CHRISTMAS BALL TOUR: New Year's in Jacksonville
Brandon Wilde (you may remember from the last entry, he's my latest porn star discovery for my management company DV8 Casting) joined me in tooling up to Tampa International Airport on December 30th to grab my boyfriend Brandon Baker (inappropriately!) -- and from there, we headed to meet up with Chi Chi LaRue in Jacksonville for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day at Metro.
I've visited a lot of places in 2009, my favorite cities of the year being Seattle and Minneapolis. My least favorite unfortunately was Jacksonville and I felt bad that of all the places Brandon Baker could have been for New Year's, he was stuck not only in the armpit of Florida (although, he does enjoy a good armpit!) but also in what was truly Hell's bathroom of a club, Metro. I felt even worse for Chi Chi who the club (from owners to staff!) treated so abhorrently and disrespectfully that she chose not to return the last of the three days she was working there and so they choose not to pay her a cent for all the work she did and the bullshit she put up with on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day after she even paid her own way and hotel. For Chi Chi, the experience was truly a total nightmare and not a fine send off to 2009 or entry to 2010. I just have to go on record and say I would not recommend anyone throwing any kind of event at this venue.
That said, I'd like to focus on the positive and say that there's no one I'd have rather spent New Year's with than my boyfriend Brandon Baker and my best gal pal Chi Chi LaRue, not to mention my new boy Brandon Wilde. I also got to spend it with my friend Rhiannon Owens, whom I'd never had the pleasure of seeing perform on stage until New Year's Eve. She is not only an incredible designer, artist, drag performer and host but a true beauty inside and out. She was the saving grace that took good care of us in the city of Jacksonville and for that I thank her.
Brandon Wilde was another highlight. In his first feature headlining performance, he wowed the crowd more than even Chi Chi and I expected. He is a freakin' HOT dancer! Very talented! And the hit of the holiday!
We were also graced by the presence of porn star Colton Steele, who attended the event on New Year's Day. Colton is the most adorable little man ever! I think he could easily become the next Steve Cruz.
All in all, especially looking back on the photos, if this was the worst time we had all year... we must be damned lucky.
And we are! It's a great reminder of how much we have to be thankful for in our lives going into a new decade and another year of work in this wonderful industry.
posted by Jason Sechrest at 8:16 AM
2 Comments:
I have to say that I was personally horrified to be a witness to each and every one of these events this past weekend. Not because I am friends with Chi Chi or Jason, but mostly because I was a large part of that establishment for many years and therefore feel it reflects on my character. A place is only as good as the people who run it or work in it and while not everyone in that bar is a nightmare, those few rotten apples certainly do ruin it for the bunch.
I was personally asked to seek Chi Chi out to appear on NYE because we're such good friends. She has had better experiences in the past and therefore was happy to make her way there after a cancellation by another establishment.
I have since written to the Metro. I copied the email to many of the employees and staff that were involved or witnessed what happened in order to voice my opinions on the matter. The message directly addressed the owner, who was directly responsible for Chi Chi not returning to fulfill her 3-night engagement. By doing this, in the email, I also cut any and all ties with that bar and vowed to never appear there or step foot on property again for any reason. I have also blogged on both Facebook and MySpace announcing my refusal to participate, encourage, promote, or support any event that takes place there. This is after 11 years of employment as an entertainer and for 2 years as the show director.
Since then, and quite amusingly I might add, I've been accused of being unprofessional by one of the managers. He called my attaching other employees' names to the mailing list of my email "unprofessional" and said that while I had the right to voice my opinion, I shouldn't slander anyone and he didn't appreciate being included. The funny thing is, the owner has yet to personally contact either Chi Chi or myself on the matter....and has had other people do it on his behalf.
I kind of like to think it proves the point of both Jason's blog and my resignation from that place. Funny how things like that work out...
I have been to that place and I know exactly who she is talking about and he is a complete creep. He will kill that club. Too bad. Sorry he dampered your new years Jason.
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