Shindig!

The Return of Parkdale Funk!

2015-03-24T05:54:00.002-07:00

Howdy Hi Shindiggers!

Your favourite selector is back from vacation and ready to rock the Piston, 937 Bloor Street, on Friday March 27th!

That's right! DJ Double K a.k.a. the incomparable Parkdale Funk is back and better than ever! Bringing you his unique brand of vintage Rhythm & Blues and Soul 45s for you to dance your ass off too!

Alongside his Shindig comrades General Eclectic & Splattermonkey!

$5.00 B4 10:30 ONLY $10 after!

See you on the dance floor!

- Shindig_Jimmy

The first Shindig of 2015 is tonight!

2015-01-30T13:53:00.004-08:00

Howdy Hi Shindiggers!

We're back at The Piston, 937 Bloor Street West for another edition of your favourite 50s and 60s Soul and R&B party tonight!

With resident selectors General Eclectic, Splattermonkey and Parkdale Funk spinning your favourite 50s and 60s R&B and Soul 7" 45 rpm records for you to dance your ass off to!

$5 B4 11 p.m. only $10 after!

The 4th Annual Shindig Beach Party!

2014-06-18T08:05:00.002-07:00

Howdy Hi Shindiggers!

Friday June 27th will be the 4th time we've thrown or annual "Beach" theme party to officially welcome Summer! Our question to you is, "What is your favourite summer time song from the 1950s or 1960s?
We'll be playing a mix of sweet sweet Soul, Garage, Surf, Ska, Reggae and Calypso music all night at The Piston, 937 Bloor Street West in Toronto, Ontario Canada!

Below you'll find a collection of some of our favourite summer time jams from our sweet era!

Harry Belafonte's "Jump In The Line"

Arguably the greatest Calypso song of all time!

Joe Jones' "California Sun"

Later made famous by The Rivieras.

The Wailers' "Simmer Down"

Arguably the greatest ska song of all time

The Surfaris' "Wipe Out"

Arguably the greatest surf rock song of all time

Toots and The Maytals' "54-46"

DJ Splattermonkey's favourite reggae song of all time

Expect to hear these and soo much more on Friday June 27th, 2014 at The Piston, 937 Bloor Street West in Toronto Ontario Canada!

See you there!

- Shindig_Jimmy

Shindig Winter Weekend!

2013-12-06T05:37:00.004-08:00

Howdy Hi Shindiggers!

This month we're bringing you two (2) nights of winter fun instead of our usual one (1)! On Friday December 7th, 2013 we'll be throwing a party with special guest DJ Misty at The Piston, 937 Bloor Street West. Then, on Saturday December 28th, Misty will be joining us again for a special DJ skate night at The Harbourfront Centre's Natrel ice skating rink, 235 Queens Quay West!

So, break out your best winter gear, sharpen your skates and get ready for our First (1st) Annual Shindig Winter Weekend!

Party at The Piston

Friday, Dec. 27th, 2013

937 Bloor Street West

with resident selectors

Splattermonkey, General Eclectic

and Double K (Parkdale Funk)

alongside special guest DJ Misty!

Free before 10:30 p.m. only $5.00 after!

19+

Shake, Rattle & Skate with Shindig!

Saturday December 28th, 2013

Harbourfront Centre Natrel Rink

235 Queen's Quay West!

with DJs Splattermonkey, General Eclectic

and Double K (Parkdale Funk)

alongside special guest DJ Misty!

Free! All ages event!

See you there!

Motown vs. Stax, The Tiebreaker!

2013-08-20T23:47:00.001-07:00

Howdy Hi Shindiggers!

