Dangerous Minds

Muse Men: Mike Furey and Tom Napack

The boys of the two-man band Dangerous Muse must be doing something right. For a couple of young guys new to the music biz (and, yes, they are pretty darn attractive) they’ve scored copious amounts of press coverage (gay and otherwise) touting them as a hot, up-and-coming, foxy electro-pop duo. They made the cover of The Advocate back in April, when pretty much nobody hardly knew who they were. That would make for a quite a coming out party, except that when it comes to “coming out” literally, the guys—Mike Furey and Tom Napack—aren’t so easy to define. Or simply, they don’t define themselves. They’re not gay or straight—or they’re both. They seem to embrace a wide, uncertain stance on their sexuality, which apparently keeps them open to mess around with whoever they want. (Not a bad concept, really). And of course, this doesn’t hurt to get them attention, either.

But their music helps, too. Their first single “The Rejection” is a pretty irresistible, thumpy, driving electro-pop gem about a boy who’s got to tell a girl that he’s just not that into her. He’d rather dance… And it seems the perfect intro (beat-wise and philosophy-wise) into the Dangerous Muse world.

The boys stopped by the Logo offices recently, and I chatted them up to find out how success and gay media attention is treating them so far. Meanwhile, they're working to finish writing songs for their first album, and they'll have new remixes of "The Rejection" on a digital EP on July 4th. Another digital EP with new songs should be out in September-ish. Check iTunes for those. They’ve also got a video for “The Rejection” that you’ll be seeing soon on Logo's NewNowNext Music series. And they’re going to appear being interviewed on-air on the show, too.

If you're in Chicago for the Gay Games on July 19th, you can catch the guys performing at the PINK Magazine party at Club Circuit. And bonus: They'll be rocking with a full band. No singing to tracks, thanks!

Anyway… Here’s what Tom and Mike had to say about the buzz around them, their iffy take on sexuality, making videos and posing for magazine shoots (they’re in the next issue of Flaunt; pics are below) and Gay Pride.


It seems like things have taken off pretty well. What has that been like?
Mike: Well exactly, we just started for fun… We didn’t expect anything to happen. [To Tom] Did you expect anything at all?
Tom: No. I’ve been doing electronic music since high school, but that was just always by myself…
M: And I was writing piano music; you know, classical stuff—and songs for shows and plays. But I was always interested in electronic music, but I never had the technical capability to make my music electronic. So basically Tom and I came together, he had the electronic side, I had the piano side, whatever you wanna call it…
T: And we wrote our single, “The Rejection,” and we played it for someone. Our friends liked it. And immediately people started to take note, and suddenly we hear that Seymour Stein (who founded Sire records) liked it, and that was like, “Wow! Someone of importance actually likes what we’re doing.” I think it took us a little while to get over that.
M: What’s crazy is that as fast as it may seem to have happened for others, it doesn’t seem like its been fast to us because we’ve been working our asses off for a while to get this music out. And the steps may have happened in a fast way, but that’s just because we worked so hard. I think that’s the difference between a band that is successful sooner and a band that is successful later; your ability to take the extra steps to make personal connections with your friends, and do stuff like answering every single message that you get on MySpace—all of that.





The way you guys choose to define (or not define) your sexuality has gotten a lot of attention. In The Advocate, you all said you were “supersexual…” and that you “don’t think of people as gay or straight or bi…” but proscribe to a more fluid take on sexuality. That’s had people trying to figure out if you’re a gay band or not, or whatever. Has the response to that issue been surprising for you?
M: I love it
T: It’s cool. Though people have actually attacked us…Someone wrote us a letter – a scathing letter – saying that we were cashing in on gay culture. And we’re like—that’s ridiculous! We’re just a band that’s trying to create their own terms. We could take the easy way out and say we’re gay—or that we’re straight. But it’s harder because what we’re doing is telling people the truth.
M: We’re just bringing an issue to light, which it’s about of blurring ideas, not wanting to define yourself as something. It’s about ambisexuality, I think that fits for a lot of people.





So you’d rather choose not to define yourself, to keep it open.
T: Well we’ve been trying to create new terms...
M: It’s always a hard thing when we try to get into it. We’re trying to create new words like “ambisexual” to describe what it is that we’re talking about.
T: Clearly it is an “out” thing, but it takes some getting used to because some people are not kosher to this idea, especially a lot people who are older than us. They don’t understand that this is a new thing that’s happening.

Moving along... You have the big Flaunt magazine shoot that’s coming out. What’s that going to look like?
T: It’s so awesome. We’re not really sure which shots Flaunt chose but we had a shoot with Dah Len. He’s an amazing conceptual photographer, so the shots are very artistic. We did, like, seven set ups. We were there all day long it was like a 17-hour shoot.
M: Seventeen hours is a lot.

Yikes.
T: But it was fun, but my whole body was quivering the next day, because I never realized but it actually is hard work posing for that long.
M: One of the really fun ones was we were running down this street a nice cobblestone street with this sort of skyline in the background and we had a bunch of our friends chasing us with these big, towering American flag. It’s blowing and the sun was coming through the flag. And we did a really great shot, that was kind of like “the death of rock n roll.” It was like a pieta. I was Christ-like, laying across this guy and I wasn’t wearing anything but a maroon sash or loincloth thing. And instead of being held by Mary, I was being held by like this shirtless, straight tattooed dude.
T: And his tattoo said “Et tu, Brute…”
M: It’s so awesome.

Images of Dangerous Muse from the upcoming issue of Flaunt. Photos by Dah Len.

DM gettin' chased.

The pieta shot.

Dude. Mike's, like, naked and stuff. Nice pooch, though.


And the forthcoming video for “The Rejection,” can you just give me a quick synopsis of what that’s gonna be?
M: The video is in two parts. The first part’s the performance footage of Tom and me just performing in front of a black backdrop. And the other half is a narrative. And in that, a guy hits on a girl who rejects him, and then that girls hits on a girl who rejects her, and then that girl—basically it’s like this series of cyclical rejections. And basically everyone who rejects then gets rejected. So a guy hits on a girl in class and she rejects him because she is checking out another girl in class, and then that girl is really in love with this guy, who is in the cafeteria. So she goes to him, and then he rejects her, and then he’s checking out guys in the lockers room.
T: The video has kind of the ambisexual thing, too.

Mike, there’s clip from the video on YouTube of you getting slapped in the face a bunch of times. It’s kind of hilarious.
M: Yeah, that did make it to the video. It’s in there at the end.

The boys at the recent GENRE Magazine Pride Party. Cute! Photo by Kevin Tachman.


I know you guys are DJ-ing now and then, like at the GENRE Magazine Pride party last week in NYC. What are you guys spinning these days?
M: I play a lot of new wave and industrial; and we play more modern stuff, too.
T: I have a lot of industrial
M: I have a lot of new modern stuff on my iPod; like the DJ collective called 2 Many DJ’s—they’re great. They’re actually who I’m really feeling now. And we’re also going to be playing the Gay Games in Chicago on July 19th.

Finally… Gay Pride season has just come and gone for most of us. Is Pride like a tired concept? I think sometimes people can feel that some aspects of Gay Pride can be kind of creaky or just cliché…
T: No, it’s awesome.
M: Yeah, I think that gay pride is very pivotal and very important. It definitely allows for people to demonstrate their pride and who they are, and that’s awesome. You need to have Gay Pride if you want stuff to change. It’s about visibility; that’s the most important thing.

Dangerous Muse's Tom and Mike visiting Logo world headquarters in NYC. Gotcha!

Happy 4th of July, y'all!

Gay Games Profile: Having a Ballroom

Dancin', dancin', dancin'! They're dancin' machines!!!


The Gay Games, which kick off in Chicago next month on July 15th aren’t only for sporty folks participating in those events one traditionally thinks of—like basketball, soccer, softball, track and field… There for all manner of skilled and talented artists. Take, for example Soren Kruse & Bradley Stauffer who are the U.K. Ballroom champs and will be traveling from London to go for the gay DanceSport/Ballroom Dancing gold in the Windy City. This smart and charming pair (They’re a couple! Yay!) are the real deal. They’ve been dancing for seven years, they compete in tournaments all over the planet, and back in their current homeland of England, they were the subject of a British TV documentary about the same-sex ballroom circuit. And when they planned their wedding last December it was written up in the London newspaper, The Guardian. Fancy!

Kruse is from Germany, Stauffer is American, and they live in London, so the two are a perfect representation of the global appeal of the Gay Games. And they’re perhaps just about the most debonaire participants traveling to the Games. So, I quizzed them about their big trip ahead (And yes, the fabulous third person tone they responded in is their own. Fierce!). And they used terms like “versatile” and “back-lead” and “top lines.” Oh my…

Names: Soren Kruse & Bradley Stauffer
Ages: Both 34
Where you live: London
Occupations: Psychologist and Theatrical Producer



That's Bradley on the left. Soren's taking the lead!


What sport will you be competing in during the Gay Games?
DanceSport/Men's Ballroom (Standard)

How did you get started dancing? How long have you been dancing?
Soren originally trained in modern dance in New York and Bradley studied theatre dance in New York. Ballroom has always been a closet interest of Bradley's and he came out as a social dancer shortly after moving to London when he realized that he was in the worldwide home of ballroom dancing and couldn't hide his feelings any longer. Soren said it was stupid and that he wasn't interested. Eventually he came along to a social dance and changed his mind very quickly.

Who leads and who follows? And how did you decide that?
Soren leads and Bradley follows. We started the other way around which matches our real personalities better, but our coaches quickly told us that with Soren being taller he would have to lead to make the partnership look right at the competitive level. Of course most high level dancers can both lead and follow (“versatile”) as it helps to know both sides of the dance. Bradley often can't resist the temptation to “back lead.”






As dancers, what are your strengths—and your weaknesses?
Our strengths are that we are the top ranked UK male ballroom couple. Our weakness is that the Germans and Dutch are better. At the moment we are working on stronger top lines and connecting them to our middle/centre. We train with the UK's top coaches and they push us very hard to create more scope to our movement.

Are ballroom dancing pairs very competitive with each other? Is it cutthroat and bitchy?
No, we all love each other... This is too small a world to be competitive. After all, it is only ballroom dancing! One of our great coaches used to say that you should only compete with yourself. That said... There is only one gold medal and we will all go for it.

Have you danced together at a non-gay event, and has there ever been any harassment about this?
We often do. We have danced throughout Europe and the US and have been made to feel welcome wherever we have danced. When you have the courage and integrity to stand on a dance floor with your partner people are generally impressed—and if you can dance they are really impressed. The closest we ever came to harassment was a dance at the Royal Opera House where Bradley danced with a woman who asked him why he had been dancing with a "fella" all afternoon. When he explained that he was dancing with his partner she said "a fella ought to dance with a lady" to which he replied "I thought I was" and left her at the next corner.

What's your earliest memory of dancing—or enjoying dance?
Bradley, age 4, to a song called "I'm a little teapot short and stout." Every dance should be full of enjoyment, why else?





Tell me about an athlete/dancer youv'e had a crush on? And how did that turn out?
Damian Woetzel from NYC ballet. Bradley still has a signed photograph of him!

And seriously, which one of you is the better dancer?
There is a tradition in ballroom which says that the gentleman is always right and the lady simply follows, no matter how wrong he gets it. Bradley therefore cannot comment. Soren would agree it is Bradley.

What do you think is the biggest value of an event like the Gay Games?
Participation. It takes great courage and dedication to follow your dreams, whatever you aspire to achieve at the Gay Games.



Look how the crowds turn out for the DanceSport! Japan loves Ballroom Dancing!

For more about the Gay Games VII 2006 in Chicago, head to the Gay Games site. Enjoy!

Gay Games Gets Sirius

This little radio unit's gonna get gay--and sporty--next month!

Sirius Radio, those clever folks who snagged Howard Stern to a zillion-dollar contract and who have Martha Stewart gabbing via satellite about collecting milk glass and creating table-top place cards out of leaves from your yard, have another score on their hands. They're going to be broadcasting the Gay Games next month from Chicago! Play ball, folks!

Cool! You'll be able to hear about Gay Games winners, like these nice water polo women, on Sirius Radio. Photo by Tom Bianchi (really).

Yes, Sirius OutQ, the radio network's gay channel, has announced plans to be the exclusive radio outlet for the Games, broacasting live from the splashy Opening Ceremonies (on July 15, and featuring celebs like Andy Bell, Esera Tuaolo, Margaret Cho and Heather Small, plus lots more) as well as coverage from the sporty, artsy events all week long! The Sirius on-air hosts will provide color commentary (rainbow-hued, I'd think) and behind-the-scenes dish as well!

Cute! I remember always being stuck in the car as a kid, while my dad listened to baseball games. Now, I'm imagining lesbian soccer moms zipping about in Subarus tuning into the Gay Games softball stats. Talk about progress!

Start Spreading the News...

HEY, IT MUST STILL BE GAY PRIDE WEEK!!!!

This just in: Liza's gonna sing "New York, New York" during the big NBC broadcast of the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular this coming Tuesday. Ms. Minnelli will join other showbiz types like Nick Lachey, Lionel Richie and Bo Bice (ugh) for the big hour-long American love-in. The red, white and blue (and pink!) madness airs on Tuesday, from 9pm-10pm EST.

Yes, America and the 4th of July just turned a bit more gay!
Put that in your Roman candle--and stand back!

Logo + iTunes = Your Gay iPod!

Okay, your iPod is probably pretty gay already... I know you've got every Kylie bootleg ever created, Scissor Sisters vs. George Michael mash-ups, the Wicked original cast recording, Morrissey, some mopey Janis Ian, Chic and Donna Summer, and about 1,000 Deborah Cox remixes (Go Thunderpuss!). And yes, I know you're also got Metallica, Fugazi, Tool and Rage Against the Machine on there, too. You're cool and dark and edgy, too.

But as of today, you can make room for Noah's Arc, U.S. of ANT, and the gay stand-up comedy series Wisecrack, fierce Real Momentum documentaries (like the lesbian surfers of Curl Girls, and the Castro-enduring men of The Two Cubas), and The Ride. That's because iTunes is now offering Logo's original series for sale/download! Yep, iTunes is gay! And you can download Logo shows for just pennies a serving (well, $1.99 per episode). Sweet right?

