Monday, January 28, 2008

When People Leave

It's all well and good to discuss great times shared with people that you meet. However, none of us are immortal and one of these days we're all going to exit. When this does happen, it seems to me that the empty feeling left inside creates more of an impact than just about anything else.

I just recently had a friend pass on, and to imagine that the incredible amounts of great experiences we had shared together over the years are not going to happen again is an incredibly overwhelming and surreal thing to accept at the age of 23. This person was a larger than life character who was loved by all and made an impact on everyone he met. He's the type of person everybody would love to meet and be graced with his antics for an evening and without doubt it'll be a hilariously fun Time. There is a feeling inside that you can't help but think, I wish I had have made these feelings even more noticeable with our times together.

The impact we make on each other's emotions is the single biggest thing that goes through our mind at anytime. I guess in my state of emotional grievance, I can't help but think of the poignant lyrics from the flaming lips "Everyone you know someday will die, and instead of saying all of your goodbyes, let them know you realise that life goes fast and it's hard to make the good things last".

 RIP Laef.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Pharmacy Industry and WAD party

Last night I was lucky enough to immerse myself on the front-line of the French electro scene. From this scene we have seen the development of a sub-culture which has been responsible for just about taking over the world over the last year or so.

I experienced this at the Pharmacy Industry and WAD magazine party at Paris Paris nightclub in Paris. Pharmacy Industry is a very cool casual street wear label that has gained a mass amount of respect over the last year, particularly within europe. WAD magazine is a very respected french urban fashion and culture magazine of which have an amazing website. For these two companies to put together a party in the surrounds of Paris Paris,  a basement nightclub with the capacity of about 150, incredible neon lighting on the walls and a windmill of coloured lights on the 10 foot low roof, a night to remember was on the cards.



I was unaware as to whom would be deejaying throughout the evening. However, on entering the party I suspected someone big was a possibility. After sitting down on a plush leather couch and downing a few drinks and checking out the array of phenomenal style floating around the room, I noticed that we were amongst some amazingly cool French kids. I chatted to a local student who studies philosophy, she pointed out a 17 year old friend of hers who had just signed with Ed Banger records. In the midst of this conversation, the deejay changed, and a heavy, dirty, slow electro sound started pumping out with a large portion of the party moving to the dancefloor. As I got my first glimpse of who was deejaying, I turned to my friend and said "holy shit! It's Busy P, Thats f**kin awesome!!". Busy P (aka. Pedro Winters) is the doyen of electro music. He is the manager and brain trust behind the brands that are Daft Punk and Ed Banger records. The set this man produced was second to none, thrashing out dirty head banging electro sounds, mixing it in with tracks like Video Killed the Radio Star and Thriller. The crowd was like putty in this mans hands and the mixer was like an extension of this guys body with the level of control he was exercising. In the midst of this awesome set, in this amazing setting, i stood back to soak it in for a second and said to my friend "I don't think there would be a cooler party going on in the world right now at this moment". Enough about the party, this blog is about people. 



As the set finished I made my way to the bathroom. Standing there relieving myself, reflecting on what an amazing night it had been, I looked to my right and relieving himself next to me was no-one else other than Busy P. In the shock that I found myself urinating next to one of the most respected people in music I said "you know the last time i saw you it was with 20,000 other people at Parklife in Perth". More than to happy to chat, he said something along the lines of how cool that tour was. I gave him my opinion on what an amazing live show Daft Punk had, we did our flies up and he said "What about Justice?" and without giving me any time to respond he said "Yeah I prefer Daft Punk also, Justice are just 2 gay guys, you know Justice are gay" and then he proceeded to punch a guy in the side in a friendly manner. Only then I realised that waiting for the urinal behind me was Gaspard Auge, one half of the team that makes up Justice.



Respect is something that doesn't come by easily, and in the case of the entertainment industry, fame will often come right along with it. Therefore when you do have a positive and humorous interaction with someone with the fame and respect that Busy P has, it certainly leaves a good feeling inside. 

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Milan Fashion week winter 2008


This winter fashion week has been my third. During these periods I've had the opportunity to meet and interact with people from all over the world. Over this last fashion week period I have managed to meet a range of interesting people.

The first person I would like to talk about is an english guy who I met at the Roen after party. This guy is the drummer for a pretty successful English band, they have had a fair level of success touring around the world and the UK. He fell into modelling by being spotted at one of his shows by someone from a london agency. He had a pixie like face with long dark rock and roll hair, he was as genuine as they get and he didn't have the arrogance you would expect from a model playing in a successful enough band. I shared a bus ride with him unto which I discovered he drunk at the same local as Noel Fielding (mighty boosh fame) and to which his biggest passion was quite obviously music. Fascinatingly enough letting me know that John Richmond the fashion designer was in a punk band in the 80's, ah the irony. I left him with 3 girls whom were certainly looking at getting to know this character a little better.

The second night of Fashion week I found myself at the Neil Barrett party. This party was as extravagant as fashion parties get. Held in a massive warehouse decked out with amazing lighting, chandeliers and sponsored by a vodka company, the scene was set for a memorable night. As it turned out I did take advantage of the vodka sponsorship and most of the night is unfortunately a vague blur, with one highlight of spotting Naomi Campbell. As I came to leave and look for a taxi I came across 2 guys heading in my direction so we shared a cab. Once we got talking we decided to go for some pizza as we had all drank way too much and eaten way too little. 

Upon sharing this meal with these 2 guys I discovered that they are professional water polo players. One was Italian and his english was slight, the other was American who had learnt to speak quite good italian after living in the country for close to 2 years. From what I drained out of them, it was likely they were going to represent their respective countries in water polo at the olympics this year, all things going to plan. I discovered they played in the same team as Elka Graham's (a famous Australian swimmer) boyfriend's team. Elka famously made news recently in Australia by saying another Australian swimmer offered her performance enhancing drugs. These two knew of the comments and claimed Elka had told them who this was. Despite my drunken manipulative attempts to get a name out of these 2 chaps they held firm and said nothing but insisting that elka would kill them if they did say anything. We ate pizza then shared a taxi home. For me the experience that made the night was not that I was able to party at some extravagantly over the top, overcrowded fashion party unto which Naomi Campbell was present (don't get me wrong, it was pretty awesome), but the fact these two humble potential olympians shared stories with me over a drunken pizza at about 4 A.M.

Finally, my third meeting with an unforgettable individual during this period was at the Roberto Cavalli party. This meeting was for all the wrong reasons. She was an upper class English girl who had the desire to be rude to me at every opportunity. She was a journalist for a trend forecasting agency in London. She was condescending to me by asking my age very early in the conversation and proceeded to make comments like "you're just a model" and "all i want is some intellectual conversation". It's amazing how certain people desire intellectual conversation at 4.30 am after an incredibly drunken evening. In hindsight I wish I had have asked her opinion on Dmitri Nabokov's dilemma of publishing his late Father's last literary works when he wished for them to be destroyed as they were incomplete. However, my major concern was getting a taxi. So after having one too many condescending comments directed towards me, I replied with "f*** off you miserable B****" walked down the road and pretty much instantly got a taxi. To be honest, it was a hell of an exit.