Great Night at Hoboken International Film Festival

Last Thursday Night was my fourth year as festival DJ for the Hoboken International Film Festival. It was a very fun night supporting an outstanding film festival. As usual, the Hoboken International Film Festival Awards Gala was filled with celebrities, which always adds to the excitement.

Hoboken International Film Festival with DJ Mystical Michael

Along with playing a hard-driving set of 80’s Rock Music beforehand, the Hoboken International Film Festival music of choice, I played the music that each presenter and award recipient walked to and from the stage. This year, although present, Robert Loggia did not present any awards, so, the Frank Sinatra I usually play for him was left out of the night’s entertainment. His film roles include An Officer and a GentlemanMercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771, based on the Air New Zealand Flight 103 incident, ScarfacePrizzi’s HonorOver The TopIndependence DayNecessary RoughnessReturn to MeArmed and Dangerous, and Big (for which he won a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor).

Robert Loggia at Hoboken International Film Festival with DJ Mystical Michael

Great Night at Hoboken International Film Festival

Kenneth Del Vecchio, Founder and Chairman of Hoboken International Film Festival  entered the stage to Rush “Limellight”, which was his personal choice. The Hoboken International Film Festival Host, Gilbert Gottfried was brought to the stage by several songs, the first was Joe Walsh “Life’s Been Good”. Joyce DeWitt ran up to present awards with The Beatles “Magical Mystery Tour” echoing through the beautiful, historic Paramount Theatre. She is such an amazing woman and still rocks the stage like few others. Nina Transfeld, a friend and talented, beautiful woman, bounced up to the stage with her lively presence to Queen, “Now I’m Here”. I recalled how much Nina enjoys Queen from festivals past.

Queen at Hoboken international Film Festival with DJ Mystical Michael

Jeff Davis, lead Producer of the Film and Broadway hit, “Rock of Ages”, entered the stage to Offspring “Self-esteem” smiling from ear-to-ear. Always feels good to get a man who makes shows and films about Rock Music to appreciate your music.  Film Editor Ron Kalish was beaming as Joe Jackson “I’m The Man” filled the theatre. Rachael Robbins, Playboy model, stand-up comedian and actress, lit-up the stage with her strut to Lenny Kravitz version of “American Woman”. She is so much fun and enjoys the spotlight more than most. Michael Rivera, who does not have the same fondness of 80’s Rock Music as the rest of the team, was pumped-up when Run-DMC “Rock Box” was his selection. Robert Bogue, best known as A.C. Mallet on The Guiding Light for 338 episodes, was playing the air guitar to Heart “Barracuda” across the stage, it was hilarious!

Robert Bogue Rocks the Hoboken International Film Festival with DJ Mystical Michael

 

As the night was closing, Kenneth Del Vecchio was called back to the stage to present the award for Best Narrative Film to his favorite song, another one from years past, Peter Gabriel “Solsbury Hill”. As the theater began to empty to Uncle Kracker “Follow Me”, Joyce DeWitt came to the DJ station with arms wide open offering a hug and these words to complete an amazing night, “Wow! That was the best music at any event I have ever been at! Thank you so much for making this such a great night!”. Trust me, I am one the needing to thank you Joyce for all the laughs and fun you gave me growing-up watching Three’s Company!

Joyce DeWitt star of Three's Company at Hoboken International Film Festival with DJ Mystical Michael

What a fun night to be the Festival DJ!

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & Boston DJ

973.908.8147

U2 Bad

I was recently working on a project related to Live Aid, and was reminded of the powerful performance of U2 Bad at Wembley Stadium, London on July 13th, 1985. After further research, I was surprised to find out the content of U2 Bad.

U2 Bad at Live Aid with Rhode Island DJ

The U2 Bad Story

“Bad” began with an improvised guitar riff during a jam session at Slane Castle where U2 were recording The Unforgettable Fire.The basic track was completed in three takes. Of its immediate and live nature, U2 guitarist The Edge said “There’s one moment where Larry puts down brushes and takes up the sticks and it creates this pause which has an incredibly dramatic effect.” Producer Brian Eno added the sequencer arpeggios that accompany the song.

