CELEB MAGNET EXCLUSIVE/
CELEBRITY ENCOUNTER.
I must be doing something right with this celebrity blogging gig of mine as witnessed by my VIP invitation to the first annual “Rock/Style: A Night of Music + Fashion” hosted by by LA Times Magazine. This party was held last night at Drai’s, the roof-top club at the new W Hotel in Hollywood, to celebrate the launch of the June music issue of LA Times Magazine. And believe me when I tell you that they pulled out all the stops and spared no cost in putting together a magical evening for all in attendance.
As soon as I arrived at the W Hotel, I knew this was going to be a night to be remembered. At check in, when each guest’s turn came up to sign in, each was asked to get in to the back seat of one of many Jaguars on site while a bouncer checked our names against the exclusive invite list. Once I got my wristband, I got out of the Jaguar, walked past the Red Carpet where Common, Benny Cassette and the beautiful Tara Ellis were being interviewed and was escorted to the front of the line and up the elevator to the 12th floor where Drai’s lounge is located. I already felt like a little princess at that point and the night hadn’t even begun.
Once upstairs, I got a tour of the place, this having been my first time at this new establishment. Drai’s has a sexy, sultry, upscale vibe and is comprised of two separate areas to suit different tastes or a guest’s changing moods of the evening. The indoors area is the darker, quieter area with blood-red velvet curtains that drape the entire back wall, spacious tables, and cushy silver, gold, and brown snakeskin- embossed couches. The room is supported by wide columns, lined with thousands of rectangular strobe light-reflecting mirror-tiles and has a stage for live performance. Oh, and I should mention, there are one or two dancing poles. OK, maybe I should say lots and lots of dancing poles. Then, there is the outdoors area, enclosed in a glass perimeter so you can see the entire City. There’s a rooftop pool, lined with palm trees and cabanas with each cabana having a red queen-size bed; for seating purposes, of course. This club is definitely a den of pleasure.
There were plenty of celebrities in cattendance to join in the celebrations: Two-time Grammy Award winning artist and rising actor, Common (Date Night, American Gangster, Wanted, Just Wright) hosted the event and performed. Other artists included my friends Benny Cassette and Tara Ellis, Ya Boy, professional dancers, and LA Models, strutting a lingerie and swimwear line which sent the mercury levels rising at various points in the night. In addition to the invited performers, I spotted Cederic the Entertainer (The Original Kings of Comedy, Barbershop), Terrell Ownes (NFL wide receiver), and DJ Hem (Resident DJ at Hyde at the Staples Center).
More than anyone else, I wanted to meet Common, so, I made my way to the other side of the VIP section from where our group was seated indoors and found his table.I absolutely loved Common’s role on Date Night and I wanted to tell him that. I walked up to where he was sitting and noticed him flipping through the soon-to-be officially released copy of LA Times Magazine. He was looking for the article he has written for that issue on the lessons he learned while struggling to break into an acting career after an established hip-hop career.
Lucky for me, I had an advanced copy of the publication as well and had already read his article; so, I had lots to talk to him about. I asked Common if we could speak and he asked if I would sit next to him. OH HELL YA I WOULD! When I told Common I loved him on Date Night, he seemed surprised and asked, “You’ve seen that?” I always find it charming when actors are surprised that their work is actually seen and appreciated by fans; that happens more than you’d think. Common and I then spoke about the article and he reiterated one of the main points: His initial impression that his musical success would give him an edge in Hollywood was totally smashed when he first tried his hand at acting. He said his success as a music artist was actually a hindrance because directors don’t necessarily want to cast rappers in films. I also told Common all about CelebMagnet.com and how I use the site to promote artists that not only create great art but who also make a positive contribution in the world as well. He encouraged me and said, “Just keep doing your thing girl, keep doing your thing.” Thanks Common, I think I will. I had no business cards on me, so, I made a hand-made one for him and he promised to check out my site. Common, are you here? If you are, I want to say I love the idea behind your Common Ground Foundation and would love to do an interview with you about it. From what I understand, the foundation is dedicated to empowering youth in urban neighborhoods and providing life skills needed to achieve their dreams and gain confidence and self-respect. I wish we had more time to talk about this in particular, but there were many people he needed to speak with last night. We took some pictures and with that, I bade farewell, to a very nice gentleman whom I can only hope to run into again.
Next up: My friend Raha who you will read about shortly told me I had to meet the owners of Drai’s; Drai’s is owned by Victor Drai and his partners, twin brothers, Cy and Jesse Waits. Amongst the capacity crowd, we managed to find one of them by the rooftop pool: the incredibly handsome and charming Cy Waits. He was very happy to see Raha and made me feel like an immediate friend. He is extremely funny, playful and quite down to earth. I actually had heard a lot about him through Raha and Paris Hilton’s Tweets to be honest. All good things Cy, all good. Thank you Cy for making me feel at home. That Parisis a lucky girl to be spending so much time with you.
