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EDITORIAL Tammy Annarella: Publisher Mike Macharello: Editor Special thanks to the NortHalsted Business Alliance
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COVER Performers at Market Days: Jake Miller, Deborah Cox, Alex Newell
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Northalsted Market Days Halsted from Belmont to Addison
August 13-14, 2016 11am to 10pm $10 Suggested Donation
Northalsted Market Days, one of the largest street festivals in the Midwest, returns to Boystown for its 35th year on Saturday, Aug. 13 & Sunday, Aug. 14th. R&B diva Deborah Cox returns to headline the festival, while pop singer and Warner Bros. recording artist Jake Miller makes his Market Days debut. In addition, Alex Newell from Glee fame brings his dance-pop to the stage. Festival goers should expect new and innovative interactive opportunities throughout the festival this year to celebrate its 35th Anniversary. Christopher Barrett Politan, Executive Director of Northalsted Business Alliance tells us, “Market Days draws a national and international crowd to Boystown every year. We look forward to welcome revelers for a weekend of great fun, terrific entertainment and celebration of the tremendous businesses that help create our iconic neighborhood.”
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Cover Stories Deborah Cox, a native of Toronto, began singing for TV commercials at age 12, also entering in various talent shows. She performed in nightclubs as a teenager and around this time she also began to write her own material. Much like Whitney Houston, with whom she is often compared vocally as well, Deborah Cox was discovered by Arista Records president Clive Davis shortly after graduating from high school. Davis recruited some of the top names in R&B to provide Cox with material for her 1995 debut, including Babyface, Dallas Austin, and Keith Crouch. Her 2002 album The Morning After made a big impact in the clubs with the singles “Absolutely Not,” “Mr. Lonely,” and “Play Your Part” all topping the U.S. dance charts. Deborah Cox has been recognized for her longstanding commitment to the LGBT community. In January 2015, she received the Out Music Pillar Award. In 2014, she received the California State Senate Award and in 2007, she received The Civil Rights Award from the New York Senate for her efforts in the fight for Human Rights and Equality. She was honored by The Harvey Milk Foundation at the 2015 Diversity Honors for her efforts in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the LGBT community. And just recently, on June 12, 2016, she was given the Liberty Bell and Proclamation in Philadelphia by Mayor James Kenney to proclaim June 12 as LGBTQ Philadelphia Pride Parade and Festival Day. Jake Miller has independently released two EP’s: 2012’s Spotlight and 2013’s The Road Less Traveled, which debuted at No. 1 on the iTunes Hip-Hop chart. His full-length album, 2013’s Us Against Them, sold over 33,000 copies and peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Rap chart. One of MTV’s 2014 “Ones to Watch” artists, Miller has
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shared stages with Mac Miller, Flo Rida, Sean Kingston, Asher Roth, Jason Derulo, Cody Simpson, Austin Mahone, and Sammy Adams at various radio festivals, including Y-100’s Jingle Ball and the Calle Ocho Festival in Miami, where he performed for a crowd of more than 200,000 screaming fans. He also sold out a 43-city House of Blues Tour before landing a major record deal, driven primarily by his incredible socialnetworking presence. Now that he's signed to Warner Bros. Records, Miller has been able to extend his reach even further. His first EP for the label, Lion Heart, sold 8,000 copies its first week alone and climbed to No. 2 on the iTunes Pop chart. It includes the singles “Dazed and Confused,” featuring Travie McCoy, and “First Flight Home.” Hailing from the South Florida community of Weston, Miller began rapping when he was 17, but began to take it more seriously a year later when his YouTube videos caught the attention of local news and radio stations. This led to his first-ever live performance, a plum slot opening for artist Snoop Dogg in 2011. Alex Newell, citing Donna Summer, Chaka Khan, and Beyoncé among his influences, is a singer and actor who broke through with the recurring role of Wade “Unique” Adams on TV’s Glee. He was awarded the part after impressing the show’s producers with his runner-up finish on The Glee Project, a singing competition that aired on cable network Oxygen. He played a transgender student on the musical comedy series, and Newell, who made it known on the Oxygen show that he’s a gay male, is an active LGBT rights supporter and events participant. His first single, a disco-charged cover of Sigma’s “Nobody to Love,” appeared the following spring. Some one-off singles followed, including a cover of Robin S.’s “Show Me Love” with DJ Matvey Emerson and, for Christmas 2015, an R&B ballad version of “O Come All Ye Faithful.” Meanwhile, Newell continued to appear on Glee through its sixth season, during which he performed “I Know Where I’ve Been” from the musical Hairspray with the 200-member Transpersons Choir. He also guested on the Hulu comedy series Resident Advisors in 2015. His four-on-the-floor-permeated dance-pop EP, POWER, arrived in early 2016.