The party you've all been waiting for is finally coming!
Back in September, 2011, we threw our first Motown vs. Stax party and Stax won without question. We decided to do it again in 2012 and, this time, the title of "best Soul music label" went to Motown! The only thing left for us to do now is have ONE FINAL SHOWDOWN in a WINNER TAKES ALL battle to break the tie. We'll be playing nothing but original Motown and Stax 7" 45 rpm records all night mixed LOUD on The Piston's amazing sound system by resident Shindig! selectors General Eclectic, Splattermonkey and Double K (Parkdale Funk).
Who will the winner be? Motown or Stax? The decision is entirely up to you! All you have to do is come out to The Piston, 937 Bloor Street West in Toronto on Friday August 30th and dance to the best of the Motown and Stax catalogues of sweet Soul music and cheer for your favourite! The winner will be chosen by "round of applause" or "how much noise" you can possibly make at 2 a.m. and we'll be playing nothing but the winning label for the rest of the party.

Entrance to this party is free before 10;30 p.m. and only $5.00 after!

See you there!

Shindig presents... MISS SHING-A-LING!

2013-07-18T13:40:00.001-07:00

Howdy Hi Shindiggers!

Have we got a treat for you!

First off, The Piston has air conditioning! But, more importantly, we've got a very special guest D.J., MISS SHING-A-LING, coming all the way from Richmond Virginia to spin some of that sweet Soul and R&B music for your listening and dancing delight!

Mark Friday July 26th on your calender so you don't miss your opportunity to dance to MISS SHING-A-LING spinning alongside the Shindig residents you know and love GENERAL ECLECTIC and DOUBLE K (PARKDALE FUNK)! Playing the best Soul and R&B from the 50s and 60s at The Piston, 937 Bloor Street West!

MISS SHING-A-LING grew up behind a defunct record distributor in North Tonawanda, New York and started collecting records at the age of 5. She was instantly drawn to 45s and picked up everyone she found and took them home to listen to. Needless to say, her collection started to become very serious at a very young age. So serious that, when she was in her late teens, her D.J. friends encouraged her to step behind the decks to share them at parties. Once she was doing it for a while and realized what a male dominated scene it was, being a natural competitor, it only made her want to keep at it, work harder and continue to find more records and better records than so many of the wack dudes who thought they were the shit and that females had no place in their boys club. Her drive and motivation to do this has made her one of the TOP Soul and Funk D.J.s in the WORLD! She's has been seen spinning records all over the Eastern United States and the U.K. and collectors and DJs like Grandmaster Caz, Jazzy Jay, Jazzman Gerald, Andy Smith and Tim Brown have all been known to drool over her amazingly extensive collection of Soul and Funk 45s! Miss Shing-A-Ling is the real deal and we are very grateful and humbled to be able to have her as a guest at our July Shindig!

As usual, this party is free before 11 p.m. and only $5 after!

See you there!

- Shindig_Jimmy

https://www.facebook.com/Shindigparty

The 3rd Annual Shindig Beach Party!

2013-06-16T14:29:00.002-07:00

Howdy Hi Shindiggers!

It's that time of year once again!

Summer is here and that means we're throwing our Annual Beach Party!
(not on an actual beach but at The Piston)

Get ready for some sweet Surf, Garage, Soul, Ska, Reggae, and Calypso music from the 50s and 60s to officially
welcome our favourite season, Summer!

With resident 7" 45 rpm vinyl selectors General Eclectic, Parkdale Funk (a.k.a. DJ Double K) and Splattermonkey!

Free before 10:30, only $5.00 after!

At The Piston, 937 Bloor Street West!

See you there!

Here's a sneak peek at the kinds of tunes you'll be dancing to!
http://www.facebook.com/Shindigparty

Surf's Up! by Splattermonkey on Mixcloud

2 Year Anniversary Photos

2013-04-22T16:04:00.002-07:00

Howdy Hi Shindiggers!

We had a blast last month at our 2 Year Anniversary party! Here is the evidence!

Photos by Tony Hicks

Shindig 2 Year Anniversary Party!

2013-03-18T05:27:00.000-07:00

Howdy Hi Shindiggers!

We made it! We've been blessed with amazing crowds, amazing vibes and sweet sweet vintage R&B music every month for 2 years straight and we want to celebrate!

