SOULED OUT PARTY 9-10-03
So here's the bitch, I recently got myself a dry erase calendar. I already have two big clean dry erase boards for me to remember things, projects, parties, deadlines, phone calls, but this is even better, it's perfect because it's already got a grid on it to plot out an entire month and help me be more organized (and uses the same markers).
So like most things I own, it was sitting on the floor for the first week I had it (my studio is always a mess of clutter). I wrote on it with the dry erase marker that the Complex sneaker party was at Float. Float is a cool club and I've actually been there a few times for other parties.
Well, that was last week, this week I decided to put this dry erase board on the wall. While I was holding it up on the wall, my palm was pressed on the board to keep it solid and level while I hammered it with my other hand. After I pulled my hand off I realized that I had erased some of the dates coming up in the middle of the month...well parts of them. The one for 9/10/03 read on three lines Flo Par Comple. Now I know that it's a Complex party, I flip open my palm pilot to see if I jotted anything in there about it. First page that comes up in my notes is the addresses for all the clubs I had been invited to for VMA afterparty night.
The first on the list was FLOW. So in my head I said,, ah, yeah that's it flow. I went online and got the address for flow and that's where I told two of my friends where to meet up. I had RSVP'd to Complex the week prior to the event for me and 3 guests, and that day invited Vern Incognito former head art director at MECCA USA, former college roommate of mine, and self admitted sneaker junkie. I knew the correct name of the club then, so for him there was no problem the rest of us were headed to Tribecca, when the right club was in the theater district.
I arrived at Flow (the wrong club) around 6:30, but before this RAN-D and I had been walking around the city for a few hours. I had been in a rush that morning and hadn't had time to shave and needed a haircut so I decided to go to Astor Place Haircutters (2 Astor Place, Off Broadway, 1 block south of 8th Street), which is basically a NY tradition. If you ever go there you will see on their outside window at least a hundred celebrities that have gotten their haircut there. And it's cheap, like 12 bucks, and an extra 6 for a shave. So I went in while Ran-D went to Barnes & Noble.
First they told me to follow the yellow line. I walked the perimeter of the store and the line went down to the basement, we aren't in Kansas anymore I thought. I've gotten my hair cut here twice before but every time I'm amazed at how many barbers they can stack into one shop, there are tons of them down there, at least 50 in the basement alone. They send me to this guy Jose. I sit down and tell him what I need. I look up at his mirror, which is covered with pictures of Jennifer Anniston. Not that he's ever cut her hair, he just likes Jennifer Anniston.
In fact there is only one picture up there with him and an actual Celebrity. Harry Conic, Jr., and oddly enough, it's the only picture I've seen in the whole shop that the Celebrity is wearing a baseball cap in the shot. Not a very shining review I think to myself, but I'm basically getting a stylized crew cut so he can't really fuck it up. He gives me a really nice cut but I was disappointed when he did the beard with an electric razor. Whenever I've gotten a shape up on a beard I've gone to old timey barbers cause they pull out the straight razor, the lather, and the warm cloth. That's how it should be done. None of this electric razor bullshit. He started to dust me off and open the robe when I looked in the mirror and noticed I had a weird 5'oclock shadow mustache. I was like, "wait a second...loose the mustache." I am first to admit, I'm not a guy who looks good in a mustache. I look like a douche. I mean, I have a baby face, and the mustache looks like, well, just picture a mustache on a cabbage patch doll.
Well, now he looked annoyed that I had taken 30 seconds longer then he wanted, and he didn't even bother to dust me off. I looked good and that's what counted.
So now it's 6:45, the party starts at 7:00 PM, we are waiting outside club FLOW (the wrong club) on the corner of Varick and Vescey, and wondering why there is no line forming yet. There is no sign on the door, just windows with black curtains behind them, creating a pretty good mirror out of the windows. I check my reflection up close. That ASSHEAD gave me a crappie shave! He left stubble like a motherfucker and barley even touched the right side of my face with the razor. 6 bucks for a crappie razorshave! Take pride in your work people. So, he gave me his card, if you go to Astor Place Haircutters and want a nice short cut with someone who can really wield a razor, see Jose. If you want a shave, buy a Mach 3 razor and do that before you go to get a haircut there, because you will end up leaving looking like Carson Daily's retarded younger brother who decided to shave himself with a box cutter.
My friend THE ROTH shows up and now we are all waiting for them to open the doors. I get a call on my cell from Vern telling me that he's online to get into the party. This confuses me because we are supposedly at the place and nobody has even turned on the lights in the building. I ask him the address and he tells me, that yes it's the Souled out party and that the line is huge. He gives us the address and we take the N train up town to FLOAT, rather then FLOW and get online, we are V.I.P. and get right in, Vern is already in there drinking, we are 45 minutes late.
The whole left side of the main dance floor is blocked off with tables, behind the tables are hundreds of next years sneakers set up like a gallery display. A DJ is rockin' the house, and dancing is going on all over the floor. Eventually a half circle breaks out and some good B-Boy action takes place. A guy who looks very much like Carrot top starts breakin' and gets applause from the crowd. When he is done, he sits down and nobody approaches him. I felt a little sorry for the weird Carrot Top clone. I think he should tour with the real Carrot Top, and do a little stage show opening act for Carrot.
Every so often the sneaker distributors will start throwing shirts or sneakers out into the crowd. We split up and start roaming club on our own. Everyone is there, a lot of the Complex staff is there kickin' it, but I keep seeing familiar faces everywhere. Andre from King magazine is there, I just did a job for him last week. Chris and Aaron from PROJECT LUMENS that radio show Shice and I went on at Columbia University college radio are there. Knowledge and Tony Brown are there from Elevation Suite. A bunch of fellow artists are also there roaming the crowd, I ran into Boudicon and a few others from the Stackhouse show a few months back, Sneaker Steve from Gawsie was there, everyone was happy and in good health, It's good to see everybody!
The Roth disappeared for an hour and I was trying to find him when I noticed the third floor was blocked off as a V.I.P. lounge. I had the bracelet and heard rumors of free Gin and tonic up there so I grabbed Vern and we stood online. The line soon decimated and we shot up the steps. The V.I.P. lounge was painted in a deep Maroon/Red, and the lighting was horrible. The only reason to be up there was the free booze, which apparently The Roth had discovered an hour ago, cause that's where we found him, standing in the corner, plastered off his ass on his 10th free Gin and Tonic.
After getting wrecked for about a half an hour up there Ran-D hopped up stairs and started drinking too. All in all a fun party, thanks Complex.
Took the F train to the R Train to Queens and crashed out on Vern's couch watching the best of Ultimate Fighting Championships (if you like bloodsport, this is the real deal).
Just another day in the life of an Art Juggernaut.
-Cojo