Earlier this week, Brooklyn Bowl's familiar venue space was sucked into a dimly-lit time machine, with attendees taking a musical trip back to the funk-heavy, hard-partying days of the early '80s NYC club scene. At the helm of the "good ol' days" was Wooden Wisdom, the newly-formed DJ duo consisting of indie music vet Zach Cowie (aka Turquoise Wisdom) and... Elijah Wood. Yes, you read that correctly. Frodo Baggins from The Lord of the Rings was spinning records that recalled the days of jive talkin' and swagger walkin'.
Wooden Wisdom's strictly-vinyl sets have proven to be 2015's answer to iconic '80s discotheque Paradise Garage, and Wood and Cowie are the modern-day Larry Levan and François K duo re-paving the path. With their knack for blending undeniably funky tracks like Sly and the Family Stone's "Thank You" with lesser-known covers (remember "Good Times" by Charanga '76?), the LA-based boys possess a knowledge of rare music beyond their years. In fact, stepping out of the venue after a Wooden Wisdom set feels like a confusingly, semi-disappointing rush back into the present as soon as you hear "IDFWU" blasting from the nearest car.
With his newfound talent for delivering nostalgic sets, Wood also does good on for the oft-debated, actor-cum-DJ role. As long as the records he's spinning have you dancing on your feet, follow the number one rule of any party and RESPECT THE DJ.
"At the end of the day, [people] may have come because they've seen me in a film or because there's something a bit silly about this," Woods, who has had a relatively quiet past two years on the silver screen, told Now Toronto. "But our hope is that they'll walk away having heard things they've never heard before and that they'll be excited by them and able to move beyond the novelty factor." And with that, a small five-city tour culminated yesterday at Q Nightclub in Seattle.
Looking for the road to Afrobeat nirvana? Right this way to Wood and Cowie's Excellent Adventure.
Check out a live recording of Wooden Wisdom's set at The Do-Over, below!
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Wooden Wisdom's Elijah Wood and Zach Cowie. Photo by Geordie Wood
Wooden Wisdom's strictly-vinyl sets have proven to be 2015's answer to iconic '80s discotheque Paradise Garage, and Wood and Cowie are the modern-day Larry Levan and François K duo re-paving the path. With their knack for blending undeniably funky tracks like Sly and the Family Stone's "Thank You" with lesser-known covers (remember "Good Times" by Charanga '76?), the LA-based boys possess a knowledge of rare music beyond their years. In fact, stepping out of the venue after a Wooden Wisdom set feels like a confusingly, semi-disappointing rush back into the present as soon as you hear "IDFWU" blasting from the nearest car.
With his newfound talent for delivering nostalgic sets, Wood also does good on for the oft-debated, actor-cum-DJ role. As long as the records he's spinning have you dancing on your feet, follow the number one rule of any party and RESPECT THE DJ.
"At the end of the day, [people] may have come because they've seen me in a film or because there's something a bit silly about this," Woods, who has had a relatively quiet past two years on the silver screen, told Now Toronto. "But our hope is that they'll walk away having heard things they've never heard before and that they'll be excited by them and able to move beyond the novelty factor." And with that, a small five-city tour culminated yesterday at Q Nightclub in Seattle.
Looking for the road to Afrobeat nirvana? Right this way to Wood and Cowie's Excellent Adventure.
Check out a live recording of Wooden Wisdom's set at The Do-Over, below!
Wooden Wisdom's Elijah Wood and Zach Cowie. Photo by Geordie Wood