nyc   ¶ 6:35 PM 0 comments

  Maybe he should've tried a Devils game   ¶ 6:06 PM 0 comments

  Smart Alec   ¶ 3:55 PM 1 comments

  Bush: Democratize! But not too much. I might write a longer post on this at some point.  But for now, I'll just say Bush better choose his words carefully here -- a government was democratically elected to represent its people, and its people are an angry lot.   ¶ 1:31 PM 0 comments

  But what will happen with Jim and Pam??   ¶ 10:01 AM 0 comments

  Lessons learned Read the first part of the story here , the second here, and the third here. Check out Chosun's excellent mix (consider it a soundtrack to his tale) here.

The Tale of Chosun's Good Heart (conclusion).
By Chosun.

My event was now finalized and promotions had begun. All I had to do was hope that no other events would spring up at the last minute, promotions would be handled properly, and Mother Nature would not have a sudden hatred towards me. Boy, was I in for a surprise…

Murphy’s Law #1: Russell Simmons decides to host a very similar panel discussion/concert somewhere in Chelsea on the exact same night. There is talk of tremendous radio support, etc for this event that spontaneously materialized the same day. On top of this, Nike Town announces some HUGE sneaker event where they’re giving away tons of free sneakers and having some kind of a fashion show. Apparently, people had been lining up the night before in tents, etc, to guarantee their entry. The lines were wrapped AROUND THE BLOCK TWICE, according to my sources. What else could’ve gone wrong you ask?

Murphy’s Law #2: I must’ve peed on Mother Nature’s lawn or something in a past life because it was POURING on the night of my event. On top of that, it was really damn cold out on a Wednesday night in the city. I think it’s safe to say that I had placed myself into a lose/lose situation at this point. Nevertheless, what else could possibly go wrong?

Well, it turns out that Will and Rex’s promotions essentially amounted to Jack Schitt, and the only people coming through the venue’s doors were people who had heard about the event through me. In fact, let me rephrase that…the only PAYING people were those who heard about it through me. Sure Will brought people to the event, but proceeded to get EVERYONE past the register for the sake of some stupid film that he’s doing. Also, the venue (who told me they would promote as well) never ended up passing out any fliers for my event at all. In fact, the original box of 5,000 flyers they asked for was still there, unopened at the start of the event.

Therefore, after all was said and done…I was well over $9000 in the hole with nothing to show for it. Everyone I knew was asking me if I was ok due to the fact I was in a state and condition of being purely expressionless. Honestly, it pained me to even think about what had just happened to me, and how much I had put into it. On top of this, Black Rob never even performed. He showed up, took a look at the audience, and left. At that point, I didn’t care anymore…I had failed miserably to raise any funds for charity—not a single dime. In fact, I ended up losing almost half of what I had hoped to gain. I felt like any and all progress I had made on a personal and financial level had just been crushed. I hit an emotional floor and was pretty much useless for a few days following the event. I know it sounds stupid that something like this would devastate me so badly, but I truly put my heart and soul into this event. It was my baby…something I had put my love and sweat into…something that would allow me to contribute on a much larger scale to those in need. Oh well, I guess pain and loss is necessary sometimes…

So what have I learned from this? A) I need to prepare MUCH earlier, and deal with people that are more professional. B) Don’t rely on people to do things for me; I need to do them myself or hire professionals—they don’t share the same passion that I do. C) Also, perhaps most importantly for me, is to not always believe what everyone says…even if they sound like the noblest of people.

Furthermore, I DID walk away with many positive things. First off, I have formed relationships with quite a few industry artists, and have gained a sort of clout. In addition, I have found some great people as partners to help me reach my goals—people who will stand by me even in my times of darkness. Therefore, to end this journey on a positive note, I’d like to focus on the people who have supported me even after this entire event has come to a close: DJ Seoul, Anders, Nick & CL Smooth, Wolfpak Mgmt, DJ Wally/Pish Posh, DJ Chris Thomas, and of course my own artist, Big Pep.

