The documentary by filmmaker Gene Graham has finally made it's way to Boston via the premiere at the 24th Annual Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. I've been anticipating this film for months now and to see it along with fellow Paradise Garage and West End Records enthusiasts was amazing. 

For those who aren't familiar with this film, it's about the life of Mel Cheren, based on his autobiography "My Life and the Paradise Garage: Keep On Dancing." The story follows in chronological order his rise through the music industry along with his discovery of dance music and his own sexuality.  The story tells some astonishing feats that Mel accomplished in his lifetime which were: the release of the first instrumental only B side on a 12"; the creation of West End Records leading to the release of some of the greatest dance tracks in history including Loose Joint "Is It All Over My Face", Sesso Mato's "Sesso Matto", and Taana Gardner's "Haertbeat" ; and financially backing and helping to create the Paradise Garage.

On a socially conscience level he also created the first AIDS music industry activist group, 24 Hours for Life whioh later became Lifebeat and gave the Gay Men's Health Crisis its first headquarters. One thing the film does not include is his passing on December 17th, 2007.

If you don't know much about Mel Cheren then this film is a must and if you own every record in the West End catalog the film is still great to hear the stories Mel tells and the accolades today's DJ superstars such as Louis Vega and Danny Krivit give to Mel's legacy.

If you haven't checked out this great lecture from the Theo Parrish at Red Bull Music Academy then check it out below.  Theo sends a strong message about the importance of DJs taking time to gain the knowledge and experience of music through digging for records rather than just downloading thousands of files of music.

Theo Parrish Lecture

I decided to start a new column I will feature regularly called "Recent Classics." These of course, are recent records that in my mind have become classics.

 Different Gear's remake of "When the World is Running Down (You Can't Go Wrong) was played by everyone at the Miami conference from DJ Sneak to Lil' Louie Vega before it was even cleared by The Police's record label, A&M.

Originally released on the 'Zenyatta Mondatta' album in 1980, the track first drove clubbers to the dance floor at the Paradise Garage. It wasn't until January of 1999 that Gino Scarletti realized the true brilliance of the Police track when DJ Mass played the tune at Home bar in East London. Gino immediately called up his studio engineer Quinn and they produced the track in two days. Soon after a 1,000 promo copies were shipped out to the A-list DJs with no labels on it but the words "You can't Go Wrong" and a picture of an english policeman.

The track makes it onto Mixmag's Big Tunes show and Pagen Records boss Richard Breeden was keen to release an official version of the track. Meanwhile bootleg copies are all over the place. It just so happens that Pagen is owned by Miles Copeland, Police drummer Stewart Copeland's brother. Finally after many conversations the track is cleared by A&M Records. The track goes on to chart in the U.K. and remix offers come to Different Gear from all corners of the dance world.

Different Gear v.s the Police - When the World is Running Down

Portishead is not really dance music by any means but I've been a huge fan of them since my college days and in America today is the official release of the album. So it's finally time to get excited about an album release again. I know it's been  a while. And the album isn't to bad either. It's hard to live up to hype of waiting ten years. Tracks like "Hunter" and "Plastic" are classic atmospheric. brooding Portishead tracks while "Machine Guns" adds some 808 sounding drum rolls to the Portishead palette. Go to their website to get more information at Portishead.co.uk or better yet go visit a record store and pick up a real copy.

Here is a great italo techy cover of MJ's Thriller by the next genre mashing dude, Curtis Vodka. Born Spencer Shroyer there isn't much info on Mr. Vodka yet but his mixes have been circulating the web via Blentwell and the Hype Machine.

Curtis Vodka - Thriller

This Saturday throughout the U,S. of A is officially Record Store Day. The major indie store organizations such as AIMS and CIMS are putting together events in every city including performances by Metallica, the Dresden Dolls, and many others. This is all great and everything but I don't see any of my local favorite stores particapting. I don't know if this is the fault of the organizers or the stores but it just doesn't motivate me to go out. But as Shelby Lynne is quoted on their website, "You can't roll a joint on an IPod."

