Earshot Boombox

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Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Mixtape: Roger Riddle - Big Love

Almost a year later, I take a second look at my set from Big Love.


Almost a year ago I played a sustainability festival in Akron called Big Love. I built a set that focused on drums and percussion because I was going to be playing along side Elec Simon, who would be live drumming over the mix. 

Elec is an incredibly talented guy. He toured with STOMP! for 10 years. Then he came back home to Northeast Ohio and began working on a anti-bullying porgram because his best friend growing up committed suicide due to bullying.

He goes into different schools and teaches percussion classes while sliding in an easy to digest anti-bullying message. He has become a mentor to many kids in the process.



So the guy is seriously busy. In fact, when the day came for us to perform at Big Love, he had just gotten back home from Toronto the day before. He was there playing the NBA All-Star game weekend as part of the three-point shootout entertainment.

So, with all that in mind I had to be on my A-game. We had only played together once before and that was an impromptu set at Mighty Soul Night. Mighty Soul Night is a night of funk, jazz, latin, soul, and afro-beat spun by DJs with live drummers. It takes place every 4th Friday at Uncorked Wine Bar in downtown Akron, Ohio. The night I met Elec, I just happened to be DJing a guest spot, and he just happened to come in after being invited to come hang out with a friend. We hit it off.

So I came up with a set that I thought Elec would be able to work with. I practiced and I recorded those practice sessions so I could figure out my mistakes and tweak the session where it was needed. When I was satisfied with it, I shared the final practice session with a few close friends. Then I got ready to play it live.

The set turned out to be beautiful. However, I didn't record it so all I had was those recordings of my practice sessions. I recently took another look at the tracks from that day and started to play them again. I realized that I really liked this set. I added a track. I took one away. And then I hit record and here it is. It's not perfect, but it is still a fun listen. I hope you enjoy, and more importantly I hope you dance.

The track listing can be found after the jump.



Bill Withers - Let It Be
Herman Kelly & Life - Dance to the Drummer's Beat (Jim Burgess 12" Mix)
Barry White - Your Sweetness Is My Weakness
Third World - Now That We Found Love
Ben Westbeech - So Good Today
Nas & Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley - As We Enter
79rs Gang - Drama
The Beginning Of The End - Funky Nassau, Part 1
Michael Jackson - Wanna Be Startin' Something (Roger Riddle Big Love Re-edit)
Rick Wilhite - Drum Pattern & Memories (Moodymann Mix)
Eddie Kendricks - Date With The Rain
Héctor Lavoe - Mi Gente (LOUIE VEGA EOL REMIX)
Todd Terje - Strandbar (samba)
Sonzeira - Bam Bam Bam [feat. Giovanca]
Kashmere Stage Band - I Wish (Todd Terry Remix)
Kaori - Good Life (Good Vocal Mix)
House Of Gypsies - Sume Sigh Say (MAW Remix)
Salomé De Bahia - Outro Lugar
Portinho - Batumata
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band - Ain't Nothin' But A Party

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