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the "official" dish by Rip & Marsha Naquin-Delain Email: marsha@ripandmarsha.com
Tommy Elias to Receive 27th Lifetime Achievement Award @ GAA Gala Aug. 2 The GAA Board of Directors have unanimously chosen Tommy Elias to receive the prestigious 27th Annual Gay Appreciation Awards Lifetime Achievement Award. His outstanding dedication and support of the LGBT community and its many charities led to his selection. The GAA Gala is set for Saturday, August 2 from 8-10pm at Oz New Orleans, 800 Bourbon Street. The winner from the Top 5 Finalist in 21 categories voted on by the Gulf South readership of Ambush Mag will be announced culminating with the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award. (www.AmbushMag.com/GAA) There are only two VIP Tables left which include four seats for $200. Contact Rip Naquin for table reservations at ripna@ambushmag.com or 504.522.8049. Door admission is $10. The GAA benefits Southern Decadence. According to Tommy Elias, "I was born in Laurel, Mississippi in 1948. I was so lucky to have two wonderful parents who loved and supported me in everything I did. I also come from a huge family and was always surrounded by the love of many uncles, aunts, and cousins whom I loved dearly. After high school, I attended the University of Southern Mississippi and graduated with a degree in Fine Arts. I always loved the theater, and singing was my love. I was fortunate to have been able to travel with a USO tour after college and travel all over the World . entertaining the troops during the Vietnam War in 1969. After that I knew I was hooked and wanted to make singing my life, and started my own band called Fancy Music, and traveled all over the United States enterTommy Elias taining many people. During this time I was also able (Photo by Larry Graham) to star in a Broadway play called Cleavage in 1983. It was one of many highlights in my life, and I enjoyed every minute of it. In 1993 I opened my first gay club at 800 Bourbon Street called Oz. I became one of the owners and was the General Manager for 20 years. Here is where I feel I accomplished a lot, and made a lot of life-long friends in the gay community in the city I love so dearly. Since I love entertaining so much our drag show on Wednesday Night became my outlet to continue that love. With a starring cast such as Lisa Beaumann, Teryl-Lynn Foxx, Raquel Chevallier, Nikki Rich, and Bianca Del Rio, we had the best show bar on Bourbon Street. Those years working with that cast with their talent helped make Oz the bar it is today, and on a personnel note, were some of the best years of my life. During this past year I began working with my brother at our bar, The Corner Pocket. I love the Corner Pocket very much and it is my home now. I also love working with my brother whom I love dearly. I am also very fortunate to be able to work with again the love of my life Carl Geleno who never leaves my side. We have been together for 20 years, and those of you that know me, know how important he is to me. In 2012 life threw me a curve ball and I was diagnosed with stage 4 Colon Cancer. With the love and support of my family, and many, many friends, I am doing fine and feel wonderful. I do not plan on this being my final curtain call, and have lots more to accomplish and contribute to this great city of ours that I love so dearly!" Top 5 Finalist include: & Parade, Corner Pocket, Four Seasons & • Circuit Party/Event of the Year: Baton Patio Stage Bar, Golden Lantern, Oz Rouge Pride, Gay Easter Parade, Hallow• Donnie Jay Performing Arts Award een XXX, Oz White Party, Southern Deca- [play, chorus or theatrical group/no indidence 2013 viduals]: Golden Girls, La Familia, New • Gay Mardi Gras Ball of the Year: Orleans Gay Men's Chorus, Running with Krewe of Amon-Ra, Krewe of Armeinius, Scissors, Southern Barbitchuates Krewe of Petronius, Lords of Leather, Mys• Restaurant/Deli/Coffee House of the tic Krewe of Satyricon Year: Clover Grill, Eat, Little Vic's, Quarter• Hair Salon of the Year: Bobby Blue master: The Nellie Deli, Verti Mart Beauty Parlor, Fee & Art's Revival Studio, • Dance Club of the Year: Bourbon Pub Fifi Mahony's, Head Quarters Salon, Mickey & Parade, Corner Pocket, Lucky Pierre's, Nolan's Salon Oz, Rawhide • Neighborhood Bar of the Year: Cor• Bartender of the Year: Frank Joseph/ ner Pocket, Four Seasons & Patio Stage Oz, Ashlee Logan/Golden Lantern, Jeff Bar, Golden Lantern, Good Friends, Palmquist/Cafe Lafitte in Exile, Chris GrandPre's Peterson/Oz, Wayne Penton/Oz • Buzzy Fanning AIDS Award [organi• DJ of the Year: Jason Emrick, zation/individual doing outstanding service Dominick "Dom" Kolb, Robbie Martin, Tim in the AIDS arena]: Darren Ferris, Gay Pflueger, Jonathan "JRB" Reed Easter Parade, Gia GiaVanni, Toby Lefort, • Leather Bar of the Year: Phoenix, NO/AIDS Task Force Rawhide • Bitch of the Year: Electra City, Reba • Cheridon Comedy Award: Jeff Douglas, Chi-Chi Rodriquez, Persana DeRouen, Rikki Gee, Gia GiaVanni, Shoulders, Princesse Stephaney Persana Shoulders, Princesse Stephaney • Show Club of the Year: Bourbon Pub • Fly Fashion Glamour Award: Domin-
ique DeLorean, Connie Hung, Monica Synclaire-Kennedy, Karli LaCorre, Aubrey Synclaire • LGBT Business of the Year [no bars/ restaurants/delis/hair salons]: Bourbon Pride, Crescent City Tour Booking Agency, Delaney & Robb Attorneys at Law, Panda Bear, Rab Dab Clothing & Gifts • Leather Person of the Year: Alan Bowers, Toby Lefort, ADKus Supps, Jeff Turberville, Gary Vandeventer • Transgender of the Year: Regina Adams, Adrian Claveria, Joann Guidos, Rikki Redd, Chi-Chi Rodriquez • Lesbian of the Year: Misti Ates, Stacy Bundrick, Mina Hernandez, Pat McArdle, Courtney Wilson • Gay Man of the Year: Chad Boutte, Tommy Elias, Frank Joseph, Toby Lefort, Tony Leggio • Marcy Marcell Entertainer of the Year: [female/male impersonator/drag star or entertainer]: Gia GiaVanni, Connie Hung, Monique Michaels, Aubrey Synclaire, Persana Shoulders Featured entertainment includes last year's Entertainer of the Year Monique Michaels, and Top 5 Show Club of the Year Finalist Bourbon Pub & Parade, Corner Pocket, Four Seasons & Patio Stage Bar, Golden Lantern, and Oz which have all agreed to do a production number. Sponsored by Ambush Mag, the awards thanks those in the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community who are often not recognized for the outstanding services and efforts they perform. These individuals and businesses have made the LGBT Community into the viable, successful and powerful community it is today. The Board of Directors includes Lisa Beaumann, Teryl-Lynn Foxx, and Rip and Marsha Naquin-Delain.
Official Sponsors Present Southern Decadence 2014 The 43rd Annual Southern Decadence celebration of gay life, music and culture is off to a great start with many official sponsors already joining the efforts of Southern Decadence Grand Marshals XL Chad Boutte, Reba Douglas and Aubrey Synclaire. Other sponsorships are in the works. This year Southern Decadence is presented by Ambush Mag, SouthernDecadence.com, The Golden Lantern, and Oz New Orleans.
Platinum Sponsors include The Four Seasons & Patio Stage Bar, and Harrah's. Gold Sponsors include Bud Light, Skyy Vodka, Quartermaster: The Nellie Deli, Lucky Pierre's, and 3rd Base Bar & Grill. Silver Sponsor includes GrandPre's.
inside
THE OFFICIAL MAG
Facebook.COM/AmbushMag Gulf South Entertainment/Travel Guide Since 1982 • Texas-Florida Official Gay Easter Parade Guide© Official Gay Mardi Gras Guide© Official Gay New Orleans Guide© Official Pride Guide© Official Southern Decadence Guide© OFFICE/SHIPPING ADDRESS: 828-A Bourbon St., New Orleans, LA 70116-3137 USA OFFICE HOURS: 10am-3pm Monday-Friday [Except Holidays] Email: marsha@ripandmarsha.com PHONE: 1.504.522.8049 ANNUAL READERSHIP OVER 1 MILLION: 260,000+ in print/780,000+ On-line CIRCULATION: Alabama-Mobile Florida - Pensacola Louisiana - Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Metairie, New Orleans, Slidell Mississippi - Bay St. Louis, Biloxi Texas - Houston
STAFF: PUBLISHER/EDITOR R. Rip Naquin-Delain, New Orleans PRODUCTION DIRECTOR M. Marsha Naquin-Delain, New Orleans GULF SOUTH/NEW ORLEANS AD SALES Rip Naquin-Delain • 504.522.8049 NEW ORLEANS AD SALES Frank Joseph 504.444.8327 Paul Melancon 504.522.8049 THEATRE/PERFORMING ARTS CRITIC Brian Sands AD REPS/JOURNALISTS/PHOTOGRAPHERS Johnny Joseph Delgadillo, Frank Joseph, Charles Jenkins, Tony Leggio, Hubert S Monkey, Frank Perez, Rev. Bill Terry-New Orleans Bob Brunson, MIss Cie & John, Leon WeekleyMobile, AL Lauren Mitchell-Pensacola, FL National Advertising Rep: Rivendell Media 212.242.6863 Ambush Mag is published on alternate Tuesdays of each month by Ambush, Inc., R. Rip NaquinDelain, President. Advertising, Copy & Photo DEADLINE is alternate Tuesdays, 4pm, prior to publication week, accepted via e-mail only: marsha@ripandmarsha.com, except for special holidays. The Publisher assumes no responsibility for the claims of advertisers and has the right to reject any advertising. The inclusion of an individual's name or photograph in this publication implies nothing about that individual's sexual orientation. Letters, stories, etc., appearing herein are not necessarily the opinion of the Publisher or Staff of AMBUSH Mag. Subscription rate is $45 for 1/2 Year; $75 for 1 year. Sample Copy is $3 First Class Mail. ©1982-2014, AMBUSH, INC.,ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NOTHING HEREIN MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE PUBLISHER INCLUDINGAD LAYOUTS, MAPS and PHOTOS. AMgrant - AMbush Advertising Grant Donation
Bronze Sponsors include Phoenix/ Knights d'Orleans, and 700 Club. Funds raised minus expenses benefits this year's charity, PFLAG-New Or-
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Pre-Southern Decadence Guide, GAA Winners out August 12 >DEADLINE: Tues., August 5
celebrazzi moments in gay new orleans history wood enterprises paparazzi/nola ambush paparazzi/new orleans oz paparazzi/new orleans under the gaydar gaa top 5 finalists health 43rd official southern decadence wear it out
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trodding the boards classifieds classifieds out & about in mobile, spotlight ambush paparazzi/new orleans halloween xxxi a community within communities
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AD INFO: Call 504.522.8049 ripna@ambushmag.com
Gulf South Entertainment/Travel Guide Since 1982 828-A Bourbon St. • New Orleans, LA 70116-3137 • 504.522.8049 marsha@ripandmarsha.com
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Manager Benjamin gets his ice cold shot from Coca Mesa as Marie Antoinette celebrating Bastille Day at the oldest gay bar in North America, Cafe Lafitte in Exile in New Orleans. www.Lafittes.com (Photo by Chris Ward)
celebrazzi
Host Persana Shoulders joins Southern Decadence Grand Marshals XL Aubrey Synclaire and Chad Boutte at Oz's Buy A Boy Auction raising a whopping $3,354 for Southern Decadence 2014 benefiting P-FLAG New Orleans, and almost $800 for Miss Gay Louisiana America. This brings Oz's total donations for SD to $4,754 earning them a Presenting Sponsorship. www.OzNewOrleans.com www.SouthernDecadence.com (Photo by Steven Mora)
President Gary Vandeventer and treasurer Ben Bourgeois welcome guests to Lords of Leather's annual Luau BBQ & Pool Party hosted at the home of former royalty Michael Ducote and Doug Minich in New Orleans. www.LordsofLeather.com (Photo by Darwin Reed)
Mystic Krewe of Satyricon celebrates Bastille Day at Olde-Towne Dance Hall in New Orleans with a festive buffet, champagne, entertainment by Entertainer of the Year Monique Michaels, Marshall Harris and more. Guest bartender was Frankie Fierce. MysticKreweofSatyricon.com
The Looney Birds Team celebrates at The Color Party hosted by Tulane Ave. Bar in New Orleans which raised $493 for Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center. Look for Tulane Ave Bar on www.Facebook.com.