Here is a press release of the new Greg Wilson Edit Series "GW Ruff Edits" the first of which is a re edit of the Italian cult classic "Prisencolinensinainciusol" by Adriano Celentano:

 RUFF EDITS #1
To launch this new series, edits don Greg Wilson extends a somewhat forgotten Italian cult club classic with a mad as toast title, which was originally issued a decade before the term Italo Disco was coined. ‘Prisencolinensinainciusol' by Adriano Celentano, with its relentless rhythm and horns, has been described as a rap release before there was such a genre. This glorious oddity found favour both on UK dancefloors and throughout Europe, following its release in 1973. It was still a choice oldie when Wilson started out as a club DJ in '75, and he would frequently play it, as a 7" single, at his club residencies in New Brighton, the Golden Guinea, the Chelsea Reach and the Penny Farthing , during the following years.

Only recently, a TV recording of Celentano performing the track has brought it to the attention of the YouTube generation, prompting major interest on influential forums like DJ History and Faith (where it was retrospectively proclaimed as Balearic Minimal Hip House!). You can view the clip here: http://www.cosmicboogie.co.uk/2008/03/27/greg-wilson-ruff-edits/

A prototype of Wilson's edit was first unleashed during one of his appearances at Manchester's massively influential Electric Chair (RIP) back in 2006. The finished edit, titled ‘Adriano Italiano' is already eagerly anticipated by the underground DJ community and, as such, destined to become a groove anthem throughout the summer of 2008, 35 years on from it's original release.

On the flip side of the 12" is another 70's single, this time not so obscure. ‘Blue Eyed Boz' sees Wilson extend Boz Scaggs' super slick slice of smooth Soul sophistication by an extra two and a half minutes to provide the 12" version that never was - the record only being issued on 7" back in 1976 (becoming a huge hit in the process). As with all the Ruff Edits, this is something Wilson first put together for his own personal use, but would now like to share with the wider DJ community.

Youtube Clip of "Prisencolinensinainciusol" by Adriano Celentano

 Thanks to Youtube we can see this great performance by Fela Kuti from 1971 at the Luna Nite Club. This was supposedly shot by Ginger Baker when he was visiting in Calabar, Nigeria.

Fela on Youtube 

I love these interesting stories about how rare records are uncovered years after the fact and the strange things that come with them. It really has a real level of history about vinyl that the mainstream culture doesn't understand. The band was called Leaf and hails from the streets of Baltimore. You can check out the full story about this obscure funk outfit in an article from the City Paper.

The great Joe GIbbs pasted away on February 21, 2008. Here is a press release from legendary reggae label VP Records:

VP Records sends its sincerest condolences for one of the greatest losses in reggae history. The legendary producer Joe Gibbs (born Joel A. Gibson) has passed away at the age of 65.

This influential man behind and in front of the boards was a major pioneering force from the late ‘60s, early ‘70s rock steady/roots era to the early ‘80s dancehall era, known for his seminal releases such as, "Two Sevens Clash" by Culture, "Someone Loves You Honey" by J.C. Lodge, as well as his influential four chapter African Dub Series.

VP Records President Chris Chin expresses, "We want to take this time to remember a truly pivotal producer in the reggae business. Our prayers go out to his loved ones. His spirit and music will live on. "

Joe Gibbs, and the late Errol Thompson, have an exclusive worldwide agreement with VP Records vintage imprint, 17 North Parade, to re-release his complete catalog, including the Barrington Levy Collection (Apr. 26th), Joe Gibbs Reggae Anthology (May 2008) and many more.

17 North Parade (VP Records) A&R Fidel Luna states, "The legendary Joe Gibbs to me is one of the most humble, straightforward and pleasant people I have ever encountered in the music business. His contributions to Reggae as a hit-making producer and distributor are truly second to none."

Sirius Satellite's Reggae Rhythms channel will air his last interview on Sunday, March 2nd when they debut their new weekly series ‘Sunday Classics'.

Rest in peace Joe Gibbs.