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We last saw you here for Pride Fest in 2012, how has your career as a performer changed since then? I’ve traveled a lot more, recorded a ton of new material, and I am rocking a new hairstyle in 2016. 4 years flew by! Since you’re well known for playing the transgender student Unique Adams on the Fox musical series Glee, how do you like to be referred to? Unique was a great character for me to play, and it really opened the door for that demographic in the TV world, I personally identify as a gay male but am never offended when fans blur the lines of Glee and real life. You were recently on the road with Adam Lambert. What are some of the ups and downs of tour life? I missed my dog and my closet, but seeing all those beautiful faces on the road made it well worth it. Adam is a great person and it was fun touring with him! We saw a video of you performing some numbers from Hairspray with the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus, which was incredible. What other Broadway shows are you loving at the moment? Hamilton. What else can I say? I knew once I saw it, I would be talking about it for months! Amazing! What are your all-time favorite artists and type of music that you like to listen to when you’re not performing? Beyonce is my personal favorite, anything she has touched or even looked at I’m drawn to.
Do you have any advice for people wanting to follow in your footsteps? I know it sounds cliché, but it is important to be true to yourself and believe in yourself. Put things into perspective and realize, there will always be ‘haters,’ so don’t let them get into your head! On the sage at Market Days, what are you looking forward to? I can’t wait to share my music with the crowd and have fun. I’m excited to be in Chicago and looking forward to meeting old and new fans! Your song is currently number one on the Dance charts, congrats! How did you get into dance music? I can’t even begin to say how exciting that is! My debut EP, ‘Power,’ has been getting great reviews, can’t wait to share this music with Market Days! Dance music has always been something I’ve been drawn to, it’s feel good, and gets people moving. boiMAG 21
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in the know
SUMMER FAIR IS IN THE AIR
Among the many festivals in Chicago to choose from, Market Days is quite unique and has a lot to offer, this year, like the last, it falls on the second weekend of August (Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th.) The festival’s on Halsted St. between Belmont & Addison. There’s a $10 suggested gate donation to enter, that will go to help keep the neighborhood safe, beautiful, festive, and fun. Speaking of fun, you might want to check out these performing artists: Chi Chi LaRue will be on the Addison Stage at 6pm, she’s always a hoot whether she’s DJing or performing. High energy dance group La Bouche will be at the Belmont Stage on Saturday at 7:30pm, followed by Debroah Cox at 8:45. Between the two stage acts, it’s gonna be the hot and happening spot during that time. On Sunday, don’t miss Erika Jayne on the Belmont Stage at 8:45, this girl knows how to throw a party on stage and she’ll bring you right along with her to the party. If that’s not enough for you, then check out Retro on Roscoe, going on at the same time farther down Roscoe Street. For anyone coming to town early for Market Days and is looking for something to do, Retro on Roscoe starts on Friday August 12th at 5pm-10pm and runs thru the weekend until Sunday, August 14th from noon to 10pm. Besides hearing your favorite retro hits from the over the top stage acts, there’ll be a antique and classic car and motorcycle show area at Roscoe St. & Leavitt for your viewing pleasure. If you want to dump the kids off at the “Kids Area” anytime or perhaps mingle with another mom or dad, make a bee line to Roscoe & Hoyne. Summer concerts on Thursday evenings continue at the New City Plaza right at the corner of Halsted St. and Clybourn Ave. from 7pm-9pm. The concerts are free and coming up are UpBeat, a R&B/Motown group on August 11th, followed by Saddebrook country band on August 18, and Swing O Maticks, a big band/swing/jazz band on August 25th. If you haven’t made it out to the Bristol Renaissance Faire yet, you still have time. It goes on every weekend thru Labor Day weekend. It’s worth the trip, if not for the food, then for the trip back in time. The sixteen Bristol entertainment stages feature nonstop music, feats of daring stunts and an eclectic assortment of comedic performers who invite their audiences to become part of the act. Joining Faire favorites, including Dirk and Guido, the comedic sword-fighting duo known as “The Swordsmen,” ropewalker, juggler and foolish mortal MooNiE the Magnif’Cent, Guinness World Record-holding fire whip artist Adam Crack, the Barely Balanced acrobatic comedy troupe, and the Sturdy Beggars, Mud Show, will be a breathtaking aerial silk act suspended from the trees of the wooded faire site.
