Retired Freak - We used to be a freak, now we are retired!
We launched Retired Freak as a space for all of the grown folks that got dressed up and hung out at the clubs back in the day.
You know what I am talking about. Friday and Saturday nights at the local spot, with the hottest local DJs spinning all the funky tracks. If it was a holiday weekend, we also did Thursday and Sunday nights.
Club culture was a community, where you would meet up with friends, pre-party, then hit the clubs. Shoot, there were several people you know only from the clubs. You probably did not have their phone numbers, but you would see them a few nights a month at the parties.
People were brought together by the love of the music, and that is one thing we all had in common. Back then, clubs played a specific type of music, and you chose the club based on the vibe you wanted to experience on that specific night.
Local radio stations would promote specific nights when they would be involved if one of their mix show DJs were playing, or if your favorite radio personality was hanging out.
I am from Northern California, the Bay Area, and the club scene was jumping within a 50 mile radius. We partied in San Francisco, San Jose, Hayward, Fremont, Oakland, Sunnyvale, Saratoga, and a few other cities around the Bay. The clubs had their own specialties, such as RnB, Funk, Hip Hop, 80's New Wave, Freestyle, House, and Pop. There were clubs that featured a mixture of two or three of these genres, so you really had several choices of where to go that night.
I was baked into the scene, as I worked as a DJ at Star Records, a prominent record store that specialized in selling 12" singles. With three locations in the Bay Area, most nightclub DJs got their music from that spot. I worked there from 1988-1991, and I vividly remember three advance 12 inch singles that were delivered: "Wild Thing" by Tone Loc "Bust A Move" by Young MC and "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" by C&C Music Factory.
We put those on the Techniques turntables, and the group immediately knew that all three tracks would be monster hits. It was a privilege to get those white label advance vinyl records.
That type of club culture does not exist today, so we want to keep some of that Old School vibe going with this site. We will feature music festivals, concert dates, music based cruises and vacations, and we will also post long form music mixes for you to enjoy.