DUSTY CRATES

It’s that time again, mi gente! Our monthly pachanga, Bombón, is in full swing again!

So bring your güiros, maracas, cowbell or anything else you wanna shake tonight at Avant Garden (411 Westheimer, 77006). DJs Navo, OG Bobby Trill and yours truly (Gracie Chavez) will keep you moving, so step your cumbia game up! DJ/MC Bobby will lead the “grito” contest–aye, aye, ayeeee!

While we get our hustle-on, peep out Houston’s own Panchitron, who’s raverton tracks were recently featured online.

Panchitron-Everyday by Panchitron

RSVP for Bombón – Houston (www.facebook.com/BombonHouston) now and check back for updates and upcoming events every First Friday!

The BCH is back!

Brick City House‘s very own Sista Stroke recently recorded an exclusive mix for a Chicago House FM webcast called, “Funk Force” hosted by Seraphim and airs Thursday evenings.

Stroke says:

The mix is called Backseat Bangers, and I did it with a long drive in mind. There’s some great cuts on here from some pretty great producers whose work I’ve really come to admire and love.

Hope you guys enjoy this mix. And please, feel free to pass it on to whomever you think might enjoy some boogie-bounce in their life! Enjoy Music and Freak Freely! Peace, Sista Stroke

And bangin it is, indeed! No need for foreplay with this one. Enjoy!

Backseat Bangers – Sista Stroke (mp3)

A couple of weeks ago, we are embarked on a showcase of new sounds in H-town with BOMBON. The takeaway: people have been waiting too long for this kind of night in Houston!

As cumbia is gaining momentum worldwide, it’s exciting to see how this folkloric tradition has been given so many new mezclas and treatments. The future of South American-inspired electronic riddim has no shortage of color or creativity.

MICHEL CLEIS – LA MEZCLA (ROBB G REMIX) by ROBB G

In the coming months, you’ll hear a collection of fresh uptempo melodies and bass-heavy beats that make up a variety of “Cumbiatron.” From Cumbia, Bajo Tropical, Salsa, Latin Beats, Baile Funk, Reggaeton, Moombahton, y Mezclas AfroLatinos, we have banded together to bring you this full-on Latino experience, without a need for a passport.

To see where the next sound of the Americas is headed next, mark your calendars para saborear BOMBON each month with yours truly, Gracie Chávez, plus DJs Navó, OG Bobby Trill and Tonio.

Starting January 7, 2011 and every first Friday of the month, centrally located Avant Garden (411 Westheimer, 77006) is hosting our first in a series of Latin parties full of irrepressible music, live instrumentation, cinematic loops, spirited libations and excessive dancing!  Now, why would you want to miss the next one?

¡Entonces, ponte los zapatos pa la pachanga!

As some of you may know, Dias de los Muertos happens to be one of my favorite annual holidays. Forget the Halloween hype–these two days in November (1st and 2nd) always remind you to celebrate life! So why not to start early.

Tonight, we kick off a weekend of celebration with Afro-electro beat freestyler Chico Mann in Houston. The lineup, brought to you by Squad Media, includes downtempo maestros DJ Sun and Mr. Bristle, and myself (Gracie Chavez) spinning un Bombón de cumbia and eclectic world beats upstairs at The Mink/Backroom (3718 Main @ Alabama, 77002).

Chico Mann was recently featured on one of my favorite remixer’s excursion, Mexicans with Guns’ “Me Gusto,” which is more of a banger for your soul than it is a soundtrack for the dead. Chico (aka Marco Garcia) describes his native style as “the convergence of electro, Afrobeat and freestyle.” “It’s kind of a statement to this genre of music that hasn’t really been developed until now,” he says.

Check out Chico’s “Oye, Mira, Cuidado!” live clip to see what’s in store tonight. Log on to Soular Grooves to get more insight or listen to my Cumbia Nena mix I recorded live on (now-extinct) KTRU radio station. Then, RSVP on FB to join us tonight.

