GAYLETTER

This bi-weekly daytime party in Bushwick is where you queens should head to if you are still thirsty from the week. I exchanged a few words with BK drag queen royalty Horrorcharta (who’s one of the DJs of the party) about Sunday Rage and this is what she told me: “when u turn up on a Saturday u wake up on Sunday and you go to church meaning you go to the rage...” OK, got it, the party has been going on since the start of the Summer and it’s all about “chill sexy vibes.” Which is super chill. Expect frozen drinks, $7 pint mimosas, Nachos, Frito pies (I’ve never heard of that), Pretzels, Corn dogs, Hot dogs — trust me this menu is real. Other DJs for the party are Anthony Dicap and DJ DJ De Se (pictured, wow this is her second mention in this letter — bitch is carrying). The party starts at 3:00PM, which is great because you’ll likely be wasted by 6:00PM and in bed by 9:00PM. That’s been our new motto for summer sundays in 2015 — start early, finish early, don’t feel like shit on Mondays.  —Abi

A long-time GAYLETTER fanboy (that’s how he referred himself and that definitely got our attention) Albert Beniada sent us an email about this event. We were so excited to learn about this non-profit film collective of about 75 filmmakers called FilmShop. “Our main program is our workshop, where filmmakers come together weekly to workshop their passion projects. At the end of the workshop season we throw a big screening party to celebrate, and it’s usually based on a theme that we vote on.” This Saturday, July 18th, you’ll have an opportunity to attend this event. The filmmakers will focus on “the theme of strange bedfellows through a series of short films varied in genre and style. The night’s festivities will also include live performances by electro-pop bands Strange Cat and Loving You and a special collaborative dance performance co-curated with the Creators Collective. An all-vinyl dance party with NYC staple DJ Babyblu will take us into the wee hours.” Check out their promo video here. You’re welcome!  —Abi

Summer is upon us which means that in the fine art world the gallerists are closing up for August and heading to the Hamptons, the South of France or (if they are super pretentious like this dude I recently matched with on Tinder, St. Barths.) Before everything shuts down there is a rare gem of a show by a major figure in the evolution of the Delta style of blues music, who also happens to be a MAJOR visionary sculptor. His name is James ‘Son Ford’ Thomas and his show, titled, “The Devil and His Blues” and is now up at 80WSE gallery through August 7th. Thomas got his “training” in Mississippi during his formative years by frequenting rural house parties called juke joints where all kinds of highly spirited madness went down including blues singing, dancing, gambling and drinking. What put Thomas on the map in later years, and earned him some coins before his music achieved worldwide acceptance, were his un-fired clay bust portraits often utilizing real teeth, dentures, found eyewear and wigs — they are genius. He did get into some other subject matter as well, “His birds, snakes, squirrels and fish are all representative of Delta wildlife in addition to holding symbolic significance in the African-American folk spirituality known as ‘hoodoo.’” There are 100 of these sculptures on view in addition to two brief, yet penetrating, documentaries about Thomas and his environs; a black and white film made in 1969, “Leland Mississippi,” and another film in color shot during the seminal exhibition in 1982 called Black Folk Art in America where Thomas was a major presence. This is a remarkable a chance to celebrate the extraordinary contribution African American artists have made to our culture, especially in the wake of all this hatred, racism, and church burnings going down of late.  —Gayletter

I was having a real shit day yesterday. I was in a terrible mood, riding my bike through the hellish midtown traffic pissed off at anyone and everything around me. I made it all the way to 15th street when I got stopped by a cop and was given a ticket for going through a red light (I was actually dismounting my bike as I crossed the street to the sidewalk, but the officer wasn’t having it.) $25 later I was rolling down 10th street between 1st and Ave A in an even worse mood when I passed a new shop with the stupid name of ‘Kavasutra.’ I stopped to check it out. I was told that they serve drinks made from the root of the Kava plant. This dreaded hippie with bleary eyes told me that “Polynesians drink it during ceremonies, but we drink it to reduce stress.” Considering my current mood, I figured anything could help. I ordered two shots at the happy hour price of $6 (normally $12) and went home to drink it in front of the TV. 30 minutes later I was chill as fuck — I felt like I’d popped a couple Xanax, except my head felt clear, not foggy like can happen with most sedatives. I started researching this wonderful root and discovered that there is indeed a lot of science to back up the claims made by Kava fanatics. The active ingredients of the root inhibits certain receptors while elevating the release of dopamine. All I know is it worked!  —tom

We like to keep it real at GAYLETTER so I’m not going to pretend that I know a hell of a lot about this party. That’s a good and bad thing. It’s bad because it could be terrible, but it’s good because it means we, along with you, get to experience something new! Personally I’m not worried. I have a pretty good feeling about this one (have we ever let you down?) The list of performers alone is enough to make me attend — it features some of the most interesting talents in the city — there’s DJ DJ De Se, Aquaria, Sateen, an installation by Gage of the Boone & Walker Syndell, DJ Lol Kim, and the incredibly named Cumdrizzle69 (are you available to play my mom’s 65th b’day party Cumdrizzle69?). The party’s at (Le) Poisson Rouge, a famous performance/art space on Bleecker St. The hosts involved are also worth noting. There’s Pandy, Lady Simon, Neo Camp, plus a few others I don’t have the space to mention. They’re telling us to bring #Looks which is always a good sign. “Girl, please let me stick my key in your ignition…(Now let me see you) Bounce- bounce-bounce-bounce-bounce”  —tom

We’ve probably mentioned a million times that we loooove an outdoor event, we even go to the park to play badminton sometimes, yeah we got that thirst for the sun! I’m From Driftwood is throwing their 5th annual Summer BBQ fundraiser. We’ve been going to their past BBQs and we always have a blast — an outdoor space, an open bar of rum, corn, beer and vodka, boys to talk to and flirt with, delicious gourmet food prepared by our friend, and the food editor at Tasting Table, Andy Baraghani — what’s not to love? The last time I saw Andy he wasn’t very friendly to me, but I assure you he’s gonna be all smiley and cooking tasty stuff, that homo can cook — I also love that I can call him out in this newsletter. This event is for a great cause, for those of you that don’t know what I’m From Driftwood is, please google it, they are a great site that has been creating a very important archive of coming out stories and spreading the love around America. They recently got this comment from a sweet boy: “As a 15 year old homosexual boy I am often told that I will never live a normal life, these stories help me stay positive and strong. Thank you so much.” Not to mention for GAYLETTER readers, they’re offering a steeeep discount. See you by the grill!  —Abi