Yes, really.
First, it was the unicorn scrub.
Now, we bring you a body scrub formulated from actual meteors from outer space. Yes, really.
The aptly-named Blaq Meteor Shower Scrub is a blend of ingredient-activated charcoal and fragments of matter from the cosmos, to provide you with a gentle exfoliation and glow.
The scrub itself looks great and all but we can’t really get over the fact that it contains ACTUAL METEORITE DUST FROM OUTER SPACE.
Each pack even comes with its own unique code so you can check out where and when your space dust came from (ours was from a meteorite that crashed into Morocco).
This also means no two scrubs are the same, which is great because I don’t want to share my space dust with anyone else.
We’re not sure how you get into the business of mining meteorite dust, but we’re all about turning it into an iridescent shower scrub.
The future is now, people.
Check it out for yourself here.
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Kool & The Gang " Summer Madness"
You are sitting in front of your computer when Kool and the Gang’s ” Summer Madness” comes on. The trans-formative power of music is evident in productions such as this. You are compelled to share these sounds with everyone in hopes to expose someone new to this experience. The track possibly more recognizable as The 1991 song “Summertime”, via a sample by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince was released in 1974 on the ” Light of the Worlds” LP.Previously Kool and The Gang had released a track with a similar feel ,1973’s Wild and Peaceful” but with ” Madness” they found the right mixture of sounds to create an instrumental submersive, relaxing, audio experience.
The Fresh Prince/Jazzy Jeff is actually a tolerable ” rap” version
This is something we are extremely proud of.Growing up and listening to his records and then years later being able to actually have a conversation with the Master himself was a real privilege. My number one all time Disco Hit has always been Romeo And Juliette. Listen to the voice that brought us all this beautiful music.No matter hoe he appeared as Love and Kisses, Sphinx,Sumeria,Tony Rallo his productions are testament to the quality that Disco music could achieve. Open House radio is our weekly Disco program heard all over the world on stations such as Generation Soul Funk Disco and AmyFm in France. Wepa.FM in Miami, Disco 935 New York, Radio Sigma and Cultura Web in Brazil and countless more. Enjoy and help ” Keep the Music Alive”
Open House Radio #54 Alec R. Costandinos by Open House Radio on Mixcloud
When you walked into Pete and Lenny’s you were never really certain if the band or the DJ was playing. Ecstacy were that good. It was rare to find a group performing current material, let alone nightclub hits usually reserved for the club’s DJs . “Of all the house bands that went through Pete & Lenny’s (and there were some great ones like Quickstep and Babe. Even La Flavor did a stint), Ecstacy was the truest to the music. At a time when clubs were transitioning away from live music to DJs, this put them head and shoulders above everyone else.
These guys were so good that the transitions from me to them and back to me were flawlessly on beat and sounded as close to a DJ mix as you could get without going vinyl to vinyl (remember, this was wayyy before CDs, much less mp3s LOL).
Ecstacy, I just wish they had been as on time as they were good…. “LMAO” recalls resident DJ Rick Alonso who provided the sounds for this entertainment complex in the heart of Broward County A massive tri-level Pete & Lenny’s became THE place to see and be seen. The club attracted some heavyweight headliners who performed there including The Village People, Vicky Sue Robinson, Tavares, Donna Summer, Odyssey, Al Green and many more. Starting in 1977, two nationally broadcast television shows – Disco 77 and Disco Magic were filmed there, giving the club massive exposure and ensured that the place was always packed.
The original band members included Michael Holland (vocals); Jay Martin (guitar); Jessie Acevedo (guitar); Alex Villalobos (bass); Al Muzaurieta (drums); Michael Romano (keyboards); Lee Thornburg (trumpet) and Fermin Goytisolo (congas). Later versions of the group also included Jimmy Carrion (vocals); Burt Acevedo (drums) and Arana Hernandez (percussion)The band’s massive appeal was evident every weekend where their performance was greeted with the same enthusiasm as the club’s DJ, a rarity in those days. Between 1975 and the mid 80s the band recorded original material. Now for the first time is a comprehensive retrospective of one of the finest house bands of the disco era.
