Sparkling disco balls illuminate the dance floor of Spirit in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville while soul and funk tunes fill the ears and inspire the moves of attendees grooving to the beat: This is Title Town, a dance party with a unique vibe and uplifting energy celebrating its 15th anniversary this year.
The monthly Title Town features a rotating cast of DJs playing all vinyl records of R&B, soul, Motown, funk, disco and boogie. Co-founders and DJs Gordy Greenawalt and Jay “J. Malls” started to host the party at the former Shadow Lounge in East Liberty in 2009. Both DJs had recently had other gigs end and decided to join forces to create what would go on to become Title Town.
“I think people were looking for something off the beaten path,” Greenawalt said. “The great thing about the music we play is it's timeless.”
During its early years, Greenawalt and Malls said they’d see a younger crowd, mostly college-aged students looking for something different to do with their weekend. (Malls said it probably helped that he handed out tons of fliers on campuses at the time to encourage attendance.)
For about three years, the duo spun records at Shadow Lounge until its final party in December 2012 (Shadow Lounge closed in 2013). Recognizing their consistent crowds and loving the work themselves, they moved the party to Brillobox in Lawrenceville, then to the former Ace Hotel in East Liberty before hosting at its current home at Spirit in Lawrenceville. All the while, of course, they stayed true to spinning vinyl 45s, introducing the crowd to new music and making special emphasis to feature Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania-recorded tracks.
“We're not a greatest hits party. We have to mix it up,” Greenawalt said. “A lot of the music you're hearing at Title Town, you're hearing in the original format and the original sound the way it was.”
As for the name, “Title Town,” Malls said he and Greenawalt wanted a local reference for the party’s moniker. They were flipping through records recorded in the region and decided to draw from Pittsburgh’s storied sports legacy.
“It’s a play on the sports championship, the heyday of the ’70s,” Greenawalt said, referring to the championship-filled decade for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Steelers. “Other cities claim they’re ‘Title Town,’ but it’s our event, we’re going to keep on using it.”
In addition to the local records, sports-inspired name and featured area DJs, Malls said Pittsburgh also has a legacy of holding vinyl dance parties dating back to the 1960s.
“They used to call them record hops in the ’50s, in the ’60s when rock ‘n’ roll was just starting and Porky Chedwick’s playing R&B on WAMO,” Malls said. “It’s a huge culture. It’s a tradition that’s been in this region for 60 years.”
DJ Orlando “Buscrates” Marshall has known Malls “forever.” They first met while Malls was working at Jerry’s Records and has “been through every iteration of Title Town.” He’s another Pittsburgh-based DJ who’s day job is head of quality control at Hellbender Vinyl in Lawrenceville, but will be spinning vinyl at the Saturday, Oct. 5 anniversary event. He said he’s not surprised the party has been so successful over the years.
“It does work and it’s very encouraging to see younger people who are interested in this kind of music. It’s just a wonderful thing to see,” Buscrates said. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
DJ Andy Smith will be flying over from the UK to return to Pittsburgh for Saturday’s event. In the late 1990s, Smith provided samples and was the tour DJ for the band Portishead as one half of the duo “Dynamo Productions.” He said he’s always loved visiting Pittsburgh, especially when he gets to play the kinds of vinyl that Title Town features.
“I’ve always been into playing older music — especially when hip hop evolved into something that wasn’t just for me,” Smith said. “I love the vibe in Pittsburgh. Some of the people that I met on those previous trips are now my best friends in the whole of the U.S.!”
Smith said he’ll be bringing some of his own vinyl, but plans to visit as many record stores as he can while he’s here.
The Saturday event will feature Buscrates, Malls and Greenawalt, Smith, Jarrett Tebbets, Moenaw Naedon, Dini Daddy and Vamay. It’ll begin at 8 p.m. on both floors of Spirit and include a dance contest.
As for the next 15 years, Malls and Greenawalt said they probably won’t change much.
“It's a feel good environment and it's a feel good vibe,” Greenawalt said. “A lot of the music that we play is uplifting, it makes me feel good when I see this crowd dancing and really responding to a record that I care about.”
