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World Famous Kenton Club
8:00pm Saturday, October 12, 2024
Come dance to seasonal vintage vinyl of the 1950s, 60s, 70s & beyond! Freak-out to mystical sounds of the past! Wear a costume or outfit inspired by the supernatural season! Invent your own supernatural-inspired dance step to share with our party guests!  Brrring your furrrrrrrrriends!  Meow!
 
ALSO, Help celebrate the Dance Hall of Flame induction of music-makers who recorded some of my seasonal favorites: Screamin' Jay HawkinsPeggy LeeClaudine ClarkJimmy Smith, and Redbone. GIVEAWAYS including, (while supplies last), each party guest will receive a free set of bubble gum cards I've designed for each of the above artists.

* On Saturday, Oct 12 I, DJ Action Slacks, will be eerily producing my 12th vintage-inspired Halloween dance party in Portland! AND it'll be the10th one co-DJed by Wildman James (of Morgan & the Organ Donors)! 
 
BUT that's not the only DJ anniversary I'll be celebrating on Oct 12.  It will also mark the 30th anniversary of my first time DJing in public and in general.  WHOA!
 
Yes, 30 years ago, Khaela Maricich (who later started the band The Blow & my nextdoor neighbor in the Evergreen State College dorms) invited me to DJ at a Halloween party taking place in a barn with a dirt floor located in the middle of the forest somewhere in the pitch-black dark of night in Olympia, WA. If you think Portland is/was weird, it is NOTHING compared to Olympia in the mid-1990s!



Wonder Ballroom
7:00pm Saturday, September 14, 2024

21+ / 7 PM Doors 8 PM Show // $28 Advanced Ticketing

ESG with Strange Babes and Dirt Twins


ESG is coming back to Portland! After their triumphant show last year, they decided to revisit us one more time to bring the party. This is IT.

ESG formed in the South Bronx in 1978. Their unique mix of hip hop and punk has never been replicated, though many have tried. ESG’s hit “UFO” is one of the most sampled songs of all time. It cannot be overstated how important this band is.

Even more important than their irreducible originality is the fact that this band will MAKE YOU dance. They are as live as you’ll ever hear music. Come on down for the party of the year.

Kenton Club
4:00pm Saturday, August 31, 2024

10+ Femme Fronted Performances

$15 // Tickets available first come, first served at the door door day-of-event

Doors 3:30pm, Show 4:00pm 

Lineup: 

Rose Gerber
Emily Love
The Highliners
Aika Collins
Yellowbirds
Atta Boy Girls!
Elena Valdick
Kate Waterland
Sweet Bean Selene
Country Co-Op
DJ Roughrider
Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison
8:00pm11:00pm Wednesday, August 28, 2024

21+ // Doors 8pm, Party 9pm

Special XRAY Advance: $10.71, or $15 at the door.

GET TICKETS

Join us at Holocene for a dance party as part of our summer to celebrate 10 years of XRAY!

This special DJ showcase features longtime XRAY DJs Honest John (of Savage Beat, Thursdays 7pm-8pm) and Morning Remorse (of Meaningful Connections, Thursdays 8pm-9pm), as well as newcomer Smasheltooth (of the new XRAY program Smasheltoonz 01:00am-02:00am).

White Eagle Saloon (836 N Russell Street)
6:00pm9:00pm Sunday, August 25, 2024
Portland based DJ Ambush and DJ Klyph are excited to host the single release for Portland based emcee Vursatyl. Come through and hear the latest from a Portland music legend.

An evening celebrating Golden Era and inspired hip hop to the White Eagle. Come through for this FREE, all ages event and hear classic cuts and remixes while grabbing a hot plate and cold beverage. You can dance if you want, but this night is about the head nod. 

"It's not a party, it's a vibe".
White Eagle Saloon (836 N Russell Street)
12:00pm5:00pm Sunday, August 25, 2024
DJ Klyph and DJ Ambush of XRAY FM present: No Requests Day Party during PDX Hip Hop Week. 

With special guest DJ's, local vinyl and apparel vendors and a food drive partnership with Sunshine Division.

We'll also be recognizing local designer Casso Dinero for his contributions to hip hop with a special presentation.

