A DAY IN "THE LIFE OF RILEY"

REFRAME

Hosting REFRAME: The Summit was a BLAST! REFRAME: The Brand™ is a business acceleration platform for brands and businesses. REFRAME offers a Total Market Enterprise™ SaaS platform for members. What a BEAUTIFUL EVENT at MIST in Harlem! CONGRATULATIONS to Jeffrey L. Bowman, CEO and CREATOR of REFRAME…and THANKS TO my friend Sidra Smith, NAACP Image Award winning producer (“Free Angela”) for booking me to HOST! AWESOME GIG! https://www.reframethebrand.com/ #reframe

LUPITA

#lupitaatmist Lupita Nyong'o in Conversation with Michaela Angela Davis. @mist Harlem. #eclipsedplay CONGRATS to my Spelman sister Alia Jones-Harvey, Stephen Byrd, and their team on bringing #eclipsedplay from The Public Theater to BROADWAY!!!! #eclipsedbroadway

SHOUT OUT to MARCIA PENDLETON of WALK TALL GIRL PRODUCTIONS FAME for producing this AMAZING EVENT! MIST also housed it... brilliantly! Holla at my Ant if you want to book something there. They are attracting some AWESOME EVENTS over there... and I've been excited to host some of them!

TASHA & SIDRA

Often you could find my friend Sidra Smith on my arm inside a New York City set. This time, LIFE OF RILEY was TOO EXCITED to have her fabulous twin Tasha as my door-to-door date to Sidra Smith production: BRAG 45TH ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP & AWARDS GALA at 583 PARK AVENUE – honorees including mega-designer Zac Posen. Tasha – you should know – is currently in POWER, EMPIRE, and FOR BETTER OR WORSE: THREE HIT SHOWS! She’s also promoting her directorial film debut, short film BOXED IN. My NABJ girlfriend Alicia Quarles hosted the well-appointed evening which moved seamlessly (not to mention the food and drinks were on point). Gordon Chambers, Bevy Smith, DeJuan Wilson, fine artist Dianne Smith and so many of my favorite buddies were in the house. Plus, Ant joined us after he got off work. A little after set at Red Rooster would make our night complete! AWESOME JOB, SIDRA! By the way, BRAG is a non-profit organization that prepares and educates professionals, entrepreneurs and students of color for executive leadership in the retail, fashion and related industries. 

ANOTHER MONEY MINUTE

Episode 5:

http://www.advocate.com/advocate-money-minute/2015/10/15/planning-adoption-matt-rick

THE WAY WE ARE

A quick trip to ATL brought fun times in the new home and hood of my Amazing Grace Nichole Shellman and her peeps…. Then, I got to celebrate one of my nearest and dearest Rachel Allen at her nuptials to her wonderful husband Lawrence. So happy I could be there….. and a reunion of the RILEY siblings was necessary and so it was! AND LOOK WHO I HAPPENED TO SEE THE OTHER DAY:

ALL STAR KARAOKE

Billie's Black presents ALL STAR KARAOKE with Patrick L. Riley is coming back Tuesday, October 27th and every Tuesday after that through the end of the year! Reservations are highly recommended: 212 280 2248: http://thelifeofriley.squarespace.com/rilys-blog/2015/9/27/working-overtime-sessions.html. Miss Jessie's is back among our sponsors! And as #missjessies CEO and CO-FOUNDER MIKO BRANCH did last season in promotion of her book Miss Jessie's: Creating a Successful Business from... (Amistad; Hardcover; $24.99): https://youtu.be/RL-EqYvCAeI, we hope you will come SING your FAVORITES with us, ENJOY cocktail specials and tasty soul food, and NETWORK with a ROOM FULL of FABULOUS FOLKS! SEASON 4 is - in part - POWERED by ALL STAR KARAOKE PLATINUM PATRON Mr. Reginald Van Lee. WE THANK HIM and all of you who continue to be such a support! And we knew but can now officially say Riley/Land Gourmet Pantry via Joseph Riley Land is back IN THE HOUSE - literally as the critically-acclaimed pantry has taken up semi-permanent space in the back of Billie’s Black. Gift certificates to purchase #rileyland products will be raffled. Plus, look for Riley/Land inside our ALL STAR KARAOKE signature cocktails (Riley/Land-curated mixers that will also be in stock for sale. Stay tuned!). Would LOVE TO SEE YOU some Tuesday - really soon! Let us know if you want to use ALL STAR KARAOKE as a back-drop to promote or present any of your projects inside an intimate but power-filled room of taste-makers and top talent! PLEASE TELL YOUR PEEPS...and SHARE! #BILLIESBLACK #ALLSTARKARAOKE#MOTOWNMAY #StockYourPantry #HarlemEats #missjessiesbook#iammissjessies #Legacy of #TitiBranch

