Wherein I come clean about the whole Ten56 / innjoy / Sweet Alice Tuesday thing.

The owners of innjoy, and previously Ten56, are re-opening the grandmother of both bars, Sweet Alice, at a new location. Lots of people have been asking me what I think about this, since my Tuesday night residency used to be called "Sweet Alice" and migrated from Ten56 to innjoy, until it had the plug abruptly pulled earlier this year. I decided not to go into why the plug was pulled at the time, deciding, rather, to take the high ground. Suffice to say it was not a decision we were consulted on or given warning about. At the same time let me say that I bear no ill will towards the owners of innjoy, since, honestly, innjoy just wasn't a really good fit for what we were doing, and I appreciate the fact we were the only DJs they even tried to bring over once Ten56 closed.

Now, about Sweet Alice. I understand the business decision to employ a name with history and cache to establish a new bar. This makes good business sense. What makes me sad is when people,and by people I'm not talking about the proprietors, think that resurrecting a familiar name will allow them to relive the good times they had at the previous venue.

It just doesn't work that way. Things change, and a name is really nothing more than a brand. For instance, when they re-habbed Danny's, they kept the name, but the place was a completely different bar. When The Note was know as The Blue Note, and it was located on Armitage, it was a completely different place than it is today in its Milwaukee Avenue location. A location it inherited from The Hothouse, which is also quite a different endeavor than it was when it was housed in Wicker Park.

What I'm trying to get to is this: It's impossible for me to be upset about anyone opening up a bar named Sweet Alice, or anyone trying to use the memory of events we were a part of in order to promote the club. Why? The new bar is not Sweet Alice. The new bar is not Ten56 on a Tuesday night. And it shouldn't be, because everyone that was a part of those nights is now different, and if that same chemistry still existed it would actually be kind of sad because it would mean that none of us has grown.

So there you have it. Now you can stop asking me what I think of the whole thing.

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I have been seduced.

Lately more and more guest DJs are bringing their iPods and, since I've had a chance to interact with these newer models more frequently,Ii find myself lusting after them. Don't get me wrong, I still find tankPOD's four-buttons hovering over the flywheel to be adorable, and diPOD has a heft that the new models just can't match, but I do find myself drawn in my the new, sleek, black video models. Something tells me that after I finish paying for my new laptop I'm going to be snagging myself a new iPod to add to the family...

Speaking of laptops, I'm happy with my purchase of a Sony VAIO. It's sleek and speedy and spidery and does everything (so far) that I've asked of it with a minimum of fuss. And, really, what more can you ask of a computer?

I do still want a MacBook like the dickens, though -- since I fancy myself the sort that needs something a little smaller and more solid for on-the-go composing -- but the VAIO will do perfectly well until MacBooks either drop down into my price range ... or I win the lottery.