Methodology, Shad and Shagz

Posted By: Shagz
Date:

I have another gig with Toronto funksters Methodology on April 14th at a new space in Toronto, Savoy!

Still waiting on the details, but the part I'm really excited about is that I'm opening for Shad! I found out about this up and coming hip hop artist a month or so, and I've been digging his tunes from the get go. Caught his show at CMW a couple weeks back and he's an excellent showman with a great backing band. Think of a humorous, self-deprecating, party-beats version of K-Os and you might be close to Shad's sound.

And I would be remiss to not extol the excellent, exemplary five funk fanatics in Methodology. If you haven't seen 'em live - and I know there are many of you who still haven't - you're missing out on seeing a very talented, tight band that will make you dance as much as make you sing a long.

More details to come, stay tuned!

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Out with the old...

Posted By: Shagz
Date:

...in with the new, as they say. Just thought I'd give the site a little "kick" this weekend, so here's DJ Shagz.com v3.1. Not much has changed, just got rid of those daft frames, made things a little more elegant with some CSS changes, that sort of thing. The plan is to do a whole new redesign later this year, but until then, this is just a little something to show that we're still alive here. :)

Speaking of being alive, things are starting to warm up as the snow begins to thaw. I'm beginning work on a new mix, a new party and a contest. More details coming soon.

That's it for now...

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Cheers...

Posted By: Shagz
Date:

...to Methodology and Emma-Lee for having me along for their great show at the El Mo on Thursday night. Emma-Lee sounded even better than her site indicated (picked up the limited run EP that night, excellent stuff), and Methodology put in a blistering performance as well.

If you were there on Thursday night, you would have caught the debut of "Shagz, the Turntablist". Well, not really, but I've been learning how to scra-scra-scratch this past month and Thursday I test drove my techniques on the Technics. Still got a long way to go, but I think it turned out pretty good.

I've been taking private lessons with DJ Steptone, master turntablist and owner of the Off Centre DJ School. I've really been enjoying it and I'm actually pretty surprised at how quickly I've picked it up. I didn't think I'd be busting anything out in a live situation for at least a few more months, but I've only had 3 lessons. Granted, I already had a good idea at how things worked, but still. Check Steptone's site for details on lessons (prices are very reasonable) and you can also check out his turntablist band, Inside a Mind, who have just released their first EP. (Props!)

I always knew there were a lot of excellent and talented musicians in Toronto, but since I've been living downtown it's enabled me to actually get to know some of these people personally and find all kinds of other stuff that's just sitting below the surface in the Toronto underground. It's very inspiring.

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Playing with Methodology, this Thurs @ The El Mocambo

Posted By: Shagz
Date:

If you missed the Methodology show last week, count yourself lucky 'cuz you're getting a second chance! This Thursday, I'll be opening for the funk/soul/urban/what-have-you outfit at the El Mocambo, 464 Spadina Ave, Toronto, at 9pm. Those who were there at Revival already know how well these guys burn the floor; get down there and find out for yourself Thursday night!

Also, come early and check out the lovely and intoxicating opening act, Emma-Lee, at 10pm. Haven't seen her live show, but heard some sample tracks...smokey female vocal of the finest form; if she were singing over a 4/4 beat you'd have some classic Naked Music-style deep house. Don't believe me? Check out her site.

The cover is $10 for this evening of fine Toronto indie entertainment, but if you were on the Gig List, you'd know about the super-secret-special discount! Two live acts and yours truly, you can't go wrong.

Yes, it's cold outside, but it's heating up in here. :)

Hope to see you there!

The 411:
Methodology/Emma-Lee/Shagz
Thurs, Feb 9, 2006, 9pm
El Mocambo, 464 Spadina Ave
(upstairs, I believe; ask at the door)
$10 cover

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Flipping the Funk

Posted By: Shagz
Date:

Thanks to everybody who came out last night to the Methodology CD release party and thanks to the band for bringing me in to play with them! I had an excellent time and from the number of smiling faces, I could tell everybody else did to. :)

Thought that came to be yesterday: I'm a little more nervous these days before gigs, and I think I figured out why. Lately I've been doing a lot more sets that incorporate and juxtapose funky old tracks alongside fresh new beats. Before, when I was just dropping house/breaks/prog track after track, it was super easy 'cuz almost everything was within a few BPMs of each other and it was a snap to match things up.

With the new style, I'm dealing with an almost silly range of diverse BPMs. One funk track might be 110bpm and then that hip hop song I wanna play next can't be matched 'cuz it's at 95bpm, and the northern soul classic that would work so nicely right after it is 130+. I can't just pull something out of my crate and expect to know how to mix it in, even if I haven't listened to it months. Now I really have to start memorizing things!

But it's good, keeps me on my toes, and the classics need to be played, not just because they're good dance tracks but everything we have now has been built on them. Dancing to quantized beats that have the crap compressed out of them over and over is only so good for so long. :)

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