I drove past the spot where 212 Frankiln St. was located. Everytime that happens I'm transported back to the days between 85-87.
The Continental was my second residency. I held the Thursdays, and alternate Saturdays. The great thing about spinning vinyl at the Continental, I could do whatever I wanted. Owner Bud Burke gave me free reign. His only feedback after my audition..."Play with the lights more."
The crowds that were there, Goths, Punks, Shoegaze, Hip Hop, industrial...so many different people with different tastes. No one was pigeon holed into one specific sound. The energies flowing upstairs, from the dj booth, I'll always remember watching for signs when it was time to change things up.
It was also the only time I dj"d while sitting the entire night. The original booth was right on the dancefloor, we had to crawl up into the booth. There was one chair and a bench that stretched the width of the booth. We also had curtains, so we could completely close off access to anyone looking through the plexi that lined the top. I have stories.
No one was on their cell phone or snapping selfies for social media. Our social media were flyers, that's how you found out what was happening and where the crowd would be.
And the even better part? We were all there, experiencing something we all found in each other, week after week, after years. And the music I programmed...my goal was always to push the newest tracks and keeping the dancefloor packed.
Here's a mix I would have done on a Thursday, starting when we opened the door to upstairs at 11pm.
great story about past times, I'd have been there for sure.