Coming soon down the road, as in later this summer (end of July) iTunes will also offer all the shenanigans and drama of Tyler and the gang on Open Bar for you to relive, and in September, the moving and kickass real-life tales of Coming Out Stories will hit the iTunes shelves.

Today also sees lots of other MTV Networks shows and stuff hit iTunes, like Spike TV's Blade: The Series, MTV's Viva La Bam, The N's Beyond the Break (more surfers!) and stuff from TV Land and Nick at Nite.

Whatever... Adding Spike's aggressive Disorderly Conduct cop series is not gonna butch up your iPod. Once you've got ANT on there, as well as those 14 remixes of "Toxic," your little Apple buddy is irreversibly gay. As it should be!

Buzz Bits: Jackass, Sleater-Kinney, Star vs. Barbara -- And More!

JACKASSES, STILL!
Yes, these two are at it again. The arrival of the movie Jackass: Number Two is looming. And the trailer is up online. Expect more naked guys running around, more foxy Johnny Knoxville, more juvenile gross-out depravity, and more leopard thongs. It’s testosterone gone wrong. But in a fun way.

A STAR IS GONE
Star Jones just can’t win. She bows out of The View, then goes on record claiming that she was canned. And then all the fussy papers trash it up further. And today, she wasn't on at all and Barbara Walters says she's history. Mercy! Is it wrong that we’re a little disappointed to not get to see Ms. Jones and Rosie go at it when Ms. O’Donnell joins the show this fall… I feel robbed.

LIZ SMITH LOVES MADONNA. MADONNA LOVES NEW YORK.
In over diva-related news, Liz Smith chats up Madonna today in the New York Post, as the Confessions Tour barges into New York City tonight. Here's some of what Madge had to say...

On New York: "I am always happy to be back here, because, as I've often said, this is where it began and I still consider New York home. I didn't leave Michigan and go to Hollywood. I came to New York, which was the center of the world to me then. My connection to this city and its people will always be very strong."

On her ego and insecurites: “Having a spiritual life has forced me to be less selfish. Not that I'm serene by any means. I'm still driven by big fat ego and all my insecurities, but I manage better.”

On plastic surgery: "...when and if I ever decide to have plastic surgery - because I know that's the next question - I'll do it. But I won't be holding a press conference."

Read the rest here!

SLEATER-KINNEY: R.I.P.
In bummer-inspiring news, the all-female trio of rock brilliance known as Sleater-Kinney are calling it a day. A new statement on their website says it’s been awesome, but they’re gonna wrap it up after they finish their current tour.

The band says: “…mostly we want to extend our gratitude to our amazing fans. You have been a part of our story from the beginning. We could not have made our music without your enthusiasm, passion, and loyalty. It is you who have made the entire journey worthwhile.”

Wanna catch them? There are only five more shows…

GAY SOLIDERS GETTING HITCHED IN SPAIN!
Always dreamed of marrying a gay Spanish soldier. Well you won’t be the first. Two military men in Seville are gonna tie the knot later this summer. And they army said they can wear their uniforms. Awwwww…

BRITNEY BARES ALL...
Mrs. Federline is all preggers and naked on the cover of Bazaar. For real. Check out more (with pics!!!!) here.




GAY BROTHER SAYS "NO" TO STRAIGHT WEDDING!
Dear Abby deals with a reader who’s fussing because his gay brother won’t be his best man. The gay bro is over all this straight marriage stuff! And Abby—naturally—understands. Classic!

COURTNEY + BILLY = ???
Billy Corgan has moved in with Courtney Love. Ostensibly, to collaborate further on Love’s next album. And that’s not new news… The two have worked together for years, a pairing which traditionally wields pretty good results. Let’s hope this works. I’d love to have a scorchingly good Courtney album out this fall.




HATE DON'T SELL
And in a breath of fresh air, ad execs realize homophobia doesn’t sell… Rather the opposite, I’d think!

BOY GEORGE CLEANS UP. RELUCTANTLY.
So Boy George has to perform community service in NYC thanks to his drug-related arrest last year. And then he crabs about it. He’d rather throw a concert than pick up trash… We understand, but you gotta do what the judge says you gotta do. And amusingly, the Santitation Dept. is eager to welcome George with open arms. Hurrah!

Music Buzz Bits: Current Affairs

She's having an "Affair." And it sounds like Madonna.

Pop stars are having “Affairs” all over the place! Sort of… Jessica Simpson’s new single, “A Public Affair” is getting streamed all over. And folks are dishing about whether it’s a knock-off of Madonna’s “Holiday,” or a cutesy tribute. Either way it’s bouncy.





He's having an "Affair," too. And it's a really gay one. Yahoo!


Meanwhile, George Michael is having “An Easier Affair” with his latest single (available on iTunes), which, is pretty solid. (The video debuts in the U.K. on Channel 4 at 11pm tonight, London time.) The tune is chill and mature, and boasts an nice groove and totally “out” lyrics, which seem to indicate, his couple of freaky driving/messy episodes of the last few months aside, that George is feeling pretty together these days. You can get a listen via ArjanWrites, and you’ll hear lyrics like “I told myself I was straight / But I shouldn’t have worried / Because my maker had a better plan for me / Now I’m dancing with the freaks now / I’m having so much fun…”

While you’re hanging with Arjan you can also check his fresh pics of the Killers (promo stuff for their forthcoming tunes this fall), and a throbbing new track from the London-based duo Formatic and their new single “State Of Play.” It’s electro-buzzy and makes you wanna jump around.





This Janet pic dates from a few years back. Check the headgear!

Miss Jackson (yes, Janet) has a collaboration with Nelly out, too. “Call On Me” brings to mind the Nelly/Kelly Rowland confab “Dilemma” in its light and flirty vibe. Janet’s singing up in her high register, and I kind of prefer when she gets a little less breathy and gets more visceral in her tunes (“Black Cat” anyone? Meow!), but this tune could be perfect for a sunny summer drive. And I just always wanna see Janet do well… She was Penny on Good Times, after all. Show some love!





Sing out, Chris! You've got a new album out!

Dashboard Confessional and sensitive hottie Chris Carrabba is back with a new disc and single, out today. The album's called Dusk and Summer, and its what you’d expect: A big epic, here’s-my-bleeding-heart-on-a-platter-for-you-to-chomp-on, summer-skies and howling emotions… It’s called “Don't Wait” and it’s all that. Back in the day, I was the biggest fan of the Dashboard classics like "Screaming Infidelities" and “Hands Down.” Now, I’m a little more jaded, but if you’re a fan, you’ll find yourself happily, loyally shouting out these lyrics when you catch Chris and pals on their summer tour.

And the independent, brassy, brainy and infinitely soulful India.Arie is back with new tunes on Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationships, which is out today. It’s contemplative and beautifully melodic. The album opens with the poetically and sparse album opener “Intro: Loving,” then segues into a sultry, salty, rapturous groove, “These Eyes,” that wraps you in its articulate, plaintive lover’s lament. “I will accept nothing less than your complete respect / If you cannot give me that then maybe I should step,” says Arie. Trust! She goes on: “Truth is / Every relationship is a lesson / I saw it coming but it hurts anyway.” Yes, indeed. She even makes a cover of Don Henley’s “The Heart of the Matter,” breathe with a new authenticity and an uplifting soulfulness.

The first single, “I Am Not My Hair,” is another empowering, positive, funky and upright tale of seizing one’s identity. “I am not my hair / I am not this skin / I am not your expectation.” Check out the remixes on Ms. Arie's MySpace page. Sweet!





Owen Pallett, giving us Robin Hood meets Beyond Thunderdome. Pic by Davida Nemeroff.

And continuing on the intelligence-in-music tip, Final Fantasy is the project which features violinist Owen Pallett who combines his virtuoso musicianship with a gift for whacked out theatrics and primally buzzworthy rock/pop. Final Fantasy has a new release out called He Poos Clouds (For real! Ha!), and it’s initial single, “Many Lives 49 MP” is an arch and melodic concoction of official-sounding, clippy violin gorgeousness, looped over with rowdy shout-outs and testy vocals. Really cool stuff. Owen just did a gig in NYC this past weekend, which Brooklyn Vegan has pics and dish about it. This one’s worth seeking out. Owen (and Final Fantasy) are currently touring around the Midwest, then it’s off to Canada and Europe in mid-July. Catch him if you can.

And fans of neo-soul and singin’ sister N’Dea Davenport will be happy to know that she’s reunited with her British pals, The Brand New Heavies, to turn out the vocals on their new disc, Get Used To It, which comes out today. The whole disc has a funky live jam quality to it, and their first single, “I Don’t Know Why (I Love You)” is a solid cover of the 1971 Stevie Wonder gem. The whole album is a like a foxy summer block party on the stoop. They're touring all over the U.S. this summer, too. Or just bust out some tall boys (or some lemonade, if you prefer) in the back yard and groove!

Proud All Over

New York, New York: If you can dye your beard and poodle there, you can dye your beard and poodle anywhere...


Gay Pride raged on in city's all across the U.S. (and in Canada) this past weekend. New York's was a bit cloudy and soggy, but politicos like Senators Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer and Mayor Mike Bloomberg still made the parade. As did clubland superstar/singer Kevin Aviance, bouncing back after his recent gay bashing attack to make the parade!

In Atlanta it rained buckets, but in San Francisco skies were sunny. Toronto was thumping and Chicago turned it out, too. And in Detroit and Columbus the sun shone as well. Better yet, you can pop over to Queerty to catch some fun slide shows and video clips from parades from all over.

Here are a few pics from NYC!

Gay cops rule!

Just a simple NYC street scene...

NY Senator Chuck Schumer waves for the gays.

If the sun's not shining, you improvise...

Kiss me, it's Pride!


And now that all that Pride-ful celebrating's been taken care of, now we can focus on next weekend's holiday festivities... So, who's having a BBQ?

Madonna's Best Video Ever...?

Which Madonna clip will end up in the winner's circle? Get those flowers ready!

After thousands of votes have poured in, after weeks of serious deliberation, and after hour upon hour of wondering how the hell “This Used to Be My Playground” even made it into the top 30, Madonna fans/Logo viewers have spoken! And this weekend (tomorrow, Saturday, June 24th at 8pm) the results of your voting will be made known. That’s when Logo airs The Click List: Ultimate Madonna! Yes, the network will air the videos from Madge when made the top ten, all leading up to the unveiling of the video that you all have voted as Madonna’s best video ever!!!


Wanna know what won? Tune in, child! Did “Borderline” push through? Did viewers find “La Isla Bonita” muy bueno? Did “Music” truly make the people come together? Or did “Vogue” sashay its way to the top? And who knows, maybe “Hung Up” worked its little pink leotard magic?


Head to LogoOnline and watch all the clips and decide for yourself which is Maddie’s all-time best.


Think any of these made the top of the list? I'm not tellin'...




















Happy Pride Weekend!

Loving Complete Strangers

Jerri Blank has a new "box set" coming out. Don't be afraid.

"V - I - C - T - O - R- Y!!! What does that spell???"

"Fandango...?"


Do you get teary-eyed and soft inside remembering moments such as this? When someone mentions "Good Time Island" do feel the need to hop on a school bus and shout, "I'm gonna get laid!" Are a you fan of "the pole and the hole?"

If you've answered yes to any of the above questions, then you're going to be very excited to know that on Tuesday, June 27th (that's next week!) will see the release of Strangers With Candy: The Complete Series on DVD. Yes, you can expect six discs of amazing, wrong-minded, hilarious comedy presented by Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert, Paul Dinello and the rest of the Strangers band of demented comedic loons.

By now, most pop culture-addicted gays are big fans of the series, which tells the tale of the 40-something Jerri Blank who, after a life of doing drugs and turning tricks, returns to high school to put her life back together. The show is rude, politically incorrect and brilliant. It pokes fun of gay people while simultaneously celebrating us and including us in on the joke. So, yay!

On this new DVD, you can watch the initial pilot episode that's never aired. You can also check out deleted scenes, a dance sequence compilation, Interviews with characters Principal Blackman, Jerri Blank, Geoffrey Jellineck, Chuck Noblet—and Amy Sedaris. And more, more, more…

Also, the whole DVD set is bound in a totally hot Trapper Keeper-looking package.
Too cool for school, indeed.

J-Lo Gets Proud!

This could be your view if J-Lo joins the madness in NYC on Gay Pride Sunday. Bootylicious!!!


Attention New Yorkers! This Sunday is Gay Pride Day, during which you'll have the opportunity to watch thousands of out and proud folks parading down Fifth Avenue and Christopher Street celebrating our right to be the big fantastic LGBT folks that we are. Yay for that!

Joining the merry marchers this year: Jennifer Lopez! For real! Well, maybe... Our big gay gossipy godmother, Liz Smith, reports today that J-Lo is planning to participate in Sunday's big parade. Word has it a close stylist friend of Jen's is getting the word out that the former Fly Girl is tickled pink at the prospect of parading with the gays. And Liz even says that Jenny from the Block will perform on Sunday, too. Does that mean in the parade? On a float? At the Pier Dance? At the big lesbian street party down by Henrietta Hudson's? Why not?

Hey, stranger things have happened. La Lopez did perform at the White Party in Palm Springs a few years back. And she's always been pretty open to gay press. And yes, naturally, all her best boy-pals are gay. Helleaux!

And hey, if Gay Day's been good enough for pop-up performances by Whitney and Janet in the past, why not some J-Lo love... We'll find out Sunday either way.

See you Sunday, Jen!

The Devil Wears Prada. And You Can, Too!

Don’t get me wrong. I love X-Men and Superman and all of those otherworldly super-human types as much as anybody. Who doesn’t like hot bodies in tights (or bodypaint a la Rebecca Romijn)? But movie-wise, I’m way more excited about the impending arrival of the dishy you-go-girl moviefest that’s gonna be The Devil Wears Prada (out June 30th!). As best as I can tell, this is gonna be the best workplace-is-hell tale of female empowerment since 9 to 5.





