Harmonizing Hearts and Minds 💜
Ammon's "what's happening" update — October/November edition
Happy almost Halloween! As a Bay Area native, I associate Halloween with the first rains, or the end of the Mediterranean-like dry season — what's now called the "fire season." I love the Bay Area in the winter and spring with the green hills and mild days.
As a gentle reminder, this newsletter is my humble attempt to nudge/cajole/entice you to spend more time sharing this life with other humans — ideally raising the spirits/meaning/purpose for all involved. I'm fulfilled when I see your smiling faces IRL. Make time for being social — it's good for your mind, body, and spirit! No excuses!
Ok, on to the music! Here’s a summary:
Thursday, October 24 (5-11pm): Love Bizarre happy hour in SF (free)
Saturday, October 26 (3-7pm): Love Bizarre presents Tony Humphries in the Bandshell (free)
Saturday, November 2 (5-midnight): Presidents and precedence — music and friends in Marin (house party)
New Mix from the fall equinox Rhythm Society event
Vote! And visualize a positive outcome
Read on!
Thursday, (10/24 - 5-11pm) is our monthly End of Day / Love Bizarre happy hour at Hawthorn, a beautiful speakeasy-style venue in downtown SF at the Montgomery BART stop. It’s a cozy spot, with ample comfy seating, and an incredible Void sound system that’s not too loud. This is a perfect spot to meet up with friends, have a drink, dance, and get home in time for a good night's sleep.
DJs this week are myself, new friend Vishnu, Jenegade, my longtime friend Laron, and our DJ padawan Mike opening the evening. Musically, expect laid back, soulful, funky, house music, with a sprinkling of Brazilian dance music (from me).
A quick story about Vishnu, who's DJ name is Lord Vishnu. I spent time in India as a young child and grew up with the stories of Hindu mythology. Lord Vishnu was one of the most intriguing characters, and manifest in almost every story in one form or another. AKA, preserver of the universe, Vishnu is the ultimate badass — flying around on his giant eagle Garuda, waving a Thor-like club with one of his four arms, he has the power to create and destroy reality. Being one who also has a ridiculous name (Ammon Ra — Egyptian sun god and ruler of the universe), it was fun to meet Vishnu and share a passion of world dance music. I invited him to play at a recent Rhythm Society event and absolutely loved his set.
Saturday, October 26, (10/26 - 3-7pm) Love Bizarre presents Tony Humphries at the Golden Gate Park Bandshell! Another DJ legend, Tony has been DJing professionally since 1981 and became one of the first DJ superstars in the early 90s. He's known for creating the "Jersey Sound," deep, soulful, and up-lifting. Love Bizarre's Jim Hopkins (Disco Preservation Society) will be opening, then Tony will play a 3 hour set. I'm really looking forward to hearing Tony again and would love to see you all there!
Great interview with Tony and featuring many of his classic songs
Saturday, November 2, (11/2 - 5pm-midnight) Tristan (more about him below) is hosting an "Election Eve" party at his beautiful home in Marin (near San Rafael). The theme seems to be a convergence of Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) and the symbolic remembrance of our once healthy democracy. It's sure to be a lovely event, opening with live band Grass Zeppelin (I think I can imagine what they'll play). Along with friends (Paulo? Gavin?) I'll be providing dancing beats Tristan and friends love — namely Latin, Afro-Caribbean, and Brazilian. As a purveyor of very high quality rhum, I expect there will be some tasty cocktails as well.
My longest running friendship (won't say "old," because we're still young at heart) is with Tristan Merman. We first found mutual, and slightly morbid, curiosity in a dead tiger shark at age 4. We attended preschool together, then later high school. Approaching our 50 year friend-versary sounds a little like an old married couple. An amazing friend, supporter, advisor, and all around lovely human.
If you'd like to join, please let me know and I'll share more details. I don't want to put the invite out in the world, as it will be wild enough without a throng of strangers.
I'll leave you with my latest mix from our recent Rhythm Society event "Away." I was asked to lead the music for this event and brought together some of my favorite DJs to channel the deep and powerful theme — recognizing the loss many of us have been feeling; the loss of parents, fellow community members, friends, jobs, and in some cases, the sense of self. Through acknowledging and sharing in community, the intent was to grieve together and turn our loss into joy. My set closed the night (3-4am) with my intention to bring the energy from deep tribal/grounding rhythms to a feeling of release and joy at the end. Pretty happy with the results. Would love to hear what you think!
That's all I've got this time! Jump into the chat and share any thoughts or suggestions (if you’re in your email, click the “comment” button below. I look forward to seeing you soon!
Much love,
Ammon
P.S., If you're curious what I'm doing, when I'm playing, when I'm available for coffee or a hike, I update my digital twin daily with answers. You can also just ask it to play a DJ mix of mine — twin’s choice. I also continue to add more depth around my love for music, community, creativity, and more. (click the links to jump in)