So, save the date, Friday March 29th and prepare to dance and party with us all night at our 2 year Anniversary party!

With resident 45 selectors Splattermonkey, General eclectic and Parkdale Funk spinning vintage R&B 7" 45 rpm records all night!

Tony Hicks www.flickr.com/photos/toasterbottom/
will be taking your photo at the party so, be sure to look your best!

Free before 11:00 p.m. only $5.00 after!

Also,

We've already been running some contests on our fan page at http://www.facebook.com/shindigparty

And we've got a few more coming soon so stay tuned!

Our friends at Kops Records have provided us with some lovely vinyl prizes that we're giving away to a lucky shindigger with a record player. (let us know if you have one so we can enter your name in the draw)

We'll also be giving away a dinner for two at The Piston as well as throwing the best damn anniversary party we can!

See you there!

- Shindig_Jimmy

2012 The year in review!

2013-01-02T12:59:00.001-08:00

Howdy Hi Shindiggers!

Thanks for making 2012 such a great year! We had a blast making you dance and we're planning on continuing to make you dance to sweet vintage R&B 7" 45 rpm records throughout 2013. I just want to take this time to reflect on our year with you and point out my ten (10) favorite shindig parties of 2012!

#10 Diabloavacado!

We kicked off the year in January with special guest D.J. Diabloavacado who brought us a new perspective on Doo Wop and other wild sounds of the 50s and 60s!

#9 Shindig! 420 Edition!

In April, we changed the date and threw our party a week earlier because our resident General Eclectic was throwing his amazing Uma Nota Party on the last Friday! All of our amazing Shindig regulars came out and we had a ball! We also launched our new logo that night!

#8 A Stone Soul Christmas!

In December we threw a "one off" Christmas party in collaboration with Double Barrel Ottawa and had DJ Magnificent come through with his amazing 7" 45 rpm Soul, Funk and Reggae selections! This flyer was designed by Brittney Townson of Bangs & Blush! Thanks Brittney! You're the best!

#7 Girl Groups V. Guy Groups!

In February we decided to invite our two (2) favorite female Rock n' Soul selectors to spin a battle of the sexes! DJs Nico and Misty Rock n' Roll came to The Piston armed with some of the best Girl Group 7" 45 rpm records I've ever heard and battled our resident DJs General Eclectic and Double K (Parkdale Funk) while DJ Splattermonkey played the role of host and referee!

#6 Mop-Top Jukebox

In May, we decided to pay special tribute to the British invasion's contribution to R&B music by playing a whole night of British invasion 7" 45 rpm records and their early American influences!

#5 Misty Rock n' Roll!

In July we invited DJ Misty Rock n' Roll to come back and spin some vintage R&B, Popcorn, Soul and Garage Rock tunes and she delivered with authority and sent the dance floor in to a frenzy!

#4 The 2nd Annual Shindig Beach Party!

In June we held our 2nd annual Shindig Beach Party and the place was full of our favorite Shindiggers dressed in their summertime beach wear while Splattermonkey, General Eclectic and Parkdale Funk played some of their favorite Surf, Garage, Titty Shakers and Popcorn tunes from the 50s and 60s!

#3 Northern Soul V. Southern Soul!

In November we decided to expand on our ever popular Motown V. Stax party and play some other gems from our ever expanding Soul music collections! We definitely got a lot more funky than usual at this party! Good times!

#2 Stax V. Motown!

In August, we threw our most popular theme party, Motown V. Stax! Parkdale Funk, General Eclectic and Splattermonkey set the dance floor on fire with their favorite songs from the two best Soul music record labels of all time!

#1 Shindig! One (1) Year Anniversary Party!

Of course the best party of 2012 was our One (1) Year Anniversary Jam in March! Soo many people came out and celebrated with us! We saw all of our favorite regulars as well as some new faces that helped us make this first milestone the best Shindig Party ever! Big thanks to Becca Lemire and Amena Assaily for taking such great photos that night!

