A hOuse heAd chronicals

2011-09-03T21:12:00.001-04:00

wow....I'm on in about an hour.....HOUSE MUSIC ALL NIGHT LONG

Hudson st. Projects

2011-05-17T01:08:00.005-04:00

My dad again decided to moves us ,looking for a one family house , he tells us that were going to go to the HUDSON ST. PROJECTS ( 1980 – 1981 ) for a couple of months until he has enough saved up for that one family house. My brother and I were happy as shit, we knew exactly where we were going. Our cousin Steve was there, he moved there a couple of years back, we visited him before and we knew a lot of his friends, we play a lot of baseball with them, so this move was not that bad. Hudson street projects ….what an experience…the family was a little closer now , I’m talking about on my dad’s side , Granma ,uncles and of course Steve ,crazy mofo always in trouble ,fighting and whatever came with living in the Projects . My brother and I were already in high school and we were commuting from Jackson street before the moved to Hudson street .FUCK!!!! We had to be up early as shit, our mom was bringing us from PATERSON to PASSAIC around 5am and she would drop us off by one of our friend’s house before going to school and she would go to work from there. Actually we moved here in 1979, around November. Even thou we were here a year only, this place is where everything began to happen for me. Our first summer 1980, it was just an eye opening experience that left an impression that NEVER went away for me. It was Sunday morning, around 9am ,I was in my bed ,and I began to hear a guy on a microphone saying testing ,testing ..That shit was loud and then a beat will follow and then just turn off…I was like what ta FUCK!!!! …this would wake me up on Sundays. I get up, get dress, in this time process, the testing would continue, I was so eager to see what it was. Once dress and had some breakfast, I would just head out tours the park. The crazy thing was that I would hear this over and over , they would actually play some songs ,actually beats ,nice and loud and some guy on a MIC , but I could not see where it was coming from …I figure I’ll just follow the loud noise and the guys voice . I found myself walking across the park from where I lived. Now the distance from where I lived and where this was actually coming from was about 4 football fields, there was trees an open field. Once I got there, I see these big refrigerators looking speakers around four of them to be exact, a table with about 10 milk crates of records, on top of this other table there is some turntables and a mixer …as I get closer to check out this set up ..I notice the amp and the name on it was CROWN something that stuck with me and I always notice it on other set ups. My first close look at a DJ set up. The turntables were Technics DD 1 (direct drives) ,the mixer was a Numark …other than that , It was loud , and these guys were playing a lot of everything …from Rap to Latin and something they called garage …to me that shit sound it funky …and it sound it good .

6 Years in a blink

2011-05-16T11:30:00.007-04:00

Linden st 1974 – 1977 , Jackson st 1977-1980 and then Hudson street ,moving from linden street to Jackson street was quite an experience ,we went from the suburbs , quiet streets too an Urban almost Ghetto 3 family house …..So much, but to pinpoint what when on ….my dad was looking for the great bargain of a house. The market was ok I guess, according to him. I went through my phases, loving sounds and music, could not pinpoint the Dj shit yet. Had a CB radio while on Jackson street ,it keep me busy….CQ…CQ….CQDX…can I get a copy out there ??? . I remember when the old man took that shit away because I was fucking up in school. I really missed it for a while , at this point I was already taking some of his cassettes to record on top of them , I was recording off the radio , feeling the funk , r&b and that sweet SOUL . That shit was just working for me. WBLS out of New York was the shit, Frankie Crocker was the man that mofo had that deep ass voice and he plays some awesome tunes. Then around 1978 came this sound …Disco that is …and the station that bought that out was WKTU ..DISCO 92 out of New York with Rosko and the other DJ that left an Impression was Paco ,this mofo had a thick heavy LATIN accent ,but he would play that Disco and by the early 80’s that Freestyle ,Latin Freestyle or Latin hip hop began to POP and that stuff was just awesome .Not hating on my other love of sounds , I just gave it a break for now .KTU was the hit , they would do these mixes around lunch time ,half hour of frenzy …everybody would tune in , I was recording them …on the same 3 to 4 tapes that I snatch from my old man . The introduction of the mix came to my attention from this radio station (KTU). It was amazing the way these Dj’s manipulated sound the way they did. I kept on recording these sets, specially the ones on the weekends. Yes I was running out of tapes, but the old man picks up on this and actually bought me tapes. These mixes were called Master mixes, and they became the talk of everyone around the mid ’80. I always wonder how they put them together. A collage of sound or quoting one of the Masters......." Kenny Dope.... a mix is a work of art made of various puzzle pieces ”