Proprietor Ken GrandPre joins Southern Decadence Grand Marshal XL Reba Douglas for Boys in the Shower Contest raising $450 for Southern Decadence 2014 at GrandPre's in New Orleans. Hosted by Frankie Fierce and Sable Nicole, the event brought Felicia Phillips to the stage for the first time in 10 years. This brings GrandPre's total donations for SD to $625 earning them a Silver Sponsorship. GrandPre's.com
Renegade Bears of Louisiana, President Duaine Daniels and MC and former SDGM Guadulupe introduce Todd Shaffer as the 2014 Mr. Renegade Bear winner at The Phoenix in New Orleans. Look for Renegade Bears of Louisiana on www.Facebook.com.
Pr e -SD De a d l i n e Tuesday, Aug. 5th 504.522.8049
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the "official" dish ...from 4 leans. Make a difference, and become a sponsor at one of four levels including: $5,000 Presenting (Large logo on all advertising & at SouthernDecadence.COM with hyperlink) $2,500 Platinum (Logo on all advertising in the Platinum box & hyperlink at www.SouthernDecadence.COM) $1,000 Gold (Logo on all advertising in the Gold box & hyperlink at www.SouthernDecadence.COM) $500 Silver (Text listing on all advertising in the Silver box & hyperlink at www.SouthernDecadence.COM) $250 Bronze (Text listing on all advertising in the Bronze box & hyperlink at www.SouthernDecadence.COM) Sponsorship forms available at www.southerndecadence.com/2014/ SouthernDecadenceSponsors.pdf. This year's celebration is expected to break records bringing in over 150,000 participants for the giant Labor Day Weekend blowout, August 27-September 1, Upcoming SD fundraisers and events as of press time include: Saturday, August 2nd... 8-10pm, Ambush Mag presents 27th Annual Gay Appreciation Awards Gala benefiting Southern Decadence 2014 @ Oz, New Orleans Friday, August 8th... 9pm-12midnight, The Freak'Em Friday Side Show featuring Peep Show Dragazon, mONKIFIED Dancers, Zadora The Not So Fortunate Teller, 50/50 Raffle & much more with DJ Plez, benefiting Southern Decadence 2014, Voodoo Bar, New Orleans Friday, August 15th...
11pm, Southern Decadence Benefit hosted by Gia Malone & Frankie Fierce featuring SDGMs XL Reba Douglas & Aubrey Synclaire plus Amaya, Bambi, Starr, Angel, Blaine, Twiggy & many more, with raffles & auctions, benefiting Southern Decadence 2014, Main Street Lounge, Houma Saturday, August 16th... 1pm, Southern Decadence Saturday Sister Social: Brunch & Jukebox Drag Show saluting SDGMs XL Reba Douglas, Aubrey Synclaire & Chad Boutte, benefiting Reba Douglas’ Parade Entourage Costumes, $5 donation, The Friendly Bar, New Orleans Friday, August 22nd... 10pm, Frankie Fierce presents TOGO 2000 Dance Party, benefiting Southern Decadence 2014 with DJ of the Year JRB, benefiting Southern Decadence 2014, Four Seasons & Patio Stage Bar, Metairie Friday, August 29th... 10pm, Annual Southern Decadence Grand Marshals Drag Show with SDGMs XL Chad Boutte, Reba Douglas & Aubrey Synclaire @ Official Home of Southern Decadence: The Golden Lantern Sunday, August 31st... 2pm, 40th Southern Decadence Parade led by SDGMs XL Chad Boutte, Reba Douglas & Aubrey Synclaire begins @ Official Home of Southern Decadence: The Golden Lantern 4ish pm, 21st Annual Official Southern Decadence Bead Toss led by SDGMs XL Chad Boutte, Reba Douglas & Aubrey Synclaire, hosted by the Susan Lucci’s: Rip & Marsha, sponsored Ambush Mag & www.SouthernDecadence.COM, Ambush Mansion Balcony, 828 Bourbon St. ( w w w . F a c e b o o k . c o m / SouthernDecadenceNOLA)
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moments in gay new orleans history by Frank Perez E-mail: f.perez@sbcglobal.net Photo by: Larry Graham, GrahamStudioOne.COM
“The State of Scholarship on Gay New Orleans History” This is an exciting time to be gay; especially so for those of us interested in gay history. Older members of our community rightfully observe with wonder the strides we have made in the last several years. Openly gay elected officials, visibility in the mainstream media, legalized gay marriage—these and other social phenomenon would have been inconceivable to our elders in their closeted youths. Conversely, younger people in the LGBT+ community today cannot possibly fathom the days when being gay was cause for criminal arrest and electroshock therapy. Gay history is being made at break-neck speed, which is great, but much gay history remains in the closet, which is regrettable. Fortunately, interest in researching and uncovering our history is at an all-time high. This is particularly true in New Orleans. The formal study of gay history emerged from the closet in the Academy in the early 1970s. Queer Studies was an outgrowth of neoMarxist interdisciplinary social theory. Scholarship in the field eventually led to Queer Theory (which focused on literary criticism and philosophy) and Lesbian and Gay Studies (sometimes called Sexual Diversity Studies) and Gender Studies (which often includes Feminism and Women’s Studies). At some universities, these fields of inquiry are housed in their own academic departments while in other cases they are subsumed into other departments such as English, Political Science, Sociology, etc. Regardless of where these programs are housed within the Academy, they are all informed by postmodern theory and their research methodologies range from ethnographic to historiographical. Research into New Orleans’ gay history has consisted mostly in the form of theses,
dissertations, shorter articles in magazines and journals, and a few books. Much, but not all, New Orleans gay historical scholarship has been undertaken by independent researchers. No less than eleven theses and dissertations touching on some aspect of New Orleans gay history have been written since 1989, most of them since 2004. These treatises cover topics such as the Up Stairs Lounge fire, lesbian bar culture, vintage drag culture, media coverage of the AIDS crisis, surveys of the gay rights movement, the gay gentrification of the Faubourg Marigny, voter attitudes toward gays and lesbians, and the attitudes of social workers toward gay youth. There are a handful of books and chapters of books dealing with gay New Orleans history, the earliest of which was Edmund White’s classic States of Desire: Travels in Gay America (1980). While White focuses on the time he spent in the city with artist George
Dureau, James Sears’ landmark work, Rebels, Rubyfruit, and Rhinestones: Queering Space in the Stonewall South (2001) focuses on the origins of Southern Decadence, the Up Stairs Lounge fire, and the Anita Bryant protest rally and march in 1977. Topics of other books and book chapters include: the Up Stairs Lounge fire, Café Lafitte in Exile, Queer Cuisine, lesbian sexuality, and architectural preservation by gay men. Yet another fascinating source of gay history are the back issues of gay-themed periodicals, magazines, newspapers, and newsletters, most of which are long gone. These include: Ambush, The Big Easy Times, Distaff, Impact, New Orleans Gay and Lesbian Yellow Pages, The Pink Pages of Greater New Orleans, The Rooster, Sunflower, and The Whiz. These primary sources may be located in various archives and libraries around the city. After Hurricane Katrina, a number of articles were written about the storm’s impact on the New Orleans LGBT community, including a cover story in The Advocate. Each year, Arthur Hardy’s Mardi Gras Guide features an article on some aspect of gay carnival. In 2010, a documentary film about the history of gay carnival by local filmmaker Tim Wolff was released entitled The Sons of Tennessee Williams. And last year a short documentary film about the Up Stairs Lounge by Royd Anderson was released. Currently, two more documentary films about the fire are in production (Robert Camina’s Upstairs Inferno and Sheri Wright’s Tracking Fire. In addition, two more books about the fire are currently being written, one of which is by Robert Fieseler, who is currently in town conducting research. Scott Ellis, author of Madame Vieux Carre, is currently working on a history of the Faubourg Marigny. Janet Allured, a visiting professor at Newcomb College Institute, is working on a book about Second Wave
Feminism, part of which will deal with lesbian involvement in the women’s movement in Louisiana. And Howard Smith, a professor in California, is writing a book on the history of gay carnival in New Orleans. In addition to these forthcoming books, an oral history project on old New Orleans lesbian bars called the Dyke Bar Project is also in the works. As encouraging as all this research is, there is still much to be done. At present, there are gaping holes in what we know about the history of gay New Orleans. Many significant topics have yet to be fully researched and written about. For example, books still need to be written about the following histories: Southern Decadence, the AIDS crisis in New Orleans, the transgender community, drag culture, minority subcultures, lesbian culture, bear culture, leather culture, gay musicians, writers and artists. Biographies need to be written about several pioneers in our community’s history (Lyle Saxon, Miss Dixie, Jerry Menefee, Marcy Marcell to name a few). And what about long gone bars? (A book about Jewel’s would be a page-turner, wouldn’t it?) Fortunately, there is now a formal organization fostering the preservation of our collective LGBT+ history. The LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana was formed earlier this year to promote and encourage the protection and preservation of materials that chronicle the culture and history of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Community in Louisiana. This project is not endeavoring to create an LGBT Archive but rather to encourage people in our community to donate any materials they have to an existing archive, library, or museum. In addition, the project offers assistance to researchers interested in gay history. To learn more about the LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana, please visit its website at http:// www.lgbtarchivesla.org/ or visit the group’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ lgbtarchivesla.