There are few things better in life than knowing that you’ve got support, and I’ve got plenty. Now, it’s about time to start working on my next event…

(*Some of the names have been changed)

Thanks to Chosun for contributing his story.   ¶ 11:11 PM 0 comments

  Now that's just stupid Okay, TWU, I have supported you tirelessly. But this is ridiculous:

The city's 33,000 union transit workers, one month to the day after they stranded 7 million riders with a crippling three-day strike, voted Friday to reject their new three-year contract.

The workers, by a seven-vote margin out of more than 22,000 votes cast, opted to reject Transport Workers Union local president Roger Toussaint's call for ratification and follow the lead of a dissident group urging rejection. The voting ended at noon Friday.

  ¶ 3:39 PM 0 comments

  More on SinceSlicedBread   ¶ 1:58 PM 0 comments

  Cool color combo Here's the pic of his sweater.   ¶ 12:14 PM 0 comments

  I want one!

When President-elect Evo Morales wore a brightly striped sweater on his world tour, the fashion police howled.

But now "Evo Fashion" could sweep Bolivia, with a factory churning out hundreds of copies of the sweater he donned in Europe, China and South Africa.

Raul Valda, who operates a factory in the hills of the capital of La Paz, said his designers began working on 1,000 sweaters after people flocked to stores requesting the Evo-style sweater.

"This is going to become a line we call 'Evo Fashion' that we hope will appeal to young people," Valda said.

  ¶ 11:48 AM 0 comments

  Vote!

Have you ever been to SinceSlicedBread.com? Well, if not, now's the time! I was just there to vote for my favorite ideas for America.

Our friends at the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) anted up $200,000 in prize money to find the best new ideas to improve the lives of everyday working Americans. They've gotten press everywhere from CNN to Newsday to Parade Magazine, and what started as an ideas contest turned into a national conversation with people sending in more than 22,000 ideas.

Last Monday, SEIU announced the finalists -- 21 innovative ideas that address healthcare, education, retirement, minimum wage, taxes, energy, home ownership, civil service and many other bread-and-butter issues for ALL of us -- and the American people are voting on the very best ideas since sliced bread.

Last week's round of voting eliminated 14 ideas, leaving seven vote getters to compete in Round Two. Check out the remaining 7 finalists, then cast your ballot for three of them now:

http://www.sinceslicedbread.com/dfa

When you visit SinceSlicedBread.com, you can cast your ballot for three ideas. Don't wait though -- this final round of voting will continue until Sunday January 22 at 11.59 pm EST !

http://www.sinceslicedbread.com/dfa

As a member of DFA, you're already working to get more voices into the political process. Let's get our voices into *this* national dialogue by voting today at SinceSlicedBread.com and helping find the best new ideas since sliced bread.

Sincerely,

Chris Warshaw
Democracy for America 

  


    ¶ 10:24 AM 0 comments

  Reunion?   ¶ 2:02 PM 0 comments

  Skiing drunk   ¶ 5:05 PM 0 comments

  Road Bloggin'   ¶ 10:38 AM 0 comments

  "Grandmother and her geriatric posse" If you're intrigued by the title, I urge you to read on. Chosun actually uses that phrase successfully. He also talks about taking a blind kid's lollipop.

Read the first part of the story here and the second here.

The Tale of Chosun's Good Heart (continued).
By Chosun.

To reiterate my previous entry, I was on a Titanic of a high with the addition of CL Smooth, Anders, and Rex. I felt like nothing could stop me as I was powering forward full-steam with the lineup, support, and venue as my engine…

At this point, I was around a month or so into the preparations for the event. With the deadline for promotions quickly looming on the horizon, I struggled to continue to add names to the lineup, to no avail. Through Rex I had gotten Kurtis Blow and Grandmaster Caz on the bill which was nice, but they are so old-school that few of the current market consumers would recognize them. I was working around the clock to get that one anchor artist to really seal the deal.

