Had dinner last night with pals Kittybeat and Michael Lynch to discuss our exciting new venture: POP GEAR! We are going to host and DJ our own swingin' dance party at Rififi, the nightclub at Cinema Classics in the East Village, on the second Saturday of every month, starting October 11. The uber-cool Phast Phreddie Patterson recommended me to the club, and I brought in Kittybeat and Michael because, in addition to being good friends of mine, they've got way more disc-jockey experience than I do, each having hosted a longstanding beat/psych/garage show on college radio. (Kittybeat's is still going, on WSUB.)

I'm so excited about this. It's going to be a blast to have the experience of being a DJ and watching people have a great time to the music I play. I've DJed in public places before—most notably at CB's Gallery, back when it was the CBGB Record Canteen—but never at a club that attracted such a dedicated crowd as Rififi, where people are serious about dancing and about mid-Sixties music. The club already has three very popular monthly Saturday-night mid-Sixties dances—Subway Soul, Smashed! Blocked!, and Freak Out—so our night rounds out the club's schedule. Here's the press release I wrote:

IT’S MID-SIXTIES BEAT’N’PSYCH’N’SURF’N’MOD’N’EVERYTHING’N’BETWEEN!
IT’S POP GEAR!

Calling all Sixties-pop fans! Starting Saturday, October 11, Rififi—home of such super shindigs as Subway Soul, Smashed Blocked, and Freakout—starts a new monthly dance night: POP GEAR! Admission is fa-ree, baby.

Behind POP GEAR! are three groovy Gearheads—college DJs Michael Lynch (who’s made some Sixties-style records of his own) and Kittybeat, both of them hosts of longstanding '60s radio programs, plus rock historian Dawn Eden—playing the most Frug-worthy mid-Sixties tunes from the U.S., U.K., and beyond.

Expect lesser-known numbers by hitmakers like the Kinks, the Small Faces, the Byrds, and the Zombies, plus loads of underground faves and one-hit wonders like the Remains, the Move, the Music Machine, Liverpool Five and Moving Sidewalks. And while Subway Soul is still Gotham’s R&B heartbeat, POP GEAR! reserves the right to spin pop-soul stirrers like Irma Thomas, Arthur Alexander, and Dee Dee Warwick.

So swing by every second Saturday and dress up—or dress down. This is an attitude-free affair where you don’t have to fret over whether your pants are pegged, your heels are Cuban, or your two-tone socks match your skinny tie. Just wear comfortable shoes and be prepared to Frug, Watusi, and (oh yeah!) Jerk the night away. And when you need a breather, just plop down in one of Rififi's cozy couches, enjoy one of the club's famously cheap drinks, and watch the groovers move against a video backdrop of Mod-era films.

POP GEAR! is at Rififi at Cinema Classics (332 East 11th St. between 1st and 2nd Aves., 212-677-1027) on Saturday, October 11 and every second Saturday, for six boss hours: 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. Admission is free.