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snap
JJ welcomes you to Good Friends Bar
Bartender John & Paxton @ GAA Top 5 Leather Bar of the Year Finalist Rawhide
Josh celebrates the 4th @ Rawhide
Bartender Lee welcomes you to Rawhide
Celebrating @ GAA Top 5 Neighborhood Bar of the Year Finalist Good Friends Bar
Essence revelers @ Cafe Lafitte in Exile
Welcome to GAA Top 5 Restaurant of the Year Finalist Clover Grill
Etienne, Opal & Kent @ Cafe Lafitte in Exile
GAA Top 5 Bartender of the Year Finalist Jeff Palmquist @ Lafitte’s
paparazzi
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More Than A Three Ring Circus 4th of July Weekend @ Wood Enterprises ~ New Orleans ~ Photos by Paul Melancon
by Paul Melancon,
Coca Mesa Celebrates Bastille Day as Marie Antoinette Serving Ice Cold Shots @ the Oldest Gay Bar in North America: Cafe Lafitte In Exile ~ New Orleans ~ Photos by Chris Ward
Adrien trying to get out of jail!
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Athena, Jake, Monica & Corynne join The Color Party raising $493 for Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center @ Tulane Ave. Bar
Bourbon Pride’s Joseph celebrates partner Josh’s b-day with Josh’s mom @ Lucky Pierre’s
Mr. Big Easy Leather & GAA Top 5 Leather Person of the Year Finalist ADKus @ Mr. Renegade Bear Contest
ambush
paparazzi Felicia Phillips dazzles the crowd for Boys In The Shower @ GrandPre’s in her 1st performance in 10 years benefiting SD 2014
Hot, hot, hot Thomas & Carmine hail from Rainbow Room Dancer Rafi & GAA Top 5 Bartender of the Year Finalist Ashlee Logan @ Corner Pocket
Host Frankie Fierce with 1st Shower contestant @ GrandPre’s
Celebrating Darwin & Paul’s July 4th b-days plus Darwin & Opal’s 39 anniversary @ GrandPre’s
SDGM Chad & partner Steven in for Boys In The Shower Contest @ GAA Top 5 Neighborhood of the Year Finalist GrandPre’s
Dr. Ron, DB, Chuck, Will & Trevor celebrating @ The Double Play
Sable Nicole raises $$$ for SD @ Boy In The Shower Contest
GM Candise & bartender Jason @ Le Roundup
Kajun’s Pub’s Lisa, Chef Ron’s Gumbo Stop’s own Chef Ron & GAA Top 5 Transgender of the Year Finalist Joann
GAA Top 5 Leather Person of the Year Jeff @ The Golden Lantern
Mr. Renegade Bear Contestants Todd, O’Neil, Kyle, Michael & Christopher @ The Phoenix
Kevin, Tommy & Mr. Renegade Bear 2013 Tom judge Mr. Renegade Bear Contest @ the Phoenix
Danny showcasing underwear collection @ COK inside GAA Top 5 Leather Bar of the Year Finalist The Phoenix
Ebony Ross, Opal Masters & Tina Topaz entertain for Amon-Ra’s July Bar Crawl kicking off at GAA Show Club of the Year Finalist The Golden Lantern
The Krewe of Amon-Ra’s July Bar Crawl @ 2nd stop GrandPre’s
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La Scène Sociale ~ New Orleans ~ Photos by Paul Melancon, Darwin Reed, Jeremy Weinberg
Frankie, John, Opal & Ken help raise $450 for Southern Decadence during Boys In The Shower Contest @ GrandPre’s
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paparazzi
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Buy A Boy Auction raises Whopping $3,354 for Southern Decadence & almost $800 for Miss Gay Louisiana America @ Oz ~ New Orleans ~ Photos by Steven Mora
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under the gaydar by Tony Leggio Email: ledgemgp@gmail.com Photo by: Larry Graham, GrahamStudioOne.COM
Book of the Month Frivolous summer reading is still continuing, so for the month of July I am spotlighting Dean Koontz. Koontz’s novel 77 Shadow Street is a science fiction/horror thriller that takes readers on a fast-paced macabre ride through a dark and spectral realm. Koontz’s books are always unique reads and this one is no exception. With each chapter, you delve deeper into the twisted world of a very ancient hotel with a sinister history of murder and strange disappearances. Being one of the few authors to achieve over a dozen books on the New York Times Bestseller List, Koontz understands the nature of fear. Many of his novels take ordinary people and place them in mortal danger. 77 Shadow Street has a diverse group of characters who live in the luxury apartment building, The Pendleton and brings them face to face with an ancient evil that has been dormant for many years. Their fight for survival is the driving force of the book, as they try to deduce the reason behind their current circumstances in order to see daylight. Like another one of his contemporaries, Stephen King, Koontz delivers a novel with vivid characters dealing with extraordinary situations. Over the course of one night, each person will learn the true nature of malevolence. The residents include a hired assassin, a disgraced ex-senator, a songwriter and her son, an autistic girl and an ambitious money manager. Koontz weaves a tight page-turner that amps up the fear factor. You always know it is a good book when you can finish it in one or two settings. Location is everything in horror novels and The Pendleton ranks right up there with other spooky locales like the Bates Motel. The hotel itself can be considered a character with such a rich and storied history that is detailed in bloody good fashion. If you like books that keep you up all night, try 77 Shadow Street, you will not be disappointed. For more information on Koontz and his other books, go to www.deankoontz.com.
Third Time Is A Charm New Orleans seems to be such a natural draw to writers with our lush culture and unique characters. Damon Ferrell Marbut, a local poet and novelist (and past bartender of the month thank you very much), has written his third book entitled Human Crutches. This book of poems is an inside look at gay bar life in the French Quarter. Being the jewel of the city, the Vieux Carre is a vital segment of New Orleans culture. I cannot wait to get my signed copy which should hit the bookshelves this month. From the Amazon blurb: Life in the French Quarter of New Orleans is bar life, the quintessential stage setting for unfolding dramas, dark truths and chaos borne of excess. In Human Crutches, Damon Ferrell Marbut tells this story with remarkable generosity and skill, providing an inside study of local lifestyle in a great American city.
Often humorous and sometimes vulgar, the poems are piercing, honest and layered with urban Southern affect as endearing as it is frightful. Marbut received his Master’s degree in Creative Writing in 2006 at the University of South Alabama and is also author of the critically acclaimed novel Awake in the Mad World and the Amazon bestselling poetry collection Little Human Accidents. Updates on the author are available at http://www.facebook.com/DamonFMarbut or visit http:// barebackpress.homestead.com/ for contact details and additional publisher information.
RePurposing NOLA on White Linen Night RePurposing Nola is having their one year brand shop anniversary celebration on White Linen Night August 2nd, 2014. Get away from the maddening throngs and join the at their exclusive VIP private 21 + over party for an evening of fashion, open bar bubbles, cocktails, sultry fun and many surprises. Guests will receive their signature gift bag in white linen filled with the latest product and other ideas to tickle all of your senses. VIPs/Patrons will also receive a gift card valued at their total ticket price towards purchase of $100 or above in shop during event (or anytime within 30 days of event) in their signature gift bag. Patrons get exclusive first-look at their fall fashions from 4-6pm; VIP tickets from 69pm. Door tickets will be sold as space allows, and will not receive one of our gift bags. Ticket prices are $25 for VIPs and $50 for patrons. I have bought many products and love their quality and uniqueness. I am always getting compliments on my satchel. Not only is it a green product, but it looks fantastic. And their new line of candles are fabulous, they even have one named after me, Hot Mess. For tickets or more information, you can find RePurposing NOLA on Facebook or go to www.repurposingnola.com. The shop is located at 604 Julia Street.
Introducing a New New Orleans Festival New Orleans honors every culinary delicacy in the city with a festival from the Po-Boy to the Creole Tomato, now we recognize our amazing Japanese cuisine as New Orleans Magazine hosts its inaugural Sushi Fest and Competition presented by East Jefferson General Hospital on Sunday, August 17 at the River City Ballroom at Mardi Gras World. Each participating chef from restaurants in the New Orleans Metropolitan area will compete in various categories with one sushi chef being crowned the 2014 Grand Champion by a panel of judges. Enjoy an evening with some of New Orleans’ best sushi chefs with delicious sake and Japanese beer by official sponsor SAPPORO USA. The city’s
premier fun dance band Bag of Donuts will be the entertainment. A special VIP Reception before the actual Sushi Fest opens includes complimentary sushi, food, wine, beer and soft drinks. The Japan Society of New Orleans and Japan Club of New Orleans will feature a traditional Japanese tea ceremony and the first 200 guests will receive a complimentary bento box with items from vendors. The VIP Patron Japanese Tea Room Party is sponsored by Sapporo Beer and from 1 to 2pm with the actual festival from 2 – 5pm. The cost for the VIP event is $50 in advance (by Aug. 6) and $75 at the door. Admission to the festival is $10 in advance and $20 at the door. To purchase tickets, go to www.neworleanssushifest.com. There will also be a Japanese art room featuring origami, fan painting and Japanese bookmark painting in addition to and a Sumo Wrestler blow-up ring with wrestling matches for adults and kids over 15 years old. Door prizes will be awarded throughout the day. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Japan Society of New Orleans and Japan Club of New Orleans
It’s A Breeze August may be hot, but there is a cool breeze blowing at the Belle Reve Breeze Gala on Saturday, August 23. That is the underlying theme behind this noteworthy event presented by Avita Drugs in the Big Room at Generations Hall. There will be lots of drinks, a silent auction, dancing and delicacies. Please come out and support this elegant evening. The patron party begins at 7pm and the gala is from 8 – 11pm. Tickets are $60 or $300 for a table of four. The dress is summer cocktail attire. For tickets, go to www.breezegala.eventbrite.com.
