I hosted the August 2009 Diggin Sunday, which goes down every 3rd Sunday at Tribal Cafe in Historic Filipinotown in Los Angeles. I themed it “Respect Thy Elders: Hip Hop Samples.” The problem was that no one came through until 4pm and I DJ’d myself for 3 hours straight. The diggers that came were Waxstyles, Spiwrit, nPrevail, and Paul. It was a small group but it turned out good. I recorded almost all of the sets that were played that day and put them on here for you all to hear. I also recorded a mix inspired by the Diggin Sunday theme, as well as a set that I didn’t get to play that day. Everything was done in one take, mainly live. Check it.
From these stats I found out that posting on facebook is the way to go in getting people to your blog, especially if you got friends with hella friends that recommend your post to others. Case in point, after I posted my “downtempo” mix, LinoType suggested it on facebook and I got a huge amount of hits that day and its popularity has slowly decreased. Big ups to Mr. Manansala for that one. Being as specific as possible with tags can also help. People also like to hear music and look at pictures, but I believe people want to hear the story behind the mixes and photos where they may have the opportunity to walk in your shoes or see through your eyes. And lastly, people want to hear your opinions about music, events, activities, places, and so on, so they can either justify their feelings about something or find someone to disagree with about something. It’s only human…I’m just trying my best to feed the masses.
Old Barrio Guide to Lowrider Music: 1950-1975 by Ruben Molina
Chicano Soul: Recordings & History of an American Culture by Ruben Molina
The big difference with this Diggin’ Sunday and those of the past was the inclusion of Serato Scrtachlive. Waxstyles decided to bring it along and it was not welcomed with open arms by the regulars but helped me to express myself the best way I knew how without the use of the limited selection of records I have. Don’t get me wrong, I have about 1000 records but I came up as a working DJ and most of the stuff is not fit for Diggin’ Sunday. I wanted to get down like they got down. The “Yes on Serato Scratchlive” speech is coming…But for now, I will try my best to use the records I have at Diggin’ Sunday. It will be a lot of 90s hip hop though…
My Record Collection with matching Ikea Shelf Converted into DJ Table
Here is a mix inspired by the chillin’ on a Sunday afternoon style that you get at Diggin’ Sundays at Tribal Cafe. It is a real loungy/downtempoish sounding mix and I had to pump it out after coming from Diggin’ Sunday last night. Enjoy.
1. 7 Samurai – Uptown Rankin
2. 40 Winks – Soulful Sensitivity
3. Dean Zigoris – The Seasons: Barcarolle
4. Bjork – I Miss You (Dobie Sunshine Mix)
5. Everything But The Girl – Mirrorball (DJ Jazzy Jeff Sole Full Remix)
6. Freddie Cruger – Over the Ocean feat. Desmond Foster
7. Dela – La Bonne Attitude
8. Nujabes – Reflection Eternal
9. Kruder & Dorfmeister – Ocean Beat
10. J Dilla – Sometimes (Instrumental)
Here are pictures from Diggin’ Sunday.
Oooooh, Nice headphones
One Way of Lounging at Diggin' Sunday
Yours Truly on the 1s and 2s, Taken by Matt Nailit
Donald Byrd is Dope. Matt in the Background is as Well.
Ruben Molina Spinning and Discussing Life with Joel
I didn’t plan to do much this weekend as is true of most weekends. But I felt I needed to do more things without my girlfriend (meaning with friends, my girlfriend is always fun to be around), so this weekend I partied it up on my own.
The weekend started off good on Friday night at Foot Work at the Terrace in Pasadena. The Come Up resident DJ Linotype is also a resident DJ at this club. I heard that this club used to pack all guys with nothing but 90s hip hop and was strictly on that head bobbin’ tip. It was totally different when I went. There were a lot of women in there and even though 90s hip hop was played, a lot of danceable music was played too. The crowd was pretty diverse as well, where The Come Up has a mainly Asian following. This party seemed like a place that I would want to spin at and I already expressed my interest to Linotype.
Foot Work, Every 2nd Friday
Linotype, Business As Usual
Footwork Partygoers
Not feeling so good the next morning due to excessive drinking and wasting a morning shopping for clothes that didn’t fit (need to shed some pounds) in Glendale, I attended The Scorpio Party at the Oiwake Restaurant in Little Tokyo. Again, DJ Linotype was spinning along with Waxstyles and The Optimist. The party’s proceeds from the cover charge went directly to the Tuesday Night Cafe Project. The bar was a different story since the fundraiser did not take home a percentage. So instead of spending most of my money at the pricey bar, me, Gabe, and Come Up DJs Dumlao and Mike Deuce decided to swig whisky in the car. It didn’t save me much though. I paid the $5 cover, had a $9 hen and coke, $5 sake bomb, and a 22 oz. Sapporo of unknown value, but I took $40 out of the ATM and had $4 when I left at the end of the night. I tip too much…
The Scorpio Party
Waxstyles is for the People
The Optimist Back From SF
Finally, I woke this morning to another hangover but I was still determined to spin at Diggin’ Sunday at 1PM. I stayed up until 4AM after getting back from the Scorpio Party choosing music for Diggin’ Sunday. So now that I am sitting in Tribal Cafe with my first set done I am a little dissatisfied with my performance. It is real hard to hear the output and the beginning of my set was pretty bad, awful actually. But I am ready to go on again if I can and maybe I’ll play more soulful stuff. I actually just got mad props from one of attendees here who wanted more info on where I spin at and if I got mixtapes.
Diggin' Sunday, Every 3rd Sunday at Tribal Cafe
More pictures to come from Diggin’ Sunday, 11.16.08
This was my first time doing a whole set at Tribal Cafe’s Diggin Sunday which goes down every third Sunday of the month in Historic Filipinotown. Although there are themes for each session, I could not find any current information about what kind of music to play. I created a set with the understanding that the session is on more of a positive vibe. I chose more songs that were soulful and positive. But without Serato my selection is limited. I have almost a thousand records but most of it doesn’t work at Diggin Sunday.
Diggin Sunday Official Flyer
After completing my set I found out that the theme was positive music and that my set worked. The only thing is that there was a little too much bad language in my set and their was a pre-teen girl at the cafe sitting right in front of the speaker doing her homework. But in the end there were no complaints.
I immediately recorded the mix when I got home and here it is for your enjoyment:
Playlist:
1. Common – Reminding Me (Of Sef)
2. Nas – One Love (Remix)
3. Arrested Development – Easy My Mind
4. Kurious – I’m Kurious
5. Common – This Is Me
6. Fugees – Fu-Gee-La (Remix)
7. Hieroglyphics – You Never Knew
8. Reflection Eternal – 2000 Seasons (Instrumental)
9. Spearhead – Hole in the Bucket
10. The Roots – You Got Me