We're celebrating the Golden Era and inspired hip hop at the White Eagle so come through for this FREE, all ages event and hear classic cuts, remixes while grabbing cold beverage.
White Eagle Saloon (836 N Russell St)
6:00pm9:00pm Sunday, July 28, 2024

Portland based DJ Ambush (News With My Fiancé) and DJ Klyph (Welcome to the Neighborhood) bring an evening celebrating Golden Era and inspired hip hop to the White Eagle. Come through for this FREE, 21+ event and hear classic cuts and remixes while grabbing a hot plate and cold beverage. You can dance if you want, but this night is about the head nod. 

"It's not a party, it's a vibe".

Sumner Albina Park (5134 N Albina Ave, between Cherry Sprout & Red Fox)
11:00am7:00pm Sunday, July 21, 2024

FREE // All Ages // Outdoors & Family Friendly

Music on vinyl all day from some of Portland's finest selectors! Including XRAY's own The Grand Yoni (The IMPACT! Sound, Saturdays 1-2pm) and DNA (Beautiful Music, Tuesdays 4-6pm) in some great company! 

18,000 watts of pure power from the IMPACT! High Fidelity Sound System! Done in collaboration with our neighbors at Mississippi Records.






White Eagle Saloon
6:00pm9:00pm Sunday, June 30, 2024

**SPECIAL LAST SUNDAY EDITION** DJ Ambush and DJ Klyph are back with another Verzuz Series event, this time featuring two celebrated labels in hip-hop, Death Row and Roc-A-Fella. We're celebrating the Golden Era and inspired hip hop to the White Eagle so come through for this FREE event and hear classic cuts, remixes while grabbing a hot plate and cold beverage. You can dance if you want, but this night is about the head nod. This is 21+ event goes from 6pm - 9pm. 

"It's not a party, it's a vibe".

DOTS Cafe
9:00pm Friday, June 21, 2024

Third Fridays

DOTS on SE Clinton St

9 pm til late

​​WHIPPED CREAM, happening 3rd Fridays at DOTS in the Clinton Neighborhood!  I've been looking for the right venue for this event for a while, and I think DOTS fits the bill perfectly!

Gather your crew and/or bring your date to DOTS!  Grab dinner & drinks, dance, play pinball, bring dice/cards & play those, or just shoot the sh*t while I spin vintage vinyl inspired by the ICONIC vintage decor of DOTS that Portlanders have been enjoying for decades!

You'll hear tunes from the 1950s-1970s: tropical, Latin tinge, swingin' 60s, psychedelic velvet! Rhythm n Grooves with a touch of camp. 
 

In order for the Old Portland establishments to survive, we need to SHOW UP FOR THEM!  Support the remaining "Old Portland" businesses like DOTS and the Kenton Club!


World Famous Kenton Club
8:00pm Saturday, June 15, 2024

You asked for it, you got it! 

Under the FLAME umbrella, your host DJ Action Slacks revives Queer Country Junction for one night during Pride Month!

CLASSIC COUNTRY on VINTAGE VINYL (1950s-1980s) with perhaps a couple of newer things tossed in!

1 night of incredible music!

Sexy LGBTQs & allies in western outfits kicking up their heels on one of the BEST dance floors in town!

Also including the induction of several classic country music-makers into the Dance Hall of FLAME!

 

$10 - $20 at the door (sliding scale)

8 pm to midnight

21+
SEE YOU JUNE 15th at the Kenton Club!


PAMCUT's Tomorrow Theater (3530 SE Division St, Portland, OR 97202)
6:30pm Saturday, June 8, 2024

Doors 6:30pm w/ Prize Giveaways, Show 7:30pm // All Ages

$15 // TICKETS

Click here to learn more about accessibility at the Tomorrow Theater. 

THE EXPERIENCE 

Join us for a 40th anniversary screening of the film Beat Street, presented by DJ Klyph and XRAY FM

ON SCREENBeat Street

1984. Directed by Stan Lathan. Runtime: 105 minutes. Rated PG. 
Produced by Harry Belafonte, Hollywood’s first in-depth exploration of hip-hop culture centers on teens in the Bronx, the epicenter of the blooming hip-hop community, finding their way. Littered with cameos from hip-hop greats, the film captures the pulse of a community before their culture hit the mainstream. With Rae Dawn Chong, Guy Davis, Mary Alice, and Duane Jones.