Party Down Mardi Gras may be a long way away, but the Gay Carnival krewes are gearing up with fundraisers galore to help raise monies to throw these amazing shows for their guests. My first weekend was spent going to two of these events. On Saturday, the Lords of Leather hosted a phenomenal Luau BBQ and Pool Party at the lovely home of Mike Ducote and Doug Minich in the Bywater. Their little tropical paradise boasts a large pool with fountain that was the major draw for guests. The afternoon was spent lazily basking in the sun, enjoying great BBQ and fun guys. Jeff Mallon and I handled their live auction which brought some extra funds for the krewe. Doug and Mike’s home was an ideal and intimate setting for this gathering of members and supporters. It was also a great opportunity to see many of these guys barely clothed. On Sunday, it was off to let them eat cake as I attended the Mystic Krewe of Satyricon’s Bastille Day celebration at the Olde Town Jazz Hall located in the Marigny. There was plenty of French delicacies to nibble on as guests danced and enjoyed the many costumes of members. You were even able to play pin the head on Marie Antoinette, very fun. The following week I was engulfed in four little words “Tales of the Cocktail.” Starting on Monday through Saturday, I handled over 25 events and attended even more. In case you are not familiar with this event, Tales of the Cocktail is the world’s premier cocktail festival, bringing together the international spirits community for five days (now actually 7) of what’s now, what’s new and what’s next in bartending. Held annually in our city which is the birthplace of the cocktail, TOTC has something for bartenders and spirits professionals with
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health Syphilis: New AHF Campaign Takes on Skyrocketing Rates Nationwide including Baton Rouge LOS ANGELES – According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the rate of syphilis infection for the whole United States and its regional territories began rising for the first time in a decade in 2001 after steadily declining every year since 1990. Between 2001 and 2009, the rate steadily climbed from 2.1 to 4.6 infections per 100,000 people before finally showing its first decrease in 2010 when it dropped to 4.5. The national rate held steady at 4.5 in 2011, but the CDC’s most recent data shows that in 2012 the national syphilis rate again began to rise with a jump back to 4.6. In response to alarming rates found nationwide, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is taking a stand to raise awareness about the prevalence of this disease, its drastic medical impacts, and the simple – and only – way to completely avoid infection: condom use and routine STD testing. The nonprofit’s awareness campaign launches today with a billboard that reads “California: #2 in Syphilis” which will be appearing around Los Angeles touting the un-enviable burden California bears with the second-highest syphilis rate of all 50 states. The billboard – which is a clear homage to the California flag, but with its iconic Grizzly bear smacking a paw to its forehead in a moment of “D’oh!” – highlights the worrisome increase in the California syphilis rate over the past year. According the CDC’s 2012 nationwide surveillance of syphilis rates in the U.S., the state of California saw 3,600 cases of late latent syphilis, 2,900 cases of early latent syphilis, and 3,500 cases of primary and secondary syphilis in 2013. This is an increase of 18% from the number of cases in 2012, according to a July 1 announcement from the CDC. The billboard promotes www.freeSTDcheck.org, where the public can find locations to access free STD testing and affordable care for the treatment of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis through AHF. AHF provides syphilis testing and treatment in seven states throughout the U.S., all of which are facing heavy syphilis burdens. Florida, which boasts the greatest number of Wellness Center sites nationwide with six throughout the state, saw 4,470 cases of syphilis diagnosed at varying stages – primary/secondary (also known as infectious) syphilis, early latent syphilis, and late latent syphilis – throughout 2012, according to the Florida Department of Health. Meanwhile, California, home to four AHF Wellness Centers that treat STDs, reported 2,953 cases of primary, secondary, and congenital syphilis, which is when a child is born with syphilis due to its mother’s undiagnosed or untreated infection. The other five states where AHF offers services are also facing high rates of syphilis, with New York and Texas both reporting 6.3 infections per 100,000 people in the CDC’s 2012 report, and Ohio recording a rate of 3.7 per 100,000. Louisiana, where AHF has a Wellness Center in Baton Rouge, has a statewide rate of 7.4 in addition to carrying the nation’s highest burden of congenital syphilis with 49.3 cases diagnosed per 100,000 live births in 2012, nearly seven times the national rate of 7.8 that year. Finally, Mississippi, where the statewide rate is 5.9 per 100,000 population and where more than half of the primary and secondary syphilis cases in 2012 affected young people between the ages of 1524. “We are able to offer affordable testing and treatment for this needlessly devastating disease in six of the top ten most impacted states in the nation,” said Albert Ruiz, AHF’s Director of Wellness Center Programs. “We sincerely hope that once people realize how prominently syphilis is still impacting the lives of men, women, and children throughout the country, they will all be motivated to remain more aware of how their actions can either help prevent – or spread – a terrible infection that is en route to becoming a major public health crisis if we don’t turn the tides.” As newfound media fervor over a pill that could prevent the spread of HIV with daily use leads many to erroneously believe they can safely forego condom use, the rising rates of sexually transmitted infections nationwide reflect the continued need for comprehensive prevention methods. The Foundation has expressed public concern that people incorrectly using the new prevention strategy – which is only effective if used in
conjunction with condoms and HIV/STD testing, according to FDA, CDC and WHO recommendations – could lead to a continued rise in rates of syphilis, which can be a devastating and even deadly disease if left untreated. “There is no pill to prevent syphilis, or gonorrhea or any other sexually transmitted infection besides HIV,” said Michael Weinstein, President of AHF. “These infections spread easily and can be detrimental to public health if they are not mitigated by responsible health practices like regular condom use, which is still required for Truvada as PrEP to be effective anyway. Our goal with this campaign is that people will be driven to contribute to decreasing these rates by preventing transmission in their own lives, and also to remind people that syphilis is a serious health risk that they need to be tested for to catch it before it causes significant damage to their organs.” AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is the largest non-profit HIV/AIDS healthcare provider in the USA. AHF currently provides medical care and/or services to over 319,000 individuals in 34 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, Eastern Europe, and Asia. For more information, visit www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @AIDSHealthcare.
under the gaydar ...18 opportunities to mix and mingle with the brightest minds in mixology during an always-spirited schedule of seminars, dinners, competitions, tasting rooms and new product launches. So for five days, you get to rub “elbows” with some of the hottest bartenders from around the globe. Bartenders just pour drinks; mixologists create an experience for the patron. Ask Princesse Stephaney who regularly creates craft cocktails to the delight of everyone. My week started on Monday evening with a murder mystery event at Race and Religion. This interesting venue located in the lower Garden District was a impeccable choice for guests to mix and mingle while actors toyed with them. Two murders happened with a prohibition style theme as the specialty cocktails flowed. The location is a walled compound that has two homes, a carriage house, a lush garden with pool and rustic appointments that make it hard to believe you are in New Orleans. My favorite drink of the night was freshly juiced apples with Jameson and just a twist of lemon. Refreshing. On Tuesday evening, we were on the rooftop of the Hotel Monteleone which is also the festival’s host hotel. Three brands, Bacardi Rum, Grey Goose Vodka and Bombay Sapphire Gin hosted a Miami Vice eighties style pool party complete with pink flamingos, synchronized swimmers and gorgeous models passing out branded iced towels to keep cool in the hot sun. You can tell already the crowd was gearing up for an incredible week. The 12th Annual Tales of the Cocktail officially kicked off on Wednesday with two awe-inspiring events. The opening Absolut party was held at Mardi Gras World and was absolutely (no pun intended) stupendous. As an event professional, I tip my hat
to those who make me go “wow” and this party did just that. You entered through the float den and walked through a corridor of Mardi Gras floats each with a dead celebrity atop it, Michael Jackson, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis. Then you went to the riverfront area behind Mardi Gras World where they had an outdoor twisted circus, eerie music played as custom bars were set-up with the bartenders dressed as the bearded lady, monkey boy, the strongman and the tattooed woman. There were popcorn, cotton candy and corn dogs to eat as people tried their hand on the high strike game or rode the carousel horses. Inside you walked through an Andy Warhol style grocery store with soup cans aligning the entire wall and inside each can was a tee shirt for guests to have. In the Mansion Room, more bars and a specialty cocktail served from a brass fountain by a very perverted version of Dorothy and the Tin Man. Then the party moved upstairs to a replica of Studio 54 dance club with midgets dressed as Andy Warhol, go-go dancers and girls on roller skates. More cocktails were served in branded pill bottles, just wonderful attention to detail. Everything at the event was flawless. Next up that night, I went to the William Grant party at the Lakefront Airport which was transformed into a journey around the world. Outside was a Moroccan theme with a live camel and a tropical beach complete with cocktails in coconuts. Inside flight attendants greeted you as you were whisked to far off places like China and Mexico, each with their own rooms and specialty drinks. There was also a Christmas in July room, soda shoppe and a cabaret style nightclub area. What was so fascinating about this party was you discovered something new around each corner. After two remarkable events, it was time for rest, this was just the beginning. On Thursday in addition to the numerous tasting rooms during the day, I went to the Bacardi Portfolio Party at Generations Hall. This event had a more surreal theme where guests were given masks of a fox, stallion or panther. They wandered from room to room sampling cocktails and enjoying the cuisine of local food trucks that set up tables. The jalapeno hamburger sliders and truffled macaroni and cheese were just mouth-watering. Each room had its own flair, one you were inside a butterfly net, the next you walked thorough a secret bookcase into another room which was a horse stable. The entertainment waffled between a DJ and live music. Friday was even more tasting rooms during the day and the Diageo House Party that night at the Contemporary Arts Center. They took an intriguing interpretation of a house party literally. Each bar was designed as a room in the house from the garage and the kitchen to the bathroom and living room. They had secluded little areas like the bedroom and the band played on a stage designed like the den. Each “room” had a different craft cocktail. The Chee Weez played on the stage all night long it seemed to the delight of the crowd. It was a true down and dirty house party that was oh so much fun. Still in the party mode after, we went to Oz to continue our own dance party. The fabulous Frankie Fierce and Persona Shoulders were there making sure everyone had a good time. Saturday was my day to experience all the daytime fun that Tales had to offer. The tasting rooms were amazing, as you volleyed from the Hotel Monteleone and the
Royal Sonesta trying the newest creations from mixologists from around the globe. I discovered VEEV at this event which is an alternative to vodka and very delicious. It promises to be the newest thing on the cocktail market. The day of tastings ended with a poolside soiree complete with live band and more flowing libations. This is where my friends Beaux, Barrett and I met up with some great people visiting the city. Once the pool event closed down, we ended up at one of their hotel rooms for an impromptu cocktail party. After that, I was done and took my little self to bed and crashed. On my final day for Tales of the Cocktail on Sunday, to quote Abba, I was like a Super Trooper and managed to make it through. It began with having some people I met from San Francisco and New York over to my house for a pre-party brunch as well as some of my friends. Then the heavens opened up and we were trapped inside for longer than expected. Once it cleared up, we went to the Pig & Punch event that was being held at Washington Square. Even though it was wet and muddy these bartenders came out in full force. The basic concept at this event is several local restaurants serve pork dishes served with different types of alcoholic punch. The punch is served out of giant trash buckets of every style of liquor, bourbon and vodka to gin and rum. Pig & Punch is like its own festival within a festival. Not only did they have lots of pork and punch but also music and games. In the spirit of Tales of the Cocktail’s commitment to giving back, The Bon Vivants (who sponsor host this event) have once again partnered with New Orleans KIPP Charter Schools to donate both their time during the day of service and the proceeds from the sale of the Pig & Punch t-shirt. And the kicker was everything was free. After getting my crazy fill of punch, I went to the Friendly Bar to help John Michael, the NO/AIDS Task Force’s newest staff addition celebrate his birthday. He did not ask for gifts but donations to the Task Force and raised over one thousand dollars. It was a fun-filled way to end a very saturated weekend. Until next time, let the cocktails and good times keep flowing.
