Tea with sg

Justin introduced himself to me when we first met. It was very strange and uncomfortable for me. You know those moments you remember every detail of, like you can replay and feel the entire thing in your mind? I was DJing every night at this point, but it was early days of my becoming some version of a respectable dance music DJ. I know what club it was, but I don't know which iteration of it, like one of those spaces in Meatpacking that changed names every year. I was hanging, and went to the DJ booth to drop my bag, which was just kinda DJ etiquette that one DJ would watch another DJ's gear. And so I kinda abruptly went to the booth and dropped it without interrupting the guy. But Justin turned and introduced himself, and I felt like such a fucking jackass entering his booth like that. He'd never remember this nor describe it this way, but I really hated myself at that moment. It just wasn't the way I wanted to meet someone I looked up to. I called Eli Escobar the preeminent NYC DJ, but Justin Strauss is singular in his position. His first residency was at the Mudd Club in the early 80s, and he's DJ'd NYC consistently, and on the highest level, since then. He's the DJ's DJ. He's like the guy we all look at to do right by. I remember when I got to book Justin at my parties was a cool surprising moment. It seems obvious that I'd eventually play with him, but it was validating to me. I always thought of him as someone far off, like cooler and more credible than me. Getting to know him over the years has taught me a lot, his humility and sincerity. I love looking at how much he loves what he does. It makes me love it more. On another less sentimental level, the music he releases is always just the perfect dance floor tone. Right now, he's got Each Other, Extra Credit and Trading Places. That's in addition to Whatever/Whatever, A/JUS/TED, Milk & Cookies and man, I don't even know, he's got a lot of music to dive into. Honored to have him on here.

Eli is NYC's preeminent DJ. Period. For dance music that is, of course there may be other genres other people I've never met care about. There's been others in the past, but it's been him for a minute now. I think Francoise K and Danny Krivit had times. I see my next guest, Justin Strauss, in this other category, he's always been someone I look up to as creating the situation I've enjoyed, but it's like Justin never required the attention. Eli doesn't ask for any attention either, but he gets it. He tells us the story of Tiki Disco, humble random beginnings turned into NYC's best known party really of the decade. He's got his long desired Eli all night long residency now at House of Yes. Welcome addition to NYC dance music calendar after Francoise's Monday Cielo ending. I planned to actually post Eli as my first DJ episode, born and raised NYC DJ, but I wanted to wait until Sunday, so I swapped with Scuba. Sunday, May 24...if I were in NYC. I'd be at Tiki Disco. So cue up one of his mixes after you listen, and pretend for a bit.

Scuba @scubaofficial has always been an artist project that stood out to me. Since early days of listening, I've been aware of the artist as an actual person, who runs a label (Hot Flush), and uses Twitter to share perspective and info on the life of a DJ, industry goings on, general ideas. I've related to him from afar in many ways--shifting musical genres over time...dedication to club life while also managing real life stuff...and speaking his mind openly despite controversy. I've seen all of that as fearless and active, it made Paul someone I've looked up to and respected for a long time. Getting to talk in depth with him was a treat, especially when I got to share some tea knowledge with him at the end. I encourage you to sample different eras of Scuba's music. The tasteful dubstep. The hard and fast. The club anthems. The house-y. Lots more. UPDATE: Great thread by Paul: https://twitter.com/ScubaOfficial/status/1264111038041120768 

Mariana es una revolución! Tambien ustedes quien vieron su película Ema saben que Ema es un revolución, pero Mariana es un GRAN revolución real! Mariana is the star of Pablo Larrain's latest Venice Film Fest premiered, recent Mubi (shout Mubi Library debut today) quar treat previewed film Ema. I watched it and told everyone it was non-linear. It's not. It's completely chronological. I just got that swept up in Ema's revolución (check link for full dance music video, Nico Jaar did the film's music). There's really never been an on screen character like the one Mariana and Pablo created. I can't wait for y'all to see it. I say the real life Mariana is more than Ema because, as we speak of, she's a leader not only in Chilean cinema, but she's a legit on the ground activist. Her activism reminds me of the best on the ground Ferguson reporting. Mariana is often the one taking those viral videos of the subway protests. She then goes on IG stories and explains what's going on. Writes eloquently on the situation. Connects her community around the causes. Larrain wrote Ema as the metaphorical sun of her cinematic universe, and I see Mariana similarly in real life. You'll see her energy here. I kept her laugh in the beginning because her speech is such a vibe. Major thanks to @biancallen for joining us and helping me not butcher Mariana's beautiful Chilean Spanish.

Ellery is one of those artists who as soon as I learned about him I just wanted to know. I'm really happy to say he (along with his partner Ebony Hoorn whom will be featured next week) has become friend. I've had the pleasure of sharing tea, meals, drinks, shows. Ideas. The guy is full of them. Every aspect of his existence if felt and thought out. He really. lives by doctrine I respect and follow, of examining the day, and making it exactly what you choose it to be. His experience as an artist has touched more aspects than most, his perspective as broad as his tastes. This is a cool follow up to Preservation Hall episode, because his band Lost Under Heaven are pivoting to a patronage model. We get deep into that. He tells stories from his artistic beginnings with WU LYF, to blockchain collabs, to everything coming next.

I met John Thorne exactly three years ago (yesterday, but I had another Twin Peaks episode ahead of it) at the Twin Peaks: The Return world premiere in LA. It was possibly the best night of my life. In 1993, John, along with Craig Miller, cofounded Wrapped in Plastic, the first (and IMHO best) TV fan zine ever, on Twin Peaks. I was an avid reader of that and John's compendium book. Apart from letting me pick his brain regularly, John introduced me to the Reber family, current occupants of Laura Palmer's house. Visiting there was one of the most special experiences of my life, especially learning how wonderful the family is. No spoilers, but they play a legendary role in the series. "She's dead. Wrapped in plastic."

Bob and Laura Antone are actually named Bob and Laura and actually from North Bend, the shooting location of Twin Peaks. I was lucky to meet them in the Summer of 2017 when I visited the site weeks before the finale. I met them by chance, they asked me what I was doing there, I told them, and that moment I was lucky to have met THE local authority on all things Twin Peaks since the beginning. Die hard that I was, I never knew all of the local legend that paralleled the narrative and themes of the work. Laura, being indigenous, goes deep into her family history, how the land and people have evolved over time and how conflict has shaped them. These are really rich, beautiful stories I'm so happy to receive first hand. Read their book to learn much, much more.

You probably know him as Mike Nervous, I know him as Uncle Michael. Nervous Records is an institution. 20+ years of consistent dance music releases and club nights, hasn't slowed down once. We talk about what that looks like today, what's going to happen next. We talk about the need for flexibility, how he can keep Nervous going, keep employees paid, because when club nights go away, there's increased streaming, and t-shirts, and more. Everyone has to think about this now. https://www.nervousnyc.com

Don Mei is the most charismatic person in the tea world. IMHO. Check his YouTube videos (after this episode of course), they are engaging and informative, both a wonderful introduction into the tea world and not only the detailed in depth knowledge, but explorations you don't see elsewhere like his trip to Tongmu (which we talk a lot about). Find everything on www.meileaf.com Also, order from their site and use code 'glass20' for 20% off! I recommend the new Long Jing green, and the two custom roasts we speak of on the episode.

The Book of Tea by Kakuzo Okakura. Weekend reading. My favorite intro to the world of tea. I love learning of the symbiosis of ideology and practice. This is how we decide how to live.