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July 24, 2005
Maple Avenue Revisited
My accidental side-career in party DJ-ing might never have even reached the idea stage were it not for the fun and crazy years that I spent living at 202-A Maple Avenue in Carrboro. From 1997 through 2000, my housemates and I would periodically open up our humidity-warped doors and invite everyone we knew (and a lot of people that we didn't!) to come inside our home and consume the various and sundry refreshments that we would generously provide for such occasions. As long as we cleared away all the furniture, our sunken living room made a pretty awesome dancefloor that was close to the kitchen and easily visible from both the outside courtyard and the side door/bathroom area. I definitely didn't think of myself as a DJ (except in the college radio sense), but before every party I always tried to make sure that we had a good assortment of dance tunes that would keep things hopping. I took a cue from the festive folks behind the classic mid-to-late-90s throwdowns at 117 Green Street and started making cassette compilations of various songs that I thought would be a lot of fun to dance to: older party-oriented hip-hop, newer more commercial jamz, fun 80s songs, good funk and disco hits...and plenty of Prince. By the summer of '99 I'd bought my first CD burner and I started using it to make mix CDs instead of mix cassettes. This allowed me to occasionally change up songs or mixes on the fly, but I still did 97% of the song-arranging in advance so that I could just let the CDs roll during the actual party. Because, c'mon, all I wanted to do was party and bullshit along with everyone else!
It feels like that whole late 90s era was eons ago, but I still have really fond memories of those house parties, how much fun people seemed to have, even all of the crazy events and interpersonal dramas/interactions that unfolded from time to time. And while I've never been a very good match-maker myself, the 202-A Maple parties actually have a pretty good record in that regard. I now know of at least four married or engaged couples who claim to have either met or had their romance ignited at one of our old house parties. One of these happy couples got married last night, and at the opposite end of Maple Avenue, no less! Several weeks back they asked me if I would DJ a dance party set towards the end of the reception. Of course I said yes, since it would be for a great couple who first got together at one of our Maple Avenue throwdowns!
So last night I followed up Marty Violence's awesome set of vintage funk+soul+disco+groove with my typical Maple Avenue mixture of classic party hip-hop, newer jamz, and funky dance hits from the 70s and 80s. I had a lot of fun and it was a definite honor to come back and DJ on the street that, for lack of a better phrase, "gave me my start" as a party DJ. As things were winding down towards the very end of the night, I put on the long version of "Rapper's Delight" and walked all the way back down Maple Avenue in order to get my car. The soundsystem must've been a lot louder than I initially realized, 'cause it was pretty easy to hear the music from right in front of my old house at the other end of the street. I'm not sure how 202-A's current inhabitants may have felt about the loud late-night party music, but I'm pretty sure the house itself probably felt right at home...
Posted by Tim at July 24, 2005 11:49 PM
Comments
Yay!
Just last week I took my loved one to a party at 206 Maple and I was recounting tales of the fabulous parties at your house. I remember that whole era so fondly, and those parties in particular. Your dance mixes were probably responsible for most of my aerobic activity then.
Although I tried, I don't think I ever hooked up with anyone at those parties, but I do remember bringing a bunch of avant garde european musicians there after Transmissions, and laughing at them for refusing to dance to this kind of music. They refused to get down! For me, it was not optional...
Posted by: Ruby at July 25, 2005 02:15 PM
I almost forgot about the influx of Transmissions musicians that night, that's really funny. A couple of the American ones must've felt more at home - Alan Licht seemed fairly amused and Miss Murgatroyd was dancing up a storm! That particular party was actually my going-away bash and thus the last of those parties. And for the record, Carrboro beat Chapel Hill in the 4 AM wiffle ball game!
Posted by: Tim at July 25, 2005 07:07 PM
Benny Nilsen (Hazard) was tearing up the dance floor...
Posted by: Ethan at August 5, 2005 11:59 AM