Gearing Up for Pride Weekend
Pride weekend is almost here and I am getting ready! I can hardly wait to have my new subbie kicking out the bass on Castro street! I have wanted one for so long and I know it will vastly improve my sound for Pink Saturday. Yeah!
On Wednesday the BF and I went to Qool - it had been a while and it was so good to get out there and dance! And wouldn't you know - they have new subwoofers too, two of 'em just like mine! The sound was a lot cleaner, it was really nice. Gil said their speakers had been overheating and cutting out so they decided to beef up their system. It is really true that separating the bass from the treble makes a cleaner, clearer sound - something that the Dub heads over in Jamaica discovered years ago.
(I bet everyone is sick to death of hearing me warble on and on about my new gear. Oh well! ;-) To quote another LJer, if you don't like it, go read someone else's journal!)
As a bi-girl I am always especially pleased to be able to spin for Pride events, and I feel that the two groups who I am spinning for are particularly appropriate and important to support. I feel so honored to spin for the Sisters and the Faeries, as I feel both groups are very direct descendants of the original spirit of pride who have remained true to the heritage of Pride, and are continuing to do important work to make the world a better and more openly diverse place. I don't want to get all soapboxy here, but I do want to acknowledge my gratitude to being able to contribute to Pride and especially the Radical Faeries and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.
I've been doing Pink Saturday for years now, and it is always a huge thrill! It is a big happy street party, almost like the playa in the city in that people are celebrating and they feel really free to be themselves.
I got started one year when Sister Kitty asked me to bring my gear and spin at a pre-party reception/fundraiser for Pink Saturday (they raise the money separately so that 100% of the donations at the gate go to the Sisters' community grants and other charitable work.) When the reception ended, it was impossible to get the car there to load out, so Kitty said I could leave my gear at the Sister's HQ just down the street. I offered to set up and spin for the volunteers (thinking I'd be inside playing in the volunteers lounge area to 20 or so people.) "Great!" said Kitty, "we'll set you up out front!" (Kitty is also a DJ and saw the opportunity to make the party that much more fun for the people as well as for me.)
So I wound up spinning right out on Castro street to hundreds of people - a huge thrill (and I didn't even have time to be nervous, or to try to plan a set or anything - in fact I barely had enough music!) The next year I got to do it again and I've been doing it ever since. I LOVE long sets and don't get many opportunities to spin for 6 hours at a stretch so that is an extra treat for me. Going long is really different and I like to mix it up and play all sorts of different music. In a crowd that big there always seems to be someone who likes whatever I pull out.
The Faerie Freedom Village is also a special treat for me. I've done that one for the past 4 years or thereabouts. I got to do it because I was at a campout and met a sweet fellow named Blue. He really enjoyed my morning set and asked me to come spin downtempo at the FFV which he was organizing. I instantly loved the FFV and was delighted to be able to contribute, and I've been doing it ever since. (This will be the first year that they aren't using my speakers too.) It is a truly special place, shady and grassy and strictly non-commercial, and even clothing optional!
One year I even got to spin in the parade! That was a big thrill and a unique experience - however I had to get there at like 8am and then spin like it was the middle of the night! It was exhausting to roll out of bed after a few short hours of sleep, dress up and get down there to throw down - but don't get me wrong, I'd take another chance to do it in a heartbeat! The energy of being on a float with the cheering crowds was amazing - a huge thrill for me!
Here's the 411 on where I'll be this weekend for Pride:
Pink Saturday (tomorrow):
I will be spinning outside the Sister's HQ at the Bank of America (501 Castro) from 7pm until 1am!
Join the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence at the annual pre-Pride block party, Pink Saturday! Every year we close down Castro Street and encourage our community to get together and get their Pride weekend started off right. Your $2 donation will help to fund the Sisters' continued work as well as the Grants fund. Come out and celebrate Pride with the Sisters!
Pride Celebration (Sunday):
After the parade on Sunday, come visit the Radical Faeries' Faerie Freedom Village at UN Plaza. A variety of DJs and musical acts are planned and I am spinning between 4 and 5pm. I love the Faerie Freedom Village - it is a chill, commercial free space where you can lounge on the lawn, relax with friends, hear music, and see art. It is a beautiful oasis in the hubbub of Pride. DJ Pup is on before me at 3 and the DJ after me, Buttercup, is a fabulous DJ who we don't get the pleasure of hearing very often (he lives in Philly now) so stick around for his set too, I am sure you will enjoy it.
