Echo Magazine - Arizona LGBTQ Lifestyle - July 2019 by OUTvoices Phoenix (former Echo Magazine)

Meet this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s winners!

John Waters

is a national treasure and Valley summer highlight LGBTQ NEWS, VIEWS AND ENTERTAINMENT | Vol. 30, #10 | Issue 718 | July 2019 | COMPLIMENTARY

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INSIDE THIS

ISSUE Issue 718 | Vol. 30, #10 | July 2019

NEWS 8

Editor’s Note

12 News Briefs 14 Datebook

COMMUNITY 40 Without Reservations 42 At the Box Ofﬁce 44 Opening Nights 46 Recordings 48 Between the Covers 50 Talking Bodies 52 Not That You Asked 54 We The People 56 History

Two Gay Geeks These two self-proclaimed nerds are Ben and Keith, whose website and podcast cover pop culture topics from sci-ﬁ to comic books to horror ﬁlms. Michelle Talsma Everson helps us better know this geeky duo.

OUT & ABOUT 16 Phoenix Fan Fusion 26 Aunt Rita’s RED is the Night 62 Splash Bash

Echo Readers’ Choice Awards 2019

ON THE COVER John Waters. Photo by Greg Gorman.

We asked you to tell us about the people, places, and events that you ﬁnd exceptional. In this issue, we reveal the results. Meet the 2019 winners.

WEB EXCLUSIVES

Jeff Kronenfeld reports on a couple of cases that show recent changes in Arizona’s pot laws. echomag.com/marijuana-arizona-2019

Meet this year’s winners!

John Waters

is a national treasure and Valley summer highlight LGBTQ NEWS, VIEWS AND ENTERTAINMENT | Vol. 30, #10 | Issue 718 | July 2019 | COMPLIMENTARY

JULY 2019

Medical Marijuana patients achieve back to back victories

EchoMag.com

John Waters meets fans; photo by Alan Light.

John Waters

Espressa Grande Laura Latzko talks to this year’s winner of the Miss Gay Arizona America crown.

Spamilton: An American Parody visits The Phoenix Theatre Company From now through August 11, see the musical by Forbidden Broadway creator Gerard Alessandrini. This show lovingly satirizes Hamilton, its creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, as well as other Broadway stars and shows. echomag.com/spamilton-2019

Through ﬁlms, writing, journalism, and visual art, Waters has been sharing his exceptional wit and vision with audiences for nearly half a century. Tom Reardon had a long and lively conversation with this entertainment legend.

Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City makes Netﬂix debut Laura Linney stars in this current retelling of an American drama. Hans Pedersen breaks it down. echomag.com/maupintales-2019

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JULY 2019

EDITOR’S NOTE By Amy Young

f we don’t say it enough, we are infinitely grateful to our readers for picking up the magazine, devouring our stories, and sharing them with others. However they may affect you, we always love hearing your feedback and ideas. One way we get to know a bit of what’s on your mind is the annual Echo Readers’ Choice Awards. In this issue, we are presenting the winners in nearly 30 categories where the nominations and winners were selected solely by you. Thank you for taking the time to tell us who and what interests, excites, and entertains you — and for subsequently voting to determine the people and places that take the top slots.

Our readers help drive the Echo train, so getting inside your minds is valuable to us as we continuously move forward. It is important, though to note, that these awards aren’t about choosing winners as a way to diminish the efforts of those who received less votes. It’s about our team getting to know how you engage in the community. You’ll find the results of this year’s survey on page 29.

If you were in a rush to see who won, you may have passed by page 20 a little too quickly. It’s where Echo contributor Michelle Talsma Everson gets to know Two Gay Geeks, a selfproclaimed couple of nerds who report on pop-geekdom. Tom Reardon’s in-depth interview with the champion of all things gloriously weird, Mr. John Waters, follows. The multitalented star talks about his career, including his new book, Mr.-Know-It-All. Our features wrap up on page 38 with Laura Latzko’s article on Miss Gay Arizona America pageant winner Espressa Grande. If you are obsessed with things fourlegged and furry, start getting excited now about our August issue – Pets! We want to feed your critter obsession with plenty of adorable eye-popping photos and pet-centric reads. Amy Young is the managing editor of Echo Magazine. A longtime journalist, her work has appeared in numerous publications, regional to international. Please contact her at editor@echomag.com.

LGBTQ NEWS, VIEWS AND ENTERTAINMENT PUBLISHER: Bill Orovan ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: Bill Gemmill EDITORIAL MANAGING EDITOR: Amy Young CONTRIBUTORS: Joey Amato Kimberly Blaker Grace Bolyard Edward Castro Jenna Duncan Buddy Early Michelle Talsma Everson Tamara Juarez Justin Keane Steve Kilar Jason Kron

Jeff Kronenfeld Laura Latzko Logan Lowrey-Rasmussen Judy McGuire Kaely Monahan David-Elijah Nahmod Tia Norris Tom Reardon Seth Reines Mikey Rox Terri Schlichenmeyer

INTERNS Grace Lieberman Colby Tortorici ART DEPARTMENT PHOTOGRAPHY: nightfuse.com. ADVERTISING DIRECTOR OF SALES AND MARKETING: Ashlee James ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Gregg Edelman NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE: Rivendell Media, 212-242-6863

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MEMBER:

Echo Magazine is published by ACE Publishing, Inc. Echo is a registered trademark of ACE Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Written permission must be obtained in advance for partial or complete reproduction of any advertising material contained therein. Opinions expressed therein are not necessarily those of the publisher or staff. ACE Publishing, Inc. does not assume responsibility for claims by its advertisers or advice columnists. Publication of a name, photograph of an individual or organization in articles, advertisements or listings is not to be construed as an indication of the sexual orientation, unless such orientation is specifically stated. Manuscripts or other materials submitted remain the property of ACE Publishing, Inc. 8

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NEWS BRIEFS

Panel explores legal battle for LGBTQ rights Story by Jeff Kronenfeld Photos by Bill Gemmill

he American Constitution Society (ACS) hosted a panel exploring current and past cases that impact LGBTQ rights and potentially the rights of other marginalized groups as well. Held on June 6, the panel was made up of lawyers involved in some of these cases, plus Nate Rhoton, the executive director of one•n•ten, a non-profit in downtown Phoenix serving LGBTQ youth. Though much progress has been made on LGBTQ rights during the preceding decades, the anti-LGBTQ policies of the Trump administration and the rightward shift of state and federal courts had most of the panelist concerned if not fearful for the future. The panel — titled Brush and Nib and Beyond: New Frontiers in LGBTQ Rights — was moderated by Randy McDonald, an attorney with the law firm Perkins Coie, one of the event’s sponsors. He began with a question to Eric Fraser, an attorney who argued on behalf of the City of Phoenix’s antidiscrimination ordinance in front of the Arizona Supreme Court in January. That case was brought by a small wedding stationary company with help from the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), the latter of which is identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an antiLGBTQ hate group and is headquartered in Scottsdale. The ordinance protects people from discrimination by businesses on the basis of race, national origin, sex, marital status, religion and other characteristics. Phoenix’s public accommodation

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ordinance was originally passed in 1963, but was amended in 2013 to include sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and disability. The stationary company, named Brush and Nib and operated by Joanna Duka and Breanna Koski, claimed that the ordinance violated their constitutional rights by preventing them from stating that they refuse to offer LGBTQ couples the same service as heterosexual ones on their website. “What makes this interesting, I think, is that no same-sex couple had ever requested services from this company before they sued,” Fraser said. This marked the Brush and Nib case out from the raft of similar challenges to anti-discrimination ordinances and laws across the nation, many of which are also bankrolled and argued by the ADF. Though the city won in lower courts, ADF attorneys filed a petition that brought the case before the Arizona Supreme Court. The city filed a petition arguing their opponents did

not have standing, which the Supreme Court initially rejected, then reversed its decision just before oral arguments. “They wouldn’t let us file any more briefings on the issue, which is weird,” Fraser explained. “That would be a way to dodge this issue, as we know the U.S. Supreme Court dodged the main issue in Masterpiece Cakeshop [a case from Colorado where a baker refused to make a cake for a same-sex wedding], but there really weren’t many questions about it at oral argument, so I’m not sure whether that’s the way they’ll go or not.” Also discussed were several related cases involving a range of other wedding services, everything from cakes to flowers to video editors. The Supreme Court for the state of Washington conveniently decided one such case the morning of the panel. Ingersoll v. Arlene’s Flowers involved a same-sex couple who sued a florist for refusing to provide flowers for their wedding. The morning’s ruling was a reconsideration news

