Posts by Wade Wilby

Last week we posted Luke Sacks’ preview of the second leg of Phish’s Summer Tour. Today, Wade “Wyllys” Wilby offers his own inimitable view on what lies ahead over what’s sure to be an interesting 14 days…

The stage is set. The time is now. After an amazing first leg full of as much surprise as there was predictability, The Phish have left the door wide open for a classic second leg which is the same amount of shows as Summer Tour ’96. The venues alone tell a story worth listening to and they haven’t played a note yet.

The Venues

Tonight, Phish plays The Greek in Berkeley, CA for the first time since 1993, a show where many Dead Heads realized that the torch had been passed – musically at least. There are a lot of heady implications for any shows in Northern California, from LSD origins to aforementioned Grateful Dead comparisons to all the music legends who reside in the area. Simply put, people are looking for a tour opening barn burner, but should just enjoy the surroundings and have a blast.

Last Time Through…

Saturday, 08/28/1993 Greek Theatre, Berkeley, CA

Set 1: Llama, Bouncing Around the Room, Foam, Ginseng Sullivan, Maze, Fluffhead, Stash, The Squirming Coil, Crimes of the Mind

Set 2: Also Sprach Zarathustra > Rift, Run Like an Antelope, The Horse > Silent in the Morning, Sparkle, It’s Ice > Big Ball Jam, Purple Rain > Hold Your Head Up, You Enjoy Myself -> Oye Como Va Jam -> You Enjoy Myself -> Contact, Chalk Dust Torture
Encore: Daniel Saw the Stone, Amazing Grace

[all setlists via Phish.net]

READ ON for more of Wade’s thoughts on Leg Two…

Hello W+TWP peeps. Got a special July 4th edition for you beat-loving freaks. Burlington may be known for ice cream and jambands but it also has its fair share of beat purveyors that can go toe to toe with any national act.

The long running Sunday Night Mass is a weekly party held at Club Metronome – right above the infamous Nectar’s nightclub – that brings in the freshest DJ/Producer talent from around the globe as well as the locals who hold it down proper. Sunday Night Mass is promoted by Nexus Artist Management founder Justin R.E.M. and this weekend’s installment is going to be a SCORCHER. Sunday Night Mass presents La Riots. Don’t let anyone tell you B Town can’t throw down cause that bill is ridiculous.

I recently spoke with Justin about the origins of Sunday Night Mass and what the future holds for Electronic Music in Burlington…

Wyllys: How long ago did you start Sunday Night Mass?

Justin REM:We started SNM in 1999 as a weekly event that ran from 1999-2007. We relaunched the series [on a] monthly [basis] this year and it’s better than ever. We’ve brought in some big names like Don Diablo, Doc Martin, Angel Alanis and AC Slater. This Sunday’s edition of La Riots is going to be a banger.

Wyllys: You also founded Nexus Artist Management. How long ago was that and what are some of the names on your roster?

Justin REM: I founded the company in 2002 with Chris Pattison and we are going on our 9th year. We’ve managed some great acts like Bassnectar, Simply Jeff and Mephisto Odyssey. We just started booking Angel Alanis so we’re excited about that.

READ ON for more of Wyllys + the World Party…

Wade Ellis Wilby presents Hidden Track Storytellers. This is a creative writing workshop for fiction and nonfiction stories & poetry inspired by music. This second piece was inspired by Dwight Yoakam’s Since I Started Drinking Again and is dedicated to the memory of Brad Robinson. Wade encourages you to get creative with the melody rather […]

Wade “Wyllys” Wilby shares a mix from his set opening for the Disco Biscuits at the Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, NJ back on May 8… I always jump at the chance to spin at walk in so I can play more eclectic selections. This mix starts with Hip Hop and moves into Ambient Breaks, Nu […]

Hello Interweb, So sorry for the long Wyllys and the World Party drought. I have been extremely busy planning my own DJ tour that I have neglected my column here at HT. But fear not, spring is here and lovers all over can rejoice over the music they love to fuck to the most….HOUSE! Its […]

Wade Ellis Wilby presents Hidden Track Storytellers. This is a creative writing workshop for fiction and nonfiction stories inspired by music. This first piece was inspired by Brock Butler’s song The Weather and the Wait.

I didn’t care to look at the broken LCD display on our now defunct stage clock. She’d been to one too many bars one too many times. She was just a souvenir now; A reminder that time was irrelevant. The last notes of tour were ringing out into the depths of my brain (thanks to the tinnitus) and Sarah was a scant 8 hours away from me. Nothing else seemed to matter now and I had no yearning for anything to matter the way it use to. It’s not that my reasons for getting into this whole mess have escaped me. In fact, they’re more real to me than they ever were in the beginning. I just never thought I would look back on my life and realize that the music was the easiest part of the journey.

The dorm room acoustic sessions that evolve to open mic nights that stumble into auditions that ramble into first gigs end up rolling down some hill in the universe somewhere and one day you wake up a musician. The kind of musician and the trail of destroyed relationships tend to differ from minstrel to minstrel, but make no mistake about it, at the bottom of the hill you will have a career and a laundry list of “what could have beens”. It goes with the territory. You spend so much time perfecting your craft you lose track of the world around you and usually, about a decade later, if the universe has taken you under its wing, you come to, and realize you have actual proof of all your hard work. It may be in the form of a discography. It may be in the form of rehab. One way or another your career is born.

Somewhere in that timeline came someone who believed in you and pushed you further down the hill. When that first person makes that first shove it creates a chain reaction of shoves, a domino effect of nudges that come with their own sets of ideas, responsibilities, and consequences. It is this shoving match that moves your mind further and further away from the music, no matter how hard you practice every day. Managers, accountants, publicists…all necessary evils to an end goal, but evils nonetheless. When I picked up my first Ovation in 5th grade (what a piece of shit that guitar was) I never thought I’d spend more time on the phone discussing the importance of playing Boston on a Thursday as opposed to NYC. I wish I never found out what a “major market” was. I wish I never learned a lot of things.

READ ON for more of this installment of Storytellers…

On Monday December 14th, The Cardinals lost their bassist Chris “Spacewolf” Feinstein at his Manhattan apartment. The cause of his death is still unknown. Ryan Adams announced his retirement earlier this year, thereby putting The Cardinals on indefinite hiatus. Often announced by Ryan from stage as “A Pro Rock Band”, Feinstein and drummer Brad Pemberton […]

My DJ Partner Lax Class just sent me this stone groove of a mix from AliOOft. It’s a Nu Disco and Re Edit saunter through some great old dance classics as well as some great tracks from 100 bmp legend Mark E. This is the perfect mix to prep the kitchen with and will most […]

Chicago, IL is the birthplace of House Music, and subsequently, the birthplace of Electronic Music. Sure, Tangerine Dream and Brian Eno were making synth based music before this, but nothing resembling the beats and rhythm patterns that make up current day Electronic Music as a genre.

House was a product of technological advancements in studio production gear. This process is what drives Electronic Music to this day. New synths, drum machines, and software are constantly evolving and the genre follows suit. The Roland SH 101 and the Roland TB 303 were the first synths that were used to create House. They were keyboards with built in sequencers used for looping, enabling the artist to lay a foundation for their tracks as well as a bevy of oscillators and filters. These synths were expensive and most of the youth in Chicago who spun records could not afford them.

So, in reality, House Music was born in the suburbs surrounding Chicago where to this day there is still a HUGE scene of kids producing and spinning House. This is part of where House got its name as well, being produced in houses all over Illinois. Others believe House got its name from the famous nightclub that hosted underground parties known as The Warehouse.

House combined elements of R and B, Blues, Disco, and Funk with a four-on-the-floor rhythm pattern. Producers sampled records from all of these genres whether it be the vocal take, a 4 bar sample of the beat, percussion, etc. After sampling, the producers would create their unique beats and breaks to make it House. Then all the elements were brought together and mixed in a sequencer. The tracks were influenced by mixing, producing and editing styles of DJs at the time. Larry Levan, Tom Mouton, and Frankie Knuckles are great examples of the House template and set the bar for all up and coming producers.

• Essential Mix: House – Frankie Knuckles Live at Pacha

READ ON for the rest of this edition of Wyllys and the World Party…

I usually have some form of download for you guys; some up and coming mix by the crate digging souls of this great planet. However, I felt that a State of the Union address was important to this column moving forward. We’ve all heard the age old saying that in order to conquer the future, we must first understand our past. In this installment of Wyllys and The World Party, we will give a quick history lesson to educate a generation of people who missed the rave culture at its peak, then move into the present day dance culture to try and understand where the future of dance music is going. School is in session. Grab your Roor. Put on some Aphex Twin…

The story starts in The Bronx on a set of belt driven turntables next to a pile of old funk records. In 1972 Jamaican born DJ Kool Herc had the vision to take these records and isolate the “break” or drum section and mix two records together with an archaic stereo mixer that had a cross fader which was significantly different from the Disco style of mixing at the time, which would just cross fade between two tracks once the original track reached its end. He then took these breaks from the same two records and mixed the two together creating what we all know today to be Hip Hop and laid the base for Turntablism as an art form. Spoken word, or “rapping” quickly caught on fire over these breaks and the MC was born. Grandmaster Flash and Africa Bambatta were two of the first to cop Herc’s style and push the genre forward with great success. Not only were these DJs making history, they were giving the youth of the ghetto a ray of hope that maybe one day, they could MC or DJ and find a way out of the projects for good.

READ ON for more of Wyllys and the World Party…

This edition of W+TWP comes from a genre near and dear to my heart…Ambient music. But this is no e-tard ramble through a Triton’s pad section. This is a bonafide Broken Beat & Lounge mix made for relaxing in the shade or making cocktails on the porch. Our DJ in the spotlight: Levi Jr from […]

We here at Wyllys & The World Party thank you for your patience. As most of you know I’m a transient DJ and Lighting Designer currently roaming the world in the name of Prog Rock and Beats – a nice segue into this episode.

I was scanning DJ-Mixes.com and realized we needed a Hip Hop installment with a quickness. I stumbled upon a domestic purveyor of urban sounds. DJ Digital Green started as a lighting tech at a club and decided that turntables were more of a creative outlet and started playing old school Hip-Hop, Techno, Trance and a little House. His lighting background earned him the nod this week, despite some shortcomings.

He is still a little….green around the edges but the intent is all there. This two part mix is a tight jaunt through mid to late ’90s Hip Hop interwoven with today’s Top 40 Rap fare. The tempo holds steady and the track selection is PERF for the Summer, which is why I chose the mixes. HOWEVER…our boy asks for some advice in his bio (shown below) so we here at HT are going to give it to him straight: Without tempo variation it sounds like one big Jock Jams jerk off session. Vary the tempo a bit and you are on your way to more natural sounding Hip Hop. Till then, check out these two entertaining and head-bob inducing mixes. Guaranteed to have the ladies shaking the goods.

Featured Artists: Arrested Development, 50 Cent, Tribe Called Quest, Nate Dogg, Kanye West, 2 Pac, and many other legends

• Dj Digital Green Top 40 & Hip-hop Mixes: Vol 1, Vol 2

READ ON for Dj Digital Green’s biography…

Welcome back for the third edition of Wyllys and The World Party. As most of you know, I am Wyllys, a DJ beyond classification of genre who plays vinyl all the time and nothing but. A few weeks ago, I had a four and a half hour performance at Summer Camp with my partner Lax Class.

The set could not have gone better, with Lax and I weaving in and out of every style of House and even found some time to remix Thriller and Psycho Killer. Keller Williams sat in Joni Mitchell-a-la-Last Waltz style, singing and doing mouth trumpet behind tapestries. It was an honor to have Keller sit in and I hope we can collaborate more in the future. Jake Cinninger of Umphrey’s McGee also sat in, ripping up some beat box over Miles Maeda’s House classic: Three Easy Pieces. Be sure to keep your eye on the Wyllys MySpace page for all upcoming dates.

In this installment of W+TWP we visit one of the Electronic Music capitols of the world, Montreal. Tiga, remix artist extraordinare, put together a mix for BBC radio that I snagged from www.newmixes.com. This mix is rooted in Techno, but also drops multiple styles of House. Tiga is known for his banging track selection and this mix definately stays in that vein. In this mix he drops remixes from such production giants as Plastikman, Depeche Mode, Moby, LCD Soundsystem, and MGMT just to name a few. Slick mixing and pinpoint timing make this hard mix as smooth as possible, and in turn, make our first Techno mix on W+TWP hard to out do.

• CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS WEEK’S MIX

READ ON for a list of Tiga’s outstanding production singles and mixes…

This edition of W+TWP features two DJ mixes by up and coming London stalwarts Future Thinkin. Though not new comers by any sense of the word, this crew is still on the rise in the production world with releases on their own imprint Future Thinkin Records as well as Infrared, J Majik’s longtime label. You can grab podcasts by the entire FT crew here.

These two mixes are hilariously titled The First Date and The Breakup. Both mixes highlight FT’s unique take on liquid funk that falls on both sides of the vibe coin (light/dark). FT had this to say about the mix: “Episode 1 was, deep and rolling, soulful and vocal, in contrast The Breakup is an altogether different animal! Think pain, think anguish, think brooding anger, but most of all, think quality BEATS!!”

This is quality, intelligent, flowing Drum and Bass that any fan of electronic music can get into. Perfect for rolling down the car window to show those joggers just how hip you are. Here are the track listings. I will not include any Wyllys Money Marks for these mixes, as every second is a highlight. Check out Shylo MC’s classy vocal stylings.

READ ON for the track listings, to stream the mixes and more…

Here are two fun facts about electronic music: 1) IT’S STILL AROUND 2) IT’S BETTER THAN EVER. But how would you know? If Justice is your gateway to present time beats than you have walked into a dead end street in Paris. Oops. But it’s OK. Wyllys is here to walk you out into the […]

The mythos of Rock and Roll is deep and entangling. A puzzle as sensuous as it is mystifying, the legend seems to grow as each person takes his or her turn trying to unravel what it means to them, to their lives and even further – to people as a whole. The more you dig for answers, the more you want to know, until you come to on a freeway towing a trailer full of used gear to the next gig that doesn’t pay wondering where the last ten years have gone. That’s right, junior…you belong to rock now. There’s no escaping it.

The Uglysuit – “Chicago”

But it’s not enough to want it. It’s not enough to have rich parents. It’s not enough to have connections. It’s not enough to know how to play music.

Sure. No band has ever really made it without at least one of these attributes, but these are all just part of the smokescreen. To truly forge your own voice, to truly get in touch with the spirit of it all, you have to completely disconnect from life as you knew it. You have to put the blinders on. No one can tell you shit. Not your beautiful girlfriend who probably saved your life. Not your parents who raised you and gave you everything, not your teachers, your elders….no one. The only thing that matters is leaving it all out there on that stage every night; nailing the changes and developing the sound. Life becomes those moments and thus imitates art, hopefully often enough to make a living at it.

Enter The Ugly Suit. Together for just four years, hailing from the not-so-happening Oklahoma City scene, these psychedelic warriors bang it out, night after night, forsaking it all for a sound that is anything but ugly. Tube amplified static gives way to thumping bass lines and raging chord progressions. There is a fine line between soothing and blistering and these gentlemen have found the balance. In an age of beaten down indie rock formats they pirouette between grandiose rocking peaks and cricket-like atmosphere that would make Brian Eno blush. The Ugly Suit is your hot, bi- polar, rocker chick girl friend that you just can’t dump because the sex is that good. READ ON for an interview with the guys from The Ugly Suit…

We would like to add to a piece from a few weeks ago. This article featured a mix from DJ Justin Thomas. His full name was Justin Thomas Pelc, as many knew him. If you haven’t snagged this mix yet, DO IT NOW. It is sure to thaw out your car or apartment for the […]

When I was “coming up”, as the expression goes, as a young DJ and Lighting Designer I had the opportunity to work with a very colorful cast of characters that have influenced me a great deal. The other day I was going through my extensive CD collection and found a House mix from Justin Thomas. […]

Just sayin…….

08/09/04 Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA
Set I: Chalkdust Torture, Bathtub Gin> Runaway Jim, Walls of the Cave, Loving Cup
Set II: All of These Dreams, Limb By Limb, Lifeboy, Crowd Control, Seven Below> Stash> NICU, Bug, Contact, Character Zero
Encore: David Bowie¹

¹ First Bowie encore since 11.16.97 and only fifth time in history

[All Setlists Sourced From Phantasy Tour]

06/29/95 Jones Beach Amphitheatre, Wantagh, NY
Set I: Runaway Jim, Taste, The Horse> Silent in the Morning, The Divided Sky, Cavern, Rift, Simple, Split Open and Melt, Carolina
Set II: Free> David Bowie, Strange Design, You Enjoy Myself, Acoustic Army, A Day in the Life
Encore: Theme from the Bottom

06/28/95 Jones Beach Amphitheatre, Wantagh, NY
Set I: Axilla, Foam, Fast Enough For You, Reba, Punch You in the Eye, Stash, Fluffhead, Chalkdust Torture
Set II: Sample in a Jar, Poor Heart, Tweezer> Dave’s Energy Guide> Tweezer> Gumbo, Sparkle, Suzy Greenberg, Harry Hood, Tweezer Reprise
Encore: Sweet Adeline, While My Guitar Gently Weeps

READ ON for more setlists from Phish’s last time through town…

Someone once said that History becomes Fiction in the very act of writing it down. When the Phish tour dates were finally announced I thought a lot about that quote and my recent position in life.

I find myself almost 30 and well on the path that Phish themselves sent me on almost 14 years ago. The upside is my career is everything I’ve ever wanted and I couldn’t be happier. The downside is I won’t be able to just run off and follow the impetus for my career in the music business like I use to. A new, younger touring generation will be filling the aisles this summer and that brings up, dare I say… bittersweet feelings. I feel there is a need for the veterans to address the new rats with where we went wrong in order to hopefully not make this Era of Phishtory as destructive as the last.

To You, the New Class of Phishtorians I offer these words of warning and encouragement. It’s great to see that Phish is still scoring young in the demographics and you will be finding a way to tell your parents you won’t be a camp counselor this year, but rather, discarding the trappings of The Machine and getting in your car to cruise the land of the brave and free (thank you Ween).

Here are some pointers from a guy who has been in the trenches, learned from said trenches, and now, am getting paid to live on a tour bus and see great music night in and night out. In short: These words come road tested.

READ ON for Wade’s three tips for post-Breakup Phish fans…