OFF SCREEN: No Requests DJs Klyph & Ambush

DJ Klyph is a veteran of terrestrial radio in Portland, Oregon, building a brand that has promoted the local music scene through FM broadcast [The Numberz FM & XRAY FM], podcasts [Klyph Notes], and live events [No Requests & Mic Check PDX].

As a selector, he leans heavily towards lyrical content and classic boom bap due in great part to his early years in the Northeastern corner of the US. After spending prominent years in the South, he relocated to the Northwest and has become a fixture in the local scene.

“The Rhythm” radio show on The Numberz FM allows Klyph to continue the mission of bringing great content to listeners, highlighting music you won’t hear anywhere else in the city. “Welcome to the Neighborhood” on XRAY FM provides a platform for artists from within the region and national artists as well. The “Klyph Notes” podcast brings long form interviews, diving into the stories behind the art. Klyph works to create platforms representing the underrepresented from the Northwest and worldwide.

Being a collector of music since the age of 14, Ambush has always had a devout interest in making people dance. Starting out by rocking high school and basement parties, Ambush was the one showing up with the “pause tape” cassette mixes and was always amazed and excited to see audiences react to his selections. Soon thereafter, Ambush acquired his first set of turntables, and started getting booked for parties; the rest is history. Ambush’s love for music and DJ’ing has taken him all over. With over 26 years of experience in nightclubs, concerts, festivals, retail locations, and weddings coupled with a rich knowledge of music Ambush is the perfect DJ for any occasion.

Wayfinder Beer (304 SE 2nd Ave)
12:00pm5:00pm Sunday, June 2, 2024

FREE // All Ages

Join us for another edition of the XRAY Record Fair, this time at Wayfinder Beer!

From Noon to 5pm on June 2nd XRAY will be hosting a record swap, with music provided by XRAY, cold ones from Wayfinder, and vinyl treasures galore. 

Featured Vendors include: 

We are looking to fill a few remaining vendor spaces. 8’ spaces are available for $45, if you are an XRAY DJ or Member you are eligible for a discounted fee of $35. To register or for any questions please contact Chase Spross at chase.spross@xray.fm.



World Famous Kenton Club
8:00pm Saturday, June 1, 2024

FLAME Vintage Vinyl Dance Party presents the Annual Pride Month Kickoff Party!  Join your LGBTQmunity at the World Famous Kenton Club as we gather to celebrate with LOVE! Portland has moved its Pride celebration to July, but Pride Month is still JUNE, so this party will still take place the first Saturday of June.

Your host DJ Action Slacks & special guest DJ Songbird (of The Wayward Girls and The In Crowd on XRAY.fm) will be spinning vintage rhythm n grooves movers & groovers (mostly 1955-1975)! Soul * oldies * Latin * mod jazz * caribbean * and MORE!  Familiar Favorites and RARE CUTS!

Plus other big gay surprises!

If weather permits we'll have the music also playing on the patio.

This event also includes the induction of several LGBTQ music-makers into the Dance Hall of Flame: Arthur Conely, Dusty Springfield, Big Maybelle, Bob Crewe (Producer/Songwriter), Clara Ward, and Chris ConnorLearn more about the Dance Hall of Flame at djactionslacks.com

While supplies last, the party guests who attend this event will receive trading cards for each of the above artists to take home so you remember their names. Arrive with an open mind, open heart, and please be receptive to learning WHILE having fun.

Although we encourage metaphorical flames on the dance floor, we also DISCOURAGE playing with REAL fire.  That's why this month's poster features our mascot, Scorchy the Big Gay Bear who is sporting a tiny hat!  Scortchy says, "TINY HATS ARE ENCOURAGED" for this edition of Flame! Colorful outfits & looks are also highly encouraged!

8 pm to Midnight
21+
Sliding scale $10 - $20 at the door (pay what you choose - cash or Venmo)
FLAME Vintage Vinyl Dance Party welcomes to LGBTQs and allies


White Eagle Saloon (836 N Russell)
6:00pm Sunday, May 26, 2024

DJ Ambush (News with My Fiancé) and DJ Klyph (Welcome to the Neighborhood) bring an evening celebrating Golden Era and inspired hip hop to the White Eagle. Come through for this FREE event and hear classic cuts and remixes while grabbing a hot plate and cold beverage. You can dance if you want, but this night is about the head nod. "It's not a party, it's a vibe".

