NEXT PICS: 1st Friday held its monthly event at the Moolah Lounge (LEFT), Sexy actress Stacey Dash was in St. Louis to film the indy flick, "Ghost Image."...Vet singer Ron Isley, who spent a few years living in St. Louis, was indicted for tax evasion.
HELLO ALL, AS I RECOUP FROM THE THREE WAY LABODR DAY WEEKEND. PEEP OUT WHAT WAS ON THE HAPS THIS TIME LAST YEAR. OH AND DONT FRET, I WILL HAVE A NEW POST UP OF THE NELLY FESTIVITIESAND OTHER TIDBITZ ON THURSDAY!
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BE SURE TO KEEP EYED ON MY BLOG WITHIN A FEW WEEKS TO GET MY EXCLUSIVE COVER STORY, "V.I.P. CHECK: A DOORMAN'S VIEW OF THE STL CLUB SCENE"
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What’s going on e-fam! This is Ma’atology givin’ it to ya another time for your eyes. Well, we all survived another week. Can’t say that to Australian-born animal kingdom personality Steve Irwin who died earlier this week from a diving incident after a sting ray‘s tail pierced his heart. Man, that is too crazy.
Also, The MTV Awards were presented in the Big Apple. The only STL presence was a MTV nod for Nelly for Best Ringtone for his song, “Grillz” (He lost to Fort Minor’s “Where’d You Go.”) We are also just days before the 5th anniversary of the 9-11 Attacks in NYC, Washington DC and Philly and terror is still on and rampant and this week is the 10th anniversary of the death (or shall I say afterlife?) of rapper Tupac Shakur.
Locally, the STL had its St. Louis Idol competition at the Grand Prix Speedway (formerly Cahoots) in Earth City (I saw you D’Anrea, aka D-St. Lou ridin dirty in one of those speed cars on Fox 2’s Morning Show with Tim Ezell. LOL) where 1,000s showed up(but only 200 was able to compete) to be the St. Louis rep for the Seattle auditions on September 19th. The winner was Florissant, MO’s Whitney Cook (SEEN ABOVE ). I will talk about what she had to say as well as the STL Idol judges about the STL: competition later in this report.
OK, the skinny on my week:This weekend was Labor Day weekend and I mostly chilled out ate some BBQ chicken my moms cooked. I didn’t go out of town or do a lot of serious partying (and that’s saying a lot for me).I did hear that Q from 112 had a party at Formula where he was also having a calendar model search for the sistas) I did manage to go to 1st Friday at Moolah Cinema and Lounge (SEEN IN ABOVE PIC) located at the corner of Lindell and Vandeventer. It was an All White-Party to celebrate the beginning of Fall and those who wore all white, got a discount on the price of entrance(I’ll get to the attire and the discount issue later).
Anyway, I got there about 11. I wore a “smedium” white ribbed tank top (ya boy was flexin, for real. LOL), white polyester pants, and white shoes. As I was walking to the Moolah, there were two sistas who walked behind me and asked where was the Moolah located cause they tried to find it earlier(My all-white attire was a dead giveaway I’m sure). I told them to follow me and we definitely looked like a singing group (We were lookin like The Third Dimension—LOL) with all of our white on.
So as I guided the sistas up to the Moolah, I gave some dap to 1st Friday security guard Al Wade (who I grew up and went to school with in East ST. Boogie since the age of 12!) and he said to me that Torrie Dillsworth was in the building (He was a guy that Al and I graduated high school with). I tried to seem amused but my thing was like, “Okay. Is that news?” But I played it off and walked inside. I saw many people in the lobby area and my first impression was, “Oh, oh, they are going to have us all cramped in the lobby area!”When I was in, I saw Torrie talking with a group of people.
