All the arts we practice are apprenticeship. The big art is our life.

-M.C. Richards

as written to Tony....

'My Perfect New York Weekend'....

* get a TimeOut NY. Preferably at News Bar by Union Square ( 14th and University Place). Buy a coffee and read all the trashy magazines for free!

* Shop: Diesel, Burton, G Star, Flying A all the cute boutiques in SoHo. Pat Fields!!!!!!

* Read books at Tashcen in SoHo. Also the used bookstore at 126 Crosby Street in SoHo (Housing Works)

* Jerry's has moved to 90 Chambers street in TriBeCa. Ask for Toi (prounounced "Toy". Tell her your my friend)

* Go to Magnolia. Then go to Marc Jacobs. Go to Prada. Go to the Hudson River.

* Eat Sushi! Check out my friend's DJ night on Saturdays called Sushi-Bass in the East Village. Go to the Cock, Boysroom, Parking, Splash (Ha, ha) all the spots....

I wish I could be there with you guys. You're going to have so much fun. I would say hang out in Brooklyn for a day (Williamsburg for sure) but just enjoy Manhattan. Try to do one artsy thing like check out some galleries in Chelsea. And I hope you watch "Wicked".

I hope that gives you some ideas, but I'm sure it's stuff you already though of. Let's talk soon.

xoM

"To be perfectly honest...."

I would have to say that for the past month I have been feeling pretty crusty. I don't know why. I can't quite put my finger on it. There's just something not quite right. It's totally annoying too because when I look at how the month of February went, it was really pretty awesome:

* Brendan was in town. I always have a good time when he's here.

* I went to see Modeselektor at Igloofest which was cool. I always have fun at Igloofest. Scratch Bastid did a great Opening Set. I think I would go see Modeselektor again in a regular club atmosphere. I found the whole evening with the different DJs a little disjointed. But I'm glad I got to experience it.

* Definite highlight was making the trip to Ottawa with my sister to see Batsheva perform THREE at The National Arts Centre. The Company is just amazing and I always am inspired by their performances. The whole trip was quite perfect in a way. My sister and I got to hang out at the Rideau Centre for a bit. We met up with a friend and had a nice dinner at the Black Tomato before the show. We were able to catch a ten o'clock bus back to Montreal and we were back at the apartment by one thirty. Such a great day.

* I was approached by one of the Teachers at the Dance School I teach at to create a piece for an Event Showcasing New Choreographers at the end of the month. I feel honoured and a bit overwhelmed all at once. Finding the time to work with a dancer and create a piece that's fun and interesting has been on my mind a lot lately. I'll keep you guys posted.

* I'm also working on a piece for my students for the End of Year Show, May 9th. That worries me as well. But again, I'm trying to stay positive and deal with all the little challenges in a creative way. If anything these two pieces have been filling me with a bit of anxiety. But hey, I suppose I have to trust in the Universe and believe that these opportunities would not be here is she did not think I was ready for them. Bigger Game, bigger challenges, bigger risks, bigger rewards....

* which brings me to Landmark. I recently finished my Self Expression and Leadership Program and now I have been given the opportunity to do the Introduction Leader Program. I'm not going to lie, I am completely torn about whether I want to embark on yet another journey with this Education. But I fear that this is something I do in my life when things get a little tough. I hide. I run. I want things to be easy. I want things to be given to me.

And this is part of my crusty, down-trodden mood right now. I've been sick with a terrible case of the flu for the past two weeks (the apex was three days in bed with the cold sweats just before the weekend) and I am totally fed up with being sick. I'm fed up with the cold, I'm tired of being tired, of feeling lonely, of being a victim. I've been on such a pity party kick, and all I want to do is be numb to everything and watch a shit load of bad television (mission accomplished). The danger right now is the constant comparing, the looking over my shoulder and seeing who had what and whose grass is greener someplace else. Suddenly Montreal seems less appealing (even though I have a lot going for me here and a lot to be grateful for). I immediately get wrapped up in my ego's constant drama and questions "why can't I be Zac Efron?" It's totally bonkers.

I'm at my wit's end. I wake up each morning totally wishing I didn't have to go to work. And I end the day completely exhausted and thankful to know that I have survived it.

If anyone out there is feeling somewhat similar I am hear to say, you're not alone. And who knows, maybe it needs to get really dark before we see the light. I wish things made more sense. Right now I feel I am barely treading water. I could use a really good laugh. Fuck this flu. I want to feel better.

Horoscope....

