Tag Archives: Farfetched

DJ

It’s Friday, last day of a 4 day work week. And it was quite an interesting work week. I’m not going to rehash the week, you can always go back and read what I wrote. Today was something else. I mainly played DJ today.

Some of the sub-subtenants enjoyed what I was playing and told me so. I mentioned that I used to do it for a living. But that wasn’t true. I never made a living from it. Maybe $30.00 and a burger or cavatelli with broccoli.

Occasionally I DJ’d someone’s wedding. That was always a nerve wracking experience. The first time I really DJ’d at a friends wedding was in 1986. I borrowed equipment from Ulysses Sankitts, a friend I had only met a few days before at a job I started one day before Ulysses.

He trusted me enough and talked it over with his brother Tony and they brought it to a loft on Broadway right above Canal Street. Eve who was a waitress at McSwells married Jeff a bartender at a bar in the city, so the guests were mainly the hip crowd. I guess I did well. It was a blur really.

I did spend more money on records than I was actually getting paid. Back then if given a choice between music and food, I would pick music. I was spinning records on off nights at McSwells, eventually taking over Guy Ewald’s shift. Charlie had Saturday nights so I had Fridays.

Occasionally we would switch shifts. McSwells was so insular then, whomever would DJ would sometimes work the door, always for $30.00 and the aforementioned dishes.

One time I was DJ’ing a wedding and the couple gave me a list of what they wanted played. I didn’t have Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton and it was the main number. They provided a copy but I never got around to it. The marriage was doomed anyway. The groom had quite a wandering eye and I think within a year it was kaput.

Another time a couple a few doors down from McSwells were getting married and I had the whole place swingin’. I remember a conga line snaking through the crowd at 1st and Clinton while I played the extended dance mix of Konk Party, still a favorite song 25 years later.

They paid me with a check that I cashed at McSwells even though McSwells never did that. Of course the check bounced and I got an earful from Steve Fallon’s sister Ann. But I loved to play music for other people and I still do.

I prefer to make people dance than actually dancing myself. The last time I DJ’d was at Lois and Fred’s wedding party in August and no one danced. I played nothing but hits and surefire things to move some butts and get asses wiggling but it never happened.

I guess I would be better suited for small situations without a dance floor, like office cubicles. When I worked at Farfetched, I would try to carefully select the music for the store, but sometimes Lois or Susan (or Denise) wouldn’t like what I was playing and I would get a puss on, taking their rejection of my musical selections so personally.

I think I would do well as a radio DJ, but that is my brother Frank’s area and I wouldn’t dare encroach on his space, no way.

I will say being a DJ with an iPod is a lot easier than lugging crates of records around. I would lug about 6 crates sometimes. On New Years Eve at McSwells I would bring 10 crates. That was always a big money night, $150.00 (maybe more) and various potions and drinks.

Good times from what I could remember.

Let’s Go Away for Awhile

Well here I am over 24 hours after the last posting. What did I do? Where did I go? Well, after writing I walked from 50th street and Third Avenue to 12th Street and Fourth Avenue, enjoying a Padron and listening to a play list for the Farfetched finale. After 28 years, Farfetched has bit the dust. Not that Susan or Lois did anything wrong.

Lousy landlord wouldn’t renew their lease since there seems to be quite a demand for Goth shoes in the neighborhood. Well, we’ll see how that goes. Raccoon eyed customers with deep pockets always shop during economic downturns.

Even if the landlord did renew the lease it probably would have been a stressful year for Susan and Lois. They were clobbered for the holiday season and that’s their best time of year. So a whole year of that wouldn’t have done them well and they would possibly end the year with multiple ulcers.

I got to the store which was barren and sparsely decorated. Plenty of wine to accompany the six pack of Heineken’s I bought. $13.00 for a six pack is a bit much. I could get two six packs in Hoboken for the same price, but I was on the island of Manhattan where everything is imported. Lois, Susan and Harpy were in the store and we were anticipating a few guests.

We were fine with it being the four of us, but we welcomed the incoming well wishers. And that’s what they were, well wishers coming to wish Susan and Lois and quite possibly Harpy well. The night progressed, I’d say about 50 people were there at one point. Actually more like 25 as I was seeing double.

People came in from as far as Ohio to say goodbye. Bill even was there for a while, taking it all in as well as taking a few photos. I just drank and drank, my hand always having a green bottle in my hand. I had to replenish my supply and I went over to Third Avenue at Harpy’s suggestion and bout 2 six packs at $10.00 per, a slight improvement.

Jen, Me, Sharon, Jessica and Harpy (missing: Amy who left early)

Jen, Me, Sharon, Jessica and Harpy (missing: Amy who left early)

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13009-farfetched-022

We were a festive crowd, even when Skeletor from the Halloween Adventure Store had the gall to stop by and collect the keys from Lois. After Skeletor left it seemed to be the proper time to throw many bags of shredded paper in the air creating a snowstorm of confetti a few inches deep.

Music was constantly played supplied by Harpy, myself and Sharon, another former employee. Susan’s sister Karen recited a poem, I mistook Susan’s other sister Linda to be a guy, as she’s quite a butch lesbian. Sharon, the distaff DJ was there with her husband Jocko who told me that he doesn’t use Facebook since he thinks it has a cult like mentality.

Perhaps he’s right. I’ve never been much of a joiner but I am enthralled by the Facebook and the connections it allows. Some hooliganism was underfoot during the party with the toilet getting backed up as a welcoming for the Goth shoe store.

That should have been done at the end of the party but someone (and it’s not me) thought otherwise. Some squatting in the basement occurred after that and that wasn’t me either. It was a happy/sad occasion over all.

I stumbled out a little after 12:30 after kissing Susan and Lois and Harpy. Plodded my way to 14th Street and Sixth Avenue to a crowded Path station. Had to ride uptown to get back to Hoboken and I found myself a corner seat, hat pulled down to my eyebrows and waited to get to Hoboken where I walked very fast towards home since I really had to pee.

In bed soon after that and tossed and turned all night. This morning I saw Julio and Stine with Superboy as they were headed out. I made breakfast, did some laundry, watching a movie called Human Traffic on DVD.

Obligatory picture of Alexander Lopez

Obligatory picture of Alexander Lopez

Pretty funny movie about a group of British youths doing ecstasy and partying for a weekend. Some very funny, very true things in the movie, though I still can’t figure out why I rented it.

After that, a much needed nap for about 3 hours and now I find myself in front of the computer again.

Other pics are posted in Facebook under my nom de blog, John Ozed
and some short vids on YouTube under johnotoole99 whomever that is…