License to DJ (and our upcoming events)

8Ball — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 23:42:00 +0000

Hello Friendly Person:

It happens to everyone. It’s the weekend, and you and some friends head out to a bar or club. You wait in line, show your ID, and maybe pay a cover. You empty your wallet on a round or two of cocktails, and you smile because you know you’re poised at the starting block of an epic night out. But you look out on the dancefloor. It’s empty. You look around and see that no one is smiling and everyone looks a little annoyed, even the bartenders. Something is wrong, and then you realize what it is… it’s the DJ. The DJ is bad. Horribly, criminally bad. The DJ is sucking balls, and that means so will your night out. Until now we’ve had to accept these scenarios as a bad roll of the dice, but now Space Cowboy’s Bureau of Brilliant Ideas has cooked up a solution that’s long overdue: a License to DJ.

The concept is simple. No longer will the DJ booth be an unregulated wild west where charlatans, thugs, and degenerates of questionable taste shall be permitted to operate with impunity. Instead, only those who’ve proven themselves exemplary at entertaining by passing a stringent series of tests (written and aural) shall attain the certification that allows them to stand publicly behind a mixer. It’s like the judiciary’s bar exam (though the DJ’s bar exam will most likely really take place in a real bar). And this won’t simply be a pass/fail test. A License to DJ will be similar to restaurants’ sanitation ratings. Regardless of the size of a venue, only DJs who’ve been rated ‘A’ will be permitted to playing prime slots. DJs with a ‘B’ will be welcome to open and close, but at no time will they be permitted to play songs with big build ups, and unlike ‘A’s, there times ‘B’s will be obligated to play requests. DJs who have ‘C’ licenses will be restricted to playing side rooms or in bathrooms (again, an ‘A’ DJ must play the prime slot, even in a bathroom, or the ‘C’ DJ can opt to play any of the RIPEcast mixes from Breakfast of Champions during that time slot, though they must remove their headphones from the mixer at that time and present a placard that says as much). ‘D’s will only be allowed to play the suburbs and bedroom communities, ‘F’s can play any venue they choose in Las Vegas.

Of course there will be those opportunistic snakeoil salesmen who’ll buy their licenses online. Desperate, under-funded promoters may book them, blinded by the promises of cheaper thrills and impossible promises (example: a dubstep DJ that swears he’ll get everyone to dance, even the people who aren’t on ketamine). So a regulatory agency will be formed, and it will have agents vested with the power to ensure DJs comply with the policies and ethical guidelines associated with licensure. “Better to end early than suffer a bad DJ,” shall be their motto and these agents will be empowered to eject CDs, remove turntables needles, or unplug laptops, as necessary when they find a DJ in violation of those guidelines. This brings an end to the threat of having a DJ drop “Oops! I Did It Again” at the height of the party, as Polarbear did at the Black Rock Hoedown at Burning Man in 1999. Oh, the humanity! Drug testing will be mandatory, though the music you play will determine whether the tests should be positive or negative. Aggrieved promoters can bring their cases to the agency, and DJs found to be afoul will suffer disbarment and be banned from entering clubs or bars for the rest of their lives.

xo,
8b

### UPCOMING EVENTS ###

4/22 Thursday – S.F. Carnival Eco Village Pre-Party & Earth Day Extravaganza
Join us in the beautiful mission for this Earth Day Celebration in support of C.A.T [cultural arts traditions- non profit]. Carnaval float contingents and S.F Carnaval’s Eco Village [Zona Verde]

Featured performers include: Just added!! Pamala Parker band and Sistas Wit Style of the prestigious N.A.A.C.P Image award for Best World Beat Album of the year- 2010
Allstar Salsa drum band
Carnaval costume gala
D.J. Jeremiah -Brazilian/Afro Moroccan fusion beats, featuring Rasa Vitalia

9pm -Our Cutting Edge Fashion Show - featuring Trunk designers Silver Lucy, Tamo, Miranda Caroligne, Kayo and other local fashion designers including Miss Giggle Monster- clothing will be for sale – so bring your wallet.

Tatseena Serpent Siren Belly-Dance-
Surrealist Artist Frank Garvy and his avaunt robots made from found and recycled objects
Paula Tejeda -[Chile Lindo] Will be serving up Authentic Chilean Niman Organic Ranch Beef Empanadas, Cheese-Jalapeño Empanadas, and Yves Meatless Ground Vegan Empanadas come early for dinner and fashion show

We are honored to have our M.C, THE BAG MONSTER in the house
Live Art , hula hoop performance WHAT A NIGHT !!
A Green Zone Presents Production

The Blue Macaw

2565 Mission St., SF

8:00 pm – 1:00 am (fashion show @ 9)

$10

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=106817939348927&ref=mf

###

4/29 Thursday – C-Mon & Kypski @ The Independent

plus Sweet Snacks (featuring members of Beats Antique and Aphrodesia) / DJ Mancub
628 Divisadero @ Grove

Doors at 8:30pm, 21+

$10 pre-sale, $12 at the door

###

5/1 Saturday – Space Cowboys present Uno de Mayo @ Kelly’s Mission Rock
A benefit for the 2010 Burning Man Temple
Oye Compadres! The Space Cowboys are pleased as tequila-laced punch to invite you and yours to our ‘Uno de Mayo’ costume party… a Burning Man-style bacchanalia to benefit the 2010 Temple. Join us, Saturday, May 1st at Kelly’s Mission rock for a Mexicali-style throw-down unlike any other…
We got tequila… We got cerveza… We got bass… We got mustaches for every last one of ya!
Oh, and we got a mechanical bull!