of the case in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on the Masterpiece Cakeshop case and reconfirmed the earlier decision in favor of the same-sex couple. Though the ADF’s argument was rejected, the organization seems likely to continue its crusade in support of discrimination. “The arguments are very similar in many of these cases and [the ADF] seem[s] to have been trying different places to advance their legal arguments,” explained panelist Jennifer Pizer, the law and policy director for Lambda Legal, a national legal organization advocating for LGBTQ people’s civil rights. [JW2] Another panelist, Julie Wilensky, a senior staff attorney for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, discussed a recent victory for LGBTQ youth in Arizona that demonstrated how legal proceedings can help prompt political solutions in addition to legal ones. She was one of the attorneys involved in a news

recent case that challenged Arizona’s so-called “No Promo for Homo” Law, which passed in 1991 and banned schools from including positive or even medically accurate discussions of homosexuality in HIV/AIDS education. The suit challenged the 1991 law on the grounds of an equal protection claim and outlined how it directly harmed LGBTQ youths. The suit resolved soon after the state legislature repealed the challenged law. Another important component in passing the repeal, which had been attempted several times in recent years, was the criticism of the 1991 law by new Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman. “Within two weeks [of the suit being brought] the law had been repealed,” said McDonald, the moderator. “In Arizona state politics, that’s basically the speed of light.” Despite these and other recent victories for LGBTQ rights mentioned, the discussion seemed more dominated

by concerns and fears for the future. However, whatever may come, the panelists also seemed resolved to continue the fight. “My takeaway today is that there is still so much more work to do,” said Rhoton. “It’s scary, the potential for backslide, but also how interconnected the various civil rights protections and codes are and how a quote-unquote bad decision, as it pertains for LGBTQ rights and issues, could impact so many marginalized communities across the nation and truly disrupt the fabric of our nation.” Jeff Kronenfeld is an independent journalist based out of Phoenix, Arizona. His writing has been featured in Java Magazine, the Arts Beacon, PHXSUX, and the Phoenix Jewish News, where he received the Simon Rockower Award for excellence in news reporting from the American Jewish Press Association. Links to his previously published work are available at www.jeffkronenfeld.com. EchoMag.com

JULY 2019

DATEBOOK July 12

June 27-28

For two days, the 8th Annual Statewide LGBTQ Healthcare Conference explores the theme Let’s Get Better Together. This event explores health and wellness through a variety of activities, from a community luncheon to diverse workshops. LGBTQ and behavioral health vendors will be on site and attendees will get networking time with health leaders. Tickets are $75 to $150 and the conference takes place at the Desert Willow Conference Center, 4340 E. Cotton Center Blvd., in Phoenix. letsgetbettertogetheraz.org

June 28

Join with others to honor the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. The event happens at 9 p.m. at Pat O’s Bunkhouse Saloon, 4428 N. Seventh Ave., in Phoenix. bunkhousesaloonphx.com

Looking for something new to do? La Condesa Gay Night Club’s Grand Opening might be the night out you need. Don’t worry if you’re not 21 — this club has two sides, one for 18 and older and the other for 21+. A drag show, DJs, and go-go dancers keep things high-energy all night long. This new spot is located at 5106 N. 51st Ave., in Glendale. lacondesagaynightclub.com

July 13

Rolling balls and knocking down pins is what you’ll do at Strike Out Hunger, a fundraiser for the Joshua Tree Feeding Program. This beneﬁting organization serves to provide nourishment to low-income HIV+ residents of Maricopa County. Tickets are $20 and include three games and shoe rental. Head to Let It Roll Bowl at 8925 N. Twelfth St., in Phoenix. jtfp.org

July 13

June 30

June 28-29

Navajo Nation Pride (Diné Pride) 2019 is the ofﬁcial LGBTQ+ Two-Spirit event for the largest sovereign nation in the United States. The Diné Pride Symposium kicks off the two-day fest that also includes the Be Proud Color Run, Rainbow Lighting, and the Queer Showcase. Events happen in various locations in Window Rock, AZ. 14

JULY 2019

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The one and only John Waters returns to Phoenix for his live lecture, This Filthy World. The fearless actor, writer, director, and visual artist has been creating and performing in transgressive works since the ‘70s. His new book, Mr. Know-It-All is included in the VIP ticket. Admission ranges from $30 to $99. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. at Celebrity Theatre, 440 N. 32nd Street, in Phoenix. celebritytheatre.com

The 11th Annual Phoenix Pride Community Spirit Awards: A Night in Monte Carlo! is hosted by Mister Phoenix Pride 2019, Gray Matter, and Miss Phoenix Pride 2018, Mya McKenzie. The Pride Dance Group also provides entertainment at this yearly event that celebrates and honors the community. Admission is $60. Doors open at 5 p.m. at the Penske Racing Museum, 7125 E. Chauncey Lane, in Phoenix. phoenixpride.org

Mark Our Calendars

To have your event considered for Echo’s print and online calendars, submit your event details to echomag.com/ community-calendar *All submissions are subject to Echo’s discretion.

Upcoming Concerts Jane Monheit July 12 Paris Chansons July 13 & 14

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2019 Phoenix Fan Fusion

May 24 at Phoenix Convention Center, Phoenix. Photos by Gregg Edelman.

For more Echo photos visit echomag.com/2019-photos.

Dragstravaganza at Phoenix Fan Fusion

May 24 at Phoenix Convention Center, Phoenix. Photos by Gregg Edelman.

For more Echo photos visit echomag.com/2019-photos. 16

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JULY 2019

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Out & About

Pride

ickets t d e t i Lim le! availab

hen most couples have a joint hobby it’s often something like a favorite sport, traveling, or binge watching the same show. For Keith Lane and Ben Ragunton — who have been together 23 years — their shared venture is a little different and a lot of geeky. As the founders of The Two Gay Geeks Webcast, also known as the TG Geeks Webcast for short, they collaborate on covering “all aspects of Geek-dom and Nerd-ery” on their popular webcast and website. With a motto of, “You name it, we talk about it,” their webcast has experienced continued success. When chatting, I asked the two selfproclaimed geeks the burning question that’s on everyone’s mind: what’s the difference between a geek and a nerd?

The Two Gay Geeks A local couple celebrates five years of geeky success By Michelle Talsma Everson

“There is no difference, it’s the same thing,” Ragunton says.“ A geek or a nerd is really anyone who obsesses over something that really drives their passion. For example, I nerd out or geek out over pop culture.” Lane shares that the two, who both have day jobs in healthcare, started the webcast in June 2014. The idea to have their own show grew out of their experiences on former podcasts. The original thought was to have the domain name reflect their Two Gay Geeks brand, but TGGeeks.com was what was available — so TG Geeks was born. “Our first webcast was eight minutes long, don’t ever listen to it, it was horrible,” Lane jokes. Since then, the duo has vastly improved, creating their weekly webcasts most often on the weekends and airing them on Mondays. It’s an interview type show with most often a pop culture focus, Lane says. “We started with people that we knew, attending conventions, getting on people’s radar,” Ragunton says. “It was a lot of knocking on doors but now, after five years, we’re getting to the sweet spot where people come to us.” The show does a lot of interviews with creators: film makers, authors, artists, and the like. Lane says that it’s often the guest’s first time being interviewed. Recently, in honor of Pride Month, their guests all had an LGBTQ+ focus. But, it’s also a theme in their show year-round. “So, when we first started, we were Two Gay Geeks, but our content was mostly pop culture,” shares Lane. “And over the years we have interjected more LGBTQ+ content and have kind of become accidental activists.” Ragunton adds that, as their listenership grew, PR companies and publicists looking to promote their clients and creative ventures are now approaching them more. Balanced with

JULY 2019

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FEATURE STORY

their full-time day jobs, the duo and their team of volunteers, now attend movie screenings, review books and go to press events to network and gather content. “I used to feel like we were in a bubble, but the bubble has a greater reach than I’ve ever imagined,” Ragunton says. Lane shares that, surprisingly, the Phoenix-based duo is more popular outside of Phoenix than across the Valley. They hope to change that, though. In each show, they provide free advertising to nonprofits that serve the LGBTQ+ community and beyond. Lane shares they run PSAs for suicide prevention, The Trevor Project, the Trans Lifeline, the Joshua Tree Feeding Program, and more. To split up the duties of a nearly full-time venture, Lane most often is the sound engineer, producer, website administrator and commentator. Ragunton is the co-host and loves to write. FEATURE STORY

Now, several years into their venture, the webcast has grown into a fullfledged media site. Lane shares that TG Geeks is home to the weekly Monday webcast, a Friday news article about pop culture, and even its own Sunday cartoon. One of their favorite claims to fame was a recent interview at a preOscar party with the cast that won for Best Short Film. “TG Geeks is truly a labor of love. Even though sometimes it can be frustrating from a technology standpoint, we still publish daily,” Lane says. “I really do enjoy this,” Ragunton shares. “It’s personally rewarding, especially when we get to do reviews and have guests in the studio. It’s fun for us.” Both men joke that they’d love to win the lottery so the webcast can be their full time jobs. In addition to being on their own webcast, Two Gay Geeks can be heard on Krypton Radio (kryptonradio.com) — or as Ragunton puts it, they’re part of the

