|
|
|
| |
Hello I'm Rich Brown and this is my personal website and blog. I'm just your simple, average, down to earth, professional, out gay man and aspiring circuit boy, living in Phoenix, Arizona with a few things to say while trying to find my place among all the scary, conservative, religious nuts in this sick and twisted world.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
DJ Brett Henrichsen & Masterbeat
|
@HOME. When I got home from work yesterday Justin handed me a surprise from the mail, "S.P.F. 20 (Summer Party Favorites Top 20)", the latest Masterbeat CD release. It just so happens that I'm on the Masterbeat mailing list, so I receive new CD releases automatically, usually a little earlier then they're released to the public. I've actually been looking forward to getting this CD from the moment I heard about it and I have to say that I'm not at all disappointed. The music is awesome, and it's some of the newest stuff which we heard in the London Clubs.
I first discovered Masterbeat and it's founder, DJ Brett Henrichsen, back in 2001 when I was living in San Francisco. Justin, my friends and I saw him spin a few times at Universe in San Francisco and it was always a great time with an amazing set of music. Brett lives in Los Angles where Masterbeat is located and he spins at circuit parties and dance events all over the world. I really love his mixes and the entire Masterbeat CD collection (yes I have them all ... ) It seems like Brett always manages to keep ahead of the curve with his mixes and the music. (Yeah, he's pretty damn hot too I might add!)
 
DJ Brett Henrichsen & Masterbeat Entertainment
Brett probably ranks up there as one of my favorite DJ's along with Victor Calderone, Manny Lehman, Susan Morabito, Peter Rauhoffer and David Knapp. Masterbeat has also commissioned artist Joe Phillips to do the album/cover artwork for some of the recent Masterbeat releases. If you are in need of some new and updated club music, go check out the Masterbeat Website.
Here are the covers from the Masterbeat CD's over the past few years.
  
  
  
  
  
