GAYLETTER

DJS Will Automagic and Nita Aviance will liven up Easterbloc this Thanksgiving eve, Nov. 23th, with their party Sister Soldier Sledge. For all of you still in the city, your queer family is waiting for you at this East Village stalwart. I was at Easternbloc last Saturday night after a birthday dinner for a friend. It was pouring with rain outside, but was warm and inviting inside. We danced and did poppers as Darren (pictured at Easternbloc), one of the bar’s owners, played the perfect music to keep us moving — plenty of Kylie, Madonna and Rihanna! Darren is calling this party “a family affair for all living in the beautiful bubble of NYC.” Their will be no fights over the election or your relationship status at this event. There will be nothing but strong drinks, good music, and if you’re lucky some tasty new dick to give you something to be truly grateful for on Thursday! Have some fun, what else are you going to do?!  —tom

We love us some Linda Simpson! She’s hilarious! And this week we all get to celebrate her birthday. Happy birthday Linda, you don’t look a day over 70. Kidding, kidding. Linda has come up with the best way to celebrate her birthday, and that’s by having a drink. With her of course. I mean, you can drink alone to celebrate her birthday, but it’ll be more fun to do it with her and a few friends. Here’s what Linda has to say about the event: “The party is mostly just for mingling and mixing. It’s a good chance for people to come together and have some fun after the depressing election results.” The party is at the legendary bar The Cock. (This might be the moment when you realize that the word “legendary” is thrown around too freely.) Linda told us to expect “celebrity, mixing and mingling” and “sexy go-go dancers.” Ok, cute! Also, music will be provided by DJ Pretend, whose real identity she cannot reveal, but don’t stress as “someone will be manning the DJ booth.” I mean who cares, it’s at The Cock, have any of you ever looked behind the DJ booth there? Have fun! Thanks for staying alive another year Linda!  —t&a

I guess we are back! Back partying that is. We were acting like old boring people for a few months, not hitting the bars as often, but Halloween got us in the mood. All it takes is a cheap wig and some heels to get us going. It’s nice to take break though, although I can tell you that we were not taking a break from drinking, we were busy, we were just being antisocial I guess. This Friday, Nov. 4, we (GAYLETTER) are co-hosting Powerhouse at Analog — which is an amazing venue to party at (pictured). It has a great sound system and great design. Last time I closed the place down, leaving at 6AM. This is the second installment of Powerhouse which was created by the guys from Xanadude (Sean B. + Deputy) and also Tad Haes from Occupy the Disco/Paradisco. Other people hosting with us are David John Sokolowski, Jason Roe, Matt Leiker, Samuel Cirenio Rodriguez-Burns, Terence Edgerson and Tanner Shea. Expect “visual stimulants” by Deputy — I love those. It’s on a Friday night, so you have no excuse to not come party with us, also it goes until 6:00AM! Thank god, ending a party at 4:00AM is soooo boring!  —Abi

Here we go again, another Halloween party where we gotta throw a wig on and a pair of high heels. I know Halloween is the most obvious excuse for a cis-gender man to dress up as a girl, or a drag queen, but c’mon, wearing heels is fun. It’s definitely more interesting than being a sexy masc superhero. Last year I said I won’t wear heels for that many hours again, but I guess as of now, that seems like the only option. I think Tom is trying to be Rihanna, but nothing is clear yet, it’s still too early to tell. Battle Hymn is going to be super lit this Sunday night. We are co-hosting, and we are not going to even pretend that we can compete with some of the looks that the queens are going to pull out. I mean, if we name just a few of the hosts in attendance this Sunday you’ll get a sense of the carry you can expect. First we must start with the main queen Ladyfag, then there’s Aquaria, Amanda Lepore, Desi Santiago, Viva Ruiz, Hector Xtravaganza, Epiphany and soooo many more. The costumes are going to come through. Music is by Eli Escobar, Honey Dijon, and The Carry Nation. Come early, and stay late. It’s a school night but you’re an adult, so live a little, and embrace “The Gospel according to the dancefloor.” says Ladyfag, yas!  —t&a

