish they would come to Orlando; I'm even learning Italian for when they come to Florida and I can take them and Crookers to Disney World. Their only US dates appear to be in LA or NYC at the moment, though, so they look like a no-go. Ché Vergogna.

Hostage - This Scotsman has remixed Felix Cartal several times and vice versa. He's super dope but also over in the UK this weekend and It's doubtful that a mid-week trip to Orlando was on his agenda.

This brings us to our final two:

LA Riots vs. Lazaro Casanova. I know the Carnival guys are friends with LA Riots but they were here pretty recently. If I had to guess, I would imagine the super secret DJ is Miami's own Lazaro Casanova. Maybe they're keeping him under wraps because the only time I ever saw him DJ, he managed to completely CLEAR the dance floor. At the Winter Music Conference, no less. Yikes.

So there you have it -- based solely upon my (not so sharp) deduction skills, Lazaro will be spinning with the Carnival boys tonight. Perhaps I should have been a detective.

Happy Wednesday!!!

EDIT: Damn, I was *this* close. As a late-breaking Myspace bulletin reports: "Don't forget, a Special Guest will be causing RIOTS on the dance floor earlier in the evening." I guess LA Riots it is!

DJ Rut + Torque's 9th Bday + Kid Charlemagne

The Crush kids have a very special guest joining them tonight at BackBooth: DJ Rut. Although he's barley old enough to drink, he has co-founded Club City Records and his tracks have already been promoted on notable blogs like Discobelle and Iheartcomix. I saw him DJ at the Windish Agency party at the WMC this past year and he is definitely one to watch.

Check out a few of his remixes below and visit his Myspace page to hear his WMC promo DJ mix.

DJ Rut - U See Me Again Remix.mp3

Sara Bareilles - Love To Be Bmored (DJ Rut Remix).mp3


This party is free when you get on the Crush guestlist.



Also tonight at Crooked Bayou is the 9th year anniversary of Torque, Orlando's longest running drum 'n bass night. Any night that has made it this long in Orlando deserves mad props and support. Click the flyer for more details.



And, finally, if you're in the mood for a road trip, the ultimately awesome "driving in the car with dad" band, Steely Dan, is playing at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater. Tickets are a bit expensive but totally worth it.



Happy Monday!

Tonight: LA Riots take over Carnival!!!

No, not those LA Riots! These LA Riots!



I caught them during the WMC this year at the club owned by Tommy Lee in Miami (PS... huge thanks to the Carnival guys for getting us past the meatheads at the door!!!). LA Riots totally killed the place and had the dance floor going off -- unfortunately Lazaro Casanova went on after them and ruined the whole thing. I have never seen anyone literally clear the dance floor at the conference, but somehow he managed to do it. AND Bloody Beetroots missed the gig because their flight was canceled or some crap. Wait, I'm getting off track -- LA Riots are awesome.

Don't take my word for it -- see for yourself tonight when the cool kids take over snooty Suite B every Wednesday for Carnival! These guys have been bringing some major talent to Orlando and I give them mad props for what they're doing for the scene. \m/



And now for some music:

The Toxic Avenger - Escape (LA Riots Remix).mp3
Justice - D.V.N.O. (LA Riots Bootleg).mp3
Heartsrevolution - Switchblade (LA Riots Remix).mp3

For a sneak preview of what you can expect tonight, here's a mix they did back in January (via Zshare).

Bienvenidos a Miami

Time to head out for the weekend. If you're taking the road trip down, here are some awesome parties to check out:





Since there's waaaaaaayyyyy too many to post, check out the full WMC list.

Tonight - Kissy Sell Out in Orlando

I am super, duper, ultra, mega, hardcore bummed that I am going to miss Kissy Sell Out tonight. But while he's rocking Firestone, I'll be watching Boys Noize on the beach. I guess that's an even trade :)



For more KSO mixes, check out his official podcast.

F-I-R-E-I-N-O-R-L-A-N-D-O

As our mini-conference week continues, I'm trudging through the 9 - 5 job while daydreaming of mojitos on the beach. Luckily I head to Miami and the WMC tomorrow, and Digitalism is throwin' it down at Firestone tonight. Joining their tour is Guns'N'Bombs, who completely killed the club last summer. Not bad for a Wednesday (and no work on Thursday = WOO!).



If you haven't downloaded these already, get on it!

Digitalism Essential Mix (via newmixes.com)

Digitalism and Cajuan Guest Mix (via Kidz By Colette)

Guns'N'Bombs Mixtape #2 (Via Shot Callin')

Guns'N'Bombs Mixtape #3 (via MissingToof)

Oh My God, there's a Riot in Belgium!

This is a good week to be an Orlando-ian. Thanks to our close proximity to Miami, we get a sweet deal every March when world renowned DJs make a pit stop here on their way to the WMC -- a mini music conference, if you will. Tonight kicks off the stellar week with Riot in Belgium tearing up BackBooth. It's the Aussies' first time playing here and should be the perfect start to a week jam-packed with awesomeness. Digitalism, Guns 'N Bombs, Kissy Sell Out and Pase Rock will also be in effect. By this time next week, I'll be lucky if I am still alive.

Here, have some music:

Riot in Belgium - La Musique

Chromeo - Bonafied Loving (Riot in Belgium Remix)

Yelle - A Cause Des Garcons (Riot in Belgium Remix)

Franz and Shape - The Man Who Paid Before (Riot In Belgium's Bedroom Remix)