Friday's Memory Lane: The Unforgettable Summer of '10

Last bit of Memory Lane to walk. I know I've mostly shared some unfortunate gigs and bad stuff, but this last post is dedicated to the good things we've been through. Most of the them happened during last summer.

The Unforgettable Summer of '10

Last summer wasn't just good it was pretty awesome. We had been struggling with some stuff earlier that year, with me and Risto mostly left running the DWTF. Just before the summer we got some really good news: we got booked to Turku Modern and Ilmiö-festival. It was a great honor for a dj group that wasn't that well known, even in Turku.

Dj-wise that week or two was the top time of my life. Both events happened a week apart from each other. I remember how we sat down with Risto to plan almost every track we would play on our Turku Modern gig. We even got rhythmic instruments that we wanted to give the crowd so they could jam with our records. And Lauri Hannus took some promo photos of us that we still use.

I was really really nervous when we started our gig. We had just heard from dj Anonymous that we had to re-schedule our gig with the other artists that played the same venue: Lauri Soini and Roberto Rodriguez. We had to go first, and had to try to get that info to our followers as quickly as possible. That re-arranging also wrecked our game plan: We ended up playing to a room where people where still finishing their dinners. We had a plan to start with dark house but changed it so that we opened with melodic disco. I remember being nervous as hell through the whole gig.



(We started with this)

Just when we where ending our set the other dj's took over. The first thing Lauri did was to dim the lights down and up the volume of the soundsystem. The whole atmosphere changed to a much more suitable for dancing and his selection of house started working on a whole new level. Me and Risto were pretty bummed that we hadn't understood to do the same thing. It was supposed to be our best gig ever and we didn't get even that right!

But the best experience came afterwards. I got really drunk for the remaining three days of Turku Modern on free artist beer. I actually remember having a weird constant taste on my mouth on Sunday. I met a bunch of new and old friends and checked out some amazing dj's. It felt great to be a part of the festival, even if our contribution had been quite minimal.

Of course I ended up on the bridge Saturday night where all the organizers and artist like to hang. The sun came up and people where still very happy about the earlier night. I think I saw a rainbow too.

Even if we had somewhat flopped our gig at Modern we more than covered up for it later in the Ilmiö festival. We were booked to play in the boat that carries passengers to the festival and back.

I remember it well. The forecast had been awful. Load of rain and thunder were supposed to come. But when we got our records to the ship, it was all sunshine and a light breeze. Eventually we didn't catch any of the rain. First we actually tried to play on the deck but had to move to the cabin. Just when it dripped a little bit in the day, I played this:



It was good fun to play through the day, but the real experience was the night shift, when people where heading back to city. The night had settled in, it was cool and calm. The boat went gently towards to the city lights.

And we had just the right records to fit that mood. Dark and easy music, Italians do it better records, Bruce Springsteen, maybe also Arthur Russell. People were giving thumbs up and I remember Heikki from Videovalvontaa talking very kindly about us to a French artist he was hosting. Last boatride we did we upped the tempo a bit since people were feeling like dancing.



(I played this at the night, worked wonders)

It was really fulfilling to feel like I was contributing with my music selection to that mood we all had: feeling grateful that the festival was over, feeling a bit sentimental with the ocean and night sky, feeling very easy. Won't forget that moment.

Funny detail after the boat had docked for the last time. Me and Risto were waiting for someone to pick up the loudspeakers and mixer at the dock, when we heard some noise from the top of the roof. A while later someone woke up from there, his jacket was soaked from the other side from sleeping on the wet roof. He jumped down from there, looked at us and started walking towards the town.

Such a great summer. I feel like I achieved everything I wanted, everything else is just bonus. Hopefully this one will be even better. At least we got something very special planned.

So this is the last story for now. Hear me do an interview in a few hours on Rytmikoppi at Zoom FM and play later tonight at Bar Kuka.

- Peffis

Wednesday's Memory Lane: Worst gig, ever

We go on with the Memory Lane. This time I wanted to share something educational, so you can listen closely and learn.

WORST GIG, EVER

This happened when we had had our Disko WTF?! collective for about six months. We got a request for a dj gig from a friend of mine, a rather weird request. We were offered a gig in Naantali, in a club we didn't know, performing before and after BIG Finnish pop singers. I mean top 10 material, some of the artists were in top 10 even when my parents were young.

The request split opinions inside our group. I wanted to do it. The money was good and I thought It'd be a nice experience to play our stuff for a full crowd in a superb setting. The other fellas didn't want to do it. They had good reasons: didn't know the crowd, couldn't play same stuff as the main performer, we had odd disco records, not a hip place to play, too long a distance, people wouldn't get us and so on.

Oh boy, how valid those reasons turned out to be.

I did end up taking that gig. I thought: Why not, I have some good new records and some stuff that EVERYBODY loves. No problemo. I ended up doing it alone as well, was actually my very first time doing a solo gig. Turned out to be the worst gig ever for me and probably for the audience as well.

For starters, it didn't start that well. I was informed that I should come around half past ten or something and I'd get to play after the main artist - who was second or something in the national Idols singer contest that year.

I was thinking about how should I go there and eventually chose the bike. It was a longer journey than I had expected (1,5 hours of biking), I almost got lost on the way and when I got to the place I was out of breath, sweaty and got to hear that I SHOULD HAVE been there at nine. Which was like two hours ago.

Well, I took my records and a free soda (didn't get free beer, dj's usually do) to the open dj booth that was standing at one end of the stage. The mixer setup was somehow wrong and I remember having to wrestle with it for a while. I called my mates for advice. It was back then when I always played with Ripatti and Akahiljane and never had to put the mixers and decks in order just by myself. Eventually I got them to work so that I could play one track from a cd and another from vinyl. I had intended to play a lot more stuff from cd's but now suddenly had to switch back and forth. I think I also got the volumes jumping up and down since I couldn't leave the booth and listen around when playing - loads of records + drunken hi society idiots don't mix - and I didn't see (or understand) the level bars on the mixer.



