GAYLETTER

Red Hook is hosting a lil block party this Saturday from 2:00PM to 8:00PM Here’s what our friend Keith, who is helping to put it on had to say about what’s in store.“It will have everything you could want from a block party: lobster rolls, whiskey samples, free chocolate, handsome chocolate makers (below), and thank goodness, a bouncy castle. The lineup of food vendors includes: Red Hook Lobster Pound, Baked, Hometown Bar-B-Que, La Newyorkina, Cacao Prieto, Raaka Chocolate, and more. For craft beer and spirits, Other Half Brewery, Red Hook Winery, and Van Brundt Still House will pass out samples. Raaka Chocolate will pass out samples (even limited seasonal flavors like Apple Pie and Ghost Pepper), and will also offer free tours of its bean-to-bar chocolate factory; all proceeds from Raaka’s chocolate sales will go to Red Hook Initiative, which offers programs that empower Red Hook’s youth community.” This block party sounds like it will be filled with a lot white people with money, but I am impressed by everything they’re offering. Pick up as many free samples as you can, and enjoy the sun while we still have it!  —tom

Excuse us while we do a little self-promotion, but this is our website, so if we can’t self-promote here, where (besides Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Tumblr, and Vimeo) can we? This weekend (September 15-18) is Printed Matter’s Art Book Fair at MoMA PS1 and GAYLETTER will be there! Come say hi to us at table A74. What’s most exciting about all of this is that we will have copies of GAYLETTER Issue 5 available to buy. Right now this is the only place, besides our website that you can get it! The Art Book Fair, for those who are new to it, is one of our favorite events of the year. “The NY Art Book Fair is the world’s premier event for artists’ books, catalogs, monographs, periodicals, and zines presented by more than 350 international presses, booksellers, antiquarians, artists, and independent publishers from at least 29 countries.” The preview is on Thursday, September 14, with a special performance by Beat Detectives — it’s $10 on Thursday, but you can attend for FREE the rest of the weekend. Come say hi, we’ll treat you good.  —t&a

This recommendation certainly falls into the category of “preaching to the choir,” however we think it’s important to shout out the wonderful drag show in honor of RuPaul’s recent Emmy win for ‘Best Reality Host.’ Congrats Mama Ru! We are so happy for you, this win is looooong overdue. RuPaul's Drag Race is not just the best reality show on TV, it is also one of the best shows on TV, period. It is subversive, smart, thought-provoking, emotional, exciting and so enjoyable to watch. This season, the ninth for the show, and the second iteration of its all-stars spin-off, is shaping up to be one for the ages. As far as I am concerned the top 2 of this season are Alaska and Katya, but the thing with the all-star seasons is that they’re ALL STARS. The talent this season is lit. It’s hard to find issues with the girls, well at least the ones that are left. Roxy is back and this time she’s not a bitch. She’s clearly grown as a drag performer, and as a person. We’re very excited to see where the show goes. Oh that that ‘revenge’ twist, we can’t wait to see how that plays out. Sounds like some seriously shady shit. We love it!  —tom

I have been a fan of hip-hop since I was in high school listening to Talib Kweli, Mos Def and Common. I was never a fan of most mainstream rap as it was too hyper-masculine and often homophobic. The genre is still very masculine, sexist and mildly homophobic, but things are changing. One rapper who is leading that change is Young Thug. He is a pretty mainstream rapper, he's also subverting the genre in some wonderful ways. For one thing he is very gender fluid. On the cover of his latest album he is photographed wearing a dress by indie designer Alessandro Trincone. (Tricone lived in Japan which is why a lot of of his clothes are inspired by origami). In a recent interview to Billboard Young Thug talked more about his love of women’s clothes “When I was 12, my feet were so small I wore my sisters’ glitter shoes,” he recalled. “My dad would whoop me: ‘You’re not going to school now, you’ll embarrass us!’ But I never gave a f**k what people think… When it comes to swag there’s no gender involved.” He also said that he plans to wear a dress to his wedding, saying “there will be two brides.” This is all admirable, but not enough of a reason to listen to an artist’s music. Thankfully Young Thug’s latest album is really, really good. I’ve had it on repeat for the last few days. Stand out tracks include Wyclef Jean, Kanye West, and Swizz Beatz (many of the tracks are named after musicians.) Go off Jeffery!  —tom

