Dusty Crates

I am honored to not only get to play at this Soular Grooves-sponsored Steel Lounge series, but also to be able to play alongside hometown hero Champa Moore and fellow Les Femmes DJ Jessica Partin. I’ve got tremendous respect for all those involved with this event.

I hope to see as many of you out on the dancefloor.

Here’s a press release from the Contemporary Arts Museum-Houston (CAM):

Contemporary Arts Museum Houston
5216 Montrose Blvd Houston, TX 77006-6547
t (713) 284-8250  f (713) 284-8275  www.camh.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 20, 2008

The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston presents Steel Lounge Underground with DJs Jessica Partin, Gracie Chavez, and Champa Moore

Houston, TX—The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston with DJ Pooks and Josh Zulu is pleased to present the next edition of Steel Lounge Underground, Friday, June 27, 2008, from 8-11PM, featuring DJs Jessica Partin, Gracie Chavez, and Champa Moore. Steel Lounge Underground, held the last Friday of every month, features a rotating roster of DJs who create entertaining and inspiring soundscapes influenced by the exhibitions on view. There is no charge for admission. Make this your first stop the last Friday of every month.

ABOUT THE DJs
The ongoing love affair between electronic dance music and Jessica Partin began in 1996, at a time when her roots were firmly planted in the underground Houston punk music scene. Upon exposure to house and techno, along with the concept of continuous mixing, Jessica quickly shifted her musical ambitions and began carving her own niche in the DJ world characterized by eclectic record selection, bold mixing techniques, and an ever-evolving style that breaks the barriers between genre distinctions.

Houston’s Gracie Chavez is a DJ, mother, music writer, and veteran of Houston’s club scene. From shedding light on fellow female DJs as a co-founder of the “Les Femmes” project, to her recent ten thousand download triumph of her recent “Yo, Mami” mix, Chavez is quite the overachiever as well as the perfect act with a pedigree heavy enough to handle the chaos of any party. From house, electro, retro, ’80s remixes, old/new school, Baltimore Club, to baile funke, and Houston rap, you’ll have to make it to Steel Lounge Underground to see what she’ll mix.

When Andy “Champa” Moore is DJing, love is in the music. When love is in the music, you can feel it.  Unique in his ability to create a cathartic, big-room experience, or transform the most comfortable, leisurely lounge into a rocking party, Champa Moore knows how to bring it, taking listeners on a journey filled with suspense, seduction, and surprises. For more than two decades Champa has kept people dancing until dawn in Spain, the Netherlands, and around the United States.

CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
The Old, Weird America: Folk Themes in Contemporary Art (May 10 – July 20, 2008) is the first museum exhibition to explore the widespread resurgence of folk imagery and history in American contemporary art. Curated by Contemporary Arts Museum Houston senior curator Toby Kamps, the exhibition features approximately 75 recent paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs, installations, and video works from nearly 20 artists and collaborative groups.

Perspectives 161: Tim Lee (May 16 – July 13, 2008) features Vancouver-based artist Tim Lee, who uses video, photography, and performance to put himself in the place of icons of popular culture. By reenacting rituals of pop culture that are usually the domain of established practitioners or experts in a deadpan, just-competent-enough style, Lee uses absurd seriousness to blur the boundaries between the ridiculous and the sublime.

STEEL LOUNGE UNDERGROUND SUPPORT
Steel Lounge Underground would like to thank DJ Pooks and Josh Zulu of Soular Grooves. Steel Lounge Underground is sponsored in part by Nobilo: Pure New Zealand wine; and ArtsHouston.

YO! I played out in Dallas this weekend for the Hands Up party and got a little press while I was out there. 

Thanks to The Party in Dallas–Nature, Sober & Gail–for their gracious hospitality and to the Dallas folks for dancing their ass off. I loved your energy. You really made this girl feel at home!

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Posted on www.weshotjr.com (cute, real cute!), June 2008.

Hands Up w/ Gracie Chavez (The Loft, Dallas)
This time The Party presents Houston’s Gracie Chavez who is a DJ, mother, music writer, and veteran of Houston’s club scene. From shedding light on fellow female DJ’s as a co-founder of the “Les Femmes” project, to her recent ten thousand download triumph of her recent “Yo, Mami” mix, Chavez is quite the overachiever as well as the perfect act with a pedigree heavy enough to headline the chaos of The Party. Read the excellent interview over at Central Booking.
 
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Posted on www.centralbooking.blogspot.com, June 2008.

This weekend Dallas is gonna get that “trato especial” for real as Hands Up hosts Htown’s finest Gracie Chavez this Saturday @ The Loft.

We were lucky enough to meet Gracie a few months back as The Party started picking up steam in Houston, but the word had been out on this girl WAY before we ever started at Boondocks. With 10 years behind the decks, fresh off the RockBox gig and already mixing it up with her Ruff Cut monthly, this girl is obviously a seasoned OG!! The YO! Mami mix that scored 10,000 downloads in a day kinda spoke for itself alittle something too… Gracie’s got the city hot!

