I love the versatility vodka offers when mixing but just like how most people's knowledge of downtown doesn't extend to far past On Broadway and Decos most people are only familiar with the very cheap stuff in plastic bottles like Popov and Grey Goose.As exemplary of a model that Grey Goose is for marketing majors.(Read about the history of Grey Goose Vodka and it's creator Sidney Frank here )
I ABHOR the stuff! It's $25 for a bottle when many mid tier vodkas are a lot smoother in my opinion. (Well I wouldn't turn it down if someone got it as bottle service in the club, but I won't order the stuff myself.)I'd be happy with any of these brands:
Govori - It's rated higher than Belvedere, in fact here are the awards its won according to bevmo.com
Wine Enthusiast: 93 Beverage Tasting Institute: 93
Picault's Spirits Journal: 5STAR
DOUBLE GOLD 2005 SAN FRANCISCO SPIRITS COMPETITION
93 PTS BEST OF SPIRITS WINE ENTHUSIAST
5 STARS SPIRIT JOURNAL
For $20 you get a huge bottle that's also tastefully designed. I call it the official vodka of my 25th Birthday. (You can see video of it below, after we take the limo through the car wash)
Han - I had a friend introduce me to this vodka at a BBQ. He made spiked lemonade with it and was the biggest hit at the party. It's also America's only Asian vodka.
Imperia - This stuff was featured in a bunch of hosted bars recently. I remember this one time where my friends kept going back to the bar for the stuff and then next thing you know someone is in tears and someone else was throwing up. It rates high on sneakability / mixability alongside Han, it just tastes so good you keep drinking it.
Svedka - This vodka takes 40 hours to distill. Insane! Again it also constantly rates among the best. I find it a bit more complex than Han and Imperia. I would pick up a bottle of this if I was making more traditional cocktails instead of the usual sleeper hits.
Skyy - Remember when Skyy was THE vodka back in the early 2000's? It's not one of my first choices anymore but its not a bad fall back.
42 Below - Unremarkable but not bad. Had this bottle at Decos and finished it in no time.
Vodka's I avoid:
Ketel One: It's described as " Dramatic and powerful, dashing and flavorful" but all I remember is it being powerful in all the wrong ways.
Absolut: Its not really bad, in fact I think its just slightly lower than Skyy. It's just that you usually have more choices so reach for something else. Absolut 100 on the other hand is pretty good and its a higher proof.
Here's an AIM convo that went down recently:
Eye's Aim Status:club kid - not a club ho
richieisceoofrnc: i just noticed your aim status
richieisceoofrnc: true that
richieisceoofrnc: BIG difference
Eye: YEAH
Eye: xxxxxxxx was like
Eye: is that what you really want to be called?
Eye: xxxxxxxx thinks its the same thing
Eye: SO NOT
richieisceoofrnc: SO NOT
richieisceoofrnc: club kids are about the fun
richieisceoofrnc: club ho
srichieisceoofrnc: are hos in a club
richieisceoofrnc: LOL
Eye: lol yeah!
richieisceoofrnc: yeah!
My entourage, myself included, are club kids. We love the scene, music, and dancing. We're not aiming to get lucky but we're also not actively cock blocking anyone. We just let the night takes it course and we're more likely to end up getting food than getting laid but nothing wrong with the latter but that's not the goal so don't get it twisted!
Dennis Michael (of Silk Road Productions) had a blog that sums up a lot of feelings I've had lately. He says:
"The other thought I have is in this whole thing where people, and I am number one on this list, keep living their lives waiting for their life to start. Always waiting waiting waiting for their life to begin, neglecting that hey yo, you are in your life. It isn't going to come, it is here now. ... Life isn't going to get started, it is already here. If we (really, If I) keep waiting for it, it will never come. "
I wrote a lengthy response and my own blog about it over on myspace but I felt like sharing here that I think it's good to reflect on what it is in your way from achieving your ideal state of living your version of having "The Life".
Wow no updates since May? Horrible! I let myself get caught up for so long with so many things and this got neglected. I do have 7 pending drafts and lots of new inspiration but as a teaser I'll give you this story from the Hard Rock Hotel.
Being that we had a room we were running back and forth from Moonstone. Literally. Running. Like children let loose from an entire day on their kid leash. We like to call it taking over the hotel. Most people it would be immature fun. One group of my friends banged up on a door that said bacherloette party. I carried one of my homegirls on my back occasionally bumping into the walls.