To Quote a Queen In honor of the wonderful light that was Elaine Stritch, I thought a few of my favorite quotes from her would be fitting. Stritch was a gay man’s type of woman; a brassy party girl who liked to drink and speak her mind. Her passing on July 17 was truly a sad day for Broadway. Stritch was an actress and singer who appeared in numerous stage plays and musicals, feature films, and many television programs. She was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1995. Stritch made her professional stage debut in 1944 and her Broadway debut in the comedy Loco in 1946. She won three Emmys and one Tony Award. So Cathy Fox these words of wisdom from a Broadway grande dame are for you. “I never found anyone who could look after me as well as I could look after myself.” “This age thing is all up to you. It’s like happiness is up to you. You just have to understand what it is before you get it.” “You can’t be funny unless you’re tragic, and you can’t be tragic unless you’re funny.” “There will always be ladies who lunch. Always. And apparently they live a long time.”
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trodding the boards
wear it out by : Johnny Joseph Delgadillo, Postulant Tazia Balls (Big Easy Sisters) E-mail: cuttingedgediva@yahoo.com
PERFORMANCE QUEENS: New Orleans Fashion Gala & Awards 2014 Reaches out to the Gay Community This year a new fashion awards ceremony and gala is doing everything it can to bridge the gap between straight and LGBT communities. In its first year the New Orleans Fashion Gala and Awards 2014 is recognizing the fact that transsexuals, transvestites, drag queens, and gay men and women in general have a huge voice in fashion. This is true not only in New Orleans but all over the world. As one of the 10 awards being handed out at the awards this year the Drag Queens have their own category. The award is the Most Stylish Drag Queen of the Year 2014. With the building of the fashion community in New Orleans I find that the drag queens are bringing it hard and fierce when it comes to fashion and their own personal style. For years drag queens have been looked at as fashion plates so why not include them in the awards and give them their own category. I feel that the Drag Queens, transvestites, and transsexuals that perform in New Orleans are some of the most stylish fashionistas this city has to offer. Now that is what raises the question......... Is it fashion style or costume style? My answer to the question is that this category contains a little of both. Just like a majority of your professional designer runway shows from all over the world only 510% of what you see on the runway will make it to the retail environment. In the case of a performance (drag) queen a lot of what you see them wearing is straight off the wrack and in a lot of cases beads, feathers or trim have been added to revamp it for stage. It still remains a piece off the wrack that they themselves have added their own
personal touch to which is usually an extension of their personal style. Sometimes the pieces are so perfect for the number they are performing and they are worn as purchased. So if you take away the beads, feathers, and trims and crazy jewelry, which more than likely was purchased in a regular retail or online environment, you have a solid piece or pieces of clothing. “FASHION”. From my own personal experience of being one of Los Angeles’s big drag queen divas in the 90s I also know that a lot of these performers rely on their own personal style to create their looks for stage. This look would be known as their costume. As stated in the movie To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar, “A drag queen is a man who has to much fashion sense for one sex and that is what makes him a drag QUEEN”. I completely second that. These queens who are nominated for the award push the limits of fashion styling to new limits. Up for the award of The Most Stylish Drag Queen of the Year 2014 are, Chi-Chi Rodriquez, Princesse Stephaney, Monica
Dominique DeLorean © Steven Mora
Monique Michaels
Princesse Stephanie
by Brian Sands
Email: bsnola2@hotmail.com
A Midsummer Night’s Cabaret: An Evening of Sin & Song at Mid-City Theatre through August 10 If you want to escape the summer heat (or rain or whatever else Mother Nature has in store for us), head over to Mid-City Theatre for the delightful new entertainment A Midsummer Night’s Cabaret: An Evening of Sin & Song. Don’t let the Shakespeare reference fool you—the emphasis is on sin and song as co-creators Mandy Zirkenbach, Sean Patterson, and Jefferson Turner take you on a tuneful tour of the seven deadly sins. And, as Patterson queries at the start of the show, who better than Catholic school grads to be your guides? When Zirkenbach and Patterson first approach the mikes, it’s clear that these are two entertainers wholly comfortable with the other. Despite the joshing putdowns that go back and forth, they graciously cede the spotlight to and support each other throughout the two acts. And both are in great voice. Turner, as always, demonstrates sensitivity as an arranger and accompanist, adding vocal support and never allowing any slothfulness into the show’s momentum. If greed, envy, gluttony, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath all get time in the spotlight, the performers never take a didactic approach, checking sins off one by one. While, by the end, an audience will have sampled the full sin-ful buffet, some songs only hint Synclaire-Kennedy, Dominique DeLorean, Monique Michaels, and Ilaynnah Eve. As a part of the awards show this talented bevy of beauties will be performing a group number to the perfect song from Janelle Monea. “QUEEN”. This group performance will surely entertain the crowd and right after the number one of these divas will walk with the award The Most Stylish Drag Queen of the Year 2014. As of now the awards do not have a set date but are sure to happen before the holidays at The Little Gem Saloon downtown. I personally will be sure to keep you all posted on when tickets will be available and the actual date of the event. Oh and yes!!!!! There is a transsexual woman in the category of Most Stylish Woman for the Year 2014. BAM BAM THAT BITCHES!!!!! I give two thumbs up to the drag queens, and transsexuals of New Orleans for setting the bar and giving New Orleans the fashion edge it needs. Shine Bright Like A Diamond divas. Ilaynnah Eve
Chi-Chi Rodriquez
Monica Synclaire-Kennedy
venially of transgressions while others, covering more than one sin, carry a one-two mortal punch. It’s a fun, light-hearted approach that suits Patterson and Zirkenbach well. Yet, both being accomplished dramatic as well as musical and comedic performers, when the tone darkens somewhat in the second half, they are able to transition into it appropriately. One of the pleasures of Sin & Song is that, alongside theater classics and some more obscure numbers (I’m Cute from Animaniacs), it includes some penned by the folks on stage that could easily take their places with standard cabaret offerings. The witty The Object of My Obsession (music by Turner and lyrics by Zirkenbach) gives a husband and wife equal expression as they catch sight of a comely female neighbor (he’s hot to trot, she’s angrily jealous) and a hunky UPS delivery guy (the opposite). Truly Thankful (lyrics by Patterson, music by Josh Freilich), delivers a sardonic put-down of an annoying relative who’s seen once-a-year at a family gathering. Both are of such high quality that they easily blend in with works by established names (Kander and Ebb, Cy Coleman, Frank Loesser, etc.); I wonder how many other cities between the coasts can boast of such prodigious, local talent? Turner and Zirkenbach’s Those Seven Deadly Sins gets things off to a cute start. Money, Money from Cabaret and Easy Street from Annie may be obvious choices for “greed” but they ease us into the less recognizable territory of numbers from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Nine. For lust, Zirkenbach gives a zesty rendition of Kander and Ebb’s rarely heard gem Arthur in the Afternoon from The Act even if she’s more than a tad too young for such talk of hired “help.” Understandably, in this food-centric town, gluttony gets pride of place. Usually sung by a woman, it’s refreshing to hear Patterson put forth Kander and Ebb’s ode to a culinary icon, Sara Lee. If I Can Cook Too from On The Town and Sweeney Todd’s A Little Priest are naturals, Patterson and Julian Blackmore’s A Sandwich Aria makes a worthy companion as it sings the praises of our own muffaletta. And rather than doing Food, Glorious Food pleadingly, as those little tykes have been doing in Oliver! since 1960, in a masterful stroke, the trio does it seductively, savoring each word, certainly the highest of the show’s many highlights. Standouts in the second half include Zirkenbach as Cole Porter’s Laziest Gal in Town and Leon Redbone’s Seduced in which Patterson wishes, for once, to be the seducee instead of the seducer.
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attorneys New Orleans, LA [504] Littlefield Law LLC, Attorney R. Kelp Littlefield, 639 Loyola Ave., Suite 1820, 504.525.1328 Tureau Legal, Troy A. Tureau , Attorney at Law, 8303 Pritchard Place, 70118, 504.602.9511, thelawprofessor@comcast.net
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New Orleans, LA [504] Club New Orleans, 515 Toulouse, 581.2402, www.the-clubs.com
book stores New Orleans, LA [504] FAB - Faubourg Marigny Art & Books, 600 Frenchmen St., 947.3700
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accounting
566.7191, GoodFriendsBar.COM GRANDPRE'S, 834 N. Rampart St., 267.3615, Facebook.com/grandpres KAJUN'S PUB, 2256 St. Claude Ave., 947.3735, KajunPub.COM LE ROUNDUP, 819 St. Louis, 561.8340 LUCKY PIERRE'S, 735 Bourbon St., 586.1836, LuckyPierresNOLA.com NINTH CIRCLE, 700 N. Rampart, 252.4558 OZ NEW ORLEANS, 800 Bourbon, 593.9491, OzNewOrleans. COM PHOENIX/EAGLE, 941 Elysian Fields, 945.9264, NewOrleansPhoenix.COM RAWHIDE 2010, 740 Burgundy St., 525.8106, Rawhide2010.COM RAINBOW ROOM, 632 Bourbon St., enter thru Fishbowl, 994.1036, Facebook.COM/ rainbowroomonbourbon TROPICAL ISLE: Home of the Hand Grenade, 721 Bourbon St., 529.4109, TropicalIsle.COM TULANE AVENUE BAR, 3813 Tulane Ave., 488.1400 VOODOO BAR, 718 N. Rampart, 265.0953 Slidell, LA [985] BILLY'S, 2600 Hwy. 190 West, 847.1921 Biloxi, MS [228] CLUB VEAUX, 834 Howard Ave., 207.3271 Houston, TX [713] NEON BOOTS DANCEHALL & SALOON, 11410 Hempstead Hwy., 677.0828, www.neonbootsclub.com
EMERALD CITY, 408 E. Wright St., 433.9491, EmeraldCityPensacola.COM THE ROUNDUP, 560 East Heinberg St., 433.8482 Baton Rouge, LA [225] GEORGE'S, 860 St. Louis, 387.9798, HOUND DOGS, 668 Main St., 344.0807 SPLASH, 2183 Highland Rd., 242.9491, SplashBR.COM Lake Charles, LA [337] CRYSTAL'S, 112 W. Broad, 433.5457 Metairie, LA [504] FOUR SEASONS & PATIO STAGE BAR, 3229 N. Causeway, 832.0659, FourSeasonsBar.com New Orleans, LA [504] 700 CLUB, 700 Burgundy, 561.1095, BIG DADDY'S, 2513 Royal, 948.6288 BOURBON PUB & PARADE, 801 Bourbon St., 529.2107, BourbonPub.COM CAFÉ LAFITTE IN EXILE, 901 Bourbon Street 522.8397, Lafittes.COM CORNER POCKET, 940 St. Louis, 568.9829, CornerPocket.NET COUNTRY CLUB, 634 Louisa St., TheCountryClubNewOrleans.COM, 945.0742 CUTTER'S, 706 Franklin, 948.4200 THE DOUBLE PLAY, 439 Dauphine, 523.4517 THE FRIENDLY BAR, 2301 Chartres, 943.8929 GOLDEN LANTERN, 1239 Royal, 529.2860, Facebook.COM/GoldenLanternBar GOOD FRIENDS BAR, 740 Dauphine St,
