Sort of last minute, but I thought I’d check in with the skinny since I’m just sitting here waiting for ones and zeroes to travel the intertubes. Today is my birthday, and we’ve got a heck of a show planned for tonight. One of my favorites, internationally acclaimed DJ/Producer MAZI will be playing our monthly edition of [RADIO] this evening at the Cardinal Bar. I was at a loss for a decent flyer with all the other bullshit that’s been storming me in the last few weeks, but you get the idea. Not much needs to be said when a DJ of this caliber comes to town.

On a somber note, any and all music events at the Mercury (ST4RB4SS included) were recently canceled, leaving a slew of shows now orphaned unless I can come up with something fast. We had a tremendous run for about a year and a half, but I guess it’s time to move on. After my usual bout of exasperation with the dismal club scene in this town, I’m feeling at least a little more upbeat about not giving it all up and having a very extravagant garage sale. Though I guess that could happen at any time. The good news, or trade off as it were, is that a new night came out if it!

Technically an old night, reborn, (how fitting) the old ‘T0UCH‘ nights from Kimia Lounge are back, but in a new home. Upon heading to the ol’ Mercury to reclaim the collection of equipment that had gathered there (read: mainly my glorious sub) I found myself locked out, and abandoned by those I was meeting. So, after about six months of empty ‘what ifs’ with the manager (an old friend and fellow scorpio) of Cafe Montmartre next door I found myself filling in for a cancellation of theirs with the promise of a new night just behind it. At the very least, T0UCH will be back for one sexy night. I do hope to see you there.

And there you have it. Short and sweet. I’ll spare you the grisly details of all the fail that’s raining down on me currently, but know that I’m still plugging along, and pulling for you. Maybe part of the issue was that I never come here and tell you all the things that pile on my mind, and they’ve just been gathering weight.

I think it’s officially a new record for time between posts. Summer is whipping by and things are still heating up on the scene. Despite fall closing in, there’s still a ton of great shows coming up and new developments in the works. First up, CircuitWorks! is now live and full press, as my day job officially expired at the end of September. It’s been an exercise in discipline since then, but I think I’m getting my stride on. Plus, my liver is about to fail.

Coming up this weekend we have a tremendous RADIO show which I have been looking forward to for more than a few months now. Hey Champ DJs mangled the dancefloor at Chicago’s Smartbar this past weekend, opening up for Institubes newcomer and complete fireball (and one of my total favorites right now) SURKIN, a young ace on the Paris label. Photo by Cesar Sebastian

This Saturday Hey Champ DJs will be coming up to Madison to lay a little down for us, this time as headliners. A run of hot singles all over hype machine details their heavy hitting, dancefloor energy with a tight house flavor. Opening up for them is deep house jock Marcus Aurelius, off of Milwaukee’s Soul Fuel Recordings, who has become quite a prolific artist in his own right in recent times. Of course Donnie Vendetta and I will host the opening hours to get people buck wild and proper lit.

The new lineup for Q4 at ST4RB4SS will be finalized tonight, and not a moment too soon with the Halloween edition screaming up on us for the 25th of October. It’s a little early, but fuck if I want to deal with another last year, and have no less than every other ghoul in the city trying to throw or attend their own parties. We’ve got Depthcharge coming back in, his last time with us being a stellar cerebral set at the now defunct FACT parties.

Alternating resident and newly inducted Bass Goes Boom member cutFUCKER opens with his bangin’, beat forward brand of dubstep. Rounding out the bill are DJ KGB bringing the heavy tech funk and Madison’s own acid hero Dakota Veer closing out the night. Keep an eye out for that one, as it’s set to be heavy and dark, just the way the night demands.

There are whispers of a night of party in the making, but it’s merely echoes from beyond the grave at this point, as nothing has crossed over to materialize in our world just yet. As soon as I see a shadow, I’ll keep you posted.

It seems like forever since the last post, and all the action and drama that came with it. Zoom forward to the present, and everything has changed again. I no longer live in what was probably one of the best apartments I will ever occupy. I moved everything out and into what is now the new CircuitWorks! lab -an official business operation in a rather unofficial location. For now it doubles as the storage of our former life, and for a brief moment I considered taking my headphone and laptop and closing the door with little intention of ever returning. Didn’t take. In the mean time we crash with my sister (thanks!) at her house on the north side of town, and wait for our moment to spring into action on this romanticized notion of settling down. I’m not sure how it’s all going to pan out, but it’s going to be a major step and when the dust settles, everything will be completely changed yet again. What ever happened to baby steps?

