Icepack

by A.D. Amorosi

I’m having an MTV moment. Excuse me. The week in rock starts with new industry. Real estate magnate/former Uptown Bone Rich Fravel, ex-Mezmeron Chris Clabbers and painter Tony Vodgers are hammering nails into what’s to be Dotdash, a new record/CD shop — a Northern Liberties first! — at 630 N. Second St. Due to open the first week of June, the so-near-700-it-hurts shop’ll sell new and used indie ware, jazz/soul/R&B music and hard-to-find mags and books. It’ll also host in-stores every Friday with the famous or the soon to be so. Why there? a.k.a. music’s so close. Or is this a chance to aid in the redefinition of NoLib that along with 700 and Standard Tap will soon include eight restaubars? "We all live close to Dotdash, so we can stumble in when we need to," says Fravel, who doesn’t plan to compete with a.k.a. "We’re small. We’ll deal with used and hard-to-find stuff." As for NoLib itself, 2001 seems to be the year the neighborhood annexes itself from Old City’s high gloss factor. With Old City and South Street becoming neighborhoods to avoid on weekends, NoLib residents are looking to support their own. "There’s plenty people here to keep us afloat now," says Fravel. "700 and Standard are already busy most nights. It’s the person going [to one of those places] that we hope comes into our store: drunk and with a pocket full of cash."…

WYSP’s Craig Santucci and The Pontiac’s Kiersten Watson make room for rock at Dock Street Brew Pub, 1150 Filbert St., every Wednesday hosted by Tommy Conwell. The eve will emulate T. Con’s "Loud N Local" Sunday night WYSP show. "WYSP is trying hard to create a new original room in Center City and show support of local original music," says Santucci, who’s already booked Tapping the Vein, Betty Whitetrash and Plug Ugly.…

How many promoters does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Check Thursday nights at Kat Man Du’s Cafe Del Mar jam as PaperStreet, Premiere Entertainment, 101 and Maneo.com join Dom V in bringing swank smoke, mirrors and sound to the pier with Christian James, MG and 611 technoiste Nigel Richards.…

Lethal weapon: What the heck is Mel Gibson’s location scouting crew doing in Philly?…

The busiest man in Philly: Beanie Sigel. After hanging with Philly’s Most Wanted, Helen Little and Allen Iverson at Missy Elliott’s E party at Gasoline, Beanie was banging at Eve’s party at Transit, which was more like a hissy fit on her end as she was fighting with friends and crew, refusing to go on despite Transit’s packed house. (What, no Lincoln Navigator on the rider?)…

Ben Morgan gets around: He welcomed new cellist Helena Santolieri to Slipping Into Sublimnity last Tuesday at 700; he spins "abstractronic ubergrooves" at LaTazza’s Hologram May 26; and his fractal Hiroshima Nagasaki opens May 29’s Khyber show for Japan’s junk-bonding Ybo2 and West Philly’s Eulogy.…

Swanky Bubbles got former Continental sous chef Mark Smishkewych to join new exec chef Raul Bacordo, also of The Continental.…

DJ Maria V. gets her fourth-Saturday-of-the-month house jam going May 26 at 12th St. Air Command.…

Finished Euro-touring soon, King Britt gets back to Back 2 Basics with pal Dozia at Proto June 25. Their old roommate Lee Jones (who’s also spinning Globar which was fucking packed last week) jumped aboard Proto for his own Mile High Wednesdays featuring martinis and airplane food.…

Rough Trade’s raw-powered, glam-hammy Strokes and straight-outta-Berlin Vampyros Lesbos’ DJ Franco join Gregg Foreman at Transit May 25 for Making Time.…

I don’t care for Kmart but if DJs Junior and Midnight are running an after-work Blue Light Special at Aqualounge May 25, I’ll shop.…

Does David Kahan— producer/Trauma label head — wanna take Snipes, Ruff Nation’s hip-hop thriller, to the big screen with his new big-money German-backed film company?…

They come, they go: As Philly’s Boneheads get signed to MCA, LAVA/Atlantic drop Liquid Gang.…

Busy week for The Mountain Brothers’ Chops. His Magnificent Butcher production of Mystic’s "Current Events" hit number 1 in Hits mag. He produced Princess Superstar’s duet with Beth Orton. He’s doing several tracks for South Philly MC Bigfoot’s Antra-label debut that features label pals Kurupt and Spooks plus Grand Agent, James Poyser, Jazzy Jeff, Talib Kweli and Common. Even Japan is on the Chops tip. Nippon’s M-Flo released Expo Expo featuring vocals by Chops and Bahamadia. Japanese DJ Tonk used Chops and MC Zion I on some tunes he’s recording. Plus Chops is producing his Mountain Brothers’ new CD (while re-releasing their first) as well as working a new solo CD and a partnership CD with Grand Agent called 2MC. Phew.…

Happy b-day to Philly-bound Columbia records guy Jonathan Christian who’s celebrating at Rex’s this week, and to Kari D’Amora, doctoral candidate and Bar Noir table dancer who knows our friend Evan Gusz too too well.