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Unlike fruit or trendy haircuts, a good DJ can age gracefully over time obtaining "complex undertones", and that elusive "oaky" flavor aficionados seek. San Francisco's DJ B.Cause is the perfect example of refined flavor. A true connoisseur, B Cause has exquisite taste, a gift for crafting edits, and enough years under his belt that he can hand out cigars. Sit back, grab some grier and let the gentleman speak.

-THE BAG MESSENGER

THE BAG MESSENGER: Name, Where are you from?

DJ B CAUSE: Josh B, aka DJ B.Cause. I grew up in Cali, born in SLO, lived in places like Mount Shasta, Orick, Arcata, Trinidad, Los Angeles...settled in SF in 1993.

THE BAG MESSENGER: How did you first get involved with DJing?

DJ B CAUSE: Other than doing inappropriate things to my parents' stereo in the 80s, my first hands on experience was also in 1993 where my neighbor Mike used to let me mess with his Techs. I was already a fan of mixtapes and fascinated with the concept of layering stuff together tho, my friend Gavin knew dudes like Imani from Santa Monica radio and Charo ICP who gave us our first real dose of what real dj's do.

THE BAG MESSENGER: Were you always collecting records? 

DJ B CAUSE: Yeah, since the late 70's...it started with stuff like Blondie and Pink Floyd. I collected a gang of rap, reggae and punk lps in high school (late 80s) but some so called friends I was living with a couple years later disappeared with them and I all but gave up for a short period. I started again when I got to the city.

THE BAG MESSENGER: What kinds of things are you looking for these days?

DJ B CAUSE: All sorts of things, but always gospel records, indie and bay rap 12"s, soul and 60's r&b, international records, etc.

THE BAG MESSENGER: Any interesting digging stories?

DJ B CAUSE: A long time ago I was working at this shop in the Richmond district, and this lady from Santa Rosa kept calling us about looking at her husband's old classical records that nobody else was interested in. We put it off for a while, until I finally convinced the owner to make the trip up there and take a look. I am a known optimist when it comes to looking at records, I hate to pass up an opportunity! Anyways, when we got up there she said her late husband was actually a radio DJ and was into all kinds of other music including jazz, 20th century classical and international. There were thousands of lps. The first stack I grabbed had two mint Dorothy Ashby promo lps and the Archie Whitewater record sealed. The car was almost dragging the ground after we loaded it up, haha.

THE BAG MESSENGER: Favorite finds?

DJ B CAUSE: Bill Doggett - Honky Tonk Popcorn for a quarter on a Tuesday afternoon stoop sale on Valencia st. I didn't even know what it was at the time but it was a clean King lp and a JB production...the Beatnuts record that used it came out a couple weeks later, nice timing!

THE BAG MESSENGER: How deep in the crates are you? 

DJ B CAUSE: You mean how deeply am I buried by them? Just kidding - I don't know, I have way more than I or for that matter anyone should though. If I didn't care about rap 12"s I could get rid of half of them.

THE BAG MESSENGER: When did you first get involved with creating edits?

DJ B CAUSE: I started with the edits on the tascam 4 track decks in the 90s, then the roland vs 840 digital recorder later. But the the real work started when DJ Spair hooked me up with cool edit and I realized how much I could do with it. That was around 2002-2003. Once Serato entered the scene I was already turning my live blends into real "remixes" by editing and working around chord changes/progressions, etc and sharing them with other DJs. A big factor was the Night Of The Remix party - which was a monthly that we would do live blends and play our own remixes at . Having to come up with 10 reworks or so a month helped form good productive habits.

THE BAG MESSENGER: How often do you travel?

DJ B CAUSE: Not too much, I just visited New York and Scandanavia for the first time in 2008.

THE BAG MESSENGER: Has Serato changed the way you get down?

DJ B CAUSE: Yeah, I feel much more free to change genres and or the game plan if a gig doesn't turn out to be what I expected. Also with the cues and loops it's much more possible to play around within the mix and move around within tracks...and it's great because there is NO SKIPPING!  Also no tearing up doubles of dumb rare records.

THE BAG MESSENGER: What do you listen to for fun? How has becoming a DJ affected the way you listen to music? 

DJ B CAUSE: I like old time stuff, gospel & r&b, jazz, old country, reggae harmony, arabic and asian records, etc...but I also love new music. I like keeping up with the new rap, r&b and pop stuff for example, it's fun to listen to with my kids...we talk about what's good or bad about particular songs, etc. I like to have an open dialogue with them about their music, rather than just condemn it. As adults we should know better than that. The one thing about listening to music as a DJ is you want to automatically determine whether or not a record is "useful" to your needs, which is too opportunistic of an approach and I really try to check myself when I realize I am doing it. 