Tonight -already!- is the ‘Fractured Foundations’ show at Three Lounge in Milwaukee. I’m really looking forward to unwinding on the decks, as it’s been a good while since I haven’t been playing the opening slot at my own show. A haircut, a nice dinner with the parents (happy birthday, mom!) and some fun in the booth should put me pretty well back in line to tackle the looming uncertainty I’ve been feeling over the next few months of bookings. Which I still have little if any idea what to do about.

Friday night brings the next Radio show, which continue to hold my attention for the moment. I’ve been working on new ways to approach the promoting and running the show that I haven’t yet tried, and this will be the first results I see. Very curious. October’s show is going to continue the exciting, upward trend of bringing signed/published/noteworthy talent and I look forward to seeing how a show the month after that, landing squarely on my birthday, will turn out. Sadly, my first three choices are all playing at the same club that night in Chicago. I still have some ideas up my sleeve, however, and there’s too much to work with for a Radio night not to turn out as fun.

Beyond that, the future. Rather than continue to force out this flat and uninteresting blog entry I will simply say that it is, at this point, anybody’s guess.

Hot on the heels of my return, the action is getting thick. The night after stepping off the plane I was staring down one of the higher stakes shows I’ve done in a while. The radio nights have been doing well, but the new night luster is wearing off which puts it in a critical phase of transition and requires some very precise and delicate maneuvering to keep the masses hungry -and that just so happens to be my specialty! I found a DJ that I vaguely recalled from my glory days of rave in the 90s, and teamed him up with one of my most reliable staffers. I (for a rare change;) opted against my usual cold beer to keep my hands hot on the lighting controls, and we tore off in a frenzy of blistering tech-house jams and synchronized swirling of colored light beams in fog. I comfort myself by saying that the combination of phenomenal music and well choreographed lighting simply made the night too intense for the average dancer, but alas, as I darted outside for a quick cigarette the night my personal record for success was forever altered.

A friend of mine dashed through the door with his entourage awkwardly circling him -and behind them: a group of angry parton’s shouting and wielding cell phones. There was a fight on the dance floor. I spoke to him briefly and sent him off, then went inside to see a largely cleared out dance floor and another crowd dragging some kid out the back door to prop him up against the wall of a neighboring building. His face looked like a bloody pumpkin, swollen and soft, and peoples voices echoed like crows in a flurry of simultaneous 911 calls. It was downhill from there and fortunately the whole thing happened not long before the lights turned on and the music stopped anyway. By the time the ambulance loaded the guy onto the stretcher (standard procedure, even though he was unresponsive with a glazed look and limp posture I’d bet he was more embarrassed and drunk than hurt.) and the cops took all the statements it was just after closing time. sheesh. In 8 years of organizing hundreds of shows, I’ve never had a fight. The last ST4RB4SS was the first scuffle I’m aware of (hardly noteworthy) and now this. Does this mean I made the big time? Maybe I just have too many dudes at some shows. C’mon d00ds, fo real..

Anyway, I’m hoping to turn things around a little bit on that front because I’m sure (fortunately not from experience) that it must be a slippery slope. This coming ST4RB4SS promises a vibe that’s funky and fun, with DJNR8 and Jobot both laying down some intense and feel good music. Add to that Luke PM, cutFUCKER, and me and everything will be alright. A gig swap with Mario (DJNR8) landed me a booking at Club Three in Milwaukee on Thursday, September 11, the night before the next Radio. Should prove to be interesting, I always enjoy when I have a few booking grouped together so I can really get re-acquainted with the music I don’t always get to play in my role as a “promoter”. The new RADIO lineup is set and flyers are en route and the next few months of music direction are beginning to materialize. This next show takes it a major notch up, despite sloppy scheduling forcing me to cancel another booking on the same night with Instigate, which would have been a nice treat.

For the major news: CircuitWorks! Labs may have finally found a true home. A quaint street level space of cinder block walls and sparse webs of conduit across them, an old wooden floor that bounces gently as you stride across it, a ceiling of HVAC shapes and a concrete support beam in the center. It all comes together to give it a perfect cross between old world basement Wisconsin workshop and mad scientist’s strange underground layer. As with anything, there are no guarantees so I will spare you the giddy excitement that even the possibilities plague me with at the moment, but rest assured when I know beyond a doubt that it is for real, I will burden you all with tales of it’s glory. Or I could just be hysterical from all the uncertainty life has offered as of late. Either way, It’s only a matter of time before it is what it is.