  
All Cover Images are Copyright of Masterbeat Entertainment, Inc.
http://www.masterbeat.comLabels: DJ Brett Henrichsen, Travel
|
|
|
|
A Typical Saturday?
|
@HOME. I know I realize that I've been neglecting my blog and not posting anything, but the good news it that things are finally starting to settle down since our vacation and now I have some time to get caught up.
The Meury's left for holiday in Hawaii yesterday so Berg's friends Zach and Koda are here for a 2 week sleep-over. As for today, it's another scorcher outside with the temp sitting 110-degrees right now. I just finished cutting the grass, raking up pine needles and cleaning up the pool from the big storm the other night while Justin did some house cleaning inside. I'm not really sure what our plans are for today yet. We were thinking about having some friends over to hang out by the pool, but that was a last minute thought and after talking to some of our friends, well you know how that last minute thing goes, everyone is pretty busy doing stuff right so we'll see.
Next weekend is 4th of July, so that will be great to have a 3-day weekend. My friends Philip and Roger were talking about driving out from Los Angeles for the weekend. Now that Philip has moved back to the OC, it will be much easier for us to see each other as it's only a 4 hour drive from here to Los Angeles. Alright well I think it's time to go for a swim :-)
|
|
|
|
Vote For the Bartender from Amsterdam
|
@HOME. So haven't I been saying that it's not just the weather thats hot in Phoenix, but also the boys? We''ll check this one out ... Tommy is a bartender at Amsterdam and he's so damn hot! Too bad he's (supposedly ...) straight though. Anyway, cast your vote for Tommy at the MensUnderweareStore for the 2005 model search! Good god, don't you just want to lick him?
Photo taken by SeanKaperaPhotography
|
|
|
|
Getting Over A Cold
|
|
@HOME. I'm still here and alive. I'm just getting up a cold that I picked up and was suffering with most of the week. I still feel a little under the weather so I haven't really been in front of the computer much to read or write. I suspect this is going to be a pretty busy summer and I'm not going to have too much time to post. Well that's it for now, just wanted to put up a quick update. Cheers! Labels: Random Thoughts
|
|
|
|
Home in Phoenix from Vacation
|
@HOME. We'll I must say that it's nice to be back home. I really enjoyed our trip, but by the end of it I think both Justin and I were getting pretty tired and ready to head back home. We both missed our little Berger who had his own vacation with Mark, Andrea, Zach & Koda.
Our trip home was long and exhausting. We took a cab from our hotel in London to London Heathrow Airport where we flew 8 hours to Chicago. Once in Chicago we had to pick up all our bags and go through U.S. Customs, which resulted in a secondary screening of our bags. We then headed to our terminal only having to go back through airport security to get to our gate. Once at our gate we found out our flight to Phoenix was delayed by an hour due to bad weather in Chicago. (I hate flying in/out of Chicago, I always have weather delays or cancellations there!) We were finally able to board the plane and taxied out to the runway only to find out we were 21st in line to take off, which meant that we sat on the runway for another hour. The flight time to Phoenix was only about 3 hours but at this point it was the equivalent of 4 am London time, so Justin and I were both tired and ready to get home. On our descent into Phoenix, an elderly woman a few rows in front of us started to have a heart attack. So the flight attendant and a Cardiologist who happened to be on our flight put her on the floor and started to help her as we landed. We had to wait for the paramedics to come on board and get her once we arrived at our gate. I heard from the flight attendant that the woman was going to be alright which was good news. It was a really long day by this point.
Mark and Andrea picked us up from the airport and took us back to our house where we talked for a little while about our trip and then went over to pick up Mr. Berger. He was very happy to see us both, jumping around like a mad-man. Poor Justin, he had to work in the morning, but I don't have to go back to work until the 13th, so I've had a few days now to relax a little.
All said and done, our trip was awesome and we'll have many great photos and memories from it, but I'm really happy to be back home in our house again! I'm looking forward to the warm Phoenix weather for a few months so we can go swimming and hang out by our pool. I have a ton of other photos that I will try and post when I have some time. For now, I'm off to enjoy the day! Cheers!Labels: Travel
|
|
|
|
Jack the Ripper and Les Misérables
|
@HOTEL. Well tonight is our last night in London and we head back to the states tomorrow. Last night we were finally able to do the Jack the Ripper Guided Walking tour and it was awesome. Our guide was really cute and he was a great speaker. There were about 50 people in our group and it was very interesting. I never knew how brutal the murders were. The most interesting part of the trip was hearing the history of London and how the city was in 1888. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who might find themselves in London. Next time I think we'll do the Pub walking tour as they have several ones which you can read about at London.Walks.Com. After our tour we walked over to St. Paul's Cathedral and around the city for a bit before heading back to SOHO and grabbing dinner and a bottle of wine at a nice little Italian restaurant. I'll post some pictures after I get back home.
The weather was absolutely beautiful today. We got up early and went to breakfast and then got our tickets for tonight's show of Les Miserables. We spent most of the day walking around, making our way through Green Park and shopping at Lillywhites. So this evening we went to see Les Miserables at the Queen Theatre and the show was amazing. I can't even begin to explain how complex the stage set was, and how wonderful the performers were. I really enjoyed the show and I'm glad we got a chance to see it in London. It's been a great day and a nicwrap-upup to our trip. Alright we'll I'm off to pack and get ready for our long trip home tomorrow. Cheers!Labels: Travel
|
|
|
|
Sharon Stone Instead of Jack the Ripper
|
@HOTEL. Ok so our plans to go on the Jack the Ripper guided walking tour around London came to a screeching halt today at the Embankment Underground station. As we were getting off the Bakerloo Line we heard that both the District and Circle lines were down for the day for track maintenance. Sweet ... We now had no way to get to the Tower Hill station in time for the tour. Oh well, we'll try again for tomorrow night.
So after deciding that we couldn't even take a cab and make it on time, we started to walk back up towards SOHO. I wanted to sit outside and have some coffee and desert at one of the cafe's so we went down to Old Compton street. Since Prowler (a Gay novelty store) was still open we decided to stop in and check out some of the stuff. When we came out the police were everywhere and there were people standing around, well it turned out that they were filming a scene for Basic Instinct II right there in the alleyway next to Prowler. So Justin and I hung around for a bit and sure enough a truck pulled up and out hopped Sharon Stone. It was actually pretty awsome. I have a few pictures and some short video I took, but it was dark so only the video came out. We decided to walk around the corner and down the bottom of the street and we stood there to watch a couple of takes of the scene. We were standing about 10-15 feet from Sharon Stone each time she positioned herself on the street for the start of the take. The people here are so civilized, they just stood around and watched. In the U.S., she would have gotten mobbed. This is all pretty damn funny because just last night I said to Justin .. "I want to see someone famous here" I guess I got my wish.
I think we're going to try and catch a show either tomorrow afternoon or Tuesday. We definitely want to do the Jack the Ripper walking tour and I think tomorrow night is going to be best for that, so we'll try again tomorrow. That's it for now. Cheers!Labels: Travel
|
|
|
|
Clubs, Clubs and More Clubs
|
@HOTEL. Well let's just say that we've been partying like rockstars here in London. Friday night, after making a quick stop over at a new friends flat to pick up some party supplies, it was off to Fiction at the Cross which was an interesting mixed club located underneath a bridge at an old freight yard. The club itself was underground and consisted of 7 different main rooms that were brick lined, arch shaped tunnels with multiple connecting arched tunnel ways to each main room. This was definitely the definition of the London Undergound Club scene. Even though it was a pretty mixed club, there we sooooo many hot guys in there, and of course all of them with their shirts off. And let's just say we might as well been in Amsterdam because the club drugs flow very free here in London. I must have gotten asked no less then 10 times from different people if I 'wanted pills' on the dance floor. We got there around 1am and stayed until about 6am before making our way back to the Kings Cross Underground Station and back to our hotel. It was light outside and such a beautiful morning, so before we went into our hotel Justin and I decided to walk down to Green Park and sit on a bench there for a while and chat. The trees were russeling with the breeze and the sun was just coming up, it was really beautiful.
On Saturday, when we finally awoke from our drug induced club coma, we headed out to grab some Indian food. We found a pretty nice place right around the corner and ate a little too much. Later in the evening we decided to take a walk up to SOHO and grap a drink. At a recommendation from someone, we decided to check out this place called the Shadow Lounge. Well apparently this is the place to go after all the pubs close at 11pm because it's open late. We got there right around 10:30pm and it was pretty empty, but it became packed very soon. Two bottles of wine, some soaked t-shirts, and a bunch of dancing later it was 5am and we were headed once again back to the hotel at the crack of dawn. Today we're going to be headed down to the Tower Bridge area to do the Jack the Ripper Walking tour which should be fun. Here are some photos so far from our trip. I'll have them all up in my photogallery once I'm back in the states on Thursday. Cheers!
 
