Girls Against Boys' bassist Johnny Temple left New York to get away from the distractions of the big city while his band recorded a new album. That doesn't mean Temple wanted to sit around in Minneapolis and twiddle his thumbs every night though.
He would rather keep his hands busy making music, even if it's not his own.
"We like spinning records and we like having parties," said Temple about his and band co-bassist Eli Janney's gig at the weekly "House of GVSB" at the city's 400 Bar.
The feeling is mutual apparently from the hundreds who have attended their dance parties.
The duo have teamed up to spin records and throw a house party for the past six Tuesday nights at the 300-capacity Minneapolis bar located on the West Bank of the University campus, where college kids are more used to seeing the likes of Built to Spill and Vic Chesnutt than hearing old Parliament tracks and shaking booties. "We're not an R&B band," said Temple, "but we've always listened to lots of R&B and we really like it. It's a cool vibe to be associated with."
The duo's sets which incorporate old and new school hip-hop, from Eric B. and Rakim to Wu-Tang Clan, as well as the Jackson Five and classic disco tracks such as "Funky Town" and some jungle/drum & bass records, have attracted not only funk-junkie college kids, but some fellow musicians curious about the unusual sound downtown.
Members of Rage Against the Machine stopped by while in town, Temple said, adding that Rage's opening act, Atari Teenage Riot, were represented by leader Alec Empire, who took his own turn behind the wheels of steel with a special guest DJ set. Various local heroes in Soul Asylum, the Jayhawks and Babes in Toyland have made the scene, while bands as diverse as locals Arcwelder, Brick Layer Cake, and Brits out of America (a three bass band) have played one-hour between sets.
Bill Sullivan, owner of the 400 Bar, sounded, at the least, amused, by the whole scene. "They came to me with the idea, and I was happy to do it for them," he said. "My only rule is I need 75 or more people to open the doors and they've been able to bring in at least that many. Hell, the night Arcwelder played unannounced there were 300 people here." Much of the tunes served up on House of GVSB nights reminds Sullivan, he said, of house parties he attended in eighth grade, "only I'm the only guy in the place who remembers them the first time."
Sullivan praised the GVSB duo for getting the usually reluctant to dance on the floor with enticing bits of funk such as "Car Wash," "Brick House" and "Super Freak," since the times when the band has invited "professional DJ's" to spin, "the floor cleared out in a minute."
With more than two months of gigs under their belt, Temple said he and Janney are eager to keep the vibe going, possibly even on the road when the band tour to support their album. "It's cool, there's no cover, they don't pay us, they just give us drink tickets and we give the tickets to the people who show up to get them loose.
"We don't pack the place, but it has definitely picked-up week after week with people getting looser and hitting the dance floor," Temple said. "We've been talking about doing a traveling show with a DJ, or throwing dance parties after our shows every night the next time we tour."