THE BAG MESSENGER: Favorite crowds to play for?

DJ B CAUSE: I like all kinds of audiences, really.

THE BAG MESSENGER: Every DJ has a horror story or two....what is the worst thing to happen at a gig?

DJ B CAUSE: Played a wedding in Hillsborough and the bride slipped on the wet cement dancefloor and smacked her head on the slab...we spent the rest of the evening waiting at the Stanford Medical Center. Song playing when it happened was RBL Posse "Don't Gimmie No Bammer Weed".

THE BAG MESSENGER: Where do you find inspiration to do what you do?

DJ B CAUSE: By listening to music that I love, mainly. 60s R&B records. I find the act of practicing the DJ basics like cuts and doubles very important as well to stay grounded. Singing and playing with my instruments. Being active with the music appreciation, learning everyday and always working towards improvement. Playing with the kids and riding my skateboard.

THE BAG MESSENGER: What are you working on now?

DJ B CAUSE: Musical Mixchief 2 with DJ Spair, Soul Boulders 2 with Matthew Africa, a remix for the homie Nick Nack out of Austin, and an upcoming EP for Bastard Jazz.
 

THE BAG MESSENGER: What can we be looking for in the future?

DJ B CAUSE: More mixes. I have a list of like 10 projects I really want to do. Unfortunately they take me really long to complete, because I'm way to detail orientated, haha! If I could figure out a way for them to pay my rent, I would put the mixes out much quicker though.

THE BAG MESSENGER: What do you think DJ culture is going to look like in the next ten years? (Will the DJ become more of a performer of less?)

DJ B CAUSE: Hard to say...everything is cyclical so I'm sure we will be seeing some changes as people get bored with the current trends. The music will always be there, though. And hopefully some good, open-minded DJs.

Keep up with B.Cause 

www.twitter.com/djbcause
www.diamondsinthedust.blogspot.com
www.myspace.com/djbcause
www.4onefunk.com

Happy Memorial Day folks! I'm sure you are all busy attending cookouts ect, but before you get all full and lazy here is your Monday mixtape treat. Bobo Meets Rhettmatic. Live percussion, classic breaks, and more flavor than 700 beer brats. Truely a solid Mixtape win for your week.

-THE BAG MESSENGER

Click here for a painless download

Here is a cool little documentary covering Philadelphia's hand in the creation of Disco. Be on the look out for the Album "Get Down With The Philly Sound compiled by Dimitri From Paris.

-THE BAG MESSENGER

"BBE Records proudly presents its 5th and arguably most exciting compilation with the French dj and ambassador of disco, Dimitri from Paris. This compilation focuses on Dimitri’s essential disco era tracks - made in Philadelphia, that feature the core of the rhythm section that created and defined the sound of the genre. For this compilation Dimitri has exclusively reworked 5 tracks from the original multitrack tapes of Gamble and Huff with a further 4 being edited from the original 2 track stereo masters.

It should be noted that nearly all of the disco output from Philadelphia between 1973-1980 featured the work of the same studio musicians known as –The Family, MFSB (Mother, Father, Sister, Brother), The Salsoul Orchestra, Baker - Harris -Young Productions, The John Davis Monster Orchestra or the Montana Sextet depending on who the recording was for. The classic line up of musicians included Karl Chambers and Earl Young (Founder of The Trammps and creator of the disco drum pattern which laid the template for every dance record since) on drums; Norman Harris, Roland Chambers, Bobby Eli (Original MFSB member), and TJ Tindall on guitar; Winnie Wilford and Ronnie Baker on bass; Vince Montana (vibes/arranger and founder of the Salsoul Orchestra) and Larry Washington on percussion and Leon Huff, Thom Bell and Ron Kersey on keyboards. Don Renaldo taking care of strings and horns featuring soloist John Bonnie Rocco Bene on Trumpet.
Last but not least the remixers and Tom Moulton (Pioneer of the Disco Mix, the 12 inch vinyl format, the break down sections of records and supplier of missing masters for this compilation) who influenced the popularity of songs with his legendary mixes. For Salsoul Walter Gibbons was the owners choice. Honorable mentions go to Larry Levan and Shep Pettibone for their contributions in this field.
These guys were the bridge between the labels and the club dancers and understood how to make a record work in a club.