 

frank ishman

World-renowned photographer - Frank Ishman – also my Morehouse College brother! He married his GENIUS to the COLLABORATIVE BRANDING GENIUS of Myrdith Leon-Mccormack... to the STYLING GENIUS of Janine Linton... and – VOILA! – you have MAN-HOGANY! LOL! Was FUN to get my MAHOGANY on with FRANK! Frank Ishman is THE BEST! www.frankishman.com #frankishman

mahogany

How is it that I tell a slew of people on social media to go see MAHOGANY at the IFC and – by the time – I got around to securing my own ticket, it was SOLD OUT! Then, when I do an outreach, I get an emailed reply from Rhonda Ross! Yes, my friend! But also: daughter of Miss Diana Ross and Mr. Berry Gordy… and MAHOGANY was their 1975 Blockbuster project for which Miss Ross designed (and/or styled) ALL OF THE COSTUMES! Oh, and wait for it! Rhonda was seeing it ON THE BIG SCREEN for the FIRST TIME! Her escort? Bob Silberstein, the man who raised Rhonda - also father of her sisters Tracee Ellis Ross and Chudney Ross. The occasion: "Black Summer Nights", a celebration of queer African American artists and their unique role in shaping American culture and history. Tonight's selection was curated by another industry buddy, Tony-nominated actor for "Passing Strange" Colman Domingo via SKYPE (who - last we hung out - I was helping navigate the red carpet at the World Premiere of Lee Daniel's "The Butler"). As I'd just asked our sponsor at "Billie's Black presents ALL STAR KARAOKE with Patrick L. Riley", Miko Branch of Miss Jessie's, her favorite film at a recent book signing, LOVE that it was "Mahogany" and she came out to enjoy it as well --- along with other buddies, filmmaker Andre Robert Lee; legendary performer Flotilla Debarge whose next show "FLO-REAL!! Here & Now" goes up Thursday, June 25th at 9p at Kraine Theatre -   www.horsetrade.info - and many others! FAB Monday Night! Next month on July 20th, pick up the series with "James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket". For more info on Queer/Art/Film at the IFC Center...and the awesome folks associated - including filmmaker Stephen Winter, poet Pamela Sneed, Ira Sachs, Adam Baran, please visit www.IFCCENTER.COM/SERIES/QUEERARTFILM.  #billiesblack #allstarkaraoke#mahogany #queerartfilm

invisible life

Week 7 of BILLIE’S BLACK presents ALL STAR KARAOKE was VISIBLY VIBRANT as EVERYBODY ENJOYED their “Miss Jessie’s” grab bags (and Miko Branch’s current book). Highlight of the night was the cast of “Invisible Life: The Musical” coming by to promote their week-long, almost-SOLD-OUT engagement at The Apollo June 25th – 30th. We gave away tickets; sang Miss Ross’ “The Boss” produced by Motown Legends Ashford & Simpson who wrote the music and lyrics for “Invisible Life” (with additional lyrics by my brother friend Stanley Bennett Clay): https://www.facebook.com/patrick.l.riley/videos/vb.662073736/10153063149713737/?type=3&theater.  Based on the novel “Invisible Life” by E. Lynn Harris, the musical’s book is written by Proteus Spann & Javon Johnson who joined us on stage for the fun! They co-direct “Invisible Life: The Musical”. And can we talk about the cast which is full of Broadway star power? Tony Award nominee Brenda Braxton (Smokey Joe’s Cafe) will portray Mama Tyler, the mother of Raymond Tyler Jr., who will be played by Gregory Williams. Raymond’s two closest friends Kyle and JJ, will be Terry Lavell (La Cage aux Folles) and Grammy- nominated Frenchie Davis (RENT). The iconic stage songstress Vivian Reed is also in the cast. Terry and Frenchie came to play – singing with me and solo! Ant’s sister Sabrina does Frenchie’s PR – so these moments were extra special. Purchase Tickets: http://gn-bp.com/invisible-life. ALSO IN THE MIX: One of our All Star Karaoke Journalism DIVAS, NBC4’s own anchor extraordinaire Shiba Russell and her crew were in the house as well as FIT grad Travis and his friends – led by ALL STAR KARAOKE FAITHFUL Antoinne who brought a fun group to CELEBRATE. And to all my peeps, THANKS! BILLIE’S BLACK presents ALL STAR KARAOKE is going through Tuesday, July 14th. PLEASE COME JOIN US! RESERVATIONS are HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:212.280.2248. AND COME TUESDAY, JUNE 23^RD, LET’S LOOK TO ALL STAR KARAOKE plus CELEBRATE BILLIE’S BLACK’S 9^TH ANNIVERSARY – including a “special surprise guest”! #allstarkaraoke #billiesblack #invisiblelife

