Black Tie Lounge

Certain songs give help me say things that I don't have the words to express at the time. Certain songs almost prophecy over my life to what I want to accomplish. Guy code says I should never sing a Beyonce song, so I'm telling on myself when I admit that I really like the song "I Was Here" off her latest album. I had two interviews last week for positions that I never planned to be interested in. Walking out of the last interview made me feel a certain way. God has so much favor in my life. I seen him build relationships and bring opportunities that I never asked for when I was in a place where I had no hope. I think the greatest thing I could do after college was experience some of the hardships of life and of being in a transition. From not having a job to only working part-time, to being separated from friends and brought to a place where I only had time on my hands. I'm not going to tell a sob story but everyone has those moments that are hard for them. Thr...

It's a celebration. It's a celebration. Celebrating the year I moved out my moma basement. It's been a long time coming for me fam and September 15 marks the day that I move into my new place in SE DC. Too bad I won't be settled in for about another week after that date. I work during the evenings and the weekend that follows it is pretty busy. Either way I will be sure to raise a glass for myself because this city man has finally got it together to live in the city. The first couple of months will be a stretch but I can dig it. To share a little bit about my journey I consider myself to have come a long way. From getting my Masters in 09 to moving everything to NYC to landing flat on my butt after that summer because there was no job in the city. Next I moved in with my parents and took on a part-time job where the leadership was horrible. I wrecked my car and then the car I was using got stolen, with no where close to enough money to afford a car payment. I wa...

I go from one extreme to the other when it comes to the people in my life and those I hold dear. As a professing extrovert, I get most of my energy from being around people. As I grow older, the more I cherish just a few close personal relationships and care less about people that are just around. I say so often that I'm good on friends, but it's moments where I can be fully me, laugh, joke, and express myself the way I feel that I really do cherish those people that can take part in that. Truth be told, I put on so much for my profession, for church, as an artist, as a model, and just as an individual who strives to be successful. No one ever told me that things had to be that way, it's just a thing that I do to protect myself and keep the wrong people from taking advantage of my patience. It's something I do, as a person, to feel people out to determine if they have my best interests at heart. All of this to say, I've enjoyed myself a lot lately. I mentioned ...

So here is what is up: I thought I said good-bye to modeling but I auditioned for a potential spot as a spokes model for Fairfax Studio. Pretty much they use spokes models to fit the needs of their clients. I did, I said good bye to modeling but this opportunity I actually get to say something, which is the one thing I was missing. I don't think the audition went spectacular but I had fun. They couldn't get the teleprompter working so the boss man just asked me a bunch of questions. One of them, I rambled through until I could find an answer. Call it the gift of gab but being concise has never been my strong point. I'm interested in seeing what happens here. I could definitely use the extra $100 an hour. In other news team U.N.I is on the move as always. At the end of last month Royalty aka Mr. 129 shot the video for "Gotta Get It" featuring Mr. U.N.I himself Brian Americus, as well as our Good Wood NYC Peace.Life.Love chain. Peep the video and follow u...

I took my coat off to working at the restaurant and I said good-bye to modeling. I always do this thing where I let things go just to pick them back up again. I doubt that will be the case this time around. I decided to stop working at the restaurant because, if you've read my previous posts, all it was doing was getting in the way. The Lord is funny. You can call it fate or destiny but for some reason although I was commended for being a great server, I could never make past a certain amount of money. Honestly, this isn't my first serving job but I made more when I worked at Shoney's in high school than I did working at this place. It was crazy. Cat's would walk out with over 100 and I could never get past 90. It wasn't even like I was getting 90 a night. After tip out I'd be lucky if I had 60. Now, you're probably thinking, "Poor Gordon. You only made $60 a night. There are people that don't have a job and you have two." Not discou...

This will probably be one of the funnest blogs I've done in a long time. I've been living the life of a Professor, not that it's boring but I have something else to talk about other than work. Last night I went to see my favorite artist perform at Rams Head Live. Watch the videos and you'll know who it is. I tested out taking videos on my new phone. I've got to work something out when it comes to the sound quality because this piece picks up everything. From Aijuswannaseing, Juslisten, Soulstar, Luvanmusiq, to Onmyradio I've been pleased by his consistency. His lyrical style is honest, straightforward, and unique. There is not a producer featured on his projects that don't complement what the Philadelphia native brings to the table. I like singing his songs because they aren't too far out of my vocal range but after seeing him live I was actually surprised. He really showed his vocal range that night. I knew the dude had a high falsetto but this...

