That Friday, the 5th, I showed some more of my work once again Undaground Illastrations 5, which was held on a Kansas City First Friday which seemed to have definitely made an impact on attendance. Lots of good works were hanging about showing off the latest and greatest from the underground art community.

The 6th I was back at Kabal for Pete Bones CD Release Party. Definitely lots of fun. I had been looking forward to that event for several weeks. I mean, how could I miss that having done all of the photo work for the CD, which by the way is Very Good. If you are interested, you can pick up a copy of the CD at Kabal Restaurant & Nightclub for only $10. That night, Pete Bones was there and did play and rocked it as usual, though it seems his performance was somewhat overshadowed by a model presentation that was being done upstairs by the BOOM Models. After that, a bunch of us, including Pete, headed down to the Empire Room for a little after cocktail hour, cocktail hour... hehe.

That Sunday, December 7th, marked the 2nd Anniversary of phocas.net. Initially, we had planned on really doing nothing for that date because there really wasn't time or money to put anything together, but at the last minute Glenn Jefferson approached me and said he had it all set if I still wanted to do it. So, after hastily throwing together a line-up, we went forward with it. I must say that it turned out really well, from beginning to end. I received so many compliments about the DJs that night and tried really hard to get those compliments back to them. It seems everyone was really impressed with what they heard, not to mention several compliments I got on "setting the mood" perfectly with the lineup I had put together. It was definitely a laid-back chill little party with all the best old and new friends. Later on in the evening, Pete Bones stopped by for several cocktails after he and the Kabal Krewe had a bout of Football. We also had several other local and out-of-town celebrities stop by, somewhat clandestinely (is that a word?) for a drink or three. All wished me well for the beginning of the third year of phocas.net and I even have a couple of offers for venues for the 3rd Anniversary Party.... so keep your eyes peeled next year. We're gonna do it again, for certain.

A few days later, The United Tour II made it's return to Kansas City with PigFace. The show wasn't quite as big as the one at the Uptown Theater earlier this year, but was definitely a tight partyin and dancing crowd. Those that were there got a rare glimpse of ~phocas~ joining the Mini-Mosh Fray and ricocheting off of a couple of other bodies. I didn't think I had it in me anymore, but I guess if the vibe strikes you just right, you're bound to do anything.

That was definitely a good beginning to what was going to turn out to be a very looooong weekend. Friday night it was off to Lawrence through the blizzard to B's Glass for Tribal Vision's party Zikr. Nicole and I got there just in time to catch one of our favorites on the lineup, Clandestine. Afterwards he put a CD in my hand which I can't seem to want to take out of my disk changer in the car. If you haven't heard it yet, check it out. Although, I do think the best part of the evening was when Mr. Spock made an unexpected visit to the party and agreed to do some photos!

Saturday, after a lot of bouncing back and forth, Kandice offered to take us to Springfield for yet another quality show by Leo Productions, Release, featuring Andy Hughes! Be sure to check in on DJ Spiral to get his take and his photos from that event. He will be joining the ranks of phocas.net beginning at the end of January 2004 to provide a glimpse of the party life in Springfield! That was definitely a tight little party. Unfortunatley, we goofed off too much and got there just as SydeBurnz was finishing up, but we were lucky enough to catch Chris Close who played one helluva OldSkool set. Later that evening, I got the chance to say hi to Dee Jay P, who was back in town and decided to drop in and hang out for a bit. Best Wishes to you and your Mom, dood. You are in our thoughts and we hope all is well.

After returning to KC at some ugly hour like 7 am, I slept most of the day and then headed down to what was supposed to have been a new Sunday weekly down at Porter's. The night itself went really well, however subsequent nights were pushed off and played off by Porter's in the typical way that it is for that establishment. You would think that things would be different with new ownership, but I guess not. The people that were putting that weekly event together really tried, but there's just something about that place. Personally, it didn't appear to me that anything had changed from when it was ACs garage or the Westport Garage. Anyone that's been, knows what I mean. If you haven't, don't go looking for disappointment. Personally, I don't think anyone should make an attempt to pull anything off there until some things and some attitudes change with that place. I definitely wouldn't do anything there without something in writing about some very key elements. Overall, I suppose it's really the business of the management of Porter's if they are more intent on catering to a select handful of individuals rather than the 40-50 they probably would have had every Sunday.

