Frank Del Rio 50 th B-day

A couple of weeks ago I went to Circus for an invite only b-day dinner party for legendary LA DJ Frank Del Rio.

Del Rio's DJ sets in the mid 1980's to 1990's at Circus Disco where he was the resident, as well as many other locations, were what helped shape DJ mixing styles and programming for many DJs.

He was one of the big name DJs that was both illusive and ubiquitous as only the best DJs are.

In high school I would hear about how he blended this song or that. After school I would run home to try to do the mix myself, if I even had the records. All us high school DJs, at that time, were in awe of him. To run into him, at Exodus Records in Montebello or at his record Cut Above Records on Melrose, was like bumping into a celebrity. Any record he said was cool, we would buy two copies. He was also one of the first remixers to come out of L.A. and was one of the first Latino names we got to see on the records us DJs were buying up in stacks. He let us know how far this DJ thing could go.

Of course there were other DJs we looked up to like Poison and Nemesis, but Del Rio was a resident at Circus and only the best DJs played there. Martin Rodriguez, Victor Flores, Henry De La Pe~a and Del Rio were the big four in our parlay. They set the standard for what a good DJ sounded like from spinning at Circus. To be honest us youngsters only heard mixed tapes or heard stories from people who were old enough to go to Circus.

The first time I heard Del Rio was at a 'Rock of the 80's' at Pico Rivera Sports Arena. He plugged in a reel to reel and started off with the theme from "The Twilight Zone." The rest was a seamless mix of pieces of songs I knew mixed with a lot stuff I didn't. Mind blowing, but I didn't know what the reel to reel was for.

Years later I heard him at The Red Onion in West Covina on two turntables. The night was going ok, the earlier DJ couldn't gel the crowd. As soon as Del Rio got on the sound got better, louder and the floor erupted. He had two copies of "Knock On Wood" and was looping the opening drums going back and forth between the copies. Flawless.

Years later Richard and I invited him to judge our annual Power Tools DJ contest. We hadn't seen or heard about Del Rio in a while and were so stoked that he showed up. We were more nervous than the contestants. I don't even remember who won that year.

Then Frank Del Rio disappeared.

Rumors of him living in Tijuana, going Christian, dieing, hiding out, selling cars; spread and changed over the years.

He actually got a bad case of diabetes, lost a leg from it and at one point was in a coma.
With the growth of the retro disco parties thanks to Back to Disco and other websites, Del Rio has come back and hosted his own parties with his girlfriend Annie.

When I got invited to his 50th B-day party was like being invited to the big kid's table.

As I sat there and listened to people speak on mic for all to hear about their memories with Del Rio at Circus and as a friend, while he sat on the stage surrounded by his family it really was an LA history moment. This man with the help of so many other players, promoters, DJs, lightmen, and others had really touched a generation of disco dancers from mostly the Eastside of L.A.
He is our Larry Levan, our David Mancuso, our Nicky Siano. Those guys shaped NYC DJ culture, we got ours.
Thanks Frank.

Book Finally Available

"An Oral History of DJ Culture From
East Los Angeles" by Gerard Meraz

Master's thesis that documents the history of East Los Angeles DJ culture by interviewing several prominent DJs that were active between 1980-2004. Published in conjunction w/ A 30 yr. survey of DJ Culture from East L.A. at G727 in dwntwn Los Angeles, through Sept. 2008
Order your copy TODAY at
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"An Oral History of DJ Culture From
East Los Angeles"

MLK day

If MLK's dream were alive or had come to be, would we be at war?
... would we have free health care?
... would the Jenna Six not exist?
... would we have a national Malcolm X day too?
... would Leonard Peltier and Mumia Abu Jamal be free?
... would schools be free all the way to Phd.?
... would we have ever have had a Bush in office?
... would Oprah have Latino/as on her show?
... would black people have afros? ('cause the ones I see on TV don't)
... would Tupac and Biggie been killed?
... would we have ever needed hip hop?
... would humans be labeled illegal?
I hope you had the day off to think about these things and more...

Boyle Hts. Viejitos

I love my Boyle Hts. viejitos. At least the ones who get I to sit near at a restaurant when they are in a group and I am alone and can eavesdrop in on their conversations.

I heard about how during WW2 this veterano looked at everyone in the belly of the boat he was in and it was "Pura raza. We were the first to land and more than half were dead before we even got off the boat." There was a dead silence at his table that made me feel tears well up in my eyes. I looked sideways and saw they all had their heads down.

I heard how Al & Bea's was around before 1966, even though their sign says 'since 1966.' These two went on about all the other spots they loved to eat like The Hat, Philipe's, and The Pantry. Made me hungry!

I've heard sordid stories of sex in the pre AIDS world, eating steaks for 10 cents (no hormones), dancing at the Paramount Ballroom, Carpenter's Hall, All Nations and Kennedy Hall. The real veterano/as talk about the speak-easys, during prohibition, in downtown L.A. and the jazz and pachuco music they would hear.

They had some wild times. I try not to look at them and just imagine how they must have looked back then. As I leave I look and see missing fingers, the canes, no hair, humped backs, wrinkles and crooked stands, they had a good life. If we should all be so lucky.

Eastside vs. eastside CHINGAZOS

Throughout bloglandia there has been an upsurge in the battle over what is considered Eastside spurred on by a new rag, which will remain nameless here. This rag claims to reflect the views of 'eastsiders' in neighborhoods such as Hollywood, Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Echo Park and Downtown LA.

One word that all the discussions like here, here, and here have pussy footed around is RACISM/WHITE SUPREMACY.

This re-imagining of LA is fueld by racism/white supremacy. Yes there are and have been Chicanos or hi-spanics also claiming Eastide on the westside of the river, but racism doesn't just come from white toward people of color, in its most insidious form racism/white supremacy manifests in the minds and actions of people of color who agree with the lies and views of reality from a white is always right perspective. Think: dye blonde hair & blue contact lenses on a person of color and feeling safe around white people as opposed to your own people of color.
Blonde Asian?

How is this racist? Well when did the term come up in these areas? When there was enough white people in these areas lower middle class sections to make them feel they had a community. Up until then they were just a few gringos in the middle of brown working class areas. They learned the language shopped in the 'marketas' and blended in. Yes, there have always been white people in the hills high above Echo Park & Silver Lake and Los Feliz is primiarily white, but those folks don't worry about stuff like this, they got theirs. It is the ones who are trying to make a buck by labeling their area into a demographic to sell and to sell to.

Funny how these folks from the rag don't include Thai Town, Little Armenia, Korea Town or Philipino Town in their view of Eastside. uh maybe because there is not enough white people in these areas? Just like the 'Westside' does that include Mar Vista, the brown and black areas of Culver City? What about Palms? NO. Not enough rich white people there.

These terms and attempts to change cultural, social, political and plain old LA history is what racists do.

What about the dang Nayarit bar in Echo Park? Oh yeah we agreed to call it the Echo.

Folks blame immigrants for coming here and not learning the language and culture, but they are only doing what they see others doing. They move into our areas, once they get enough of them in, they start changing names, opening shops that only cater to theirs and stop trying to learn the local vernacular.
So it is.

East of...
...where you use to live?
...where you wish you lived?
...what you know?
...where you are comfortable?
...where you always go to?
...where you feel safe?
...where you always find and take a date?