“My first Music Influences"

2011-05-09T09:41:00.004-04:00

Arriving in the US at a time when the beginning elements of house (Disco) were brewing in some individuals mind, Disco was at its beginning stages. My dad was young and he was into his music thing....I was being expose at an early age to all types music, especially LOUD music. I remember my dad blasting his stuff at home. Growing up with music not only Classic Rock but also there was lots of classic R&B, early 50’s rock…. Latin classic rock was a big part ...Salsa...Merengues and all that Classic stuff .My old man was the Rock Fein, he loved that shit...those small 45’s, mainly Santana, Elvis and Latin classic rock ...dag...I fucken hated it (except Santana, that shit sound it good) ....I had no choice but to listen to it, Not realizing the strong Impression it was leaving on me at a young age. Thanks old man. What pulled me to the Dj booth was the beauty of the whole package. The sound system ...the lights...the FEEL on the floor is something you have to EXPERIENCE LIVE ....the MIXES are NOTHING on what is SEEN ..FELT ...and HERD on that stomping ass floor, the control of the crowd, the energy they gave me was fuckin awesome .

"Sound System"

2011-05-06T22:17:00.002-04:00

The winter of '74...Oh shit is fucken cold, my first winter in the states. The drive home from the airport was fucken awesome .It was snowing, about 8pm, a Sunday I believe, the highway was so slippery my step dad commenting on how dangerous it was. We were moving kind of slow, I was looking out the window and the snow was beautiful, it made everything so white ,peaceful and calm. I know it made me feel good, but that shit was cold, I can feel it on my feet and hands. Being mesmerized from this ride to a town called Passaic, in the state of New Jersey, my mom was telling us that we were still in New York and the ride was going to be about 2 hours, the snow really slow everything down. As we near a tunnel ,the LINCOLN TUNNEL that is , my mom tells us that this is one of the longest tunnels in the world….I thought it was neat ,specially at the midpoint were you actually see the 2 states separate by a big line on the wall and you can read NEW JERSEY and NEW YORK.
We were told that we were getting close to the house, I remember looking out the window of the car and seeing the route 3 sign, heading west. The snow was coming down nice and steady, peaceful and calm to me. We get off on another highway, route 21 heading tours Passaic, my step dad being careful of course, and me just looking out the window with my brother and just enjoying the view of something we have never seen. My mom was talking with my aunt and my grandmother, I guess just bullshiting conversations that I really don’t remember. I notice that we were all of sudden off the highway and in some street. The snow kept everything so tight and close, I guess it had snow prior and this was just fresh snow on top. Linden Street …we were here, my step dad got off the car to move some garbage cans that were saving his parking spot. We get off the car and it was cold as shit, I pick up some snow and try to make a snowball but it was just too cold for it. I was told that it wasn’t wet enough or warm enough for it. Finally our new home ,I walk in to the first room , a living room ,very nice , I can feel the warmth of the house ,then I walk in threw a room to get to the kitchen but ….this room is where I experience the most beautiful thing ever ….My step dad’s SOUND SYSTEM , 4 speakers one in each corner ,a reel to reel ,a turntable a receiver , an 8track player a cassette player and a shitload of tapes and records , everything was turned off and the room was dark. I just stood there and stared at everything … I was pushed along in to the kitchen and then eventually in to our bedrooms. Once I put my bags down, I went back into that room again …I was amazed at the whole set up. Don’t know why I felt like this but I guess it just pull me in. My dad came in to the room and he turn everything on …OH SHIT …that sound ...it was beautiful …the cumbia that is ,the bass ,the mids ..the hi’s …and the lights …wow the lights on the receiver were awesome, I was just feeling IT. My dad look at me and said... I can see that you like this, in time I’ll show you how to use it but for now “don’t touch it”. We head back to the first room and there was a TV there ,he calls my brother over …at that moment the doorbell rings and it was our cousin ,my step dads brother son Steve…..crazy fuck ,this mofo was a maniac ,and he was constantly getting in trouble . Anyway he introduces himself and we just click from that day on, he lived upstairs with his parents, our aunt and uncle. So we all sit down and my dad turns the TV on with this little box in his hands (a remote) …..As my brother and I look at the TV we notice the COLORS …WOW, again mesmerized at something we NEVER seen before in our lives. Colors were so beautiful; back in Chile TV's were black and white. I found myself walking away from the TV and back in to the “sound room “ , even though there was nothing playing ,everything was still on and he kept the lights in the room off ,so the system was just great EYE CANDY to me . Even the speakers had a little light. My first experience of sound and lights …AT THE SAME TIME.