The Siren Theater
8:00pm10:00pm Friday, May 24, 2024
For nearly a decade, Minority Retort has been Portland’s premier stand-up comedy showcase featuring Black & Brown comedians and a fixture on the Portland comedy scene. 
Now… it’s enough already! 
Join us as we celebrate Minority Retort’s LAST EVER SHOW and homegoing with an all-star lineup of some of the show’s favorite comics:
Nathan Brannon!
Katie Nguyen!
Adam Pasi!
Anthony Robinson!
Julia Ramos!
The Real Hyjinx!
Debbie Wooten!
Curtis Cook (Hulu’s This Fool and TBS’ American Dad)!
Hosted by Jason Lamb and music by DJ Klyph & DJ Ambush of No Requests! And you just KNOW there’s going to be some special guests! �
TICKETS: $15 advance/$20 at the door

A portion of the ticket and merchandise sales will go to the Black Parent Initiative, Oregon’s only culturally-specific, community-based nonprofit organization focused solely on supporting Black/African-American families with children. So, be sure to be the first and last one on your block to pick up a sweet Minority Retort T-shirt, button or sticker for a good cause! 
For more on BPI, check out their website:
Thank you to those in the NW and beyond for supporting us these many years!
World Famous Kenton Club
8:00pm Saturday, May 4, 2024

Jump into Spring by dancing to rhythm & grooves pressed like a flower into vintage vinyl of the 1950s, 1960s, & 1970s:
R&B Soul
Latin Grooves
Caribbean rhythms
Groovy Pop
and other tunes to make you swing towards Spring!
Rarities & Familiar Favorites

Think FLOWER POWER as you bring your spring with you by wearing SPRING-colored and flower-inspired outfits!
This "Spring Shingaling" edition of FLAME will double as the celebration of a decade (+ 1) of DJ Action Slacks-produced dance parties at the Kenton Club! I missed my 10 year KC anniversary last May so I'm celebrating it this year. I threw my first dance party at the Kenton Club in May 2013. Now 70ish events later I feel as if a part of me has become ingrained into those 1940s redwood walls.

Also included during this event - the Dance Hall of Flame inductions of a few music-makers I associate with the sounds of Spring. Their songs are like a melodious "miracle grow", sending our hearts into bloom. Ok, perhaps the language is a little flowery. In all sincerity, this music makes my heart come alive, and I hope it will do the same for you : Mary Wells, Joe Cuba, Tamiko Jones, Huey "Piano" Smith, Yvonne Baker & the Sensations, and The Chambers Brothers!

Arrive with an open mind, open heart, and openness to learning WHILE having fun.

8 pm - 10pm will be mostly 1950s & 1960s music
10pm to Midnight will be mostly 1960s & 1970s music

21+
Sliding scale at the door $10 - $20 You can pay cash or Venmo
Like most of my dance parties, this party is open to all kind-hearted people, but is geared toward the Portland LGBTQmunity & its allies.


White Eagle Saloon (836 N Russell)
6:00pm9:00pm Sunday, April 28, 2024

Featuring DJ Ambush & DJ Klyph

Ambush and Klyph are back, celebrating the women of Hip-Hop. Portland-based DJ Ambush and DJ Klyph bring an evening celebrating Golden Era and inspired hip hop to the White Eagle. Come through for this FREE event and hear classic cuts and remixes while grabbing a hot plate and cold beverage. You can dance if you want, but this night is about the head nod. "It's not a party, it's a vibe".

Polaris Hall (635 N Killingsworth Ct.)
8:00pm Friday, April 19, 2024

GET TICKETS!

21+ // Doors 7pm, Show 8pm 

General Admission $20 // Member Pre-Sale March 13th at 10am, Public Onsale March 15th at 10am 

Members: Check your email for your pre-sale code!

Celebrate 10 YEARS of XRAY with us in an all-out Birthday Bash with some certified rock stars, a whole lot of the XRAY DJs you know and love, and an exciting announcement you'll just have to be there to see. 

We haven't held an official birthday event since Year 5 (2019) for...perhaps obvious reasons. In the past, these have usually sold out so get your tickets early! 