The early 1980s recession had led to high number of heroin addicts in inner city Dublin. In concert, lead vocalist Bono frequently introduced the song as a song about Dublin.[4]The Edge and the album’s producers, Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, were focused on the music and less interested in the lyrics. Bono left the song unfinished.

During a July 26, 2011 concert in Pittsburgh, Bono explained before a performance of “Bad” that the song was written for “very special man, who is here in your city, who grew up on Cedarwood Road. We wrote this song about him and we play it for him tonight.”  He was referring to Andy Rowen, whom the song was originally written about in 1984 and who was present at the show. Rowen is brother of Bono’s Lypton Village friend Guggi and Peter Rowen, who is featured on the sleeve artwork for the band’s albums Boy and War.

U2 Bad at Live Aid with Rhode Island DJ

There are other versions of the story from Bono himself. His account from a 1987 concert in Chicago indicate “Bad” is about a friend of his who died of a heroin overdose and also about the conditions that make such events likely repeat themselves. Bono once commented in another concert (in the UK) about people lying in gutters with “needles hangin’ outta their fuckin’ arms while the rich live indifferently to the suffering of the less fortunate.” At Eriksberg, Gothenburg in Sweden 1987, he said: “I wrote the words about a friend of mine, his name was Gareth Spaulding. And on his 21st birthday he and his friends decided to give themselves a present of enough heroin into his veins to kill him. This song is called ‘Bad’.

U2 Bad at Live Aid

U2 participated in the Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium for Ethiopian famine relief on 13 July 1985. They played a 12-minute version of U2 Bad, which was extended by snippets of Lou Reed‘s “Satellite of Love” and “Walk on the Wild Side“, and The Rolling Stones‘ “Ruby Tuesday” and “Sympathy for the Devil“. Bono leaped down off the stage to embrace and dance with a fan, which was captured on the TV broadcast sent around the world. The performance was so long that the band was only able to play two of the three songs in their set, leaving out “Pride (In the Name of Love)“, which was supposed to end the band’s performance. The concert turned out to be a breakthrough moment for the band, showing a television audience of millions the personal connection that Bono could make with audiences. Only a week later he realized that the dance with the fan became a key image of Live Aid. All of U2’s albums re-entered the charts in the UK after their performance. In 1985, Rolling Stone called U2 the “Band of the 80’s,” saying that “for a growing number of rock-and-roll fans, U2 have become the band that matters most, maybe even the only band that matters.”

U2 Bad Original Studio Version

It almost comical to think at that point they felt like they had to introduce themselves, based on the amount of global success U2 has enjoyed since then.

U2 have released 12 studio albums and are among the all-time best-selling music artists, having sold more than 150 million records worldwide. They have won 22 Grammy Awards, more than any other band, and in 2005, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. Rolling Stone ranked U2 at number 22 in its list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”. Throughout their career, as a band and as individuals, they have campaigned for human rights and philanthropic causes, including Amnesty International, the ONE/DATA campaigns, Product Red, and The Edge’s Music Rising.

U2 Bad at Live Aid with Rhode Island DJ

U2 Bad Lyrics

If you twist and turn away
If you tear yourself in two again
If I could, yes I would
If I could, I would
Let it go
Surrender
Dislocate

If I could throw this
Lifeless lifeline to the wind
Leave this heart of clay
See you walk, walk away
Into the night
And through the rain
Into the half-light
And through the flame

If I could through myself
Set your spirit free
I’d lead your heart away
See you break, break away
Into the light
And to the day

To let it go
And so to fade away
To let it go
And so fade away

I’m wide awake
I’m wide awake
Wide awake
I’m not sleeping
Oh, no, no, no

If you should ask then maybe they’d
Tell you what I would say
True colors fly in blue and black
Bruised silken sky and burning flag
Colors crash, collide in blood shot eyes

If I could, you know I would
If I could, I would
Let it go…

This desparation
Dislocation
Separation
Condemnation
Revelation
In temptation
Isolation
Desolation
Let it go

And so fade away
To let it go
And so fade away
To let it go
And so to fade away

I’m wide awake
I’m wide awake
Wide awake
I’m not sleeping
Oh, no, no, no

U2 Bad is a great song that is part of U2’s live performances worldwide and very popular among their fans. What about U2 Bad is most intriguing and powerful for you?

