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Description
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ToC Sexy Superheroes by Adam L. Brinklow (p46); She's Got the Beat by Dave Steinfeld (p50); Life's a Beach by Kelsy Chauvin (p52); Cover: Thrilling Threesome (p68); Magnetic Mykonos by Maria De La O (p72); Cover Photo by Rodney Bursiel.
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Music Issue
See all items with this value
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issue
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6
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Date Issued
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July-August 2013
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Format
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PDF/A
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Publisher
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Frances Stevens
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Identifier
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Curve_Vol23_No6_July-August-2013_OCR_PDFa.pdf
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extracted text
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FASHION
&BEAUTY
TIPS
PLUSSEXY
ROCKSTAR
SWAG
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CURVEMAG.COM
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~ JULY/AUGUST 2013 VOLUME 23#6
ESSENTIAL
SUMMER
TRENDS
• BEST
LESBIAN
BEACH
READS
·TRUEBLOOD
GETS
TASTY
• NEW
LESBIAN
SUPERHEROES
INSIDE THE
HOTTEST
SEASON OF
THE SEXY
LESBIAN
SERIES!
JULY/AUGUST
2013
FEATURES
~6
SEXY SUPERHEROES
Our favorite Sapphic
savior Batwoman is
getting hitched. But
what does that mean
for the future of lesbian
superheroes?
By Adam L. Brink/ow
50
SHE'S GOT THE BEAT
Belinda Carlisle
returns with a new
collection of music
and a rainbow flag.
By Dave Steinfeld
52
LIFE'S A BEACH
The artist formerly
known as Bitch - .
reinvents herself with
a brand new name,
project and sound.
By Kelsy Chauvin
/
72
MAGNETIC MYKONOS
Move over Ibiza. The
Greek isle of Mykonos
is party central for
gays and lesbians.
By Maria De La 0
COVER PHOTO BY RODNEY BURSI EL
JULY/AUGUST
2013
CURVE
1
JULY/AUGUST
2013
IN EVERYISSUE
6
EDITOR'S NOTE
8
FEEDBACK
9
CURVETTES
12
THE GAYDAR
30
SCENE
80
STARS
'--
--'
/
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
TRENDS
REVIEWS
13 THIS IS WHAT A
LESBIAN LOOKS LIKE
31
Meet this month's It girl.
14
ROCKIN' GIFT GUIDE
Satisfy your inner rock
goddess with this cool gear.
16
BEAUTY
Get the sexy, edgy look of
a Goth girl with our tips for
a flawless face.
18
LESBOFILE
19
SHE SAID
FILM
Portland shines a light on
the best of queer cinema
and finds plenty for the girls.
By Kim Hoffman
33
BOOKS
Lesbian self-publishing
is becoming a literary
sensation. We lead you to
the best in light and sexy
summer page-turners.
By Victoria A. Brownworth
STYLE
VIEWS
20
OUT IN FRONT
20
IN CASE YOU MISSED
IT ... News from across the
country.
21
POLITICS
Does celebrating women
mean giving them a separate
space? A look at the politics
of MichFest. By Victoria A.
Brown worth
24
LIPSTICK & DIPSTICK
28
THE TWO OF US
Our monthly profile of lesbian
couples who live, love and
work together.
2
CURVE
JULY/AUGUST
2013
38
WE WILL ROCK YOU
The fabulous British
fashionistas Stella & Lucy are
back with classic rock 'n' roll
looks for the season.
42
TAKE IT OFF
A double feature on the
best of lesbian-designed,
American-made underwear
for butches, femmes and
everyone in between.
By Merryn Johns
Curve's online selection of must-do, must-try, must-have extras.
DEARGAYBY
Are you a baby dyke in need of advice? Everyone is Gay,
an advice website for LGBT youth and allies, has got
you covered. Co-founders Kristin Russo and Dannielle
Owens-Reid open up about giving advice to queer youth
and taking their advice show on the road at SXSW.
KAIA WILSON GROWS UP
Oregon native, singer-songwriter and
queercore icon Kaia Wilson has been at the
forefront of queer music since the early
'90s, first with Team Dresch and then with
The Butchies. Wilson dishes on 20 years of
music, her latest album Two Adult Women
In Love and the possibility of a Team
Dresch reunion.
THIS IS WHAT A
LESBIAN LOOKS
LIKE: PEGGSTARR
Meet Pegg Starr, a lesbian MC
hailing from Long Island, N.Y.
This DJ, tattooist and hip-hop
artist has her sights set on
the stars and is successfully
making a name for herself by
rapping about her struggles
and her sexuality.
4
CURVE
JULY/AUGUST
2013
THE RETURNOF NONA HENDRYX
Most people remember Nona Hendryx as
one-third of the groundbreaking group
LaBelle. Hendryx tells Curve about her
latest album, Mutatis Mutandis-her first
solo record in 20 years-and her first release
on Ani DiFranco's Righteous Babe Records.
Read her refreshingly candid interview at
curvemag.com
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K9 Advantix are registered trademarks of Bayer. Frontline is a registered trademark of Merial.
Kl 3951
curve
THE BEST-SELLING
Power
to the Playlist
ost lesbians have a special investment in female singers, and we
can be very loyal to the women who make our playlist.
I don't know a lesbian who doesn't adore many of the fol~
lowing, none of whom identify as lesbian: Adele, Alicia Keys,
Annie Lennox, Beyonce, Bjork, Chrissie Hynde, Cyndi
Lauper, Kate Bush, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Lucinda Williams, Madonna,
Pink, Rihanna, Sara Bareilles, Sarah Mclachlan,
Stevie Nicks, Suzanne Vega, Tori Amos ..Just to
name a few! These singers are not only good, they
embody a female power with which we identify.
They are adored and celebrated by patriarchal cul~
ture even when we are not. They exemplify our
choice of romantic object, validating our drives
and desires.
It only takes the souring of a relationship to see
the dynamic behind it. Take our relationship with
Michelle Shocked. The bluegrass punk rocker
burst onto the music scene in the mid~'80s and
was an instant hit with lesbians. Shocked looked
like a lesbian, sounded like a lesbian, and had the activist cred of a lesbian.
She sang confessional ballads about the struggles of women and the disenfran~
chised. "Anchorage" speaks of a female friendship sundered by life choices and
geography: Chel, the skateboard punk rocker, exchanges letters with her "old
friend" who is now saddled with a husband and two kids in Alaska. It speaks
of same~sex bonds with bittersweet longing. It isn't about a lesbian relationship,
but we read between the lines.
Over the next decade Shocked accepted her lesbian fan~base-until she
became born again. Then in March of this year, at a gig in San Francisco of
all places, she stated that the passage of gay marriage legislation in California
would bring about end times.
A couple of years ago I saw Shocked in concert in New York City. As she
sang'i\nchorage" on autopilot, I realized how much has changed. Gay women
don't need straight female proxies for our unlived lives. We have our own out
musicians. We have a voice. Whether we have our own space is another matter.
The organizers of MichFest believe we need one and seek to provide it (read
Victoria Brownworth's opinion on page 21).
In our annual Music issue you'll meet many authentic lesbian musicians do~
ing it for themselves. Yes, I'll always cry along to Rihanna-what lesbian hasn't
fallen in love in a hopeless placer-and we'll always speculate about Whitney,
but it feels much, much better to fist pump to Joan Jett.
M
~·
MER~
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
CURVE
JULY/AUGUST
2013
»
VOLUME
23 NUMBER
2013
6
PUBLISHERSilke Bader
FOUNDINGPUBLISHERFrances Stevens
EDITORIAL
EDITORIN CHIEF Merryn Johns
MANAGINGEDITOR Rachel Shatto
BOOKREVIEWEDITOR Rachel Pepper
COPYEDITOR Katherine Wright
CONTRIBUTINGEDITORS Victoria A. Brownworth,
Gina Daggett, Jillian Eugenios, Sheryl Kay, Jess McAvoy,
Stephanie Schroeder
EDITORIAL
ASSISTANTSElizabeth Estochen, Elizabeth Nguyen
PROOFREADER
Elizabeth Harper
OPERATIONS
DIRECTOROF OPERATIONSJeannie Sotheran
EVENTS& MEDIARELATIONSCOORDINATORRobin Perron
ADVERTISING
CURVE'SMEDIAKIT ourmediakit.com
NATIONALSALES
Rivendell Media (908) 232-2021, todd@curvemagazine,com
BUSINESSDEVELOPMENT
Sallyanne Monti (510) 545-4986, sallyanne@curvemag,com
ART/PRODUCTION
ARTDIRECTORStefanie Liang
PRODUCTIONARTIST Kelly Nuti
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Melany Joy Beck, Kathy Beige, Jenny Block, Adam L.
Brinklow, Kelsy Chauvin, Lyndsey D'Arcangelo, Traci
Dinwiddie, Maria De La 0, Jill Goldstein, Lisa Gunther,
Kristin Flickinger, Gillian Kendall, Kim Hoffman, Charlene
Lichtenstein, Karen Loftus, Sassafras Lowrey, Jess
McAvoy, Ariel Messman-Rucker, Emelina Minero, Laurie
K. Schenden, Stephanie Schroeder, Janelle Sorenson,
Allison Steinberg, Stella & Lucy, Dave Steinfeld, Edie Stull,
Yana Tallon-Hicks, Sarah Toce, Tina Vasquez, Jocelyn Voo
CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS & PHOTOGRAPHERS
Lauren Barkume, Alex Styles, Meagan Cignoli,
JD Disalvatore, Sophia Hantzes, Janet Mayer, Syd London,
Cheryl Mazak, Maggie Parker, Leslie Van Stelten
CONTACT INFO
Curve Magazine
PO Box 467
New York, NY 10034
PHONE(415) 871-0569
FAX (510) 380-7487
ADVERTISING
SALES(415) 692-5420
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INQUIRIES(800) 705-0070 (toll-free in us only)
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LETTERSTO THE EDITOREMAIL letters@curvemagazine.com
Volume 23 Issue 6 Curve (ISSN 1087-867X) is published
monthly (except for bimonthly January/February and July/
August) by Avalon Media, LLC, PO Box 467, New York NY 10034,
Subscription price: $59.90/year, $59.90 Canadian (U,S, funds
only) and $89.95 international (U.S. funds only). Returned checks
will be assessed a $25 surcharge, Periodicals postage paid
at San Francisco, CA 94114 and at additional mailing offices
(USPS 0010-355). Contents of Curve Magazine may not be
reproduced in any manner, either whole or in part, without
written permission from the publisher, Publication of the name
or photograph of any persons or organizations appearing,
advertising or listing in Curve may not be taken as an indication
of the sexual orientation of that individual or group unless
specifically stated. Curve welcomes letters, queries, unsolicited
manuscripts and artwork, Include SASEfor response, Lack of any
representation only signifies insufficient materials. Submissions
cannot be returned unless a self-addressed stamped envelope
is included, No responsibility is assumed for loss or damages,
The contents do not necessaraly represent the opinions of the
editor, unless specifically stated. All magazines sent discreetly.
Subscription Inquiries: Please write to Curve, Avalon Media LLC,,
PO Box 467 New York NY 10034, email crvcs@magserv.com,
Canadian Agreement Number: 40793029. Postmaster: Send
Canadian address changes to crvcs@magserv,com, Curve, PO
Box 122, Niagara Falls, ON L2E 6S8. Send U.S. address changes to
crvcs@magserv.com,
Curve, PO Box 17138, N. Hollywood,
CA 91615-7138,Printed in the U,S.
curvemag.com
merryn@curvemag.com
6
JULY/AUGUST
LESBIAN MAGAZINE
~Y.rx~
w□m ill urn□QJ um
Qffi□
proudly
to meet the cast of Venice the Series
plus award winning singer/songwriter
presents
Jen Foster!
VETRIAN
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00®~ U® @OOU@li':
@® U® ~Q(ill/Jli'W@llll@l@Q(i®llll
*terms
and conditions
apply
JENFOSTEA
"Venice
Beach"
Get your
Theme
song
FREE DOWNLOAD
at
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code:
•
CURVE
visit west hollywood
Graphic design: Kayleigh Hawes
G
RAMADA
_PLAZA_
WEST
HOLLYWOOO
POST
ON
FACEBOOK!
Thebestcomment
posted
each
month
could
winyouafree
digital
subscription!
be much bigger than she is, so
thanks for giving her a break.
I'll be taking my copy of
Curve to her very next show
for her to autograph. -Emily
Bahl, London, Canada
Delighted
with Diversity
Music Sensation
Thank you for the article on
Sarah Smith ["Rebel With a
Pension;' Vol.23#5]. I have
been following her career for
a while now, I just love her
husky voice and guitar playing!
It was refreshing to see an
up-and-coming lesbian musician who is gorgeous, works
hard, has star quality and is
popular in her hometown
( not everyone worth knowing
is stateside!). She deserves to
In the most recent issue of
Curve I counted at least 20
images of women of color.
I don't know if you are consciously inclusive or not, but
as a lesbian with a mixed-race
background I am very thankful that this seems to come
naturally to you and is not an
issue as it seems to be with
other magazines. -Denise
Bonilla, Reading, Penn.
Couples Therapy
I love your magazine and
I really enjoy your regular
couples profile ["The Two of
Us"]. However, I have some
requests. I would really like
to see more lesbians who have
struggled to stay together,
such as a young couple whose
parents disapprove of their
relationship or a bi-racial couple
who face discrimination or
a bi-national couple who are
not allowed to be together
because of the immigration
laws of this country. It would
be very inspiring to hear their
stories. Thanks for listening!
-Erin R., Metuchen, NJ.
Editor's Note: Thanks for the
great ideas!
Hungry for More
Posts from our
Facebookfans
facebook.com/curvemag
OURFACEBOOK
FRIENDS
SOUNDOFFON"THEFOSTERS"
COVERSTORY
It will be great to have a show
with positive role models and
to give more awareness
to our families.
-Diane Spignesi-Dillman
Seen the preview for this
the other day, looks good,
this is what being a family is
all about. Coming together
and overcoming obstacles.
-Paulette Johnson
I don't watch TV, but I'll watch
this. -Holly Weasel
You used to run articles about
food and lesbian chefs. I miss
them and so does my wife
who is a chef and would love
the inspiration. Please bring
them back! -Carrie Bray,
New York, N.Y.
Very excited about it, but I'll
have to watch it on DVR-it
comes on at the same time as
my Rachel, and I don't miss
my Rachel. -TammyMitchell
Editor's Note: We have more
culinary goodies coming up and
stay tuned for our annual Food
Issue in November.
Can't wait to get our issue,
stuff comes out slow in Okla.
Can't wait to see this show!!
-Danielle Earle
Loved this issue. -Pam Marie
-OUT and PROUD
I love the diversity and the
love. -Jennifer Sha Chan
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
WHO
ISTHE
QUINTESSENTIAL
LESBIAN
MUSIC
ICON?
~!%
The Butchies,
I miss queercore
15%
Ani DiFranco,
lesbian
indoctrination
101
16%-Heather Peace, the
new generation of
women's music
V////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////a
to: Curve magazine,
WRITE
US!Send
PO Box 467, New York, NY 10034
Email: letters@curvemagazine.com
Fax: 510.380.7487
Online: curvemag.com/letters
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CURVE
JULY/AUGUST
2013
Subscriber Services are now available at
curvemag.com/customerservice.
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Myselfand
my flancee,
the loveof my
life, Stephanie.
Throughthe hard
times and the
easy,she has
always stuck
right by my side
and shown me
the meaningof
true love. I am so
excitedto spend
the rest of our
Iivestogether.
-Stephanie Clark and
HeatherShaffer
UPFRONT!CURVET
JESSMCAVOY
JENNY BLOCK
Australian-native musician
and life observer Jess McAvoy
is an effective multitasker.
Her fingers are in pies of
many disciplines, including
performance, music production
and management, and writing
feature articles for Curve. Her
lifelong passion for language
and self-expression have
made her a much-admired
singer-songwriter in her home
country and her tell-all blog
at jessmcavoy.com is her
playground for honing her
writing skills and sharing her
musings on music and life.
In late 2013 Jess will release
her 13th studio recording,
The Women, on her own music
label, Henduwin Music.
Jenny Block is a lifestyle and
travel writer and the author
of Open: Love, Sex, and Life
in an Open Marriage (2008
Lambda Literary Award). Jenny
holds both her BA and her
MA in English from Virginia
Commonwealth University and
taught college composition
for nearly 10 years. She is
a frequent contributor to
a number of high-profile
publications and websites,
including Huffington Post, Fox
News, On the Edge Net.com,
and Curve. She also has essays
in the books, It's a Girl: Women
Writers on Raising Daughters,
One Big Happy Family, and The
Di0nhyofDogs.ReadJenny~
writings from the road at
jennyonthepage.com.
JANELLESORENSON
& MELANY JOY BECK
Janelle and Melany are regular
writers for Curve as well as
documentary filmmakers. The
two have gone backstage with
some of the most exciting
queer artists, including Tegan
and Sara, Uh Huh Her, Melissa
Ferrick, and Austra. Their film,
Bring It 2 Peter (2011)took
Special Jury Prize honors at the
Nevada Film Festival. Vero+
Katie, their second short-form
doc, premiered on curvemag.
com. The film highlights the
rock 'n' roll romance of Sick of
Sarah's Katie Murphy and rocker
Vero Sanchez, previously of
Hunter Valentine. The writers,
who met while Melany was
covering Sick of Sarah for
Curve and Janelle was tour
managing the band, have had
their own rock 'n' roll romance
and are looking forward to their
wedding in 2014.
ES
STELLA& LUCY
This dynamic London duo has
built a style brand based on
their individual expertise in
fashion and writing. Stella is
an author and published poet
and Lucy is a fashion lecturer at
the renowned London College
of Fashion. This quirky and
fun-loving pair are dedicated to
LGBT rights in their homeland
and abroad and driven to
proving that when it comes to
personal style, "Lez Is More."
They are regular fashion
consultants for Diva magazine,
Curve and feature seasonally
on MyLesbianRadio. This issue,
non-conformist, liberal-minded
Stella and Lucy encourage
independent, influential women
to get their inner rock chick on.
JULY/AUGUST
2013
CURVE
9
NDS/
THEGAYDAR
p
~~ THEGAVDAR
Takes one to know one? Let our gaydar help
~ you decide who's hot who's not who's
f-
~ shaking it and who's faking 1t1nlesboland.
~
BY RACHEL SHATTO
~
Hear that cracking
sound? That's the sound
of a million Brittana
shippers' hearts breaking
as Naya Rivera (aka
Santana) as much
as confirms that the
relationship is over to E!
Bad news
ladies, turns out
Lindsay Lohan is not
bisexual after all,
or so she tells
Piers Morgan
Proving lesbianism was
always in style,'50s sex
symbol Mamie Van Doren
dishes that the grande
dame of fashion Coco
Chanel propositioned her
for some lady lovin'
WJ
....J
Dixie Chicks star
Natalie Maines
recently debuted her
solo album and a new
look. Maines may not
be a lesbian, but her
haircut sure is
~
0
2
~
While not known for being
a bastion of progressive
messages, Tyler Perry's
latest film Peeples features a
lesbian couple, a step in the
right direction
it's unethical ...
we're in love with
Cosima, the
bespectacled and
dread-rocking
lesbian clone on
Orphan Black
INDEFICIT
CRED
LEZ
~
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0
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It may be a
gratuitous straight
girl kiss, but
funny lady Amy
Schumer and the
oh-so-crushable
Amber Tamblyn
make out on Inside
Amy Schumer
Chefbian
extraordinaire
Cat Cora is named
Resident Mom Of
The Year 2013 by
Marriott
Astronaut, physicist and
lesbian hero Sally Ride is
posthumously awarded
the Presidential Medal of
Freedom
12
CURVE
JULY/AUGUST
2013
Season three of The
Killing has us hooked
by adding a lesbian
character, a badass
baby dyke
named Bullet
She may not have
won on The Kandi
Factory, but
lesbian contestant
Garrison Bailey
sings her way
into our hearts
with her
rendition of
"The Mighty O"
about her first
Sapphic sexual
experience
Sara Bareilles makes our
hearts sing with her new
single "Brave," which she
wrote about her friend
who struggled with
coming out
0
z
0
Nonnie Tiara
Washington
Model, student and aspiring designer
Nonnie Tiara Washington has big
designs on the fashion world.
ON WHATLEADHERTO MODELING:It was
actually initiated by my love for photography. I
would stage little practice shoots and started to
see that I had a natural talent for being captured
by the lens. The more compliments and support
I received, the more my passion grew.
ON STUDYINGFASHIONJOURNALISM:It started
with journalism because I am really passionate
about writing. But being the natural born
fashionista, I was always in charge of telling
everyone what to wear and what not to wearI love analyzing trends. Once I knew the two
could be combined, I was all for it.
ON WHYSHELOVESFASHION:It gives me
a voice. I love being able to illustrate my
personality with thread and fabric. It gives my
spirit a sort of freedom.
ON GROWINGUP IN SOUTHCENTRALL.A.: It has
given me thicker skin. I am a little rougher than
most women. It is the reason behind my style
and attitude. When you grow up seeing nothing
but tragedy and poverty it only drives you to
being more than the cards you were dealt.
ON THEKINDOFWOMENSHE'SLOOKINGFOR:
I am attracted to aggressive women who
still remember their femininity. I can't resist a
confident, stylish woman for the life of me.
ON THEADVICESHE'DGIVEHERYOUNGER
SELF:Be yourself no matter who's watching. Be
your own breed of beautiful-a leader. Set the
footsteps for others to follow. -Rachel Shatto
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
TRAVIS EVANS
NDSJGIFT
GUIDE
Downy Duet
Make your dream of
snuggling up between
the Quin sisters a
reality tonight with
the Tegan and Sara
pillowcase set. ($20,
teganandsara.com)
Pitch Perfect
Deck out your decolletage with a Little Lady Harmonica
necklace. If you're looking for a little extra attention, this working
instrument should do the trick. Just put it to your lips and ...well,
you know the rest. ($55, idlehandsdesigns.etsy.com)
Pump up the volume with music-inspired gear.
av RACHEL sHATTo
Hangalang
Stray Cat Strum
Lez out your pad with this oh-so-texty print
featuring the lyrics "I can exist being caught
by your kiss" from everyone's favorite lesbian
crooner k.d. lang. ($9, eyeseeyoushop.etsy.com)
What's hotter than a girl with a guitar? One
with an adorable kitty guitar strap, of course!
The Mr. Whiskers guitar strap is the purrfect
addition for any sassy Sapphic strum mer.
($50, couchguitarstraps.etsy.com)
I
CA
NEX
I S T B
E I N G C
AUGHTBY
Y
14
CURVE
O
U
R
JULY/AUGUST
K
I
2013
Boogie Bag
Take the dance party
with you everywhere you
go with the Fydelity Le
Boom Box Tote Bag. Just
plug your mp3 player
in and rock out. ($50,
stratchtracksshop.com)
Bad Reputation Beanie
Looking for a knit fit for a
rock star? Look no further
than the unapologetic
needlework of Glitz
Knits Boutique and their
made-to-order Joan Jett,
heart-emblazoned hat.
($30, glitzknitsboutique.com)
Mix Tape Memories
Remember when you used
to make mix tapes for all
your girl crushes, full of
songs with (not-so) hidden
meaning? Give nostalgia a
modern kick with a bamboo
wood iPhone case engraved
like a cassette tape.
($43, johnnyflyclothing.
etsy.com)
Spin Me Right Round
Audiophile Alert
The phrase "put a record on"
gets a sassy new spin with
this adorable mini record
player ring from ModCloth.
($13, modcloth.com)
If you are serious about your sound quality, the V-MODA
Crossfade M-100 will rock your world. These fully
customizable headphones sound even better than they look,
no small feat. ($310, v-moda.com)
Peace of Art
Heather Peace caught our eye as Sam
the hot lezzie cop on Lip Service and
then strummed her way into our hearts
with her album Fairyta/es. Now with artist
Amanda Chron's gorgeous hand-drawn
prints she's won a spot on our walls.
($40, amandachron.com)
-
~!
~
Hardcore Homo
We all know that Ellen
rocks, but now you
can show the world
just how hardcore
your fandom really is
in this kickass Ellen/
Slayer mashup tee.
($26, ikeink.etsy.com)
NDstBEAUTY
Vampy Lips
Jump ahead with one of the
hottest fall trends, a nod to the
femme fatale's dramatically dark,
matte lip. For warmer tones
select a blackened burgundy
shade. For a cooler shade opt for
inky violet. Pair with a minimal
eye, dusted with a vanilla shadow.
Truly Outrageous
Hey there children of the '80s,
channel your inner Jem and
the Holograms (or Misfits for
you bad girls) with the bright
and punky Sooo 80's Eye
Kit from Manic Panic. ($15,
manicpaniccollection.com)
Dark Beauty
Nars Pure Matte Lipstick in Volga
($26, narscosmetics.com)
NOTHING SAYSROCK STARLIKE
A TOUCH OF GOTHIC GLAM.
Perfect Finish
Bobbi Brown Lip Color in Black Raspberry
($24, bobbibrowncosmetics.com)
Nothing is more frustrating than
seeing your expertly applied
look fade or smear away. NYX
has you covered with their
make-up setting spray, available
in a Matte or Dewy finish.
($8, nyxcosmetics.com)
Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Train
Bleu ($25, narscosmetics.com)
Sooty Sparkle
Even goths love to gleam,
and the Blackheart Black
Holo Glitter Liner will
have you sparkling darkly
with black and rainbow
micro-fine glitter. Apply
in layers for maximum
shine. ($5, hottopic.com)
Pure and Simple
Achieve that porcelain goth
visage with Pur Mineral's CC
Cream. The SPF 40 plus two
patented ingredients made
from meadowsweet and wheat
germ help protect, correct
and perfect your complexion.
($38, purminerals.com)
MAC Lipstick in Cyber
($15,maccosmetics.com)
DEWY
FINISH
Stila After Glow Lip Color in Vivid
Violet ($18,stilacosmetics.com)
LASTING
LONG
DURABLE
CREAM
B,, 3d Spectrum Fr IO
l.arge :pectreFF
----------------------
Sunscreoo
make-up
. setting spray
f1xatifmaquillage
For Face & Body
~our le visage,,et le corps-
lllamasqua Lipstick in ESP
($26, illamasqua.com)
j
a
NelWI.OOoz
000ml
Morbid Manicure
Whimsy meets gothic
glam with the Ciate Caviar
Manicure. This two-step
process leaves fingernails a
tactile and glittering delight.
($25, sephora.com)
16
CURVE
JULY/AUGUST
2013
AT&T
shareyour
LiveProud
moment..
...and you could have a chance
to meet Adam Lambert.
Share your most compelling Live Proud moment and
you could win two tickets to a VIP concert with Adam
Lambert. What's a Live Proud moment? It's a moment
that will empower and inspire. Perhaps it's holding
hands with your partner in public for the first time,
coming out to your family or your first kiss.
Submit to www.attliveproud.com.
Catch Adam Lambert's
latest sound on
Like us at our AT&T Live Proud Facebook page and we will
donate $1.00 to The Trevor Project. For each person who" retweets"
a specially noted message, we will donate 50¢.
Ten(10)winnerswill be selectedduringthe contestperiod.One(1)winnerwill be selectedon May6, 2013;seven(7)winnerswill be chosenon June17,2013;
and two (2)winnerswill be selectedon July1, 2013.ENTRY
PERIOD
12:00PMPSTApril 1, 2013 - 11:59AM PSTJune30,2013.No purchasenecessary.For
OfficialRules,visitwww.attliveproud.com.
Likeusat AT&TLiveProudor retweetspeciallynotedtweetsbetweenApril 1 and June30,2013, andwe will donate
$1 or SOC,respectively,
to the TrevorProject,up to $50,000,with a minimumof $25,000.Limitone like and one retweetper person,per account.
NOS/GOSSIP
~
~ LESBOFILE
~
~
Kesha has a dirty dancing date, Portia shares her baby
news and basketball star Brittney makes us dribble.
~
BY JOCELYN VOO
Diva Date Night
Adding fuel to the Sapphic fire is something Kesha knows all too well. The selfproclaimed bisexual pop star rolled up to
a Venice Beach, Cali£ gay bar, where she
spent the night knocking back whiskey and
dirty dancing with her leggy blonde gal pal.
"Kesha clearly wasn't trying to be anything but herself-a girl having a romantic
date with another girl;' a bar patron told
Radar. 'i\fter about an hour Kesha and her
date left the bar hand-in-hand to hoots
and hollers from a few patrons, jumped
into the car and took off:'
Grown Up Glee
First they gave us something to talk about
with Santana and Brittany (thank you, TV
gods)-and
now the tastemakers over at
Glee are giving us older biddies a big dose
of nostalgia: The ultimate screen lesbian
couple of Meredith Baxter ( that's Mrs.
Keaton to you '80s babies) and Patty
Duke. The twosome showed up in the
season four finale as a happy couple of 25
years, with rumors that they'll be regulars
next season.
If there was ever a time to clear some
room on your DVR, it's now.
Out is the New In
Being a gay super-athlete has always been
a sensitive subject in the world of professional sports. However, at least one such
star is preaching: be true to thyself.
Out WNBA player and No. 1 draft pick
Brittney Griner told Sports Illustrated,
"Don't worry about what other people are
going to say, because they're always going
to say something, but if you're just true to
yoursel£ let that shine through. Don't hide
who you really are:'
Griner may play center, but these are
words of a true power forward.
Bye-Bye Baby
Always the cutting-edge couple, Ellen
DeGeneres and wife Portia de Rossi are
making strides by-again-turning
public
expectation on its head by acknowledging
that there will be no baby bottles or dirty
18
CURVE
JULY/AUGUST
2013
diapers in their fabulous future.
Explained Rossi to Out, "You have to
really want to have kids, and neither of us
did. So it's just going to be me and Ellen
and no babies:'
While we're still smitten with the pair
(who, as de Rossi puts it, are still "blissful"
after five years as wife and wife), a little
piece of us still wishes there was some
flaxen-haired bundle coming around the
bend someday, dancing his or her way into
this world ... •
TRENDS/
"The funny thing is,
I played 18 straight
girls, but two bisexual
women ...that's what
people remember m
for. That's fine wI h me,
I was proud to
y
them. I've had youn
women come up to me
and say it helped them
accept themselves or
feel more confident
about coming out and
that is an honor."
-Olivia Wilde
to Huff Post Live
SHEs
st
PROFILE
Sherrill Wayland
St. Louis» ElderAdvocacy
Twenty years ago, Sherrill Wayland felt that
first passion for a cause when she worked at
a summer camp for children and adults with
developmental disabilities. "People with developmental disabilities, much like LGBT older adults,
are mostly invisible in our day-to-day lives,"she
says. "I remember back in grade school my classmates with developmental disabilities were in
segregated classes in the basement. This always
seemed like an injustice to me."
So for the next 12 years Wayland worked in
various capacities to garner public support for
Sigurdardottir became the first openly gay or
lesbian world leader when she was appointed in
2009, but has retired from politics ahead of the
country's general election. In addition to being
the first openly lesbian Prime Minister, she led
the country to legalize same-sex marriage, and
also banned strip clubs and other forms of adult
entertainment claiming doing so would advance
women's rights in the country.
the full inclusion of people with disabilities into
mainstream society.
At the same time, though, Wayland was
living under a self-imposed "Don't Ask, Don't
Tell" policy, spending most of her early adult
years closeted except to her family and closest
friends. It all came to a head when the anti-gay
marriage movement started to pick up steam.
Wayland, who at that point had been with her
partner for 10 years (they are still together
today), knew she had to get more involved in
the LGBT community and use her voice and
advocacy skills to fight for LGBT equality.
"I refer to this time in my life as a second
coming out," says Wayland. "For the first time in
my adult life, I was living my life openly and no
longer hiding."
Entering into her newest foray, Wayland lent
her talents to several LGBT political advocacy
groups and four years ago helped form the nonprofit organization SAGE Metro St. Louis, where
she serves as executive director today.
"Every community should be a safe and
welcoming community," Wayland says. "LGBT
older adults have the right to age in the same
communities where they lived, worked, played,
and paid taxes. Fear should not be the future of
aging, and anything less than full equality and
inclusion is not acceptable. LGBT older adults
have earned our full support." -Sheryl Kay
20
CURVE
JULY/AUGUST
2013
CARLA
HALE
WAS
FIRED
In March from the Ohio Catholic
School where she has taught
physical education for 19 years
She was let go after her name
appeared In her mother's
obituary with mention of Hale's
longtime partner Hale reports
that when she returned to work
after her mother's funeral she
was required to meet with school
adm1nistrat1on At the meeting
they handed her a copy of the
obituary that she had written, and
informed her she was In v1olat1on
of the school's "morality code"
Hale Is currently f1ght1ngthe
termInatIon
PARENTS
INNEW
YORK
are upset after they claim an antibullying workshop for teens at
Linden Avenue Middle School
In Red Hook required the teen
girls to role-play lesbian k1ss1ng
sexuality and gender 1dent1ty
and was intended to "improve
culture, relat1onsh1ps,communIcatIon and self-perceptions"
amongst students, said school
superintendent Paul Finch
The school has made clear that
students did not actually engage
In lesbian k1ss1ng.
ANALOUISA
VALENCIA,
a 19-year-old African-American
and Latina lesbian will be
competing In the Miss South
Carolina beauty pageant
Valencia currently holds the title
of Miss Lyman, has been out
since ninth grade and has been
with her g1rlfr1endTamyra Bell for
three years Valencia has been
competing In pageants for over
a decade Valencia has told
media outlets that through
her pageants she hopes to be
"an advocate for equality for
Celebrating Women
A festival means fun, but this one is also fraught with politics.
BY VICTORIA
I
A. BROWNWORTH
t's that time of year again: the annual
fight between the Michigan Womyn's
Music Festival(MWMF) and trans~
gender activists. As lesbians all over
the country prep for the celebratory high,
the nonstop music, and the just~plain fun
that is MWMF, they also have to prep for
a serious attack-and
run a gauntlet that
many don't even understand.
In the murky terrain of political cor~
rectness, the boundaries keep shifting.
Since college, I have identified as a radical
lesbian feminist. No one has ever cared
if they've offended my radlezfem sensi~
bilities, and they still don't. Lesbians have
become adjuncts in the LGBTQI identity
salad; it's difficult not to associate that
with our femaleness.
Still, in the lesbian~feminism in which I
came of age, inclusion was our goal- being
aware of the concerns of other oppressed
people and supporting their struggles, not
just our own. My life~long activism has
been about ending oppression, all of it.
But Michigan is not about oppression. It's
about celebrating women's music and eel~
ebrating female/lesbian identity. Revising
the definition of that celebration as trans~
phobic is simply wrong.
Let me explain why.
I have lived in African~American neigh~
borhoods for most of my life. My parents
were civil rights workers in the 1960s and
they lived their work. Most of my parents'
close friends were black, our neighborhood
was black, our church was black. My first
female lover was black. (So was my first
male lover, but I got over any thoughts of
being straight before I was 20.) The neigh~
borhood where I've lived for the past 23
years is 95 percent black. I write for the local
African~American newspaper. I cofounded a
mentoring program for inner~city African~
American youth called KITH (Kids in
the 'Hood). I cofounded an independent
publishing house, Tiny Satchel Press, which
publishes books for kids of color and
LGBT kids. I spend much more time living
and working with people of color than I do
with white people.
But I am not black.
No matter how much time I've spent
with black kids and adults, I would never
presume that I know what it's like to be
black, or to live in nonwhite skin.
A few years ago, the African~American
filmmaker Julie Dash was meeting me at
the apartment of a friend of mine in New
York, where I was staying. I said to Julie on
the phone, "Just breeze by the front desk
with authority and no one will question
you when you come in:'
She paused, then said, "That might work
for you, but it won't work for me. Please
just be waiting at the desk for me:' She
didn't say anything else. I'm sure she could
hear me blushing over the phone.
When I walk into my friend's building,
my years of working~class shame follow
me, so I stride in daring someone to stop
me, daring someone to pick a fight with
working~class me. No one ever questions
JULY/AUGUST
2013
CURVE
21
st
POLITICS
me. But I'm blonde-haired, blue-eyed,
white. Julie could actually afford to live in
that building (though I could not), so to be
stopped at the desk would be humiliating
for her and would be a reminder of how
race is a demarcation in society, regardless
of class. I could pass for upper class when
I was actually working class. But she could
never pass for white.
Here's another story: For the past 39
years, Philadelphia has hosted the annual
Greek Picnic in July. This is a huge, weeklong celebration, bringing together the
past and present members of black fraternities and sororities from all across the
country. There are thousands of attendees.
No whites. Are there protests every year?
Is there a "Camp Caucasian" outside the
event in Fairmount Park? No. Because that
would be wrong and intrusive, and some
might even see it as white supremacist.
The long debate over whether MWMF
should allow transpersons seems to me
to be part of the same issue. Questions of
passing, presumption, belonging, humiliation and solidarity interconnect when we
talk about identity and the politics of identity. Identity is also about which battles
make sense and which do not, about which
battles damage personhood and which
strengthen it. MWMF is about strengthening female/lesbian identity in solidarity
with other women.
In the past few months, I have been writing
extensively about rape, both in connection
with the trafficking of women and as a daily
issue for women. Whether they acknowledge
it or not, all women are oppressed by men.
That's a fact. It doesn't matter if you love
your dad and your brothers, your uncles and
cousins. It doesn't matter if your best buddy
is a gay man.
I've cited the statistics of gender oppression in myriad columns here. I don't need to
repeat them. I am a multiple rape survivor.
I prefer the term"victim:"'Survivor" implies
that once I dusted myself off, washed off
the blood and semen, the knife wounds
and bruises healed, I was the same person
I'd been before. But I was not, am not, never
will be-even
though I survived being
knifed and choked unconscious.
For years, I used to attend the Lesbian
Feminist Weekend on the East Coast. Four
days of blissful women-only space. Was it
perfect? No. But it was free of men, which
meant that even though it was in the middle
of nowhere, in the woods, in cabins and
22
CURVE
JULY/AUGUST
2013
tents, we all felt safe. Because it was a penisfree zone. Which for the women attending
was a reprieve.
If I were running MWMF, this is what I
would say: No penises. No male privilege.
No oppression of women. Just fun, music,
dancing, celebration. Solidarity.
MWMF is about women who are
oppressed by men every minute of every day
being free of that oppression for one week of
their year or possibly their lives, and reveling
in that and celebrating each other. Just like
the Greek Picnic is about solidarity among
African-Americans who are oppressed by
racism every day of their lives being free of
that in an all-black space.
''
MWMF is about
women who are
oppressed by men
every minute of every
day being free of that
oppression for one
week of their year or
possibly their lives,
and reveling in that
and celebrating
each other.
''
But if you can't set your male privilege
aside, as well as your penis, then MWMF
is not the place for you, and your presence
will harm other women who, like me, have
been brutalized by men. Your presence will
also alter the atmosphere for every woman
who has come specifically to be in a womenonly space, because they will feel just as
constrained as they do in straight society.
Being transgender carries its own oppression-there's no question about that. And
no one should be checking genitalia at the
door of MWME As someone who's spent
years experiencing bi-genderism, I understand why transwomen would want to
attend MWMF. But women are not the
enemies of other women, whether those
women are born women or transitioned
women. Women are not the oppressors.
It's a patriarchy out here. But at MWMF,
it's a matriarchy.
So I have to ask this question of those
transgender women who want to be at
MWMF: If you identify as female, why
are you fighting with other women every
August? Why can't you come to MWMF
to revel in the 100 percent femaleness, and
celebrate the music and dancing and being
playful without the presence of men? If
you haven't fully transitioned and still have
your penis, can't you keep it hidden away
for that week, or wait to come to Michigan
until after you have fully transitioned and
that remnant of the body that is the male
body is gone?
Can't you respect the healing and celebration that Michigan offers women?
I don't want to pick a fight with anyone. I
honestly think the fight is unnecessary.
If my African-American neighborspeople I have lived and worked with for
decades-don't
want me at a black-only
retreat, do I have the right to force my whiteness on them, even though I simply wear
the skin of their oppressor, even though I
haven't oppressed them personally?
A close friend of mine who runs an
agency for abused women, and so has a
vested interest in maintaining safe spaces
for women, asked me, "Why do transgender rights trump the rights of lesbians?"
That's certainly a question the producers
of MWMF have tried to answer.
But for me the debate over Michigan is:
If you are a transitioned woman, why can't
you assimilate with other women for one
week and allow your femaleness to predominate? It is the remnants of your male
privilege that the women of Michigan are
objecting to. As transwomen, can't you stop
fighting with other women long enough to
feel what it's like for women at Michigan?
Women at MWMF have been damaged
and brutalized by male oppression and male
privilege-street harassment, homophobia,
incest, rape, and just simply earning twothirds of what men make for the same job.
Why isn't it OK for them to be safe from
men and just relax, celebrate, listen to women's music, and dance their hearts out for
one week of their lives?
Confusing transphobia with the need
for a safe space for women has twisted both
the meaning of Michigan and the fight
for transgender rights. All women should
want what MWMF offers: a respite from
the fight against male oppression, a place
where we won't be raped, a place where we
can heal in safety, a place where we can have
a freakin' blast for one brief week. •
CURVE JUST
GOT COOLER.
VIDEO+ANIMATION+
ADVANCED NAVIGATION ...
YOU*LL WANT TO TOUCH.
st
LIPSTICK+DI
PSTICK
Can't Let Go
I don't want a divorce and I'm not sure why.
BY LIPSTICK & DIPSTICK
Dear Lipstick and Dipstick: I am a
50-year-old lesbian who has a full life
and mostly enjoys being single. However,
to be honest, I'm also depressed about
never having had a real relationship. I was
in a marriage of convenience with my best
friend for 15 years, and there is a woman
that I'm in love with now, but she's not
available. I know I'm in this situation partly
out of fear, and I feel like a real failure for
not being able to navigate the waters of
the lesbian community. If I haven't
gotten it right at 50, is there any hope?
