Rickey Geiger

Then & now .❤️

Seb's LaLaLand Takeover in DC

Last night we had an overwhelming turn out for the LaLaLand Blu Ray/DVD release party. The event was sponsored by by Allied Washington D.C.,and  Lionsgate  with Lillian Skye Noble and Rachel Wu hosting, in a fabulous Hollywood style.

Mr. Henry's was transformed into the jazz club featured in the film. The event organizers brought in the sign from Seb's, that was featured in the film .

Down to the small details, the atmosphere was re-created. Including coasters and swivel sticks.

The line went out the door and around the block, the event was a wall-to-wall success.

Herb Scott and Aaron Meyers provided the music, as a special edition of the Capitol Hill jazz jam. 

The event was a part of marketing for La La Land’s home video release, five cities featured a Seb’s style makeover on Tuesday, April 25. Which coincidently, was also Ella Fitzgerald's 100th birthday!  La La Land is a brilliant film, that all of my dance friends have seen. When we went to see it the first time, we were all dancing and clapping in the theater, while the film was in progress.

In the film, Ryan Gosling wanted to open a jazz club. The same dream is shared by our jazz performers at the Capitol Hill jazz jam. Herb Scott and Aaron Meyers talk about it frequently.

Mr. Henry's is a hotspot for jazz musicians, we have such a rich history, and many parallels to the artistry in the movie LaLaLand. It's no wonder that the space was chosen to feature the magic from the film.

La La Land Takeover at Mr. Henry's

Our movie promotion friends from Lionsgate brought the Neon Sebs sign in for tonight's La La Land Blu Ray/DVD release party. We're expecting to see several items from the film & some spectacular performances this evening.

Dclx 2017

Had a great time at this year's DCLX.

Swing Kids

Last night a revisited an old movie favorite, Swing Kids.

Remembering the Circle

Very sad to hear that the historic art deco restaurant, The Circle, has been demolished. They had a beautiful mural of Hollywood stars above the bar, originally painted during the 1940s. It was Al Hirschfeld in style. The Circle was a beautiful venue for live music, and had a great history of mixing people from all different backgrounds. In the center of the circle, sat a baby grand piano, on a rotating platform. I have many fond memories of dining at the circle, with its menu offering a variety of food from fried chicken, to seafood, to soul food. How sad that it was demolished to make way for commercial development. Thank you Lily Monir Matini Esq and Jon Woodruff for sharing the news with me.

New Vigilant Gin & Tender is the Night

I am currently reading #TenderIsTheNight, a book by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I picked the book up at my favorite used bookstore, Capitol Hill books, a place that may oddly remind one of the wand shop in the Harry Potter movies. Reading this book coincides with watching my favorite movie, #MidnightInParis . It's a coincidence thatreading also coincides with the debut of the new Amazon mini series #ZTheBeginningOfEverything  Now six episodes into the miniseries, I am finding it difficult to read the book. F. Scott Fitzgerald is characterized in such a negative light, that it's now difficult to find the book enjoyable. I guess I've been ignorant all these years,  but these aspects of the Fitzgeralds life were never mentioned by my high school or college literature teachers. F. Scott Fitzgerald's alcoholism, particularly his gin drinking,  is featured throughout the series. It's hard to imagine that later in life, he tried to wean off of gin by drinking beer.  I have listened to a lot to talk about gin this week. On the subject of gin, The District of Columbia now has its own gin distributor.  We are now serving Vigilant Gin at Mr. Henry's. I am ashamed admit that I haven't tried it yet. I am not a big drinker, and I've stayed away from alcohol for the most part of winter... At some point I need to try it, since we often make suggestions to the customers at the pub. The gin has a good reputation, and an interesting backstory behind the family ownership of the brewing/distillery.

Z, The Beginning of Everything

So I started watching the miniseries, Z, The Beginning of Everything. It started off slow but it gets really interesting. It was hard to me to accept a suspension of disbelief, after having first watched #MidnightInParis,a film which does a better job of casting the part of F. Scott Fitzgerald.  Still now six episodes in, I find it riveting. The backdrops and film locations are as fascinating as the story. Having watched the scene where Zelda first arrives in New York City, I am still trying to guess the location in New York, when Zelda departs the train station. I am wondering if this is the old Penn station, the sign says 33rd St.

Rebooting

This January I attended the 2017 Snowball dance event Minnesota. This was my fifth time attending. The event is hosted by Donna Edelstein.

It has been over a year since I've attended  a dance competition. After spending a long time off the dance floor, it was nice to return to the Snowball, as it has a reputation for being the friendliest event in the ballroom circuit.

Since losing my business, most of my former students have moved on to other instructors. Call me crazy, but I am very happy for people when they are successful with others! This has also been a good opportunity for me to start with a clean slate. I have been teaching newcomers at a nonprofit art space, and things seem to be going really well. Now that I have a few dancers who are ready to get their feet wet, I thought Snowball would be the best place to start.

After some time off...

I have taken a few months of from blogging, after dealing with some privacy issues. I'm still on the fence with what I am comfortable with, as far a sharing.