sidra and tasha smith

I was too excited to see my girlfriend Sidra Smith who has been busy as ever of late, but not too busy to bring the cast of “Invisible Life” to see me at All Star Karaoke (with the coordination of my friend Richard Pelzer). Sidra - NAACP Image Award winning producer of “Free Angela” - is Executive Producing "BOXED IN" - a film project her identical twin sister, Hollywood star Tasha Smith wrote and directed in association with producer Kim Ogletree. ABFF – the American Black Film Festival – screened the awesome flick . Shout out to ABFF and Jeff Friday for curating this one! For more information visit: http://www.abff.com/).What a compelling story that anecdotes brilliantly the struggle and stigma of mental illness among our African American brothers and sisters. Beautiful film andawesome cast! Walter Fauntleroy plays a character who suffers with bipolar disorder. His mom is played by the amazing actress Tyra Ferrell who I've missed from the big screen a la the days of Poetic Justice and School Daze! We also loved her from HBO's The Corner (with Tasha Smith)...and - this just in - she told me we'll see her in Season 2 of Empire. BOXED IN also features the lady who cast me in upcoming film Steps- due out later this year: Penwah Phynjuar!! She's THE BEST! Director of STEPS, Eddie Harris
also in attendance tonight - saw an early screening of BOXED IN...and says he had to have Walter Fauntleroy for STEPS! And he and I have a few scenes together. Eddie also says I'm looking good in edit - as Rudy, the character I play, my acting debut in a feature film... Stay tuned..

tony awards

Another of my Broadway predictions on Arise Entertainment 360 has come TRUE! From my last visit, I figured Helen Mirren is so well-decorated in so many platforms for portraying THE QUEEN, the Great White Way would CROWN her accordingly. I was right! CLIP: http://bit.ly/bway_arise360_mirren! Tony Awards Leading Actress in a Play -- Helen Mirren in "The Audience". Mirren played Queen Elizabeth II in the Broadway play, written by Peter Morgan. Mirren also originated the part at the play's original 2013 run in London's West End. #TheAudienceBway #TonyAwards #Arise360 #billiesblack #allstarkaraoke

 

drums

VIDEO LINK: https://youtu.be/UGOqHhjbZ3k - SHOUT OUT to Carl Nelson - BFF for 20+ YEARS and Producer of Drums Along The Hudson -Inwood Park joined me on stage recently at Billie's Black Gourmet Soul for Billie's Black presents All Star Karaoke to promote #drumsalongthehudson which he produces every years. I host the afternoon stage this Sunday, June 14^th – an event that honors Tichina Arnold and His Holiness the Dalai Lama! #allstarkaraoke #billiesblack

 Hosting 2015s Drums Along The Hudson -Inwood Park, 13th annual! Honorees: my friend Tichina Arnold andHis Holiness the Dalai Lama! And George Faison andLotus Music Dance put on quite the FABULOUS presentation! #weareONE #drumsalongthehudson#rhythmnation 

#wearetheworld #thewiz #tony#lotusmusicanddance

KENNETH CARR

Check this out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um6fx9XUaHc&feature=youtube_gdata_player I had a blast interviewing my friend Kenneth Carr at his place a few weeks ago:http://thelifeofriley.squarespace.com/rilys-blog/2013/5/13/gatsby-and-steampunk-and-more.html.