And since I’ve been known to toil at gay magazines before (I guess my version of this story would be called “The Devil Wears International Male”—which frankly sounds much scarier!), I’m eager to see how the loopy magazine world gets depicted. But mainly, I’m beyond stoked to watch a silver-haired Meryl Streep tear up the screen. Meow!





Also in the flick is Stanley Tucci, who’s always great to watch. And he’s playing a big gay creative director type. And yes, Simon Doonan was considered for the role, but not cast—so he’s been all fussy about that. But Tucci’s an actor and Doonan’s not, so that makes sense to me.





And poor Anne Hathaway. First she gets married to a big homo in Brokeback Mountain and now she gets tormented by fashionistas in Devil. Still, it could be worse… She could be Emmy Rossum and have gotten stuck in Phantom of the Opera and Poseidon, right?


If you haven't seen it yet, go here to check out the Prada trailer. Go here and here to read about how Anna Wintour (about whom Lauren Weisberger’s novel, the source for all this media frenzy, was supposed to have been written) actually attended a screening recently and didn’t rip anyone’s head off. And you can go here to read about how Anne Hathaway evidently hasn’t been black-balled from every fashion mag (even the Conde Nast ones) as a result of her role in the film.


But best of all, you can go here to check out the Devil Wears Prada page on LogoOnline, where you can enter a contest wherein you can win a $1,000 shopping spree at Prada. Sweet!





But if you do win... Please remember to be kind to your assistant.

Superman Lands in L.A.

Last night Superman Returns had its premiere in L.A. So far the flick has been getting pretty good reviews… You can see for yourself (and you can judge how gay it really is) when it hits theaters on June 28th. And then you can decide how gay it really is, too.

Until then you can check out the pics from the premiere right here…

Brandon Routh: Clark Kent or car salesman? Couldn’t somebody have dressed him to look even a little sexy? Sure, Superman’s pretty white-bread and clean-cut and all… But, God give us something foxy, please!



The gang’s all here. Can you find the out gay guy in this pic? [Yes, it’s director Bryan Singer on the far right. He’s the one next to Kevin Spacey.]

Is Shaq in this movie? Who cares. He’s got one of the best smiles, like, anywhere.



OMG! Look it’s that other old Superman, Dean Cain. Ummm… Yay?



Okaaaay… Frank Langella was Dracula back in the day. Guess he still likes to suck face. This just looks odd.



Hey, Pacey came to the premiere! Maybe Dawson got a job on the film? Whatevs. Joshua Jackson looks a little wasted here. But still kinda good. Or is just me?



Here’s the reason I wanna see this movie, right here. Parker Posey playing Lex Luthor’s girlfriend, Kitty Kowalski. (That’s a lot of alliteration, eh?) She rules. Always.



This woman is Noel Neill. She was the original Lois Lane in 1948’s The Adventures of Superman. She’s got a small role in this movie. And she looks totally fun. I wanna hang out with her!



Ms. Bosworth looks pretty and all. But darn skinny. Have some dessert, Lois!



Speaking of eating, Brandon Routh appears ready to take a chomp out of screen legend Eva Marie Saint. Did you ever see North By Northwest. She kicks ass in that movie. And she was Maddie’s mom on Moonlighting! So there.



Orlando Bloom came with his honey, Lois Lane. He’s all dreamy-looking and stuff.



Bryan Singer’s X-Men gal Anna Pacquin turned up. She’s kooky and kinda chic. Go Rogue!



This cute dude is Gregory Smith. He’s that kid from Everwood! Awwww…



Reagan Gomez-Preston is in lots of TV stuff. And she show us how cute little white shorts are hot. Yes!



This chick is Phoebe Price. She’s a model/actress. She’s kind of alarming-looking. Or maybe she’s a superhero. I’m not sure, really.



James Marsden is in all of Bryan Singer’s movies. Or lots of them.



Stephan Bender plays the 15-year-old Clark Kent in the movie. But he’s actually 17. That’s acting!



Peta Wilson plays somebody named Bobby-Faye in Superman Returns. And she’s the TV La Femme Nikita woman. And while, I’m a guy who totally likes guys… She’s kinda hot.



Kristin Bell/Veronica Mars. Wassup?



Kate Bosworth was nice and signed autographs and posed for fan pics. Look at ’em all grabbing at her. Crazy!



And again, Mr. Routh. Lookin’ kinda stiff and dorky. Don’t-cha just wanna mess up his hair, and stuff?



And finally, Roseanne came out for the show. Why the f*ck not? Go Rosie!

See y’all on Krypton.

News From All Over

Um... You can change this poster now. Kylie's tour is back on!

Hurrah! Kylie’s back. The post-cancer pop diva has announced plans to resume her previously canceled tour. The showgirl must go on! Gay Aussies rejoice! Now will, she just bring the show stateside already?

Where’s the next hotspot to tie the gay knot? Key West? P’town? Northampton? Ummm… No. How about Edinburgh? Yep, the Scots are wedding mad! Who knew?

Meanwhile, your gay wedding party might have a tougher time of it in Dublin. Watch your backs, mates!

And the gays are so popular in Seattle that they’re having two Pride parades this weekend.

In Chicago, a woman decided to torch the gay books in the library. Insert your own “flaming” joke here, please.

That kind of arson won’t be happening in San Diego. That’s because they’re getting a lesbian fire chief. Hot!

In Russia, a gay rights activist has decided to sue President Vladimir Putin for not protecting his constitutional rights. And the activist—he’s not even gay. Work.

And gays looking for answers about getting’ it on in Nampa, Idaho can breathe easy. The town library will indeed keep The Joy of Gay Sex on its shelves.




And finally...

Way to go, Pats! Ab Fab’s Joanna Lumley received an honorary degree at St. Andrews University in Scotland today. She’s “thrilled to bits.” God, I love this woman…

"Cheers. Thanks a lot."

More New Music Buzz

Ms. Knowles is feelin' good. And she wants the girls to back her up, y'all.

Maybe Beyonce should have been a Spice Girl. I’m saying that ’cuz she’s evidently all about “Girl Power.” Yes, for her tour coming later this year to support her forthcoming album B-Day, the Dreamgirls star insisted on hiring an all-girl band to back her up. Hot! (Listen to the first single, "Deja Vu," here.)

Jermaine Dupri is gonna put together a duet between...

this woman and...

...this woman. Yay! Read on...

In other scorching news, it looks like that music-producer/boyfriend-of-Janet Jackson, Jermaine Dupri, is hoping to put together a duet between Janet and Mariah Carey (Dupri produced The Emancipation of Mimi and will tour some with Carey later this summer)! What the song’s gonna be, Dupri’s not sure yet. But it’s planned to appear on Janet’s new record, 20 Years Old, due this fall. Even the notion of a Damita Jo/Mimi confab has me absolutely giddy with anticipation. Yes, giddy.

It's Feist! And she says it's "Open Season."

And in other female-related music news, Feist, the brilliant indie-pop artist who’s solo debut, Let It Die, was one of 2005’s best records, is gonna release what’s-sure-to-be a totally fun album of rare remixes, acoustic tracks, demos and fun collaborations later this summer (July 18th). Entitled, Open Season, the CD will feature remixes of Feist gems like “Mushaboom” (which gets a Postal Service mix, a Mocky mix and a k-os mix) and “Gatekeeper” (which gets a One Room One Hour mix, and a Do Right mix). There are also new tweaks on “Inside & Out” and “Lonely Lonely,” plus a collaboration with Jane Birkin (the tune “Simple Story”).

I kind of love Feist’s newbie approach to remixes: "At first I didn't really understand what remixes were. If I squinted into the air I knew I could hear old songs with beats put to them piping out of radios, but didn't know why or how that happened. After I made Let it Die with Gonzo and Renaud they made some remixes that clued me into the fist pumping glory that acoustic songs can possess if supplied with the backbeat savvy. Then in London, a few months into touring the album, someone (Ungodly Hours) frisbeed an unmarked cd in a plastic slip onto the stage at me and later in my hotel I listened to it as a pre- sleep nightcap. It was so bizarre and exciting to hear a song ("Lonely Lonely") we had carefully dressed, be undressed and re-addressed. Put into clothes it would have never thought to wear on it's own."

If you’re a Feist fan for real, and catch her in NYC for a free show at Central Park Summerstage this Sunday (you can hit it after the big Pride Parade!). She’ll also be doing shows in Chicago in August, and Seattle and Austin in September.

If you’re into some gay-male indie rock goodness, then another show this weekend (also in NYC… what can I say—it’s busy here!) is convening at Joe’s Pub this Friday night. The show is called "Boys of Melody" and it's aptly named. This late-night love-in will feature performances by super-talented (and terribly cute) Joel Gibb of The Hidden Cameras. Also on the bill is the openly gay songsmith Gentleman Reg, Magnetic Fields maestro Stephin Merritt, Short Bus movie star and musician Jay Brannan, and the madly melodic, cleverly witty, brilliantly ballsy foursome of Clint, Michigan (which includes awesome Clint Asay, formerly of The Isotoners). This is gonna be a show of music from the most talented scruffy gay dudes ever! Bring your beard (meaning the one on your face, not your straight-girl date; though you can bring her too if she’s into it).

This is Joel Gibb of the Hidden Cameras. He's gonna sing you into Pride weekend...

Gentleman Reg is going to help, too.

Magnetic Stephin Merritt is gonna be there, too...

And so will Jay Brannan. Catch 'em at Joe's Pub.

Join Lisa J. and the boys in their video. Read below...

And one more NYC-related item… This Saturday you can fulfill your dream of starring in a music video for a killer rock band shot at CBGB, you’re in luck. The amazing Lisa Jackson and Girl Friday (led by the amazing transgender trailblazing rock-n-roll realness that is Lisa Jackson) will be taping their latest video for the tune “AOK.” The on-camera action kicks of at 10pm. Check here for more info!

And now two killer clips courtesy of the great blog, HomoEclectic!

- In a nod to a Gay Pride classic, go watch the video for Bronksi Beat’s "Smalltown Boy." It’s your heritage!

- And then go watch this random clip of French pop legend/lothario Serge Gainsbourg totally slobbering all over Whitney Houston in the French TV show clip that’s gotta date from the ’80s. He tells her he wants to, er… Well, just watch. It’s lewd and amazing.

These guys are outstanding (well... sitting) in their field. They're The Boy Least Likely To. And they gotta have faith. You'll wanna have it, too.

And finally, in a cuter-than-cute moment, here’s a link to the perky cover of George Michael’s classic “Faith,” turned out by those chipper/charming lads of The Boy Least Likely To. It’s super-sweet!

Thanks.

The Post Goes Gay? Sort Of.

How can you tell it’s Gay Pride Week in New York City? Well, in addition to all the perky same-sex tourists strolling through the city holding hands, the multiple Pride-week parties and benefits occurring nightly and non-stop gossip about who is going to be this year’s “surprise guest” at the Pier Dance on Sunday (Xtina? Mariah? Rihanna? Or, duh—Madonna?), another sign is that even the New York Post (which, in the past, has been accused of not always being the most responsible newspaper when it comes to gay-related topics) goes all homo with its headlines.

Just look at the cover: The two lead stories are the gazillion-dollar fashions featured in the sure-to-be gay-fave movie, The Devil Wears Prada, complete with a pic of Meryl Streep looking diva-liciously stern. The story features lots of shots of the glam garb featured in the flick, and boasts quotes from out fashionista Patricia Field (who styled the movie) about the all the clutch clothes.

And the other cover story? Allegations that gridiron star Michael Strahan was doing more than just sleeping on the couch when he shacked up with a male friend during his recent marital turbulence. Woo-hoo! And further, Strahan’s also been canoodling with Top Model winner Eva Pigford. Which is pretty fierce in its own way, too.

Of course, this being the Post, it’s hard to judge how responsible the tone may be in these gay-related reports. For instance, the page 3 story of a transgender person facing charges for purse-snatching, employs the terms “sashay” and “tranny” a bit too indelicately.

For more balanced gay news reportage, I’d head here, here, here or even here, thanks.

New Music Overload

There's a lot going on music-wise... Jump in and hang on, kids!

Tiga’s most recent release, Sexor, has been scorching up clubs globally for a while now… And it’s finally getting a domestic release (for anyone who hasn’t downloaded it or bought the import already) in late August. It's full of slammin' funky, electro-fueled buzzworthy pop/dance floor awesomeness. But you can check out Tiga online, natch. You’re gonna want him… As the song goes…

And you can watch the video for Tiga’s “Far From Home” right about here. It’s got birds, bats and Tiga taking a happy gay little stroll around his neighborhood. Or a cute music-video set of his neighborhood, anyway.

Atlanta-based duo Madison Park is loving the gays this week (And they’d better. It’s Pride week after all!). Our music magnate pal Arjan has an exclusive download of two mixes of their new tune “I’m Listening” which, as astutely puts it, is “a fresh dance jive with an '80s twist.” Sounds good to me. It’s from their new disk In the Stars, which is a pop-flavored treat. And, naturally they love them some gays. “"Gays keep dance music alive and well," Mad Park’s DeAnna Cool (nice name, eh?)tells Arjan. Give ’em a spin!

Lo-Fi-Fnk! Black and white and electro-poppy all over.

Arjan’s been busy. He’s also got the new video by the totally cute Swedish boy duo Lo-Fi-Fnk for their single “Steppin’ Out,” which plays like a fun poppy plea for tolerance and acceptance. And it’s pretty irresistible. Check it! And check their new website, which also has dish on their full-on release Boylife.

It must be the season for fun Swedish boy duos because there’s another one that’s also rocking my world. (In fact these guys are in NYC this week, so I’m hoping to see them at Piano’s tomorrow night.) The guys I’m talking about are Johnossi, who, as they claim, got their first record deal after “only 3 shows in demo clubs and a gig on a gay boat in Stockholm.” Gotta love that! They also speak of their affections for “a good melody, a catchy tune, a powerful expression, and a fist full of steel. We also enjoy a sweet emotion, a kind stroke on your cheek, a silent whistle and the sound of silence (not so often though…).” Awwww… I just like their no-frills, jumpy rock sound. Their website has tour dates, which include gigs in NYC, L.A. and Norway (!). You can watch their video for “Execution Song” here. It’s a kicky tune and the video features the guys rocking out in a dingy bedroom and scruffy little dolls misbehaving.