So, I excused myself and stuck out my hand for Torrie to shake. I said to him, “Are you Torrie Dillsworth?” He said yes. I said, “I am Marcus Atkins, we went to high school together.” He looked kind of spacey and I had a feeling he might not have remembered me from high school, but I did my part of saying hi to him. We held brief conversation of our where-have-we-been-where-we-are going-stuff and I was on my merry way. It was kind of an awkward moment, but oh well.The 1st Friday sista motioned me to come to her so I could pay. She told me 15 dollars. 15 dollars?, I said to myself. I then asked her, “I have on all-white, where is the discount?” She said that the price is originally 20 dollars and the discount makes it 15. What tha! I thought for sure it would have been 10 bones cause its 15 to get before midnite (so I thought). I didn’t trip off of it and went on and paid it.
As I paraded through the area, the first person I recognized (I say that cause the crowd had a lot of YOUNGINS up in there) was Treanna, a sista who is locally famous in the STL club scene who always wears geles like Erykah Badu back in the day (THERE IS A PIC OF HER AT OUT 82). She was dressed in a red gele, a white skirt, red halter top, with a white jacket exposing her cleave. We shared niceties and she said that she no longer works at that slave-driven Alton Water Company and now runs a clothing store in Chesterfield mall called Urban Behavior (http://www.urbanbehavior.com/) I also told her about the Marshall Faulk fashion show I was apart of and then I took her picture (I also saw I had some competition on the camera tip with a brotha STL411.net who took pictures as well. )In the meantime, I walked up to one of the alcohol bars and ordered a cranberry juice.
Then I got the response from the bartender who fixed my drink, “Is that it?”. I haven’t drunk an ounce of alcohol in weeks. (FYI, I am sticking to my high protein, low carb, fresh fruit and veggies, turkey and water diet as well as my 4 day a week heavy cardio regimen at the gym so I can have a tight core for the fashion show I’m a part of on the 29th ). So, after I got my 2 dollar non alkie drink, I walked up and down the lobby and into one of the small party rooms where DJ K-Nine (He looks like a computer geek. LOL) was spinnin on the 1s and 2s.
For about an hour, people we walking up and down the lobby, trying to be seen and the 1st Friday security guys were manning the big doors leading to the cinema. It was after 11 and usually the main part of 1st Friday is usually ready for people to party (Maybe they were still setting up the flick and the dee-jay equipment) Almost midnite, they opened the doors to the cinema area (SEEN ABOVE) where they had a large open space for people to dance on carpeted floors. The flick that was showing was Jay Z’s “Fade To Black”, his sold out concert from Madison Garden two years ago (and they repeated the beginning part of the movie over and over again!).People rushed the cinema area and started sitting in the seats and walking toward the dance area. The dee-jays were Charlie Chan (who spun first) and Nappy Needles (who spun after Chan).
The spins were the usual crunk/hip-hop-cum-reggae script. Nothing out of the ordinary (They played Fergie’s Londoin Bridge” which I though was interesting). I was getting a kick at some of the crowd people. One sista was already lit with the juice as her girl kept picking her up from the floor. CLASSIC. One East Indian sista was breaking it down so tough as though she was getting ready for a breakdancin limbo contest (I got a pic of her on OUT 82) I also found interesting was I saw former 1st Friday security guy Brian Stemmons (who I went to college with) was in the house as a clubber and from my understanding he had a beef with the whole 1st Friday organization and its working policy with security (For more info on this scoop go to OUT 17, November 4, 2005).
As far as pictures, I had an interesting moment when I took a pic of Torrie Dillsworth and his lady when his lady asked about my makeshift chain (paper clips and a silver keychain). She touched it (wrong move) and asked, “What is this? I said, “My chain.” In a very why-are-touching-my chain? Then she said, “Okay.” In a no-it’s not-manner. But it was all good. Torrie looked embarrassed which spoke volumes about his relationship with her and her getting into stuff. LOL.
Another moment was when I went to the restroom the second time around. There was one door which lead to a corridor where they had both male and females restrooms located. The door to the men’s room was open and there were some sistas hangin in front of the open door lookin in! It was a very freaky scene. They had front row seats lookin at brothas zip up their flys. That was too much playin in the city.