"When I grow up," writes Ramona McNabb, "I want to be a river." IN the coming year, that would be a worthy aspiration for you as well, Cancerian. You'd generate a flood of benefits, some unexpected, by cultivating your ability to be perfectly yourself as you flow ever onward in rhythm with the sky and earth, unimpeded by the fluctuations of light and darkness, and in love with the ceaseless movement of your own strong currents.

Rob Bresny

February Blues....

But that's to be expected right? I can't really say it's one particular thing that's got me sort of melancholy these days. For all I know it's the fact that I'm drinking more coffee than water. Heck, I just drank three glasses of coke before bed, no wonder I feel off.

Overwhelmed is a word I have been using a lot these days. Still working three days a week at the restaurant which is plenty. Between all the lifting of trays and boxes my mind tends to wander to all the other things that matter most: clearing my debt, creating dance steps, finding a boyfriend, finding time for friends, trying to stay healthy, finding time to sleep.

I crave sleep and yet there are moments I don't want to go to bed knowing I have to face yet another challenging day. Aren't those signs of depression? Maybe I need to go to a tanning salon and get my sun on.

Well, I'm yawning so I think it's off to bed for me. To be fair, a lot's been going on so I can't really understand why I'd be feeling down. But I'm being present to it, there it is, how boring life would be if we were "happy" all the time. The Sun cannot exist without the Moon....

Perhaps it is safe to say that I am following the seasons quite closely. I plan on shedding this old skin by Spring for sure. I'm optimistic. You never know what's around the corner....

Holiday Hang Over - Looking Ahead

Yes friends: we've survived another Holiday Season. In some ways I feel like I am still getting my bearings. It's been a fun and exhausting tumble into 2009.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Christmas with the Family 2008

This is the second year in a row that I have been home for Christmas. Because I've missed quite a few with the family I do enjoy going to church on the 24th, staying at the House in Pointe Claire and eating plenty of my mom's food. Christmas Day we open our gifts, talk to my older sister overseas and usually end the festivities watching a movie. This year our little cousin chose Bedtime Stories. I was crashing so hard from all the food that it truly was a Bedtime Story: I fell asleep through the entire thing.
"Lululemon Hoodie with a Pony Tail Hole!" awesome x-mas gifts 2008
typical Vicente Christmas Tradition: Food with Napping (and TV)

PARTY FOR A PURPOSE: BE BRILLIANT
Me with Julie

On the 26th of December Party for a Purpose held their first party at Suco Lounge in the heart of Downtown Montreal. I am really proud of what our Organization was able to accomplish, raising one thousand dollars for The Canadian Association of Education and Outreach (www.caeoquebec.org). I also had the honour of spinning with local heroes Christian Pronovost and Rilly Guilty.
DJs extraordinaire: Rilly Guilty and Toddy Flores
lovely ladies of Be Brilliant


More DJing....
Happy New Year! Typhoon 2008

There wasn't much of a cool down after Be Brilliant. New Year's was the following week where I spun at Typhoon, my regular Thursday and Saturday residency. Then I had one more big party, the M: Brgr staff party which was a hot mess and the most fun.

All in all I keep learning more and more about DJing through these experiences. There are definitely some moments where I am on the cusp of exhaustion. But I ask myself, "How am I going to handle myself when I am a bigger DJ and I have to travel and DJ back to back gigs around the world? What will I do then?" After all this time I still really love it. And I'd rather be tired and spinning music to people than doing any other job for sure.
Frances and Marc Andre

the boys across from us at Picasso's at 4am

2009

Slowly I am getting back to a more familiar routine. Montreal has been pretty cold which curtails my desire to go out at all. But I try to get out every once in a while just to stay sane. I am working at M: Brgr three days a week still but I have my DJ gigs to keep my in action with my passion and also my Contemporary Dance classes on Sunday which I find so inspiring. Those are my three main gigs.

I want Party for a Purpose to have another event late in the Spring just before the School Term finishes. It hasn't been discussed yet but I am hoping our next party could benefit an organization my cousin Fred turned me on to called Kiva (www.kiva.org) that does Money Lending in developing nations. Really inspiring stuff.

Lisa and Janelle are sisters who collaborate in Art Projects together under the name Las Hermanas Iglesias (www.lashermanasiglesias.com). They asked me to help create some new music for them for their exhibit in the Queens Museum in New York which I was really honoured to take part of along with my friend Kris.

Recently, one of the women at the Dance Studio approached me to see if I would be interested in showcasing some choreography for a Dance Event for New Choreographers which I recently agreed to do.

