Mission Mission

Woweeee, 7 whole years! Here’s how DJ Purple puts it on the invite to Thursday night’s celebration:

IT’S HERE! 7 YEARS! Let’s celebrate the history of Dance Karaoke, born in the Mission, raised by Jack’s Club and YOU! And now going strong at Slate Bar!

Read our in-depth interview from back in 2011 for more on the history of DJ Purple’s revolutionary Dance Karaoke party (with photos from back at Jack’s). And if you were a longtime Jack’s regular and still haven’t made it out to the new show at Slate, now’s the time! Purple says it’s gonna be a fabulous reunion! (And you should probably get hip to the new Easy Song Search!)

Also, looks like DJ Purple is calling on all of us to celebrate #ThrowbackThursday by posting vintage pics from back in the Jack’s days all day tomorrow. Here’s one of my faves (by Vic Wong):

At his larger events, he says, DJ Purple‘s been running into the problem of having too many song submissions, too many unprepared singers, and too many people who put in five or ten requests and then bounce. And consequently too many people waiting long waits to sing. So tonight at Folsom Street Foundry he’s trying out a new system, one that promises to eliminate factors that lead to frustrating waits. I can’t wait to see how it works!

Also, the venue will have half a dozen movie projectors blasting DJ Purple’s lyrics onto every available surface, which should be awesome. Folsom Street Foundry is located just a short distance outside the Mission:

RSVP and invite your friends!

For more info on the DJ Purple experience, read our in-depth interview with the man himself from back in 2011

And if you’re most into the pingin’ part, the SF Berlin-Style Ping Pong League kicks off its spring season this coming Monday at the same venue.

We’ve been rabid fans of Candy for a loooong time, ever since we saw her absolutely nail “Super Bass” at a DJ Purple karaoke party at Jack’s, waaaay back in the day. (Candy does it better than Nicki Minaj herself, no lie.)

Anyway, her band, Candy’s Crush, is making their live debut right here in the Mission this Friday night (which is both Valentine’s Day *and* Mission Mission’s 7th anniversary) at Verdi Club, opening for the world’s greatest LCD Soundsystem cover band, North American Scum.

We asked Candy if she might be able to give us an idea of what to expect, and she was like totes:

What’s your #1 musical influence?

Prince. Musically and lyrically, he is everything I want to be.

What’s your favorite part about being onstage in front of an audience?

There’s nothing better than being onstage. Personally, I live life pretty much entirely to entertain myself, and if, by doing so, I can entertain other people as well, I feel very satisfied.

How’d you put together your band?

Keith (our bass player) and I started this band after having a conversation about our mutual love for Chaka Khan. We wanted to do something funky that would get people to dance. At the time we were also in weird places with our love lives, so naturally starting a band sounded like a good way to get all the girls/boys. (I’ll put that to the test at our first show!) After that, we eventually recruited Koop (drums) and Rich (guitar) so we could have the sexiest band ever.

How do you feel about Valentine’s Day?

My 5th grade boyfriend bought me chocolates, a fake rose, took me roller skating and made me a mix tape for Valentine’s day (which included Blackstreet, No Doubt and Queen). It finally occurred to me in recent years that Valentine’s Day would never, ever again be so good. Instead of ranting about it, I prefer to use this holiday as an excuse to be with good people, get down on the dance floor and (hopefully) get some action. What more could anyone ask for?

Amen! Get advance tickets (since they’re cheaper than tickets at the door) and RSVP and invite yr friends!

Let’s start south and work our way north…

The Knockout, as it often does on NYE, has Teenage Dance Craze starring the legendary Russell Quan. Expect some Beatles! RSVP and invite your friends!

Virgil’s Sea Room becomes Virgil’s Soul Room with a little help from the Hard French crew plus Wam Bam Ashleyanne! Plus, El Rio will probably be doing something cool too, so we can all hop back and forth real easy. RSVP and invite your friends!

The Business are doing their first ever New Year’s Eve  show! If we’d rather laugh than dance, this may be the way to go (though there’s also a show on the 30th, so we could definitely do both). RSVP and invite your friends!

(Btw Ashleyanne is doing her girl groups night tonight at Elbo Room!)

Slate’s party has some Miami Vice shit going on on the poster. What more do we need to know? RSVP and invite your friends!

(Btw this Thursday at Slate is DJ Purple’s birthday, and it sounds like it’s gonna be a real banger!)

Finally, on the off chance we’re willing to travel a couple blocks outside of the Mission, there’s this Talking Heads-themed party, at this new Folsom Street Foundry place we keep hearing about. RSVP and invite your friends!