I survived the second annual ‘West Coast Whirlwind Tour‘, sponsored by master of mayhem herself, SanDiego. Despite that stupid cold pounding into full force on the first night out it was, overall, a somehow exhausting and rejuvenating trip. After touching down in San Diego we were picked up by a friend and almost immediately whisked off to Malibu for a “private” Moby show at the Malibu Performing Arts Center. I’m not sure if it’s just because we were in the Grossly Wealthy New Age Hippie epicenter of the country or my dizzying cold, but I couldn’t help but realize how much I don’t like Moby anymore. The show seemed stilted and phony, and the band had the stage presence of a bunch of over-privileged kids playing for their disconnected parents at a dinner party rife with Hollywood elite. Except they’re all older and were underwhelmingly unenthusiastic. Everyone seemed to love it though, so I did my best to keep the complaining to a healthy minimum. *Reports concerning that part may conflict. Fearing this, I had earlier called my most elitist and (not coincidentally) well connected friend back home and he had, within the hour, managed up an address for what promised to be a beautifully cliché downtown LA sexy party. The idea however was quietly dismissed and I found myself in the backseat riding for hours among the quiet Malibu hills and back highways.
Fortunately this didn’t signal how the rest of the trip went, and it only got better from there. Gradually better.
The next night we went to Ra for some sushi and douchebag watching, and both were world class. We hurriedly finished and marched through an array of Gaslamp district clubs, before passing out on the couch at a mediocre afterparty. Just like home, really. We spent our last few nights in California rather casually, with a day of playing and body surfing in the ocean waves and wandering around at Santa Monica Pier, shopping, arguing and eating well.

Utah was a lot more similar to last year’s trip, and with my cold passing it’s peak I was in far better spirits. The crippling mountain bike ride up Green Pond trail did not seem as debilitating as the previous year. Having another year on my feet definitely helped, and I made it to the halfway point this time before quitting in frustrated exhaustion. Not bad, really. Plus it made me finally realize that having padded shorts is indeed a beneficial thing. Then a trip rock climbing in Mission Gorge for the first time since I fell off a cliff. Fear kept me pretty paralyzed for most of the day, but I eventually forced myself up two climbs. It’s a lot different climbing a rock face when you’re already halfway up a damn mountain. I can never escape the fear that I will go momentarily insane and throw myself from any significant height I happen to be on, just to feel the rush of wind against my skin, the sensation of being free from the earth’s bond, and the sudden surge of overwhelming regret in the core of my being as my trajectory changes to a deadly plummet downward. This is all just my imagination of course, and the nauseous paranoia always subsided when I look away and hold onto something solid. But, I digress.

Finally, the extreme portion of the vacation ended, and only a day at the Crystal Hot Springs water park remained. How this place was still in business was entirely beyond us. Hilariously dilapidated, the place was a bizarre graveyard of childhood innocence. Two of the three main pools were empty, their concrete shells cracked and eroding. The three round hot tubs were often too hot to even completely enter, and one of the two water slides was completely closed down while the second closed intermittently. Their were old rubber runners laid over the grass to cover up the ‘puncture weeds’ sprawling across the lawn. Our picnic bench had a yellow jacket’s nest in the metal piping of it’s legs, which I discovered by getting stung on the toe. The single remaining slide held all the wonder of underprivileged adventure. The stairs were loose and crooked; rusty nails jutted from missing sections of handrail and crumbling plywood panels covered sections of the stairwell in a loose patchwork of pieces. No life guard monitored the top of the slide, and a foam mat was your only companion down. No member of the staff looked to be older than 16 either, and none too pleased to be there. Yet somehow it was more fun than a day at Noah’s Ark. There was virtually no line on the slide, and people ran up the stairs and hurled themselves down it in all imaginable configurations as fast as gravity and the water would carry them. We slept like angels that night, filled with the honest fun that today’s exaggerated scrutiny and lack of comradery would never allow for.
By the time I boarded the plane a few days later, I had forgotten where I came from, what I did, who I was. It was an odd feeling considering I had been painfully aware of it the whole time prior to arriving at the airport. The flight was long. Like one of those dreams where you dream you wake up and feel like it’s been a long day while knowing you’re still sleeping, which makes it feel even longer. A muted concern that you should be up, because you’re certain it’s later than it seems for how much time you feel has passed. The bus ride was even longer. It was dark when I got home, and Oyster was sleeping. I could see the disbelief in his eyes when I woke him, and caressed his head for a moment. I wondered, briefly, what it might be like to awake from a coma after some significant length of time had passed and find yourself standing alone in a dark house that seems only vaguely familiar.

