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PulseFest - 2005Quite Simply, It’s the Party of the Year
September 2005 - PulseFest. You’ve probably heard or seen
the word by now, maybe because you know someone who writes for thePULSE
or because you read one of the ads for Pulsefest in the pages of last
month's issue – or maybe you checked out our website (www.thepulsemag.com)
and saw the cool pop-up about it. But unless you’re psychic, chances
are you don’t know much more than the date and the place. Well,
all that’s about to change. We at thePULSE are finally ready to
unveil our plans for THE party of the year! So here’s how the whole idea started. We were sitting around trying
to figure out how to celebrate our One Year Anniversary in our new home
at 84 Winter Street when it hit us ~ we didn’t want to throw a party
for us, we wanted to throw one for all of you, for all the readers and
supporters who give us the reason to publish a lifestyle and entertainment
magazine in the first place, a reason to know and write about the coolest
bars, restaurants, nightclubs, business owners and events. We figured
that October would be a good time for the shindig since by then school
will have been in full swing for about a month, meaning that college kids
in particular would be ready for ~ and more than deserve! ~ a big blow-out,
the first major party of the year. OK, so we had an idea of why, when
and who, now we needed the what and the where. Well, if PulseFest was
going to be a great party, we would need a great venue, and there was
only one place that fit the bill ~ Union Station (www.unionstationtherestaurant.com/). One call to favorites Wilbur and the Dukes (www.wilburandthedukes.com), “Soul with Attitude,” and we had our first band ~ great musicians, great entertainers, great guys. PulseFest started to take shape. It was crucial to get a killer headlining band, too. We called in the big guns, our team of young, hip writers, to find out who’d make their wish list of headliners for PulseFest, and the winner was…Averi. After listening to these guys on their website (www.averimusic.com.), we knew we had to have them. They ROCK and there’s a good reason that they’ve been winning critical and audience raves across the nation. And as icing on the cake, their booking agent also represents rockers OSB (www.osbband.com), another name that received a huge thumbs-up, so there was our headliner and their opening act. The music for PulseFest was already going to kick ass, but just because we could, we decided to throw in a surprise hip-hop group to round out the evening, and these guys are GOOD. Nope, we’re not telling, you’ll just have to come to the party to find out who they are!
The Band Members The Debut Album The Reviews Osb is a band fueled by live performance. Their shows exhibit raw energy,
emotion, and melody by sucessfully fusing rock, blues, jam and groove
based music; while still maintaining a catchy pop sound.” The News
Sony and V2 Recording have just invited OSB to play the Tribeca Lounge in NYC on September 1!
Next question was who would emcee the evening, introducing the bands, running the giveaways (oh yeah, that’s right, giveaways – you didn’t really think we’d throw a party and not give away cool prizes, did you? Did you think we’d ignore the fact that someone out there is going to want a new X-box, or a full make-over, or a tanning salon membership?), making sure the crowd gets showered in swag (again, you didn’t actually think we’d forget about swag, did you? I mean, what’s a party without swag? So rest assured, you won’t be leaving PulseFest empty-handed, you’ll be leaving with good stuff from beer holders to Frisbees to specially designed Pulse T-Shirts). We needed a DJ, someone who wouldn’t just keep the music going in between bands but who was funny and a bit of a smart-ass, too. Someone with, well, personality and balls. And that’s what we got, in spades. Your host for PulseFest is none other than (drum roll, please)...Oh yeah, right, like I’m going to give away the surprise. Not a chance, so you’ll have to come see ~ and hear ~ for yourself.
The Band Members The Debut Album And They’ve Toured With… The Reviews
Back now to Mr. Petrou over at Union Station. When we brought our proposal over to him, we discovered that our enthusiasm was contagious. Not only did Joe agree to let us use the Union Station Space, but the man offered to provide the food for the entire evening for us. If you’ve ever eaten at The Restaurant at Union Station, you’ll understand how excited we were. If you haven’t, trust me, it’s delicious. We’ll have the best-fed party guests ever. And alcohol? The same thing. The restaurant’s crack team of bartenders will be taking care of all your beverage needs throughout the evening (and it does go without saying, right, that those of you under 21 will be enjoying only non-alcoholic beverages? Good. We knew you’d understand!) And guess what else he threw in for guests at OUR party. Free valet parking.
Alright. Music for the ears? Check. Food and drink for the palate? Check. But something was missing. Ah yes, something for the eyes. Enter Karon Shea Model Management, Inc. and her Ms. Hawaiian Tropic Models. The lovely ladies, many of whom have graced the pages of our magazine and made personal appearances at places like Winter Street’s Italian café SPQR (www.spqrcaffe.com), will be in attendance for the whole night, helping the DJ and the bands keep the crowd happy. And not ten minutes after the words “How about some cool artwork on display” were uttered in our thePULSE offices, the phone rang. In a case of great minds thinking alike, Doug Chapel, of Arts-n-Things (ANT) and Action Geek (www.dsquared.org), had also come o the conclusion that art should play a part in PulseFest – and that’s how the 15 artists who will be displaying and selling work ranging from comic’zines to beaded and semi-precious jewelry to crocheted handbags to gothic illustrations joined the party.
About the Band In the Band’s Own Words “The music we play is timeless – even kids in their 20s will
recognize hits like “Midnight Hour” and “It’s
Your Thing” because tunes like that never go out of style and are
constantly being remade – and older audience members will remember
the originals and the memories will come flooding back. Rhythm and Blues
never gets old, never fails to get people moving.” “We think that PulseFest is a fantastic idea. The city needs more
events that bring the community together – and the entire fabric
of the city, not just one age group. And since PulseFest is going to be
an annual event, it’s going to build a following and more and more
people will get involved. It’s great to be involved in the one that
kicks it all off ~ so for this special occasion, we’ve brought in
our heavy-hitters, the guys who’ve been on tour with Bo Diddley,
Joe Cocker and Tina Turner. And we’ve heard outstanding things about
the other performers and everyone in Wilbur and the Dukes is psyched about
playing that night. Get ready ~ It’s going to be one great party.!” ~ Steve Going of Wilbur and the Dukes
Our thePULSE photographer extraordinaire Michael Belsito knows a hot
party get-up when he sees one, so he’ll be on the look-out for YOU.
Time to recap. First of all, you’re reserving Saturday night, October
8, and you’re planning to stay out late. You don’t know yet
whether you’ll head out with a group of friends, with a date, or
solo, but you do know that you’ll be heading to PulseFest (the First
Annual PulseFest, to be exact, since this is going to become thePulse’s
annual signature event!) at Union Station. Why? Food, drink, Hawaiian
Tropic Models, Averi, Wilbur and the Dukes, the best DJ around, cool art,
all-night fun, valet parking, prizes, swag, OSB, hip hop and hip people. So consider yourself officially invited to PulseFest 2005. See you there, it’s going to be off the hook!
What: The First Annual PulseFest
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Generally,
when you approach the owner of a beautiful space like Union Station -
The Restaurant, he is going to want a few more details than just “it’s
a big party.” So before we and our enthusiasm knocked on Mr. Joe
Petrou’s door, we had to flesh out some more details. Music, of
course, had to play a huge role in the event. Lots of music. Say, three
bands and a headliner’s worth…at least. We were not about
to let Union Station’s awesome acoustics and spectacular layout
go to waste.
OSB
AVERI
Wilbur
and the Dukes