New Orleans, LA [504] DR. MICHAEL LECHLEITER, D.C., 1526 Magazine, 566.1833 [is1314]
circuit/events Aug. 27-Sept. 1, 2014, 43rd Official Southern Decadence Celebration of Gay Life, Music & Culture, end of Summer Blowout including the Southern Decadence Parade & loads of activities, bringing over 150,000 revelers to New Orleans, LA, sponsored by Ambush & SouthernDecadence.COM Oct. 23-26, 2014, Halloween 31, benefiting Project Lazarus, New Orleans, LA, sponsored by AmbushMag.COM, HalloweenNewOrleans.COM Dec. 26, 2014-Jan. 1, 2015, Gay New Year's in New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, GayNewOrleans.COM Feb. 13-17, 2015, Official Gay Mardi Gras, New Orleans, LA, sponsored by Ambush, GayMardiGras.COM Easter Sunday, April 5, 2015, 16th Official Gay Easter Parade, New Orleans, sponsored by Ambush, GayEasterParade.COM
costumes New Orleans, LA [504] QT PIE BOUTIQUE - 241 Dauphine St., 581. 6633
florists Baton Rouge, LA [225] FOUR SEASONS FLOWERS & GIFTS, 3482 Drusilla Ln., Drusilla Shopping Center, 924.1386, 1.800.237.5381
guides America Damron Travel Guide, 800.462.6654, www.damron.com Gulf South/United States AMBUSH Mag, 828-A Bourbon St., New
groceries/delis New Orleans, LA [504] QUARTERMASTER DELI, THE NELLIE DELI, 1100 Bourbon, 529.1416
hair salons New Orleans, LA [504] BOBBY BLUE CONTEMPORARY BARBER & BEAUTY PARLOR, 906 Bourbon St., 527.5100 HEAD QUARTERS HAIR SALON, 900 Rue Dauphine, 522.2666 MICKEY NOLAN'S SALON, 815 Toulouse St., 587.7782
hardware New Orleans, LA [504] MARY'S FRENCH QUARTER HARDWARE, 732 N. Rampart, 529.4465
health help wanted New Orleans, LA [504] Club New Orleans is hiring cashiers & housekeepers. Apply @ 515 Toulouse St. (Drug testing required.) [is1414]
lodging/accommodations New Orleans [504] AARON INGRAM HAUS, 1012 Elysian Fields, New Orleans, LA 70117, PHONE: 504.949.3110, E-mail us at ingramhaus@yahoo.com. Condos with queensize beds, private entrances; located only six blocks from Bourbon Street and walking distance to most New Orleans attractions. Several favorite bars are within one block. [0714 BURGUNDY BED AND BREAKFAST, 2513 Burgundy St., New Orleans, LA 70117, PHONE/FAX: 504.942.1463, Toll Free (Continental US only): 1.800.970.2153, theburgundy.com, E-mail us at theburgundy@cox.net. Gay owned and operated in newly renovated 1890's double. Four guest rooms with private baths, guests' parlor and "halfkitchen", courtyard and half-open tubhouse with spa (hot tub/whirlpool). Clothing optional in sunbathing and hot tub area. Walking distance to French Quarter. Immediate vicinity of gay and lesbian bars/venues. [0814] THE FRENCH QUARTER GUEST HOUSES, 1005 St. Peter, New Orleans, LA 70116, Phone: 877-681-5087 frenchquarterguesthouses.com. Email: info@stpeterhouse.com. Four meticulously restored boutique Inns located in the heart of the French Quarter’s most popular LGBT neighborhood. Each building’s individual character and charm provides an unforgettably authentic French Quarter experience! FRENCH QUARTER SUITES HOTEL, 1119 North Rampart St, New Orleans, LA 70116, Phone 504.524.7725, Toll Free: 800.457.2253,FrenchQuarterSuites.COM. Email us at Reservations@bpmhotels.com. Official Host Hotel of OZ New Orleans. A locally owned and operated French Quarter hotel that has been beautifully transformed into spacious multi-bedroom suites. Several historical townhouses are also available to accommodate larger groups of up to 26. Just 3 blocks from Bourbon St., free WiFi, swimming pool, and continental breakfast included. Off street parking is available. NEW ORLEANS COURTYARD HOTEL, 1101 North Rampart St, New Orleans, LA 70116, Phone 504.522.7333, Toll Free: 800.457.2253,
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NOCourtyard.COM. Email us at Reservations@bpmhotels.com, Official Host Hotel of OZ New Orleans. A 19th century home that has been historically restored and transformed into a locally owned and operated hotel. Experience the rich history and hospitality of New Orleans at an affordable price. Just 3 blocks from Bourbon St, free Wi-Fi, swimming pool, and continental breakfast included. Off street parking is available.
marketing & printing New Orleans, LA [504] SIR SPEEDY, 343 Carondelet, 586.9812, 586.9817, offering printing and marketing services including web design and hosting. info@sirspeedyneworleans.com, sirspeedyneworleans.com
massage New Orleans, LA [504] RIGHT TOUCH MASSAGE -- Christopher - Full body therapeutic massage (Swedish/Deep Tissue); heated table; private studio; tropical garden; Faubourg Marigny Area, French Quarter. Upgrade (Salt Scrubs Bodywork & Thai/Sport Stretching massage). Call/text 504.458.5996 / For pictures http://www.christophernola.com. License #LA4553 [is2614]
media New Orleans, LA [504] AMBUSH Mag, Official Gay Easter Parade Guide, Official Gay Mardi Gras Guide, Official Gay New Orleans Guide, Official Gulf South Guide, Official Pride Guide, Official Southern Decadence Guide, 828-A Bourbon St., 70116-3137, 522.8049, AmbushMag.COM; email: marsha@ripandmarsha.com AMBUSHonLINE, 828-A Bourbon St., 70116-3137; 522.8049, ambushonline.com, email: marsha@ripandmarsha.com
museum/arts New Orleans, LA [504] BEAUREGARD-KEYES HOUSE, 1113 Chartres, 523.7257 CABILDO, 701 Chartres, Jackson Square, CAC [Contemporary Arts Center], 900 Camp St., 528.3805, cacno.org EDGAR DEGAS HISTORIC HOME, 2306 Esplanade Avenue, tours by appointment: 504.821.5009, the house tour lasts one hour, is led by a great-grand-niece of Degas, and includes the award-winning documentary video, Degas in New Orleans: A Creole Sojourn 1850 HOUSE, 523 St. Ann GALLIER HOUSE, 1132 Royal, 523.6722 GERMAINE WELLS MARDI GRAS MUSEUM, 2nd Floor Arnaud's, 819 Bienville HERMANN-GRIMA HISTORIC HOUSE, 820 St. Louis, 525.5661 HISTORICAL PHARMACY MUSEUM, 514 Chartres, 524.9077 HISTORIC NEW ORLEANS COLLECTION, 533 Royal, 523.4662 LONGUE VUE HOUSE AND GARDENS, 7 Bamboo Rd, Metairie, 488.5488, MUSEE CONTI HISTORICAL WAX MUSEUM, 917 Conti, 525.2605 NEW ORLEANS MUSEUM OF ART, City Park, 1 Collins Diboll Circle, 488.2631 OGDEN MUSEUM OF SOUTHERN ART, 925 Camp St., 539.9600 OLD U.S. MINT, 400 Esplanade PRESBYTERE, 751 Chartres, Jackson Square ST. LOUIS CATHEDRAL, Jackson Square WORLD WAR 2 MUSEUM, 945 Magazine, 527.6012, http://nationalww2museum.org
music New Orleans [504] SKULLY'Z RECORDZ, 907 Bourbon St., 592.4666
organizations New Orleans, LA [504]
ACLU and ACLU Foundation of Louisiana, P.O. Box 56157, New Orleans, LA 70156, 504.522.0628 x25, Fax: 888.537.0384, laaclu.org AIDS HOTLINE, 821.6050 in New Orleans, 1.800.99.AIDS[2437]-9 toll free statewide AIDSLaw of Louisiana, 3801 Canal St., Suite 331, 568.1631, AIDSLAW.org ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, 838.3399 BIG EASY STOMPERS, Country & Western line dancing. Weekly lessons and monthly Country & Western dance party, www.bigeasystompersneworleans.com, info@bigeasystompersneworleans.com BELLE REVE NEW ORLEANS, AIDS Residence for Families, PO Box 3305, 70177; 945.9455 COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK, a project of the NO/AIDS Task Force which works with the gay community to implement HIV prevention activities, 507 Frenchmen St., 945.4000, noaidstaskforce.com COPS 8 (Citizens' Organization for Police Support in the 8th District), 840 N. Rampart St., #51, 70116; 588.COPS (2677), cops8.org FOOD FOR FRIENDS, 944.6028 FORUM FOR EQUALITY, 336 Lafayette, Suite 200, 70130; 947.2981, ForumForEquality.COM FRIDAY NIGHT BEFORE MARDI GRAS (FNBMG), PO Box 791376, New Orleans, LA 70179-1376; 733.3311, fridaynightbeforemardigras.com, fnbmg@cox.net GAY APPRECIATION AWARDS, 828-A Bourbon St., 70116-3137; 522.8049; AmbushMag.COM/GAA GAY EASTER PARADE, 828-A Bourbon St., 70116-3137, 504.522.8049, info@gayeasterparade.com, GayEasterParade.COM GAY MARDI GRAS, 828-A Bourbon St., 70116-3137, 504.522.8049, GayMardiGras.COM GAY NEW ORLEANS, 828-A Bourbon St., 70116-3137, 504.522.8049, GayNewOrleans.COM HALLOWEEN IN NEW ORLEANS, INC., PO Box 52171, 70152-2171; halloween neworleans.com/ambush HATE CRIMES NATIONAL HOTLINE, 206.350.HATE (4283), National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800.799.SAFE (7233), Hate Crimes Hotline at the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights 800.552.6843 KREWE OF AMON-RA, PO Box 7033, Metairie, LA 70010, KreweOfAmonRa.COM KREWE OF ARMEINIUS, PO Box 56638, New Orleans, LA 70156-6638, kreweofarmeinius.org KREWE OF MWINDO, PO Box 51031, 70156; 913.5791, KreweOfMwindo.ORG, krewe@kreweofmwindo.org KREWE OF PETRONIUS, PO Box 1102, Kenner, LA. 70063-1102, petronius1961@cox.net KREWE OF QUEENATEENAS / KING CAKE QUEEN ROYALTY CLUB, 828-A Bourbon St., 70116-3137, 522.8049, GayMardiGras.COM/KCQ KREWE OF URSUS, kreweofursus@aol.com LORDS OF LEATHER, 1631 Elysian Fields, #161, 70117, www.LordsOfLeather.com
Metropolitan Community Church of New Orleans, services at 10am, 6200 St Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA 70118; 504.270.1MCC www.mccneworleans.org MYSTIC KREWE OF SATYRICON, 2443 Halsey Ave., New Orleans, LA 70114, 504.906.7990 Todd J. Blauvelt / Secretary, krewe.of.satyricon@gmail.com, MysticKreweOfSatyricon.COM NEW ORLEANS BEAR AND BEAR TRAPPER SOCIAL CLUB, P.O. Box 57756, New Orleans, LA 70157-7756, 504.298.0061, theneworleansbears.com NEW ORLEANS GAY MEN’S CHORUS, 322.7007, nogmc.com; nogmc@aol.com NEW ORLEANS JAZZ & HERITAGE FESTIVAL, nojazzfest.com NO/AIDS TASK FORCE, 2601 Tulane Ave., Suite 500, 70119; 821.2601; NOAIDSTaskForce.COM
PFLAG/NO [Parents & Friends of Lesbians & Gays/ New Orleans], PO Box 15515, 70175; 895.3936, 392.0001, pflagno.org, info@pflagno.org PRIDE CELEBRATION in New Orleans NOLAPride.ORG PROJECT LAZARUS, A Residence for PWAs, PO Box 3906, 70177-3906; 949.3609 REGIONALAIDS INTERFAITH NETWORK [RAIN], 523.3755 RENEGADE BEARS OF LOUISIANA, PO Box 3083, New Orleans, LA 70177; renegadebearsoflouisiana@gmail.com SOUTHERN DECADENCE, 828-A Bourbon St., 70116-3137, 504.522.8049, SouthernDecadence.COM ST. ANNA'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 1313 Esplanade Avenue New Orleans, LA 70116 947.2121, stannanola.org VOLLEYBALL NEW ORLEANS, PO Box 13306, 70185-3306; volleyballneworleans.com, postmaster@volleyballneworleans.com
Orleans Grapevine Wine Bar & Bistro, 720 Orleans Quartermaster: The Nellie Deli, 1100 Bourbon St. , 529.1416, QuartermasterDeli.NET
pets
spas
New Orleans, LA [504] DR. MIKE'S ANIMAL HOUSE, 1120 N. Rampart, 523.4455
New Orleans, LA [504] Club New Orleans, 515 Toulouse, 581.2402, www.the-clubs.com
pharmacy Baton Rouge, LA [225] AVITA DRUGS SPECIALIZED PHARMACY, free discrete delivery serving Louisiana, Mississippi & Texas. Certified pharmacists caring for HIV/AIDS, new-to-market & hard-to-find medications including Serostim. Local pharmacy that supports the LGBT community. www.AvitaPharmacy.COM. New Orleans, LA [504] MUMFREY'S PHARMACY, 1021 W. Judge Perez Dr., Chalmette, LA 70043, 504.279.6312, www.MumfreysPharmacy.COM. Supporting & serving the LGBT Community for over 20 years. Local pharmacy offering personalized family-like service, automatic refills & free metro wide confidential pickup & delivery. Also offering shipping for out-side our delivery area. When you call us you speak to a person, not a machine. See our ad.
