As I sit here on the couch on this lazy rainy Saturday afternoon, I have come across a very interesting interview with Ben Watt posted on Little White Earbuds, a music blog based in Chicago (I believe) that I am appreciating very much. Ben goes in depth on his feelings about the new and evolving digital music marketplace. He also sheds some light on the essence of Buzzin’ Fly and it’s successes.

There’s also a few mentions of Justin Martin in the interview. I’ll use that to segue into some information about the next Dirtybird party here in Miami. It will take place at Shine (inside the Shelbourne Hotel) on Saturday, August 23rd. And featured on the lineup will be Justin and Christian Martin, making a special Martin Brothers appearance… special because it will also be my wedding reception. So expect some crazy twists and a whole lotta fun at this one!

Ok Ok, I just couldn’t wait to talk about this one. Something got into me tonight and I felt inspired to hit Derek up for an interview, a request to which he gleefully opened up to. So stay tuned, it will be up sometime next week. For the meantime, just feast your ears on his mix sets.

And since I’m in flyer posting mode, let me throw this one up for the party I’ll be hitting up tomorrow night for 4th of July…

You’ll find me in the Red Room at White Room.

Of all the parties coming up this weekend, I am most excited about Saturday night’s techno showcase featuring Lunatik (Leftroom, Wreckless) and Clint Stewart (Auralism). Most of my enthusiasm comes from the fact that I’ve never heard either one of these guys before. But judging from the tunes these guys produce (you can hear them on their myspace profiles linked above) and the sets posted on Lunatik’s myspace blog… the music will definitely be deep and twisted. And for added bonus, I’ll finally get to give Alland Byallo his keys back that he left here a few months ago (Clint is his roommate).

I made a few edits to yesterday’s post:
1) I changed the “love for My My” link to point directly to the photo slideshow rather than the less navigable page I linked to yesterday.
2) I missed a couple big artists in my July forecast, namely Hernan Cattaneo and Steve Porter.
3) I have updated the calendar with all these events.

First thing’s first… a massive THANK YOU goes out to everybody who came out to Laundry Bar to profess their love for My My. The place was packed by midnight and did not clear out until the lights came on. And My was the crowd revved up for their fluid driving music! I can simply sum it up by saying that it was easily one of the best parties I have ever been a part of. And a final thank you goes out to Laundry Bar and Theevanhood for making the party happen. Oh yeah, duh, and Thank You to Michael Louis for keeping the thick early crowd happy in waiting and Mansur for gracefully following the night’s stars. Let’s all do it again sometime…

Moving forward… it’s that time again… to look into the dance music crystal ball and see what’s in store for Miami in July. I see a whirlwind of talent blowing through including Lunatik, Behrouz, DJ Icey, Rabbit In The Moon, Armin Van Buuren, Victor Calderone, Erick Morillo, Steven Lee, Camea, Jojoflores, Memek, Derek Plaslaiko, Amber Reyn, Sebastian Leger, Lego, and Justin Long.

Yup… all that over the next 30 days. So do your homework and find out more about the above ladies and gents that you aren’t familiar with… and those you are. You have no excuses to not go out and hear some amazing music in Miami this month. Just do it!

I highly suggest you all look back here over the next few weeks for more details on a selection of the above artists. For now, I would like to call your attention to a little party I’d like you to check out this Thursday at Blue, featuring my friend Jay You (and residents Inbal and her brother Baby Sean). He’s the guy I tapped to open for Christian Martin and Worthy last time they were at Laundry Bar and he did an Excellent job! So come check out some local flavor as we rev up for a big 4th of July weekend here in Miami.

Speaking of Christian Martin… he and his brother, Justin, will be back in Miami at the end of August to help Roa and I celebrate our marriage. Details to come…

First, let me say that I heard some AMAZING music this weekend. More of it came from Dennis Ferrer than his understudies, but the kids still impressed the hell out of me with their skills. Funny how things work… I never would have made it to Nikki Beach to hear Dennis if it wasn’t for Spain’s dramatic victory over Italy in the Eurocup Quarter-Finals. But I was so ecstatic from their victory that I decided to go celebrate… and I’m SO HAPPY I did!

