Movin' On Up

Last week a friend of mine asked me DJ at a cocktail party that his real estate company was having -- essentially they're selling high end condos in this downtown development (Portland Place) and they decided to have an art showing/cocktail party to bring people into the project. I ended up on the second floor of a million dollar loft overlooking the Japanese Friendship Garden downtown.

I've mentioned before that I've been eagerly watching downtown Phoenix develop more of a big city feel. Portland Place is definitely the type of project that Phoenix needs. Maybe it's hard not to love a million (actually 1.7) penthouse, but it was so refreshing to have a space (and a building) that doesn't feel like a suburban apartment plopped down in downtown. The only thing missing was a hot doorman with a cute cap and white gloves.

On the musical side, they wanted to keep things kind of loungey for most of the time -- it was a challenge because I don't really have any pure lounge, so I had to look at the music I had with a different eye (or different ear) to fit that particular vibe and a much different crowd than you find at your typical gay dance club. Nonetheless, I felt like it went very well -- I was able to manage the energy and flow the way I wanted to, the feedback I got was very positive and the people writing the check were happy. I got a good hour to play some more uptempo fun stuff, too.

While I was a little nervous to venture outside my comfort zone, it felt good to recognize that there are many more opportunities out there than I've been willing to see and that I'm talented enough to adapt, whether that's as a DJ or more generally. I guess that's been my focus so far this year -- being willing to step away from the familiar in search of more of what life has to offer. Note to the Universe: I could really get used to this "deluxe aparment in the sky" thing. More of cool stuff like this, please.