Overall, the event was OK. Nothing special. 1st Friday aint like what it used to be when it was mature and sexy folks who dropped by with business cards , networking (Its all early 20s now) and you had some entertainment whether it was a comedian, a poet or some kind of service on the premises (eg,. Message therapy). And the dress code is also laxed. I remember a time where you couldn’t wear tennis shoes or jeans up in there but now it’s whateva (Even with the All White Party, there were more people not wearing white than those who wore some white!) . Now it all seems to be about packing them in.
In the house were Hot 104.1 personality Tony J, Club Plush owner John Daniels, former Club Toxic owner Reno, St. Louis American Entertainment Editor Bill Beene, and Spin City Recordz artist Jzanelle.
FOR MORE 1st FRIDAY PICS, GO TO OUT 82.
MA’AT-TIDBITZ. I gotta give a shout out to Mister Jacob, creator of the STL entertainment pic/event site http://www.stlouis-online.com/ for giving my website a shout out on his site. He put the promo tag of my site on his new newslink on his site. Thanks a million!...........................I will finally get a copy of the flick, “I Married a Zombie” a film short I did for Webster University student director Justin Kerr almost two years ago. I played a doctor and voodoo priest in this comedy spoof of zombie flicks. I should have a copy of it on the 15th of this month. I will try and post it on YOUTUBE in the near future!.............................I text about 50 or so people to let them know they could still vote for my blog as Best Blog in the Riverfront Times 2006 Best of Poll (Thanks Christiaan, Soundz and Glasco for responding back!)You can pick up the ballot in this week’s RFT or go to http://www.riverfronttimes.com/ and click on the icon on the upper left corner and wait until you see the Best of St. Louis 2006 Reader’s Poll icon and vote for my blog, maatspear.blogspot.com ………………………….Although the hits are slowing down, I still wanna thank you all for still checking out the movie I did on YOUTUBE of my brief appearance on Last Comic Standing in care of Kathi Griffin reality show, “My Life on the D-List”. As of this writing, the hits has went from 370 to 386. If you haven’t checked it out, go tohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvmwSn9glKE (FYI, You gotta pause the video at 2 second in to see me!)………………………………………………………….My story on the preview to the 13th Annual Art’s Fair in Clayton can be seen in this week’s West End Word and on http://www.westendword.com/.............................................
WORDZ TO THE WHY’S (AT THE MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS) . My Why’s on were on the very BORING MTV Music Video Awards show this year(It was the lowest related show in MTV’s 25 year award history)................Why were most all of the winners shocked that they won (especially All American rejects and Chamillionaire)?...................Why was a stumbling Montel Williams brought on stage at the beginning of the telecast and was dubbed The Godfather of Talk Shows?........................... Why did Beyonce’s “Ring the Alarm” routine rip some moves from Janet’s “Rhythm Nation” choreography?......................... Why did Missy Elliott say she couldn’t get out of the car she was in after she performed during the tribute to Hype Williams?.......................... Why did Axl Rose look like he just got up from bed and came to the award show?............................. Why did Pink hilariously imitate Paris Hilton after winning her award for Pop Video for her song, “Stupid Girls” and Paris was in the audience?........................ Why was Jack Black hosting (and not Chris Rock or Dave Chappelle or Will Ferrell for that matter if you wanna get a career hot comedic movie actor )? ).......................Why was the behind the scenes action shown throughout the show? Why was Al Gore there talking about global warming?...................... Why did it look like Justin Timberlake and Timbaland didn’t rehearse their Sexy Back performance?.......................... And Why wasn’t there are 25 year tribute to some of the artists who performed on the award show?
