Sunday 08.21.16
Event: Wigstock: The Cruise
One of the GAYLETTER boys asked me if this was worth a mention in this week’s newsletter and at first I was like nahhhh, but then I saw that the legendary drag queen Lady Bunny was involved, so I went back to give it another look. Lady Bunny was doing drag before I was born. She was involved in the original Wigstock, which was an outdoor drag festival that happened in the 1980s in Manhattan’s East Village — there’s an amazing documentary about it, google it, you must watch it. RuPaul is in it, the film is cunt! This event is presented by Sea Tea - New York’s Gay Party Cruise and it’s one night only. Lady Bunny brings us an amazing line-up of entertainers including Jimmy James, Michael West, Connie Fleming, Glamamore (aka David More), Juanita More, John Kelly as Joni Mitchell (amazing!), Tabboo! aka Stephen Tashjian Dueling Bankheads with David Ilku, Clark Render and “a real blast from the past” Ebony Jett from San Francisco. I mean, yassssssssss. Music will be provided by Johnny Dynell and Ed Bailey. The cruise departs from Pier 40, it boards at 6:00PM, sailing at 7:30PM and returning at 10:00PM — also, it includes a complimentary buffet dinner. Tickets will be also sold at Village Apothecary (West 10th Street & Bleecker). Now that I think about it, this sounds pretty amazing.
Saturday 08.20.16
JAMES UNSWORTH – N.S.F.L.
James Unsworth’s art is very dark, and sexy and fucked up in the best possible ways. Known for exploring “the subjects of sex, death, food and grand faggotory” in his work, the London based artist, has acquired fans far and wide. This Saturday, August 20, at Printed Matter Inc.
Unsworth will debut his first U.S. solo exhibition titled ‘N.S.F.L.’ It “will include original drawings from Unsworth’s first two publications; Ninja Turtle Sex Museum and Dead Boys alongside sketches, reference material, prints and ephemera relating to these drawings.”
Apparently James will be onsite to sign copies of both publications. We chatted with Printed Matter’s Shannon Michael Caine about the show and he told us that there are also “over a 100 original drawings for sale and riso editioned prints start at $20.” He also mentioned that there will be “beer and boys.” He knows us too well. We’re looking forward to it.
Free, 5:00-7:00pm, Printed Matter, 231 11th Ave. New York, NY. …
Friday 08.19.16
Film: FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS
I just spent the last ten minutes watching Meryl Streep interviews on YouTube. That woman gives me life! Even in interviews she commits to the role. She has an all-or-nothing quality that makes her irresistible to watch. Meryl herself has referred to this quality in a recent interview she gave to the Wall Street Journal: “There’s that great Vincent Van Gogh quote: ‘I am seeking, I am striving, I am in it with all my heart.’ That’s the aspiration.” She certainly lives up to Vincent’s motto in Florence Foster Jenkins, her latest film about the 1940’s socialite, and terrible singer, of the same name. Florence had great confidence in her voice, even buying out Carnegie Hall for a concert, despite the fact that she was unable to ever hit the right notes. Meryl has great fun singing badly in the movie and director Stephen Fryers turns up the campiness to 1000. This film is great fun. It’s a perfect summer pick-me-up, Meryl carries from start to finish!
Thursday 08.18.16
Party: Femmequerade Ball – Party to Cure Toxic Masculinity
If you’re still unconvinced that toxic masculinity is an epidemic plaguing our country, please take a moment and Google, “Trump rally.” Are we now all on the same page? While identifying the problem is Step 1, what to do next is a bit trickier. Luckily the brains behind Femmequerade Ball have an answer: “We aim to create a space free of toxic masculinity, where all are liberated to fearlessly dance and love themselves. We believe that if we lovingly spread a hate of cis masculinity, we can manifest self-love in all ppl through the domination of femmenergy.” Quite literally a “feminine Masquerade Ball,” people are encouraged to attend in costume or at least wear a mask. The Ball is hosted by Mima Good and the long list of performers include Jay Boogie (pictured), my friend Zenobia and my other friend’s sister Ashni (impressed that I could somehow make this about me?). Tickets are available in advance at a reduced price, and also at the door. Best of all, cis white straight men will be charged $3 extra because, well, they should be. Come out Thursday night and join the fight to find a cure.
Wednesday 08.17.16
‘New Hampshire’ by PWR BTTM
The band's originally scrapped track gets a well-received release
The first thing I do when I get to the GAYLETTER office is (after wiping a lot of sweat off my face) sit down and open Facebook like the good millennial I suppose I am. It’s always exciting to realize I have been awake for four hours and the morning’s news might as well be something that happened two weeks ago. So much happens when I am getting my beauty sleep! It’s really fascinating how time works. So cray-cray, right? There is always something new, exciting and stupid to read on Facebook. Yesterday was a little different though.
