Blogs

Here you'll find me talking about whatever comes to mind. It will probably be crazy, random, and hopefully interesting.

Well Toronto has come and gone. It was an awesome gig. Big ups to DJ Yoshimojo for putting together an amazing night. Despite the fact that about a foot of snow was dumped on TO that night, there was still a great turn out. I had a blast.

The next night I was paid one of the best compliments I've ever heard. While chilling at the promoter's place, his girl Sam told me she could barely walk. The reason? She had bruised her feet really bad because she couldn't stop dancing to my set.

I just wanted to thank these rockin Canadians for taking care of me up north. Get better soon Sam!

I just wanted let everyone know that my father has taken to calling himself "Daddy Charles." He decided several days before the Hartford gig that this is what he wants to be referred to as. Turns out, it went over big in Hartford and the name has most recently won the approval stamp of Randy Boyer.

Speaking of Hartford, it was awesome. Room 960 is a nice place, and there were good tunes all night. Photographer Mikey McNulty even got this totally rockin shot of me spinning. You can see all the pics from that night here.

In other news, Episode 11 is posted. This is the mix that I did for Randy's KISS 95.7 radio show, so if you missed the original airing of it, you can download it now.

Frequent visitors to the events section already know this but here is more info on last weeks surprise. First, the "hidden hint" was the addition of a new link to RandyBoyer.com. Following that link would have led you here. I won his DJ competition because of my sharp website, local notoriety, and awesome fans base. Randy is a top level dude who does remix work for people like Gabriel & Dresden.

So what did I win? A spot on Randy's Kiss 95.7 radio show for starters. Next there is the photo shoot with Mike McNulty, and lastly, a spot at Randy's Room 960 party on January 25th. My set starts at 9:30 and I expect you locals to be there. Email me for reduced 10 dollar entry. Check out the event section for info on the radio spot, the room 960 gig, and the Toronto party.

The Velvet Turtle has become the fastest downloaded thing I've ever done. Almost a 1000 downloads in under a month. Make sure to check it out if you haven't already.

As for the Podcast, I'd like to welcome both Columbia and Kuwait to the list of countries with DanceCast listeners. That brings the running tally to 28 countries. I have my suspicions however, that the Kuwaiti listeners are actually U.S. service men.

That brings me to my next thought, which is about supporting the troops. I've gotten a few requests from people who have friends and family overseas and would like to send them Mike Charles CDs. I will ship a free package of CDs and media to any serviceman (U.S. or otherwise) who wants one.

Finally big ups to my 2 newest fans, Chuck M. from Pittsburgh who rocks the DanceCast on his Zen Touch, and Dizzyupthegirl2 who left a rockin review in iTunes. Please contact me to claim your signed copy of The Velvet Turtle.

Big stuff going on behind the scenes lately. Check out the updated info for the my Toronto gig over in the events section, and be on the look out for serious announcement later this week. I've left a hint hidden somewhere on the site, but its pretty darn subtle. Good luck finding it.

P.S. Leave a review of the podcast in iTunes, please.

My new studio mix "The Velvet Turtle" is finally available. The all breakbeat mix has a tough shell, yet is silky smooth, which is where the name "The Velvet Turtle" comes from. It also helps that I am major turtle lover and am convinced that the turtle is my spirit animal.

The mix is fun, funky, and deep. There is even a great tale of redemption woven into its 73 minutes. I hope you enjoy this mix as much as I have. I've been working on, tweaking, and listening to this mix for a long time, and I felt really sad letting this one go because I didn't want the project to end.

Breakbeats have always been sacred to me which is a major part of the reason I've never released an all breakbeat mix. I didn't want undertake a project like this until I had to evolved to a point where I could be completely happy with every track, mix, and beat.

Head over to the music page to download it. Leave me a review in iTunes or drop me an email and let me know what you think of it.

A couple of quick hits. First DJ Knowledge, who first contributed on episode 9, is going to be a "resident" on the DanceCast, so be on the lookout for more mixes from him soon. Speaking of the DanceCast, episode 10 was released a few days ago. Episode 10 is my way of paying homage to the 90's trance scene, so check it out. The events page has been updated with my tentative schedule for early next year. The contact page has been updated with links to my facebook and xbox live gamertag.

Oh and the DanceCast in now in 26 countries, which brings us much closer to world domination.

So I haven't blogged in a while... So now i get to try and cram everything into one post, here goes.

First up, WEMF. This was my third year in a row attending the World Electronic Music Festival in Ontario, Canada. For the second straight year, I played on one of the side stages at WEMF, which is cool. This year something special happened though. I entered Episode Two of the DanceCast into their new talent competition and as a result I won myself a prime time spot in the prestigious New Talent tent at the show. For those of you who missed one of North America's biggest parties, head over to the music page and check out Episode Seven of the DanceCast, which was recorded, live from WEMF's New Talent Stage.

Exactly one week after the 3-day rollercoaster that is WEMF, I was in Hanover, New Hampshire to headline a party at the India Queen hookah bar. This is a little town that is pretty far north in NH, and Hanover is home to Ivy League school Dartmouth, so I wasn't really sure what to expect from this gig. The promoters for this night (Jill and Dusty) were really cool people and the owner (an Indian fellow named Bob) was too. As soon as I got there Bob gave me a few drinks and then set a few of us up with our own hookah filled with vanilla tobacco. The club portion of this place is has a small intimate feel and they pipe music onto the outdoor patio as well. My set starts at about 11:30 and people were in the mood to dance. Pretty soon the dance floor is packed and they love all the house and breaks I'm playing. It was the perfect symbiotic relationship between DJ and dance floor that I always talk about. I played for 2 hours and we had such a fun time. This was by far one of my favorite gigs in a long time. If you're in the area you have to check this place. Where else can you hang out on the outdoor patio with a drink, smoking a hookah, and then go to the fun loving dance floor and hear Mike Charles for 2 hours? Keep an eye on the events page, because I may back in Hanover soon.

Well I'm off to Sturgis, South Dakota for America's biggest bike rally. My father and I are riding our Harleys there. Its about 1800 miles each way! In the meantime drop me an email and let me know what's up. Oh and head over to the podcast page and subscribe if you haven't already. There are seven episodes + extras now and we have listeners in 22 countries.

I am a huge fan of turtles. That being said check out the great turtle race. They have 11 turtles sponsored by companies and they satellite track this girls from the time they lay eggs on the beach of Costa Rica, until they return to the Galapagos Islands. I have decided to endorse "Billie”, a turtle with notches on her rear flippers from predators. Anyone interested in sponsoring a turtle with me next year?

In 1939, under the encouragement of Leó Szilárd, Albert Einstein sent a letter to President Roosevelt urging the study of nuclear fission for military purposes, under fears that the Nazi government would be first to develop nuclear weapons. Roosevelt started a small investigation into the matter which eventually became the massive Manhattan Project.

J. Robert Oppenheimer, the scientific director of the Manhattan project had only one thought upon witnessing the world’s first atomic bomb explode. Both were quotes from the Bhagavad Gita, the holy book of Hinduism.

"If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty one. Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds"

Before his death, Einstein was quoted as saying "I made a great mistake when I signed the letter to President Roosevelt recommending that atomic bombs be made."