MEETINGS AND SIGNINGS 6-20-03
I've been buzzing in and out of Manhattan these past few weeks, as well as pulling many all nighters finishing up some major assignments. Meetings with my new manager Kevon Glickman,-RESPECT MANAGEMENT,whom I just inked a contract with.
Meetings with Sony, and Interscope. Big, record deal stuff. Things are looking good, very big musicians need very big projects done. I am being vague because a lot is up in the air right now. Having a manager is dope.
I dropped off my finished work with BLACKBOOK MAGAZINE. I drove down there with JEN on her day off in our car. When I say drove, I mean I rode shotgun, she does the city driving cause I'm no good at parallel parking-and she can do it blindfolded. Met with and handed off my work to the editor. I usually just e-mail it, but these were photoshop files and were very big:
"My God, Cojo. Your work is brilliant." - JORDAN HARRIS, BlackBook Magazine
Blackbook is a cool inconspicuous second floor office with a bevy of beautiful women walking about. One deep office with no walls or partitions. I don't know if they were casting, or interviewing models that day or something but I wouldn't doubt it. When I got in the door someone said they would take my portfolio. I had to explain I was dropping off finished work. I am guessing that day was a model portfolio drop off or something. Which kind of flattered me for a second.
Their office is in Soho, and the bitch about Soho is that it is an area made for subways and pedestrians. If you have a car and want to park in Soho, you are screwed. All the streets are "no parking." We stopped by Mecca USA in midtown so I could say hi to Vern Incognito. Said hi, dropped him some of my new shit, then I boogied down to the street. Jen was circling in the car. She picked me up and not 20 seconds later we got pulled over by a cop in one of those little cop golf cart looking things, for making an illegal right turn, the light was green, but there were two giant signs for it right there, but I guess we were in a hurry. He let us slide, because the dude in front of us turned right too, crafty pull over work by the cop though, pulled both cars over with little effort.
We shot down to YELLOW RAT BASTARD and did some shopping with the store credit I still had left over from the freelance work I did for their magazine (YRB NYC Magazine). Cat, the former art director, left the magazine a few months ago because she is in a band, which just got signed, so she's big time now. I left the mag at the same time. Anyone know Cat's new e-mail? She's cool and I don't want to loose touch. The store is decent, big selection of clothes. Jen got a bunch of Paul Frank stuff, I got a few hats, sun glasses, t-shirts and art books- Shag- and Coop. They sell a lot of skateboard stuff, a lot of Ecko, and tons of issues of Complex Magazines are for sale in the back by the skater shoes and decks. I had wandered a few rooms over, and when I got back this employee was hitting on Jen.
A few days later, I took the train in. It was a rainy shitty day, we've been having a lot of those recently. I was delivering a painting early in the morning to one of my clients for his personal office downtown, I was on the subway and the railroad most of the day. After going out for coffee with him, I decided to get my lunch at one of my old favorite restaurants in Tribecca. THE INDEPENDENT, which in my opinion has the best ribs in the city. I stopped on the way over there to get a haircut at Express Haircut on Chambers Street by this dude Tommy, who knew who I was because he was a big fan of THE SOURCE. He trimmed me up nice, he's really good, an artist/perfectionist when it comes to haircutting, so it took forever.
By the time I was out of there I was starving. I walked down to THE INDEPENDENT, salivating like Pavlov's dog at the sight of the building, and to my dismay, the place was closed down. So, damn, no ribs. . .then I decided to have some perrogies at this great polish place called Polanka I used to hit down there. IT WAS ALSO CLOSED! So I figured I would just go for Chinese at the buffet I used to go to when I worked down there. ALSO CLOSED!!!
Damn, the world trade center really fucked up the economy down there in Tribecca, unbelievable.
But one good thing came of these places being closed, I had lunch at one of the most greasy spooned, seediest Chinese take-out places I've ever been to, and got to overhear one of the funniest lunchtime conversations. It's funny because of the language learning curve, and the subject matter discussed....oh and I also learned something about flight attendants.
When I got my food I went and sat down next to this table of Chinese students, and one older Black student, I assume they are all in a college somewhere in the area and on break from their class. The Chinese students didn't speak English very well so every time the black kid would make a statement, the Chinese kids would become confused and he would have to explain it in simpler terms. Here is the conversation summed up:
Black student: "So since, I assume you love to travel, being from different lands, you might want to consider being flight attendants for a living."
(Chinese students looking confused)
Black student: "A flight attendant, you know, A steward, like a stewardess. The person on an airplane who gets you peanuts and drinks and things."
Chinese students: "AH!"
Black student: "Yeah, I did that for a few years, you get to see the world. It's great because you can fly anywhere you want in your off time through your airline for free. And if there is somewhere you want to go, that your airline doesn't go to, you can fly on any other airline for 1/10th the actual ticket price. So you can travel first class for like $50. The starting salary is around 40 grand too. The only bitch is that you never know when they are going to call you to go somewhere, so you can't really make any plans."
(Chinese students looking confused)
Black student: "Another great perk is that most flight attendants are girls, and 75 percent of the male flight attendants are gay. So you get to spend a lot of time with these girls traveling around the world. If you are straight, it's like a dream job."
Chinese students: "Straight?"
Black student: "Yeah, straight. I'm straight, so I lay it out there when I get on a flight. I'm like, look I'm straight, just so you all know. And I never have any confusion."
Chinese students: "What is straight?"
Black student: "Um,, It's means like the opposite of gay. Hetero Sexual. Straight people go with the opposite sex. Gay people go with people of the same sex . You know what I'm sayin'?"
Two of the Chinese students finally understand, and yell in happy Unison: "HOMO!"
I almost blew soda out my nose.
As per my theory on celebrities in Manhattan, I saw the prerequisite two for the day. CHLOE SEVIGNY, walking down 2nd Avenue by 14th in the East Village. And within 10 minutes I ran into Gerard Way, who I went to art school with. Gerard is now the lead singer of the world touring punk band MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE. (SEE MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE - COFFEE WITH COJO for full story) -see new issue of Spin Magazine, Revolver, Alternative Press. I hung out with him, we went Cd shopping at the Virgin Megastore in Union Square, talked music. Cool things are afoot man...cool things.
Just another day in the life of an Art Juggernaut.
-Cojo