Johnossi are Swedish. And they're moody in photos!

Continuing on the bands I’m just discovering tip is the Brooklyn-based outfit, Beirut. Headed by Zach Condon, Beirut sort of sounds like the Magnetic Fields on holiday at a Balkan beach resort, and the tunes on the band’s debut, Gulag Orkestar, reference crusty locales from a Fodors guide to Europe. There's "Prenzlauerberg," "Bratislava," and "Rhineland" and then perhaps a glasnost nod with “After the Curtain.”

Beirut's Zach Condon gets outdoorsy. Photo by Luba B. Glade.

Beirut has shows in NYC and in Massachusetts (in Northampton and Cambridge) soon. I like the horns and plonky strings and crazy accordions. And Condon’s voice is winsome, plaintive and lilty—but not annoying. It’s fun, eclectic stuff. Who knew?

More tips on even more new and madcap music coming later today!

Buzz Bits: John Cameron Mitchell, JT and New Shows on Logo!

Yes, John Cameron Mitchell has his fleshy Short Bus film coming out, but he's also got a documentary about LGBT teens singing the songs of Hedwig. That doc, Follow My Voice, gets screened tonight at the Frameline gay film fest in San Francisco. And AfterElton chats up Mitchell here.





Fans of the prize-winning 2005 novel, The Line of Beauty, by Alan Hollinghurst will be stoked to know that a British TV mini-series has been made of the book. And it's lavish! AfterElton has the scoop on that one, too. (And let's hope it heads Stateside soon!)


The true-life story of slain transgender teen Gwen Araujo gets told tonight on Lifetime. AfterEllen takes a look.

MTV News has some new dish on Justin Timberlake’s forthcoming CD (due in September). Yep… It’s gonna be sexy. (Plus: Thom Yorke meets a Bush twin.)


And Beyonce is busy fueling the buzz about her B-Day release in September, too.


And in Logo-related news, I’ve got a few more details about a couple of the shows that were recently announced as getting greenlit for development.

The Service – Yes, this is indeed a show about men and women serving in the military. And yes, there will be hot men and women in the show. Already attached is Hollywood veteran Russell Mulcahy to direct. Though he’s directed scores of films and TV, the openly gay Mulcahy made his name shooting some of the world’s most seminal music videos, including Duran Duran’s “Rio” and “Hungry Like the Wolf,” Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing” and perhaps most legendarily The Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star”—which was the first video ever to air on MTV.


That Gay Ghost – Produced by Maverick TV (which is Madonna’s production company—hello!) the titular gay ghost, “Cosmo,” will be played by comedian Michael Serrato—who’s also among the talent working on the Rosie O’Donnell-produced ensemble gay sketch comedy show for Logo. The vibe for That Gay Ghost is apparently going to be very I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched—complete with a laugh track!

Sordid Lives – Del Shores' cult underground movie hit (which has sold out arthouse cinemas all over the U.S.) is getting developed as a series. No word on casting yet, but according to Shores “Delta Burke, Leslie Jordan, Olivia Newton and the rest of the cast will all be offered their roles, and have already expressed interest in reprising their roles for the series.” We’ll see how that goes.

Shores goes on to dish about the project: "I'm excited to return to these characters and show you even more of their sordid lives. The series focuses on Ty and his life in LA a little more than the movie did, but all of your favorite characters will return in full force with their crazy lives. I've backed the story up about four months before Peggy trips and falls on G.W.'s legs. The series starts the day Tammy Wynette dies—so Brother Boy is a mess. It's the same day that Bitsy Mae gets out of jail (we finally find out her crime!). Sordid Lives: The Series is serialized, so expect lots of scandal, sex, big hair and fun!"

Yee-haw! Consider yourselves warned…

Kids Love Madonna! Don't they?

Look! The kids still love groovin' with Madonna. Look at her go with the youngsters on TRL last October!


Yes, Madonna is still planning to appear in a big splashy campaign for H&M. Mrs. Ritchie and her dancers are also going to wear a specially designed line of offstage apparel during the Confessions Tour courtesy of the Swedish discount department store brand, too. This is all still in the works, despite recent comments by advertising guru, Jerry Della Femina, who claims that Madge is too old to rep for the youth-oriented H&M chain. Della Femina was quoted as saying that H&M’s target consumer wouldn’t respond well to Madge as a mannequin: “These kids trade in stars every two or three years and many don’t know Madonna,” said Della Femina. This evidently prompted a tart response from Madonna’s PR rep, Liz Rosenberg: “I defy any 18-year old to do a quarter of what Madonna does on stage. I hope Jerry Della Femina takes a nice pill.”

"Don't cry for me, children. Just go to H&M and buy my outfits!"


Meanwhile on Logo, the quest for viewers to pick Madonna’s all-time best-ever, most ultimate video rages on. Thousands upon thousands of votes are in already. And I’m surprised to report that “Bedtime Story” is a serious contender. Of course it’s got heavyweights “Like a Prayer” and “Vogue” to deal with. Plus, the clips for “Express Yourself,” “Frozen,” “Human Nature,” “Ray of Light,” “Erotica” and even “Rain” are performing well. Of Madge’s more recent videos, only “Hung Up” is making itself heard near the top of the list.

Big hair and all, "Bedtime Story" is a contender to become Madonna's all-time fave video with Logo viewers.

Hmmmm… This rallying of classic Madonna clips seems to disprove Mr. Della Femina’s quip that folks today don’t relate to Madge. The fact that some many of her older tunes are leading the charge for her best all-time video shows that as a pop icon she’s got staying power. Duh...

I’m thinking H&M knows their stuff. Now, will those Madonna tracksuits just go on sale, already? While, you’re waiting… Go vote for your favorite Madonna video on LogoOnline. Then if you want you can go to VH1 and register to win tix to her concert. Then go back to LogoOnline and vote some more!

The "American Life" video needs your love. It's ranking low on the Ultimate Madonna video list.

Ummm.... Hello? Don't you people want to be voting for "Material Girl"? This one is like a gay classic. Feel the 1980s homo-culture realness!

"Don't Preach" already. Er... She's looking pretty ghostly here. The sun don't bite, Madonna. Go outside!

Whatevs, bee-yotches! Cheers! (Hiccup!)

Tune in on Logo on Saturday, June 24th at 8pm to find out which Madonna video gets chosen as the all-time best everrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

A Busy Saturday in the Village

These famous George Segal sculptures are going to get some company this weekend.

And you thought Christopher Street was gay already...

As I mentioned directly below, tomorrow in NYC there's a march (sponsored by NYC's Anti-Violence Project) to protest the recent rash of gay attacks in the city (including the one on Kevin Aviance last weekend). The march begins in the East Village (at 14th St. and 1st Ave.) at 2pm and will march across the city to wind up at Christopher Park, where Christopher Street and West 4th Street meet, around 3pm.

That part of town's going to be very busy--and gayer than usual--because there's also an event transpiring practically next door in Sheridan Square (at 7th Avenue and Grove Street), where as a promotional stunt for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) a gay couple comprised of PETA Member (and former Navy sailor) Mike Brazell and his partner Johnny Machuzak are going to make out in a bed from 2pm -3pm. They'll be smooching under a banner that reads "Vegetarians Make Better Lovers" and are going to be wearing nothing but little black shorts and sailor hats--according to the PETA press release sent today. This is apparently part of PETA's "Gay Make-Out Tour." Can't argue with that... So it looks like they'll be finishing up their face-sucking as the protestors arrive nearby.

And hey, it's nice to know that if the Anti-Violence Protest marchers get extra tired traipsing across the city, when they hit the West Village they can maybe bed down and relax while the veggie-philes go at it.

Let's hope it's a big bed.

P.S. It was just this past May 31st that PETA activist Mike Brazell particpated in another "Gay Make-Out" event for PETA in D.C. But then he made the news by making out with fellow activist Christopher McDonough. The report in the Washington Blade said the two men were both employed at PETA's Norfolk, Virginia headquarters. But this news report from May 31st said that Brazell and McDonough were lovers (and you can watch a video where they make out--after lots of talking). And now the new press release today from PETA says that Brazell and Machuzak, who'll be making out tomorrow, are partners. So... Maybe Brazell is just a busy guy? Or maybe he's got two boyfriends? Hmmmm... Maybe Vegetarians do make better lovers?

Somebody pass me some celery.

NYC Marches Early

Kevin on the cover of today's HX Magazine here in New York.


As it's been widely reported this week (from the NY Times to CBS News on Logo to blogs all over the gay world), the singer/gay nightlife superstar Kevin Aviance was attacked and gay-bashed last weekend in New York City, getting released from the hospital a few days later. Kevin's recovering now (the cover story in today's HX Magazine has a quote from Kevin and words from his friends commenting on this awful incident and its aftermath), but this violent act has served as a wake-up call to many about the volatile state of affairs in NYC, and in our culture all over. Sadly, even in a generally gay-friendly place as New York City's East Village, you're obviously not as safe as you think.

To stress this point, this Saturday (tomorrow) in NYC there's going to be a March and Rally in NYC to allow our community to "raise our voices against the anti-LGBT hate in our city and in our neighborhoods." (Sure, the big Gay Pride March in NYC isn't really scheduled until Sunday, June 25th, but desperate times call for action!) The march, which is also being sponsored by NYC's Anti-Violence Project will begin at 2pm at the intersection of 14th Street and 1st Avenue in the East Village (where Kevin was attacked; the march will assemble on the northeast corner) and the march will move across Manhattan, culminating at Christopher Park (at Christopher Street and West 4th Street). If you're up for making your voice heard, please come out!

And below is a pic of festive fellow out on Gay Pride a couple of years back. And while you can wear what ever you want as you march and protest, I thought that the typcially sparkling Mr. Aviance might even appreciate this done-up queen. Glitter and be gay if you wanna; that can be a form of protest, too. (But please be safe.)

Gay Games Strategy? Party Lots!

These World Cup partiers in Germany have the right idea. Ready to party in Gay Chicago next month?

As of today, the opening of the Gay Games in Chicago is officially one month away (it all kicks off there on Saturday, July 15th). And while athletes all over the world are prepping and stretching and taping ankles, practicing like maniacs and training seriously for the big competition, those non-athletes among us are getting geared up, too.

Basically, I'm excited about the breakneck party schedule that's going to take over Gay Chicago when the Games roll into town. A glance at the Gay Games site tells me that every single night during the Games, the bars and clubs in Chi-town are going to be pumping with foxy athletes and hosting majorly social events. For example, on Friday, June 14th, before the Games even begin, there are no fewer than 8 Games-related soirees throughout the city. From a bash welcoming Latino athletes to the Games, to a party for Asian participants (and their friends), or from a GLAAD-hosted bash to a party for HIV-positive participants--there are events for anyone and everyone.

World Cups fans in Seoul turn it out! I'm so collecting party appareal ideas...

I'm loving this hardcore Brazil fan/party girl who's turning it out in Hamburg. Yes!

To get your social agenda primed before you head to Chicago, you can go to the Gay Games website and check out the listings for all the parties. Sure, those competing have to focus on staying fit and being in great shape and all... But those of us who may just be happy spectators may have other priorities.

And as I learned from being in Amsterdam during the Gay Games in 1998, the infectious party vibe that engulfs a Gay Games city is worth the trip alone. Hmmm... Maybe they'll figure out a way to give out gold medals for barhopping? A guy can dream...



Just thought I'd offer this last squirty David Beckham pic as further party inspiration. Cheers!

Digging Doug Spearman

My favorite out actor in the world right now might just be Noah’s Arc’s Doug Spearman. He’s on the cover of the next issue of The Advocate (see above) and he just rules. Not only is he super-talented and great to watch as the straight-laced Chance on Noah, but he’s also a longtime, devoted AIDS activist (he’s been working with the Black AIDS Institute for years) and a funny, smart guy.

The Advocate interview (by Alonso Duralde) with Doug is great and offers up tons of fun dish. Snatch it up when it hits the streets on Tuesday, June 20th. For example, you'll read about…

- Doug has always had a secret dream of being a private detective!

- Doug worked in TV production and direction for years, after being inspired by Mary Richards on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, as well as a close family friend.

- Like his Noah character, Doug also once drove a car into the house of a cheating boyfriend. For real!

And Doug’s got a great comment about viewers who want to see some white-boy action on Noah’s Arc:

“People come up to me all the time and say, ‘I love your show—why don’t you have a white love interest or something?’ And I say, ‘Well, funny thing—not every black man is white-gay-man shopping.”

Plus, there’s lots more great stuff in the article about Doug’s family, his love-life, his activism, and how Doug got the role on Noah's Arc. And there’s handy info about the hot actors who’ll also be appearing on the show this coming season (which premieres on Logo on August 9th), including Rockmond Dunbar, Keith Hamilton Cobb, Raz B and studly U.K. import Jason Steed, who’s gonna star as a closeted gay rapper.

Let the Noah’s Arc frenzy continue!!!

A Report from Carnegie Hall

So, I made it to Carnegie Hall last night for the Rufus Wainwright/Judy Garland concert. Which was great, and most of all… It was just fun. Rufus seemed to be having a blast onstage, the crowd (which seemed a pretty balanced mix of older Judy-philes and Rufus fans of all ages: Gay men from ages 25-65; straight couples; showbiz/music notables; downtown hipsters who could afford it; theater-loving women; and savvy NYC culture vultures) was there to adore the entire enterprise from the get-go, and they did. Standing ovations abounded, starting when Rufus first walked out on stage (loved the white Viktor & Rolf suit) and following every one of the “big” Judy songs (a la “The Man That Got Away”).

At times (and noticeably about the time that Rufus got to song #8—“Puttin’ on the Ritz”) you felt like you were watching someone run a triathlon—a very gay, musical triathlon—but Rufus held his own, with fun stories and his obvious affection for the material, and given the effusive, supportive spirit of the audience there was no way he wouldn’t succeed.

