David Atlanta Issue 36

2.13.13 #36

LIZ

CARMOUCHE: READY TO FIGHT, READY TO WIN

The Pop Evolution of

Tegan and Sara Topher Payne Gets ‘Angry’ with New Play

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6 // davidatlanta.com

A

s the President of the United States gives the State of the Union address this week, I felt as the owner and publisher of David Atlanta, it was an excellent time to reach out to our loyal readers and share with all of you the state of David Atlanta.

I am happy to report that the State of David Atlanta is excellent and the future is bright.

As the publisher of David Atlanta for some time now, it has become my passion and I love it!

Our focus on the Atlanta LGBT community is unsurpassed. Look for this focus to continue and grow as we move forward. At David Atlanta, we love the LGBT community and have strongly supported numerous charities.

These charities afford many in our community life-changing differences.

Also, exciting new plans are in the works – new features and photo shoots, as well as new parties and events. We will share some of these plans with you over the coming months. As the only Atlanta weekly LGBT publication, no one is better positioned to provide you with what is happening in the Atlanta LGBT community than David Atlanta. We are committed to you. To serve you even better, we are always open to suggestions. Drop me a line at david@davidatlanta.com.

Finally, it is my commitment to you to provide the best weekly community information possible, support our LGBT businesses and community organizations and continue the hard work and dedication to our community as so many have before us.

Sincerely,

David T hompson Owner and Publisher

The content of this Publication is for your general information and use only. It is subject to change without notice. The opinions expressed by any writer, advertiser, or other person appearing in the Magazine are not necessarily those of the Publication, its management or staff. The information and materials appearing in the Magazine are not guaranteed or warranted as to accuracy, timeliness, performance, completeness, or suitability of the information and materials found or offered for a particular purpose. It shall be your responsibility to ensure that any products, services, or information available through this Publication meets your specific requirements. The Publication is not responsible for claims made by advertisers, content of information, changes, events, and schedules. The Magazine contains information and material which is owned by or licensed to the Publication, including but not limited to articles, advertisement, design, layout, graphics, and logos. No part or portion of this Publication may be reproduced in any way without the prior written consent of the Publisher. Unauthorized use of this Publication may give rise to claims for damages and or criminal offenses. Your use of the information or materials in the Publication is strictly at your own risk.

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TOC

2.13.13 Issue #36

Cover > Liz Carmouche Angry Fags Tegan and Sara

16 20 24

Feature > Eli Lieb Opinion - Religion

42 50

Seen@ > Blake’s 10 Joining Hearts 30 Burkhart’s 40 Friends 58

16

The Rest > WTF!?!? Tidbits 12 Untucked 14 with Brent Star the Scene 34 Bartab 36 Datebook 37 Comics 52 Protect Your Monster/ Top 10 54 Fairyscopes 56 Classifieds 57 Bitch, Please!

60

20

COVER: MODEL Liz Carmouche

8 // davidatlanta.com

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Lady Gaga’s former personal assistant, Jennifer O’Neill, hit her with a lawsuit back in 2011, claiming she’s owed more than $393,000, plus damages, for 7,168 alleged unpaid overtime hours. Cut to the scene at a Manhattan lawyer’s office a few days ago, where Lady Gaga was interviewed for six hours, and she didn’t bother filtering herself, taking the liberty of flinging plenty of expletives at Jennifer and her attorney, according to the The New York Post. A few gems: •

By Lucas Witherspoon

I

“[Jennifer O’Neill is a] fucking hood rat who is suing me for money that she didn’t earn. […] You know what, she didn’t want to be a slave to [the queen of the universe], because in my work and what I do, I’m the queen of the universe every day.”

“She slept in Egyptian cotton sheets every night, in five-star hotels, on private planes, eating caviar, partying with Terry Richardson all night, wearing my clothes, asking YSL to send her free shoes without my permission, using my YSL discount without my permission.”

“I’m not going to give [her $400,000] so she can go to Intermix and buy herself a new tube top.”

n case you missed it, Beyoncé performed at the Super • Bowl over the weekend, where she basically brought down the house, weave-slapped the peasants in the front row, and reunited with Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Apparently one of the stipulations for the Destiny’s Child reunion must have been that no one sings • louder than Miss Beyoncé, because she basically belted it out while Kelly and Michelle provided faint backup. It’s the price you pay, I guess.

And that, my friends, is what we call a buuuuuurn.

While at a recording studio, Chris Brown and Frank Ocean’s cliques got into an altercation…over a parking spot. This led Chris to take to Instagram to post a picture of a painting he made of Jesus on the cross with the caption, “Painting the way I feel today. Focus on what matters!” I can totally see the correlation. Remember that time in the Bible when Jesus beat up his girlfriend and got into a fight over a parking spot?

InTouch Weekly spoke to a “source” who said that Jennifer Lawrence broke it off with Bradley Cooper because she was freaked out by his love of feet. “After a bunch of dates, things got very awkward. He was always touching her feet.

It was weird, so she broke it off. [They had] six real dates and were hooking up for about a month.” …this bitch. It’s Bradley Cooper. He could touch my feet, pinch my nipples with jumped cables, spit in my mouth, sit on my face after a five-mile run, put dirt in my eyes, and I’d still be like, “So Shirley MacLaine’s daughter, Sachi Parker, who is now same time next week?” Ungrateful!

56, is releasing her memoir, Lucky Me: My Life With— And Without—My Mom, in which she alleges that And also Lindsay Lohan avoided jail… again… so there’s that. we she was 17, her mother and two of her sex therapist friends suggested Sachi have sex with her then-boyfriend while they waited in the opposite room so that they “could talk about it afterwards and validate her feelings. […] Once our mission was accomplished, we had to face the next hurdle: reporting back. We hid out in the bedroom until we heard a light knock on the door, and Mom’s voice, ‘Is everything OK in there?’” Shirley’s publicist has neither confirmed nor denied the incident, but did say it doesn’t sound like something she would do. The hell it doesn’t!

Bitch is a nut (a fabulous nut, but a nut nonetheless). I remember seeing her on Oprah a few years back when she talked about how she lives in the dessert so that she can take walks and go alien-spotting. I imagine a young Shirley MacLaine knocking on her daughter’s door during sex channeling Amy Poehler as Regina Georgia’s mom: “Can I get you guys anything? Some snacks? A condom? Let me know! Oh, God love ya.”

12 // davidatlanta.com

@DavidAtlantaGA // 13

Um, About ‘The Other Show’!

S

ince I had the night off, I decided to go support one of the new drag shows at The Jungle right quick called The Other Show! This show is actually the brain child of popular Armorette, Edie Cheezeburger. She is the host, the star…and that bitch is out of town this week and I’m sure untucked! But she definitely has a loyal following because every time one of the emcees mentions her name, they cheer as if she can hear them.

