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Farewell, Matthew S. Farrell

Matthew Farrell. Self-created raconteur, impresario, dandy, sponsor of the arts, cheerleader of creativity, perpetual inspiration. Our dear ice cream server Grace once jokingly referred to him as “the winner, and only contestant, of Charlottesville’s Oscar Wilde Lookalike Contest”, and y’know, she was pretty spot-on. Matt (I was told at various times to call him Matt, Matthew, or “just Farrell”, so to this day, I call him all those things) had his own style that was clearly modeled on his platonic ideal of a perfect gentleman. And this gentleman dressed like a Fitzgerald character, talked like a continental aristocrat who summered in some undefined New England coastal village, and walked like Groucho Marx. He smoked unfiltereds, often two at once, just for kicks, which he would hold when gesticulating excitedly as he greeted dear friends or total strangers. Pretentious? Yeah, a bit. Sincere? Always. Distinctive? Absolutely. At some point, I think I recall him saying someth...
Recent posts

On David (DC, Dave) Berman.

David Berman has left the stage, made his exit, delivered his final observations on the state of existence.   I feel like it’s dumb to be tearing up at the thought of a Berman-less world, so I guess I’m dumb, and I guess I don’t really mind. I can't claim I knew him very well, but I thought of him as a friend. You know, the sort of friendships that form when you're both part of an amorphous social circle of weirdos in a small town at a certain point in time? Like that. Actually, exactly that. Everyone ends up at the same places, and it’s all a sea of get-togethers where everyone ends up in the kitchen, and a tiny club and a sushi bar and a Thai restaurant and a coffee shop and a bunch of patios in the summertime. You see different combinations of the same people, and there’s always beer and whiskey, and every wall is decked out with Steve Keene paintings, no matter which house or shop or café you’re sitting in. Now, a couple decades removed, defining specifics is onerous, an...

DJ setlist, Pianos, February 3rd, 2010.

Here's the set from last Wednesday's gig... Another week, another fun throwdown at Pianos . This one was a bit mellower than previous weeks, and I was once again kinda pushing to see what I could get away with. Trying to mix my familiar tunes in different ways, incorporate different material, and only reaching for the standby songs/segues when I got myself into a jam and needed a second to breathe. The Rulers- Wrong 'Em Boyo Lafayette Afro-Rock Band- Hihache King Curtis- Sing A Simple Song Cymande- The Message Gang Starr- DJ Premier In Deep Concentration Marlena Shaw- California Soul Blackalicious- Deception CSC Funk Band- Bad Banana Bread The Meters- Chug-Chug-Chug-A-Lug The Soul Lifters- Hot, Funky And Sweaty Trinidad Tripoli Steel Band- Cissy Strut 6ix- I'm Just Like You Rudy Robinson & The Hungry Five- Get It Together (pts 1 & 2) Charles Wright- You Gotta Know Whatcha Doin' The Jackson 5- How Funky Is Your Chicken James Brown- Funky Drummer The Mighty...

DJ setlist (partial), bar 151, February 1st, 2010

Here's the rundown of my set at 151 from a couple weeks ago... Or at least the first couple hours thereof. It was a slow night, and I decided to kick things off with a lot of stomping-skanking-honking grooves. Stuck in that vein 'til midnight or so, then transitioned to a funk/soul blend; cueing tracks back and forth between a few compilations, trying to get familiar with some reissues I'd recently acquired (and I stopped keeping a record of what I was playing at that point). So. A set of ska/garage/r&b/soul titles for your perusal: The Wailers- Tall Cool One Baba Brooks & His Band- One Eyed Giant Prince Buster- 7 Wonders Of The World Shane Kai Ray- Jungle Talk Calvin Cool- El Telecote The Savoys- Slappin' Rods & Leaky Oil The Four Sounds- Mama Ubangi Bangi Baby Huey & The Babysitters- Monkey Man The Maytals- Monkey Man The Shardells- Black Crack The Tennors- Ride The Donkey Skip Cole- Do The Whip Prince Buster- Madness Clarence & Calvin- Rooster...

DJ setlist, Pianos, January 27th, 2010.

Here's my Wednesday evening set from two weeks ago, starting pretty heavy on the soul/bluebeat/ska/funk, and branching into more classic hip-hop and block party tunes as it goes... Been picking up lots more reissues lately, and trying to push myself a little harder to play less of my standby tracks / play familiar things in a different order. So, there's still plenty of faves, but not as I'd normally use 'em... Good to aim a bit out of the comfort zone once in a while. Rico- Sea Cruise King Curtis- Sing A Simple Song The Paragons- On The Beach Eric Morris- If I Didn't Love You Alton Ellis & The Flames- Girl, I've Got A Date Ike Turner & The Kings Of Rhythm- Getting Nasty Tim Armstrong- Hold On The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band- Watts Happening The Harry J Allstars- UFO Eric Donaldson- Cherry Oh Baby The Selecter- s/t Don Covay- Sookie Sookie Roger & The Gypsies- Pass The Hatchet The Houseguests- What So Never The Dance (pts 1 & 2) Sly & The ...

DJing, Charlottesville VA, Wednesday January 6th 2010!

If you are around in central Virginia tomorrow, you should come check this out. ...And if you're not, you should still look at the lovely event poster that my buddy James K. Ford and I made. The best imaginary vintage paperback cover never made, methinks. Very "Ace Double", in color scheme and layout. Anyhow, DJ gig. In the hometown. With my buddy James (AKA DJ Hummingbird Feeder) and me. We'll start around 9/9:30/10pm and go 'til last call. It will rock, and funk, and do other genretastic verbjectives... And it would be great to see you.

DJ setlist, Camino, January 2nd, 2010.

My first DJ set of the new year, from Camino in Charlottesville, Virginia. Starts out with a mini-set of mellow Beatles covers, builds to a pretty solid run of funk and hip-hop tunes, wraps up in much the fashion it began... Lotsa classics, lotsa rare stuff, a few random bits of whimsy, and one point where the amp overheated and everything went quiet. Pretty alright. Jimmy Ponder-While My Guitar Gently Weeps Booker T. & The MG's- Lady Madonna Overton Berry Trio- Hey Jude Ramsey Lewis- Day Tripper Harry J. Allstars- Don't Let Me Down Booker T. & The MG's- Michelle Harvey Averne- I Feel Fine The Selecter- The Selecter King Curtis- Memphis Soul Stew Lee Dorsey- Four Corners (pt. 1) The Fantastic Johnny C- Boogaloo Down Broadway Marvin Gaye- Stubborn Kind Of Fellow Jamie Lidell- Multiply The Houseguests- What So Never The Dance (pts 1 & 2) Johnny Cameron & The Camerons- Funky John Tony Alvoin & The Belairs- Sexy Coffee Pot Freddie & The Kinfolk- Mashe...