And I know, What I feel, must be Natural.....

With PRIDE only a few days away, I have been very busy preparing music for the weekend. But let's rewind, shall we?

Spent Sunday afternoon at Shout helping Eric Cullenberg, our guest DJ from New York, set up for another afternoon of cocktails for a cause. He was very cute, and nice.....and for once I really wanted to stay and listen to his set. It would be my first Shout event on the other side of the table, a chance for me to relax, listen to some quality house music, and socialize. But, it was off to Scarietta for me with Father's Day card in hand.

I was greeted by a very hyper and excited niece, who latched on to me for the better part of an hour. Her first remark was, "Uncle John, you have wine breath". Neat. Every time I see Molly, it amazes me how smart she really is. This coming from a child who was speaking in complete sentences since the young age of two.

I always enjoy Sunday evening at my parents' as my Mom is an amazing cook. Plus, I always seem to make it home with leftovers, packed neatly in individual airtight containers, with her only request being that I manage to bring a few empty ones back with me on the next visit. Dinner on Sunday consisted of BBQ ribs, cole slaw, fresh potato salad, baked beans, and Key Lime Pie for desert.

I chuckled when my brother-in-law, Ken, asked my niece to say the blessing. She starts out, "God our Thater, Got our Thater, we thank you." She has no idea why we are laughing, and maybe one day soon she will. But it is cute nonetheless.

I made it back in to town for one last drink at Blake's before heading home to sleep. I can only imagine how packed that place will be next weekend. Let's just hope for descent weather.

TODT: Infusion - Natural. I forgot how great this track was until today. The follow-up to "Love and Imitation", this song features the instrumental of the former song paired with an excellent male vocal. Classy.

Ashley Olsen (in the younger years) and tipsy Uncle John 

Ken and Rosalyn 

Do we look alike? 

Mom and Rosalyn 

Molly C. and Uncle John 

Extacy

Well, it's Sunday and here is what happened over the weekend:

• The party for Carol on Friday night was fun. Beautiful home, beautiful people, amazing food. Spun until 1 am. I vaguely remember a stretch Lincoln Navigator limo arriving and taking us to the Pink Pony. But I do remember the cruisey hot straight boys inside.
• Spent much of the day Saturday with Diane.
• Dinner at Todd and Brad's last night was delightful. Orange-Soy braised short ribs, steamed broccoli, and spinach salad.
• The weather last night was gorgeous. And it is nearly July? Reminded me of P-Town.....

TOTD: Tommyboy and Sultan - Extacy. What a beautiful track.

Happy Father's Day y'all!

Doin' It and Doin' It and Doin' It well...

With Pride being only two weeks away, I have been busy assimilating music. Going through all of my records and CDs to find the type of music I want to play on Saturday night. Though I am spinning in the VIP lounge, Scott and I decided that lounge music was not in order there. Instead, I plan on playing some funky, groovy, progressive house. Not the tunes I play at Shout, but tracks that are a little darker and edgier. I love progressive house, and I have quite a collection in this genre. I have just been waiting for the right party and venue to present itself.....and it has. Hopefully, this will show my versatility....as a DJ.

TOTD - Deep Forrest - Sweet Lullaby (White Label) .....Simply beautiful...

Portobello

Great weekend it was. Short list as there is a lot of music to discuss. Here is what I remember:

• "Boccee Ball 2005" should have been called "Mind Eraser 2005".
• Went to the Yungle (as much as I didn't want to). Had a blast.
• Shout yesterday: beautiful weather and less than desirable turnout. Where are the frozen slushi machines?

As much as I love vocal and garage house, there is a part of me that really loves driving progressive basslines. Leaning away from tribal, I am talking about those tracks that are harder, but also have a groove. Shout simply isn't the venue or environment to throw down these songs, but Pride weekend is different. I will be spinning from 10pm-mid in the VIP lounge at the Woodruff Arts Center.

Here are some tracks that I am loving.

1.Tomas Barfod - Light Shine

2.Tommyboy & sultan - extacy

3.Andrew Bennett - Ocean Drive

4.Simon & Shaker - Freshness

5.Die Elfen - Boy

6.Moloko - Cannot Contain this (Tom Neville remix)

7.DJ Nick & Danny Chatelain - Con Tacto (David Ferrero Weekend Mix)

8.Deep Dish - Say Hello (Chus & Ceballos Remix)

9.Babe Instinct - Disco babes from outer space

10. Openair – Something to Live For (Stef Vrolijk & 16 Bit Lolitas)

Looking forward to hearing Echo & the bunnymen - Lips like sugar (Way Out West remix)

Also, check out Brett Mauro's new mix. A local DJ in Atlanta, his summer promo is amazing. Technically near perfect mixing, excellent track selection, and programmed very well. It can bedownloadedd here. It is the summer 2005 at the bottom of the page.