His new CD "Amazing Love" is coming out at the end of this month… and his management invited me to interview him for a promo video they will be using to promote its release. He recently released the video for his lead-off single “Brassing My Opinion” – shot and directed by my girlfriend Shareen King Carr! It’s a huge hit – having already attracted upwards of 200,000 clicks on Kenny’s YOU TUBE channel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNmTiAvVZW0. Follow @kennycarrmusic and www.facebookcom/kennethcarr. Purchase the single at Amazon, iTunes, Spotify,Google Play For Bookings contact thekingsdaughtersk@gmail.com. As Kenny knows singing is a sidelight for me, we not only reviewed his music-in-progress and music-completed. But he let me play around with a track or few – one for which he wants me to write some lyrics – so we can record a track! CONGRATS, KENNY! "Amazing Love" project releasing the end of this month: July 2013! ‪#‎trombonegumbo ‪#‎kennycarrmusic ‪#‎amazinglove 

EMMY NOMINATIONS 2013

CURRENT LINK: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/video/#!/on-air/as-seen-on/Emmy-Nominations-for-2013/216162211

 You remember my debut media impression on Cozi TV/ NBC4 a couple of months ago on BLACKS and BROADWAY: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/on-air/as-seen-on/Pop-Culture-Expert-Patrick-Riley-on-Black-Broadway_New-York.html. It inspired many bookings since – from Motown the Musical:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK1yncqPlOQ to Arise Entertainment 360:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDxfe-hG_aY. I just made my sophomore appearance on COZI-TV/WNBC ---- this time providing some pop culture commentary on the 2013 EMMY NOMINATIONS (alongside Senior TV Critic for TV Guide Magazine, Matt Roush rounds out the panel with host Roseanne Colletti! MATT ROCKS! And so does COZI-TV: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/video/#!/on-air/as-seen-on/Emmy-Nominations-for-2013/216162211. Its producer Tiffany Zeno has invited me back after the EMMY AWARDS!)! NEWS 4 NEW YORK AT 7P is a one-hour-long show that offers a combination of news, guest segments & lifestyle issues on cable station COZI-TV. COZI-TV reaches more than 5 million homes. It also simulcasts LIVE onwww.NBCNEWYORK.COM. Special shout out to Kerry Washington - one of the three African American nominees (alongside Don Cheadle and Hollywood director Paris Barclay - now first African American President of the Directors Guild Association (DGA)). If Kerry wins, she'll be the first African American actress to take home the Drama prize for a lead role. The last time an African American woman was nominated in 1995, she lost. It was Cicely Tyson for "Sweet Justice". In 1983, Debbie Allen is the first African American actress nominated in this category – for Fame (three years in a row); then in 1986, Alfre Woodard was nominated for St. Elsewhere. In 1992 and 1993, Regina Taylor was nominated for “I’ll Fly Away”. KERRY is standing on some STRONG, SCANDAL-free shoulders! WISHING HER WELL on this one!

  

Channel listings:

Cablevision 109 and 118
Time Warner Cable 161
Comcast 248 and 158
Verizon Fios 460
RCN 28

Meanwhile, look for my pop culture commentary in K2 Pictures' LIFE AFTER . The new season begins in the Fall of 2013. Stay tuned… and as always, THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

THE ART OF THE INTERVIEW

SHOUT OUT to my NABJ big sister-friend-for-LIFE, Katti Gray, for inviting me to speak for the 2nd year in a row to her students at the NYU Urban Journalism Workshop - @NYU_UrbanJourno.

The requested message in my ‘sermon’: “The Art of the Interview”. Here’s what we looked like last year: http://thelifeofriley.squarespace.com/rilys-blog/2012/7/19/bright-daze-dark-knights.html.