-50 and Fearful
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
things we don't have, we con-
forget, yet again, how to make
tinue to keep those very things
turkey gravy. You can't ask her
out of our lives. Instead, be
advice about how to deal with
thankful for what you do have,
the nosy neighbor down the
and think about how lucky
street, or share the good news
someone would be to share
about your promotion at work.
that with you. This "marriage"
Everyone grieves differently. My
you were in kept you safe, but
guess is that you're associating
not happy. It's time to step out
your mother's death with your
of your comfort zone, if you
divorce. Maybe subconsciously
want any kind of change in
you're tying the two things
your life.
together, and you think that
if you don't fully leave your
Dear Lipstick and Dipstick:
husband, then your mother
Long story short: I was in a
isn't really dead, and you don't
heterosexual marriage for 17
have to somehow let go of her.
years. We decided to have a
Even if this is not the case, I
threesome. It didn't take me
would strongly suggest that
long to realize I was a lesbian.
you get some grief counseling,
My husband and I decided to
where you might discover the
split up at the same time that
key to your fear of letting your
my mother passed away. I was
husband go.
emotionally overwhelmed with
guilt for leaving my husband,
Lipstick: The grief of losing
grieving for my mother, and
your mother is very real, and
realizing I was a lesbian. My
I agree with Dipstick that you
husband and I have been
must mourn properly after
separated for two years. I have
such a tremendous loss. Where
Lipstick: You hit the nail on
and to love-in ways you've
a girlfriend, Tracy, and have
I disagree with the butch,
the head, Sally O'Malley-your
previously been shut down to.
no desire to go back to him.
however, is how her passing
lack of love is rooted in fear,
and that's why you've been
Dipstick: Well, there Lipstick
Tracy doesn't want to take our
relates to your marriage, and
relationship any further until
your coming out. The reason
you're having a hard time letting
sabotaging yourself all these
goes again. This has nothing to
I'm divorced. I understand and
years. This realization, however,
do with divorce, or heartbreak
agree with her. I can't give her
go of your husband is that
is a good thing, and I've got
at recess. This is about now,
100 percent of myself if I'm
you see him as a safety net.
just the book to help you
this moment in time, and what
still married. But I'm having
He's probably a great guy and
make the most of it. It's called
you plan to do with it. Is there
trouble letting go and actually
you enjoyed your life together
(except for the sex part-and
UnderMind, and it examines
hope? There's hope when we
divorcing him. Any idea why?
the way our subconscious
create hope. You can sit around
-Still Hitched
sabotages our lives. The under-
being depressed about what
maybe you even enjoyed that
for a while, but there was a hidden knowing deep inside you).
lying cause of the particular
hasneverbee~oryoucan
Dipstick: Good for you for being
roadblock you face could be
get out there and start making
adventurous, for being bold
And maybe there is a teensy,
your parents' splitting up, or
things happen. Get it out of
enough to leave your 17-year
tiny piece of you that is terrified
something you witnessed as
your head that you're going
marriage to live a life of authen-
to let him go because it will
a child, or a broken heart you
to fit in with the entire lesbian
ticity. You've made it out this far
actually make this 'Tm gay"
sustained on the playground.
community and instead try to
and now you're stuck. It's com-
thing real, and then there will
With this book as your guide,
make just one friend. The next
pletely understandable. The
be no turning back. It would
you may be able to sift through
time you go to an event, make
death of a mother, especially
be much easier if he were an
the past and discover (and
it your intention to connect
for women, can be dramatically
asshole, right? If you really
heal) what's been holding you
with one person. Seek out
life-altering. The woman who
want things to work out with
back. Be hopeful! It's more than
someone who looks like she's
made your lunches and put
Tracy, you've got to emotionally
possible, with some work, to
easy to talk to. Start small, with
Band-Aids on your skinned
detach from the ex-husband,
reshape your neural pathways
a conversation. See where it
knees is suddenly not there.
and that means making things
and open yourself up-to
goes. When we dwell on the
You can't call her up when you
legal-not
24
CURVE
life
JULY/AUGUST
2013
only for Tracy's sake
but for your ex's, too. Let the
homophobia and left my
negativity because she's in hid-
ever talk about marriage again,
poor man go!
hetero marriage because I just
couldn't lie anymore or deny
ing. The closet door stays shut
because of unresolved shame,
get into couples counseling
and help her find the strength
Dear Lipstick and Dipstick:
myself the kind of relation-
and coming from a Christian
you found years ago.
I'm in a relationship with a
ship I need. I have overcome
background often seals it extra
tight. The psychologist Brene
closeted woman, whom I'll call
hurdles to be honest with my-
Melissa. I have been out with
self and I feel great. We have
my family and at work, but
recently decided we want to
when I'm around her parents
get married. I'm worried that
and coworkers I have to be
the lies will just get bigger. My
Brown said it best when she
called shame "the swampland of the soul." Nothing can
Dipstick: I'm wondering if
you really do love this woman
for who she is. You want her
grow properly there. Brown
also says, "Owning our story
to come out for all the right
reasons, but they're your
reasons-not hers. Not yet. She
can be hard, but not nearly
as difficult as spending our
has to decide she wants to do
this for herself-not for you.
When she's ready. If she's ready.
As you prepare to start a life
closeted again. I understand
question is this: Should I hold
that it's not for me to choose
off on the marriage talk until
when she comes out, but our
she comes out, or do I con-
choices affect each other. She
tinue doing what feels right?
lives running from it .... Only
has been in two previous long-
-Restless in Wichita
just new to the idea of being
Lipstick: Ix-nay on the arriage-
when we are brave enough to
explore the darkness will we
discover the infinite power of
with a woman. Melissa is in a
may! (That's pig Latin for nix
the marriage talk.) You're not
our light." Getting married is all
about standing up in front of
ready. If you move forward
with a ceremony, which should
the world, letting in the light,
and saying, "This is the person
be nothing but a wonderful
experience (save the normal,
I love! This is who I choose!"
Anything short of that, because
understand her apprehension.
unbridled stress that comes
along with it), the whole
of secrets and lies, will destroy
the roots of love. You'll end up
then? She is who she is. She
may never change. Sit with that
thought for a while before you
But I overcame my family's
experience will be laced with
resenting her, too. Before you
walk down the aisle.•
term relationships, so she isn't
male-dominated profession,
and deals with all the nonsense that comes with being
feminine in that environment.
Her mother is an overzealous,
misguided Christian. So I do
with this woman, ask yourself
how it would be if she never
comes out of the closet? Not at
work, not to her parents, not to
her close friends. What if she
decides not to wear a wedding
band? Will you still love her
JULY/AUGUST
2013
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st ADVICE
Body Language
Healing and strengthening your body through Nia.
BY JENNY BLOCK
Columbus,
Ohio native Allison
Wright has always wanted to move. Not
just literally, but figuratively as well. She
has long been inspired to move her body
and as an adult, she has become more
engaged in moving the world toward a
higher level of consciousness and creativity
involving body, mind and spirit.
As a teenager, Wright felt disconnected
from her body and by the age of 17, she
was anorexic. At that point, she says she
"had a driving desire to heal and awaken
in every possible way. My therapist men~
tioned this thing called Nia:' Wright says
that from the moment she stepped into a
Nia dance fitness class, took off her shoes
and began moving to the music, she knew
she'd found a movement practice that was
more than fitness. "Nia was a lifestyle;' she
says, and it became her life's passion.
The Nia Technique, explains Wright,
consists of "60 minutes. 52 moves. 9
movement forms. Nia is a cardiovascu~
lar mind/body cross~training fitness class
that weaves together the movement phi~
losophies of East and West to produce a
movement experience unlike anything
you've ever sensed before:'
Before taking Nia from a personal
practice to a career, Wright was training to
become a professional musician, participat~
ing in competitive athletics, and studying
meditation and yoga. "From as early as I
can remember, I've been driven by a desire
to understand myself and the motivations
behind my thoughts and actions:'
Now a Nia teacher and trainer, Wright
considers what she does more of a calling
than just a career. "It feels innate to me,
like a seed that was there from the very
beginning. To me, the label of'teacher' is
really synonymous with 'guide: " Wright
says she loves guiding students into
sensation, offering them avenues for self
expression, self-love and self-awareness
through movement. "What's funny is that
I never dreamed I'd be a teacher. In fact, I
said it was one of the professions I'd never
enter into. Life is certainly not without a
sense of humor, as the Teacher is one of
my strongest archetypes:'
Ask Wright's students about their experience with Nia and they'll likely describe
it as transformational, revealing how good
they feel (in body and mind) both during
and after class. "Nia is so much more than
a fitness class, and students sense this in
the increased levels of self acceptance and
joy they experience in class;' says Wright.
Wright has been dancing since she was
a kid, improvising to Michael Jackson and
Madonna in her bedroom. "I loved to freestyle and to sense the 'in the moment'
creativity this style of dancing had to offer.
I had always wanted to be a rock star:'
never been exposed to anyone who was
gay and out. Years later, when she found
out that Columbus had one of the largest
concentrations of gay people in the Midwest, she couldn't help but laugh. "Here
there was this incredibly open, welcoming community just miles from where I
lived ... and I had no idea!"
When Wright came out her dad started
crying. "Not out of anger;' she explains,
"but out of sadness that I'd felt I had to
hide and was so afraid to tell him:' Her
mother had a markedly different reaction,
showing no compassion and a surprising
amount of anger and resistance. "She was
quick to educate hersel£ though, and is
100 percent supportive today. I am grateful
to have the open-minded family I have:'
As for her future, Wright says she
looks forward to expanding her Nia training business worldwide, offering more
weeklong trainings, retreats and classes.
''
Nia is so much
more than a fitness
class, and students
sense this in the
increased levels of
self-acceptance and
joy they experience
in class.
''
She also is working toward the continued building and expansion of her online
art-education business, The Accidental
Art Project. "I also have a personal goal
to write a New York Times bestseller by
the time I'm 40. I figure 12 years gives me
ample time;' she jokes.
Until then, Wright says she continues
to live by the words of Carl Jung. "Your
vision will become clear only when you
can look into your own heart. Who looks
outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens:' (allison-wright.com) •
These days Wright says she cannot
imagine a dance-free existence. "Life without dancing is unfathomable to me. I am
deeply grateful every day that my body has
the high level of functioning that it does:'
Wright came out as a lesbian at the
age of 22 and describes the experience as
awakening, inspiring and nerve-racking.
"Throughout my entire late childhood and
teens, something had always felt off; like I
was not fully myself:' Living in the Midwest with traditional parents, Wright had
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2013
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27
st TWO OF US
Alice & Susan
Alice Trindle and Susan Triplett share some horse sense about love
and welcome other couples to their Oregon ranch. BY JENNY BLOCK
HOW
THEY
MET
• We met 26 years ago in McCall, Idaho,
while on a girlfriends' weekend getaway to go
Nordic skiing, eat great food, and relax in the
hot springs. Our friends thought we would enjoy
each other because we both come from ranching backgrounds and love outdoor activities.
They were right! It was an instant connection
and one that has continued to grow and mature
to where now neither one of us could imagine
life without the other's influence.
WORKING
TOGETHER
ALICE: Working together, for Susan and me, is
truly working together. We operate our horsemanship business as a team. We certainly work
in the same space, both in the home office and
in the arena. We face almost all aspects of our
lives with a team approach.
SUSAN: Oftentimes, it's Alice-being
the
horsemanship clinician and having the tourism contacts-who
gets the greater exposure,
so it might appear that I play a smaller role.
Nothing could be further from the truth, in
that what really makes the system work is my
organizational and communication skills combined with Alice's talents. Together we create
a positive experience for clients, friends and
even family.
WHY
THEY
FITSOWELL
TOGETHER
ALICE: We recognize that each of us has posi-
tive qualities to bring to our relationship, and
we try to acknowledge those, both privately
and in public. We work well together because
we are surrounded by amazing friends, a beautiful environment, and animals that enhance
our lives every day. Certainly, part of why we
fit so well together is the acceptance we have as
a couple in the greater community. We are very
fortunate that we are seen and recognized for
the variety of ways we contribute to the community, as individuals and as a couple, regardless of
being a same-sex couple.
RESOLVING
DIFFERENCES
ALICE: We have our moments. But usually we
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JULY/AUGUST
2013
quickly look inward-we
are pretty good at
asking ourselves what the conflict was really
about, and coming back to a foundation where
whatever we were fighting about was not truly
that important in the grand scheme of things.
THE
CONNECTION
BETWEEN
WOMEN
AND
HORSES
ALICE: Because of where Susan and I were
both raised, on a ranch, we have the blessing of
knowing the feelings and wisdom that horses
bring, particularly to women. But it was not
until we truly started studying this relationship that we began to recognize the value of
the lessons we learned through the horses, that
they were so connected to life's lessons. I think
because women tend to look for this deeper
connection, this place of happiness, and we
seek relationships not just of the mind but of
the heart, we tend to relate to horses more intimately than men do.
WHAT
WOMEN
DISCOVER
WHILE
ATTHE
RANCH
ALICE: They come to learn about their horses,
and they leave having learned about themselves.
We often say that our clinics are all about horses
and not about horses at all.
WHAT
SURPRISES
PEOPLE
MOST
ABOUT
THEM
ASINDIVIDUALS
ALICE: What
would surprise people about
Susan is her amazing intuitive ability to read
people, and situations, and then to be able to give
impeccable guidance because of her understanding. She can pick up on the smallest gesture of
body language and accurately read what's happening in the mind and the heart.
SUSAN: What might surprise people about
Alice is the variety of things she's involved in,
and how that involvement has affected aspects
of community life. Many people know her for
just one of her pursuits, such as horsemanship.
Others know her for the influence she's had on
Oregon's tourism industry for the past 35 years.
Still others know her as a member of the Baker
County Planning Commission, or for giving
swimming or skiing lessons, or for playing the
violin in the Grande Ronde Symphony. She is
kind of eclectic! (visiteasternoregon.com) •
mc.c.-I- Iis-l-c.t""".
get you rs today.
curvemag.com
Want to see your pet here? We'd love to meet them, too.
Visit curvemag.com/satisfied for details.
GETTING
DOWN
AT
THE
DINAH
Where else can you party in 90-degree heat with 16,000 other lesbians?
Already named the largest lesbian event in the world, this
As if this wasn't enough excitement, the Cabana Girl
year's Club Skirts The Dinah in Palm Springs, Calif. was not
Pool Party on Saturday tipped the scales! The women
to be outdone by any of the previous 23 festivals. Host hotel
of the world were out in full force and there were plenty
was the newly renovated Hilton Palm Springs and I knew that
of bikinis, sunshine and cocktails. For sporty gals, the
this was going to be a year to remember when the Wednesday
Celebrity Dodge Ball celesbians took on a challenge from
night meet and greet had an attendance three times larger
The Dinah Go-Go dancers and fun was certainly had by all!
than the norm, with the rest of the week being no exception.
Meanwhile, at Hotel Zoso three talented, up-and-coming
The Ladies of Comedy got things started at Hotel Zoso
bands played: Life Down Here, Playboy School and Love
Thursday night followed by the Kickoff Party at Zelda's
Darling. Another new addition was the Celebrity Poker
Nightclub. The music had the ladies dancing and K. Rose gave
Tournament, which took place at the Monte Carlo Party
an exclusive show-stopping performance.
The Friday Dinah Pool Party kicked off the weekend festivities with a poolside performance by Anjulie. Brand new to
Saturday night. Karmin rocked out with a performance that
won them plenty of new fans.
The Wet and Wild Sunday Pool Party began with DJ
the line-up this year was the first ever Dinah Film Festival with
Susan Levine slowly and gracefully waking the ladies from
premieres for Out in the Desert and Second Shot. Havana
their party comas, and continuing the day in preparation for
Brown headlined The Dinah White Party presented by Curve
celebrity appearances and a performance from Diana King.
at Hotel Zoso. This amazing evening had two nightclub
Katy Tiz and Uh Huh Her ended the weekend with solid
scenes to choose from-the
shows that brought another year of Club Skirts The Dinah
rooftop Hip Hop Party as well as
a techno club scene.
30
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to a close. (thedinah.com) -Robin
2013
Perron
FlLM»
BOOKS
»
AUTO
»
curve
Lesbiana: A Parallel Revolution
Keep Portland Queer
The QDoc Film Festival celebrates its seventh anniversary.
P
ortland, Ore., a city that famously
keeps things weird, kept things
queer this past May for the seventh anniversary of QDoc: Portland's Queer
Documentary Film Festival. This celebration of queer culture, identity and politics
was cofounded and directed by David
Weissman and Russ Gage.
On opening night, vivacious crowds
came out to screenings at McMenamins'
Bagdad Theater and Kennedy Schoolcheering and hooting anytime a particular scene resonated. Friends and strangers
shared stories and cozy theater couches,
and they were rewarded with a variety of
excellent docs that explored topics near and
dear to many hearts in Portland, including
evK1MHOFFMAN
environmental activism, gender expression
and lesbian herstory. Curve was there too,
and here are the highlights of a few of the
excellent films screened.
Goodbye Gauley Mountain:
An Ecosexual Love Story
First-time director Beth Stephens and her
partner, Annie Sprinkle, add new meaning to the term "tree-hugger" in this doc,
in which the two performance artists ( and
selrprodaimed
ecosexuals) wed themselves to everything under the sun. They
are especially in love with the Appalachian
Mountains. "They're quite queer;' says
Stephens of the scenic land that is being
destroyed tragically, in perhaps the best-
kept secret and the biggest assault on our
ecosystem, mountaintop removal mining.
Stephens calls her film a "real love song"
to their beloved mountains ( 500 of which
are already gone). It's through this story
of activism that we see the couple's humor
and their affection for the earth. Their
belief is simple: Queers should be able to
marry who or what they love-and have
clean water to drink.
Born This Way
Co directors Shaun Kadlec and Deb Tullmann travel into the heart of Cameroon to
uncover a group of young adults living in
life-or-death fear of being exposed as gay. In
this African nation, queers face jail time of
JULY/AUGUST
2013
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REVIEWS/
FlLM
up to five years for being convicted of homosexuality, and it's not uncommon for gay
people to be accused of witchcraft. Amidst
this literal witch hunt there is an unexpected
beacon of hope: images ofLGBTfriendly celebs like Rihanna and
Lady Gaga who represent inner
strength and self-love. The film also
depicts the community formed by
Alternatives Cameroun, a human
rights and advocacy organization
where LGBT-identified Cameroonians can seek solace-and
legal
advice. The fight for equality is an
uphill battle, but never underestimate the power of Little Monsters.
Lesbiana: A Parallel Revolution
The women featured in French-Canadian
director Myriam Fougere's documentary
Lesbiana: A Parallel Revolution made herstory. The film features lesbian writers,
philosophers, and activists from the 1970s
through the '90s who separated themselves
from the feminist movement, and from
society in general, taking to the countryside
to build women-only communes, havens
I Am a Woman Now
from the patriarchal world. Coming-out
stories, first-time sexual encounters, song
and dance, art, literature-and
a melange
of political, moral and cultural differences
among generations of women now in their
70s and 80s-are woven together into a
quilt of intimate interviews, home videos,
and photos. It's a tip of the lavender hat to
women everywhere who continue to come
together to live and love.
BYRACHEL
SHATTO
Side
Effects
(Open
Roa□ ~ilms)
If well-acted thrillers rife with plot twists are
your thing-and really who doesn't love a good
potboiler-Side Effects is sure to flt the bill. In
the film, a young clinically depressed woman
on a new medication kills her husband while
sleepwalking-a side effect of her new med.
So, is she guilty or not? Her psychiatrist (Jude
Law) seems to think not until his life begins to
fall apart. Is he a victim of a larger conspiracy
or did he make a fatal mistake in judgment?
Fresh from her turn as Lisbeth Salander in The
Girl with a Dragon Tattoo, Rooney Mara turns in
another stellar performance as the depressed
and possibly murderous Emily Taylor. But why
are we reviewing this in a lesbian mag? Well
suffice it to say, if we told you that it would
ruin half the fun. So let's just leave it at this:
lesbians play a pivotal role in the film.
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JULY/AUGUST
2013
This moving documentary transports the
audience to the lavish European living
rooms and sandy beaches where director
Michiel van Erp finds first-generation
transwomen, whose sex-change operations
were performed in Casablanca in the
1950s and '60s. Now women of a certain
age, the trailblazing subjects share a lifetime of relationships, opulent champagnefueled adventures and memories of dancing
at the Moulin Rouge. They also explore the
often-overlooked topic of aging-a unifying human experience for queers and hetero
people alike. Ultimately, the question at
the center of this beautifully shot doc is:
What really makes a woman a woman?
(queerdocfest.org) •
True
Blood:
The
Complete
Fifth
Season
(HBO
Home
Vioeo)
Always good for exploring topics like queerness
and racial bigotry, season five sees True Blood
turning its metaphorical lens on the dangers
of religious zealotry by delving deeper into
both the Vampire Authority (think undead
bureaucrats) and vampire fundamentalists (aka
The Sanguinistas) who oppose the Authority
and believe in the literal translation of the
Vampire Bible. Season five also boasts plenty
of reasons for lesbians to get excited. First,
it marks a change in the relationship between
two of our favorite queer Bon Temps residents
Pam and Tara. And secondly, it introduces a
new character, Lilith, played by none other than
former Curve cover gal and out lesbian model
Jessica Clark-and oh what an entrance she
makes. We suggest picking up a Blu-ray copysome things just demand to be seen in highdefinition. There really never is a dull moment in
Bon Temps, La.
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REVIEWS/
Doin' It/or Themselves
Lesbian self-publishing comes into its own.
W
evv1cToR1AA.eRowNwoRTH
hat comes after the winter of our discontent? The summer of self-publishingfor great lesbian beach reading. Despite Oprah's best efforts, no one really wants
to read Anna Karenina when it's 90° out. We want books that won't overheat
our brains, but will entertain us and give us a little frisson-a different kind of heat.
The self-published lesbian novel is a new and growing trend. Authors looking to jumpstart their careers are bypassing the traditional route, now that they have an alternative to
submitting their work to established publishing houses. They're going directly to readers
via Amazon and Kindle (and Nook and Kobo). It's relatively easy to self-publish through
Amazon's CreateSpace, then set up a website and sell the book on Amazon.
The trend is so popular that Simon & Schuster has set up its own self-publishing business, Archway Publishing. While execs at S&S are clear that they are not promoting their
Archway titles as S&S books, they are willing to take the money of wannabe authors.
Amazon is also happy with the self-publishing trend. CreateSpace is the world's largest
self-publishing program, and some of its authors have taken off-notably, Amanda Hocking. Hocking, a 28-year-old group home worker from Austin, Minn., is the name everyone
floats when they talk about the possibility of finding success as a self-published author.
Hocking wrote in her spare time. But no conventional publisher was interested in her
17 paranormal romances, so she went to Amazon and began self-publishing in April
2010. A year later, she'd published nine titles and sold more than a million books. That
translated into $2 million in sales. She was selling 9,000 books a day. In March 2011,
Hocking moved to the Big Five, signing her first contract with St. Martin's Press for an
advance of over $2 million. St. Martin's bought the Trylle Trilogy, which she'd originally
BOOKS
published with Amazon, and now her name
is legendary among the self-published.
Amazon has promoted CreateSpace using
her name as the lure.
Adding to the mix: As the L.A. Times
reported in May, e-book sales soared to $3
billion in 2012, nearly double what they
were in 2011. While this only represents
20 percent of all book sales, the increasing
interest in e-books, particularly among millennials, means that self-published writers,
who start out selling inexpensive e-books
for under $5, have a better chance of finding an instant audience.
Kiki Archer, a lesbian mother of two in
the UK, decided to go the self-publishing
route. Her lesbian romance novels Instigations and But She Is My Student debuted to
five-star acclaim on Amazon in February and
have attracted a strong lesbian readership.
Even the cover art, with two lovely lipstick
lesbians, is provocative and alluring.
The stories aren't bad, either. Archer's
But She Is My Student is a classic lesbian
romance. Miss Katherine Spicer teaches at
Coldfield Comprehensive. She's sexy and
gorgeous, but, of course, a romance with a
student could wreck her career.
Amazon describes the book as a cross between Zoe Heller's terrific Notes on a Scandal and the British writer Julie Burchill's
SugarRush, which may be a stretch, but the
novel has more importantly, readers posting reviews on Amazon found Archer's
work "full of sexual tension;' "intoxicating;'
and "thoroughly entertaining:' They also
found the book "totally lesbian'' -which is
clearly a key to Archer's sales.
As Archer told Curve,"I wrote But She
Is My Student for an audience of one. I
had no intention of getting it published,
or even allowing anyone other than my
partner to read it. I simply wrote it to have
a go at writing a novel. They say 'Write
what you know; and I know about being
a teacher and being a lesbian, so But She Is
My Student was born!"
The sequel, Instigations,also catapulted
to the top of the charts. Archer has just
delivered yet another, Binding Devotion.
Other lesbian writers have taken the
same route. Trin Denise has self-published
her lesbian novels and her children's books,
and her novels have hit the No. 1 spot
JULY/AUGUST
2013
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33
REVIEWS/
BOOKS
on Amazon. She Left Me Breathless was a
Lambda Literary Award finalist for Lesbian
Romance this year, one of the largest of the
awards' categories.
Denise also writes children's books
about bullying, and offers free signed copies
through her website, along with info on
rescue pets, another of her passions.
Also among Amazon's top-selling
self-published lesbian novels are Jennifer
Lyndon's An Infatuation, about a married
woman with two sons who meets her husband's new female boss. In Katja Michael's
She Came at Dawn, Melissa is happily
involved with a boyfriend until she meets
her friend's new girlfriend. Fracture, by KL
Hughes, has a compelling plot in which a
young writer, whose novel about her affair
with an older woman has been made into
a film, finds love. Eliza Lentski's Second
Chances brings two high school enemies together years later. Lentski has another novel,
Date-Night, which reunites Dr. Sydney
Brisbane and her former college roommate,
Zabe Abazi. The cover shows the tangled
legs of two women sprawled on a bed.
There are surprises to be found among the
self-published, too. President Ronald Reagan's daughter, Patti Davis, self-published a
lesbian novel, Till Human Voices Wake Us,
through CreateSpace.
The novel, a deeply emotional story of a
woman who loses her son and then falls in
love with her sister-in-law, has climbed up
the Amazon ratings ladder quickly and has
gotten five-star reviews from readers.
On Amazon, Davis, who has published
eight other books with Big Five publishers,
wrote, "I am a published author, but find
myself in the same situation many authors
do these days. Getting publishers to say yes
is really hard, particularly with fiction:'
Davis explains that she's "dipped my toe
into self-publishing with my new novel.
It made the rounds of publishing houses,
garnered a lot of interest, but no offers. I've
written a lot about my famous family, the
Reagans. Maybe this non-autobiographical
novel was too much of a departure for publishers to wrap their heads around. But
now there is KO P [Kindle Direct Prime]
and the room to publish a book yourself:'
Davis acknowledges what many writers
struggling to get published have experi34
CURVE
JULY/AUGUST
2013
enced, and asserts, "It's exciting to me. A
new era in publishing. Most writers have
books they have labored over for years and
long to put out into the world. Till Human
Voices Wake Us is one of those books:'
Davis's famous name has cache, and the
stunner that she's written a lesbian novel
should keep her poignant romance selling
well. But Davis is not a standard bearer
for the self-published and has done little
to publicize the work. By contrast, Archer
and Denise are exemplars. Their books
''
For lesbian writers,
self-publishing offers
the opportunity to
tell our stories in
our own u nstifled
voices. And among
those stories,
everyone will find
one that resonates.
''
are as good as many of the romances from
established lesbian publishers like Bella
Books and Bold Strokes Books, and their
self-promotional skills are strong, which
has propelled their books forward.
Self-publishing demands constant promotion, because you are your own publicist.
Jamaican-American novelist Fiona Lewis,
who also writes under the pen name Fiona
Zedde, decided to try self-publishing last
year, to have an instantaneous book and to
see what the process was like.
An established author with Kensington
Books, the Lambda Literary Award finalist had written several critically acclaimed
novels with strong black women characters,
thereby reaching a long-ignored audience.
Lyrical, well-written, and deeply erotic,
Lewis's books had broad appeal. Her brief
foray into self-publishing with Nightshade:
A Novella should have been instantly successful. Yet, despite the strong writing, the
book hasn't been a top-seller.
Lewis's new novel, Broken in Soft Places,
was released May 14. It already had high
numbers with Amazon due to advance
sales-and
advance publicity from Bold
Strokes Books. Advance publicity is not
part of the self-publishing parcel; that's the
author's job, and it's a tough one, even for
established writers. Lewis, the recipient of
various awards and honors, admitted that
the self-promotion is arduous, and that she
probably wouldn't do it again, but found
the experience "interesting:'
Authors of Lewis's caliber aren't the
norm, however, and one of the most problematic aspects of self-publishing is that
few of these books have benefited from
professional editing. To Love a Woman or
Butteefl,ies... Butteefl,ies
... Butteefl,ies,from the
Lithuanian author Fire de Ville, via Kindle
Direct, is a lesbian romance that will no
doubt gain an audience. De Ville says of
her book,"It doesn't matter who you love as
long as you love. We all deserve the happiness that being in love provides:'
We also deserve better-written books,
and one of the major pitfalls of self-publishing is that anyone can play.
Archer acknowledged that she needs
an editor and the solid sales from her early
books have allowed her to hire one. "I
had no idea I used exclamation points all
the time;' she says, wryly. 'J\nd everyone is
winking. Who does that in real lifer"
Not all self-published writers are as selfcritical as Archer, but as former Apple icon
and self-published author Guy Kawasaki
noted on Net Minds, when he turned his
"perfect" manuscript over to a professional
copy editor, there were 1,500 errors-and
that was after he'd sent copies via email to
more than 60 readers for critique.
The self-publishing world is a global
democracy, and not everyone wants to
read something that hasn't been vetted by
a reputable publisher and worked on by
an editor. But among the self-published
there will always be standouts like Amanda
Hocking-and
other gems that needed
discovering.
For lesbian writers, self-publishing offers
the opportunity to tell our stories in our own
unstifled voices. And among those stories,
everyone will find one that resonates. •
REVIEWS/
AUTO
New Car on the Block
Buick's powerful, compact, fuel-efficient and luxurious Encore hits the road.
W
ith theirnewcrossovervehiclea luxury compact SUV-Buick
looks to appeal to younger, hipper consumers.
The Encore is a solid-feeling, 5-passenger, 5-door wagon that handles beautifully
( though this rev head was a little disappointed at the lack of torque on take off).
On long stretches of open road, as well as
in the city, the Encore is truly a pleasure
to drive.
The cabin's clever interior design makes
the Encore feel huge, but this car easily
maneuvers into any parking space.
I found that calibrating the navigation
system took some getting used to-the interface tends to be confusing and a little too
complicated to be called set-and-forgetbut this didn't take away from the overall
pleasure of the driving experience.
Sightlines are excellent, with ample
window space to combat blind spots, and
though the car feels big when you initially
strap in, its compact nature becomes evident
as you get into traffic.
Multi-adjustable
bucket seats, with
driver customization that is very easy to
operate, make for a comfortable rideand, most importantly, the sound system
is phenomenal, custom designed by Bose
with noise cancelling and fantastic, crystal
clear surround sound for those who enjoy
music on the road.
Like most automakers, Buick is working
to make its cars more fuel-efficient. Its efforts are already paying off.
While Buick is not talking electric cars
or completely eco-friendly strategies, the
BY JEss McAvoY
Encore boasts Buick's smallest engine ever
(1.4 liters), which should please environmentally conscious lesbians who want
space, safety, style and value for their
money. (buick.com) •
he intriguing and hilarious Zoe
Lewis has a lot to share with
the world. Her music has been
featured in multiple television
commercials, and she's currently hard at
work on her second musical. The quirky
musician dishes to us on traveling the
world, while still retaining her modestyand her endearing British accent.
What inspires your songs?
Well, travelling really for me is the thing.
I've travelled a lot and it's good for me be~
cause it opens my eyes again and again to
see the newness around. Trying to do that
more at home, but that's the way I work-I
see stuff anew-like a kid really. You know
when you're watching a kid, and everything
is just marvelous that they see. And when
you jump on a plane and get off the other
end, it's the same: everything is completely
different. For me that's very inspiring. It
fuels my fire.
How did you begin train hopping?
I left England when I was 23 and I traveled
all around South and Central America. I
arrived in San Francisco, stayed there for
quite a long while, and met all sorts of wild
and wonderful people in the days of the
Bearded Lady Cafe, which was down in
the Mission. I had so many great friends,
and one of them was Jimmy, and he said,
"Come on, let's go and jump a train:' And I
said, "Why, is that a commonly done thing
here:"' And he said, "Yes. All Americans do
it:' So I said, i\ll right:
It's really good train jumping along the
west coast, and I've jumped up and down
into Canada numerous times. That's how I
learned how to play the harmonica, because
you can't take the guitar. You have to take
the harmonica. I remember sitting there,
dangling my legs off the side of the boxcar,
playing to cars going by, practicing.
I felt fearless and completely safe. We'd
sleep on the cars, we'd sleep in the yard, we'd
jump off. It was crazy, when I think back to
what we did. We were very lucky.
It was an American Dream, it was the
legend. It was the Bob Dylan, Jack Kerouac
dream that I'd been reading about in
England. It was the beatnik existence I didn't
believe was true, and then I came to San
Francisco. I probably did it for a summer,
but then every time I'd come back to San
Francisco Jimmy would say,"Come on:'
You've written a musical, Across the
Pond, where you'll be transforming the
theater into an airplane.
It's my second musical. A lot of people had
been telling me my music would blend well
with theater. I love mime, I love vaude~
ville, stories and all of that so I've sort of
just been doing that naturally and it's been
quite a theatrical performance. Plus, I'm
schooled in Provincetown surrounded by
drag queens and cabaret, so it's rubbed of£
So the next obvious step for me was the~
ater-1 just love it. The first musical was
about Provincetown, and this one is about
the definition of home. You know, I jump
on an airplane and I go back to England
and I go home ... No-I've lived here for 20
years. Everyone you talk to has a different
definition of home. I like the idea of being in
between places. And I have all these ques~
tions and, of course, the passengers on the
plane are answering all of these questions
or pondering all these questions.
I like interactive theater, so as soon
as people walk into the theater, I want
them to feel like they're arriving at the
airport. We've got flight attendants, and
VIPs have their board~
ing passes. There's going
to be security guards that
will give them a pat down,
and they'll have their bags
checked. Then, when they
go into the theater, there
will be airplane music, and
flight announcements and
stuff. Then the cabin crew
will arrive.
You were just named
Woman of the Year for
Women's Week Provincetown. Is this a step
toward global domination?
Yes,definitely.I was absolutely flabbergasted.
I couldn't believe it. I'm so surprised. I'm
totally honored and tickled that they chose
me, how lovely.
What are you going to do as Woman of
the Year?
Well I have to give a speech. That's quite
posh. I'm going to put on my musical. And
I'm going to keep telling the world how
amazing Provincetown is. Just try to keep
everyone together. Should I do something
else? Maybe I should go and do something.
I'm busy with so many things, but I really
should go and save the world, shouldn't I?
We know your song "Small is Tremendous" was featured on a Mini Pringles
commercial. Are Mini Pringles really
better than regular sized Pringles?
I'm not a size queen.
You're not picky about the type of
Pringles?
I guess I like the big ones because they come
in a tube. And it's very pleasing how they
form fit in the tube. I must say, when I was
little, we had them on car trips in England.
So you have eaten them.
Yeah, I think we did. I like the tube more
than what comes in them. In England
we had bags of crisps, but there was this
American tube. You know, chips that come
in a tube, now that was fancy.
All I know is when they came out with
that ad, people would turn up with Mini
Pringles. We did find out they were a great
percussion instrument. We had the whole
audience playing with packets.
You encourage others to find music
in unusual places like trash cans, keys
and conch shells. Say I have a Maine
Coon cat, a box of Franzia, and a large
taqueria burrito. How do I go about
making a song with them?
My father used to say, "There's music in a
horseshoe, there's music in a nail, there's
music in a pussycat when you tread upon
its tail:' So I'm thinking, if you tread on the
tail, you might have a song. And I'm sure
you might actually do that if you drink the
wine. And the burrito ... that's very dead
sounding, a burrito.
They come wrapped in foil. You think I
could do something with the foil?
Of course you could. You could also just
stick it in a box and shake it. I would just
eat it. (zoelewis.com) •
JULY/AUGUST
2013
CURVE
37
STELLA
AND
LUCY
ARE
BACK
WITH
THEBEST
OF
BRITISH
FASHION.
WE WILL
'rO..-.u
BYSTELLAANDLUCY
(STELLAAN
□ LUCY. CO.UK)
PHOTOGRAPHY
BYALEX
STYLES
(ALEXSTYLES.CO.UK)
MAKEUP
BYPENNY
GRIMLEY
(PENNYGRIMLEY.COM)
Dear Curvettes,
We've missed you! We never feel more comfortable than when
we are sliding between your sheets, ahem, pages. So, as it is
the annual Music issue, we've been struck once more with the
modeling fever. As ever, we need no excuse to be in front of the
camera. Lights, camera and we're ready to flash! Guitars at the
ready, amplifier on! The G-string (that's thong to you) at our finger
tips! And, oh, how we do love to stroke those strings. We will
rock you!
It's organized chaos in the studio, nevertheless chaos, still. It's
a good job we are fit. Doing backflips to pose sure has pulled a
few muscles. But the show must go on. Our inner rock chicks have
exploded onto your fashion pages this month. We're your girls on
film. We hope this is music to your ears. If it is, you've got editor
Merryn to thank. After all, every little thing she does is magic.
Actually, we've taken rock to a whole new and personal level
by wearing our own wardrobes. Mixing leather, denim and your
favorite tee-it
doesn't get more rock 'n' roll than that. Black is
always in, especially in New York City, and black is back with an
edge. Introduce tones of gray for a wearable take on rock.
Speaking of New York, did you know we will be flying over
the pond very soon? We cannot wait to hit the States. So, who is
showing us the Big Apple? We need to know what's hot and what's
not, and with Stella's memoir almost finished, inspiration is needed
for the sequel. Sex and the City, here we come! Feel free to take
these "stray cats" in, we don't make too much mess, promise. All
together now: Fashion waits for no woman, so go get it girls!
Brits signing off. Always remember ladies, lez is more.
Until next time,
~~I_~ WC
STELLA
WEARS:
BLUE
DENIM
JACKET.
H&M
$62
DIESEL
JEANS
$225
LUCY
WEARS:
BLACSWIN
K T-SH
G IRT.
RELIGION
$101
INKLEATHER
LOOK
SHORTS,
NEW
LOOK
$47
STELLA
WEARS:
BLACLEAT
K
HER
JACKET.
SELFRIDG
OF
ES
LONDON
$388
BLACPLAY
K SUITSTEL
,
LAANDLUCY.CO
$250 .UK
MIXING LEATHER,
DENIMAND YOUR
FAVORITETEE-IT
DOESN'TGET
MOREROCK'N'
ROLLTHAN THAT.
,
...
STELLA:
PRINT
VEST.
TOPSHOP
$39
HAREM
PANTS,
RELIGION
$70
MILITARY
BOOTS,
RIVER
ISLAND
$132
LUCY:
DRESS,
RELIGION
$124
LEGGINGS,
RELIGION
$55
MILITARY
SKIN
BOOTS
$302
•
JULY/AUGUST
2013
CURVE
41
A BRIEF
STORY
SEXY
LINGERIE
THELESBIAN
WAY.
PHOTOS
BYLESLIE
VAN
STELTEN
The idea was quirky and queer, but that didn't stop Lindsay
Kra+uer from making her line of lesbian underwear her MBA
projec . In fact, the playful project stood out from her classmates'
ster , fnance-focused topics and proved to be so viable a concept
that Kr kauer received offers of investment capital from her
professors and fellow students.
A ter a year of planning and building a dedicated team,
Krakauer launched Let's Be Brief, a brand to please butches,
femmes and everyone in between. From thongs to briefs to
boxers, Let's Be Brief displays a casual lesbian aesthetic with a
fun sensibility; the briefs sport patterns of motorcycles and roller
derby, while a boy-cut brief with a silhouette of an old-fashioned
fly declares "Trophy Wife." (Now that must've had the MBA
students scratching their heads.)
The hip-hugging label is also strongly committed to the LGBT
community and its allies with a percentage of sales going to LGBT
charities and organizations each year. It's a great way to give back
to your community-and be comfortable. (letsbbrief.com)
s
SOMETHING
EET
FIND
YOUR
PERFECT
FITTHIS
SUMMER.
BYMERRYN
JOHNS
PHOTOS
BYLISA
IANCIN
tion for her New York-based
r label, Play Out Apparel. Two
, newly U-Hauled Sugar and her
partr;ier Sylvie were trying to sync up their
laundry cycles-Sugar
preferred to let her
duds pile up over two weeks while Sylvie
did laundry every week, mostly because
she ran out of underwear.
"I told her to buy more underwear,"
says Sugar. "What could be the big deal?
You can find underwear everywhere-in
boutiques, in department stores, in brandname lingerie stores. However, she really
did not like any of the underwear available
out there-she
didn't like the cuts, she
didn't like the colors, and she didn't like the
way they fit. After waiting for her to buy
new underwear for almost three months,
I decided to buy some for her. I spent
hours online searching for what I knew
she wanted and just flat-out could not find
anything. That's when we realized other
women probably faced the same problem."
Sugar is a personal trainer and editor
by day, and Sylvie is a post-doctoral
research fellow at a medical school.
Neither anticipated how challenging it
would prove to try and close this gap in the
women's underwear market. The rag trade
is cliquey and complex, and the process
of designing, testing, manufacturing and
marketing garments takes enormous time
and patience.
"We were lucky to have supportive
friends with garment design knowledge,
MODELS:
YVONNE
MO
TERRA
ARRINGTON
LIZWRIGHT
and we were able to gather a great team
around us, including an apparel consultant,
an intimates patternmaker and sample
house, a fit model and a lawyer," says Sugar.
"Our photographer, videographer and our
models are dear friends of ours who believe
in us enough to be a big part of our brand and
business. And even though we didn't have that
background in garment design, we knew what
we liked and didn't like about the underwear
available on the market, and how we wanted
to stand out."
Sugar wanted to distinguish Play Out from
other women's briefs by offering "cool and
sexy" graphics that provided an alternative
to the ubiquitous pinks, pastels, florals,
stripes and polka dots that define most
women's underwear. Play Out aims
to eventually offer many patterns and
colors, but to start, they purchased
three designs from a textile design
firm that works with brands like
Hurley, Fox and DC Shoes.
When it came to the cut, Sugar
chose a boyish yet shapely silhouette
enhanced by a 1.5-inch waistband,
a design element usually found on
men's underwear. Indeed, the label's name,
Play Out, was inspired in part by Sylvie's
preference for displaying the waistband of her
underwear above her jeans. But both women
draw the line at wearing male knickers, and
not only because of the pouches and flies.
"Men's underwear is very uncomfortable,
and it just doesn't fit right. Women have hips!
That waistband on men's underwear is just
way too tight and pushes up fat-muffin
top,
for sure. The fabric used for men's underwear
tends to be heavier and thicker than is ideal for
women."
And patriotic, unlike many labels these days,
Play Out sources its fabrics and manufactures
in the U.S. Pre-order online or look for the
Play Out girls at East Coast Pride events,
Provincetown and possibly MichFest this
summer. {playout-underwear.com)
"MEN'SUNDERWEAR
ISVERYUNCOMFORTABLE,AND IT_IUST
DOESN'TFITRlGHT.
WOMEN HAVEHIPS!"
JULY/AUGUST
2013
CURVE
45
/IRE
M/IINSTREIIM
CDMIC6
FINJIUY
OITCHING
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INOIE
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ICONS
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INIJIISTRY'6
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DFFICIJIL:
THEY'RE
ENrKAD. In the explosive conclusion to
Batwoman #17,DC Comics' most prominent lesbian superhero,
also known as Kate Kane, pops the question to her girlfriend,
Maggie Sawyer, and at the end of #18 it seems certain Maggie
has said yes. But will Kate and Mags really set the date and be the
first married lesbian couple in mainstream comics? And, more
importantly, does this mean that mainstream comic books have
finally become as LGBT-friendly as their indie cousins? We asked
some of the industry's top writers, but it turns out that getting
a definitive answer is not quite as simple as, say, leaping a tall
building in a single bound.
46
CURVE
JULY/AUGUST
2013
ntil just 20 years ago, both major American comic
book publishers-DC Comics and Marvel Comicshad an embargo on openly gay characters, though
their underground and independent counterparts, like Fantagraphics,
have been telling LGBT stories since the '70s.
Fortunately, times have changed and LGBT content in comics is
becoming more prominent, but still, the Big Two have yet to offer
us the same medley of queer character types we can find in indies.