Wait…did I just say one of the emcees? Um, actually what makes this show unique is the fact that the whole cast take turns emceeing. Hell, I’m surprised that DJ Christopher Kind didn’t come down from the booth and get his turn on that mic. But I love it! This is the type of drag show where its strength relies on the entire cast’s ability to hold a crowd through quick wit and bantering back and forth more than just lip-syncing. I was like, “Oh, that’s why it’s called The Other Show!”

Don’t get me wrong, all of the girls still perform two numbers each, but it was as if that was secondary. I personally found all of them entertaining but the biggest mouth of them on this night was Justice Tyana Taylor. She’s such a natural on the mic with clever quips here and there about her job and Adele. And of course I enjoyed how she got the hot straight boy (wearing his white collar work clothes) with his girl to get on all fours in front of the crowd.

Newcomer Miami Royale was definitely the Thelma to Justice’s Louise or the Kim Zolciak to her Nene Leakes, as they had no problem slaying each other with those sharp reads. Seasoned performer Jaye Lish knows how to dish too. She started off tickling us with her physical comedy during her drag routine…with that hilarious camp make up she wears.

Oh, by the way, all these girls paint themselves as if they’re trying to win an Oscar for Best Makeup! Look at Ms. Evah 14 // davidatlanta.com

Destruction: girlfriend had her eyelashes painted on as her porcelain looking cherry red lips talked smack to us. The outrageous Jasmine Antoinette came out as a Stepford Wives type with her robotic moves and her theatrics in which I love. And finally, Violet Chachki burst out onto the stage wearing a very colorful two piece lady suit breaking it on down for the kids.

This show is every Friday at the Jungle’s new smoke free “cabaret room” (which used to be the Lobby—you gotta go check out their new renovations!). These girls are a part of the new generation of drag in this town. Keep up the good work girls, and always remember: “The race is not given to the swift, nor to the strong, but to those that endure until the end.”

Liz Carmouche Ready to Fight, Ready to Win

By Emma Harger 16 // davidatlanta.com

L

iz Carmouche has been all over the world—born in Louisiana, raised in Japan, served three tours of duty in the Middle East, now living in San Diego—and actually discovered what she wanted to do with her life while serving in Iraq in 2009: she wanted to fight.

Being in the Middle East was like being “in [a] parallel world...where you don’t have to worry about bills or obligations to other people, you just focus on your job and getting the job done,” she said. That clarity of mind helped her realize that what she was doing just for exercise, when she wasn’t doing her work as a helicopter electrician, was something she actually wanted to do for a living.

So when she got home, she went into the world of mixed martial arts, or MMA, fighting. MMA’s popularity has surged in recent years, though the sport’s roots go all the way back to ancient Greece, and fights take in millions of dollars in revenue. Women’s MMA fighters are gaining more awareness and compete in organizations including Bellator, Strikeforce and the all-female Invicta.

In Carmouche’s very first professional fight in May 2010 at Native Fighting Championship 5, she defeated her opponent Aleena Albertson in less than a minute via submission. Her second bout against Margarita de la Cruz Ramirez less than a month later went on much longer—five minutes—before a doctor stoppage declared Carmouche the winner. Before summer 2010 had ended, Carmouche fought in her first Strikeforce challenge and won by unanimous decision.

one of the fighters, Carmouche, is openly gay.

All three of her tours with the Marine Corps were served during the era of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. She has opened up about how tough it was to hide who she was: coping with slurs, people trying to out her and other people who were forced to keep the secret too. Right as she was leaving the service, she decided—despite DADT still being in place—to tell her military friends the truth.

To date, she’s fought nine different times and lost just twice. Her career took off like wildfire and she was in a position to challenge Strikeforce champion Marloes Coenen in March 2011, before her career was even a year old. She lost that bout, but still considers it the most rewarding and best fight in her books because it was like a turning point for her.

The way they responded has set a precedent for how people in the MMA world have taken to learning that she is openly gay: not much backlash at all. The inspiration of a supportive atmosphere in Carmouche’s training gym gave her the ability to be out through her entire fighting career.

Coming up on Feb. 23 is maybe the biggest moment of her career so far: she will face 135 lb. Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey in the title fight of UFC 157 in Anaheim, Calif. This fight is going to make history in at least two ways: it will be the first-ever women’s fight in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, plus

The Carmouche-Rousey fight became the main event for UFC 157, the one featured on posters and at the top of the fight cards, after a successful social media campaign got the attention of promoter Dana White. White said that, while most other women fighters were finding reasons not to face Rousey, Carmouche wanted it. @DavidAtlantaGA // 17

“It was amazing,” Carmouche said.

“It’s a real honor to be the main event and to be a part of history…I never expected that we’d be in the position that we are today.”

There was an outcry from some MMA fans on the Internet who objected to the idea of two women battling it out in the main event— there’s even a doctored version of the UFC 157 poster that features male fighters Lyoto Machida and Dan Henderson as the main event instead—but Carmouche’s dedicated fans (she calls them Lizbos, though her coach was the one who thought up that term) and others don’t care about that pettiness.

“It’s amazing to think that there are so many people out there supporting me,” she said.

Carmouche is considered the underdog in this fight because Rousey is the champion and has a lot of hype, but the two of them aren’t engaging in any social media trash-talking or attempts to intimidate. Rousey has said that she knows she can’t get inside Carmouche’s head prior to the fight because of her military experience; Carmouche says she’s found a flaw in Rousey’s technique but won’t reveal it.

But when Carmouche isn’t training for upcoming fights, she lives a quiet life in San Diego with her girlfriend and focuses on the success of helping train other fighters at an area gym. She helps to train young fighters and Carmouche says that she really just wants to help them follow their dreams, whether or not they involve the ring.

The history-making UFC 157 event will be available on payper-view, so check with your TV provider for specific details. Or, you can follow Carmouche on Twitter at @iamgirlrilla.

18 // davidatlanta.com

@DavidAtlantaGA // 19

‘ANGRY FAGS’ Take Over 7 Stages

By Nicholas Grant

A

tlanta-based playwright Topher Payne wanted to write a new work that was “something about friendships between gay men, that odd mix of support and competition we experience, and the shift in dynamics when a new romantic possibility gets tossed in.”

He didn’t stop with such a simple and well-worn plot, however. “And then on what I thought was a totally unrelated note, we’re living in a time when mass shootings and terrorist attacks, while no less horrifying, don’t really surprise us. We’re always left wondering how an event like that could happen. So I got interested in the idea of what causes a person to break, and make an unimaginable choice.”

