The DJ night at McLachlan’s in Canonmills has been going for about a year or so. Once a month, 40 minute sets, put your name down and play what you like.
Sounds great! Sounds terrifying?! Yes! And it is certainly incredibly scary to do once. A bit less to do twice and there you go until you’re Fat Boy Slim or perhaps just getting a lot fatter because of all the beer calories you’ve totted up while nervously drinking beer and tapping your knees and making distracted conversation, nodding yes and smiling absently yes and vacantly agreeing aye and half smiling affirmative all the time uhhuh with one eye on the clock oh yeah. Like someone waiting for his/her turn to play records to a small crowd.
It’s a fine night and I have blogged about it before.
Some other bars are now doing it too. It’s a great sign of the vinyl revival and I think it’s a smashing way to clatter music snobbery on it’s head and find out what the folk are really passionate about. It’s not trying to fill a dance-floor. But it is a musical confessional and a pulpit too. That is if anyone actually listens to your fine vinyl platters. It’s in a pub after all.
I promise to get a similar thing going in Stockbridge in the new Year. Perhaps a pub across the street and down the road. Or around the corner (and down the road). So get ready for a monthly event, somewhere down the road from the VoxBox next year. VoxBox’s George has never DJd before and is rumoured to be doing the next one. He has pulled out some choice just-in 45’s from the shop and he’ll have some tasty beasts from home, so I’m really looking forward to hearing his set.
For me, the 1st time it was singles, 2nd time, 12 inchers. This time it was album tracks. I’m still organising my records at home after moving house so there are mixed records everywhere, but I put together a nice box full of albums trying for a country feel to start it rolling…
(Most records bought from my favourite record shop*)
Someone forgot to pull the plug – I was given an hour or so. In an hour, I played these tunes:
Tom Rush -Kids These Days (Merrimack County)
Johnny Cash & June Carter -Jackson (Carryin on with.. )
Nancy And Lee -Down From Dover (Did You Ever?)
Fat Mattress -Bright New Way (S/T)
Neil Diamond -Shilo (Velvet Gloves and Spit)
Captain Beefheart -Clear Spot (Clear Spot)
Iggy Pop -Fun (The Idiot)
The Velvet Underground -There She Goes Again (The VU and Nico)
The Incredible String Band -Little Cloud (5000 Spirits…)
The Slits -I Heard it Through the Grapevine (MFP Complation, We Do ‘Em Our Way)
David Bowie -The Man Who Sold the World (TMWSTW)
New York Dolls -Trash (NY Dolls)
Nina Simone -I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free (Silk and Soul)
Serge Gainsbourg/Brialy -Boomerang (Anna Soundtrack)
The Music Explosion -Everybody (S/T)
Madeline Bell -Comin’ Atcha (Comin’ Atcha)
The Vaselines -Molly’s Lips (Enter the Vaselines)
Terry Gilkyson and the Easy Riders -Send For The Captain (S/T) (a very early version of Sloop John B.)
Kaleidoscope -Banjo (Incredible!)
And it started like this:
So I played what I liked, you can play what you like too. Get in touch for a slot.
*OK, 2 new records – HMV/Fopp overstock.
The New York Dolls -it didn’t sound good. Dull and blurred. -Now I need an original copy!
The Vaselines- Sounded great.
*PS For the record, VoxBox is my favourite record shop