I re-testified my own story of having interviewed a whole range of subjects over the years – as on-camera interviewer and behind-the-scenes interviewer (reporter/field producer). I coached the diverse roster of students via taped mock interviews; and I showed them examples of my own body of work (I’ve had a lot to demo of late). What a GREAT GROUP! I ALWAYS LOVE it when I’m invited to impart some of my experiences to the youth…and I am even more EXCITED when the invitation comes from folks I admire – like my big sister friend Katti Gray who is the new director of NYU Urban Journalism Workshop:https://www.facebook.com/pages/NYU-Urban-Journalism-Workshop/103601966399839.The site notes that Katti is a prize-winning veteran journalist who, in her words, has "covered hard news and soft: Presidential hopefuls; statehouse lawmakers; hometown heroes; time-honored and pop celebrities; floundering schools in Appalachia;New Feminism’s younger adherents; juveniles on death row; the fight for running water on an outlying Mississippi road." I BELIEVE THE CHILDREN ARE THE FUTURE. Sounds cliché, but glad that amidst my BUSY SKED, I can give a MOTIVATIONAL TALK here or there: I was invited to be the Keynote Speaker for the National Association of Black Journalists Multi-media Short Course at FAMU at the top of October - an awesome full-circle moment. NABJ gave me a lot of my first mentors and opportunities out of Morehouse College and one of my main advisers and confidantes Dr. Ann Wead Kimbrough from my student work with Clark Atlanta University now heads up FAMU's Journalism & Graphic Communications School: http://thelifeofriley.squarespace.com/rilys-blog/2012/10/10/full-circle.html. I just spoke to some Norfolk State University Communications students. And I recently spoke to a Savannah based group via SKYPE: http://thelifeofriley.squarespace.com/rilys-blog/2012/7/30/young-solo-savannah-voice.html 

PAUL WHARTON

While wrapping up my day on a special project with recurring client BET, I got a call from one of my NYC BFFs Sidra Smith to join she, her sister Tasha Smith, singer/actress and friend Tichina Arnold, comedienne Robin Montague, Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter and record producer Gordon Chambers, Phedra Gremillon, and many more – all at the beautiful Manhattan apartment of Paul Wharton. From watching clips of Miss Diana Ross – Mahogany to 'Central Park’ – to the many break-outs in song between Tichina, Gordon, and me, this night was a blast: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151544990978737&set=vb.662073736&type=2&theater. After wrapping his turn in BRAVO’s “Real Housewives of DC”, PAUL WHARTON is now still representing on many levels: DC50 show “Paul Wharton Style” primary among them. Next up: a skin-care line; lifestyle-guru books; TV production work; and more! WELCOME TO NYC, PAUL!http://paulwhartonstyle.com/

 

 

  

My nephew Herman Lee Riley III's mom Felecia Roberts was in town just after I submitted my last entry. Her first stop on her trip from Savannah was Broadway's Motown the Musical (of course! LOL!): http://youtu.be/KK1yncqPlOQ. Was cool to see my Broadway CONNECTION Marcia Pendelton who credits Motown the Musical as one of her BIG TICKET clients this season!   

Then, fast forward a couple of weeks to this past weekend…and you have MY sister (my nephew’s aunt) in town - celebrating her Big 5-0!   

AND OF COURSE, MOTOWN THE MUSICAL was on her mind!

She insisted on EXPERIENCING what her baby brother has been yapping about for the last few months: You know, I got the chance to sing 'TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL's praises  on ARISE ENTERTAINMENT 360 - most recently predicting TONY AWARDS nominations: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTd5S1wKUs0.  

A few weeks prior, I was on ARISE ENTERTAINMENT 360 to talk BROADWAY... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDxfe-hG_aY. In the aforementioned ARISE 360 Broadway segment, I predicted the iconic Cicely Tyson would be nominated for her role in Broadway's "The Trip to Bountiful". And she was!! YAY!  So, they played that clip and referenced my prediction the following day:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuJEs6ruin0. (I was again on ARISE recently to talk GATSBY: the book, the film(s), the blueprint on hip hop! HERE'S THE LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBT9mSmfmCo). 

I also got to introduce the Broadway season on WNBC’s COZI-TV: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/on-air/as-seen-on/Pop-Culture-Expert-Patrick-Riley-on-Black-Broadway_New-York.html. But of course, the HIGHLIGHT - of the musical kind - is being hired to do red carpet interviews on MOTOWN: THE MUSICAL's opening night for its cameras. and to host its highlight video! YAY! LOL! Here's the clip I host: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK1yncqPlOQ. 