Once again, Thanks for making this past year soo special! We promise to make 2013 even better with more awesome theme parties and lots and lots of great music!

See you in January!

- Shindig_Jimmy

A Stone Soul Christmas!

2012-12-21T09:32:00.002-08:00

Ho Ho Howdy Ho Shindiggers!

This Saturday! Sleigh Ride down to The Piston, 937 Bloor Street west for...

A Stone Soul Christmas Party!

With DJs Splattermonkey, General Eclectic and Parkdale Funk and special guest DJ Magnificent (Double Barrel, Ottawa)

Spinning Soul, Funk, R&B, Ska and Reggae 7" 45s all night!

$5.00 19+

See you on the dance floor!

- Shindig_Jimmy

Northern Soul V Southern Soul!

2012-11-28T12:00:00.000-08:00

Howdy Hi Shindiggers,

Our next party is fast approaching, this Friday November 30th at The Piston, 937 Bloor Street West in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Shindig presents NORTHERN SOUL V SOUTHERN SOUL!

Here's an example of the types of 7" 45 rpm records we'll be playing...

First up is Cliff Nobels with this 1968 Northern Soul hit out of Philadelphia in the Northern State of Pennsylvania!. Here he is with "Love Is All Right"

Versus

This Southern Soul banger from Robert Parker out of New Orleans in the Southern State of Louisiana! Here he is with "Tip Toe"

Who will win? Only YOU can be the judge of that! Come to The Piston, 937 Bloor Street West this Friday November 30th to decide!

See you on the dance floor!

- Shindig_Jimmy

Shindig Halloween! Death At The Drive-In!

2012-10-24T11:47:00.000-07:00

Howdy hi Shindiggers!

It's that time, once again, where we pull out our Deadly Rhythm n' Blues, Psychobilly, Haunting Instrumentals, Bewitching Soul, Blood Curdling Garage and Murderous Mod 45s! This Friday, October 26th at The Piston, 937 Bloor Street West in Toronto, Ontario, Canada! Costumes are optional but they will get you in free before midnight. Dancing is a must! So, get ready to sweat to the creepiest 50s and 60s tunes ever laid down on 7" 45s at our 2nd annual Shindig Halloween Party! "Death at the Drive-In" is the theme so, think of your favorite classic horror movie characters and come dressed to kill!

See you on the dance floor!

- Shindig_Jimmy

Happy Birthday Chuck Berry!

2012-10-18T13:31:00.000-07:00

Shindig! Tune of the week!

Howdy Hi Shindiggers!

Today is the great Chuck Berry's 86th birthday and he's still going strong! To celebrate we decided to share one of our favorite Chuck Berry tunes with you!

Here he is with "I'm Talking About You"

Happy Birthday Chuck!

Shindig! Loves you!

- Shindig_Jimmy

Shindig! Tune of the week!

2012-10-11T13:28:00.001-07:00

Howdy Hi Shindiggers!

This week's tune comes to us courtesy of Mr. Edwin Starr! This 45 was a gift to Shindig! from Mr. Martin Koppel. Yes that's right the same legendary Northern Soul Collector who writes the price guide for Northern Soul records! He's also the owner of Kops Records here in Toronto! Martin put this record in my hands awhile back and it floored me! If you're ever digging for Northern Soul in Toronto then Kops Records located at 229 Queen Street West is the place to go!

So here it is! Edwin Starr with his northern Dancefloor burner "You're My Mellow"

The next Shindig! party is October 26th, at The piston, 937 Bloor Street West in Toronto, Ontario, Canada!

See you on the dance floor!

- Shindig_Jimmy

Nick Waterhouse!

2012-10-05T06:39:00.001-07:00

Howdy Hi Shindiggers!

Congratulations to Jennifer for winning a pair of tickets to see Nick Waterhouse at The Great Hall, 1087 Queen Street West this Monday October 8th!