The seemingly volatile combination of both comes to a head in the world premiere of Payne’s Angry Fags begins previews at 7 Stages on Feb. 21, with an official opening on Feb. 23 and running until Mar. 17.

new: pure, unfiltered rage. Cooper presents the argument that no one is afraid of gay guys, not really. This dark comedy explores how good ideas about fighting for freedom and equality go bad, with fascinating forays into American politics.”

As if tackling such subject matter wasn’t enough, Angry Fags also marks the stage debut for local radio personality, GA Voice columnist and Huffington Post contributor Melissa Carter. Carter spent 15 years in morning radio as co-host and news director, and currently serves as afternoon anchor, on All News 106.7 in Atlanta.

When asked about her biggest fear in making her theatrical debut in Angry Fags, Carter replied, “The fear of forgetting my lines. But I know I am in good hands with the cast and crew, and am looking forward to standing in the theatrical trenches with my fellow actors.”

Atlanta audiences may well connect with the plights of the characters in Angry Fags by simply recalling countless acts of violence and persecution against the LGBT As described by 7 Stages, “Cooper and Bennett are not a gay couple—just a couple of gays. When one of their community, both nationally and locally. Perhaps the most friends is the victim of an assault outside a local bar, they memorable local event in recent years was the raid by the Atlanta Police Department of the Atlanta Eagle on Sept. feel helpless, frightened, and then they feel something 20 // davidatlanta.com

10, 2009. Payne, however, has experienced first hand the prejudices and anger some people have towards gay members of society.

“I got jumped by a couple guys while I was working in Oregon a few years ago—my face got pretty bashed up, I still have no idea why it happened. So I knew the experience of a sudden, random assault, where you’re thrown into self-preservation mode without warning. I did nothing to provoke it, you know? I was just forced into a fight.

Long after the shock had subsided, I was still so furious about it. I get mad thinking about it now.

“With the characters of Bennett and Cooper, I explore a scenario where two guys just get sick of it. They come to believe that no one is granted the rights they deserve until people are afraid of the consequences, and no one is afraid of gay guys. They’re seen as less than men, not a legitimate threat. They’re done with being left on the defensive. So they buy some guns, go on the offensive.

Let other side feel what it’s like to be caught off guard.”

Topher Payne

When asked why some people see gay people as having a separate agenda that stands against traditional American values, Carter says “We as a society still seem to have an ‘us/them’ mentality when it comes to anything different.

I have found that once these people get to know a gay person, or accept a gay family member they are rebelling against, their stances change.”

Payne goes on a bit more on the same subject. “In a sense, we’ve all been forced into a fight we never asked for. In 2004, 75% of voters supported making marriage equality unconstitutional in Georgia. That’s 2.5 million people announcing that our relationships, and the authenticity of our lives, simply don’t matter to them. They can say they’re just protecting traditional values, or their religious convictions, whatever. It’s fear, it’s the tyranny of the majority, and it’s hate.”

Angry Fags is marking another important first for 7 Stages. The show is the first production being produced by the company under new Artistic Director Heidi S. Howard.

“During the planning phase for this season, I asked Topher what he had available to read and this is what he gave me. I knew immediately we needed to do this, with our history, and as we move to the future, bold choices of producing such plays allow us to be challenged as humans as we develop relationships and respond to our political and social surroundings.”

Melissa Carter

“In our industry, we talk so much about audiences shrinking, how people have lost the theatre habit. And I’m left asking, ‘Well, what are you offering them?’ If you want people to get excited about live performance, make it relevant.

“The reason I knew Angry Fags was right for 7 Stages was because they didn’t flinch when I told them the title.

It serves as its own disclaimer, both for producers and for audiences. This is an aggressive, unapologetic, brutally funny piece of theatre. It’s designed to provoke a response- there’s no way to passively experience this play.

So if you’re the sort of theatre that has the balls to put that title on your marquee and own it, then I think you’re ready to have the conversation it inspires.

“Make it dangerous, fun, sexy, scary. At least, that’s the theory. We’ll see if I’m right.”

Payne does not couch his language or opinions in regards Angry Fags holds its world premiere at 7 Stages on to the subject matter in Angry Fags, nor theatrical audiFeb. 21, and runs through Mar. 17. For more informaence’s potential reception of the pieces he has created. tion and tickets visit 7stages.org. @DavidAtlantaGA // 21

THE

TEGAN and SARA INTERVIEW

Quin sisters on pop evolution, advantages of having lesbian sibling and why more artists should come out

By Chris Azzopardi

photos: Lindsey Brynes 24 // davidatlanta.com

T

hey’ve been on the verge of straight-up pop music for years, but Tegan and Sara are going all in with Heartthrob.

Don’t think they’re all happy and stuff, though.

“It’s our most heartbreaking record,” Tegan reassures. “It’s a great record for people who loved our past music. It’s just that they have to get past the sound.”

The sound she’s referring to was captured in all its heavenly bliss when their seventh album’s first single, “Closer,” instantly aligned itself with some of the best pop songs of the mid ’90s. We revisited that defining era in music – and even before then, when the girls were hanging New Kids on the Block posters in their bedroom – during our new interview with the Quin sisters.

Was your first kiss with a boy?

Tegan: My first kiss was with a boy. If anything, I loved having boyfriends because I could talk about how much I liked girls with them all the time. (Laughs) In my teen years I Sara: We were reimagining our teen years when we were dated boys but I didn’t hate it. I wasn’t like, “Oh, gross.” And putting this video together. In middle school and high then I kissed a girl and was like, “One’s not right and one is school, we loved house parties. Our house parties then definitely awesome.” would’ve been an R-rated version of this. We were fairly disgusting and doing things that I would be embarrassed For this album you really immersed yourself in to have on camera. I’m like an old woman now. A house ’80s and ’90s pop music. What was the first pop party for me now means more than two people over and album you owned? me going to the store to get wine. (Laughs) Tegan: Our house parties have gotten quite a bit less Sara: My first choice as a child was New Kids on the interesting than they were when we were younger. I still Block. We had all the records, sleeping bags and posters. think we can throw down a pretty mean shindig, but we Everything you could possibly have. Then I branched into don’t generally do karaoke. And I’ve never had a costume punk, grunge, rock and indie rock. It’s only recently, in the party. last six or seven years, that I’ve gotten back into what I would now classify as pop music.

