Friends in high places
CHRIS BLACK• Done To Death Projects, Public Announcement, How Long Gone
CULTURE & LEISURE • Friday Routine
CHRIS BLACK • consultant and podcaster • Done To Death Projects, Public Announcement, How Long Gone
Neighborhood you work and live in: Soho
It’s Friday afternoon, how are you rolling into the weekend?
The fun part of the podcast is the live version of the show we take around the country and sometimes abroad. My podcast partner Jason is in town for our show this Saturday at Webster Hall. We like to bring out bands and comedians whose work we enjoy. Sam Jay will open and we'll have some other special guests. We don’t eat before, can’t go on stage full. We have an afterparty at The Standard, East Village. It’s going to be a long night. But I usually try to stick to a routine as much as possible.
Fridays are usually pretty mellow since we don’t record an episode of How Long Gone, and no one seems to work past noon anymore. I’ll wake up around six and get on Twitter immediately, check my email, add links to the Public Announcement daily newsletter, and have a Chameleon Cold Brew (uncut) at home before putting on my finest Nike Dri-FIT garments and heading to Equinox on Prince Street. My trainer in Los Angeles, Hunter Seagroves, wrote a serious kettlebell program for me. It’s challenging, but also helps me avoid waiting for a bench.
If I have a meeting, I go to The Odeon or Sant Ambroeus for lunch. I try to hit Australian import Thisbowl on Bleecker if I am solo. It’s the best version of the email-job lunch that exists. Late afternoon, I get a coffee from Cafe Integral, the best in the city, a regular drip, or an iced quad cortado with some of their homemade almond milk. Then, I try to finish any work and read a bit, primarily new fiction. I like to keep up.
Where are you drinking or dining this weekend?
The Corner Store on West Broadway, made famous by Taylor Swift, is a new place owned by The Catch Group. The whole scene fascinates me, and I can't wait to pay $30 for a shrimp cocktail. Bridges on Bowery is a beautiful room and the comté tart is banging. Tolo in Dimes Square for a kaofu salad, Gemma at The Bowery Hotel for scrambled eggs, Apollo for a bagel, Upside for pizza, and Diner in Williamsburg if someone drags me to Brooklyn.
How about a little leisure or culture?
A large portion of my friend circle is musicians. We speak to many of them on How Long Gone, but I also got my start in the music business and went to punk and hardcore shows since I was 13. My wife and I borrowed an orange Aston Martin SUV a little while back and drove to Philadelphia to see my friend Katie, aka Waxahatchee, play at The Fillmore. She just got nominated for a Grammy for her album “Tiger’s Blood.” She deserves to win. Recently, I saw The Killers at the 02 in London, Father John Misty in Grand Rapids, Charli XCX and Troye Sivan at the Forum in Los Angeles, Maggie Rogers at Madison Square Garden, and MJ Lenderman at The Music Hall of Williamsburg. It’s fun to take in the spectacle and see what your friends can do.
Any weekend getaways?
Charleston is my favorite city in the South (I’m from Atlanta), and we visit as often as possible. There are great hotels. The Dewberry and The Pinch are my favorites. You’re 20 minutes from the beach, and the food is incredible (FIG, Little Jack’s Tavern, Vern’s, The Ordinary). The flight is about two hours. If you take the Delta 6a return, you can be back in the city before 9a.
What was your last great vacation?
I go to Stockholm and Copenhagen a few times a year and love them both for different reasons. They’re both incredibly charming and full of good-looking people. They’ve also given us so many great clothing brands: Mfpen, Sunflower, Our Legacy, Acne, etc. It’s a part of the world with a very distinct flavor that really resonates with me.