To have a residency in Chicago that lasts a few months is a blessing. To have a residency in Chicago that lasts 2 years is a MIRACLE. Our Thursday party URBAN'S HOUSE held at Betty's Blue Star has been going 2 years strong, with resident Rees Urban and hosted by yours truly. That night we had a red party with special guests Farley Jackmaster Funk and Lil John. What can I say? The party was beyond off the hook! Thank you to all those that came...what a night!!!

Here's a cute little Question & Answer I did for Eddie Ortiz of Chicago's Party Mix: My inspirations, best pickup line and DJs throwing balls in each other's faces.

What can I say this year was my favorite one so far!

We were not in the mood to do the get-there-at-4am-and-get-a-good-spot-then-be-there-all-day camping style, so we opted instead to lug a few chairs, some drinks and several boxes of 5 Magazine. We got there pretty late, and with the really bad traffic didn't get to settle down until about 5pm.

Regardless, it was DOPE. The weather was just right, the music was awesome, all our friends were there and everything was very well organized. This year we weren't the safe haven for white folks like we usually are, and instead looked more like a Latino/Filipino coop on our little corner to the right of the stage. Danced, drank, took lots of pictures, danced, drank some more and had the best of times. Can't go wrong with sunshine and House music!

There were also quite a few freak shows as expected: that girl with the giant christmas balls around her neck and the cameraman following her around...she probably had a cable access show. And then that girl dancer in red up onstage...oh my lord that was painful.

Big big thanks and hugs to the Chosen Few for yet another amazing and inspiring event, this truly is THE House music event of the year for Chicago! Those of you who don't live here, put next year's picnic in your calendar because this is IT.

And here's a short little drunk video I made of the picnic... you'll see guest diva vocalist Rochelle Fleming, an appearance by Frankie Knuckles and Andre Hatchett and Wayne William onstage. Also me and my friends hiding in the bushes during a brief rain spell. Oh and 20,000 Househeads living and loving :)

This past Sunday 5 Mag's March cover story Mark Farina came back to Chicago to headline Green Dolphin's big 4th of July party. As always he was sweet, charming with the cutest dance moves I've ever seen. The party was great fun even though it was boiling hot in all 3 rooms. Here is a super short video of him while he was here. I tried to cut out as much of the footage of the 3 horrible girl dancers in the front of the stage.

This past Wednesday we had our 90's House party at Smartbar, which due to its popularity is on it's 3rd leg! (3rd leg...bad analogy.) Lil John, Ricky Bradshaw and Rees Urban killed it with tunes we all know and love, and I even got to open and play for the bartender, the one drunk girl by the bar and a few cockroaches. My original Fivestar Biatch party-girl in crime Kate came in from LA and it was just like old times. We had acted together many years ago, but she decided to pursue it by moving there. I of course got sidetracked from my Hollywood dream and got into dancing and House music.

But Wednesday night... Wednesday night was just so so so much damn fun. Everyone knows 90's House, because it was on the radio! Song after song kept playing, each bringing back memories.

This has been a WONDERFUL week! I just found out the House dance class taught by me and my play brother Carlos won the Chicago Reader's Best of 2010 award for Best Dance Class!!! Yeah!!!! Considering we were the new kids in the block, this is really quite awesome. Thanks so much to the Breakdance Chicago School for giving us the class and believing in us :)

I did a lot of stuff this weekend. I mean A LOT of shit. From club to park to picnic to loft to somebody's house... DJs fighting bouncers, Cz fighting bouncers, Cz fighting bathroom-door-kicking-wasted-ravetards, crazy functions, funtastic picnics and gritty warehouse parties. Summer's awesome. So I finally got to meet House and Techno superstar Frankie Bones, who many consider as "The Godfather of American Rave Culture." People always told me he was a character, and when I finally met him at Green Dolphin this past Friday he did not disappoint! That Brooklyn accent is straight out of a movie :D

 

Saturday was picnic day, with the President's Lounge and D'Vine One Entertainments' picnic parties going on behind the Museum of Science and Industry.

 

And here are DJ Craig Alexander & Shon, who despite copious amounts of liquor are still quite articulate :)

 

Later that night we head to the Warehouse Reunion party. That party was bananas. It was 100% all about the dancefloor that night! Big ups to Emanuel, Mike Dunn and Joe Smooth for rocking a great party.

 

Frankie is Santa Claus
The running around interviewing saga continues! Tuesday afternoon me and Rees go to Frankie Knuckles' beautiful home, which is filled with award after award and gold record after gold record. The standouts are the Grammy, the street sign named after him and the Ibiza award (which looks like a chunk of giant green kryptonite.) After the interview, Frankie metamorphosizes into a modern day Santa Claus. First off he gives me this fancy Samsung camera that he doesn't use, which will now replace the crappy Nikon that I currently have. It has screens on both sides and takes fantastic pictures!!!