Now shifting focus to this weekend’s highlight… My My (playhouse, cocoon. berlin) will be performing live at Laundry Bar this Saturday night, June 28th. These guys are absolutely not to be missed! Little White Earbuds recently wrote about My My and said:
“My My approach house and techno with artisians’ flair, crafting aural mosaics from hundreds of little sounds glued atop engaging melodies. You can listen closely and admire all the details slipped into every crevice or step back into the crowd to enjoy their work from the dance floor… And now they’re ready to shift their sound in new, more floor-oriented directions.”

Here’s a small taste of what to expect…

It gives me great pleasure to be part of the reason these guys will be playing their first ever show in Miami! The other 2 parts to the equation are Theevanhood and Laundry Bar.

DON’T MISS IT… IT’S FREE!!

As if the dance music stars have become magically aligned over Miami this weekend… 2 of dance music’s brightest stars and their mentor bring their energy to South Beach today and tomorrow. The Martinez Brothers have been getting a ton of praise since their ‘07 WMC appearance at Aquabooty’s Opium Garden bash. And it’s a well-known fact that they owe a lot of their success to the nurturing spirit of Dennis Ferrer.

Well the powers that be, Aquabooty and Nikki Beach, have brought these forces to the sunlit shores of Miami Beach. Whether it was by divine coincidence or concerted effort (there’s no indication either way)… The Martinez Brothers will be playing today at The Raleigh Hotel, first poolside around sunset, followed by a nightime soiree in the hotel’s panoramic penthouse. I simply can’t wait to hear what comes out of these kids.

The closing chapter to this musical story comes tomorrow at Nikki Beach, where Dennis Ferrer will shower the sandy dancefloor with his deep deep grooves. How will Ferrer’s magic mix with Nikki’s bright warm environment? I don’t know yet. But I will be right in the middle of it… creating memories.

Coming up in the next few days (and I mean it)…
* Anticipating MyMy’s performance next weekend!
* A recap of this weekend, WITH photos and video.
* A look back at artists and events I missed.
* A look at what’s to come…

What a great weekend! So much great music and so many cool people.

Friday night brought me to the Miami Art Space for another Theevanhood production, this one with superstar skinny-dipping celebrity DJ Seth Troxler. The party hosts definitely learned from their last shindig at MAS and greatly improved the sound. They gave Seth a sound system worthy of his musical genius. I only wish I had more energy left in me from the long Friday workday to enjoy Seth’s bumpy beats. Luckily I was able to enjoy the music from the sidelines despite the dancefloor being packed all night (still packed when I left at 5am). Here’s a few pics.

Saturday fetched us Brett Johnson from the Pacific Northwest. I had only dealt with Brett over brief moments the last few times I booked him for my conference warehouse parties, the last of which was in ‘06. So I never really got to experience how down-to-earth, intelligent, and quirky (in a good way) he is. So this turned out to be a really cool experience for me and my girl to host Brett in our home and show him our stomping grounds. The party was tons of fun. Brett got down on the dancefloor waiting for his turn while DJs Sebastian and DJ Way rocked the room with their funky flavors. Then Brett took over and made us all dance some more. It was nice to see everybody dancing. Whether it was right in front of the booth, or sitting at the bar, everybody seemed to be dancing or bobbing.

The experience took a turn for the better when Seth Troxler showed up at Laundry Bar and introduced himself to Brett. The party stepped up a notch from there. Our three-person family had just grown to four and we were off to an after-hangout… with the 2 little kids in the back seat. Seriously, watching Brett and Seth geek out like two little girls who just met on the playground was a trip. A few of my favorite Troxler soundbytes I heard several times throughout the night were, “Brett… your music is timeless” and “Techno has been good to me”. Brett, well I really can’t recall any specific soundbytes other than his timely comment to me in the car “So David, tell me again how Islam is the best religion in the world” as he sat between two Jews. That was Brett, just tryin to rile things up a little. We finally managed to pry the kids away from Rock Band to go home, but not before the kids jumped in the ocean… skinny style.