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & Boston DJ

973.908.8147

Fun 50th Birthday Party with Fun Rhode Island DJ

Last weekend I had a really fun 50th Birthday Party in Newark New Jersey at Iberia Restaurant. It was actually at Iberia Peninsula Restaurant across the street.

Iberia Restaurant Fun 50th Birthday Party with Fun Rhode Island DJ

“Requiring more room  to accommodate the crowds that flock to their sister restaurant, Iberia, the owners have realized their dream of building a palatial Portuguese / Spanish restaurant.

Iberia Peninsula is one of the most spectacular restaurants ever to be constructed in New Jersey.  Cathedral ceilings, stainless steel topped bar stretching as far as the eye can see, brick, marble, and large barbeque pits make up this enormous restaurant.  There are two large dining rooms.  Both above and below the main restaurant are several beautifully decorated rooms of varying sizes for private parties.”

Fun 50th Birthday Party with Fun Rhode Island DJ

Fun 50th Birthday Party with Fun Rhode Island DJ

It is not often that I get the opportunity to  provide Music, DJ & MC services for a Rutgers Professor who is also an Interfaith Minister. In this case, she is actually an even better person than her professional accomplishments. I can see why anybody would want Reverend Dámaris M. Otero-Torres  to facilitate their special moments and life’s Blessings. her site, Epiphanies of the Heart, states her perspective;

“Life is a river of unlimited opportunities that invite us to explore the depths of joy, gratitude, beauty, love, intimacy and purpose. 

Whether you are blessing the arrival of a new life, initiating the journey of marriage, renewing your wedding vows, or honoring the memory of a loved one, your ceremony is crafted with utmost care and reverence to crystallize that special moment in memories that will last for a lifetime.”

Fun 50th Birthday Party with Fun Rhode Island DJ

Damaris is a special woman, as is her husband Paul. I am so grateful to have been part of their wonderful night of celebration with more than one hundred friends and family eating, singing, talking and most of all, dancing! They wet a mixed crowd form New Jersey and NYC and represented many demographics and cultures collectively. Along with being really fun and caring people at the 50th Birthday Party, I always cherish being a Multicultural DJ. It is one of the things I do best as a Rhode Island DJ; mixing music and cultures seamlessly with respect and inclusion. At this 50th Birthday Party, there was a musical focus on Vocal Classics, 80’s Dance Music and lots of Salsa and Merengue. Her mother wanted a few Waltzes mixed in that she danced like a trained professional! They were beautiful to watch.

Fun 50th Birthday Party with Fun Rhode Island DJ

I always feel funny when I write this, but I love my job as a DJ of events like Weddings, Sweet Sixteens, Graduations and of course, Damaris 50th Birthday Party. I am grateful that I have the skills and training to excel as a DJ to offer my services for others. This is one of the reasons I offer a guarantee.

Fun 50th Birthday Party with Fun Rhode Island DJ

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & Boston DJ

973.908.8147

DJ Rock Party Mix

Another professional DJ music mix to add to the collection. The DJ Rock Party Mix was a mix I created for a festival I could not make it to due to another professional DJ gig, but was requested to provide DJ music. I knew there was one set that needed Party Rock and the DJ Rock Party Mix seemed to do the trick. It was a fundraiser for a non-profit I wanted to support as a professional DJ. Hope you enjoy it!

DJ Rock Party Mix

      party rock mix 4.23.2011 - DJ Mystical Michael

Fun Wedding with DJ Rock Party Mix Rhode Island Wedding DJ

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

Boomtown Rats I Don’t Like Mondays

It was on this day in 1979 that Brenda Ann Spencer started shooting at the elementary school across the street from her house. She killed two and wounded nine others. The gun was a .22 that her father gave her for Christmas. When asked why she did it, her response was simple, “I don’t like Mondays”. It was one month later that The Boomtown Rats performed Boomtown Rats I Don’t Like Mondays written by bandleader Bob Geldorf for the first time.  He was inspired for Boomtown Rats I Don’t Like Mondays during an interview when it hit him, “It was such a senseless act. It was the perfect senseless act and this was the perfect senseless reason for doing it. So perhaps I wrote the perfect senseless song to illustrate it. It wasn’t an attempt to exploit tragedy.”

