DJ Lotus – Dark Comes Early 101523

Here is tonights show for you to listen to.

Leathers – Highrise
The Black Queen – Secret Scream
Joy Division – Transmission (2020 Digital Remaster)
INXS – Black and White
Bob Moses – Round & Round
LM.ORG – Hidden Place Into A Forest
Brokenchord – CHRCH
always centered at night – transit
Liela Moss – Vanishing Shadows
Nocturnal Sunshine – Foundation
Hot Chip – Line In The Sand (Alt Mix)
Ladytron – City of Angels
††† (Crosses) – Light as a Feather
Sons of Magdalene – Hold on Hold Still for a Second
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Wolf (Boy Harsher Remix)
Leftfield – A Final Hit
Odonis Odonis – Passing Us By
Sigue Sigue Sputnik – Love Missile F1-11 (Ultraviolence Mix)
Air – Blade
ThxSoMch – SPIT IN MY FACE!
Creux Lies – I Wish I Was You (Twin Tribes Remix)
Depeche Mode – Rush (Spiritual Guidance Mix)
EKKSTACY – i walk this earth all by myself
Social Order – Boys
R. Missing – Falling Girl
Project Pitchfork – Rain
VNV Nation – Control
Love and Rockets – Kundalini Express
Front Line Assembly – Provision
Actors – How Deep is the Hole
Nine Inch Nails – Physical (You’re So)
Skinny Puppy – Dig It (12″ Anthology Mix)

My first “rig”…

I had been bugging the cover band the Hitmen to let me DJ with them for a few months. Up till then I had mainly worked at a mobile DJ company doing all kinds of events (even the Hands Across America event). The Hitmen would play for 40 minutes and a DJ would play for 20 minutes. It was at Maitia’s Basque restaurant which also had a full bar with a dance floor and stage. One Thursday there was no DJ. I saw my chance. I asked again…let me DJ and I will play the similar style music that you play and will not play any songs that you play. They were like will you help set up the PA. “Of course” was my answer. They said you start tomorrow (Friday).

Friday presented a problem. I was still a waiter at the Olive Garden and needed to give up that shift. A bigger problem was I didn’t have a DJ rig to use. I had a decent amount of vinyl but had way more CD’s as I had a nice home stereo and car stereo CD player so I went the CD route in the late 80s/early 90s when most were still lugging around crates of vinyl. Plus the DJ area was tiny…right next to the stage literally on the dance floor.

I took one of my milk crates (vinyl) and spray painted it black. I then went to Rent a Center across from the Ice House on Chester/W. Columbus and told them I needed to rent to own two CD players. They were confused on why I wanted two but they did it. I then went to Front Porch Music and talked to Artie and I think I didn’t have the money but after telling him the story up to this point he fronted me a Gemini PMX-25.

I stuffed the CD players in the milk crate and wired it up and had my first rig that I used for a decent amount of years. I had 2 skate boxes of CDs that I carried around which looked cool but was horrible on the CD cases. Later a friend Kat would give me another skate box so I was up to 3 skate boxes full of CDs.

I DJ’d that first Friday and made 150 bucks for helping to set up the PA and to DJ 20 minutes out of every hour starting at 9pm till 2am. I got free drinks and food too. I took my first two nights of pay and paid off the mixer and took the next weekend’s pay and paid off the CD players.   I DJ’d Thur/Fri/Sat nights at 150 a night. It was the easiest gig I ever had. I lived close to the restaurant so I ate there quite often. If you have never had Bakersfield Basque food you would not understand.

I still have a couple tubs of CDs and am thinking about getting another milk crate/cd players/gemini mixer and re-creating my first setup just to have it around. I have a spot in my DJ room where I could put a small table and set it up with some CDs.

Will DJ for Food!?!

I used to DJ regularly in Bakersfield/San Luis Obispo at any club I wanted to, and I even did guest spots in Santa Barbara/San Francisco. But now, after being away from the club scene for so long I have the itch to start DJing again. I’m starting to do some streaming sets to build up an online audience, but I miss the fun of playing in a club. Being in a new city where I don’t know anyone, I am starting over with networking. I’m putting out some feelers to get to know the other DJs and club owners/managers. My goal is to do 1-2 nights a month, just as a hobby. My dream gig would be to DJ a dark wave or new wave night at a club a couple of times a month, or even to be the DJ who plays the opening set before the bands come on/in between bands. I know I still have the chops to work a dance floor.

Halloween Playlist Catch Up

I have been slacking. I was going to add a new song every day. Well, here is a post to get caught up. Adding six songs to get caught up to 14 songs on 10/14,

The Cramps – Zombie Dance
Bauhaus – Bella Lugosi’s Dead
Misfits – Dig up Her Bones
Love and Rockets – Haunted When the Minutes Drag
Ministry – Everyday is Like Halloween
Siouxsie and the Banshees – Spellbound

DJ Lotus Flashback Mix 10/13/2023

2 hour mix of flashbacks. Normal time slot is Tuesdays 9pm Central for the Flashback Mix.