On the 15th, as well as the 22nd, at a new weekly called Manic Mondays, I got my first glimpse of The Venue (for re:phocas), Club One 51. Very nice indeed. They have got a really fabulous sound system, light system dance floor, booths, bars.... This place is... hehe... HellaKewl. The dance floor is wood and surround by mirrors up high, a balcony all the way around whith supports a more laid back lounge enviroment to chill. The main bar area is reported to be the Longest Bar in KC, done in blue, mirrors and glass, it's really fine. No more pushing and shoving to get a spot at the bar! Come on down to the party re:phocas on January 30th and have a look and see what you think! We got space for 2000 of YA! Oh! And Jon says it's a primo setup for Raver-Tag... hehe, so come on down and play. It's only 5 bones and you only have to be 18.

That week I spent recovering until Friday when I stopped by BOOM Models little Masquerade Party. It was fun, but I had forgotten that I was actually going to try and hit the Point for an event Steve Thorell and Bill Pile were putting on in the dungeon of that place. So after stopping for a moment at the BOOM thing, Kandice and I popped in down there. That place was jumpin and it was definitely a good time. Props to my bartendar for the night. That's quite a new mixture you've put together. What was that? Cherry-LimeAde?

Saturday was a return to the AtM for Mele Kaliki Melle, a nice little House Party with a Luau theme. Who could ask for more! I even got Lei'd not once, not twice, but like four times, but it was too much and I was begining to think I might hang myself with them on accident, so I Lei'd someone else and got rid of them.

And... Since Everyone Has Asked.... Christmas, I decided to just stay home and chill with my family, since Stephanie was leaving for Florida the next morning to go to the Citrus Bowl. A few close friends did stop by to add to and help with the wine that we had. It was a good time.

The day after Christmas was to have been Christmas Massacre 3, though apparently there were last minute issues with the venue. I heard sometime that evening that they had actually decided to just make it a invite-only house party. Unfortunately, I was not invited, but I was invited to another House Party in MidTown, which is apparently where all the Kidz showed that had intended to go to Christmas Massacre 3. It definitely went off, in more ways than one. It was good seein the Kidz again, but things were overshadowed later in the night by Children. Actually, they were adults, but they were acting like children and things gradually disintegrated as the night wore on. I did see kind of the beginning of that little fight that started up and apparently they cooled off a little for a minute, but just after I stepped out on the porch, supposedly it turned ugly again. There was even talk of one of them brandishing a weapon. How Stupid. I don't know how anyone else was raised, but I was always told that if you can't match your adversary one-on-one with your hands, you shouldn't be playin the game, even if you do ultimately get your ass beat. At one point, they came out front so that Dougie and I could heckle them, I guess. Eventually, they took our advice and went for a walk away from the party. I mean... seriously... go beat each other up someplace else. Don't ruin it for everyone, especially if you got weapons. Just leave and don't come back. So things calmed down for a bit, but it was too crazy. You literally couldn't move inside at times and after another round through the house talkin with folks, I head for the door. After about a half hour of pushing and shoving to get back to the front door, I gave up and left.

Upon leaving, things were about to get weirder. I'm walking up the street to my car and I see these three guys hanging around it, one was right up against my bumper. As I got closer, I knew what was goin on. I walked around the drivers side and asked.... "Why are you peeing on my car?" to which he responsed... "ugh... I'm sorry, I didn't know it was your car." Heh... I couldn't help but ask... "Why would you pee on anyone's car?" and turned around, unlocked my door threw my camera in to the passenger seat. About that time I noticed that they were all three intent on harrassing me, so I reached into the glovebox and grabbed ahold my Personal Training Assistant, sat in the driver's seat and prepared for the worst. They approached babbling some shit about being sorry and "what's your name?" and trying to be all cozy. I could tell things were about to get DUMB. Someone Was About to Get Injured and I was going to make damn sure that it wasn't Me. So, these WannaBeThugs are all standing around my car door hassling me. The one that was peeing on my bumper grabbed my driver's rear door and tried to open it, only to find out I had just locked it. I don't know what changed his mind, but he suddenly said, "c'mon guyz... he's cool, just leave him alone", but his two friends would have none of that. They were up to something and just about the time I stuck my key in the ignition, one of them positioned himself between me and the open car door, further Invading My Personal Space, so I put my hand in his chest and shoved him back, telling him to back off at the same time. Once he was clear, I closed the car door, calmly started the car and slowly pulled away. That was a mistake. I shoulda squealed tires out of there. Just as I was pulling away, one of the WBTs decided to kick my back fender and leave a nice little dent. Oh well. I got away and Nobody got hurt, though my Personal Training Assistant was a little unhappy that he did not get to meet these new people up close and personal. Later, looking through the photos, I recalled seeing these guys at the party and what do you know. I have photos of these new friends. Hehe. I may forget your name, but I Never Forget a Face.

