Saturday 12.24.16
TV: Pee Wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special
I watched this Christmas special from 1988 last weekend, and I thought ‘what in the world? Pee Wee is nuts!’ My friend Tyler was like “you need to watch this,” I was thinking, “mmm not sure I am a Pee Wee fan — I always thought he’s too white.” I was wrong, it was so entertaining and beyond any expectations I had. What a Christmas acid trip! Our friend William was also watching with us, and he confirmed, because he’s enjoyed acid before, that it certainly was a close approximation to the experience of dropping a tab. Before watching this special which originally came out on VHS and Laserdisc, I had never seen any of the 45 episodes of Pee-wee’s Playhouse. If you feel the same way, then the holidays are a perfect time to catch up. Pee Wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special is fascinating; the set is wonderful and colorful, it’s an insane experience, your head might explode if you really get into it. It features some very special guest stars including: Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, Joan Rivers, Cher, Grace Jones (her appearance will gag you), K.D. Lang, Dinah Shore, Little Richard, Magic Johnson, Zsa Zsa Gabor (who looked gorgeous in the show and passed away this week, R.I.P.), The Del Rubio Triplets (who I am absolutely obsessed with), Annette Funicello, Frankie Avalon and Charo! There’s a Youtube version, but if you have Netflix, there’s a remastered version on the platform! It’s the biggest Christmas carry I’ve ever seen. Play it on repeat this weekend!
Friday 12.23.16
Performance: The Bipolar Express
You only have a couple more days to see Justin Vivian Bond’s incredible Bipolar Express. It’s on until the 23rd at Joe’s Pub. We went last night, and as usual at a J.V.B. show, had a marvelous time. It’s holiday show, but very loosely. It’s basically Justin on stage with three other musicians (hi Nath Ann!) telling stories and singing all manner of songs (some about Xmas, some about abortion). It’s everything you could hope for from a J.V.B. show. We were really longing to see Justin after the cluster fuck that has been 2016. Justin, of course, discussed the election. Most interestingly V talks about it in relation to V’s mother who voted for Trump. Justin also told a story about being asked to be in a PSA video decrying Trump’s fascist behaviour. Justin said the first line of the the script required V to say something along the lines of “I’m scared.” But Justin wasn’t having it. “I’m not fucking scared” V told the producer. “I’m angry.” “What should be the opening line then?” asked the producer. “I don’t know, how about ‘Fuck off, you fucking fucks!’” It got a big laugh from the audience, and just like the rest of the show, it was exactly what we needed to hear.
Thursday 12.22.16
Party: KOOKS! CHRISTMAS
Earlier this year I feel like I got to know Lady Bunny a bit more by going to her Trans-Jester show at The Stonewall. This bitch is absolutely insane, (as I mentioned before in my recommendation to see her show) in the best possible way. We decided to keep this Christmas week as gay and iconic as possible, yeah that’s right, look at this entire letter. That’s what we are giving you. I am not sure what Lady Bunny is gonna be doing at Metropolitan Bar this Thursday, December 22, but here is what I read: “The Lady Bunny is traveling all the way to Williamsburg to spread Holiday cheer...” I think even if she just sits around that should be enough of reason for you to go to Metro, just stare at Bunny or try talking to her, she’ll teach you some new stuff, trust me. DJ Michael Cavadias will spin “disco, rock, funk & more to make you go wild all night like the Christmas Tree you secretly are.” Who’s the Christmas tree? Never heard that as a compliment. A la inti!
Tuesday 12.20.16
What’s Left of Leatherdale
Preserving the queer archive
Any homo with half a brain knows that the history of “gay New York” is an exhilarating mix of sex and glamour and death and disease. It’s these opposing extremes which makes it so intoxicating to learn about. Which is why when we see a good opportunity to connect with our lineage we do just that. It’s one reason why living in New York City can be so exciting and melancholic — our history is all around us if we just look for it.
If you often lust for an NYC long gone, connect with the city’s queer history by checking out this campaign for the upcoming photo-memoir by photographer Marcus Leatherdale. He’s titled it What’s Left of Leatherdale, and is promising to offer viewers his unique perspective on “a place & time in New York City that stands as one of the most provocative, creative eras the city has seen.”
Marcus was thrown into the NYC art and nightlife scene in 1979 and slowly became an “It kid” and a contemporary to queer icons like Andy Warhol, Grace Jones, and Robert Mapplethorpe. This queen knew them all and he has the photos to prove it!
His work spans from 1978-2005. He’s seen Palladium go from one of the best dance clubs in town to a dorm for rich kids, worked, and lived, through the epidemic, and seen the city change from a nexus of art, culture, and nightlife to, well, however you wanna describe what it is now. …
Monday 12.19.16
EXCLUSIVE: Palomo Spain S/S17 Campaign – Boy Walks In An Exotic Forest
A conversation with Alejandro Gómez Palomo about his latest work
Fantasy is defined as “the activity of imagining things, especially things that are impossible or improbable.” For many people, to fantasize is to escape, but for Alejandro Gómez Palomo , fantasy is reality. He lives the sort of life you only dare dream about, and yet toying with the idea of universal success crosses everyone’s mind. There are only a handful of people who are ever lucky enough to experience the quixotic circumstances of industry fame, and then to handle it with the particular degrees of care (as Palomo does) requires an entirely different skill set.
