{"id":639,"date":"2011-04-16T21:51:59","date_gmt":"2011-04-16T21:51:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/?p=639"},"modified":"2013-01-29T22:24:00","modified_gmt":"2013-01-29T22:24:00","slug":"joe-claussell-16-04-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/joe-claussell-16-04-11\/","title":{"rendered":"JOE CLAUSSELL 16.04.11"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

JOE CLAUSSELL<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s warming up. Now, he\u2019s starting to play,\u201d yelled Mrs. Thang<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

What is a musical maestro called when he\/she plays on a stubborn acting sound system?<\/span> A PISSED<\/strong> off DJ<\/span>.<\/p>\n

This Tambor might have gone down in history as one giant, \u201ctechnical difficult.\u201d The culprit mainly attributed to the bass heavy sounding sound systems refusal to adhere to quality sound control standards. Several speakers dropped the sound at various stages throughout the night. Even before the night\u2019s headliner took stage, sound difficulties arose during resident\/founder Stan Zeff\u2019s musical set as a speaker on stage failed. There, on stage, stood two sound technicians perplexed at finding a solution. With a quick jolt towards the opposite direction of the room one technician clad in all black bolted towards the venue\u2019s motherboard that controlled the acoustics. Sadly, this marked the beginning of the end.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Was there a sound check? \u201cYes,\u201d stated an online post on a social networking site.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

So what went wrong? No one plausible answer abound. Instead, various interpretations offered various answers. One individual blamed the in-house sound system while another individual smiled and ignored the questions all together. Certainly, this seemed not like the Tambor that endured four venue changes in eighteen months and had out grown minor sound technical issues to secure a residence in the world of all things deep house music.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

What complicates matters is that the event featured NYC\u2019s Body & Soul<\/span><\/strong>, Sacred Rhythms <\/a>master<\/span><\/strong> Joe Claussell<\/a> the living instrument. What a wrong time for sound difficulties to prevail. Never does a DJ ever want to experience audio issues but this certainly should not be the case when an iconic DJ is up to bat. Joe Claussell settles for nothing less than the best in acoustic sensibility. The humble icon competitively rises above his peers by dismissing tired DJ techniques of mixing in and out of songs and standing statuesque as if wanting a pigeon to poop on his head and waiting for fan adoration. Instead, the tried and true DJ\/producer\/label owner\/record store owner with no-ego (mind you) animates his sets with acrobatic jumps in circles on stage while operating the musical switchboard by tweeking the hell out of the mixer\u2019s knobs as if to rip the controls off the face of the metal hardware itself. Dang, talk about heated energy.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

How inspiring to watch a rarity work pulsating the air with unrestraint animation. So, let\u2019s go into this world of unparalleled energy from the mastermind of Joe Claussell.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The loft space marked by the smell of fried buffalo chicken wings gave way to the smell of salty perspiration throughout the hours. The night\u2019s anthem from South Africa\u2019s deep house ambassador Black Coffee featuring the sultry haunting vocals from singer Thiwe\u2019s<\/span><\/strong>, \u201cCrazy\u201d<\/a> (Manoo & Francios A Deep Journey Mix) (played for the second time of the night) jumpstarted the capacitated room packed tight with musical tourists. There were visiting tribesters from South Carolina, Florida and even Seattle Washington. Folks bomb rushed the front of the DJ stage to snap pictures on camera phones and videographers with their video recorders in tote to film the living instrument at work. Manoo\u2019s & Francois A\u2019s ten plus minute afro-house kicker wooed those from the back of the room to the front of the room as hypnotic rhythms swelled the space to make happy feet. One of the maestro\u2019s unique mixing techniques was the ability to play one song for fifteen minutes. Joe Claussell can take a song, start the song from the beginning and loop the track for a mere twenty minutes saturating the audience with musical marinate. The ability to ride a track and interpret every note played, every kick drum beat and the highs and lows of instruments through body movements and those facial expressions (let\u2019s not forget those frowns and stank faces) is sheer talent. The ability to make a song speak a new language comes from the soul and to allow the audience to interpret its meaning is a God given gift amiss in the modern world of celebrity DeeJays.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Literally, the crowd went \u201cCrazy\u201d as Joe dropped the EQ\u2019s, pitched the sound decibels out of this world and had the audacity to bang the bass on the crowd with fierce diligence. The people grew mad yelling at the top of their lungs understanding the impacting language of translation.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

