Logging On is ICYT's weekly newsletter by Columnist-at-large Ian Chow and Co-Founder Raeland Mendoza​. The duo also make up ICYT's consultancy division, Tomorrow Works.

This week on Logging On:

We have a special feature where Raeland recaps his Juno's weekend with special appearances with the extended ICYT crew, styling the mayor, K-OS and a bunch of Canadian musicians, and most importantly knowing when to call it a night. 

RAE'S JUNO AWARDS DIARY

So I went to the Juno's. Our home city of Edmonton played host to Canada's "biggest night in music" aka the No Name Brand (for the real Canadian heads) version of the Grammy awards last weekend, and I had the opportunity to be in the cut and share my unwarranted experiences with you all.

Full disclosure: I did some marketing work for the Juno's, so this won't be a fully objective perspective of the event. 

Thursday - March 9th: My hotline does indeed bling, and I get the call to help out  and assist styling the Mayor and his wife for some of the events this weekend as I'm leaving the gym. In between my smoothie order and blasting the calves with a theragun, I'm going through the rolodex in search of some inspo and some friends I could call up on the fly.

Friday- March 10th: Ian and I link up at gravitypope in the AM to start going through looks. I knew I wanted to create a special moment for local designer and upcoming collaborator Specs and Stache, so in terms of men's looks it consisted of pairing some complimenting knits and accessories with his olive varsity jacket. For the accompanying womens looks, we were really into some Rachel Comey looks that unfortunately did not go used for the weekend. The next stop was to check in with the fam at Shades of Grey, where we found a red satin number which did get selected for the gala later that weekend.

Later that night, Alfred and I pull up to a Juno's party at The Common which featured a DJ set by Cadence Weapon. About 45 minutes into arriving, I immediately embarrass myself and have an awkward run in and accidentally make eye contact with the headlining act in the washroom. After the DJ set we don't stay too long, and Alfred and I get some fast food takeout on the way home. 

Saturday, March 11th: A long with keeping up with photos of the selected looks at various events, this day consisted of establishing some new industry connections for work, as well as supporting friends at their different gigs in the city. First up was a dinner and drinks with a new connect from a music agency who was in town from in Toronto.  From there, the night transitioned to rolling with Alfred as he got ready for his gig as DJ-support to friend Khaled Rahime who was headlining at the Starlite, which featured a guest appearance by Ronald Morrera. Once he's set up I sneaked out to 9910 to check out Odario and the homies/collaborators Good Information as well as Skratch Bastid upstairs. I made it back in time to catch Khaled and Ronald put down some VOCALS on stage. With the time change (daylight savings you kick my ass yet again), we now realize it's almost 3:00 AM but my agency friend tells me Toronto-rapper TOBi was throwing a party. Alfred and I take a redbull for the road and decide to check it out. 

In all the frenetic energy, I hear word that Toronto singer (and fellow Filipino) Dylan Sinclair took home awards Juno for both Contemporary and Traditional R&B recording of the year. A good friend of his, I hit up my boss to share the news before the announcement reached overseas. 

Sunday, March 12th: It's fully past 3:00AM now and Alfred and I are pulling up to the club where the party is allegedly going down, with a rough game plan to do a quick drive by to asses if we should go in. We turn the corner, and all we see was an ambulance with it's lights on, and most of the club's attendees outside waiting for their ubers. We take it as a sign from the universe and call it a night. I get home at 4AM and immediately sleep until noon.

After such an eventful night, instead of going to any of the parties/events I decide to go turn my phone off and hang with my god daughter and nephew. As much as the party scene is fun, I'm equally if not more down to spend the night reading Bluey books and playing Spiderman. Make time for family y'all!

Monday, March 13th - The big night is here, I get dressed up in my sharpest dark brown vintage suit, and link up with Sade as she's my plus one for the night. In lieu of any red carpet or press events beforehand, we decide to get a drink and catch up since we rarely get to hang outside of work. We arrive to the awards show fashionably late, with overpriced arena hot dogs in hand. With my work done, I remind myself to take a second to take everything from this weekend in while Jessie Reyez accepts her award. Not going to lie, getting to do this shit with my friends and call it a job is pretty great. The moment is all interrupted by some old white man who is decidedly not with the vibe, and insists on ruining our night. I match his energy with a glance that is part passively-aggressive polite, as well as silently reads "don't fucking look at me". He continues to be silent for the remainder of the show, and Sade and I leave early in search for some pre-after-party food as Nickelback takes the stage.

After the awards show I link up with Alfred yet again as we head to the after party hosted by K-OS and friends. Everyone was dressed up, and the crowd was riding the high from the nights events. Some party highlights included an un-planned performance by and dapping up Canadian rap legend Choclair, complimenting Andrew Phung on his suit, all the while Simiu Liu was next door hosting a private dinner (guess my invite got lost, Shang Chi). Sunday Morning still absolutely slaps and instantly reminded me of Much Music Video high school dances. On the way home, I make a mental note to hit up Fab who was linking K-OS after the weekend to gift him some ICYT while both were still in town.

Once I do get home, the phone again goes on do not disturb and rest and recovery are the only thing on my mind. That, and wondering if Avril texted Tyga ​about the streaker that interrupted her on stage?