Of course, indie comics have never been the pop culture kingmakers
that the major labels are, no matter how much creative freedom they
wield. Readers have long had to choose between creative diversity
and cultural visibility: We could have comics that fairly represent
the LGBT community, or we could have comics that are distributed
in hundreds of thousands of copies-but, it seemed, we couldn't
have both. Are Batwoman's nuptials a sign that the two streams are
finally converging?
We asked Greg Rucka, who penned Batwoman's earliest tales,
and won a GLAAD media award for writing the character in
2010. His answer was pretty blunt: It's all about the bottom line.
"Mainstream comics, despite the legacy of being a subversive
medium, they're very conservative;' Rucka says."Publishers eventu~
ally realized that the money they might lose [featuring gay charac~
ters] was not greater than the money they might make. But in many
cases it was an act of lip service:'
"For better or for worse, writing [Batwoman]as a lesbian is a mil~
lion miles away from saying, for example, that Batman has always
been gay,because that character makes Warner Bros and DC billions
of dollars;' Rucka explains. ''At the end of the day, their choices
are always going to be dictated by what they think will grant
the greatest revenue:' Though, for the record, Rucka does credit
DC editor Paul Levitz with shepherding the Batwoman character
through development.
Working outside the realm of the major publishers, a writer like
Leia Weathington doesn't have to second~guess anyone when she
writes her fantasy adventure series The Legendof Bold Riley."I love
Conan and James Bond, the lady~boning meathead type of charac~
ters;' Weathington says about the genesis of her series. "With Bold
Riley,I wanted to do that kind of out~and~out~adventure story with
a gay female:'
Bold Riley is a product of Northwest Press, a company geared
specifically toward producing LGBT comics. Does Weathington
ever worry about how marketable her lesbian heroine is, the way
that a major comics publisher would? 'Tm a happy idiot in a lot
of ways because I don't see what the big deal is;' she says. "I don't
see why writing a gay character needs to be any different than
writing a straight one. When I get up in the morning, I don't brew
a pot of dyke coffee and then eat my Queerios before I start my
Big Gay DaY:'
The equivalent of a small business owner, Weathington can simply
write the story that she and her readers want. But that freedom
comes with a catch: "I am not making that Gail Simone money;'
Weathington admits. As great as Bold Riley is, it'll never make
headlines, or sales records, like Batwoman.
So when might BoldRiley-style characters finally come into their
own in the mainstream? Any day now, says writer Gail Simone
(Birdsof Prey,SecretSix, Batgirl)-but be patient.'Tve been fighting
this fight for a decade now and really feel strongly about showing
the movement forward;' Simone says. ''I've added what I believe is
the first transgender person in mainstream comics to Batgirl,and
I'm creating a new team, The Movement, which has a very wide
representation of sexuality. Things are getting better, if slowly:'
Certainly, she's right about things getting better, but what exactly
is the holdup? Even Simone acknowledges that sometimes taking
two steps forward means taking one step back. Case in point:
exploitation. ''I'd be pretty happy to see the death of the Cinemax,
softcore version of lesbianism in comics;' she says."Male~gazelesbians,
that stuff is everywhere. You can't turn on the television without
tripping over it. When I see that, all I can think is, Holy shit, can we
not do any better than this?"
It's hard to make social progress when your principal icons are
treated as adolescent wet dreams. But with Simone, every crisis is
also an opportunity. She cites an example from the'90s:"Rainmaker
is a Native American teen superhero who was revealed to be bisexual,
but the way it was done was pretty skeevy:' The scene in question,
in a 1993 issue of Gen13, featured Rainmaker coming out to her
friend while rubbing suntan lotion on her naked back. "What
could have been cute and even progressive comes across as a bad
Cinemax film:'
So years later, when given the chance, Simone put her more
progressive spin on the character: "I decided to make her gaywith no apologies and hopefully a lot less cheese. We got a great
reaction:' Things really do get better. But slowly.
The way that comics sometimes mishandle lesbian characters is
so pronounced that Megan Rose Gedris wrote a whole series about
it: I Was Kidnapped by Lesbian Piratesfrom Outer Space."It's a
parody of the really weird things that happen to gay characters;'
Gedris explains. LesbianPirateswas a web comic later featured in
print by Platinum Studios. So where does the
cheesiness that Gedris is lampooning
come from, in this day and ager
"There are a lot of writers
who still think of gay
characters as sensa~
tional, the same way
they'll only put in a
female character if they
need someone to get
11
pregnant. [I wanted]
depictions of gay romances
that were more relatable to
me as a gay teenager:'
Gedris's work grew out of a sense of
dissatisfaction with queer characters in media, but even she
agrees with Simone that the winds of change are blowing in comics.
'Tm seeing more traditional publishing taking cues from web comics.
It's letting traditional publishers know that it's not as much of a risk
anymore to find gay characters. It's a tightrope walk:'
Don't break out the confetti yet though, because Devin Grayson,
who writes DC Comics series such as Teen Titans and Nightwing,
says there's an elephant in the room: The hardest part about writing
"OF
COURSE
111111/E
AN
IIGENP/1.
'IIIOSE
WlltJ
SAY
THEY
DON'T
ARE
LYING.
WE
WRITE
ABOUT
'IIIOSE
THIN~TIIJIT
ARE
IMftJRTJINT
TOUS.
JULY/AUGUST
2013
CURVE
47
Panels from ZOT!
lesbian superheroes is not that the
characters are gay but that the characters are women. "It should kind of
be a no-brainer that you are going to
have a tough time fairly representing lesbian characters as long as
you're still struggling with fairly
representing females;' she says.
"Female characters in superhero
pop culture are still regulated to
a pretty narrow range of personality types and functions:
the coming-of-age ingenue and
the tough-as-nails ballbuster. To really
have vibrant, diverse characters and stories, you
need a dynamic collection of creative people;' says Grayson
This glacial progress is never going to speed up until there are
more women (and queer folks) with access to the accelerator. And
when will that ber Well, Grayson, as an openly bisexual woman, certainly exemplifies diversity in the writing room at DC. But she's still
in the minority."! spent a long time fighting against being a'female
in comics;" she says. "You end up being a spokesperson in spite of
yoursel£ I'm sure Gail [Simone] has had similar experiences. There
was a time when [publishers] absolutely wanted women, but now
weve had Dan DiDio [co-publisher of DC Comics] quoted saying,
'What woman, who should I hirer"'
Grayson refers to the 2011 Comic-Con, when DiDio brusquely
dismissed a fan's conplaint that only 1 percent of the company's writers were women. When DiDio rhetorically asked who he should be
hiring, audience members actually shouted names at him. His
replyr"Next question:'
No DC Comics representatives were available for comment at
press time.
What's the best avenue for writers like Grayson, thenr"Theres a
lot of inclusion in non-mainstream comics;' she adds. "If I wanted
to tell a really queer-centric comic, I would just do that:' Not the
most encouraging prognosis that change is in the making.
No one can seem to agree: Has the industry radically changed,
or is it only playing along? Is progress being marked in leagues, or
in inches? Maybe luminary writer Scott McCloud (of ZOT! and
Understanding Comics fame) has the answer: Mainstream publishers will catch up to the indie way of doing things when they
fully understand what it takes to tell the best story.
"It's bad storytelling if characters are the same;' McCloud says.
He cites an example from decades ago: "There was a panel in
Avengers where Steve Rogers, Donald Blake, Hawkeye and Hank
Pym all took off their masks and they were all exactly the same
guy-they were these blond white males, and they all had the same
face. And I thought, That's not very helpful, what if I have to tell
them apartt
In 1990, two years before Marvel Comics outed its first hero,
McCloud penned a story called "Normal" in the pages of his retrosci-fi superhero comic ZOT! "Normal" chronicled a teenage girl's
conflict about coming out. Because ZOT! was a superhero book, it
was sold in a lot of stores that normally didn't offer underground
comics, and so it was the first time many readers, particularly young
ones, saw a gay character on a comic book page.
"I had a worldview, and I knew not everyone agreed with it;'
48
CURVE
JULY/AUGUST
2013
McCloud recalls about the story, and the hazards of writing it
when he did. "When you talk about something like sexual identity,
there's a raging argument going on inside of individuals, and I heard
from some of them, people who were 14 or 15, and that made it
worthwhile:'
As is often the case in media, adolescent consumers complicate
the picture. Even though few comics are marketed directly at kids
anymore, they're still seen as children's fare, which increases
scrutiny. "If Dora the Explorer turned out to be gay, that would be
news;' McCloud points out. "Society has to catch up:'
If we want comics to change faster, Rucka has a suggestion: Get
aggressive about it. "Theres always a question ofagenda' as a dirty
word;' he says, but that's not a problem, in his mind: "Of course I
have an agenda. Those who say they don't are lying. We write about
those things that are important to us. And so what? Even if that
was the only reason to do it, why is that a bad thingt
Maybe that's the right idea. Activists with pens have always been
a driving force in changing media and the society that consumes
it. If the world of comics still lingers half in and half out of the
closet-hampered
by business concerns, censored by the Comics
Code Authority, and plagued by old-fashioned sexism-then, in
the context of those problems, the gains made by the writers cited
here can be seen as nothing less than heroic.
After all, these are comics: People can fly, the laws of physics
can be suspended, time and space can break down or reverse. And
Batwoman can get married. Anything is possible.•
COMICS
EIIERY
ISBIJIN
611Dl/U,
RE/1/J
New to the world of panels and speech balloons?
Take a few of these four-color ladies for a spin.
Rent Girl: Michelle
Tea's graphic (in
more ways than one)
autobiography is
as compelling and
iconoclastic as, well,
everything else on
your bookshelf with
her name on it.
Love & Rockets:
The Hernandez
brothers' seemingly never-ending
chronicle of love,
hope, drama and
family (and virtually everything else
under the sun). No
matter who you are,
there's a character
in here to fall in
love with.
Girltrash!: Korean
American illustrator
June Kim teams up
with director and
True Blood writer
Angela Robinson
for outrageous
crime drama. Don't
pretend you're not
intrigued.
IIERCff
ANP
J/IU/1/IS WEBCOltllC~
Secret Six: Gai I
Simone's tragically
cancelled series
about bad guys and
bad gals doing very
bad things featured
a couple of the
most surprisingly
touching lesbian
romances seen on
the comics page.
Runaways: Brian
Vaughn's witty and
incredibly fun take
on teenage superheroes came with
the added bonus of
young alien lesbians
having all too human
tribulations.
Gotham Central:
Don't miss this
lesbian inclusive
series. Because who
doesn't love a good
cop story?
User: Devin
Grayson's wild and
weird story about
identity in the
computer age.
Meaty Yogurt: Not
quite as much fun
as Gedris' Lesbian
Pirates From Outer
Space, but still a
phenomenal read.
Curvy: Too wonderfully bizarre not
to recommend.
Completely baffling
fantasy comedy
series that should
never, ever be read
while at work.
Girls With
Slingshots: It's
impossible not to
recommend a comic
which features a
talking cactus as a
recurring character
and yet still feels
more plausible than
anything else on
this page.
$100
PP OFF
when you mention
"CURVE"
ome would say that if
one woman embodies the
1980s pop star prototype,
it's Madonna. But there is a
case to be made that Belinda
Carlisle's influence has been just
as great. Before you dismiss that, let's take a trip down Memory
Lane. In 1981, a couple of years before Madge even arrived on the
scene, Carlisle fronted the Go-Go's. Their debut album, Beauty
and the Beat, spent six weeks at No. 1, becoming the first disc
ever by an all-female band to top the charts, and included the hits
"We Got the Beat" and "Our Lips Are Sealed:' The Californiabased combo-which
also included guitarists Charlotte Caffey
and Jane Wiedlin, bassist Kathy Valentine, and drummer Gina
Schock-released
two more albums before calling it a day. And
unlike Madonna, the Go-Go's never had to resort to shock tactics to sustain their popularity. They may have been pretty and
perky, but they were also accomplished musicians and songwriters who let their music do the talking. After they broke
up, Carlisle embarked on a solo career. If her style as a solo artist
was more suited to adult contemporary pop than the New Wave
of her former band, there's no question that she did what she did
successfully, as evidenced by the smash hits "Heaven Is a Place
on Earth;'"Mad About You;' and"Summer Rain:' Curve recently
caught up with the singer to discuss her history, her popularity
among lesbians, and her recent collection, ICON.
0
~
f-
0
That surprised me, because you've always seemed very
comfortable in your own skin.
Well, in the beginning I was very comfortable with myself. I never
really thought about weight. I loved myself-or liked mysel£ you
know-and had no problems with how I looked. It wasn't until the
Go-Go's became successful that I was always described as "pretty
and plump" or "cute and chubby:' It does damage, that sort of
thing. Looks never used to play as much of a part until video and
stuff came along. Now it's all about that! Of course, you always
have a few artists [who are] out of the ordinary, like an Adele or
someone who comes along. It's like, "Thank God!"
The Go-Go's influenced a lot of female bands after that.
Were there any women who influenced you when you
were coming up?
I grew up with Tapestry [by] Carole King. But I would say the
singers who made me think, "This is what I want to do with
my life" were Chrissie Hynde and Debbie Harry. For sure.
(belindacarlisle.tv) •
ICON includes 11of your solo hits, including the new single,
"Sun." What prompted you to release the collection at this
particular point in your career?
It [was a] coincidence. When I recorded ["Sun''], I wasn't sure
how we were going to put it out. There are different ways of
doing things these days. And at the same time, Universal was in
the process of putting out a best-of collection, which I hadn't had
in a long time. So my management thought that it could work
together really nicely.
You've played several Pride events. Could I ask you a little
bit about your lesbian following and also your thoughts on
gay marriage?
Well, most of my friends are gay and lesbian, and my son is gay.
For whatever reason, the Go-Go's have always had a big gay and
lesbian following-and thankfully so. It must mean we're doing
something right! I feel flattered to have that demographic, because
they usually are at the forefront of taste.
And as far as gay marriage, of course I support it. I'd like to see
my son be able to have that chance one day.
Several years ago you had a book out, Lips Unsealed, and
you talked about some personal aspects of your life. You've
struggled with an eating disorder and body image issues.
JULY/AUGUST
2013
CURVE
51
Ill
hrough the course of her long career, Karen Moulder,
aka Bitch, has proven her poetic prowess through
lyrics that distill power and pain, feminism and fun.
She's also invented her own musical flavor. Having
studied classical violin and dance since childhood,
she now enjoys a vast musical pluralism, playing
electric violin and bass, ukulele and keytar.
This pluralism now extends to a name and
persona change, from Bitch to the project, Beach.
"Beach represents to me a place where everything
shifts. Rocks become sand, water meets earth, birds screech,
tides turn and colors collide;' she says, and credits her move from
New York to Michigan to California, and the accompanying
shift in priorities, with a shift in identity. "My 'real name' is
something I have kept to myself for years. I guess when I
started performing (or when I was younger) I was playing with
a private/ public self. But after years of having a separate public
persona, I'm now much more interested in directing that energy
into the music itself:'
And music is more of a place, playful and wild, which reflects
her connection to the land and the ocean, and the point at
which they meet. "Something about being right at the very
border between two worlds reminds us how much we are a
part of both of them ( or nature);' she explains. ''And I think
music does something similar. It helps us slow down and
take notice of where we are, what we're doing and what we're
dreaming of:'
With In Us We Trust (out in July), Beach has brought all her
innovative beats and rhymes together in one of her funkiest records
yet. She proclaims that in her first collaboration with producer
Roger Paul Mason and multifaceted beat maker Billie Jo Cavallaro
(who goes by Alligator on stage) even the tone of her writing has
changed. "I think this album was a shift for me, because for the first
time I was writing for the extrovert inside myself says Beach. "I
was writing consciously for who I am onstage, a very extroverted
52
CURVE
JULY/AUGUST
2013
person. Whereas in the past my writing is often the introverted side
of myself-like where I go for solace, where I go to get out something intimate. And I would take those sentiments and translate
them into songs. This time, I was very conscious of trying to write
something that felt participatory. I wanted to give myself something
so that in my live shows it wasn't just about me performing songsI wanted it to be with the audience, going back and forth and giving
them things to say too, letting them take part in the music:•
If audience response is a gauge, Beach's new slate of songs is
rockin' the house. She began performing tracks from In Us We
Trust last summer, touring here and in Europe alongside Jay
Brannan, whom she met when they were both making John
Cameron Mitchell's film Shortbus. The crowds ate up songs like
(If You Are What You Eat), and
"Ibuprofen;'"IFURWTUEAT"
"The Debbie Gibson Song:' Each one serves up Beach's trademark irreverence and inventive style. But they also play harder
than most of her previous work-in
that extroverted way that
gets fans old and new all revved up.
"The thing I'm trying to do is elevate people and their consciousness;' she says."It feels like the energy is infectious, like we were ending
on a high note every night. It's the most fun I've had on a stage:•
Hints of her new hard-edge spirit are noticeable on her 2010
album, Blasted!,which was released on her own label, Short Story
Records. In fact, that album serves as a bridge between her folkpoetry side and this fresh rock-pop sound. Intimacy and solace still
get plenty of attention, though, in part through Beach's collaboration with the lesbian folk musician Ferron, with whom Beach
released Boulder in 2008.
Her relationship with Ferron was so meaningful that it inspired
Beach and Cavallaro to produce Thunder ( & Lighten-ing),a new
hour-long documentary about Ferron, which they describe as "a
window into the artist;' rather than a typical life-story recap. Due
to be released this summer, it works outside of the usual chronology,
from past to present, and explores the intergenerational friendship
between Ferron and Beach.
Between the new film and the new album, Beach's 2013 looks
to be busy. She'll be touring through North America, then spend
September across the pond in England, and play in Germany. She
hopes to keep the energy up, keep ending on a high note, and keep
fostering inclusiveness in her ever-growing fan base.
She continues to produce songs with pretty much universally
relatable subjects. For example, the new album's tide track, "In Us
We Trust;' is a riff on the cheerleading-style chant "We must, we
must, we must increase our bust;' which you may remember from
a Judy Blume novel that you encountered in junior high school.
Amazingly, Beach has retooled it as a feminist refrain: "In us we
trust, we must, we must ... increase our trust. The bigger the better,
we're in it together, they will follow us:•
She explains, "The chant is about these young girls wanting to
make their boobs bigger. I wanted to transform that familiar phrase
to say that we need to increase our trust within and among ourselves, as a feminist and universal message. All genders feel societal
pressure to wear certain faces, and it can lead to self-loathing in a
lot of ways. All of us can relate to that-the way we cut ourselves
down and make ourselves up. In this album, and as an artist, I'm
interested in resculpting those familiar lines as something we can
all relate to. Plus, it's a message that goes perfectly with good music
and dancing:' (bitchmusic.com) •
Dyke drummer Allison Miller takes
listeners on a personal journey.
BY STEPHANIE SCHROEDER
Brooklyn-based drummer and composer Allison
Miller and her band Boom Tic Boom released their
full-length sophomore studio album, No Morphine,
No Lilies in April. The lesbian musician says she
wrote three of the 11songs on the album as tributes
to her drummer mentors Eddie Marshall, Walter Salb
and Paul Motian, all of whom passed away within
a short time of each other. The other songs on the
record are original arrangements by other artists,
including a paean to Ornette Coleman's "Six Nettes"
composed by Lisa Parrott.
No Morphine, No Lilies is a challenging yet accessible record. It's disruptive in the modern sense of
that word: brash and bold with an excitement that
only enhances the music. Miller describes the album
as "edgy, avant-garde and aggressive." This is likely
because it came from a time of great turmoil in the
musician's life. "My girlfriend was really sick and I
was going through an emotional rollercoaster while I
was writing the music for this record," says Miller.
The curious title of the album, No Morphine, No
Lilies, comes from a comment her girlfriend, lying
ill in the hospital, uttered in delirium. "There were
already swirling emotions about her drug-induced
state," explains Miller, "and she said those words.
They stuck with me and I couldn't shake them. I
knew it was going to be the title of my next record."
"This album, more than any other of mine, is
meant to take the listener on a journey," Miller says.
"Just turn the lights out and zone out," is her advice.
"The Itch" has dissonant trumpet melodies
throughout as well as a curious mix of underlying
percussion that Miller calls "junk pieces." "Speak
Eddie" is reminiscent of a carnival-cacophonous,
joyful, fun and terrifying all at once. The song is a
tribute to Eddie Marshall, the West Coast drummer
who died in in 2011. Miller wrote the song the
day after he died, which she says explains why the
melody gets a bit chaotic. She also wrote the song
on the drums, something she has never done before.
Miller wrote the rest of the songs on the piano,
the way she usually composes. Her mother and
grandmother were pianists who made sure she
could read music, "and the melodies on piano make
me a better drummer, especially when backing up a
singer," she says. "I know how not to get in the way
of their vocals."
Miller's musical compositions on this album are
heavy on emotion. "Like I said, it's a journey. It's
about the feelings I had about [my girlfriend] being
sick. 'Do I run or do I jump in?' With all the pain happening it was either run or commit. And, I'd been
running for a long time, touring and traveling. But
this was a huge transition period in my life: I might
otherwise have bailed but I was really in love with
this person and I was committed to showing up as a
friend and as partner."
Like the best love songs, Miller's has a happy ending. Her girlfriend has since recovered and they are
closer than ever. (allisonmiller.com)
ALLISON
WEISS
SAYS
WHAT
SHE
MEANS
The Internet's beloved musician is back
with her new album.
BY ELIZABETH ESTOCHEN
Something about singer-songwriter Allison Weiss
is immensely endearing. Maybe it's the particular
combination of modesty, goofiness, and confidence
she exudes- and her gift for turning out honest,
nostalgic love songs that anyone can identify with.
Weiss took the indie-pop world by storm with
her 2009 album ...Was Right All Along-a record
financed by a highly successful Kickstarter campaign (she exceeded her $2,000 target goal by
almost $6,000). Then, in 2011, she began another
Kickstarter for a new full-length album. Her goal was
six times the original amount-and fans' donations
more than doubled it.
In April, Weiss released her new album, Say What
You Mean, on No Sleep Records. "It's sort of a new
sound, a new direction, and a place I've always wanted
to go, musically," Weiss says. "This next record is
really upbeat and punchy. It's got some pop-punk or
power-pop edge to it."
Weiss's success has meant that her musical crew
has grown. "This time around, I was writing songs
for a full band of instrumentation," she explains.
Weiss has her go-to people in the recording studio,
including Chris Kuttner and Elliot Jacobson, and
she has a traveling posse, with whom she has been
hitting the road in a white Ford E350. "It's a serious
van," claims Weiss, who is quick to note that she's
just installed four new cup holders. "Everybody's
really excited to be a part of it, and also, nobody has
a problem sleeping on floors and driving hours into
the night to make it to the next city. So it seems like
we're a group of people who have the same goal in
mind, as far as touring goes."
Far from her small-town roots in Flowery Branch,
and then Athens, Ga., Weiss is now thriving in the
New York music scene. "I'm surrounded by incredible musicians. Everybody I know is so good in so
many different ways, and it's allowed me to have the
opportunity to work with a lot of different people,
and get better myself."
Weiss has gone from open mic nights in coffee
shops to a nationwide tour, even completing a
brief swing through Europe in the summer of 2012.
So, what's up next for the rising star? "I'm coming home for a little bit, doing a lot of CD release
stuff, sending out a lot of Kickstarter prizes. And
then I have some more tour dates [this summer,
including] the Warped Tour, playing the Acoustic
Basement Stage. After that, hopefully, more and
more touring." When asked if all this will wear her
out, she responds with a definitive "No way."
(a 11isonweiss. net)
Sapphic strummer Catherine Capozzi
rocks out artistically.
BY DAVE STEINFELD
If guitar rock is your thing, then you'll want to
remember the name Catherine Capozzi. This Bostonbased guitarist with red hair and a rock 'n' roll heart
formed the band Axemunkee after she was selected
by Brian May of Queen (out of over 100 musicians)
to win one of his Red Special guitars. Though
Axemunkee makes instrumental music, the titles
of their songs-like "Acid Django" and "Dali's Dark
Dream" -often tell more of a story than all the lyrics a
vocalist can deliver. "Dali's Dark Dream" was inspired
by Capozzi's favorite artist. "I was introduced to a
poem written by David Gascoyne called 'Salvador
Dali' while [I was] in Paris. I fell in love with the words
and images presented in the poem and voila, 'Dali's
Dark Dream' was born."
Along with the surrealist painter, Capozzi cites
Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev, Edith Piaf and Maria
Callas as influences-she
even spent eight years
playing with the Piaf cover band Ziaf. But perhaps
the most evident of Capozzi's influences are the
classic rock guitarists-Jeff
Beck, Jimmy Page, and,
of course, Jimi Hendrix. "I didn't start playing guitar
until I had a few years of classical violin under
my fingers," she reveals. "I started violin at 7 and
moved on to guitar at 10. My first lessons were on
a wide-neck nylon-string classical guitar. Learned
classical and flamenco-style playing and moved
on to rock as a natural progression of where my
interests were going."
Currently, Capozzi is excited about providing the
music for the new film TEN. "It's the first movie I am
scoring," she says. 'Tm working with the writers and
producer to make sure what I'm composing works
with their vision of the film. The music ranges from
spy-ish thriller to freak-out psychedelic to a warped
waltz." Capozzi explains, "This is an indie film with an
all-female cast and a mostly female crew. One of the
goals with TEN was to create a cast of women participating in action that really has nothing to do with
being a woman, or their relationships with men."
Never one to sit still long, Capozzi, who describes
herself as "single and in an open relationship with
my Les Paul" is also planning to start work on
Axemunkee's third studio album.
You may recognize the name Lakotah
because she's currently heating up
the charts with one of the coolest
pop-dance hits of the summer, her
debut single "Falling." Not surprisingly,
Lakotah-who goes by the one name
only-says the track was inspired by
the process of falling in love. "It's the
single most overwhelming feeling or
thing [that can] happen to you," she
says. "Falling in love takes over all you
see, hear, smell, taste. Even if you try to
stop it, you can't!"
Originally from the U.K., the multiracial singer is presently based in Los
Angeles. "Between my father's love for
Johnny Cash and my mum's obsession
with Black Sabbath, I heard the very
best," says Lakotah of her eclectic musical upbringing. "Then one day, Mum
brought home the Kate Bush album
Hounds of Love. I then collected her
prior works from The Kick Inside all the
way to The Sensual World."
Lakotah plans to unveil her full-length
solo debut around early fall. "Expect an
eclectic array of styles," she says, "from
pop-dance songs to adult contemporary
electro love ballads to glimpses of my
rock roots and finally ending with two
very personal, minimalistic songsone [dedicated] to my daughter Nova
and one to my mother, Yuma Dawn
McQueen, which is particularly difficult
to listen to even now." When asked to
elaborate on McQueen she adds, "She
and I were constantly at odds. It deals
with how my mum sent me away to live
with my father as a teen because we
never got along. I only saw my mother
once as an adult before she passed,
five years ago now. Only once. [It's] so
painful-yet I'm still here and have a
daughter of my own."
When the subject turns to sexual
orientation, Lakotah has some choice
words. "'Queer' is so '90s," she says.
"'Lesbian'-though
I do give this word
props ...l don't entirely identify with it.
And 'bi' -oh, please. Don't even get
me started on bi. So in [light] of the
constant evolution of pop culture, suffice to say that I am expansive: sexually
advanced!" (lakotahonline.com)
-
PALMER
DRAMA
The high priestess of punk
performance opens up.
BY JESS MCAVOY
Amanda Fucking Palmer is a fierce artist. A former
geeky school kid turned performance art student,
turned half of cabaret punk music duo The Dresden
Dolls, turned tour de force solo artist, Palmer is quintessentially queer, in perhaps the original meaning of
the word.
Palmer most recently rocked our world with the
release of her "Do it With a Rock Star" music videoa brilliant musical orgy that blatantly explores the
blurred lines between sexuality, celebrity and desire.
Ever the avant-garde and expressive artist,
Palmer's body of work is varied; her live performance
is brazen and theatrical. However, Palmer the person
is down to earth. It's clear that remaining grounded
gives her the capacity to be all of these things. It's a
filthy habit to define things in order to make sense of
them, and to do this to Palmer is not only an insultit's almost impossible.
"Honestly, I'm never really called on to define
myself unless journalists ask me. Like, right now,
defining usually comes from the outside, it's usually
someone else defining you," she explains. "If you're
spending too much time trying to define yourself and
convince people that you are a certain thing, you're
spending less energy actually being that thing."
One label she will accept is that of provocateur.
"Do it With a Rock Star" is provocative, to say the
least. In it she is sweaty, visceral, womanly, queer.
"You know, my favorite thing to do is to surprise
people. If I had to whittle it all down and I could
only have one occupation I would be a professional
surpriser," she says.
For Palmer her role as a provocateur is also about
something larger: women and their power toquestion the status quo. "A lot of times you just need
someone up there, on a stage or in an image, to give
you permission to take the next step with whatever
you feel is possible. And I look back at my life, on
all the women that I have seen, one by one, really
brave women getting up on stage doing really bold,
personal, frightening things, and it feels like the
doorway's open, [so] you can walk through it."
Palmer walked through this door with her record
Theatre is Evil, a beautifully constructed work tempered with industrial electronica and delicious pop
melodies-perhaps her best recording yet.
Don't let her fool you: Amanda Palmer is not coming from some place of unwavering resolve where
everything she does is right, or easy. Generously
candid, she speaks of her personal evolution. "I
mean, I am 36 and I still freak out and I still wonder
what the hell I am thinking and what I am doing and
whether I am doing the right things and making the
right decisions. That hasn't changed. But I think I
have been around the block enough times to know
that everything is going to be fine.
"It's not like the freak-outs I had when I was 17,
when I really thought the world was going to end
and I may as well just jump off a cliff, you know?
The drama luckily doesn't visit me anymore."
(amandapalmer.net)
1
STORM
WARNING
Mal Blum's new album
brings the thunder.
BY DAR DOWLING
•
•
Tempest In a Teacup is queer musician and
songwriter Mal Blum's newest release, but
when it comes to the woman behind the
music, the British version of the saying,
"storm in a teacup" is more apt-and it's an
engaging, witty and melodic storm, with
some fierce underpinnings.
While Tempest In a Teacup is Brooklynbased Blum's most recent album, it's not
her first, having released four albums in the
last six years-a pretty amazing accomplishment by anyone's standards. Hard work is
nothing new to Blum, but with this album,
which she calls her most "intentional" to
date, she has stepped up her game. She
took her time, mixing the tracks twice, until
she got it just right, and then brought some
support on board to help with the release.
All of which brought a sense of evolution to
the process, and perhaps a bit of maturity
too, while retaining a sound that is uniquely
Blum-a sound that some might be tempted
to call indie folk. But I prefer "lyrical antifolk" -at times a little bit tender, a little punk
rock. Not all that surprising if you take into
account that her early musical influences
were Ani DiFranco and Blink 182.
Blum, who was accidentally outed at age
14 by a reporter doing a story on her high
school, has been making music since she
was 16, but originally she wanted to be a
writer. She "fell into music" and her fans
are grateful she did-and so is she. Cutting
her musical teeth on live gigs allowed her
to develop her sound, part of which also
included heading off to SUNY Purchase to
immerse herself in their music program.
Her first national tour was opening for gay
folk-rock icon Melissa Ferrick. Apparently
it was good for both of them because
she toured again with Ferrick, while also
opening for Jeffrey Lewis, Amanda Palmer,
Hammell On Trial and Kimya Dawson.
Blum is comfortable in her skin, so much
so that she holds very little back, whether
that's during an interview, on stage, or on
"the Twitter."
"I live my life with no filter," she says.
And you can see that in songs which offer
a much-needed spin on mortality, betrayal
and love: "The Bodies, The Zombies,"
"With Samson at Washington State" and
"Valentine's Day." Check out this musical
storm now. (malblum.com)
1
C
I
I
RVE
59
STANDING
OUT
Overnight sensation Mary Lambert
owns her sudden success.
BY MOLLY WILLIAMS
Seattle songstress Mary Lambert may
be best known for lending her angelic
voice to the Macklemore and Rylan
Lewis track "Same Love"-for right now.
But Lambert is a renowned musician and
award-winning spoken word artist in her
own right, who is about to break out at
any second.
Helping her along the way, "Same
Love"-which has more than 40 million
views and counting on YouTube-went
viral when reports surfaced of a
Michigan grade-schooler performing
arts teacher who was suspended
without pay for showing the video to
her classroom.
For Lambert the sudden recognition
has been difficult to process. "It's
surreal. It's all surreal," Lambert says.
"Especially with how quickly things have
blown up. I think we anticipated a lot of
hometown rally in Seattle, with our big
election for gay marriage, but not the
worldwide reaction we received. "Same
Love" was not about my ego. I was
excited about pushing my career forward,
but I quickly learned that this was an
anthem for a society in transition, and
had nothing to do with me. It was about
civil rights and tackling homophobia
head on. I am grateful every day to be a
part of something so important."
Lambert has experienced her own
share of discrimination. As a child both
she and her mother were thrown out
of their Pentacostal church when her
mother came out as a lesbian. She was
further estranged from the church when
she came out herself at 17.Since then
she has channeled her challengeswhich include being an incest survivor,
struggles with body dysmorphia and
being diagnosed as bipolar-into her
work, both musically and in her poetry
collection, 500 Tips For Fat Girls.
"I've always been a writer. Ever since
I was a kid. Each art form has its own
beauty and pros and cons. I love singing,
but I'm particular about what I sing. My
voice isn't cookie cutter, so it's difficult
for me to sing covers or sing hooks
someone else has written. That's the rad
thing about songwriting-I get to make
my voice sound way cooler than it is.
I think it's also about emotionally connecting with what I sing. When I write,
it's all bare. I don't hide a goddamn
thing." (marylambertsings.com)
Michelle Malone will tell you that
her career, spanning more than two
decades, is "just what I do." But there
is more to this musical live wirewho has been ranked in the Top 20
female guitar players by Guitar World
magazine-than
her pretty, rock-chick
style reveals.
The media tries hard to categorize
musicians, and Malone has been put
into various boxes: Americana, Rock,
Roots, Country, Alt-Country, and more.
But, she says very matter-of-factly, "My
music is Southern, not redneck, and
not intellectual either ... just Southern."
Known for give-it-her-all electric
guitar performances, Malone says
she loves playing unplugged just as
much. "And frankly," she says (she says
everything frankly), "I prefer acoustic
slide guitar because it's more fun and
accessible."
It's this emphasis on accessibility
that allows Malone to really touch the
lives of her fans. Malone likes to tell
the following story: "About 10 years
ago, maybe more like 12 or 15, I was
in Duluth, Minn., when a young guy,
maybe 20 years old, comes up to
me. He hands me a note saying he'd
seen me singing "Wild Horses" with
the Indigo Girls and Joan Baez and
it changed his life, and he wanted to
dedicate his life to music.
"It was touching and surreal that he
told this to me," says Malone quietly.
"I put that note in my wallet and kept
it there. Then, maybe five or six years
later, I was at a friend's party. A man
came up to me and said, 'I don't know
if you remember me or not...' and I said,
'Oh my God, you're Justin,' and I pulled
out my wallet and took out the note I'd
had in there the whole time, and we
both started crying." The "Justin" who
Malone is referring to is Justin Vernon,
the front man for Bon Iver.
"Goes to show how deeply you can
touch someone in life, sometimes without knowing you did, and sometimes
finding out just how much you did,"
says Malone.
of musicians who have had an influence on her, Vivaldi, Linda Ronstadt,
The Rolling Stones, Donna Summer,
Jackson Browne, Billie Holiday, Michael
Jackson, and Lady Gaga are all names
that come up in the conversation. Many
of those influences can be felt on her
latest album, Day 2. It has a few heartwrenching songs, such as "Marlboro
Man," about her late father. "It's the
most honest, compelling song I have
ever written," she says.
Malone wrote Day 2, she says, as a
46-year-old woman who feels differently than she felt even four years ago,
when Debris debuted. "Over the winter,
I was writing and my heart popped
open ...and while some of the tracks
are a bit more heavy, there are plenty
of my usual fun and lighthearted songs
in there, too," she says. Always the
independent recording artist, Malone is
adept at balancing art and commerce,
and, as usual, her balancing act
succeeds. (m ichel lema lone.com)
A lesbian musician makes her debut, again.
BY DAVE STEINFELD
Singer-songwriter Julia Weldon, who released a
self-titled EP back in 2008, is now gearing up for
the release of her first full-length offering, Light Is
a Ghost. The album finds the New Jersey native
sticking to the intimate folk stylings of her debut but
with a subtly fuller sound. Weldon credits producer
Saul Macwilliams with helping her find that sound.
"To set the tone for the album, we went up to a cabin
in Maine," she says. They recorded the drums for the
album with Tegan & Sara's current drummer, Adam
Christgau. "He did an amazing job. He came up, we
did drums and swam in the pond every day!"
The openly queer Weldon has never allowed her
sexuality to be a barrier to her career. "I play a lot
of college shows for queer groups and I do a lot of
hands-on queer activism in that setting," she says,
"but outside of that, it's like a catch-22, you know?
My sexual orientation is super-important but my
whole politics is about normalizing it. Does [my
orientation] really matter if it's a good song? When
the frat boys come to the show, they almost don't
think about the fact that I'm gay because they
identify strongly with my song."
Some of the highlights of Light Is a Ghost include
the opening track, "Meadow," and the haunting yet
catchy "Careful in the Dark." Weldon explains the
inspiration for the latter song. "I wrote it in 2009
right after I had gotten back from a trip and met
someone in Israel. I was actually coming out of a
really bad relationship and I was kind of dating two
other people. And it's about feeling drawn towards
the comfort of being with someone else. But I also
have this masochistic tendency to kind of ruin
relationships," she admits with a laugh. "I'm a really
restless person. That's why I write; it helps me feel
grounded and figure out what the fuck I'm doing.
So the song is basically about the ambivalence of
relationships."
Before turning to music, Weldon was a successful
child actor. "I was in a big film called Before and After
when I first started acting. I played Meryl Streep and
Liam Neeson's daughter. The acting informs a ton of
my songwriting, storytelling and stage performance."
Light Is a Ghost will be released Aug. 20. For those
in the New York area, catch her CD release show date
on July 19 at The Knitting Factory.
(juliaweldon.com)
The unstoppable singer-songwriter
on performing and policy-making.
BY JESS MCAVOY
Erin McKeown is one of our independent music
warriors. Fervently engaged in the American indie
touring world, she has spent an average of 200
nights onstage each year. It's no wonder she doesn't
know her home phone number-which she made me
promise not to tell you.
A truly prolific artist, who also involves herself in
social policy and activism, music and video production and collaborating with other artists, McKeown
has released her ninth full-length record, Manifestra.
Completely immersed in the world of music,
McKeown's calling wasn't always apparent-she
studied ornithology at Brown and went on to graduate in ethnomusicology. "I went to university with the
idea that I was going to be a scientist, and given the
freedom to choose what I was going to do with my
own time, it was there that I started playing music,"
she explains.
However, she didn't truly feel like a professional
musician until she had to play the same song twice
in one day. The multi-instrumentalist, who has
mastered the genres of jazz, indie folk, pop and rock,
counts her greatest achievement to date as making a
living from her art.
"You know, it's pretty amazing to me that I am still
doing this, I have a pretty good quality of life, financially, and all the time people-whether it's via social
media, or shows, or sometimes just on the trainpeople will stop me and say, 'Thank you for this song
that you made.' Whether it's because their kids dance
to it or it was playing at their wedding or they have it
tattooed on them, which has happened, I feel that's
pretty cool."
Music also fuels her activism. McKeown's cause:
making policy-makers listen to marginal voices such
as artists and low-income families. "I think it's the
basic principal of activism to tell your story, and a lot
of policy decisions that affect music are made when
musicians are not in the room. The Internet is built
on content made by us, but artists are not invited
into the room at the startup companies that are
exploiting the content. And I think that happens for a
couple of reasons. One, a touring, working musician-logistically, it's really hard to get in the room.
And I think there is this myth that artists are these
checked-out idiots who are probably high and really
can't understand these concepts, and I think it's
like, 'Why invite them? They don't know what they're
talking about.' And I love to blow out that myth, and I
love to be in the room."
To maintain her work-life balance while pursuing her
all-consuming passions, McKeown tries to cultivate her
spiritual side. "It's not a religious life-find something
bigger than yourself and work on it because when you
make a passion your work it can be hard. I feel like I
have to keep something bigger that keeps things in
perspective." (erinmckeown.com)
1
;
Fronted by Dublin-born singer and
guitarist Annmarie Cullen, and East
Coast singer Cynthia Catania, Saucy
Monky is a sexy and bold rock pop
band that is set to take over your
airwaves with their EPTrophy Girl.
Clever lyrics and hook-laden songs
are just one aspect of this L.A.-based
band's appeal. For over a decade,
Saucy Monky has been invested in the
global independent music scene. Their
video for "Awkward" is a humorous take
on the incestuous nature of the lesbian
social scene (an appropriate topic
for the duo that began their music
career as a couple); and is the band's
statement that they are out and proud
members of the community.
Have you always been out?
CATANIA: We actually came out in
press in 2009. We were involved in a
lesbian film called And Then Came Lola
and I think it became [knowledge] then
that we were gay.
hoping that we were just seen as
musicians, It wasn't a very conscious
thing at all to reveal that we happened
to be gay, just as your dentist doesn't
announce that he's gay. We thought,
Yeah, it doesn't matter. Though
now, it's nice to have that visibility
and be out.
What provoked you to come out?
CULLEN: I grew up in an Irish Catholic
family and I thought that it might upset
them. I thought, "Fuck it, I live in L.A.,
I don't need to tell them." When I did
finally tell my parents I felt so much
freer in life. I didn't give a flying fuck if
people were talking about us as if we
were a gay band or not a gay band. I
didn't care if we were pigeon-holed.
On top of that, the gay audience is a
very loyal audience. If people don't
want to listen to our band because
we're gay, I don't really want those
people as fans anyway.
Has being out affected your career?
exposed to any kind of negativity
because of where we lived. But we
performed a gig in Wisconsin the
other day and I tell you: it's like being
on Mars. I think I am very fortunate
to live in a city where you can be
openly gay. We made the "Awkward"
video the way we did on purpose,
where there's just no question about
the fact that we're gay.
CULLEN: Personally, there is a certain
kind of embarrassment that I didn't
come out for several years. I think that
in some ways it's somewhat of an apology to myself. It's nice to be so free.
And we found that straight people are
responding to it to because it is kind of
a universal story.
CATANIA: In the video we ensured that
the three lead characters are gay, [as] in
real life. It was important to be authentic. And be realistic about the fact that
gay women come in all different shapes
and sizes. (saucymonky.com)
Singer-songwriter Ria Mae explores her
hip-hop side.
BY KIM HOFFMAN
Hip-hop has always pulled at singer-songwriter Ria Mae's heartstrings, and she's finally
prepared to incorporate it into her music. Last
year, she released "Leaving Today," produced
by the Canadian rapper Classified. "I've never
really put out an angry song before, so that
felt good," she says. "I mean, he's been one of
my heroes since I was 15. I knew all the lyrics
to everything he'd put out." The Halifax native
has received Music Nova Scotia Award nominations for New Artist Recording of the Year
and Female Artist Recording of the Year. And
in case you can't hear it on her latest track,
she's now bolder, braver and more ready for
change than ever.