“Closer” could really be the theme song to Tegan: New Kids on the Block was huge for us. That first somebody’s first kiss. What songs remind you cassette tape that came out in 1986 was, besides children’s of your first? music, the first music that we picked ourselves. It was very empowering. Around that same time, I remember really Sara: There’s something about Björk, because this girl getting excited about Michael Jackson, because he was on I had a crush on loved (Post), and if I hear it now I’m the radio all the time. In sixth and seventh grade it was Janet completely transported back to high school. I never could Jackson, Paula Abdul and Ace of Base. I think our parents have told her that I felt something for her, that I had a were slightly horrified because we grew up with U2 and crush, so whenever I hear any songs off of Post I immedi- Bruce Springsteen, so we were much more blue-collar than ately go there. that. Then came dance music – as much as we were total Tegan: I remember discovering Ani DiFranco and really punkers and really into hardcore music, we were really into embracing the side of me that liked girls. I was also really dance music, too. And then we got into Nirvana and we’d go into Ace of Base and I would sit in my parents’ huge to raves on the weekend. We were very confusing. (Laughs) Jacuzzi tub in their bathroom and fill up the tub after school and sit in it and talk on the phone (with my friends) Why didn’t a full-on pop album come before this and listen to that Ace of Base record over and over again. one? Are you just at a point in your career where It’s so weird that I was naked the whole time. (Laughs) you don’t really care what people think?

Are your house parties anything like the one in the video for “Closer”?

@DavidAtlantaGA // 25

Sara: We’ve been around now for 13 years, and you almost do stop caring what people think. If anything, you try to stop caring because you think to yourself, “We made some of our best music when we didn’t have an audience. We didn’t think anybody cared about us.

So maybe it’s best to go back to when you’re trying to excite yourself and the band, and ultimately people will gravitate toward that.”

Tegan: I think we were self-conscious. We didn’t think we could just jump right in, and I’m so glad we didn’t.

I think we would’ve alienated our audience – and I also think we would’ve just alienated ourselves from our genre, as well. We were so indie rock that if, all of sudden, we made a pop record, they would’ve been like, “What the fuck?” This gradual evolution has been necessary. I don’t think we would’ve existed if we had tried to do it differently.

Did you worry about the hipsters who can’t really appreciate anything beyond that angsty indie rock?

Tegan: No. It’s not necessarily hipsters, but there is a certain type of person who is really interested in what’s cool and being hip, but they don’t actually buy records.

So when we sat down to make this record with Greg Kurstin, we talked about our fears. He said, “Don’t worry about your fans. You wrote great songs. Who cares if you put a bunch of keyboards on it? That is what you’re listening to; it’s what you’re inspired by. Embrace that part of yourself and don’t worry.”

26 // davidatlanta.com

Heartthrob is that record where I just want people who love that record. We’ll take anybody. I don’t really care.

If people from the dance world like it, great. If people from the indie world like it, great. If it’s those people who like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, that’s fine, too.

Sara, feeling isolated within the queer community and not having LGBT role models is what inspired your song “I’m Not Your Hero.” But you had Tegan. Most people would think that would be the best kind of support. Is that not the case?

Sara: Certainly having Tegan in my life has meant that I feel inherently supported, because I have someone who is like me and who is going through a lot of the same experiences I am. My life would be entirely different if Tegan were straight. I’ve always had this person who reflects, for good and for bad, so much of me. We look the same, and we enjoy so many of the same things and have so many of the same ideas about the world.

We have this band and we also share this culture and identity of being queer.

I can say all that now as an adult in my 30s, when I’ve built a whole language for myself around that identity – but when I was 15, 16, 17, I didn’t have any of that.

In fact, I had no idea if I was really gay or if Tegan was gay. I didn’t understand any of that. I was astoundingly confused and blind about what was really going on, and there was lots of loneliness in that.

Talking about feeling isolated within the queer community is so hard. It’s hard enough when you just sort of exist within a community and sometimes you feel like they’re actually not representative of you or like that’s all you have. It’s complex, and there was a time in my life where I felt all of those things.

It gets even more complex when you are a public person and now you represent both people. You feel sometimes there’s a burden there, and sometimes you feel proud and other times you feel like everybody is mad at you because you’re not saying the things they would say. It’s complicated.

Is it a double-edged sword to talk about being lesbians because you care about the gay rights movement but also because you just want to be musicians?

Tegan: I won’t deny that there have times in the last 12 years that I wish we never said we were gay.

It overshadows the music, for sure. But honestly, and without coming off cheesy, every single day right now it feels like I run into someone who tells me a story about them or someone they know or their kids where they found comfort in that we’re different and we’re outspoken, whether it’s because we’re gay or because we’re women or because we have funny haircuts. (Laughs)

experience to compare it to. I always had a best friend. I always felt like I had someone who was someone I could check in with. We always had each other. But I think being gay is so complex and I felt incredibly isolated in that, in not understanding my identity. The world at large is projecting an image of heteronormativity all the time, and you’re thinking, “I’m not like that. I don’t behave like that.”

Tegan: Being a twin, because we didn’t come out until we were almost out of high school. I didn’t feel weird about being gay, because we had gay friends and we had a really alternative group of friends and my mom was a social worker. Being a twin and just always being grouped together – always having to share same stories, the same friends, everything – it was so hard. That was way harder.

If you’re having a disagreement in the studio, who wins that battle?

Tegan: It depends on who wrote the song. If it’s Sara’s song and she disagrees with me, she ultimately has veto power – which is annoying, because a lot of times I’m right. (Laughs) Sara: We’re fairly democratic in the studio. We’ve never really had a huge blowout over a decision about a song in the studio. We’ve had blowouts about a lot of things, but it’s not usually like, “Hey, I There seems to be people finding incredible comfort think this guitar should be like this.” and inspiration and empowerment in who we are.

We’ve had people be like, “Oh, they’re gay or “Oh, What’s your biggest pet peeve about each that’s gay music” or “I don’t like gay people,” but other? we gain so much from being out that it kind of neutralizes that. Like, I don’t care. There have been Sara: She’s incredibly stubborn, and there’s this moments where it’s been dark, where someone is impulsive go-for-it attitude – and sometimes that really homophobic, and I just wanna, like, run away drives me crazy when it seems like it’s going and hide. Instead I just pick up a 2-by-4, metaphori- against me. But when it’s in terms of bringing us to cally speaking, and bash through it and keep getting the next level, I love that confidence and bold-headup on stage and being proud of who we are. ed stubbornness. That’s when I think, “Yes, go for it” – as long as it’s not directed at me! (Laughs) I know so many people who are closeted, and I Tegan: It would take me 24 hours to tell you all my make fun of them. I’m like, “You’re so ridiculous. pet peeves. We’ve been doing a lot of vocal work What career are you protecting? You’re supposed to – lots of warming up and warming down – but she be selling your art. You’re supposed to be projecting doesn’t warm up and warm down in her space or this image, and you’re just clouding your image be- on her time; she does it right in the middle of the cause you are not proud of you are.” You have to be dressing room while we’re trying to talk before we proud. In the end, who cares if I was cool or not. Did go on stage. It makes me wanna tackle her.