CHART-IDBITZ.. Finally, ST. Louis-bred rapper has hit No. 1 on one of the major charts on Billboard. His song, “Pulling Me Back” with R&B singer Tyrese has hit No. 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop charts dethroning Beyonce’s “De JA Vu” to the No. 2 spot. It is his first No. 1 on this chart. “Pulling” has made pinnacle position in its 16th week on that chart. The song is also No. 1 for a third week on the Rap Tracks Chart. Although his song with Tyrese, “Pulling Me Back,” is also No. 1 on the R&B/Hip Airplay Track Chart.On the Hot 100, “Pulling” is still having trouble hitting the Top 10. The song holds for a third week at No. 16(still holding its bullet)in its 12th week on that chart. At this stage of the game, the song may hit the Top 10, but it will probably land AT No. 10, I can’t predict this song will go to No. 1 on this chart based upon its performance. It’s doubtful if it will out top his debut single, “Right Thurr” which hit No. 2 in 2002. As far As the Nelly duet with Janet, “Call on Me,” the song has moved out of the Top 50 on the Hot 100, and the song falls one space down from No. 6 t No. 7 on the R&B/Hip Hop Chart in its 12th week. It was so close to hitting the Top 5, but then again, it could regain momentum, but I think the song has run its course..........................................In unrelated Nelly news, according to blackvoices.com, STL-bred rap star Nelly’s Applebotton Clothing Kline Smart Girls is teaming up with the NYC shock-jocktress Wendy Williams’ Hangtags for Humanity for a camopaign to get young girls to practice safe sex,. As a part of the campaign, Apple Bottoms has released the 'Wendy Williams Contribution Smart T' t-shirt. Madonna, Halle Berry and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler have all done these high-quality t-shirts. The shirts will be available at Macy's and other locations carrying Apple Bottoms clothing. Ten percent of the proceeds from the shirts' gross sales will go to the "What Smart Girls Know" award campaign.
STL-TIDBITZ. As I hinted earlier, Whitney Cook (SEEN ABOVE) of Florissant, Mo, won the St. Louis Idol competition that was held Wednesday at the Grand prix Speedway. Fox 2 Morning Show announced the winner Thursday and morning anchors John Pertzborn and Margie Ellisor (who was one of the judges) called her during the morning show.“I’m prepared and very excited,” said Cook. She said that she got to the Speedway at 7 a.m. Wednesday morning.
As far as her reaction when Fox 2 called her and told her she had won she said, “Before I got to do anything, my mom started screaming and I couldn’t hear anyone n the phone. I started screaming myself. You guys had me up til 5 in the morning (Do I hear some diva comin’ out already? LOL)She went on to say that she was going to “bring so much St. Louis” to the Seattle competition and that “they won’t know what hit ‘em.”The anchors also asked her will she sing, Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You,’—the song she auditioned with—in Seattle and she said. “ I might do the same song, but what song I’ll do, I’m going to blow them away.”She added, “I told my mom last nite, that if I get the call, there’s gonna be no stopping me now.”I heard that.
Well I can say, from the interview, she definitely has confidence (and she is a cutie) Let’s just hope she can make a good impression in the Seattle competition with Simon, Paula and Randy on Sept 19. The other St. Louis Idol judges were St. Louis Post-Dispatch Pop Critic Kevin Johnson and local singer Ralph Butler,. They were on Fox 2 Morning Show talking to Ellisor about their experience judging the 200 or so who were able to sing in front of them.Johnson said overall ”they were prepared for the unexpected and that most of the singers were more good than bad and that there weren’t people there to be goofy.”
Butler echoed Johnson’s comment and said that Whitney was “very good and had the total package. She’s cute and talented and with a bit more polishing she is going to go far.” Johnson said he hopes Cook just “be herself cause that’s what they liked.”As far as the songs the potential Idol competitors sang, it was too many “Eyes on The Sparrow-Christina Aguelera and Whitney Houston numbers.
Johnson said that gospel music “is held with such high reverence that most of them just sang the song and didn’t perform them and many were afraid to play around with gospel.” They wanted to see more originality. Butler said a lot them were getting “over their nerves and they were doing a lot of rattling and some didn’t use all of their 30 seconds in the auditions.”Both agreed that for Cook to succeed, its about having a good song and to deliver it....................................
Isley Brother’s group member Ronald Isley (SEEN ABOVE IN PIC) got three years in federal prison for tax evasion. According to Eurweb.com, Isley was sentenced because he failed to make any payments to the IRS for twenty years. Between 1976-1996. Isley, 65, was also ordered to pay about $3.1 million to the Internal Revenue Service, having engaged in "pervasive, long-term, pathological" evasion of federal taxes, according to U.S. District Court Judge Dean Pregerson. Isley was convicted last year of five counts of tax evasion and one count of willful failure to file a tax return. He was facing up to 26 years.
