Rich Medina Returns to Orlando

Rich Medina's son is way cooler than you. (Photo by Karl Rex.)

You know who’s awesome? These Lazy Afternoon guys. In the last few months, they have busted their asses to drop some knowledge to this town. Have you heard of Questlove? Brought him. Pete Rock? Yep, him too. DJ Craze, Maseo, Kon and Cosmo Baker? Check, check, check, and check. These are guys after my own heart and we’re lucky they’re doing their thing in Orlando.

Up next, they’re bringing back Rich Medina, one of my all-time favorite DJs, on Sunday, September 4. Their party on Memorial Day weekend was the shizzzzz, with Mr. Medina rocking the dance floor with all types of music the whole evening. (That is, until Eye Spy resident DJ Perry decided to ruin everything. Seriously, what’s up with this guy? He is *still* dropping "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers like it came out yesterday.)

This time the dance floor antics promise not to be cut short, as the party will be held at SUbstance. A reason to get there early: Orlando’s finest -- LT Smash, Kittybat and DJ Y-not -- will be on deck to warm up the dance floor.

A reason for the ladies to get there early: We get in free before 11. Oh word!
A reason for the guys to get there early: Ladies will be there.

Cover: $10
Why you shouldn’t complain about the cover:
A) Ladies in free before 11, so no excuses.
B) You’re contributing to make Orlando’s scene better. Help these dudes continue to bring true talent without losing their asses. Shit ain’t free.


21 and up, 10 PM, Peep the FB invite for more details.

PS... There are rumors circulating that there might be a steady Rich Medina Orlando residency in the works. Stay tuned!

Wine Not with DJ Y-Not + Golden Age Wednesdays

What are you doing this Wednesday night? Nothing? Well, then, why not Wine Not with DJ Y-Not? (Try saying that five times fast.)

But, seriously, head over to the College Park location of Dechoes, one of Orlando’s best vintage shops, for the first 2011 installment of their famed Wine Not Wednesday. As if you need them, here are five reasons to go:

DJ Y-Not Chances are, you’ve already heard of him; if not, it’s time you did. By far one of the most talented DJs Orlando has to offer, this dude has amazing taste in music, should have won the Red Bull 3 Style competition last March and threw some sick parties in 2010 (Kenny Dope and Deathrow vs. Bad Boy to name a few). Bottom line: see him.

Free Booze As the name suggests, there will be free wine on hand. If that’s not your thing, grab a free Peroni beer or, if you’re feeling daring, have some of the spiked Dec-hoe punch. But be careful – it’s sponsored by Wally’s, so that can only mean a Thursday hangover.

Free Food The newly-opened Graffiti Junktion in College Park provide the snacks to soak up some of the previously mentioned punch.

Cool Shit To put it simply, Dechoes is the mack. Besides the usual resale items like clothing, shoes, purses and accessories, they also have amazingly dope retro household items. (Will someone please buy me a 70’s owl lamp?) And everything is so ridiculously affordable, even if you plan on not buying anything, a few glasses of Dec-hoe punch will surely loosen your wallet. (That is the point, after all!)

Support Local Businesses! Here’s the deal – places like Dechoes are working for us. They’re busting their butt so we can have a better city. If we don’t help them out, we lose them. Too many cool businesses leave Orlando for greener pastures, so make sure you buy local as much as possible and keep them here. We need them. Orlando needs them. Thank you, Dechoes!

Peep more info on the Facebook invite.

And if you’re feeling saucy after the party, head downtown to The Attic (also formerly known as AKA Lounge) for Golden Age Wednesdays. This brand spankin’ new weekly party features the finer side of hip hop (before the auto-tune, that is), along with old school, neo-soul, reggae and R&B. The night is brought to us by the cool kids over at Culture Climax, also busting their asses to make our fair city more hip and happening. So support them too! First on deck is DJ Hu Flave. (Please note the aforementioned DJ Y-Not slotted for January 19.)

Happy Wednesday!

Obama vs. McCain -- Your Options for Getting Wasted on Election Night

Ummm, do I even have to say it??? IF YOU HAVEN'T VOTED, YOU BETTER GET THE FUCK OUT THERE AND DO IT. This election is WAY TOO IMPORTANT so PLEASE DON'T THROW YOUR VOTE AWAY! I waited an hour and a half last week to vote early so you have ZERO excuses. (Unless you're voting for McCain. Then you can stay home.)



By now you must know that we here at Don't Sleep Orlando are backing Mr. Obama as our new fearless leader. Actually, I guess I can only speak for myself but I would assume Mel-a-Monster is down with the O-man too. So where can you party down (or, in the unlikely case of a Republican victory, drown your sorrows) on election night? Read on.

Before we get down to where you should spend your evening, I suggest you download this song, play it on repeat and then send every goddamn good vibe and positive thought to Obama as humanly possible.

Nas - Black President.mp3

Now, on to the festivities. Phat-N-Jazzy is hosting an Election Night Special with the 10-piece band of Gerry Williams. According to his Myspace page, his influences include Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Al Green, Johnny Guitar Watson and Prince, so you can't really go wrong there.