In the haze of the 2011 release of her first
full-length album Under Your Skin, produced
by Asif lllyas, which won the East Coast Music
Award for Pop Recording of the Year, Mae
is gearing up to put together a new album
with a fresh new sound. "My first album
was mainly live-tracking and showing what
my voice could do in a live setting. Pretty
traditional instruments: guitar, bass, piano,
drums. My next album will reflect what I've
been listening to lately-lots of hip-hop beats,
lots of pop sounds." Under Your Skin played
on the tenderness of delicate relationships
lost, and coincided with the end of her own
relationship, evoking emotional reflections on
coping with that maddening heartache.
"This was an album I had been wanting to
make for a while. I am still so proud of it," she
says of completing the record that opened
us up to Mae, her sound, her soul and the
essential nature of her journey.
Stepping away from the traditional, easygoing sounds you may associate with her
folk-pop voice, she is ready to leap off the
cliff, going where we so often fear to: from
sadness to anger. And her fierceness is infectious. "I won't stick to the live-off-the-floor
approach this time. I've done that. I'm going
to push myself in another direction."
"When I have something to say, I just want
to get it out there." And what exactly does she
have to say? "I have had an intense year and
learned a lot and changed a lot, so my songs
are going to have a different feel-more life
experience."
Perhaps that's what makes Ria Mae such an
interesting musician. She is constantly ready
to embrace the change necessary to keep
on growing, musically. Blending hip-hop into
her music is a welcome concept-adding
life
and gusto to her undeniably polished timbre.
(riamae.com)
HausBar Farms, owned by Dorsey Barger and Susan Hausmann,
features culinary classes, gardening workshops, an event space, and
a guest house. HausBar is also home to a couple of donkeys, hundreds of bunnies, a friendly goose named Gustavo, and lots of fresh
air and sunshine. It was just what the doctor ordered for two pale
Minnesota gals.
After cuddling baby bunnies, sleeping in a converted delivery
truck, and showering outside to the sounds of mariachi music, we
hit the streets. Wandering among sunglasses-dad musicians, the
press and industry folks, we picked up our lanyards and went to
find Dessa.
A multidimensional wordsmith, Dessa is a Minneapolis institution poised to break big, thanks in part to her dazzling display at
this year's festival. A rapper, essayist, writer, spoken word poet, and
general badass, she is a queer-friendly woman to watch. "This is my
fifth [year at SXSWJ;' Dessa declared, in the lobby of the Austin
Hilton."This time, we're doing four shows:'
Her newest record, Partsof Speech,drops this summer. The first
single, "Warsaw;' is a driving electronic dance track and somewhat
of a departure from her previous sound. "I want to be a person who
makes a bulletproof reputation for herself for intelligence, a little bit
of wit, candor and acumen, so that when someone says that Dessa's
doing something, they can be relatively assured that I'll uphold that
standard of excellence:'
After checking out Dessa's set at Holy Mountain, we headed
over to the Hype Hotel, housed in a makeshift warehouse space. It
was our first true glimpse of the oft-discussed commercialization of
the SXSW festival. Taco Bell logos adorned every surface, and
hipsters scarfed down Doritos Locos between slugs of Pabst
Blue Ribbon.
While waiting for out lesbian Katie Stelmanis's band, Austra, to
perform, we spotted two cute lesbians cuddling in the VIP section.
Watching them sip drinks and canoodle while listening to bands
like St. Lucia and CHVRCHES made us want to offer a high five
ALESHIA
ADVENTURE
ATSXSW
Janelle Sorenson and Melany Joy Beck
cowgirl up for Austin's music festival.
t was embarrassing to admit that we had never done it before.
With our collective history of playing in bands, managing
tours, blogging and basically eating-sleeping-breathing
music, it was absurd. Every year in March, our friends would
return with stories of how they'd been followed around by
camera crews as they rocked venues into the wee hours and
met every band they'd ever loved. In 2013, the time had
finally come to remedy what was quickly becoming known
as "our creative shame:' It was time to face the truth: We had
never gone to South by Southwest. So when our editor offered us
the chance to cover the legendary music festival from a queer ladies'
point of view, we hopped on a plane, slept in a truck, and landed
smack dab in the middle of the biggest music week in the world.
Our friends Matt and George had graciously offered to put
us up for the week. They neglected to tell us that next door to
their almost-off-the-grid casa was a lesbian-owned urban farm.
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Caught in a candid moment, McCloskey rolled her eyes. "It is a
boys' club and it's really fucking annoying, to be honest. We created
the Ladykiller Tour with Sick of Sarah and Vanity Theft, and weve
been touring with other girl bands for so many years, and you just
end up living in your own bubble. But the reality of when you're
touring with an all~male lineup is, theres sexism that really fucking
exists. It's mostly with the club owners and the roadies and the
techs and promoters. They make these cliched assumptions:'
Petracca took a more modest approach. 'Tm learning here. And
I'm going to conquer the world:'
After a quick make~out session in the truck and only a couple
hours of actual sleep, we woke up contemplating our own presence
at SXSW. After years of wishing we could be here, we were suddenly
investigating what it was like to be a woman, most importantly a
queer woman, at the biggest music conference in the world.
On our last full day in Austin, we decided to head downtown
to celebrate at the MPress Records showcase and catch Melissa
Ferrick's show at Soho Lounge. If we had any concerns about the
queer presence at SXSW, they were washed away at the Rachel
Sage-hosted fete. The energy in the room was palpable as Ferrick
took the stage, and the mostly female crowd pushed toward the
front, hanging on every note, as she ran through a 30~minute set
primarily featuring new material from her upcoming album, The
Truth Is.
in solidarity. Instead, we hustled to catch up with Stelmanis and
drummer Maya Postepski to get the dish on their new record.
"This album is a lot brighter than the last album. Musically, we
were trying to get somewhere dancier;' Stelmanis said, adjusting
her red heart~shaped sunglasses. "This is the first time that I've
released something that I actually feel was exactly how I wanted
it to sound:'
The only artist who declined to be on camera, Stelmanis soon
explained why: "People are so judgmental of the way you look all
the time. A lot of women in music are visual artists, and I was
always about the music. I never really had to spend much time
on the way I look, or think about it so much as when this record
came out. Suddenly, we were just being attacked from all angles.
Now we spend so much more time being calculated about it,
because we know the backlash is huge:'
Our own makeup was definitely fading by late evening. As we
spilled back out onto the streets from the darkness of the ware~
house, we were made keenly aware of the blisters on our feet.
Intoxication waxed and waned. We contemplated whether or not
we could make it through another show.
"It's Hunter Valentine;' we sighed. Tired feet be damned, this
was a show we couldn't miss.
Outside of Empire Automotive, just off of 6th St., we heard
Kiyomi McCloskey's unmistakable vocals. Entering the venue, we
caught the last half of a sweaty, relentless rock show.
"She got breast implants;' McCloskey gestured to drummer
Laura Petracca backstage.
"I got breast implants;' Petracca joked. "Triple Q 32. It's actually
the tide of our next album:'
Boob job rumors aside, the band did have a good reason for the
upbeat mood. They had just announced plans for a massive tour
with Cyndi Lauper. "Some of our friends here are female~fronted
bands (like] Diana and Austra;' said Aimee Bessada, guitarist and
new resident heartthrob.
We watched a couple swaying arm~in~arm. One of the women
wiped tears from her eyes while Ferrick sang. Here was a place
where music was paramount, yet pursued by so many for so many
different reasons.
Nearing complete physical and emotional breakdown, we
slammed another Mexican beer and toddled down the cluttered
street to our last show. At Peckerheads.
BOY hit the American radar with their track "Little Numbers;'
but what caught our attention was their fun, upbeat video, featuring
queer~friendly Velaska Steiner and Sonja Glass riding double on
a bike, cuddling on the beach, and just generally roaming around
town while playing a tiny piano. "We had such a cool show last
night, and it could have been really horrible;' said Steiner, half of
the folk~pop duo. "We came on stage and we wanted to do a sound
check, but nothing worked. We plugged in the guitars and there
was no sound:'
"We couldn't hear anything;' said Glass, shaking her head, "only
noises:'
"We had a quick discussion and we were like, 'Let's just go out~
side to the front yard: We played five songs outside and the people
came with us;' added Steiner.
"They were singing along, really quiet;' whispered Glass. "It was
a very special moment:'
Their new song"lnto the Wild;' played live at SXSW, was pos~
sibly the most compelling music we heard. Lamenting a love with
a life too different, "Into the Wild" rises and falls with a quiet build
of vocal dynamics and apt lyrical choices.
At the end of the day, we all want to go into the wild, for
a moment. And we'll probably tell our SXSW tales to anyone
who will listen, because it was a moment for us. Like it was for
everyone who has ever been there, and has heard the one song
that mattered among thousands of bands and millions of tracks.
Will we go again:' Probably. Because these moments are rare.
(sxsw.com) •
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2013
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67
WHENIN
BY LAURIE K. SCHENDEN
Stars of the hit web series dish on four seasons of the sudsy Sapphic smash.
EXCLUSIVE PHOTOGRAPHY BY RODNEY BURSIEL PHOTOGRAPHY
PHOTO EDITOR: KAYLEIGH HAWES/ ASSISTANT: KILLER BRAMER/ HAIR: SHIAN S. BANKS/ MAKEUP: SARAH
MORALES/ WARDROBE: ADAM WEST; PINK SKIRT WORN BY MS. CHAPPELL BY MARRIKA NAAK
"I sort of jumped at the opportunity to
play a vastly different role than what I've
gotten to play on Days for so many years;'
says Bjorlin, describing "the sad and pathetic,
weak Chloe'' in a playfully solemn tone.
"We're so fortunate to play these roles
on all these shows;' Bjorlin says. "But to be
able to show a different side of ourselves
and show people that we're actors and we're
not our characters on these soaps-to show
that we really have brains- I thought, This
is very exciting for me:'
When asked if they've had experience
with lesbian relationships, on or off the
screen, Bjorlin says, ''I've never been in a
relationship with a woman, but maybe for
a day or a night I have;' she laughs. "I don't
know if that qualifies as an actual relation~
ship. I've been in relations:'
''I've never been in a romantic relationship with a woman;' Leccia
adds, "but I'm certainly not opposed to it, if things don't work out
with my husband;' she laughs.
Chappell, who met her husband, Michael Sabatino, when they
both were on Days of Our Lives,has played two high~profile lesbian
characters on daytime TV. Her role as Olivia on GuidingLight first
paired her with Leccia, and more recently she's played Dani on The
Bold and the Beautiful,teaming with actoNurned~producer (The
Fosters)Joanna Johnson.
"I was surprised that there was a real lack of programming con~
tent for the lesbian community in general;' says Leccia. ''And just the
outpouring of support is so amazing. [The fans are] so loyal. I didn't
think about that aspect, and that aspect is really cool. And then
all of a sudden you feel like you're sort 0£ like, responsible, playing
these characters. You want to be so authentic:'
"I never thought about the gay aspect;' says Bjorlin. "What I like
about the show is the storytelling. Some people call it a soap opera,
but all these primetime shows are soap operas. Revengeis a soap
opera. [Essentially] it's just storytelling about people, and their lives
and loves and losses and everything else:'
our years ago, Crystal Chappell had nothing to offer
her fellow actors but wine and a comfortable place
to work when they started filming Venice: The Series.
Yet the soap star, who's played lesbian characters
on Guiding Light and The Bold and the Beautiful, managed to
call on a veritable laundry list of soap veterans for her cast
and crew. And centering the show on three sexy, successful
lesbians turns out to have been a winning concept. Venice is
a hit with viewers and critics alike, taking home the first-ever
Emmy for Outstanding Special Class Short Format Daytime
Program in 2011. Chappell and the show she created have
come a long way-thanks to fan support-from those early
days when all she had to offer the cast and crew was a drink.
F
Curve visited the set on a rain~washed Sunday morning this
spring as Venicewas preparing to shoot a scene at Malbec, a res~
taurant in Toluca Lake. Judging by the equipment and the size of
the crew, it looked no different from any other television produc~
tion. But with the web series industry still in its infancy, Chappell
is among its innovators, those who believe that it's time to enhance
the production values for online content. Her glossy efforts to up
the ante show onscreen.
Chappell leads me to a carport in the alley behind Malbec, where
Nadia Bjorlin (Daysof Our Lives)and Jessica Leccia ( GuidingLight)
are getting their hair and makeup done. It's apparent that the three
daytime TV veterans are friends. Relaxed and teasing, their conver~
sation also reveals an obvious appreciation for one another.
On Venice,Bjorlin plays Lara, a best~selling author whose drink~
ing problem threatens to stall her career and destroy her relationship
with Ani (Leccia). And yes, Bjorlin's glacier~blue eyes are even more
distractingly beautiful in person than they are onscreen. The actor
comes across as part consummate professional and part instigator
as she talks about joining the cast of Venicetossing knowing glances
at Leccia, who plays Lara's onscreen lover, and Chappell, who plays
Lara's nemesis, Gina. They all laugh easily.
JULY/AUGUST
2013
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69
Chappell believes that the storylines she's creating for Venice allow
the actors to stretch creatively, and she gives them real~life issues to
which people can relate. "If you see Episode 11. .. it's one of my fa~
vorites;' Chappell says, describing the Emmy~winning episode that
features a drunken Lara injuring Ani, the woman she loves. "It's not
who she is, it's a cycle of where that character was. And it really was
an accident, it was coming from such pain. I get chills just thinking
about that scene because it's powerful:'
"It is definitely fun to have the kind of writing where you are
challenged as an actor, and I think that Crystal has figured out a
way to push our buttons;' says Bjorlin. "They are writing situations
for our characters that make us so human and fallible, but it's also
scary and exciting as actors to try to play this. Hopefully, you're
not raging drunk at 11 a.m. and hurting the love of your life, but
that does happen. It's telling a very real story that does happen in
someone's life:'
When asked if an agent or manager had ever advised them that
playing lesbians might adversely impact their careers, the actors
respond with humor.
"They didr They tell you thatr" Leccia asks the others, as they
all laugh.
"I never even thought of that. Oh, it's too late now;' Bjorlin adds,
breaking up.
"When I started, I didn't think twice about it, until people started
talking about it;' Leccia says. "Then it was, 'Oh, maybe people may
be upset or have an opinion or think it's strange or odd that we're
doing this on daytime:'
The three actors all agree that with the wild, far~fetched,
improbable storylines on daytime TV, lesbian characters are mild
by comparison.
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2013
"I would hope that being gay wouldn't be any more shocking
than being possessed by the devil;' says Bjorlin, sarcasticallyreferring to an infamous story arc on Days of Our Lives that saw
soap icon Marlena (played by Deidre Hall) go through an exorcism.
"But that's just me:'
Chappell and Leccia experienced only a few negative responses
to their lesbian love affair on Guiding Light-a drop in the bucket
compared to the support they received. And that's what led
Chappell to call Leccia into her dressing room in 2009, when they
got the word that Guiding Light, the longest~running soap in TV
history, was canceled. She decided that she would take advantage
of the chemistry the actors shared-and
the following they had
accumulated-and
take them to the web.
"It really touched people in a profound way. It wasn't just another
soap story;' says Chappell. ''And I don't even think I grasped it until
I started reading all these letters. It was a beautiful love story. The
reaction was amazing, a lot of people reaching out and telling me
their stories.
"I went to Jessica and I said, 'We'll take this, create a web series
with different characters; obviously, because Procter & Gamble
owns the rights to those characters.'Will you come do itr"'
"I really didn't understand what she was talking about;' says
Leccia. The others laugh.''! really didn't understand what her vision
was, because it's very new to me. She said, 'There's going to be this
web show, it's going to be great; and I said, 'All right:"
There are few similarities between Olivia and Natalia, their char~
acters on Guiding Light, and the roles they play on Venice, although
the actors still have great chemistry. On Guiding Light, the women
were straight and struggled with their own homophobic feelings,
and there were restrictions on any explicit affection between them.
JEN FOSTER:
"We tried so hard;' says Chappell. "We could play
with each other's knuckles and each other's foreheads,
but I couldn't even kiss her on the cheek:' That all
changed when Venicepremiered."ln the first 10 seconds
of the first season, these two women kiss;' Chappell
says. And little has been left to the imagination since.
"I wanted Gina [her character on Venice]to be out, and
be comfortable with who she is. It felt right to me. I
just wanted them to be happy, healthy, out gay women,
strong and beautiful:'
For fans of GuidingLight,it may seem as if Gina and
Ani are Olivia and Natalia about 10 or 15 years later.
"That's a really good way of putting it, I can see
that;' says Chappell, adding, with a laugh, "Maybe I
just want society to catch up:'
They've been at it for so long now that the physical
interaction between the actors makes them seem like
a longtime couple. (On Venice,Gina and Ani are exes
who still have feelings for each other, but Ani is now
in a relationship with Lara.)
Leccia says, "We just want to get it right. Crystal
wants it to be real and relatable, and you want to behave
the way people in love are going to behave, so it has to
come across as real:'
Chappell credits Leccia and Bjorlin for their real~
istic portrayal of women who are passionate about
each other: "I don't have to do anything, they do it.
They're actors, and you have to have a certain lack of
inhibition:'
"In this case we have an advantage-we're
not
strangers, and we actually do like each other;' says
Leccia. "We're comfortable, way more comfortable
than in some other situations:'
So, what can viewers expect in season four?
Leccia's character, Ani, will spend more time with
family-"You get to see a little bit more of where her
heart comes from, maybe her trust issues with people;'
says Leccia-and more time trying to figure out her
feelings toward Lara, her current love, and Gina, her
ex: "It's totally impossible, and a really tough situa~
tion .. .loving people who are night and day:'
Things are just as complicated for Lara. "Everybody
is trying to figure out what it is that they really want,
and what is real love, and am I making the right deci~
sions;' says Bjorlin, "and it's like the age~old questions
that anybody can relate to. Lara is struggling, obviously,
with her sobriety, and feeling like she needs to have it all
together, because that's kind of the front that she put on
for Ani to begin with. [All her anxieties,] Tm this best~
selling author and I'm not allowed to crack, I'm not
allowed to fail; the darkest and the ugliest side to her,
she's trying to prove that, that doesn't exist now.
"Gina is her rival. She wants to prove that she's
everything and more than Gina could ever be. So with
that comes a lot of problems:'
But those are the kinds of problems that make a
great soap. Ladies, see you in Venice this summer!
(venicetheseries.com) •
THESOUND
BEHIND VENICE
Like any great film a web series
is incomplete without the right
soundtrack setting the mood.
Venice: The Series is no exception.
lndie musician Jen Foster has
proven vital to the smash series'
success. I chatted with the lesbian
singer-songwriter extraordinaire
who brings her hit-making talents
and inimitable vocal style to our
favorite summer soap.
Has Venice: The Series won you a
whole new fan base?
Absolutely. When my song "Venice
Beach" was chosen to be the
theme song, it was life-changing.
The first time I tweeted with the
series' wildly enthusiastic fans,
someone tweeted, "Jen, is the
song on CD yet? We're old school
and would love a hard copy!" I
tweeted back, "Send me $10 and
I'll burn a CD for you with the
theme and a few extras!" I thought
I might get 10 orders at the most,
and I had my online assistant create
a PayPal button on my website for
these orders. The next morning
there were nearly 500 orders waiting. The fans had not only bought
the Special Edition Venice CD,
but they had also bought T-shirts,
other CDs, dog tags and bumper
stickers. As for the digital version
of the song, I was using a service
called Bandbox and the Venice
fans literally broke the Bandbox site
with orders. I've also been hired by
fans to play house concerts. They
have been spreading the word
about my music since day one, and
for this I am so grateful.
What was your inspiration for
writing "Venice Beach"?
Honestly, I wrote it from the
perspective of my ex-girlfriend, as
if she was singing it to me. I'm the
dreamer in the song, always going
off on tour, or to write and record
in California ...always restless and
looking for the next adventure.
What is your advice to lesbian
singer-songwriters who want to
write for the screen?
I just try to write from a really
honest place, to bring life to my
experiences and feelings. The rest
will fall in place from there. "Venice
Beach" was written prior to the
series happening. It was serendipity
that it fell into the right hands at
the right time.
Any new songs this season?
There's a song I wrote called
"We Fit" that seems to capture
the relationship between Gina
and Ani. "The Letter" from Gina
to Ani has a line about how Ani is
the "missing piece to my jigsaw
puzzle." And my song says: 'Tm
a jigsaw puzzle and you're my
missing piece." It just fits.
What are your upcoming gigs this
summer and fall?
I am particularly excited about a
tour we're putting together with
Michelle Malone and Patrice Pike,
who are both brilliant writers
and performers. I love playing
live and I can promise a superentertaining and dynamic show
for all who come out. And come
say hello after the show. I love
talking to people and it's really
important to me to show appreciation to those who come out to
support my music. (jenfoster.com)
-Crystal Chappell
THE
SCOOP
JenFoster
hasofficially
signed
onasthe
sound
ofTapestry-Go
Orange
fromacclaimed
filmmaker
andpresident
of20/20
Productions,
Otessa
Ghadar.
Tapestry-Go
Orange
isa
large-scale
interactive
newmedia
project
launched
inWashington,
D.C.
during
2013
Capital
Pride.
Jen's
song
"This
IsMe"willbethe
theme
song
fortheinitiative
which
encourages
teens
totalkabout
bullying
andaims
tocreate
ofasafe
online
space
forLGBT
youth
globally.
(orangejuiceinbishopsgarden.com/tapestry)
JULY/AUGUST
2013
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LIVINGTHE
LUXELIFE
IN GREECE
ATHENS
MAY
BEARIOT,
BUT
THEPARTY
BY MARIA DELAO
GOES
ONINMYKONOS.
wenty-two years ago, I arrived in Amsterdam
in a cloud of smoke and on a Eurail pass. The
idea, hatched in a Berkeley, Calif., student
co-op, was to meet up with various friends
and travel around Europe for two months,
finally ending up in the Greek islands.
Someone should have checked a map. Turns
out that Greece is a very long way from the
Netherlands by train.
But the real problem was that my friend Kathe and I got caught
up along the way in Yugoslavia, where we discovered coastal
Montenegrin villages populated by my long-lost relatives, stunning beaches entirely free of dreaded American tourists, and a
cavelike disco that thumped Technotronic's "Pump Up the Jam"
into the wee hours.
We were travel-weary and poor, my cousins treated us like visiting royalty, and we'd found our perfect dance club in an unlikely
place. Greece faded into the distance, the stuff of memories as yet
unmade.
Now I was gunning for Greece again, and this time I knew I'd
be successful. I was flying direct to Athens with my partner, Alice,
for our 20-year anniversary. Although our plan again hinged on
friends, this time we were keeping family out and keeping the
route to our destination simple.
I still didn't know much about Greece, except that the economy
was in a shambles and there had been rioting in Athens for at least
a year because of it. Good, I thought, echoing my younger self-
maybe it would keep some of the tourists away.
But after kicking around Athens, which island would we visit?
There are more than 200 Greek islands but only a few really famous
ones. Santorini, the beautiful one; Lesbos, where Sappho wrote
lady love poetry, back in the day; Mykonos, gay and full of beaches
and nightlife ... now that sounded like the place for us!
Alice and I, determined to be fabulous, invited some of our
friends and booked a five-bedroom villa online. True to what we'd
expected, tourism seemed a bit down and availability was wide
open, a benefit of vacationing in trouble spots.
The plan was to get our culture fix on the mainland-Athens,
Meteora and Delphi for a week-then catch a ferry to Mykonos,
where we'd meet up with our friends and spend a week baking in
the sun, going out and enjoying the island.
We found Athens to be a perfectly lovely, if graffiti-festooned,
urban center, still enjoying the spiffiness that came about from
hosting the recent Olympics, although its depressed economic
reality was also apparent: The famously traffic-choked city was
easy to maneuver, and formerly scarce taxis were abundant; the
delicious continental breakfast we enjoyed at our boutique hotel,
the Periscope, seemed to be served just for us; and we were forced
to hop off our hop-on-hop-off tour bus after it was hemmed in by
a tear-gassed street protest featuring cops and firefighters demonstrating against cuts to their benefits.
Aside from the fact that all this availability gave us our choice
oflodgings, Mykonos itself showed few signs of economic austerity,
much less rioting. The island has been a tourist draw since the
1950s, and the population-which
swells from 11,000 to 50,000
with the influx of visitors and seasonal workers in the summerseems to know that its very survival depends on putting its best
face forward.
Our first tip-off that we were entering a world far from the
Athenian ruins? Yachts. Big, hulking ones and smaller, fastlooking specimens anchored in inlets and along beaches. Our
second? Katja and Takis, our Aqualiving Villas concierges, who
were dressed all in billowy white and were waiting for us in front
of our rental car, a Porsche Cayenne. Exuding professional calm,
they loaded our rumpled selves into the SUV and told us to follow their car.
When we arrived at Villa Magdalena, perched defiantly on
the edge of a cliff in Pouli, we picked our rooms, unpacked and
headed back down the hill to the market for olives and cheese.
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The infinity pool called to us, but
WE WERENOT
considering the vicious wind that
0ISAPPOINTE0,
whipped the pool water onto half
AS THE HOT,
the deck, we decided to put off
TATTOOEDBEACH
sunbathing until the next day.
WAITRESSES
AT
The following morning, after
AGRARI(WHO
learning that Mykonos is known as
TOOK QUITEAN
the"Isle of Winds" and with no end
INTERESTIN
to our pool problem in sight, we
ALICE'SINK),
decided to hit the beach. Handily,
WERELESBIAN
CATNIP
our concierges had provided a
glossy guide to Mykonos' charms:
the beaches, nightlife, restaurants
and notable shops in town. We focused our search for a beach
on the words "sheltered" and "calm;' settling upon Agios Ioannis,
which proved to be a great place to start: family~friendly (two of
our friends had brought along their 16~month~old daughter), mel~
low, devoid of wind, and featuring an excellent yet unpretentious
terraced restaurant called Hippie Fish.
Throwing ourselves into our beach research, the next day we
settled on Psarou, a home base for yachts and the antithesis of
Agios loannis. The beach was stunning and full of the see~and~be~seen
celebrity crowd. A small dance party at the Nammos restaurant
and nightclub was already thumping at 4 p.m. We had a snack of
sushi and organic juice cocktails, brought to us on the beach by
the scantily clad Nammos serving staff, and people~watched. (My
favorite eccentric was an older woman who read Fifty Shades of
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CURVE
JULY/AUGUST
2013
Grey by tearing off successive pages of the book and letting them
Roat across the beach.) Both the dancing and Nammos' adjacent
spa, featuring all manner of massage and skin treatments as well
as hot yoga, beckoned us to stay longer, but we had dinner plans
in town.
The wind continued to blow and by the following day Alice was
demanding "more gay;' so we again consulted our handy guide,
choosing Agrari and Elia, two adjacent beaches billed as "sportly
and gay~friendly:' We were not disappointed, as the hot, tattooed
beach waitresses at Agrari (who took quite an interest in Alice's
ink), were lesbian catnip. Hint: As you walk along the beach, the
farther from the parking area you get, the more it becomes gay
male ( and clothes start coming off). This is Elia. Stick to the more
"sportly" Agrari area, closer in, where jet skis, snorkel gear and
boogie boards are for rent.
Although most of the Mykonos beaches turn into various
kinds of dance clubs in the early evening, none is more famous
for its gay and lesbian beach scene and dance party than Super
Paradise (not to be confused with Paradise, which is an even big~
ger, but primarily straight, dance party). On the left side of the
beach is the Super Paradise Beach Club, the big DJ area where
young revelers of all sexual orientations party till dawn and you
can get a T~shirt that says "Mykonos Fucks Ibiza:' But turn right,
to the Coco Club, and it's all about a mixed and friendly LGBT
scene. There I met an aspiring female DJ from Berlin and a dos~
eted middle~aged Australian man at the bar, some helpful women
returned my friend's iPhone to her after she dropped it, and I
received a lovely rose from a mystery woman on the dance Boor.
Now, more than 20 years after I started out, I was all grown up,
no longer relying on backpacker hostels, and I'd finally come full
circle to find a little bit of Greek island (super) paradise. It was
worth the wait.•
WHERETO STAY,
EATAND DANCE
THE NIGHT AWAY
IN GREECE'S
PARTYCAPITAL
European-style lunch
al fresco and then continue
your cocktails on the sand,
just steps away. (hippiefish-mykonos.com)
»STAY
Surprisingly good Thai
and Chinese food served
on an open-air terrace on
the hill above the port of
Mykonos. Baby-friendly,
and with many vegetarian options, this was the
only restaurant our big
picky group agreed to visit
twice! (blueginger.gr)
No, it's really not a good
idea to find a Mykonos
vacation property on
Craigslist, as one acquaintance of mine discovered
recently. Aqualiving,
mentioned as a top villa
specialist in Conde Nast
Traveler, specializes
in Mykonos and offers
more than 70 properties
on the island. Not only
that, the concierges will
organize dinner reservations, yacht trips, private
chefs, or whatever your
heart desires (and your
pocketbook can afford).
(mykonosvillas.com)
»EAT
Specializing in authentic Greek and Mykonian
cuisine-try the horta,
wild-foraged cooked
greens-this spot, away
from the crowds of
Mykonos Town, is friendly
and relaxed. Have a long
The back garden of
elegant and trendy Kalita
offers a relaxing respite
in the middle of Mykonos
Town, which can be
crowded and frenetic.
Specializing in Greek
dishes, seafood and
pasta, Kalita also offers
an extensive wine list and
spot-on service. It can
be difficult to find any
specific place in Mykonos
Town-legend
has it that
the labyrinthine town was
built in such a way as to
deter pirates-so ask for
directions as you walk.
Perfect for date night.
(kalitamykonos.com)
»DRINK & DANCE
Sadly, the one longtime
lesbian(ish) bar, Diva,
closed its doors just a
couple of years ago, but
lesbian, gay and straight
labels don't mean a lot in
Mykonos, where everyone
just seems ready to have a
good time. That said ...
This colorful lounge bar
in Mykonos Town attracts
straight and gay alike
for pre- and post-dinner
drinks. Quiet enough for
conversation, it's a great
place to start your night.
Situated on the cliff above
Super Paradise Beach, this
friendly queer club attracts
almost equal numbers
of men and women-at
least it did on the evening
I visited. It's more of a bar
by day, but the dance party
starts rolling here about
4 p.m. Revelers often pop
across the beach to Super
Paradise Beach Club for a
bit of scene before retreating back to the Coco.
Super Paradise
Beware: Once you arrive,
you may not leave. More
than just a sprawling disco,
this complex offers a clothing store, a self-service
restaurant, and hillside
rooms for rent. Billing itself
as "the most alternative
and anti-conformist beach
[club] in Mykonos," this
place attracts a young,
mostly gay clientele, but
all orientations are represented, sex on their minds.
(superparadise.com.gr)
The largest of the Paradise
Beach megaclubs that
Mykonos is known for. All
the big names have hit the
decks here: Paul Van Dyk,
David Guetta, Kaskade,
Paul Oakenfold, Markus
Schulz, Tiesto ...even Boy
George. (paradiseclubmykonos.com)
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THE l<EYTO
ROMANCE
BETWEEN
KEY
LARGO
AND
KEY
WEST,
HAWKS
CAY
SOARS
ABOVE
OTHER
RESORTS.
BY JENNY BLOCK
grew up on the East Coast, so it seems strange to
me that I'd never been to the Florida Keys before.
They sounded so far away and hard to get to.Turns
out, neither of those things are really true. And
even if they were, it'd be worth the trip to get to
this self~contained little paradise.
Paradise means different things to different peo~
ple. To me it means great scenery, great food, great
things to do without having to spend time tracking them down,
and, most importantly, the freedom to be with my partner without
worrying about how we might be treated. The latter is definitely
not a problem in this part of the uni~
verse, especially in Key West, known for
its vibrant LGBT party scene.
But since I was looking to "have it all"
and "get away from it all;' I decided to
check out Hawks Cay on Duck Key.
When you check in and pick up your
room key, the front desk receptionist
says, "It's the only key you'll need:' A silly
pun but also refreshingly true. Every~
thing at Hawks Cay can be charged to
76
CURVE
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2013
your room, from swimming with the resort's own pod of dolphins
at Dolphin Connection to deep~sea or inshore fishing outings.
Same goes for SNUBA and scuba diving, tennis, and water
sports like kiteboarding, jet skiing, kayaking, snorkeling or stand
up paddleboarding. And there are almost as many dining options
as there are activities. Ocean offers a Mediterranean~inspired menu,
while Alma boasts an impressive array of Latin dishes. For more
casual options, the Beach Grill and the Island Time certainly fit
the bill.
I managed to try out every one of these places while I was there.
The chilled shrimp at Ocean was one of the freshest seafood dishes
I've ever had, and perfectly cooked. The flat breads there are dan~
gerous. If you' re having one as an appetizer, be sure to share or
you'll never get to your main course. The pan~roasted scallops were
tender and well seasoned at Alma. The tacos and the ambiance at
the Beach Grill made it all too easy to have a three~hour lunch. So
many resorts have one main restaurant and a bar with snacks. That
can get old after a couple of days. Being a Hawks Cay felt more like
staying in a resort town, as opposed to simply one hotel.
One of my favorite features of the place is the adults~only area.
It is home to the Tranquility Pool, which is exactly what it sounds
like and also houses comfy, free, private cabanas. At the end of the
2013, it will also have its own al fresco restaurant in the sand.
One afternoon, I wandered off the
property to check out the Turtle Hospi~
tal in nearby Marathon. It was so sad to
see a turtle needing emergency surgery
after a run~in with the trash that people
throw in the ocean. But it was also in~
spiring to see the rehabilitated turtles
released and happily swimming into the
ocean, enjoying their new healthy life.
That evening I took a sunset cata~
maran cruise, which I would highly
recommend. The cruise includes dangerously tasty cock~
tails and cold beer, as well as appetizers. And how good is
the view? Suffice it to say-so good that it's hard to take a
bad photo.
Another activity I would recommend is learning to wake~
board. I didn't think I would ever be able to do it. But I got the
hang of it on my second try! The guys at Keys Cable Park had
me up on a board in minutes. The park is super~close to the
resort and can handle clients from beginners to pros.
If you are traveling with kids 5 to 12 years old, you can still
enjoy every bit of Hawks Cay by allowing them to enjoy the
activities at Camp Hawk. Translation: you at the Tranquility
Pool and the kids having a blast. The resort also offers babysit~
ters at night, should you want
some adult time after hours. And
when the whole family is togeth~
SWISS FAMILY
er, Hawks Cay has a family pool
LESBIAN
that tends to be less busy than its
four other pools, making it a great
place to take the younger set.
Switzerland has had
And I don't know what the
registered partnerword is for "better than gay~
friendly:' But whatever it is, that's
ships since 2007 but no
same-sex marriage or
Hawks Cay. I saw a number of
joint adoption by
LGBT couples throughout my
same-sex couples
trip, holding hands, stealing a
kiss, having a romantic dinner.
Plus, Hawks Cay has played host
Homeexchange.com
to a number of LGBT commit~
Lovehomeswap.com
ment ceremonies. To my mind,
Homeforexchange.com
that's one of the biggest commit~
Yourhomeformine.com
ments a resort can make: guar~
anteeing equal treatment for its
guests. (hawkscay.com) •
IFYOU GO
LIFESWAP
CURVES
PUBLISHER
TOOK
HER
FAMILY
ONAONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME
VACATION.
Last January, my family
and I decided to take a ski
vacation to Switzerland. My
wife and I travelled with our
adopted children whose
dream was to learn to ski
and snowboard. We live in
Sydney, Australia, which is
not known for snow sports.
The Swiss Alps was the perfect destination.
Being on a tight budget,
like many lesbian families,
we tried something different: rather than spring for
pricey accommodation we
exchanged our home in
Sydney with a Swiss chalet.
Here's how it works: if you
live in a desirable location
anywhere in the world you
may get a home-exchange
match. Once you register
(for usually a small fee) you
can search for your destination or wait until someone
contacts you. There is no
money exchanged and often
the homes come with cars,
boats and handy extras (in
our case, ski equipment).
What we saved on lodging, car rental and hiring ski
equipment helped us enjoy
the Alps even more. Ski lessons, passes, going out for
dinner and other winter activities were now affordable.
Once in Switzerland we
were pleased to find it safe
and easy. Using the Swiss
Flexi Pass* enabled us to
catch fast speed trains
anywhere in the country,
including the little mountain
train, which took us up to
Villars, our final destination.
Villars, 1,300 meters
above sea level, offers
myriad activities. In summer,
hiking, cycling, mountain
biking or canoeing. In
winter, winter sports are on
your doorstep, taking you
up mountains over 2,000
meters high.
As for our chalet, it was as
you'd imagine-rustic
and
surrounded by deep powdery
snow, the eaves of the
steeply-gabled roof almost
touching the ground, picturesque smoke curling out
of the chimney and a path
through the snow leading to
the front door.
The memories we took
home from this vacation are
like a fairytale: clear blue
skies, mist gently rolling
in, large fluffy snowflakes
falling quietly. You stop,
look around and realize
Switzerland has embraced
you with all its glory: the
majestic mountains coated
in pristine snow, dotted with
traditional chalets, making
for a scene that is so unique
you couldn't be anywhere
else-and you wouldn't want
to be. (myswitzerland.com)
*Swiss Flexi Rail passes supplied by Switzerland Tourism.
JULY/AUGUST
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Recipes for the Ravenous
True Blood-inspired drinks and eats to sink your teeth into.
BY RACHEL SHATTO
s fans of True Blood know, the vampiric series is all about hunger and
thirst. Whether that's for something
sanguine or savory or sexual changes
from moment to moment but appetites are always front and center. So, it's natural
that such a fundamentally sensual show has
inspired True Blood: Drinks & Bites.
Written by Gianna Sobol, Alan Ball and Benjamin
Hayes with recipes by Dawn Yanagihara and photography by Alex Farnum, this glossy cookbook is
an excellent addition to any fan of the HBO series'
collection. Featuring 45 themed recipes-inspired
in part by the drinks and food seen in the show
itself-it's an absolute must-have for True Blood
true believers and theme party hosts.
The "Drinks" section is broken into two parts.
The first part, "Teetotalers," offers tasty nonalcoholic refreshments including the Blood of
Lilith, a scarlet, fresh berry-based
cocktail inspired by the first vampire
{played by lesbian bombshell Jessica
Clark) and Teatime in Bon Temps, a
black tea, raspberry and fresh peach
concoction so good it's like flavor
witchcraft.
Speaking of the dark arts, the
MoonGoddess-found
in the "Boozehounds" section-is a delightfully
tasty witch's brew of blended Green
Chartreuse, lime and gin. For those
looking to get freaky, try a Maenad
Trois-a luscious three-way of
ginger, peach and prosecco. Or
keep it vampy with a glass (or two)
of Sanguinista, a spin on sangria
with a Grand Marnier twist.
Once these tasty tipples have properly
whetted your appetite you can delve into the
oh-so-inviting victuals in the "Bites" section. We
recommend taking a stab at the Cheese Stakes
recipe. These sharp cheddar baked crackers are
a guaranteed crowd pleaser. The two-bite-sized
spicy ham and red bell pepper Werewolf Biscuits
will have your guests howling for more. And the
Dead Red Cupcakes, with cream cheese frosting and raspberry, pomegranate and cranberry
drizzle are ...well. ..to die for.
True Blood: Drinks & Bites does a fine job of
living up to its namesake's setting, Bon Temps,
which in French means "good times." So on that
note, pick your poison (and scrumptious treat),
throw on the latest episode of True Blood and let
A
a
the good times roll.•
MARKtTP
Legal arriage,
Honeymoons
and Romantic Getaways
www. high lands in n-nh .com
1-877-LES-B-INN
www.pearlskeywest.com
S2SUnited
Street• KeyWest,FL33040
1.800.749.6696
• MemberIGLTA
Your
corner
of the
world.
Unlock
the
and
Start
Box"
Fee I i ng F abu I ous
!
theGEMhotel.com/LGBT
NEW YORK CITY
Chelsea I Midtown West I SoHo
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JULY/AUGUST
2013
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TLOOKtSTARS
Heat is On
Romance is in the air with Mars in Cancer and Venus in Virgo.
BY CHARLENE LICHTENSTEIN
CANCER %
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
small transactions Just like %
%
a shopkeeper or a waitress
%
She is not a wheeler dealer %
with her stash, however, %
preferring to put her money %
%
where is it safe %
%
LEO %
(July 24-Aug. 23) %
%
She drives a big impressive %
car, but may also have a %
couple of motorcycles or %
%
a jeep around for spur of %
the moment fun Space is %
important to her, so if she's %
%
short of funds and cannot
%
currently afford what she %
wants, she is clear headed %
and focused enough to %
%
carefully save for her future %
dream house; Hey, she's out %
of the closet, so why %
%
rent or own one? %
%
%
Charlene
Lichtenstein
is the author %
of HerScopes:
A Guide
to Astrology%
forLesbians
(Simon& Schuster)- %
%
tinyurl,
com/HerScopes.
%
Cancer (June 22-July 23)
Scorpio (Oct. 24-Nov. 22)
You are a shining star, as
anything you do will draw an
adoring crowd. So get out and
about, meet and greet, spread
your good cheer and make
things happen all through the
summer. Be choosy doling out
your affections and charisma.
They say that you can attract
more flies with honey than
with vinegar.
Sapphic Scorpios are tempted
to join a great movement and
help change the course of
history. Yes it is a lofty goal
but why not try? The fates
are on your side and give you
a global platform for your
message. You can achieve
anything (and anyone) you set
your mind to this summer. So
gather a group of girlfriends
and set off on adventure.
(June 22-July 23)
Sapphic Crabs are clever
gals when it comes to
money management They
have the innate ability to
make a little bit of money
go a long, long way and
tend to earn it in little bits
and pieces from many
Nowavailableas anebook.
80
CURVE
JULY/AUGUST
~
Leo (July 24-Aug. 23)
Pisces (Feb. 20-March 20)
This is the summer of love
for all Guppies who allow
their creativity to flow.
Try your hand at painting,
performance or poetry.
Not only do you create a
personal masterpiece but
you also entrance a certain
goddess who will continue to
be a source of "inspiration"
through the fall.
Aries (March 21-April 20)
Sagittarius (Nov. 23-Dec. 22)
If you are need of a helping
hand, one may magically
appear from a surprising
source. Guardian angels and
other protective forces are
working behind the scenes
to insure your success in any
undertaking. In fact some
well-endowed ladies might
even take you under their
wing and finance one of your
grander schemes.
Someone in upper management takes a shine to you and
you may not be able to resist
her charms. A late summer
romance could brew, if you
allow yourself to be carried
away by the scent of power.
But make your own choice and
decisions. You hold much more
influence on the course of
events than you realize
Virgo (Aug. 24-Sept. 23)
Capricorn (Dec. 23-Jan. 20)
Bosom buddies can get you
into mischief this summer.
Lucky you! Let them lead you
astray and see how far it goes.
In fact, the crazier the activity,
the more serendipitous it
might turn out to be for you.
Taking calculated risks can
gain you entrance into some
fairly lofty circles and elite
groups of movers and shakers.
Relationships take you to new
places and can immeasurably
enrich your life. The secret is
to open yourself up to new
possibilities, either with your
current lover girl or with
someone new. For those
Capricorns who are seeking
their soul mate, avoid the
usual hunting grounds. Try
some new, exotic and far
afield places.
Who is your flavor of the
month, lambda Ram? Chances
are that you will find her on
the job, ready, willing and
able. But before you sweep
her off her feet, see if your
home surroundings are ready
for her company. This may be
a good time to make some
necessary, long overdue home
improvements.