“Krypton Radio Empire.” The show is about an hour long and the two admit that they talk about anything that “trips their trigger.” Some of their favorite topics — in addition to their guests — have been things they geek out over such as opera, Disney and single malt whiskeys. You can also find the webcast on popular podcast apps. One added benefit to the TG Geeks labor of love as a couple is that it has brought the two closer together. “Our mutual interest and love for things has brought us so much closer,” Ragunton says. “To create something, to see how it has grown. To create it together is something we’re both enormously proud of.” To learn more, visit www.tggeeks.com. Michelle Talsma Everson is a freelance writer, editor and PR pro. A graduate of NAU, she’s been writing for Valley publications for more than a decade. You can find out more at mteverson.com. EchoMag.com

JULY 2019

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Waters tackles everyday life in movies, spoken word performances, and books with a zest for finding the humor in even the worst (and often absurd) situations. A tall, thin man with a mustache drawn on by his beloved black eye-liner, one has to wonder at this point if he looks like a lecherous man or if Waters has just been a champion for lecherous men (and women) for so long that lecherous types just naturally start to look like him. As a “Filth Elder,” Waters has long provided a brand of humor that often pushes the boundaries well past polite society and we love him for it. His best-known work, Hairspray, turned 31 this year and has seen two different theatrical versions as well as being made into a Broadway play. The film is set in his native Baltimore, Maryland, as are the majority of his films. In fact, in Hairspray (1988), Cry Baby (1990), Serial Mom (1994), and Pecker (1998) you could easily say that Baltimore is almost a character in the films, as well, which brings up a very fun “What if” idea. If Waters had been born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, what would his films have been like? Unfortunately we’ll probably never know how Waters would have depicted Phoenix on film as he doesn’t seem to be leaning towards writing and directing a movie any time soon, but at least we have his stand up performances and books to lean into when we need a dose of his wry wit and unabashed view of the importance of having fun.

Photo by Greg Gorman.

Mr. Know-It-All

John Waters’ new book showcases the wit and wisdom that make him a national treasure By Tom Reardon

ohn Waters is constantly moving.

After reading his latest book, Mr. Know-It-All: The Tarnished Wisdom of a Filth Elder (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2019) and speaking to him over the phone as he relaxed in his Provincetown, Massachusetts, summer home, it becomes clear that this man doesn’t stop moving for long. And thank the supreme filth elder for that because this world needs John Waters in all his glory.

FEATURE STORY

Waters, now 73, is a “national treasure,” to quote the amazing Alan Cumming from his recent New York Times Book Review of Mr. Know-It-All, and Cumming is completely on point. Waters’ films, which he is best known for, have pushed every possible button of American culture and are admittedly not for everyone. If you are over 25, though, you have probably seen at least one of his movies and once you’re a fan, you’re hooked for life.

With Mr. Know-It-All, Waters gives the reader his take on a self-help book using stories from his career as well as observational essays on some of the more important aspects of living, dare I say it, a “good” life. The man is a joy to talk to and those fortunate enough to be at Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix on June 30 are in for a real treat. During the course of our conversation a few weeks back, we touched on many subjects. Here is a portion of that conversation. Echo: So, you’re back in Provincetown. After reading the delightful chapter in Mr. Know-It-All about Provincetown, I can understand why you are happy to be there. Waters: This is my 55th summer here, which is shocking when I say that out loud, but yes, it is good. I got here … what is today? Today’s Tuesday. I got here Sunday night and I was in so many cities for different things. It was great to finally land in one place. Echo: Do you get to spend a little bit of time before you must leave again? Waters: Well, I live here all summer. I’m going to host this big punk rock festival EchoMag.com

JULY 2019

in Oakland (California) that I do every year called Burger Boogaloo around July 4th then I’m going to the Locarno Film Festival (in Locarno, Switzerland) where I’m getting honored in August and then I go to San Francisco for a bit in my apartment. But yes, I’m based here for the summer and I’m all set up. I got right back to writing today, so I’m back in my “no vacation.” Echo: Yeah, I appreciated your thoughts in your book on not taking a vacation. Waters: Well, I mean, I do go to the beach every day. It’ll be probably empty this year because there are so many shark warnings at all the beaches here. (laughs) But I figured, “Oh God, if I can get through this far in life, I’m not worried about just getting bit by a shark.” The odds are pretty slim, but what a way to go? Echo: Wouldn’t it be, though? Have you ever had any kind of near shark experiences? Waters: No, but where I swim, seals come up right next to you. So that’s enough to give some people pause because sharks eat seals, but sharks don’t … I mean, humans are the last thing they want to eat. There is not enough meat on us, you know? And even though Cooking Light magazine has gone out of business, my favorite, I’m not that fat yet. Echo: Yeah. I remember that part of the book as well, where you wrote about how much you enjoyed all the recipes from Cooking Light. It’s like a self-help book, Mr. Know-It-All. What made you want to write a book like this? Waters: It is because I wrote another book called Role Models, which was about all the people that helped me by giving an example to make me believe that I can become what I want it to be. So, after 50 years of doing this, I thought, “Well, I’ve learned something too that I’d like to pass on.” And it’s a humorous book, too, but I believe in everything that I recommend you do. Uh, (pauses) but at the same time it, I used a self-help book to satirize that genre to be able to tell all my stories that I wanted to tell. I don’t know that I have a story left after this. Well, I do … This Filthy World (Waters’ stand up show) is all different and contains stories that aren’t in the book. Echo: I would be surprised if you don’t have stories left to tell. Waters: Oh, I do, I do. I’m writing a novel now so that’s a whole different story. But, yes, I, but I did tell a lot of stories in this book. There’s a lot of information in this book. Waters’ new book Mr.-Know-It-All. 24

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Echo: It is chock full of information. FEATURE STORY

I have two pages of notes of things I wanted to talk to you about and that’s with small scribbled writing. Waters: Tiny, stop me before I kill again writing? Echo: Yes. Stop me before I kill again. I don’t want you to be nervous, but I think we’re going to put you on the cover. Waters: Why would that make me nervous? (Laughs) Echo: I’m pretty sure you’ve been on the cover of magazine covers before. Waters: It’s always funny when you’re (pauses), the only time that it really surprised me and I felt like Diana Ross in Mahogany, there is a great scene in that movie where she’s just walking down the street and she says (doing an impersonation of Diana Ross that only Waters could do), “Oh, I’m on the cover of Vogue,” like she didn’t know that was going to happen, which always really makes me laugh. Echo: There are so many things in the book that explain so much, at least for me as a fan of yours, where some of your influences came from. Waters: It does tell lots in there. I mean, it’s a pretty honest book. I think I talk about a lot of personal stuff and also, you know, Shock Value (Waters book from 1981) went up to the making of (1981 Waters film) Polyester, so I wanted to continue and do chapters on the movies, but more in hindsight about what I learned about failure and success in Hollywood and independent films and how to negotiate your way through it all. Echo: There’s a part — I think it’s the beginning of the second chapter — where you talk about being mildly annoyed when people would ask you if you ever thought you would make Hollywood films. Did you ever think you’d be making them? Waters: Always. I always wanted to be making them. The thing was, did I think when I first made Hag In A Black Leather Jacket (1964) was I thinking about making Hollywood movies. No, but I didn’t think I couldn’t, or I didn’t ever think I wouldn’t. I mean, I read Variety (magazine) when I was really young, so I knew about the business end of it, too. And I used to pretend I owned a sexploitation theater as a kid and had scrapbooks of all the ads that I wanted to run and everything. So, I was lucky I knew what I wanted to do really, really early and my parents hated what I wanted to do, but they also respected that I was doing it already and figured, I think, what else was I going to do. I think they felt they better encourage the one interest I had. Echo: Were you ever concerned about where the audience would come from? Waters: Yeah, sure I worried about my FEATURE STORY