Immigrants arrive at Kennedy Airport (no boats allowed) and One Ugly Memory.

2011-05-02T22:44:00.003-04:00

It feels like it was yesterday, 1974 …landing at Kennedy Airport with my grandmother, grandfather on my step dad’s side, aunt, and my brother. That was crazy, at least for me. Then the drive to our new home from the airport to a small little town in New Jersey called Passaic. It was cold as shit but it was amazing to me, the snow that is. Well I just don’t know where to begin; I figure I start when I first got here to the states. Coming from a trouble country called Chile and been born in the capital of Santiago . Anyway the snow was so beautiful, I have never seen something so delicate and simple that it turns everything white. I will try to keep this section of my life as brief as possible but it will be kind of hard ,If anyone in my family reads this they will know what was going on in my head .Besides smoking that good herb is making me forget a lot of things and I really don’t want to forget . So who am I????? It has taken me years to figure this out ...not really focusing at an early age in my life , just living the everyday….I have come to the conclusion that no matter what happens ,no matter what I do …I keep going back to my love for HOUSE …I ‘m an old ass HOUSE HEAD ,to my family ..I’m a husband ,a father of 3 ,a grandfather to a beautiful baby girl name Eva …I’m also a cook (by trade ) ,I’ve been called a good mentor…a teacher a preacher of life …or as my wife said “ YOU JUST LIKE TO HEAR YOURSELF TALK “ , maybe …but the bottom line ,the HOUSE gives me piece of mind ( I’m listening to one of my sets as I’m laying these words out.
1973…..something that left an ugly memory in me …no matter how much I puff from that sweet weed I will never forget that day in that living room with the whole family .Everyone was there ..Aunts, uncles, cousins….it was weird how everyone came together on that day. I say maybe 25 to 30 people and we were just watching the news, the country was in turmoil .Just a couple of hours early I was outside playing soccer with my friends across the street. We lived in the back side of the Estadio Nacional de Chile, there was a big wall surrounding the property of the stadium and a bunch of soccer fields surrounding the stadium itself. It was just an awesome site, to me that is …I believe I was 12 or 13 years old at the time. As we were playing soccer , we notice helicopters going back and forth to the stadium ,we started hearing firecrackers in the distance from what I though ,they were actually gun shots echoing and getting loud and closer….next I hear my grandfather calling us all in . As I was running towards the house I notice the dirt around me was jumping, come to find out we were been shot at, crazy shit …but again never gave it a second though. Once in the house everything was OK I guess the adults keep it quiet and simple, I guess not to scare us. Everything calm down, the helicopters stopped and again everything went back to normal. We started watching TV, and on the news on every channel they started announcing UN TOQUE DE QUEDA (Curfew).At my age ,I was a little confused but the adults kept it simple and fun I guess ,so we don’t get scared. The curfew was to be in effect , I believe sometime around 6pm .I know that more family started showing up at my grandparents house ,so it was so cool seeing more cousins and aunts gathering for what I believe was just a nice day at our grandparents house . A phone call comes in from the UNITED STATES, it was my mom, and she left Chile to the U.S. I believe was 2 years prior, to live and give my brother and me a better life. Anyway at a particular moment we found ourselves watching the TV and the news were talking about how the government was been taken over and the Milicos were just shooting anyone that got in their way .I was clueless on politics at that age . The news was so boring but again faith put us ALL in that room for a reason ….My grandfather was smoking sitting on his favorite chair with an ashtray right next to him ,like I said before ,at least 25 people watching the news , there was a moment of silence and the TV was covering the coup . My grandfather gets up to go to the door, and what I believe was to flicker the cigarette out the door …..there was a shot ….we all look towards the door …he had his head sticking out the door ,as we all look he turns around, at that moment everything slow down ,like a slow motion effect ,his hand was on his left temple and began to walk towards the bathroom ,never made it ….he fell on his back ,blood pouring out of his head like a water faucet, so vivid in my mind … he look at all of us as he lay there …there was a look of shock in his eyes .The family freak out, everyone screaming….. the door closed , all the kids were taking to another room ,I ran upstairs …look out the window to see who did this to us , my brother was crying hysterically …I was numb ,no tears ..Shock at the whole thing …cries throughout the whole house.