We got together earlier this week for a little back and forth. Here’s what she had to say about Rock Box, Htown, being a mom, and whatever else came to mind…

So we’re all very excited to have you playing with us at Hands Up.  Can you tell us a bit about yourself, where you live now, where you grew up, what crews or affiliates you are part of?
Gracie Chavez: I’ve been DJing for almost 10 years now, representin’ Hustletown to the fullest. I grew up in the 5th Ward area in Northside Houston so I guess I’ve got a little bit of that ’round the way girl in me…

Read more >>
Photos from Saturday’s Hands Up party are up on www.centralbooking.blogspot.com.
You can download the YO! Mami mix here: http://www.zshare.net/audio/12934413e897e70c.

This Saturday, June 14th is our next installment of RUFF*CUTT –one of the “unicorn” variety–is sponsored by FRANK151 and Houston GRILLS. It’s also the Yo! Mami mix CD release party for Gracie Chavez so that means there will be some goodies to give out.

Resident DJs El Jeffe, Fredster and Gracie are layin’ it down at Dean’s with guests Cush-Cush DJs (Acebooncoon & B*Luxe). If you haven’t heard these cats yet, we got 5 ON IT so you can get to know. They also tossed us over their latest mix, Shadows on the Wall.

DustyCrates 5 ON IT

DustyCrates: Who are you guys and what do you do?

Cush-Cush DJs (Acebooncoon & B*Luxe): Well, we are two black men with a thousand dollars and a dream. I’m Acebooncoon and I grew up in Clutch City all my life. And I am B*Luxe I was born in Houston and will rep that till I die but I grew up around the world. Right now I’m working on a dual degree in the A-town.

We basically make walls sweat and make mixtapes that attempt to hit u across the back of the head. As well as hit u in the heart. We’ve been sitting back watching everything in Houston from the old parties at the International Ball Room to the drum n bass parties at Commerce 2020. What we are is music. We gather all the good in every scene and mash it up in to one big Gumbo.

BoonCoon’s mom is the master chef from Louisiana so we got the name from her dishes. CUSH-CUSH is the true hustlers food. It consist of corn-bread, milk, and sugar. Mix it all up and wolla. That is who we are and how we get down sugar is the sweet, milk is the smooth and the bread is heavy. We bring one-hundred and ten percent Cush-Cush every time we get down.

DC: Tell us how you got started and who you roll with.

CC: Well BOONCOON’S been djing for 11 yrs. And B*Luxe for a little over 2. I (B*Luxe) would always be over at Boon Coon’s and see him killing it on the 1’s and 2’s so finally one day I hit up the almighty Ebay and the rest is history.

Right now we roll with our boy Melodic who has been killing it in this city for some time now, and we also get down with La Familia Ent. here in Houston and I roll with NVus Ent. back in Atlanta. Shouts out to Caleb Guage in the A for bringing Boon Coon to the southern city that never sleeps last year to rock alongside Klever. It was murdered.
DC: Tell us a little about the ATL scene.

CC: The A is surprisingly one of the best scenes I’ve seen nationwide. The hometown hero Klever kills it every time he touches the wax and the crowd is always diverse (hipsters, guidos, silver spooners, b-boys, graduates, drop outs…you get the pic). There are a lot of reputable weekly’s that have sprouted over the last coupla years and Caleb Guage’s Sloppy Seconds is by far the livest monthly in the country…behind Ruff Cutt of course!! (: Check out what the scene looks like in the A @ (www.ohsnapkid.com and www.themidnightsocialite.com)

DC: What are working on at the moment?

CC: Two mixtapes and a artist named D-the-Don who is Booncoons little sister (she’s lil shawty on the cover of shadows on the wall) and shes gonna fuck shit up on the rye rye tip so look out for her singles hittin the streets real soon. We got two signature Cush-Cush T-shirts coming out by August. We play tasting room with Melodic every Friday. And got mad parties coming our way to murder so things look peachy. We husslin’ man to be the best!!!!!!!!!!

DC: Your mix is a blend of styles. Are you influenced by house music or any other genres? And is this what folks should expect to hear at RUFF*CUTT Saturday?

CC: Man we are influenced by so much from movies to music and everyday obstacles and hardships. Musically we are influenced by the baltimore club scene, niche, house music, zydeco, hip-hop, jazz, 2-step garage, Electric Light Orchestra, reggae, rock, alternative,drum n bass, LIL WAYNE’S HUSTLE, Vodka more Vodka and more Vodka (Pleese and ThankU). Did we say we like Vodka!!!!!!!

Folks should be ready to fucking dance at Ruff Cutt and wild the fuck out with us.

Shout out to Dayta who gave us a shot in this city. Dj Melodic, Gracie Chavez and Klever and Caleb Gauge who brought BoonCoon to Atlanta to rock along side Klever.
“We coming with the heat baby!” We love Houston and everyone in it thats out here pooring there hearts out and dancing there asses off till the morning. We do this for you.

DOWNLOAD Shadows on the Wall mixtape:

http://www.zshare.net/audio/102310275b90b4ed/

Just in time for another hot Houston summer, Gracie Chavez drops her latest mix Yo! Mami full of crunktastic electrofied club and world beats. With geek-outs and glitches courtesy of fellow DJ Squincy Jones , the mix includes edits and drops that should take you on a global trek or at least get your ass jigglin’!

As promised, dale fuego!