The Search for Northern Soul and Garage Records in Miami

It seems like I was a good husband during our 10-day honeymoon because on the day of our departure I got an hour off for good behavior. Thank you dear! So I spent this time wisely and it was in a record shop of all places.

Record shops aren’t around every corner in Miami so it’s a good thing they have Today & Yesterday Records. Situated at 9274 S.W. 40 ST, you’ll most likely need a car (or a scooter!) to get there. 

What makes this place a worthwhile stop isn’t necessarily it’s abundance of 45s in stock but more the very reasonable prices and the friendly and knowledgeable owner. The shop is immaculate and very well organized. It’s the perfect remedy for the man on his honeymoon that doesn’t have a minute to spare. Did I forget to thank my lovely wife?

A varied selection of LPs are up for grabs but I hit the 45 section right away. The 7” are housed in filing cabinets at the back of the store. A bunch of drawers are packed with your variety of commercial 60s and 70s tracks. Newer releases and reprints are also available. All neatly placed in alphabetical order, I skipped the well-known artists and concentrated my research on the miscellaneous sections. Every once in a while, you’ll come across something worth a second glance.

I always expect to find records of local artists, on hometown record labels during my travels but I’ve come to realize that every tourist like myself wants the same thing. In the end, you have as much a chance of finding these records in your own city. Case in point, I ended up buying a 45 from the Canadian Garage group Mashmakhan. Go figure…

Don’t go looking for that box of rare and expensive singles hidden behind the counter. There simply isn’t one. What you see is what you get. I did come across some interesting labels I hadn’t seen before but I was disappointed to learn, after a quick listen, that most of them were country songs.

I did come across a couple of captivating ska and rocksteady tracks like this classic one by The Slickers.

I also picked up this low down and dirty early R&B, bluesy number by Buster Brown.

I couldn't leave without some latin-funk from a group named Coke. You have to admit that when you pick up a record by a group with a name like Coke on a record label like Sound Triangle you would  expect some trippy psych, right? Not so my firends!

The find of the day came in the form of a Garage 45 from the K-Otics. Double Shot  is the catchy A-side. The surprise was when I listened to the B-side. What a revelation! Wow! It’s ten times better! I don’t always listen to the flip side and maybe I should. Let this be a lesson.  Hum...I wonder if The Kinks were an influence? What do you think?

All in all, it was worth the detour. And if you have extra time on your hand, make sure to visit the Cuban eatery next door for mouth watering authentic cuisine. This is what awaits you…

Iron Beer. New to me and worth seeking out.

So long Miami!

A Mod in Miami

What would be the point of having a Mod wedding if you didn’t have a touch of Mod on your honeymoon, right? So my wife and I decided to spend a couple of days in what has to be one of the hippest place this side of the Atlantic: South Beach, Miami.

We had been to South Beach a couple of years ago for only a day while on a trip to visit my parents on the west coast of Florida in Fort Myers. We had vowed we would be back soon.

Here we are in the middle of the Art Deco hotel capital of the world. Technically not Mod, no one can deny the fact that Art Deco exudes “cool”. For some reason, 20s and 30s architecture seems to be the perfect match for mid-century modern decor. And just by peaking into a few hotel lobbies, I’m not the only one who had the same thought. The streamline, futuristic, jet age aesthetics go hand in hand with the Mod ethos.

The iconic Eero Saarinen Ball Chair spotted in a hotel lobby

Thanks to the help of the Miami Preservation League, over 800 significant buildings, contained in approximately one-square mile, have been listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Just by walking around, you can understand why.

I think it’s safe to say that Art Deco is one of the starting points of what we now consider Modern Design. The movement in the USA, especially here in Miami, has found its inspiration in many distinct early 20th century design currents such as Bauhaus, Cubism, de Stijl and Expressionism.

This hotel was recently featured in one of my favorite tv series, Dexter.

Unique to Miami, local architects have come up with their own interpretation of Art Deco called Tropical Deco. Heavily influenced by the steamships and oceanliners of the period, you can see it being represented by details like the round windows mimicking nautical portholes and the steel deck railings.

One of my favotite features of any Art Deco building has to be the finial spire. Most of those "tower-like" shapes have unfortunately been destroyed over time. Those that remain conjure up images of a Buck Rodgers rocket or the type of skyscraper King Kong would love to climb.

 
Our hotel, the Circa 39, might have been just of a few blocks outside the Art Deco epicenter but it still met all of our expectations for a very reasonable price. With its clean, slick rooms, funky lobby, friendly staff and poolside beds, what else could you ask for?