From there, Stephanie Cooke\u2019s,<\/span><\/strong> \u201cLove Will\u201d<\/a> (Roots Vocal Mix) with its Caribbean flavor brought all dancers to the floor once again possessed by screams with arms outstretched in the air as if in a revival church service. The music even disappeared to allow the audience to sing a cappella \u201cLove Will\/Love Will\u201d before the soft rhythms returned to the mass.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Three songs into the brief troubled set a beautiful Georgia peach from Atlanta seemed to be rushed on stage to perform as several sound technicians converged on the sound system\u2019s mother board in the room\u2019s right rear. Draped in a multi-patterned gold ensemble, the current southern fried vocalist introduced herself as Miranda Nicole and her song,<\/span><\/strong> \u201cKissing You.\u201d<\/a> As she spoke into the microphone the acoustics sounded so distorted her high pitched voice came across as a high pitch squeal. With her mouth open wide, the soft soprano tried to work the room. However, the accompanying back-up music that rocked the room overpowered Miranda\u2019s soft whispers. leaving the listener confused as to what she sung. If the listener, already not familiar with the tune, had no way to determine what was sung. As so, the make or break performance fell flat on a few deaf ears.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Once again, South Africa\u2019s deep house reins came to the rescue. After the highly anticipated performance that proved a highly disappointed spectacle, several handclaps ripped from the speakers to the delight of scattered praise. Zakes Bitwana with Xolani Sithole on vocals,<\/span><\/strong> \u201cClap Your Hands\u201d<\/a> reigned supreme with no technical difficulties. A few songs later, as Joe\u2019s body possessed by sacred rhythms acted out movements to the crescendo groove of a heavy track laden by Hammond B-3 organs romping over deep percussions (surprise<\/em>) the music goes completely kaput. With arms raised in the air the living instrument displays disgust at the situation, the musical moment of spirituality has been compromised not only for the master but the followers.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Those standing near the stage took note of Joe\u2019s frustrated visage and felt a chilly presence. It has to be noted when a professional DJ is not happy, it translates into his\/her musical set and the audience can sense the same through the music. Yes, a few salty murmurs were heard throughout the room. However, during the unexpected interruption the night\u2019s all-stars, the AUDIENCE\u2019s enthusiastic synergy saturated the frustration in the air. The people so busy screaming barely perceived the issues at hand. The crowd overlooked the dilemma and stood ground with unconditional support. Not once did the crowd give up. As a matter-of-fact, the tribesters rhythmically took Joe\u2019s hand, helped him to stand in the midst of the ashes and encouraged him to continue the musical journey with screams of unadulterated praise and approval. That\u2019s what a party is all about.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Approximately 30 seconds after the mishap, African drums arose from the deep and the people danced. Not only did they dance they danced harder and screamed louder. Sensual flesh weaved from left to right in dynamic movements and if fortunate enough one had ample space to maybe spin around in circles. The room packed tight like a sweaty stench army barrack housed all of the foot soldiers. It was at this juncture of bodies meets souls that caused the crowd to beat with unconditional support. People were so wrapped up in heaven that there was no time to be preoccupied with minimal sound distractions. Above all, the need to have the best time prevailed throughout the arena.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

By 2 am the stage exploded with a BANG!!! As if a heat seeking missile tanked the elevated platform, Joe Claussell really showed Tambor what he was all about. The energy in the room pulsated with musical contractions giving birth to unspeakable ecstasy. A sheer magnetic force of rhythms pulled dancing bodies closer to the stage and if not onto the stage. Even Joe\u2019s vessel weaved and bopped deeper than it had ever during the night like a heavy weight boxer avoiding jabs in a world title fight. Those swift movements seemed to signal the coming storm of a musical assault that was about to slay the room with harmonious vengeance. The winds of change blew about the 5600 feet space, taking all prisoners within its path. Gone were the earlier plagues of sound difficulties exchanged for free flowing musical interaction between the living instrument and dancing vessels. Joe was in the flow. He continued to spin the mixer\u2019s knobs by tweeking the EQ\u2019s and dropping the bass on those able to stand. The combustible hearts of men and women violently leaped from chest cavities and exploded with fire. Screams of joy resounded as whistles shrilled and hands waved in the air. This was Tambor and there was no stopping the Joe Claussell train.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The musical rumble continued with Miranda Nicole\u2019s,<\/span><\/strong> \u201cKissing You\u201d<\/a> (Libation Mix) also the night\u2019s anthem that played for the second time in two hours. The blissful track of warm pads over choppy beats played for about fourteen minutes. In mid-song after the classy piano solo, the single was looped and started over from the beginning which pleased the crowd.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Josh Milan\u2019s lusty<\/span>, <\/span><\/strong>\u201cYour Body\u201d<\/a> took Joe and the audience to cloud nine. What a high! Sweat rags waved in the hot air as shirts fell to the floor and stilettos were kicked off feet. Then came the Detroit Experiment\u2019s,<\/span> <\/strong>\u201cThink Twice\u201d<\/a> (Henrik Schwarz Mix) with that pulsating Detroit Tech that drove the people mad. Not one mouth was closed as bodies were thrown in the air to a repeated piano riff while saxophones raged war over beating tech synths. The song\u2019s steady melodic build-up could not cease a war\u2019s army from the musical assault. By the song\u2019s end the room resembled a war ravaged apocalypse.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Then the house lights were turned on that revealed sweat ridden faces and disheveled hair do\u2019s or hair don\u2019ts. Thankfully, that wasn\u2019t enough to get Joe off the musical decks as he decided to save the best for last. Detroit\u2019s soul crooner, Kem\u2019s,<\/span> <\/strong>\u201cHeaven\u201d<\/a> (Marlon D and Groove Assassin\u2019s Club Mix) galloped on a white horse and raptured all the saints to heaven in a twinkling of an eye. All the saints that were still left dancing on the floor rejoiced for this was heaven at its best.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Had it not been for the audience\u2019s unrestricted praise and unbridled support the night might have flopped. However, the courage to draw strength from the inner spirit prevailed like a mustard seed of faith. Truly, this unrelenting character defines what special nights are made of. For the most enduring of all facts prevailed, various tribes of people harnessing the power to capture the essence of the DJ\u2019s heart to catapult sacred rhythms into the universe.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