Over at the Matador, C. U. Next. Tuesday will be holding another election party to either "attempt to fix the last eight years or one hundred more in Iraq." Let's hope for the former.



And finally, while I do not usually support or endorse the lameness that is Church Street, the hip hop duo of DJ Y-Not and Dolo will be playing their election night street party. Warning: you may be surrounded by super-white republicans, but at least the music will be tight.

And download Y-NOT's latest mix of super awesome presidentialness to get you in the spirit!

And on a completely unrelated Halloween note, I had the best costume of all time: Stevie Wonder.



Yes We Can... Change the World!

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.

Sky60 Password for Tonight and Weekend Happenings

The weekend is upon us and, fortunately, there is a ton of stuff going down. Those who aren't taking the road trip to see Flosstradamus in Ybor City this evening should come to Sky60 to see me and Andrew Spear play. The weather will be awesome and there's nothing better than drinking and dancing outside at a roof-top bar. The password for free admission is "I'm here to arrest the DJs."

After I recover from my inevitable hangover tomorrow, I'm heading over to Universal Studios Mardi Gras, which seems to run waaaaaay longer than the average Mardi Gras, to see one of my favorite funk bands of all time: Earth, Wind and Fire!!!!!!! And even though they will be lacking most of the original cast members, I am still giddy with excitement!!!


It was extremely difficult to narrow down, but I picked out three of my favorite EWF tracks to post here, even though they probably won't play any of them live. You may recognize In The Stone as the intro to Justice's Essential Mix, but they cut it off before the song even starts.

In The Stone.mp3
Sunshine.mp3
Mighty, Mighty.mp3

Tomorrow night is also going to be insane at Crooked Bayou, where they will holding a birthday bash for Susan, the awesomely awesome owner of the bar, and anyone else who happens to be an Aries. I have been to these b-day bashes at the Bayou before (how's that for alliteration?) and there is always a tendency towards free shots... which lead to boobs and ass flashings. The soundtrack to the craziness will be provided by Pete "The Shaker" Bones, T.A.R.D., Corey Harpin and Michael McNabb.



For all the vinyl junkies, Saturday, April 19th is National Record Store Day and you can celebrate locally tomorrow at Park Ave Cds. For the occasion, they'll be featuring exclusive releases and a sidewalk sale. Click the flyer for more details.


The wax-loving continues on Sunday with a record-trading BBQ called "I'm that Digga...still digging" where you can bring rare vinyl to trade with other record enthusiasts. Check out artwork by the B-Side Artist and music provided by Y-Not, Rod-1, Stereo 77 and Rice & Beans.



And finally, have you ever wondered why you can't bring your beloved dog with you to the bar? This Sunday, the 6th Annual Dog Fest Event is taking place on Central Blvd downtown. Also known as the "Doggie Day Street Party of the Year!" the event includes doggie vendors, live entertainment, food and drink specials, pet contests (Best Look-A-Like, Best Costume, Best Trick), moonwalk bounce house and face painter for children. So grab Fido and head to Casey's bar for all the canine action.

Tons to do this weekend -- so stop saying Orlando is boring!!! Hope to see you all out and about!!!

Pauly Crush VS. Firestone

It appears that the folks at Firestone got into a little tiff with Pauly Crush this past week and things don't look promising for Saturday Thursday. In addition to PC, everyone who used to be on the roster has officially severed ties with the night -- Miss Fit, Justin Scott, Kittybat, Diddles, and Y-Not -- all gone. Taking their place are a bunch of kids I have never heard of -- DJ Marcos, South Rakkas Crew***, DJ Deville and DJ Elementz -- and Firestone seems desperate to keep the crowd coming by lifting the cover and offering free drinks until 1 AM. It's rumored that Pauly will be starting a new night at a different venue to compete with ST but I guess we will have to wait and see. His crew is definitely loyal to him and there's no doubt that he helped make the night what it is (was) today. It will be interesting to see what happens with ST going forward, but there's a good chance it will fizzle out before too long.



***EDIT: Ummm... the South Rakkas Crew??? Ummmm.... they're like, freaking everywhere now... Urb Next 100??? They are all up in the scene, way more than li'l ol' me. So, I was super mega wrong on that one -- I can admit it. Still haven't heard of the other guys, though. Hopefully I won't have to follow up with another edit, eh??? :)

Last Minute Addition - Omega Watts at Cleo's Tonight

Good news for the broken beat/ nu jazz/ neo soul/ hip hop lovers in Orlando. According to a Myspace bulletin posted by DJ Y-Not, one of Ubiquity's golden boys, Ohmega Watts, will be playing for FREE at Cleo's tonight.

This event appears to be confirmed on Mr. Watts' Myspace page as a DJ set. And even better news is that he will be playing again this Friday with Stereo 77 at the Eola Wine Bar in Winter Park.

Ummm... why weren't these gigs promoted at all??? Thank goodness for Myspace, I guess.