career. When Desperate Living (1977) came out, it really failed. Video had just come out, so I knew that there weren’t really midnight movies or anything anymore. So, I was always worried about my career, yeah, but there was always an audience. What is kind of amazing about my films is that there continues to be one of all young people that weren’t even born, pretty soon, when I made my last movie, much less my first one. They keep getting rereleased on Criterion. They play on television, they play all over the world, so they keep coming back like the living dead. So, I’m proud of that. But some of them, Female Trouble (1974) was not at all a hit when it came out and today it’s probably the most liked of all the Divine movies. Serial Mom was not a hit when it came out, and I think it’s my best movie, and today it plays with much more enthusiasm to audiences and shows on television every Mother’s Day. It’s always playing on Mother’s Day. So, I think in hindsight, you know, I had dinner with Kathleen Turner last night, she was in Provincetown, and we had a great time, but that movie, people now think of it as a success, but it was not a financial success when it came out. I think over the years it’s done all right, but initially they always tried to go too wide, try to make it too commercial or not commercial enough and who knows? And I went through all that and that’s why I don’t say anything really bad about the studio executives when they gave me trouble because I signed the check. That’s what comes with it when they pay you a lot of money in Hollywood. A lot of people have stuff to say and they didn’t make money. So, their viewpoint, they were right. The only difference is what they wanted me to do with never worked and would have made the people that liked it dislike it, too. Echo: Sure. So, I was so happy to read the chapter about Serial Mom because that’s my favorite of yours and my mother’s, too, we went to see it twice in the theater because we were laughing so hard the first time we went. Waters: Oh, that’s great. Thank you. I’m happy for that. I think everybody’s good in it. It’s the only movie we had enough money, basically, we had $13 million to make that movie. So, it is my best movie. I think, to me. they’re all the same, you know? I mean, I like them all because I wrote them. I made them up, you know, and I’m always kind of amazed that one does way better than the other ones. To me they seem like they should all do the same. Echo: I felt like some of the chapters were you telling me about a movie you’d like to make.

Waters: Well some of them I do describe the movies I wanted to make. The ones that never got made, you know? But yes, certainly the chapters about the dream brutalist house and Gristle the restaurant … all those are character studies, certainly. I’m just trying to get my enthusiasm over to you, so you also can see foodie restaurants in a different way or brutalism, which was once so hated and despised and is now liked by the very cool, which distresses me because I wanted to be the only person to like it. Echo: How did you get involved with Burger Boogaloo (music festival in Oakland in July)? Waters: I have an agent who is in the music business. I mean I played Coachella, Bonnaroo, Fun Fun Fun … I’ve played a lot of festivals. I think it probably came from that. Also, I’ve always liked the punk community. I talk about it in the book. It was always a good look for nontraditional women and down low gay boys. I think I always kind of just liked that world. So, I did it the first year and it went over well and, this is my fifth year, I think. I don’t remember. I have to write all the instructions for all the acts as they come out and, I say, “I’m Bob Hope on dope.” They are my people. I feel when I’m there I’m with my people, my tribe. I’m always trying to do a stunt for my street cred. I hitchhiked across America when I was 66 and for this book, I took LSD. Echo: That brings me to another note that I have written down here. There are parts of the book where I felt like you were writing, you know, about how to have fun, as well as writing, almost to yourself, how to remind you to be you. Waters: Well you do. You have to, every once in a while, take a chance. I always say that if anybody ever says, “Oh, my generation had more fun than we’re having now” that just means you’re an old fart. They’re having just as much fun as you are in a different way with a different kind of rebellion and that’s something you always have to realize and investigate. Visit echomag.com/john-waters-2019 for an extended version of the interview. Tom Reardon loves to write about people who are doing something to contribute to our community in a positive way. He also loves his family and family of friends, his pets, music, skateboarding, movies, good (and bad) TV, and working with children to build a better world. Tom’s favorite movie is Jaws, his favorite food is lasagna, and he loves to play music with his friends. He’s a busy guy, but never too busy to listen to what you have to say so tell him a story. EchoMag.com

JULY 2019

Red is the Night

May 11 at Warehouse 215, Phoenix. Photos by Gregg Edelman.

For more Echo photos visit echomag.com/2019-photos. 26

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EchoMag.com

Out & About

EchoMag.com

JULY 2019

Your Community, Your Voice Join us in celebrating the 2019 Echo Readers' Choice Award winners:

2019 readers' choice awards

EchoMag.com

JULY 2019

Community FUNdraiser The local charity fundraising event that best puts the FUN in fundraising is:

AIDS Walk Arizona

Get Involved Your favorite LGBTQ non-proﬁt organization or cause to be a part of is:

one•n•ten

Mark Your Calendar The community event or festival that tops your can’t-miss list is:

Phoenix Pride Festival

Mind Your Business The spot you’ve found the best professional development, self-improvement and/or networking resources is:

Arizona State University 30

JULY 2019

EchoMag.com

2019 readers' choice awards

Local Heroes Local Trailblazer They lead. They fundraise. They volunteer. They organize. They do it all. You chose who you think does it best:

Carrington Hall-Dubois Amazing Ally LGBTQ allies are everywhere. We wouldn’t be the community we are today without them. You recognize the best of the best as:

Arizona Representative and former Phoenix Mayor, Greg Stanton Dazzling Advertiser For more than 28 years, our advertisers have made Echo possible (and kept it free to you). This business has you the most excited by their advertisements:

Charlie’s

Politically Correct The elected ofﬁcial, political movement, or campaign that had the biggest impact on you throughout the past year is:

Kyrsten Sinema 2019 readers' choice awards

EchoMag.com

JULY 2019

Drag What A Drag … Queen They volunteer, they fundraise, they entertain and they’re not afraid to tell it like it is. You put this drag queen at the top of the list:

Claudia B.

What A Drag … King They volunteer, they fundraise, they entertain and they’re not afraid to tell it like it is. You put this drag king at the top of the list:

Eddie Broadway

Down For The Crown You love the glitz and glamour of adorning winning contestants with a shiny crown. This pageant is your favorite:

Miss Gay Arizona America

Take The Stage From hosts/hostesses and emcees to co-chairs and event promoters, your favorite who makes it all come together is:

Barbra Seville 32

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EchoMag.com

2019 readers' choice awards

Gayborhood Bars Happiest Happy Hour You can’t go home from a long day without a happy hour stop. This is the place you’ve picked as the best post-workday hangout:

Charlie’s

Someone’s Going To Score Sports fans need a place to join other gameobsessed pals to watch favorite teams compete. You think it’s the most fun to do that here:

Los Diablos

Just Dance You’ve got all the right moves. Or, at least you think you do. In any case, here’s where you most like to strut your stuff on the dance ﬂoor:

Charlie’s Raise The Bar Whether it’s trivia, karaoke, darts, or dance, our local bars serve as much more than just watering holes. You’ve spoken — your 2019 top choice is:

Charlie’s 2019 readers' choice awards

EchoMag.com

JULY 2019

Cocktails and Dining Savor local Flavor The Valley is loaded with great places to dine and drink. This is your favorite place to indulge in that combo:

Fez But First, Brunch The best way to have or end a great weekend is including brunch in your plans. You’ve picked this as your most beloved establishment for that late morning meal when mimosas are integral:

Bliss/ReBar Late Night Bites Those post-party hunger pangs can get the best of you. This is your favorite place to satisfy those grumbles:

Taqueria Los Yaquis at Charlie’s Master Mixologist They know your name and, more importantly, your favorite drink. The bartender that you most want to give your tips to is:

Cookie at Charlie’s New and Noteworthy The food and drink menu options are so good here that you can’t get it off your mind. Your new favorite eatery is:

Hula’s Modern Tiki – new location 34

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EchoMag.com

2019 readers' choice awards

Out & About Get Your Art On There are a myriad of ways to see great art, from galleries to special events to museums. You like it best when you’re perusing creative output at:

First Fridays Art Walk

Retail Therapy You know you can shop ‘til you drop. From retail goods to lively activities, dropping dollars for a good time is important. You like your dough to go to this place, most of all:

Off Chute Too

It’s A Group Thing Where you go for fellowship, support, community and/or spirituality (groups, meet-ups, congregations).

one•n•ten

Get Sweaty Your favorite local LGBTQ team, athlete, gym, sporting event, or league is:

Phoenix Gay Flag Football League 2019 readers' choice awards

EchoMag.com

JULY 2019

Music Greatest Hits Whether youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re listening to them on the Spotify app or following them around to their live shows, we asked which local band you rock out to the most. Your personal chart topper is:

Jared & The Mill

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m in Love with the DJ These folks are the foundation of any good party. The DJ who provides the best soundtrack to your life is:

DJ Image

Star of the Show This local staged production, podcast, YouTube channel or other non-drag/nonconcert performance that you absolutely must-attend is:

The Big Gay Sing-A-Long

Catch A Concert Nothing beats seeing your favorite bands in person. The place you think is number one for concerts in town is:

The Van Buren 36

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EchoMag.com

2019 readers' choice awards

Espressa Grande by Scotty Kirby

During the state pageant, nine contestants competed in evening gown, talent, male interview, and onstage question categories. Grande won the talent category with an uplifting production number set in an office, to music by Dolly Parton, Pat Benatar, and Britney Spears. She described her journey with the hashtag #elevatedyou because in the America system, drag queens are encouraged to be the best versions of themselves. “At first, I thought America wanted a certain type of drag queen, a female impersonator that fit a certain type of mold. What I realized building my package was America doesn’t want that. America wants an elevated you,” Grande said. During the state pageant, Grande represented the Miss Gay Melrose America prelim system. Grande won during her second time competing at the prelim. It was also her second pageant. In its second year, the Miss Gay Melrose America pageant is run by promoters Morgan Pearce and Jay Foster. Leading up to the state pageant, the two promoters helped Grande with building sets, refining her ideas, raising money and providing emotional support. Although Grande will now work with state promoter Daniel Eckstrom, Pearce and Foster plan to continue to help her.

