Home Pop Culture Peter Davis: Gossip, scandal and a tasty Yankee burger…

Peter Davis: Gossip, scandal and a tasty Yankee burger…

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Two scoop ice cream sundaes.

Photography by John Wenrich. Peter Davis.

Peter Davis is the modern day equivalent of the nineteenth century French dandy Robert de Montesquiou– flamboyant, erudite, debonair, poised, soaked with elan, well connected and of course from society- or at least so I have been told. That said, after a year of first meeting Mr Davis at a Coalition of the homeless benefit (a cause that he holds dear to his heart) and further running into him at a number of other events and hearing more and more about him I was intrigued enough to actually find out what made the man tick, what inspired him, what visions he held, his thoughts on society, the publishing world and of course to get the scoop on some necessary scandal and gossip.

It’s a little after 3pm on a Thursday afternoon, where after months of finagling on both our ends we finally catch up at the impressive DBGB restaurant– who had been nice enough on this occasion to allow us to be their guests. A cursory regard of the room unfolds colorful characters luxuriating, the scent of God with sage and the visage of a rather handsome man wearing what appears to be a custom made charcoal tuxedo jacket with a mango colored  handkerchief in its lapel.

At first we express pleasantries when suddenly Peter is telling me about a horrid diving experience (my revelation that I was born in Australia elicits memories of the Great Barrier Reef and near death experiences)  he had in some third world nation, and about a shark that wanted to eat him and how he had run out of air. To be sure I am rather impressed and incredibly beguiled and in turn I begin to tell him about my own nearly been eaten by shark experience and the awkwardness of running out of air and sea sickness.

As he is talking, I notice the frenetic energy, the gusto at which Mr Davis places the latest copies of the hard print copies of Avenue magazine into my hands where he is now resident Editor, his mind racing a million miles, his hands choreographing an unseen phalanx of bubbly socialites, his mind caught in between a thought, a gesture, an idea and then another idea and what he hopes to do with the journal and other projects he is also now entertaining. On some subliminal level this man wants to be loved and of course ultimately you do love him- but why you end up loving him isn’t immediately obvious even if you think so…

At last a fine bottle of red arrives (yes us journalists must whet our palette), the tangy crispy calamari (with just the right amount of pesto and allepo chilli thank you very much) followed by a pastiche of tangy, spicy and sweet sausages from the grill- which had both of us and the young John Wenrich our photographer thanking Daniel Boulud and resident Executive chef Jim Leiken with a passion.

At this point Mr Davis begins to tell me that even though he was born on the 12th of December, technically he was born on the 13th, well 12.02, but since everyone thought it was bad luck to be born on the 13th, the doctors had him born on the 12th instead. I am furthermore told that even though he grew on a 14th floor apartment on Park avenue apartment, technically speaking because the building chose to skip a level- he actually grew up on the 13th floor- which has me wondering-for someone who has the number 13 thrusted at him all his life- he’s done all right.

SCV: Tell me about your childhood?

PD: I was the trouble maker. I was the one with the blue punk hair on Park Avenue.

SCV: Indeed. And apart from being a trouble maker how is that you found yourself ensconed in the world of publishing?

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11 COMMENTS

  1. @Jakob, surely you had to realize, assuming you read more than the first few sentences of this article, that its author isn’t from Brooklyn (though me may currently live there). Have a look at paragraph 3, where he mentions quite clearly that he’s Australian. So, it would stand reason, his writing bears that inflection.

    Just because someone chooses to break from the standardized gossip blog form norm of ‘Short. Choppy. Sentences.’ doesn’t mean, ipso facto, that they’re pretentious.

    But besides that, even if you disagree with the author’s writing style, we can both be assured that you’ll remember it. Which, I’d submit to your holier-than-thou judgment, is kind of the point of it.

    @Chris London, while I agree that this piece certainly portrays Peter in a very good light, I also don’t necessarily see what’s wrong with that. Surely we’re not to believe that we’re always obliged to write borderline insulting articles about subjects we’re profiling, simply because we belong to that nefarious breed of writer known only as the ‘gossip blogger.’

    As a blogger myself, I should like to think that portraying a subject positively remains well within my editorial discretion — without my article’s journalistic validity and its conclusions being attacked with a circumstantial ad hominem.

  2. Im also 100% in Love with living in BK.
    HIpster pride!!

    Thanks for reading the article everyone!

  3. Unfortunately For Jakob I have got nothing but Love From Peter regarding my photos. He told me personally he loved them and appreciated how good he looked in them.

    As for being Fired… hahaha

  4. Johnny- according to Jakob you are now officially fired darling.- The Editor…

    ps- you better not be from Brooklyn!- Our reputation depends on it…

  5. as the above poster said, your writing reeks of feces. honestly, truly, terrible.

    it’s pretentious and vapid.

    you are from brooklyn you ghastly man, have you no pride? kill that pretension and exaggerated, poncy, wordplay and maybe just maybe you could write for some teen publication or something.

  6. Unbelievable is a jealous boy that is in need of drastic attention!!!!! Great article and Peter is fabulous!

  7. To the “Unbelievable” poster (i.e., douche) above, you need to read more or maybe not actually, I could point you to some fashion and celebrity worship blogs which are among the most poorly written crap that I have seen outside a bathroom at a gas station on I-95. And I am talking ones so bad and odorous that not even George Michael would cruise them if they were filled with 22 year old buff well endowed male porno stars. I am telling you. For example, go read http://www.micahjesse.com but not without a barf bag or toilet paper.

    The foregoing being said, while i would happily share a burger with either Peter Davis or Christopher Koulouris, I was left with the rather perplexing thought after reading this piece of social journalism whether when you give another stylish social journalist what amounts to head what is proper etiquette? Do you do it standing up, kneeling or seated?

    And if you are a blog publisher trolling about the city scape at odd hours, writing at even stranger hours, do you do take a break from your hectic schedule, get a haircut, shave and otherwise clean up, dress nicely for Mr. Davis?

    Do you put on lipstick like Malik So Freak. After all Peter is a good looking, well styled dude about town so I am sure before you dropped, metaphorically speaking, I hope that you shaved and had your Sunday best on.

  8. yo unbelievable. what are u 9yr old? sounds like some childhood best friend envy to me.
    waaaaa
    get a life,

  9. You are without a doubt, one of the worst writers on the internet today. I can’t believe Peter even let you “interview” him.

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