Steve Dahl Sucks

I was watching Television tonight, and ESPN was paying tribute to the infamous and in my opinion, lame "Disco Demolition Night" that took place before the second baseball game of a Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers double-header back on this date in 1979. The theme-night, that was focused around blowing up thousands of disco records in the middle of the baseball field, was put on by Chicago deejay Steve Dahl of album-oriented rock station WLUP.

So here on this blog that dedicates itself to disco music, I want to pay an anti-tribute to Steve Dahl and the "Disco Demolition Night". I heard that the only reason he wanted to do that themed-night is because his former radio station fired him because they wanted to change into an all disco radio-station (sounds good to me). Regardless, I think it's safe to say after looking back, disco music will forever be enjoyed and loved by many for years to come. It will continue to influence musicians, producers, deejays, and dance clubs for the remainder of time. I can't say that anything that Steve Dahl has done, outside of this tragically themed-night, will ever be remembered or held to be influential. All I can think of is, how many great records must have been destroyed that night because an ousted deejay wanting to make ridiculous spectacle. So to that, I have to say "Steve Dahl Sucks".

Finally, I have to say that I've noticed throughout the years, how many blogs have popped up that pay tribute to disco, I wonder how many blogs or websites there are out there that pay tribute to Steve Dahl...

Shanks Mare Honey

I haven't posted anything "italo-esque" in a while, so here's Dance Reaction’s 1982 twelve-inch single “Shanks Mare Honey”. The hard-to-find twelve-inch single remains to be one of my most coveted records. The song was written by Dance Reaction members Andy Free and Jean Kesteman, while being produced by Frank Sauter. I find that the group is more known for their 1981 italo classic “Disco Train”, which was more recently featured on Morgan Geist’s excellent “Unclassics” compilation. Between the two, it’s hard to say which I enjoy more with both songs possessing their own unique sound. Overall, a true italo disco classic. Enjoy your weekend!

Dance Reaction - Shanks Mare Honey

Taster's Choice - TONIGHT!

This Friday, July 10th me (Pat Les Stache) and DJ Edis will be sharing the decks at the Capitol Club for another rendition of Taster's Choice: Stache Version. Edis and I will be spinning rare Disco gems, 70's Latin hustle, and funky Afro grooves. This event only happens once a month, and it's a guarantee you won't hear these classic gems anywhere else in town. So don't miss out on this exciting WEEKEND night of disco delights, drinking, and of course dancin'!

Taster's Choice: Stache Version
Friday, July 10th
w/ Pat Les Stache
+ Special Guest DJ Edis
Capitol Club
414 E. Pine St Seattle, WA
10pm - 2am No Cover!

The Monster Strikes Again

When I was in California a couple weeks back, I found a used copy of John Davis & The Monster Orchestra's 1979 album The Monster Strikes Again. This was recorded I'd been looking to find for quite sometime. The record contains some of my favorite John Davis cuts including "Love Magic", "Baby I'Ve Got It", and his version of Ashford & Simpsons' "Bourgie', Bourgie'". Overall, it was a nice find and a solid addition to my ever-growing collection of John Davis produced records.

John Davis & The Monster Orchestra - Love Magic

Remaking Arthur

A couple of weeks ago I was listening to Arthur Russell's Calling Out of Context album for the first time in awhile. As I was listening to the record, I was reminded of how much I really enjoy this timeless album. One of my favorite tracks has always been the short but funky "Make 1, 2" cut, which has always reminded me of something off of Herbie Hancock's "Future Shock" album. With that being said, I always felt like it was a bit too short, being under just three minutes. I decided to take a stab at this track and try extending it out a little bit. I didn't want to mess with the overall feel and structure of the original song too much, just hoping to build on the already amazing song by adding an extended intro, outro, and a few breaks here and there. Overall, I'm happy with how it came out, even as suddle as the edits might seem. This is the first attempt at editing an Arthur Russell producted track, and probably not the last. Hopefully you enjoy the extended edit as much as I do. ENJOY!

Arthur Russell - Make 1, 2 (Pat Les Stache Edit)

Today, The World Pays Tribute

I must admit that I watched most of the emotional Michael Jackson memorial service, which I must say was pulled off very well. There were definitely some moments that I shed a tear or two. So I originally wasn't planning on doing another MJ post, however after watching that beautiful memorial service, nothing else seemed fitting or apropriate. With that being said, here is Tangoterje's (aka Todd Terje) superb edit of Jackson's 1979 Off The Wall album cut "I Can't Help It". Today Michael, the world pays tribute to you.