Isley's lawyer said his client had been selling his assets to pay down his IRS debt. He had sought probation for Isley, citing his client's medical condition, which includes the effects of a stroke and a recent bout with kidney cancer. The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) alleges Isley used some of the money to buy a $1.8m house in St Louis in 1997, a 100-acre estate in Missouri worth about $1m and a yacht. Man, this is too crazy., Well, hopefully this will be lesson to anyone when it comes to paying taxes. For those who didn’t know, Isley used to be married to St. Louis-native singer Angela Winbush. They were married from 1993 to 2001……………………..
STL radio station Hot 104.1 is launching its new website http://www.whhlhot1041.com/ and they are hosting a concert to celebrate with Chris Brown and Ne-Yo among others at the UMB Bank Pavillion on Sept 15................................................ And speaking of the two hot boyz in R&B right now, I wonder if Ne-yo will talk about the alleged coming-out rumor that is supposedly in the October issue of Essence Magazine and the supposed leaked Sidekick pics of him getting ‘head’ with a background singer (If you haven’t seen the pics, go to mediatakeout.com and go to the story on the upper left hand corner that talks about Ne-Yo)? I doubt it. (That’s like Johnny Gill when he performed at the Body and Soul concert held at the Fox Theatre earlier this year and he didn’t say one iota of anything about the alleged secret same gender relationship with comedian Eddie Murphy)...................................... As far as Chris Brown, well, I just hope the Pavillion has some new sneaks for him to perform in cause that’s what he requested when he performed, according to source who helped to put on a show when he performed earlier this year in the STL at the Arena on Chambers Rd.. Well again, he is only 17. LOL ………….Local actor and singer Stuart Allen is an extra in the St-Louis filmed flick, “Ghost Image” a supernatural thriller starring Elizabeth Rohm (“Law and order”), Waylon Payne (“Walk the Line”) , and Stacey Dash(“Clueless”) (SEEN ABOVE IN PIC ) . It has been filming in the ST. Louis area since August. Allen took some flicks of Dahm and Dash that can be viewed on his myspace account at: www.myspace.com/stuartallen.................................. And speaking of the “Ghost Image” flick, I got the scoop from a source on the closed set that told me that they nearly had to shut down filming of “Ghost Image” this week because of a scene that was filmed near Washington Ave. downtown. The lighting people had major high beams on the street to keep the street lit up as though it was daytime, and some of the loft neighbors who lived nearby complained and called the police saying they couldn’t sleep and the lights were disturbing their peace. Well, one St. Louis cop , a brotha, and his partner, a white lady, had come on set to issue a complaint to the director Jack Snyder. Well, the director told the cops that they had a permit to have their high beams working and all, but the kicker was, the brotha cop, said he could make a deal with the director. He said if he could get a picture with Stacey Dash, then he would drop the charges and “arrest the one complainer who complained.” Well, the cop, who already had his camera ready and had heard that Dash was in town, got someone to take the picture with he and Dash and the lit up scene was able to be filmed. TOO CLASSIC TO MENTION, FOR REAL. I also heard that the stars of the movie are staying at the Renaissance downtown near 6th and Washington as well.
GORDON-BITZ. Catch Gordon Chambers' new music video debut of "BE HAPPY!" on BET-J's Soul Sessions show this Thursday, September 7 at 1:00 PM, 8:00 PM and 12:00 AM.
REMEMBER TO VOTE FOR MY BLOG, OUTTOWN (MAATSPEAR.BLOGSPOT.COM) AS BEST BLOG AT THE RFT BEST OF 2007 at www.riverfronttimes.com!
REMEMBER TO VOTE FOR MY BLOG, OUTTOWN (MAATSPEAR.BLOGSPOT.COM) AS BEST BLOG AT THE RFT BEST OF 2007 at www.riverfronttimes.com!
Well, that be it, folks. If ya got anything for me to pub, hit me up e-mail style at maatspear@yahoo.com!
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