AND THIS VIDEO IS LOOPING ON THE MONITORS OUTSIDE THE THEATER; on the big screen in Times Square sometimes; lots of YOU TUBE traffic; and in cabs; etc! WOW! LOL! 

Other outlets picked up the raw footage of my MOTOWN THE MUSICAL interviews - including REUTERS: http://www.reuters.com/video/2013/04/16/motown-memorialized-in-new-musical?videoId=242278913&videoChannel=3. BROADWAY BUZZ also used my MOTOWN: THE MUSICAL footage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=An_r_D2HM5Q.

JANICE got to see my OPENING NIGHT MOTOWN VIDEO that I host – looping outside the theater and in its foyer. FULL CIRCLE moment – especially given all of the MOTOWN we grew up together LOVING… and given we – along with our FAM (mom, dad, the other brother, and us) – enjoyed (from our family room in Savannah, GA) MOTOWN 25 and all of its MAGICAL MOMENTS! 

I asked my sister “Can you believe I’m hosting a video that is running on the monitors of the theater that is hosting “MOTOWN: THE MUSICAL” – the hottest show on Broadway right now and in a long time – an event that has brought me face-to-face with my lifelong icon Diana Ross?”

She said: “NO!” I guess our peeps see our POP CULTURE and POSSIBILITIES (and obsessions for good! LOL!) – even when – on the journey – we’re not convinced a moment the like is possible!  Well, that’s what it’s about, isn’t it? AIN’T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH, huh? 

On with Janice’s BDAY EXTRAVAGANZA, she landed and we hit "Melba" in Harlem for a soul-food welcome!   

Birthday GIRL had the 1^st of many slices of cake (We mustn’t compromise her recent weight-loss! LOL!): Red Velvet on deck. And my friend Derrick joined us. Plus, we stumbled into my dear friend Robin D. Stone's son Zachary Boyd! Zach is Ant's and my buddy. 

In fact, we took Zach to see Lady Gaga a year or so ago...

 and we LITTLE MONSTERS had a BLAST!

 

What a pleasant surprise! "Native" Restaurant in Harlem is where I once hosted 'All-Star Karaoke Thursday Night'. We had to pop by and show Janice. Ary was most hospitable, as always! XO

 

 

 

This, after a fun cocktail hour at Fashion 40. I joined my buddy Jamar Dunn.

 

 

 

I got to toast my friend and colleague Shannon Love - also the birthday boy.

 

 

 

ALSO IN THE HOUSE:

 

 

 

 John Cotton, Toyce Francis, Janet Rolle (with whom I first worked when hired to produce tribute videos for the American Foundation for the University of the West Indies), Rick Grant, and a host of fun folks who I was happy to see. DJ ENVY was on the one-twos - working it, as always!  

 

 

THE NEXT DAY: Janice and Noot popped by my recurring client BET where they got to meet my many colleagues from the Creative Services department. Here I do a number of special projects alongside - among many - Miss Micheala angela Davis who was gracious to chat my sister up - woman-to-woman on the threshold-of-50. BEAUTIFUL MOMENT! She got some great shots. And she loved the views! Afterwards, we went and had a snack at Virgil's BBQ. Then, we got in a little karaoke at Yuki 55 (Our repertoire included some of the birthday girl's favorites: "Reasons" by Earth, Wind, & Fire. And I just HAD to do the Whitney Houston medley for her! AND Jan and Noot even got in on the fun that Ant and I do all the time! LOL! This, before A Trip to Bountiful on Broadway – starring Cicely Tyson in her Tony-award-winning role. She works that stage alongside Vanessa Williams, Cuba Gooding Jr., AND Condola Rashad. After Broadway's "Bountiful", which Janice LOVED, she and I met up with Noot at Red Rooster - hot Harlem spot where JR got to meet several of my industry buddies and Harlem friends, including:  Essence’s own Emil Wilbekin and DJ Stomrin Norman. Red Rooster provided a nice toast of champagne in honor of my sister’s birthday + she and my nephew got to enjoy some fried green tomatoes and other lite bites before they called in a night.