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LET’S GO TO THE BAR
The Chicago Rubbermen will be celebrating their 11th anniversary at Touché on August 20th with a benefit for AIDS Run & Walk Chicago. There will be a boot fetish party drawing for a pair of Chippewa Boots from Leather64Ten. The shop is right next door, so if you happen to be in the neighborhood, stop by and check out the gear. You can find a lot of custom leather goods at Leather64Ten along with other one-of-a-kind items to wear for Market Days to stand out from the crowd. Speaking of Touché, every Sunday is Beer Bust! You can get Bud & Bud Light Drafts, Soda & Cactus juice shots for $1 all night long. At SoFo the canines take over for Doggie Days and 1/2 price drafts on Saturdays between noon and 3pm. On Sunday you can start the FunDay off right with $5 Bloody Marys. On Friday, August 26th Adobe Gila’s in the New City Plaza at Halsted & Clybourn is kicking off their New City Drag Show night, featuring drag shows throughout the night. Doors open at 8pm, the shows start at 9:30pm. The have a great menu of drink specials, $4.50 Corona, $5 Fireball Shots and $20 big Fishbowls. Check out Natasha Brooklyn and Gisselle Couture on opening night. If you caught the Olympic fever, head to Crew Bar & Grill and join many others enjoying the sport activities on their 24 Hi-Def televisions. While you are there, check out their exclusive Olympic Ring cocktails.
THIS AND THAT
Back by popular demand is the Hell In A Handbag Production of Catlin Jackson as Bette Midler in “Bette Live at the Continental Baths” at Stage 773 on Belmont. You still got time to see it, the show goes through Sept 10th. For show dates and times, go to www.handbagproductions.org. The LGBT Chamber of Commerce of Illinois is hosting their annual Networking on the Lake Boat Cruise on Monday, August 22nd from 6:30-9:30pm for business owners and professionals. Participants will enjoy a three-hour boat cruise along the Chicago River and Lake Michigan on the Elite private yacht departing from Navy Pier. $100 gets you on the cruise along with a top shelf open bar and a small dinner to enjoy on the water. For more information, go to http://lgbtcc.com/networking-lake-boat-cruise-2016/ For those who what to know but were afraid to ask, the Howard Brown Health Center is giving free HIV testing at their Market Days booth. Howard Brown has been a trusted health care provider in the community for many, many years, so you can trust that they’ll be professional with your results. The Randolph Street Market, one of the largest urban antiques market is having a “Back To Cool” outdoor and indoor shopping day on August 27th and 28th (Sat & Sun) from 10am to 5pm. For more information, go to www.randolphstreetmarket.com.
SPEEDO RACER SUITS
Going for the Gold in 2016
Speedo International unveiled its line-up of federation swim suits ahead of this year’s summer of sport. The black and gold silhouette of the Fastskin LZR Racer X and Fastskin LZR Racer 2 swimsuits have been updated with a new print design, created in consultation with athletes to make them feel “superhuman” wearing it. The special edition versions of suit will be worn by Speedo sponsored swimmers and swim teams from the USA, Australia, China, Spain, Japan, Canada and Israel. Athletes that will be wearing the suits when they step for their respective countries during the summer include the USA’s Missy Franklin, Nathan Adrian, Natalie Coughlin (who is poised to become the most decorated U.S. female athlete of all time this year) Ryan Lochte, Jessica Hardy and Tyler Clary alongside Cameron McEvoy and Mack Horton from Australia, Mireia Belmonte from Spain, Sun Yang from China and Ryan Cochrane from Canada. The Fastskin LZR Racer X suit, which is engineered to help swimmers feel their fastest was developed through the analysis of the physical and psychological aspects of competitive swimming with over 330 elite swimmers, including multiple world record holder Ryan Lochte, and 20 swimming experts from 26 countries taking part in its development. The LZR Racer X design combines four crucial performance components, compression, construction, sensitivity and support, which together create the psychologically important feeling of being fast, which can lead to an actual improvement in performance. This suit is a hybrid of increased core support and compression, which together gives athletes a better feel for the water. Inspired by the athlete’s extraordinary capabilities, the Speedo Fastskin LZR Racer suits have been designed to create a powerful image with shading and contrast around muscle definition. For female swimmers, this is combined with a more feminine feel through a shaping aspect which is done through tones of colour to create shadows and highlights. The team designs also showcase bold colours taken from respective national colours to reflect patriotism. The overall effect is an even more striking and dramatic image for each team to create maximum impact on the blocks and in the water. Now we know what to watch for! boiMAG 29