I make change? Did I help the world? That should be more important.

Have you tackled her?

What’s more challenging: growing up gay or Tegan: When we were young. I haven’t physically a twin? attacked her in probably, like, 15 years. (Laughs) Sara: I would say being gay. I had no other @DavidAtlantaGA // 27

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11 Burkhart's

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Sister Louisa’s Church 466 Edgewood Ave. SE

12 Capulets

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Swinging Richard's 1400 Northside Dr. NW

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The Bar Fitness 908 Bowen St. NW

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34 // davidatlanta.com

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Bartab

MONDAY

BLAKE’S Game Night - Brain Freeze Trivia & Family Feud back to back 11:30pm BURKHART’S Blue Monday Karaoke w/ Angelica D’Paige 11:30pm COCKPIT Big Red Cup All Day, specials EAGLE Music Videos with Scotty FELIX’S Free Pool FRIENDS DJ opens at 2pm Gilbert’s Half Priced Entrees 5-11PM HERETIC Play w/ Eddie 4pm-11pm HIDEAWAY $2.50 Domestic Beer hobnob Date Night 19.95 3 course dinner for two 5-11PM JUNGLE Stars of the Century Show 11pm MODEL T Monday Night Madness 9pm OSCAR’S Midtown Martini Club 4pm.

Service Industry Night 9pm TRIPP’S Monday Night Madness 9pm WOOF’S Texas Hold ‘Em Poker 8pm

TUESDAY

BLAKE’S POP! Karaoke with Princess Charles & Suzanne Gleeson 11pm BURKHART’S Trivia Tuesday Karaoke w/ Angelica D’Paige 11:30pm COCKPIT 80s Party 9pm, specials 5-8pm EAGLE Tuesdays w/ Tony FELIX’S Smirnoff Martini Night FRIENDS Let’s Make a Deal 6pm Gilbert’s Industry Night (complementary pizza after 10pm) HERETIC 2-Step Tuesday, dance till 11pm HIDEAWAY TEAM Trivia w/ Will 9pm HOBNOB Trivia 8:30 JUNGLE Camp with Ruby Redd 8pm MIXX Piano with David Reeb at 8pm MODEL T Texas Hold’em Poker 9:30pm OSCAR’S Show Tune Tuesday 8pm SWINGING RICHARDS 1/2 Price cover TRIPP’S Ladies Night 9pm WOOF’S Industry Day Free Wii 5pm

WEDNESDAY

BLAKE’S 5-9pm Doug’s party pop hits, The “Lust and Bust Show”11 pm BURKHART’S Humpday Karaoke w/ Darlene Majewski 11:30pm COCKPIT Balls Deep Karaoke 10pm EAGLE Underwear Night with Tony Friends Team Trivia 8pm Gilbert’s Karaoke 10pm-2am heretic 25¢ Keystone Light ,No Cover! hideaway Trivia w/ Will 9pm jungle All-Stars Competition with Phoenix 10pm model t Karaoke 10pm oscar’s ReBooT Retro 8pm 36 // davidatlanta.com

got an upcoming event? calendar@davidatlanta.com

swinging richards 2-4-1 VIP Room tripp’s Free Taco Bar 5pm xcess ultra lounge Raquell Lord’s Talent Show @ 10:30pm, Sophia Mcintosh & Fab 5 +1 @11:30pm, 18+ woof’s Food Special, Trivia 8pm

THURSDAY

blake’s Texas Hold’Em Poker 7pm, Shawnna Factor Show 11pm - $5.00 burgers all day BURKHART’S Twisted Thursday w/ Phoenix 11:30pm cockpit Dirty Boy Bingo w/ Ruby Redd eagle Balls Deep Karaoke w/ Mikey felix’s Karaoke w/ Brett & Tyler 10pm friends Girls Who Like Girls Meet Girls Gilbert’s Wine tasting 6-10pm heretic 3 Legged Cowboy Night 9pm hideaway Service Industry Night hobnob Live Music 8-11PM jungle Sing For Your Life with Barry Brandon 8pm mIXX Mens Night with Aaron & Matt at 6 pm model t Party-Time 9pm oscar’s Kickin It w/ Kyle 8pm swinging richards 2-4-1 VIP & Entry tripp’s Spotlight Karaoke 9pm xcess ultra lounge Turnt Up Thursday woof’s Food Special, Country Music 7pm

FRIDAY

10th & piedmont Live DJ 10 PM blake’s 5-9pm TGIF, Charlie’s Angels w/ Charlie Brown 11pm BURKHART’S Fab Five w/ Angelica D’Paige 11:30pm cockpit DJ Diablo Rojo, guest VJ/DJ’s eagle DJ Dance Party friends Happy Times with Kelly & Ken heretic no cover B4 11pm hideaway After Work Martini Madness jungle The Other Show with Edie Cheezburger 9:30pm; Jungle POP 11pm mixx Grown & Sexy Dance 10pm model t Saturday Night Live 9pm oscar’s 80’s Retro Vidz 8pm swinging richards T-Shirt Review, $10 tripp’s Afternoon Delights 4pm woof’s Atlanta’s Best Social Night 6pm

SATURDAY

10th & piedmont Live DJ 10 PM blake’s opens 1pm, Daring Divas 11pm BURKHART’S Extravaganza w/ Shavonna B. Brooks 11:30pm cockpit DJ Diablo Rojo, guest VJ/DJ’s

eagle DJ Dance Party felix’s Karaoke w/ Brett & Tyler 10pm friends Afternoon Party with D.J. Noon - 6pm Gilbert’s All you care to eat brunch (cooked to order) 11-4pm heretic Varies: Club Night or 3 Legged Cowboy Night - 10pm jungle Foreplay with Lily White 9:30pm; Club Night, Various Guest DJ’s mixx Guest DJ’s Dance 10pm model t Sunday Dinner 3:30pm oscar’s Total Request Videos 8pm swinging richards T-Shirt Review $10 tripp’s Afternoon Cookout 3pm xcess ultra lounge 25+ FREE til 12am woof’s Game Day All Day

SUNDAY

10th & piedmont Bellini Brunch 11 AM & T-Dance 4 PM blake’s Open at 1pm - High Energy Music & Video w/ Bill Berdeaux & Daryl Cox BURKHART’S Armorettes Drag Show club rush Hip Hop w DJ Truz, no cover cockpit PBR Beer Bust felix’s Bloody Marys & Mimosas friends Smirnoff B Mary Bar 12:30pm Gilbert’s All you care to eat brunch (cooked to order) 11-4pm and Karaoke 6-11:30pm hideaway Bloody Mary Bar 12:30pm HOBNOB Brunch - $15.00 - Bottomless Mimosas 11 AM-3PM plus 1/2 price wings 4-11PM Jungle The Day After with Knomie Moore 12-3pm; Sweet T with Bubba Dee and Wild Cherry Sucret 7pm las margaritas All You Can Eat til 3pm mixx Old School Sunday Dance 7pm model t Sunday Dinner w Ron 3:30pm tripp’s Buffet 3pm; Karaoke pm woof’s Bloody Mary bar, PBR special

Datebook

theRundown Purim Off Ponce

Feb. 16 • 7:30 p.m. • Callanwolde Fine Arts Center (980 Briarcliff Rd.)