Your hosts for the night will be the incomparable Arthur Bradford AND B. Frayn Masters!!!

The Minus 5

...is a rock/folk/pop collective captained by Scott McCaughey (see: “Scott McCaughey” c/o “The Internet”, for further reliable information), with Peter Buck often aboard as navigation officer. By design from its inception, the line-up for recordings and live appearances is completely fluid, dependent on musician availability, whim, and wind direction. Collaborators regularly feature friends from R.E.M. (as it once were), Wilco, Decemberists, Posies, and literally hundreds and hundreds of other recalcitrant comrade combos.  Everyone gives their all, and no one need be counted on.

Abronia

A lot of bands who fly the psych banner these days have a minimalist view of the music, and choose a sort of post-shoegaze lassitude to present their “vision.” This can be astoundingly great, of course, but it also fails to address the central gobble-crazed nature of true psychedelia. Many of history’s greatest psych outfits were hewn from bizarre hybrids of disparate parts. Frankenstein monsters in search of sacred ecstasy. One gets the same vibe off of Abronia. Totally unexpected bits pop up amidst their rhapsodic jamming, conjuring shards of memory as disparate as Relf-era Renaissance, Joseph Byrd’s United States of America, and even (at least in spots) real early Siouxsie. These are just a few examples of how wide Abronia cast their net. Their instrumental brunt moves from neo-prog to folk rock to thunderheads cast in the same mold as the Sensational Alex Harvey Band’s (I shit you not!).

Arthur Bradford (Co-MC)

Arthur Bradford is best known, at XRAY and only at XRAY, for hosting Sex, Drugs, & Basketball on Thursday nights. But he's best known everywhere else as a prolific and award-winning author and documentary filmmaker (bet you weren't expecting an Emmy nominee to be the same person that hosts a show where only topics about sex, drugs, or basketball are allowed!). His stories have been heard on The Moth Radio Hour, This American Life, and BackfencePDX. You may have seen some of his films--they're pretty popular--like How's Your News? or 6 Days to Air: The Making of South Park. 

B. Frayn Masters (Co-MC)

Frayn is prolific when it comes to telling stories of all kinds, and XRAY has been proud to call her a friend of the station in several capacities throughout our time on the air. Currently, her biggest project is leading the charge at BackfencePDX. Since 2008, series creator, artistic director, and host Frayn Masters along with Backfence story producers Mindy Nettifee, Brian S. Ellis, and Chris Williams have been curating powerful and engaging story shows for the Pacific Northwest and beyond. The most exciting part of a storytelling show is we get to mix things up and put wildly different kinds of people together on the same night in a way that will never happen again. A funeral director on stage with author of Wild Cheryl Strayed, a high school science teacher with Parenthood's Joy Bryant, a poker player taking wild chances with Bridesmaid's Wendi McLendon-Covey, a pet psychic with Superstore's Colton Dunn, and a blood spatter expert with Shrill author Lindy West.


World Famous Kenton Club
8:00pm Saturday, April 6, 2024
Dance to rhythm & grooves from the 1950s-1970s! Rarities & Familiar Favorites

This edition of FLAME will include the induction of Bobbie Gentry, Maxine Brown, Trini Lopez and others (TBA) into the Dance Hall of Flame!

For the better part of a decade, FIRST Saturdays at Kenton Club have been one of the HOTTEST spots in Portland for dancing to vintage vinyl of the 1950s - 1970s. Your party host DJ Action Slacks has delivered a smorgasbord of party themes over the years. Now, as she moves into the next chapter of party producing, she's devoted to paying gratitude to the music-makers who have set her dance floors on fire over the years.

This is why the DJ Action Slacks FIRST Saturday dance parties will now be branded as FLAME! The night still features campy capers, vigorous vintage vinyl (mostly 1950s-1970s), and will occasionally have special themes. However, each party will also include the induction of several music-makers into the Dance Hall of FLAME! So arrive with an open mind, open heart, and openness to learning WHILE having fun.

8 pm - 10pm will be mostly 1950s & 1960s music
10pm to Midnight will be mostly 1960s & 1970s music

21+
Sliding scale at the door $10 - $20
Like most of my dance parties, this party is open to all kind-hearted people, but is geared toward the Portland LGBTQmunity & its allies.


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