Thrills Pills and Daffodils

Last night, I anxiously tuned in to the first episode of the final season of Six Feet Under. And I wasn't disappointed, not one bit. The opening scene always intrigues me, as you know that one of the characters is going to die, however, you can never know the who and the how until it happens. And to be honest, it is usually totally unpredictable. Like being pelted (is that a word?)by frozen feces from an airplane, or sliced in half by an elevator that gets stuck between two floors. I guess the writers are showing the audience, that yes, people die from cancer, heart disease, trauma, etc, every day, but people are also killed in unexpected ways. some of which can be rather embarrassing to discuss.

Sure this is a dark show, and maybe it makes me feel like my life is really not that bad. not that I feel this way, of course. but it seems to touch on subjects that maybe we all can relate to in some way, though maybe not to such an extreme degree. and for this I find myself coming back each week.

'Cause I Ain't No Harlem Black Girl

A perfect weekend from start to finish. Stayed in on Friday night and had some 'me' time, which I rarely do on the weekend. I watched a few episodes of Six Feet Under in preparation for tonight's first episode of the final season of the show. I am only hoping it won't be too depressing, as that seems to be the avenue the writers have taken lately.

Hit the gym Sat. morning, and after a quick clean up around the house, I met my mom, dad, aunt, uncle, and two cousins for lunch at Casa Grande. Always nice to catch up with family, especially those that you only see once or twice a year. Two (legal) swirls later, I decided that I really did need to purchase the duvet cover that was on sale at Bloomingdale's. Funny how easy that decision was, but I am happy with my purchase.

Saturday night, the mayor and I had dinner at Carroll Street Cafe. This was my first experience at this restaurant, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The mussels were my favorite. I had the crab stuffed trout, and the mayor, well he had chicken...and I am not talking about the kind found in WetBar.

And then there was Sunday. JohnBrown had a small gathering at his house for lunch. Tammee was in town, so that was more than enough reason to celebrate. The BLTs were delicious, but my favorite thing was the vidalia onion pie. After a short monsoon, I headed over to Shout for my weekly gig. The Assistant arrived with gifts in hand, something he picked up on one of his many european travels. Guest appearance by Dale and Traci brought a big smile to my face. Then it was back to JohnBrown's for a little dance off in the living room.

Retro tune of the day: Newcleus - Jam on It. Released back in 1984, this was the big hit for me at my Breakdancing Birthday party. I heard this little number this past weekend for the first time in probably 10 years, and it brought back a lot of memories.

It's a Lack of Communication..

Last night, a group of friends gathered for dinner to send my friend Kevin off to San Francisco. Yes, he is moving out west and we thought it would be a nice way to say "so long" and "see you soon", as I do plan to visit. Especially since Beaux is out there as well. We started over at Jenny's new condo at the Block Lofts, where I consumed at least 3 glasses of wine. A short walk later and I was sitting at the bar at Two Urban Licks, where double-hair-pump-hot bartender was pouring me yet another glass of wine. He was broad-shoulder and stunning, and I was, well, horny. Though the food isn't excellent, the scene in Two is great. And I am not just talking about the big mural on the wall, I'm talking about Mr. Hands the waiter, and just about everyone else that works there. After a tasty swordfish entree and two thieves of red wine later, I found myself calling the Mayor and basically inviting myself over for a visit. He agreed and visit we did.

Now I felt fine at work today. sure, I could tell I had consumed some wine last night, and I attribute that feeling to the chewy tannins or sulfites or whatever is supposed to be in red wine. But I must have looked banged up, as one of the straight pacer reps. commented to me that I looked like I had partied all night. pretty.

Tune of the Day: Mardel - Situation. Coming out on Satoshi Tomiie's record label SAW recordings. Very nice female vocal.

The World is Mine

Last night, I joined the Out & About planning committee to discuss the future of our event. A very eclectic group of people gathered in the back room of Shout: original committee members, representatives from the restaurant, and members of the various charitable organizations that benefit from this event. Plus, there were two people present that have been in my top 5 crushes in Atlanta, so that was always nice, though they don't even know my name. Some interesting ideas were proposed with the main focus being to raise the most amount of money for the charities involved and hopefully meet our goal of $50,000 by the end of the summer.

The mayor and I left and headed over to grab a bite to eat in West Midtown. Who should I see when I enter the restaurant but 10 of my college girlfriends from UGA. They had gathered for a baby shower for my former girlfriend Jacie. Yes, Jacie was one of the last girls that I dated seriously before coming out. And there I was on a date. Ironic in a way...