Oh snap,i gotta go to this tribute for:

[Phyllis Hyman Cherry]

Fred Pierce, Charles Jackson, Mike Joyner

Presents


A Tribute to the Legendary ICON "Mike Stone"

Saturday September 30th, 2007
@ Club Shelter NYC

Performance by "Rochelle Flemming"

djs Fred Pierce, Mike Joyner, Andre Collins & The ICON Timmy Regisford

[liL Ray]

This will be a party to remember!!!

Mike was the man and it should bring out all kind of faces....and the music is guranteed to be off the hook!!

[silverbull]

Dont know to much about mike stone but read a while back about his passing and how he was liked very much by people in the deep scene and other scene, anyone have more info? And the line up looks great.

[Phyllis Hyman Cherry]

from what i understand and the way people have described who he was,he wasnt an icon he was a statement.They say as far as promoting he layed the foundation here in nyc.

[Phyllis Hyman Cherry]

Better Dayz. The Warehouse. The Playground. These words have become synonomous with the history of black gay and lesbian club-life in New York City. Unfortunately, the original man behind much of the magic has passed on. I first met Mike back in 2002 at a panel I was on at the Bronx Art Gallery's fantastic exhibit "The DL in Contemporary Art." He was incredibly sweet to me. I'll always remember it. Here's a letter I received via email earlier today about the passing of this legendary figure:
*
It is with my deepest regret that I must inform you of the untimely passing of the most legendary club promoter and impresario Mike Stone. Mike, renown in the 70's and 80's for his extravagant party events at the infamous Studio 54 in Manhattan, moved on from this world, Monday night, September 19. A pioneer in a new genre of business called nightclub promotion, it was Mike Stone who put the hugely successful Bonds International on the map along with so many other notable clubs in New York City over the last three decades. To present it in terms of familiarity for the younger generation, it was Mike who first organized and developed both the Warehouse parties in the Bronx and the Playground in Manhattan. He was also responsible for the legendary Better Days. If there is but one consolation in his tragic passing, it is that he no longer must endure the pain of his long-standing illness and we can be assured that he is now in a much better place. May his legacy long be remembered and cherished by the thousands who have enjoyed his talents over the years and be honored and respected by the many promoters who will follow in his footsteps.

*
Arrangements have been made for a memorial and final viewing Saturday, September 24 at St. Augustine Presbyterian Church, 838 East 165th Street at Prospect Ave., Bronx, NY from 11am to Noon and service from noon at 2pm. Please stayed tuned as I will in short order present to you, in conjunction with other notable promoters, a very special all-out commemoration event in his memory. Indeed, Mike wouldnt have it any other way....

Posted by Frank León Roberts at 11:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

zadie smith & toure this week...

New York City's downtown scene has always been a mecca of artsy, literary and popular culture. It's one of the reasons i've stayed in New York as long as I have. Two readings/writings I recommend this week.
*
First, tonight (Wednesday) my buddy (and one my favorite black bohemian brooklyn boys) Touré reads from his witty and impressive debut novel Soul City as apart of the The 10th Anniversary Celebration