Well let me leave you with one of Brett’s most significant artistic contributions to Miami this weekend…

… a penny sculpture on our kitchen counter (started by Roa but enthusiastically finished by Brett). You’re right Brett, penny sculptures are a new form of Mandala.

Stay tuned, BIG news coming up in the next 24 hours…

(FYI, I sadly left my camera’s battery in the charger at home so I didn’t get any pics of the Brett party. Sux.)

I am very excited about hearing what Seth Troxler brings to Miami this Friday night. I have never heard him play but I have heard great things… not just about his music, but also about his ability to entertain.

I just read a very cool interview with Seth on Resident Advisor that exposes how creative this 22-year-old kid from Kalamazoo, Michigan, really is. From the looks of it, this Seth Troxler character could be just what the often-time serious world of dance music needs. He has a very forward-looking creative approach to making dance music fun and engaging. I really look forward to hearing and feeling what he has to share with Miami and I hope you make it too. The venue still has not been announced, but I will post it here as soon as Theevanhood releases it (Wednesday night most likely).

Here are a few text bytes I enjoyed from the interview:

“I really think dance music is in a stale spot right now,” says an impassioned Seth. “When record shopping was a feeling, you got home you laid on your bed and the music meant something… we as artists need to be more vigilant of our role in an historical sense and to make this music art again—art and culture.”

“Of course I still play a lot of house today. I’m still a house DJ more than anything.”

“Those days are gone, but if we reassess the situation and make records that feel good to have, like a lot of those classic rock records or records that people collect, then the record industry would be more than okay.”

“I’ve got another character called Blaxel Rose coming up pretty soon, too. And of course I’m sticking with my regular name. I think taking chances and developing conceptual ideas is really important for dance music now.”

Where do I start? I never intended for this blog to be about my personal adventures, so I’m not going to go into my trip to Egypt. But I will say that riding a camel up to the foot of the Great Pyramids is a pretty cool experience.

On the Miami music scene, there really is too much coming up in the way of amazing beats to highlight it all in one post. But here’s a brain dump of artists I know are rolling through Miami over the next 30-some days… Seth Troxler, Brett Johnson, MyMy, Adam Stolz, Josh Gabriel, Big Bully, Stretch Armstrong, Arno Cost, Norman Doray, The Martinez Brothers, Dennis Ferrer, Paul Van Dyk, and Armin Van Buuren.

I’m going to highlight one right here, because he’s one of the first artists to hook my mental senses when I got into electronic music. I first met Brett Johnson back when I lived in Dallas. He was instrumental in the proliferation of house music there. Dallas has produced some serious electronic music talent. Off the top of my head… JT Donaldson, Lance Desardi, Brett Johnson, Maetrik, and Granite & Phunk come to mind.

Brett’s style encompasses deep techy house and creative vocal productions. I always loved the variety of tunes he covered. Check out some of his sets on the music section of his website, robot-karate.com.

Brett will be playing at Laundry Bar next Saturday, June 14th, along with DJ Way and Sebastian. I’m excited to have him down and would love for you to come check him out. You’ll hear what I heard back when I got hooked… it still rings through.

More Brett Johnson Links:
Brett’s Website = http://www.robot-karate.com/
Brett’s Myspace = http://www.myspace.com/robotkarate
Brett’s Label = http://www.myspace.com/aesotericrecords
Brett’s Podcast = http://www.garageband.com/user/BrettJohnson/podcast/main
Brett’s Youtube = http://www.youtube.com/user/brettbasic

After chatting with Christian in Miami this past March at the kickass WMC Early Bird Dirtybird party, I learned that Christian has been managing the label since January. I thought this little known fact might be a good nucleus for an interview, so…

