We headed to the north side of Chicago because that is were the congress theatre was located and found premium parking and set out to walk some blocks and experience the city at its finest. We trolled around for about 2 hours before heading to the congress theatre for the show. When we arrived we were surprised to see the massive size of the venue, I am talking totally Mansion in Miami type seating. We walked around the different rooms and heard some of the local DJ’s that Chicago had to offer. If you all reading this don’t know Chicago is the city where electronic house music was born. There were some styles that we definitely had never heard before and things that we had seen but it was a ear opening experience to say the least. While walking the party we ran into the promoter and explained who we were and what we were doing in Chicago and how we knew Keith Mackenzie. I told Bob how I was apart of FSOB promotions and we immediately clicked hard. We told him about our ventures and were we would be staying that evening. (In the car) HAHA. Bob is one of the most amazing kind hearted people that I have ever met in my life. Bob’s hospitality and kindness is the way life and any scene should always carry in it. I will never forget meeting him and his whole crew and the amount of love and karma that was passed upon to B and I. Bob I would like to say you gave me a gift that could never be replaced, and as they say you cant keep what you have until you give it away so me and B will make sure we continue to pass the love you showed us to other people along our journey. The whole night of the show was filled with dancing, great conversation and getting to know our good newfound friends. We stayed at the party until close and then went to the after-hours party located directly underground of the current venue the party was at. The after-hours ended around 4 or 5am and we left the venue and headed to Bob’s house. Bob lived in the most amazing 4 story townhouse nestled in the North-side of Chicago. He had a rooftop balcony that overlooked the Chicago city skyline, you can see a picture above that B took as we watched the sun come up. While in the city we hit stores galore promoting the clothing line and managed to pick up about 6 stores that said they would carry our line. GET SOME!! We ended up staying with our new friends for 3 days and had the most memorable time good energy and karma allowed and took the positive energy and began to head west to see our great friend MIKE TRIPP, WHO MIKE TRIPP!!! LOL!!
Mike lives about 30 minutes away from downtown Chicago, without traffic haha.
As we arrived we actually beat Mike to his house but were welcomed by Mike’s girlfriend who was very nice and showed us there gorgeous home. Mike’s girlfriend Brittany actually grew up in the home that they were currently living in but they were planning on moving to riverside in about 3 weeks. Our first night was spent around Mike and Britt’s home relaxing and having great conversation. We woke up the next morning and took care of a few errands we needed to take care of away from the busy city and then heaed to Aurora, IL to meet up with Mike after he worked awhile and had a night out for a few drinks and a stop by the casino. Here comes the part that B, Mike and Britt hate about the casino. I put 5 Bucks in the slot machine and walked away with $560.00 Bucks!! GOOO MEEE!! I plan to carry this energy and the luck with me along the rest of my natural life but one thing is for sure I will not stop or rest until DEFINE CLOTHING IS OUT THERE AND IN YOUR FACE!! WORLD GET READY FOR A FASHION INDUSTRY TAKEOVER!! ;) MUCH LOVE MORE TO COME SOON!!
Chicago. Congress Theater. Keith Mackenzie. Guest List. Need I say more?
Congress Theater
Keith Mackenzie gettin' to work.
Our new homies... Bob and Keith Mac
(Thanks for the hospitality Bob!)
Afterparty in the dungeon of the Congress Theater.
Another afterparty pic.
So we decided to merge our newfound friends by taking a trip back to the city and introduce mike and brittany to bob and friends... We traveled into the city and began to head to the northside to meet up with bob and crew... We showed up to their house around 8pm with a case of beer in hand and immediately began socializing and introduced our friends to one another.. Bob and all of his roomates and us headed to the rooftop and destroyed the 1st case of beer in about 30 minutes. We then made our way to the store to get more drinks and made a stop by Arturo's to get some great authentic mexican food..
Bob had previously drank his girlfriends birthday bottle of black label johnny walker so B and I decided to replace it and get another case of beer and then we headed back to the house and the rest of the night started. It was a nice suprise for Coleen (Bob's girlfriend) for us to buy the bottle even though we all drank it all...After finishing a case and a bottle of Johnny Walker we decided to head to the bar and Bob said he would drive us... We went to a bar that Bob said he worked at and got the hook up on disounted bar tabs and stayed until last call and headed back to bob's.. On the way back Bob decided stop signs and red lights didn't apply to city boys and we were pulled over and told to go home (that would never happen in Raleigh, NC) mexican cops got in my face and said get out of my face and pushed me so we departed. We came back and tried to get his car back since the cops locked Bob's keys in his car so while standing in the rain we jimmy'd into his car and went back to his house and grabbed mike and brittany and headed back to downers grove, IL...
We awoke and were awaiting on our new business cards but B forgot to click 24hr turn around when submitting our order online (good job B) so we had to stay another day in IL, which wasn't that bad considering our previous night.. The following morning we grabbed the business cards from the UPS driver packed the car abd headed to good ol St.Louis, MO... We stopped in St.Louis and got to flirt with a sexy gift shop attendant for the big arch and she allowed us to goto the top of the arch for free :)!! We promised a free t-shirt in return and then headed to the cardinals stadium area and had a tall boy with the locals and headed out of St.Louis and towards our new destination Kansas City, MO...
