Cz’s blog is back, now bigger and better than ever!!! I took a “brief” hiatus to give all the attention to the recent 5 Magazine 5 Year Anniversary Project, where so much video content was being put up with our Chicago artists.
Now that the dust has settled and fall is firmly in place, time to rebuild! Recently I celebrated my 21st birthday party at mine and Rees’ Thursday residency Urban’s House and it was such a great time. I’m so grateful to everyone that came out!
Here it is! 5 Magazine’s 5 Year Anniversary trailer…this is from months and months of us running around interviewing people and checking out Chicago’s many House music events. You have NO IDEA how much work this took to arrange and interview 40 different artists, edit their videos and bug them for a free song lol. A big thank you to each and every artist for contributing their time and efforts to us, it is very much appreciated.
A lot of people have had the misconception that this is a trailer for a documentary…this is a trailer for the multimedia project wherein each artist has his own separate video interview and each one donates a free track. I guess you’ll just have to wait and see! 
Thank you to Eric “esmoove” Miller for spending 9 hours of final editing time with me for this trailer, your help was invaluable.
The 40 individual artist videos and songs will launch on August 16th, 2010.
Enjoy everyone!
p.s. (Now I can get some sleep!)
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
<3
me with Frankie Knuckles @ his house
Rees getting a belated bday present from Frankie: A friggin' Louis Vuitton bag!!!
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.
DJ Funk with Rees showing off his 606 and 303.
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.
me, Vyk and Little Jessica outside the Auditorium Theater.
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.
Farley with promoter Reggie
Jamie 3:26 and his green outfit.
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.
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
Ron Carroll and a whole bunch of people at Boom Boom Room. Ron doesn't drink and I told him to hand over that bottle of Grey Goose to me, but someone beat me to it!
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!
Stacy Kidd at Tiger's.
Next up is Paul Johnson, who is the scheduled guest for our Thursday residency Urban’s House at Betty’s.
Paul Johnson at Urban's House, 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.
AJ bonding with my evil bird Julius
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?
Bad Boy Bill at Vision
LISTEN
This Memorial Day weekend was pretty darn fun, and the warm weather collectively lifted everyone’s spirits. Thursday at 6pm I head over to the Silver Room for the Leela James listening party with Ron Trent followed by our weekly residency Urban’s House at Betty’s Blue Star.
Ron Trent @ the Silver Room.
FAKE BIRTHDAYS ARE GOOD BIRTHDAYS
Friday I get a mysterious package from family, and there’s a card that says “Happy Birthday!” My birthday isn’t until September, and my family is spot on with remembering each other’s birthdays so I was extra confused. But oh my what a lucky day it was for me….a gorgeous (and very real) Louie Vuitton bag was in the package!!! I’m not exactly sure whether the “mistake” was real, a joke or what, but I’ll be sashaying down Michigan Avenue with that baby like a little cunta to get my bitch walk on!!!
ALL WET
Saturday early morning I take my nephew dog Benny (he lives upstairs now with my biz partner Terry after one too many fights with my dog Luigi) to the dog park up by Lawrence for some exercise and doggie social hour. It was so hot that he plopped down in front of the drain and open sprinkler hose, giving me the honor of having the really wet, long-haired dog running around trying to play with everybody.
Benny after playing in front of the sprinkler in the dog park.
SATURDAY NIGHT PARTY
Saturday evening it was time for both work and fun, as I had to hit up a couple of parties to take footage of the DJs. We began the night at Frankie Knuckles’ new monthly residency at Crimson Lounge. I had an absolute blast, the crowd was not your typical House crowd (more weekend folks really) which was fine by me. We sat in the back with D/E Entertainment’s Frederick Dunson (Frankie’s manager) and got to mooch off the free liquor Crimson generously gave their star DJ. Frederick and his company were quite full by the time we got there, and he graciously poured us glasses of Patron. They also had this cool champagne holder, which was a spinning half disco ball. I was contemplating how I could innocently walk out with it, but decided it might not be such a good look to try and steal the club’s paraphernalia.
Frankie Knuckles @ Crimson Lounge for his new monthly residency
With Rees, David Sabat & Frederick Dunson @ Crimson
3am after the Crimson party closed, we head on down all the way to 71st to Da House Spot to film Mike Dunn. The place was steaming hot, but thankfully they had fixed up the back garage into this nifty living room area complete with airconditioner and separate sound system. The promoters were in a generous mood because we got some booty to take home: A Mike Dunn hat, an Andre Hatchett hat and AN OBAMA BOARD GAME. How do you like them apples??
The Obama board game.
PIE HOLE PIZZA CLOSES DOWN 
On the sad news front, My good friend Doug Brandt’s (remember he used to be the DJ for our original 5 Magazine Radio Shows?) awesome pizza joint and cultural hotspot Pie Hole Pizza in boystown had it’s last day on Sunday. Open for 3 lively years with the most eccentric cast of employees, Doug made it more than just a pizza place. It had karaoke nights, a really cool open mic night called ‘Soul in the Hole’ and served as a welcoming haven to the LGBT youth of color. Without a doubt Pie Hole had the most diverse clientele down that whole strip, which inevitably led to problems with a neighborhood supposedly based on acceptance of people regardless of sexuality and color. Quite a few articles and blogs have been written about their closing, this one in particular is quite illuminating.
So Sunday evening me, Rees, Lito & his boy Alex have our last meal at their very hectic closing night. I order my favorite White Party Pizza with 2 cans of Diet Coke, and watch as the line to get a slice goes out past the door. I had spent many a night in this crazy place, and we were all sad to see it go. Between this place and Cuatro, we’ve lost two really good restaurants that loved House music and had lots of originality and character.
Pie Hole Pizza Doug holding the flowers and card I gave him, looking very beauty queen-ish.