I recently had the desire to do a ‘Carrie Bradshaw’ and try a Trapeze class. As you may recall from the episode titled ‘The Catch,’ “Vogue sends Carrie to report on the latest fitness craze, trapeze ‘flying.’” I googled ‘trapeze class’ and found the website for Trapeze School New York. They offer trapeze classes on the rooftop of Chelsea Pier. “TSNY offers classes in flying trapeze, static trapeze, silks, rope & more.” In the episode of SATC Carrie has trouble letting go off the bar. I was determined to not suffer the same fate. The first trick was just hang from the bar using my legs. Easy. The second trick was some next level shit. They wanted us to do a backflip! That one I was sweating, but something took over and I managed to do it twice. The next trick we had to catch the instructor on the other bar and swing off. That one was not as hard as it sounds. The instructors all do amazing jobs guiding you through the tricks. It was definitely scary, but so much fun. If you’re looking to have your own SATC experience, or just get in some unusual exercise I would highly recommend trying a trapeze class. This is also a warm weather activity, so I suggest you try it before the weather turns cold.  —tom

If you have an interest in drag in 2016, then Bushwig is really the only place you should be. The event, which takes place this Saturday and Sunday, is a celebration of drag in all its forms. Bushwig was created in 2012 by drag artists Horrorchata and Babes Trust. In that first year they had around 30 performers, this weekend they are expecting more than 150. As demand for the festival has grown, so to has the location for it. This year it takes place at the Knockdown Center, which has both indoor and outdoor space and capacity for 5000 people. They are also adding new areas to the festival. There’s gonna be food, pop-up shops, installations & an all-weekend long techno brunch. Make sure you also check out the after-parties, which seem to be taking place at 3 separate venues. There’s the official one taking place at The Gateway featuring Lauren Flax, DJ BeBe, Amber Valentine, Horrorchata, Lemon Verbena and Hannah Lou. Then there’s The Carry Nation at The Good Room and finally there’s AFTER, which goes from 2:00am-10:00am (you need to sign up for that at holenyc.com to get the address). It’s gonna be a draggy weekend. Dust of that wig I know you have laying around and let the carry begin!  —tom

Richard Avedon is a legend in the world of the photography. It’s a pretty obvious statement, but one I think is worth acknowledging. “During the course of his legendary, 60 year-long tenure as the preeminent, quintessential fashion photographer, Avedon shaped contemporary image-making and influenced international aesthetics through his iconic fashion work, portraiture series, reportage and sheer mastery of technique.” This week, Visionaire is presenting an exhibition of Avedon’s work as a director. The exhibition is in collaboration with Marla Weinhoff, set designer and long-time Avedon collaborator. It features an extensive collection of his work including “a series of never-before-seen Calvin Klein Jeans casting interviews from The Richard Avedon Foundation archives, 35 fashion models from the 1980s and 1990s reveal personal answers to Avedon’s questions heard off camera. These interviews, which continue the theme of the artist’s presence in the ensuing pieces in the exhibition, reveal both Avedon’s meticulous process, as well as an attempt to elucidate for the viewer the subject’s essence — a notion often ignored today when concerned with the traditionally silent and passive model.” There’s plenty of other work on display in this exhibition that runs for around 2 weeks. Bring a sharp eye and an open mind.  —tom

Our dancer friend Eric Berey told us about this dance performance he’s a part of with “this really cool artist Eddie Peake.” He said it’s all about sex. We strongly believe that sex still sells, so were like, ok Eric tell me more. “Eddie Peake’s work fuses painting, sculpture, and musical and dance performance. He creates an artistic experience that builds on the history of these media to make a completely contemporary statement.” Eric also told me that they’ll be dancing “naked in body paint with live music.” He said that the event is gonna be “LIT af,” which if you know young millennial lingo means that it’s good. I asked him if people are gonna be having sex at this event, he told me “no, but it’s gonna be hot...don’t get too excited.” It's happening this Thursday, Friday and Saturday night — there’s 3 boys and 2 girls in the performance and here’s one more quote from their website: “Peake creates episodic performances in which bodies might switch between being seen as sculptural objects or complex human subjects, and in which emotions such as desire, jealousy, shame or power are played out using surreal or unexpected signifiers such as colored body paints or animal costumes.” Got it! We’re sold Eric.  —Abi

Surprise! Issue 5 of GAYLETTER Magazine is out. We are so thrilled to finally be able to share what we have been working on over the last few months. To kick things off, take a peek at the cover which features the one and only, Marc Jacobs. When we first approached Marc we told him that we wanted to feature him because he represents everything that GAYLETTER stands for. We wrote to him saying that we thought he is a “true individual, creative and shameless (in the true meaning of that word).” Terry Richardson photographed Marc in the famed Keith Haring bathroom at the NYC’s LGBT Community Center in Manhattan. We sat down with Marc in the same space for a conversation that covered everything from taking Cher to the Met Gala to how you stay friends with your exes, to Marc’s favorite technique to combatting stress — he takes naps. Also in the issue is artist Laurie Simmons on her friend, photographer Jimmy DeSana, Irish pop-musician Roísín Murphy, fashion designer Palomo Spain, superstar TS Madison, model Laith Ashley, and so much more. Get yours girl.  —t&a