ON THE FLO'
Newcomer party promoters Wreckreation Department teamed up with Chicago dance music label conglomerate Mix Connection Multi-Media to throw a super-secret signing party/birthday gala in Detroit last Friday night for 18-year-old Ann Arbor booty/electro prodigy Dave "Disco D" Shayman, who signed with MCM subsidiary Contaminated last month. The small, 500-person-max Firehouse venue felt more like a house party than a rave, thanks in no small part to local rave visualists Electric Violence, who opted for nicely low-key, art galleryish TV monitor visuals instead of the usual intellibeam laser light overkill. Shayman joined former Warehouse/soon-to-be Legends Saturday night bass jock Gary Chandler for a tag team deejay set, taking turns mixing bass and booty tracks sped up to an insane-sounding 45 RPM(!). Even though deep bass frequencies suffered due to the pitched-up record speeds, the pair put on a mutually respectful show of skills, Chandler dropping jungle hip-hop remixes and trick scratching while Shayman dropped a test pressing white label of Chicago junglist Danny the Wildchild's remix of Shayman's new "Where They At?"
For the 500 party kids and curious assembled, however, MCM head honcho and special guest headliner deejay Bad Boy Bill's manic assault on the senses was the real attraction. Bill last performed in the area at August's "Freaks Believe In Beats" party in front of thousands; in front of hundreds the energy was all the more electric. Spinning everything from hard house to frequency-tweaking hard, hard techno and even throwing in Shayman's aforementioned ghetto-hit-to-be and the Beastie Boys "Intergalactic" for a crowd-pleasing change-up, Bill's flashy but compelling set of doubles tricking (mixing between two copies of the same record) dazzled the trainspotters assembled around the makeshift deejay booth and had the rest of the ravers dancing for a solid two hours. By the time Chicago junglist 3-D took the decks, the crowd was a bit spent; wisely, 3-D spun an abstract drum 'n' bass remix of up-tempo but not too hard jungle from there. As for Shayman and MCM, his Contaminated vinyl debut of new aggro-electro tracks, "Can't Stop This," drops by Halloween.
PLAYER LOVERS IN DIS HOUSE
For a guy whose only regular deejay gig was at a blind pig in southwest Detroit, DJ Godfather (Brian Jeffries) is doing his part to make the Detroit bass scene a tad more legit. First, there's his Friday night residency at Motor, where he's been spinning bass and hip hop to a more mainstream club crowd, and now, b'gosh, he's doing in-stores? Yup. Godfather releases his debut full-length CD of ghetto bass, Player Haters In Dis House on his own Databass label with an in-store deejay performance at Roseville's Record Time (Gratiot, north of I-696) this Saturday at 7 p.m. As anybody who's caught his Motor sets can tell you, Godfather's not a bass producer, but a hip-hop-schooled trick deejay who's not afraid of a little pitching up. Not to be missed. Call 810-775-1550 for more info.
TURNTABLEAUX A TROIS
Back in the area after two phenomenal appearances at Motor is Brooklyn's hard house/techno party favorite Frankie Bones, who this time brings his whole Sonic Groove crew -- Heather Hart and Adam X -- to town to spin on six -- count 'em six -- turntables at once. The aptly titled "ThreeStyle" party from Audiomind marks the first time the Sonic Groove triumvirate has brought its three-way simultaneous deejaying to the Midwest. Other deejays scheduled to appear include the Detroit bass scene's Master P, DJ Assault. More info: 248-988-0527.