In SOHO outside Comptoms Pub and Big Ben at night.
 
Trafalger Square at night looking down towards Big Ben and the fountains in the square.
 
The Buckingham Palace Guards, and the Royal Mall along St. James Park.
 
Justin and Rich standing on the dock near the Tower Bridge
 
Justin and I at the Tower Bridge, and the Oxford Circus Underground.
 
The London Eye, and Rich and Justin going up inside the London Eye.
 
 
Incredible views of London from the London Eye which takes 30 min to go all the way around.Labels: Travel
|
|
|
|
Buckingham Palace, the London Eye & Club G-A-Y
|
@HOTEL. We'll it's 4:05 here in London and we just got back in from Club G-A-Y. It still really trips me out that the 'Pubs' close at 11pm but some bars and clubs are open until 1am and other until 4am. I just don't get the scheme, it seems so random.
It was a beautiful day outside today. Justin and I walked down from the hotel through Green Park to Buckingham Palace. We then walked up St. James Parkway to Trafalger Square and from there down along Whitehall, past 10 Downing Street to the parliament. We stopped just past Downing Street to have lunch at the Red Lion Pub. The restaurant was located upstairs and both Justin and I had the day's special which was Shepherd's Pie. It was very good. After lunch we walked over past Big Ben and parliament across the river to the London Eye. We bought tickets and 'flew' the London Eye which lasted for 1/2 hour the whole way around. It was a nice clear and sunny day outside, so the views were spectacular and we could see for miles. After our jaunt around the London Eye we headed over to the Waterloo station and took the Underground up to Oxford Circus to do some shopping on Oxford Street. I had to pick up another bag because we're not going to fit all our junk in our existing packs.
We headed back to the hotel around 8pm and stopped by the bar in the lobby for a quick drink on our way back to the room. I took a 2 hour disco nap around 9 and then at 12am we headed out to grab a sandwich and hit a few bars. We walked down to Licester Square, grabbed some food and then walked up to Soho Square to have a beer at the Edge. It's a 3 level bar that's open until 1am. Following the Edge, we went out to Club G-A-Y at the Astoria to dance our asses off for the next 3 hours. The club is fun and the boys are really cute, but the music is a little too loud. I think we need to start carrying earplugs with us when we go to some of these clubs. Following the club we walked back to the hotel and he we are. I just wanted to post a quick update before went to bed. Cheers!Labels: Travel
|
|
|
|
Fitting In Like the London Locals
|
@HOTEL. Oh yeah baby ... shagadellic! Don't worry about us, Justin and I are blending right in here with the locals.
 Labels: Travel
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