It’s been a year, and I’m a bit more nimble than I was. I was stupid this past weekend and let a cold slip in while being careless -I only hope the poison air circulating on the plane doesn’t use my weakness as a chance to ambush. San Diego first, fun with friends and relaxation -even a Moby show somewhere (LA?). Then it’s off to Utah. No camping this time, no mountains. I’m not really sure what to expect, but I know that when I return there will be nothing left that I recognize. I think I can be ok with that.

Make way for the new.

Summer is officially at it’s peak, and everything is in full bloom. My delicious garden is an explosion of peas and zucchini, cucumber and tomato. There is also no shortage of beer tents and festivals, ripe for the picking. With so much going on, it’s hard not to feel the energy and stay busy myself. So many projects, so little time. The Radio nights are coming along nicely, despite the last one ending in a bit of a blur, and ST4RB4SS is still a great night of fun where I can let the CircuitWorks sound system run free and loud. We are still house hunting, or house haggling as it were. We found a place and fell in love, but we want to make sure we get a decent price considering the rampant recession all around us. As such, I’m trying to wrap up as much as I can before the boxes come out, and all progress halts. Toss a vacation out west on top of that, and my August just got very hectic. That hasn’t stopped me from getting at least a little time in the studio though, so I’m getting my sea legs back as far as composing.

Concerts on the Square this Wednesday was one of the most inspiring I have yet been to, with Time For Three playing some of the most mind bending, inspiring music I have heard in a long time. It was a bizarre amalgam of bluegrass and classical that brazenly swept into a mix of Celtic and Hungarian influence before melting down in a complex and beautiful wash to float through hymns and slow ballads, only to stir up again back into a frenzy. Truly breathtaking.

Inspired creatively, I’ve begun work on a few new things, both musical and physical. The first show of the Q3 ST4RB4SS lineup is upon us, and the DeathStar sub cabinet will be present and fully operational, albeit still without wheels or convenient means of mobility. The next Radio is also locked and loaded (well, maybe not loaded yet) and I really like the direction these nights are taking. I can focus more energy on where it needs to be, and waste less effort pulling up slack which makes for a better overall show, more easily than at the Mercury. -no offense to them, they’re still my homebase. I’m looking forward to seeing how things pan out in the fall. Which will (god willing) be an observation made from the comfort of my first home, sitting with SanDiego, relaxing in our own little paradise.

I’m feeling pretty lost today. There’s been so much going on lately that I can’t do much else besides hit the autopilot and close my eyes. ST4RB4SS in June happened, then a show at the Majestic on July 2nd, and another on the 4th. I set up the sound system for a show on the 5th. Saturday is the next RADIO show. A pretty non stop barrage of music, so at least I’m finally catching up with my collection and getting my catalog straight in my head.

It should be a great show at the Cardinal, but there’s no shortage of things to do this weekend. Hopefully between all the shows and Art Fair on the Square we can still get a few bodies in and moving at the club.

The new Q3 ST4RB4SS schedule is finalized and floating around in print form, albiet with an incorrect date on it! I pray people are sharp enough to put it together, but it seems like most know it’s always the last Saturday (which is reiterated on the flyer) so I’m not too worried. Of course, I’m not too anything today.

wow, I figured I’d better get back here before any more crazy shit happens. It seems like the flood gates opened (well, technically I guess a few did. what.. . too soon?) recently and there’s shows pouring out all over! Coming up fast this weekend is -at freaking last- the :Radio: show at the Cardinal Bar. I’ve been looking forward to it for so long I forgot to even get ready for it. At least the line up of talent can carry the night if I don’t. I’m actually pretty excited to hear what each of the guys has in store for this, as it’s a chance to breathe some new life into an old haunt. A haunt that could use some CPR, to be honest.

Just after that I’ll have a short week off before a one-two punch of shows only days apart. And only blocks apart for that matter. First, my highly anticipated first shot at the Majestic Theater opening up for a show featuring Nate Manic of Bad Advice Records out of Chicago. He’s a great guy and a super hot DJ, so that party is gonna shake for sure. Plus it’s the fucking Majestic! It’s about time I get to lay down on some TurboSound. We’ll see if it rivals the CircuitWorks sound system. *wink wink. (I am fully aware that it destroys my sound, kthxbai) And not two days later is the last ST4RB4SS of Q2. I’ve got a good feeling about this one, as it’s prime summertime livin’ by then and nothing says summer like some fat ass house beats, yo. Between Milwaukee’s Geewiz and Madison’s own jedi DJ Anonymous it’s going to be thick with the hotness. JP and I will open, so I’ll even have some fun on the decks with an old buddy to set the mood all friendly-like.