Taurus (April 21-May 21)
Libra (Sept. 24-0ct. 23)
Although it may not sound
exciting, your day-to-day job
will go much smoother this
month. And you will be able to
accomplish anything you set
your mind to do. So don't rest
on your laurels, Libra. Make
your best moves now. You
may be surprised at who
notices and responds. Maybe
she is waiting for you in the
coffee room. I think something
is brewing.
2013
Taurean bulls are already
roaming in the china shop,
ready to party hearty and go
for the gusto. Be careful of
breakage, especially a few
hearts. You can be careless
with your words, making
promises that you can't
keep and get you into
unexpected trouble. So
mean what you say and
say what you mean.
Gemini (May 22-June 21)
Aquarius (Jan. 21-Feb. 19)
Aqueerians can accomplish a
lot this summer if they set their
mind to it. The fact is that the
lure of the sand and surf might
be too tempting to refuse.
But if you want to get a leg up
on the competition this fall,
try to use some of your down
time to focus and complete
a long postponed project.
Procrastination is tempting but
so is victory!
Money comes to you
easily and effortlessly. The
temptation is to splurge with a
big splash but try and syphon
something off into savings for
a rainy day. You will be glad
you did. A little pot of extra
money could help out for any
late summer improvement
project. A particularly nice
improvement might consist
of some fresh faces over
breakfast.•
This exquisitely crafted coming
of age tale follows a pair of •
Latina teens who fall gradually
in love against the backdrop of
Southeast Los Angeles.
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FASHION
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PLUSSEXY
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CURVEMAG.COM
08
po
(')
)>
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~)>
~
o 74470 80539
7
~ JULY/AUGUST 2013 VOLUME 23#6
ESSENTIAL
SUMMER
TRENDS
• BEST
LESBIAN
BEACH
READS
·TRUEBLOOD
GETS
TASTY
• NEW
LESBIAN
SUPERHEROES
INSIDE THE
HOTTEST
SEASON OF
THE SEXY
LESBIAN
SERIES!
JULY/AUGUST
2013
FEATURES
~6
SEXY SUPERHEROES
Our favorite Sapphic
savior Batwoman is
getting hitched. But
what does that mean
for the future of lesbian
superheroes?
By Adam L. Brink/ow
50
SHE'S GOT THE BEAT
Belinda Carlisle
returns with a new
collection of music
and a rainbow flag.
By Dave Steinfeld
52
LIFE'S A BEACH
The artist formerly
known as Bitch - .
reinvents herself with
a brand new name,
project and sound.
By Kelsy Chauvin
/
72
MAGNETIC MYKONOS
Move over Ibiza. The
Greek isle of Mykonos
is party central for
gays and lesbians.
By Maria De La 0
COVER PHOTO BY RODNEY BURSI EL
JULY/AUGUST
2013
CURVE
1
JULY/AUGUST
2013
IN EVERYISSUE
6
EDITOR'S NOTE
8
FEEDBACK
9
CURVETTES
12
THE GAYDAR
30
SCENE
80
STARS
'--
--'
/
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
TRENDS
REVIEWS
13 THIS IS WHAT A
LESBIAN LOOKS LIKE
31
Meet this month's It girl.
14
ROCKIN' GIFT GUIDE
Satisfy your inner rock
goddess with this cool gear.
16
BEAUTY
Get the sexy, edgy look of
a Goth girl with our tips for
a flawless face.
18
LESBOFILE
19
SHE SAID
FILM
Portland shines a light on
the best of queer cinema
and finds plenty for the girls.
By Kim Hoffman
33
BOOKS
Lesbian self-publishing
is becoming a literary
sensation. We lead you to
the best in light and sexy
summer page-turners.
By Victoria A. Brownworth
STYLE
VIEWS
20
OUT IN FRONT
20
IN CASE YOU MISSED
IT ... News from across the
country.
21
POLITICS
Does celebrating women
mean giving them a separate
space? A look at the politics
of MichFest. By Victoria A.
Brown worth
24
LIPSTICK & DIPSTICK
28
THE TWO OF US
Our monthly profile of lesbian
couples who live, love and
work together.
2
CURVE
JULY/AUGUST
2013
38
WE WILL ROCK YOU
The fabulous British
fashionistas Stella & Lucy are
back with classic rock 'n' roll
looks for the season.
42
TAKE IT OFF
A double feature on the
best of lesbian-designed,
American-made underwear
for butches, femmes and
everyone in between.
By Merryn Johns
Curve's online selection of must-do, must-try, must-have extras.
DEARGAYBY
Are you a baby dyke in need of advice? Everyone is Gay,
an advice website for LGBT youth and allies, has got
you covered. Co-founders Kristin Russo and Dannielle
Owens-Reid open up about giving advice to queer youth
and taking their advice show on the road at SXSW.
KAIA WILSON GROWS UP
Oregon native, singer-songwriter and
queercore icon Kaia Wilson has been at the
forefront of queer music since the early
'90s, first with Team Dresch and then with
The Butchies. Wilson dishes on 20 years of
music, her latest album Two Adult Women
In Love and the possibility of a Team
Dresch reunion.
THIS IS WHAT A
LESBIAN LOOKS
LIKE: PEGGSTARR
Meet Pegg Starr, a lesbian MC
hailing from Long Island, N.Y.
This DJ, tattooist and hip-hop
artist has her sights set on
the stars and is successfully
making a name for herself by
rapping about her struggles
and her sexuality.
4
CURVE
JULY/AUGUST
2013
THE RETURNOF NONA HENDRYX
Most people remember Nona Hendryx as
one-third of the groundbreaking group
LaBelle. Hendryx tells Curve about her
latest album, Mutatis Mutandis-her first
solo record in 20 years-and her first release
on Ani DiFranco's Righteous Babe Records.
Read her refreshingly candid interview at
curvemag.com
largedog
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Science For A
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©2013 Bayer HealthCare LLC,Animal Health Division, Shawnee Mission, KS 66201. Bayer, the Bayer Cross and
K9 Advantix are registered trademarks of Bayer. Frontline is a registered trademark of Merial.
Kl 3951
curve
THE BEST-SELLING
Power
to the Playlist
ost lesbians have a special investment in female singers, and we
can be very loyal to the women who make our playlist.
I don't know a lesbian who doesn't adore many of the fol~
lowing, none of whom identify as lesbian: Adele, Alicia Keys,
Annie Lennox, Beyonce, Bjork, Chrissie Hynde, Cyndi
Lauper, Kate Bush, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Lucinda Williams, Madonna,
Pink, Rihanna, Sara Bareilles, Sarah Mclachlan,
Stevie Nicks, Suzanne Vega, Tori Amos ..Just to
name a few! These singers are not only good, they
embody a female power with which we identify.
They are adored and celebrated by patriarchal cul~
ture even when we are not. They exemplify our
choice of romantic object, validating our drives
and desires.
It only takes the souring of a relationship to see
the dynamic behind it. Take our relationship with
Michelle Shocked. The bluegrass punk rocker
burst onto the music scene in the mid~'80s and
was an instant hit with lesbians. Shocked looked
like a lesbian, sounded like a lesbian, and had the activist cred of a lesbian.
She sang confessional ballads about the struggles of women and the disenfran~
chised. "Anchorage" speaks of a female friendship sundered by life choices and
geography: Chel, the skateboard punk rocker, exchanges letters with her "old
friend" who is now saddled with a husband and two kids in Alaska. It speaks
of same~sex bonds with bittersweet longing. It isn't about a lesbian relationship,
but we read between the lines.
Over the next decade Shocked accepted her lesbian fan~base-until she
became born again. Then in March of this year, at a gig in San Francisco of
all places, she stated that the passage of gay marriage legislation in California
would bring about end times.
A couple of years ago I saw Shocked in concert in New York City. As she
sang'i\nchorage" on autopilot, I realized how much has changed. Gay women
don't need straight female proxies for our unlived lives. We have our own out
musicians. We have a voice. Whether we have our own space is another matter.
The organizers of MichFest believe we need one and seek to provide it (read
Victoria Brownworth's opinion on page 21).
In our annual Music issue you'll meet many authentic lesbian musicians do~
ing it for themselves. Yes, I'll always cry along to Rihanna-what lesbian hasn't
fallen in love in a hopeless placer-and we'll always speculate about Whitney,
but it feels much, much better to fist pump to Joan Jett.
M
~·
MER~
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
CURVE
JULY/AUGUST
2013
»
VOLUME
23 NUMBER
2013
6
PUBLISHERSilke Bader
FOUNDINGPUBLISHERFrances Stevens
EDITORIAL
EDITORIN CHIEF Merryn Johns
MANAGINGEDITOR Rachel Shatto
BOOKREVIEWEDITOR Rachel Pepper
COPYEDITOR Katherine Wright
CONTRIBUTINGEDITORS Victoria A. Brownworth,
Gina Daggett, Jillian Eugenios, Sheryl Kay, Jess McAvoy,
Stephanie Schroeder
EDITORIAL
ASSISTANTSElizabeth Estochen, Elizabeth Nguyen
PROOFREADER
Elizabeth Harper
OPERATIONS
DIRECTOROF OPERATIONSJeannie Sotheran
EVENTS& MEDIARELATIONSCOORDINATORRobin Perron
ADVERTISING
CURVE'SMEDIAKIT ourmediakit.com
NATIONALSALES
Rivendell Media (908) 232-2021, todd@curvemagazine,com
BUSINESSDEVELOPMENT
Sallyanne Monti (510) 545-4986, sallyanne@curvemag,com
ART/PRODUCTION
ARTDIRECTORStefanie Liang
PRODUCTIONARTIST Kelly Nuti
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Melany Joy Beck, Kathy Beige, Jenny Block, Adam L.
Brinklow, Kelsy Chauvin, Lyndsey D'Arcangelo, Traci
Dinwiddie, Maria De La 0, Jill Goldstein, Lisa Gunther,
Kristin Flickinger, Gillian Kendall, Kim Hoffman, Charlene
Lichtenstein, Karen Loftus, Sassafras Lowrey, Jess
McAvoy, Ariel Messman-Rucker, Emelina Minero, Laurie
K. Schenden, Stephanie Schroeder, Janelle Sorenson,
Allison Steinberg, Stella & Lucy, Dave Steinfeld, Edie Stull,
Yana Tallon-Hicks, Sarah Toce, Tina Vasquez, Jocelyn Voo
CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS & PHOTOGRAPHERS
Lauren Barkume, Alex Styles, Meagan Cignoli,
JD Disalvatore, Sophia Hantzes, Janet Mayer, Syd London,
Cheryl Mazak, Maggie Parker, Leslie Van Stelten
CONTACT INFO
Curve Magazine
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New York, NY 10034
PHONE(415) 871-0569
FAX (510) 380-7487
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LETTERSTO THE EDITOREMAIL letters@curvemagazine.com
Volume 23 Issue 6 Curve (ISSN 1087-867X) is published
monthly (except for bimonthly January/February and July/
August) by Avalon Media, LLC, PO Box 467, New York NY 10034,
Subscription price: $59.90/year, $59.90 Canadian (U,S, funds
only) and $89.95 international (U.S. funds only). Returned checks
will be assessed a $25 surcharge, Periodicals postage paid
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(USPS 0010-355). Contents of Curve Magazine may not be
reproduced in any manner, either whole or in part, without
written permission from the publisher, Publication of the name
or photograph of any persons or organizations appearing,
advertising or listing in Curve may not be taken as an indication
of the sexual orientation of that individual or group unless
specifically stated. Curve welcomes letters, queries, unsolicited
manuscripts and artwork, Include SASEfor response, Lack of any
representation only signifies insufficient materials. Submissions
cannot be returned unless a self-addressed stamped envelope
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Subscription Inquiries: Please write to Curve, Avalon Media LLC,,
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6
JULY/AUGUST
LESBIAN MAGAZINE
~Y.rx~
w□m ill urn□QJ um
Qffi□
proudly
to meet the cast of Venice the Series
plus award winning singer/songwriter
presents
Jen Foster!
VETRIAN
~~ •~mm
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JENFOSTEA
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Get your
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•
CURVE
visit west hollywood
Graphic design: Kayleigh Hawes
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RAMADA
_PLAZA_
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POST
ON
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be much bigger than she is, so
thanks for giving her a break.
I'll be taking my copy of
Curve to her very next show
for her to autograph. -Emily
Bahl, London, Canada
Delighted
with Diversity
Music Sensation
Thank you for the article on
Sarah Smith ["Rebel With a
Pension;' Vol.23#5]. I have
been following her career for
a while now, I just love her
husky voice and guitar playing!
It was refreshing to see an
up-and-coming lesbian musician who is gorgeous, works
hard, has star quality and is
popular in her hometown
( not everyone worth knowing
is stateside!). She deserves to
In the most recent issue of
Curve I counted at least 20
images of women of color.
I don't know if you are consciously inclusive or not, but
as a lesbian with a mixed-race
background I am very thankful that this seems to come
naturally to you and is not an
issue as it seems to be with
other magazines. -Denise
Bonilla, Reading, Penn.
Couples Therapy
I love your magazine and
I really enjoy your regular
couples profile ["The Two of
Us"]. However, I have some
requests. I would really like
to see more lesbians who have
struggled to stay together,
such as a young couple whose
parents disapprove of their
relationship or a bi-racial couple
who face discrimination or
a bi-national couple who are
not allowed to be together
because of the immigration
laws of this country. It would
be very inspiring to hear their
stories. Thanks for listening!
-Erin R., Metuchen, NJ.
Editor's Note: Thanks for the
great ideas!
Hungry for More
Posts from our
Facebookfans
facebook.com/curvemag
OURFACEBOOK
FRIENDS
SOUNDOFFON"THEFOSTERS"
COVERSTORY
It will be great to have a show
with positive role models and
to give more awareness
to our families.
-Diane Spignesi-Dillman
Seen the preview for this
the other day, looks good,
this is what being a family is
all about. Coming together
and overcoming obstacles.
-Paulette Johnson
I don't watch TV, but I'll watch
this. -Holly Weasel
You used to run articles about
food and lesbian chefs. I miss
them and so does my wife
who is a chef and would love
the inspiration. Please bring
them back! -Carrie Bray,
New York, N.Y.
Very excited about it, but I'll
have to watch it on DVR-it
comes on at the same time as
my Rachel, and I don't miss
my Rachel. -TammyMitchell
Editor's Note: We have more
culinary goodies coming up and
stay tuned for our annual Food
Issue in November.
Can't wait to get our issue,
stuff comes out slow in Okla.
Can't wait to see this show!!
-Danielle Earle
Loved this issue. -Pam Marie
-OUT and PROUD
I love the diversity and the
love. -Jennifer Sha Chan
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
WHO
ISTHE
QUINTESSENTIAL
LESBIAN
MUSIC
ICON?
~!%
The Butchies,
I miss queercore
15%
Ani DiFranco,
lesbian
indoctrination
101
16%-Heather Peace, the
new generation of
women's music
V////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////a
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JULY/AUGUST
2013
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Iivestogether.
-Stephanie Clark and
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UPFRONT!CURVET
JESSMCAVOY
JENNY BLOCK
Australian-native musician
and life observer Jess McAvoy
is an effective multitasker.
Her fingers are in pies of
many disciplines, including
performance, music production
and management, and writing
feature articles for Curve. Her
lifelong passion for language
and self-expression have
made her a much-admired
singer-songwriter in her home
country and her tell-all blog
at jessmcavoy.com is her
playground for honing her
writing skills and sharing her
musings on music and life.
In late 2013 Jess will release
her 13th studio recording,
The Women, on her own music
label, Henduwin Music.
Jenny Block is a lifestyle and
travel writer and the author
of Open: Love, Sex, and Life
in an Open Marriage (2008
Lambda Literary Award). Jenny
holds both her BA and her
MA in English from Virginia
Commonwealth University and
taught college composition
for nearly 10 years. She is
a frequent contributor to
a number of high-profile
publications and websites,
including Huffington Post, Fox
News, On the Edge Net.com,
and Curve. She also has essays
in the books, It's a Girl: Women
Writers on Raising Daughters,
One Big Happy Family, and The
Di0nhyofDogs.ReadJenny~
writings from the road at
jennyonthepage.com.
JANELLESORENSON
& MELANY JOY BECK
Janelle and Melany are regular
writers for Curve as well as
documentary filmmakers. The
two have gone backstage with
some of the most exciting
queer artists, including Tegan
and Sara, Uh Huh Her, Melissa
Ferrick, and Austra. Their film,
Bring It 2 Peter (2011)took
Special Jury Prize honors at the
Nevada Film Festival. Vero+
Katie, their second short-form
doc, premiered on curvemag.
com. The film highlights the
rock 'n' roll romance of Sick of
Sarah's Katie Murphy and rocker
Vero Sanchez, previously of
Hunter Valentine. The writers,
who met while Melany was
covering Sick of Sarah for
Curve and Janelle was tour
managing the band, have had
their own rock 'n' roll romance
and are looking forward to their
wedding in 2014.
ES
STELLA& LUCY
This dynamic London duo has
built a style brand based on
their individual expertise in
fashion and writing. Stella is
an author and published poet
and Lucy is a fashion lecturer at
the renowned London College
of Fashion. This quirky and
fun-loving pair are dedicated to
LGBT rights in their homeland
and abroad and driven to
proving that when it comes to
personal style, "Lez Is More."
They are regular fashion
consultants for Diva magazine,
Curve and feature seasonally
on MyLesbianRadio. This issue,
non-conformist, liberal-minded
Stella and Lucy encourage
independent, influential women
to get their inner rock chick on.
JULY/AUGUST
2013
CURVE
9
NDS/
THEGAYDAR
p
~~ THEGAVDAR
Takes one to know one? Let our gaydar help
~ you decide who's hot who's not who's
f-
~ shaking it and who's faking 1t1nlesboland.
~
BY RACHEL SHATTO
~
Hear that cracking
sound? That's the sound
of a million Brittana
shippers' hearts breaking
as Naya Rivera (aka
Santana) as much
as confirms that the
relationship is over to E!
Bad news
ladies, turns out
Lindsay Lohan is not
bisexual after all,
or so she tells
Piers Morgan
Proving lesbianism was
always in style,'50s sex
symbol Mamie Van Doren
dishes that the grande
dame of fashion Coco
Chanel propositioned her
for some lady lovin'
WJ
....J
Dixie Chicks star
Natalie Maines
recently debuted her
solo album and a new
look. Maines may not
be a lesbian, but her
haircut sure is
~
0
2
~
While not known for being
a bastion of progressive
messages, Tyler Perry's
latest film Peeples features a
lesbian couple, a step in the
right direction
it's unethical ...
we're in love with
Cosima, the
bespectacled and
dread-rocking
lesbian clone on
Orphan Black
INDEFICIT
CRED
LEZ
~
0
0
"'
z
~
<fl
w
....J
0..
WJ
WJ
0..
~>
a2
w
It may be a
gratuitous straight
girl kiss, but
funny lady Amy
Schumer and the
oh-so-crushable
Amber Tamblyn
make out on Inside
Amy Schumer
Chefbian
extraordinaire
Cat Cora is named
Resident Mom Of
The Year 2013 by
Marriott
Astronaut, physicist and
lesbian hero Sally Ride is
posthumously awarded
the Presidential Medal of
Freedom
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Season three of The
Killing has us hooked
by adding a lesbian
character, a badass
baby dyke
named Bullet
She may not have
won on The Kandi
Factory, but
lesbian contestant
Garrison Bailey
sings her way
into our hearts
with her
rendition of
"The Mighty O"
about her first
Sapphic sexual
experience
Sara Bareilles makes our
hearts sing with her new
single "Brave," which she
wrote about her friend
who struggled with
coming out
0
z
0
Nonnie Tiara
Washington
Model, student and aspiring designer
Nonnie Tiara Washington has big
designs on the fashion world.
ON WHATLEADHERTO MODELING:It was
actually initiated by my love for photography. I
would stage little practice shoots and started to
see that I had a natural talent for being captured
by the lens. The more compliments and support
I received, the more my passion grew.
ON STUDYINGFASHIONJOURNALISM:It started
with journalism because I am really passionate
about writing. But being the natural born
fashionista, I was always in charge of telling
everyone what to wear and what not to wearI love analyzing trends. Once I knew the two
could be combined, I was all for it.
ON WHYSHELOVESFASHION:It gives me
a voice. I love being able to illustrate my
personality with thread and fabric. It gives my
spirit a sort of freedom.
ON GROWINGUP IN SOUTHCENTRALL.A.: It has
given me thicker skin. I am a little rougher than
most women. It is the reason behind my style
and attitude. When you grow up seeing nothing
but tragedy and poverty it only drives you to
being more than the cards you were dealt.
ON THEKINDOFWOMENSHE'SLOOKINGFOR:
I am attracted to aggressive women who
still remember their femininity. I can't resist a
confident, stylish woman for the life of me.
ON THEADVICESHE'DGIVEHERYOUNGER
SELF:Be yourself no matter who's watching. Be
your own breed of beautiful-a leader. Set the
footsteps for others to follow. -Rachel Shatto
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
TRAVIS EVANS
NDSJGIFT
GUIDE
Downy Duet
Make your dream of
snuggling up between
the Quin sisters a
reality tonight with
the Tegan and Sara
pillowcase set. ($20,
teganandsara.com)
Pitch Perfect
Deck out your decolletage with a Little Lady Harmonica
necklace. If you're looking for a little extra attention, this working
instrument should do the trick. Just put it to your lips and ...well,
you know the rest. ($55, idlehandsdesigns.etsy.com)
Pump up the volume with music-inspired gear.
av RACHEL sHATTo
Hangalang
Stray Cat Strum
Lez out your pad with this oh-so-texty print
featuring the lyrics "I can exist being caught
by your kiss" from everyone's favorite lesbian
crooner k.d. lang. ($9, eyeseeyoushop.etsy.com)
What's hotter than a girl with a guitar? One
with an adorable kitty guitar strap, of course!
The Mr. Whiskers guitar strap is the purrfect
addition for any sassy Sapphic strum mer.
($50, couchguitarstraps.etsy.com)
I
CA
NEX
I S T B
E I N G C
AUGHTBY
Y
14
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K
I
2013
Boogie Bag
Take the dance party
with you everywhere you
go with the Fydelity Le
Boom Box Tote Bag. Just
plug your mp3 player
in and rock out. ($50,
stratchtracksshop.com)
Bad Reputation Beanie
Looking for a knit fit for a
rock star? Look no further
than the unapologetic
needlework of Glitz
Knits Boutique and their
made-to-order Joan Jett,
heart-emblazoned hat.
($30, glitzknitsboutique.com)
Mix Tape Memories
Remember when you used
to make mix tapes for all
your girl crushes, full of
songs with (not-so) hidden
meaning? Give nostalgia a
modern kick with a bamboo
wood iPhone case engraved
like a cassette tape.
($43, johnnyflyclothing.
etsy.com)
Spin Me Right Round
Audiophile Alert
The phrase "put a record on"
gets a sassy new spin with
this adorable mini record
player ring from ModCloth.
($13, modcloth.com)
If you are serious about your sound quality, the V-MODA
Crossfade M-100 will rock your world. These fully
customizable headphones sound even better than they look,
no small feat. ($310, v-moda.com)
Peace of Art
Heather Peace caught our eye as Sam
the hot lezzie cop on Lip Service and
then strummed her way into our hearts
with her album Fairyta/es. Now with artist
Amanda Chron's gorgeous hand-drawn
prints she's won a spot on our walls.
($40, amandachron.com)
-
~!
~
Hardcore Homo
We all know that Ellen
rocks, but now you
can show the world
just how hardcore
your fandom really is
in this kickass Ellen/
Slayer mashup tee.
($26, ikeink.etsy.com)
NDstBEAUTY
Vampy Lips
Jump ahead with one of the
hottest fall trends, a nod to the
femme fatale's dramatically dark,
matte lip. For warmer tones
select a blackened burgundy
shade. For a cooler shade opt for
inky violet. Pair with a minimal
eye, dusted with a vanilla shadow.
Truly Outrageous
Hey there children of the '80s,
channel your inner Jem and
the Holograms (or Misfits for
you bad girls) with the bright
and punky Sooo 80's Eye
Kit from Manic Panic. ($15,
manicpaniccollection.com)
Dark Beauty
Nars Pure Matte Lipstick in Volga
($26, narscosmetics.com)
NOTHING SAYSROCK STARLIKE
A TOUCH OF GOTHIC GLAM.
Perfect Finish
Bobbi Brown Lip Color in Black Raspberry
($24, bobbibrowncosmetics.com)
Nothing is more frustrating than
seeing your expertly applied
look fade or smear away. NYX
has you covered with their
make-up setting spray, available
in a Matte or Dewy finish.
($8, nyxcosmetics.com)
Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Train
Bleu ($25, narscosmetics.com)
Sooty Sparkle
Even goths love to gleam,
and the Blackheart Black
Holo Glitter Liner will
have you sparkling darkly
with black and rainbow
micro-fine glitter. Apply
in layers for maximum
shine. ($5, hottopic.com)
Pure and Simple
Achieve that porcelain goth
visage with Pur Mineral's CC
Cream. The SPF 40 plus two
patented ingredients made
from meadowsweet and wheat
germ help protect, correct
and perfect your complexion.
($38, purminerals.com)
MAC Lipstick in Cyber
($15,maccosmetics.com)
DEWY
FINISH
Stila After Glow Lip Color in Vivid
Violet ($18,stilacosmetics.com)
LASTING
LONG
DURABLE
CREAM
B,, 3d Spectrum Fr IO
l.arge :pectreFF
----------------------
Sunscreoo
make-up
. setting spray
f1xatifmaquillage
For Face & Body
~our le visage,,et le corps-
lllamasqua Lipstick in ESP
($26, illamasqua.com)
j
a
NelWI.OOoz
000ml
Morbid Manicure
Whimsy meets gothic
glam with the Ciate Caviar
Manicure. This two-step
process leaves fingernails a
tactile and glittering delight.
($25, sephora.com)
16
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2013
AT&T
shareyour
LiveProud
moment..
...and you could have a chance
to meet Adam Lambert.
Share your most compelling Live Proud moment and
you could win two tickets to a VIP concert with Adam
Lambert. What's a Live Proud moment? It's a moment
that will empower and inspire. Perhaps it's holding
hands with your partner in public for the first time,
coming out to your family or your first kiss.
Submit to www.attliveproud.com.
Catch Adam Lambert's
latest sound on
Like us at our AT&T Live Proud Facebook page and we will
donate $1.00 to The Trevor Project. For each person who" retweets"
a specially noted message, we will donate 50¢.
Ten(10)winnerswill be selectedduringthe contestperiod.One(1)winnerwill be selectedon May6, 2013;seven(7)winnerswill be chosenon June17,2013;
and two (2)winnerswill be selectedon July1, 2013.ENTRY
PERIOD
12:00PMPSTApril 1, 2013 - 11:59AM PSTJune30,2013.No purchasenecessary.For
OfficialRules,visitwww.attliveproud.com.
Likeusat AT&TLiveProudor retweetspeciallynotedtweetsbetweenApril 1 and June30,2013, andwe will donate
$1 or SOC,respectively,
to the TrevorProject,up to $50,000,with a minimumof $25,000.Limitone like and one retweetper person,per account.
NOS/GOSSIP
~
~ LESBOFILE
~
~
Kesha has a dirty dancing date, Portia shares her baby
news and basketball star Brittney makes us dribble.
~
BY JOCELYN VOO
Diva Date Night
Adding fuel to the Sapphic fire is something Kesha knows all too well. The selfproclaimed bisexual pop star rolled up to
a Venice Beach, Cali£ gay bar, where she
spent the night knocking back whiskey and
dirty dancing with her leggy blonde gal pal.
"Kesha clearly wasn't trying to be anything but herself-a girl having a romantic
date with another girl;' a bar patron told
Radar. 'i\fter about an hour Kesha and her
date left the bar hand-in-hand to hoots
and hollers from a few patrons, jumped
into the car and took off:'
Grown Up Glee
First they gave us something to talk about
with Santana and Brittany (thank you, TV
gods)-and
now the tastemakers over at
Glee are giving us older biddies a big dose
of nostalgia: The ultimate screen lesbian
couple of Meredith Baxter ( that's Mrs.
Keaton to you '80s babies) and Patty
Duke. The twosome showed up in the
season four finale as a happy couple of 25
years, with rumors that they'll be regulars
next season.
If there was ever a time to clear some
room on your DVR, it's now.
Out is the New In
Being a gay super-athlete has always been
a sensitive subject in the world of professional sports. However, at least one such
star is preaching: be true to thyself.
Out WNBA player and No. 1 draft pick
Brittney Griner told Sports Illustrated,
"Don't worry about what other people are
going to say, because they're always going
to say something, but if you're just true to
yoursel£ let that shine through. Don't hide
who you really are:'
Griner may play center, but these are
words of a true power forward.
Bye-Bye Baby
Always the cutting-edge couple, Ellen
DeGeneres and wife Portia de Rossi are
making strides by-again-turning
public
expectation on its head by acknowledging
that there will be no baby bottles or dirty
18
CURVE
JULY/AUGUST
2013
diapers in their fabulous future.
Explained Rossi to Out, "You have to
really want to have kids, and neither of us
did. So it's just going to be me and Ellen
and no babies:'
While we're still smitten with the pair
(who, as de Rossi puts it, are still "blissful"
after five years as wife and wife), a little
piece of us still wishes there was some
flaxen-haired bundle coming around the
bend someday, dancing his or her way into
this world ... •
TRENDS/
"The funny thing is,
I played 18 straight
girls, but two bisexual
women ...that's what
people remember m
for. That's fine wI h me,
I was proud to
y
them. I've had youn
women come up to me
and say it helped them
accept themselves or
feel more confident
about coming out and
that is an honor."
-Olivia Wilde
to Huff Post Live
SHEs
st
PROFILE
Sherrill Wayland
St. Louis» ElderAdvocacy
Twenty years ago, Sherrill Wayland felt that
first passion for a cause when she worked at
a summer camp for children and adults with
developmental disabilities. "People with developmental disabilities, much like LGBT older adults,
are mostly invisible in our day-to-day lives,"she
says. "I remember back in grade school my classmates with developmental disabilities were in
segregated classes in the basement. This always
seemed like an injustice to me."
So for the next 12 years Wayland worked in
various capacities to garner public support for
Sigurdardottir became the first openly gay or
lesbian world leader when she was appointed in
2009, but has retired from politics ahead of the
country's general election. In addition to being
the first openly lesbian Prime Minister, she led
the country to legalize same-sex marriage, and
also banned strip clubs and other forms of adult
entertainment claiming doing so would advance
women's rights in the country.
the full inclusion of people with disabilities into
mainstream society.
At the same time, though, Wayland was
living under a self-imposed "Don't Ask, Don't
Tell" policy, spending most of her early adult
years closeted except to her family and closest
friends. It all came to a head when the anti-gay
marriage movement started to pick up steam.
Wayland, who at that point had been with her
partner for 10 years (they are still together
today), knew she had to get more involved in
the LGBT community and use her voice and
advocacy skills to fight for LGBT equality.
"I refer to this time in my life as a second
coming out," says Wayland. "For the first time in
my adult life, I was living my life openly and no
longer hiding."
Entering into her newest foray, Wayland lent
her talents to several LGBT political advocacy
groups and four years ago helped form the nonprofit organization SAGE Metro St. Louis, where
she serves as executive director today.
"Every community should be a safe and
welcoming community," Wayland says. "LGBT
older adults have the right to age in the same
communities where they lived, worked, played,
and paid taxes. Fear should not be the future of
aging, and anything less than full equality and
inclusion is not acceptable. LGBT older adults
have earned our full support." -Sheryl Kay
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2013
CARLA
HALE
WAS
FIRED
In March from the Ohio Catholic
School where she has taught
physical education for 19 years
She was let go after her name
appeared In her mother's
obituary with mention of Hale's
longtime partner Hale reports
that when she returned to work
after her mother's funeral she
was required to meet with school
adm1nistrat1on At the meeting
they handed her a copy of the
obituary that she had written, and
informed her she was In v1olat1on
of the school's "morality code"
Hale Is currently f1ght1ngthe
termInatIon
PARENTS
INNEW
YORK
are upset after they claim an antibullying workshop for teens at
Linden Avenue Middle School
In Red Hook required the teen
girls to role-play lesbian k1ss1ng
sexuality and gender 1dent1ty
and was intended to "improve
culture, relat1onsh1ps,communIcatIon and self-perceptions"
amongst students, said school
superintendent Paul Finch
The school has made clear that
students did not actually engage
In lesbian k1ss1ng.
ANALOUISA
VALENCIA,
a 19-year-old African-American
and Latina lesbian will be
competing In the Miss South
Carolina beauty pageant
Valencia currently holds the title
of Miss Lyman, has been out
since ninth grade and has been
with her g1rlfr1endTamyra Bell for
three years Valencia has been
competing In pageants for over
a decade Valencia has told
media outlets that through
her pageants she hopes to be
"an advocate for equality for
Celebrating Women
A festival means fun, but this one is also fraught with politics.
BY VICTORIA
I
A. BROWNWORTH
t's that time of year again: the annual
fight between the Michigan Womyn's
Music Festival(MWMF) and trans~
gender activists. As lesbians all over
the country prep for the celebratory high,
the nonstop music, and the just~plain fun
that is MWMF, they also have to prep for
a serious attack-and
run a gauntlet that
many don't even understand.
In the murky terrain of political cor~
rectness, the boundaries keep shifting.
Since college, I have identified as a radical
lesbian feminist. No one has ever cared
if they've offended my radlezfem sensi~
bilities, and they still don't. Lesbians have
become adjuncts in the LGBTQI identity
salad; it's difficult not to associate that
with our femaleness.
Still, in the lesbian~feminism in which I
came of age, inclusion was our goal- being
aware of the concerns of other oppressed
people and supporting their struggles, not
just our own. My life~long activism has
been about ending oppression, all of it.
But Michigan is not about oppression. It's
about celebrating women's music and eel~
ebrating female/lesbian identity. Revising
the definition of that celebration as trans~
phobic is simply wrong.
Let me explain why.
I have lived in African~American neigh~
borhoods for most of my life. My parents
were civil rights workers in the 1960s and
they lived their work. Most of my parents'
close friends were black, our neighborhood
was black, our church was black. My first
female lover was black. (So was my first
male lover, but I got over any thoughts of
being straight before I was 20.) The neigh~
borhood where I've lived for the past 23
years is 95 percent black. I write for the local
African~American newspaper. I cofounded a
mentoring program for inner~city African~
American youth called KITH (Kids in
the 'Hood). I cofounded an independent
publishing house, Tiny Satchel Press, which
publishes books for kids of color and
LGBT kids. I spend much more time living
and working with people of color than I do
with white people.
But I am not black.
No matter how much time I've spent
with black kids and adults, I would never
presume that I know what it's like to be
black, or to live in nonwhite skin.
A few years ago, the African~American
filmmaker Julie Dash was meeting me at
the apartment of a friend of mine in New
York, where I was staying. I said to Julie on
the phone, "Just breeze by the front desk
with authority and no one will question
you when you come in:'
She paused, then said, "That might work
for you, but it won't work for me. Please
just be waiting at the desk for me:' She
didn't say anything else. I'm sure she could
hear me blushing over the phone.
When I walk into my friend's building,
my years of working~class shame follow
me, so I stride in daring someone to stop
me, daring someone to pick a fight with
working~class me. No one ever questions
JULY/AUGUST
2013
CURVE
21
st
POLITICS
me. But I'm blonde-haired, blue-eyed,
white. Julie could actually afford to live in
that building (though I could not), so to be
stopped at the desk would be humiliating
for her and would be a reminder of how
race is a demarcation in society, regardless
of class. I could pass for upper class when
I was actually working class. But she could
never pass for white.
Here's another story: For the past 39
years, Philadelphia has hosted the annual
Greek Picnic in July. This is a huge, weeklong celebration, bringing together the
past and present members of black fraternities and sororities from all across the
country. There are thousands of attendees.
No whites. Are there protests every year?
Is there a "Camp Caucasian" outside the
event in Fairmount Park? No. Because that
would be wrong and intrusive, and some
might even see it as white supremacist.
The long debate over whether MWMF
should allow transpersons seems to me
to be part of the same issue. Questions of
passing, presumption, belonging, humiliation and solidarity interconnect when we
talk about identity and the politics of identity. Identity is also about which battles
make sense and which do not, about which
battles damage personhood and which
strengthen it. MWMF is about strengthening female/lesbian identity in solidarity
with other women.
In the past few months, I have been writing
extensively about rape, both in connection
with the trafficking of women and as a daily
issue for women. Whether they acknowledge
it or not, all women are oppressed by men.
That's a fact. It doesn't matter if you love
your dad and your brothers, your uncles and
cousins. It doesn't matter if your best buddy
is a gay man.
I've cited the statistics of gender oppression in myriad columns here. I don't need to
repeat them. I am a multiple rape survivor.
I prefer the term"victim:"'Survivor" implies
that once I dusted myself off, washed off
the blood and semen, the knife wounds
and bruises healed, I was the same person
I'd been before. But I was not, am not, never
will be-even
though I survived being
knifed and choked unconscious.
For years, I used to attend the Lesbian
Feminist Weekend on the East Coast. Four
days of blissful women-only space. Was it
perfect? No. But it was free of men, which
meant that even though it was in the middle
of nowhere, in the woods, in cabins and
22
CURVE
JULY/AUGUST
2013
tents, we all felt safe. Because it was a penisfree zone. Which for the women attending
was a reprieve.
If I were running MWMF, this is what I
would say: No penises. No male privilege.
No oppression of women. Just fun, music,
dancing, celebration. Solidarity.
MWMF is about women who are
oppressed by men every minute of every day
being free of that oppression for one week of
their year or possibly their lives, and reveling
in that and celebrating each other. Just like
the Greek Picnic is about solidarity among
African-Americans who are oppressed by
racism every day of their lives being free of
that in an all-black space.
''
MWMF is about
women who are
oppressed by men
every minute of every
day being free of that
oppression for one
week of their year or
possibly their lives,
and reveling in that
and celebrating
each other.
''
But if you can't set your male privilege
aside, as well as your penis, then MWMF
is not the place for you, and your presence
will harm other women who, like me, have
been brutalized by men. Your presence will
also alter the atmosphere for every woman
who has come specifically to be in a womenonly space, because they will feel just as
constrained as they do in straight society.
Being transgender carries its own oppression-there's no question about that. And
no one should be checking genitalia at the
door of MWME As someone who's spent
years experiencing bi-genderism, I understand why transwomen would want to
attend MWMF. But women are not the
enemies of other women, whether those
women are born women or transitioned
women. Women are not the oppressors.
It's a patriarchy out here. But at MWMF,
it's a matriarchy.
So I have to ask this question of those
transgender women who want to be at
MWMF: If you identify as female, why
are you fighting with other women every
August? Why can't you come to MWMF
to revel in the 100 percent femaleness, and
celebrate the music and dancing and being
playful without the presence of men? If
you haven't fully transitioned and still have
your penis, can't you keep it hidden away
for that week, or wait to come to Michigan
until after you have fully transitioned and
that remnant of the body that is the male
body is gone?
Can't you respect the healing and celebration that Michigan offers women?
I don't want to pick a fight with anyone. I
honestly think the fight is unnecessary.
If my African-American neighborspeople I have lived and worked with for
decades-don't
want me at a black-only
retreat, do I have the right to force my whiteness on them, even though I simply wear
the skin of their oppressor, even though I
haven't oppressed them personally?
A close friend of mine who runs an
agency for abused women, and so has a
vested interest in maintaining safe spaces
for women, asked me, "Why do transgender rights trump the rights of lesbians?"
That's certainly a question the producers
of MWMF have tried to answer.
But for me the debate over Michigan is:
If you are a transitioned woman, why can't
you assimilate with other women for one
week and allow your femaleness to predominate? It is the remnants of your male
privilege that the women of Michigan are
objecting to. As transwomen, can't you stop
fighting with other women long enough to
feel what it's like for women at Michigan?
Women at MWMF have been damaged
and brutalized by male oppression and male
privilege-street harassment, homophobia,
incest, rape, and just simply earning twothirds of what men make for the same job.
Why isn't it OK for them to be safe from
men and just relax, celebrate, listen to women's music, and dance their hearts out for
one week of their lives?
Confusing transphobia with the need
for a safe space for women has twisted both
the meaning of Michigan and the fight
for transgender rights. All women should
want what MWMF offers: a respite from
the fight against male oppression, a place
where we won't be raped, a place where we
can heal in safety, a place where we can have
a freakin' blast for one brief week. •
CURVE JUST
GOT COOLER.
VIDEO+ANIMATION+
ADVANCED NAVIGATION ...
YOU*LL WANT TO TOUCH.
st
LIPSTICK+DI
PSTICK
Can't Let Go
I don't want a divorce and I'm not sure why.
BY LIPSTICK & DIPSTICK
Dear Lipstick and Dipstick: I am a
50-year-old lesbian who has a full life
and mostly enjoys being single. However,
to be honest, I'm also depressed about
never having had a real relationship. I was
in a marriage of convenience with my best
friend for 15 years, and there is a woman
that I'm in love with now, but she's not
available. I know I'm in this situation partly
out of fear, and I feel like a real failure for
not being able to navigate the waters of
the lesbian community. If I haven't
gotten it right at 50, is there any hope?
-50 and Fearful
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
things we don't have, we con-
forget, yet again, how to make
tinue to keep those very things
turkey gravy. You can't ask her
out of our lives. Instead, be
advice about how to deal with
thankful for what you do have,
the nosy neighbor down the
and think about how lucky
street, or share the good news
someone would be to share
about your promotion at work.
that with you. This "marriage"
Everyone grieves differently. My
you were in kept you safe, but
guess is that you're associating
not happy. It's time to step out
your mother's death with your
of your comfort zone, if you
divorce. Maybe subconsciously
want any kind of change in
you're tying the two things
your life.
together, and you think that
if you don't fully leave your
Dear Lipstick and Dipstick:
husband, then your mother
Long story short: I was in a
isn't really dead, and you don't
heterosexual marriage for 17
have to somehow let go of her.
years. We decided to have a
Even if this is not the case, I
threesome. It didn't take me
would strongly suggest that
long to realize I was a lesbian.
you get some grief counseling,
My husband and I decided to
where you might discover the
split up at the same time that
key to your fear of letting your
my mother passed away. I was
husband go.
emotionally overwhelmed with
guilt for leaving my husband,
Lipstick: The grief of losing
grieving for my mother, and
your mother is very real, and
realizing I was a lesbian. My
I agree with Dipstick that you
husband and I have been
must mourn properly after
separated for two years. I have
such a tremendous loss. Where
Lipstick: You hit the nail on
and to love-in ways you've
a girlfriend, Tracy, and have
I disagree with the butch,
the head, Sally O'Malley-your
previously been shut down to.
no desire to go back to him.
however, is how her passing
lack of love is rooted in fear,
and that's why you've been
Dipstick: Well, there Lipstick
Tracy doesn't want to take our
relates to your marriage, and
relationship any further until
your coming out. The reason
you're having a hard time letting
sabotaging yourself all these
goes again. This has nothing to
I'm divorced. I understand and
years. This realization, however,
do with divorce, or heartbreak
agree with her. I can't give her
go of your husband is that
is a good thing, and I've got
at recess. This is about now,
100 percent of myself if I'm
you see him as a safety net.
just the book to help you
this moment in time, and what
still married. But I'm having
He's probably a great guy and
make the most of it. It's called
you plan to do with it. Is there
trouble letting go and actually
you enjoyed your life together
(except for the sex part-and
UnderMind, and it examines
hope? There's hope when we
divorcing him. Any idea why?
the way our subconscious
create hope. You can sit around
-Still Hitched
sabotages our lives. The under-
being depressed about what
maybe you even enjoyed that
for a while, but there was a hidden knowing deep inside you).
lying cause of the particular
hasneverbee~oryoucan
Dipstick: Good for you for being
roadblock you face could be
get out there and start making
adventurous, for being bold
And maybe there is a teensy,
your parents' splitting up, or
things happen. Get it out of
enough to leave your 17-year
tiny piece of you that is terrified
something you witnessed as
your head that you're going
marriage to live a life of authen-
to let him go because it will
a child, or a broken heart you
to fit in with the entire lesbian
ticity. You've made it out this far
actually make this 'Tm gay"
sustained on the playground.
community and instead try to
and now you're stuck. It's com-
thing real, and then there will
With this book as your guide,
make just one friend. The next
pletely understandable. The
be no turning back. It would
you may be able to sift through
time you go to an event, make
death of a mother, especially
be much easier if he were an
the past and discover (and
it your intention to connect
for women, can be dramatically
asshole, right? If you really
heal) what's been holding you
with one person. Seek out
life-altering. The woman who
want things to work out with
back. Be hopeful! It's more than
someone who looks like she's
made your lunches and put
Tracy, you've got to emotionally
possible, with some work, to
easy to talk to. Start small, with
Band-Aids on your skinned
detach from the ex-husband,
reshape your neural pathways
a conversation. See where it
knees is suddenly not there.
and that means making things
and open yourself up-to
goes. When we dwell on the
You can't call her up when you
legal-not
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life
JULY/AUGUST
2013
only for Tracy's sake
but for your ex's, too. Let the
homophobia and left my
negativity because she's in hid-
ever talk about marriage again,
poor man go!
hetero marriage because I just
couldn't lie anymore or deny
ing. The closet door stays shut
because of unresolved shame,
get into couples counseling
and help her find the strength
Dear Lipstick and Dipstick:
myself the kind of relation-
and coming from a Christian
you found years ago.
