Well,
its been almost a year since my last blog. I’ve been busy with all kinds
of adult bullshit; work, buying a house, saving up to go on vacation,
blah blah blah. The important part is that I am back to writing again.
If
you’ve been living under a rock for a while and are one of those people that
wait until the last minute to plan your evening/always have the excuse,
"Man there’s nothing going on in Hamilton. This city sucks!" Then this blog is for you! I will be filling
you in on the following events in and around the Hamilton area, so saddle up
pretty boys!
Saturday January 25th the Annual FunknStyle Jam
Every
year local DJ's get together to
celebrate the life of our friend Jonathan Williams,otherwise know in the DJ community as FunkNstyle. This night is jam packed with
great DJ's spinning the best in
funky breaks and house. I have been a part of this amazing event 9 years and
counting. I must say, it’s one of my favourite parties to play, let loose and
catch up with all my industry friends. All proceeds from the door will be
donated to the Canadian Mental Health Association. If you know what’s good for
you, you’ll come out and support this great cause.
Up Stairs @ Ceili House
If
you’re into the latest in EDM, love
drinking Jagger, shaking your head and getting right down dirty on the dance
floor then you need to check out Electric Saturdays with DJ Chaotic. Chaotic is not only a well-known DJ in the Hamilton area, but a great
producer in the studio. You may also recognize his handle from his radio show
on Gum Fm. I first met Chaotic in the summer when DJing along side him on the Allure Boat Cruise. Having been
involved in the underground music scene for
over 10 years, I’ve had the opportunity to meet a lot of DJ's who think
their shit don;t stink. Generally,
conversations with these individuals revolve entirely around them, "Hey
bro, guess where I'm spinning
this weekend?" This is ususally followed up by incessant ‘name dropping.’
Well, I hate to break it to ya, but guess what BRO…I truly don't give a shit. Sorry
for going off topic there but my buddy Chaotic is
not even close to being that type of DJ. Instead, he is very educated in the ‘do’s and
donts' of the scene (not to mention very busy in the studio producing and
running his weekly events inside Ceili House
in Hess Village). Check out his weekly residency
every Saturday night from 10pm - 2am. Ceili is located on George St in Hess Village.
Heres a link to his sound cloud page with recent mixes and
productions for your enjoyment.
https://soundcloud.com/deejay-chaotic
AM Undrgrnd - After Hours
What
can I say? It’s been way too long since Hamilton has had an after hours club. Let
me be the first to say “THANK F*#*ING GOD”.
Back in 2008 I was one of the rotating resident DJ's alongside my friend MK DJing at
the Underground. We were very fortunate to bring in not just local talent but
the best in Toronto as well. This roster was stacked: Carlo Lio, Addy, Fabian Strong, Flipside, The Junkies…just to name a few. The
launch of the night was a success, but slowly diminished due to lack of
promotion by the club and ignorant security not admitting paying customers.
Back then, the city was having a hard time allowing these type of events to
take place and would do anything to stop them. Such tactics included undercover
officers being sent in to scan the nightclub, among various other ‘staffing
issues’ (NO COMMENT!)
Despite
all this, it looks like the AM Undrgrnd has
a promising future with Club 77. These weekly EDM nights take place upstairs and
have become great promotion for the club downstairs as well. The man in
charge of booking the talent for this night is a good friend of mine, Hugo Matos. Mr.Matos, well-known for throwing his Allure Entertainment parties, has been the
most successful promoter/ DJ in the
Hamilton scene for the past 4 years. There is no stopping him, he not only
promotes parties, he's been booked to DJ at notable nightclubs such as, Footwork , The Guverment, O-lounge, and Pacha New
York just to name a few. This
man has been fortunate enough to DJ beside some of the biggest names in
the
biz. Hugo is very well respected by the club industry because he puts
110% into
his events at all times and is very reliable with his talent (heads up
to all
of you kiddies out there calling yourselves promoters and telling your
DJs they are required to bring at least 40 people to play at their club.
You can bite my ball sack. Take
note you douchebags, Hugo is the real deal).
With
the opening of AM Undrgnd, this
city is finally welcoming electronic music rather than fighting it. One thing
that stands out with Hugo is that he is an all encompassing supporter within
the industry, he understands that there are other events in and around the area
and realizes that if promoters work together as opposed to merely competing
against one another, there will be more of these successful events. In which
case, we all win.
I’ve
yet to attend one of these parties myself, however, when I tried to make it in for
Hugo's birthday the line was Massive. BUT, this tells me one thing… IT
IS BUMPIN' INSIDE!
I
know the sound system really well because back
in the day we hired a friend of ours who was a professional sound engineer to
set up the proper sound in the club, it took a while but man, Brian Cassiano worked his magic and the club
was SMASHING with the
dirtiest basslines that belong
in big underground clubs in Toronto. Needless to say, I
know where I'm gonna be on
Saturdays… Supporting our underground movement in the Hammer at AM Undrgrnd . I guess what I’m trying to say is...See
ya on the dance floor ladies and gents!
Check out Hugos mixes on his soundcloud page
https://soundcloud.com/hugom_allure
