'Spin' Cycle, add SONICBOOMBOX for Flavor!!!
A party and lounge unlike any other and I seriously mean that!!!
Now I’ve been to parties; at bars; caribbean clubs, mosh pits, local rock concerts, even basements where anything goes, but I’ve never been to a party like the one Sonicboombox provided at the local nightclub ‘SPIN’ in New York City. They really outdid themselves as they combined Cosplay + Pop Culture + Ping-Pong and really-really-REALLY!!! inexpensive drinks to create an atmosphere of late night anime, comic book, and manga partying.
Lua Stardust and Joe Matista
Hosted by Lua Stardust; some of you may have seen her on instagram (Parental Advisory, Explicit Content), this party truly embraced the nerd culture as the DJ integrated anime themed songs (Dragonball Z, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Kill la Kill, Sailor Moon to name a few), Pop Culture favorites (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Kingdon Hearts), Dancehall, Rock, Hip-Hop, R&B and the ‘Macarena’ into a musical atmosphere that was reminiscent to the iheartradio music festival.
As yours truly sat in on this experience with fellow writers Erik, Josh B and Maya, I started to reflect on my childhood when I watched cartoons and anime on Saturday ornings. I would jump on my bed, play with my action figures and play Pokemon on my original Nintendo Gameboy (circa. 1998). Now here it is 2018, and the action figures I collect are forever in plastic cases and as for the Pokemon, I see women dressed up as Pikachu jumping on club couches doing the give it up!!!
Going back to the club; SPIN is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’s like ‘never-never land’ as inexpensive drinks flow at alarming rates with a serving of Ping-Pong as the main course. As for the food and price, it was served in Chinese food containers at snatch and grab prices (low cost – big flavor). Me, forever looking for a food deal, grabbed a popcorn chicken snack box at eight dollars and I started to look on my phone to do a little research on this establishment. To my discovery, this place is an actual ping-pong lounge franchised with eight establishments in the US, with a ninth one opening on East 54th Street in N.Y.City. Who knew?! I certainly didn’t.
Great Cosplay: Jake_cosplays and maleficentxv
But the people, the people, The PEOPLE!!! One of the many great things about the NERDLYFE is the people and let me tell you, they are great to meet and hang out with. People, both young and older embraced the musical trance provided by Sonicboombox, either in cosplay form or just in an outfit that supported the manga, anime and comics industry. Now I can say that one of the many aspects of Region 99 is the Cosplay that we take pictures of wherever we go and Sonicboombox didn’t disappoint as we were able to take some great pictures of the cosplay that night. Our writer, Maya embraced her inner nerd as she fashioned the establishment in her nightly best. Truly amazing.
Sonicboombox has played host to a series of comic and pop culture events along the US with many cosplay greats named Animated Lola, D Piddy, and Ani-Mia and worked with such companies as Clutter magazine, Funimation, and LootCrate. This was my first time attending their event and as I see it, there is definitely some promise here of me attending another one as they made me a fan of their parties for future events.
Fellow Region 99 Writer: Maya Hanks
What makes Sonicboombox so epic is their love for all things pop culture. They are not discriminative in any way inviting ‘all’ people whose love of pop culture is indeed shown and displayed in their attire and speech. They’re very welcoming and understand your budget as you try to live like a rock star and drink like one too.
Using myself as an example, I had a series of Rum and Cokes, ate my popcorn chicken, bought my colleague a coke and still had enough to pay my rent, light and cable bill at the end of the month and get some ibuprofen for my hangover the following day (If you ever bought a drink in NYC, you definitely understand). I call that money well spent. All in all I had a great time and as I drove back home with my #squad, I can honestly say that I spend my last Saturday of 2018 in the company of some great Nerds!!!
Good Food + Good Friends + Good Times
Also, one thing I have to say is that those Pikachu(s) are very wild in the field. I managed to get a video of those wild creatures at the party and let me tell you, they’re vicious!!!
A Party unlike any other!!! and I seriously mean that!!! Region 99 had a great time @ SPIN in NYC. Here are some highlights!!!