I love small world coincidences and run-ins which happen a lot to me. Two years ago, I was on a red-eye flight at the end of my vacation in LA from LAX back to my previous hometown. Cedric the Entertainer and his posse were on the plane with me. Well, they were in first class, and I rode coach. That happened to be the last flight I took from LA to “home” before I moved here. When I told Cedric about our previous encounter, he agreed with me that this is a small world indeed.
On to the evening’s key entertainment: My friends Benny Cassette and Tara Ellis rocked the place to pieces. Tara, owned the stage as she strutted her dance moves. Tara, by the way, was my gracious host for a few weeks when I first moved to LA in 2008 and took me in when I had no where to live yet. And Benny and I just go a long way back. Benny had two backup male dancers and he just brought the house down. When I asked Benny after the fact today what he thought of last night, he said, in a way that only Benny can deliver, “We began our conquest of world domination last night while rocking mics and sipping juice at Drai’s”. Funny he should say that last bit; our group which included Benny and Tara, and their friends, are all non-alcohol drinkers. Grown-up people ordering Shirley Temples and Diet Cokes at an open-bar event. I am sure the servers assigned to our table were a bit confused. But hey, what can we say? We love the nightlife; but not so much the alcohol.
Commonalso performed a couple of songs. I will post a video of one of his performances on here shortly; but for now, believe me, he had the crowd hollering.
Last of the performers was Ya Boy who tried to get me to go on stage when they were looking for “party girls.” OH no, not the Celeb Magnet. I may like to party, but please don’t confuse that with me being a “party girl.”
One of the coolest people I met was DJ Hem who boasts residency at some of Hollywood’s premier venues, including Hyde at Staples Centerin LA. Hey DJHem, feel free to invite me to any Lakers games you want! Notice the purple and gold on my page?
At the end of the night, I met this unsigned band from Los Angeles, Teen Inc, fronted by brothers, Andrew and Daniel Aged, former studio musicians for Raphael Saadiq and Steve Miller. They were very quiet guys. I chalked it up to the lateness of the hour. Teen Inc will be featured in the upcoming music issue of LA Times Magazineas one of top indie bands bursting on the scene. You may want to keep an eye out for this group as, per the publication, they have the sound and talent it takes to make a splash on the scene shortly when they release their full-length CD.
Now, who is that other sexy lady in the above picture with me, you ask? It’s someone I noticed as soon as I got to the W Hotel; she had a walkie-talkie in hand and dressed in a short come-hither black number that was very Rihanna-esque. I came to find out that it was a dress by Funktional and that in fact Rihanna had worn a version of it to launch the NOKIA X6 in London on November 16th 2009. She is Raha Lewis, the young gun at the LA Times Magazine; the nightlife aficionado and style expert at the newly-renovated publication; and a good friend of mine.
I hadn’t seen Raha on the clock before but it seemed she was everywhere all at once last night. She worked the red carpet, making sure the right pictures were taken with the artists and was seen later mingling with Common. You could tell she is a regular; she even broke the story on Drai’s in an exclusive article for LA Times Magazine which you can read here. She also worked on the story Common has written for the upcoming issue. She seemed to know everyone in the room and even introduced me to the owner, Cy Waits as stated. I’m telling you all, watch out for my girl – she is on the rise and you are not quite sure what she will come up with next. Check out her blog, amiintrouble.com as she documents her life in the crazy world of print, nightlife, fashion and paparazzi. And keep your eyes peeled on the KTLA morning news – word on the street is that she will be on there as the magazine spokesperson telling us about what’s hot and what’s not!
I also want to take a moment and congratulate Nancie Claire, the Editor of LA Times Magazine. Nancie, you and your team put on a first rate event last night. I am honored to have been invited. Thank you. Here is Nancie, getting appropriately thanked by Benny.
The night wouldn’t have been the same without my beautiful posse, comedian Elham Jazab and entertainment attorney, Mitra Ahouraian; thank you ladies for hanging out with me for a fantastic night out.
To make the night complete, each of us received a gift bag from LA Times Magazine, which for the women included gift cards, perfume, hair products, RockStar gum, and a brand new nail polish created by OPI for this event. I can’t lie, I love gift bags. Thank you LA Times. Here is what the women received:
AND finally – just so you know that the Celeb Magnet does not leave any stones unturned for you, I wanted you all to see the peculiar sign I found in the ladies bathroom stall…Next time I talk to Cy, I will have to ask when and why these signs were installed…I would love to know the juice behind that story 😉
Do your thing Parisa!!!!
Sign – too many celebutants using the bathroom for more than just checking their makeup.
Beautiful blog, babygirl! I’m proud. (:
Thank you Amanda and LaWanda…my lovely lovely ladies 🙂
Samah – I am waiting on the scoop! I asked the question – waiting on the answer 😉
No mention of your Common lapdance and what a gentleman he was during the experience?