The Rainbow Center is holding their annual Purim Off Ponce fundraiser, with a special “Paradise” theme this year. Ticket prices start at $36, and are available online. For more information, visit purimoffponce.com.

Revolutionary Romance: Audre Lorde Valentine’s Dance Feb. 16 • 8 p.m. • Rush Center (1530 DeKalb Ave.)

TaMMie Brown Invades Burkhart’s!

RuPaul’s Drag Race alum TaMMie Brown makes her debut Atlanta appearance with a two-night stay at Burkhart’s. When asked about what she’s looking for when she gets to Atlanta, Brown said, “I’m looking for some sweet ice tea, and some good time, old-fashioned Southern hospitality that you all are known for! I know it’s a cliché, but I believe that sometimes old-fashioned is better.”

For our full interview with TaMMie Brown, visit our website at davidatlanta.com.

Charis, Zami NOBLA, Atlanta Pride, Women Healing Women and Fourth Tuesday sponsor this event, open to all ages. Tickets are $20.

For more information, visit charisbooksandmore.com.

Nite OUT at the Ballet

Feb. 16 • 8 p.m. • Cobb Energy Centre (2800 Cobb Galleria Pkwy.)

The Atlanta Ballet is currently running their production of Dracula, and Saturday night is their special LGBT evening for the show.

Tickets start at $20. For more information, visit atlantaballet.com.

LovHer / LovHim

Brown will be at Burkhart’s Feb. 14, joining fellow Drag Race alum Phoenix for Dancefloor Divas at 11:30 p.m. On Feb. 15, Brown will appear with Angelica D’Paige and Drag Race alum Mariah Paris Balenciaga at 11 p.m.

Feb. 16 • 10 p.m. • Jungle (2115 Faulkner Rd.)

Valentine’s Around Atlanta

Intersex Issues

Whether you’re single, coupled up, in an open relationship, polyamorous, or something else, Atlanta’s nightlife is getting ready for some Valentine’s fun.

Heretic is hosting 3 Legged Cowboy’s Valentine’s Shindig, beginning at 8 p.m. with no cover charge. Among the perks of the evening are professional photography services, so you can get a picture made with your honey.

Feeling a little lustier? Swinging Richards is promoting a special twofor-one cover price, along with two-for-one VIP room access all night long.

LovHer and Bedlam join forces for this one-time event. Entry is $10 before midnight, $15 after midnight. For more information, visit lovheratl.com.

Feb. 17 • 2:45 p.m. • St. Mark UMC (781 Peachtree St.)

Author Lianne Simon (Confessions of a Teenage Hermaphrodite) joins PFLAG Atlanta for a discussion on intersex issues. For more information, visit pflagatl.org.

Big Gay Game Show Feb. 20 • 7 p.m. • Jungle (2115 Faulkner Rd.)

The latest episode of the Big Gay Game Show comes to Jungle this week, with appearances

by Chandler Bearden, Wild Cherry Sucret, Todd Fuller, Ian Aber, and Bubba Dee! For more information, visit lost-n-found.org.

If you want some drag fun, Shawnna Brooks is hosting a Valentine’sthemed “S” Factor at Blake’s.

Bachelor Auction

Also throwing Valentine’s parties: Model T, Friends, Oscar’s, Tripps, Hideaway and Mixx.

As a special benefit for For the Kid in All of Us, Charlie Brown is hosting a special Bachelor Auction, featuring a dozen eligible bachelors.

For more information, including bios, photos and profiles, visit forthekids.org.

Feb. 20 • 9 p.m. • Blake’s (227 10th St.)

@DavidAtlantaGA // 37

40 // davidatlanta.com

photos: Victor Ferreira

Seen@ > Burkhart’s

Do-It-Yourself

DREAM

BOAT Out Singer Eli Lieb Plays His Own Tune

By Van Gower

photos: Š 2012 by Leandro Justin 42 // davidatlanta.com

I

n today’s fast-paced entertainment culture, stars can rise and fall almost overnight, especially when their arcs are dictated by the corporate music powers-thatbe. A rapidly increasing generation of new entertainers, however, is choosing to take the reins of their careers from the beginning and charting their own courses just as personally as they craft their art.

Are the lyrics – and the dreamlike underwater scenes of you in the “Place of Paradise” video – influenced by something personal you went through or your lifelong practice of Transcendental Meditation, or a little of both?

The Iowa native, who got his start by posting homemade videos of himself on YouTube covering famous singers’ songs, took a decade-long sojourn to New York City to establish himself but – curiously – left the Big Apple behind and returned to his home state to build on that creative foundation.

What are some of the themes you explore in the lyrics on your debut album? Is there a common thread running through them or do you tell different stories?

I mean, I think that my upbringing definitely influences everything that I do. It isn’t a specific nod to TM, but my One of those entertainers is Eli Lieb. The out gay singer- spiritual life and my desire to go inward definitely come songwriter-musician released his eponymous debut from meditating and my upbringing. With the underwater album back in October 2011 and is riding a still-rising scenes, I wanted to represent more of just a holding wave of popularity thanks to his intimate and confession- space – not necessarily a womb, but that kind of idea al lyrics, diverse instrumentations, club-ready electronic where it’s your purest self and you can have that space to beats, and his matinee-idol good looks. discover yourself.

David Atlanta chatted with Lieb about his music, his humble beginnings, and the spiritual heartbeat that flows through everything he does.

Listening to your new single “Place of Paradise,” I perceive some overt nods to the dramatic flourishes and electronic soundscapes of music by artists like Bjork and Robyn, and maybe even some of the more recent work by Rufus Wainwright. Is that intentional? Are they some of your musical influences?

They tell different stories. I think that the common thread within any album that I do is just a representation of my life at the time, what my thoughts were, what my experiences were. So I think that just because it’s representing me, that kind of is the line, the thread that connects them all. The subject matter can be different from song to song, but it definitely captures that moment in time.

