His royal highness of disco soul, Nicky Siano, has been popping up in North Brooklyn recently, having just DJ-ed Good Roof at Dobbin St (64 Dobbin St) this past Sunday. He’s thrown down the funk all over the world since he was 16 years old: he was an original resident DJ at Studio 54, helped launch Grace Jones’s career, and these days he’s still killing it on the dancefloor. You can dance your ass off for six hours as he spins at Good Room (98 Meserole Ave) on Friday, August 25th. We were lucky to be able to ask him a few questions about DJing, Brooklyn and politics.
GP: How is the Brooklyn club/dance scene different from Manhattan? Is the vibe different?
Nicky: The Brooklyn club scene is more like Manhattan in the seventies, exciting and fresh. I love the vibe all over the city; unfortunately, no great clubs are opening in Manhattan, or they can’t exist there… I am loving the Brooklyn scene. After all, I live in, and was born in Brooklyn, but back then it was a dangerous, racist, prejudice place. I was mugged regularly, and constantly called faggot—it was a painful time for me. I would walk down the street afraid to exist—that’s why I moved into Manhattan at sixteen. Continue reading →
At first Tommy James, DJ and live music curator at Good Room on Meserole Avenue, comes off as just another humble British expat living in Greenpoint. Only upon researching this piece did I discover his many musical accomplishments. In fact, it is no exaggeration to say that in some circles Tommy James is even something of a legend, but one thing is certain: success has not jaded him, nor dimmed his passion for music. And it’s this passion for music that has helped make Good Room an epic venue for live music.
There is a spirit of cautious optimism in our neighborhood this week. Ice has disappeared from the sidewalks. There are fewer sightings of G train commuters cobbling together bus and Uber rides after unannounced service delays. In fact, some have even suggested that the G is a more reliable train than the neighboring line to our south. It’s a great time to celebrate with some notable live music.
Three years ago, I went to a friend’s record release party at a club in New York City. In an adjacent room, there was a DJ playing Noel’s “Silent Morning“. I walked in, listened to this Classic record at full club volume, and it was like hearing it for the first time. I being not old enough to hear this record in a club when it first came out understood immediately why this music became huge in the first place. Continue reading →