The New York Times (as noted by Towleroad) sort of nailed one aspect of the show. Stephen Holden writes: “What unfolded onstage was a tour de force of politically empowering performance art in which a proudly gay male performer paid homage to the original and longest-running gay icon in the crowded pantheon of pop divas.” And further: “For those who came to worship, Mr. Wainwright could do no wrong. His courage to stand as a surrogate for every audience member who ever gazed into the mirror and fantasized slipping into Dorothy's ruby slippers spoke for itself.”

Exactly. That was the fun, shared enthusiasm which was tangible in the hall. But Rufus also just wowed us with the power of his own pipes, which when he just cuts loose and sings, achieved a crystalline gorgeousness.

So, now I’m just gonna hit upon my basic, random notes from the night.

The Songs (my faves, anyway)

“Do It Again” – This was the third song and totally let you know you were in for some real musicianship. Arranged as a sultry cool burn, Rufus owned it. It was sexy and swanky.

“How Long Has This Been Going On” – Another foxy, slow-burner. I guess I loved Rufus most when things slowed down and you could enjoy the richness of the orchestra, and when Rufus could breathe and really infuse a song with his own intensity. This was one of those.

“The Man That Got Away” – A total home run! Of course, the audience was ready to jump up applauding as soon as this one began, but Rufus got well into the whole, needy, chugging drama of it (no shocker there). And it’s such an amazing song… A win-win situation for all involved.

“San Francisco” – My favorite perhaps? (Yep, I’m that gay.) Rufus totally enjoyed this one, majorly. He even explained for the crowd (who I’m sure didn’t need much of a tutorial) about the Jeanette MacDonald references in the song’s intro. The he sang, and pranced grandly around the stage and owned it. The line about “a real gone bridge” may be one of my favorites turns of phrase in music. Rufus’s performance of this number was a total tribute to (and renovation of) traditional gay culture. Yee-haw!

“A Foggy Day in London” – This was just simple, moving and sweet.

“Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart” – Big and fun! Typical of all the big, bouncy Judy favorites, this one rattled through the house happily.

“The Trolley Song” – Rufus was having a ball with this one. Such a fun tune about meeting a cute boy… And impossible to hear and not imagine young Judy in the film “Meet Me in St. Louis.” And Rufus drove that jolly trolley all the way home. This was some totally gay fun.

“Rock-a-Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody” – I’ve never cared for this song, but Rufus and the orchestra seemed to bring out the brassy, gutsy fun of it. Indeed, this was one of the tunes where Rufus seemed unconcerned about tip-toeing in the shadow of Judy. He grabbed this one by the balls and aggressively sang it and turned it out. Bravo!

“Over the Rainbow” – Rufus’ mom, Kate McGarrigle (folk legend) came out and played piano on this one. And evidently, Rufus and Mom have performed this song since he was a toddler. In fact, Rufus explained that back when his parents would have all-night parties, his mother would come and get him out of bed at 3am, and make him come downstairs and sing the song for party guests, as a way of getting them to go home. As he told this anecdote, his mother, seated at the piano seemed wryly bemused. She cracked: “And look where it got you.” Well put, Mom. This was a lovely, heartfelt rendition, delived with Rufus sitting on the edge of the stage. Beautiful.

Encores: “Put On a Happy Face” and “Every Time We Say Goodbye” – Both were lovely and fun. When he started into “Forget your troubles, come on get happy…” I was hoping that maybe Barbra Streisand would stroll out and duet with him (a la the famous duet medley between Streisand and Garland from the 1960s). No such luck. But these were charming, and the simple, sparse rendition of “Every Time We Say Goodbye” (performed with ma Kate back on piano) was a delicate and touching finale.

Other Notes

A big bonus of the night was being reminded how strong all of these standards (which we’re all familiar with perhaps too much) are as musical pieces. Hearing them cranked out in a big, acoustically flawless hall by a full orchestra was a total treat. There’s some seriously good music in there.

Costumes – I loved all the fun, dramatic garb that Viktor & Rolf schemed up. Rufus’ sleek black tux and top hat were perfect for “That’s Entertainment,” which opened up the second act. And then having him doff the hat, jacket and tie and belt out the rest of the show in his black vest and shirtsleeves just worked.

Mom Kate McGarrigle – When she hit the stage in her swinging, shiny gold pantsuit with a sheen-y white blouse, fully made-up with her hair glamorously slicked back, it was fierce. “I feel like Celine Dion,” she cracked, which Rufus and the crowd loved. And I always enjoy the onstage dynamic between Kate and Rufus. She’s always a bit stern, and almost slightly disapproving of him, but in a charmingly, curmudgeonly, comical way. But by the end, after they played the final encore, she was visibly teary and beaming at Rufus. So sweet.

Martha Wainwright – Rufus had his sister come out and sing the tune “Stormy Weather.” Whoa! She tore the roof off, and the crowd freakin’ loved it. First, where did she get all that big, long blonde hair? And that champagne-colored, shiny dress? I loved it. The whole look was very Claudia at La Mirage on Dynasty. But Martha’s wildly loopy and unabashedly histrionic and dramatic delivery of “Stormy Weather” was a fun, guttural contrast to Rufus’ more conscious, effete delivery of much of the material. She was a blast of primal and hormonally fueled fresh air.

Lorna Luft – Fun to see her pop out and duet with Rufus. She certainly seemed happy to be there. But is it shady for me to have wished it had been Liza?

Celeb-spotting: Tons of fancy and fun New York gays, of course. Justin Bond and Kenny Mellman (of Kiki & Herb); cabaret crooner Jack Donahue; NY State Attorney General hopeful Sean Patrick Maloney; Sarah Jessica Parker; Talking Head David Byrne; Laurie Anderson; playwrights Jeff Whitty and Tony Kushner: John Waters; B-52 Fred Schneider; Kristin Johnston; Joel Grey; Patricia Field; Antony; Norah Jones (I think); actor John Benjamin Hickey.

Stories and Chatter: Rufus, as always, was totally engaging in his story-telling on stage. From the beginning with his “We’re not in Kansas anymore…” quip, he related tales of his own Judy devotion and the ordeal of preparing for this concert. The audience learned that as a kid, Rufus used to love to play Wizard of Oz. On good days, he’d put on mom’s apron and be Dorothy, with his little stuffed lamb toy as Toto. On bad days, he’d be the Wicked Witch of the West, and line up his mothers high heels, slip into her dresses and practice “melting” repeatedly. He also told tales of Judy fanatics (including a former drummer from her 1961 Carnegie Hall gig) who’ve approached him, and he gave frequent props to the orchestra and musical director Stephen Oremus, who supported him.

Again, my final analysis was that the night was a big, musical love-in. But it wasn’t a cornball evening of kitsch or self-congratulatory camp at all. More than anything, it was a celebration of two artists. Judy Garland was recognized as a performer with a huge heart, amazing precision, stamina and exuberance—and also of an indestructible cultural relevance and worthiness. Her rather encouraging presence loomed large and benignly over the entire evening.

And for Rufus Wainwright, the concert was a triumph whereby he moves up a notch in the cultural radar, buoyed by his own talents and ambition and courage for undertaking such a task. Here’s a gay man who’s up for renovating our perceived notions of corny, traditional queer culture. By an artist of Rufus’ caliber tackling the Garland songbook, the idea of this being done for kitsch’s sake evaporates in a second, and the enterprise soars due to the raw talents of all of its elements. And in so doing, Rufus demonstrates how we can celebrate the strengths and merits and loopy theatrics of our past, while simultaneously taking it all a step forward. Sure, the cult of Judy and showtunes are a gay cultural touchstone, but the music and its power and the unadulterated wealth of talent backing it up is indisputable and much bigger than any rainbow-tinted cliché.

Gorgeous!

Another Lady Boards the Arc!

I've been feeding you guys Noah's Arc news as I have it. And here's the latest casting tidbit. Half & Half's Rachel True, who's also starred on TV in Dawson's Creek, Once & Again and The Drew Carey Show, and who I personally loved in the teen witch flick The Craft, is guesting on an episode in season two.

So now you know!

True, with her Half & Half costars--gay and fabulous Alec Mapa and the lovely Essence Atkins.

P.S. If you're a fan of True and her character "Mona" on Half & Half, check out Mona's blog on the UPN site. She serves up advice and all kinds of messy romantic dish and ruminations.

More Old Stuff to Love

Miss Ross is gonna open a whole new can of jazzy whoop-ass on ya.

After gushing about Rufus Wainwright channelling Judy Garland (see below), I'm now going to continue on this gay/retro tip for just another second...

A day or so ago, I was emailing with my pal Adam Mattera, who's the editor of the awesome British gay mag, Attitude . I asked him what he was listening to and digging these days, and he said: "Right now I'm loving Diana Ross' Blue. It's an album from early '70s of jazzy covers that was shelved at the time and never came out. It's Diana channelling Billie Holiday. It's fab."

And he's right. And this music was indeed recorded back in 1972 as part of a companion to the number one soundtrack to Lady Sings the Blues (in which Mizz Ross played Holiday), but yes, these tunes somehow got buried and never saw the light of day. Recently (or as the PR schtick would have us believe) these tunes were discovered in a Motown vault (!), which sounds a bit ridiculous... But makes for a cute story.

Anyway, these tunes are sexy, slinky and very gorgeously authentic sounding. While other aging pop stars persist on cranking out new-fangled albums of puffed-up standards, this disc is the real deal. Her take on "I Loves Ya Porgy" is beyond swanky--and hot!

And hey... We haven't heard much music-wise from Di in a while. I missed her.

Showtime: Rufus at Carnegie Hall

“When I am up there singing ‘The Trolley Song,’ it is going to be the gayest moment of my life. For everybody in the audience, it will be one of their top gay moments, too...”

That’s Rufus Wainwright quoted in this past week’s Time Out New York Magazine, in a fab cover story article. And yes, the time has come…

Tonight’s the big night when Rufus Wainwright takes the stage at Carnegie Hall to perform his recreation of Judy Garland’s legendary Carnegie Hall concert from 1961. I’m going and I’m very excited. I’ve been a Rufus fan since before his first album came out in 1998, when I used to go see him do weekly shows at Club Largo in L.A., as he was prepping for that record’s release. I love the drama of his music, the intricate craftiness, the sweeping romance and emotion, his talent for nailing the intenseness of relationships, and his gift for creating complicated and gorgeous melodies. And yes, I love that he’s a young and unapologetically out gay man.

A few weeks ago he chatted with folks at Logo, back when the network was premiering his video for the Brokeback Mountain song “The Maker Makes.” During that conversation (parts of which aired on Logo’s The Click List Music series) he also discussed the Judy concerts. And here’s some of what he said.

On how this concert idea came to be:
“…Whenever I put on that album—Judy Garland: Live at Carnegie Hall—I immediately smile and start singing along. And one day I was just walking around here in New York, somewhere around Gramercy Park, and it was a really cold day and I had my iPod and I was blaring “San Francisco” or something—and I just felt so happy for a moment. And it just occurred to me that it would be fun to do that show—and I think that was my main objective. Even if you kind of hate Judy Garland, or you find you know, that period of music kind of overly effusive or something, one cannot deny [that record’s] sort of electric power and its ability to make you joyous—if just to make us happy for one second. But beyond making us happy for one second, wanting to do a whole show, that was an extra step. It was way beyond, just like, wanting to do a cover."

Rufus sings at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall last week to celebrate Judy Garland's new postage stamp debut.

On tackling this show:
"I think the main thing is, I originally thought this when I got into the album, is that... and this was confirmed later on, when I read about the show… But that that particular evening, and that particular set, and that particular event is considered one of the sort of "olympian" accomplishments of singing in anyone's book. And I felt uh... almost like an athletic need to stretch, to flex my throat muscles or something. And give it a whirl. Because there's so little "singing" in show business now. First of all, most of it is computerized and heavily filtered by weird mics that make you sound like you're dying. And there's such little emphasis placed on just the glory of the human voice. And that material, and that hall, and those arrangements really sort of highlight that. So, I think that's sort of the main reason I wanted to do it."

No pressure, Rufus. Just sing 'em!

What we can expect to see and hear:
"Uh, it's the entire show; I think it's about 30 songs. Um, and it's the same arrangements; I mean there's a few surprises in there to sort of tailor it to me, to the Rufus Wainwright aesthetic. I don't in any way want it to turn into a Judy Garland festival in terms of... I mean, I'm not trying to imitate her or kind of resurrect her. It's more of just passing on a kind of torch. But yeah, I'm just taking over the mantle. [Laughter]. The "Garland mantle." Givin' it a sex change. And a new wardrobe and look. I'm working with Viktor & Rolf, who are great Dutch fashion designers. So we're gonna go, 'Goodbye bugle beads!'"

Yesterday, music scribe Jim Farber had a cool interview with Wainright in the New York Daily News, in which he said, in trademark outspoken Rufus-style: "I've given up on caring about what reaction I get a long time ago," he says. "Just so long as I get one. And don't worry. I will."

Finally, if you need some Rufus right now, head to YouTube where there are scores of fun videos of Mr. W singing and goofing. Don’t miss him on the clip from the French & Saunders Xmas special, where he gets dubbed “Loofah Wetwipe.”

Knock 'em dead, Rufus!

Beer + Coffee = Healthy?

These manly, burly rugby players from Scotland and New Zealand must know that beer is good for their prostate. But I might be happy to examine them, just in case.

THIS JUST IN...

Beer may fight cancer!!! Or more specifically, there's an ingredient in beer that might help prevent prostate cancer, says a new study from researchers at Oregona State University. According to a report, the "compound xanthohumol, found in hops, inhibits a protein in the cells along the surface of the prostate gland. The protein acts like a switch that turns on a variety cancers, including prostate cancer."

And while the folks at the National Prostate Cancer Coalition were happy to hear about this, they also warned that imbibing too much beer is still bad for you, stating that, "drinking 17 beers a day can lead to alcoholism and cirrhosis of the liver..."

Which leads me to our next story: Coffee Stops Liver Rot in Big Drinkers!!!!

Yep, it seems that "people who drink one cup of coffee a day are 20 per cent less likely to suffer alcoholic cirrhosis than those who drink none." And the more coffee you drink, the lesser the chance of cirrhosis, suggests a study done by researchers at the Kaiser Permanente health care organisation in California, and published in the US journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

Which might explain why this woman is still with us...?