On a late November morning, Palomo took time away from what he described as a “chill day” at his atelier in Posadas to Skype with me. We chatted about Palomo Spain’s newest campaign, what his future holds, and the ideas surrounding this first spring/summer collection: “Boy Walks In An Exotic Forest.” Shot by Kito Muñoz, the campaign took a sexually explicit route with boys on all fours, and the shorts unapologetically short. Muñoz told me: “The inspiration for this campaign comes from my passion for vintage homoerotic imagery; the sensuality and poses of these beautiful boys. They’re innocent, but conscious of their bodies and sexuality.”
Palomo Spain, in just one year’s time, has gone from a Madrid secret to an Instagram favorite. His clothing has since been featured in various world-wide magazines (including the latest issue of GAYLETTER) and this coming February, Palomo will take his label’s imaginative and vibrant style to the CFDA’s New York Fashion Week. …
Sunday 12.18.16
Party: Battle Hymn: Last Battle of 2016!
We kind of forgot we were hosting the last edition of Battle Hymn for 2016 until we started planning our week yesterday. We have so many Xmas parties this week that we’re gonna have to pace ourselves to make it to Sunday, but trust we’ll get there. Battle Hymn is one of our favorite parties. There’s really nothing else like it at the moment. Not only is the space incredible, but the sound system is probably the best in NYC. Only Output comes close to sounding as good. Hosting with us this week is: Amanda Lepore, Aquaria, Boomer Banks, CT Hedden, Christina Visca, Desi Santiago, Grandfather Hector Xtravaganza, Hana Quist, Harry Charlesworth, Jason Rodgers, Javier Ninja, Kyle Farmery, Magdalena, Marco Ovando, Martin Gregory Muffy, Nick Contrera, Oscar Ouk and Sussi. That’s a lot of names, so be prepared to have a lot of fun. We know it’s Sunday night, but chill girl, you’ll live going to work on Monday with a hangover. It’s Xmas season anyways, so no one will be really paying much attention to your tired ass. I promise!
Image via Battle Hymn's Facebook pageImage via Battle Hymn's Facebook page
Friday 12.16.16
United Scapes of America by Tim-Scapes
Tim Convery takes holiday initiative with Tim-Scapes
Now that the fear and sadness of our post-election moment has sunk deep, it’s important we don’t forget all of the important work left to be done. If spending is your style, supporting radical organizations and activist groups is one way to stay productive while we near our impending political apocalypse.
This is why we’re pumped about the United Scapes of America initiative by Tim Convery’s design powerhouse Tim-Scapes. The new campaign will donate 25% of all their online profits to a different non-profit every month. Up until New Year’s Day, a quarter of all purchases will go to Planned Parenthood. After that, we’re not sure where future donations will go, but that’s totally fine — Tim-Scapes is definitely setting the right precedent. And this isn’t the first time that Convery’s work has occupied the intersection between design and community building; Tim has raised over $28,000 for a variety of non-profits in the past.
So let’s help support these valuable efforts and do some holiday shopping at the United Scapes of America Home Goods Collection. (It’s a great opportunity to gift your right-wing uncle something pleasant and unique without him knowing your purchase will help protect the lives and bodies his candidate aims to harm). It’s a win-win!
Event: VACZINE MAGAZINE RELEASE
Vaczine will be celebrating the release of their third issue! I won’t pretend I’m an expert on the publication, but I can tell you I’ll get behind any printed matter that promotes queer art and queer personalities. According to their Tumblr, they are an annual “literary journal” about “everything & nothing. No theme, yet it all comes together. Open to everyone to express anything.” They welcome submissions as long as “you always come correct and submit your best work. If you don’t believe in it then how can you expect anyone else to?” I think that’s a good approach. The editor and publisher is Walt Cesna. I just saw the list of contributors and it is super long, so I am not going to list them all here. “The first 50 purchases come with a complimentary exclusive double sided signed poster by Gio Black Peter.” Gio is one of our favorite artists in NYC, which is why we highly recommend nearly everything he does. He’s also gonna be DJing. Cover girls Macy Rodman (photographed by Leah James for the back cover of this issue) will perform “a surprise song & Stella Rose Saint Clair” (who was photographed by Derek Dewitt for the cover) will be “serving looks…” Both will be there to sign the copy you buy of the magazine. For this event, the cover collage is by our friend, the amazing artist Slava Mogutin (who also has a 6 page spread in this issue). Sounds like it will be a blast!