AND it’s also a final farewell party for Mission legend Isaac Fitzgerald:

Yes! We will be here for you Thanksgiving Thursday! All of you who are in town, desperately looking for where to go to escape your families or burn off all the calories you just ate, look no further!

Plus this is your last chance to say goodbye to Isaac Fitzgerald before he gets on the plane to NYC at precisely 2:01 AM!

Dance Karaoke with DJ Purple, fabulous singers, great company, top-notch drinks & the best pool table in the city!

Visit http://djpurple.com/ for more information and the “DJ Purple Dance Karaoke” songbook!

RSVP and invite your friends and loved ones!

[via Ellen Black]

Karaoke and ping pong are my two favorite things, so I’m very excited about the next few days!

First, DJ Purple‘s regular Thursday night Dance Karaoke party at Slate is tonight:

Second, Singin’ & Pingin’, which combines DJ Purple’s thing with Berlin-style ping pong, returns to Verdi Club on Saturday night:

And lastly, the SF Berlin-Style Ping Pong League kicks off its winter season this coming Monday, at a very SECRET location:

First there was the time Lou Reed starred in a Supreme ad which was plastered on the Valencia Street Art Wall:

It promptly got defaced:

Then there was the time local gaming historian David Enos hipped us to the 8-bit classic “Lou Reed’s Street Hassle“:

Possibly my favorite was when we spied Lou Reed in the lining of a purple raincoat at Thrift Town:

Oh man, and then there was Doc Pop’s siiiiick animated GIF of a bunch of Lou Reed stencils:

Seeing him dining at St. Francis Fountain was pretty cool:

And finally, last Halloween, a nice little Frankenstein joke on the Faye’s chalkboard:

(Me and my family performing “Sweet Jane” at Thanksgiving 10 years ago was not on Mission Mission.)

Lou Reed rules!

Whenever Halloween falls on a weekday, such as a Thursday this year, there’s always some uncertainty concerning the proper time to celebrate.  Purists dress up on the actual day, some people choose the weekend before, others the weekend after, and some determined folks just decide that the whole week is Halloween and go, “fuck you, imma treat myself” while they come to work in costume every single day.

Luckily for those looking to get an early start this weekend, there’s a double dose of Halloween dance parties this Saturday!  If darkness is your forte, head over to Smithfits at the Knockout:

SMITHSFITS is back for our 3rd Halloween costume contest. $100 for first place. Drinks for second place.
You can scroll through the pics from two years ago here.

Selectors, Josh Ghoul and Victor Cuevas (LA) will be playing all your favourite SMITHS and MISFITS records all freakin nite long!

If you’re just looking to get down and dirty, check out The Devil Made Me Do It at El Rio:

Two costume contests with cash prizes: Best Devil & Best Overall Costume!
Smile and show us some fang in the Monster Photo Booth by SHOT IN THE CITY!

+ Performances by your spooktacularly malevolent ghostess LIL MISS HOT MESS!
+ Live creepy covers and Monster Mashes from MAMMOTH STRIFE!
+ Devil Babe & Boy GO-GO DANCERS from RED HOTS BURLESQUE!

All vinyl, sextacular Girl Groups, Soul, Psych & Garage by:
+ DJs BLOODY BROWN AMY (Hard French)
+ JACKIE “SHEER TERROR” SUGARLUMPS (Web of Sound)

The best part is that they’re right across the street from each other, which means you can go to both!  So, it looks like we’ve got your whole Saturday planned out for you!  Start with some rad live music at the Clarion Alley Block Party, then head on over to DJ Purple VIP Dance Karaoke, and finally finish your night with a double dance party in La Lengua!  Just try not to wear a Breaking Bad costume…

In addition to his weekly Thursday night party at Slate Bar on 16th Street, this week DJ Purple is trying something new: “VIP Dance Karaoke party” in a location somewhere in the Mission from 5-9pm on Saturday evening! Here’s the deal:

The perfect way to kick off your Saturday night!

DJ Purple, the award-winning originator of the Bay Area DANCE KARAOKE phenomenon, has been perfecting his very unique brand of party at venues throughout San Francisco and the region for years, and now it’s your chance to experience Purple Power as a VIP! DJ Purple is hosting a VIP Dance Karaoke event, limited to twenty-five singers in an awesome private clubhouse in San Francisco’s Mission District. You sing more! Others sing less!

Serious singers only! Get tickets here. RSVP and invite your friends here.