It was my great pleasure to be a guest DJ at what I consider to be one of the best deep funk nights in the entire world, Funky Sole. For over 10 years, Funky Sole has been an LA institution bringing together a nicely mixed crowd of dancers and some of the best DJs around to celebrate the funkiest vinyl they could find.
I tried to put together a set that would keep the floor packed and hopefully include a few tracks that aren’t often heard there on Saturday nights. I knew the latter would be particularly difficult the moment I walked in and Clifton was playing a tune I was looking forward to playing later! Clifton aka Soft Touch and Music Man Miles of Breakestra pack some serious heat, but I think everyone was pleased with the set you can hear below.
The set I played has a mix of deep cuts and classic sounds, with nods to my homeland of Georgia (via James Brown and Franciene Thomas), years spent in the Bay Area, especially at Soulvation at the Ruby Room (“G.S.T.S.K.D.T.S” and “Here Come The Girls” were staples of those Wednesday nights) and my love of Brazilian and Latin soul (courtesy of Toni Tornado, Ray Barretto and Pete Rodriguez). 
The only moment where things got a little iffy on the dancefloor was actually by design. I played “Azucar” from Eddie Palmieri & Harlem River Drive, a song that begins as if it’s a salsa number before morphing into latin soul with English and Spanish lyrics, just to see how far I could take the crowd. I have to admit that even though most of the time people just standing around is not a reaction a DJ ever wants to have, I was pretty amused by the confused looks, especially once the drums and English lyrics kicked in, and people slowly started to find their groove.
On the opposite end, I was really impressed with how much people dug the Sound Foundation’s “Soul Foundation,” an instrumental with some massive drum breaks that has “B-Boy” written all over it (more on this record later in the week). Next time (and I seriously hope there will be a next time in the near future) I’ll make sure to bring more B-boy songs and maybe dig a little deeper. Until then, enjoy the set below and if you’re in LA, make sure to check out Funky Sole every Saturday from 10pm-2am at the Echo over at 1822 Sunset Blvd. in Echo Park!
Guest DJ Set at Funky Sole: 1-9-2011
Guest Set at Funky Sole 1-9-2011:
Alvin Cash & the Registers – Keep On Dancing – 7” (Toodlin’ Town)
Pete Rodriguez – Oh That’s Nice – Ay Que Bueno/Oh That’s Nice (Alegre)
Mauricio Smith – Old Shoes – Bitter Acid (Mainstream)
Jun Mayuzumi – Black Room – 7” (Capitol)
Irene Reid – Dirty Old Man – 7” (Old Town)
Sound Foundation – Soul Foundation – Sound Foundation (Smobro)
Toni Tornado – Aposta – Toni Tornado (Odeon)
James Brown – Make It Good To Yourself – Black Caesar: Original Soundtrack (Polydor)
Franciene Thomas – I’ll Be There – 7” (Tragar)
Ray Barretto – Together – Together (Fania)
Eddie Palmieri w/ Harlem River Drive – Azucar – Live At Sing Sing (Roulette)
Rufus Thomas – The Breakdown Pt. 1 – 7” (Stax)
Vera Hamilton – But I Ain’t No More (G.S.T.S.K.D.T.S.) – 7” (Epic)
Ike & Tina Turner – I Better Get Ta Steppin’ – Too Hot To Hold (Pickwick)
Simtec & Wylie – Gotta Get Over The Hump – 7” (Mister Chand)
Ruby Andrews – You Made Me A Believer – 7” (Zodiac)
Ernie K. Doe – Here Come The Girls – Ernie K. Doe (Janus)
Lee Dorsey – A Lover Was Born – 7” (Amy)