Undisputedly, as producer’s Thom Bell and Gamble and Huff's Philadelphia soul sound evolved from the simpler arrangements of the late 1960s into a style featuring lush strings, thumping basslines and sliding hi-hat rhythms; Philadelphia gave birth to and defined the brand new Disco genre. The anthemic “The Love I Lost” is recognised as the first commercial disco record and was recorded at the legendary Sigma Sound Studios, Philadelphia in 1973. Recording engineer, Joe Tarsia founded Sigma Sound in 1968 where virtually of all the disco recordings on Gamble and Huff’s Philadelphia International, Salsoul, Philly World, Gold Mind, Atlantic were made, thereby maintaining the unique sound of Philadelphia. Located at 212 N. 12th Street in Philadelphia, it was the second studio in the USA to offer 24-track recording and the first in the country to use console automation. David Bowie recorded his Young Americans album at this legendary studio as was Dusty Springfields - A Brand New Me, while Elton John's 1977 Philadelphia sessions were in such demand recently that they provided a hit single ('Are You Ready For Love') and CD re-issue 3 decades after the recordings were first made.

By 1975, Philadelphia International and the Philadelphia soul and disco genre’s it helped define had largely eclipsed Motown and the Motown Sound in popularity and Gamble and Huff were the premiere producers of soul with nearly 200 gold and platinum records to their credit. Salsoul capitalized on the success of the sound by employing the same musicians whilst focusing on club music predominantly.
In a recent Blues and Soul interview Kenny Gamble admits to passing over Prince’s demo. Other acts for whom Philly collaborations didn’t happen were Miles Davis, Bob Marley, Barry White and Earth Wind and Fire. Time simply didn’t allow these to happen.

Notable acts rushed to Philadelphia to capture the sound. Ex Motown cohorts The Jacksons and Eddie Kendricks utilized the above classic line of musicians up to embrace the new sound and extend their careers. Simultaneously, Salsoul Orchestra and the John Davis Orchestra were essentially basically a moniker core rhythm section of MFSB and recorded several disco hits outside of the PIR umbrella.

Now for the first time ever Gamble and Huff have given a label access to the multi track tapes of some Philly International platinum selling classics such as The Love I Lost, Bad Luck featuring the vocals of the late great Teddy Pendergrass, the first black male to release 5 consecutive platinum albums in the United States.

Dimitri's selection on CD1 traces the evolution of the 70’s disco groove from the first ever disco hit record, to the rejuvenation of the Jackson 5’s career. Interspersed with obscurities such as Charles Mann to the magnificent Teddy Pendergrass, Philly International’s answer to Marvin Gaye. CD2 of the compilation pays homage to the original creators and innovators of the remix and extended edits with reworkings exclusively by Dimitri from Paris."-BBE MUSIC


Tracklist:
CD 1:
Teddy Pendergrass - You Can’t Hide From Yourself
Eddie Kendricks - He's A Friend
Philly Devotions - Hurt So Bad (a Tom Moulton Mix)
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes - Bad Luck
The Jacksons - Living Together
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes - Tell The World How I Feel About ‘Cha Baby
John Davis & The Monster Orchestra - Night and Day
Carl Bean - I Was Born This Way
The Trammps - The Night The Lights Went Out
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes - The Love I Lost
Charles Mann - Do It Again
Teddy Pendergrass - The More I Get, The More I Want
T.J.M. - I Don’t Need No Music

CD 2:
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes - The Love I Lost (Dimitri from Paris Super Disco Blend)
Philly Devotions - Hurt So Bad (Dimitri from Paris Super Disco Blend)
The Jacksons - Living Together (a Dimitri from Paris Disco Re-Edit)
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes - Bad Luck (a Dimitri from Paris Disco Re-Edit)
Teddy Pendergrass - The More I Get, The More I Want (Dimitri from Paris Super Disco Blend)
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes - Tell The World How I Feel About ‘Cha Baby (a Dimitri from Paris Disco Re-Edit)
Teddy Pendergrass - You Can’t Hide From Yourself (Dimitri from Paris Super Disco Blend)
Eddie Kendricks - He's A Friend (Dimitri from Paris Super Disco Blend)
The Trammps - The Night The Lights Went Out (a Dimitri from Paris Disco Re-Edit) 

Alex Cornell’s work is classy. The time-bending effects used (photo cross-processing, yellowed paper, and other grungy “flaws”) look nice, but type selection and layout style are what I really like about Cornell’s designs. For example, on several of his projects, Futura is used in a way which is reminiscent of Mid-Century museum signage; centered and tracked out. You can see more examples of Cornell’s work on his Behance page and on Scott Hansen’s ISO50 blog.

-Nick Sigler

SECRET VIDEO OF BABY SLOTHS FOR ALL YOU DEDICATED READERS WHO MADE IT TO THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE.