Tuesday, April 27th

Milwaukee Mayhem!
Ok, I know this site is ChicagoPride.com, but I’ve got a few words about my recent trip north of the border – the Illinois border that is. Besides as much as we see Wisconsin folks down here in our great city, we might as well show them a little bit of love every once in a while.

Now it really wasn’t mayhem, but it was a darn good time. During the first weekend of this month called April I was up in Milwaukee for two purposes. The first was on Saturday, April 3rd, to attend the Make A Promise dinner, which benefited the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin. It was quite the nice affair that featured Chicago’s own Sauci Bernaise in performance and Milwaukee’s DJ John Murges deliciously serving up the dance beats afterwards. Sauci and her crew of dancers did Chicago proud up there in Cheeseland. Later that night we all headed over to Three Nightclub for a VIP party. It was mostly a straight crowd there but it was fun fun fun! We were treated like royalty (as all Chicagoans visiting Milwaukee should be treated) in the VIP lounge area and heard some banging house music provided by the resident DJs Jessica and Nate. Initially I thought they were skilled Chicagoans manning the decks it was so good as they both had a serious groove going on.

The next night – for the second purpose of the trip - I got to bang out the beats from the DJ booth at Three as I was the guest DJ for PUMP!, “the hottest Sunday night in Milwaukee.” Not quite the atmosphere you’d find at Crobar Chicago or Hydrate Chicago for that night of the week, but it’s a really great way to close out a Milwaukee weekend. Be sure to check out Three, especially for PUMP! on Sundays, if you’re ever up in MKE.

Big Thanks!
First, thanks to all of you who came out to Crobar on Easter Sunday for “LAID: The Anthem Easter Egg Party.” (view event photos) It was a nice turnout and a very fun night that was sponsored in part by ChicagoPride.com. It was way cool for me to be part of the line-up of local DJs (along with Luis M and Greg Drescher). As you may have gathered from my last column, I believe it’s crucial for local artists and DJs to have a chance to showcase their abilities. Crobar Chicago provided the venue for that holy weekend and the support flowed in from you the public. And based on the smiles on the faces and sweat on the dancing bodies, fun was had by many.

Secondly, thanks to all you reality show fans who came out to the Real Deal Chicago event at Sound Bar this past Thursday. (view event photos) Lots of food and complimentary Grey Goose vodka drinks helped keep the place lively throughout the event and it was interesting to see some of the reality show folks live and in person instead of on a small TV screen. I so much enjoyed providing the soundtrack for the event from their state-of-the-art DJ booth with it’s $6,000 Allen & Heath V6 mixer. That thing, along with the entire sound system at Sound Bar, is sweeeeeeeeeeeet! I also enjoyed meeting and chatting briefly with the very handsome Chris Beckham from the cast of MTV’s “Real World – Chicago.” What a sweety. Congrats to Todd Krim and the Reality Cares Foundation for a successful inaugural event which benefited the AIDS Foundation of Chicago.

The Future!
DJ Tracy Young, RKM, and the Queer As Folk – Future Babylon Tour hit Chicago this coming Sunday, May 2nd, at Crobar Chicago. This being the second time around for the QAF tour, I expect it to be a raucous dance party affair. Advance tickets at $20 a pop are available at Ticketmaster. Also be sure to check out my interview with RKM.

Free Stuff!
Don’t forget, we have a CD Giveaway going on right now at ChicagoPride.com for the month of April as we kick-off our partnership with Borderline Music. Enter for a chance to win the new Casey Stratton CD, Standing At The Edge. I reviewed this CD last month, and basically this is a keeper for your CD collection.

New Stuff!
Here’s something of interest for those of you looking for a mid-week after work groove affair. Starting on Wednesday, May 5th, it’s Mamby at Moonshine, 1824 West Division. It goes from 5 pm – 10 pm and there will be food and drink specials. Joining resident DJ John Simmons for the first edition of this every other week affair will be Hipolito Sanchez and the legendary Derrick Carter.

And what’s this I hear? House music and hip-hop on Halsted Street at Spin Nightclub the first Saturday of each month (May 1st this time around)? With ChicagoPride.com’s own DJ Peter Mavrik controlling the booth along with DJs ST1 and Stoney? Sounds like a winning proposition to me. Anytime there’s thinking outside the box in Boystown, I’m all for it!

And for those of you who like your house music and hip-hop on more of the secretive side, Sundays at Zentra may be the space for you.

“Toxic”-ology Report
Britney Spears, who injured her knee in concert in Moline, Illinois recently, called our local pro football team, Da Bears, seeking treatment. They thought it was a joke at first, but she eventually got what she needed from the Bears’ trainer and team physician.

Tid-Bits!
The first studio album from Frankie Knuckles in seven years was released last week. Titled “A New Reality” and on the Def Mix record label, it's a combination of house and R&B. Collaborators include Eric Kupper, Nikki Richards, Satoshi Tomiie, Ce Ce Rogers and Jamie Principle.

Where Are The Now: Former ChicagoPride.com Music Editors Chris Eterno and Greg Drescher will be manning the decks at Hydrate Chicago this week on Wednesday and Saturday, respectively. Be sure to go by and show them some love.

Kaskade – who’s originally from Chicago – has a new song called “Steppin' Out” that as named Track of WMC (Winter Music Conference) by Urb magazine. The single is to be released on OM Records this week.

Victor Calderone has remixed Beyonce's “Naughty Girl” and “Lola's Theme” by The Shapeshifters for Positiva / EMI. His own single, “Resonate”, is coming out on the Statrax record label in May.

House-heads get ready! May 13th at Sound Bar it’s Francois K and Derrick May.

Circuit-heads get ready! May 18th at a record store near you including our partner Borderline Music it’s Peter Rauhofer’s “Live At Roxy 3”. (DJs you’ll be able to get your hands on the vinyl May 4th.)

Pop-heads get ready! July 2nd at the Tweeter Center it’s Christina Aquilera.

Congrats to Chicago’s DJ Heather. She was the featured artist last month for DJ Magazine’s covermount CD series. There was also a nice little write-up about her.

The Boom Boom Room is returning. With DJ Lego and DJ Michael Serafini, the new home for this former Monday night clubbing staple will be the Green Dolphin on Webster.

Comments? Questions? Need more information? Check out www.djplez.com or email djplez@aol.com. You can hear DJ Plez at Ezuli on Mondays for the Recovery Supper Club (6pm – 2 am).