{"id":103469,"date":"2016-04-27T21:52:13","date_gmt":"2016-04-27T21:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2016\/04\/27\/purple-tuesday\/"},"modified":"2016-04-27T21:52:13","modified_gmt":"2016-04-27T21:52:13","slug":"purple-tuesday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2016\/04\/27\/purple-tuesday\/","title":{"rendered":"Purple Tuesday"},"content":{"rendered":"

nedraggett<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

wallywaves<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

I was home watching TV and cutting up a steak when I got the call at 8PM. A friend of mine worked at a famous hotel in LA and one of the guests made a last minute request for a DJ to play the hotel bar. Someone that could get there and start playing in an hour. The bar frequently had live bands play, but never a DJ. So with little to no time, my wise and generous friend thought to throw a gig my way.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I can get there in an hour. Am I getting paid?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, you\u2019ll get paid.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat kind of party is it? What am I playing?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone\u2019s renting out the bar for a private party. And that someone is\u2026 The Artist\u2026 formerly\u2026 known\u2026 as\u2026 Prince.\u201d<\/p>\n

That sentence was not real to me. Still not real. I had no time to really think or say anything but, \u201cWhat? You serious? Yes. Be there as soon as I can.\u201d Got off the phone and my stomach turned. Only a handful of people in the world have imprinted their music that much in my brain. And couldn\u2019t he just call up any of the best DJ\u2019s in LA to come play for him? Why\u2019s he gonna trust someone who is by all means an unknown? I\u2019d been DJing parties and bars for years but going from that to Prince is an Olympic leap.<\/p>\n

The next half hour felt like a panic attack. I made a list of songs to play for Prince and his private Prince party. Ok, no Prince songs. He doesn\u2019t want to hear himself. No MJ. I don\u2019t want to insult him or anything. Didn\u2019t they have beef in the 80\u2019s? No hip hop. Can\u2019t picture him rocking out to Kendrick. I thought of who he was influenced by and dragged some James Brown and Stevie songs into the playlist. Isley Brothers, Curtis. Great. 8:20PM. I still have to get ready even though I could spend the next month picking songs. I quickly close my laptop and get dressed. Pack up my turntables, mixer, cables and run them all to the car as I\u2019m sweating through this black suit.<\/p>\n

I get to the hotel with about five minutes to set up. The bar is completely empty aside from a couple of servers and my friend who made the call. And the room is almost lit exclusively by candlelight. I\u2019m told to set up my turntables on the grand piano, which is also covered with candles, making me feel like hip hop Liberace. A waitress tells me there\u2019s like an 80% chance Prince doesn\u2019t show up. He just likes to rent out the bar in case he and his friends wander through the hotel and feel like stopping in. \u201cBut you should start playing music anyway in case he comes in. Who knows.\u201d So I start playing songs to the very empty bar. The anticipation is a killer. My friend gives me a much needed glass of whiskey before taking off.<\/p>\n

A giant spread of appetizers is covering the bar and getting sweaty. Spring rolls, cheese, orange juice. An hour goes by. Then another hour. A no-show. I\u2019m kind of bummed out but also very relieved. I don\u2019t know how I\u2019m going to react if he walks in that door. So I\u2019m just playing the set of my life to nobody. It\u2019s like I\u2019m getting paid to practice and listen to whatever I want on the bar\u2019s sound system.<\/p>\n

At 12AM the door opens and some guy walks over to me and without a greeting he says,<\/p>\n

\u201cHey man. He\u2019ll be here in 15 minutes. What are you gonna play when he walks in?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh I got some stuff lined up. Some older Stevie Wonder, the JB\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah. Yeah, he likes that. Anything like that, Earth Wind & Fire, Chic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah I got Chic! I\u2019ll play that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd he wants to hear Janelle Mon\u00e1e when he walks in. You got that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYup. Yup. Janelle Mon\u00e1e.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCool, he\u2019ll be here in 15 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t have any Janelle Mon\u00e1e. I ran out to the concierge desk in the lobby to get the wifi password, ran back and started downloading a bunch of Janelle Mon\u00e1e off of iTunes. Right on time as I cue up the track, the door opens and I catch a quick glimpse. Full on afro, turtleneck and a gold chain. I want to say he had a cane, but I was trying not to look directly at him. I didn\u2019t want to throw him off or maybe infuriate him by making eye contact. Prince was in the room. I was just musical wallpaper. He and a friend sat down at a couch about fifteen feet away from me.<\/p>\n

The grand entrance song blended straight into James Brown\u2019s Talking Loud and Saying Nothing. I played Ike & Tina Turner, Charles Wright, Omar\u2019s The Man, and Gust of Wind by Pharrell. My head was pretty much glued to the turntables, sticking to my no look philosophy, but I could hear bits of conversation. Hearing that Prince voice in person was something strange. It just belongs on record or on microphone. I start dishing out some other favorite tracks of mine, Think Twice by Jay Dee and Alicia Myers I Want to Thank You.\u00a0There\u2019s zero reaction to the songs I play. I\u2019m still worried I\u2019m not playing what he wants to hear. Is he gonna throw a spring roll at me?<\/p>\n

