'Good Times' In Galway With CHIC

I've been meaning to write about how amazing it was to be a part of the CHIC show last Thursday at the Galway Arts Festival in Ireland but my travels have prevented me until now. Now that I have a minute, one week later, it all seems like a hazy dream.

CHIC took the stage playing their first record and a personal fave of mine, "Everybody Dance", and the tunes didn't stop for the next hour and a half. The eclectic crowd was groovin' from jump go and the events big top venu took the form of a sweaty disco party as opposed to an Irish arts festival. The man that's produced tracks for everyone from Madonna to Daft Punk didn't let the crowd down as he and his stellar backing band tore through versions of "I Want Your Love" and, my personal favorite song of all time, "Thinking of You", written for Sister Sledge.

After the show I got to spend a bit of timing chatting with Niles and the band and they could not have been cooler. I told him what his tunes mean to me and how much I love the uplifting, unifying vibe of everything he produced and dude gave me a big hug. It was a special moment.

For the after party, we moved across the river to the Festival Club where we could look back to the big top, reflecting in the water, as we kept the party rolling to some deep disco grooves. I had the pleasure of sharing the decks with Ger Reagan and John Daly, two Galway guys that have paid there dues and know their tunes! Respect to all involved for putting on such a great event, including the amazing Laura Rigney and the always on point Scary Mary.

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Backstage with the man, Nile Rodgers.

I failed my audition but Jerry Barnes was still cool about it.

On the ferry to Ireland before the gig, I had some time to get the laptop out and work on some beats. I had a copy of an unreleased track that Nile had produced for Fonzi Thornton that I had been dying to give the edit treatment to. I stripped out most of the vocals and rebuilt it around the groove with a bit of the refrain left in tact. I got to premiere it at the after party, which was cool, and now you can download it here, if you like. The name of the tune is "I'll Change My Game". Enjoy!