So tonight, let it be Lowenbrau. And I'll see you at Starbucks in the morning.
Cheers!

It's Tuesday, I'm in Love

Meaning... That it’s a sunny gorgeous June Tuesday. And that means new music is out today…

For starters, this legendary rock and roll hellion has a new one out…

Yep, Joan Jett’s Sinner gets released today. This is the disc that’s got the tune that’s got the video that’s got the smoochy action between Joan Jett and Carmen Electra in it. The tune’s called “A.C.D.C.” Yay! And it was only a few years back when Electra’s hubby Dave Navarro stirred up stuff when he smooched his then Chili Pepper bandmate Flea on the cover of a rock mag. Nice to know the Electra-Navarro’s are free and fun and happy to tweak the public’s issues about sexuality (and smoochin’!).

Also out today is another rockin’ release, from NYC’s Sonic Youth. Kim and Thurston and company are unleashing their latest, Rather Ripped, today. And they’ve got a busy summer ahead, with gigs all over the place. Tonight they’re at CBGB for a sold-out show. And then they’re gonna be all over (D.C., Philly, Asheville—and on David Letterman this coming Friday—and then all across the U.S.). The buzz on this record is good, too. The grousing types at Pitchfork call it the band’s “tautest set in 25 years.” Nice!

Kim and Thurston enjoy rocking out. Catch them at a venue near you.

On the hip-hop/pop tip, Kelis is bossin’ around record stores today with the release of Kelis Is Here. This latest has already given us the fun single “Bossy”—and in the June issue of GENRE you can read a fun chat with Kelis. She even discusses the topic of “bossy bottoms.” Oh my… Just don’t ask her for a milkshake.

The eclectic and scruffily charming boys of the band Hot Chip (below) see their disc The Warning getting a U.S. release today. It’s also winining some raves.

Hot Chip. Rather jumpy lads, aren't they?

Hot Chip's tunes “Boy from School” and “No Fit State” are among my total faves. Wonky, fun, jangly, percussive electro-pop.





Regina Spektor is happy to see you.

And a big phenomenon over the last couple of years has been the rise of Regina Spektor, who’s gone from playing teensy venues for 30 people to selling out mega-capacity venues with 1,000+ folks in them. Her new release is called Begin to Hope, and it’s her major label debut. Her previous release, Soviet Kitsch, won over anyone who loves weirdly melodic, folksy, plonky, soulful, driving tunes (which sound like Tori Amos and Nellie McKay duetting on the Bjork songbook). She’s touring all over the U.K. and Europe for the next month or so, so if you’re making your grand tour of the Old World, maybe you can catch her in Barcelona or Malmo or Manchester. Fun, eh?

And then not out today, but coming later this summer (on July 25th) is the new CD from Puffy AmiYumi, those winsome Japanese pop-rocking gals. It’s J-Pop out of left field. And the first single, “Radio Tokyo” (which you can hear, thanks to Fluxblog) is simply the most fun you can have jumping up and down with your 'tween neice (even if you don’t have one). Yay!

"Calling Radio Tokyo..." It's Puffy Amiyumi!

This comes out in July. Might it be a J-pop kind of summer?

Buzz Bits

As per usual, the Tonys were a gayfest last night. Yay for gay Cynthia Nixon, who scored a statue for her work in the play Rabbit Hole! And yes, Oprah and Julia popped by, too.

Mrs. Federline is doing just fine, thank you. Britney’s got a gushy interview with Matt Lauer airing on The Today Show and Dateline this coming Thursday. And FYI, her marriage is just “awesome,” thanks.

NYC nightlife star Kevin Aviance (center), flanked by Wilson Cruz and Alan Cumming, is recovering after this past weekend's hateful attack.

Nightlife superstar Kevin Aviance was attacked and bashed this weekend in NYC. And his attackers have been caught. And he's gonna keep right on performing! Go Kevin!


In not-so-gay friendly Poland, Warsaw’s Gay Pride march took place this weekend.


And where does Kylie pop up for her first stage performance after being diagnosed with cancer last year? At G.A.Y. in London, of course. She joined her sis Dannii this past weekend. Yay, Kylie!

Madonna: Still in Vogue?

Maddie's gonna sport some H&M fashions soon. These aren't them.



And today in Madonna news... Yes, it looks like Mrs. Ritchie is gonna be featured in some new ads for H&M (which I think rules, because H&M is the best store ever). And the Swedish-based global chain which outfits youthful, cheapo hipsters and upwardly mobile urbanites with a penchant for nearly disposable yet smartly designed togs (Yeesh, that was a mouthful.), is also gonna be designing a line of clothes that Madge and her touring entourage/dancers will wear offstage. I think it all sounds great, and it makes sense since Maddie is putting herself out there as a Euro-pop dance queen these days, and nothing’s more Euro-pop dancey than H&M. The discount dept. store is even going to design a super-special tracksuit for Madonna, that you can expect sporty drag queens and clubkids to be wearing everywhere 3 seconds after it hits the racks.

Outfits aside, online at Logo, the Madonna video voting madness is in full swing. Yes, crazed Madge-o-philes from around the planet are casting their ballots for what they think is Madonna’s best video ever!!! (The top ten results will be aired on Logo on Saturday, June 24th at 8pm.)

Let your body move to the music... Come on. Vogue. Ya dig?

And what are folks feeling four days into the voting? After some snooping around at gay Logo polling headquarters, I’ve learned which clips are rounding out the top five. Let’s just say that “Vogue” (note the pic above) is still very much in vogue, and people really like “Like A Prayer.”

Life is a mystery. Everyone must stand alone. Behind bars. In a church, evidently.

The big shocker to me? “Frozen” is a big favorite, too. Wha? I always thought that was one of her lamest tunes, but hey, what do I know.

Who knew people were into this? But it is pretty to watch, I guess. Right?

“Bedtime Story” is ranking up there, too. And the classic “Express Yourself” is performing respectfully.

Doesn't this kind of look like one of those creepy Anne Geddes baby-flower photos? Freaky!




OK... Now we're talkin'!!! Classic Madonna. Nice hottie, too!

A surprise dark horse that’s sneaking into the top ten? “Rain.” Who knew?

It's raining, it's pouring. And some people are into that.

And if you’re a fan of “This Used to Be My Playground,” “La Isla Bonita” or “Into the Groove” you better start doing some serious voting. (Frankly, I thought “Into the Groove” would rank higher. That Desperately Seeking Susan-era Madge was the persona that catapulted Madonna into the pop-culture superstar consciousness. That whole black lace bra + leggings + bangle jewelry + cross necklaces look made her famous. Have you people no sense of history or perspective?)

La Isla Bonita? La Video Not-So-Muchas. Meaning, it doesn't stand a chance.



As for me, I’m gonna throw some love towards “Like a Virgin.”

She made it through the wilderness. Somehow, she made it through. Word.

I’ll keep you posted.

Notes from NewFest

So a week into the 18th New York LGBT Film Festival (also known simply as NewFest) and here’s some word on films that are hot/worth seeing/weirdly unique & smart/distinctive. Look out for these when they hit your arthouse cinema—or a gay cable channel—near you!

Strangers With Candy
The movie spin-off of the wildly popular Amy Sedaris TV series is fun. It’s not amazing, mind you, but if you’re fan of the show, you’ll love the movie. Full of wrong humor, a brilliant turn by Stephen Colbert, some deliciously wicked non-P.C. zingers (including all kinds of “fag”-related jokes, all done at the expense of straight folks, basically) and the usual Sedaris-fueled ridiculousness. Fun! (Getting a release from ThinkFilm on June 28th!)

Rag Tag
A totally unique, interesting love story taking place in London and Nigeria between two black British men. A glimpse of a culture very different than most folks here in the U.S. have encountered. Impressive. And with a killer hip-hop soundtrack.

The Lost Tribe
A winning, very emotional extraordinary doc about an Australian Mormon lesbian comic (for real!) who goes to Salt Lake City to speak at the gay Mormon conference. And it’s funny!

Songbirds
This flick bills itself as the first documentary musical—and they’re probably right! Women in a U.K. prison (some of whom are pretty dangerous characters) sing haunting tunes which exemplify their personalities. It’s a completely unique way to examine the culture of women in prison. Talk about jailhouse rock!

In The Blood
A horror-loving friend of mine called this one, “The first good gay horror film I've ever seen. Really awesome. It’s suspenseful, well-made—and sexy.” A gay college boy starts seeing visions of his sister all bloodied up. Meanwhile, a serial killer is on the loose on campus! First-time feature director Lou Peterson scores!

Say Amen
A warm and accurate portrait of modern-day working class Israelis dealing (or not dealing) with their son/brother being gay.

East Side Story
A funny and smart feature about coming out and gentrification in East L.A., at heart this one’s a charming romantic Latino family comedy that overcomes its obviously shoestring production values by sharp writing, winning performances (the women in the film are great!) and good, cleverly witty heart.

Cabalerno
This super-short short film by Jarrah Gurrie (it’s only 5 minutes long) may be my favorite short of the NewFest. A grainy B&W flick about a boy who likes to watch the hot skater dude in his ’hood. Simple and gorgeous, and with a wryly smart grasp of desire and humor. Score!

Jack Mitchell: My Life Is Black & White
Very PBS. This charming bio-documentary serves up the career of noted NYC photographer Jack Mitchell who spent the 1950s-1990s shooting the most talented performers (from the dance world, Broadway, Hollywood—and literati like Truman Capote and Edward Albee) for publications like The New York Times and the classic underground, gay-ish magazine After Dark. John Lennon. Stephen Sondheim. Andy Warhol. Meryl Streep. Leonard Bernstein. Gloira Swanson. Rudolph Nureyev. Merce Cunningham. Every seminal artist from the last half of the 20th Century glowed in front of Jack Mitchell’s lens. And Mitchell himself? A low-key, charming, gifted gay artist. It’s the kind of movie that’s totally gonna want to make you move to NYC and hang out with artsy photographers and Broadway types. Ah, showbiz!

Check more of Jack Mitchell's famous pics below...

John & Yoko, 1980

Edward Albee

Gloria Swanson.

GAY GAMES 2006: A Whole Nubian Ball Game

PLAY BALL! Chicago-based women's softball team, The Nubians, huddle up!

Hey Sports Fans! It’s week two in our bloggy series which is looking ahead to the Gay Games 2006 in Chicago (which bust out of their huddle on July 15th). This summer's gonna smell like team spirit (sorry--couldn’t resist that one) as thousands of athletes, artists, partygoers and plain old sports fans head to the Windy City for a week-long blast of activities.

As part of our weekly glimpse at some of the real folks participating in this year’s Games, today we’re talking to the fierce Gina Stewart, who heads up the Chicago-based women’s softball team, The Nubians. These women are a major force to be reckoned with (they’ve already played at the Softball World Series!), and are gearing up to wow their hometown crowd when it’s time to hit the mound.

But I’m gonna let Stewart tell you more herself. Plus she’s got some insight on teamwork, some kicky cheers, the allure of women’s tennis—and a sexy shout out to Serena Williams. Sweet!

That's Gina Stewart in the center, hands raised, surrounded by her teammates! Go Nubians!

GAY GAMES Athlete Profile

Your name: Gina Stewart
Your age: 46
Where you live: Evanston, Illinois
Your occupation: Veterinarian

What sport will you be competing in during the Gay Games?
Softball

How did you get started playing? How long have you been playing?
I started in college, so I've been playing for about 20 years.

What position do you play? And what are your strengths--and your weaknesses?
1st base. My strengths? Experience, defense, team mentality. Weaknesses? I'm getting old. [laughs] Knees hurt sometimes. And I won't slide as much these days; I have to go to work on Mondays.

How did The Nubians come to be? How did the team get formed?
Some of us played on different teams and one day nine years ago I decided we needed representation in the African-American community. Someone needed to attempt to tear down the wall between the African-American gay community and the -merican community. I asked someone to coach the team; I put an ad in the African-American Gay newspaper, Blacklines and set a meeting. And the rest is truly history.

The Nubians were the first African-American league team to make it to the Softball World Series… Can you tell me about that? How did that happen? What was that like?
We competed for the spot and won it. It allowed us to experience what the negro league players years ago experienced. And it was being held in D.C. The African-American community came out to support us in D. C., and it was a sight to see. They didn't care that we were gay, they just knew we were the only women of color in the tournament and in their neighborhoods and from Chicago.

And I hear you have some unique team cheers? Can you tell me about any?
We’re a very spiritual, entertaining team. We get our fans involved and pay our respects to those that are not there and we cheer, cheer, cheer!

One of my favorites goes: “EVERYWHERE WE GO, PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW, WHO WE ARE, WHERE WE COME FROM, WHAT WE WANT TO DO AND WE TELL THEM—WE’RE NEW WE'RE NUBIANS. PROUD NUBIANS!"

And just so you know, the name Nubian is derived from the first Africans in Egypt—Nubian Queens and Kings. It was important that our name signify our respect and pride for who we are.

Have you always been involved in sports? What's your earliest sports memory?
I attended college on a 4-year tennis scholarship and was semi-pro. Bad knees and a mother and father that stressed education helped me to concentrate on books and sports recreationally.

What are you most looking forward to about heading to Chicago and participating in the Games?
Representing this country!!! It's at our house. We will be playing in Washington Park, and we all grew up playing in Washington Park. We've named it, "Bringing the gold right back home"

What other sports are you into watching? And which sport is the sexiest?
Tennis, hands down. Serena Williams can ace me any day, any time, any where! Tennis women are hot.

Serena--looking good on the court, and off.

What do you think is the biggest value of an event like the Gay Games?
It shows the world we are growing in numbers and slowly but surely being accepted for who we are.

Who's your athletic idol?
Althea Gibson. She broke the color line. She paved the door for players like Serena and Venus.