All photographs by Carlos Bell for Carlos Bell Photography<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Fb-Button\"\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>
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JOE CLAUSSELL \u201cHe\u2019s warming up. Now, he\u2019s starting to play,\u201d yelled Mrs. Thang What is a musical maestro called when he\/she plays on a stubborn acting sound system? A PISSED off DJ. This Tambor might have gone down in history as one giant, \u201ctechnical difficult.\u201d The culprit mainly attributed to the bass heavy sounding sound […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[11,8,21,23,7,87,22],"class_list":["post-639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-events","tag-atlanta-georgia","tag-deep-house-music","tag-dj-be","tag-dj-stanzeff","tag-house-music","tag-joe-claussell","tag-tambor"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2JDhj-aj","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":135,"url":"https:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/dj-be-mini-view\/","url_meta":{"origin":639,"position":0},"title":"DJ BE Mini-view","author":"ajdance","date":"August 16, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"DJ BE mini-view Interview by AJ Dance This Atlanta DJ needs no introduction. If you are familiar with Atlanta\u2019s deep & soulful house music scene, then you\u2019ve seen DJ BE about at various functions or have heard DJ BE play around town. DJ BE has been a staple on the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/category\/events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/01.-MP-Tambor3yr-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2738,"url":"https:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/quentin-harris-20-07-13\/","url_meta":{"origin":639,"position":1},"title":"QUENTIN HARRIS 20.07.13","author":"ajdance","date":"July 21, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Quentin Harris 00:00 \u00a0\u201cThe party is in the main room!!!\u201d\u00a0 A Tambor guest observes.\u00a0 Her hazel eyes scope the vast lounge and concert hall. The event space dazzles underneath its natural lighting.\u00a0 In case this much is forgotten, Tambor is an event, an experience in and of itself. Haters are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/category\/events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/QuentinHarris.jpg-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":627,"url":"https:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/dj-spen-21-05-11\/","url_meta":{"origin":639,"position":2},"title":"DJ SPEN 21.05.11","author":"ajdance","date":"May 5, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"HOT & LOUD Turn up the volume and let the bass drop. That\u2019s what Baltimore\u2019s legendary DJ Spen, decked out in a black ensemble of a basement ball cap and MF (Muthafunkaz) tee delivered to Tambor. The venue\u2019s walls contracted and the floor vibrated as four count beats gave birth\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/category\/events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/01.-DJSpen-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2553,"url":"https:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/lars-behrenroth-15-06-13\/","url_meta":{"origin":639,"position":3},"title":"LARS BEHRENROTH 15.06.13","author":"ajdance","date":"June 16, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"LARS BEHRENROTH Happy Father\u2019s Day \u00a0 You\u2019ve got to love the event pages on social media websites.\u00a0 The best is the website, yada-yada-yada, that tracks who is going to attend an event.\u00a0 Read the dozens of posts to hype the event.\u00a0 Check out the several comments to hype the posts.\u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/category\/events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/BettyCastilloInstant_2.jpg.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":763,"url":"https:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/lou-gorbea-20-09-10\/","url_meta":{"origin":639,"position":4},"title":"LOU GORBEA 20.09.10","author":"ajdance","date":"August 21, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"~ONE~ It all started twelve months earlier at a tiny vegetarian organic soul food restaurant on the city\u2019s east edge on a hot humid late August night.Those twenty-five or so in attenDance were the first to taste Tambor\u2019s delight without speculation as to this would be \u201cIT.\u201dThose in attenDance were\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/category\/events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/01.-TamborCake-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":813,"url":"https:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/jellybean-benitez-19-03-10\/","url_meta":{"origin":639,"position":5},"title":"JELLYBEAN BENITEZ 19.03.10","author":"ajdance","date":"March 20, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"LET LOOSE PARTY Every eye stared upward towards the DJ booth. No one dared to move a muscle. No one dared to make a sound. A safety pin could be heard crashing on the baby powder dusted floor below throngs of dirty soles. All were consumed, busily frozen in their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/category\/events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/01.-JellyBeanBenitez-Carlos-Bell-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=639"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2022,"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639\/revisions\/2022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}