From Ashy To Classy

View of Manhattan from Fulton Ferry

My original plans for yesterday were pretty bland. All I wanted to do was finish up work, go home, eat dinner, and watch Project Runway, but yesterday's amazing weather led me to some wonderful adventures. After a flurry of texting to see if any of my friend wanted to go get drinks and dinner alfresco, one of my buddies from back in the day (i.e. the Midwest), Korey, hit me back. He was working on a shoot for a pilot TV show featuring Charlie Murphy and Donnell Rawlings (i.e. Ashy Larry) from Chappelle Show fame. They were shooting scene at various locations in Queens and Brooklyn and were on their way to shoot a scene at Fulton Ferry, underneath the Brooklyn Bridge.

I hopped the F train over the Fulton Ferry to meet up with Korey and watched them film for a couple of hours. This was my first time on a live shoot. Overall, it was great to see them setting up shots, but this was a relatively low-budget production (and just a pilot) so it wasn't anything fancy. Donnell was shooting a music video as part of contest he was having with Charlie Murphy. I think the premise of the show is that Charlie and Donnell just go up against each other in challenges and comedy is supposed to ensue. The best part of the shoot was watching a large group of teenagers from Osh Kosh, WI act as the crowd in one of the scenes. This made their day and was the quintessential New York tourist experience. Midwestern kids come to the big city for their first visit and end up on a TV show. Korey offered to get me into the scene as well but I figured it would look pretty odd having a lone Asian kid in a sea of blond hair and blue eyes with Ashy Larry rapping in front.

Donnell giving directions to the Osh Kosh kids

After the shoot, I grabbed some ice cream at the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory for the walk back to the subway. The ice cream was good, but a little pricey for my tastes ($5 for 2 scoops!) I also passed by Grimaldi's Pizza. A pretty large line was formed outside, waiting to get a seat. Korey said that that was typical since Grimaldi's is touted as the best pizza in Brooklyn.

Later in the night I met up with Korey again for drinks and nachos at 1849 over in the Village. I've been there before with Korey, so not a new experience, but I like the place. Fairly laid back bar with a good atmosphere. It's not a dive bar and it's not like a uppity lounge or club though the live music last night got a little old after a while. There is only so much I can take when it comes to angsty rock covers. Later, Margo, another Midwest back in the day-er and Korey's girlfriend, joined us as well as her roommate Erin. It's always a good time when the Midwest crowd gets together in the city. After a couple more drinks, we decided to call it a night, but some possible weekend plans include: a Mets game, a concert at McCarren Park in Brooklyn, or a free show by the Upright Citizen's Brigade.