Return of the Castillian Badass

This weekend marked the return of the Castillian Badass behind the turntables.

Yes, that would be me.

In celebration of the birthday of our pal, writer Deanna Kizis, her wonderful husband, filmmaker Julian Cautherly, came up with the clever idea of inviting friends to deejay for 30-minute sets. It's been at least six years since I spent my Saturday nights spinnig at one of the bars I co-owned, Vine. So long, in fact, I can't even recall the name of the evening.

My deejay name, however, I could. It was stolen from the back of a jacket on the back of some long, tall dude dancin' his heart out in a square in New Orleans, a fantastic sight my sister, mom and I caught more than a decade ago during a burleque fest there. Being that I'm Castillian, well, it's become my own tag over the years and I had to revive it once again for my Saturday night return to the wax.

And return I did…and will. Andy finally brought home my brand new glossy red record player, a Pro-ject Debut III (we have them in a handful of candy colors in the store, and they will be online soon enough!). I've got crates of crazy vinyl that haven't seen the light of day since the Vine days. And as Dhani Harrison, who also got a red Pro-ject from us recently, noted today when he came into the store, the time is right to get back to basics. Amen.

Given my ecclectic collection, I could've gone in many directions Saturday night. After some thought, I decided to play (and in this order):

"Big Ten Inch Record" covered by Aerosmith off Toys in the Attic

"You're My Meat" covered by Joe Jackson off Jumpin' Jive

"Mick's Blessings" by Style Council off My Ever Changing Moods

"California Man" by Cheap Trick off Heaven Tonight

"Queen Bitch" by David Bowie off Hunky Dory

"White Girl" by X off Wild Gift (yes, the original Slash record!)

"2,000 Man" by Kiss off Dynasty

"Deuce" covered by Lenny Kravitz off Kiss My Ass (album cover pictured above)

"These Boots are Made for Walking" covered by Simaryp off Skinhead Moonstomp

"Rosslyn" by David Bowie off Bowie Pinups

"La Vie en Rose" covered by Marlene Dietrich off Marlene Dietrich at the Cafe de Paris

…Not all available on iTunes. But all on vinyl.

P.S. Sorry Amy Fleetwood for missing your big birthday getaway this weekend. If only we could be in two places at once!