photography New Orleans, LA [504] GRAHAM/STUDIO ONE NEW ORLEANS, by appointment, grahamstudioone.com
retail/shopping New Orleans, LA [504] BOURBON PRIDE, 909 Bourbon, 566.1570 COK (Clothing or Kinkl), 941 Elysian Fields, 945.9264 HIT PARADE, 741 Bourbon St., Facebook.COM/HitParadeNOLA MARY'S FRENCH QUARTER KITCHEN & BATH, 732 N. Rampart, 529.4465 QT PIE BOUTIQUE - 241 Dauphine St., 581. 6633 RAB DAB CLOTHING AND GIFTS, 918 Royal St., 525.6662 SECOND SKIN LEATHER, 521 St. Philip, 561.8167
theatres New Orleans, LA [504] CAFE ISTANBUL, 2372 St. Claude Ave., #140, 504.974.0786, CafeIstanbulNOLA.COM JOY THEATER, 1200 Canal St., 208.1180, TheJoyTheater.com MAHALIA JACKSON THEATRE OF PERFORMING ARTS, 801 N. Rampart, Armstrong Park, mahaliajacksontheater.com, 525.1052 MID-CITY THEATRE, 3240 Toulouse, 488.1460, MidCityTheatre.COM NEW ORLEANS FRINGE FESTIVAL, NOFringe.ORG Slidell, LA [985 CUTTING EDGE THEATER, 742 Robert Blvd., 649.3727, CuttingEdgeTheater,COM
tours New Orleans, LA [504] Gay New Orleans Walking Tour, Crescent City Tour Booking Agency, 638 St. Ann St., 568.0717. follow Gay New Orleans Walking Tour @ Facebook.COM
real estate New Orleans, LA [504] Latter & Blum INC/French Quarter, Steve Richards, LGBT Realtor, 712 Orleans @ Royal, Cell: 504.258.1800, Office: 504.529.8140, Website: www.SteveRichardsProperties.com, Email: SRichards@LatterBlum.com LATTER & BLUM, Agent Brian M. Pawlowski, brianrealtor@aol.com, Agent Stace McDonald, stacerealtor@aol.com, 840 Elysian Fields, 451.2495
restaurants Mandeville, LA [985] The Po-Boy Shack, 1703 N. Causeway Blvd., 626.1303 Metairie, LA [504] Chef Ron's Gumbo Stop & Pub, 2309 N. Causeway Blvd., 835.2022 New Orleans, LA [504] 801 Royal, 801 Royal St., 581.0801, 801Royal.com Clover Grill, 900 Bourbon St., 598.1010, CloverGrill.COM Country Club Restaurant, 634 Louisa St., TheCountryClubNewOrleans.COM, 945.0742 Deanie's Seafood, French Quarter: 841 Iberville, 581.4141; Bucktown: 1713 Lake Ave., Metairie, 831.1316; Deanies.COM Fatoush Mediterranean Grill, Coffee House & Juice Bar, 2372 St. Claude Ave., #130, FatoushRestaurantNOLA.COM, 504.371.5074 Gene's Po-Boys, 1040 Elysian Fields, 943.3861 Mona Lisa Restaurant, 1212 Royal St., 522.6746
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out & about in mobile 6th Mobile Bleather Weekend Presents “RODEO!” August 1, 2 & 3 with Featured Guest Colt Studio's Seth Fornea Get ready for a weekend of cowboys, honkytonk angels and burly bears on stage, as Mobile Bleather Weekend VI goes “RODEO!” For more than five years, Mobile Bleather Weekend (bears + leather) has billed itself as the South’s premier bear/leather/levi event. And each year, the event takes on a different theme. This year. It’s “RODEO!” August 1-3. And while “RODEO!” will not feature an actual rodeo, there’ll be more action than you can shake a cattle prod at. As is our custom, B-Bob’s, Gabriel’s Downtown, The Midtown Pub and Flip Side Bar and Patio will unite to become one big weekend progressive party. No run fees are charged. You’re simply invited to enjoy the Southern hospitality offered by the Mobile gay community. Friday night kicks off with the traditional welcome cocktail party at Gabriel’s. The party
then moves next-door to B-Bob’s for B-Bob’s All Star Rodeo Show, featuring the B-Bob’s Honkytonk Angel Revue (use your imagination) as well as some friendly competition drawn from the crowd. Advice? Grab your boots and hat and cowboy up! The party goes late as The Midtown Pub lowers the lights and keeps the party going with its “Notorious Outlaw Party” after midnight. Bear Saturday kicks off with the annual “Sausagefest” brunch at The Midtown Pub, with lots of elongated edibles. Saturday afternoon, Bleather VI, B-Bob’s and Flip Side Bar and Patio welcome this year’s special guest - Colt Studio’s Seth Fornea. The sometimes furry red head has raised the temperature at Colt Studios, and there’s no reason to believe he won’t do it again in Mobile. You can
trodding the boards ...from 22
The set-up is intriguing. Peter, a semisuccessful actor, turns up one evening at the apartment of his sister-in-law Kelly, a therapist and widow of his identical twin brother Craig who died a year earlier in Iraq under somewhat suspicious circumstances. In the ensuing 90 minutes, the play flashes back to the same apartment eighteen months earlier, Kelly and Craig’s last night together before he shipped out. Craig’s death is one of a number of mysteries that Shinn explores including Kelly, Craig and Peter’s interlocking relationships; why Peter walked offstage that evening in the middle of a performance of Long Day’s Journey Into Night; and why Kelly is moving out of the apartment that she and Craig shared. Shinn has written it so that one actor plays both Peter and Craig; in alternating scenes, when Peter exits (to take a phone call or use the bathroom) in 2005, Craig returns in 2004. It should make for an interesting stew. Yet the pieces never fully fit together. Kelly and Craig, particularly, come off more as sketched-in characters than organically drawn ones (I never completely bought that they were Harvard grads). As one reviewer put it “too often [the characters are] mouthpieces for the playwright’s reflections about the world we live in.” Still, it is understandable why Dying City is catnip for actors. It offers two meaty roles, especially Peter/Craig. So I can appreciate why Monica R. Harris and Matt Story decided to produce and star in the play. Director Garrett Prejean’s production, however, fails to showcase them in the manner they deserve. To be effective, Dying City requires an aura of secrets waiting to be unraveled. Instead, everything is on the level here. Harris and Story do make Shinn’s naturalistic dialog sound conversational, but Prejean has not supplied them with the underlying subtext that its stops and starts should help convey. Prejean begins the performance on a very low emotional simmer and, halfway through, he had yet to ratchet the heat up. Tension goes slack too soon. When the gut-wrenching drama arrives, it’s too little, too late and seems to come out of nowhere. What should be cathartic borders on melodrama. This is especially disappointing as Harris and Story are two actors I’ve long ad-
Envy turns contemplative with Kermit’s lament It’s Not Easy Being Green which Patterson renders with a bone-deep, late Sinatra-like gravitas. Zirkenbach matches him with personal, insightful commentary that she interpolates into What Did I Have That I Don’t Have from On a Clear Day... Things don’t stay too serious for too long as wrath gets a comic workout in the aforementioned Truly Thankful, and the Comden & Green/Jule Styne If You Hadn’t But You Did which Zirkenbach presents to full-throttled effect with her clarion voice. Su Gonczy’s subtle light and sound design add to Sin & Song’s overall atmosphere of one of those bare bones yet highspirited revues that played in Greenwich Village way back when that people still talk about. If I have one reservation about A Midsummer Night’s Cabaret, it’s that there’s almost too much of a good thing; with fourteen numbers in each act plus an encore, it begins to feel overstuffed by the second part. (The promised 10-minute intermission which expanded to 20 may have added to the feeling of excess.) One or two songs less would have left the audience wanting even more. That aside, to state the obvious, it would be a sin to miss this terrific show.