Last night I was looking at a photo we took with the pop star Robin at this event when they first did it, about four years ago. We debuted our first official GAYLETTER drag looks (which we created by screen-printing the word GAYLETTER across the chest of two cheap, short pleather dresses with some sort of mesh down the sides — the kinds of dresses that are supposed to be slutty if you have the right boobs and ass.) We bought it at this store called Runway on Canal St., I mean we still have the dresses, they are so trashy — real messes honey (pictured). I tell you this to give you an idea of how committed we were when we first went to this party at MoMA PS1, which was originally a drag ball theme, but is now a Halloween ball. If you know Susanne Bartsch, who’s organizing the event, then you’ll know that no matter what they call it, if she’s a part of it, it will always be a drag ball. Her crowd loves drag — and those bitches are creative. You are unlikely to see some looks from Runway...My advice is to step it up if you are going to this one. “This year’s timely theme ‘The White House of Horror’ features live performances, DJs, dancing, and the most artistic costumes in town.” There are so many people involved I have to keep the list short, but it includes BCALLA, Klaus Biesenbach, Kenny Kenny, Kevin Aviance, Macy Rodman, Aquaria, Scooter LaForge, Ryan McNamara, Kembra Pfahler, Eckhaus Latta and many more. Music for the night is by Amber Valentine,Valissa Yoe, W Jeremy and Occupy the Disco. This one will be epic!  —Abi

This week is super lit. It’s not only Halloween, but there’s some interesting openings happening, like this one. The space formerly known as the Spectrum is reopening as the Dreamhouse. This is a queer space we should all get behind. When it was the Spectrum, they did some awesome, nuts parties there. We have no doubt this will continue under their new incarnation. The organizers are asking us to dress as dolls for their grand opening. Here’s what they have to say: “It’s Halloween grl, so be a doll of any sort. Scary doll, dead doll, muscle doll, ghost doll, gay doll, sex doll, monster high doll, Bratz doll, fuck doll, cray doll, ken doll.” I love this theme! Music for the night is by Abyss X, A Village Raid, Butched, Telfar. Some of the hosts include Casey Spooner, Forrest Wu, Melisa Burns, and more. There’s also live music by Lafawndah and Jelos Orgasm aka Joe plus performances by Mimi Isavirus, Gage of the Boone and Davon Rainey. Support The Dreamhouse and be generous with your donations at the door. Happy Halloween dolls!  —tom

I love the name of this party, but it’s probably not for me. Although just because it sounds a bit turbo gay doesn’t mean I can’t get in the mood — you gotta be open to everything. So, here’s the deal, it’s a “one time special event” and “one of the most anticipated events of the season, Trade Saturdays, is returning to one of New York City’s most exclusive neighborhoods…” (That’s what they are calling the Meatpacking District, OK sure.) The event is presented by sweetheart Brian Rafferty and the BR Productions Team, with music by Nina Flores (pictured) and an opening set by Ben Baker. It’s also in collaboration with Scruff — woof, woof, woof. There’s 2 for 1 drinks before 11PM, and maybe the most important part of this event, something to look forward to if you just want to keep it going, is what they “just announced.” Right after Trade, there’s an “all new Mint after hours” at the Gilded Lily — located 3 blocks away from the party ($15-$30), from 4:30am-11:00am, like seriously why go home? Trust me if you wake up early and live around that area, on Sunday morning Grindr and Scruff are gonna be lit. Yup!  —Abi

We mentioned Bromo earlier this year — back in April when the party was brand new — but a few people I know are really into it. If you are in NYC and are starting to feel the cold weather, it’s the right time to go and warm yourself up on the dance floor and possibly find a cuddle buddy, at least for that night. The party is brought to us by Butched (Joey Quinones and JT Almon, pictured) who are also Djing along with Mauro Feola (Beitola, Berlin) and a “special performance” by Angelica Bess of Body Language. Hosts for the night are Oscar Ouk, Jor-El Garcia and Sean Bennett. As we told you last time it’ll be “heavy on the techno” and they are promising “to deliver their friendly blend of fucked-out techno and maddening house tracks all night long for this mid-week debauchery.” It’s a party for “bromos, their friends, and their lovers.” Sounds super fun for a Wednesday night. Everyone is welcome — like always!  —Abi