 Boomtown Rats I Don’t Like Mondays Music Video

For several years the radio stations in San Diego, the place of the crime, would not play Boomtown Rats I Don’t Like Mondays on the radio to honor sensitive listeners who may not appreciate Geldorf’s peculiar humor.

Rhode Island DJ Dance in sunset Boomtown Rats I Don't Like Mondays

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

A DJ Mash-Up: The Clash

Today I was avoiding getting some work done and had a moment of inspiration to make a fun mash-up of some songs by The Clash. I recently was DJ at a wedding that The Groom requested a Clash song, “Jimmy Jazz”.  At this wedding my assitant who is a big Clash fan, smiled and spoke dreamily about seeing them back in 1981 at The Roseland Ballroom in NYC. This was the source of the inpsiration. I wanted to make some of my favorite songs by The Clash into a fun dance mix for a gig coming up soon at a venue where it will be perfect.

I am a bit of a purist as a professional DJ. When I make a mix I do the whole thing live in my room with no editing afterwards to make it sound better or clean up any mixes that don’t meet my standards. I decided which songs I would play and in what order, leaving some space for me to follow the energy along the way if I felt moved to add another track or change the mix. This is what I came up with.

 

The Clampdown

Train In Vain

Police On My Back

Rush (Big Audio Dynamite)

The Magnificent Seven

London Calling

Englsih Civil War

I Fought The Law

Here is the  mix:

      Clash Mashed BADly 7.15.11

I like the way it came out. The mixes are not my best DJ work but it works and it has great energy. I sent a copy to my friend who was the DJ assistant at the wedding. Maybe I will send one to The Groom too!

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

DJ Mystical Michael Returns to Hoboken International Film Festival 2011

As I am for most gigs, I am looking forward to another opportunity to provide professional DJ music for The Hoboken International Film Festival for the second time in Teaneck, NJ tomorrow night 6/3/2011. I did it last year and it was fun. The event is the opening night ceremony and movie premiere. DJ Mystical Michael Returns to Hoboken International Film Festival 2011.

  • Mingle with the Stars and the world’s most cutting edge Officially Selected Filmmakers at a Closed, Elegant, Extravaganza Cocktail Hour, with an array of complimentary fine hors d ’oeuvres/meals and deserts from Little Italy’s Sambucca’s and other fine Little Italy restaurants…and complimentary cocktails provided by Zyr Vodka and Alma Tequlia, as well as Boylan Soda and Illy Coffee beverages.
  • Worldwide premiere screening of The Great Fight (non-competition), a thrilling drama, starring: Robert Loggia (Academy Award and Emmy nominee; Scarface, Big, Independence Day), Charles Durning (2-time Academy Award/4-time Golden Globe/9-time Emmy winner and nominee), Joyce DeWitt (“Three’s Company”),  Eric Etebari (“Witchblade”; Lincoln Lawyer), Martin Kove (Karate Kid; Rambo), Angela Little (American Pie Presents Band Camp; My Boss’s Daughter), Michael Rivera (Fighting; Falling Awake), Thomas G. Waites (And Justice For All; The Thing), Jackie Martling (The Howard Stern Show), Rachael Robbins (An Affirmative Act; O.B.A.M. Nude), Nina Transfeld (The Life Zone; The Grand Theft), Felipe Dieppa (Dora the Explorer), and also starring up-and-comers Frank Giglio, Miguel Jarquin-Moreland and Suzy Kaye…The Great Fight is written/produced by bestselling author/critically acclaimed filmmaker Kenneth Del Vecchio, and directed by Sherri Kauk.

It is nice to hang out with the stars and those on their way up like Nina Transfeld and Donna Bostani, both talented hard-working actresses who are very enjoyable to be around. Last year Robert Loggia was there as well as many other known celebrities.  I do not get to play Rock music too often these days and is a treat when I can. I am ready to crank it up! Hope to see you there.

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