We’ll also be sending off another young alum in style. This time it’s our fav Tallahassee Democrat reporter Meredith Clark. We’re sad to see her leave, but she’s got big plans, man, big plans…

“The Creatives” Host Committee is excited. They’ve planning to express their creativity in a multitude of ways. If you want to be on “The Creatives” Host Committee, there’ still room. Let me know.

Round up your crew for this Thursday at Cafe Cabernet. Stephanie Martinez will grace the stage, The Vibe will be rockin’, and the energy will be electrifying.

Specifics – R&B Dinner Party: An Evening Featuring A Special Performance By Stephanie Martinez
Thursday, August 5th, 2010
R&B Dinner Party
The Goodies: Special Performance By Stephanie Martinez and live music by The Vibe
Place: Cafe Cabernet From 10pm – 1amish
Cover Charge: Complimentary for Ladies & Just 5 Bucks For Gents (We Have To Pay the Talent)
Other Goodies: $2 Cosmos & $5 Premium Cocktails For Gents (Crown Royal, Crown Royal Black, Ciroc, Ciroc Flavors, & Tanqueray)
Dinner Reservations: (850) 224-1175
RSVP/More Details Here

Raised in a home rich with music, singing came naturally for the angelic voiced singer. Stephanie states “my dad is a singer, and he sang my whole life.” At the age of five she realized she shared her father’s talent and singing soon became her passion. Stephanie credits musical influences like Pink, Alicia Keys and Christina Aguilera.

In her travels between Ft. Lauderdale and Southwest Florida, she was recognized by Naples, FL 105.5 The Beat radio personality DJ Quest. After participating in an on air talent segment, DJ Quest quickly saw the potential in the singer and together they worked to bring her talent to the attention of independent record label Down Low Records.

Check out Stephanie’s first single, “So Sick,” on her site stephaniemartinezworld.com.

Details

• Thursday, August 5th, 2010
• Cafe Cabernet
• Ladies enjoy complimentary admission & Gentlemen are just 5 bucks (to pay for the talent)
• Awesome drink specials: $2 Cosmos for ladies and $5 Crown Royal, Ciroc, and Tanqueray for the gents
• RSVP at www.digitalguestlist.com/joeydigital

Brief problem overview: African-American post-graduates in Tallahassee (and the state of Florida) lack consistent quality social options. Quality defined as “non-radio & derogatory music and adequately-dressed guests in the 23-35 age range.

Thursday 4/8/10: Untitled Thursdays

Hypotheses: House & Lounge Music Podcast + Venue Speakers + Focus on Restaurant Side of Venue

Outcome: Awesome Turnout, but guests weren’t really feeling the music. Vibe was good at times.

Thursday 4/22/10: The “Un” Party: A Social R&B Experience

Hypotheses: R&B Podcast + Bar Side of Venue (TV’s for NFL Draft) + Venue & 3rd Party Speakers

Outcome: Guest liked the music, but the bar side didn’t let the “energy flow”

Thursday 4/29/10: The “Un” Party: A Social R&B Experience featuring DJ Saxwell

Hypothesis: DJ playing R&B + 3rd Party Speakers + Restaurant Side of Venue

Outcome: ???

I’ll go in-depth on this at a later date. If you’re interested in attending the 4/29 event, click here.

By Sunday, we’ll have well over 1,000 new young professionals, and we have the opportunity to welcome them with open arms. Some might call it an obligation.

To recap, the idea is to fuse upcoming grads with professionals from around the state/country for an evening of conversation/networking with good R&B in the background. We’re inducting them into the Young Alumni Movement, and easing their transition into the “real” world.

Let’s all come together for an awesome evening this Thursday at Cafe Cabernet. No Cover and your first Crown Royal cocktail is complimentary.

People may register for the Host Committee or RSVP at www.youngalumnimovement.com.

:: Host Committee Registration + Mandatory RSVP ::

Spring 2010 Graduate Host Committee
Register at www.youngalumnimovement.com

RSVP for Everyone Else
Thursday April 29th, 2010
How To Make It After Graduation: A Social R&B Experience
Cafe Cabernet from 9pm – 1am
No Cover. Complimentary Crown Royal Cocktails Until 11pm
Look the part. Don’t embarrass yourself…
Please RSVP at www.youngalumnimovement.com

We’ve termed the evening an “Un” Party, because, well, it’s not a traditional party. It is a social environment, an experience if you will, that focuses on conversation and great music of the R&B variety…with a little bit of Hip Hop and Reggae sprinkled in (don’t think you guys are ready for House yet).

There’s no pressure. We don’t charge (RSVP is mandatory). Even better, Crown Royal is providing complimentary cocktails from 9-11pm.

Mandatory RSVP

Please RSVP at www.joeydigital.me/untitled

Thursday April 22nd, 2010
The “Un” Party: A Social Experience
Cafe Cabernet from 9pm – 1am
No Cover. Complimentary Crown Royal Cocktails Until 11pm

We’ve also tweaked the concept a bit. We’re going from Untitled Thursdays to The “Un” Party: A Social R&B Experience. This fits what we’re trying to accomplish a little better.
Everything else remains the same: The Right People. No Cover. Awesome Music. Complimentary Crown Royal cocktails from 9-11pm.

