With everything running at a full-go pace here at Under The Stars, sometimes we lag a bit in the column space, so we ask you for just a bit of grace. We’re going to get at it, mind you, just with all types of Breaking News interruptions happening in the force; concentration gets tapped and nicked now and again.
But we’re here to lend a couple of words to Black History Month.
First, anyone who reads this column regularly knows we celebrate Black History Month every month and, in some cases, every week. Black History happens like clockwork, every second. But I will not miss an opportunity to spread some ideas out underneath this umbrella.
There is a great lot of music docs and films out there for viewing that will give you a specific insight into said artists. Just to be upfront, some docs are better than others, but the mere fact that at the touch of a button, we can get a couple of hours on modern Black and Brown creatives remains a win for everybody.
I caught the animated Pharrell Williams LEGO biopic Piece by Piece, currently streaming on Peacock, directed by Oscar-winner Morgan Neville (20 Feet from Stardom), and man, it’s a colorful gush of imagination that explains the producer, songwriter, and performer’s relationship with music from when he was just a wee Williams. There is a segment early on where he explains what a Stevie Wonder record did to his brain as a child (he saw colors leap out from the speakers… amazing). I’m sure many of us who grew up with vinyl and physical media had a similar experience.
It’s a pretty detailed account of how many hits the dude has had, a great lot of which he wrote. But in certain sections of the film, he conveys hardships and pains that perhaps aren’t fully divulged. That’s a creative choice, but kinda defeats the purpose of a biopic. (A possibly more in-depth flick about his life, directed by Michel Gondry, has just been scrapped.) The overwhelming message, however, of staying true to your process of creativity makes this a pretty cool hang. Plus, Snoop, Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z, and NORE as Legos? That’s creativity.
I also caught the Luther Vandross documentary Luther: Never Too Much, directed by Dawn Porter, currently streaming on MAX and Goodness. It’s such dedication to the amount of hustle, grit, wit, and know-how Vandross extolled early in his career. I was reminded of how deep in the voice-over commercial jingles game he was at the start. Juicy Fruit, Mountain Dew, KFC, Burger King, and NBC: He sang jingles from 1977 until the early ’80s. When he decided to record the album Never Too Much, his lifelong friend and go-to bass player Marcus Miller asked him “Wait, you are the king of jingles, why you wanna make a record?”
Constructed from interviews done with Vandross and others throughout his career, the pic gets to the point of just how much of an arranger, musician, producer, and tactician studying background voices he was from the start—Vandross was far more hands-on and musically conceptual than many gave him credit for. As much as he’s pigeonholed as a master balladeer, and he is rightfully so, people forget until they hear his first hit “Never Too Much” that he was fully adept at delivering something plucky, funky, and full of citywide bump that exposed a person’s inner emotion about possible first love—which also made you snap your neck and keep it movin’ to the next destination.
Earworm, Jack. Black-radio heat.
For Luther-heads around the world, and yeah they get into the Bowie business too: Never Too Much is a doc that delivers on how this one-of-a-kind talent could hustle.
Now as for the 2025 Lifetime movie Can You Feel the Beat: The Lisa Lisa Story, a biopic about the life of pop star Lisa Lisa? It does indeed feel exactly like… a Lifetime movie.
I’m bummed too. Lisa Velez, who became famous in the ’80s as the lead singer of Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, is one of those artists who was creating and making history in ways people did not recognize at the time. Her journey from being a 15-year-old Puerto Rican girl to a global music star is one loaded with the trials and tribulations of being a woman in the music industry, dealing with that shit: sexism, racism, and later in life, breast cancer.
But the thing that blew my mind was that she kept dropping hit after hit, especially “Can You Feel the Beat” and the mega-hit “I Wonder If I Take You Home.” Those singles played ad infinitum on the basketball court, from boomboxes all over NYC parks.
What began as street, evolved into a pop staple for the ’80s. The genre of Latin freestyle transformed from a niche dance category into mainstream high school dance fodder. Mixtape jams. Six to nine months before they entered the official Billboard charts. Way before Dick Clark and Casey Kasem got hip.
Lisa-Lisa was Soul Train before Solid Gold, you dig?
That’s the genre-breaking power of this Puerto Rican icon.
She did that.
Her incredible story warrants much more than the Lifetime treatment. I hope somebody with pull (Jennifer Lopez, I’m looking at you) takes the story and gives it the top-flight cinematic treatment it deserves.