Then, I got a break. Rex put me on a conference call with Will, an artist as well as the manager for Black Rob and G-Dep of Bad Boy Records. For those of you who don’t know who Black Rob is, see if you remember a song called Whoa. Regardless, I felt a relief that even Rolaids couldn’t match when Will told me that he would put Black Rob and G-Dep on as long as he and his boys were allowed to perform as well. Was that even a question? That’s like telling a blind kid that you’ll give him the gift of sight as long as you can have his lollipop. Honestly, I would’ve let his grandmother and her geriatric posse on-stage to do a naked rendition of the Spice Girls if it would get Black Rob and G-Dep there. Needless to say, my stress levels dropped significantly and I was confident that everything would move along well ... and was unprepared for what would happen next…

---

Have you ever had a serious craving for Rocky Road ice-cream? I mean, a serious craving—the kind that would make you go from store to store with repeated failures until you found your Rocky Road at a small convenience market 45 minutes away. Subsequently, when you found it, you brought it home only to find out that it has freezer burn inside. On top of that, the chocolate chips are actually rabbit droppings, and the marshmallows and nuts are actually frozen pieces of Styrofoam and rat testicles. No? Well it’s a small sample of how I felt when I found out that Will was not actually Black Rob’s manager! In fact, his only real relation to Black Rob is through G-Dep!

My initial suspicions arose when I had a follow-up conversation with Will who assured me that G-Dep would definitely be there, along with a huge list of amateur performers. He had conveniently left out Black Rob’s name which concerned me a bit, so I asked if Black Rob would be there. He said that Rob might not be available since his new album had recently been released and that he may be out of the country touring. HE MAY BE OUT OF THE COUNTRY TOURING?!? Wouldn’t you expect your manager to KNOW something like that? To get to the bottom line, I called my friend Derek of Wolfpak Management who had once mentioned that he knew Black Rob from back in the day. Well, apparently Derek actually knows Black Rob relatively well and quickly got him on a 3-way call with me. I then mentioned the event to him, which he claimed to know nothing about. After mentioning that his manager, Will, had told me that he would be willing to do it, he quickly laughed and said that “[Will] ain’t my manager. I mean, I know him, but he ain’t got nothin’ to do with me.” Shocked, I stumbled a bit on my words, at which point Rob gave me his REAL manager’s number and told me to speak to him about it all. Upon hanging up the phone, I felt violated…as if an LAPD nightstick or something has just sodomized my innocent self. I picked myself back up and called the REAL manager, who subsequently told me that he would give me the “family” price of $XXXX to do the event. In all fairness, it was a very good price, so I agreed for the sake of keeping things moving along. I figured it was worth saving the headache of having to backtrack again, so I went ahead and paid. On top of this, I unsuccessfully tried to contact Evil Dee again to verify that everything was ok with him.

I quickly learned that the people that talk a lot ... tend to talk a lot of B.S.

How does our hero end his quest? The final installment will be up this week. Then we start work on the big studio film (and no, we couldn't get Leo -- he's booked -- but Tom Cruise has agreed -- tentatively -- as long as we take on Katie Holmes for the role of Black Rob, which seems alright to me.)  ¶ 7:43 PM 0 comments

  Michele   ¶ 7:29 PM 0 comments

  Moda-ration   ¶ 11:12 AM 1 comments

  Some sick joke?

Don't worry! NASCAR is just about one month out.

  ¶ 10:55 AM 0 comments

  Split Fascinating article in the NY Times today on the growing split between Al Qaeda and the nationalist guerilla's in Iraq.  It would seem to further fan the flames of civil war, but I'm no expert.   ¶ 2:22 PM 0 comments

  Scary thought This just occurred to me: there are only 7 games left in the NFL season.  8 if you count the Pro Bowl, which I guess I should, because I will watch it.  8 games!  Just a friendly reminder: cherish your NFL while you can...soon you will be gettin' your football fix via ESPN Classic.   ¶ 11:58 PM 1 comments

  Casting Leonardo DiCaprio as Chosun Read the first part of the story here.

The Tale of Chosun's Good Heart (continued).
By Chosun.

Ignited with a fire under my ass, I proceeded to call up my brother who runs a weekly party called Direct Drive, and has connections with a myriad of nice venues in Manhattan. After speaking with him, he assured me that I could get the legendary Roxy nightclub in NYC. Ok, let’s think about that for a second.

