“There are a couple of big changes to the 2009 racing season, which kicks off on Wednesday, July 22. The most noticeable is the reduction of the weekly racing cards from six days to five, leaving the track falling quiet on Mondays.”
Michael Porfirio Mason
AKA The Peoples Champ
AKA GFK, Jr.
AKA The Sly, Slick and the Wicked
AKA The Voodoo Child
The Guide to Getting More out of Life
http://www.thegmanifesto.com
Michael Porfirio Mason
AKA The Peoples Champ
AKA GFK, Jr.
AKA The Sly, Slick and the Wicked
AKA The Voodoo Child
The Guide to Getting More out of Life
http://www.thegmanifesto.com
Some people are saying now that the current state of our economy is helping the nightlife industry.
The one good thing about bars and nightclubs is that people always need a release. And essentially, going out for a couple of drinks is a relatively inexpensive way to forget about your life for a couple of hours—depending on how many drinks.
Does that have anything to do with the size of one’s pocketbook?
I think what has happened is that people save up the big blow-out days for the weekend. So instead of going out every day of the week, and especially in the summertime, the early days of the week are very popular … people are blowing it out on Friday and Saturday, and in the city on Thursday. The concept of bottle service has taken a bit of a beating.
You once said that you hated the direction bottle service was taking the club industry.
Yes, and so for me, Avenue is a step back to a time in the nightclub industry—nightlife industry, lets not say nightclub—that I loved and which is kind of representative here. It’s a step back to the lounge times.
I’m not sure if many people know that Avenue is a restaurant.
I think the term we’ve been using is gastrolounge. We have a full menu, and it’s kind of smaller portions. I’m very pleased that we were able to step back into that kind of time where it was not specifically about how much you could spend in a place and that gets you entry … but more about what you brought to the overall vibe of the room. You know you don’t have to be a black-card-toting person to really create or help a room—most of the time those people don’t anyways. It’s good to have a place for people who are just artists and may be struggling and just really cool people. And so it’s easier when you’re not as focused on generating bottle service to have that type of mélange.
But this is going to be quite a bottle service-type place, no?
Well, you know one of my specialties, as I’ve said before, is I kind of adjust as the business adjusts, to perfect what is necessary. I am very good at generating table and bottle sales; I don’t mind that it’s not the main purpose of this place. And there are still plenty of people who are appropriate for a room like this, which is very, very difficult. The door policy’s very difficult.
What do you mean by “difficult”?
It means that it’s very difficult to get in. This is not an “I’m buying two bottles, let me get in” kind of place. This is a place where if you can get in then maybe you can get a table. But it’s not about how much you’re going to spend first; it’s about how much we want you in the place. At Marquee we kept the door policy very rigid as well … it still is … I mean, I’m still there two days a week, as well as here. But a lot of places had a door policy that was solely, you buy two bottles, then you’re in. I would never be affiliated with that … that’s not what I would want to have anything to do with.
You’ve become known as having impeccable taste. Is this sort of costuming for your job, or is your sense of fashion apparent all of the time?
There are certain sides. There are certain things that I think a man should do as far as personal style, and so I live by those rules that I have set for myself. There’s a consistency to the different genres. For instance, I’ll never leave the house without a pocket square if I’m wearing a sport coat. I like very high collars on my shirts, so I have them all made. I like French cuffs, and I like monograms. Every shirt I own has a monogram, and every shirt has French cuffs.
What are some brands that you like? Where do you shop?
I like YSL suits, and Paul Smith all of the sudden is a newfound love of mine, which I’ve been buying up like crazy. I love Brioni sport coats.
Michael Porfirio Mason
AKA The Peoples Champ
AKA GFK, Jr.
AKA The Sly, Slick and the Wicked
AKA The Voodoo Child
The Guide to Getting More out of Life
http://www.thegmanifesto.com
An iconic mural featuring caricatures of more than 100 people – and several fleet-footed horses – who have shaped racing history is now on display at the Del Mar Racetrack.
The renowned racing artist Pierre “Peb” Bellocq installed the mural this week after spending nearly two years on the project.
The 30-foot-long, 6-foot-tall piece depicts legendary crooner Bing Crosby, who founded the racetrack in 1937 at the fairgrounds along with Jimmy Durante and Pat O’Brien, who are also pictured.
About half the people in the mural are living, and some will attend a dedication ceremony July 25.
The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, a private company that has a state contract to operate the annual horse races, commissioned the project to celebrate 70 years of racing. The racetrack was founded in 1937 but it closed for three years during World War II. The 70th season begins July 22.
“We went back and looked at all our history and photographs and looked through our media guides to see who made a mark at Del Mar over the years,” said Joe Harper, president and general manager of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club since 1978.
“We have photographs of all these people scattered around, and now you can see them together,” he said.
The acrylic mural, in the Clubhouse/Turf Club entryway, features many of the glamorous Hollywood stars who frequented the track in its early days, such as Ava Gardner, Betty Grable and Barbara Stanwyck. Others are the actor Robert Taylor and comedian W.C. Fields, both racing fans.
Among the living people depicted are horse trainer Bob Baffert and horse owner Jenny Craig, known for her weight-loss centers, who is pictured next to her late husband, Sid.
Harper himself is depicted wearing sunglasses in the center of the mural above his mother, horse owner Cecilia deMille Harper.
There are also notable horses, including Seabiscuit, who won a match race with Ligaroti in 1938. Dare and Go, who in 1996 beat Cigar – then considered the best horse in the country – is pictured smoking a cigar with a satisfied look on his face.
Michael Porfirio Mason
AKA The Peoples Champ
AKA GFK, Jr.
AKA The Sly, Slick and the Wicked
AKA The Voodoo Child
The Guide to Getting More out of Life
http://www.thegmanifesto.com
In summertime, when you have mad fly girls coming over to your crib, a great move is to keep a grip of popsicles on stock. Make sure you get the bomb pops, Firecracker Pops, Otter Pops and the Big Stick Cherry pops.
Michael Porfirio Mason
AKA The Peoples Champ
AKA GFK, Jr.
AKA The Sly, Slick and the Wicked
AKA The Voodoo Child
The Guide to Getting More out of Life
http://www.thegmanifesto.com
