Beaverhausen's NYC News: The End of Roseland and a Village People Cowboy

Roseland 1961

Recently, I saw Blondie perform at Roseland. http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2013/10/debbie-harry-and-blondie-rule-roseland.html The 1919 roller rink turned ballroom (in the 1920s) turned concert hall (since the 1990s) just announced it will close its doors in April. Another legendary venue gone from the NYC landscape.

Madonna has played there, The Rolling Stones have played Roseland, The Black Party has been thrown there. But soon it will be gone. 

Roseland has for years been a favored New York [place] for a wide range of bands from the early days of rock, through disco, grunge, modern rock, jam, pop, urban and EDM. The venue found a new gear with a $1 million production/rigging renovation in the early ‘90s, funded by [developer Larry] Ginsberg, which led to more high profile bookings of multiple dates on bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, and other hot acts when competition in that cap range was not as fierce, reported Billboard. 

News that seems to have escaped the mainstream media about the death of Village People's latest cowboy, AJ Perelli, but Sobel Nation and Our City Radio reported on the incident. http://queens.ourcityradio.com/stations/dance-news/queens-city-radio-sends-condolences-family-friends-village-peoples-aj-perelli 

"May AJ RIP and sing to the Angels," wrote Our City's Program Manager, Barbara Sobel. 

"One of his biggest achievements to date came several months ago when he landed the gig in the role of the Cowboy (originally played by Jeff Olson) in the group,Village People," said Ms Sobel's article in Our City Radio online, written before the tragedy.

The group Village People currently are coming up the dance charts, internationally, with their new single, "Let's Get Back to the Dancefloor," and appeared on this season's premiere episode of Arsenio.  Other members have expressed their grief, fond memories and condolences.

Perelli suffered serious brain damage from a fall or from an attack. As of now, details are unclear. He was 24 years of age.

Elton John and Moscow Discow

Word is out that Elton John will be performing at the Olympics in Moscow come December "despite the violently homophobic climate pervading Russia and the safety threats to openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals in the country, both citizens and foreigners," as Huffington Post succinctly reported.

Some are calling him a whore for money and media attention. He is receiving 12 million dollars for this gig. I certainly plan to refrain from purchasing his new album that arrives in stores next week until I see how this plays out.

John is widely quoted as saying, "I've got to go," echoing Gladys Knight about that Midnight Train to Georgia. (And she was going to Georgia, USA; not the country of Georgia, once part of the USSR!) "I’ve got to think about what I’m going to say very carefully. There’s two avenues of thought: do you stop everyone going, ban all the artists coming in from Russia? But then you’re really leaving the men and women who are gay and suffering under the anti-gay laws in an isolated situation. As a gay man, I can’t leave those people on their own without going over there and supporting them." We'll see how far he goes and how much support he offers. Only then will I decide whether to purchase The Diving Board. As for now, I'm considering Elton to have gone off the deep end.

Fall is sweeping in a lot of great dance music for us to download. The always awesome Debby Holiday (whom I interviewed last year: http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2012/06/buddy-bs-exclusive-q-with-debby-holiday.html) returns with new 2013 remixes of her classic dancefloor smash, "Dive." Remixers on board include Chris Cox, Matt Consola & LFB, Club Junkies and the Dickinson/Farley remix among others. (My interview with Joel Dickinson at: http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2012/02/dj-buddy-beaverhausens-q-with-dj-joel.html.)

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_12?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-music&field-keywords=debby+holiday+dive&sprefix=debby+holida%2Cdigital-music%2C315

Also on Amazon, you can download the marvelous Martha Wash's new single, "It's My Time," remixed by The Paperchasers. Love this song and her latest album from which it came. My blog review that was also posted on the diva's website: http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2013/02/im-into-something-good-martha-wash.html

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_14?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-music&field-keywords=martha+wash+it%27s+my+time&sprefix=Martha+Wash+It%2Cdigital-music%2C776

Barbara Sobel of Sobel Promotions tipped me off to a second batch of remixes of the new Village People song, "Let's Go Back to the Dancefloor." Expect this to get large, especially after their appearance on the new Arsenio Hall show. Again, a remix here by none other than our own Joel Dickinson!

http://www.amazon.com/Lets-Back-Dance-Floor-Remixes/dp/B00EVVDLUA/ref=sr_shvl_album_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1379545185&sr=301-3

Get Kristy Love! Thanks once more to Ms Sobel and Sobel Promotions regarding the remix of Kristy Love's new single, "All Over the World." The diva was, at one time, a member of the classic group, The Platters. Hear her out! Enjoy this remix from Julian Marsh (our recent Q&A at http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2013/08/my-exclusive-q-with-remixer-producer-dj.html). You can download this and other remixes as well as the original mix at:

https://soundcloud.com/sobelpromotionsmusic/all-over-the-world-julian?in=sobelpromotionsmusic/sets/kristy-love-all-over-the/s-7itlD

Wrapping it up, the jury's out on Elton. The jury's verdict is up with new remixes. And we send our support to Russia:

Happy Birthday to Village People's Randy Jones!

Happy Birthday to the Village People's original randy cowboy, Randy Jones! The disco icon with the midnight cowboy image moved on to a solo career. He is also an actor, author, American Music Award winner and multi-platinum recording artist. Randy is currently touring. 

"From D-O-M-A to Y-M-C-A! Dust off those roller skates because it's time to celebrate!" So announced Huffington Post.  This week, Jones will marry his partner of 30 years, Will Gregga, in New York City.

Village People Cowboy+ Times Sq Naked Cowboy

Congratulations, Randy Jones & Happy Birthday, Macho Man!

Below, Randy singing Kylie's "Your Disco Needs You," with images of Ms Minogue in concert.

 

Preview: New Villiage People Song

The new Village People number, including David Hodo (of the original group (construction worker)), "Let's Go Back to the Dancefloor," posits that group onto contempo disco-friendly floors. Produced by KC (of KC & the Sunshine Band) and Julian Marsh, there are a series of hot mixes including the original "Sunshine" mix.

David Noakes remix is nice. Will get you up and moving! Expectedly, the John LePage/Brian Cua mix cranks the tune up to irresistible happy-house level. Julian Marsh takes the song in a contemporary hiNRG level direction and, people, it is HOT!

Of course, the Tony Moran/ Warren Rigg remix gives the new number an entirely big-room feel. There's something for everyone on this grand remix spectrum.

Give it a listen and you'll want to Go Back to the Dancefloor.

Thanks to Barbara Sobel & Sobel Promotions for this remix package. Available NOW at Amazon.com.

Just a sample: