Bootie LA, Los Angeles’ resident mash-up party, is committing felony assault on corporate pop music twice a month at Echo Park’s The Echoplex. The Bootie LA party is a psychedelic carnival of bastard pop pleasure. It’s not your average club night because no other DJ would spin next to a guy strutting and gyrating on stage while wearing a golden spandex full body suit underneath a neon green thong, along with giant orange sunglasses and a “My Little Pony” fanny pack.
If you aren’t familiar with the world of mash-ups, it’s basically taking the vocal track of one song and putting it over the instrumental of another. Biggie spitting rhymes set to Hannah Montana’s “Party In The USA”, Zach De La Rocha crooning over Daft Punk beats, and that ungodly annoying Katy Perry song suddenly made incredible thanks to a little Jay-Z.
The Bootie mash-up parties originated in San Francisco in 2003 by A+D aka DJs Adrian and Mysterious D. Mash-up madness has spread to thirteen cities on four continents and various places across the globe. The Bootie LA website even advertises a party in Helsinki. Dancing to Britney Spears paired with Metallica and sounding like a Devo song is going to be a great time whoever you are, wherever you are on the planet.
The Bootie LA party this past Saturday at The Echoplex was a special occasion because of the surprise appearance of French DJs Loo & Placido. Self-proclaimed electronic pop killers did exactly that while R.A.I.D. (Random Acts of Irreverent Dance) just looked and danced ridiculously on stage. To add to the spectacle the DJ duo look like the Sand People from Star Wars on ecstasy. Their appearance was a surprise because they were able to squeeze in a stop in Echo Park amongst tour dates in France, England, Germany, Spain, Turkey and Mexico.
Resident DJ Paul V and guest DJ ShyBoy also spun sets. I spoke with DJ Paul V shortly outside the club but unfortunately had to pretend I could hear what he was saying due to standing to close to the PA during a NWA song with Wings lyrics. The volume inside the club could rattle a baby loose so I would not advise pregnant mothers to attend a Bootie mash up party.
The musical composition of a mash-up becomes much more complex than simply taking two songs and putting them together in the hands of expert destroyers of pop like the Bootie DJs. The illegal art of mash-ups encapsulates everything I love about art. It’s accessible (through free downloads on countless blogs and the Bootie website), there are no boundaries or rules (70’s classics melded seamlessly with current radio hits), and it’s lot of fun (who doesn’t love to dance to a Cyndi Lauper keytar solo over “Smells Like Teen Spirit?).
The next Bootie LA party is at The Echoplex on May 22nd. There are also regular Bootie parties in San Francisco, New York City, Boston, Portland and Seattle.
Go to www.bootiemashup.com for upcoming events and downloads.