NOISE POP IS COMING: THE MISSION PROVIDES
The Mission district is forever conversation bait about how SF sold out, got gentrified, and remains a close study of how organic entertainment districts ebb and flow with the times. But Tha Mish still delivers in-the-know entertainment on the weekends.
For out-of-towners meandering through our fair city for a music festival, I’m going to suggest some off-the-beaten-path, locals-loving spots below with DJ nights that are, as the kids say, “chef’s kiss.” At least two, possibly all three, feature mostly vinyl on the nights listed here. That distinction carries several benefits, making a big difference sound-wise, increasing connectivity to dancers who may ask for the label, producer, musicians, etc.
But there is a larger reason.
I don’t have the exact quote, but if you read my column regularly, you know one of my fave DJs, producers, musicians, and philosophers is Detroit’s Theo Parrish. He was once asked why he still lugs vinyl around and plays these five, six, seven, and eight-hour sets on NTS or live where vinyl skips and pops. He answered with wisdom and, of course, a sense of community.
When he plays these gigs, sets with vinyl, he’s communicating to those younger people who may be disenfranchised that DJing is still available to you. All that high-end equipment seen at the Vegas pool parties or Ibiza, that some DJs use today, you don’t have to have that to begin.
Money shouldn’t be an obstacle. Just find a second-hand set of turntables, a cheap mixer, and some headphones.
Rummage through your family’s records. If they don’t have records, score some at the library when they have a sell-off, or hit your local thrift store for cheap ones, or make it your business to attend garage sales, stoop sales, and just stay on the grind seeking them out. DJing is not a private club. Records are for all the people.
I would bet these establishments and DJs below would agree.
BAR PART TIME
Natural wine and superior vibes served. Plus: International DJ talent—such as Benedek—is enmeshed with nights from local record store Groove Merchant, Bay Area breakbeat tactician Bored Lord, and other heavyweights from the 415 and 510 respectively.
Cool hang with dang professionals on the decks. Legit.
496 14th Street, SF. More info here.
LASZLO
Bites, cocktails, and vinyl DJs make this SF venue perfect for weekend vibes—cool and friendly waitstaff, knowledgeable bartenders, DJs who know how to create a sense of community through their music. Riate from Stay Gold plays 6pm until close on Saturday, March 1: Expect exciting surprises for open-minded music lovers—this is the ideal place to hang out on Saturday nights.
2526 Mission, SF. More info here.
KNOCKOUT SF
Knockout SF is a no-frills bar known for its DJ dance parties, punk bands, and bingo nights. This is where it goes down. The booths, bar, dancefloor, and DJ setup ask patrons upon arrival: Let’s go. On First Saturdays, it’s home to the familiar and internationally known San Francisco night that celebrates boogie, two-step, and modern funk—strictly on vinyl, mind you—called Sweater Funk. It’s a destination party for record collectors hailing from Chicago, Manchester, Dublin, Tokyo, LA, and Brooklyn from a widely diverse collection of folks. March 1 features the crew getting deep.
Folks, it’s San Francisco’s finest. Wear your trainers.
3223 Mission, SF. More info here.
UPCOMING CONCERTS
REBIRTH BRASS BAND AT THE CHAPEL, MARCH 4
That would be Fat Tuesday to those in the know. And for those well-informed, Rebirth Brass Band is exactly the band you want to be shaking and vibrating all the things on your body that jiggle and wiggle. Forever one of the greatest musical institutions birthed in New Orleans, this ensemble mix of contemporary freewheeling horn-driven arrangements brings those Basin Street traditions everywhere they go. Who else could you say you wanna hear when good and bad times hit? Rebirth Brass Band has healed cities and uplifted celebrations to a level unbeknownst before. Do yourself a favor and get some of this human music in your bones on this Fat Tuesday.
Grab tix here.
THE GREASE TRAPS AT MOES ALLEY, SANTA CRUZ, FEBRUARY 27
A true 360-degree involvement with the bump and hustle: Oakland’s bouillabaisse of that rattle and roll called The Grease Traps keeps folks engaged and amazed. I’m talking Meters slap, psychedelic vibes of soul, acid-rock bug-out joints, JB power of groove, and just a bit of Tower of Power too. Get some of this experience at Moes, and soon you will be different, all for the better.
Grab tix here.