cover collage by Slava Mogutincover collage by Slava Mogutin
Thursday 12.15.16
Listen: Noname – Telefone
24-year-old rapper Noname hasn’t relied on dancing half-naked in music videos to make a career for herself. Over the last few years she has worked hard at building a reputation as someone with real talent and real ambitions to be taken seriously in the music biz. Raised in Bronzeville, Chicago, Noname (whose real name is Fatimah Warner) started out performing slam poetry in 2010. In 2013 she performed on Chance the Rapper’s wonderful release ‘Acid Rap’ and in August released her brilliant debut mixtape ‘Telefone.’ Taking a page from two of 2016’s standout albums — Kendrick’s ‘Untitled’ and Chance’s ‘Coloring Book’ — Telefone is a jazzy, breezy mitape that deals with a number of heavy subjects like police brutality and growing up in the streets of Chicago. Noname planned the album for 3 years before finally recording it in June of this 2016 in Los Angeles. In some ways Noname’s music reminds me of Issa Rae’s HBO show Insecure. While Noname certainly deals with heavy subjects in her lyrics, her mixtape is super enjoyable. I look forward to seeing what she gets up to next!
FATHERS: Sex & Politics if AIDS Never Happened
A Sci-Fi Doc where HIV never existed.
One of my friends sent me the trailer for ‘FATHERS: Sex & Politics if AIDS Never Happened’ with the caption from the film’s Indigogo page: “what if Mapplethorpe got into a Twitter feud with a Kardashian?” I about lost my shit at the thought of all the ‘what ifs’ that seem to be at the core of this film. Fathers is sci-fi documentary directed by San Fran queen, Leo Harrera, whose 50 years of faggotry in 5 minutes, The Fortune Teller, stunned us back in 2013.
The film is set in an alternate universe where the AIDS crisis never happened. Where would our queer artists and activists be? What if Keith Haring was still around? What if Robert Mapplethrope was still putting on shows downtown? What if Sylvester was still around? What if [Insert Gay Icon Who Died of AIDS] was still on this planet?
Harrera describes the film as “Looking meets Black Mirror meets Beyonce’s Lemonade.” Y’all, I’m sold. The film will use computer-generated imagery, historical and live-action footage, and staged news reports. It imagines the influence of our lost generation, telling a story about the culture of celebrities, global LGBT injustices, and HIV stigma.
“The tools we have to combat HIV will give us the privilege of keeping our queer artists, but the injustices of AIDS should always live in our collective memory and, more importantly, in our imagination. It’s the only way that we can find creative cures to the damage it caused to our culture and harness the power it gave our community to join against political forces that threatened our lives, now more than ever.” …
Wednesday 12.14.16
Event: Dead Darlings with Amanda Duarte
There’s gonna be snacks, drinks and tunes at this Holiday benefit for The Trevor Project. It features some of our favorite people, including comedians John Early and Cole Escola (those bitches are funny!), author Alexander Chee and Brandon Voss. All will be performing pieces that have not made it “to the final edits of one of their works.” The Trevor Project is put under a lot strain at this time of year because for many people in the LGBTQ community the holidays can be a tough time. If you are fortunate enough to be in a good place right now — emotionally, mentally and financially — then you have an obligation to help those who aren’t. Maybe ‘obligation’ is the wrong word. ‘Opportunity’ is probably better. You don’t have to donate your money or time, but I promise you, you will be glad that you did. Having seen Cole and John perform many times before, I will tell you that no matter what mood you walk into this show in, once you leave you will be in great spirits. With these queens, that is a guarantee! Merry Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Three Kings Day!
Monday 12.12.16
Wonder/Through The Looking Glass Houses
Get tripped out in Arrie Davidson’s new performance
There are a lot of Alice in Wonderland remakes out there, but have you ever seen one with a trans White Rabbit, nude ballet dancing, and a pretty twisted rendition of Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams?” I didn’t think so.
Rid your memories of that awful Tim Burton version by checking out a performance of Wonder/Through the Looking Glass Houses, playing at Dixon Place this weekend and next. The kaleidoscopic dance theater performance is by Arrie Davidson, a trans performance artist, choreographer, and writer, and features her “socially progressive” dance company, KineticArchitecture.
Arrie has taken a loooottttt of liberty with Lewis Carroll’s classic tale, giving the boot to the Queen of Hearts and turning the White Rabbit (played by Arrie herself) into the star vixen of the show. There’s a real “old hollywood” moment where White Rabbit pulls up a chair, sits in front of a spotlight, and reminisces on all the rabbit roles she’s lost to perkier, younger women. From Jessica Rabbit to Playboy Bunny covergirl, Arrie’s monologue serves as a poignant and quirky extended metaphor for the difficulties trans creatives face in Hollywood.
This reimagining of Carroll’s topsy-turvy world— one full of interactive game shows and top 40 music— feels fresh and boundary-breaking. Is it remotely faithful to the origin story? Hell no. But as White Rabbit quips to Alice at one point, while both enjoying a dollar slice on stage, “What does it matter?!”
