Local DJ/promoter Eusebio Akasa isn’t interested in playing top 40 dance music, not that you won’t hear it in the styled setlists at Swim Skool, Akasa’s rooftop pool party (the only one in the city) where one can expect a blend of old and new school hip-hop, Latin, soul, and funk dance music every Sunday afternoon and evening this summer.
Inviting both local and wandering DJs to perform behind the turntables at the Renaissance Long Beach Hotel, downtown, Akasa aims to stage an event that welcomes anyone to turn up and chill out.
“People come here and think we’re going to be like a Vegas pool party and it’s not,” said Akasa, who also puts on Latin nights every Saturday at Mezcalero (525 E Broadway), does classic hip hop nights every other Wednesday at The Stache Bar (941 E 4th St.) and vinyl dance parties every fourth Friday of every month at 4th Street Vine (2142 E 4th St).
That’s not to say that Swim Skool doesn’t encourage its fair share of weekend afternoon hijinks vis-à-vis the cool swig of piña colada. On Sunday, towel-clad guests, both of the hotel and visiting locals variety, lounged on beach chairs, swam holding Bloody Marys safely aloft and out of the splash zone, while others played ping pong and lawn games, all grooving to tunes provided by DJ’s Sumo Hair and Captain Planet.
“There’s nothing else like this in Long Beach,” 24-year-old local Alex Vazin said. “The music, the vibes; it’s everything.”
The Renaissance Long Beach Hotel is located at 111 E Ocean Blvd. Tickets can be purchased at the door on the 3rd floor of the hotel on Sundays for $5.