looking ahead: Ain't That A Groove!

do you like funky music? do you like free events? keep reading!

DJ Splattermonkey has been running a solid night at Lot 16 (1136 Queen St West, Toronto) for a while now called Ain't That A Groove!, and I'm honored to be Novembers guest dj!

on Saturday November 7th I'll be dropping a mix of funk, raregroove, breaks, and really anything else that I feel like throwing in the record bag.
this will be a 100% vinyl set I'll be playing and it will be all over the tempo genre so I'm looking forward to it very much! I've been coming across some great records both new and old and I'm stoked to throw them down for some people to hear them as well.
not to mention that Splattermonkey has some awesome tunes to hear as well, so it's win win.

and did I mention its FREE!?!?
yeah, I think I did. but anyways, yeah, its FREE!


check more details here!

in other news, Krafty Skillz and A-Skillz are playing in Toronto on Halloween as part of Make It Funky's annual Halloween Funk Monsters Ball! this should be crazy good and totally worth the ticket price so don't miss out on that one either!!!

Fun in the Sun! Saturday September 5th!

a little late on the notice, but I'm excited about a couple big tings.
first off, I've successfully made the move with my beautiful girlfriend of 7 years from London to Toronto!
that said - Toronto promoters: hit me up!!! LOL

secondly, I'm looking forward to my first ever gig on sand.
I've played clubs, pubs, art galleries, boat cruises, etc... but this weekend I'll be playing right on the beach just outside of Grand Bend on Saturday September 5th! check out the details on facebook, but rest assured it will be an afternoon of fun!

thats all for this round, hopefully I'll be able to get around to updating this blog more often as time goes.
thanks for stopping by in the mean time!

Officially Out of Hibernation

admittedly I took a couple months off from going out, playing out, and just became a hermit for a bit. but the weather is waming up, which means its time for some great events to start comin' through!

first up, is Friday May 29th inside the stylish club Lavish in downtown London.
DJ Chiclet (http://www.djchiclet.com) comes to London to drop her skillful blend of funky electro with a touch of turntablism. this event is a charity event for breast cancer and is only $5, so come out and support a good cause while hearing some great beats!


then, Friday June 6th, you'll find myself in Toronto!!!
I'll be playing the Sutra Tiki lounge on College Street in Toronto, as part of Eclectic Groove's "FREE MIXER" nights!
this promises to be an awesome event! more details here for the facebook peeps.

the new mix! Skank Honto - TGIFunky!

.
last summer I was running a series of monthly events in London called TGIFunky!
months after the events ended I still had a couple piles of records which
never found their way back to their original places in the crates.
rather than just sort them, I decided to throw together a mix of the tunes that
would have been played, and a couple newer ones picked up since then as well.

I'd like to think this set does capture the essence of the events in the sense that it has
some groove that works through some peaks and valleys in energy but comes off really
organic and fun in the end, while being delivered 100% through vinyl.

that said, give it a listen and feel free to let me know what you think!
(you don't need to register to leave comments on the blog!)

