MODELS & MAGS 6-24-03
After we filled up at China Club's Jade Terrace Knowledge and I shot down to the International Model Party at Chetty Red on 23rd Street, hosted by Entertainment Struggle Magazine. There were tables set up for the different modeling agencies scouting there. It was still early, not many models there yet so we split out to GAWSIE'S new office. They have a cool new digs right on the outskirts of the Meat Packing District on 8th and 14th.. This has been probably one of the hottest days of the year and I am overdressed for the weather. I keep taking my suit jacket off when we get outdoors, and putting it on after leaving the subway. Rich, designer and co-owner of Gawsie (who used to be a pro skater known in the skating world as "Nigger Rich") was skateboarding all around the halls of their building. We got out of there and took the L train to transfer to the 4 train and railed it uptown to the W hotel on 39th street.
The W is a popular chain of hotels that caters to the young and hip Celebs. They have a classy little hang called "Cherry Lounge" on their ground floor. Latin Flavor Magazine was throwing an industry party there. Knowledge and I were introduced to this dude Edgar was the one who invited the Gawsie team. He used to work for Ecko and has every issue of Complex, so he knows my shit. We hung out in there for a little while. I got to meet "Joa," the beautiful Latin songstress who is blowing up right now. Props to Edgar, that was a nice party.
Shice picked Knowledge up, they had to drop off vinyl around town, Keith and Sneaker Steve from Gawsie went home. Rich and I went back to the International Model Party at Chetty. By now the atmosphere had changed.
The place was pretty packed with pretty Latina and African American models and model wannabes. What was weird to me was there was a stage in the back, where a photo crew had hooked up a light umbrella on a tripod and were shooting models on the fly. There was a line of models that were taking turns going on stage and getting shot.
Strange. Some guys would take their shirts off. Some girls got down to bikini's. It was a really weird environment. One of the main reasons I wanted to come to this event was because we were going to pretend my friend INK, who body models for a lot of my strips, was a big shot model. I made some headshots up for him and we were going to go around the place pretending he was hot shit and see if we could get him a modeling deal (stranger things have happened, and It would have made for a good article), but all that got canceled out when they didn't show up, so it kinda took the steam out of my enthusiasm on going to the event.
I saw a few girls who would make for good background characters-artist models, for use in future comic strips & projects so I got their info and took headshots/full body shots, one 19 year old named Jada for sure. She's got a good look.
We hung around for a while talking with some music industry peeps who were at the event. At midnight the Umbrella was packed up, and I was on the E train heading home.
That's all for now, hit you back in a deuce.
Just another day in the life of an Art Juggernaut.
-Cojo