I'm in a relationship with a
ship I need. I have overcome
background often seals it extra
tight. The psychologist Brene
closeted woman, whom I'll call
hurdles to be honest with my-
Melissa. I have been out with
self and I feel great. We have
my family and at work, but
recently decided we want to
when I'm around her parents
get married. I'm worried that
and coworkers I have to be
the lies will just get bigger. My
Brown said it best when she
called shame "the swampland of the soul." Nothing can
Dipstick: I'm wondering if
you really do love this woman
for who she is. You want her
grow properly there. Brown
also says, "Owning our story
to come out for all the right
reasons, but they're your
reasons-not hers. Not yet. She
can be hard, but not nearly
as difficult as spending our
has to decide she wants to do
this for herself-not for you.
When she's ready. If she's ready.
As you prepare to start a life
closeted again. I understand
question is this: Should I hold
that it's not for me to choose
off on the marriage talk until
when she comes out, but our
she comes out, or do I con-
choices affect each other. She
tinue doing what feels right?
lives running from it .... Only
has been in two previous long-
-Restless in Wichita
just new to the idea of being
Lipstick: Ix-nay on the arriage-
when we are brave enough to
explore the darkness will we
discover the infinite power of
with a woman. Melissa is in a
may! (That's pig Latin for nix
the marriage talk.) You're not
our light." Getting married is all
about standing up in front of
ready. If you move forward
with a ceremony, which should
the world, letting in the light,
and saying, "This is the person
be nothing but a wonderful
experience (save the normal,
I love! This is who I choose!"
Anything short of that, because
understand her apprehension.
unbridled stress that comes
along with it), the whole
of secrets and lies, will destroy
the roots of love. You'll end up
then? She is who she is. She
may never change. Sit with that
thought for a while before you
But I overcame my family's
experience will be laced with
resenting her, too. Before you
walk down the aisle.•
term relationships, so she isn't
male-dominated profession,
and deals with all the nonsense that comes with being
feminine in that environment.
Her mother is an overzealous,
misguided Christian. So I do
with this woman, ask yourself
how it would be if she never
comes out of the closet? Not at
work, not to her parents, not to
her close friends. What if she
decides not to wear a wedding
band? Will you still love her
JULY/AUGUST
2013
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25
st ADVICE
Body Language
Healing and strengthening your body through Nia.
BY JENNY BLOCK
Columbus,
Ohio native Allison
Wright has always wanted to move. Not
just literally, but figuratively as well. She
has long been inspired to move her body
and as an adult, she has become more
engaged in moving the world toward a
higher level of consciousness and creativity
involving body, mind and spirit.
As a teenager, Wright felt disconnected
from her body and by the age of 17, she
was anorexic. At that point, she says she
"had a driving desire to heal and awaken
in every possible way. My therapist men~
tioned this thing called Nia:' Wright says
that from the moment she stepped into a
Nia dance fitness class, took off her shoes
and began moving to the music, she knew
she'd found a movement practice that was
more than fitness. "Nia was a lifestyle;' she
says, and it became her life's passion.
The Nia Technique, explains Wright,
consists of "60 minutes. 52 moves. 9
movement forms. Nia is a cardiovascu~
lar mind/body cross~training fitness class
that weaves together the movement phi~
losophies of East and West to produce a
movement experience unlike anything
you've ever sensed before:'
Before taking Nia from a personal
practice to a career, Wright was training to
become a professional musician, participat~
ing in competitive athletics, and studying
meditation and yoga. "From as early as I
can remember, I've been driven by a desire
to understand myself and the motivations
behind my thoughts and actions:'
Now a Nia teacher and trainer, Wright
considers what she does more of a calling
than just a career. "It feels innate to me,
like a seed that was there from the very
beginning. To me, the label of'teacher' is
really synonymous with 'guide: " Wright
says she loves guiding students into
sensation, offering them avenues for self
expression, self-love and self-awareness
through movement. "What's funny is that
I never dreamed I'd be a teacher. In fact, I
said it was one of the professions I'd never
enter into. Life is certainly not without a
sense of humor, as the Teacher is one of
my strongest archetypes:'
Ask Wright's students about their experience with Nia and they'll likely describe
it as transformational, revealing how good
they feel (in body and mind) both during
and after class. "Nia is so much more than
a fitness class, and students sense this in
the increased levels of self acceptance and
joy they experience in class;' says Wright.
Wright has been dancing since she was
a kid, improvising to Michael Jackson and
Madonna in her bedroom. "I loved to freestyle and to sense the 'in the moment'
creativity this style of dancing had to offer.
I had always wanted to be a rock star:'
never been exposed to anyone who was
gay and out. Years later, when she found
out that Columbus had one of the largest
concentrations of gay people in the Midwest, she couldn't help but laugh. "Here
there was this incredibly open, welcoming community just miles from where I
lived ... and I had no idea!"
When Wright came out her dad started
crying. "Not out of anger;' she explains,
"but out of sadness that I'd felt I had to
hide and was so afraid to tell him:' Her
mother had a markedly different reaction,
showing no compassion and a surprising
amount of anger and resistance. "She was
quick to educate hersel£ though, and is
100 percent supportive today. I am grateful
to have the open-minded family I have:'
As for her future, Wright says she
looks forward to expanding her Nia training business worldwide, offering more
weeklong trainings, retreats and classes.
''
Nia is so much
more than a fitness
class, and students
sense this in the
increased levels of
self-acceptance and
joy they experience
in class.
''
She also is working toward the continued building and expansion of her online
art-education business, The Accidental
Art Project. "I also have a personal goal
to write a New York Times bestseller by
the time I'm 40. I figure 12 years gives me
ample time;' she jokes.
Until then, Wright says she continues
to live by the words of Carl Jung. "Your
vision will become clear only when you
can look into your own heart. Who looks
outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens:' (allison-wright.com) •
These days Wright says she cannot
imagine a dance-free existence. "Life without dancing is unfathomable to me. I am
deeply grateful every day that my body has
the high level of functioning that it does:'
Wright came out as a lesbian at the
age of 22 and describes the experience as
awakening, inspiring and nerve-racking.
"Throughout my entire late childhood and
teens, something had always felt off; like I
was not fully myself:' Living in the Midwest with traditional parents, Wright had
JULY/AUGUST
2013
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27
st TWO OF US
Alice & Susan
Alice Trindle and Susan Triplett share some horse sense about love
and welcome other couples to their Oregon ranch. BY JENNY BLOCK
HOW
THEY
MET
• We met 26 years ago in McCall, Idaho,
while on a girlfriends' weekend getaway to go
Nordic skiing, eat great food, and relax in the
hot springs. Our friends thought we would enjoy
each other because we both come from ranching backgrounds and love outdoor activities.
They were right! It was an instant connection
and one that has continued to grow and mature
to where now neither one of us could imagine
life without the other's influence.
WORKING
TOGETHER
ALICE: Working together, for Susan and me, is
truly working together. We operate our horsemanship business as a team. We certainly work
in the same space, both in the home office and
in the arena. We face almost all aspects of our
lives with a team approach.
SUSAN: Oftentimes, it's Alice-being
the
horsemanship clinician and having the tourism contacts-who
gets the greater exposure,
so it might appear that I play a smaller role.
Nothing could be further from the truth, in
that what really makes the system work is my
organizational and communication skills combined with Alice's talents. Together we create
a positive experience for clients, friends and
even family.
WHY
THEY
FITSOWELL
TOGETHER
ALICE: We recognize that each of us has posi-
tive qualities to bring to our relationship, and
we try to acknowledge those, both privately
and in public. We work well together because
we are surrounded by amazing friends, a beautiful environment, and animals that enhance
our lives every day. Certainly, part of why we
fit so well together is the acceptance we have as
a couple in the greater community. We are very
fortunate that we are seen and recognized for
the variety of ways we contribute to the community, as individuals and as a couple, regardless of
being a same-sex couple.
RESOLVING
DIFFERENCES
ALICE: We have our moments. But usually we
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JULY/AUGUST
2013
quickly look inward-we
are pretty good at
asking ourselves what the conflict was really
about, and coming back to a foundation where
whatever we were fighting about was not truly
that important in the grand scheme of things.
THE
CONNECTION
BETWEEN
WOMEN
AND
HORSES
ALICE: Because of where Susan and I were
both raised, on a ranch, we have the blessing of
knowing the feelings and wisdom that horses
bring, particularly to women. But it was not
until we truly started studying this relationship that we began to recognize the value of
the lessons we learned through the horses, that
they were so connected to life's lessons. I think
because women tend to look for this deeper
connection, this place of happiness, and we
seek relationships not just of the mind but of
the heart, we tend to relate to horses more intimately than men do.
WHAT
WOMEN
DISCOVER
WHILE
ATTHE
RANCH
ALICE: They come to learn about their horses,
and they leave having learned about themselves.
We often say that our clinics are all about horses
and not about horses at all.
WHAT
SURPRISES
PEOPLE
MOST
ABOUT
THEM
ASINDIVIDUALS
ALICE: What
would surprise people about
Susan is her amazing intuitive ability to read
people, and situations, and then to be able to give
impeccable guidance because of her understanding. She can pick up on the smallest gesture of
body language and accurately read what's happening in the mind and the heart.
SUSAN: What might surprise people about
Alice is the variety of things she's involved in,
and how that involvement has affected aspects
of community life. Many people know her for
just one of her pursuits, such as horsemanship.
Others know her for the influence she's had on
Oregon's tourism industry for the past 35 years.
Still others know her as a member of the Baker
County Planning Commission, or for giving
swimming or skiing lessons, or for playing the
violin in the Grande Ronde Symphony. She is
kind of eclectic! (visiteasternoregon.com) •
mc.c.-I- Iis-l-c.t""".
get you rs today.
curvemag.com
Want to see your pet here? We'd love to meet them, too.
Visit curvemag.com/satisfied for details.
GETTING
DOWN
AT
THE
DINAH
Where else can you party in 90-degree heat with 16,000 other lesbians?
Already named the largest lesbian event in the world, this
As if this wasn't enough excitement, the Cabana Girl
year's Club Skirts The Dinah in Palm Springs, Calif. was not
Pool Party on Saturday tipped the scales! The women
to be outdone by any of the previous 23 festivals. Host hotel
of the world were out in full force and there were plenty
was the newly renovated Hilton Palm Springs and I knew that
of bikinis, sunshine and cocktails. For sporty gals, the
this was going to be a year to remember when the Wednesday
Celebrity Dodge Ball celesbians took on a challenge from
night meet and greet had an attendance three times larger
The Dinah Go-Go dancers and fun was certainly had by all!
than the norm, with the rest of the week being no exception.
Meanwhile, at Hotel Zoso three talented, up-and-coming
The Ladies of Comedy got things started at Hotel Zoso
bands played: Life Down Here, Playboy School and Love
Thursday night followed by the Kickoff Party at Zelda's
Darling. Another new addition was the Celebrity Poker
Nightclub. The music had the ladies dancing and K. Rose gave
Tournament, which took place at the Monte Carlo Party
an exclusive show-stopping performance.
The Friday Dinah Pool Party kicked off the weekend festivities with a poolside performance by Anjulie. Brand new to
Saturday night. Karmin rocked out with a performance that
won them plenty of new fans.
The Wet and Wild Sunday Pool Party began with DJ
the line-up this year was the first ever Dinah Film Festival with
Susan Levine slowly and gracefully waking the ladies from
premieres for Out in the Desert and Second Shot. Havana
their party comas, and continuing the day in preparation for
Brown headlined The Dinah White Party presented by Curve
celebrity appearances and a performance from Diana King.
at Hotel Zoso. This amazing evening had two nightclub
Katy Tiz and Uh Huh Her ended the weekend with solid
scenes to choose from-the
shows that brought another year of Club Skirts The Dinah
rooftop Hip Hop Party as well as
a techno club scene.
30
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JULY/AUGUST
to a close. (thedinah.com) -Robin
2013
Perron
FlLM»
BOOKS
»
AUTO
»
curve
Lesbiana: A Parallel Revolution
Keep Portland Queer
The QDoc Film Festival celebrates its seventh anniversary.
P
ortland, Ore., a city that famously
keeps things weird, kept things
queer this past May for the seventh anniversary of QDoc: Portland's Queer
Documentary Film Festival. This celebration of queer culture, identity and politics
was cofounded and directed by David
Weissman and Russ Gage.
On opening night, vivacious crowds
came out to screenings at McMenamins'
Bagdad Theater and Kennedy Schoolcheering and hooting anytime a particular scene resonated. Friends and strangers
shared stories and cozy theater couches,
and they were rewarded with a variety of
excellent docs that explored topics near and
dear to many hearts in Portland, including
evK1MHOFFMAN
environmental activism, gender expression
and lesbian herstory. Curve was there too,
and here are the highlights of a few of the
excellent films screened.
Goodbye Gauley Mountain:
An Ecosexual Love Story
First-time director Beth Stephens and her
partner, Annie Sprinkle, add new meaning to the term "tree-hugger" in this doc,
in which the two performance artists ( and
selrprodaimed
ecosexuals) wed themselves to everything under the sun. They
are especially in love with the Appalachian
Mountains. "They're quite queer;' says
Stephens of the scenic land that is being
destroyed tragically, in perhaps the best-
kept secret and the biggest assault on our
ecosystem, mountaintop removal mining.
Stephens calls her film a "real love song"
to their beloved mountains ( 500 of which
are already gone). It's through this story
of activism that we see the couple's humor
and their affection for the earth. Their
belief is simple: Queers should be able to
marry who or what they love-and have
clean water to drink.
Born This Way
Co directors Shaun Kadlec and Deb Tullmann travel into the heart of Cameroon to
uncover a group of young adults living in
life-or-death fear of being exposed as gay. In
this African nation, queers face jail time of
JULY/AUGUST
2013
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REVIEWS/
FlLM
up to five years for being convicted of homosexuality, and it's not uncommon for gay
people to be accused of witchcraft. Amidst
this literal witch hunt there is an unexpected
beacon of hope: images ofLGBTfriendly celebs like Rihanna and
Lady Gaga who represent inner
strength and self-love. The film also
depicts the community formed by
Alternatives Cameroun, a human
rights and advocacy organization
where LGBT-identified Cameroonians can seek solace-and
legal
advice. The fight for equality is an
uphill battle, but never underestimate the power of Little Monsters.
Lesbiana: A Parallel Revolution
The women featured in French-Canadian
director Myriam Fougere's documentary
Lesbiana: A Parallel Revolution made herstory. The film features lesbian writers,
philosophers, and activists from the 1970s
through the '90s who separated themselves
from the feminist movement, and from
society in general, taking to the countryside
to build women-only communes, havens
I Am a Woman Now
from the patriarchal world. Coming-out
stories, first-time sexual encounters, song
and dance, art, literature-and
a melange
of political, moral and cultural differences
among generations of women now in their
70s and 80s-are woven together into a
quilt of intimate interviews, home videos,
and photos. It's a tip of the lavender hat to
women everywhere who continue to come
together to live and love.
BYRACHEL
SHATTO
Side
Effects
(Open
Roa□ ~ilms)
If well-acted thrillers rife with plot twists are
your thing-and really who doesn't love a good
potboiler-Side Effects is sure to flt the bill. In
the film, a young clinically depressed woman
on a new medication kills her husband while
sleepwalking-a side effect of her new med.
So, is she guilty or not? Her psychiatrist (Jude
Law) seems to think not until his life begins to
fall apart. Is he a victim of a larger conspiracy
or did he make a fatal mistake in judgment?
Fresh from her turn as Lisbeth Salander in The
Girl with a Dragon Tattoo, Rooney Mara turns in
another stellar performance as the depressed
and possibly murderous Emily Taylor. But why
are we reviewing this in a lesbian mag? Well
suffice it to say, if we told you that it would
ruin half the fun. So let's just leave it at this:
lesbians play a pivotal role in the film.
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JULY/AUGUST
2013
This moving documentary transports the
audience to the lavish European living
rooms and sandy beaches where director
Michiel van Erp finds first-generation
transwomen, whose sex-change operations
were performed in Casablanca in the
1950s and '60s. Now women of a certain
age, the trailblazing subjects share a lifetime of relationships, opulent champagnefueled adventures and memories of dancing
at the Moulin Rouge. They also explore the
often-overlooked topic of aging-a unifying human experience for queers and hetero
people alike. Ultimately, the question at
the center of this beautifully shot doc is:
What really makes a woman a woman?
(queerdocfest.org) •
True
Blood:
The
Complete
Fifth
Season
(HBO
Home
Vioeo)
Always good for exploring topics like queerness
and racial bigotry, season five sees True Blood
turning its metaphorical lens on the dangers
of religious zealotry by delving deeper into
both the Vampire Authority (think undead
bureaucrats) and vampire fundamentalists (aka
The Sanguinistas) who oppose the Authority
and believe in the literal translation of the
Vampire Bible. Season five also boasts plenty
of reasons for lesbians to get excited. First,
it marks a change in the relationship between
two of our favorite queer Bon Temps residents
Pam and Tara. And secondly, it introduces a
new character, Lilith, played by none other than
former Curve cover gal and out lesbian model
Jessica Clark-and oh what an entrance she
makes. We suggest picking up a Blu-ray copysome things just demand to be seen in highdefinition. There really never is a dull moment in
Bon Temps, La.
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REVIEWS/
Doin' It/or Themselves
Lesbian self-publishing comes into its own.
W
evv1cToR1AA.eRowNwoRTH
hat comes after the winter of our discontent? The summer of self-publishingfor great lesbian beach reading. Despite Oprah's best efforts, no one really wants
to read Anna Karenina when it's 90° out. We want books that won't overheat
our brains, but will entertain us and give us a little frisson-a different kind of heat.
The self-published lesbian novel is a new and growing trend. Authors looking to jumpstart their careers are bypassing the traditional route, now that they have an alternative to
submitting their work to established publishing houses. They're going directly to readers
via Amazon and Kindle (and Nook and Kobo). It's relatively easy to self-publish through
Amazon's CreateSpace, then set up a website and sell the book on Amazon.
The trend is so popular that Simon & Schuster has set up its own self-publishing business, Archway Publishing. While execs at S&S are clear that they are not promoting their
Archway titles as S&S books, they are willing to take the money of wannabe authors.
Amazon is also happy with the self-publishing trend. CreateSpace is the world's largest
self-publishing program, and some of its authors have taken off-notably, Amanda Hocking. Hocking, a 28-year-old group home worker from Austin, Minn., is the name everyone
floats when they talk about the possibility of finding success as a self-published author.
Hocking wrote in her spare time. But no conventional publisher was interested in her
17 paranormal romances, so she went to Amazon and began self-publishing in April
2010. A year later, she'd published nine titles and sold more than a million books. That
translated into $2 million in sales. She was selling 9,000 books a day. In March 2011,
Hocking moved to the Big Five, signing her first contract with St. Martin's Press for an
advance of over $2 million. St. Martin's bought the Trylle Trilogy, which she'd originally
BOOKS
published with Amazon, and now her name
is legendary among the self-published.
Amazon has promoted CreateSpace using
her name as the lure.
Adding to the mix: As the L.A. Times
reported in May, e-book sales soared to $3
billion in 2012, nearly double what they
were in 2011. While this only represents
20 percent of all book sales, the increasing
interest in e-books, particularly among millennials, means that self-published writers,
who start out selling inexpensive e-books
for under $5, have a better chance of finding an instant audience.
Kiki Archer, a lesbian mother of two in
the UK, decided to go the self-publishing
route. Her lesbian romance novels Instigations and But She Is My Student debuted to
five-star acclaim on Amazon in February and
have attracted a strong lesbian readership.
Even the cover art, with two lovely lipstick
lesbians, is provocative and alluring.
The stories aren't bad, either. Archer's
But She Is My Student is a classic lesbian
romance. Miss Katherine Spicer teaches at
Coldfield Comprehensive. She's sexy and
gorgeous, but, of course, a romance with a
student could wreck her career.
Amazon describes the book as a cross between Zoe Heller's terrific Notes on a Scandal and the British writer Julie Burchill's
SugarRush, which may be a stretch, but the
novel has more importantly, readers posting reviews on Amazon found Archer's
work "full of sexual tension;' "intoxicating;'
and "thoroughly entertaining:' They also
found the book "totally lesbian'' -which is
clearly a key to Archer's sales.
As Archer told Curve,"I wrote But She
Is My Student for an audience of one. I
had no intention of getting it published,
or even allowing anyone other than my
partner to read it. I simply wrote it to have
a go at writing a novel. They say 'Write
what you know; and I know about being
a teacher and being a lesbian, so But She Is
My Student was born!"
The sequel, Instigations,also catapulted
to the top of the charts. Archer has just
delivered yet another, Binding Devotion.
Other lesbian writers have taken the
same route. Trin Denise has self-published
her lesbian novels and her children's books,
and her novels have hit the No. 1 spot
JULY/AUGUST
2013
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REVIEWS/
BOOKS
on Amazon. She Left Me Breathless was a
Lambda Literary Award finalist for Lesbian
Romance this year, one of the largest of the
awards' categories.
Denise also writes children's books
about bullying, and offers free signed copies
through her website, along with info on
rescue pets, another of her passions.
Also among Amazon's top-selling
self-published lesbian novels are Jennifer
Lyndon's An Infatuation, about a married
woman with two sons who meets her husband's new female boss. In Katja Michael's
She Came at Dawn, Melissa is happily
involved with a boyfriend until she meets
her friend's new girlfriend. Fracture, by KL
Hughes, has a compelling plot in which a
young writer, whose novel about her affair
with an older woman has been made into
a film, finds love. Eliza Lentski's Second
Chances brings two high school enemies together years later. Lentski has another novel,
Date-Night, which reunites Dr. Sydney
Brisbane and her former college roommate,
Zabe Abazi. The cover shows the tangled
legs of two women sprawled on a bed.
There are surprises to be found among the
self-published, too. President Ronald Reagan's daughter, Patti Davis, self-published a
lesbian novel, Till Human Voices Wake Us,
through CreateSpace.
The novel, a deeply emotional story of a
woman who loses her son and then falls in
love with her sister-in-law, has climbed up
the Amazon ratings ladder quickly and has
gotten five-star reviews from readers.
On Amazon, Davis, who has published
eight other books with Big Five publishers,
wrote, "I am a published author, but find
myself in the same situation many authors
do these days. Getting publishers to say yes
is really hard, particularly with fiction:'
Davis explains that she's "dipped my toe
into self-publishing with my new novel.
It made the rounds of publishing houses,
garnered a lot of interest, but no offers. I've
written a lot about my famous family, the
Reagans. Maybe this non-autobiographical
novel was too much of a departure for publishers to wrap their heads around. But
now there is KO P [Kindle Direct Prime]
and the room to publish a book yourself:'
Davis acknowledges what many writers
struggling to get published have experi34
CURVE
JULY/AUGUST
2013
enced, and asserts, "It's exciting to me. A
new era in publishing. Most writers have
books they have labored over for years and
long to put out into the world. Till Human
Voices Wake Us is one of those books:'
Davis's famous name has cache, and the
stunner that she's written a lesbian novel
should keep her poignant romance selling
well. But Davis is not a standard bearer
for the self-published and has done little
to publicize the work. By contrast, Archer
and Denise are exemplars. Their books
''
For lesbian writers,
self-publishing offers
the opportunity to
tell our stories in
our own u nstifled
voices. And among
those stories,
everyone will find
one that resonates.
''
are as good as many of the romances from
established lesbian publishers like Bella
Books and Bold Strokes Books, and their
self-promotional skills are strong, which
has propelled their books forward.
Self-publishing demands constant promotion, because you are your own publicist.
Jamaican-American novelist Fiona Lewis,
who also writes under the pen name Fiona
Zedde, decided to try self-publishing last
year, to have an instantaneous book and to
see what the process was like.
An established author with Kensington
Books, the Lambda Literary Award finalist had written several critically acclaimed
novels with strong black women characters,
thereby reaching a long-ignored audience.
Lyrical, well-written, and deeply erotic,
Lewis's books had broad appeal. Her brief
foray into self-publishing with Nightshade:
A Novella should have been instantly successful. Yet, despite the strong writing, the
book hasn't been a top-seller.
Lewis's new novel, Broken in Soft Places,
was released May 14. It already had high
numbers with Amazon due to advance
sales-and
advance publicity from Bold
Strokes Books. Advance publicity is not
part of the self-publishing parcel; that's the
author's job, and it's a tough one, even for
established writers. Lewis, the recipient of
various awards and honors, admitted that
the self-promotion is arduous, and that she
probably wouldn't do it again, but found
the experience "interesting:'
Authors of Lewis's caliber aren't the
norm, however, and one of the most problematic aspects of self-publishing is that
few of these books have benefited from
professional editing. To Love a Woman or
Butteefl,ies... Butteefl,ies
... Butteefl,ies,from the
Lithuanian author Fire de Ville, via Kindle
Direct, is a lesbian romance that will no
doubt gain an audience. De Ville says of
her book,"It doesn't matter who you love as
long as you love. We all deserve the happiness that being in love provides:'
We also deserve better-written books,
and one of the major pitfalls of self-publishing is that anyone can play.
Archer acknowledged that she needs
an editor and the solid sales from her early
books have allowed her to hire one. "I
had no idea I used exclamation points all
the time;' she says, wryly. 'J\nd everyone is
winking. Who does that in real lifer"
Not all self-published writers are as selfcritical as Archer, but as former Apple icon
and self-published author Guy Kawasaki
noted on Net Minds, when he turned his
"perfect" manuscript over to a professional
copy editor, there were 1,500 errors-and
that was after he'd sent copies via email to
more than 60 readers for critique.
The self-publishing world is a global
democracy, and not everyone wants to
read something that hasn't been vetted by
a reputable publisher and worked on by
an editor. But among the self-published
there will always be standouts like Amanda
Hocking-and
other gems that needed
discovering.
For lesbian writers, self-publishing offers
the opportunity to tell our stories in our own
unstifled voices. And among those stories,
everyone will find one that resonates. •
REVIEWS/
AUTO
New Car on the Block
Buick's powerful, compact, fuel-efficient and luxurious Encore hits the road.
W
ith theirnewcrossovervehiclea luxury compact SUV-Buick
looks to appeal to younger, hipper consumers.
The Encore is a solid-feeling, 5-passenger, 5-door wagon that handles beautifully
( though this rev head was a little disappointed at the lack of torque on take off).
On long stretches of open road, as well as
in the city, the Encore is truly a pleasure
to drive.
The cabin's clever interior design makes
the Encore feel huge, but this car easily
maneuvers into any parking space.
I found that calibrating the navigation
system took some getting used to-the interface tends to be confusing and a little too
complicated to be called set-and-forgetbut this didn't take away from the overall
pleasure of the driving experience.
Sightlines are excellent, with ample
window space to combat blind spots, and
though the car feels big when you initially
strap in, its compact nature becomes evident
as you get into traffic.
Multi-adjustable
bucket seats, with
driver customization that is very easy to
operate, make for a comfortable rideand, most importantly, the sound system
is phenomenal, custom designed by Bose
with noise cancelling and fantastic, crystal
clear surround sound for those who enjoy
music on the road.
Like most automakers, Buick is working
to make its cars more fuel-efficient. Its efforts are already paying off.
While Buick is not talking electric cars
or completely eco-friendly strategies, the
BY JEss McAvoY
Encore boasts Buick's smallest engine ever
(1.4 liters), which should please environmentally conscious lesbians who want
space, safety, style and value for their
money. (buick.com) •
he intriguing and hilarious Zoe
Lewis has a lot to share with
the world. Her music has been
featured in multiple television
commercials, and she's currently hard at
work on her second musical. The quirky
musician dishes to us on traveling the
world, while still retaining her modestyand her endearing British accent.
What inspires your songs?
Well, travelling really for me is the thing.
I've travelled a lot and it's good for me be~
cause it opens my eyes again and again to
see the newness around. Trying to do that
more at home, but that's the way I work-I
see stuff anew-like a kid really. You know
when you're watching a kid, and everything
is just marvelous that they see. And when
you jump on a plane and get off the other
end, it's the same: everything is completely
different. For me that's very inspiring. It
fuels my fire.
How did you begin train hopping?
I left England when I was 23 and I traveled
all around South and Central America. I
arrived in San Francisco, stayed there for
quite a long while, and met all sorts of wild
and wonderful people in the days of the
Bearded Lady Cafe, which was down in
the Mission. I had so many great friends,
and one of them was Jimmy, and he said,
"Come on, let's go and jump a train:' And I
said, "Why, is that a commonly done thing
here:"' And he said, "Yes. All Americans do
it:' So I said, i\ll right:
It's really good train jumping along the
west coast, and I've jumped up and down
into Canada numerous times. That's how I
learned how to play the harmonica, because
you can't take the guitar. You have to take
the harmonica. I remember sitting there,
dangling my legs off the side of the boxcar,
playing to cars going by, practicing.
I felt fearless and completely safe. We'd
sleep on the cars, we'd sleep in the yard, we'd
jump off. It was crazy, when I think back to
what we did. We were very lucky.
It was an American Dream, it was the
legend. It was the Bob Dylan, Jack Kerouac
dream that I'd been reading about in
England. It was the beatnik existence I didn't
believe was true, and then I came to San
Francisco. I probably did it for a summer,
but then every time I'd come back to San
Francisco Jimmy would say,"Come on:'
You've written a musical, Across the
Pond, where you'll be transforming the
theater into an airplane.
It's my second musical. A lot of people had
been telling me my music would blend well
with theater. I love mime, I love vaude~
ville, stories and all of that so I've sort of
just been doing that naturally and it's been
quite a theatrical performance. Plus, I'm
schooled in Provincetown surrounded by
drag queens and cabaret, so it's rubbed of£
So the next obvious step for me was the~
ater-1 just love it. The first musical was
about Provincetown, and this one is about
the definition of home. You know, I jump
on an airplane and I go back to England
and I go home ... No-I've lived here for 20
years. Everyone you talk to has a different
definition of home. I like the idea of being in
between places. And I have all these ques~
tions and, of course, the passengers on the
plane are answering all of these questions
or pondering all these questions.
I like interactive theater, so as soon
as people walk into the theater, I want
them to feel like they're arriving at the
airport. We've got flight attendants, and
VIPs have their board~
ing passes. There's going
to be security guards that
will give them a pat down,
and they'll have their bags
checked. Then, when they
go into the theater, there
will be airplane music, and
flight announcements and
stuff. Then the cabin crew
will arrive.
You were just named
Woman of the Year for
Women's Week Provincetown. Is this a step
toward global domination?
Yes,definitely.I was absolutely flabbergasted.
I couldn't believe it. I'm so surprised. I'm
totally honored and tickled that they chose
me, how lovely.
What are you going to do as Woman of
the Year?
Well I have to give a speech. That's quite
posh. I'm going to put on my musical. And
I'm going to keep telling the world how
amazing Provincetown is. Just try to keep
everyone together. Should I do something
else? Maybe I should go and do something.
I'm busy with so many things, but I really
should go and save the world, shouldn't I?
We know your song "Small is Tremendous" was featured on a Mini Pringles
commercial. Are Mini Pringles really
better than regular sized Pringles?
I'm not a size queen.
You're not picky about the type of
Pringles?
I guess I like the big ones because they come
in a tube. And it's very pleasing how they
form fit in the tube. I must say, when I was
little, we had them on car trips in England.
So you have eaten them.
Yeah, I think we did. I like the tube more
than what comes in them. In England
we had bags of crisps, but there was this
American tube. You know, chips that come
in a tube, now that was fancy.
All I know is when they came out with
that ad, people would turn up with Mini
Pringles. We did find out they were a great
percussion instrument. We had the whole
audience playing with packets.
You encourage others to find music
in unusual places like trash cans, keys
and conch shells. Say I have a Maine
Coon cat, a box of Franzia, and a large
taqueria burrito. How do I go about
making a song with them?
My father used to say, "There's music in a
horseshoe, there's music in a nail, there's
music in a pussycat when you tread upon
its tail:' So I'm thinking, if you tread on the
tail, you might have a song. And I'm sure
you might actually do that if you drink the
wine. And the burrito ... that's very dead
sounding, a burrito.
They come wrapped in foil. You think I
could do something with the foil?
Of course you could. You could also just
stick it in a box and shake it. I would just
eat it. (zoelewis.com) •
JULY/AUGUST
2013
CURVE
37
STELLA
AND
LUCY
ARE
BACK
WITH
THEBEST
OF
BRITISH
FASHION.
WE WILL
'rO..-.u
BYSTELLAANDLUCY
(STELLAAN
□ LUCY. CO.UK)
PHOTOGRAPHY
BYALEX
STYLES
(ALEXSTYLES.CO.UK)
MAKEUP
BYPENNY
GRIMLEY
(PENNYGRIMLEY.COM)
Dear Curvettes,
We've missed you! We never feel more comfortable than when
we are sliding between your sheets, ahem, pages. So, as it is
the annual Music issue, we've been struck once more with the
modeling fever. As ever, we need no excuse to be in front of the
camera. Lights, camera and we're ready to flash! Guitars at the
ready, amplifier on! The G-string (that's thong to you) at our finger
tips! And, oh, how we do love to stroke those strings. We will
rock you!
It's organized chaos in the studio, nevertheless chaos, still. It's
a good job we are fit. Doing backflips to pose sure has pulled a
few muscles. But the show must go on. Our inner rock chicks have
exploded onto your fashion pages this month. We're your girls on
film. We hope this is music to your ears. If it is, you've got editor
Merryn to thank. After all, every little thing she does is magic.
Actually, we've taken rock to a whole new and personal level
by wearing our own wardrobes. Mixing leather, denim and your
favorite tee-it
doesn't get more rock 'n' roll than that. Black is
always in, especially in New York City, and black is back with an
edge. Introduce tones of gray for a wearable take on rock.
Speaking of New York, did you know we will be flying over
the pond very soon? We cannot wait to hit the States. So, who is
showing us the Big Apple? We need to know what's hot and what's
not, and with Stella's memoir almost finished, inspiration is needed
for the sequel. Sex and the City, here we come! Feel free to take
these "stray cats" in, we don't make too much mess, promise. All
together now: Fashion waits for no woman, so go get it girls!
Brits signing off. Always remember ladies, lez is more.
Until next time,
~~I_~ WC
STELLA
WEARS:
BLUE
DENIM
JACKET.
H&M
$62
DIESEL
JEANS
$225
LUCY
WEARS:
BLACSWIN
K T-SH
G IRT.
RELIGION
$101
INKLEATHER
LOOK
SHORTS,
NEW
LOOK
$47
STELLA
WEARS:
BLACLEAT
K
HER
JACKET.
SELFRIDG
OF
ES
LONDON
$388
BLACPLAY
K SUITSTEL
,
LAANDLUCY.CO
$250 .UK
MIXING LEATHER,
DENIMAND YOUR
FAVORITETEE-IT
DOESN'TGET
MOREROCK'N'
ROLLTHAN THAT.
,
...
STELLA:
PRINT
VEST.
TOPSHOP
$39
HAREM
PANTS,
RELIGION
$70
MILITARY
BOOTS,
RIVER
ISLAND
$132
LUCY:
DRESS,
RELIGION
$124
LEGGINGS,
RELIGION
$55
MILITARY
SKIN
BOOTS
$302
•
JULY/AUGUST
2013
CURVE
41
A BRIEF
STORY
SEXY
LINGERIE
THELESBIAN
WAY.
PHOTOS
BYLESLIE
VAN
STELTEN
The idea was quirky and queer, but that didn't stop Lindsay
Kra+uer from making her line of lesbian underwear her MBA
projec . In fact, the playful project stood out from her classmates'
ster , fnance-focused topics and proved to be so viable a concept
that Kr kauer received offers of investment capital from her
professors and fellow students.
A ter a year of planning and building a dedicated team,
Krakauer launched Let's Be Brief, a brand to please butches,
femmes and everyone in between. From thongs to briefs to
boxers, Let's Be Brief displays a casual lesbian aesthetic with a
fun sensibility; the briefs sport patterns of motorcycles and roller
derby, while a boy-cut brief with a silhouette of an old-fashioned
fly declares "Trophy Wife." (Now that must've had the MBA
students scratching their heads.)
The hip-hugging label is also strongly committed to the LGBT
community and its allies with a percentage of sales going to LGBT
charities and organizations each year. It's a great way to give back
to your community-and be comfortable. (letsbbrief.com)
s
SOMETHING
EET
FIND
YOUR
PERFECT
FITTHIS
SUMMER.
BYMERRYN
JOHNS
PHOTOS
BYLISA
IANCIN
tion for her New York-based
r label, Play Out Apparel. Two
, newly U-Hauled Sugar and her
partr;ier Sylvie were trying to sync up their
laundry cycles-Sugar
preferred to let her
duds pile up over two weeks while Sylvie
did laundry every week, mostly because
she ran out of underwear.
"I told her to buy more underwear,"
says Sugar. "What could be the big deal?
You can find underwear everywhere-in
boutiques, in department stores, in brandname lingerie stores. However, she really
did not like any of the underwear available
out there-she
didn't like the cuts, she
didn't like the colors, and she didn't like the
way they fit. After waiting for her to buy
new underwear for almost three months,
I decided to buy some for her. I spent
hours online searching for what I knew
she wanted and just flat-out could not find
anything. That's when we realized other
women probably faced the same problem."
Sugar is a personal trainer and editor
by day, and Sylvie is a post-doctoral
research fellow at a medical school.
Neither anticipated how challenging it
would prove to try and close this gap in the
women's underwear market. The rag trade
is cliquey and complex, and the process
of designing, testing, manufacturing and
marketing garments takes enormous time
and patience.
"We were lucky to have supportive
friends with garment design knowledge,
MODELS:
YVONNE
MO
TERRA
ARRINGTON
LIZWRIGHT
and we were able to gather a great team
around us, including an apparel consultant,
an intimates patternmaker and sample
house, a fit model and a lawyer," says Sugar.
"Our photographer, videographer and our
models are dear friends of ours who believe
in us enough to be a big part of our brand and
business. And even though we didn't have that
background in garment design, we knew what
we liked and didn't like about the underwear
available on the market, and how we wanted
to stand out."
Sugar wanted to distinguish Play Out from
other women's briefs by offering "cool and
sexy" graphics that provided an alternative
to the ubiquitous pinks, pastels, florals,
stripes and polka dots that define most
women's underwear. Play Out aims
to eventually offer many patterns and
colors, but to start, they purchased
three designs from a textile design
firm that works with brands like
Hurley, Fox and DC Shoes.
When it came to the cut, Sugar
chose a boyish yet shapely silhouette
enhanced by a 1.5-inch waistband,
a design element usually found on
men's underwear. Indeed, the label's name,
Play Out, was inspired in part by Sylvie's
preference for displaying the waistband of her
underwear above her jeans. But both women
draw the line at wearing male knickers, and
not only because of the pouches and flies.
"Men's underwear is very uncomfortable,
and it just doesn't fit right. Women have hips!
That waistband on men's underwear is just
way too tight and pushes up fat-muffin
top,
for sure. The fabric used for men's underwear
tends to be heavier and thicker than is ideal for
women."
And patriotic, unlike many labels these days,
Play Out sources its fabrics and manufactures
in the U.S. Pre-order online or look for the
Play Out girls at East Coast Pride events,
Provincetown and possibly MichFest this
summer. {playout-underwear.com)
"MEN'SUNDERWEAR
ISVERYUNCOMFORTABLE,AND IT_IUST
DOESN'TFITRlGHT.
WOMEN HAVEHIPS!"
JULY/AUGUST
2013
CURVE
45
/IRE
M/IINSTREIIM
CDMIC6
FINJIUY
OITCHING
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DFFICIJIL:
THEY'RE
ENrKAD. In the explosive conclusion to
Batwoman #17,DC Comics' most prominent lesbian superhero,
also known as Kate Kane, pops the question to her girlfriend,
Maggie Sawyer, and at the end of #18 it seems certain Maggie
has said yes. But will Kate and Mags really set the date and be the
first married lesbian couple in mainstream comics? And, more
importantly, does this mean that mainstream comic books have
finally become as LGBT-friendly as their indie cousins? We asked
some of the industry's top writers, but it turns out that getting
a definitive answer is not quite as simple as, say, leaping a tall
building in a single bound.
46
CURVE
JULY/AUGUST
2013
ntil just 20 years ago, both major American comic
book publishers-DC Comics and Marvel Comicshad an embargo on openly gay characters, though
their underground and independent counterparts, like Fantagraphics,
have been telling LGBT stories since the '70s.
Fortunately, times have changed and LGBT content in comics is
becoming more prominent, but still, the Big Two have yet to offer
us the same medley of queer character types we can find in indies.
Of course, indie comics have never been the pop culture kingmakers
that the major labels are, no matter how much creative freedom they
wield. Readers have long had to choose between creative diversity
and cultural visibility: We could have comics that fairly represent
the LGBT community, or we could have comics that are distributed
in hundreds of thousands of copies-but, it seemed, we couldn't
have both. Are Batwoman's nuptials a sign that the two streams are
finally converging?
We asked Greg Rucka, who penned Batwoman's earliest tales,
and won a GLAAD media award for writing the character in
2010. His answer was pretty blunt: It's all about the bottom line.
"Mainstream comics, despite the legacy of being a subversive
medium, they're very conservative;' Rucka says."Publishers eventu~
ally realized that the money they might lose [featuring gay charac~
ters] was not greater than the money they might make. But in many
cases it was an act of lip service:'
"For better or for worse, writing [Batwoman]as a lesbian is a mil~
lion miles away from saying, for example, that Batman has always
been gay,because that character makes Warner Bros and DC billions
of dollars;' Rucka explains. ''At the end of the day, their choices
are always going to be dictated by what they think will grant
the greatest revenue:' Though, for the record, Rucka does credit
DC editor Paul Levitz with shepherding the Batwoman character
through development.
