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The ‘Big Shot Bump’ Helps Chems, Ronson Earn Grammys

Darren Ressler 1 Comment

The day after the Grammy awards is when the winners’ minions send out self-congratulatory praise about victories they had absolutely nothing to do with. [Cue Queen’s “We Are The Champions”]

Naturally, we figured that we’d get in line and give ourselves some props since two former Big Shot cover stars—Mark Ronson and The Chemical Brothers—both took home trophies (or whatever that thing is) last night. And that’s not all. Present cover stars Daft Punk broke a career-long television dry-spell and performed “Stronger” with Kanye (who won an award for the song) to everyone’s delight. Coincidence? Not bloody likely!

The fact that two of our recent cover stars won awards wasn’t lost on several wise bloggers (we’ll put up the links, um, later), many of whom are citing “The Big Shot Bump” as the reason for their victories. Who will win a Grammy in 2008? You’ll have to read the next issue to find out.

RIP Mel Cheren

Darren Ressler

mel cheren

Today we heard the sad news that Mel Cheren, the longtime New York City dance music icon who helmed West End Records and was a vocal AIDS activist, passed away. Long before major labels jumped on the disco bandwagon and shanghaied it in the ‘70s, Cheren helped promote the genre in the city’s underground and earned the nickname The Godfather of Dance. As an A&R man, he had a golden ear. He signed groundbreaking, chart-topping singles by NYC Peach Boys (“Don’t Make Me Wait”), Taana Gardner’s “Heartbeat” and Loose Joints’ (“Is It All Over My Face?”) Decades after their release, producers continue to sample these tracks.

Cheren was also the financial backer of the Paradise Garage and mentored a young DJ named Larry Levan, whose marathon sets continues to influence today’s DJs. In recent years, Cheren issued various label reissue projects (such as West End’s 25th anniversary two-disc set mixed by Masters At Work), wrote a book (My Life and the Paradise Garage: Keep On Dancin’), helmed a bed and breakfast in Chelsea, and dreamed of opening a dance music museum. Cheren would’ve turned 75 next month.

Donations in Mel’s honor can be made to GMHC, 119 West 24th Street, New York, NY 10011; The LGBT Community Center at 208 West 13th Street, New York, NY 10011; or LIFEbeat, 630 9th Avenue Suite 1010 New York, NY 10036.

Breakbeat Science Moves to Brooklyn

Darren Ressler
bbs   Revered New York City drum ‘n’ bass retail store Breakbeat Science has found a new home in Brooklyn. Having transformed its former location on the Lower East Side into a trendy men’s clothing boutique, BBS has embarked on another retail venture and began curating the drum ‘n’ bass section within Halcyon in Dumbo last week.

“With BBlessing needing to expand into the records room and real estate in Manhattan being out of control, it just made perfect sense to collaborate with Halcyon,” BBS’s DJ DB told Big Shot. “We already have a long history with those guys.”

Obligatory press gush from Halcyon owner Shawn Schwartz: “Halcyon has always celebrated musical diversity and promoted interaction amongst the various facets of the broader community, so we’re excited to welcome the Breakbeat Science massive back into the fold.”

DJ DB and Clever christened the new venture with an in-store session. You can listen to it here.

Bob Mould Will Not Blow You Off

Darren Ressler
blowoff   Bob Mould blazed indie rock trails as the singer-guitarist in ‘80s post-punk trio Hüsker Dü. After attaining critical success as a solo artist and piloting Sugar, Mould, who relocated from New York City to Washington, DC in 2003, has been piloting Blowoff, an anything goes DJ project/club night in DC, along with über producer/remixer Richard Morel.

Shortly after the 2006 release of Blowoff’s excellent, sadly overlooked self-titled debut—a flawless collection which melded pop, rock, and electronic music—Mould described the duo’s club night to Big Shot as “somewhere between Thank God It’s Friday and The Black party,” and we’ve been intrigued by his long-running shindig at the 9:30 Club ever since.

Fortunately for us Gothamites, Mould and Morel head up I-95 this weekend and will bring their party to the Highline Ballroom on Saturday. We caught up with Mould, the self-described nicest guy in the world, and asked him what us jaded New Yorkers can expect to experience on Saturday.

What can newcomers to Blowoff expect from the night?
Bob Mould: A fun crowd, fresh visuals, and a very wide variety of club and indie music.

Have any diehard Hüsker fans ever run screaming from a Blowoff gig?
I wouldn’t know; I’m too busy throwing a party to notice.

How do you rate yourself as a DJ these days?
I do okay. I’d like to think my choices in music are better than my technical skills.

You used to call New York City home. What’s it like to play here now that you live in DC?
It will be fun to see all my NYC buds again. Lots of them have been coming to DC to check out the party, so it’s the least I could do in bringing it up here.

Richard Morel is such an amazingly talented musician (he really shines on your new live DVD!). What have you learned from working with him?
Richard Morel has a great ear for music, and his own style. Blowoff is the sum of the different approaches. It’s been working well.

Who was the last person you blew off?
I never blow anyone off. I’m the nicest guy in the world.