KCRW once again returned to the Park Plaza hotel to throw a massive seasonal party, Saturday prior. DJ decks in tow. Mixers in tow. PA systems in tow. Food trucks in tow. Bottled water in tow. DJ personalities in tow. Cocktail service in tow. Costume checkpoints in tow, lighting systems in tow, heat lamps in tow, Henry Rollins in tow, the whole nine yards. I was on hand for the festivities. My rough timeline follows.

»continue reading KCRW Masquerade 2010: Year Two at the Park Plaza Hotel

PHOTO: Eric J Lawrence Pumas the Crowd, World Folktronic Jazz Lounge, KCRW RadioActive @ Park Plaza.
Photo by Salvador Farfan.

Saturday
11 April 2009
KCRW Presents RadioActive: A Spring Dance Party at the Legendary Park Plaza Hotel

(The) Park Plaza was built in 1925 by the Elks to be used as lodge number 99. The building, done in the Neo-Gothic style, was created by renowned art deco architect Claud Beelman… Eventually, the Elks sold the building, and the building ended up being transformed into a luxury hotel, set perfectly then on the shores of what was a very glamorous MacArthur Park. (source)

Excitement in the elevator. We’ve parked on the sixth floor in a garage off Carondolet. The time is 925pm. Elevator fills. “Everybody ready for Schnabel?” I try valiently to work the crowd into something other than a sort of anticipatory silence. “It’s all about the T. See you guys there. I’ll be there!” A few giggles and clever remarks are thrown about and suddenly we are inside the gates, here, now, for RadioActive, the dance party being thrown by KCRW this evening featuring damn near every DJ on the Santa Monica station’s roster. The event is long sold out. And hey – even Kogi’s here! (OG; not Roja.)

»continue reading KCRW’s RadioActive Dance Party, Park Plaza Hotel, April 11, 2009