Tuesday, May 18, 2004  

"There's a party goin' on in the 313."

Craig Le RoQ, "Christmas in Hollis"
Craig Le RoQ, "Party in Detroit"
Craig Le RoQ, "Bootie on Fire"
from A Very Badynee Christmas (Xmas gift, 2001)

I met Craig Casimer Badynee at Retro Image in Dearborn, Michigan, in 1992. I was shopping for an Xmas gift, and Craigers was sitting behind the counter rocking to some Luna. While I never cared for Luna, I loved Galaxie 500 and the two of us got to talking. Next thing you know I asked his band, Asha Vida---then called Caron---to open for our band, Veronica Lake, in Detroit. And the rest is history (i.e., Craig still makes great music as my dusty guitar gently weeps.)

Craig is now married to Missy, and they have two lovely little ones, Viv & Caz. But he still finds time to bring the pop in Pas/Cal---who sound a bit like Belle & Sebastian to most, though I know that Craig's primary loves are Marc Bolan, Syd Barrett, and Morrissey along with healthy doses of the first Mercury Rev album and plenty of OG hip-hop.

You can download Pas/Cal tunes from my post yesterday---and go see the band tonight in NYC at SINE-E---but today's music features The Other Side of Badynee. And there's no way in haggis that Stuart Whatshisnutz from B&S could get funky enough to produce anything even remotely similar to the tracks I've loaded up by Craig Le RoQ.

In addition to being a great singer, a fab arranger, a tite lyricist, and a rad guitarist, Craig is one mean motha of a DJ and MC. He grew up in the heart of Detroit---not the 'burbs; hello, Eminem, and eff you Kid Rock---and he was beatboxing and breakdancing long before he started rockin'. I'm pretty sure he had a hip-hop thing in high school, and he's messed around with rap tracks as long as I've known him. In fact, I think Craig has thrown out more good hip-hop tracks than most people will ever produce. But he's a perfectionist, so a lot of stuff never leaves his home studio---which is where he records everything, including the way-cool sounding Pas/Cal EPs. (BTW, you can buy the EPs from Pas/Cal or from Darla or from you local indie shop. They are recording their debut album now.)

Craig is also the DJ for MC EsQuire the Boy Who Invented Rap (that's them up top), and you can buy their limited edition six-song CD, which collects tracks that came out on 12-inchers in, like, Japan, at EsQuire's Web site. But the tracks I'm posting today are things you could only get as an Xmas gift from the Badynee family in 2001.

"Christmas in Hollis" is the Run-DMC tune redone Detroit styleee. Not only does it feature Craig Le RoQ on the vox, you've got MC Gus, Jesse Jess, and Missy Bumblebee rockin' the mic. But since Craig can't just do things the simple way---such as sample the Run-DMC version of "Hollis"---he went out and found all the original samples that Jam Master Jay used to create the song, resampled every one of them, and cut the tune from scratch. And it's so damn dope because of it.

"Party in Detroit" and "Bootie on Fire" are the Xmas CD's "bonus party tracks"---you know, for when the egg nog kicks in---and the songs remind me of coming home from middle school in the early '80s and watching the dance party on channel 62. Even to this day Detroit has a booty-bass scene---aka ghettotech---and on this locally produced dance show---like a low budget version of Soul Train---the music was ass shakin' at all times. All those moves you see the girls do in the rap videos today? The ladies did them to electro, rap and proto-house beats then. People would line up on two sides and the dancers would walk down the runway shakin' they sh*t. It made the music I heard on the Electrifying Mojo's epochal radio show Midnight Funk Association come alive. (Mojo is the DJ responsible for inspiring every early Detroit techno guy.)

Being a lifelong Detroiter, I know Craig remembers this dance-party show as well, and if the program was around today I'm sure it would play these two songs on heavy rotation. Check Craig's Prince-like vocals and Grandmaster Flash raps on "Party in Detroit"---kid is wicked. I really hope that---in between being a dad, working a full-time job, building a home studio, and leading Pas/Cal---he finds time to do more beat stuff. (Or just release stuff from the archives, Le RoQ!) Can you tell I love me boyee?

Break out the cardboard and bust a move in your cubicle.

Posted by CP | Link |

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