Michael Jackson - I Can't Help It (Tangoterje Edit)

Africano Disco

Over the past year, Fat Camp's new re-edit label Anorak has been releasing some quality re-edits. The third volume of the series opens up with "Afro Disco", which is an edit of Timmy Thomas's 1977 funky disco gem "Africano" from the album Touch To Touch. Fat Camp's edit of the track, which deserves it's own praise, reminded me of how much I love the track in general. Like the song title suggest, this song has a heavy African influenced groove which focuses a bit more on the background vocal chants and the funky instrumentation rather than any lead vocals that usually surround Thomas's other material. Regardless, I highly recommend picking up both Fat Camp's excellent edit on Anorak as well as the 1977 original. You can never quite get enough "Africano" in my opinion.

Timmy Thomas - Africano

Have a Happy 4th!

Enjoy the BBQ, the Cheap Beer, and the Butter...America, this is for you!

I Am The Disco Machine

For me, it's a three-day weekend because of the 4th of July holiday. Therefore I'm going to spend much of my time outdoors, which is what all of you should be doing on this warm weekend. However for those that need some funky grooves to get you in the mood, here is Black Jack's 1979 disco cut "I Am The Disco Machine". This track is featured on the groups full-length record "Hot Passion". Speaking of the group's full-length album, there are definitely some great songs included on that record including the title track "Hot Passion" and the Supermax-esque cut "Jungle Man Jive". Now with that being said, I must admit that on both "Hot Passion" and "I Am The Disco Machine", I definitely feel that the choruses slightly drag down the song a bit. I just feel that they are a bit too cheesy in my opinion and take the focus off the rest of the songs' funky groove. After listening to the track, I expect many will agree with me on this one. However I don't let a few short excerpts in a song completely ruin it for me, especially with these songs which, other than their choruses, are solid cuts. Anyways, I hope it's just enough to get your holiday weekend started off right!

Black Jack - I Am The Disco Machine

Pleasure of the Ghana Disco Beat

I've shared a few tracks from Ghana native Sidiku Buari, aka Buari a few times before on this blog, mostly highlighting his music from his 1977 album Disco Soccer. However before that, Buari released a self-titled album two years earlier in 1975. Much like Disco Soccer, the record successfully blended together heavy African rhythms with funky disco grooves. The difference between the two records is probably the balance between the two music genres. On the 1977 Disco Soccer album, when disco was at it's height, the record was a bit more on the dancefloor/ disco side, while Buari's 1975 debut album touched upon more of a tradional African feel. That being said, both records are absolute gems and worthing of any disco party or dancefloor. To prove this, here is the song "Karam Bani" off Buari's self-titled record.

Buari - Karam Bani

With or Without Your Love

The first thing I thought, after picking up and listening to Jackie Moore's 1980 album With Your Love, was this has to be one of the most underrated disco albums I have ever come across. Unless you own the album, as I do, it's hard to find out any information about the LP. It's not listed in Discogs.com and has little or no mention in many of the heavily hit internet disco sites. With that being said, With Your Love has many great tracks like "Helpless", "With Your Love", and my personal favorite "Walk Away from Love". Now I understand that the female singer will always be remembered for her 1979 disco classic "This Time Baby", which happens to be one of my wife's all-time favorites, however I do feel she's not getting her proper due when it comes to her 1980 album. Maybe it's just me and others feel With Your Love was a bit of a let down compared to her previous record I'm On My Way. Regardless, if you love Jackie Moore's "This Time Baby", I highly recommend hunting down a copy of the follow-up record With Your Love. I guess that's enough ranting for a day...enjoy!

Jackie Moore - With Your Love

New York Latin Hustle

I've had a bit of an exhausting and busy day, so I'm going to keep this post short and sweet with Louie Ramirez's funky "Do It Any Way You Wanna" cut off the excellent Soul Jazz compilation New York Latin Hustle. This is just one of the many tracks I enjoy off this two-part doulbe album series. The original was featured on Ramirez's 1976 album A Different Shade Of Black, which has a number of solid latin disco flavoured cuts. I've been listening to this record a lot lately, especially as the weather continues to warm-up. Enjoy the hustle!