Give me a quick rundown of how Dirtybird got started and your involvement?
Dirtybird (the party) began in early 2003, before I ever played a gig. A good friend threw an outdoor party in the Mojave Desert, 6 hours south of San Francisco. Somehow, the only thing they forgot to pack was their mixer. While we waited for a backup mixer to arrive from LA, someone popped in my just-completed first mix CD and let it play as the sun came up. People danced! I felt like I was on the right track. When I returned to San Francisco, I decided to purchase my own sound system so I could throw outdoor parties in Golden Gate Park. Our first party had 20 people at its peak – now we regularly see 600. The original dirtybird lineup is myself, my brother Justin, Worthy, and Claude VonStroke (aka Barclay Crenshaw).

Dirtybird (the record label) released its first record in January 2005, but the idea began in 2002 during Barclay’s production of “Intellect,” one of the most intensive studies on DJs and producers of house and techno music ever filmed. The Intellect DVD featured over 40 interviews with legendary producers from Juan Atkins, to Swayzak. Crenshaw created the concept of the label in order to supply tracks for the DVD’s soundtrack. The bird logo was derived from a sketch cartoon character Barclay has drawn since he was 10 years old. In 2005, dirtybird began releasing vinyl. At the same time, Barclay created the DJ alias “Claude VonStroke” as a joke but the name stuck forever after his debut record “Deep Throat” sold through more than 11,000 vinyl copies worldwide.

How did the original Dirtybird crew meet and who has been adopted into the family since those first days?
I met Barclay while working on a music video back in 2000. He was at a video postproduction studio at the time – we would have been sunk without him! (the video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-Qf0MOqztQ)
He was working on evil drum & bass in those days. Justin and Worthy have been roommates since their days together at Fordham in Manhattan. It was pure serendipity that our interests collided to create the dirtybird BBQ. Since then, we’ve worked with so many talented people! I have to give shouts out to Tanner Ross & KiloWatts for consistently blowing our minds with their production skills, Jesse Rose & Style of Eye for rocking Golden Gate Park into the dusk, and of course Riva Starr for flipping his style almost every other week. Last but certainly not least is the 5th member of dirtybird since day one – Fernando Rivera!

So how long have you been at the helm of the Dirtybird music machine?
I’ve managed daily operations at the label since January 2008.

What were you doing right before you took over?
I was managing the bar at a sushi restaurant right around the corner from the dirtybird office!

How has it changed your daily routine?
Switching from a service industry sleep schedule to waking up early every day has done wonders for my priorities and work ethic. I am elated that my passion has become my livelihood.

Which of the label duties are democratic between you Barclay and Justin? And which do you handle by yourself now?
Justin’s feedback on potential signings is crucial, but he isn’t generally involved with the day-to-day proceedings. Barclay and I are always on the lookout for standout unsigned tracks, and we collaborate on strategy and content as each record hits the promotional stage. I handle all production matters and back catalogue management, and I am the go-to for all of our label artists and distribution partners.

How many unsolicited demos do you receive at Dirtybird Headquarters every week/month? Is that still a good way of finding quality unreleased music or do you find yourself working your network harder these days to find hidden gems with the flood of overnight bedroom producers out there?
I probably receive 20-30 unsolicited demos per month via the internet and mail. It’s not exactly the best way to get music, but I have to listen to everything, because I would kick myself if I heard a bomb track out or on the internet somewhere and then discovered it later sitting in my inbox.

What’s the typical release process you go through for a new record as far as hyping it up?
It starts with a onesheet, which contains crucial info like tracklisting, UPC code, release date, and artwork. It also contains a very short (1 – 2 paragraphs) description of the record. I have to strike a balance between descriptive writing (a summary of how the tracks unfold & what they sound like) and business writing (hyping up the artist’s previous accomplishments on other well known labels). A successful one sheet should make you yearn to hear the music immediately. This goes to our distributor, who puts it on their site and packages it inside promo copies of the record when they are ready to be sent out to around 60 tastemaker dj’s and press contacts around the world. We also send digital promos out to more djs/producers in our network – people we’ve met, producers who have worked for dirtybird/mothership, etc. I gather & organize the feedback, as well as trying to track down any videos of tracks wreaking havoc in packed clubs. It’s a lot easier to sell a record if you can show the effect it has on people.