The best (worst?) of the running is when our party group ran into another party group running around the halls and before their paths diverged they shouted "no go this way it's only 15 seconds!" and one of the girls replied "15 seconds to what?" and he said "till the BLOW!"
And just like you see in a scooby doo cartoon they applied the brakes and promptly u - turned.
I know I've posted tons about how I review events and multiple disclaimers about my event philosophies but I thought this was worth a post here.
Everyone has the following types of friends. (and lots of different friends to varying degrees of the following)
1) The one that complains about EVERYTHING that happens when you go out. On top of that he or she will also try to do their best to make you go somewhere you don't want to go or to tell you to take them home. This person even looks bored or sour where you are at a place this person likes or frequents.
2) Your friend down for ANYTHING. Even if the night goes bad and you get a flat tire on the way to a party and never make it to the club he or she will try to keep the spirits high within your group of friends. This is the friend that puts in the extra $100 when you're stiffed during bottle service or the one to take friend number 1 above home to come back later with more alcohol for the party.
When it comes to reviews I read on yelp or read on blogs I always wonder what kind of friends that person went out with. I'm going to pull some examples from the Hard Rock Hotel review from Yelp to further illustrate.
Wes F. says:
"A friend pulled some strings to get us past the huge mass of people waiting to get into the poolside rooftop nightclub @ HRH."
Right away I have to ask if this reviewer would still give 4 stars if he had to wait the massive line he said he was able to skip? Waiting in line is a big pet peeve for many a club goer. How would he have felt had he have to wait an hour?
Cindy C says
" i'll go somewhere else where i can actually have a good time with some real people and real good drinks.
You can't argue with $12 drinks being considered expensive for most people but when it comes to "real people" I would bet money she would have not complained if she was with a party of 20 of her friends in the club.
What to learn from the above:
1) Evaluate your night life companions. Why friend number 1 ever makes it out to a party is because someone forgot how negative friend number 1 is or they wanted to give him or her another chance that they don't deserve. Sadly, sometimes number 1 makes it out because the party goer has no one else to take with them. I understand that most people refuse to go somewhere by themselves even when they are meeting up with friends so why not make a friend that is good to go when you want to go out on the town? When you do find a number 2 treat them right! They deserve a drink or two for being good party people.
2) Evaluate your own night life attitudes. Are you a friend number 1 or number 2? Self reflection is the last thing you expect to do when you're about to out drinking somewhere but it's an integral part of your overall happiness not just how happy you'll be for the night. If a party implodes but you make it out with your friends intact go out and try to salvage your night!
If I'm not directly involved!
It is my policy to never choose sides and never follow requests to stop seeing one friend over another. I like giving the benefit of doubt because sometimes when I'm stuck in similar situations I wish I had it myself!
In all cases of drama between two friends where I'm not directly involved I refuse to choose one friend over another on these grounds:
1) If I'm not directly involved then it always becomes a case of what one person says versus another. On all occasions I"ve heard both sides I can see both points or I can never ascertain with 100% certainty who is telling the truth.
2) You're being selfish of your friends if you can't share.
3) I'm willing to give parties equal time. If I see someone more than you that you don't like it is most likely because you don't make the time to hang out with me or you end up just staying at home!
I seem to be in the middle of 3 feuds at the same time in my social circle. So far this policy has serve me well and I have kept more friends than most people who try to choose sides.
See this guy? (DJ Sg)
Want him to play your requests? Then give him a little respect!
(If the DJ is really bad however or if the music is consistently not your taste then you'll do yourself a favor by leaving the club and find a new place to party at. If you're stuck at this venue because you have to be there then keep reading this guide.)
What NOT to do:
1) NEVER COMPLAIN. You ever do someone a favor after they complained to you about how you do things? Thought so. Don't say things like "play something I can dance to" or "something with a beat". Whining does not help your case either so don't say things like "everyone wants to hear it" or "come on I'll get some action if you play this!" or "play this soon because we're leaving". People just don't like whiners, DJs included.
2) BE SPECIFIC. You can't ask to see what they DJ has or ask him what he has. With more dj's augmenting their music library with hard drives it's not impossible for a DJ to have 100,000 songs. You really plan to scroll through 100,000 songs like a jukebox? If you don't know the song title or artist don't attempt to sing to the DJ he or she will not be able to hear you! The DJ has a monitor speaker right next to her AND headphones on!
