LOLLIPOP UNWRAPPED

My husband Allan and I traveled to New York where we were invited to PETER MAX's office for a private reception.  There we enjoyed seeing the inner sanctum of one of America's cultural legends.  I was absolutely thrilled to see so many large pieces of his work.  His collection of eclectic souvenirs included President Clinton's saxaphone, a full-sized fiberglass cow, a 6' tall soda pop bottle and the signed piano from 'Ringo Starr' all glowing in psychedelic colors painted by the man himself.

The best part of this experience was being invited into PETER MAX's personal painting studio by Peter himself.  He was warm and genuine as he welcomed me by shaking my hand and showing me where he creates his art.  He showed me his painting easels, brushes, paints and the DJ booth he has set up in the corner of the room.  TURNTABLES!  lol - apparently he likes to paint accompanied by a musical muse and has someone come in and keep the tunes going for him while other members of the entourage jam on bongos and other percussion instruments. GROOVY COOL!!!

"Not necessarily stoned... but beautiful" (Jimi Hendrix: 1967)

'The local teenage haunt in Norridge Village, Illinois was the Hub Axle. Known by most as the BEST ROLLERSKATING RINK EVER!  To this day, I've never seen a rink that could compare to it's size.  It was twice as big as it's closest competitor (Chicago's Rainbow Roller Rink on Clark Street) and it is missed and mourned by everyone who was a regular.

This mix reflects the most magical time in my life. This was when the seeds of the realization that I could mix records for a crowd were planted.  Weekdays existed to only fill the void between my next visit to the rink for a speedy whip around it's glorious wood floor.  We waited in long lines in 3 feet of snow to get into the Hub's disco roller skating on Friday nights and Saturday nights.  What a thrill!  The energy and heat that radiated from that place literally steamed up all the windows.  The fantastic lighting - awesome sound system.  Brilliant!!

I recently rented a DAT machine (very 80's) and transferred some old DAT's that had studio production on them from when I also did production.  I found a glorious medley I thought you would enjoy.  This one is all 1987 club hits that I was spinning at the time.  I now do digital editing and it's funny to think that I originally put this together on a Tascam 4 track by just overlaying vinyl records and using a razor blade and tape to physically cut and edit it together!  Oh my did it take a lot of time!!!!!  It's so much easier now.  I hope you enjoy it!

When the temperature drops - you'll be able to warm yourself with the blazing beats and sizzling hot vocals of my latest mix - Lollipop's Winter Solstice: Equinoctial Dance Mix 2.009.

This continuous dance mix honors the winter solstice which occurs at the instant when the Sun's position in the sky is at its greatest angular distance on the other side of the equatorial plane from the observer.  Worldwide, interpretation of the event has varied from culture to culture, but most cultures hold recognition of rebirth, involving holidays, festivals, gatherings, rituals or other celebrations.  Celebrating the winter solstice is an ancient idea older than written history.  The harvest was in yet it was not yet time to plant again.  People were stuck indoors with each other between two seasons of heavy work - the timing seemed perfect for a festival!  Early Egyptian and Persian traditions merged in ancient Rome into a festival for the god of seed-time, Saturn.  The people gave themselves up to wild joy - feasting, giving gifts and decorating their homes with greenery (sound familiar?)  

As the old year died, rules of ordinary living were relaxed. During the winter solstice festivals the usual order of the year was suspended: businesses, courts and schools were closed; grudges/quarrels forgotten; and even wars were interrupted or postponed while cross-dressing, masquerades and merriment of all kinds prevailed.  As Roman culture became more licentious, so did the celebrations.

It is in this joyous spirit that I created this mix which has all the hottest tunes that will be packing dance floors this winter.  Included are the season's essential remixers turning out some new pop flavors with absolutely ALL the dancefloor divas in attendance, seamlessly mixed into a frothy concoction to take you on a mystical musical journey. Enjoy!