And THEN... FK spots my new Louis Vuitton bag and says how much he likes it. Apparently he's a collector of the designer and shows us all the beautiful bags he has. He then says "Well Rees you can't have your woman walking around with that bag and not have a matching one." And then he GIVES REES A LOUIS VUITTON BAG!!! Come again?? Yes!!! As in, a brand spanking new, never used, absolutely gorgeous messenger LV satchel that cost Lord knows how much! Rees and I are speechless, waiting for a punchline, but there isn't one. Frankie puts the bag around Rees' shoulders and we stand there playing a game of frozen statues. We hug him over and over and takes lots of pictures to cement the reality of it all. What a truly generous soul he is... we love you Frankie

<3

 

FUNK!
The next stop that rainy day is ghetto-house legend DJ Funk's house way out on the westside. I can't really speak on what his place is like because he likes to keep it private like that, but suffice it to say that in his own words... it's "ghettorich!" He is loud, boisterous, with the funniest old-white-man laugh you've ever heard. Being around him is like riding on a 24-hour adrenaline kick. He plays music for us so loud we nearly go deaf. (His latest songs like "I Wanna Fuck that Ass" and "Who's got that YaYo?") We gag at all the nifty gear he has... the 303, 606, 707 and 808.

 

FUERZA BRUTA
Wednesday afternoon my party buddy Vyk takes me, Rees and Little Jessica to see an Argentinian group perform at the Auditiorium Theater. The show is called "Fuerza Bruta" and it has gotten rave revues everywhere. It's club-spectacular performance art, where the audience was asked to stand up on the stage the whole time while the show surrounded us from every angle. It is an amazing visual spectacle, with the performers frequently running through the audience (I got a styrofoam board broken over my head by a tiny girl.) A swimming pool with ameoba-like swimmers materializes from the ceiling and lowers down over our heads. Water is sprayed on the audience. Girls fly around hitting shiny purple paper walls. If you like E this is the show to drop one at. Thanks for taking us Vyk! :) Later that night I interview Abicah Soul at Sky Bar and film CZR at Evil Olive.

 

FARLEY ON FRIDAY
Friday night we head down to Kita's on 43rd & Prairie to catch Farley Jackmaster Funk, King of House Music for a smooth, laid-back set. I try and interview him, but the only quiet venue was the dark lawn at the back of the club, which Farley said was like a scene from the Blair Witch Project. We also filmed Jamie 3:26, who had this awesome all green ensemble on.

 

SATURDAY
Early Saturday I have a show to do for a bunch of rich people. 2 dances, some free food and a cute little check. I think about all the video editing I have to do. I go to sleep.

Okay kids here is my mix, because that is what the world needs, yet another mix from yet another DJ! Why not? I really like these songs, maybe you will too. Press play!

Czboogie mix (Fuck Me Pumps) by CZBOOGIE

So the BIG PROJECT has begun, which entails me running around filming and setting up mini video interviews with Chicago's biggest and most influential DJs/Producers (and there are tons of them, God bless Chicago!)

Monday itinerary: Ron Carroll at Boom Boom Room

 

Thursday itinerary: Frankie Knuckles, Deeon, Stacy Kidd and Paul Johnson
Frankie and Deeon had to reschedule last minute, so I head out to Berwyn at this place called Tiger's where Stacy Kidd plays every week. Sound system is banging and quite a little crowd up in there!

Next up is Paul Johnson, who is the scheduled guest for our Thursday residency Urban's House at Betty's.

After our party, me Rees and AJ Dubbz head back to my house for some afterparty aerobics. We decide to try out the Obama game I got, but there was so much shit inside the box that in our present state AJ decided to make up his own rules. We didn't even know what was going on but it was fun spinning the wheel and then spinning it some more when we didn't like the number that came up.

AJ was also quite the hit with my evil moody bird Julius. He said he used to mate Macaws (how does one do that?) and was picking up Julius in cool sacrificial-bird type ways.

 

Friday itinerary: Bad Boy Bill
Friday night we are running late and head over to the labyrinth that is Vision Nightclub. We are led to Bill's dressing room, which as it turns out was the same dressing room we were in when me and my dancers performed with CeCe Peniston last year. He is cordial and sweet as ever, and we stay for his whole set. It was harder fare than I'm used to, but I enjoyed it a lot and his scratching is just unfuckingbelievable. I want to learn how to scratch! I bet you I'd be good at it too since I'm half Flip, and Filipinos always win the DMC, right?

 

This was initially going to be quite the rant given that I have very strong opinions on this topic, but I know that I have a lot of good friends who may get their feelings hurt. (Since most of my friends are DJs, producers and promoters!) So I will say it as nicely as I can.

To me, your Facebook wall is where people can say hi, tag you in some (hopefully not atrocious) pictures, and in general address something that is relevant to YOU. Since it is YOUR WALL. Okay, with all that said...I do not like it when people:

- post their mixes
- post their latest song
- post a party that you are not involved with

...on your wall!!!

You have a wall don't you? Why spam your stuff on other people's walls? I really find that shit annoying. I say this because I have never done that and never will! You wouldn't just go up to a person at a party, hand them a stack of fliers and say "Here pass these out for me will ya?"

So what do I do when I see these 3 listed things? I delete. Immediately. The only exception I will make is if it's a friend of mine, they've been nice to me or I know they'll probably be back to check on it. Then I give it a week's lifespan and hit that delete button baby.

To reiterate, this is my opinion. Hopefully if you are reading this and we are Facebook friends, please please please take this into consideration the next time you want to put that flyer up on my wall :)

Bitchily yours,
Cz