Mandatory RSVP here

Below are a slate of activities I’ve come up with so far (recommendations are welcome):

• Thursday April 22nd: Cafe Cabernet (Tallahassee, FL) with Crown Royal. No Cover. Mandatory RSVP here.
• Friday April 23rd: Sol Fusion (Atlanta, GA) with DJ D-Nice + Kenny Burns + DJ Jamad at Aja Restaurant. Info here.
• Saturday April 24th: Workout/Watch Session at Camp Creek LA - Time  TBD  + The Losers movie – Time/Location TBD
• Sunday April 25th: ???

If you are so moved, I’d be honored if you joined me.

Note: This concept was totally stolen from the homey Elbert. I’m sure he doesn’t mind.

I, along with my partner Celest Dunn, would like to thank the 400 young professionals that attended the launch of Untitled Thursdays at Cafe Cabernet on April 8th. (I know this recap is way late). A huge thanks goes out to my lifesavers Jonathan McGriff and Mark Taylor. Our photographers, Patrice Worthy and Souvenir Photography, did a great job. Of course, thanks to Crown Royal for the complimentary cocktails. You all combined to make our launch a success. We’re busy planning the next installment for April 22nd.

At one point, I looked up and thought “this is really an Atlanta-ish event.” The lights were low, people looked good and were socializing, and the music was high energy. A great vibe. This is what a Thursday night social experience is supposed to look like. Photos from the Launch of Untitled Thursdays at Cafe Cabernet have been posted on Facebook.

Overall, I’d give the event an 85. And this is only because we had a bunch of minor/easily correctable issues that will be fixed for Thursday April 22nd:

• Complimentary Drink Distribution: We’ll have the complimentary drinks distributed at the bar AND by two (2) sets of waitresses (instead of one).
• Age Check: Since we don’t admit anyone under 21 years of age and don’t charge, there’s really no need to place wristband on people.  This slows down the admission process TERRIBLY. Simple case of mis-communication with venue management and oversight on my end.
• Opening the Bar Area Earlier: The plan was to fill out the restaurant side until 10:30pm, but it got too packed in the restaurant by 10:10pm. Next time, we’ll have the flexibility to open the bar area earlier if we need it.
• A/C in the Bar Area: For some reason, the air conditioning wasn’t on in the bar area. It never crossed my mind to ask about this before we opened. I just assumed it would be taken care of. Won’t happen again.
• Music Selection: This is a simple/complex case of me “not trusting myself.” From my conversations in the last few weeks, I knew that people wanted to hear “black music” (R&B and Hip-Hop) that wasn’t on the radio. I let my desire to push a high-energy environment influence the playlist of house, funk, and soul. That won’t happen again (at least for a few months). We’ll go to a strictly Neo-Soul, R&B, and non-radio Hip Hop music diet.

If you attended, what are your thoughts?

Please Join Us For Our Next Event:

• Thursday April 22nd, 2010
• Cafe Cabernet
• Complimentary Crown Royal Cocktails from 9-11pm
• 9pm – 1am
• No Cover. RSVP Mandatory Here.

Washington Apple: Crown Royal, Apple Schnapps, Cranberry Juice
The Jump Off: Crown Royal, Smirnoff Vodka, Tanqueray Gin, Myers Platinum Rum, Sour Mix, Lemon Lime Soda, Cola
The Ooooh La La: Crown Royal, Raspberry Liqueur, Pineapple Juice
Royal Lemonade: Crown Royal, Apple Schnapps, Simple Syrup, Lemonade

The Cîroc Diddy: Cîroc Vodka, Lemonade
Cîroc French Accent: Cîroc Vodka, Raspberry Liqueur, Pineapple Juice
Cîroc Blue Ocean: Cîroc Vodka, Blue Curacao, Grapefruit Juice, Simple Syrup

NUVO’tini: NUVO, Cîroc Vodka, Peach Nectar, Fresh Lime Juice
Black Code: NUVO, Hennessy, Lime

Event Details

• Thursday April 8th, 2010: The Right Crowd. No Cover. Awesome Music
• @ Cafe Cabernet
• No Cover with complimentary Crown Royal cocktails from 9-11pm
• Mandatory RSVP here

To learn how to get these specialty cocktails for just $6 throughout the evening, click here.

Which specialty cocktails are your favorites? List them in the comments section.

Now, let’s talk about expectations.

These events won’t be the Crown Royal Affairs/Ciroc Luxury Lounges from the Atlanta Classic, Homecoming, or Florida Classic Weekends- they cost way too much money. They won’t be a party with a celeb deejay. No D-Nice, Biz Markie, J-Nice, or DJ Kool. Again, they cost way too much money.

There won’t be any back drop for photos. Again, they cost way too much money. (We could always charge you at the door, but I’m sure you won’t like that)

For sake of conversation, we’ll call them “Crown Royal Affair Lite”.

In fact, they won’t be a “party” at all. Think Shout, Harlem Bar, the W Hotel, or Twist in Atlanta. If you’re old enough, think the Shark Bar. We want people to have a fabulous social experience over music with good vibes.

Great social experiences are  all about the energy in the room.

After talking with many of you, I can see that Tallahassee isn’t ready for the food component quite yet. Some even suggested eating food during a social experience isn’t classy. We won’t force it. We’ll save it for the summer.

From a music standpoint, I’m not sure if you’re ready for lounge music. Good music doesn’t always equate to social music. We may have to stay to traditional “urban music” sans the stuff you hear on the radio. But we’ll play it by ear.

Our theme is: The Right Crowd. No Cover. Awesome Music.

:: Event Details ::

Thursday April 8th, 2010
Café Cabernet
9pm – 2am
No Cover. Mandatory RSVP here
Complimentary Crown Royal cocktails from 9-11pm