Alter Ego – May 4 – Tampa, FL Washington DC / Philly / New York / RIP Bobby Hebb
So this week I have 3 events which I’m psyched about. Of course obviously it’s the first Saturday of the month so we’re going to be at Southpaw for The Rub. Plus this month we have one of my good homies and certified member of the Tice Squad, Steve1der throwing down with us. Good times, as always, so definitely come through.
Then on Sunday I will be rocking in my hometown of Philadelphia at (in my opinion) one of the best rooms in the country, Silk City. Silk City is one of the places that I got my start as a DJ and I’m so happy that it’s still around, and as well as still relevant. The Sunday party is pretty much a strictly house and classics affair so get ready cause we’re gonna make it happen on that level. Philly is where I got my soul…
Friday will be my first appearance at Washington DC’s U Street Music Hall this Friday. For those who don’t know, UHall is owned by my homies Tittsworth and Will Eastman. Great dudes, great DJs, and friends of mine, so I’m honored to be rocking at their spot. And I’ve heard it’s one of the best rooms in the country, so I’m ready to go. Also I will be rocking alongside some of my favorite DJs, Deep Sang & Meistro, as well as the DC legend Sam “The Man” Burns, so I am truly truly honored.
The night is Red Fridays and is again a strictly house and classics affair, and I’m very happy and honored to be involved with this. Last time in DC I played with my man Sharkey at LMW and it was a great time and such a dope party. But that time I was definitely playing more along the lines of a hip-hop set. So this time around my DC people will be seeing a different facet of me. But the thing is with me is that there’s just as much a part of my DJ lineage with house and classics as there is with rap music. That’s one of the things about growing up in Philly – as a DJ you learn to incorporate all of that stuff into your repertoire, and you become a better DJ because of it. Nowadays where everyone is a “open format DJ” I’m grateful that I mess with dance music because I truly love it, and not by a sense of necessity.
Check out the interview that I did with Marcus Dowling for the DC based www.tgrionline.com site. TGRI stands for “True Genius Requires Insanity” and so I’m with that: Mention the name “Cosmo Baker” in a circle of DJs, and cats get quiet and speak in hushed tones. I’ve seen it happen too many times to forget. It’s a quiet borne of reverence, borne of a man who is supremely talented at his craft, a guy who is a trademark of excellence in blending music that bridges genres and brings people together... Pretty cool, so check it out in full here.
Also, here’s a cool article that was written about me in the Washington Post: “When U Street Music Hall set out elevate the level of dance clubs in Washington, one of the first ideas was a homage to the beloved underground house club Red. Since then, Red Fridays have followed the same formula as their namesake, a spectrum of deep and soulful house sounds delivered by veteran locals and big stars to feed the appetites of serious dancers. This week’s pairing of must-see spinners is Philly’s doctor of records Cosmo Baker and D.C. house grandfather Sam “The Man” Burns. Baker is one of the best open-format DJs in the game, who mastered rocking a vast variety of genres on vinyl before digital DJing made it much easier. There’s really no genre of music he can’t play convincingly and none he hasn’t studied extensively. Booking a vibe chameleon like Baker for a house night is an intriguing choice that will lead the dance floor in unexpected directions, as a skilled musicologist can connect house to elements of funk, disco and jazz”
Rest In Peace Bobby Hebb… A lot of old school music legends passing these days. Bobby Hebb wrote a perennial classic, “Sunny” back in 1963. My mom used to tell me about how Bobby wrote the song in response to the assassination of JFK. I only recently learned that on the same day JFK died, Bobby’s brother was stabbed and killed. No wonder the song is so impassioned. So let me connect the dots here. Bobby Hebb released the original “Sunny” in 1966.
10 years later, German based disco group Boney M released their version.
In 2003, Mark Ronson came out with “Ooh Wee” that samples the Boney M version.
Stevie Wonder turns 60 today. What can be said about this man that hasn’t been said before. Maybe I actually mean what can be said about what this man means to me as an artist, a visionary, or a human being? I can’t think of any living artist that embodies the term “legendary” more than him. It’s beyond effort to try and classify him. He’s a true national treasure. He is The Grand Canyon, and Mount Rushmore. He is the Statue Of Liberty and our “amber waves of grain.” There should be a Stevie Wonder holiday. For those of you that live in New York, it’s safe to say 
I remember seeing both of these episodes when I was a kid – and in doing the math I know they must have been repeats because I wasn’t even born when these shows were aired in 1972. But they definitely are worth repeating, PBS to me, and now me to you. I used to scoff at the “Cult Of Stevie” that would be running around. “How dare you lay claim to him. He’s all mine and my connection to him is deeper yada yada yada…” But Stevie belongs to no one person, he’s a once-in-a-lifetime gift to humanity, and his very being here in our universe helps hold it together in a sense. Stevie is the living embodiment that music makes the world a better place to live in, even though Stevie is so much larger than just his music. He belongs to none of us, and to all of us. “Happy birthday Stevie, happy birthday to you, HAPPY BIRTH-DAYYYY…