While Screen on the Green hangs in limbo, head to a slightly smaller green in D.C.’s northeast quadrant for some barbeque, dance jams by Fatback, and a summer full of rock docs. Tonight, the NoMa (north of Massachusetts Avenue) Business Improvement District hosts Martin Scorsese’s 2005 film No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, the first in its free 2009 Summer Screen series. This year’s theme: “Music in Pictures.”

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While gathering info for my piece “Beats Working” (featured in this week’s 2008 Music and Arts in Review issue), I spoke with several DJs and promoters who had very interesting things to say, though space constraints prevented their quotes from making the print. Good thing we’ve got this spacious Internet to stretch out in.

Over the the next week or so, I’ll be posting a series of Q&As, quotes, and other additional insight from D.C. folks who are hard at work in the city’s dance culture.  The series will serve as a supplement to the article—which on its own is by no means an exhaustive survey of all the many great dance nights that are currently happening around the District.  Principally, I intended to spotlight the most successful stuff from ‘08, and promising stuff from ‘09 in the no-dress-code, no-holds-barred side of the D.C. dance scene. Hopefully, these posts will add to that scope.

First up is a full Q&A from Sean Peoples: In addition to running the Sockets CD-R label, Peoples is co-creator of the monthly funk and soul dance night Fatback (mentioned at the beginning of “Beats Working”), which celebrated its one-year anniversary last Friday. He already tipped us off to his some of his favorite things from ‘08, but here’s a more in-depth look at the progress that led Fatback from its origins at Local 16 and Dahlak to a packed house every second Friday of the month at Red Lounge, seven DJs strong. Follow the jump for the full text.
Read More “Beats Working Addendum Part 1: Sean Peoples” »