Timoteo Gigante has been playing music since he was 13 and DJing since the mid 1990s. He moved to Europe out of high school to enrich his world-view and learn different musical techniques, e.g. flamenco guitar. After a year in Spain and many months around central Europe he returned to San Francisco to further seek exploration in music and music history. He was awakened each morning to the VERY loud scratch routines of DJ Gordo Cabeza. They lived together for several years. Timo couldn’t beat him, so he joined him. Stealing many hours of practice on Gordo’s turntables and spending a small fortune on records led, quickly, to many gigs and residencies in SF, NYC and Europe.
His musical selections have the common bond of two distinct characteristics: Soul and Funk. From the Columbian disco of Fruko y sus Tesos to the soulful reggae vocals of Alton Ellis and John Holt. From Golden Era hip hop (His brother was in a break dancing crew in 1983) to Motown. From Nigerian legend Fela Ransome-Kuti to The Funky Meters (Art Neville picked him up hitchhiking when he was 18 and invited him back to his home studio). From Neo Soul to Jamaican Dub. From House music to Brazilian music. There are no boundaries to his musical explorations.
“Music. When I am near her I am nearer things that are near her. The end of my breath is the beginning of hers.” – Timoteo Gigante
MOM - Motown On Mondays
MOM was conceived by DJ Gordo Cabeza in April of 2009 and joined shortly after by DJ Timoteo Gigante, it was born of a desire to reconnect with the music that was often the soundtrack to his childhood. More importantly it was a chance to honor the people and music who helped raise him, especially his mother.
MOM has evolved into one of the most attended and talked about weekly events in SF! It has become so popular that they have been asked to do weekend and special MoM events all over San Francisco, including Treasure Island Music Festival, SF Funk Fest, Brick & Mortar, Public Works, The Parlor, etc. If that is not exciting enough… MOM now holds down a weekly residence at “The Nextdoor Club” in Honlulu, Hawaii and The Short Stop in Los Angeles. MOM already has her eyes set on NY, CHI, and DET.
The MoM crowd is full of hard working industry folks, as well as soul music enthusiasts. People who are eager to hear something other than the same 20 songs that get played every weekend, at nearly every club. Many soul nights exist, but there is nothing like MoM… guaranteed!
A definitive community that is taking shape around Monday nights at Madrone. Unsuspecting newcomers, thinking they are simply going to hear some old familiar music, soon find out that MOM is so much more. Of course there are heavy doses of that Motown sound rolling out of the speakers, delivering relief to thirsty ears and eager feet, on a dance floor thats never empty. However, what makes MOM special is that we do not just play music for people, we interact and provide history; we offer professional massage, bake pies and treats; project video montages of the artists we honor, as well as images of our ever growing family. Heck! We even clear tables to help the bartenders keep the place organized and looking tight. We do this all in the name of MoM and our community of friends, which we call family”.
Also, MOM has recently started to fulfill one of the promises that was made to her family: giving back to the community. A portion of our humble proceeds every Monday goes to
www.LasCasasDeLasMadres.org. We like to think of it as MOM improving the lives of the real mothers of our fine city. MOM is more than just a party because we strive to strengthen and build our community through soulful music, lots of dancing, creative event planning and ample amounts of LOVE!
RESIDENCIES (Current)
M.O.M (MotownOnMondays) ~ SF, HNL, LA
M.O.M. Presents LIVE ~ SF, LA
It’s-It (Coming Feb 2012)
Bollywood Disco (
www.projectahimsa.org) ~ 111 Minna Gallery, SF