Espressa Grande brings greater diversity to the Miss Gay Arizona America system with her big personality and eclectic style of drag By Laura Latzko

n the Miss Gay America system, contestants are encouraged to bring polished versions of female illusion that fit with their personal styles. For recently crowned Miss Gay Arizona America Espressa Grande (also known as Cody John Peck), being a symbol of excellence means having a larger-thanlife personality, doing both comedic and emotional numbers and speaking her

JULY 2019

EchoMag.com

mind on issues that are important to her. On May 11 at the Tempe Center for the Arts, Grande won the Miss Gay Arizona America crown and Sicarya took first alternate as Adriana Galliano stepped down. As the state titleholder, Grande will become face of the state system and attend the national Miss Gay America Pageant in October in St. Louis, Missouri.

Recently, the Miss Gay America system as a whole has undergone a makeover and started to embrace diversity on a larger scale. Foster said titleholders such as Grande will help to bring change within the system. “There’s a new style of performance out there, and we’re trying to embrace everyone and break the stereotype,” Foster said. Foster said that Grande’s administrative background, unique style of drag and a focus on the community make her a good fit as a state titleholder. Pearce noticed the growth in Grande when she competed for Miss Gay Melrose America for the second time. “She’s a phenomenal performer, but you could see her drag change. She became a lot more refined and has realized the importance of taking who you are but elevating yourself and pushing yourself to the next level,” Pearce said. Pearce said that Grande is also a strong representative because she is charitable in and out of drag. Within prelim systems such as Miss Gay Melrose America, titleholders are FEATURE STORY

encouraged to give back. A portion of the pageant’s proceeds went to Project Jigsaw last year and RipplePHX this year. As the state titleholder, Grande hopes to work more with organizations such as RipplePHX and Hospice of the Valley, where she works as a graphic designer in her daily life. Miss Gay Arizona America was Grande’s first state pageant. She started doing drag three years ago as part of a newcomer challenge at Kobalt Bar. Before that, she had done musical theater all through and after high school. She has also worked as a makeup artist in the past. Lady Christian, Empress VI for the Court of Arizona, has been her biggest mentor. Grande hosts the Friday night TGIF show at Cruisin’ 7th. She started as a show director at Cruisin 7th about a year into her drag career. Grande shared her insights on being the newest Miss Gay Arizona America during a recent interview. Echo: Do you have any major goals during your reign? Grande: I’m really, really excited to

get started. The next day after being crowned, I already started planning, obviously planning for nationals, which is in October. That’s really the biggest goal at the moment is getting everything finalized and elevated for the national pageant but also starting my reign, which is to be in the community, inspire and help the new entertainers and also bridge the communities between Phoenix, Tucson, and Flagstaff. I truly want to help bring them all together. Echo: I’m noticing a trend in Phoenix of artistic people holding crowns. Grande: It’s really amazing to see that artistic people outside of drag are becoming part of the drag scene. It’s such a great time right now to be in the drag community because there are so many different types of drag in Phoenix, Tucson, and Flagstaff. Echo: Have you always had a similar style of drag, or has it evolved over time? Grande: In the beginning, I was very rebellious and young-minded. I wanted to shock people. I wanted to come out and do a Top 40 number but put comedic, tongue-in-cheek voiceovers in it. My drag has progressed over the last three years… I feel like now my drag is very comedic, but my favorite things to do are those emotional, gut-wrenching

ballads and those human-rights, activist monologues that I mix in with really powerful music. We are living in a society right now where it is really scary. There’s no denying that. When an audience comes to my show, I want them to feel inspired, and I want them to feel like they’re not alone. I think it definitely has always been more of a campy style. I’m always described as a campy comedy queen with a beauty queen face. I’m not afraid to speak my mind and be unapologetically me. Echo: Does it feel overwhelming to hold such a big title, being newer to drag? Grande: It was so shocking. It’s very unheard of to win Arizona America on your first try. After it was over, I was very proud. I think the biggest thing that I thought after walking off that stage that night was, “You can win something like this being 100 percent yourself.” Read more about Espressa Grande online at echomag.com/espressa-g-2019. Laura Latzko is a Phoenix-area freelance writer, originally from Michigan, who holds a bachelor’s degree in English and communication studies from Hollins University and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.

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JUNE 2019

WITHOUT RESERVATIONS

Meet Meat the Ball

A Meat the Ball team player.

Story and Photos by Jeff Kronenfeld

tefano Fabbri is proud of what’s in his balls.

His voice, complete with a thick Italian accent, becomes even more animated as he discusses the omega3 profile of wild-catch versus farmed salmon. Though his recently opened meatball-centric restaurant, Meat the Ball, is a casual dining experience, the food, drinks and service are on par with even its swankiest Biltmore neighbors. True to its name, there’s pork, beef, chicken, and veal spheres of meat candy goodness, but also salmon and three vegetarian balls, including gluten-free, vegan, and even keto options. Unlike Pomo Pizzerias, another pair of Fabbri restaurants, Meat the Ball isn’t intended to be an authentic Italian experience. Instead, it stirs up the melting pot of Americanized ethnic

cuisine with fun fusions such as the BBQ pork balls rising, Gibraltar-like, from a serene sea of polenta or the spiced cauliflower stuffed with coconut curry and broccoli rice. With four pasta dishes and four salad options, any of which can be enhanced by the addition of meatballs, plus two sandwiches and eight appetizers, the small but colorful menu has something for everyone, even those who don’t love stuffing their mouths with round objects. Though the meatball is ancient, with versions recorded in an ancient Roman cookbook known as the Apicius, the baseball-sized marinara-doused variety commonly found atop noodles today, like sweet and sour chicken, is the creation of immigrants to the U.S. combining the aspect of their homeland’s cuisine with New World ingredients and sensibilities.

Spicy Sausage with polenta. 40

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Known as polpette in Italy, these traditional meatballs are not as large as their Americanized cousins, ranging in size from golf balls to marbles. They are not traditionally served on noodles, but rather are a course to themselves, sometimes doused in a thin gravy. Long a popular dish in Italian homes, polpette are a popular street food item today. In fact, Fabbri was visiting a friend’s “polpetteria” in Milan, Italy when the idea for Meat the Ball came to him. Hunting for a new concept to add to his small but growing restaurant empire, which includes Mora Italian and Luna Gelateria, he realized Phoenix was ready for its own meatball purveyor. He reflected on how meatballs were consistently the most popular item at Pomo Pizzeria, after pizza. Fabbri decided to create a small, friendly and colorful restaurant

Eggplant Parmigiana. Dining Out

Mediterranean Shrimp appetizer.

MMM In A Jar.

that wasn’t afraid to experiment. Nestled in the north end of Biltmore Fashion Park beside personal care and beauty store Sephora, Meat the Ball is little but lean. Though not much more than 800 square feet, the open kitchen and bar make it feel larger. However, on a nice day, I suggest sitting outside under the black and white stripes of the pergola’s canvas roof. With misters and heaters, it’ll be reasonably comfortable most of the year, save perhaps for the height of summer. This slightly elevated perch is ideal for people watching while enjoying the 3-6 p.m. happy hour on weekdays. Then, cocktails are all only six dollars each and feature fun and flavorful takes on the classics. Despite my curiosity about the Go Figure Mule — made with Figenza Mediterranean Fig Vodka, lemon juice and Fentimans Ginger Beer — I elected for the Amaretto Sour, made with Serata Amaretto, lemon juice, syrup, and garnished with a lemon twist and a candied cherry. The drink was sweet with a subtle sourness and went down dangerously easy. I had three. My partner started with the Passion Fruit Mojito — made with Don Q Cristal Rum, Passoa Passion Liqueur, lime juice andRekorderlig Passionfruit Cider — which is a great summer day drink, or really any day when one’s been dealing with annoying people for work. Plus, the sprig of mint even makes it feel healthy.