 

 THE NEXT DAY:

Ant, my nephew, my sister, and I enjoyed BIRTHDAY brunch at Sotto 13 - tapas, wood fired-pizza, and more! GREAT BRUNCH! And good time for my family (Janice and Noot) to get to know further my family here (Ant). LOTS OF LAUGHS! And some VULNERABLE sharing, too! FOOD FOR THE SOUL! Then, she, Noot, and I rushed to Brooklyn to visit with our dad's big sister Charlie Mae, cousins Pat and Betty Jean in Brooklyn, NY + cousin Gloria called in from VA! It was a FAMILY REUNION! We then headed back uptown --- popping up to Dallas BBQ in Washington Heights (Upper Manhattan) for snack. Enter: Zimmerman trial verdict. HENCE: OUR UPSET EXPRESSIONS. NIGHT WAS A WRAP! But we recovered Sunday with the theme of the whole trip: “Motown: The Musical” on Broadway! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK1yncqPlOQ

After "Motown", we popped by BFF Sidra Smith's twin sister Tasha Smith's actors workshop nearby. Our sisters HAD to meet! And Sid HAD to meet MY SISTER! I was so charmed as Tasha Smith rushed out of her class - exclaiming: "PATRICK!!!!!!" LOL! From there, we wrapped Janice's 50th BDAY Extravaganza with an intimate dinner hosted and prepared by my dear friend Merrell Hollis (celebrity make-up artist and groomer for Wendy Williams, Diddy, Usher, Jessica White, etc.). His mom was in town from Columbus, GA. Ant's cuz Shantay also joined us as well as Noot. NYC FAM! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JANICE! Shout out to ALL who helped Herman Lee Riley III and me CELEBRATE my sister Janice Riley Priester's 5-0 in EXCELLENCE and with SO MUCH JOY & LOVE

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BIG (and only) SIS! I LOVE YOU!

 

SO SO DEF TURNS 20!

Thanks to my Savannah homegirl and Spelman sister Tandi Reddick for sending me this REMINDER! YES, THAT'S KRISS KROSS and YES, that's me behind them at a listening party for XSCAPE (I think) in 1993 or 1994! Shout out to @Mr_Dupri & @sosodef on 20 YEARS! Before I was blogging and chronicling “…The Life of Riley…” (http://thelifeofriley.squarespace.com/rilys-blog) and before the world was tweeting and facebooking, I was a recent graduate of Morehouse College. First gig was reporter trainee at WSB-TV! Then, competing station WAGA came a calling to hire me as one of its first producer hires for its new morning show “Good Day Atlanta” hosted by my friend Amanda Davis and Paul Ossman. More than the “LOCAL NEWS 101” of writing and stacking a newscast, I got my first entertainment clips for my reel and the privilege of interviewing, booking, and introducing many of the now-household-name players in the A-T-L MUSIC BOOM to the ‘local TV airwaves’ (including pre-Janet JD and Babyface & L.A. Reid’s LA FACE RECORDS; Dallas Austin’s ROWDY RECORDS; Keith Sweat’s crew; etc.) ---- all fertilizer on my overall brand as producer/talent/writer with a concentration in pop culture and entertainment. Jermaine Dupri’s SO SO DEF IMPRINT broke acts like Bow Wow, Da Brat, Kriss Kross, R&B group Xscape, and the list goes on. This weekend (Saturday), he plans to celebrate the occasion with a star-studded concert: http://www.ticketmaster.com/So-So-Def-20th-Anniversary-All-Star-Concert-tickets/artist/1823487.