BUY FROM ITUNES
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/retrospective-miamis-premier/id950339705
Track Listing
Living In Ecstacy
Can’t Help Myself / Ecstacy’s Theme
There Must Be Love
Give Me a Reason
Never Can Say Goodbye
I’m Hot Tonight
You Take Me Higher
Make It Tonight
Abracadabra
Living In Ecstacy (Extended Mix)
Can’t Help Myself / Ecstacy’s Theme (Extended Mix)
First Time (Edit)
Never Can Say Goodbye (Edit)
As a young DJ, I was accustomed to glitzy, colorful , “artsy-fartsy” record covers. So when a friend of mine showed me his promo copy of the Village People’s first album with a plain black and white cover depicting a bunch of guys ( some of the wearing plaid, a “Disco fashion No-No “) I imagined this to be some kind of rock and Roll group.The back showed more of the same, although it did have a guy in a Tux. 4 tracks, 3 of them names of places ( although I had never heard of Fire Island) . The label Casablanca was a trusted source of good product with a decent track record so we sat down for our weekly listening session of new records. It’s intro at 120 BPM with a prominent triangle ” jangling” in the background was not the high energy sound we were used to, but the song quickly kicked into high gear and then the Casablanca magic started to happen and by the time the track ” Mixed” into the next we were up in the 130s with ” Hollywood ” the second cut on the side that seemlessly blended together. We were sold on the soulful vocal work ( some high pitched James Brown yells) and the percussion with heavy emphasis on Latin Percussion. The Village People may not have had us at ” Hello” but by the time we got to Hollywood we were fully onboard with these badly dressed guys that came from some ” Village ” we had never heard about here in Miami.
The original line-up comprised of lead singer, Victor Willis (cop/patrolman), David “Scar” Hodo (construction worker), Felipe Rose (Indian), Randy Jones (cowboy), Glenn Hughes (leather man), Alex Briley (the GI). The group was put together by Jacques Morali a french Music Producer who also produced The Ritchie Family.The Village People remains a “guilty pleasure” of many of today’s veteran jocks.
Tracklist
Side 1
Medley 10:46
San Francisco (You’ve Got Me)
In Hollywood (Everybody Is A Star)
Side 2
Fire Island 5:49
Village People
Categories
He Made us Feel " Mighty Real "
December 16 marked the 26th anniversary of the death of one of Disco’s greatest performers, Sylvester born Sylvester James, Jr. September 6, 1947 in Watts, Los Angeles, California.His music was a staple of nightclubs throughout the world and continues to be included in every Disco set played today. although he had a previous release in 1977 Sylvester first came to our attention with the release of his 1978 ” Step II” which include Dance ( Disco Heat ) ” Gotta a Match?” and Mighty Real on the Fantasy Label.The DJ Promo 12″ was released in 1978, with “Dance (Disco Heat)” as the A-side and “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” on the B-side. Most club DJs at the time programmed both cuts with equal enthusiasm , but my favorite was ” Mighty Real” which in my opinion embodied the feel of the Disco experience as opposed to the grittier ,soulful, Gospel -like ” Disco heat” which was the mainstream favorite. His 1979 album ” Living Proof” produced the mediocre ” Body Strong” which basically used the same drum pattern as ” Disco Heat” .It wasn’t until Sylvester’s album “Stars” that I believed he was back on top of his game with the title track ( stars) and my favorite ” I Who Have Nothing” previously performed by Ben E. King in 1963.The track was a killer , explosion of sounds on a quality nightclub sound system and re-established Sylvester as a leader in the genre. His later more electronic work with producer Patrick Cowley’s Megatron Label on ” Sex” ” Don’t Stop’ ” Trouble in Paradise” and His mega club hit ” Do You wanna Funk” kept him in the spotlight until his death in in 1988. The Unofficial ” Queen” of Disco ,no telling where he would be today musically if he was still alive. 
