McLaughlin is a resident DJ alongside Mr. Techno, PAT FONTES, and the golden boy, Sergio Santos. “We have collective experience of 20-plus years, offer different styles, sounds, and people, which will help build a well rounded scene,” says McLaughlin, who also helped organize the underground 808 parties along with Wednesday’s lead representative EDDIE ODABACHIAN of Zero G Sounds. “We’re also strong in our opinions so we’ll be forced to make well-balanced decisions for the benefit of the night and its fans. Pat and Sergio are both excellent DJs and I have a feeling we’re going to get competitive (if we haven’t already).”
Wednesdays at the Phoenix Landing replaces Tension, which repped Boston Breaks to the fullest. Now, it seems, techno is primed to return. “Techno’s gone through many changes since it’s last heyday in the late ’90s. It’s slower, less aggressive, and more melodic. This has made it more digestible, interesting, and most importantly, danceable.” The next big guest for the team is Seattle’s finest techno export, BRUNO PRONSATO on July 4. You can catch DJ sets from Eric Dark and E-Heavy at this column on-line.
Up All Day is encouraged to stick with dance music but the June 8 bill at the Paradise Lounge (ABERDEEN CITY, BON SAVANTS, HOORAY FOR EARTH, and BOY IN STATIC) cannot be stopped. Up All Day fave Boy In Static (a/k/a ALEX CHEN) let us in on a secret: “We found common ground as Boston bands who have slowly been getting noticed outside of Boston, so we are arranging a special compilation CD of one song from each band.” The fun part is each Boston band covers a Boston band — the Cars, ’Til Tuesday, Juliana Hatfield, and Chen’s contribution, Sebadoh’s “Skull.” The four-song CD is available only at the June 8 show and proceeds go to charity. Meanwhile, Boy In Static’s new album, Violet, which dropped last week, has been called “a dream-pop epic” by esteemed UK shop Boomkat. And they are right.