In front of our hotel. Thanks Mom and Dad for letting us borrow the BMW Z3!

Miami might not be "Mod central" but just like a futuristic 60s cyborg, my eyes locked in on any Mod related objects, vintage scooters being the first.

PX150 with less then 2 miles on the odometer

Nice Vespa but chances are its a Vietnamese death trap

Original Zundapp Bella

Beautiful example of a Heinkel Tourist

No matter if you're fan of Art Deco or not, South Beach is without a doubt a romantic place. I can attest to that!

Having a Mod wedding: Part II - That's entertainment

I mentioned in Preparing a Mod Wedding that music was the central theme for our special day. We basically based the ceremony on a Soul and Rock concert with us being the main act.

One of the hardest decisions we had to make had to do with the songs we would play walking down the aisle. I finally settled on The Precisions’ 1964 Northern Soul hit (Just Like) Romeo & Juliet. I just love that song. It’s upbeat, funny and accurately reflects my quirky personality.

 

I wasn’t looking for a solonel march to the alter. I wanted to burst in dancing and singing. And that’s exactly what I did. I think the “audience” was pleasantly surprised when Ben, Eric and Christophe jumped up and joined me as my back vocals, swaying to the beat in harmony.

Nikki walked in on one of our all-time favorite songs, It Must Be Love by Madness. No Here comes The Bride for her! It took my lovely lady a while before settling on that song. It’s easy to fall in the tacky and cliché trap. When she revealed her final choice to me, I had no idea she even liked that song. I was elated! The most important part was that I hadn’t associated that song to an ex-girlfriend.

The exit song was quickly picked. All Day And All of The Night by The Kinks was an obvious choice for us. We didn’t want your typical slow paced romantic tune. We wanted to leave on a bang! Obviously, we didn’t take the traditional route. Besides, this was far from being a traditional ceremony. So as soon as I kissed the bride, we put on our shades, turned around and rocked down the aisle. The party was on!

We opted for Signed, Sealed, Delivered by the legendary Stevie Wonder to be introduced for the first time as husband and wife. “Here I am baby. Signed, sealed, delivered. I’m yours,” sounds pretty appropriate for the occasion.

DJ Papa Bill took care of setting the mood during dinner spinning the best sweet soul music the 60s had to offer.

To kick off the evening’s festivities, I had a little surprise in store for the bride. I had been practicing for a month, in secret, a song that is one of our guilty pleasures. Appropriately enough, I sang Adam Sandler’s ballad I Wanna Grow Old With You from the movie The Wedding Singer. Far from a being a Mod classic, my partner in crime, guitarist Daniel Fiocco from Mod band Le Chelsea Beat, gave it a definite 60s groove. I might not have the sweet voice of Otis Redding or the power vocals of a Roger Daltrey but the important thing is that my wife seemed to genuinely enjoy it. I think I pulled it off!

We were very fortunate to have 3 great live acts as the night’s bona fide entertainment. First was my mate Eric’s band, Les Séparatwists. They gave us quite a performance. With classic hits like Peter Gunn, the James Bond and the Pink Panther theme, they had the floor packed in no time. I was touched when my father came up to me and said: “They’re amazing! I could listen to them all night.” I think the band was quite surprised when they were asked for an encore. The acclaim was well-deserved.

Next was Ben & Zoë, better known as The Soul Distributors. Black Clouds was to be our first dance. Let me tell you how amazing this 16-year-old singer is. Picture Amy Winehouse full of potential AND sober. When Ben sent me a link to his demo on YouTube, we both fell in love with his original composition. How can you not? Now if these guys don’t hit it big one day, there’s something wrong with this world. I’m just proud to say that they had their first public performance at our wedding. You should also check out Ben’s Soul record label in the making Papa Bill Records for updates.

Our final act of the evening was my favorite Power Pop French Mod trio, Kid Sentiment. They were dynamic to say the least. The added privilege you get when you tie the knot is that you get to ask the band to play your favorite songs off their new album. Available on iTune, give them a listen.

With the crowd warmed up, I had no problem keeping the guests moving with my own DJ set. Why DJ at your own wedding? I don’t know. I guess I like to see friends and family enjoy themselves and knowing that I lit the fire.

Eric took over and had no problem keeping the floor packed until the wee hours of the night.

Now that it's all said and done, I wouldn't change a thing. Except maybe for the fact that a had raging fever the whole night. But that must the effects of love. Now, off into the sunset...