What are your short-term and long-term goals for the label?
My short term goals are to keep the production schedule running smoothly on dirtybird and mothership (the more experimental techno label). Each vinyl is a nine week process (acquisition, mastering, test pressing, promotion, distribution), so there are always several releases in various stages of development at all times. On mothership, I am coordinating the fall ‘08 release of an artist album from Catz ‘n Dogz (aka 3 Channels).

In the long term, I will continue to expand the dirtybird brand, both within and beyond the dance music community. I recently coordinated a deal to place selected dirtybird music on airline radio networks, beginning in June. We are planning a remix contest with a high profile music software company, also happening in June. I would like to introduce our dirtybird party to more cities as a complete entity and experience, much like Ghostly have done. We will be together in Europe this summer for several dirtybird parties, so the groundwork is laid!

Give us a taste of what’s coming out soon and maybe not so soon on the Dirtybird label?
There is a new Martin Brothers record, the “Rocket Surgery EP,” in the final stages of production. It’s due out in early June. It is three club-smashing tracks, heavily influenced by Bay Area hip-hop and werewolves. Due in July is a single from SF’s J.phlip, called “Rumble Rumble.” She built the song around an earth-shaking 40 Hz bass tone and soda cans opening. It was a lock after hearing it on massive sound systems all over WMC. In August, we’ll be dropping EP’s from the next Claude VonStroke full length album.

Describe what makes Dirtybird unique?
From our first BBQ in Golden Gate Park to our recent label showcase in Miami, we have strived to create events that gain momentum and intensity as they progress. That philosophy – combined with elements of playfulness, surprise, and nasty bass lines – is the driving force behind all of dirtybird’s music.

How about DJing? Do you find yourself DJing as much as before?
I am DJing more than ever now, travelling to new cities all the time. In San Francisco, I now have two monthly parties. There is the long running dirtybird residency at Shine (3rd Fridays), where we throw down nothing but dancefloor bombs after about 11:30 PM. Then there are 4th Tuesdays at 222 Hyde with Justin and Monty Luke (mothership, XLR8R). It is more of an experimental night – we delve into the newest deep techno and subterranean house we can get our hands on. It’s a pleasurable challenge to consistently entertain both crowds.

I hear your Dirtybird parties are quite the rage in San Francisco. What do your guys have planned on that tip?
We have two confirmed Golden Gate parties, on June 1 and August 10. On October 3rd, we’re taking over Mezzanine’s rib-rattling Function One soundsystem. October 4th is Lovefest – San Francisco’s take on the famous Berlin party. We’ll all be playing on a float downtown. It will be a memorable weekend – bring earplugs!

How did your WMC go this year? What were your highlights?
Without a doubt, this was my best WMC. Instead of running around town chasing after parties, I played four stellar gigs and relaxed (sort of) the rest of the time. Highlights are all gig related: pulling up to our dirtybird party at Studio A at 7:30 AM with Barclay after flying all night and entering to see packed dancefloor was easily the best start I could have asked for. I had a ton of fun playing for Sean & the Heatr crew on Friday night – it was a nice break from Miami mayhem, and it led perfectly into my Saturday morning Aquabooty warehouse set. Sunday morning, I was lucky enough to play up on a rooftop with the ocean at my back and all my friends lounging around as the sun came up..

What can we expect from your upcoming gig down here in Miami on May 24th?
I always welcome the opportunity to play on a nice large sound system like Vagabond’s Funktion One – it gives me the chance to drop those tracks with the lowest notes, the illest buildups, and the best payoffs; tracks that I would be less likely to trust on smaller systems. Plus I have a treasure trove of unreleased goodness from both dirtybird and mothership. That always helps!

Oh yeah… I mentioned something about a new Christian Martin mix, didn’t I…