…

THE ROXY!!! Ok, I won’t get into the relevance that the Roxy has to Hip Hop music, or how HUGE it is to get the Roxy for an event like this. Rather I will continue with my epic odyssey…but rest assured that there are few venues in the entire Northeast of the US that I would want more, but I digress.

Before calling CL’s manager, I sought to get at least one name on the list to add ‘meat’ to it and that would give CL’s manager that belief that it was an event worth devoting time to. I checked my phonebook again and came across DJ Evil Dee’s number (of the Beatminerz & Black Moon fame). I had met him briefly through my brother, and had run into him a few times since. Upon calling him, he agreed to do the event without hesitation, and therefore provided me with a little more ammunition to bring to CL. I now had a renowned venue and a big-name DJ…how could I go wrong? That was when I placed the call…

Once Nick (CL Smooth’s manager) answered the phone and heard my referral (Mike Loe), he was immediately friendly and willing to talk to me about the event. I explained the overall theme and location of my event, and he immediately agreed to put CL on the lineup! He told me that CL was VERY interested in helping out in any way possible to provide relief to the Hurricane victims, and even thanked me for asking him to be a part of it. Holy sh*t!!! Was he serious? He also mentioned that he had a meeting with Kanye West and Common the following week and would ask them if they were interested in participating as well. I immediately felt like K-Fed must’ve when he wed Britney: I hit the motherload!


Since I could do no wrong AND had Evil Dee and CL Smooth on-board and the Roxy as a venue, I felt like Ronaldinho competing in a Middle School soccer game—I was unstoppable! I figured I would aim high and started to make calls to all kinds of agents, managers, labels, etc. I wanted headline talent which would guarantee a crowd—one that would put the entire event over-the-top. I linked up with a young friend of mine, Anders, who shared the same passion for Hip Hop and humanitarian efforts as I did. He immediately jumped on-board and started rattling off name after name of artists he had connections with. From Slick Rick to Masta Ace to the Wu-Tang Clan, he had somehow built up a serious database of connections…and he’s only 20 years old! I told him to get on the phone, and I spent the next few days calling around and trying to make connections to seal a more current major artist’s support. I now was not alone in my quest.

Over the next few weeks, I had garnered a bit of interest from many artists, but nothing concrete. I was forwarded onto a guy in Cali, Rex, who represented an on-line/print publication and radio station from the West Coast. He claimed to have many big-name connections, and convinced me that opening the evening with a discussion panel was an added way to ensure attendance. He told me of events with well over 30,000 attendees he had organized on the West Coast, and told me that many people in NYC have been asking him when he would do an event in NYC. Additionally, Rex wanted to be a part of my event, and offered to give whatever help he could, including top executives from the magazine/radio station to be on the panel. Things were going from good to great, and I was on top of the world, baby, floating along on an unsinkable ship.

Wow, Chosun seems well on his way to having 30,000 people at the Roxy, and probably P Diddy or something. An event of TITANIC proportions. Unsinkable, after all. More tomorrow.   ¶ 11:27 PM 1 comments

  Good-Hearted Snake Tonight I am happy to introduce a new multi-part true story from a good friend of the blog, Chosun (probably the most frequent commenter...though admittedly the competition is light). Chosun is a good-hearted man (is good-hearted the best synonym for naive?) and it is with this good-heartedness that his story begins. Over the next several days, I will post the entire story, with little objective other than to show just how far a good heart can get you in this wonderful city we all call Noo Yawk. -Cicero

The Tale of Chosun's Good Heart.
By Chosun.

We are all too familiar with the story of Hurricane Katrina and its effect on the people in the Southern states. Almost a week after the disaster, I was alerted to the magnitude of the destruction by Cicero and Kevo, as I rarely watch TV and did not have a full picture of the situation. The grief and horror of this event made me want to do whatever I could to contribute—to provide a little relief. Yet what could a struggling, overworked techie do to help? I could possibly just give to the multitude of charities in existence, however, I have become very skeptical of charities as time has gone on, and figured my miniscule funds would be much better served trying to raise additional funds for the victims. At that moment I came to the epiphany that I could get a much larger group of people to donate if they don’t really ‘feel’ the effects of the donation. I realized that I needed to put my contacts and connections to some use. I decided to organize a benefit concert with 100% of the proceeds going to the American Red Cross. What a brilliant idea! I knew that I wouldn’t make a penny off of the event, but I would consider the time and effort as my donation to charity. I proceeded to pat myself on the back for being such a noble person and was energized with an overall good feeling like I had just single-handedly solved the world’s problems.

