Aside from working on the July issue's deadlines, I have been busy trying to promote 3 events all occurring within a span of 24 hours:

"A TRIBUTE TO THE 90'S: THE GOLDEN AGE OF HOUSE MUSIC" Smart Bar this Wednesday. I absolutely adore the 90's, and I truly believe the music that came from that era will forever be the best House out there ever. Love it! Check out this week's radio show to hear our all 90's mix!

 

THE HOUSE MUSIC STAGE @ THE PUERTO RICAN FESTIVAL The next day I've got some of Chicago's favorite DJs along with a fierce dance group and amazing capoeira group to perform from 4-9pm. Look for 1 of 3 main stages...ours will be the coolest one :) Please God let the sun shine!

 

URBAN'S HOUSE Our weekly Thursday night event @ Betty's Blue Star. We have Darren Holland from the UK along with the southside's adorable Brett Morrison joining resident Rees. I'll be hosting if I'm not dead, passed out or sleep.

On Tuesday evening Andre Hatchett and his little party gang came over my house for a special project: him and Rees Urban were recording a joint mix cd for the upcoming party featuring them on Thursday, June 25th. We were excited because we finally managed to lock Andre down...and all we had to do was essentially throw a mini-party. There was Linda Redd, Derrick, Ojay, Steve and Angie. Later on Lito came by along with Rees' friends Steve and Mike. There was food, lots of drinks and lots of lots. I even took out my big disco ball and strobe lights to give a bigger fiesta feel.

While the DJs were spinning, everyone was in their own special world... people talking to Julius the mean bird, Angie obsessively on Facebook with her urinating stalker ("I like to mark my territory") and lots of drunken conversation that I couldn't seem to follow. All in all, a very fun night and a GREAT mix came out of it! Those will be available at the party:

Last weekend I did a last minute trip to New York, which was so very needed for me and my sanity. That city is my muse, and the economy has kept me from going there as often as I'd like. Watching dance classes, clocking in countless walking miles and painful Chinese massages were some of the treats I indulged in.

This past Friday, 3 very talented musicians from Brooklyn called Tortured Soul performed at the Double Door. Always a crowd favorite, this must have been the 5th time I've caught their show. I interviewed them briefly backstage before the show, so look out for their cover story in next month's issue.

This past weekend Rees was booked for 2 parties in Minneapolis and was kind enough to bring me with. The promoters (Nick & Liz) had brought him out several months ago for their weekly Saturday party called "Black", an awesome House night that has brought in many Chicago DJs. Friday night there was a big party with Rees, Hyperactive and Terry Mullan at a club called Barfly. It was like a reunion of sorts since all 3 of them were big DJs in the rave scene back in the day, of which back in '94 I can say I was a card carrying member. And though many people know I've become a whiny and picky listener with ears devoted usually only to soulful House, that night those 3 DJs absolutely banged it! After the party Rees' friend Enrique took us to the 24-hour Sex World, where in the short time we were there we saw quite an array of drunks, pervs and crazies go in and out of that store. They had 3 little booths where dancing girls would be chilling until someone put money in their "slot", but none were there at that late hour for my amusement. Finally after some drunken browsing, we settled on buying VCR cleaning products.

 

The Sex Emporium... listen carefully to how the clerk says "Be gentle with the giant penis!"

 

Saturday around 5pm Rees and I are invited to Nick & Liz's house where all the promoters/DJs had apparently started cocktailing since 11am. With 2 adorable half-Boston Terriers to play with, 2 Bloody Marys and all around good inebriated company, I was a happy camper. By 8 however we were all fading from nonstop liquoring. A few hours later we found ourselves at the "Black" party at 1st Avenue, and Hyperactive opened up while Rees and Terry tag-teamed the rest of the night. By 2am we were once again in Enrique's car, only this time so the carnivores could eat White Castle. Then it was back to our pretty and lovely hotel with the snow-cloud fluffy bed, where it was sleep sleep sleep! Thanks Minneapolis folks for all your hospitality, we truly had a great time!

The other day a promoter throwing a Hip-Hop and House party contacted 5 Mag asking for advertising rates, and after seeing them asked us instead for sponsorship (read=free). The things he asked for were beyond ridiculous that I at first thought it was a joke:

"As a sponsor of this event, I would be looking for, a Full Page spread, inside cover and adjacent page Inclusion in all e-blasts and home page of web (starting as soon as possible)"

What that basically means is they are asking for 4 full pages from a 36-page mag which comes out to almost $2000 in lost revenue for us... and then don't get me started on the homepage and eblast shit. But wait! Here are the benefits they will give us:

"This is a huge event that you guys could receive a lot of benefit from. In exchange, your logo and website gets added to over 7500 flyers distributed throughout Chicago and Indiana. You may also have Banner exposure at the event."

We put out 10,000 copies of the magazine every month. What do we care about our logo being scrunched into 7500 flyers? Putting our logo on a flyer is usually a favor we do for the promoter to show support, not something we have to "pay" for! And after almost 4 years of being a strong presence in the House community, we don't need someone else to "give us exposure."

The audacity of the people that approach us on a daily basis is unmatched. Today I get a call from some entertainment company (read: a guy in his kitchen) saying he has a "local" and "upcoming" artist whom he believes we should do a write-up on and possibly give him the cover. Wha? Have you seen who we have on our covers? Frankie Knuckles, Louie Vega, Steve Hurley, Farley, Osunlade, Miguel Migs... and you want us to put this "local and upcoming artist"?

Seriously, if you want us to respect and actually consider you, do your homework and stop coming at us with a sense of entitlement. If you're a new artist, then submit your music so we can review it. If you're a DJ that has a good local following and played since "back in the day"... we can write about you, but that will never warrant a cover. Deflate your ego, take a sober and realistic view of your place in the hierarchy of the scene's spectrum, give us less headache.

Love, 5. Me. I'm pms-ing.