(This was my starting song)

So, from a technical point of view it was a disaster already.

It was the same thing with entertaining aspect, or in this case, slowly but surely pissing of the crowd. I only had like 45 minutes to play before the artist and an hour and a half after him, but I played all the vinyl I had and most of the cd tracks. Nothing seemed to work. I had some Finnish disco for ironic fun, had some stone cold classics like Madonna's Holiday and MJ's Don't stop til you get enough and very poppy guitar songs like Walk like an Egyptian.

Not a single positive reaction from the crowd.

I think I had played for 10 minutes when the first dissatisfied customer asked if I could play "something completely different to what I was just playing". And people just got more aggressive and drunk from that moment on. I felt cornered since there was no one else there and everybody could just come to my face and do whatever. People were gathering around the edge of the booth at the end of the unfortunate set.

Here's some of the memorable feedback I got from the well-behaving people there:

A female Guido: Play Michael Jackson.

Me: I just did two minutes ago. And I'm playing a mashup of MJ and Owner of a lonely hear just now.

Female Guido: Yeah, but play Beat it.

***

Female Guido with black hair: Have you been playing shitty music ON PURPOSE for the last hour?

***

Random Guido: Stop playing this HOMO MUSIC!

***

‎Indie Guido: You wouldn't happen to have MGMT?

Me: Nope, but I know the band.

Indie Guido: I mean, this record doesn't have anything (I'm playing this).

Me: It DOES: great bassline and awesome synth work.

Indie Guido: Oh look, The Screaming Stukas (points out to the screen of playlist computer).

Me: Well yeah, but that's the playlist computer. Ain't happening.

***

‎Aggressive-looking buddy Guido: My friend told me to ask you to play some better music.

***

‎Super Guido: Hey, you wouldn't happen to have Brian Setzer?

Me: No, sorry.

Super Guido: Where's this music coming from?

Me: From that spinning record over there.

Super Guido: Can I see the list of the records you have?

Me: I don't have a list.

Super Guido: Can I go through your record bag?

Me: No you can't.

Super Guido: Well... You wouldn't happen to have, like, Brian Setzer?

Me: Still no. I don't have that much rock with me. Some Clash, Bangles, power pop from 90's.

Super Guido: Yeah, that Clash sucks ass. You wouldn't happen to have, like, Brian Setzer?

***

It was like this all the gig through. When I saw the lights turned on, I must have thanked god I could stop that nightmare of a gig. After the biking there, surprise mixer problems, worst gig experience ever, there was still the biking home to do. Here's a photo of me, you can read from my expression what I think about the night and the surprising distance between Naantali and Turku.

Even if the experience was pretty dreadful for such a beginner dj as me, I still feel pretty happy that I did it. That's what young guys should do; stupid crazy things, maybe learn from them and pass them on as good stories. I remember even when the shit hit the fan in the midst of the gig I thought that it was somehow humorous or would be humorous when I got to tell it afterwards to other people. So you can take some good advice from me (and I'm happy to give more) but don't steer away from new experiences. And always keep your cool.

Tomorrow another story from the DWTF vaults,
- Peffis

Monday's Memory Lane: The time I got 2 drunk 2 play

This Friday we are going back to where we started with this whole dj thing: Bar Kuka. There's a nice little recap from our way from that September night to this day at the FB-event. (In Finnish, sorry). And also here's a bigget photo of the flyer for the night.

Since we have started sharing little details of our time as dj's, we thought I'd be nice to share some more stories. So from today to Friday you can read one memorable detail or night we've had in these two and half years.

Let me start, Risto tells another story tomorrow. These are true stories by the way.

THE NIGHT I GOT TOO DRUNK 2 PLAY

This has maybe happened to all of us. Or maybe not.

It was late may 2009 and dj Akahiljane had organized a massive two day indoor festival - Offgame - at our secret warehouse. He had a great idea about putting a real effort for everyone invited, so we had buckets of good food, superb artists (JS666, Dj Emil, Power Point Boys and Ki Ki from Gayborhood) and some beer for the artists. I was supposed to play some tracks to start the Friday evening and get back on decks when it was time to do the last back-2-back's of the night.

Well, the tricky part was this: artists got only just a few beers for free BUT ALL THE VODKA THEY WANTED. For some reason, there was plenty of raw vodka.

So I thought I should take the cheap alternative - I was a relatively poor student then - and sip vodka instead of buying beer after I got my first set done. Whoa, it was alright for the first two small shots. I remember eating the good food and bouncing about when dj Emil played some bmore stuff, BUT after that I it's all blank.

My good friend who escorted me home told me that I had:

- fallen and almost hit my head on a table
- vomited, luckily on the outside of the venue
- left my records behind me and called my friend begging him to go back and bring them to me
- almost passed out at my elevator

The moment I woke up I understood that I had majorly fucked up and missed my second gig. I texted the party organizer and apologized and promised to make it up to him. We are still very good friends. Never underestimate the power of apologizing.

The story has a nice ending, sort of. I did get to play records again the next night, after everyone else had stopped and my super hangover had went away. I remember exactly the point where I won my hangover and that was when Club Power Point played Pet Shop Boys' Always on my mind 12 inch. I was able to dance then and catch the atmosphere of the dancing crowd. I always associate that record to that moment.

Here's the record I played first when I started the Saturday late night shift:



So, the moral of the story? Don't get too drunk to play. For me also to stay away from anything more potent than wine. This shit hasn't happened ever since.

Tomorrow another story from the memory lane of DWTF.
- Peffis