Dear Blacktie Lounge, Oh how I miss you. It seems to happen like clock work. I go through periods where I have absolutely nothing going on. Then I hit a season where I have to be in 3 places at once. Good news, the semester is halfway through. I successfully completed my first 8 week course. Now I have picked up 3 more in addition to the full semester course I currently have. I'm one week in and whoa buddy it's pretty crazy. It's been some late nights and early mornings. Well not exactly early mornings because I haven't been able to even wake up. It's been an adjustment none the less. Last week was my spring break and I took a nice little trip up to Boston. I spent most of my time lounging around my friend's place being a fat lazy some-of-a-you-know. Two particular things happened while I was there: we went to Foxwoods casino and we also saw The Adjustment Bureau. About the movie; one thing I hate is going to see a movie just because. The movie you want ...

I'm hoping to get this bad boy by the end of next week.

Among the things that I cannot stand, and there are plenty, being solicited is the worst. I absolutely hate when people try to sell me stuff. It goes hand in hand with my abhoration of wasting my time, which will turn me livid. So why am I talking about this you ask? Well, with Christmas a few days away I visited the mall and had a particular moment that confirmed how much I hate when people try to sell me stuff and another reminder why I avoid shopping on a certain side of that particular mall. So research has confirmed that you are more likely to comply with an attractive person rather than a less attractive person. This one lotion stand has definitely picked up on this concept because every last one of their reps are probably some of the most gorgeous women in the mall. However for me, you can be bangin' with a body like heaven but depending on how you annoy me there is no going back. So I'm shopping for some family members and I decide to run over to the food court get a...

I've had this blog for about 2 years and have yet to scratch the surface of who I am and what I'm about. So today, in a very random order, I'd like to share information that I don't generally think to share on this blog. When it comes to NFL I'm a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. It's a little odd because I have never been to Pittsburgh, it was just a choice I made and a team that I stuck with. So Sunday night, we played the Jets and other than the times we played Baltimore I was really looking forward to this one. Just my luck my family decides to go to a restaurant during 5 minutes into the second quarter. Luckily we go to one with a TV in range. Most of you know the outcome of that game but 10 minutes left in the final quarter and New York gets the field goal and the score is 20-17 New York. My parents decide it's time to leave since we all rode together. We live about 5 minutes away. My mom decides to go to Target to pick up some Christmas cards. In the words...

Last night I allowed two perfectly good tickets to one of the hottest events of the year go to waste. To Justin Young and the team at ReadySetDC, I apologize. I have very unreliable transportation and the very night I wanted to go out it got even more unreliable. I was really looking forward to meeting the team. Either way congrations on the website relaunch. I guess that means all my posts that involve ReadySetDC's past events will be broken links. GREAT! Speaking of website relaunch, Top Rank Vintage launched their website early this morning and I'm excited that I can feature another unique designer on my blog. The brand specializes in authentic military style vintage clothing, which is unique because these pieces date back as far as the 1950's and are shipped in from Europe. That's true vintage ain't it. I met the team in charge of this collection at DC Urban Fashion Week, which was one good thing that happened out of that show. SMH. I had a good conversatio...

ReadySetDC is one of my favorite social networks. Well it's not even a social network but I love the events that they put on. So guess what? I just won tickets to their official relaunch For the Love of DC 2.0. They were giving away tickets for guests that commented on their blog. I guess my comment was the best so I get to party with them tomorrow night @ District. I look forward to it. However, since the wheel popped off my car last Sunday I've been out of luck as far as getting a ride. I'll work something out.

So a week ago I found a tweet, or better yet a retweet, by someone who's Twitter name escapes me at the moment, but the retweet was about PJ Morton's new Mixtape Independently Major which available for a free download on his bandcamp page . I love PJ Morton's music and I love free stuff so I did not hesitate to download it. I have barely sunk my teeth into the album but with this artist you can always expect to get something simple, catchy and unique. The album includes autotune infused remakes of 3rd Degree, I Need Your Love and Don't Ever Leave which are found on previous albums. In my opinion I think that including new versions of those tracks serve as a clever way to make the music sound new. However die hard fans that support his shows it almost appears as a sick joke. I prefer the pure unadulterated PJ Morton sound so I hope he does not include any autotune in his upcoming and future projects. Go on and download the mixtape while supplies last but make sure you s...