FUNK JAZZ KAFE

Congrats to my Savannah homeboy Jason Orr who brought his documentary “Funk Jazz Kafe: Diary of a Decade” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9u_QKXAn-gE) to New York by way of the 3rd annual “New Voices In Black Cinema” Festival housed at BAM Rose Cinemas (www.ActNowproduction.org). The film’s timeline is a soundtrack to my life and career – highlighting the beginnings of the ‘Funk Jazz Kafe’ (when I actually lived in Atlanta); the window in which my mother passed away (July 1994); the many magical moments for which I returned to Atlanta, once I moved to NYC in 1995. It turns out that Jason and I were in the same place for the same event 9/11 – a moment that not only changed the world, but changed the ‘‘Funk Jazz Kafe’ forever (I was hired by my dear friends Chandra Jones and Lamar Johnson to host the red carpet at its ROOTS tour in promotion of  Levi’s Engineered Jeans line – including acts like Musiq; Ledisi; and a host of other SOUL greats!). And yet, ‘Funk Jazz Kafe’ remains as a legacy and a forthcoming, new frontier of cultural landscape. Stay tuned! www.funkjazzkafe.com We made it a double date with one of my high school BFFs (and fellow industry mates) Maurice Marable and his lovely wife – fellow journalist – Karen Good Marable. We also continued childhood BFF Ernest Maynor’s birthday celebration while also joined by Morehouse BFF Michael K. Watts; my once-ATL social concierge and friend Lamoh Hicks; singer/songwriter extraordinaire Gordon Chambers; UPTOWN Mag EIC  (and Morehouse brother) Isoul Harris; former co-worker at CNBC and music manager Miles Anthony Williams; filmmaker Dominga Martin; and many more! CONGRATS, JASON!

HOLLYWOOD, HERE I COME (AGAIN)

Wish I could be in A-T-L to reminisce, but will instead be in L.A. this weekend. I enrolled the folks at Rémy Martin (www.remymartin.com/) - now one of my new, recurring clients - to partner with my friend Gil Robertson (pictured RIGHT from our time in New Orleans together at the National Association of Black Journalists). Gil presides over the African American Film Critics Association and his hosting its Oscar Viewing Party this Sunday: http://aafca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Oscars.pdf. We’ll be rooting on our Hollywood favs and I’ll pour a little onto the red carpet for JD, SO SO DEF, and my A-T-L peeps!

‘FREE’ SIDRA

Actress Tasha Smith’s Twin Sister, Sidra Smith, produces groundbreaking documentary film, Free Angela And All Political Prisoners

 

Smith enlists Jada Pinkett Smith as Executive Producer and Codeblack/Lionsgate as distributor for theatrical release

 

LOS ANGELES, February 18, 2013 – Producer Sidra Smith is beginning the New Year with a bang. She is riding high on the success of her latest project, the powerful documentary film, FREE ANGELA AND ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS, which premiered at the 2012 Toronto Film Festival.  As such, she is employing her creativity and strategic thinking to help launch the film’s April 5, 2013 national release.

 

 

Sidra Smith is the identical twin sister of acclaimed television and film actress, Tasha Smith (“Tyler Perry’s For Better or Worse”).  She is responsible for bringing aboard her longtime friend, Jada Pinkett Smith, as Executive Producer of the well-received documentary. In turn, Jada brought along her partners at Overbrook Entertainment: Will Smith, James Lassiter, and Ken Stovitz, as well Roc Nation CEO Jay Z, as Co-Executive Producers.  After Sidra screened FREE ANGELA for Codeblack Films CEO Jeff Clanagan, he felt the project was a viable property for Codeblack/Lionsgate for distribution.

As part of her strategic plan, Smith will enhance the youth appeal of FREE ANGELA.  She states, “Angela Davis is an important American hero and icon. She’s a living history lesson whose life is dramatic and compelling. It’s a film everyone needs to see.”

 

Codeblack Films, a Lionsgate company, has acquired the theatrical rights to the political crime drama documentary about social activist icon Angela Davis.  Through Codeblack Films’ partnership with AMC Theatres^®, FREE ANGELA AND ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS presented by BET Networks, will release exclusively at AMC locations in select markets on April 5, 2013.

 Producer Sidra Smith is a force to be reckoned with.  With more than 15 years of international and domestic experience in various aspects of film, documentary, television, stage, corporate production and advertising, she has become the go-to person for those companies and organizations in search of efficient, creative, and cost-effective services.  She is the Founder and President of Gate Pass Entertainment (www.gatepassentertainment.com), a full-service production company with offices in New York and Los Angeles.

For Sidra Smith interview requests, contact Joseph Babineaux of Perspective PR at (323) 389-6130 or joseph@perspective-pr.com.

 MR. GAINES

R.I.P. LOU MYERS! We LOVE YOU! And WE'LL MISS YOU! But we'll always tune into "Different World" and the DEN!

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