When the world has dealt its cards.....

Every day I am reminded how lucky I am to have such amazing friends. The older I get, the more I enjoy spending quality time with those that are close to me. This afternoon, we gathered on Elmwood to have a glass of wine, eat some tasty burgers......and laugh. That we did many times. Almost to the point of tears.

So as the rest of my friends celebrate in Ptown, I do hope they know we are thinking of them and toasting to them!

Tender - Umbrella Mashup

This just makes me smile every time....

Happy Labor Day!

but you held my hand, you took me right back down to hell

okay, so I guess I owe a review of Kaskade's set from WetBar aka "Swerve" on Friday night. To be honest, he really put on a great show. Much better than the last time I heard him spin at the very same venue last September. Of course, that night it was so hot and slippery on the dancefloor that I really couldn't get into the music. It was like dancing on a greased cookie sheet. As I digress.

Ryan (Kaskade) was in town promoting his new CD titled "Strobelight Seduction" recently released on Ultra Records. I hadn't had the opportunity to listen to this CD yet, but I did go buy it on Saturday.

He went on some time after midnight, opening up with the title track from his new album called "Move for Me" a production that involve him teaming up with Canadian DJ Deadmau5, who in the past two years has exploded upon the house music scene. It's a beautiful track with an excellent female vocal. It was not a huge crowd, but very obvious from the start that everyone there was a huge Kaskade fan. He then played back to back tracks from his previous album, "Bring the night", including "Be Still" and Dirty South's massive remix of "Sorry". The crowd was very into his set at this point, and he then chose to go a little darker, which have been very characteristic of Kaskade as of late. He played several progressive house dubs, and threw in several songs from "Strobelight Seduction". Tracks I remember included a great new remix of Three Drives on Vinyl - Greece 2000 circa 1999, a classic house track indeed and hammered back in the day by the likes of PVD and Tiesto. I would note that the crowd was a nice mix of both gay and straight people. He finished off with one of my favorite new tracks by Funkerman called "Speed Up", then an older production called "Steppin Out", one of my favorites back in 2003. Finally, he ended the night with his relatively new track called "4am", a beautiful track indeed.

As to be expected, Kaskade delivered a quality set. His mixing was superb and on cue. This was my 7th time hearing him and I realize how talented he is each time I go out to hear him.

I would note that Brandon Sutton was there and dancing? which was a nice break. It seems that putting down the headphones has allowed him to come out of his shell and that makes me very happy.

Wake Up

I received this strange email the other day from someone wanting to buy my blog from me....to the tune of $50. I suspect that he really wanted the domain name. Its true, I have neglected this space for quite some time now. Excuses aside (new job, boyfriend, etc.), my passion and love for music was brought back to life last weekend after going to hear my friend Jefferson spin at STATS. So me thinks I will get back on the blog and DJ thing and give it another shot.

Mama didn't raise a quitter. And maybe I will start with Kaskade this Friday night.

Let's see how far we've come

what an incredible weekend. full of celebration, laughter, and emotion. after 6 years of school, Jarrett graduated this weekend with his Masters in CIS from Georgia State University. I am so proud of him, and I know that he is glad to finally be done with school....for now.

Friday night, his brother Ryan flew up from Satellite beach for the weekend. sure i was a little nervous. but those feelings faded quickly the minute he walked in the door. It is pretty awesome to have a family that is so accepting and open. we dined at Slice and then headed over to a very interesting party at Atlantic Station.

I managed to get most of my Christmas shopping done early on Saturday. I always wait until the last minute, but at least this time I had a plan. i had a list.

saturday night I had dinner with Jarrett's mom and brother at Room, Bob Amick's new restaurant in the Twelve Centennial Park hotel/condo building. the wine list was extensive and the food was very good. though it has only been open a short time, i fear it may not have the edge it needs to succeed. then it was off to the symphony to hear Handel's messiah.

and then there was sunday. Jarrett's sister flew up to surprise him, and we all joined up at the GA dome for his graduation ceremony. then a group of his friends and family gathered at STATs to celebrate the special day. (by the way, STATs is another new concept by Bob Amick. it's an upscale sports bar that is massive in size with a rooftop deck and has much potential once they iron out a few problems. mainly the warm tap beer... yuck). We had a great time, and I realized today how lucky Jarrett is. His family is so positive and accepting, and made me feel like i was part of the family.

next up: a trip to Florida to visit Jarrett's mom. and maybe a trip to Disney.

The McGills

SNM - Itajai Vibes (Wize remix)

leave a message I'll get back to you

I cannot get enough of Wize these days. I put him right up there with Phunktastike, my other favorite DJ at the moment. Wize is really the alias for Basile Fanon, the French DJ/producer/remixer who founded the group back in 2001.

remix of His production work as well as his remixes are qualility. Wize can best be described as "having a sound that is simply superb; it's a fusion of classic French House and Disco with something extra, giving it an uplifting quality." Well, soon to be released on Watona Sick Record label comes Wize'sSNM - Itajai Vibes. It is a really beautiful and uplifting track. I first heard in on Jody Wisternoff's recent live set on Justmusic FM. Take a listen above.

keep an eye out for Wize's newest production, a track called "Freedom". It is rumored to have incredible crosssover potential.

Keep an eye out for more releases from this talented DJ.

Rairbirds - Calling (7th heaven vocal mix)

so i called a friend of mine

You may be familiar with a funk rock band from the 90s named "Rootjoose", whose style of music closely resembled "surf rock" bands like that of Reef. They were from Cornwall, and their live performances included choreographed comedy dances and light shows that gained them much popularity with the people in the South West of England. The group's popularity grew through the late 90s and they were very close to breaking into the mainstream music scene when their record label went bankrupt in 2001. Well a few of the guitarists of Rootjoose have moved on to form a dance band called "Rairbirds", and I think they are pretty cool.

The band now describes their sound as "Part digital, part analog, part programmed, part played, everything we were and everything we became, for one and all for ever."

Their latest track titled "Calling" is great, with remixes from 7th heaven, skylark, and jerry ropero. My favorite so far being the 7th heaven vocal mix.

Check them out. You can download these tracks from Itunes or Beatport. Take a listen above.

you tell me that you're sorry, didn't think I'd turn around...and say.

well i made it back from California safely. lemme tell ya, it was hard leaving San Francisco on Sunday morning. Such an amazing city it is. we spent the latter part of last week in the wine country. first a day in Sonoma, then hitting Napa valley on Friday. the weather was nothing short of perfect, starting with a cool mornings in the upper 40s, and warming up to the upper 60s by the afternoon. my favorite city along the way would have to be Healdesberg. It was like visiting Thomasville, Georgia but with all the charm and charisma one would expect in the wine country, complete with boutique shopping and some of the best food i have ever had.

We spent the weekend exploring San Francisco. Out hotel, The Palace, was fabulous and is one if not the oldest hotel in the city. I met up with an old friend from Atlanta that took us to the organic market at the Ferry Building on Saturday and of course a stroll through the Castro.

I cannot wait to go back and visit. and i can't wait for my wine to arrive in about a week.

We stayed at The Palace, in San Francisco, the oldest hotel in the city.

The view from Sterling Winery, in Napa.

Dinner at The Girl and the Fig in Sonoma, California

This was one of my favorite wineries, called "Bella".

We spent Thursday in Sonoma

Dinner at the Benziger Winery