Categories
The Four Seasons "December 1963"
In 1994, A Remix of The Four Seasons’ “December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)”written by original Four Seasons keyboard player Bob Gaudio, re-entered the US Hot 100, where it stayed for 27 weeks, just as it did when it first charted in 1976. The combined Chart presence established a record for the longest total chart appearance in US chart history. In 1993, the song was remixed by producer Ben Liebrand and re released as a single.The lead singer on the first verse was their drummer Gerri Polci – Frankie Valli comes in on the second verse.
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Foxy " Get Off Your Ahh and Dance"
Produced by Disco Music Icon Ray Martinez founder of Paris International Records and creator of the groups Amant and Passion, Foxy was formed in 1976 here in Miami. The group consisted of vocalist Ish Ledesma ,percussionist Richard “Richie” Puente ( son of Tito Puente), keyboardist Charlie Murciano, bass guitarist Arnold Paseiro and drummer Joe Galdo . Carl Driggs later joined on their second album as vocalist/percussion and shared songwriting credits.
Their big international hit of course was ” Get Off” but it was this track ” Get Off Your Ahh and Dance” that introduced alot of local club patrons to Foxy. The track was tailor made for Hustle Dancers , Ray Martinez’s signature sound is evident throughout the track complete with violins, flute and the tropical percussion that would cement Martinez’s image as the creator of ” Miami-Style Disco” Unfortunately this beautiful piece of music was obscured when several months later the better promoted T – Connection released a similar sounding ” Disco Magic” also on TK’s Dash Label. The track continues to this day to be one of the ground breaking records that defined the early disco Era.
Since it’s release on Casablanca Records in 1983 Rags to Riches ” El Watusi/ La Bamba ” has been a standard must play in the progamming schedule of every veteran DJ here in the South Florida Area . Of course our large Hispanic population may play a major role in this decision by the jocks, but far from being another straight ahead Remake of ” La Bamba” like Antonia Rodriguez’s 1978 dancefloor hit, Rags to Riches ( 12′) builds it up with a long percussive intro ( 2:51) where a female voice ” narrates” her intentions to steal another girl’s boyfriend ( in Spanish) it is this intro that ” sold” the track to the DJs.The intro weaves seemlessly into ” La Bamba” is a classic style which originated in the Mexican state of Veracruz and combines Spanish, and African musical elements, yet the female voice on the track is speaking with a Carribean Latin Accent ( Dominican,Puerto Rican)
Album Tracks
A Land Of 1000 Dances Medley 22:07
B El Watusi / La Bamba (Special Dance Mix Version) 6:43
“Land Of 1000 Dances” medley:
Land Of 1000 Dances
Shotgun
Twist & Shout
Cool Jerk
Walkin’ The Dog
El Watusi
La Bamba
Locomotion
Mashed Potato Time
Land Of 1000 Dances – Reprise
I got in trouble ,BIG trouble when my father walked in to a group of us huddled around my stereo listening to the 1972 song ” Jungle Fever” by the Belgian group ” The Chakachas” The lady in the song was yelling and screaming, and although we weren’t quite sure why, we felt very ” naughty”…. very naughty. Many Many years later listening to this track again I got a weird look from wife ” You’re a pig” I think she said. So then how did this song go on to be Certified Gold by the Recording Industry of America and ranked as the No. 51 song for 1972 reaching #8 on the US Charts..
Jungle Fever relies heavily on a rhythm guitar riff , a trombone , a flute and a series of pauses where a woman can be prominently heard moaning and breathing heavily later joined by a man. It is a minimalist track yet the listener ( at least men) is hooked immediately and continues to listen despite it’s repetitive nature, curious to see ” what happens next” Call it an ” Adult Film on Vinyl” The original 45 RPM single was only 2:32 seconds ( later extended) , yet it feels longer ( no pun intended).
The Chakachas were a Belgian based group of Latin studio musicians, founded in 1958 by percussionist Gaston Bogaert. Although it did receive airplay it’s source of popularity came straight from the nightclubs at the time where the track was a must play.The 1997 film “Boogie Nights” revived it and featured it as background in one of it’s scenes. You can find this 45 RPM in most every collection from veteran DJs of the 70s. It was remade in 1982 by Kinkina on Profile Records Remixed by Phil Harding and produced by Paul Oakenfeld .It’s worth another listen.
