808 Dinner Plate

I have studied for six years straight through in Hunter College and NYU. I can’t tell you the amount of money that I owe between the two. It gets worse… Employers tell me that I am not qualified because I don’t have enough experience. MTV marketing department told me that. They hired me at 18 to dance in several videos. One was Rosie Gaines’ I Want You – a song written by Prince for the keyboardist from the New Power Generation. Another video that I was in was for Matt Goss – from the punk rock band Bross. At the time that I first applied to college I met a record producer on set for an MTV music video. He worked with a record label called Vission and Lorimer with LA DJ Richard Vission. They wrote me a reference letter to get into college. I was a club kid then. MTV messed with my life in a serious way. All I do is argue on interviews. I’m never a qualified candidate, and I believe, as a result of MTV I am now categorized as on the wrong side of the law. This is absolutely wrong as I studied hard for my degrees, putting myself through college waiting tables from restaurant to restaurant. I can go on about this nonsense.

I started working in nightclubs when I was 17 in NYC. People call me a Club Kid as a result, but in actuality I was the last of the flower kids. I met some people at the Grateful Dead who introduced me to the nightclub industry. They showed me rave music and then later house. I was following music as a fan, and also an aspiring musician. I have lived in NYC for 20 years while clubbing the whole time through. We have had many glamorous events with celebrities, VIP parties, most always on the guest list… Until around the year 2000, when Mayor Guiliani decided to close my life. I had one… A nice life with a promising career. Things were tough. I did have a struggle. The mayor closed almost every establishment in this city. The salsa clubs were still open. (not funny) There were close to a 1,000 people out of work. Our careers were all interrupted. Sure, Peter Gatien made some mistakes. I just blame this whole time period to a mayor acting as Al Capone with a badge.

I love to go clubbing. I like to dance. I stay for 12 hours with friends talking about music, performing and more. The scene at that time was so lively. I can’t speak for others, but I would walk into some of Peter Gatien’s nightclubs like Limelight, Club USA, Tunnel or Palladium and I was instantly in a conversation. Aside from my phone blowing up at all hours, I could walk in alone and always have someone to dance with. There was always someone to talk to. This is something that people don’t understand. I think the world wasn’t ready to meet each other. I like going in dressed as a stranger to meet new people near the dancefloor. I have had rolodex after rolodex of people that I just got bored of. When I needed a change of pace, I threw them and my mobile phone away. There were so many people there that I could always meet new friends.

The music that is still playing is from that time period. I really don’t enjoy anything else aside from traveling. Music is really all that I care about. It encompasses many things, like great friends, rebellion, art, money, and the globe. I’m sad to say that I am not happy with the working world. What more do the politicians want? Isn’t a Master’s degree enough to get out of shit? I’m sorry it’s never good enough. NYC wants to compete. Well it’s losing friends along the way. I was just working at a restaurant with a bunch of immigrants who could barely speak the language. They were Spanish, Italian, and Albanian. The restaurant manager had to stop me five times a night to complain about how incompetent I was. Excuse me. I am educated, with experience and from Manhattan and I am not qualified to compete with someone from a South American country living in the USA who does not have a degree. What the hell is wrong here?

It all boils down to closing the nightclubs, attacking the artists and assaulting the liberals. This is ridiculous that I have to fight for rights like these. Imagine that the Winter Music Conference should be something I could afford? Excuse me, there is a problem here. I need a third degree to compete in Manhattan? I am excited about studying in London, but gimme a muthafuckin break. I don’t need three degrees to work in this city. This is bullshit.

This year there are DJ’s from labels like Nervous and Viva Music, clubs like Pacha: Ibiza, with notable acts from DJ Magazine. Some of the names range from Armand van Helden, to Felix da Housecat, Todd Terry, Junior Sanchez, DJ Dan and DJ Sneak (all on one night Friday March 23rd). Anyway, this year I will be about Manhattan. Hopefully I will be able to fly to Miami next year…