Skank Honto - TGIFunky!
elapsed time 60 minutes - recorded February 7th 2008

RIGHT CLICK, CHOOSE SAVE AS TO DOWNLOAD


tracklisting:
1. Dead Prez / Lenny Kravitz - Mama Said Hip Hop [Smalltown DJ's Remix] (Hai Karate Records)
2. the Beatnuts - Watch Out Now [instrumental] (Relativity Records)
3. Los Bandidos - Mojo Filer (white)
4. Hot Shot - Plug & Play Track 3 (white)
5. DJ Shadow - the Number Song [Cut Chemist Party Mix] (Mo Wax)
6. DJ Format - Stealin' James Part 1 (Totally Dodgy Records)
7. Aldo Vanucci & Featurecast - Make You Happy (Good Groove Records)
8. Mark Ronson - Ooh Wee [instrumental] (Elektra)
9. Kraak & Smaak - Squeeze Me (Jalapeno)
10. Mooqee VS Beat Vandals - Back Up (Bomb Strikes)
11. A-Skillz feat. Beardyman - Got the Rhythm (Finger Lickin')
12. Qdup Foundation - Renegades Revenge (Bomb Strikes)
13. Rephrase - Since 1939 [Album Version] (Rephrase Music)
14. Featurecast - Soul Flower (Good Groove Records)
15. Hot Chip - Over and Over (Astralwerks)
16. Omegaman - The Super Hi Fi Funk [B-Team Remix] (Super Hi Fi)
17. Manmade - Beastie Nights (Man Made Records)
18. Fort Knox Five - the Spirit of '75 (Fort Knox Recordings)
19. DJ D**kline & Red Polo - Booty Beggin' (Booty Breaks)
20. Parker feat. Rasco - Western Soul (Leisure Recordings)


enjoy!

the Voyd CD Release Party

so next weekend, Friday February 13th to be precise, I'm playing at the Blackshire Pub in London.
it will be much like the old Blackmarket Army events where I'll be playing the beats before/between/after a couple of rock bands.

this event is for the release party of the Voyd's new cd.
here's the facebook event link: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=46452402707


I'll be playing some moody downtempo ish at the start of the night, shmoozy drinking music in between, and then some peak hour funk when its all said and done. only $5 and its going to be a great night mixing the rock and funk sounds.

I'll also have copies of my new cd to hand out!
thats right, MY NEW CD!
aka, I've finally recorded something new!
I'll be posting that up for grabs later in the week too so check back soon!

Crayola portrait me, A-Skillz for download...

So its been a slow new year, and I still haven't recorded a new mix (its coming! its coming! I promise).
but kudos to Make It Funky in Toronto for a wikkid jam at Wrongbar with funk master blaster A-Skillz! For those that didn't get to check it out, here is a link to his recent tour promo mix. (right click, choose Save As)

prior to that I had the pleasure of having a placemat portrait done by a Mr. Richard Raiban, and couldn't help but want to post this up! well done!


stay tuned for an event in February with myself and a couple bands which should be interesting!
details coming this week!

Rave Is King

this Saturday, I'll be playing from 12-1:30 at Pandemic in downtown London for the low price of only $2 to you the consumer! come out and start the first Saturday of the year with some fun.



in other news, kudos to NEC and Soldiers of Sound for throwing one hell of a new years jam!

Skank Honto's Top 10 of 2008

its that time again! time to dig through the crates and see what tunes got the most play and which are truly the stand out tunes from this year.


Skank Honto's Top 10 of 2008
1. Slyde - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Finger Lickin')
2. Beat Assassins - We Run Tings (Mofo)
3. D**Kline & Red Polo - Booty Beggin' (Booty Breaks)
4. NAPT - Gotta Have More Cowbell (Funkatech)
5. Madox - Roger Milla (Mantra Breaks)
6. Deekline and Wizard feat. Top Cat - Up For The Possee (Against the Grain)
7. NAPT feat. Skibbadee - The Rollers (Sub Frequency Funk)
8. Lad:Nav - Justice Breaks (White)
9. Stanton Warriors feat. Big Daddy Kane - Get Wild (Punks)
10. Myagi - Giorgio Marauder (Title Fight)



and on the downtempo and midtempo tip, I'm simply going to say that pretty much everything by A-Skillz and Featurecast, or anything else released on Good Groove Records and Bomb Strikes found its way into my crates, but heres my top 5 downtempo/midtempo breaks tunes of the year:
1. A-Skillz - Strawberry Jam Forever (Insane Bangers)
2. Qdup Foundation - Renegade's Revenge (Bomb Strikes)
3. Featurecast & Aldo Vanucci - Make You Happy (Good Groove)
4. P-Zilla - Baddest Man (Good Groove)
5. Parker feat. Rasco - Western Soul (Leisure Recordings)


I'll have a new mix featuring a number of these tunes in the near future so stay tuned!
additionally, here are my past years charts: 2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003