What keeps you focused? What keeps you on track while pursuing your goals?
When I look at the pride in women's faces when I talk about the Nubians, when I see the pride in my teams faces, it makes it all worthwhile. I want to open the door for other African-American women, the next generation of gay women and I hope I live long enough to see that pride. Right now, I've kind of been focusing on my team goals. I've got 22 women who believe in me. I'm keeping my journal going as a project, and it will be something no one will ever forget. In 2004, at the World Series we were called "niggers" at a talent show. We all left the building and lodged a complaint. It hurt me because we don't get accepted by the African American community, and obviously not by the gay community either. That will not be tolerated and I will work as hard as I have to to change that.

Tell me about an athlete you had a crush on in high school? And how did that turn out?
My basketball coach. She was so hot. I never missed practice.

Finally… Say you win a gold medal at the Gay Games… What are you gonna do next?
First, we will win a gold medal at the Games (it's called divine order). Then we’ll go to Florida and win the World Series, and we will then come back home and I will make sure my team is recognized for their accomplishments and the barriers we break down all along the way.

For more info on the Gay Games and other teams participating, head to the official site.

Good TV Stuff

You might have seen these already, but they're worth plugging still. Good old Malcontent has some choice clips of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert tackling the current debate about the Marriage Protection Act in the Senate. Go here and check 'em out! And major props to those guys.

In other TV-related news, I'm stoked to hear that the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim is gonna start airing episodes of the classic (and pretty darn gay, if you ask me) Pee Wee's Playhouse series, which hasn't been seen on TV in about 15 years! Starting in July, it's gonna be on Monday thru Thursdays at 11pm. Jambi must have heard my wish!

And tonight, Logo starts airing the all-gay versions of the series Can't Get a Date (which you might have seen on VH1). In each episode, a person who's had really crappy luck in dating and romance, gets some handy-dandy advice from experts about how to get out there, have confidence and meet people. Tonight's Logo premiere finds lesbian mom Jenni learning how to tone down her sexually aggressive and ickily inappropriate conversation tendencies. And of course, she gets a little help with some hair and lingerie issues, too.

Jenni gets a bit of hair repair on "Can't Get a Date" tonight on Logo.

Maybe some lingerie pointers will spice up Jenni's love life. Hey... It could happen!

Can't Get a Date debuts tonight at 10:30pm. Watch it every Wednesday night. Ya might even learn something...

Really Fresh Peaches

Everybody loves Peaches. That is, everybody who digs grungy, slammin', driving electro-beats fueled by filthy lyrics delivered by a unapologetically powerful, sexually aggressive (and open to guys and gals) female. Yep, the phenomenal Peaches--who's been called "the self-made, self-produced, do-it-yourself leader of the electro punk movement and mistress of the original dirty lyrical classic ("F**k the Pain Away")"--is back with a new album, due on July 11th. On the new disc, titled Impeach My Bush, (get the idea? the CD cover is pictured below) is a house party full of trashily smart buzzworthy beats and articulate and wildly creative (and yes, blatantly nasty) sentiments. Songs like "Tent In Your Pants" leave nothing to the imagination, and "Two Guys (For Every Girl)" is a sexual manifesto which demands that Peaches play witness to some man-on-man activities.

Lurid lines aside, the disc is also a showcase for the openly bisexual Peaches' knack for tasty hooks, and it's also a showcase for a fun roster of guest talents who pop up to rock it with Mizz P. Joan Jett drops in to chip in on vocals and guitar on "You Love It"; Feist and Josh Homme help out on "Give 'Er" (which is Canadian slang whic means to give it all you got). And Beth Ditto of The Gossip joins in on vocals on "Two Guys (For Every Girl)." And joining Peaches as part of her house band for Impeach My Bush are J.D. Samson from Le Tigre on keytar and sequencing, Hole's Samantha Maloney beats the drums, and ex-Courtney Love guitarist Radio Sloan. Rockin'!!!

Peaches and her new crew will be touring this summer, first with Nine Inch Nails and Bauhaus, which will be followed by a headlining tour with the Eagles of Death Metal.

On the tune "Get It" Peaches sings: "We got givin' and gettin' / That's all that we got." And Peaches just gives and gives and gives. Gotta love it!

Shears Spills Gay Beans

Hankering for some Scissor Sisters news? Then, check out this report from NME (via Trent) that's got Jake Shears dishing all about the band's upcoming release (to be called "Ta-dah!"). Also, Brooklyn Vegan clues you in that the band's going to play the Siren Festival in Coney Island, NYC on July 15th.

The flyer for a "Love-In" event in NYC this Thursday, featuring Jake Shears.

And if you're in NYC this Thursday night (June 8th), there's a big, gorgeous hippie-flavored hoedown on the Chelsea Piers that's a book party for the legendary queer novelist Tom Spanbauer (he wrote the gay/mystical classis The Man Who Fell in Love With the Moon, and In the City of Shy Hunters, a seminal chronicle of punky/queer East Village life in the 1980s). At that party, all of NYC nightlife is going to be in evidence, including luminaries like Rufus Wainwright, John Cameron Mitchell, author Michael Cunningham, Justin Bond of Kiki & Herb, Patricia Field, and more! Word also has it that the Scissor Sisters will be having a photo shoot at the event, too. Maybe your day as a model has arrived! The fun begins around 9pm with readings and performances, and it's all produced by NYC nightlife legends Johnny Dynell and Chi Chi Valenti. For more info click here.

And that's your dose of Scissor Sisters news today. Cheers!

Cybill Joins The L Word

If I didn’t love The L Word already (and I totally do) I’d be positively ga-ga over the news that Cybill Shepherd, the former Breck girl who rose to stardom in the 1970s thanks to Peter Bogdonavich’s amazing film The Last Picture Show and Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver, and then who rose to superstardom in the 80s thanks to the completely awesome romantic comedy/detective show Moonlighting (which ruled TV during its first few seasons), has joined the cast of The L Word for its next season. Shepherd will appear on 11 episodes of the all-girl drama, which follows the loves and lives of group of lesbians in L.A., and she’ll play “a married mother--and president of the college where Bette Porter (Jennifer Beals) attends graduate school--who suddenly begins to question her sexuality” according to the smart folks at AfterEllen.com.

Surprisingly, this is gonna be Shepherd’s first gay role. She’s long been an outspoken supporter and activist for women’s rights and gay issues, but until now, the actress (also known more recently for playing Martha Stewart in TV movies) hasn’t played gay. Hey—it’s about time, Cyb! I’m so excited I might have to go dig up an old VHS copy of Chances Are, that sublime and ridiculous 1989 film in which Shepherd gets romanced by Robert Downey Jr., who plays the ghost of her late husband. And, that film also features the awesome/schmaltzy tune, “After All” that was a duet/power-ballad between Cher and Peter Cetera. Aaack! It rules.

Anyway, shooting is due to begin soon on the fourth season of The L Word, and the show will air in early 2007. Maybe the calming/beauteous presence of Cybill on the show can help heal the damage inflicted by watching Alan Cumming’s icky character last season. Thanks, Cybill!

Minoritees: The New Black

The NYC-based firm called Minoritees creatively crank out some of the finest T-shirt designs around these days. Founded by talented New Yorkers (and out, African-American entrepreneurs) Collin Spencer and Austin Green, the tasty togs from Minoritees always feature fierce graphics and fun designs, and often they provide their own wry commentary on matters of sexuality, race and identity.

Just in time for Pride season, Minoritees are serving up the cool “Equalizer” T-shirt (see the pic above), which offers its own smart, inclusive, stylin’ and buzz-worthy take on gayness. Subtle, but savvy. You can also check out more cool T’s on the Minoritees site (and find out where to buy them nationwide). And Collin and Austin have a busy June ahead, as they’re gonna unveil their fall line at Out Magazine’s OutLounge event in NYC on June 15th, with more activities planned as Pride weekend (June 23-25) draws near. Plus, the guys are often donating some of their profits to LGBT-friendly charities or creating T-shirts for queer-specific charity events, so you gotta love ’em for that.

Check out a few more current, hot T’s from Minoritees. And happy shopping!

Logo's Hung Up on Madge!

Madonna onstage in NYC's Madison Square Garden, Summer 2001.

You can love her, you can leave her, but she’s never gonna stop! That would be Madonna, of course. And while this summer finds Queen Esther traveling around the country, toting her cross, riding gear and studly back-up dancers from city to city “Confessing,” the folks at Logo are getting way into the groove of all things Madge as well.

Officially starting tomorrow, Logo is going to be airing 30 of Madonna’s best and most bodacious videos (from “Burning Up” to “Hung Up” and then some…) for the next few weeks all during their regular programming, which will all culminate on-air on Saturday, June 24th when Logo goes crazy with a showcase of Madonna-related fare, which will feature Mrs. Ritchie’s videos, movies (Truth or Dare, and—yes!—Swept Away) and then, at 8pm you can watchThe Click List: Ultimate Madonna which will air your picks for Madonna’s top ten videos ever!!!

Yes. That's right. Logo wants to find out what's your pick for the #1 Madonna video--EVER!!! Starting now, you can head to LogoOnline and watch Her Madgesty’s classic clips (and the newer ones, too) and pick your favorites!

As for my favorites… I’m totally gonna be lobbying for “Ray of Light,” “Like a Virgin,” “Papa Don’t Preach” (with hottie mechanic Alex McCarthy!), “Lucky Star,” “Express Yourself” and “Deeper and Deeper” (Hello!!?? Sofia Coppola! Udo Kier! Debi Mazar! Holly Woodlawn! And that freaky blonde ’fro wig!!!) And I’m not voting for “This Used to Be My Playground.” Gack! Or “La Isla Bonita”??? I don’t think so.

And you know when the results finally get aired (again, on June 24th) the queens are gonna be livid when their favorite doesn’t top the chart. Meow!

But vote! Watch the clips. Weigh in!
Appreciate her!!!

To get you primed, here's a little trip down memory lane, Ciccone-style...

Backstage in a NYC club with Marilyn, circa 1983.

Onstage during "The Virgin Tour" in 1985.

Onstage in London, circa 1987, on the "Who's That Girl" tour.

Classic cone-bra realness. Thanks, Gaultier!!!

At the premiere of "Truth or Dare" (then called, "In Bed with Madonna") in Cannes in 1991.

A studio shot promoting the release of "Ray of Light."

On her Re-Invention Tour. "American Life" anyone?

Groovin' with Missy for Gap.

Remember this?

Reading is fundamental. Madge as authoress.

Mr. & Mrs. Ritchie

At the movies, catching Harry Potter, with Lo-Lo.

Squatting for the kids at G.A.Y. in London last fall, launching "Confessions."

And geared up to ride on the "Confessions" tour. Thanks, Maddie!

Ain't No Other Xtina

This past weekend, Christina Aguilera performed the first single, “Ain’t No Other Man,” from her forthcoming album, Back to Basics (due in August) at the MTV Movie Awards in L.A. (Check out the pics of her workin’ it onstage above—and below.) You can watch it on MTV this coming Thursday, June 8th. But you can also go to Xtina’s own site to hear a preview of the tune. It was even available on iTunes this past weekend. Suddenly, little Chrissy’s all over the place!

And the tune? Jazzy, funky and pretty slammin’… Word has it that Outkast’s Big Boi will contribute to a remix. And the video’s been shot and is bound to be leaked out there any moment now.

Hot!

Buzz Bits: Cowboy Kisses, Marriage Bans, Pink Champagne

Guys making out rule! More specifically, Jake and Heath’s Brokeback snogging wins “Best Kiss” at the MTV Movie Awards! Yee-haw!

Meanwhile, the country (and the media) gears up to face the current debate of the proposed Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. And Ted Kennedy’s not having it: “The Republican leadership is focused on writing discrimination into the Constitution…”

And this weekend in Pittsburgh, Howard Dean addressed gay Democrats on the issue.

Meanwhile, from New York to San Francisco, gay activists marched this weekend to support same-sex marriage.

In less serious matters, Karl Lagerfeld launches some designer pink champagne (with a little help from Lindsay Lohan). As Rufus Wainwright sang, “Oh what a world we live in…”

And Meryl Streep gives props to Kurt Vonnegut, Robert Altman, and is just pretty fabulous all-around. Love her! (Scroll down past the Lohan item for good Streep dish.)

Gay in the U.S.A.

The President’s gonna back a ban on gay marriage. Wanna fight back? The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force can get you started here. Or you can take a walk and think about it (and protest).

But despite whatever the President’s doing, gay folks across the country are gaining ground…

In Minnesota, gay Methodists are cool with queer marriage and gay ministers. Yay, Minnesota!

And Myrtle Beach, SC has a new gay center!

In California, LGBT seniors get some official protections with a new bill. Props to the pops!

Seattle is so totally gay that they’re having two Pride fests at once! But is that a good thing?

And this weekend you can celebrate Gay Pride in Austin, TX; Asbury Park, New Jersey; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Dayton, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan; Nashville, TN; Queens, New York; Washington, D.C., and for the first time ever in Los Altos, California!

She's Like a Gay Bird...

OK... Nelly Furtado's not gay, but that doesn't mean the Canadian pop mama isn't down with us queers. Her new record, Loose, is getting all kinds of gay love. The single "Promiscuous" is generating buzz, and bloggers all over the place are talking about Ms. F's latest efforts.

The new issue of Genre Magazine has a fun interview with Nelly, courtesy of super-blogger Arjan Timmermans. I like the part where Nelly discusses how she'd decorate her own gay pride float. "We’d have lounge chairs and a little kiddy pool,” she says. “And we could all dance around and throw champagne on each other.” Fun, can I ride?

And this week, Brookyn Vegan posted a link to a fun cover that Nelly did recently of the Gnarls Barkley hit "Crazy." Niiiice.

Gay Games: Gearing Up!

The Gay Games 2006 in Chicago kick off on July 15th. And I’m stretching already! This summer's jock-tastic confab is going to drawing thousands of athletes, artists, partygoers and plain old sports fans to the Windy City for a week-long blast of activities. In addition to some classic sporting events (ya know—basketball, softball, track and field, soccer, volleyball) there are plenty of not-so-traditional events (DanceSport, darts, sailing), and lots of cultural activities (cheer teams, color guards, bands, choral concerts) and more, more, more to wow visitors.

Starting today, every Thursday here at the NewNowNext blog I’m going to give you a profile of an athlete heading to this year’s Gay Games, as a way to give you some personal flavor of what these events are going to be.

