Darling Nicky

These are my friends: Gold, iGreen, Blue, and Red Che – otherwise known as The Five One. I met them last summer through my friend Kendra. She said her cousin’s band was playing Afropunk at BAM in Brooklyn. They came on just before Murs, a California underground rapper, and I was pleasantly surprised that they were really good.

They’re from Virginia, and have a sound akin to N.E.R.D. but defintely make it their own. They touch on everyday topics like work, relationships, interactions with authority, etc. They can have a nice melodic, SoCal vibe and then switch it up to raggae or even punk rock. When I saw them at Afropunk, I noticed that they switched instruments around depending on the song, and thought it was real cool that each member can play more than one instrument. They have a site called Deuce Day World where they interact with friends and fans as their music can be heard, and sometimes downloaded, on that site.

In 2009, the Five One is creating 51 remixes. They will release these remixes every Thursday (Deuce Day). This week they have remixed Lykke Li’s “Little Bit”. I love how these guys have such eclectic (and sometimes eccentric (Red likes Gogol Bordello) tastes in music to even reach from the international music scene (Lykke Li is Swedish) and become inspired. One mix from last year was a take on Kanye West’s “Love Lockdown”. iGreen waxed poetic about the financial meltdown and credit crunch on Wall Street and other American businesses, and why the government can’t bail out the average citizen.

Not only will you find their music on Deuce Day World, but you’ll also find somethings that the members of the band find interesting as well as members of the site. It’s hugely interactive and membership grows everyday. Being that the members of the band identify themselves with colors, of course, new members to the site must pick a color. Mine is pruple. What’s yours?

On Christmas, Ms. Eartha Kitt passed away of colon cancer at 81 years old. She came from being born on a plantation in North, South Carolina to being a successful actress and sex symbol. I remember first seeing her as cat woman when the Adam West re-runs of Batman play on WPIX when I was a little girl and then in Boomerang when she told Eddie Murphy’s character, “I don’t have any panties on.” And that was just the tip of the iceberg with her career! You are definitely going to be missed, Ms. Kitt!

Last Tuesday night, I went to see a couple of my friends play their sets at Lit Lounge in the East Village. Lee Transue and Lisa Jaeggi are both great singers and guitar players, and very nice people. Another friend of mine, Tyler, sang background and bass guitar during Lee’s set. They both have MySpaces where you can hear their music: www.myspace.com/leetransue and www.myspace.com/lisajaeggi. Here are some photos of the night:

This was backstage while we were all sitting around waiting for nine o’clock to arrive. We were just goofing and catching up.

My friend Emma.

Cool Mr. T Mural!

Lee getting ready to play.

Tyler suited up to play along with Lee, though he had issues with the microphone throughout the set.

Friends from school came out to show support.

Here’s Lisa beginning her set. She had some very funny banter between her songs, especially when she talked about one of her songs being about being in a shitty bar like the one she played in that night and then joke more about how the owner worked hard for the bar the to look shitty. Nice.

Lee singing background on one of Lisa’s songs. I think it’s called “Waiting”.

Highlights of the night each set for me were “Talisman” by Lee and Tyler and “Can’t Spell Believe” by Lisa. I’m glad to know people who I truly believe have great talent and deserve to have a following. I thought I’d share my night good music made by friends. Please check out their websites, and listen to their music!

Last night, I dragged my friend with me to a party at the Hiro Ballroom called Malibu Noche Blanca sponsored by Malibu Rum and hosted by Jaslene from America’s Next Top Model. First, I’ll explain that I don’t usually go to a lot of parties nor am I a photographer. I just felt inspried by the atmosphere to take photos and I always take my camera with me, just in case. Second, Jaslene makes a lame hostess. Third, The party was great. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. Although that might’ve been from the Malibu waitresses handing out free mixed drinks with, of course, Malibu Rum. The DJs played raggae, raggaeton, and raggaeton mixes that got everyone dancing, even thugs in the place. I ran into a dude I that works Vibe magazine. I was glad he recognized seeing as I was just a lowly intern when I worked their. We met some skater guys who were really gorgeous. On our way home we walked slow from our heels hurting our feet, and we took our shoes off while standing at a busstop (sans lollipop) to relieve our feet. Well, the bus came as we were both barefoot, and we ran for it on the cool, wet street. Oh yeah, it drizzled last night, too. Back to the party. Here are some photos that I took of last night:

Forgotten drinks left in the seating area.

My friend Parice

Nice, pretty woman. Check the boots!

They came with skateboards. lol

They even skated a bit.

Cutie

Party revelers

I want this for my room. Please, someone steal it for me.

All in all, it was a great night. My friend and I danced with people we’ve never met and probably won’t meet again, drank free drinks, and killed our feet with heels.

This video is a bunch of soundbites made to make Obama sound like he’s singing Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up”. Hilarious!