Working outside the realm of the major publishers, a writer like
Leia Weathington doesn't have to second~guess anyone when she
writes her fantasy adventure series The Legendof Bold Riley."I love
Conan and James Bond, the lady~boning meathead type of charac~
ters;' Weathington says about the genesis of her series. "With Bold
Riley,I wanted to do that kind of out~and~out~adventure story with
a gay female:'
Bold Riley is a product of Northwest Press, a company geared
specifically toward producing LGBT comics. Does Weathington
ever worry about how marketable her lesbian heroine is, the way
that a major comics publisher would? 'Tm a happy idiot in a lot
of ways because I don't see what the big deal is;' she says. "I don't
see why writing a gay character needs to be any different than
writing a straight one. When I get up in the morning, I don't brew
a pot of dyke coffee and then eat my Queerios before I start my
Big Gay DaY:'
The equivalent of a small business owner, Weathington can simply
write the story that she and her readers want. But that freedom
comes with a catch: "I am not making that Gail Simone money;'
Weathington admits. As great as Bold Riley is, it'll never make
headlines, or sales records, like Batwoman.
So when might BoldRiley-style characters finally come into their
own in the mainstream? Any day now, says writer Gail Simone
(Birdsof Prey,SecretSix, Batgirl)-but be patient.'Tve been fighting
this fight for a decade now and really feel strongly about showing
the movement forward;' Simone says. ''I've added what I believe is
the first transgender person in mainstream comics to Batgirl,and
I'm creating a new team, The Movement, which has a very wide
representation of sexuality. Things are getting better, if slowly:'
Certainly, she's right about things getting better, but what exactly
is the holdup? Even Simone acknowledges that sometimes taking
two steps forward means taking one step back. Case in point:
exploitation. ''I'd be pretty happy to see the death of the Cinemax,
softcore version of lesbianism in comics;' she says."Male~gazelesbians,
that stuff is everywhere. You can't turn on the television without
tripping over it. When I see that, all I can think is, Holy shit, can we
not do any better than this?"
It's hard to make social progress when your principal icons are
treated as adolescent wet dreams. But with Simone, every crisis is
also an opportunity. She cites an example from the'90s:"Rainmaker
is a Native American teen superhero who was revealed to be bisexual,
but the way it was done was pretty skeevy:' The scene in question,
in a 1993 issue of Gen13, featured Rainmaker coming out to her
friend while rubbing suntan lotion on her naked back. "What
could have been cute and even progressive comes across as a bad
Cinemax film:'
So years later, when given the chance, Simone put her more
progressive spin on the character: "I decided to make her gaywith no apologies and hopefully a lot less cheese. We got a great
reaction:' Things really do get better. But slowly.
The way that comics sometimes mishandle lesbian characters is
so pronounced that Megan Rose Gedris wrote a whole series about
it: I Was Kidnapped by Lesbian Piratesfrom Outer Space."It's a
parody of the really weird things that happen to gay characters;'
Gedris explains. LesbianPirateswas a web comic later featured in
print by Platinum Studios. So where does the
cheesiness that Gedris is lampooning
come from, in this day and ager
"There are a lot of writers
who still think of gay
characters as sensa~
tional, the same way
they'll only put in a
female character if they
need someone to get
11
pregnant. [I wanted]
depictions of gay romances
that were more relatable to
me as a gay teenager:'
Gedris's work grew out of a sense of
dissatisfaction with queer characters in media, but even she
agrees with Simone that the winds of change are blowing in comics.
'Tm seeing more traditional publishing taking cues from web comics.
It's letting traditional publishers know that it's not as much of a risk
anymore to find gay characters. It's a tightrope walk:'
Don't break out the confetti yet though, because Devin Grayson,
who writes DC Comics series such as Teen Titans and Nightwing,
says there's an elephant in the room: The hardest part about writing
"OF
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JULY/AUGUST
2013
CURVE
47
Panels from ZOT!
lesbian superheroes is not that the
characters are gay but that the characters are women. "It should kind of
be a no-brainer that you are going to
have a tough time fairly representing lesbian characters as long as
you're still struggling with fairly
representing females;' she says.
"Female characters in superhero
pop culture are still regulated to
a pretty narrow range of personality types and functions:
the coming-of-age ingenue and
the tough-as-nails ballbuster. To really
have vibrant, diverse characters and stories, you
need a dynamic collection of creative people;' says Grayson
This glacial progress is never going to speed up until there are
more women (and queer folks) with access to the accelerator. And
when will that ber Well, Grayson, as an openly bisexual woman, certainly exemplifies diversity in the writing room at DC. But she's still
in the minority."! spent a long time fighting against being a'female
in comics;" she says. "You end up being a spokesperson in spite of
yoursel£ I'm sure Gail [Simone] has had similar experiences. There
was a time when [publishers] absolutely wanted women, but now
weve had Dan DiDio [co-publisher of DC Comics] quoted saying,
'What woman, who should I hirer"'
Grayson refers to the 2011 Comic-Con, when DiDio brusquely
dismissed a fan's conplaint that only 1 percent of the company's writers were women. When DiDio rhetorically asked who he should be
hiring, audience members actually shouted names at him. His
replyr"Next question:'
No DC Comics representatives were available for comment at
press time.
What's the best avenue for writers like Grayson, thenr"Theres a
lot of inclusion in non-mainstream comics;' she adds. "If I wanted
to tell a really queer-centric comic, I would just do that:' Not the
most encouraging prognosis that change is in the making.
No one can seem to agree: Has the industry radically changed,
or is it only playing along? Is progress being marked in leagues, or
in inches? Maybe luminary writer Scott McCloud (of ZOT! and
Understanding Comics fame) has the answer: Mainstream publishers will catch up to the indie way of doing things when they
fully understand what it takes to tell the best story.
"It's bad storytelling if characters are the same;' McCloud says.
He cites an example from decades ago: "There was a panel in
Avengers where Steve Rogers, Donald Blake, Hawkeye and Hank
Pym all took off their masks and they were all exactly the same
guy-they were these blond white males, and they all had the same
face. And I thought, That's not very helpful, what if I have to tell
them apartt
In 1990, two years before Marvel Comics outed its first hero,
McCloud penned a story called "Normal" in the pages of his retrosci-fi superhero comic ZOT! "Normal" chronicled a teenage girl's
conflict about coming out. Because ZOT! was a superhero book, it
was sold in a lot of stores that normally didn't offer underground
comics, and so it was the first time many readers, particularly young
ones, saw a gay character on a comic book page.
"I had a worldview, and I knew not everyone agreed with it;'
48
CURVE
JULY/AUGUST
2013
McCloud recalls about the story, and the hazards of writing it
when he did. "When you talk about something like sexual identity,
there's a raging argument going on inside of individuals, and I heard
from some of them, people who were 14 or 15, and that made it
worthwhile:'
As is often the case in media, adolescent consumers complicate
the picture. Even though few comics are marketed directly at kids
anymore, they're still seen as children's fare, which increases
scrutiny. "If Dora the Explorer turned out to be gay, that would be
news;' McCloud points out. "Society has to catch up:'
If we want comics to change faster, Rucka has a suggestion: Get
aggressive about it. "Theres always a question ofagenda' as a dirty
word;' he says, but that's not a problem, in his mind: "Of course I
have an agenda. Those who say they don't are lying. We write about
those things that are important to us. And so what? Even if that
was the only reason to do it, why is that a bad thingt
Maybe that's the right idea. Activists with pens have always been
a driving force in changing media and the society that consumes
it. If the world of comics still lingers half in and half out of the
closet-hampered
by business concerns, censored by the Comics
Code Authority, and plagued by old-fashioned sexism-then, in
the context of those problems, the gains made by the writers cited
here can be seen as nothing less than heroic.
After all, these are comics: People can fly, the laws of physics
can be suspended, time and space can break down or reverse. And
Batwoman can get married. Anything is possible.•
COMICS
EIIERY
ISBIJIN
611Dl/U,
RE/1/J
New to the world of panels and speech balloons?
Take a few of these four-color ladies for a spin.
Rent Girl: Michelle
Tea's graphic (in
more ways than one)
autobiography is
as compelling and
iconoclastic as, well,
everything else on
your bookshelf with
her name on it.
Love & Rockets:
The Hernandez
brothers' seemingly never-ending
chronicle of love,
hope, drama and
family (and virtually everything else
under the sun). No
matter who you are,
there's a character
in here to fall in
love with.
Girltrash!: Korean
American illustrator
June Kim teams up
with director and
True Blood writer
Angela Robinson
for outrageous
crime drama. Don't
pretend you're not
intrigued.
IIERCff
ANP
J/IU/1/IS WEBCOltllC~
Secret Six: Gai I
Simone's tragically
cancelled series
about bad guys and
bad gals doing very
bad things featured
a couple of the
most surprisingly
touching lesbian
romances seen on
the comics page.
Runaways: Brian
Vaughn's witty and
incredibly fun take
on teenage superheroes came with
the added bonus of
young alien lesbians
having all too human
tribulations.
Gotham Central:
Don't miss this
lesbian inclusive
series. Because who
doesn't love a good
cop story?
User: Devin
Grayson's wild and
weird story about
identity in the
computer age.
Meaty Yogurt: Not
quite as much fun
as Gedris' Lesbian
Pirates From Outer
Space, but still a
phenomenal read.
Curvy: Too wonderfully bizarre not
to recommend.
Completely baffling
fantasy comedy
series that should
never, ever be read
while at work.
Girls With
Slingshots: It's
impossible not to
recommend a comic
which features a
talking cactus as a
recurring character
and yet still feels
more plausible than
anything else on
this page.
$100
PP OFF
when you mention
"CURVE"
ome would say that if
one woman embodies the
1980s pop star prototype,
it's Madonna. But there is a
case to be made that Belinda
Carlisle's influence has been just
as great. Before you dismiss that, let's take a trip down Memory
Lane. In 1981, a couple of years before Madge even arrived on the
scene, Carlisle fronted the Go-Go's. Their debut album, Beauty
and the Beat, spent six weeks at No. 1, becoming the first disc
ever by an all-female band to top the charts, and included the hits
"We Got the Beat" and "Our Lips Are Sealed:' The Californiabased combo-which
also included guitarists Charlotte Caffey
and Jane Wiedlin, bassist Kathy Valentine, and drummer Gina
Schock-released
two more albums before calling it a day. And
unlike Madonna, the Go-Go's never had to resort to shock tactics to sustain their popularity. They may have been pretty and
perky, but they were also accomplished musicians and songwriters who let their music do the talking. After they broke
up, Carlisle embarked on a solo career. If her style as a solo artist
was more suited to adult contemporary pop than the New Wave
of her former band, there's no question that she did what she did
successfully, as evidenced by the smash hits "Heaven Is a Place
on Earth;'"Mad About You;' and"Summer Rain:' Curve recently
caught up with the singer to discuss her history, her popularity
among lesbians, and her recent collection, ICON.
0
~
f-
0
That surprised me, because you've always seemed very
comfortable in your own skin.
Well, in the beginning I was very comfortable with myself. I never
really thought about weight. I loved myself-or liked mysel£ you
know-and had no problems with how I looked. It wasn't until the
Go-Go's became successful that I was always described as "pretty
and plump" or "cute and chubby:' It does damage, that sort of
thing. Looks never used to play as much of a part until video and
stuff came along. Now it's all about that! Of course, you always
have a few artists [who are] out of the ordinary, like an Adele or
someone who comes along. It's like, "Thank God!"
The Go-Go's influenced a lot of female bands after that.
Were there any women who influenced you when you
were coming up?
I grew up with Tapestry [by] Carole King. But I would say the
singers who made me think, "This is what I want to do with
my life" were Chrissie Hynde and Debbie Harry. For sure.
(belindacarlisle.tv) •
ICON includes 11of your solo hits, including the new single,
"Sun." What prompted you to release the collection at this
particular point in your career?
It [was a] coincidence. When I recorded ["Sun''], I wasn't sure
how we were going to put it out. There are different ways of
doing things these days. And at the same time, Universal was in
the process of putting out a best-of collection, which I hadn't had
in a long time. So my management thought that it could work
together really nicely.
You've played several Pride events. Could I ask you a little
bit about your lesbian following and also your thoughts on
gay marriage?
Well, most of my friends are gay and lesbian, and my son is gay.
For whatever reason, the Go-Go's have always had a big gay and
lesbian following-and thankfully so. It must mean we're doing
something right! I feel flattered to have that demographic, because
they usually are at the forefront of taste.
And as far as gay marriage, of course I support it. I'd like to see
my son be able to have that chance one day.
Several years ago you had a book out, Lips Unsealed, and
you talked about some personal aspects of your life. You've
struggled with an eating disorder and body image issues.
JULY/AUGUST
2013
CURVE
51
Ill
hrough the course of her long career, Karen Moulder,
aka Bitch, has proven her poetic prowess through
lyrics that distill power and pain, feminism and fun.
She's also invented her own musical flavor. Having
studied classical violin and dance since childhood,
she now enjoys a vast musical pluralism, playing
electric violin and bass, ukulele and keytar.
This pluralism now extends to a name and
persona change, from Bitch to the project, Beach.
"Beach represents to me a place where everything
shifts. Rocks become sand, water meets earth, birds screech,
tides turn and colors collide;' she says, and credits her move from
New York to Michigan to California, and the accompanying
shift in priorities, with a shift in identity. "My 'real name' is
something I have kept to myself for years. I guess when I
started performing (or when I was younger) I was playing with
a private/ public self. But after years of having a separate public
persona, I'm now much more interested in directing that energy
into the music itself:'
And music is more of a place, playful and wild, which reflects
her connection to the land and the ocean, and the point at
which they meet. "Something about being right at the very
border between two worlds reminds us how much we are a
part of both of them ( or nature);' she explains. ''And I think
music does something similar. It helps us slow down and
take notice of where we are, what we're doing and what we're
dreaming of:'
With In Us We Trust (out in July), Beach has brought all her
innovative beats and rhymes together in one of her funkiest records
yet. She proclaims that in her first collaboration with producer
Roger Paul Mason and multifaceted beat maker Billie Jo Cavallaro
(who goes by Alligator on stage) even the tone of her writing has
changed. "I think this album was a shift for me, because for the first
time I was writing for the extrovert inside myself says Beach. "I
was writing consciously for who I am onstage, a very extroverted
52
CURVE
JULY/AUGUST
2013
person. Whereas in the past my writing is often the introverted side
of myself-like where I go for solace, where I go to get out something intimate. And I would take those sentiments and translate
them into songs. This time, I was very conscious of trying to write
something that felt participatory. I wanted to give myself something
so that in my live shows it wasn't just about me performing songsI wanted it to be with the audience, going back and forth and giving
them things to say too, letting them take part in the music:•
If audience response is a gauge, Beach's new slate of songs is
rockin' the house. She began performing tracks from In Us We
Trust last summer, touring here and in Europe alongside Jay
Brannan, whom she met when they were both making John
Cameron Mitchell's film Shortbus. The crowds ate up songs like
(If You Are What You Eat), and
"Ibuprofen;'"IFURWTUEAT"
"The Debbie Gibson Song:' Each one serves up Beach's trademark irreverence and inventive style. But they also play harder
than most of her previous work-in
that extroverted way that
gets fans old and new all revved up.
"The thing I'm trying to do is elevate people and their consciousness;' she says."It feels like the energy is infectious, like we were ending
on a high note every night. It's the most fun I've had on a stage:•
Hints of her new hard-edge spirit are noticeable on her 2010
album, Blasted!,which was released on her own label, Short Story
Records. In fact, that album serves as a bridge between her folkpoetry side and this fresh rock-pop sound. Intimacy and solace still
get plenty of attention, though, in part through Beach's collaboration with the lesbian folk musician Ferron, with whom Beach
released Boulder in 2008.
Her relationship with Ferron was so meaningful that it inspired
Beach and Cavallaro to produce Thunder ( & Lighten-ing),a new
hour-long documentary about Ferron, which they describe as "a
window into the artist;' rather than a typical life-story recap. Due
to be released this summer, it works outside of the usual chronology,
from past to present, and explores the intergenerational friendship
between Ferron and Beach.
Between the new film and the new album, Beach's 2013 looks
to be busy. She'll be touring through North America, then spend
September across the pond in England, and play in Germany. She
hopes to keep the energy up, keep ending on a high note, and keep
fostering inclusiveness in her ever-growing fan base.
She continues to produce songs with pretty much universally
relatable subjects. For example, the new album's tide track, "In Us
We Trust;' is a riff on the cheerleading-style chant "We must, we
must, we must increase our bust;' which you may remember from
a Judy Blume novel that you encountered in junior high school.
Amazingly, Beach has retooled it as a feminist refrain: "In us we
trust, we must, we must ... increase our trust. The bigger the better,
we're in it together, they will follow us:•
She explains, "The chant is about these young girls wanting to
make their boobs bigger. I wanted to transform that familiar phrase
to say that we need to increase our trust within and among ourselves, as a feminist and universal message. All genders feel societal
pressure to wear certain faces, and it can lead to self-loathing in a
lot of ways. All of us can relate to that-the way we cut ourselves
down and make ourselves up. In this album, and as an artist, I'm
interested in resculpting those familiar lines as something we can
all relate to. Plus, it's a message that goes perfectly with good music
and dancing:' (bitchmusic.com) •
Dyke drummer Allison Miller takes
listeners on a personal journey.
BY STEPHANIE SCHROEDER
Brooklyn-based drummer and composer Allison
Miller and her band Boom Tic Boom released their
full-length sophomore studio album, No Morphine,
No Lilies in April. The lesbian musician says she
wrote three of the 11songs on the album as tributes
to her drummer mentors Eddie Marshall, Walter Salb
and Paul Motian, all of whom passed away within
a short time of each other. The other songs on the
record are original arrangements by other artists,
including a paean to Ornette Coleman's "Six Nettes"
composed by Lisa Parrott.
No Morphine, No Lilies is a challenging yet accessible record. It's disruptive in the modern sense of
that word: brash and bold with an excitement that
only enhances the music. Miller describes the album
as "edgy, avant-garde and aggressive." This is likely
because it came from a time of great turmoil in the
musician's life. "My girlfriend was really sick and I
was going through an emotional rollercoaster while I
was writing the music for this record," says Miller.
The curious title of the album, No Morphine, No
Lilies, comes from a comment her girlfriend, lying
ill in the hospital, uttered in delirium. "There were
already swirling emotions about her drug-induced
state," explains Miller, "and she said those words.
They stuck with me and I couldn't shake them. I
knew it was going to be the title of my next record."
"This album, more than any other of mine, is
meant to take the listener on a journey," Miller says.
"Just turn the lights out and zone out," is her advice.
"The Itch" has dissonant trumpet melodies
throughout as well as a curious mix of underlying
percussion that Miller calls "junk pieces." "Speak
Eddie" is reminiscent of a carnival-cacophonous,
joyful, fun and terrifying all at once. The song is a
tribute to Eddie Marshall, the West Coast drummer
who died in in 2011. Miller wrote the song the
day after he died, which she says explains why the
melody gets a bit chaotic. She also wrote the song
on the drums, something she has never done before.
Miller wrote the rest of the songs on the piano,
the way she usually composes. Her mother and
grandmother were pianists who made sure she
could read music, "and the melodies on piano make
me a better drummer, especially when backing up a
singer," she says. "I know how not to get in the way
of their vocals."
Miller's musical compositions on this album are
heavy on emotion. "Like I said, it's a journey. It's
about the feelings I had about [my girlfriend] being
sick. 'Do I run or do I jump in?' With all the pain happening it was either run or commit. And, I'd been
running for a long time, touring and traveling. But
this was a huge transition period in my life: I might
otherwise have bailed but I was really in love with
this person and I was committed to showing up as a
friend and as partner."
Like the best love songs, Miller's has a happy ending. Her girlfriend has since recovered and they are
closer than ever. (allisonmiller.com)
ALLISON
WEISS
SAYS
WHAT
SHE
MEANS
The Internet's beloved musician is back
with her new album.
BY ELIZABETH ESTOCHEN
Something about singer-songwriter Allison Weiss
is immensely endearing. Maybe it's the particular
combination of modesty, goofiness, and confidence
she exudes- and her gift for turning out honest,
nostalgic love songs that anyone can identify with.
Weiss took the indie-pop world by storm with
her 2009 album ...Was Right All Along-a record
financed by a highly successful Kickstarter campaign (she exceeded her $2,000 target goal by
almost $6,000). Then, in 2011, she began another
Kickstarter for a new full-length album. Her goal was
six times the original amount-and fans' donations
more than doubled it.
In April, Weiss released her new album, Say What
You Mean, on No Sleep Records. "It's sort of a new
sound, a new direction, and a place I've always wanted
to go, musically," Weiss says. "This next record is
really upbeat and punchy. It's got some pop-punk or
power-pop edge to it."
Weiss's success has meant that her musical crew
has grown. "This time around, I was writing songs
for a full band of instrumentation," she explains.
Weiss has her go-to people in the recording studio,
including Chris Kuttner and Elliot Jacobson, and
she has a traveling posse, with whom she has been
hitting the road in a white Ford E350. "It's a serious
van," claims Weiss, who is quick to note that she's
just installed four new cup holders. "Everybody's
really excited to be a part of it, and also, nobody has
a problem sleeping on floors and driving hours into
the night to make it to the next city. So it seems like
we're a group of people who have the same goal in
mind, as far as touring goes."
Far from her small-town roots in Flowery Branch,
and then Athens, Ga., Weiss is now thriving in the
New York music scene. "I'm surrounded by incredible musicians. Everybody I know is so good in so
many different ways, and it's allowed me to have the
opportunity to work with a lot of different people,
and get better myself."
Weiss has gone from open mic nights in coffee
shops to a nationwide tour, even completing a
brief swing through Europe in the summer of 2012.
So, what's up next for the rising star? "I'm coming home for a little bit, doing a lot of CD release
stuff, sending out a lot of Kickstarter prizes. And
then I have some more tour dates [this summer,
including] the Warped Tour, playing the Acoustic
Basement Stage. After that, hopefully, more and
more touring." When asked if all this will wear her
out, she responds with a definitive "No way."
(a 11isonweiss. net)
Sapphic strummer Catherine Capozzi
rocks out artistically.
BY DAVE STEINFELD
If guitar rock is your thing, then you'll want to
remember the name Catherine Capozzi. This Bostonbased guitarist with red hair and a rock 'n' roll heart
formed the band Axemunkee after she was selected
by Brian May of Queen (out of over 100 musicians)
to win one of his Red Special guitars. Though
Axemunkee makes instrumental music, the titles
of their songs-like "Acid Django" and "Dali's Dark
Dream" -often tell more of a story than all the lyrics a
vocalist can deliver. "Dali's Dark Dream" was inspired
by Capozzi's favorite artist. "I was introduced to a
poem written by David Gascoyne called 'Salvador
Dali' while [I was] in Paris. I fell in love with the words
and images presented in the poem and voila, 'Dali's
Dark Dream' was born."
Along with the surrealist painter, Capozzi cites
Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev, Edith Piaf and Maria
Callas as influences-she
even spent eight years
playing with the Piaf cover band Ziaf. But perhaps
the most evident of Capozzi's influences are the
classic rock guitarists-Jeff
Beck, Jimmy Page, and,
of course, Jimi Hendrix. "I didn't start playing guitar
until I had a few years of classical violin under
my fingers," she reveals. "I started violin at 7 and
moved on to guitar at 10. My first lessons were on
a wide-neck nylon-string classical guitar. Learned
classical and flamenco-style playing and moved
on to rock as a natural progression of where my
interests were going."
Currently, Capozzi is excited about providing the
music for the new film TEN. "It's the first movie I am
scoring," she says. 'Tm working with the writers and
producer to make sure what I'm composing works
with their vision of the film. The music ranges from
spy-ish thriller to freak-out psychedelic to a warped
waltz." Capozzi explains, "This is an indie film with an
all-female cast and a mostly female crew. One of the
goals with TEN was to create a cast of women participating in action that really has nothing to do with
being a woman, or their relationships with men."
Never one to sit still long, Capozzi, who describes
herself as "single and in an open relationship with
my Les Paul" is also planning to start work on
Axemunkee's third studio album.
You may recognize the name Lakotah
because she's currently heating up
the charts with one of the coolest
pop-dance hits of the summer, her
debut single "Falling." Not surprisingly,
Lakotah-who goes by the one name
only-says the track was inspired by
the process of falling in love. "It's the
single most overwhelming feeling or
thing [that can] happen to you," she
says. "Falling in love takes over all you
see, hear, smell, taste. Even if you try to
stop it, you can't!"
Originally from the U.K., the multiracial singer is presently based in Los
Angeles. "Between my father's love for
Johnny Cash and my mum's obsession
with Black Sabbath, I heard the very
best," says Lakotah of her eclectic musical upbringing. "Then one day, Mum
brought home the Kate Bush album
Hounds of Love. I then collected her
prior works from The Kick Inside all the
way to The Sensual World."
Lakotah plans to unveil her full-length
solo debut around early fall. "Expect an
eclectic array of styles," she says, "from
pop-dance songs to adult contemporary
electro love ballads to glimpses of my
rock roots and finally ending with two
very personal, minimalistic songsone [dedicated] to my daughter Nova
and one to my mother, Yuma Dawn
McQueen, which is particularly difficult
to listen to even now." When asked to
elaborate on McQueen she adds, "She
and I were constantly at odds. It deals
with how my mum sent me away to live
with my father as a teen because we
never got along. I only saw my mother
once as an adult before she passed,
five years ago now. Only once. [It's] so
painful-yet I'm still here and have a
daughter of my own."
When the subject turns to sexual
orientation, Lakotah has some choice
words. "'Queer' is so '90s," she says.
"'Lesbian'-though
I do give this word
props ...l don't entirely identify with it.
And 'bi' -oh, please. Don't even get
me started on bi. So in [light] of the
constant evolution of pop culture, suffice to say that I am expansive: sexually
advanced!" (lakotahonline.com)
-
PALMER
DRAMA
The high priestess of punk
performance opens up.
BY JESS MCAVOY
Amanda Fucking Palmer is a fierce artist. A former
geeky school kid turned performance art student,
turned half of cabaret punk music duo The Dresden
Dolls, turned tour de force solo artist, Palmer is quintessentially queer, in perhaps the original meaning of
the word.
Palmer most recently rocked our world with the
release of her "Do it With a Rock Star" music videoa brilliant musical orgy that blatantly explores the
blurred lines between sexuality, celebrity and desire.
Ever the avant-garde and expressive artist,
Palmer's body of work is varied; her live performance
is brazen and theatrical. However, Palmer the person
is down to earth. It's clear that remaining grounded
gives her the capacity to be all of these things. It's a
filthy habit to define things in order to make sense of
them, and to do this to Palmer is not only an insultit's almost impossible.
"Honestly, I'm never really called on to define
myself unless journalists ask me. Like, right now,
defining usually comes from the outside, it's usually
someone else defining you," she explains. "If you're
spending too much time trying to define yourself and
convince people that you are a certain thing, you're
spending less energy actually being that thing."
One label she will accept is that of provocateur.
"Do it With a Rock Star" is provocative, to say the
least. In it she is sweaty, visceral, womanly, queer.
"You know, my favorite thing to do is to surprise
people. If I had to whittle it all down and I could
only have one occupation I would be a professional
surpriser," she says.
For Palmer her role as a provocateur is also about
something larger: women and their power toquestion the status quo. "A lot of times you just need
someone up there, on a stage or in an image, to give
you permission to take the next step with whatever
you feel is possible. And I look back at my life, on
all the women that I have seen, one by one, really
brave women getting up on stage doing really bold,
personal, frightening things, and it feels like the
doorway's open, [so] you can walk through it."
Palmer walked through this door with her record
Theatre is Evil, a beautifully constructed work tempered with industrial electronica and delicious pop
melodies-perhaps her best recording yet.
Don't let her fool you: Amanda Palmer is not coming from some place of unwavering resolve where
everything she does is right, or easy. Generously
candid, she speaks of her personal evolution. "I
mean, I am 36 and I still freak out and I still wonder
what the hell I am thinking and what I am doing and
whether I am doing the right things and making the
right decisions. That hasn't changed. But I think I
have been around the block enough times to know
that everything is going to be fine.
"It's not like the freak-outs I had when I was 17,
when I really thought the world was going to end
and I may as well just jump off a cliff, you know?
The drama luckily doesn't visit me anymore."
(amandapalmer.net)
1
STORM
WARNING
Mal Blum's new album
brings the thunder.
BY DAR DOWLING
•
•
Tempest In a Teacup is queer musician and
songwriter Mal Blum's newest release, but
when it comes to the woman behind the
music, the British version of the saying,
"storm in a teacup" is more apt-and it's an
engaging, witty and melodic storm, with
some fierce underpinnings.
While Tempest In a Teacup is Brooklynbased Blum's most recent album, it's not
her first, having released four albums in the
last six years-a pretty amazing accomplishment by anyone's standards. Hard work is
nothing new to Blum, but with this album,
which she calls her most "intentional" to
date, she has stepped up her game. She
took her time, mixing the tracks twice, until
she got it just right, and then brought some
support on board to help with the release.
All of which brought a sense of evolution to
the process, and perhaps a bit of maturity
too, while retaining a sound that is uniquely
Blum-a sound that some might be tempted
to call indie folk. But I prefer "lyrical antifolk" -at times a little bit tender, a little punk
rock. Not all that surprising if you take into
account that her early musical influences
were Ani DiFranco and Blink 182.
Blum, who was accidentally outed at age
14 by a reporter doing a story on her high
school, has been making music since she
was 16, but originally she wanted to be a
writer. She "fell into music" and her fans
are grateful she did-and so is she. Cutting
her musical teeth on live gigs allowed her
to develop her sound, part of which also
included heading off to SUNY Purchase to
immerse herself in their music program.
Her first national tour was opening for gay
folk-rock icon Melissa Ferrick. Apparently
it was good for both of them because
she toured again with Ferrick, while also
opening for Jeffrey Lewis, Amanda Palmer,
Hammell On Trial and Kimya Dawson.
Blum is comfortable in her skin, so much
so that she holds very little back, whether
that's during an interview, on stage, or on
"the Twitter."
"I live my life with no filter," she says.
And you can see that in songs which offer
a much-needed spin on mortality, betrayal
and love: "The Bodies, The Zombies,"
"With Samson at Washington State" and
"Valentine's Day." Check out this musical
storm now. (malblum.com)
1
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59
STANDING
OUT
Overnight sensation Mary Lambert
owns her sudden success.
BY MOLLY WILLIAMS
Seattle songstress Mary Lambert may
be best known for lending her angelic
voice to the Macklemore and Rylan
Lewis track "Same Love"-for right now.
But Lambert is a renowned musician and
award-winning spoken word artist in her
own right, who is about to break out at
any second.
Helping her along the way, "Same
Love"-which has more than 40 million
views and counting on YouTube-went
viral when reports surfaced of a
Michigan grade-schooler performing
arts teacher who was suspended
without pay for showing the video to
her classroom.
For Lambert the sudden recognition
has been difficult to process. "It's
surreal. It's all surreal," Lambert says.
"Especially with how quickly things have
blown up. I think we anticipated a lot of
hometown rally in Seattle, with our big
election for gay marriage, but not the
worldwide reaction we received. "Same
Love" was not about my ego. I was
excited about pushing my career forward,
but I quickly learned that this was an
anthem for a society in transition, and
had nothing to do with me. It was about
civil rights and tackling homophobia
head on. I am grateful every day to be a
part of something so important."
Lambert has experienced her own
share of discrimination. As a child both
she and her mother were thrown out
of their Pentacostal church when her
mother came out as a lesbian. She was
further estranged from the church when
she came out herself at 17.Since then
she has channeled her challengeswhich include being an incest survivor,
struggles with body dysmorphia and
being diagnosed as bipolar-into her
work, both musically and in her poetry
collection, 500 Tips For Fat Girls.
"I've always been a writer. Ever since
I was a kid. Each art form has its own
beauty and pros and cons. I love singing,
but I'm particular about what I sing. My
voice isn't cookie cutter, so it's difficult
for me to sing covers or sing hooks
someone else has written. That's the rad
thing about songwriting-I get to make
my voice sound way cooler than it is.
I think it's also about emotionally connecting with what I sing. When I write,
it's all bare. I don't hide a goddamn
thing." (marylambertsings.com)
Michelle Malone will tell you that
her career, spanning more than two
decades, is "just what I do." But there
is more to this musical live wirewho has been ranked in the Top 20
female guitar players by Guitar World
magazine-than
her pretty, rock-chick
style reveals.
The media tries hard to categorize
musicians, and Malone has been put
into various boxes: Americana, Rock,
Roots, Country, Alt-Country, and more.
But, she says very matter-of-factly, "My
music is Southern, not redneck, and
not intellectual either ... just Southern."
Known for give-it-her-all electric
guitar performances, Malone says
she loves playing unplugged just as
much. "And frankly," she says (she says
everything frankly), "I prefer acoustic
slide guitar because it's more fun and
accessible."
It's this emphasis on accessibility
that allows Malone to really touch the
lives of her fans. Malone likes to tell
the following story: "About 10 years
ago, maybe more like 12 or 15, I was
in Duluth, Minn., when a young guy,
maybe 20 years old, comes up to
me. He hands me a note saying he'd
seen me singing "Wild Horses" with
the Indigo Girls and Joan Baez and
it changed his life, and he wanted to
dedicate his life to music.
"It was touching and surreal that he
told this to me," says Malone quietly.
"I put that note in my wallet and kept
it there. Then, maybe five or six years
later, I was at a friend's party. A man
came up to me and said, 'I don't know
if you remember me or not...' and I said,
'Oh my God, you're Justin,' and I pulled
out my wallet and took out the note I'd
had in there the whole time, and we
both started crying." The "Justin" who
Malone is referring to is Justin Vernon,
the front man for Bon Iver.
"Goes to show how deeply you can
touch someone in life, sometimes without knowing you did, and sometimes
finding out just how much you did,"
says Malone.
of musicians who have had an influence on her, Vivaldi, Linda Ronstadt,
The Rolling Stones, Donna Summer,
Jackson Browne, Billie Holiday, Michael
Jackson, and Lady Gaga are all names
that come up in the conversation. Many
of those influences can be felt on her
latest album, Day 2. It has a few heartwrenching songs, such as "Marlboro
Man," about her late father. "It's the
most honest, compelling song I have
ever written," she says.
Malone wrote Day 2, she says, as a
46-year-old woman who feels differently than she felt even four years ago,
when Debris debuted. "Over the winter,
I was writing and my heart popped
open ...and while some of the tracks
are a bit more heavy, there are plenty
of my usual fun and lighthearted songs
in there, too," she says. Always the
independent recording artist, Malone is
adept at balancing art and commerce,
and, as usual, her balancing act
succeeds. (m ichel lema lone.com)
A lesbian musician makes her debut, again.
BY DAVE STEINFELD
Singer-songwriter Julia Weldon, who released a
self-titled EP back in 2008, is now gearing up for
the release of her first full-length offering, Light Is
a Ghost. The album finds the New Jersey native
sticking to the intimate folk stylings of her debut but
with a subtly fuller sound. Weldon credits producer
Saul Macwilliams with helping her find that sound.
"To set the tone for the album, we went up to a cabin
in Maine," she says. They recorded the drums for the
album with Tegan & Sara's current drummer, Adam
Christgau. "He did an amazing job. He came up, we
did drums and swam in the pond every day!"
The openly queer Weldon has never allowed her
sexuality to be a barrier to her career. "I play a lot
of college shows for queer groups and I do a lot of
hands-on queer activism in that setting," she says,
"but outside of that, it's like a catch-22, you know?
My sexual orientation is super-important but my
whole politics is about normalizing it. Does [my
orientation] really matter if it's a good song? When
the frat boys come to the show, they almost don't
think about the fact that I'm gay because they
identify strongly with my song."
Some of the highlights of Light Is a Ghost include
the opening track, "Meadow," and the haunting yet
catchy "Careful in the Dark." Weldon explains the
inspiration for the latter song. "I wrote it in 2009
right after I had gotten back from a trip and met
someone in Israel. I was actually coming out of a
really bad relationship and I was kind of dating two
other people. And it's about feeling drawn towards
the comfort of being with someone else. But I also
have this masochistic tendency to kind of ruin
relationships," she admits with a laugh. "I'm a really
restless person. That's why I write; it helps me feel
grounded and figure out what the fuck I'm doing.
So the song is basically about the ambivalence of
relationships."
Before turning to music, Weldon was a successful
child actor. "I was in a big film called Before and After
when I first started acting. I played Meryl Streep and
Liam Neeson's daughter. The acting informs a ton of
my songwriting, storytelling and stage performance."
Light Is a Ghost will be released Aug. 20. For those
in the New York area, catch her CD release show date
on July 19 at The Knitting Factory.
(juliaweldon.com)
The unstoppable singer-songwriter
on performing and policy-making.
BY JESS MCAVOY
Erin McKeown is one of our independent music
warriors. Fervently engaged in the American indie
touring world, she has spent an average of 200
nights onstage each year. It's no wonder she doesn't
know her home phone number-which she made me
promise not to tell you.
A truly prolific artist, who also involves herself in
social policy and activism, music and video production and collaborating with other artists, McKeown
has released her ninth full-length record, Manifestra.
Completely immersed in the world of music,
McKeown's calling wasn't always apparent-she
studied ornithology at Brown and went on to graduate in ethnomusicology. "I went to university with the
idea that I was going to be a scientist, and given the
freedom to choose what I was going to do with my
own time, it was there that I started playing music,"
she explains.
However, she didn't truly feel like a professional
musician until she had to play the same song twice
in one day. The multi-instrumentalist, who has
mastered the genres of jazz, indie folk, pop and rock,
counts her greatest achievement to date as making a
living from her art.
"You know, it's pretty amazing to me that I am still
doing this, I have a pretty good quality of life, financially, and all the time people-whether it's via social
media, or shows, or sometimes just on the trainpeople will stop me and say, 'Thank you for this song
that you made.' Whether it's because their kids dance
to it or it was playing at their wedding or they have it
tattooed on them, which has happened, I feel that's
pretty cool."
Music also fuels her activism. McKeown's cause:
making policy-makers listen to marginal voices such
as artists and low-income families. "I think it's the
basic principal of activism to tell your story, and a lot
of policy decisions that affect music are made when
musicians are not in the room. The Internet is built
on content made by us, but artists are not invited
into the room at the startup companies that are
exploiting the content. And I think that happens for a
couple of reasons. One, a touring, working musician-logistically, it's really hard to get in the room.
And I think there is this myth that artists are these
checked-out idiots who are probably high and really
can't understand these concepts, and I think it's
like, 'Why invite them? They don't know what they're
talking about.' And I love to blow out that myth, and I
love to be in the room."
To maintain her work-life balance while pursuing her
all-consuming passions, McKeown tries to cultivate her
spiritual side. "It's not a religious life-find something
bigger than yourself and work on it because when you
make a passion your work it can be hard. I feel like I
have to keep something bigger that keeps things in
perspective." (erinmckeown.com)
1
;
Fronted by Dublin-born singer and
guitarist Annmarie Cullen, and East
Coast singer Cynthia Catania, Saucy
Monky is a sexy and bold rock pop
band that is set to take over your
airwaves with their EPTrophy Girl.
Clever lyrics and hook-laden songs
are just one aspect of this L.A.-based
band's appeal. For over a decade,
Saucy Monky has been invested in the
global independent music scene. Their
video for "Awkward" is a humorous take
on the incestuous nature of the lesbian
social scene (an appropriate topic
for the duo that began their music
career as a couple); and is the band's
statement that they are out and proud
members of the community.
Have you always been out?
CATANIA: We actually came out in
press in 2009. We were involved in a
lesbian film called And Then Came Lola
and I think it became [knowledge] then
that we were gay.
hoping that we were just seen as
musicians, It wasn't a very conscious
thing at all to reveal that we happened
to be gay, just as your dentist doesn't
announce that he's gay. We thought,
Yeah, it doesn't matter. Though
now, it's nice to have that visibility
and be out.
What provoked you to come out?
CULLEN: I grew up in an Irish Catholic
family and I thought that it might upset
them. I thought, "Fuck it, I live in L.A.,
I don't need to tell them." When I did
finally tell my parents I felt so much
freer in life. I didn't give a flying fuck if
people were talking about us as if we
were a gay band or not a gay band. I
didn't care if we were pigeon-holed.
On top of that, the gay audience is a
very loyal audience. If people don't
want to listen to our band because
we're gay, I don't really want those
people as fans anyway.
Has being out affected your career?
exposed to any kind of negativity
because of where we lived. But we
performed a gig in Wisconsin the
other day and I tell you: it's like being
on Mars. I think I am very fortunate
to live in a city where you can be
openly gay. We made the "Awkward"
video the way we did on purpose,
where there's just no question about
the fact that we're gay.
CULLEN: Personally, there is a certain
kind of embarrassment that I didn't
come out for several years. I think that
in some ways it's somewhat of an apology to myself. It's nice to be so free.
And we found that straight people are
responding to it to because it is kind of
a universal story.
CATANIA: In the video we ensured that
the three lead characters are gay, [as] in
real life. It was important to be authentic. And be realistic about the fact that
gay women come in all different shapes
and sizes. (saucymonky.com)
Singer-songwriter Ria Mae explores her
hip-hop side.
BY KIM HOFFMAN
Hip-hop has always pulled at singer-songwriter Ria Mae's heartstrings, and she's finally
prepared to incorporate it into her music. Last
year, she released "Leaving Today," produced
by the Canadian rapper Classified. "I've never
really put out an angry song before, so that
felt good," she says. "I mean, he's been one of
my heroes since I was 15. I knew all the lyrics
to everything he'd put out." The Halifax native
has received Music Nova Scotia Award nominations for New Artist Recording of the Year
and Female Artist Recording of the Year. And
in case you can't hear it on her latest track,
she's now bolder, braver and more ready for
change than ever.
In the haze of the 2011 release of her first
full-length album Under Your Skin, produced
by Asif lllyas, which won the East Coast Music
Award for Pop Recording of the Year, Mae
is gearing up to put together a new album
with a fresh new sound. "My first album
was mainly live-tracking and showing what
my voice could do in a live setting. Pretty
traditional instruments: guitar, bass, piano,
drums. My next album will reflect what I've
been listening to lately-lots of hip-hop beats,
lots of pop sounds." Under Your Skin played
on the tenderness of delicate relationships
lost, and coincided with the end of her own
relationship, evoking emotional reflections on
coping with that maddening heartache.
"This was an album I had been wanting to
make for a while. I am still so proud of it," she
says of completing the record that opened
us up to Mae, her sound, her soul and the
essential nature of her journey.
Stepping away from the traditional, easygoing sounds you may associate with her
folk-pop voice, she is ready to leap off the
cliff, going where we so often fear to: from
sadness to anger. And her fierceness is infectious. "I won't stick to the live-off-the-floor
approach this time. I've done that. I'm going
to push myself in another direction."
"When I have something to say, I just want
to get it out there." And what exactly does she
have to say? "I have had an intense year and
learned a lot and changed a lot, so my songs
are going to have a different feel-more life
experience."
Perhaps that's what makes Ria Mae such an
interesting musician. She is constantly ready
to embrace the change necessary to keep
on growing, musically. Blending hip-hop into
her music is a welcome concept-adding
life
and gusto to her undeniably polished timbre.