Cyd Zeigler: Sports Dude.

First up is NYC’s own Cyd Zeigler (above), perhaps one of gaydom’s most outspoken sports afficianados. Zeigler runs OutSports.com, an online super-bowl of info and news tailor-made for the LGBT sports fan. Cyd’s heading to Chicago to participate sportily, but he also plans to whoop it up all over, absorbing the full flavor of festivities.

But why don’t I let him tell you about it…

So, Cyd... What sport will you be competing in during the Gay Games?
Football. A friend wants me to run the 4 x 400 relay in track too, so I may find my way to the track on Friday.

How did you get started playing football? And how long have you been playing?
Well, oddly enough, I only starting playing football after I came out. I met a great group of friends with the L.A. Motion flag football group in 1996 and the rest is history.

What position do you play? And what are your strengths—and your weaknesses?
That's an awfully personal question. But, if you must know, I'm often the wide receiver. And let's put it this way—I on't think my boyfriend has anything to complain about.

Have you always been involved in sports? What's your earliest sports memory?
Despite there not being a looker on the whole team, it was cheering for the Boston Celtics in the 1984 NBA Championship. Green has been one of my favorite colors
since.

What are you most looking forward to about heading to Chicago and participating in the Games?
Having fun and meeting new people. Unless I'm going to get a big signing bonus for winning it all, focusing on fun is always the best policy.

What other sports are you into watching? And which sport is the sexiest?
I love all sports that don't involve a baseball bat or a soccer ball. As for the sexiest sport, it would have to be water polo; all of those guys grabbing onto each other in Speedos? Trouble!

Sexiest sportsman? "A water polo guy," sez Cyd. [Photo: Tom Bianchi]

What do you think is the biggest value of an event like the Gay Games?
That's a great question. I guess meeting new people. At this point, there are so many gay sports events that the "importance" of the Gay Games is greatly diminished. So, I think just meeting new people is the biggest plus.

Cyd throws frisbee, too. When he's not playing flag football. Or updating OutSports.com.

Who's your athletic idol?
Oakland Raiders wide receiver Randy Moss. He's the most dominant player in the NFL and is so fun to watch.

Most watchable guy in cleats? The Raiders' Randy Moss.

You also run the website OutSports.com. In a sentence, what is OutSports? What is its goal?
It's ESPN for homos. (Not that ESPN isn't already for homos.) One of Outsports' goals is to give a voice to the sports fans who are marginalized by the gay community and the gay people who are marginalized by the sports world.

How will OutSports be covering/following the Gay Games?
We'll have an extensive notebook with updates from all of the sports and the most comprehensive photo gallery anywhere.

Cyd chills. Watery!

Tell me about which athlete you had a crush on in high school? And how did that turn out?
Eric Birchfield. Played on my school's baseball team. Haven't seen him since ninth grade. Grrrr.

Finally... Say you win a gold medal at the Gay Games... What are you gonna do next?
Grab my camera and head to the swimming competition!

Photo: Tom Bianchi

For more about Cyd and Outsports, head to the site!

Queer Movie Explosion: NewFest's Head Honcho Tells All!!!

Today in NYC marks the opening day of NewFest, the big annual LGBT Film Festival that showcases the best in up-and-coming queer filmmaking talent, as well as just the coolest gay films that are out there now. The ten-day event kicks off tonight with a gala premiere screening of the forthcoming film Strangers With Candy, and will continue through June 11th, featuring over 200 great new homo-relevant features, documentaries, short films and more. Expect coming-out tales, disturbing slice-of-life stories, inspiring tales of courage, and totally weird arty stuff. You can get all the details at NewFest.org, and even if you’re not in NYC, you can still browse through the roster of films and get a sense of films that will be heading to your local arthouse cinema later this year.

Logo’s Chrisine Alloro sat down with NewFest’s director, Basil Tsiokos (below, right), to get the inside scoop on what’s screening and buzzworthy this year. Here’s what he had to tell us about mounting a gay film fest, what he’s stoked to see, and getting stranded with Rufus Wainwright.

Christine Alloro: To start us off, why don’t you tell us a little bit about NewFest and how long it has been around?
Basil Tsokios: NewFest is the New York LGBT film festival. It’s been around since 1989 and it is an eleven-day festival that usually shows about 250 LGBT films, features, documentaries and etc. for New York City audiences and the surrounding areas. I have been around forever; I actually started off as an intern back in 1996. So I went from intern to programming to running the festival. I have been there for a long time.

How have you seen it change over the years?
Yeah, well there has been change in the media face that represents LGBT people. I didn’t found the festival, but I know from speaking with the founders in the past that the first few years if there was a gay film they would show it. That has changed dramatically. There are always submissions that are great and some that are not so great, but we don’t have room for everything anymore. We expanded a few years ago because there is never enough room to do what you want to do and New York is an expensive city to host a film festival, as you can probably imagine. Because of this we can do 2 to 3 screenings at a time and now there are more films and more good films. Things like LOGO and other representations of LGBT people on TV have really changed the way what audiences accept and respond to the festival.

What are some of the criteria for a film or a piece that makes it in?
I like to think we are pretty opened minded about stuff. Our official criteria is films that are about, buy or of interest to LGBT people. The “of-interest” part is really broad based and it could be something that has no LGBT content at all or just some theme that works. It doesn’t need to have LGBT people in it; it could be a film by a lesbian that’s about straight people. Or if it doesn’t have anything at all and we feel it is a good film we still have a way to show it then.

So how long does it take you to go through all the submissions?
A long time. We open submissions in October and we make decisions in April. So it is a long process.

Do you eat popcorn?
[Laughs.] Not anymore, no.

Why don’t you tell us about the lineup this year and if there are any truly unique LGBT themes?
In this year’s lineup there’s about 230-240 films. We feature films from 35 countries and we are focusing on the huge number of documentaries and narrated films.

Do you find more documentaries now than ever before?
Yeah, I would probably say that. As the DV revolution in terms of filmmaking has taken root, a lot more people have access to make films that used to be really cost prohibitive to do. But this is probably across the board with all festivals, 35 mm is still present but video is definitely the format more and more people are using.

Strangers With Candy

20 Centimeters

And I am sure the huge surge in reality shows over the past couple of years contributed to this, too.
Absolutely, that’s another thing we do find genre play in terms of the kind of films we are getting. A lot of “mockumentaries” and other things that are reality-based in some way. But this year about the lineup we are really excited about a number of things. We are opening with Strangers With Candy, the feature adaptation of the television series, which is a lot of fun. Amy Sedaris is just brilliant. I think the audience has been waiting to see this for along while. So we have that as our opening and our closure is an amazing musical comedy called 20 Centimeters. It’s from Spain and if you’re only going to see one pre-op transsexual, musical comedy, this is it! It’s a fantastic and a fun film.

Combat

Do you have a personal favorite in the festival?
I have some odd tastes I must say. Personally, I tend to liker darker films and films that are a little more challenging. One film that I really love is called Combat. It is a Belgium film; it’s a featurette really because it is less than 16 minutes. It is the story of a romance between two men, but in a very peculiar way. Two men just sort of walk into the woods and sort of physically assault one another and there’s a great monologue.

Long-Term Relationship

Sounds like Fire Island to me.
Yeah exactly. Well, I am not doing it justice by that description because that’s not literally what happens, but it is a beautiful film that is beautifully shot. There’s a lot going on in terms of relationships and stuff like that. For the pure entertainment factor there's a really cute and really great film called Long-Term Relationship, which is the world premiere of a first time filmmaker. It’s a romantic comedy, and the film is really fun and really charming and I really enjoyed it. It’s the story of a liberal democrat who falls in love with a gay republican. Everything else is right except for that and they try to navigate through that. And Camp Out is a great documentary that we are screening that is about the first ever over-night gay bible camp.

Camp Out

And it is a documentary?
Yeah, it is real that is what is so great about it. These kids are trying really hard to reconcile their spirituality and their sexuality and it is handled really well.

You also break the films up into different focuses and themes, do they differ year to year the themes?
Absolutely. The focuses are something that I introduced a few years back that were really meant to draw attention to films that might get overlooked. So it sort of developed from that into something more organic. I don’t even find myself having to force it, not that I think I ever did, but these are just themes that emerge organically from the programming process. It’s like I’m not looking to do a focus on history, but there was a great number of films that talked about LGBT history that were interesting in different ways so that makes sense to me. And there’s been a huge upsurge in transgender-themed films, which is great.

Another focus this year is youth. Is that a new one for you?
Youth is probably always a topic for gay film festivals because the coming out is always the big gay and lesbian genre, but it kind of goes beyond that this year. It’s about a lot of other issues like the Camp Out story I mentioned earlier, which is not really about them coming out. It’s more about living their lives as youth and more challenging topics that deal with sexist issues, sexuality, and the age of consent, so the reason why we focused on this was to bring attention to some of these topics. And history is another focus area this year, too. We have four films that fall into this category that looks at different parts of the gay and lesbian history. We have one film called Screaming Queens which shows a moment of collective action against harassment by police by transsexual woman a few years before Stonewall, which is fantastic. It sort of uncovers that hidden history. And there’s one Mom’s Apple Pie that is about the lesbian custody battles of the 1970’s, where basically woman were denied any rights to their children in divorce settlements. And the final one is a really interesting piece called The Fall of ’55, which looks at a very specific moment is Boise, Idaho’s history about a scandal that happened in 1955 and rocked this small town.

What was your first gay movie you ever saw and how did it affect you?
I’d say Querelle. It was totally twisted with a dark sexual plot, which is probably why I like dark films. I think that’s what it was.

How old were you?
I was probably, wow that’s a good question. I was probably like 14 or 15.

Did you stumble upon it?
No, I think I was just at a video store and it just seemed like “I want to see this.”

Here’s something I’m curious about: Do you feel that it’s important to continue to tell LGBT stories with the themes we’ve heard time and again, and to present them in the film festival, or do you feel like it’s more important to promote edgier fare?
I hear what you’re saying. I think that there’s room in the festival for all kinds of films, and I try to push the envelope as much as possible. There are films that I could point out that are absolutely for the audience that is looking for something different. Whispering Moon, for example is just crazy twisted fun; it’s Austrian. There are really cute boys in it, and they’re hot and all, but there’s something really unique and fun that happens during the film. Combat, the other one that I mentioned earlier, is also one of my favorites. But at the same time, I think that we can’t lose sight that there are certain audiences that are very happy to see our established genres. They’re happy to see the gay romantic comedies, they’re happy to see lesbian love stories, the dyke dramas. That’s what they want to see and we can’t necessarily keep them from those films. But above all, they have to be good films.

Fantastic. And now I just want to ask you some fun questions if that’s okay.
I love fun questions.

Okay. If you were stuck in an elevator, who would you pick to be with?
Wow… I’m assuming some celebrity person would be more fun here. I don’t know, Rufus Wainwright?

Rufus Wainwright: Good in a stuck elevator?

Oh, good pick. Yeah, better than picking your cousin Bob who no one knows. Do you have any nicknames, and where did your name Basil come from?
I have a lot of names, actually. My real name is Vasilios Demtriosiocos. It’s a Greek name, all of it. Basil is the American equivalent, but Greeks are really funny. In American they tend to give their kids traditional names and then find weird nicknames for them. Vasilios turns into Basil but nobody really calls me Basil, or nobody used to call me Basil. They called me Billy.

Scissor Sisters: Beloved by gay film-fest gurus everywhere?

Oh cute. I could see you as a Billy. Favorite bands?
Favorite bands. Well, you know, like I said Rufus is not a surprise. The Scissor Sisters, I love. Old school R.E.M. I like Aretha Franklin, the Jackson Five. Sadly, I’m so overwhelmed with movies that I don’t have time to keep up with new music too often, but I like what I like.

Do you go see mainstream, popular movies in the theater anymore?
You know, I can watch movies from July until about August or September and then I’m overwhelmed with either gay stuff or I also screen for Sundance, so I see films for them. I definitely want to see X-Men 3, and Superman, those kind of big films.

And do you watch television?
Let’s see. I love reality TV. I love The Amazing Race, Survivor, Top Chef. Project Runway is amazing. Definitely. Those shows are fun. I also love Gilmore Girls. But my guiltiest pleasure, and I don’t care what anyone says, is Passions, the NBC soap opera. It is twisted. It is the best show ever.

For those of you who don’t know, Passions has wizards and little people.
Palaces sinking into hell. It’s just fantastic.

And, back to NewFest. Would you say that the festival is targeted for our community, for the gay community?
Overwhelmingly, yes? I mean, we of course want straight people there, we want our supporters there—we want everybody there! But yes, it’s definitely a film festival for the gay and lesbian community.

And if they want to come and buy a ticket it’s www…?
Newfest.org.

And the dates of the festival are June 1st through the 11th?
Yes, they’re always the first Thursday through the second Sunday of June. Come check us out!

Noah Gets Some Girl Power!

Still more Noah's Arc casting news!!! Word is in that the big gay boy-fest is indeed getting a bit of female spice in the coming season. One of my favorite TV starlets, the lovely and delightful Victoria Rowell, who totally ruled my world as Drucilla on The Young and the Restless back in the day (and then she came back--hurrah!), and who also starred with Dick Van Dyke in Diagnosis Murder will be popping up on the show during season two. (And, just FYI, she's also been in the movies Dumb and Dumber, The Distinquished Gentleman and the award-winning Eve's Bayou --which kinda rocked.)

So what kind of estrogen-fueled mojo will Ms. Rowell be working amid the men of the Arc? What I've been told is that she'll appear as "Vonda" who is "a friend of Chance and Eddie's." Umm... And that's it. (Why does all of this casting info have to be so cryptic, already?)

A cool factual tidbit about Rowell. She was raised as a foster child, and way back in 1990 she founded the Rowell Foster Children Positive Plan, which gives emotional support and financial aid to foster kids. She totally helps kids go to arts camps, helps get them jobs in the entertainment industry, and just helps spread the word about the need for good foster parents to provide homes for kids. Pretty awesome.

But will she able to do some good for the kids on Noah's Arc?
Hmmm...