ON ITCAPSKI(BGC/RSD)

(scroll all the way down for the link to the audio download)

The Do Over, held by many to be LA’s best party (definitely top contender for me..only Funkmosphere competes), and just having gotten another LA times write-up, is one of those aspirational gigs. The party that you always go to and be like “damn I REALLY want a chance to get to play here.” The cool thing is that it’s not on some “I want to spin here cause I could do better”-tip, cause that is definitely not the case-they only book ill DJs, it’s just that the venue, crowd, and resident DJs are so dope that you just really want the shot to see what you could do.

So I feel dumb fortunate to have had the opportunity to do a set with my man Lambo today.

Gigs like this can be a little weird to think about beforehand; with so much freedom, you really have to focus your thinking. I never really prepare sets or anything, so I just huddled with Lambo a few days ago (found out that we could get put on for today on wednesday) and we agreed that we were gonna try and play really what we would want to hear: you get booked at the do over NOT to do a frat party set (cliched to “play what you want to hear” but it’s easy as a dj to cater and pander.)

Anyway, we had an early slot, 3-5, with doors opening at 2 (and the line getting unruly by 4). Early sets are awesome for a couple of reasons, for 1, less pressure, but mostly, it’s up to you to shape what’s gonna happen. All the sets were recorded and hopefully I’ll get to post it soon, but suffice to say, I’m still excited about what we played. In no way the most obscure or technical set or whatever, just something I’m proud of as a mood setter/party escalator.

What really got me was the responses after: people were so generous with praise and just so hyped on certain songs that I honestly didn’t think would get such a reaction. Guy from Chicago scolded me for playing the Danny Krivit version of “Strings of Life” but still gave props.

Was blown away by the girl from England who pulled me over and said I made her birthday with Starvue’s “Body Fusion” cause it was a big party jam when she was younger.

And of course the dude who was super amped on Bar-a-thym.

Again, not exactly obscure tracks, but songs that you might not always connect with folks in LA or in that setting on.

So while I had to leave the party early on account of my 6:46 AM bus into downtown LA and my other life, I’m still riding high, experiencing the opposite of sunday scaries…and just happy that this set, which will probably be my last for a while, is the one freshest in my memory.

No doubt i’ll be back with pics and hopefully the audio. Thanks to Jamie Strong and Haycock for the chance to do the set and to Lambo for being an awesome maniac.

Next sunday? Headed to Boston for a week long conference for work. Not quite as exciting.

Anyway, moral: Go to the do over whenever you can. Amazing music, but mostly just go for the folks!

Follow the party on twitter for reminders too. (and yeah, of course, follow your boy).

EDIT 1: And here is the audio! Download: zshare. A note about the set: Levels get a little wonky and it seems quiet and a lady whacked the turntable midway through “rock steady” and there are a lot of iffy mixes. Hell, the whole thing might not make a lot of sense away from the blazing sunshine and sangria. There is really no doubt that this a live mix (some yikes moments) But if anything, try just letting it play out cause it’ll make much LESS sense if you skip around. In any case, the vibe kinda goes from reggae (after transitioning out of Jamie Strong’s song), to some soul, to some hip-hop, to a lil r and b moment up through some boogie and disco into housier territories. We were just moving with the crowd and the weather and by the end, the party was moving pretty damn proper! Make sure you check out the other dope mixes from Inka one and DJ Jedi who also djed that day over at the do over blog.