Forward Calendar
I won't go into a lot of details (that will come later when I can confirm everything), but rumors about upcoming parties and other musical events in the Midwest should make the beginning of summer quite fun. Memorial Day weekend (May 23­26) in Chicago will feature two big parties at The Metro (a Friday night circuit-y event with Ralphi Rosario and a Saturday night Bear dance party with DJ Ted Eiel), a Bear t-dance at Spin with DJ Cris Eterno, Tony Moran possibly spinning the International Mr. Leather Victory Party at the House of Blues, and Matthew Harvat weaving his magic at Excalibur on Monday. Two weekends later up at Pridefest in Milwaukee (June 6-8), headlining talent includes Wanda Sykes (Friday), Natasha Bedingfield (Saturday) and the Indigo Girls (Sunday). Tony Moran is spinning the Dance Pavilion on Saturday night and there a rumor that Susan Morabito might also be DJing up in Mil-town that weekend.

Groovy Groove Armada
Right now, the #1 song on my DJ playlist is the Friscia & Lamboy House Remix of "Love Sweet Sound," the new dance single off of Groove Armada's new artist album SOUNDBOY ROCK (Strictly Rhythm). The London dance duo that make up Groove Armada, Tom Findlay and Andy Cato, are truly clicking on all cylinders with the single, in album and remix versions, and have produced a 15-track CD filled with a smorgasbord of global electronica styles that make up a complete and fulfilling package. My other fave song on the album is "Get Down" with vocals performed by Stush. I highly recommend that you check out the video for the song the next time you go YouTube-ing: the dancing and roaming gang of bunny rabbits is too cool. Groove Armada has been around for more than a decade and SOUNDBOY ROCK is a testament to the fact that they are still a relevant and influential force within dance music.

MOBY-lized
Another huge influence on electronica over the past decade is none other than Moby, who has just released his sixth studio album, LAST NIGHT (Mute). Having forged a reputation as a master of meditative and more ambient electronica, this new album is more encompassing, compressing a night of NYC clubbing - as he sees it and has experienced it from a lot of DJing recently - into a single disc. It takes the listener on the emotional and energetic journey of a night out on the town: building to a peak-hours hands in the air euphoria, a trip to the tripped-out after-hours, and the lushness of the early morning daybreak. Not solely reliant on electronica, Moby also incorporates some disco and old-school hip-hop, genres that were very much a part of the clubbing scene in NYC back when he was partying hard in the 1980s. But while it may flash back to the past on occasion, LAST NIGHT is a very ambitious project that is all about today and where Moby thinks electronica and dance are going in the future.

30 Down. 30 More To Go?
Centaur is back at it again and it has hit another home run with its latest continuous mix, GLOBAL GROOVE: LIVE 3. Mixed by DJ David Knapp and DJ Escape this CD is a full on high-energy peak-hours affair filled with tracks that have recently been rocking dance floors around the world and a few that are sure to be hits in the coming months. Among the album's 13 songs are "The Boss" by Kristine W, "Another Cha Cha" by Offer Nissim, "Stars" by Erika Jayne, "Amazing" by Celeda, "Eye Can See U" by Suzanne Palmer, and "Say You Will" by Inaya Day.