Tag Archives: Italo Disco

The Playlist

Here’s What I Played On the Saturday Before Halloween

Inside Albert Reyes Haunted House 2024 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
Inside Albert Reyes’ Haunted House (Pic: Liz O.)

I ended up double-booked on the Saturday before Halloween. While that has happened before, it’s never happened while there was a World Series game going on at Dodger Stadium. Thinking about traffic and logistics and rideshare prices stressed me out, but, for reasons I don’t know, there was an Uber Black special early in the evening, which made the first two trips a little more budget-friendly. 

Anyhow, I started the night with an hour-long set of spooky tunes at artist Albert Reyes’ haunted house party. Albert, who I’ve known since 2009, when I was a new staffer at L.A. Weekly and interviewed him, spends all year building a maze-like haunted house filled with narrow hallways, dark corners and art installations. I went through the haunt before the party started and was both awed and spooked, which might be the point. 

I started DJing at around 8 p.m. and heard fireworks early in the set, which I guess is when the Dodgers won game two of the series.  Here’s what I played. 

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Adventures in L.A.

Italo Horror Disco Brought Giallo and Jams to the Grayson

Thomas Mellan live at The Grayson in Los Angeles on October 19, 2024 for Italo Horror Disco (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
Thomas Mellan live at The Grayson DTLA for Italo Horror Disco on Saturday, October 19 (Pic: Liz O.)

The Grayson is slammed when I arrive Saturday night. It’s just a little after 10:30 p.m., but there are crowds of people hovering over the bar, more huddled in the  booths and gathered on the floor. Almost immediately, I spot someone on the dance floor, a friend who I haven’t seen in a while. We say hi and comment on the music and get back into the groove. It’s Italo Horror Night, L.A. Industrial/Dolce Vita’s Halloween party, and the vibe inside is giallo and jams. The Beyond, the 1981 Lucio Fulci film, is playing on a TV above the bar. David Christian just dropped “One Night in Bangkok,” but it’s not the Murray Head version that I know from countless spins on L.A. radio stations. I make a mental note to ask him about it. 

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Got It On Vinyl

This Belgian Cover of “Vamos a La Playa” Sounds Like Early ’80s Los Angeles

12" single of "Vamos a la Playa" cover of Righeira song by The Miamis featuring Lou, U.S. release from Baja Records with original mix, scratch mix and extended version

It was hot and the record store was small and bright. Jazz filled the room as I flipped through bins, side-eyeing price tags on ‘80s records. That’s what they want for the Go-Gos? I thought. That’s the kind of record you get from your relatives who went digital ages ago. In fact, at least one of my Go-Gos records came to me in exactly that way. I don’t even want to see the Fleetwood Mac prices here. 

I headed over to the dance bin, just in case there was something that looked interesting. And there was. It was a copy of “Vamos a la Playa” with a $4.99 price tag on it. That’s weird, I thought. I can’t tell you how long “Vamos a la Playa” has been in the L.A. ether, but it’s one of the Italo disco jams that everyone seems to know. If you play it a club— and I think most of us DJs have done so many, many times— you can hear the crowd singing out on the floor. At least, they sing along with the chorus, “Vamos a la playa, oh-oh-oh-oh.” They usually don’t get all into the verse about radioactive winds blowing through your hair. It’s a strange song by today’s standards, but deceptively cheerful ditties  about nuclear annihilation were totally a thing in the 1980s. Don’t believe me? This is probably the only time in my life that I will ever recommend listening to “99 Luftballoons” in English. 

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The Playlist

Here’s What I Played for Splash! at The Mermaid on July, 23, 2024

Christmas in July at The Mermaid on July 23, 2024 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
Christmas in July continues at The Mermaid. (Pic: Liz O.)

It was totally last minute, but I filled in for Splash! at The Mermaid on Tuesday night, playing ’80s music from 8 p.m. until last call. I was in a Roxy Music, Japan and Duran Duran mood, which manifested in the set. Plus, I’ve had the Real Life song “Openhearted” stuck in my head on-and-off for a few weeks, so that made an appearance in the set too. Check out the set list below.

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The Playlist

Here’s What I Played for Splash! at The Mermaid on July 9, 2024

Christmas in July at The Mermaid in Little Tokyo with Christmas tree tiki mug, sand snow man tiki mug and gingerbread man tiki mug (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
The Mermaid’s Christmas in July tiki mugs, including a Christmas tree, a sand/snow man and a gingerbread man. (Pic: Liz O.)

Splash! is Dolce Vita’s new Tuesday night ‘80s party at The Mermaid. You’ll still hear Italo disco in the mix, but you’ll also hear new wave, synthpop and more subgenres of the decade’s dance music . I played for the first time since the rebrand for the first half of the night tonight and it was lot of fun to get to drop some of my Italo favorites (Ken Laszlo, Pino D’Angio) with a few of the ‘80s night standards (OMD, The Cure, etc.), some tunes that I don’t get to play out so much (Olivia Newton-John “Twist of Fate”) and a few tracks from the era that are actually new to me (Angelyne “Sex Goddess,” thanks to the Dark Entries reissue). Oh, and I was able to work in the best song from Voyage of the Rock Aliens (Real Life “Openhearted”), a movie I’ve been trying to write about for a while, but I still can’t make sense of it, which might be the point. My only regret is not adding Pia Zadora to my ‘80s virtual crate. Next time. 