As we watched a woman drop half a G for beauty products while holding a very well-behaved dog in her armpit, our appetizer arrived. The Mediterranean Shrimp came bathed in the most delectable cream sauce and accompanied by sautéed cherry tomatoes, olives, Fresno chili and dusted with a very fine crouton powder. The cheesy bisque-like sauce, an inspired choice, was a real winner with our party. In fact, it was so good we were still spooning little tastes until the waiter took the empty dish and brought our main courses. Though I stared long and hard at The Meat the Ball Super-Hero, a gourmet meatball parm sandwich on house-made ciabatta, I felt an ethical obligation to try one of the 10 meatball dishes, which come with three meatballs and a special side. You can order the balls sans side, but why would you? I ordered the Spicy Sausage, composed of Neiman Ranch Pork, covered in a sweet BBQ sauce and healthy smattering of fried onions, with a tiny red pepper halo on top of each. The three meatballs, each weighing about three ounces, were filling and satisfying, as was the creamy polenta surrounding them. Our second entre was a trifecta of Eggplant Parmigiana (vegetarian) meat balls stuffed with mozzarella and coated in tomato sauce. They were completed by a dollop of ricotta cheese, that looked a little like a French beret, and a tiny basil

Interior of restaurant. Dining Out

leaf, like an insouciant pompadour jutting to the side. My pescatarian companion admitted they were savory enough to satisfy the carnivorous cravings only sometimes admitted to. Think of these as something like a calorically less guiltinducing eggplant parm sub, especially if you give the thick hunks of oily focaccia bread dusted with herbs and salt to a nearby scavenging reporter. There are three desserts currently, all round or spherical, and we choose the MMM In A Jar, which is a mason jar filled with three layers — vanilla, pistachio, Nutella crema — separated by citrus ladyfingers and topped with pistachios and candied orange pieces. One layer was effervescent and tangy, another like a very creamy bread pudding and the third a smooth yet subtle chocolate and hazelnut mousse. The donut balls also looked very interesting, though we regrettably exercised self-control. All in all, the service was swift and friendly without being overeager. The food was affordable yet quite tasty, and the surrounding ennui of bourgeoise retail therapy an enjoyable ambiance for afternoon drinking. With a second location slated to open in Scottsdale this fall, Meat the Ball and Fabbri seem set to continue sharing their unique palette into the future. “My meatball is not a normal meatball,” Fabbri exclaimed as he discussed each of his meat suppliers and explained why he serves — and himself eats — only grass-fed beef. Not the preachy type, Fabbri spreads his belief in the importance of knowing what you put in your body, like any good chef, through the food he serves. “If you want to have a normal meatball, I’m OK with that,” he adds with a shrug. Jeff Kronenfeld is an independent journalist based out of Phoenix, Arizona. His writing has been featured in Java Magazine, the Arts Beacon, PHXSUX, and the Phoenix Jewish News, where he received the Simon Rockower Award for excellence in news reporting from the American Jewish Press Association. Links to his previously published work are available at www.jeffkronenfeld.com. EchoMag.com

JULY 2019

AT THE BOX OFFICE

Four films in theaters this month By Tuesday Mahrle

Spider-Man: Far From Home In theaters July 2 | Not Yet Rated | Action Adventure, Sci Fi, Comedy

In the 23rd installment in the Marvel Universe, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is in Europe on a class trip when Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) recruit him to fight the Elementals from another dimension. The film also stars Zendaya, Colbie Smulders, and Marisa Tomei. With no signs of stopping, Marvel is set to run the box office again this year.

Stuber In theaters July 12 | Not Yet Rated | 105 Min | Comedy, Action

A mild-mannered Uber driver is just trying to make some money. His night is about to change when he picks up a police officer in hot pursuit of a brutal killer. Hilarity and action ensue when the unsuspecting driver gets the ride of his life. The film stars Kumail Nanjiani as Stu, the driver, and Dave Bautista as the off-beat cop, Vic. Will he get a 5-star rating in the end?

The Lion King In theaters July 19 | Not Yet Rated | Animation, Adventure, Drama

Disney returns with another revised animated classics from their vault. The Lion King is not quite live action as it is entirely CGI, but it is an updated take on the original. It tells the story of a young lion prince named Simba who flees his home when his uncle Scar convinces him that he killed his father Mufasa. After years away, Simba must return to his kingdom and fight Scar for the throne. Contrary to popular belief, the film is not a shot-by-shot of the original. There is a common thread between the two films — the voice of Mustafa portrayed by the incomparable James Earl Jones. And let’s be honest, nobody could live up to Mufasa like Jones.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood In theaters July 26 | Not Yet Rated | 159 Minutes | Drama, Comedy

It’s 1969 and the Golden Age of Hollywood is ending. If you’re a struggling actor and you don’t understand the new age of cinema, what would you do to make it? Our leading man grabs his long-time stunt double as they fight for the fame they deserve in their newly changing careers. This film gives us the gifts of Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Emile Hirsch, and one of Luke Perry’s final performances, all wrapped up in a Quentin Tarantino bow. Tuesday Mahrle is a film critic and host of “Whiskey and Popcorn,” a Phoenixbased movie podcast. 42

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Entertainment

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JULY 2019

OPENING NIGHTS

Ugly Betty Cast Promo

Ugly Betty star speaks out By Seth Reines queer civil rights organization. HRC President Chad Griffin praised Urie, “From his iconic role on Ugly Betty to his award-winning portrayal of Arnold in Torch Song, Michael Urie has captured hearts across America. By using his transformational talents and global platform to celebrate openness and authenticity, Michael Urie is bringing greater visibility to the LGBTQ community and making a real difference for countless people.” Michael Urie and Cast of Ugly Betty

“I

’ve never said I was straight, and I am not saying I’m gay now. I never lie, and I have never shied away from the topic. I have certainly chosen through my work to do things that promote the rights of LGBTQ people.”Michael Urie, 2010. Flash forward nine years. For his work in the fight for LGBTQ equality, openly gay Urie was recently honored with the HRC Visibility Award by the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and 44

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Born Michael Lorenzo Urie in Houston, Texas, the 39-year-old actor/director/ producer began his theatrical career in high school productions. One of Urie’s Plano Senior High schoolmates, Phoenix choreographer/dance educator Lauran Stanis reminisced, “What I remember most about Michael was his group of friends that he had since elementary school. This group of boys are still friends today and came to see him in Torch Song on Broadway. These boys, who grew up in conservative, suburban Texas, were always his fans.” Urie graduated with Jessica Chastain

and Jess Weixler from The Juilliard School in 2003, the recipient of the John Houseman Prize for excellence in classical theater and the Laura Pels Award for a career in the theater. Beginning in 2006, Urie played Marc St. James, Vanessa Williams’s gay assistant, in the CBS dramedy Ugly Betty. In the show’s original concept Williams would have a different assistant in each episode. But Williams loved their chemistry so much that Urie was signed as a full-time regular midway through the show’s first season. He and the cast were nominated for Screen Actors Guild awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2007 and 2008. Appropriately, gay icon Patti LuPone played Urie’s mother in one episode. During the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America Strike, Urie hosted TLC’s realitybased series Miss America Reality Check. When the strike ended, he co-starred in CBS’s short-lived series Partners (by Will & Grace creators) about two lifelong friends and business partners — one ENTERTAINMENT

straight, one gay. In 2015, Urie became the host of Cocktails & Classics on Logo TV, where he and a panel of celebrity friends watched and commented on classic movies while imbibing cocktails named for the films. Urie often returned to his theatrical roots and, in 2009, starred off-Broadway in The Tempermentals, about the foundation of the early LGBTQ rights organization the Mattachine Society. In 2013, he starred in Buyer & Cellar about a struggling gay LA actor, recently fired from Disneyland, who lands a job curating the basement of Barbra Streisand’s Malibu estate. The play won him the 2014 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Solo Performance. This past Broadway season, Urie starred in Harvey Fierstein’s 35th anniversary revival of Torch Song directed by Moisés Kaufman (The Laramie Project). Filling the iconic role originated by Fierstein, Urie played Arnold Beckoff, a New York drag queen with a complicated love life. Echo: What was it like reinterpreting this iconic gay character? Urie: When I got to read the whole play for him [Fierstein] for my audition, I knew that there was no way I could even try to be Harvey or impersonate him or even emulate him. I knew I had to use myself and find everything about me that was Arnold and build on that. And I knew that in a read-through I was really going to have to strap in and take the ride. Strap in, not strap on!

