Any DJ can get a boozy Manhattan crowd dancing on a Saturday night, but few have done so for the likes of Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Oprah Winfrey and President Barack Obama. “There is no crowd I can’t move,” says DJ Cassidy, the otherwise earnest 30-year-old mixmaster, born Cassidy Durango Milton Willy Podell. The born-and-bred Upper East Sider jets all over for gigs — from St. Barts and Norway to Japan and Croatia — garnering upward of $100,000 a night. This holiday weekend, he’s hanging local, out east, spinning mixes of soul and funk for high-heeled Hamptonites and their big spending sugar daddies. This is his New York — the remix!
1. House of Oldies Rare Records, 35 Carmine St., between Bedford and Bleecker streets
“This is still my favorite record store in the world. There’s no record manufactured before 1990 that Bob [the owner] doesn’t have buried somewhere. The store itself is the size of a New York City bathroom. I once found an amazing Michael Jackson ‘Off The Wall’/‘Thriller’ 7-inch pack with all the singles from those albums in one fold-out package.”
2. Sara Mills Salon, 11 Worth St., between Hudson Street and West Broadway
“Sara is the only person who’s ever cut my hair in a way that maintains its style after I take off my hat. Her TriBeCa loft is the anti-salon. I’ll end up hanging out all day, drinking green tea and watching beautiful woman get their hair done. Sara’s the best in the biz.”
3. Candle Café, 1307 Third Ave., at 75th Street
“Neighborhood vegan at its best. You can find me almost daily at the bar sending e-mails, making calls, sipping on banana/berry/orange/agave smoothies. I’m a pescatarian, not a vegan, but Candle makes it seem brighter on the other side. One day . . .”
4. Jay Kos, 293 Mott St., at Houston Street
“Where else can you find ostrich jeans, alligator waistcoats, rose-gold jewelry and navy blazers under one roof? My red suede bucks are permanent staples in my wardrobe. I’ve always enjoyed bridging the gap between classic and innovative when I DJ — both musically and visually — and Jay Kos symbolizes that hybridization.”
5. B&J Fabrics, 525 Seventh Ave., at 38th Street
“I have all my suits, pants and shirts custom-made by L&S Tailor, and B&J is where I buy the majority of my fabrics. Sometimes I go there on a mission and sometimes I go to be inspired. No matter which it is, I always leave with something fun that I didn’t expect. The yellow wool I used for my tuxedo at my 30th birthday on The Intrepid is from B&J and all the equestrian silk I’ve been wearing lately is from B&J.”
6. The Central Park Dance Skaters Association skate circle, Skaters Road in Central Park, north of Sheep Meadow
“There’s not a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than this weekly jam in the middle of Central Park. DJ Nick Johnson rocks soulful house till the sun goes down while skaters skate and pedestrians dance. It’s the most sincere party in New York.”
7. The “Alice in Wonderland” Statue in Central Park, 76th Street at Fifth Avenue
“It always amazes me when such an obvious destination gets such little attention. This is where I come to think and listen to new music. It’s funny how many of the ideas I’ve used in my DJ sets were conceived chilling on a statue of a Disney fairy tale that’s over 100 years old. A snowy day is as magical as a sunny day. With the exception of a few tourists here and there, I always get to sit on Alice’s lap for hours.”
8. HeadQcourterz Studios (a k a D&D Studios), 320 W. 37th St., between Eighth and Ninth avenues
“This is where I love coming to work on music. What better environment than the room where [hip-hop producer] Premier recorded Nas, Biggie, Jay-Z, Gang Starr and Nice & Smooth? [It] should be a New York City landmark. Premier hasn’t changed his room in 20 years — speakers, couch and everything in between. Nas once told me that the room should be extracted from its building and put back together in a museum. He’s dead right.”
9. La Caridad, 2199 Broadway, at 78th Street
“My local Chinese spot is actually my local Cuban-Chinese spot. I get fried fish filet, black beans, yellow rice, sweet plantains, garlic yucca, corn soup and guava juice — all for about $20. My favorite New York City meal on the run.”
10. JJ Hat Center, 310 Fifth Ave., between 31st and 32nd streets
“Everyone has been asking me where they can find my signature pink-and-green boater. They actually can’t. It’s something JJ’s makes me using two separate color ribbons. The only way to get your hands on one might be to catch it if I throw my hat out to the crowd, which is something I do at the end of all my sets.”
PEEP HIS PLAYLIST
Cassidy’s Top 5 Summer Songs
* “212,” Azealia Banks
“If Salt ‘N Pepa released ‘Push It’ [today] it might have sounded like this.”
* “Money Makin,’” A-Trak & Dillon Francis feat. Greg Nice
“Two outstanding electronic dance music producers recruit a hip-hop legend for a brilliantly sunny track.”
* “Mercy,” Kanye West feat. Big Sean, Pusha T, 2 Chainz
“This summer’s drive-with-the-windows-down-pump-up-the-volume-and-turn-up-the-bass-up song.”
* “Street Knock,” Swizz Beatz feat. Asap Rocky
“A new hip-hop visionary and an MVP unite to make the dancefloor bump.”
* “See You Go,” Yuna
“This Pharrell-produced track is a mid-day beach party waiting to happen.”