Cowboy costume attire strongly encouraged… so strap on yer six-shooters, dust off them cowboy boots and come git down with your favorite Burning Man DJs…

con los Caballeros de Espacio
Shissla, 8ball, Brad Robinson, Aaron Jae, shOOey, Tamo, Zach Moore

y los amigos
Beth Murphy (House of Lotus), Dj Gravity (Pink Mammoth), Clarkie (The Deep End), Mace (Brass Tax)

y mucho mas TBAVamos a hacer una fiesta super-grande!

817 Terry Francois Boulevard @ Illinois
9:00pm – 4:00am
$10 presales at http://uno-de-mayo.eventbrite.com/, $15 con costume, $20 sin costume
Facebook invite: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=111162212247918
More info at and http://www.temple2010.org

###

5/7 Friday – Get N/OFF! – Happy Hour at Mars Bar
It’s the first Friday of the month, and that means it’s time for 8Ball’s N/OFF (New/Old Funk Friday)! SF’s most whoreable DJ 8ball new school funk, breaks, mash-ups, hiphop and more. Drink specials, great food, and a back patio—what more could you need to wind down from your week.
Free, 5 – 9pm
Mars Bar – 798 Brannan Street (@ 7th)

###

5/9 Sunday – Howeird Street Fair
The Space Cowboys’ Unimog will be at the fair parked on Minna @ 2nd Street right in front of Anchor & Hope… with Space Cowboys and Brass Tax DJs all day.
12:00pm – 8:00pm
http://www.howweird.org

###

5/14 Friday – Garage Mahal’s 10th Birthday Party @ Paradise Lounge
Remember when you were 10 years old and got invited to that one birthday party that was better than all of the others? Well, Garage Mahal invites you to help celebrate our camp’s 10th birthday and it promises to be the talk of the playground.

Cool kids, Geeks, and Freaks are all welcome to join the masses who have enjoyed our welcoming vibe on and off the Black Rock Desert over the past ten years. You’ve come through in the clutch for us, and we’re happy to return the favor. All proceeds will go towards the operation of our camp’s art car and day party at a certain place in Nevada.

We’ll have a heavy petting zoo, ride the pony contests, a magician, and plenty of sweet dirty beats that will last way past your bedtime.

Featuring your favorite class clowns:
8ball (Space Cowboys)
Deckard (Space Cowboys)
DingDong (Brass Tax)
Jive (FiX/Garage Mahal)
Kramer (Deep End)
Mace (Brass Tax)
Murphstar (SEISMIC)
Shissla (Space Cowboys)
shOOey (Space Cowboys)
Smoove (Newsbreakz)
Spiral MD (Garage Mahal)
Tamo (Space Cowboys/Garage Mahal)
Trav (SEISMIC)
ViaJay (Angels of Bass)
Zach Moore (Space Cowboys/Gough Street Sessions)

A mere $10 gets you all this and more. Don’t be the only one in homeroom without a story to share…

1501 Folsom @ 11th Street
9:00pm – 4:00am
$10 cover
Facebook invite: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=114625291898311

###

5/15 Saturday – Burners without Borders present : An Old West Bonanza and Benefit @ Cellspace
Welcome to the rough and tumble frontier—an area where anything can happen, dreams are realized, and no one can be trusted! Hit the dusty trail with us and head to BORDERTOWN! Come as your favorite old west character. Be the gunslinger, the showgirl, the gold seeker, the outlaw, the cathouse Madame, the barkeep, or any of the denizens of Bordertown! Revel in three environments of performance, music, art, dancing, decor, and merriment. Join us for our art auction and walk home with fantastic deals on amazing one-of-a-kind art pieces.

100% of the net proceeds from Bordertown will go to benefit Burners Without Borders projects worldwide. Help Burners Without Borders continue to support worldwide efforts of civic and social activism. From continuing relief work in areas devastated by Katrina, to relief efforts in Haiti, to empowering African street kids through teaching the art of fire poi, Burners Without Borders mission to bring the principle of gifting—common at Burning Man—to the greater world has been astoundingly successful. Help Burners Without Borders projects continue to grow and achieve great things! For more information about Burners Without Borders projects worldwide,

w/ DJ’s Shissla & shOOey, and much more!

check out: http://www.burnerswithoutborders.org/
Email: Projects@BurnersWithoutBorders.org

To see BWB’s very real impact in Peru, check out this video: http://www.vimeo.com/10809028

2050 Bryant b/t 18th & 19th Street
8:00pm – 2:00am
$12 before 10:30pm, $20 after 10:30pm
Facebook invite: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=113979578630417

