For my 33rd birthday I brought back ten Fez hats “tarboosh” from Byblos. Meesh travelled with me to Lebanon and met Teta. The first day Nina met me and found my fez collection scattered on the floor of my room, she told me she loved me.
The inspiration for this nostalgic feast was simple…music. The sounds of Middle Eastern and North African disco from the 70’s. The pre-war Beirut nights of jiggling mustaches, endless arak and tabouli synths.
Chad Farran (with Lebanese blood), Dusty Brough, Ricky Giordano and myself created a band for the night and played a set of Lebanese and middle eastern classics from the midcentury to present day. Talia Ceravolo, donned an old Bob Ross halloween costume, glued on a couple extra chest hairs and delivered a sensational and unforgettable performance of “Do you Love me?” by the Bendaly Family. The original video is worth a look here.
I will look back fondly on this evening, when we were all together, traveling back in time…to a place I love and so desperately wish to know better. Celeste, the visionary that she is, captured the mood perfectly in this little short featuring the one and only Jonny Alexander, who always shows up in 200% in theme as the life of the party.