As I was going down the block though, I decided I would call in to the Party and let Joe know that those guys were up there messing with other people's cars and about 50 seconds after I hung up the phone, I got to the bottom of the hill just in time to see the Paddy Wagons pulling around the corner. It's too bad really. It seems that Police were upset that they weren't invited to the House Party too and subsequently told everyone to go home. I hate that. You know it's really rude. You people throwing these House Parties should be kind enough to offer an invitation to the KCPD... hehe.

Upon further reflection, the next day, I decided I had enough and ran off to Warsaw again to chill at the lake, collect my thoughts, visit the family and whatnot and get a little bit of a grip on this redesign thing that I'm working for phocas.net While I was down there though, we did stop in at Gasoline Alley to have a few beers and check out a local cover band, Split Image. They were pretty good, but it was hell trying to photograph them from anywhere in there so the pix really didn't turn out all that great, but there's a few good ones. After a night's rest in the dark oblivion of the Ozarks, a couple of football games, I was feeling refreshed and ready to hit it again. Besides, Monday was here and it was time for the monthly event, Submission. This time around it was the XXX-mas show. Lots of great costumes, prizes and spankings for all the Naughty Girlz & Boyz.

The week kind of wound down after that and then New Year's Eve crept up on me and before I knew it I was already an hour behind. I stopped off at Club Chakra for a Happy New Year cocktail with my friend Charlie and to meet up with Kourtney for just a minute, since she was doing the photos down there that night. They've done a lot of work down there trying to create just the right enviroment and they've done well. It looks like it was a really good time down there. I'm sorry to have missed it. After that short stop, Sherri and I were off to Kabal for their NYE party with The Lawnchair Generals. Unfortunately, we didn't get there until around 11 pm, so we missed Pat Nice's set and decided rather than try and hit the next place, we would just stay there until after the ball dropped. The crowd was quite a mix and everyone had a really great time. Shortly after midnight, we jumped in the car. Sherri was definitely driving at that point, but I still had two more stops on the route. Sadly, I had to drop a couple of others stops I wanted to make since I had gotten a rather late start, but I guess that's how it goes sometimes.

Anyhow... we headed out to Spin N Grin 2 to wish all of the Kidz there a Happy New Year! I am so happy that I decided to take Joe up on his offer to photograph for me out there, since we didn't get there until probably 1 am. They had quite a little crowd out there and Joe said that it had been quite a good party. He even got some really huge group shots. I'll have to see about having him organize some more of those in the future. After hanging out for a bit, it was off to my final stop, the New Year's Eve After Party down at 3rd & Guinotte. I think we got there sometime just after 3 and Solaris was banging out a really good TechHouse sort of set and the whole room room was bouncin. I was happy to see that John had had a really good turn out for this event. We stayed for a while and finally decided that before exhaustion took over and we ended up sleeping against the wall like a couple of people already were, we better head home. It had been a sort of whirlwind NYE. Eh... maybe we'll do it again next year. It's just soooo hard to get around and see everyone and wish them a Happy New Year when they are scattered about the city like that.

Well, that's about it for December. To each and every person that made it out in 2003, we had some really good times, huh? I mean, in spite of all of our worries, fears and anxieties about our every day world, we still managed to keep smiling and I think That, more than anything else, helped us make it through to see another year. Keep it real. They were good times. There are more ahead, I have no doubt about that and I truly do hope to see each and every one of you again in 2004.

Until next month, keep your head in the clouds, your eyes on the prize and keep checkin the calendar. You never know what's gonna happen next around here!

Thoughts?

Or read last month's issue here - > December 2003