(riamae.com)
HausBar Farms, owned by Dorsey Barger and Susan Hausmann,
features culinary classes, gardening workshops, an event space, and
a guest house. HausBar is also home to a couple of donkeys, hundreds of bunnies, a friendly goose named Gustavo, and lots of fresh
air and sunshine. It was just what the doctor ordered for two pale
Minnesota gals.
After cuddling baby bunnies, sleeping in a converted delivery
truck, and showering outside to the sounds of mariachi music, we
hit the streets. Wandering among sunglasses-dad musicians, the
press and industry folks, we picked up our lanyards and went to
find Dessa.
A multidimensional wordsmith, Dessa is a Minneapolis institution poised to break big, thanks in part to her dazzling display at
this year's festival. A rapper, essayist, writer, spoken word poet, and
general badass, she is a queer-friendly woman to watch. "This is my
fifth [year at SXSWJ;' Dessa declared, in the lobby of the Austin
Hilton."This time, we're doing four shows:'
Her newest record, Partsof Speech,drops this summer. The first
single, "Warsaw;' is a driving electronic dance track and somewhat
of a departure from her previous sound. "I want to be a person who
makes a bulletproof reputation for herself for intelligence, a little bit
of wit, candor and acumen, so that when someone says that Dessa's
doing something, they can be relatively assured that I'll uphold that
standard of excellence:'
After checking out Dessa's set at Holy Mountain, we headed
over to the Hype Hotel, housed in a makeshift warehouse space. It
was our first true glimpse of the oft-discussed commercialization of
the SXSW festival. Taco Bell logos adorned every surface, and
hipsters scarfed down Doritos Locos between slugs of Pabst
Blue Ribbon.
While waiting for out lesbian Katie Stelmanis's band, Austra, to
perform, we spotted two cute lesbians cuddling in the VIP section.
Watching them sip drinks and canoodle while listening to bands
like St. Lucia and CHVRCHES made us want to offer a high five
ALESHIA
ADVENTURE
ATSXSW
Janelle Sorenson and Melany Joy Beck
cowgirl up for Austin's music festival.
t was embarrassing to admit that we had never done it before.
With our collective history of playing in bands, managing
tours, blogging and basically eating-sleeping-breathing
music, it was absurd. Every year in March, our friends would
return with stories of how they'd been followed around by
camera crews as they rocked venues into the wee hours and
met every band they'd ever loved. In 2013, the time had
finally come to remedy what was quickly becoming known
as "our creative shame:' It was time to face the truth: We had
never gone to South by Southwest. So when our editor offered us
the chance to cover the legendary music festival from a queer ladies'
point of view, we hopped on a plane, slept in a truck, and landed
smack dab in the middle of the biggest music week in the world.
Our friends Matt and George had graciously offered to put
us up for the week. They neglected to tell us that next door to
their almost-off-the-grid casa was a lesbian-owned urban farm.
66
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JULY/AUGUST
2013
Caught in a candid moment, McCloskey rolled her eyes. "It is a
boys' club and it's really fucking annoying, to be honest. We created
the Ladykiller Tour with Sick of Sarah and Vanity Theft, and weve
been touring with other girl bands for so many years, and you just
end up living in your own bubble. But the reality of when you're
touring with an all~male lineup is, theres sexism that really fucking
exists. It's mostly with the club owners and the roadies and the
techs and promoters. They make these cliched assumptions:'
Petracca took a more modest approach. 'Tm learning here. And
I'm going to conquer the world:'
After a quick make~out session in the truck and only a couple
hours of actual sleep, we woke up contemplating our own presence
at SXSW. After years of wishing we could be here, we were suddenly
investigating what it was like to be a woman, most importantly a
queer woman, at the biggest music conference in the world.
On our last full day in Austin, we decided to head downtown
to celebrate at the MPress Records showcase and catch Melissa
Ferrick's show at Soho Lounge. If we had any concerns about the
queer presence at SXSW, they were washed away at the Rachel
Sage-hosted fete. The energy in the room was palpable as Ferrick
took the stage, and the mostly female crowd pushed toward the
front, hanging on every note, as she ran through a 30~minute set
primarily featuring new material from her upcoming album, The
Truth Is.
in solidarity. Instead, we hustled to catch up with Stelmanis and
drummer Maya Postepski to get the dish on their new record.
"This album is a lot brighter than the last album. Musically, we
were trying to get somewhere dancier;' Stelmanis said, adjusting
her red heart~shaped sunglasses. "This is the first time that I've
released something that I actually feel was exactly how I wanted
it to sound:'
The only artist who declined to be on camera, Stelmanis soon
explained why: "People are so judgmental of the way you look all
the time. A lot of women in music are visual artists, and I was
always about the music. I never really had to spend much time
on the way I look, or think about it so much as when this record
came out. Suddenly, we were just being attacked from all angles.
Now we spend so much more time being calculated about it,
because we know the backlash is huge:'
Our own makeup was definitely fading by late evening. As we
spilled back out onto the streets from the darkness of the ware~
house, we were made keenly aware of the blisters on our feet.
Intoxication waxed and waned. We contemplated whether or not
we could make it through another show.
"It's Hunter Valentine;' we sighed. Tired feet be damned, this
was a show we couldn't miss.
Outside of Empire Automotive, just off of 6th St., we heard
Kiyomi McCloskey's unmistakable vocals. Entering the venue, we
caught the last half of a sweaty, relentless rock show.
"She got breast implants;' McCloskey gestured to drummer
Laura Petracca backstage.
"I got breast implants;' Petracca joked. "Triple Q 32. It's actually
the tide of our next album:'
Boob job rumors aside, the band did have a good reason for the
upbeat mood. They had just announced plans for a massive tour
with Cyndi Lauper. "Some of our friends here are female~fronted
bands (like] Diana and Austra;' said Aimee Bessada, guitarist and
new resident heartthrob.
We watched a couple swaying arm~in~arm. One of the women
wiped tears from her eyes while Ferrick sang. Here was a place
where music was paramount, yet pursued by so many for so many
different reasons.
Nearing complete physical and emotional breakdown, we
slammed another Mexican beer and toddled down the cluttered
street to our last show. At Peckerheads.
BOY hit the American radar with their track "Little Numbers;'
but what caught our attention was their fun, upbeat video, featuring
queer~friendly Velaska Steiner and Sonja Glass riding double on
a bike, cuddling on the beach, and just generally roaming around
town while playing a tiny piano. "We had such a cool show last
night, and it could have been really horrible;' said Steiner, half of
the folk~pop duo. "We came on stage and we wanted to do a sound
check, but nothing worked. We plugged in the guitars and there
was no sound:'
"We couldn't hear anything;' said Glass, shaking her head, "only
noises:'
"We had a quick discussion and we were like, 'Let's just go out~
side to the front yard: We played five songs outside and the people
came with us;' added Steiner.
"They were singing along, really quiet;' whispered Glass. "It was
a very special moment:'
Their new song"lnto the Wild;' played live at SXSW, was pos~
sibly the most compelling music we heard. Lamenting a love with
a life too different, "Into the Wild" rises and falls with a quiet build
of vocal dynamics and apt lyrical choices.
At the end of the day, we all want to go into the wild, for
a moment. And we'll probably tell our SXSW tales to anyone
who will listen, because it was a moment for us. Like it was for
everyone who has ever been there, and has heard the one song
that mattered among thousands of bands and millions of tracks.
Will we go again:' Probably. Because these moments are rare.
(sxsw.com) •
JULY/AUGUST
2013
CURVE
67
WHENIN
BY LAURIE K. SCHENDEN
Stars of the hit web series dish on four seasons of the sudsy Sapphic smash.
EXCLUSIVE PHOTOGRAPHY BY RODNEY BURSIEL PHOTOGRAPHY
PHOTO EDITOR: KAYLEIGH HAWES/ ASSISTANT: KILLER BRAMER/ HAIR: SHIAN S. BANKS/ MAKEUP: SARAH
MORALES/ WARDROBE: ADAM WEST; PINK SKIRT WORN BY MS. CHAPPELL BY MARRIKA NAAK
"I sort of jumped at the opportunity to
play a vastly different role than what I've
gotten to play on Days for so many years;'
says Bjorlin, describing "the sad and pathetic,
weak Chloe'' in a playfully solemn tone.
"We're so fortunate to play these roles
on all these shows;' Bjorlin says. "But to be
able to show a different side of ourselves
and show people that we're actors and we're
not our characters on these soaps-to show
that we really have brains- I thought, This
is very exciting for me:'
When asked if they've had experience
with lesbian relationships, on or off the
screen, Bjorlin says, ''I've never been in a
relationship with a woman, but maybe for
a day or a night I have;' she laughs. "I don't
know if that qualifies as an actual relation~
ship. I've been in relations:'
''I've never been in a romantic relationship with a woman;' Leccia
adds, "but I'm certainly not opposed to it, if things don't work out
with my husband;' she laughs.
Chappell, who met her husband, Michael Sabatino, when they
both were on Days of Our Lives,has played two high~profile lesbian
characters on daytime TV. Her role as Olivia on GuidingLight first
paired her with Leccia, and more recently she's played Dani on The
Bold and the Beautiful,teaming with actoNurned~producer (The
Fosters)Joanna Johnson.
"I was surprised that there was a real lack of programming con~
tent for the lesbian community in general;' says Leccia. ''And just the
outpouring of support is so amazing. [The fans are] so loyal. I didn't
think about that aspect, and that aspect is really cool. And then
all of a sudden you feel like you're sort 0£ like, responsible, playing
these characters. You want to be so authentic:'
"I never thought about the gay aspect;' says Bjorlin. "What I like
about the show is the storytelling. Some people call it a soap opera,
but all these primetime shows are soap operas. Revengeis a soap
opera. [Essentially] it's just storytelling about people, and their lives
and loves and losses and everything else:'
our years ago, Crystal Chappell had nothing to offer
her fellow actors but wine and a comfortable place
to work when they started filming Venice: The Series.
Yet the soap star, who's played lesbian characters
on Guiding Light and The Bold and the Beautiful, managed to
call on a veritable laundry list of soap veterans for her cast
and crew. And centering the show on three sexy, successful
lesbians turns out to have been a winning concept. Venice is
a hit with viewers and critics alike, taking home the first-ever
Emmy for Outstanding Special Class Short Format Daytime
Program in 2011. Chappell and the show she created have
come a long way-thanks to fan support-from those early
days when all she had to offer the cast and crew was a drink.
F
Curve visited the set on a rain~washed Sunday morning this
spring as Venicewas preparing to shoot a scene at Malbec, a res~
taurant in Toluca Lake. Judging by the equipment and the size of
the crew, it looked no different from any other television produc~
tion. But with the web series industry still in its infancy, Chappell
is among its innovators, those who believe that it's time to enhance
the production values for online content. Her glossy efforts to up
the ante show onscreen.
Chappell leads me to a carport in the alley behind Malbec, where
Nadia Bjorlin (Daysof Our Lives)and Jessica Leccia ( GuidingLight)
are getting their hair and makeup done. It's apparent that the three
daytime TV veterans are friends. Relaxed and teasing, their conver~
sation also reveals an obvious appreciation for one another.
On Venice,Bjorlin plays Lara, a best~selling author whose drink~
ing problem threatens to stall her career and destroy her relationship
with Ani (Leccia). And yes, Bjorlin's glacier~blue eyes are even more
distractingly beautiful in person than they are onscreen. The actor
comes across as part consummate professional and part instigator
as she talks about joining the cast of Venicetossing knowing glances
at Leccia, who plays Lara's onscreen lover, and Chappell, who plays
Lara's nemesis, Gina. They all laugh easily.
JULY/AUGUST
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Chappell believes that the storylines she's creating for Venice allow
the actors to stretch creatively, and she gives them real~life issues to
which people can relate. "If you see Episode 11. .. it's one of my fa~
vorites;' Chappell says, describing the Emmy~winning episode that
features a drunken Lara injuring Ani, the woman she loves. "It's not
who she is, it's a cycle of where that character was. And it really was
an accident, it was coming from such pain. I get chills just thinking
about that scene because it's powerful:'
"It is definitely fun to have the kind of writing where you are
challenged as an actor, and I think that Crystal has figured out a
way to push our buttons;' says Bjorlin. "They are writing situations
for our characters that make us so human and fallible, but it's also
scary and exciting as actors to try to play this. Hopefully, you're
not raging drunk at 11 a.m. and hurting the love of your life, but
that does happen. It's telling a very real story that does happen in
someone's life:'
When asked if an agent or manager had ever advised them that
playing lesbians might adversely impact their careers, the actors
respond with humor.
"They didr They tell you thatr" Leccia asks the others, as they
all laugh.
"I never even thought of that. Oh, it's too late now;' Bjorlin adds,
breaking up.
"When I started, I didn't think twice about it, until people started
talking about it;' Leccia says. "Then it was, 'Oh, maybe people may
be upset or have an opinion or think it's strange or odd that we're
doing this on daytime:'
The three actors all agree that with the wild, far~fetched,
improbable storylines on daytime TV, lesbian characters are mild
by comparison.
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"I would hope that being gay wouldn't be any more shocking
than being possessed by the devil;' says Bjorlin, sarcasticallyreferring to an infamous story arc on Days of Our Lives that saw
soap icon Marlena (played by Deidre Hall) go through an exorcism.
"But that's just me:'
Chappell and Leccia experienced only a few negative responses
to their lesbian love affair on Guiding Light-a drop in the bucket
compared to the support they received. And that's what led
Chappell to call Leccia into her dressing room in 2009, when they
got the word that Guiding Light, the longest~running soap in TV
history, was canceled. She decided that she would take advantage
of the chemistry the actors shared-and
the following they had
accumulated-and
take them to the web.
"It really touched people in a profound way. It wasn't just another
soap story;' says Chappell. ''And I don't even think I grasped it until
I started reading all these letters. It was a beautiful love story. The
reaction was amazing, a lot of people reaching out and telling me
their stories.
"I went to Jessica and I said, 'We'll take this, create a web series
with different characters; obviously, because Procter & Gamble
owns the rights to those characters.'Will you come do itr"'
"I really didn't understand what she was talking about;' says
Leccia. The others laugh.''! really didn't understand what her vision
was, because it's very new to me. She said, 'There's going to be this
web show, it's going to be great; and I said, 'All right:"
There are few similarities between Olivia and Natalia, their char~
acters on Guiding Light, and the roles they play on Venice, although
the actors still have great chemistry. On Guiding Light, the women
were straight and struggled with their own homophobic feelings,
and there were restrictions on any explicit affection between them.
JEN FOSTER:
"We tried so hard;' says Chappell. "We could play
with each other's knuckles and each other's foreheads,
but I couldn't even kiss her on the cheek:' That all
changed when Venicepremiered."ln the first 10 seconds
of the first season, these two women kiss;' Chappell
says. And little has been left to the imagination since.
"I wanted Gina [her character on Venice]to be out, and
be comfortable with who she is. It felt right to me. I
just wanted them to be happy, healthy, out gay women,
strong and beautiful:'
For fans of GuidingLight,it may seem as if Gina and
Ani are Olivia and Natalia about 10 or 15 years later.
"That's a really good way of putting it, I can see
that;' says Chappell, adding, with a laugh, "Maybe I
just want society to catch up:'
They've been at it for so long now that the physical
interaction between the actors makes them seem like
a longtime couple. (On Venice,Gina and Ani are exes
who still have feelings for each other, but Ani is now
in a relationship with Lara.)
Leccia says, "We just want to get it right. Crystal
wants it to be real and relatable, and you want to behave
the way people in love are going to behave, so it has to
come across as real:'
Chappell credits Leccia and Bjorlin for their real~
istic portrayal of women who are passionate about
each other: "I don't have to do anything, they do it.
They're actors, and you have to have a certain lack of
inhibition:'
"In this case we have an advantage-we're
not
strangers, and we actually do like each other;' says
Leccia. "We're comfortable, way more comfortable
than in some other situations:'
So, what can viewers expect in season four?
Leccia's character, Ani, will spend more time with
family-"You get to see a little bit more of where her
heart comes from, maybe her trust issues with people;'
says Leccia-and more time trying to figure out her
feelings toward Lara, her current love, and Gina, her
ex: "It's totally impossible, and a really tough situa~
tion .. .loving people who are night and day:'
Things are just as complicated for Lara. "Everybody
is trying to figure out what it is that they really want,
and what is real love, and am I making the right deci~
sions;' says Bjorlin, "and it's like the age~old questions
that anybody can relate to. Lara is struggling, obviously,
with her sobriety, and feeling like she needs to have it all
together, because that's kind of the front that she put on
for Ani to begin with. [All her anxieties,] Tm this best~
selling author and I'm not allowed to crack, I'm not
allowed to fail; the darkest and the ugliest side to her,
she's trying to prove that, that doesn't exist now.
"Gina is her rival. She wants to prove that she's
everything and more than Gina could ever be. So with
that comes a lot of problems:'
But those are the kinds of problems that make a
great soap. Ladies, see you in Venice this summer!
(venicetheseries.com) •
THESOUND
BEHIND VENICE
Like any great film a web series
is incomplete without the right
soundtrack setting the mood.
Venice: The Series is no exception.
lndie musician Jen Foster has
proven vital to the smash series'
success. I chatted with the lesbian
singer-songwriter extraordinaire
who brings her hit-making talents
and inimitable vocal style to our
favorite summer soap.
Has Venice: The Series won you a
whole new fan base?
Absolutely. When my song "Venice
Beach" was chosen to be the
theme song, it was life-changing.
The first time I tweeted with the
series' wildly enthusiastic fans,
someone tweeted, "Jen, is the
song on CD yet? We're old school
and would love a hard copy!" I
tweeted back, "Send me $10 and
I'll burn a CD for you with the
theme and a few extras!" I thought
I might get 10 orders at the most,
and I had my online assistant create
a PayPal button on my website for
these orders. The next morning
there were nearly 500 orders waiting. The fans had not only bought
the Special Edition Venice CD,
but they had also bought T-shirts,
other CDs, dog tags and bumper
stickers. As for the digital version
of the song, I was using a service
called Bandbox and the Venice
fans literally broke the Bandbox site
with orders. I've also been hired by
fans to play house concerts. They
have been spreading the word
about my music since day one, and
for this I am so grateful.
What was your inspiration for
writing "Venice Beach"?
Honestly, I wrote it from the
perspective of my ex-girlfriend, as
if she was singing it to me. I'm the
dreamer in the song, always going
off on tour, or to write and record
in California ...always restless and
looking for the next adventure.
What is your advice to lesbian
singer-songwriters who want to
write for the screen?
I just try to write from a really
honest place, to bring life to my
experiences and feelings. The rest
will fall in place from there. "Venice
Beach" was written prior to the
series happening. It was serendipity
that it fell into the right hands at
the right time.
Any new songs this season?
There's a song I wrote called
"We Fit" that seems to capture
the relationship between Gina
and Ani. "The Letter" from Gina
to Ani has a line about how Ani is
the "missing piece to my jigsaw
puzzle." And my song says: 'Tm
a jigsaw puzzle and you're my
missing piece." It just fits.
What are your upcoming gigs this
summer and fall?
I am particularly excited about a
tour we're putting together with
Michelle Malone and Patrice Pike,
who are both brilliant writers
and performers. I love playing
live and I can promise a superentertaining and dynamic show
for all who come out. And come
say hello after the show. I love
talking to people and it's really
important to me to show appreciation to those who come out to
support my music. (jenfoster.com)
-Crystal Chappell
THE
SCOOP
JenFoster
hasofficially
signed
onasthe
sound
ofTapestry-Go
Orange
fromacclaimed
filmmaker
andpresident
of20/20
Productions,
Otessa
Ghadar.
Tapestry-Go
Orange
isa
large-scale
interactive
newmedia
project
launched
inWashington,
D.C.
during
2013
Capital
Pride.
Jen's
song
"This
IsMe"willbethe
theme
song
fortheinitiative
which
encourages
teens
totalkabout
bullying
andaims
tocreate
ofasafe
online
space
forLGBT
youth
globally.
(orangejuiceinbishopsgarden.com/tapestry)
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LIVINGTHE
LUXELIFE
IN GREECE
ATHENS
MAY
BEARIOT,
BUT
THEPARTY
BY MARIA DELAO
GOES
ONINMYKONOS.
wenty-two years ago, I arrived in Amsterdam
in a cloud of smoke and on a Eurail pass. The
idea, hatched in a Berkeley, Calif., student
co-op, was to meet up with various friends
and travel around Europe for two months,
finally ending up in the Greek islands.
Someone should have checked a map. Turns
out that Greece is a very long way from the
Netherlands by train.
But the real problem was that my friend Kathe and I got caught
up along the way in Yugoslavia, where we discovered coastal
Montenegrin villages populated by my long-lost relatives, stunning beaches entirely free of dreaded American tourists, and a
cavelike disco that thumped Technotronic's "Pump Up the Jam"
into the wee hours.
We were travel-weary and poor, my cousins treated us like visiting royalty, and we'd found our perfect dance club in an unlikely
place. Greece faded into the distance, the stuff of memories as yet
unmade.
Now I was gunning for Greece again, and this time I knew I'd
be successful. I was flying direct to Athens with my partner, Alice,
for our 20-year anniversary. Although our plan again hinged on
friends, this time we were keeping family out and keeping the
route to our destination simple.
I still didn't know much about Greece, except that the economy
was in a shambles and there had been rioting in Athens for at least
a year because of it. Good, I thought, echoing my younger self-
maybe it would keep some of the tourists away.
But after kicking around Athens, which island would we visit?
There are more than 200 Greek islands but only a few really famous
ones. Santorini, the beautiful one; Lesbos, where Sappho wrote
lady love poetry, back in the day; Mykonos, gay and full of beaches
and nightlife ... now that sounded like the place for us!
Alice and I, determined to be fabulous, invited some of our
friends and booked a five-bedroom villa online. True to what we'd
expected, tourism seemed a bit down and availability was wide
open, a benefit of vacationing in trouble spots.
The plan was to get our culture fix on the mainland-Athens,
Meteora and Delphi for a week-then catch a ferry to Mykonos,
where we'd meet up with our friends and spend a week baking in
the sun, going out and enjoying the island.
We found Athens to be a perfectly lovely, if graffiti-festooned,
urban center, still enjoying the spiffiness that came about from
hosting the recent Olympics, although its depressed economic
reality was also apparent: The famously traffic-choked city was
easy to maneuver, and formerly scarce taxis were abundant; the
delicious continental breakfast we enjoyed at our boutique hotel,
the Periscope, seemed to be served just for us; and we were forced
to hop off our hop-on-hop-off tour bus after it was hemmed in by
a tear-gassed street protest featuring cops and firefighters demonstrating against cuts to their benefits.
Aside from the fact that all this availability gave us our choice
oflodgings, Mykonos itself showed few signs of economic austerity,
much less rioting. The island has been a tourist draw since the
1950s, and the population-which
swells from 11,000 to 50,000
with the influx of visitors and seasonal workers in the summerseems to know that its very survival depends on putting its best
face forward.
Our first tip-off that we were entering a world far from the
Athenian ruins? Yachts. Big, hulking ones and smaller, fastlooking specimens anchored in inlets and along beaches. Our
second? Katja and Takis, our Aqualiving Villas concierges, who
were dressed all in billowy white and were waiting for us in front
of our rental car, a Porsche Cayenne. Exuding professional calm,
they loaded our rumpled selves into the SUV and told us to follow their car.
When we arrived at Villa Magdalena, perched defiantly on
the edge of a cliff in Pouli, we picked our rooms, unpacked and
headed back down the hill to the market for olives and cheese.
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The infinity pool called to us, but
WE WERENOT
considering the vicious wind that
0ISAPPOINTE0,
whipped the pool water onto half
AS THE HOT,
the deck, we decided to put off
TATTOOEDBEACH
sunbathing until the next day.
WAITRESSES
AT
The following morning, after
AGRARI(WHO
learning that Mykonos is known as
TOOK QUITEAN
the"Isle of Winds" and with no end
INTERESTIN
to our pool problem in sight, we
ALICE'SINK),
decided to hit the beach. Handily,
WERELESBIAN
CATNIP
our concierges had provided a
glossy guide to Mykonos' charms:
the beaches, nightlife, restaurants
and notable shops in town. We focused our search for a beach
on the words "sheltered" and "calm;' settling upon Agios Ioannis,
which proved to be a great place to start: family~friendly (two of
our friends had brought along their 16~month~old daughter), mel~
low, devoid of wind, and featuring an excellent yet unpretentious
terraced restaurant called Hippie Fish.
Throwing ourselves into our beach research, the next day we
settled on Psarou, a home base for yachts and the antithesis of
Agios loannis. The beach was stunning and full of the see~and~be~seen
celebrity crowd. A small dance party at the Nammos restaurant
and nightclub was already thumping at 4 p.m. We had a snack of
sushi and organic juice cocktails, brought to us on the beach by
the scantily clad Nammos serving staff, and people~watched. (My
favorite eccentric was an older woman who read Fifty Shades of
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2013
Grey by tearing off successive pages of the book and letting them
Roat across the beach.) Both the dancing and Nammos' adjacent
spa, featuring all manner of massage and skin treatments as well
as hot yoga, beckoned us to stay longer, but we had dinner plans
in town.
The wind continued to blow and by the following day Alice was
demanding "more gay;' so we again consulted our handy guide,
choosing Agrari and Elia, two adjacent beaches billed as "sportly
and gay~friendly:' We were not disappointed, as the hot, tattooed
beach waitresses at Agrari (who took quite an interest in Alice's
ink), were lesbian catnip. Hint: As you walk along the beach, the
farther from the parking area you get, the more it becomes gay
male ( and clothes start coming off). This is Elia. Stick to the more
"sportly" Agrari area, closer in, where jet skis, snorkel gear and
boogie boards are for rent.
Although most of the Mykonos beaches turn into various
kinds of dance clubs in the early evening, none is more famous
for its gay and lesbian beach scene and dance party than Super
Paradise (not to be confused with Paradise, which is an even big~
ger, but primarily straight, dance party). On the left side of the
beach is the Super Paradise Beach Club, the big DJ area where
young revelers of all sexual orientations party till dawn and you
can get a T~shirt that says "Mykonos Fucks Ibiza:' But turn right,
to the Coco Club, and it's all about a mixed and friendly LGBT
scene. There I met an aspiring female DJ from Berlin and a dos~
eted middle~aged Australian man at the bar, some helpful women
returned my friend's iPhone to her after she dropped it, and I
received a lovely rose from a mystery woman on the dance Boor.
Now, more than 20 years after I started out, I was all grown up,
no longer relying on backpacker hostels, and I'd finally come full
circle to find a little bit of Greek island (super) paradise. It was
worth the wait.•
WHERETO STAY,
EATAND DANCE
THE NIGHT AWAY
IN GREECE'S
PARTYCAPITAL
European-style lunch
al fresco and then continue
your cocktails on the sand,
just steps away. (hippiefish-mykonos.com)
»STAY
Surprisingly good Thai
and Chinese food served
on an open-air terrace on
the hill above the port of
Mykonos. Baby-friendly,
and with many vegetarian options, this was the
only restaurant our big
picky group agreed to visit
twice! (blueginger.gr)
No, it's really not a good
idea to find a Mykonos
vacation property on
Craigslist, as one acquaintance of mine discovered
recently. Aqualiving,
mentioned as a top villa
specialist in Conde Nast
Traveler, specializes
in Mykonos and offers
more than 70 properties
on the island. Not only
that, the concierges will
organize dinner reservations, yacht trips, private
chefs, or whatever your
heart desires (and your
pocketbook can afford).
(mykonosvillas.com)
»EAT
Specializing in authentic Greek and Mykonian
cuisine-try the horta,
wild-foraged cooked
greens-this spot, away
from the crowds of
Mykonos Town, is friendly
and relaxed. Have a long
The back garden of
elegant and trendy Kalita
offers a relaxing respite
in the middle of Mykonos
Town, which can be
crowded and frenetic.
Specializing in Greek
dishes, seafood and
pasta, Kalita also offers
an extensive wine list and
spot-on service. It can
be difficult to find any
specific place in Mykonos
Town-legend
has it that
the labyrinthine town was
built in such a way as to
deter pirates-so ask for
directions as you walk.
Perfect for date night.
(kalitamykonos.com)
»DRINK & DANCE
Sadly, the one longtime
lesbian(ish) bar, Diva,
closed its doors just a
couple of years ago, but
lesbian, gay and straight
labels don't mean a lot in
Mykonos, where everyone
just seems ready to have a
good time. That said ...
This colorful lounge bar
in Mykonos Town attracts
straight and gay alike
for pre- and post-dinner
drinks. Quiet enough for
conversation, it's a great
place to start your night.
Situated on the cliff above
Super Paradise Beach, this
friendly queer club attracts
almost equal numbers
of men and women-at
least it did on the evening
I visited. It's more of a bar
by day, but the dance party
starts rolling here about
4 p.m. Revelers often pop
across the beach to Super
Paradise Beach Club for a
bit of scene before retreating back to the Coco.
Super Paradise
Beware: Once you arrive,
you may not leave. More
than just a sprawling disco,
this complex offers a clothing store, a self-service
restaurant, and hillside
rooms for rent. Billing itself
as "the most alternative
and anti-conformist beach
[club] in Mykonos," this
place attracts a young,
mostly gay clientele, but
all orientations are represented, sex on their minds.
(superparadise.com.gr)
The largest of the Paradise
Beach megaclubs that
Mykonos is known for. All
the big names have hit the
decks here: Paul Van Dyk,
David Guetta, Kaskade,
Paul Oakenfold, Markus
Schulz, Tiesto ...even Boy
George. (paradiseclubmykonos.com)
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THE l<EYTO
ROMANCE
BETWEEN
KEY
LARGO
AND
KEY
WEST,
HAWKS
CAY
SOARS
ABOVE
OTHER
RESORTS.
BY JENNY BLOCK
grew up on the East Coast, so it seems strange to
me that I'd never been to the Florida Keys before.
They sounded so far away and hard to get to.Turns
out, neither of those things are really true. And
even if they were, it'd be worth the trip to get to
this self~contained little paradise.
Paradise means different things to different peo~
ple. To me it means great scenery, great food, great
things to do without having to spend time tracking them down,
and, most importantly, the freedom to be with my partner without
worrying about how we might be treated. The latter is definitely
not a problem in this part of the uni~
verse, especially in Key West, known for
its vibrant LGBT party scene.
But since I was looking to "have it all"
and "get away from it all;' I decided to
check out Hawks Cay on Duck Key.
When you check in and pick up your
room key, the front desk receptionist
says, "It's the only key you'll need:' A silly
pun but also refreshingly true. Every~
thing at Hawks Cay can be charged to
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your room, from swimming with the resort's own pod of dolphins
at Dolphin Connection to deep~sea or inshore fishing outings.
Same goes for SNUBA and scuba diving, tennis, and water
sports like kiteboarding, jet skiing, kayaking, snorkeling or stand
up paddleboarding. And there are almost as many dining options
as there are activities. Ocean offers a Mediterranean~inspired menu,
while Alma boasts an impressive array of Latin dishes. For more
casual options, the Beach Grill and the Island Time certainly fit
the bill.
I managed to try out every one of these places while I was there.
The chilled shrimp at Ocean was one of the freshest seafood dishes
I've ever had, and perfectly cooked. The flat breads there are dan~
gerous. If you' re having one as an appetizer, be sure to share or
you'll never get to your main course. The pan~roasted scallops were
tender and well seasoned at Alma. The tacos and the ambiance at
the Beach Grill made it all too easy to have a three~hour lunch. So
many resorts have one main restaurant and a bar with snacks. That
can get old after a couple of days. Being a Hawks Cay felt more like
staying in a resort town, as opposed to simply one hotel.
One of my favorite features of the place is the adults~only area.
It is home to the Tranquility Pool, which is exactly what it sounds
like and also houses comfy, free, private cabanas. At the end of the
2013, it will also have its own al fresco restaurant in the sand.
One afternoon, I wandered off the
property to check out the Turtle Hospi~
tal in nearby Marathon. It was so sad to
see a turtle needing emergency surgery
after a run~in with the trash that people
throw in the ocean. But it was also in~
spiring to see the rehabilitated turtles
released and happily swimming into the
ocean, enjoying their new healthy life.
That evening I took a sunset cata~
maran cruise, which I would highly
recommend. The cruise includes dangerously tasty cock~
tails and cold beer, as well as appetizers. And how good is
the view? Suffice it to say-so good that it's hard to take a
bad photo.
Another activity I would recommend is learning to wake~
board. I didn't think I would ever be able to do it. But I got the
hang of it on my second try! The guys at Keys Cable Park had
me up on a board in minutes. The park is super~close to the
resort and can handle clients from beginners to pros.
If you are traveling with kids 5 to 12 years old, you can still
enjoy every bit of Hawks Cay by allowing them to enjoy the
activities at Camp Hawk. Translation: you at the Tranquility
Pool and the kids having a blast. The resort also offers babysit~
ters at night, should you want
some adult time after hours. And
when the whole family is togeth~
SWISS FAMILY
er, Hawks Cay has a family pool
LESBIAN
that tends to be less busy than its
four other pools, making it a great
place to take the younger set.
Switzerland has had
And I don't know what the
registered partnerword is for "better than gay~
friendly:' But whatever it is, that's
ships since 2007 but no
same-sex marriage or
Hawks Cay. I saw a number of
joint adoption by
LGBT couples throughout my
same-sex couples
trip, holding hands, stealing a
kiss, having a romantic dinner.
Plus, Hawks Cay has played host
Homeexchange.com
to a number of LGBT commit~
Lovehomeswap.com
ment ceremonies. To my mind,
Homeforexchange.com
that's one of the biggest commit~
Yourhomeformine.com
ments a resort can make: guar~
anteeing equal treatment for its
guests. (hawkscay.com) •
IFYOU GO
LIFESWAP
CURVES
PUBLISHER
TOOK
HER
FAMILY
ONAONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME
VACATION.
Last January, my family
and I decided to take a ski
vacation to Switzerland. My
wife and I travelled with our
adopted children whose
dream was to learn to ski
and snowboard. We live in
Sydney, Australia, which is
not known for snow sports.
The Swiss Alps was the perfect destination.
Being on a tight budget,
like many lesbian families,
we tried something different: rather than spring for
pricey accommodation we
exchanged our home in
Sydney with a Swiss chalet.
Here's how it works: if you
live in a desirable location
anywhere in the world you
may get a home-exchange
match. Once you register
(for usually a small fee) you
can search for your destination or wait until someone
contacts you. There is no
money exchanged and often
the homes come with cars,
boats and handy extras (in
our case, ski equipment).
What we saved on lodging, car rental and hiring ski
equipment helped us enjoy
the Alps even more. Ski lessons, passes, going out for
dinner and other winter activities were now affordable.
Once in Switzerland we
were pleased to find it safe
and easy. Using the Swiss
Flexi Pass* enabled us to
catch fast speed trains
anywhere in the country,
including the little mountain
train, which took us up to
Villars, our final destination.
Villars, 1,300 meters
above sea level, offers
myriad activities. In summer,
hiking, cycling, mountain
biking or canoeing. In
winter, winter sports are on
your doorstep, taking you
up mountains over 2,000
meters high.
As for our chalet, it was as
you'd imagine-rustic
and
surrounded by deep powdery
snow, the eaves of the
steeply-gabled roof almost
touching the ground, picturesque smoke curling out
of the chimney and a path
through the snow leading to
the front door.
The memories we took
home from this vacation are
like a fairytale: clear blue
skies, mist gently rolling
in, large fluffy snowflakes
falling quietly. You stop,
look around and realize
Switzerland has embraced
you with all its glory: the
majestic mountains coated
in pristine snow, dotted with
traditional chalets, making
for a scene that is so unique
you couldn't be anywhere
else-and you wouldn't want
to be. (myswitzerland.com)
*Swiss Flexi Rail passes supplied by Switzerland Tourism.
JULY/AUGUST
2013
CURVE
77
Recipes for the Ravenous
True Blood-inspired drinks and eats to sink your teeth into.
BY RACHEL SHATTO
s fans of True Blood know, the vampiric series is all about hunger and
thirst. Whether that's for something
sanguine or savory or sexual changes
from moment to moment but appetites are always front and center. So, it's natural
that such a fundamentally sensual show has
inspired True Blood: Drinks & Bites.
Written by Gianna Sobol, Alan Ball and Benjamin
Hayes with recipes by Dawn Yanagihara and photography by Alex Farnum, this glossy cookbook is
an excellent addition to any fan of the HBO series'
collection. Featuring 45 themed recipes-inspired
in part by the drinks and food seen in the show
itself-it's an absolute must-have for True Blood
true believers and theme party hosts.
The "Drinks" section is broken into two parts.
The first part, "Teetotalers," offers tasty nonalcoholic refreshments including the Blood of
Lilith, a scarlet, fresh berry-based
cocktail inspired by the first vampire
{played by lesbian bombshell Jessica
Clark) and Teatime in Bon Temps, a
black tea, raspberry and fresh peach
concoction so good it's like flavor
witchcraft.
Speaking of the dark arts, the
MoonGoddess-found
in the "Boozehounds" section-is a delightfully
tasty witch's brew of blended Green
Chartreuse, lime and gin. For those
looking to get freaky, try a Maenad
Trois-a luscious three-way of
ginger, peach and prosecco. Or
keep it vampy with a glass (or two)
of Sanguinista, a spin on sangria
with a Grand Marnier twist.
Once these tasty tipples have properly
whetted your appetite you can delve into the
oh-so-inviting victuals in the "Bites" section. We
recommend taking a stab at the Cheese Stakes
recipe. These sharp cheddar baked crackers are
a guaranteed crowd pleaser. The two-bite-sized
spicy ham and red bell pepper Werewolf Biscuits
will have your guests howling for more. And the
Dead Red Cupcakes, with cream cheese frosting and raspberry, pomegranate and cranberry
drizzle are ...well. ..to die for.
True Blood: Drinks & Bites does a fine job of
living up to its namesake's setting, Bon Temps,
which in French means "good times." So on that
note, pick your poison (and scrumptious treat),
throw on the latest episode of True Blood and let
A
a
the good times roll.•
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JULY/AUGUST
2013
CURVE
79
TLOOKtSTARS
Heat is On
Romance is in the air with Mars in Cancer and Venus in Virgo.
BY CHARLENE LICHTENSTEIN
CANCER %
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
small transactions Just like %
%
a shopkeeper or a waitress
%
She is not a wheeler dealer %
with her stash, however, %
preferring to put her money %
%
where is it safe %
%
LEO %
(July 24-Aug. 23) %
%
She drives a big impressive %
car, but may also have a %
couple of motorcycles or %
%
a jeep around for spur of %
the moment fun Space is %
important to her, so if she's %
%
short of funds and cannot
%
currently afford what she %
wants, she is clear headed %
and focused enough to %
%
carefully save for her future %
dream house; Hey, she's out %
of the closet, so why %
%
rent or own one? %
%
%
Charlene
Lichtenstein
is the author %
of HerScopes:
A Guide
to Astrology%
forLesbians
(Simon& Schuster)- %
%
tinyurl,
com/HerScopes.
%
Cancer (June 22-July 23)
Scorpio (Oct. 24-Nov. 22)
You are a shining star, as
anything you do will draw an
adoring crowd. So get out and
about, meet and greet, spread
your good cheer and make
things happen all through the
summer. Be choosy doling out
your affections and charisma.
They say that you can attract
more flies with honey than
with vinegar.
Sapphic Scorpios are tempted
to join a great movement and
help change the course of
history. Yes it is a lofty goal
but why not try? The fates
are on your side and give you
a global platform for your
message. You can achieve
anything (and anyone) you set
your mind to this summer. So
gather a group of girlfriends
and set off on adventure.
(June 22-July 23)
Sapphic Crabs are clever
gals when it comes to
money management They
have the innate ability to
make a little bit of money
go a long, long way and
tend to earn it in little bits
and pieces from many
Nowavailableas anebook.
80
CURVE
JULY/AUGUST
~
Leo (July 24-Aug. 23)
Pisces (Feb. 20-March 20)
This is the summer of love
for all Guppies who allow
their creativity to flow.
Try your hand at painting,
performance or poetry.
Not only do you create a
personal masterpiece but
you also entrance a certain
goddess who will continue to
be a source of "inspiration"
through the fall.
Aries (March 21-April 20)
Sagittarius (Nov. 23-Dec. 22)
If you are need of a helping
hand, one may magically
appear from a surprising
source. Guardian angels and
other protective forces are
working behind the scenes
to insure your success in any
undertaking. In fact some
well-endowed ladies might
even take you under their
wing and finance one of your
grander schemes.
Someone in upper management takes a shine to you and
you may not be able to resist
her charms. A late summer
romance could brew, if you
allow yourself to be carried
away by the scent of power.
But make your own choice and
decisions. You hold much more
influence on the course of
events than you realize
Virgo (Aug. 24-Sept. 23)
Capricorn (Dec. 23-Jan. 20)
Bosom buddies can get you
into mischief this summer.
Lucky you! Let them lead you
astray and see how far it goes.
In fact, the crazier the activity,
the more serendipitous it
might turn out to be for you.
Taking calculated risks can
gain you entrance into some
fairly lofty circles and elite
groups of movers and shakers.
Relationships take you to new
places and can immeasurably
enrich your life. The secret is
to open yourself up to new
possibilities, either with your
current lover girl or with
someone new. For those
Capricorns who are seeking
their soul mate, avoid the
usual hunting grounds. Try
some new, exotic and far
afield places.
Who is your flavor of the
month, lambda Ram? Chances
are that you will find her on
the job, ready, willing and
able. But before you sweep
her off her feet, see if your
home surroundings are ready
for her company. This may be
a good time to make some
necessary, long overdue home
improvements.
Taurus (April 21-May 21)
Libra (Sept. 24-0ct. 23)
Although it may not sound
exciting, your day-to-day job
will go much smoother this
month. And you will be able to
accomplish anything you set
your mind to do. So don't rest
on your laurels, Libra. Make
your best moves now. You
may be surprised at who
notices and responds. Maybe
she is waiting for you in the
coffee room. I think something
is brewing.
2013
Taurean bulls are already
roaming in the china shop,
ready to party hearty and go
for the gusto. Be careful of
breakage, especially a few
hearts. You can be careless
with your words, making
promises that you can't
keep and get you into
unexpected trouble. So
mean what you say and
say what you mean.
Gemini (May 22-June 21)
Aquarius (Jan. 21-Feb. 19)
Aqueerians can accomplish a
lot this summer if they set their
mind to it. The fact is that the
lure of the sand and surf might
be too tempting to refuse.
But if you want to get a leg up
on the competition this fall,
try to use some of your down
time to focus and complete
a long postponed project.
Procrastination is tempting but
so is victory!
Money comes to you
easily and effortlessly. The
temptation is to splurge with a
big splash but try and syphon
something off into savings for
a rainy day. You will be glad
you did. A little pot of extra
money could help out for any
late summer improvement
project. A particularly nice
improvement might consist
of some fresh faces over
breakfast.•
This exquisitely crafted coming
of age tale follows a pair of •
Latina teens who fall gradually
in love against the backdrop of
Southeast Los Angeles.
Iii
amazon.com-
1
lliTunes
\
111111111
BARNES&NOBLEG
www.bn.com
~WolfeOnDemand.com
-
m
Lesbian.com
we don't core
what music you groove to
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married couples.
If you and your partner ore insured
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You could say that we groove
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