The Drama For November, 2009

Well, yeah. I have highly neglected The Drama column for 2009. What can I say?! I found the next playthings. Toys, if you will. An internet TV show. A PR company. A big project with another small'ish talent I hold, Hospitality management/marketing. Hey, it's a recession, we have to keep it moving, right?

I'm not about to recap the year. It was one of the worst, and one of the very, very best too. Facebook has been something of a diary for me and satisfied my immediate need to record moments. The concerts, dinner parties, meetings, lunch dates, etc. are all there for the network to see, so I won't dish too hard on the Blogger page, which I'm revisiting after setting up the account back in 2006! Hey, I'm busy! Getting back to this isn't easy.

There were many wonderful highlights and moments. Nappy Roots, Too Short, Devin The Dude, Macklemore, Grynch, DJ B Mello, Funk Daddy coming over to chop it up. The Daddy O (Stetsasonic, MCA) visit to Seattle and summer party at my home. Mr. Cinatra, E Dawg. Flying in relatives and friends over the greatest summer I've ever seen from sixteen years in Seattle, because I wasn't going anywhere during high season in the 206!

Yes, times are hard, aren't they. I've taken a step back or two, or......three just like you have. And 2010 isn't looking much better, is it. But it's no excuse to give up, right? We have our families (at least the ones we like), friends, we have TODAY. Live it. Just.... be. Don't let what's right in front of you go by. Never.

BUZZ FOR NOVEMBER: Lotus Evora, Valigia Peroni , Hotel St. Cecelia in Austin, TX , Mission One Bike , Etsy , Sonny Bonoho's new record, Pink, Hotel Bel Air closure (will it really be reopening? Some wags in L.A. say No. It's a beautiful property. I think they'll be just fine), Fabio's (Top Chef) new tratoria Firenze in North Hollywood, Ca.

WANKSTER FOR NOVEMBER: I had more than a few to choose from this summer. Nothing that rattled my cage enough to remember, though. So not this month. Except of course, AEG, for not simply letting Michael Jackson go and having it's insurance policy subsidize potential losses from their pre-production costs of the This Is It Tour. Instead, the machinery went into overdrive and AEG comes up with an exploitative Memorial (letting L.A. foot the bill, of course), and a movie that's coming out too soon. WAY TOO SOON. But that's just me. www.ThisIsNotIt.com .

Considering how I let The Drama get rusty over the last nine months, this one feels ok. I will let it ride. If more toys don't come along, I hope to be back in a month or two. In the meantime, keep your head up.


"If You Don't Live It, It Won't Come Out Of Your Horn"
Charlie Parker



Gene Dexter, Urban Gadfly
www.GeneDexter.com