Tag Archives: LA

Big Ups with DJ Nu-Mark

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I told you I was upping the ante this year, and if you thought last week’s Big Ups was dope, then you’re in for another treat. This week we have one of the hardest working DJs/ producers out there, Uncle NU, aka DJ Nu-Mark. Uncle Nu is known for not just being a dope DJ, but a producer and solo artist who pushes the envelope in his live shows. His last tour experimented with toys and toy instruments, and he constructed a live set around these toys. Always innovating and forging new trails as a DJ, we’re stoked to have DJ Nu-Mark in this week’s Big Ups.

More on Uncle Nu here.

Follow DJ Nu-Mark on twitter.

Keep Diggin’!

Funky Sole 11th Year Anniversary

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I promote a bunch of East Coast Funk and Soul and music events on these pages, but I need to give a shout to the left coast. I have been a fan of this series of different music nights for a long time. When it was the Root Down, I would try and get my friends in LA to send me the promo flyers because they were so dope. I know I have a few around somewhere. Funky Sole has definitely evolved in the past eleven years. They have had a who’s who of guests at all incarnations of the party (Keb Darge, J-Rocc, Adrian Younge, DJ Nu-Mark, Quantic, Chairman Mao, DJ Shadow, Skeme Richards(among others) and official DJs Clifton, Music Man Miles, DJ Chico, the gang of DJs known as the Soul Travelers, a rotating cast of LA DJs, and unofficial residents Cut Chemist and Egon who have blessed the turntables while opening people’s minds to all kinds of new, funky music from all over the world. Not commercial music. Not radio music. REAL MUSIC. The best part about it? It’s free, every week, and right smack in the middle of all the action.

“It wasn’t like Cut Chemist playing hits, or Egon playing hits, we were experimenting with different types of stuff. It wasn’t just Deep Funk, it was Ethiopian Soul, Psychedelic, Ghanaian, Salsa, Cumbia, Funk, Old School Hip Hop and obscure Cosmic Disco, twisted, dusted, psychedelia. Whatever we wanted to play. ”

I definitely wanted to shout out Miles and the Funky Sole crew, as they have been doing parties the way they should be done since day one. They do it and do it well. If you are out in LA and haven’t been to this party, I urge you to get there and get turned on to a whole different vibe. Miles describes the party itself as “A dance party where we celebrate mostly 60′s to early 70′s Funk Soul music, whether it’s instrumental or vocal. If it’s funky and it moves people on the dance floor, that’s what works at Funky Sole. And vinyl.” Sounds like my kind of place. Hit ‘em up when you’re in the LA area.

Funky Sole
Every Saturday
The Echo
1822 Sunset Blvd
LA, CA

Weekly Special Guests and Surprises

Funky Sole 11th Year Anniversary video directed and edited by Giovanni Solis

Keep Diggin’!

Follow Funky Soul on twitter.

Wicked! Ice Cube Celebrates The Eames

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Who knew Brad Pitt wasn’t the only Hollywood star that was into architecture? Raptor O’Shea Jackson aka Ice Cube, aka “tha n***a ya love to hate” celebrates The Eames for Pacific Standard Time in a new short promoting LA. Gangsta driving through his LA, he talks of the landmarks that are important to him, eventually ending up at The Eames house, where we get a quick walk through and some talk about his pre-NWA days when he studied architecture. The man has come a long way. Good for you O’Shea, way to go youngblood. You know we love our Hip Hop here at FMF, but throw in some Charles and Ray Eames and we’re in heaven.


“Who are these people who got a problem with LA? Maybe they mad cuz they don’t live here. ”-Ice Cube

We said it was wicked, here’s a 50 cent score from the old Englishtown Auction in Jersey about 10 years back. Cube sampled the Ohio Players, Das EFX, and Public Enemy on this one and enlisted some Ragga vocal stylings from Don Jaguar (plus studio help from DJ Pooh). Classic early 90′s fast flow from Cube, who won’t choke like the Buffalo Bills. One word. Lenchmob.

Ice Cube featuring Don Jaguar – Wicked from the Priority 12″/ Predator Lp

Keep Diggin’!

The Village Callers – Hector

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Download or Listen to The Village Callers – Hector from the Rampart Records 45

Today is a record that I had known about for quite a while, but didn’t end up getting a copy of it until earlier this year. Jack the Ripper always had this in his bag, and Larry from F16 always raved about it. It really is a great record, and if you’re not familiar with it, get familiar. Here’s The Village Callers with “Hector” on Rampart Records from 1968.

The Village Callers would come out of a band called Marcy and the Imperials. MATI would grown into the Village Callers (allegedly taken from a Willie Bobo record), who fused a Latin sound into their music, and were one of the first bands in the LA area to do so. Their sound was a mix of Latin percussion, Jimmy Smith style organ, some R & B, and Mongo Santamaria and Wille Bobo sounds thrown in to round it out. The original line up featured Ernie Hernandez on guitar, Joe Espinoza and Manny Fernandez, on bass and drums respectively, Angie Bell on vocals, “Fuzzy” Martinez on the saxophone, and Chuck Masten on percussion. The Village Callers had a few other singers as well: Ersi Arvisu and Al Anaya, who came in and out of as band members often do. This line up was the lineup that recorded the live record, and the Callers did go through many other musicians in their time, some from Marcy and the Imperials, some not. The band played in many of the hot venues in LA and through California, when they were introduced to Eddie Davis of Rampart Records by their manager Hector Riviera. Get the correlation? The Callers would play gigs with the Watts 103rd Street band in some of the hippest venues in LA. There was a sort of battle for these young, hot musicians, and when they were offered some money (I believe $10,000), they took it and jumped ship from Rampart. This was a bad move in the long run, as even though the Village Callers got air play on the radio, the band would soon move into another direction. With personnel changes, the band would soon change it’s name to Silvanus and become a Rock band. The Latin flavor was gone. Many of the former VC musicians would go on to play with other bands, such as Poverty Train, Orange Colored Sky, and the Sal Chico Band.

This record is something. Recorded live at the Plush Bunny, the groove is, unfuckable with. The organ is the main focus, but when the groove locks in, and the horns start to blow, it’s a full blown freak out. Allegedly they were going for a “Tequila” sound, but this side is much,. much better. It has been said that bass was tripled in the studio and the original was so long that they had to divide it into two parts. Now there was much fooling around and busting of chops of their manager throughout, in English and in Spanish. This is a record that any good 45 DJ should own. You can get it under $20 and I highly recommend it. Ask any of the 45 Session guys and I think they’d say the same. I’ll see you Friday with some treats before the Holiday weekend here in the States. Keep Diggin’!