Also, it’s Christmas in July at The Mermaid. The tiki mugs in the top photo are part of the promotion. You can buy one solo or with one of the drinks on the Cocktails for a Cause menu, all of which have Christmas horror names, like Santa’s Slay. The mugs were so cute— my favorite is the sand/snow man in the center of the photo— so I had to take a photo. 

Anyhow, keep reading for the set list. Seen you next on Friday, July 12, for Yeah Yeah Yeahs x Siouxsie Nite at Club Underground.

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The Playlist

Here’s What I Played at Dolce Vita’s Italo Disco vs. Space Disco Night on April 30, 2024

The Mermaid in Little Tokyo on Tuesday, April 30, 2024 for The Wolves takeover and Dolce Vita Italo disco with DJ Liz O. (Photo: Liz O.)
Scene at The Mermaid on April 30

The Mermaid was busy last night. People filtered in and out of the bar. Guest bartenders from The Wolves poured specialty cocktails. Scenes from Star Odyssey, the “Italian Star Wars,” played on the TV set. I played a mix of Italo disco, space disco and other assorted, related tunes from 8 p.m. until 1 a.m. A couple friends turned up and got a dance party going. It was a good time. Check out the set list. 

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Happening in L.A., Upcoming Gigs

Happening in L.A.: Thursday, April 25 – Wednesday, May 1

Apotheke Friday April 26 with Clifton Weaver and Liz O.

You can catch me at the clubs twice this coming weekend. On Friday, April 26, I’ll be joining my pal Clifton Weaver in the DJ booth at Apotheke in Chinatown, from 9 p.m. until close. We’ll both be playing all-vinyl sets filled with soul, funk, disco, boogie and more. I’ll definitely bring my favorite Candi Staton album and my current Toto Coelo jam. You might hear Chaz Jankel too and maybe that Scream + Dance 12” I found at Rubycon last weekend. Party starts at 9 p.m. and goes until close. There’s no cover and it’s 21+ Apotheke is at 1746 N. Spring Street. 

On Saturday, I’ll be joining Scarlett Casanova, Killed by Synth and Drayk for an Indie Sleaze night at The Offbeat. We’ll be playing ‘00s indie jams and more for the 21+ crowd and there’s no cover this one-off party.  The Offbeat is at 6316 York Ave. in Highland Park.

You can also catch me on Tuesday night at The Mermaid, where I’ll be providing the music for Dolce Vita’s Space Disco vs. Italo Disco night. I have some really fun tunes for this night, so stop by between 8 p.m. and closing time. There’s no cover and it’s 21+. The Mermaid is at 428 E. 2nd Street in Little Tokyo.

Here’s a short rundown of other events happening in L.A.  

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New Music, The Playlist

Pet Shop Boys, Optometry, Ride and More New Music

Cover for Interplay 2024 album by Ride
Cover for Ride’s new album, Interplay, which I was listening to for the first time while finishing this post.

It sounds like we’re on the verge of another Pet Shop Boys moment. Or, at least, that’s how I hope 2024 will sound and, judging from the response on the dance floor, the L.A. crowds seem to agree. But, then again, L.A.’s affinity for the British duo has endured since the 1980s. 

In January, I fell for the cover of “Being Boring” by TR/ST, with guest vocals from Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters. Shortly after that dropped, Pet Shop Boys themselves released “Loneliness,” the first single from their forthcoming album, Nonetheless. It’s a gorgeous dance song that reflects the strange isolation of 2020s life. (The Guardian has a good interview with the band, if you’re interested in reading more about Pet Shop Boys’ new music.) Around the same time, I stumbled across a cover of “Rent” that Sally Shapiro released last fall. I wondered how I missed this release last year, then snapped it up on Bandcamp. 

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The Playlist

Here’s What I Played at Dolce Vita on March 26, 2024

A mermaid skeleton at The Mermaid in Little Tokyo (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
I forgot to take pics, so here’s an old one of a mermaid skeleton at The Mermaid that I saw right before the night started. (Pic: Liz O.)

I popped into The Mermaid at the last minute on Tuesday to play about 90 minutes of music for Dolce Vita. I knew that there was a screening of Dave Attell’s Netflix special happening beforehand. What I didn’t know, however, was that Dave Attell was actually going to make an appearance. We didn’t meet, but it was wild to be in the same room as him because I loved Insomniac. 

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The Playlist

Here’s What I Played at Dolce Vita on March 5, 2024

Jalapeño and pineapple wontons at The Mermaid in Little Tokyo Los Angeles (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
Jalapeño and pineapple wontons at The Mermaid. (Pic: Liz O.)

It was a little unexpected, but I did turn up at The Mermaid on Tuesday night to provide the music for the first half of Dolce Vita. I also didn’t have a chance to eat dinner beforehand, which led to another unexpected delight. The jalapeño and pineapple wontons at The Mermaid are amazing. I hadn’t had them before last night and loved them. Even with the chili sauce, they won’t set your mouth on fire. It’s more of a subtle sweet-and-spicy hybrid. Plus, they are shaped like starfish, which I find endearing. 

Anyhow, here’s what you may have heard if you were at The Mermaid between 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday night. 

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