A little later that guy from earlier comes back into the bar and walks straight over to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey man. Just want to let you know, they love your music.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh really? Thanks. Do they want to hear anything in particular?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNope. Just keep playing what your playing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oh it\u2019s on now. I can finally breathe and I\u2019m getting props from the man himself, or from the middleman himself.
And then it hits me. There\u2019s only two people in there. Prince and a girl. I\u2019m not there to DJ a private party. I\u2019m there to DJ a date. Prince is on a date and I\u2019m the entertainment.<\/p>\n

I saved my set list from that night and I don\u2019t remember playing half the songs on it. All I know is I was in deep concentration, mixing out of my mind. Messenger man came in one more time and said Prince might try to play the piano. When it was time, he would pop his head in the door and give me the cue to stop DJing. I had never seen Prince perform, so a private piano ballad to his woman and myself sounded alright. I stayed looking at that door for a while until Prince\u2019s date walked over to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, so what\u2019s the name of this song? He likes it and wants to know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a Smith\u2019s cover. This Charming Man by Stars.\u201d<\/p>\n

She sat back down and relayed the info, to which he nodded his head. Now I\u2019m stumping Prince with cool music. I play another track. She comes over to me again and asks, \u201cWhat\u2019s this one? He wants this on repeat.\u201d Blacker 4 The Good Times by Ballistic Brothers. So I play that song a couple more times in a row. It\u2019s now 4AM and I\u2019m just a little delirious from being on my feet DJing for 7 hours. And I\u2019m running out of music. My song selections are all over the map at this point. Esperanza Spalding, ESG, Broken Bells.<\/p>\n

At around 4:30 Prince gets up off the couch and walks<\/strike> floats right over to me. He looks me in the eye, starts shaking my hand and says in a deep Prince voice,<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you. That was very enjoyable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks. Glad you enjoyed it.\u201d<\/p>\n

In my mind it was that smooth but there\u2019s no doubt I was speaking gibberish.<\/p>\n

And just like that he left the room with his date. He didn\u2019t put any moves on her in the bar, but I like to think I helped him out by setting the mood for whatever happened next. I stopped the music and the lights went on. <\/p>\n

And that was the best night of DJing I ever had or ever will have.<\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/figure>\n

Playlist from that night.<\/p>\n

Janelle Mon\u00e1e – Q.U.E.E.N. ft Erykah Badu<\/a>
James Brown – Talking Loud and Saying Nothing<\/a>
Billy Gardener – I Got Some<\/a>
J.B.\u2019s – Givin\u2019 Up Food For Funk<\/a>
Ike & Tina Turner – Bold Soul Sister<\/a>
Charles Wright – Express Yourself<\/a>
Johnny Hammond – Tell Me What to Do (Whiskey Barons Rework)<\/a>
Pharrell Williams – Gust of Wind<\/a>
Omar – The Man<\/a>
Steve Arrington – Weak at the Knees<\/a>
Belle Epoque – Miss Broadway<\/a>
Chic – I Want Your Love (Todd Terje Edit)<\/a>
Ethel Beatty – I Know You Care (U-Tern Edit)<\/a>
Curtis Mayfield – Give Me Your Love<\/a>
Mayer Hawthorne – Just Ain\u2019t Gonna Work Out<\/a>
Jay Dee – It\u2019s a Man\u2019s World<\/a>
Jay Dee – Think Twice<\/a>
Alicia Myers – I Want to Thank You<\/a>
Positive Force – We Got the Funk (Larry Levan Re-Edit)<\/a>
Rene and Angela – I Love You More<\/a>
Stevie Wonder – That Girl<\/a>
The Isley Brothers – Tell Me When You Need It Again<\/a>
N*E*R*D – Run to the Sun<\/a>
Beyonce – Blow<\/a>
Hall & Oates – I Can\u2019t Go For That<\/a>
St. Germain – Sure Thing ft John Lee Hooker<\/a>
Tom Tom Club – Genius of Love<\/a>
Bernard Wright – Who Do You Love<\/a>
Tina Turner – What\u2019s Love Got to Do With It<\/a>
George Benson – Give Me the Night<\/a>
Junior – Mama Used to Say<\/a>
Stevie Wonder – Do I Do<\/a>
Fela Kuti – Opposite People<\/a>
Claudja Barry – I Wanna Dance<\/a>
Janelle Mon\u00e1e – Dance Apocalyptic<\/a>
Joe Coleman – Get It Off the Ground<\/a>
Flight Facilities – Crave You<\/a>
Nu Shooz – I Can\u2019t Wait<\/a>
Stars – This Charming Man<\/a>
Aretha Franklin – Rock Steady<\/a>
Edwin Birdsong – Rapper Dapper Snapper<\/a>
Ballistic Brothers – Blacker 4 The Good Times<\/a>
Ballistic Brothers – Blacker 4 The Good Times<\/a>
Ballistic Brothers – Blacker 4 The Good Times<\/a>
Esperanza Spalding – I Can\u2019t Help It<\/a>
ESG – My Love For You<\/a>
Jimmy Bo Horne – Is It In<\/a>
Floating Points – Love Me Like This<\/a>
Broken Bells – After The Disco<\/a>
Tornado Wallace – Don\u2019t Hold Back<\/a>
The Mohawks – Champ<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Yeah, this story.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

nedraggett: wallywaves: I was home watching TV and cutting up a steak when I got the call at 8PM. A friend of mine worked at a famous hotel in LA and one of the guests made a last minute request for a DJ to play the hotel bar. Someone that could get there and start … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Purple Tuesday”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[12802,43,5007,4],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103469"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103469"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103469\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}