###

5/16 Sunday – House of Lotus’ Bay to Breakers After-Party @ Milk: A benefit for the 2010 Burning Man Temple
Get your freakiness warmed up and stretch out your big dance moves, cause Bay to Breakers is here! Join us for a full day of debauchery, as we migrate from
Golden Gate Park to the Milk Bar. It’s been a long year of training and this year we are readier than ever …

* We’ve been pumping beats instead of iron
* We’ve been doing windsprints with coolers of Tecate strapped to our back
* We’ve been skipping rope to a 4/4 beat in pouring rain
* We’ve been on a strict diet of sunhiney funky dance your ass off goodness

WITH DJs:
Mancub (SpaceCowboys)
Shissla (SpaceCowboys)
Murphstar (Seismic)
Beth Murphy (House of Lotus)
ShOOey (SpaceCowboys)
Mace (Brass Tax)
more TBA!

1840 Haight @ Stanyan
12:00pm – 9:000pm
$5 cover

### NEW MUSIC ###

The Space Cowboys are happy to report that syndication of The RIPEcast is well under way and there are now three ways to download or stream your favorite Cowboy DJs!

- Via The Cowboys’ brand new SoundCloud profile
(Best for those who don’t use iTunes)

- You can also catch The RIPEcast on our brand new Podomatic profile

- And, finally, by subscribing to The Space Cowboys RIPEcast in iTunes

All three methods are easy to use and free o’charge!

And now this week’s featured mix on The RIPEcast, MoPo’s live set from Breakfast of Champions this year..

“I got to BOC at 8 AM, having already been awake for 24-hours producing Sea of Dreams, and playing a 3-hour set there in Silent Disco. The plan was to drop gear, then head home for a nap as my set was at 6pm. As the day wound on I realized that going home would be the end of me, so I figured I should tough it out. Besides, after wanting to play this party for so long, maybe this was simply the final flaming hoop Id have to jump through to earn the right. Right? Better said than done. The day wore on. Good conversation, some dance, a burger, a bloody, my throat growing raspier and more sore. Id look at my watch and it would mock me by saying “11:30” or “1:15” . By 2pm I couldn’t even talk anymore and was relegated to “that guy who whispers in everyone’s ears at parties”. Somewhere along the way I realized I didn’t have Serato Cds, a potentially devastating development if I couldn’t find some blanks. Thankfully, Kramer HAD blanks which I paid for by promptly spilling his full beer all over him. Now I’m THAT GUY too.”

“At 4 Clarkie went on and sprayed flaming gasoline on the crowd while I nervously burned my Cds behind him. At 5, Aaron Pope went on and reminded us why he’s one of the finest dance-music Djs in the Bay Area… Just an outstanding set, energetic, funky, yet progressive-enough for the tweakers. A VERY hard act to follow. By this point, I’m going on 36 hours or so so its basically adrenaline and redbull. I figured my go-to thematic funk/rock remix stuff would be too tough a transition from Pope so I stayed with the more beat-centric stuff earlier, then downshifted into the chunky later as it got darker. It seemed to work really well. To my surprise, the techier stuff was less effective than anything with a rap or a hook (my go-to territory anyway). When I downshifted into the funky stuff (“Earthlings” and “Jungle Jam”) and my own edits, the crowd really just erupted. It seemed like folks were about ready to rock out, so we went there. Towards the end, the security told me I had 10 minutes, so I dropped the tempo and went into a few midtempo bangers with the idea that Id close out with “Whistlers Delight” which ends on Monty Python’s “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”. As it turned out, 3 minutes into this Andrea got them to give us another hour and I upshifted into Neighbour’s “Superstition” so that 8Ball and Zach Moore could take it home. All in all I couldn’t have been more thankful of the opportunity to play for most of everyone I love at one of my favorite all-time get downs.” – MoPo

Track List

Dynomite -Kraak & Smaak
Lose Control – NAPT
Makossa – Maelstrom
It’s the Weekend – Andrew Friendly
Boomin Back Atcha -DJ Wolfie
Flattened if ya Hear Me -Motion Potion Edit
Busta Don’t Touch -DeeKline
Off the Hands – Motion Potion Edit
DaGalacticBodyFunk – Motion Potion Edit
Earthling – Sterofreakz vs Earth Wind & Fire
Jungle Jam – Motion Potion Edit
Back it Up – Caro (Kraak & Smaak Remix)
Cali Keeps Lovin – Nick Thayer Edit
$uper Too Short – Nick Thayer Edit
Whistlers Delight – DJ Rico
Superstition – Neighbour & U-Tern

Thank you to MoPo from The Space Cowboys for the rockin’ set!
RIPEcast intro courtesy of Deckard and Andrea Lundquist

Next Up on The RIPEcast:
April 27th – Aaron Jae vs. Mozaic from BoC 2010
May 4th – 8Ball live from BoC 2010
May 11th – Surprise Guest Mix (Stay Tuned!)

S P A C E C O W B O Y S: License to DJ (and our upcoming events)

License to DJ (and our upcoming events)