You’re openly gay. Have you made that aspect of your whole self an upfront one in the development of your career so far?

No. It’s just kind of there. I’m so comfortable with it and I don’t feel the need to put it at the forefront in the I’m a huge fan of Bjork and Robyn, and there are defisame way that a person who’s straight doesn’t put their nitely influences of that in [my music] because that kind straight sexuality in the forefront. It’s just another part of of music is what I gravitate towards and I enjoy making who they are. But if it’s an actor or musician, you focus that kind of stuff. I always hope that I can put in my influ- on what they are creating rather than who they are as a ences into my music, while at the same time keeping my person. It’s definitely a part of who I am and I feel happy own thing in there as well. But yeah, I love those people a representing the community in that way, in showing that lot, so I’m happy to put those influences in there. it’s totally okay to be who you are, but you also don’t have to make it only who you are. So I don’t mind talking about The “Place of Paradise” lyrics seem to be about it, I don’t mind people knowing, but I also don’t make it an intimate relationship, life changes, or finding my selling point. new hope in either one of those things, if I’m interpreting them properly.

I’m sure you’ve been asked a million and one times about your YouTube beginnings, but I’d I think it’s mostly about an intimate relationship with like to be the million-and-second person to ask yourself. It’s about self-discovery and finding that because it’s such an interesting D.I.Y. story. place of paradise within you. I definitely believe that And there are a lot of people who post videos everybody holds the key to their own happiness, to of themselves singing, so to attain the level of their own way through life – and everybody comes attention and success you have from that venue into this world, I feel, complete and it’s just a matter is pretty impressive. Are you happier that you of discovering that within yourself. And I think that’s took that route rather than through a cattle-call mainly what the song is about.

T.V. competition show like “American Idol” or a similar approach? @DavidAtlantaGA // 43

Why did you cover their tunes in particular?

The one thing I’ll say for people is that if they write music and they want people to know it, you should start by covering other peoples’ songs because you could have written the most incredible song ever and put it on YouTube, but if nobody knows who you are the chances of people hearing it are very low. They won’t know to search for you. So if Adele makes a new song that people are loving, they’ll search for Adele and that song, and if you are singing it you’re much more likely to be seen by people who weren’t specifically looking for you. But then if you build up enough of a fan base off of that and you start introducing your own music, people will see it.

The music video for “Place of Paradise” had a rather unusual premiere venue itself: the Us Weekly website. Now it’s taking off on YouTube, back where you first drew widespread attention for your voice. Based on your own experience, would you recommend YouTube as an effective way for new aspiring singers to promote themselves?

Yes. I really value controlling my life and not allowing other people to control it, so I’m very happy to have been able to get into music in a way that I created and that I’m controlling. The singing competitions would be a lot more scary for me to do because I feel that, within that, you’re entering such a huge machine and they can do what they want with you. I feel really luck and super happy with the success that I’ve had on YouTube because there are so many other people doing that same thing. But I think that it’s such a great way to be able to get yourself out there, and keep control over it and be independent.

Without YouTube, it’s much, much more difficult. You look at somebody like Ani DiFranco who I love and have loved for years. She is totally independent and extremely successful, but her way of doing it was basically living in car, touring year and after year after year, playing every little town and every little coffee shop, and making herself get out there in that way. I think now with the internet and YouTube, especially, for me it enables me to not have to do it that way. That’s not to say that I don’t want to go around and tour and play shows, but I can create something wherever I am, put it out online, and potentially have millions of people see it.

Also, those YouTube videos you posted of yourself singing covers of songs by Adele, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, and Britney Spears seem to point not only to their successes on the charts, but also to their stratospheric popularity among gay male listeners. You’ve even covered Adele’s recent “Skyfall” James Bond theme already.

44 // davidatlanta.com

Yeah. It’s a difficult thing because it’s very easy to get lost in YouTube, but I always say to anybody who wants to get their work out there, the main thing to do is just get their music out there any way that they can, in multiple ways. Put yourself on YouTube and see what happens.

Also, when I first started out I was playing a ton of open mics in New York City, and you just have to keep on doing it in many different avenues, many different ways. As long as keep on having forward momentum, even if you don’t know where it’s going or necessarily which direction to go in, as long as there’s direction to go forward, stuff will unfold for you.

Your self-titled debut album is already out, and you’re currently working on its follow-up. What can fans are who discovering your music now expect from the second album?

It’s definitely still me. I think that I’ve evolved, because my debut album was recorded over a year ago and I’ve been learning as I go along and picking up more and more information. But this one is definitely still has my sound to it but is more mature. I’m personally really excited to get it out because I just like it more. I am right now just finishing it up, and will hopefully it will be out soon.

For more from Eli Lieb: Web: www.elilieb.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/eliliebmusic YouTube: www.youtube.com/elilieb

On February 1, 2013 the LGBT community lost a great friend and supporter when Bente passed peacefully with her son Stephen and two friends at her side. In true Bente style, she passed with her beloved Pharr Library jacket draped over her, along with beads from New Orleans and the soundtrack of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert playing in the background.

Bente was born in Denmark. She worked as a pediatric nurse before marrying and moving to the U.S. She had two sons, Michael and Stephen, and eventually settled with them in Atlanta in the 1970s where they owned and operated Viking Sports Center. She also worked at The House of Denmark, but most know her for her many years of service at Haverty’s.

Bente became a fixture in Atlanta’s gay scene in 1980 when a friend took her to her first tea dance at the Limelight. Her exact words on that night were, “I’ve never been so scared in all my life!” That fear did not last long. She cherished her times at The Pharr Library, The Armory, Backstreet, Burkharts, Blake’s and Amsterdam. Bente could be found at least once or twice a week at any one of these establishments with an ice-cold beer in her hand and an arm wrapped around one of her “flawless men.” Her love for her guys was unconditional and she will be missed.

Thank You, Atlanta and Georgia Friends and Family!

You are sweeter than your tea and hotter than HOTlanta. You brought us the best of The LGBT A. You worked, you mingled, you volunteered and you made Creating Change 2013 special with your warm Southern ways. We leave y’all knowing that we can hustle back to the Dirty South and we’ll be right at home.

Build Power

Take Action

Create Change

www.theTaskForce.org @DavidAtlantaGA // 49

OPINION

Life Without Jesus

By Sam Peng

C

lutching his hands, a young man looked up from where he was kneeling, and akin to a benediction that invokes the divine, he became a believer. A true atheist going back to the whole of his life, what was the turning point, defining moment that took this young man under its brilliant wings and made him a converter of religion? In discovering the true nature of a person’s chosen stance in Christianity, one should look into the everlasting struggle of humanity’s inner angels and demons.

sudden disobedience and the human nature’s desire to adapt, he does things he shouldn’t be doing. Overtime, he becomes sort of a soulless person. But you don’t have to be a hypocrite to be soulless. Perhaps you are an atheist or an agnostic who questions the existence of religions.

