He’s The Greatest Dancer

So whenever I sit down to record an episode of this show fifty plus, it's it's not necessarily mapped out. There are times when I'll map out episodes and you go, Okay, I want some about this, this, this, and this certain subjects. At other times, it's just something can happen to me, or I had a discussion off camera somewhere and it's related to this, or it's completely just I I don't know I'm gonna say until I press the record button.

They're very specific.

I have songs on the album called Message from a latch Key Kid. If you know what that is, obviously, then you're gen X like myself. I wrote a song called officially a Senior It's is. I mean, they're very a auto biographical songs that I wrote for this album, and I was just like so, I kept thinking of my life and stuff and reminiscing, and I've seen a couple of friends where we were laugh monfy, good old days.

I watched it. I was watching it document I'm finished it. I gotta finish it.

But I was watching it documentary called Studio One Forever, and Studio.

One was a very famous.

Disco cloud here in Los Angeles in the seventies and eighties. I guess I'm partial nineties two. That's gone now, but it's it's it's all. It's documentary on it, and I'm still one years ago. A couple of times, like in the eighties, I did and I I I heard.

Of course it's it's It was one of several.

Uh.

There was there was Jewels.

Catch one's good documentary on that to you. Uh, there's the Odyssey. There's like there's places that the circus and plus the the the the the ones that catered to the straight or younger crowd. There was Maryland's Florentine Gardens. Some reminded me of another one. I'm like, I forgot about that one. It was a club.

Oh my god.

It then also not very farm had Cloud nine, uh, Vineapolis at Disneyland, like we had all our places we could go and they were all ages underage over rage access places you can.

Go and and dance and and whatever.

It was.

There was the eighties and I was I was about the dance, all of the music to dance, and I was just been missing about that, just going wow, like I mean you were to say, since everyone Sacramento, I was there for some of the opening of some of the some of the club is still there. I was there for the opening of them. San Francisco, there are a lot of places that are gone that were there club towns in ten fifteen, folsome. I remember it was in SCO. Recently, my friend Laurie, we drove by the

The Box.

The Box was like my favorite and played house music.

It was the bomb.

And I remember the Box of San Francisco started at a place called the Independence in the Western edition and it.

Was a small room.

It was ten tiny. There was every Thursday page. Hodel lad knew her legendary DJ and then she got a new space over in the South of Market, which is a bigger area, and it was still it was still Thursdays, but it was huge.

Room was huge.

They had a small room for hip hop. We used always called the ghetto room lovingly, and we go back and forth. I just I just remember, and they actually have boxes you could dance on, and I remember I remember once I finally got on a box, and that was a big deal that I finally got on a box. And I was like, I got on there, and we would go out and dance, I mean until I closed.

There you go.

We danced for three up to think we got there at ten eleven twelve, one to four hours straight dancing. Sometimes we drink, of course while we're there, but for me and my couple of friends that were big dancing people, we've sweat it out.

And I was thinking about this once when I was talking to friends Sebashion. We were taught the other day.

There were times I didn't go home drunk because first you were drinking the beginning, because you would get there, maybe the dance floor wasn't packed yet, and I to take got people on there, and you go on and we were just and you would so you'd have your drunks. Maybe you have a couple of drinks. I didn't down, so I didn't ever. I was there out there trying to get drunk. So I just would I just nice littleuzz So I would drink maybe one or two. We find our spot, wander around, so he was going to

There were times when I would leave.

Drens a cigarette and smell drenched drench a cigarette drenched in in sweat and smell like cigarettes be in my hair and there.

Oh.

I used to hate that as well, because I would go home take a shower right away.

Of course, when I got home.

I mean, right now, I'm talking to you, guys, I'm thinking of I'm being transported back to where my friends and I would always find a spot on the dance floor, an area where we have one because my girl Michelle always have a purse, so we have we have a spot in the dance floor and by thea where we have our drinks as we had table or something, a little area that's where we danced because I hate it being I hated bumping into people because I was serious.

So we would always be.

In corners by walls, but in the middle of it things were happening around us.

We also wanted people's watch.

Also at the same time, there were several back then, there were several clubs and bars that would have videos and sometimes the video they have video bars with a videos were the music. Maybe they played it it was loud enough to speakers were great. So a lot of times I want to watch the videos. I got a chance to watch videos.

So we always start say, stand by the videos.

By by the videos. We're watching the videos. We're dancing, having a good time. Oh my god. I mean, I as I'm smiling about this because I don't know if kids today have this.

I don't know if they have that anymore.

I just know for me, as I think back on it and I'm smiling, I'm really the feeling of just feeling free. I felt free the latest remix came out, you know, or an artist I love that song I love so much finally comes on. Every time you go to the club, you're like, okay, why don't they play these three songs?

I'll be good, all right.

There are eighty three songs of the moment, and sometimes there was a huge hit song. They would always play it early in the night, but nobody was there, so you would hear it. Then they'd wait till midnight, the top of the hour. Because there were a lot of times there would start the out they that was like that was like everybody's there by now it's packed as fuck.

Oh my god, it.

Was just like And I also looked at when people because a lot of times I just stand on the dance floor. You go get drinks. I'll pay you whatever, I get money whatever they would or we start a tab wanted to when some songs were lesser known or not as popular the dance floor, and they had to because they had to make money making drinks.

That's that's what they made money.

Because I'm talking folks would drink like then they would go off and it'd.

Be more rooms.

I could still get I like every songs. I can still get down, have a good time, have conversations. That's when you talk and you can catch up and make it really get your space together, because they like I could yees ago it just I just I'm just I'm like totally smiling right now, like this was such, it was such a a good time.

I liked clubs.

I went to bars out of necessity most of the time, but I was always I was very much a club person or a lounge person. And my heyday was the eighties, nineties, two thousands. I had a mini resurgence when I got to after a TV and I was hanging out with my guy Cameron, and I feel the people. I was a mini resurgence. My brother Max was alive. There's many resurgents.

Me and him. We would go.

But see, then we started doing bars, and we were going. We were doing where we were. We'd be in West Hollywood, and then I had two worlds. I'd be in West Hollywood going to Mickey's, the Abbey Rage, all those, but also the other part of West Hollywood. We go to the Belmont. Oh my god, there's another bar next to We knew the owner of Belmont. Actually, I want the end of guy. There's another place over there to I'm looking. I'm just blinking out right now, and it is.

And then we actually go up to Hollywood.

It's like this next street up going up to Holly and hit the Vipe Room and all these other places and and and uh and go dancing again, dancing usually still I'm bloking out some of the hotspots back then and then the two thousands, but I had like a mini resurgence with that and uh, and then I was at and I was like, okay, I'm good. I got to think I got to age fifteen. I was like, okay, I'm good with that. And I don't I don't want it now as in James today. But I missed the

Done do Ohio.

Do you remember we did Ohio?

I did in uh Richard, Virginia, in Hartford, Connecticut's demor in Iowa. And I've done those. Think we just Seattle too. I'm actually I can't remember if we did see how Denver. Denver's a place we did Denver. Uh love my work trips in the two thousands, we go, we always try my and my my friend and I would always try to have at least a couple of times where we see the city. Cause one of the things when people some people don't understand is when you travel a lot

And so we we were always trying. We're always trying to see.

These amazing locations that we may not get to see otherwise. So that was that was a that was a big deal for for us. We're like, no, we're gonna make sure we get to see some of these places and experience.

So, you know, some of these things. So that was that was a that was a big a point for us. We were like, we're gonna we're gonna make sure we do that. Uh. And so we get so I actually get to see a lot of the.

Cities that we used to go and do things with, which made different than just travel, travel, travel, I see anything. So that's pretty good. So I experienced, you know, New York. I know that, I said, I'm the ninety nineties New York. Oh my god, that whole scene, the tunnel and club. I would just go two thousand on Wednesday nights and and me just just just some oh my, got some more stuff. Because I look back on these things, and I'm talking specifically because I had several.

Lives I've done.

I mean I have, I've had several lives because I've also.

Done there's that scene. But I've also done the rock

James I, Junior, thanks for reminiscing with me.

And hearing a few of my My, My tame stories way back at fifty plus comes out every Tuesday. I'll talk to you next time.

Bye.