As a side note the DJ does not always have 100% complete control over the music. The club owner or promoter may have given him guidelines he must stick to in order to get paid.
What you SHOULD do:
1) SAY PLEASE! Come on now, if you're going to say "can I please have..." when ordering from McDonald's you can say please to the DJ!
2) Write the DJ a note. It is WAY easier to read than hear in the club. Best thing to do is type your request out with song title and artist on your cell phone. The backlight of the cell phone will help the DJ read your request. When I try to do a request I usually say something like "You're kicking ass tonight! If you have it, please play (artist - title) thanks!"
Bonus: You can tip a DJ like a bartender to get better service, ask her if you can buy her a drink because sometimes even when she has drink tickets she can't leave the turntables to get a drink!
Here's my man Elroy aka DJ Rampage at Martini Ranch getting a song request. That night there was a group there for a birthday and being a group of attractive women the DJ's tried their best to make sure they had a good time and played their requests. Over the course of the night some of the DJs started to have conversations with some of the girls. There was one girl though that made it a point to cut those conversations short. Big BIG pet peeve!
1) If your friend is in a conversation with someone she can walk away if she's unhappy with direction the conversation is going. You all are adults (unless you have fake ID) so I don't believe in this "saving" bullshit. If you need "saving" then don't go clubbing!
2) If your friend is enjoying herself why stop her? If she has a boyfriend that's her responsibility to honor that relationship. What I really want to point out though is the woman who is single AND looking who has friends that will pull her away from guys who are NOT creepy! You can say whatever you like about meeting guys or girls at a club being a bad idea but it DOES happen and sometimes it DOES work! Are you jealous? geez! let her talk to the guy!
3) You would not cock block your male friends like this! WASSUP WITH THAT?!
I have to give it up to Red Bull for making a world series of events and raising people's awareness about a sport I didn't know existed. I think it's real classy that they chose an area where they can sell seats but also let people at Sea Port Village which is free to go to, be able to watch too. Convis was all over this event too promoting hotels that you can watch the air races from.
As for myself, I have yet to reach my goal of having a Red Bull Air Races party. Last year while my friend's were doing an event at Ben's some Austrian's left some travel ticket stubs on a table and I thought to myself "I got to have a Red Bull party." I went club hopping over to Thin and Onyx that night and noticed the influx of European tourists coming in just for the Red Bull AIr Races. The Air Races don't have much going for them as far as club after parties go. This year they had their own outdoor stage set up over a parking lot in downtown where I took these pictures of a Red Bull airplane.
Anyways what I wanted to muse about my attempt at having a party. I had a venue lined up and wanted to approach Red Bull about having a party or at least have the media rights to their logos to promote a party. The problem was that the corporate website was not updated yet so I didn't feel confident contacting Red Bull without being able to show them how the venue looks now with the remodel.
When I see an outdated website I think that a businesses operation is amateurish or unorganized. You don't need Marketing Melodie to tell you that. Granted, maybe there was just other priorities going on with the business or other circumstances I haven't seen but every time someone makes it hard for me to help them I get frustrated! I've been helping this venue book promoters for club nights and sometimes I do events there. It just makes me wonder if I'm trying to make you money, why make it hard for me?
I think my birthday has yet to be out done since my 21st despite my best efforts. Part of it is because my 21st had a lot of unexpected unplanned surprises. It was a time when MTV's first film Better Luck Tomorrow was coming out and I was helping promote the release. The opening night party was at a club I was running at the time in down town. It was also Climax's first event in San Diego. While SDAFF (San Diego Asian Film Festival www.sdaff.org !) was an official sponsor of the event only me and my crew was able to get in backstage because of our working relation with the club. That bday weekend I also sponsored the party put on by the directors brother. Somehow we were able to fit in a BBQ and birthday dinner at Hooters.
I've since have tried to redo having a 4 day celebration with lack luster success. For some of my friends to participate money was an issue. Sadly, some groups of friends are fueding or have had bad beef in the past so to avoid each other neither invites show up. Then there are my friends who have told me that they don't feel "cool" enough to go (I'll save this topic for another post). Other's don't have enough people to go with or the right person to go with or whatever. I think the way I've promoted my bday has made it too commercialized too. Ah well.
I'm pretty excited for my upcoming party April 19th. If I don't have fun at least the pictures will be awesome!
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