As Frank Ocean continues to teach us, disgruntled fans are not the look. Releasing new music is vital to taming your fandom. PWR BTTM knows how to treat their fans better than any other band. Liv Bruce and Ben Hopkins have had quite the year. We were thrilled to publish them in Issue 4 of GAYLETTER, and since featuring them in the mag, they’ve been written about by NPR, MTV, Pitchfork, and countless other major sources, all while on a major tour supporting the indie-emo fave, Pity Sex. Both members have extreme passion for inclusivity and spend the necessary time snapping photos with their glitter-clad fans after shows. They have an active (often politically charged) social media presence that keeps their fans engaged, interested and above all else, heard by the duo. Most importantly, they made sure every venue they played provided gender neutral restrooms for those attending their shows. …
Event: +POOL Summer Pool Party
Who doesn’t loves a good pool party? Abi, myself and this bitch Wilhelmina Read (Miss Belgrade Lakes 2015) were in Mt. Kisko (pictured) a few weeks ago for Cockyboy Liam Riley’s birthday. The weather was really perfect. Sunny, 90 — the pool was lit and our weed went in deep. Sometimes I forget I’m 21, but let’s just say losing my flip-flops and drinking rosé straight from the bottle helped me remember I’m def full of youth and highly susceptible to an overindulgent experience. Anyway, there is another pool party coming up and I’m thinking of giving my wasted pool boy role a reprise! “It’s gonna be INSANE: hosted by Alessandra Balazs, Joshua David, Andrew Essex, Ariel Foxman, Jon Oringer, Lockhart Steele and Emily Weiss, music by Ben + Callan from Lemonade and Lloydski from Tiki Disco” and more. “The event gathers the amazing artists, designers, architects, environmentalists, swimmers, urban planners, water lovers, government leaders, and social impact investors, working to better our city through projects.” Groundbreaking. All proceeds support the development of + POOL and its free public and educational programs. They’re trying to put a floating pool in the fucking river. It’s an expensive event, but it’s a benefit. Text your sugar daddy!
Tuesday 08.16.16
Opening Reception: Olympic Favela by Marc Ohrem-Leclef
It may come as a shock for you to learn that the Olympics are going on right now in Rio de Janeiro. Or that I just had to google the proper spelling of “Janeiro.” While Olympic coverage is everywhere we look, what’s presented is mostly the shiny, hand-holding Olympics that we’re taught to believe in as children. When mainstream news outlets cover more controversial stories, they’re almost always about environmental issues. These stories are obviously important but are only given airtime because they affect foreign athletes. Stories about less significant people (read: poor) are much harder to come by and artist Marc Ohrem-Leclef is doing what he can to change that.
With his project ‘Olympic Favela,’ Ohrem-Leclef documents how the residents of 14 Rio favelas (Brazilian urban slums) have been affected by both the Olympic games and the World Cup. Forced from their homes in order to entertain the rest of the world, Marc captures the struggle and perseverance of these brave displaced families through both photo and video. While his work has already been internationally recognized, it’s on view for the first time in New York at the BAXTER ST Gallery as part of the 2016 Annual Juried Exhibition.
The show, curated by Mickalene Thomas, will be having an opening reception tomorrow that features a screening of the Olympic Favela accompanying film. The documentary centers around two families from Favela Vila Autodromo who are relocated and end up having to deal with two very different fates. …
Sunday 08.14.16
Event: Walking tour of the famous and infamous in the Meatpacking District
Efrain John Gonzales (fun name) is a licensed tour guide, and he’s offering a unique experience — the chance to take a tour “of the old Meatpacking District and High Line park when it was the wild and crazy capital of underground clubs from the 70’s all the way to the dawn of the 21st century.” Efrain will show you where “the vanished underground clubs and vaults used to exist and illustrate their stories and legends” with his “personal photographs, taken in places that were famous and infamous, long before it all changed from a sleazy, trashy meat processing block that was home to biker bars and hookers, to an elegant tourist resort with 5 star hotels and exclusive restaurants.” The tour goes for 90 minutes and is sure to be fascinating look at a site of great importance to the LGBTQ community over the last 40 years. Click here for more tour dates.
Saturday 08.13.16
Event: EVERY TIME YOU SEE ME
I spoke to artist DonChristian, who’s presenting this show along with Ashton Agbomenou (Don is also in the current issue of GAYLETTER magazine). He gave me some background information, “I got a grant from Groundswell, the mural organization that I work for to do a long term project with Hetrick-Martin Institute. I worked with several HMI participants to conceive a series of painted works. It has materialized as two triptychs on canvas, that are installed at the Adam Clayton Powell State Office Building in Harlem.” For those of you that don’t know the Hetrick-Martin Institute, it’s an amazing institution that provides services, counseling and legal assistant to LGBT youth. This event features artworks by young artists from Hetrick-Martin Institute as well as the Groundswell NYC (who also is helping make this possible). Don added: “I want this to be an opportunity for them to show their work and sell it. The show lasts 6 weeks but is only open to the public on this weekend Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th.” Expect a performance by House of J’Adore at 6:30PM. “Wine and refreshments will be served.” This is an amazing event, go and acquire some art or simply support this cause any way you can, it’s a great organization for us to stand behind. Give the children some love!
Friday 08.12.16
Continuing the Support for Orlando Victims: Tim-Scapes
As a queer person, I know two things to be true: We can never have enough shit with rainbows on them and we can never stop supporting the members of our community in need. Tim-Scapes has created a new design to benefit the victims of the Orlando massacre. It features a rainbow and Tim-Scapes’s signature duct tape lettering. The design can be purchased as a print, t-shirt or tank top, with 100% of the proceeds going to Equality Florida’s Pulse Victims’ Fund.
Tim-Scapes is known as the “little shop with the big gay heart” based in Provincetown, Massachusetts. It’s run by Tim Convery, an ex-New York executive who moved to P-town back in 2010 and rediscovered his creativity with Tim-Scapes. As explained on his website, “Convery’s designs celebrate vintage travel posters utilizing his unique duct tape typeface and creating bold logos of over 50 American destinations. Each design is a colorful, geometric icon highlighting a famous landmark or drawing attention to a social cause.”
The Orlando logo was originally created only to show solidarity on social media. But, due to the reaction of his customers, Tim began selling shirts featuring the logo for charity. “I was really surprised about the design’s popularity and immediately went into production,” said Convery. “This whole project became a crystallization of what I want Tim-Scapes to be about – helping people through the power of design.”
While the exclusive Orlando design is available only through Labor Day, many of Tim’s logos are available as standalone prints, mugs and even trivets. …