But how does one modulate a life without the comfort, trust of a higher power?

The great philosopher Frederick Nietzsche, whom many believed to be an atheist, was once quoted as saying, As we grow up from childhood, we are taught manners, “In Christianity, neither morality nor religion come into contact with reality at any point.” What he meant by we obey rules, and we learn to react a certain way in consternation. So in a way, belief, in general, is also given that is that God simply does not exit in life. That He is a to you without the consent of your would-be knowledge nonevent. That He can not exist. Nevertheless, in spite of of faith in the future. And faith, as in Christianity, gives the atheistic teachings, there will be times when a person us hope, trust and a promise of exoneration of past evil reaches the deepest of depth and the darkest of the night deeds and malevolent sins through deliverance. Then I during his life and there’s little in the face of reality that ask, in hindsight, is a routinely sinful person free of pun- will grant him salvation. ishment if he so proclaims himself to be a true believer of God? The young man, in full surrender at the fringe of his psychological existence, was now in God’s hands. He This person, in retrospect, is what most people called a admitted defeat and laid down his gauntlet, and in his hypocrite. Religious hypocrites run rampant in our society. confession he bellowed out, “Please, God, save me.

Those are the ones in churches with their heads held high Please, set me free. Please, take it from me.” With that, and look right through you as if you don’t exist. Basically, in a transcendence of soul and light, he gained complete a hypocrite, per Oxford dictionary, is someone who has “a realization of the fact that the impossibility can happretense of having religious beliefs or principles that one pen, that one plus one does not always equal to two. does not really possess.”

He learned to achieve the symbiosis of good and evil by letting the angels in to combat his inner demons. For the I have a firm believe that this behavior stems greatly from past ten days he was soulless. But now, blinded by floods the enormous Christian knowledge and the infinite teach- of tears, his spirit was uplifted and above all, had found ings of the word of God that one carries on the shoulsolace. He became a believer. ders during his life; like a burden. He faces unbearable challenges in life. Finally, the pressure tips over and in a That young man was me.

50 // davidatlanta.com

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Our Season Starts March 17th – so sign up NOW.

For more information, visit our website at @DavidAtlantaGA // 51

COMICS

52 // davidatlanta.com

@DavidAtlantaGA // 53

PROTECT YOUR MONSTER

BY RICHARD MARSHALL

TOP 10 1.

Suit & Tie -Justin Timberlake feat. Jay-Z

2. The One-Tom Tzar feat. Graph Gonzales 3. Nuclear-Destiny’s Child 4. Running to the Sea-Röyksopp feat.

Susanne Sundfor 5. Andre-JoJo 6. Kisses Down Low-Kelly Rowland 7.

Summertime Sadness (Monsieur Adi Remix)-Lana Del Rey

8. So Good to Me-Chris Malinchak 9. Forrest Gump-Frank Ocean 10. You (Ha Ha Ha) (Goldroom Remix)Charli XCX

By Dustin Shelby. Check out more music at Dustin’s blog at www.echodust.com 54 // davidatlanta.com

fairyscopes ARIES (March 20 – April 19): This is not the time for

LIBRA (September 23 – October 22): You’ve got too

new projects—your energy is better spent on finishing stuff up so you can start afresh in the near future.

Things are still pretty good for you, so it’s time to clean house!

much stuff going on right now, and it’s time to drop a few activities if you can. You can return to them in the near future, when your energy levels return to normal (more or less).

TAURUS (April 20 – May 20): Your dream projects are moving a little close to reality this week—but only if you provide the motivational force! You shouldn’t fear rejection or disbelief, and most people are ready for nearly anything.

SCORPIO (October 23 – November 21): You’re filled with creative energy just when most other people are droopy and barely awake. It’s a great time to sneak away by yourself or with those few others who are still energized, and make something beautiful.

GEMINI (May 21- June 20): You’re not exactly

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 – December 20):

frustrated or despondent, but you do want to see some changes happen. Now is the time to think big and try to plot out the course of the next phase of your life.

You need to sequester yourself for a bit and think things through—your mental energy is just right for introspection and review. If you need to bounce ideas off another, that can be arranged.

CANCER (June 21- July 22): Though you feel a surge of fantastic energy coursing through your mind, it may lead to serious distraction. Try not to worry too much about what’s going on outside your comfort zone.

CAPRICORN (December 21 – January 19): Now is

LEO (July 23 – August 22): You and your creative friends are all in the right place to make something special happen. It could be an event, something arty, or just a grand social gesture that resonates for a long time to come.

AQUARIUS (January 20 – February 18): Your credit

VIRGO (August 23 – September 22): It’s an extremely slow time for everyone but you, so see if you can get folks to plod along behind you while you race ahead and get all the important work done. They can thank you later!

PISCES (February 19 – March 19): Spend some qual-

56 // davidatlanta.com

a great time to indulge your musical side. You’ve got more creative energy than most of the people around you, and you can make the most of it in a way that might impress someone close.

card may deceive you this week, so you need to be sure that you’re not just spending on autopilot. It’s a good time to keep your wallet locked up, actually, if that’s possible.

ity time alone later this week—you deserve some quiet time! If it can’t be arranged, you should still be in a good mood, as your positive energy is overflowing and impressing coworkers and family members alike.

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58 // davidatlanta.com

photos: Victor Ferreira

Seen@ > Friends

There’s a reason “sober” and “so bored” sound almost exactly the same.

“Unnecessary roughness”?

That sounds hot! #gaybowlXLVII

I’m single because my dick is so big that it killed my boyfriend.

For years, I used to scoff at the idea of Valentine’s Day…that is, until I did the math and realized my birthday is roughly nine months later.

“I never do this!” = “I do this. I just don’t ever tell anyone about it.”

“Manhunt” is supposed to be a verb, you cybersissies. Put your damn phone down. Your eyes will tell you what hot man is 30 feet away. Get up.

Get into real time. Save Atlanta nightlife.

I’m not anti-social.

I’m anti-bullshit.

60 // davidatlanta.com

For all you ATL gays, is there a man amongst you?

I hate when a really hot guy has an ugly penis.

That asshole drag queen with the police whistle should’ve been kicked out after she blew it the second time. #superbowlcomplaints

If you were a cookie, you’d be a Whoreo.

Bitch, why do you always show up late and halfdressed?

*This page reflects the bitchiness of the community not David Atlanta or its publisher (although we’re bitchy too!)

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