Mercedes Ruehl and Michael Urie in Torch Song

Echo: What do you think Torch Song means at this particular moment in LGBTQ history? Urie: The idea that a gay man would be a husband and father today is commonplace. We see it all the time. It’s legal. There’s lots of gay daddies and gay mommies taking their kids to school and securing children in various ways. And

of course, marriage is legal for anyone. But we’re still in a society where great groups, great swathes of the country are being told they don’t matter. They’re being told in Georgia they can’t vote. Women are being told that they can’t have control over their bodies. And Muslims are being told they can’t come back into the country. Everybody has that feeling, like Arnold feels at the end of the play, where they’re all alone. Urie, who received critical acclaim and nightly standing ovations for his portrayal of Arnold, remains committed to Torch Song, which is scheduled to tour nationally this fall. Urie: Since we first began the Torch Song journey, I have heard from people all over … that Arnold’s pride, strength, and frankness helped them come out, come to terms, and come together. This is something I hope our tour will do. We need Harvey’s play when our world is suddenly and continually confusing and divided. Broadway/TV star and social activist Michael Urie continues to promote the rights of the LGBTQ community whenever and wherever he can. Just look at him in Christian Sirano’s gender-bending

Meet the cast of Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song revival with Michael Urie. Playbill. ENTERTAINMENT

M. Seth Reines is an award-winning theater buff who has directed more than 500 productions nationally for stage and television, and formerly served as head of Roosevelt University’s musical theatre program. EchoMag.com

JULY 2019

RECORDINGS

By Tom Reardon

Sebadoh – Act Surprised Several months ago, Sebadoh’s Lou Barlow played a living room show here in Phoenix at a cozy little house near 7th Avenue and Osborn. It was a beautiful night full of great songs and Barlow’s soft spoken, somewhat shy, and mischievous sense of humor. After his set, Barlow casually mentioned there would be a new Sebadoh album out in May and the small, but devoted, crowd let out a collective gleeful gasp at that prospect. Fast forward a few months and Act Surprised is here and gosh darn it, at first listen, it’s great. Then, you listen again, and you think, “Well, this is certainly good, but where have I heard this before?” 46

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One of the most charming things about Sebadoh’s early work was the low-fi element to their recordings that made you feel as if you were listening to the band play live in your living room. With Act Surprised, the production is top notch, but it was recorded by Justin Pizzoferrato, who has helmed several Dinosaur Jr. albums and to be honest, Act Surprised sounds a little too like a Dinosaur Jr. record. There is still the great interplay between Barlow’s sweet songs that are often yearning for acceptance and bandmate Jason Loewenstein’s heavier and darker songs, for sure, but I kind of miss the old days when the Massachusetts boys would record on a four track in their garage. Essential listening, though, for Sebadoh fans.

Bad Religion – Age of Unreason Kind of like the Ramones, Bad Religion is great at continually recreating the same song, over and over. I know what you’re thinking, “Blasphemy, Mr. Reardon!” and you’re probably right, at least when it comes to the Ramones. What do I know? Well, I know that I don’t like this new Bad Religion album at all. It sounds tired and very much like the last 10 Bad Religion records that I promptly listened to and forgot about immediately. Not since 1988’s Suffer have I enjoyed a Bad Religion record and I really like

1982’s How Could Hell Be Any Worse, but I feel like the big ol’ balls on that first full-length that the band swung to and fro with punk rock abandon have continued to shrivel to the point where an album like Age of Unreason can come out 37 years later and there aren’t any swimmers left in there able to impregnate a fleeting thought in a youthful mind ready to explode. You’re way better off spending time with a band like The Coathangers or Plague Vendor than listening to this drivel.

Morrissey – California Son It’s one thing when Weezer does a covers record, but Morrissey? I had to hear this. “Morning Starship,” on Morrissey’s California Son reminds Entertainment

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me a bit of Ted Cassidy’s iconic Lurch character from The Addams Family sitting down at the harpsichord to play a song for Morticia and Gomez to dance to rather than the original version by Jobriath, which sounds very dated these days. If you’re into Morrissey, nothing on California Son will surprise you as he goes through this record featuring some of his favorite songs from the ‘60s and ‘70s. All the requisite preaching, maudlin and wistful pleading, and mellifluous yearning for a better world are here, present, and accounted for as he churns through twelve tracks here turning other people’s words into his own pulpit. One thing that is apparent on California Son is that like a fine wine, Morrissey is apparently mellowing with age and many of these songs will swirl around your brain like a nice cabernet dancing with your tongue as you enjoy its velvety loveliness. “It’s Over,” for example, is a perfect example of this quality of smooth Morrissey shifting nicely into the Roy Orbison penned break up song. It sounds great and like a warm blanket, you can cuddle up with it and bask in its misery before it transitions to the almost farcical version of Laura Nyro’s “Wedding Bell Blues” that features some catty backing vocals by Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong. This is a fun record, for the most part, and should be taken as such. Your mom might even like it. Tom Reardon loves to write about people who are doing something to contribute to our community in a positive way. He also loves his family and family of friends, his pets, music, skateboarding, movies, good (and bad) TV, and working with children to build a better world. Tom’s favorite movie is Jaws, his favorite food is lasagna, and he loves to play music with his friends. He’s a busy guy, but never too busy to listen to what you have to say so tell him a story. Entertainment

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2019 JULY 2018

BETWEEN THE COVERS

By Terri Schlichenmeyer

o anybody else, that tchotchke would be worthless.

To you, though, it oozes with memories, and that’s why you keep it: because it represents special people, remarkable times, or things you hold in your heart. One glance, and you instantly recall something you want to remember, so in Stonewall Riots by Gayle E. Pitman, take a look at 50 objects that represent LGBT history. Ancient statues and classic paintings can tell you a lot about what people did long ago, and what they thought or liked. The same goes with items that are modern, although some accounts get “complicated — especially if that story differs depending on who tells it,” says Pitman. That’s what happened in at least part of the tale of gay liberation: few records were kept, newspapers were mostly silent, and key players have died. Even so, she says, there are enough objects to tell a story. She begins with a basic history of Greenwich Village in New York City, and the

Jefferson Livery Stable, which housed horses long before it became Bonnie’s Stonewall Inn, and then just the Stonewall Inn. There’s a possibility, says Pitman, that the word “Stonewall” might have been “a coded welcome message to lesbians.” Back then, being gay or lesbian meant almost certain persecution but a gay man named Harry Hay and three of his friends knew that the best way to work against discrimination was to organize. They started the Mattachine Society in 1950, and Pitman includes a photo of one of their early meetings. Five years later, Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon started the Daughters of Bilitis, an organization for lesbians. And yet, the discrimination continued and “in 1966, resistance was in the air.” African Americans had been fighting for civil rights for “quite some time,” and antiwar protests were just starting to organize. Small uprisings had been staged on behalf of LGBT people in California, while in New York, LGBT individuals

The Stonewall Riots: Coming Out in the Streets by Gayle E. Pitman c.2019, Abrams Books for Young Readers $17.99 / $22.99 Canada | 208 pages were getting pretty tired of police harassment, Mafia shake-downs, and raids on their hangouts.

Do 10-year-olds have difficulty grasping happenings in their greatgrandparents’ day? It may seem so, which is why parents will be glad that The Stonewall Riots is written in the way that it is.

Through the stories of selected items, Pitman explains the events surrounding the night of the riot and she draws a few threads between then and now, but she’s careful not to be too hasty in filling in historical blanks. Those unknowns serve to leave kids hanging a bit, and they heighten the excitement and outrage of what happened.

Using photographs, matchbook covers, clothing, and other ephemera, author Gayle E. Pitman makes LGBT history into something relatable for its intended audience because, as you know, kids are big on keeping

While this is a book for children ages 10 and up, this book is also for anyone under the age of 55. You wouldn’t remember the Riots first-hand, so reading The Stonewall Riots is absolutely worthwhile.

And on June 28, 1969, their simmering anger boiled over.

Gaye E. Pittman 48

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mementos and special objects.

Terri Schlichenmeyer, The Bookworm, lives on a hill in Wisconsin with two dogs and 13,000 books. She’s been reading since age 3 and, to this day, she never goes anywhere without a book. Entertainment

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JULY 2019

TALKING BODIES

For most people, if you at least like (not even saying love) 3/5, or 60%, of your workouts, you’re doing really well. For higher volume programs, lower that standard to 2/5 or 40%. Expect to have to grind through a few of your workouts per week — it’s normal! You may have one or two standout workouts that you feel great about and can say you love, but those are the exception to the rule. To think that you’ll be sliding down rainbows riding a golden unicorn every workout, is a fantasy. Get to work and suspend your emotions on the hard days.