Louie Ramirez - Do It Any Way You Wanna

Remembering Michael Jackson

As the world continues to mourn the loss of Michael Jackson, I thought I would do at least one more post dedicated to the legendary artist. Over the weekend, I'm sure you heard a lot of "Thriller", "Billie Jean", "Man in the Mirror", "Rock With You", and many other popular hits on either the radio, television, or inside a night club or bar somewhere. Everyone has their favorite MJ songs, as many of the ones I just mentioned were favorites of mine growing up as young kid and still are. That being said, as I've gotten older and I've had more of a chance to digest a lot of MJ's music, I've found that some of his 70's era music with The Jacksons is what I find I've been listening to more as of late. Two songs specifically come to mind, the 1973 The Jackson 5 loft classic "Hum Along and Dance" and The Jacksons' 1976 album cut "Living Together". The two tracks, which don't receive enough praise in my opinion, showcase the diversity in the group. "Living Together" is more of a Philadelphia-style soul track, while "Hum Along and Dance" is a harder edged funk track that could of easily been written by a group like Barrabas (Rare Earth actually did do a version of this song). Both I find work well in a disco set, as does many of Michael Jackson's other songs. With as many chart topping songs as "The King of Pop" has had throughout the years it's easy to focus on those classics, however I think we can't forget about some of the lesser known, but brilliant, tracks that helped round out the music legend's amazing and influential career. Michael Jackson...you will be missed by many!

The Jackson 5 - Hum Along and Dance



The Jacksons - Living Together

Double the Pleasure

(Post written before Thursday's news of Michael Jackson's passing)

It's Friday and there's definitely better things to do than stare at a computer screen, so I'm going to keep this short and very sweet with a solid Raul Rodriguez extended mix of Tantra's disco gem "Get Happy". This track along with an extended mix of another classic Tantra cut "Top Shot" are featured on the group's 1980 twelve-inch single entitled The Double Remix. I was excited to find a copy of this record about 6 months ago, especially because "Get Happy" is a personal all-time favorite of mine. Plus if your a huge Tantra fan, like myself, collecting any and all of their records is definitely an enjoyable process. With that being said, get out and go enjoy the weekend!

Tantra - Get Happy (Raul Rodriguez Remix)

The Passing of a True Legend

I'm on my way to the airport to fly back to Northern California for my Grandmother's memorial service and I just heard that Michael Jackson has suddenly died. I must admit that I'm completely shocked by this unfortunate and very very sad news. I don't have any time right now to do a dedication post to the legendary singer and performer. However, I will say this is probably the saddest news about a person, not related to me, passing. In the mainstream world he might be known as the "King of Pop", however his musical influence goes far beyond that of the mainstream world, he has arguably been one of the most influencial musicians of all music. There will never be another Michael Jackson, he will be truly missed. By the way, Please no more deaths for awhile...living is a good thing.

Michael Jackson - Ease on Down the Road (feat. Diana Ross)



Michael Jackson remembered at Easy Street Records in
Seattle, WA.

Disco...Put Your Body Into It

Do you need an introduction to Disco? Probably not if you read this blog. And even if you are looking for one I don't know if Discothèque's "Intro Disco" is the best choice. However if your looking for one of the better disco medley's then the 1979 funky cut might be right up your alley. This track features short excerpts of popular disco songs like "Y.M.C.A.", "Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)", "I Want Your Love", "Daddy Cool ", and many others performed by Discothèque themselves. The group's funky "Disco Special" seems to get a bit more attention (rightfully so), especially with it recently being included on Morgan Geist's amazing Unclassics compilation. Overall, "Intro Disco" might not be the best introduction to disco, nor the most amazing song disco fans have ever heard, however the track does makes for a fun and entertaining disco medley.

Discothèque - Intro Disco

Farrah Fawcett, 1947 - 2009

70's icon and "Charlie's Angels" star Farrah Fawcett sadly lost her battle with cancer and passed away today. I'm a little young to have witnessed her during the actresses glory years, however I've enjoyed the re-runs that I have been able to watch throughout the past few years. And even though it might be a stretch to reference this passing in a disco blog, I think someone could argue that there might not have been a more popular female star during the actual years that the music genre existed. So this blog pays tribute to another fallen angel. Farrah you will be missed.

You can read more about her and her passing at the Huffington Post:
Farrah Fawcett Dies At 62

Oral Caress - Charlie's Angels (Edit)



Farrah Fawcett in the television show Charlie's Angels.