Author Archive for Becca Thomas
Big Gigantic at The Red Palace
Dominic Lalli and Jeremy Salken of Big Gigantic
Apparently my Friday morning fatigue and less-than-chipper-self at my desk was an indicator as to how my night went (Along with the large stamp still on my right hand and the venti peppermint mocha from Starbucks). My legs were a little sore from dancing a little too hard – I’m not that out of shape, I was just dancing that much.
The show itself kept a smile on my face from start to finish. I was incredibly impressed with the new catalog Dominic Lalli (production and saxophone) and Jeremy Salken (percussion) brought to DC as the last time I had seen them was this past July at a music festival.
Big Gigantic’s show is incredibly unique compared to other electronic acts. Lalli is on production and also plays the saxophone, while Salken is on drums. Big Gigantic has a distinct sound that keeps a crowd moving – and the girls staring. At this show, the duo showcased hard beats, synchronized with Lalli’s soulful saxophone tones, and threw in some dark, wompy vibes that had the crowd going wild and moving until the end of the show.
One great thing about this band is they feature their three albums for free on their website. Grab some of their music, and be prepared to have the sudden urge to break out into a dance party. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
New Music Venue to hit the H Street Corridor
I have a bad habit that I need to break now that I am no longer in college, and am a young professional. But, after getting word that Big Gigantic, an electronic duo hailing from Boulder, Colorado would be in The District at a new music venue on H Street, I decided that I could not miss this show, even though it was on a Thursday night.
The Red Palace resides at 1210 – 1212 H St NE, and was the former Red and Black bar and the Palace of Wonders. The venue opened officially on Saturday, November 6th. This particular music venue caters towards indie rocker fans. And please, do not take this as sarcasm; this is something that DC needs. Especially since DC9 still has not reopened its doors.
After walking into the venue, I immediately was happy, as the beer selection was large and the bartenders were friendly; two things that are important to me. People can argue that it’s all about the music, and yes, it is. But what if you have a crappy environment? There goes part of the entire experience (at least for me). And I am not finger pointing at any venues in DC necessarily, but I think it is safe to say that friendly faces DO make a difference.
The downstairs features two different bars in two rooms, while live music simultaneously goes on upstairs. It is fairly intimate upstairs, with a capacity of about 250 (if I needed to venture a guess). I am pleased with the new venue as I am racking my brain the possibilities of what smaller bands could potentially play there. Enter: bands that do not necessarily fill up moderately sized venues, but have a draw in our area.
The Red Palace is a great music venue and I hope the venue will bring smaller, lesser-known acts to the DC area, or even other bands and DJs from the immediate area. If you would like to read more about the venue, please go to their website http://www.redandblackbar.com/. Check out their calendar of events and head to a show!
The Red Palace
An Interview with Tim Sweeney
Tim Sweeney spinning at American Museum of Natural History, January 2009
A favorite venue of mine is conveniently located 15 minutes away from my house in Washington, DC. Awesome? Yes. Dangerous? Hell Yes. U Street Music Hall is located a block away from the U Street/Cardoza Metro stop (Yellow/Green line), and located next door to the historic Ben’s Chili Bowl – famous for its half smokes and chili cheese fries, and visited by President Barack Obama.
I was lucky enough to sit down with Baltimore-native, Tim Sweeney, from the “Beats in Space” radio show on WNYU 89.1 in New York City before he hit the stage to play a set that had everyone moving until 3 AM. To pinpoint one specific genre that night is a tough call (and it wasn’t because I was sipping on whiskey gingers or Natty Boh, either).
Sweeney’s style ranges from space disco to funky, soulful beats to minimal synth. One moment I was lost in a space-like disco trance and within a few minutes, a heavy bass with undertones of soulful vibes filled my ears, keeping my body moving and my head nodding. I think much of Sweeney’s show’s success can be attributed to his openness to a wide-range of music and ability to host such diverse guests on the show. I could spend hours on his archived radio shows, listening to play list after play list. The variety is unbelievable, and his guests are top-notch producers and DJs. Listeners are always in for a treat; whether they are streaming his show on the Internet, or getting down on the dance floor.
BT: How did Beats in Space (BIS) start?
TS: “I knew when I got into NYU I wanted to do radio cause I had done some radio stuff in high school when I was living in Baltimore. I studied one summer in high school at NYU and played twice while taking some courses. I knew about the radio station and knew some people there, so when I got in there I contacted the radio station to set up the
show and get the idea behind it.”
BT: What was the idea behind BIS?
TS: “I think when I started, they (WNYU) wanted me to be really focused, but I always wanted it to be a lot broader. The radio station was really focused on being strict and not free formed. In the beginning, I was just doing online, with real audio broadcast. The Beats in Space Website was launched to get people listening and I started putting up real audio files for people to listen to and kept getting more listeners. I had bad times like 1-4:00 AM, so I still needed to get listeners, so I was promoting the website and getting
people to download the shows.”
BT: When did you realize you had your “Foot in the Door?”
TS: It took two years before I got to the FM side, and it’s the side everyone wants to be on cause it’s ‘real’ radio and you have listeners. Although nowadays, I have more people downloading the shows than listening – but I like the feeling of FM. But even on the AM station, I was getting guest DJ’s on. And that’s how it started snowballing. You get a guest you like, and they’re up for coming on the show. And once you get one, it gets easier to get another. I started working with DFA (the independent record label and production team) and they got really big, and that really helped because I could play a lot of their early stuff on the show before people had it and that created interest.”
BT: Do you have any specific favorite genres?
TS: “I try and research all types of genres; I like learning about old Chicago house, old Detroit techno, New York disco, crunk rock, new wave, or minimal synth stuff. Whatever is out there I listen to it and find stuff that I’m into, and if I like it, I know I can include it in the radio show. I think a lot of times the show gets labeled with DFA, but DFA is broad as well. At the same time, I don’t want it to be so broad that it doesn’t seem like there’s a point to it.”
BT: Do you have any hopes for the future of BIS?
TS: “I want to keep doing the show and I want it to get bigger with more listeners. Maybe a month ago, I got one hour of the show to go to Radio Campus France – basically French College radio, but it’s national so it’s on 20 different radio stations in France. They only do three shows that they do nationwide like that, so I am pretty honored to have that. It fits because I’m on college radio now.”
BT: Are there any DJs or Producers that you want on the show?
TS: “There are a lot of people that I want on the show, like Francois K, who was here in DC last night. There are always new artists coming along so it’s never ending, and a lot of artists I want to work with are from Detroit. It’s also fun to have the old guests back on that you have a good rapport with – the show is kind of like hanging out and just having fun.”
BT: Are there any memorable or favorite places you have played?
TS: “Glasgow has a great crowd because they go crazy and everyone’s supportive. I also just like playing in some crazy spot, like I just got booked to play in South Africa and you have to appreciate that. Going to Japan or a festival in China – those things are also memorable. But then you have the gigs with your friends, and those are deep in your heart and fun.”
Be sure to tune into Tim Sweeney’s “Beats in Space” live radio show every Tuesday from 10:30 PM to 1:00 AM (EST) on WNYU 89.1, or stream live on the radio website: www.wnyu.org. You can also go to his website www.beatsinspace.net to listen to archived shows.