Fortunately, nobility is something that can earn you the allegiance of many like-minded individuals who are ready and willing to join you in your quest. Unfortunately, the majority of these same like-minded individuals seem to be the least connected in the current state of the cut-throat music industry…but that is neither here nor there. Therefore, I began my journey alone, and began with a call to one of my ‘closer’ contacts: Mike G of The Jungle Brothers. For those of you who don’t know, The Jungle Brothers are one of the founding members of the Native Tongues, which ultimately brought up De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Black Sheep, and others. Mike has always been very helpful whenever I had questions about the industry, and is generally one hell of a nice guy. Through the years, Mike has introduced me to many people in the industry, so I figured I’d ask him if he could get me in contact with some major headliners for my event. He did not have any immediate individual in mind, however, he told me he would make some calls and get back to me. The outcome of the phone calls was not quite the positive news I had hoped (like “I’ll get De La Soul for you”), however, nor was it negative…so on with my quest!

Instead of resting on my laurels, I decided to hit my Cholodex and call up the next ‘industry’ person I could find. The next name to pop up in my list was DJ/Producer Mike Loe. Mike had just recently produced a series of songs for the legendary CL Smooth (of Pete Rock & CL Smooth fame) for his return album. I had seen CL Smooth perform at his single release party a few weeks earlier and was absolutely amazed at his presence on-stage. What I am implying is that once he stepped onto the stage and picked up the mic, he OWNED the stage and everyone else in the venue. After remembering this, I knew that I wanted him on the lineup as the first artist. After explaining my overall view of what I was trying to accomplish, Mike gave me CL Smooth’s Manager’s phone number and told me to reference him. I immediately promised to sign my first-born child into slavery for him…ok, not really…but it wasn’t out of the question!

I came to the conclusion that any musician named Mike is most likely a hell of a nice guy…

Was he right to draw such a conclusion? What the hell does he mean by that anyway? Does that mean Michael Jackson is a nice guy? Or not, because he is known as Michael, and not Mike? Mike D of the Beastie Boys would certainly qualify, since his name is clearly Mike. Maybe this Mike thing is a red herring. Tune in tomorrow for another taste.  ¶ 11:15 PM 1 comments

  'cross the pond   ¶ 1:14 PM 0 comments

  You might also enjoy...   ¶ 12:57 PM 0 comments

  In the Mix!   ¶ 8:39 PM 1 comments

  The Miseducation of Kevo: The Debate Continues Kevo has responded to Sarah's comment to his original post on the  teacher's union:

And you're right. There are few teachers out there teaching for the money. Teachers are there because they want to teach. Isn't that the great UFT motto? 'Let the teachers teach.' Of course we need to recognize that the union is far from perfect and teachers need to be held to a higher standard, but it is not the UFT's job to make sure that this happens. It is the union's job to give teachers room to take control and set the tone in their own classrooms. Students benefit when teachers are allowed to be the bosses of their own classrooms. Students benefit when they view their teachers with respect. Students benefit most of all when teachers stay at the same school for a long period of time and gain experience in working with one another as a team. The union works to allow teachers the space they need to establish themselves in their teaching environment. Unfortunately, I think, many times this fight becomes directed by petty disagreements between the union and the DOE (as in arguing about an extra 30 minutes of class time or about bulletin board format). Teaching needs to become a profession that our society truly respects. The union is far from perfect, but it does work towards giving teachers power to choose what is best for their students. That is its power. Given space to do what they do, teachers will be more successful in teaching their students precisely because they are not there for the money.

--
Posted by Kevo to cicero jones at 12/29/2005 12:43:43 PM

  ¶ 11:12 PM 0 comments