We departed St.Louis in perfect timing to avoid the 5 O'clock city traffic. We continued to drive through Missouri heading towards our next city stop of Kansas City. We had already been in the car over 4 hours long when we decided to depart St.Louis and head to Kansas City. Since we left St.Louis around a little after 6pm the majority of our drive to K-City was spent during the night. We always research every city we goto before we actually get there. We do this to find the art districts, fine clothing retailers, and any other art areas and stores that we might be able to bring on board to carry our line or artists to add fresh new designs to line.
B and I refuled the car with 100% bio-diesel and refuled ourselves with 100% pure fine colombian coffee and off we went into the sunset (literally)..
Missouri is a really flat state and I couldn't think of a better state to drive through at night time because there is not much to see during the drive. We loaded up on caffiene the whole drive to K-City as we always do while we are on the road. The chariot bio-turbodeeez catapulted us out of St.Louis,MO and into the K-City in a short 4 hours. As we pulled into downtown we hit the main streets we had previously researched for in the car. According to our research K-City has the 5th largest art district in the United States, unfortunately downtown did not show us this. While driving through the city things seemed suprisingly dead and extremely quite for a city of its magnitude.
We circled around the art district and looked at the galleries and fine dining restaurants that made up the multiple block art district.
The city looked and seemed so empty that B and I almost began to think we made a wrong turn at some point or our research had dropped us in a wrong part of town away from all the action. We decided to make a quick stop and ask some locals where the best night spots were in-town and we got the info and headed to the area in which we just were told to go. On the way to the side of town where the action was we passed by a place that had a ton of people standing out in front with thumps of bass leaking out the doors of the venue.
Of course, you know I told B he had to turn around and we needed to go check out the cool looking spot we passed by. We parked the car and we both threw on jeans and I tossed some product in my hair and we headed to the club. As we arrived to the front entrance B asked some locals what kind of club it was and we were told it was a gay/lesbian bar and there was a drag show going on until 12:30am and then it would be open format for dancing.
I was excited for many different reasons. One being my sister is a lesbian and I love the shit out of her and two if u know me at all I live to dance.. :) There was a five dollar cover at the door but the same local that told us about the venue and what kind of scene it was told us that if we paid the cover at the door she would buy our 1st round of drinks.. B and I entered the club and went to claim our 1st round on the house as promised. The local we spoke to before entering and that hooked us up with the drinks was an absolutely gorgeous woman by the name of Birdi. While having conversation with Birdi we had come to find out that she actually bartended at the club but she was just their for fun and not to work that night. Birdi is such an amazing person with such a huge heart it was a pleasure just alone by itself to have met her not including the other things I am about to convey to you about what she did for us.
We were told by the security guard at the door of the club that there was another strip of awesome bars and the type of scene we would be more into a little ways away. B and I jumped into the car and headed to check out the other spots we were reffered to. There was a really neat club we got to have a few drinks at and it was one of the spots we had been referred to by the security guard. As we entered the DJ at the club was dropping some really funky 808 bass with "K-City Rap".. I really was feeling the music and went and spoke to the DJ and told him I enjoyed the bass he was dropping and that I was impressed he was mixing K-City rap with 808 bass, he responded "damn man this isn't even my labtop on mine I got some real crunkers!"
I gave the DJ one of our business cards and explained our journey and he told us of another bar down the block that we might like. We walked a block down the road and whipped out our ID's and enetered the complex like nightlife area. We were treated like absolute shit from some local guy saying that my jeans were to ripped and a little to baggy and we had to leave. After being kicked out of the most ridiculous joke of a club scene B and I came to the conclusion that the guy that kicked us out was just really sad and upset because our jeans were nicer than his whole wardrobe. We immediately left and went back to the lesbian bar to hang out with our kick ass new friend Birdi. We arrived back to the club and Birdi had shots sitting waiting on us to drink. We slammed back a few shots and then asked Birdi were we could set up our tents in the area to goto sleep when we left the club. Birdi told us there wasn't any parks around the city and there was no need for us to go camp that we could follow her back to her house and stay there with her. We arrived at Birdi's house and when u walk in there is gorgeous original paintings on the walls that Birdi had created herself. The art was so clean and crisp and really helped set her living room off. Birdi had such an increadible energy amongst her soul that just overflowed around you and into you while she was around you. Birdi was so funny, witty, sweet, caring, and nice to B and I. I could tell that she wasn't just like this to us and that she carried an amazing spirit and projected near flawless positive energy. Her energy was almost identical to the energy B and I are trying to put forth towards each new city and new person we come in contact with.
We stayed up a few more hours at Birdi's house after leaving the club around 3am. Birdi made us a bed on her fold out couch and sat with us and we talked for a bit as well as played around creating awesme laughs in the process..
Although I commend you for the cause of your journey... I place a pox on your silliness for your snooze on the deet to tha roit (so typical of americans to disreguard its magic)of all the cities you could visit on your journey I can think of no city that embodies the bwillis style more then the forgotton gotham. You have to come through some time soon.
ReplyDeleteHEY!! i met you in the KOA in Eureka! the fellow dubber. i realized i dont know your vortex name!
ReplyDeleteanyway. enjoy your journey : ) sounds fun. wish you had caught me at a better time :P i had just woken up and was wearing a totally awesome outfit haha.
love your clothes. ill prob end up buying some.
peace.love.VDubb.
Rose