I just want to be clear that I am not really saying these things to just toot my own horn. But one of the things I got out of doing the Self Expression and Leadership Program in Landmark is a real genuine sense of accomplishment. Often times I find that I am truly hard on myself when things going badly in my life. I am so self abusive and unsupportive. It's so easy to say to myself, "Well Mark, you fucked up again. This didn't work out, you're in debt, you're a bad person." But it's interested when good things come along and what we say is, "It was luck. I was in the right place at the right time. It was chance."

This year is about really being present to all the happiness and joy and adventure I bring into my life. Through my studies I was really able to understand that I create my life. No one else does. My sister has another way of putting it. She likes to look at life as an equation that equals out to a certain result. But if you want to change the result the one thing you can change in the equation is the variable, the "x". Change the variable, change that result. I want to really get present to the fact that I am the variable in my life. And that all the good in life is not only just auspicious circumstances and dumb-luck. It's designed by you and me. Are you ready to be an Architect?
"The most visible creators I know are those artists whose medium is life itself. The ones who express the inexpressible - without brush, hammer, clay or guitar. They neither paint nor sculpt - their medium is being. Whatever their presence touches has increased life. They see and don’t have to draw. They are the artists of being alive." -Jay Scott

Grey Cup 2008: Montreal, Highlights

Mr. Grey Cup

Olympic Stadium

This was my second year DJing for the Grey Cup. Last year was pretty amazing because it was in Toronto, where I grew up and lived for many years, and I got to DJ at CiRCA, which was intimidating but a really incredible experience.
inside the dome (I wanted to go home with that DJ equipment!)

2008 was also really cool because this year Montreal was not only hosting the Grey Cup, but the Montreal Alouettes were in the final against the Calgary Stampeders. The Alouettes really turned it out for the fans and created a Grey Cup Village for the days prior to the big game and the Olympic Stadium. In the middle of the Village was a white dome which was where I got to spin. They had it set up sort of looking like a club/lounge which was pretty swank for the Grey Cup. I actually had a few people ask me if it was a VIP Lounge.
The Dome at the Grey Cup Village

Calgary fans (Stampeders went on to win the Grey Cup)

All in all, it was a pretty long week. They extended my hours to accommodate the fans and I also was still spinning at Typhoon. There were the usual rough patches during the gig that I have grown to expect. Liz and Julie in the DomeOne of the big lessons I continue to learn is to not take things too seriously, try to keep things in perspective and to have a sense of humour. It's a difficult thing sometimes to bite my tongue when everybody seems to think that they can DJ. While some people are only at the lounge for an hour or so I have to take into account the big picture and know that I have to create a musical atmosphere that will last the duration of eleven hours. Hamilton Tiger Cats fans

I was never really bullied as a child, at least not too badly, but you do get bullied when you are behind the decks! Drunk people always have opinions. They flip through your CD binder looking for songs they want to hear. Or when they request something they get mad when they do not hear there song right away. Ultimately there is no way to please everybody. It's like that in life as it is behind the DJ table.Gladys, Alouette Cheerleader and Co-Host of the Cheerleader Party, HUDDLE

There were some great moments too. One night a girl requested to hear some House, which I was dying to play because the space looked like a club and the system was decent. I played about an hour of House where her and her two friends proceeded to dance all around the lounge trying to get other people to join them. There was a guy dressed up as the Grey Cup and his friend was dressed as Pee Wee Herman. Apparently the Grey Cup is also Halloween. Tequila!They were cool guys and the dude dressed as the Cup asked me to play Tequila so his friend could dance an impromptu solo to many flashing camera lights and claps. A drunk guy got up on one of the tables to perform a little strip dance for the crowd. I was about to play a song when I saw what was happening so I seized the moment and decided to play "What is Love". Someone who was close to me turned and said, "nice job!"

On my last night I was pretty much delirious from DJing so much. I wasn't sure how I wanted to end the evening when a lady came up to the table and said, "I have these kids here who have been dancing outside. Do you think they could perform a little hip-hop number? I have a CD of their music." I said, hells yeah! Apparently they really wanted to play at a Club but they were all under age. So everyone who happened to be there that night got to see a dance show. It was awesome.
Getting ready: backstage at HUDDLE

Still, one of my favourite moments is when I finally finished my contract and was leaving the Grey Cup Village. One of the maintenance guys who mopped the floor came up to me and asked me about a track he liked and where he could find it. It's a real nice feeling knowing that people are listening and enjoying what you are playing.


the Alouettes dancing at HUDDLE