All in all a marvelously busy June is shaping up, and it’s only going to stay crazy in the first part of next month, when the fourth of July ushers in a possible three shows in four days or some crazy shit like that! I’m not sure how much of that is going to pan out, but I know July 5th is already pretty much set, as I’m bringing the sound and I know I’m going to be there. As for the other two, we can only see. I’m holding my breath and stockpiling tracks as fast as I can memorize them, all for the pending avalanche of awesome. How fucking epic will that be? Damn, I’m profane today.

Keep it riZeal

All the widespread devastation around the world serves as my current reminder that things are constantly changing. In my head I picture time lapse videos of anthills being meticulously built and subsequently blown away by a chance wind in an instant, only to be built again. It’s amazing when this happens on the human scale, earthquakes leveling entire cities only to have the tired masses obediently stagger in line to doggedly rebuild them.

Things happen this way within our own bubbles, mine and yours and everyone around us. A few weeks ago I was too busy to breathe, much less figure out an entertaining blog about it all. Sure, there’s less destruction and death in my world than in, um, the bulk of Southeast Asia, but a rise and fall is always occurring.

The ST4RB4SS show was an amazing success. Not only did the sound system run smoothly (minus a hiccup with the mixer bleeding again) all night long, but each DJ’s performance was phenomenal in it’s own right and the overall energy was amazing. I had the misfortune of squishing a finger while tossing a speaker during the set up, so I took it’s model behavior as a nice gesture. Thanks to Sir Fice, Kiddo and our own resident cutFUCKER for rocking it.

I’ve finally begun work on a new speaker cabinet. One which I’ve been researching intently and, true to my usual form, kept on the forefront of my imagination and the tip of my tongue until it virtually fell together on it’s own. Of course, it’s not finished yet, and there’s a long way to go, but the momentum will carry it quickly. Oh, and the math is all wrong too. heh.

Despite pages of algorithms and entire communities devoted to the scientific mystique surrounding the art of folded horn design, I opted to “rough out” a middle ground and build that. Sure, I was careful and meticulous but used arbitrary values as a reference and thus, I think I may be just outside of the harmonic range I sought. Whatever. I’m using a 15″ Eminence Hammer I got from Parts Express so really I could mount it in a shallow puddle of shit and it would still sound pretty good.

Then I chose to stain, trim and polyurethane the whole thing so it will at least be functional as a conversation piece if nothing else. Preliminary tests have shown that further testing will be needed.

In other exciting news, the first proofs for the Radio flyers have been submitted and they look great. One round of revisions should be enough to get them to print, and I can pursue trying to make it a regular thing instead of a scheduling fluke on the club’s part. Cross your fingers. The one year anniversary of ST4RB4SS is also coming up soon and even though I later realized I booked none of the actual “residents” of the night, it promises to be a great show. I must thank Apple computers for curing my “writer’s block” and inspiring a design that seemed appropriate for such a momentous occasion. Free appetizers, free beer* from 8p - 10p and $3 rails all night, plus some great DJs to top it off. I really hope I can knock that speaker out to be ready in time for the show. Hell, even if it’s not I’ll probably wheel it in for a run..

In the studio some real magic happened, and after thinking about it for months I was cleared for the purchase of some decent monitors. A pair of Dynaudio BM5A near-field monitors to be precise and I couldn’t be happier.

I built some cool yet simple little speaker stands out of my left over lumber from the big speaker and have a truly professional workstation, now it even sounds like one. I honestly can’t think of anything else that this studio needs to be functional, but I’m embarrassed by how often I promise that it’s finally time to get down to work and start writing, so I won’t.

Except I just did -you know what I mean. They are pretty fucking sweet though.. believe me.
And that’s where my world stands today.

Other point of note: There’s a new venue in the crystal ball, but it’s still too hazy to be any kind of sweet party. Also, beer (and red wine) got spilled into my brand-fucking-new Toshiba Satellite laptop. I completely disassembled and cleaned the entire lower half of it -to no avail- but it winked back on a few days later like some kind of runaway cat, ambling back to it’s owner for food like it was no big deal. If anything the experience made me fall in love with Toshiba’s solidly simple, direct engineering. If only falling in love was a job, I might have myself a career path. But that’s a story for another episode.

*While supplies last, you soggy wankers.