Green Velvet

Friday, March 08, 2013 (10:00 PM - 4:00 AM) | Marquee 289 10th Ave New York NY (Chelsea)

Green Velvet

Featuring By
Green Velvet
Relief Records / Chicago

Along with
CEM & RG

We're going down to La La Land as the legendary Chicago pioneer Green Velvet returns to New York for his Marquee debut! The creator behind so many huge classics will be bringing his tracky, twisted sound and live vocals to Marquee's Funktion One for a night of mental house and techno. It's been a while since Velvet has smashed NYC - don't miss this rare appearance.

Green Velvet

Green Velvet, initially created by house don Cajmere (AKA Curtis Alan Jones) as an outlet for his non-vocal productions and frequent DJing gigs, grew to become even more popular than the man himself, thanks to club singles like "Preacher Man," "Answering Machine" and "The Stalker." Each were infectious, undeniably fun records with simple vocal taglines and a wonderful sense of humor. Jones, who had nurtured the Chicago house renaissance of the 1990's with his Cajual Records, gained immense success in 1993 with the Cajmere single "Brighter Days" (with vocals performed by Dajaé). Later that year, he formed the sub-label Relief Records mostly for instrumental tracks by himself and others. Besides releases from DJ Sneak, Gemini and Paul Johnson, Green Velvet figured on many of the early Relief singles, including its first, "Preacher Man" as well as "Flash" (also released on the British label Open), "The Stalker" and 1997's hilarious "Answering Machine." Jones began to do supplement his Green Velvet DJing schedule with quasi-live gigs as well, and released his first LP in 1999. His self-titled release on F-111 one year later compiled a dozen of his earlier club hits, and the proper sophomore production album "Whatever" appeared in 2001 on his own Relief label.

Change has been a constant theme throughout the successful career of Green Velvet, but as he has crossed genres, explored themes from the comedic to the serious and changed monikers, the common thread running through the music he has made for nearly two decades is its roots in and dedication to the Chicago House sound.

His first transformation came when he left master's degree studies in chemical engineering at UC-Berkeley to turn a hobby into a career making music, influenced by the sounds he had been exposed to as a science-fiction-loving, video-game-playing kid whose father was a part-time Chicago DJ.

As Cajmere, he released his inaugural Underground Goodies EP in 1991 on his Cajual label, keeping true to the early House sound. He quickly followed it up the next year with the smash hit "Coffeepot (It's Time for the Percolator)."

Not one to rest on his success, he soon changed things up, teaming with vocalist Dajae for "Brighter Days," a more mellow House tune, this one released by Emotive. That pairing would be his last with a female vocalist until his recent partnership with rapper Kid Sister for "Everybody Wants."