Pero no se te olvide–Ponte los zapatos porque vamos a bailar!

This weekend marks the end of the summertime with most school semesters gearing up within the week or so. And the only way we could cure the summertime blues and send this hot-ass summer off properly was with a gang of even hotter ladies.

The Tipping Point sneaker boutique, in collaboration with Charly East, put together a line-up of local female artists, performers and yours truly to DJ The ArtBreak: Ladies First Edition this Friday night at Betz Gallery (1208 West Gray, 77019). The show starts at 7pm and includes performances by IB3, No Name Jane and Charly East on violin. Free dranks courtesy of Dripping Springs and Grey Goose.

Wear your best skeakys, ladies, ’cause this is the spot to show ‘em out. But if you’re not up on your latest kicks, you can always enter the raffle for a new pair!

Here’s some lady-killer jams to get you ready:

Summertime Blues – Joan Jett (mp3)

Talk to Me – Peaches (mp3)

DIRB! Recess pt. 1

As superstition holds, tomorrow stands to be a day of bad luck. So it’s no surprise that Go Go Garcia and Johnny Moon had the same idea to kill it on a Friday night and, not to mention, get you there with damn-near the same wicked flyer!

So in true Friday the 13th movie fashion, it’s up to you to choose your poison. Which maligned feature will you show for–Part 1 or 2?

Friday the 13th: PART 1

We’ll be across town slaying it real big for DIRB! Recess: Friday the 13th Edition at Club FWD (510 Gray, 77002) with DIRB! crew SDF-one, Squincy Jones, Antonio, Criminal V and yours truly, Gracie Chavez!

Wizard Status pt. 2

Friday the 13th: PART 2

Meanwhile, back in the ‘Trose, “Wizard Status” Friday the 13th Murder Party Addition goes six-feet down at Boondocks (1417 Westheimer, 77006) with Go Go and Johnny.

But which ever one you choose, take heed: you wanna make it out alive!

Check each FB event for more details and to RSVP.

Dame Lo – Mexicans With Guns from System D-128 on Vimeo.

The Man. The Myth. The Mexican.

Mexicans with Guns releases his next track, “Dame Lo,” off his latest Me Gusto EP (Stones Throw/Innovative Leisure, Exponential). This sexy banger is accompanied by an experimental short film/music video that summons the raucous revelry of any Robert Rodriguez dusty cantina shoot-em-up flick over a Dia de los Muertos celebration.

MWG is making the short trip from SA to HOU this Saturday, August 14th, to put it down at The Backroom (Mink, 3718 Main St, 77006) for us. Pero no se to olvide…ponte los zapatos porque vamos a bailar!

For more on “Dame Lo,” check here.  Read the LA Times article on Mexicans with Guns here. He’s the masked crusader of big beats–big time!

“Dame Lo” – MWG (mp3)

From SummerFest Day 1: 2010-06-05

To say that things move slow down South in the summer is an understatement. Doing things “as slow as molasses,” as we say, is just how we do ’round these parts.

So, there. That’s my excuse as to why I’m just now following up two-months later on Free Press SummerFest 2010. Day One’s highlights included the air-conditioned Fancy Pants stage, Brett Koshkin’s soul 45 session and Kid Sis dub steppin. And although Day Two was over-cast with showers, the dirty mud people, Mic Skill’s rhymes, big pimpin with Bun B and the A/C stage still ruled!

Thanks to all the folks over at Free Press and Pegstar that made this year’s festival such a success. And thanks to all the performers at that DIRB! with us on the Fancy Pants stage!

Here are some flicks from that SummerFest weekend:

SummerFest: Day 1
SummerFest: Day 2

And just ’cause I made you wait this long, here are my favorite irie summertime slow jams:

• Chase the Cumbia Devil (Tupolev Soundcrash remix) – Max Romeo (mp3)
• Uptight remix- Stevie Wonder & Jay “Dusty” Smith (mp3 taken from the compilation Motown Flies Jamaica)
• Get Lite (Reggae remix) – The Beatards (mp3)