Only in Miami would coming back to the hotel at 2am be considered coming home early. After 3 full days of partying, some rest is needed especially with Ultra coming tomorrow.
The day kicked off with interviews with two great Dutch producers - Junkie XL and Tiesto. JXL chatted about his new cd Today and his journey up until now. With In Search of Sunrise 5 and the constant tour, Tiesto had a lot to talk about as well. Look for both interviews on the site coming soon.
Stopping by the hotel for a quick change, I realized that there is a party everywhere. The rooftop of the Townhouse Hotel has been taken over by the Onitsuka Tiger Lounge with djs spinning the tunes for people chilling on the roof. People often talk about lifestyle marketing and this seems to be a successful example of the right way to do it. No one was shoving sneakers in my face - I was having a good time chilling on a chair listening to music and watching people dance. Thats a great image to have connected to the vibrant brand of Asics sneakers.
Next up was a trip to the Wyndham hotel for the Grammy/Producer panel at Winter Music Conference. Deep Dish, Roger Sanchez, and BT shared their thoughts on everything from Grammys and laptop spinning to nurturing new talent and minimalist techno. The discussion led by lawyer to the superstars Kurosh Naseri was quite entertaining and educational.
The Promo Only crew invited me up to the Penthouse Suite where KHNC was doing live interviews and beaming them back for broadcast. The always energetic Lucas Prata was beaming with his monumental add on Z100. The legendary Claudja Barry, now called Claudja, stopped in and talked about her new single "I Will Stand." Written by Jack D. Elliott and producer by Tony Moran and Warren Rigg, the song will definitely be in my DJ set next weekend.
I hooked up with some friends - DJ Trypsin (Firestone/Orlando), DJ Dewight Barkeley (Emerald City/Pensacola) and Marlon (new artist on the dance/rock edge - think Killers but cuter) - and headed down to Nocturnal for the Club World Awards. Let's face it - the show was a circus and everyone loves a circus. It was a true party in every way - old friends carousins, pumping music and awards presented to everyone's favorite. Hosted by the DJs Are Alive crew (Static Revenger, Skribble, SCumfrog, D:Fuse and Kristine W), the most touching moment was probably Danny Tenaglia presenting an award to his mentor Francois Kevorkian. I hope the pictures of the night turn out because it was a wild event.
We came back to South Beach and walked along Lincoln where our possee grew as we ran into Frederick Ford (porn star turned singer "Too Funky) and Rachel Panay ("I Still Believe.") Our motley crew headed up to Ocean where we enjoyed a meal at a divey sports bar and watched the ocean. Sometimes the best moments are just chilling with friends. As much as I wanted to check out the MN2S party at Amika and the SAW party at Shine, I knew I had to get some sleep if I was going to be functional for Ultra tomorrow.
