What's Happening  by Todd Mangatal

todd@ariousentertainment.com

Greetings All:

First I want to congratulate my partner/wife (Susan) for making some major steps in her career.  I am very proud and happy for all of her successes.  

Since we missed the New York Carnival, we decided to do something different and take the train up to New York to spend some time in the big city.  This was the first time we've taken the train from DC to NY.  Let me tell you this was really a treat!  We boarded the train about 9:30 a.m., found comfortable seats, had breakfast, and a few hours later we arrived at Penn Station.  Our plan was to stop in Manhattan for lunch and head over to Long Island to check out their Carnival, but there seemed to be so much happening in Manhattan, we decided to just hang out and explore.  We walked from the station to Time Square, which was really exciting because there was some type of festival in the street complete with vendors selling food, clothing and crafts.  Also, it looked like they were preparing for a concert in the middle of Time Square, which we wanted to stick around for, but we also wanted to get as much of the city in as possible.  We must have walked 100 blocks in both directions (and if you know Manhattan,) we walked from Penn Station to Central Park, and back down to Canal Street.  We had intended to walking back, but after such a long walk our feet were on fire, so we decided to grab a cab and head back up to the station.  The ride back in the cab was a treat to our feet.  By this time it was close to 7:00 pm, and my wife had not purchased anything yet in NY (so of course this was a problem;) but I figured since NY is the city that never sleeps the stores must still be open.  The one store that she found some nice things to purchase earlier was closed, but luckily we looked across the street and found a quiet little store full of things she adored.  That made her happy and she had fulfilled her shopping quota for the day.  Oh, I forgot to say, before I left DC I had the bright idea that I was going to quit smoking that day, so I didn't take any cigarettes, and I knew I wasn't going to buy any cigarettes in NY because they cost approximately $8.00.  If you are a smoker you know after a long hard day nothing can beat a cigarette, so I made it throughout the entire day smoke free; but broke down and purchased a pack and smoked 2 while my wife was in the store shopping.  Maybe I was stressing on how much shopping she was doing.  After her small shopping spree (I stressed for no reason), we were both tired.  We wanted to stay longer, even spend the night, but we decided to head back to DC since we were planning on attending the 2K3 Reggae Fest on Sunday.  All I can say is We Love NY.  By the way, we are heading up on Friday to explore by night, so if there is anyone in our on-line community who has a hook up with any hotels in Manhattan, please "holla".  

Special Message:  As we continue to expand our network in the Northeast, we expect to be visiting, and spending lots of time in New York and Philly over the next few months, so folks let us know what you will be doing in these cities and we will try to pass through and support.  Again, let us know if you have a hotel "hook up" in either of the cities.  We cannot afford to grow our business at $250.00 per night (at least not yet).  If you can help please contact me @ todd@ariousentertainment.com. 

We got back in town too late to attend the "Cooler Party" given by Knock Boyz and Mix Productions, but from talking to one of the Knock Boyz , he explained that it was very successful.  The attendance was great, a few minor problems with the police not understanding how Caribbean folks party, but all in all it was great.  I was very glad to hear about this success, and the outstanding support! 

Sunday, of course we attended the 2K3 Reggae Fest at the Crossroads, and it was very nice.  The show started on time, and all the performers were there and the place was set up very nicely.  Big Up to all the vendors (many of whom were a part of DC Carnival), you were all smiling by the end of the day, and from your reports you did very well.  I had a "small beef" that I want to get off my chest.  As many of you know and have seen since you've been receiving these e-mails, that we do a lot for the Crossroads and much of it is from the goodness of our hearts because this is the only full time Caribbean venue in the DC area, which is set-up very nicely.  But our relationship with the Crossroads goes deeper than these e-mails, we have been involved with this place in some form or another since the day it opened, but somehow they always do something to aggravate me and make me doubt my loyalties.  When the club first opened we had just closed our business in Florida and we had lots of time on our hands, so we supported the Crossroads as much as possible, again from the goodness of our heart.  I assisted with the grass roots promotions, since I had just left a very successful business I felt the knowledge I had gained would be helpful and beneficial to the growth of this establishment.  So in saying all of this, everyone at the Crossroads including the security guards know us very well, and know we know all of the rules and regulations and would never do anything to jeopardize the club or the entertainers.  But what bothers me is when people smile in your face and are "hating" behind your back.  The first problem was every "Tom, Dick & Harry" who has done nothing for the success of the club, except collect a fee had a back stage all access pass, of course we were told to collect ours from one of the coordinators, but for some reason she had amnesia.  This was really not a problem because I was not concerned about going back stage, but it would have been nice to talk to some of the artists and take some photos in order for me to share their thoughts and comments with you.  What really upset me, was when a security guard (someone we knew very well) approached us and said "their are no pictures to be taken at this event".  I understood that because some artists stipulates this in their "riders".  However, I really didn't think any of these artists would have said that, because non of them have reached the level where they DON'T need publicity (to be honest we could do more than most of the people who had press passes and cameras, since we reach over 30,000 people on a weekly basis (this is as much as the morning TV news reaches.))  My main concern though was to give a proper "write up" on the show because the local mainstream media (city paper) did a 2 paragraph "write up" on the artists which was awful.  It came from a very negative perspective...the writer basically stated Beres Hammond was a "no body except in Jamaica where he is loved", and Buju Banton's only claim to fame was an anti-gay song.  Whether this is true or not there is a way to say the same thing and not come off so negative, especially since it's advertising dollars that pays their salaries and keep their paper "afloat".  But "mind you" those were the people who got respect!   What "took the cake" was when the security guard came back over to us, after we put the camera away, and stated he must take the camera (confiscate it).   We calmly explained to him that us taking photos of the scenes at this show would be included in our weekly e-mails, and it would only benefit the club...not us,  we can find tons of other things to talk about.   Even though that put a major "damper" on the rest of the evening, we decided to stick around, and hooked up with our usual "hanging" buddies/friends and tried to enjoy the rest of the evening.

Don't disrespect the foundation!  But our running joke with the Crossroads' ownership is that our relationship is like a marriage where at times we fight and disagree, but we always come together and make up.  Therefore,  here we go again looking forward to attending the Sizzla show on Saturday, September 13th.  I'll see you at the show, and please stop at the upper bar and check us, (I'll be drinking a Heineken), let us know you are a part of our community.  Oh, of course we won't be taking any pictures.  Please scroll down to get more detailed information on this show. 

"Peace Out" to all of you!