This past Friday, August 28, Mike D of the Beastie Boys dropped his new project, Mike D 5D, to a packed Rockaway Ocean Club (ROC)—the same day he dropped his debut 12-track solo album, “Thank You.” Under a stunning full moon, the 60-years-young Rock and Roll Hall of Famer was joined on the outdoor stage by his sons, Skyler Diamond and Davis Diamond (also members of the band, Very Nice Person), Eddie Ruscha, Milo Ruscha and Will Graefe.
Fans at the concert went wild when Mike D 5D performed tracks from the new album, including: “Switch Up,” “True Colors,” and “What We Got,” alongside Beastie Boys’ classics, “So What’cha Want,” “Looking Down The Barrel of a Gun,” and “Hello Brooklyn.” The Beastie Boys disbanded after co-founder Adam “MCA” Yauch died of cancer in 2012. The Mike D 5D band’s re-imagined sound is indubitably eclectic with nods to rap, post-punk, drum and bass, industrial music, psych and dream-pop.
Rockaway Beach resident, John Orgera said, “The sound, the stage, the setup, the layout was amazing. I really enjoyed the show. Plus, Mike D’s kids in the band were awesome. Nice to see young people into music. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing more concerts at Rockaway Ocean Club. As for the album, ‘Thank You,’ I’ll definitely stream it.” He laughed, “It’s not like you can buy albums anymore.”
As for how the owners of the ROC achieved the herculean feat of booking Mike D at the kickoff of his “Thank You” international tour, founding partner Ursula Damani attributed it to the rapper’s affinity for Rockaway and ROC’s founding partners.
She said, “Mike has been a longtime fan and supporter of our project at the ROC. He is a dear friend of some of the founding team. Plus, Mike has a deep connection to the Rockaways. Post-Hurricane Sandy, Mike D, Sam Talbot, Robert McKinley, and a couple other guys bought a food truck and they fed people out here in Rockaway for two years as part of recovery efforts. The truck traveled up and down from Far Rockaway to Breezy.”
As reported in an April 2013 article in The Daily News: “Beastie Boy Mike D runs free food truck for Hurricane Sandy victims in the Rockaways,” the menu was simple: chicken, beans, rice and vegetables. However, the impact was significant. The musician, (full name Michael Diamond), and his team ended up serving more than 19,000 platters to New Yorkers in need.
Significantly, after several years in retirement, the food truck made its triumphant return to Rockaway, today feeding patrons at the ROC. At the concert this past Thursday, the truck stood in the club’s courtyard, just to the right of the stage, where Mike D and his band were performing.
Damani added, “Mike, obviously likes to do things that are unconventional. And with the concert, the stars aligned for us to be in preview mode with him dropping the new album and wanting to support us; giving us in turn a chance to support him.”
In a statement to The Rockaway Times, Mike D said, “I have been friends with the Rockaway Ocean Club’s founders for years. We actually worked together after Hurricane Sandy, providing food for people in need via the Rockaway Plate Lunch Food Truck. So, when it looked like the opening of the ROC and my album release might coincide, I reached out to see if there was something we could do together. I’m so grateful that we got to play outdoors in such a beautiful courtyard with a full moon overhead and cooperative weather. It was special to play music in front of so many friends and the Rockaway community.”
As for the stellar stage setup and sound system, Damani said, “Our dear friends of the project, the founders of Forest Hills Stadium, have guided us over the last six years on all the things that we need to be able to provide incredible concerts.”
The Mike D concert also officially launched the ROC’s “Rockaway Sounds,” a series of concerts and shows celebrating talent from near and far.
All Labor Day weekend, the ROC has a chock-full lineup of events, including U.S. Open viewing parties with special food pairings and specialty tennis-themed cocktails from Moet Hennessy, and a variety of live deejays. For more info, see RT’s Rockaway Good Times feature on page 38.
The ROC will stay open during the fall but will close during the winter months. Damani said, “We’re now coming out of preview mode. Our official grand opening will be next May. The plan is to have a really robust calendar with decent-sized music headliners. Rockaway has such a rich musical history with for example, The Ramones. We want people to pay attention to the ROC as a great venue for summer stage concerts. You don’t have to travel to Jones Beach. Come to Rockaway. Obviously, we kicked it off really big with Mike D this past week.”
Mike D 5D’s new album, “Thank You,” is available on all streaming platforms, and can be purchased on vinyl, cassette tape and CD. For more info, visit: https://miked5d.com/ or follow: miked on Instagram.
For more info about the Rockaway Ocean Club, including membership and upcoming events, visit: www.rockawayoceanclub.com or follow: rockawayoceanclub on Instagram.