Hope to see you out and about!
Got to go pull CDs...
On Wednesday the BF and I went to Qool - it had been a while and it was so good to get out there and dance! And wouldn't you know - they have new subwoofers too, two of 'em just like mine! The sound was a lot cleaner, it was really nice. Gil said their speakers had been overheating and cutting out so they decided to beef up their system. It is really true that separating the bass from the treble makes a cleaner, clearer sound - something that the Dub heads over in Jamaica discovered years ago.
(I bet everyone is sick to death of hearing me warble on and on about my new gear. Oh well! ;-) To quote another LJer, if you don't like it, go read someone else's journal!)
As a bi-girl I am always especially pleased to be able to spin for Pride events, and I feel that the two groups who I am spinning for are particularly appropriate and important to support. I feel so honored to spin for the Sisters and the Faeries, as I feel both groups are very direct descendants of the original spirit of pride who have remained true to the heritage of Pride, and are continuing to do important work to make the world a better and more openly diverse place. I don't want to get all soapboxy here, but I do want to acknowledge my gratitude to being able to contribute to Pride and especially the Radical Faeries and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.
I've been doing Pink Saturday for years now, and it is always a huge thrill! It is a big happy street party, almost like the playa in the city in that people are celebrating and they feel really free to be themselves.
I got started one year when Sister Kitty asked me to bring my gear and spin at a pre-party reception/fundraiser for Pink Saturday (they raise the money separately so that 100% of the donations at the gate go to the Sisters' community grants and other charitable work.) When the reception ended, it was impossible to get the car there to load out, so Kitty said I could leave my gear at the Sister's HQ just down the street. I offered to set up and spin for the volunteers (thinking I'd be inside playing in the volunteers lounge area to 20 or so people.) "Great!" said Kitty, "we'll set you up out front!" (Kitty is also a DJ and saw the opportunity to make the party that much more fun for the people as well as for me.)
So I wound up spinning right out on Castro street to hundreds of people - a huge thrill (and I didn't even have time to be nervous, or to try to plan a set or anything - in fact I barely had enough music!) The next year I got to do it again and I've been doing it ever since. I LOVE long sets and don't get many opportunities to spin for 6 hours at a stretch so that is an extra treat for me. Going long is really different and I like to mix it up and play all sorts of different music. In a crowd that big there always seems to be someone who likes whatever I pull out.
The Faerie Freedom Village is also a special treat for me. I've done that one for the past 4 years or thereabouts. I got to do it because I was at a campout and met a sweet fellow named Blue. He really enjoyed my morning set and asked me to come spin downtempo at the FFV which he was organizing. I instantly loved the FFV and was delighted to be able to contribute, and I've been doing it ever since. (This will be the first year that they aren't using my speakers too.) It is a truly special place, shady and grassy and strictly non-commercial, and even clothing optional!
One year I even got to spin in the parade! That was a big thrill and a unique experience - however I had to get there at like 8am and then spin like it was the middle of the night! It was exhausting to roll out of bed after a few short hours of sleep, dress up and get down there to throw down - but don't get me wrong, I'd take another chance to do it in a heartbeat! The energy of being on a float with the cheering crowds was amazing - a huge thrill for me!
Here's the 411 on where I'll be this weekend for Pride:
Pink Saturday (tomorrow):
I will be spinning outside the Sister's HQ at the Bank of America (501 Castro) from 7pm until 1am!
Join the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence at the annual pre-Pride block party, Pink Saturday! Every year we close down Castro Street and encourage our community to get together and get their Pride weekend started off right. Your $2 donation will help to fund the Sisters' continued work as well as the Grants fund. Come out and celebrate Pride with the Sisters!
Pride Celebration (Sunday):
After the parade on Sunday, come visit the Radical Faeries' Faerie Freedom Village at UN Plaza. A variety of DJs and musical acts are planned and I am spinning between 4 and 5pm. I love the Faerie Freedom Village - it is a chill, commercial free space where you can lounge on the lawn, relax with friends, hear music, and see art. It is a beautiful oasis in the hubbub of Pride. DJ Pup is on before me at 3 and the DJ after me, Buttercup, is a fabulous DJ who we don't get the pleasure of hearing very often (he lives in Philly now) so stick around for his set too, I am sure you will enjoy it.
Hope to see you out and about!
Got to go pull CDs...