Needless to say, we love Nick Waterhouse here at Shindig! and we hope to see all of you at the show on Monday! until then, enjoy this music video!

See you on monday!

- Shindig_Jimmy

Nick Waterhouse at The Great Hall in Toronto!

2012-09-30T17:51:00.000-07:00

Howdy Hi Shindiggers!

We've got two tickets to see Nick Waterhouse at The Great Hall, 1087 Queen Street West in Toronto on Thanksgiving Monday October 8th, 2012!

This will be Nick's fist show in Toronto and your chance to say you were there! All you have to do is go to our Facebook page "Like" us and post on our wall why you love Nick Waterhouse or Shindig!
The winner will be chosen on Tuesday October 2nd, 2012!
Here's a little sneak peek at the kind of dirty Rhythm & Blues you'll hear at his show.

See you there!

- Shindig_Jimmy

Shindig! Tune of the week!

2012-09-20T13:06:00.000-07:00

Howdy Hi Shindiggers,

Next week Friday, September 28th, 2012 we'll be having another explosive Shindig! party! Get ready for a night of vintage R&B, Soul, Gospel, Mod, Rockabilly and Early Rock n' Roll!

This week's tune is an explosive Gospel number from Lavern Baker that always gets the dance floor rockin' at Shindig!

Here she is with "Saved"

See you all next week Friday September 28th at The Piston, 937 Bloor Street West for another explosive Shindig! party!

- Shindig_Jimmy

Shindig! Tune of the week!

2012-09-12T13:21:00.000-07:00

Howdy Hi Shindiggers!

This week's tune comes to us from Chess records recording artist, Little Milton. Here he is with his smash hit "She Put A Spell On Me"

Shindig! Tune of the week!

2012-09-05T11:54:00.002-07:00

Howdy Hi Shindiggers!

Since Motown defeated Stax at Friday's battle of the Soul labels, this weeks tune comes to us from the champion label Motown records. Here's Smokey Robinson & the Miracles with "Mickey's Monkey"

The next Shindig! party will be on Friday September 28th, 2012 at The Piston, 937 Bloor Street West!

See you there!

Shindig_Jimmy

Shindig! Tunes of the week!

2012-08-27T23:14:00.002-07:00

Howdy Hi Shindiggers!

Since our next party will be Stax V. Motown, I thought I would post two songs this week. The first one comes to us from the amazing Stax duo Otis Redding and Carla Thomas. Here they are with their big hit "Tramp"

Next up is the amazing Motown duo Marving Gaye and Tammi Terrell! Here they are with their smash hit "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"

See you this Friday at The Piston, 937 Bloor Street West for Motown V. Stax!

STAX VERSUS MOTOWN!

2012-08-17T13:24:00.000-07:00

Howdy Hi Shindiggers!

It's been almost a year since we first moved Shindig! to The Piston, (11 months to be exact), and the first party we held there was Motown versus Stax. The response was amazing! Shindiggers are very passionate about their favorite record labels. We put it to a vote by round of applause to choose a winner and Stax won! Some shindiggers said it was fixed and demanded a re-match. So, here it is!

STAX VERSUS MOTOWN!!!

See you on the dance floor!

- Shindig_Jimmy

Shindig! Tune of the week!

2012-08-15T14:01:00.000-07:00

Howdy Hi Shindiggers,

This week's tune comes to us courtesy of the Soul Sisters. Here they are with their sweet Soul/R&B hit "I Can't Stand It"

Shindig! Tune of the week!

2012-08-09T10:09:00.000-07:00

Howdy Hi Shindiggers,

Here's a big Northern Soul stomper from the Fabulous Peps! Here they are performing "With These Eyes."

Shindig! Tune of the week!

2012-08-08T11:48:00.001-07:00

Howdy Hi Shindiggers,

This week's tune comes to us from Doug Clark and The Nuts! Here they are with "Baby Let Me Bang Your Box!"