Fearless People: The Video Shoot

While some people were off stuffing their orifices with brotherly love at The Black Party on Saturday night, I was having a fantastical evening at the video shoot for JFortino's new anthem "Fearless People" with Heather Leigh West and Dawn Tallman sending its chorus into the stratosphere. These legendary divas make my playlists every week. Heather's "Drop A House" anthem always moves the crowd. And I know I'm playing Dawn's glorious cover of Chaka Khan's "Through the Fire" tonight at my gig at Porch because today is Chaka's birthday. (Check out my best friend Craig Seymour's podcast about Chaka with a 2004 interview he did with her here).


The shoot was a two-day extravaganza co-directed by JFortino and my buddy and Pill Award winner Francis Legge. Saturday was the second day in a boxing ring near Broadway and Houston. It was a long, wonderful night with friends there (including my Wonder Twin and Fierth.com impresario Brian Mills sporting some of Heather's extra hair at the end of this post) to be extras around the ring for the video's big fight. More photos and details from the shoot are to come. Here's a taste of what went down.

The 6th Annual Pill Awards

It's still awards season for New York City Nightlife. Sure, the Glammy Awards have passed; but you still can vote for the 6th Annual Pill Awards until January 22nd, which honor the best of Attention-Deficit Television, a cable program that plays videos by your favorite NYC Nightlifers as well as short films, documentaries, and experimental pieces by talented directors you should know. I'm not telling you who to vote for; but keep reading for some of the NYC Nightlife nominees I recommend.

Nominated for four Pill Awards is "Supersizer" by Sherry Vine (pictured above from the Bar d'O Reunion). It's directed by Francis Legge and co-stars Ben Andrews.


Up for seven Pill Awards is "Cotton Candy" by Amanda Lepore (pictured above, from the B*tch @ss Trick party). It's directed by Bec Stupak and co-stars Cazwell.

Cazwell's up for eight of his own for "I Seen Beyoncé at Burger King," featuring Johnny Makeup and directed by Bec Stupek and Francis Legge.

Francis also directed JFortino's "Exclusivity," which is up for two Pill Awards.

Up for two awards is "Thought Ya Knew" by Peppermint (pictured below from her Barracuda show).


Up for six awards for two different videos--"It's F**ked Up" and "Everyday I Think about the Same Person"--is Gio Black Peter. Check out "Everyday I Think about the Same Person" (above), again directed by Francis Legge.

Up for three Pill Awards is "Lip Gloss" by Britney Houston. It's her version of the debut single by the rapper now known more for grandstanding at the end of Jay-Z and Alicia Key's performance of "Empire State of Mind" on MTV's Video Music Awards show. (Yes, something else happened after Kanye West took the mic from Taylor Swift). Britney's "Lip Gloss" was her first video to reach the million mark on YouTube.

Check out Britney's fantastical new video for "And the Crowd Goes" above. I'm sure it'll be up for some Pill Awards next year. See how many NYC Nightlifers you can spot making a cameo.

You don't have to work in NYC Nightlife like Amanda (pictured above from the Glammy Awards Show) to vote for the Pill Awards. All you need is an Internet connection. So vote here before January 22nd! (You can watch every video for every nominee directly on the Pill Awards site). I can't wait for the Pill Awards Show. I had a blast last year.

C'mon and Getcha Summore!

Every Sunday night should start with a healthy serving of disco thump. That's exactly what DJ Gant gives each week at Eastern Bloc's Love Hangover Sunday party. The wonderfully gooey mix of bass, strings, and piano--including the hot mix of the Jackson 5's "Can You Feel It" as well as the classic Chaka Khan and First Choice that Gant put into the mix--were taking me there! Or, maybe that was the tequila I was drinking because of Dzu (pictured below, from this summer, since I was too busy sipping to snap a new shot of him). Well, he didn't force me; I was inspired by his drink of choice for the night.

We met director Francis Legge (pictured below) there, who'd just come from Nowhere Bar, where he was enjoying the cheap beer and free Wi-Fi. At Eastern Bloc, bartender Sam kept the drinks coming and shocked us with his supernatural hearing, even with his hat pulled down over his ears.

With a couple more people in tow, we found a taxi we could all fit into and headed over to Barracuda for the 2-4-1 (or 12-4-6, as it were) Happy Hour from 11-12--and for The Sherry Vine Show. OK. This was my third time seeing the divine Miss V (pictured below) in the last week; but she was premiering her new parody of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance." Besides, she hasn't filed a restraining order. Yet.

It was standing room only by the time Sherry took the stage and we cashed in all our Happy Hour receipts. Luckily, we'd grabbed seats close to the front when we first came. She rocked through her set, ending with the fantastical new song. The family-friendly ditty, "I Sh!t My Pants," left everyone laughing. Indeed, what else does rhyme with romance, as she explained to the crowd afterward. I had a silly grin on my face for the rest of the night. No, that wasn't the tequila. During her show, she also sang happy birthday to JFortino (pictured below), who came to have a few rounds with us.

Mimi Imfurst was there, too (out of face), for a bit. So inspired by her new traveling weekly schedule (Tuesdays at Barracuda, Wednesdays in Philadelphia at Q Lounge, and Thursdays in DC at EFN Lounge), she was off to tour NYC's bars last night. After the show, we had a few more rounds. Logan Hardcore dropped in to say hey. Apparently, Logan's going to be Beyoncé to Epiphany's Lady Gaga for a performance of "Telephone" this Saturday at Club 57. Can't wait!

Suddenly, it was late; and I realized that I never made it to Vandam like I'd planned. Maybe that was the tequila. I went to the restroom. Seconds after I locked the door, the waiter relentlessly pounded on the door until I came out, explaining that the owner said I'd been in there too long. Yeah, right. I decided to leave Francis at the bar, grab a bagel from around the corner, and hop in a cab home.

(Mr.) Black Celebration

Any good night out includes someone losing it on the dance floor, someone running to the bathroom to, um, accidently upchuck on an unsuspecting stranger, someone needing cab fare home (and me giving it to him), and Brian Mills (pictured below), my Wonder Twin, teaching the children on the dance floor.

So, last night at Mr. Black was a fantastical success. I pre-gamed in Williamsburg at singer JFortino's place to help celebrate his Sweet 16th. Among the guests was director Francis Legge. After nibbling and toasting a bit, we all cabbed it to Mr. Black to join the already partying Jane Lane (pictured below) and Ernie Cote, one of last night's hosts.

We waded through the sea of people to the bar, where we found Johnny (pictured below), in his under-dressed best, making the rounds with a tray of yummy, fruity vodka shots.

At some point, Kyle handed me an appropriately timely Friday the 13th Jason mask, which I wore for the rest of the night, and in which I took far too many self-portraits (one of me with Brian Mills is below). I did take it off to have a drink with DJ Drew G.

Once we were properly hydrated, we took it to the dance floor, where Nancy Nosecandy (pictured below) took a prisoner. In the middle of the crowd, of course, was Ladyfag, fresh from the the Mr. Black 2033 tour to Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

35 more cocktails in, I lost track of everyone but ran into Danny and Charlie who, shockingly, was not eating. I'm sure we talked about something terribly fascinating. Somehow, I found my Wonder Twin--or maybe Brian found me--and we made our way outside to cab it home. Well, I stopped for pizza along the way.