Dying City at The Shadowbox Theatre through August 2 When Christopher Shinn’s Dying City opened at Lincoln Center in 2007 it garnered much praise, although generally more for its production than the script itself. Yet, the following year, it was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist in drama. Seeing Dying City at Southern Rep in 2009, I failed to see what all the fuss was about. It was interesting but the production was lacking and, ultimately, unengaging emotionally. Five years later, my response remains the same. And, now, its backdrop of 9/11 and the War in Iraq feels somewhat stale and even, compared to current headlines of terribly challenging and complicated events playing out on world stages, like ancient history of a simpler time.
meet him at a 3pm Meet and Greet at Flip Side! Saturday evening begins with a Precontest Cocktail Party at Gabriel’s, where you’ll get to meet contestants for the weekend’s premier attraction - The 2014 Mr. Gulf Coast Bear Contest and Gay-oh-ro-DAY-o! Featuring your host, A.J. “Side Saddle” McKay! The winner will receive a cash prize, a trophy and feed for his horse!
spotlight Miss Louisiana Leatherette Aug. 9 Don’t miss the Lords of Leather’s annual camp drag contest - better known as “Miss Louisiana Leatherette”. This year’s event , poking a bit of fun at gay leather pageantry, is Saturday night August 9, promptly at 8pm at GrandPre’s, 834 N. Rampart. Come see how a combination of leather, lace, big hair and amazing talent can win someone the prestigious title, sash and $100 cash. Open to ALL artists/entertainers of the community, male or female, contestants will present their best with a leather twist and will be judged on the following: Parish Costume – representing the LA Parish of his/her choice, talent - a 4 minute stage presentation, swimwear, and evening wear/fetish wear. Winner is encouraged to participate in Lords of Leather 2014/2015 events and will hold a fundraising event benefiting the krewe and can hold others for a charity of his/her choice.
mired. Harris was nominated for an Ambie Award for her proud but put upon Lucy Brown in The Threepenny Opera and was part of Clybourne Park’s excellent ensemble. Story has done superlative work in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The American Dream. In Dying City, Harris makes Kelly very empathetic but could do more to bring out her intellectual self-assurance and the roiling emotions beneath her mellow exterior. Story provides the self-centered Peter a range of shadings from sweet to manipulative, yet could better differentiate the two brothers’ distinguishing personalties. All that said, I am fully aware that in general and particularly when it comes to art, “one man’s meat is another man’s poison.” I had similar reservations about Shinn’s breakthrough play Four; perhaps I’ll never be a fan of Shinn’s or perhaps, like David Lindsay-Abaire whose Rabbit Hole I loved after dismissing his earlier Fuddy Meers and Wonder of the World, I’m destined to be a future admirer of his. In any case, for little more than the price of a movie ticket, you have until August 2 to see Dying City for yourself. It’ll certainly give you something to think about. And you’ll be supporting our local theater at the same time.
Whatever. Contestants can register as late as the preview cocktail party. Contestants can also contact the committee at mobilebleather@att.net for more info. Late night, the party shifts next door to Gabriel’s for a little” Bear-a-o-kee”... or a lot of Bear-a-o-kee- Gabriel’s goes until you can’t. Sunday, say so long at Gabriel’s with some refreshing Goodbye Bloodies and Screws. It’s a lot to remember, but you don’t have to! It’s all right there at www.mobilebleatherweekend.com and on the Mobile Bleather Facebook page. There are two choices for host hotels. Choose from The Hampton Inn Downtown Historic District or the newly renovated Quality Inn Downtown. Both are within two blocks of the downtown host bars. Details, prices and links are available right now on the Bleather website. Supporters for Mobile Bleather Weekend VI include Bud Light, Barenjager, Hampton Inn & Suites, Quality Inn, Colt Studio Group, B-Bob’s, Gabriel’s Downtown, The Midtown Pub, Flip Side, Gulf Coast Bears and New Orleans Lords of Leather. Special promotional thanks to The Roundup in Pensacola and Ambush Magazine.
All contestants must be at the venue by 6:30pm on August 9. To get an application and more information, see www.lordsofleather.com. There is a $25 entry fee. Tickets are available from any krewe member in advance and also will be sold at the Lords’ August Beer Bust at the Phoenix on Friday night August 8. There will also be a 50/ 50 raffle and a few other surprises. Admission will be $10 at the door.
Mr. Louisiana Leather Aug. 30 Southern Decadence 2014 will bring this year’s Mr. Louisiana Leather Contest to Mags 940. Set for Saturday, August 30 at 10pm, you’ll want to come see the hottest Gulf Coast leathermen compete in the Lords of Leather annual event. Open to all males 21 years of age and older, this contest has been held since 1989. The title is nationally recognized and acknowledged by the leather community worldwide and the winner of this contest is eligible to compete in Mr. International Leather (IML) in Chicago in May 2015. Judging will be based on the following criteria: interview, street wear. jockstrap, and speech – a 90 second platform of leather ideals, goal and objectives. Medallions, a trophy and cash awards are presented to the winner and first runner-up. The winner receives a custom studded leather sash, an engraved medallion and cash toward expenses to compete at IML. The winner is encouraged to participate in Lords of Leather events in 2014/2015. The actual contest is part of a series of events to be held during Decadence this year. On Friday, August 29 a Leather Block Party will be held outside the Phoenix from 9pm until 2am with the contestants being introduced to the crowd at 10:30pm. Contestant interviews will be held during the day on Saturday, August 30. The krewe will also sponsor a “Decadent Behavior” Party Saturday at the Phoenix from 6 – 9pm. The Block Party will again be held from 9pm until 2am with the Lords hosting $10 all-you-canswallow Beer Busts each night. Then on Sunday, August 31 the Lords will host a Pre-Southern Decadence Parade Social at Mags 940 at noon before proceeding to Royal Street to view and/or walk in the parade. For an application or to get more information please contact Lord Pat Johnson at 985.687.7380 or Lord Jim Tideman at jamestideman.ids@gmail.com.
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Krewe of Satyricon Annual Bastille Day ~ New Orleans ~ Photos by Marshall Harris, Tony Leggio
Lords of Leather Annual Luau BBQ & Pool Party ~ New Orleans ~ Photos by Tony Leggio, Darwin Reed
paparazzi
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NEXT Ambush DEADLINE Wednesday, Feb. 13 504.522.8049 marsha@ripandmarsha.com
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a community within communities by The Rev. Bill Terry, Rector St. Anna’s Episcopal Church, New Orleans Email: fr.bill@stannanola.org
Politics and the Pulpit “The people of the land have practiced oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice.” Ezekiel 22. I have often heard it said that politics should not find their way into church. That church is to worship and to praise God. Yet, what do we see in the life and ministry of Jesus? What do we see in the texts called The Prophets? The words that I read portray people of God, in the case of the prophets, that push up against the powerful, the rich, and the abusers. The Gospels that I read repeatedly tell a story of concern over disenfranchisement and being marginalized. Later the Book called Acts of the Apostles touches upon economics, “They sold all that they had and held all things in common.” Churches have been both vehicles of violence and vehicles of hope and advocacy. As we all move into the 21st century the social institutions of the 20th century seem to fade away. The humanist moral grounding that was the engine for such things as labor movements and unions seem to have drifted into virtual obscurity. Yet for better and for worse the church
remains. When I say church I want to be clear I am talking about Muslim, Jew, Christian, and all manner of practitioners of faith. As I am a Christian pastor I will focus on that brand of faith that I have most familiarity with, Christianity. Let me also be clear there is Christianity and there is Christianity. As many permutations as one can imagine makes up this broad faith tradition that is centered on the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Of particular interest is the almost bipolar sense that religion and politics don’t mix on the one hand (and I would point out that historically that ain’t so). And on the other hand that a vocal minority called “the religious right” can hijack Jesus. It is high time to reclaim the living Christ that preached love not hate; yet came with a sword to vanquish injustice. It is time to reacquire the ground that has been lost to the “right” who, for my money, is wrong. Politics from the pulpit look like this: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. preaching about equality. Yes, preaching. Or perhaps a less obvious point: In 1942, William Temple became Archbishop of Canterbury. In the same year he published Christianity and Social Order. The work attempted to marry faith and socialism and rapidly sold around
140,000 copies. Let’s move a little further back lest we be accused of only looking at “modern” times. Saint John Chrysostom (4th century) said, “I am often reproached for continually attacking the rich. Yes, because the rich are continually attacking the poor. But those I attack are not the rich as such, only those who misuse their wealth. I point out constantly that those I accuse are not the rich, but the rapacious; wealth is one thing, covetousness another. Learn to distinguish.” The list is limitless and yet we forget. We allow ourselves to be misled and misguided by those that judge wrongly, harshly, and without charity. Yet, so often because of this abusive behavior by “the church”, we refuse to participate in that very vehicle that presents vast possibilities for change, healing, and union. For my money any pastor or preacher that avoids politics in the pulpit avoids Christ. For my money it is time for us to stand up. It is time to reclaim our faith and to express that faith. So, yes I believe that the church does rightfully lay claim to politics in the pulpit: perhaps not so far as to advocate for a party or politician but to preach the Gospel honestly. Let’s be honest most pick and choose what we would like to recall about our faith. But know this, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” is not a trivial statement. Nor should it be trivialized. This is powerful stuff. It does not say do not discern it is concerned with the sin of retribution, marginalization, exclusion and oppression. Be clear about this it is not something to trifle with. Yes, politics and the
pulpit rightly worked out means ACTION, ACTIVITY, ENGAGEMENT, AND WORK IN COMMUNITY. It has always been this it was a faith started by an activist it was made manifest by those that followed in action and deed. I can only say this, if you believe, or your want to believe but have been burned then try the new way. Churches are around that proclaim the true Gospel not a perverted misogynistic homophobic Gospel. Seek them out and as the great Hymn says, “Taste and See the beauty of the Lord.” Why this rant? Because I am tired of apologizing for what was wrong when some was right on. I am tired of being cast into the same pit as tele-evangelists who preach a Gospel of veiled hatred when that is NOT repeat NOT the Gospel of Jesus. I am fed up with tired old churches that do nothing and claim that they are somehow houses of the Lord. I am done with mean spirited people that roll out “Christian” euphemisms like the old ladies at a store I once encountered. “Oh all that stuff about the Saints in the Super Bowl. Emm hmm, it is of this world girl.” The other old crone with judgment replied, “Yes it is sister and they shall be judged accordingly.” You cannot convince me that when the Saints won the Super Bowl it wasn’t a blessing. When people dance with joy I am sure the same God that gave us dance, gave us laughter, and gave us hope. “Of this world” yes indeed, so was Jesus. Reclaim the eternal hope and promise of justice. It is what Jesus wants. Pre-Southern Decadence DEADLINE Tuesday, Aug. 5th 504.522.8049
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