New York Night Train's Mr. Jonathan Toubin is taking New York's biggest and funnest soul music fueled d.i.y. dance party and contest - Soul Clap - back on the road this spring with a new host of local celebrity judges including everyone from punk legend Penelope Houston (The Avengers) to psych & metal frontman Dusty Sparkles (Danava, East End) to actor Brendan Sexton III (Welcome to the Dollhouse, Boys Don't Cry, Empire Records).Soul Clap started as a New York City institution and is now the biggest soul party in the U.S. and has brought excitement internationally from Tel Aviv to Mexico City.
It's a dance party for ALL, but with a short Dance-Off contest in the middle and a $100 prize. The door admission is dirt cheap (call it recession-friendly mass-entertainment).
The Dance-Off portion features judges from every edge of music and culture from classic subcultural icons like Mike Watt and Jello Biafra, to new sensations like MGMT and Monotonix, to cultural figures like Satanic Priestess Karla LaVey and Green Party Vice Presidential Candidate Matt Gonzalez.
The type of soul played is a new format that's raw, fast, and loud - not northern soul, breakbeat funk, mod, or other traditional retro night - lots of early 60s new breed r&b, mod soul, mid-60s boogaloo soul, and pre-funk (primarily from around 1962 to 1967) - heavy beats, distorted guitars, screaming, etc; a lively contemporary approach to rare old records from a d.i.y. punk.
DJ Mr. Jonathan Toubin is the man - not only spearheading the recent soul dancing resurgence, but also waging a successful war on nightlife in NYC - going into dance clubs and changing the music and going into rock clubs and getting people to dance for the first time in years.
Most importantly Soul Clap is an action-packed, fun, unpretentious good time.
Soul Clap Spring 2010 Dates
April 15 @ Chicago, IL: The Beauty Bar
April 17 @ Portland, OR: East End
April 21 @ Arcata, CA: Arcata Theater Lounge
April 22 @ Oakland, CA: The Uptown
April 23 @ San Francisco, CA: 111 Minna Gallery
April 24 @ Los Angeles, CA: thesex
April 25 @ San Diego, CA: Bar Pink Elephant