Audio By Carbonatix
Boasting a collection of over 8,000 45’s, you never know exactly what Sir Smeezy, AKA DJ Smite is going to bring out for his Hot Plate night ever first Tuesday at The Lost Leaf. The man’s vast collection spans genres from funk, salsa, punk and gospel, and all are fair game when he takes to the tables at the downtown beer spot.
Last night found Smite and conspirators DJ Grant (of semi-mythical punk band Grant and the Geezers and The Out Crowd) and DJ Monsoon Sound spinning reggae, dub and roots to a crowd of downtown scenesters and dancers.
The trio didn’t just spin platters, either. Each did classic dancehall shoutouts over the tunes, with Grant and Monsoon Sound taking to the mic to freestyle with guest Tony Culture, who schooled the crowd as Smite mixed and cut his vocals, adding liberal doses of classic dub echo.
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Personal Bias: I actually came to her John “Johnny D” Dixon spin, as he was scheduled as a guest but didn’t, and see if I could pump him for some Phoenix funk to feature in my Obscuro column. The vibe was beautiful despite my unrealized goal, and I’m sure future Hot Plate events will yield one of his sets in the future.
The Crowd: Roosevelt Row folks. None of the bro-dude reggae fans you would think would be into this thing. A Sublime cover band must have been playing somewhere else.
Overheard in the Crowd: “That’s Tony Culture. He’s a trip.” — Andrew Jemsek, when I asked him about the awesome fella freestyling.
