 The Disco Ball was spinning |
Birthday Bash for TJ February 6, 2004 |
 Sarah and TJ |
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Photos and text by Rachel Worth, Copyright © 2004. All photos are the property of Worth-a-Million Productions and may not be used without permission. The man of the evening was TJ direda, Director of Marketing and Media Relations for Pure Play Media, who was celebrating his birthday at Pearl in West Hollywood. When I arrived at 10:30 p.m., I found the place packed with dozens of people. It was so dark in there, it was difficult to recognize anyone. There was a huge dance floor with a bar on one side of the room and a stage on the opposite side. An elevated VIP section was on another side, populated late in the evening by people I didn't recognize and guarded by one of the six or so security staff who circulated throughout the whole club. A large disco ball, suspended from the ceiling, was spinning around, reflecting the beams from numerous spotlights. The reflected light created interesting designs on the ceiling and floor and throughout the room. The lights alternated randomly to momentarily light up a few people on the dance floor, and I strained to see a familiar face. In the first three hours or so, I only saw two people I knew: Nick Manning, who passed by me and said "hello," and Dan Miller from AVN. Dan and I exchanged a few words that had to be screamed in each others' ears in order to be heard above the music, which was blaring at the top of the decibel range. Damn! I forgot to bring cotton or something to put in my ears, and ended up with the inevitable headache by night's end. About 75% of the people were dancing, and two elevated screens were showing the action on the dance floor as captured by a camera stationed high above the crowd. Most parties have far more men than women in attendance, but this one had at least as many women as men. Lots of the women, though, weren't dancing with male partners. Some women came with many friends and all would dance as a group. |
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| I was very impressed with the staff at Pearl, inluding the cocktail waitresses, bus boys and security, who efficiently handled all the needs of the crowd. Empty bottles and glasses were quickly cleared away and spills promptly mopped up. One of the security guards was especially attentive to me, asking, "Would you like some water?" "Is everything okay?" "Do you need anything?" He would keep checking with me throughout the night. At around 12:30 a.m., the Boo-Yaa Tribe appeared on stage and provided some excellent entertainment. I read an interesting bio of the group on the MTV website that details their prior life of crime, time in jail, the death of a brother and return to their music. They were promoting the release of their latest album, West Koasta Nostra. During their performance, they invited women on stage to dance and things got a little wilder, as one of the entertainers pulled off his shirt and undershirt and lowered his pants a bit. As they continued singing, girls were gyrating against the guys or dancing on the poles. |
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| At around 1:30 a.m., when my "security guard friend" asked me if I needed anything, I said that I'd heard there was a VIP room downstairs and that I'd like to go there. He took my hand and personally escorted me across the room, through some other rooms (that I didn't know were there) and to top of the staircase. Just as I was about to descend, coming up the stairs was Jesse Jane. We exchanged hugs and I asked to take a picture of her. After, we hugged again as I told her how photogenic she is and that I had gotten a great picture of her in Vegas (which you'll soon see on this site when I finish the Vegas reports). Then I proceeded downstairs with "my personal bodyguard" and found that the VIP room was where the celebs had been hanging out, as well as the birthday boy. If only I'd checked it out sooner! In the VIP Room, I first ran into Scott Fayner and Taylor Rain, then birthday boy TJ. I introduced myself to him, wished him a Happy Birthday and then took a picture of him with a friend named Sarah, who explained that she's not in the adult industry. Then, a woman started talking to me. She tells me, "I'm not famous, but my parents were." She then whispers, "I'm Victoria Sellers. I'm not as bad as people say I am." I say, "Oh, the daughter of Peter Sellers (also Britt Eklund, but I hadn't remembered that at the time). I loved him." She thanks me and asks if I'd seen Ron Jeremy. I said "no" and asked where he was. She answered that he was just there and maybe he'd gone upstairs. He then suddenly appears and comes over to greet me. We put an arm around each others' waists as we face Victoria. Victoria asks if I need to be introduced to Ron, and I reply that I've known Ronnie for a long time, but that he still doesn't know my name. I then tell him "Rachel--it starts with the same letter as your name." I took a picture of Victoria and Ron together and then make him repeat my name again. Later I see him standing in line for the bathroom as I'm about to leave, and he says "Rachel" without being prompted, to which I reply, "I love you." |
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 Jesse Jane |
 Sarah and TJ |
 Taylor Rain |
 Scott and Taylor |
 Victoria and Ron |
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The party ended at 2:00 a.m. and there was a huge crowd waiting in line to get their cars from the valet parking. I waited patiently at the side of the window as others, who had actually gotten there before me, made their way to the front of the line, and one girl who was about to turn in her ticket and money asked if I'd like her to turn mine in, too. Such a kind and considerate thing to do. Any bets on whether or not Ron will remember my name the next time I see him?
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