I've been meaning to write this entry since Tuesday, but as will be shortly explained, there is some poetic justice that it took until 4:30 am on Friday night (techincally Saturday morning) to share this news on my blog.

Anyway, the news is that on Tuesday night I quit my Friday night residency at Boltini and resigned as music director. Also leaving that night was the Saturday night DJ, Chris O, the sound engineer and one of the bartenders that had been at Boltini longer than I had been (so that's like 3+ years). Over the course of the week, I guess a slew of servers, barbacks, doormen and others have quit as well. The problem stems from our new general manager running the lounge into the ground in a multitude of ways. The important thing for me, a few days after all the dust had settled, is not all the idiotic decisions the new manager made, and all the offensive (and potentially illegal) things he said.

What is important for me is that this is the first time I have quit a residency. I had been fired from my four previous residencies due to slowdowns in the nights. Over time, I've come to terms with the fact that nearly all weekly DJ nights slow down to the point where it is wise for the bar to make changes. However, I feel so much better about jumping off of the sinking ship that was Boltini under new management, than if I had stuck around until I got fired (which could have been another year ontop of the year and a half streak I had going with Fridays). I feel like I've learned a valuable lesson, and exhibited courage that I should have exhibited with at least one of my past residencies that I let haunt me for months longer than I should have.

If there is any sadness, it is that I won't get a chance to make Boltini bump like it bumped at the end of April. Also, this is the first time that I am without a DJ home in over two years. Ironically, hanging out at Smartbar tonight, I got to hear Jesse Rose play the Switch remix of Spankrock's "Bump." That was the tune that kickstarted the crowd at the awesome J Phlip & Mertz gig at Boltini. For half a second, it crossed my mind that I wasn't playing on a Friday night in Champaign. I was a little bummed. And then when the crazy synths kicked in, I really didn't care anymore. It was just a regular weekly night that had a beginning and an end.

Some weekly nights are something truly special. They create an environment and vibe that transcends just going out to a bar. There is a sense of family with all the regulars. There is anticipation of what new tricks and surprises will emerge this week. There is just something different that never really took root during my year and a half playing Fridays at Boltini. Sure, I had many a busy night, but there was never an extra special connection between me and Friday nights.

Many people have been asking where I am going to play next, and I can't say that I know just yet (I'm sure I'll write about it once I do). However, I do know that I am going to use this free time to reevaluate my strategy when it comes to DJing, and to try a few extra new things that might help my DJing career.

Jazzernover

Recent house releases, for the most part, have been painfully weak (and if you disagree with me on that, post 10 house records that have come out in the last month that are worth buying). Because of the dearth of quality house vinyl to purchase, I've been digging a lot harder for chilled vinyl, old funk, old jazz, etc. A week or so ago, digging through the shelves at Reckless Records, I came across a compilation compiled by Jazzanova. It is called Blue Note Trip, and instead of the usual Jazzanova re-edits and remixes, it is a simple double LP that provides classics from the Blue Note catalogue in their entirety. Jazzanova's contribution is that they selected the tunes for this compilation, but as far as I can tell, they haven't done any reworking.

I'm sure to people that dig hard, Blue Note Trip isn't anything groundbreaking. However, as a primer for people who are just getting into digging into the past, this is a great starting point (for example, it taught me to look for anything produced by the Mizell brothers). Anyway, I have been listening to the wax in my room whenver I'm home, and some of the songs are just mindblowingly good, and still manage to sound fresh and relevant today. The song I've decided to share is one of those tunes:

Donald Byrd - Think Twice