#Artist nameTrack name
1Violent FemmesBlister In The Sun
2MadonnaInto the Groove
3Frankie Goes To HollywoodRelax (New York Mix)
4Depeche ModePersonal Jesus (Holier Than Thou Approach)
5Soft CellTainted Love
6Romeo VoidNever Say Never
7DramaramaAnything, Anything
8New OrderBlue Monday
9Real LifeSend Me An Angel ’89 (Extended Mix)
10Duran DuranGirls on Film (2010 Remaster)
11Dead Or AliveYou Spin Me Round (Like a Record) (Rip It Up Version)
12Gene Loves JezebelDesire (Come and Get It)
13Midnight OilBlue Sky Mine (Remastered)
14Talking HeadsBurning Down the House
15Tom Tom ClubGenius of Love
16Simple MindsDon’t You (Forget About Me)
17AnimotionObsession
18David BowieFashion (2017 Remaster)
19The SugarcubesHit
20INXSNeed You Tonight
21Pet Shop BoysWest End Girls (Dance Mix; 2018 Remaster)
22The CureJust like Heaven
23Modern EnglishI Melt with You
24The B-52’sPrivate Idaho
25BlondieCall Me
26The Psychedelic FursPretty in Pink
27Jane’s AddictionBeen Caught Stealing (12″ Remix Version)
28YazSituation

Background Noize 10-12-23

DJ Lotus mix of darker/slower tempo/mood songs. Every Thursday Night 9pm Central.

I try to do a mix of older and somewhat current music. I am constantly looking for more music.

The Jesus And Mary Chain – Nine Million Rainy Days
The Agnes Circle – Porcelain
Joy Division – Decades
The Cult – A Flower in the Desert
Gary Numan – M.E.
Vandal Moon – Hurt
New Order – This Time of Night
Chromatics – Kill For Love
The Smiths – I Don’t Owe You Anything
All Your Sisters – Come Feel
Depeche Mode – Policy of Truth
Cigarettes After Sex – You’re All I Want
Sonic Youth – Superstar
Bauhaus – The Passion of Lovers
Mitski – My Love Mine All Mine
Cocteau Twins – Heaven or Las Vegas
Cradle Of Thorns – Dreamland
Cold Cave – Love Is All
The Cure – 10:15 Saturday Night
The Church – Reptile
Orphia – I Hope You Die
Alvvays – Dreams Tonite
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry – Talk About The Weather
Echo and the Bunnymen – The Killing Moon
Sad Lovers and Giants – Things We Never Did
The The – This Is the Day
She Past Away – Ruh
Dark – Forever Suffer
Mazzy Star – Look On Down From The Bridge

DJ Lotus Heavy Mix

Here is a heavy mix that I am working on. I want to get it up to over 2 hours.

Human Waste Project – Dog
Korn – Clown
Pantera – Cowboys From Hell
Soundgarden – Rusty Cage
Videodrone – Ty Jonathan Down
Filter – Hey Man Nice Shot
Stone Temple Pilots – Wicked Garden
Tool – Intolerance
Monster Magnet – Negasonic Teenage Warhead
Orgy – Stitches
White Zombie – More Human Than Human
Cradle of Thorns – Flesh
Gravity Kills – Guilty
Alice in Chains – Bleed the Freak
Marilyn Manson – Lunchbox
Spike 1000 – Make Me Suffer
Deftones – 7 Words
Helmet – Unsung
Danzig – Twist of Cain
Electric Love Hogs – Tribal Monkey
Ministry – Jesus Built My Hotrod
Nine Inch Nails – Gave Up
Velvet Revolver – Dirty Little Thing
Skid Row – Monkey Business
Rage Against the Machine – Know Your Enemy

Reckless – Romeo Void & Dramarama

From my Tuesday night flashback show. Random that Romeo Void was playing on this part of the video loop and even crazier how great Dramarama – Anything Anything works with this dance scene from the movie Reckless. The beat/attitude, the song sound change when he stops dancing, the guitar sound when he is shoved to the ground. It all works perfect.

Digital Jukeboxes Ruined the Dive Bar

In the 90s, during the dot-com era, I had the opportunity to propose my idea for a digital jukebox at the company that I worked at. Back then, jukeboxes played a significant role in bars, as they often determined whether the bar was a hit or a miss. Each jukebox had a unique selection of songs, providing insight into the bar’s atmosphere and the people who frequented it. Unfortunately, my idea did not come to fruition, as our company, like many others at that time, faced financial difficulties.


My concept involved implementing a digital jukebox system in bars. We would store the music library in a server room and allow bar owners to pick the jukebox’s song collection. The bar owners could choose the songs they wanted, which would then be loaded on the jukebox. Furthermore, they would have the flexibility to add or remove songs as they pleased but it would be a limited number of songs similar to a traditional jukebox.

This approach would have preserved the unique identity of each bar, with different establishments boasting different songs/themes. However, with the advent of high-speed internet and unlimited storage and streaming services, digital jukeboxes now have access to virtually every song or album ever recorded. Consequently, this has undermined the charm of the traditional dive bar jukebox experience. Nowadays, you’re just as likely to encounter a mix of Hank Williams Jr. and Justin Bieber songs in what was once a seedy dive bar where you might have stumbled upon classic tracks by Hank Williams Sr. or Patsy Cline.