“Cats, one dollar hair extensions, fake blood and glitter” – what’s not to love about a series of parties based around these four elements. CHERYL as it’s fondly known, is part art, part fun and absolute craziness. The self-described ‘disco shamans’ behind the monthly Brooklyn parties, have been plugging away for nearly two years on all things deliriously wacky and it’s beginning to pay off.
CHERYL has amassed a cult following of “CHERYLites”, filmed videos at P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center and the Museum of Modern Art (meaning their clips are now officially “art”), and Time Out New York recently crowned them: ” the most stylish New Yorkers.”
Founder Nick Schiarizzi explains the method to the bizarro CHERYL madness and also talks about his new matchmaking side-project known as, ‘Miserable Meatballs’.
In Australia everyone seems to have an aunt called Cheryl. What’s the significance of the name to your parties?
This is a question a lot of people ask us. I guess it all sprang from conversations during which we’d mock Boston accents (I grew up in the Boston area, as did a lot of my New York friends). We’d have conversations in full-Boston accent, and call one another Cheryl (Which in Boston, is pronounced something like Sheh-ruhl, whereas most of the U.S. would say “Share-uhl”) So basically, we thought the name was funny, and representative of that lovable working-class Boston-ness we all grew up with, and when it came time to name our party, I was like let’s call it “CHERYL.”
How did CHERYL come to be in the first place?
In the early summer of 2008, Destiny and Sarah, two of my fellow CHERYLs, were hanging out post-work one night in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and wanted to go dancing, without having to make the haul to Williamsburg. After realizing there were no dance-party options in the general vicinity, they decided a South Brooklyn dance party was needed, and so they sent out an email to a group of our friends, asking who was on board to make this happen. When it came down to the first party actually happening, there were four of us who were behind it.
Who are the four CHERYLs?
Me: Nick Schiarizzi, unemployed but keeping busy
Stina Puotinen, age 26, arts educator
Destiny Pierce, age 34, non profit/arts/event administrator
Sarah Van Buren, age 29, performance/event administrator
CHERYL has its own Wikipedia entry (!) that talks of the events exploring “the feline-human connection.” What is this exactly?
One theme of CHERYL that has been present from the beginning is “cats.” At our first party, we donned cat masks and did a dance routine to “As Good As New” by ABBA. We thought it was funny. People looked confused. But we kept up with the creepy cat mask theme, and people learned to love it. There are really four elements of CHERYL – cats, dollar-store hair extensions, fake blood, and glitter.
The CHERYL videos are so amazing it makes me want to explode with bizarroness/happiness. Can we be in one of them?
Yes, of course! We recently held a public video shoot at P.S.1, and a bunch of people danced in front of green screen for our CHERYLYMPIX video. We had a similar shoot at MoMA last May. We have public video shoots once every few months, and we absolutely encourage people to participate. We try and make CHERYL less about us four and more about everyone just acting insane together and feeling good about it. We call the followers and collaborators of CHERYL the “CHERYLites,” and they are a big part of what we do.
Through CHERYL your project Miserable Meatballs came about. Can you tell us a little about that?
Sure. At a recent party, I wanted to orchestrate some sort of matchmaking activity for all the single people in the crowd. CHERYL draws a mixed gay/straight crowd, and something that I’ve always wanted, in a party environment, is a simple way to tell who is gay or straight, single or taken. We devised a numbered badge system that told partygoers who was single, gay, lesbian, etc., and it was pretty effective. I know at least one pair I matched eventually ended up as f**k buddies. But yeah, through this activity, I realized that people are hungry for new ways to meet other single people. So I created a matchmaking blog.
The whole idea behind the blog is that making yourself visibly single and looking to connect with others, through taking part in internet dating and going out a lot, makes you less attractive to others (especially in New York, where it’s all about appearing self-satisfied and mysterious). The internet has allowed us to connect with people we never would have met otherwise, which is really great, but we’re not using the technology the right way. I think we need to connect with people without showing our faces. That way we retain our desirability factor. So people are sending me emails, asking to enter my pool of single people, and once I get to 50 people in the pool, I’m going to start matchmaking, but it’s all done without the participants seeing who else is participating. There are websites that already do similar things to this, but the idea behind this project is that it’s ultra-anonymous, and it’s an actual person matchmaking you, not some algorithm.
Why do you think that people resort to internet dating in NYC more so than in many other cities?
I’m not sure people necessarily use internet dating more in NYC than in other cities, but I am sure that people looking specifically for serious relationships are using the internet for this purpose more in NYC than in other cities.
NYC is a great place to meet other single people. And New Yorkers are generally pretty attractive. New York is all about nightlife, cultural events, etc. We’re always meeting new people. But it’s rare to meet someone who is looking for a relationship. People come to New York either because they enjoy the insanity of it, or because they want to become rich/famous/successful. Self-promotion and one’s career are priorities for New Yorkers, so it’s no wonder people find it hard to meet others who are looking to settle down, or even date. Because of this, people resort to online dating – they know that that people they see online are single and are ready for a relationship. In other cities, you can go to a party and meet someone who is sane, single, attractive, and ready to commit. The chances of finding this sort of person in New York are slim.
Why do you think no straight dudes have been willing to be a part of Miserable Meatballs so far?
Well, New York is basically full of women and gay guys. The straight guys are mostly in relationships or they’re players. Or they’re insane and ineligible for matchmaking. It’s harder to be a single straight woman in NYC than anywhere else, I think. If you’re an attractive, semi-normal straight guy in New York, you have a girlfriend already.
What do you hope to achieve with this project?
I want to help people meet others with whom they will connect. I want to use the power of the internet to matchmake people without them gaining a reputation as desperate dating-site fixtures. The people who have signed up so far for Miserable Meatballs are all really great, really attractive people. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens.
Where can we visit all your projects on the internet?
cherylwillruinyourlife.info has info on the latest CHERYL parties and events.
cherylvideos.tumblr.com has all the CHERYL videos
miserablemeatballs.tumblr.com is the Miserable Meatballs matchmaking site