Here's a video of our performance at DTS. Ejoy and tell me what you think. Everybody Knows cover from Gordon M. Curry on Vimeo .

With the holidays right aroudn the corner, I got a part-time job at a retail store. I applied Thursday and they called me with a schedule on Friday to let me know that they will take me on as a temporary hire. So I'm sitting in training and we are filling out all the important forms so that I can get paid. We come to the Direct Deposit form and our trainer holds up the form and raves about how we should get direct deposit. He lets us know that direct deposit is so much better than receiving a check in our hands. Then he further proceeds to tell us a story. He tells us that each Friday a truck comes to the store with our checks. If the truck breaks down or something happens all of those without direct deposit end up getting their checks late. The trainer goes on to remind us about last year's blizzard and how all the people that did utilize direct deposit had to wait weeks for their pay checks. Needless to say, he made his point about direct deposit. Well at the end of his r...

Hind sight is always 20/20. Let me tell you what happened to me, starting from yesterday. I get a message from a company that I applied to via craigslist as a part-time writer. I'm desparate for work so of course I call back within the hour for further information. I speak with a gentleman who says that he wants to meet with me to do a writing test, which is very legit because most organizations have potential candidates complete one before extending an opportunity. So we agree on a meeting location and confirm that it will take place the following day. I ask what the name of the organization and he gives me an acronym to look up. So the next day comes and I get up before 6 a.m., which is crazy because I have not been on a working man's schedule considering. So I make it the metro station and am in transit to the meeting location. I'm running a little late so I call the gentleman to inform him of my potential tardiness. I get an answering machine, so I leave a message. ...

Last week was the birthday week so I only did the things that I was required to do. So, I left off talking about my first photoshoot as a model. It went great. Where else can I get 200 bones for under an hour's worth of work. It was great. This week is going to be just as good because I'm modeling accessories from de*nada for a runway show for Ready Set DC , which highlights the creative lifestyle for trendy individuals in DC. I'm excited because I can add a second opportunity to my resume and do some networking in hopes of expanding it. Peep the promo video featuring the designers of this week's show. fashion:district - Fall/Winter 2010 - Teaser from ReadysetDC on Vimeo .

Today I was a trash man. Tomorrow I'll be in a photoshoot. I got accepted for the runway show and I also have another possible opportunity. I'll tell you about it tomorrow when I'm not dead tired. Here's a video of the runway event that I got accepted for. To be continued. ReadysetDC // fashion:district from ReadysetDC on Vimeo .

I'm on a roll with this modeling thing. Now that I have a photo shoot on Tuesday that I worked on my own to get, I've been pretty serious about finding other opportunities. It's namely craigslist that keeps me abreast lol. There is a model call in Adams Morgan tomorrow for a show taking place at the end of the month. I'm going to roll by and see what happens. If they like me then I'm in, if not it's onto the next one. My motivation in all of this is to use what I have to legitimately make some money without having to cross or push back my boundaries in order to get it. Unemployment is no joke. I've gotten into a gripe with the unemployment office. I was supposed to receive my benefits August 30 and I have not gotten any check. I do have much to be appreciative about. I have a roof over my head courtesy of Albert and Irish Curry, which by no means has been easy. I am also fed, which is ironic because the very Bible I believe in says if a man doesn't...

Guess what family? I will be performing at the Dream Talent Show out in Woodbridge, VA on November 6. Here's the story of how that happened. Since I've become a bit more serious about my singing ability, I'm always looking on craigslist for opportunities. I found one stating that there were auditions to participate in a talent show to win $500 and 2 hours of studio time with A2G Music Studios. I actually worked with the owner on a few tracks. Well, I went out to audition and was a little apprehensive because all I saw were elementary and middle school kids competing. I'm thinking to myself, I do not want to compete against a kid. I just think that is unfair for the judges. Adults have had more time to mold their talent. I got the go head from the staff and they encouraged me to audition anyway. I chose to perform Everybody Knows by John Legend since I've been practicing it with my vocal coach. The audition went well and I was given a chance to compete in the sho...