Diet and fitness reality checks By Tia Norris

et’s get straight to the point: the pursuit of a healthy diet, and related fitness or physique goals, tends to be a hard road for many people. In fact, some might even say it’s an impossible road for them personally (this is only because they haven’t worked with me, yet!). As a trainer, I pride myself on managing my clients’ expectations with the process, and giving them full disclosure on the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to working toward their goals. Here are some of the most shocking, most uncomfortable, but most important reality checks that my clients (and maybe you) need to hear in order to get realistic about this journey toward fitness: Diet:

•Eat when you need to eat. Not necessarily when you want to eat. Most people simply fail to make food (aka, fuel in the tank) a priority throughout their day. They forget and/or neglect to pack meals and/or snacks, they work through what should be meal/snack times and prolong the window between meals for far too long. Consequently, when they actually do check-in with themselves regarding food, they’re absolutely starving and end up either making poor impulse choices or drastically overeating. Does this sound familiar? Make food timing a major priority in your program. Figure out when you’ll need to eat throughout your day, and plan accordingly. Set a reminder on your phone, if needed. And keep in mind that you don’t need to be uncontrollably ravenous in order to eat — for most goals, you can and should eat at regular intervals, sometimes even when you 50

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might not feel like you need it. •You won’t love your food all the time. This means I may not love the taste, texture, temperature, preparation methods, or amount of time that I have to eat that food, or more, about any particular meal or snack. In fact, I’d say that 60-80% of my food throughout the day is less than my favorite! This blows many people’s minds. Now, on one hand, I acknowledge that food can be incomparably pleasurable, and comforting, and can add a spark of joy to our lives. However, we need to draw a line of discipline when it comes to fitness goals: oftentimes, to stay on track, you’ll need to eat something that tastes mediocre, that isn’t hot or cold like you prefer, in scenarios that are rushed or cramped or otherwise less than ideal. Get used to it — become a machine in these scenarios and just do it. •Extreme measures don’t work! Slow and steady, wins the race. Intuitively, you all already know that crash diets, cleanses, and extreme measures work in the short term but cause significant long term damage. The fact that they work immediately but temporarily is what makes them so appealing, and I understand that. But, if you give a shit about your long-term metabolic health and really your long-term goals (let’s be adults and think big picture, here), I don’t think I need to get up on my soapbox and preach about something that most people already, deep down, know to be true. Do the work, be patient, play the long game. If it sounds too good to be true, it is. Exercise: •You won’t like it every session. Aim for about 60% enjoyment for most goals.

•Every single fitness program in the world involves strength training. You can’t get around it — so learn it and learn it right. Even on the extreme end of the cardio spectrum as an Ironman triathlete, I still need to do some strength training. Dancers lift weights, yogi’s lift weights, senior citizens lift weights — and you will also need to. Weight training offers benefits like muscle retention, bone density maintenance, active mobility work, a myriad of mental benefits, and more, that cannot be replicated in any other fitness modality. Make peace with the weight room and learn it correctly — and incorporate it weekly at least two times a week for most goals. •Take care of your body, like you would a car or any other machine. It’s mind boggling for me to hear the level of mistreatment that the average person does to their body. Here you are, in this incredible machine that carries you throughout your entire life, it has the power to do literally anything in the world, and is your most precious possession, but most people neglect to do even the basic maintenance on themselves. You couldn’t drive a car for 100,000 miles with no maintenance — machines need to be taken care of. Massages, good sleep, you get it. You cannot push your body, fuel it with garbage, and otherwise neglect it and then expect it to perform for you. I’m a big fan of knowing the exact truth and the harsh realities when I’m working towards something. Know that you’ll have to do many things that you don’t want to do, when you don’t want to do them, for longer than you want to do them — and that’s normal. Anything worth having won’t come easily. Readjust your expectations and keep moving forward! Tia Norris is the president and head trainer at FitPro, LLC, a local fitness company. Find out more at fitprollc.com. Health & Fitness

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JULY 2019

NOT THAT YOU ASKED

Chasing perfection is a race with no finish line By Buddy Early

ince November 2016 it has been very difficult to remain positive about the path this country is traveling. I’m not going to bother to rehash the myriad of ways Donald Trump has made America the laughingstock of the world. We’ve moved past the part of the national debate where this is even in question; it has been resolved. Still, because I try to be that person who sees the beer bottle as half full, I have to believe this low moment in our nation’s history is providing us with an opportunity. It’s allowing us to see the absolute worst side of ourselves, the worst sides of our friends, families and neighbors, and the worst outcomes of not being true to our values. It’s challenging us to hold that mirror up and reject the racism, nationalism, isolationism, sexism, fascism, religious extremism and every other type of ism that threatens to ruin us. Via the recent mid-term elections, we have shown that we are up to that challenge. There’s nothing stopping us from reclaiming our values and sending a message to the Trump loyalists and sycophants that their win was temporary, and they are not representative of American values. The only thing that can stop us is … well, us.

Lots of people have stepped up to the plate. And I mean lots. As I write this there are 23 men and women vying for the Democratic nomination for president. Sure, some of them have very little chance, some are only in it to garner themselves some publicity, and some threaten to divide voters. I’m confident that, as most of these candidates drop out due to low polling and lack of fundraising, we’ll coalesce 52

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around the few serious contenders. I hope. I really hope. In 2016 I became enamored with Julian Castro as a potential vice-presidential candidate. As he was among the first to announce his candidacy this go-round, I immediately got excited. But as quickly as you could say First Latino President the critics popped up with stories of how the former San Antonio mayor and HUD secretary made decisions that may have benefited developers over individuals. In the grand scheme of a candidate’s record and stances on the issues, this seems like a small detail from which to disqualify someone from receiving our full support, but that’s how the Democratic Party does things in 2019. Catch up! Having accepted the reality that Litmus Test Democrats will not get behind Castro, I pulled up my britches and looked closer at the other candidates. “They’re all wonderful,” I thought. There’s Castro’s fellow Texan Beto O’Rourke, who has the Obama charisma and mystique that our nation could really use right now. And — what do you know — he checks most of the boxes regarding the issues and values important to me. Alas, O’Rourke has been labeled “too centrist” and that aforementioned charisma has been turned into a negative because fuck you and your charisma! Alright, there are plenty of other fine candidates with an excellent chance of restoring some dignity to the Executive branch. I really like Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, and Elizabeth Warren. Oops, they have their detractors: too tough on crime; took money from pharmaceutical companies; too liberal or not liberal enough (depending on who you ask).

So, then Mayor Pete threw his hat into the ring. I watched and read several interviews and was captivated by Buttigieg. Could he and his intelligent, honest and common-sense approach to leading this country be exactly what we need? Apparently not, because not only does he not pass that litmus test, but his white male gayness makes him the devil in some eyes. That left me with Joe Biden. Good old trusty Joe Biden. Everybody likes him and he likes everybody, right? Well, it seems Joe likes some people a bit too much, showing affection to women (and men) when it’s unasked for. It doesn’t matter that we know how Biden could right the ship, his lack of social etiquette is what may bring his candidacy down. All these disqualifying factors are hilariously ironic given the shitshow we have in the White House. There’s only one reason the Republican Party — in the form it has taken — can win another presidential election, and that’s if we hand it to them. It’ll be by applying litmus tests to our candidates, fighting amongst ourselves, poisoning the waters for the eventual nominee, then casting a third-party vote or staying home on election day because that nominee fails in one or more categories. It’s the very definition of cutting off one’s nose to spite the face. Soon, the only option I’ll be left with is to run for president myself. After all, I agree with everything I stand for. Buddy Early grew up in Tempe and has been involved in various communities across the Valley since. He is a former managing editor of both Echo Magazine and Compete Magazine. Community

WE THE PEOPLE

The Equality Act would benefit everyone By Steve Kilar

n May, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Equality Act, landmark legislation that has the potential to modernize our federal civil rights laws by explicitly making discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity unlawful nationwide. The bill’s passage, by a margin of 236 to 173, was a huge victory. It was the first time that an LGBTQ rights bill of this magnitude made it through either the U.S. House or Senate. Polling has for years shown that there is majority support among Americans for nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people. The passage of the Equality Act demonstrates that support among voters for LGBTQ equality can translate into support among politicians. Even eight Republicans — from Indiana, Florida, Texas, Oregon, New York, and Pennsylvania — voted in favor of the Equality Act. Public Religion Research Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that produces policy research related to 54

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religion and culture in the U.S., recently released 2018 survey results about LGBTQ equality. “Nearly seven in 10 (69%) Americans favor laws that would protect LGBT people from discrimination in jobs, public accommodations, and housing,” the researchers stated. “Support for these protections has remained steady over the past few years, with around seven in 10 Americans reporting that they favor nondiscrimination provisions for LGBT people in 2017 (70%), 2016 (72%), and 2015 (71%).” The researchers found there’s broad support for a law like the Equality Act, including majority support within all major religious denominations, racial groups and states, and across the political spectrum. As ACLU lobbyists put it in a letter of support for the Equality Act that was sent to members of Congress, the bill would “provide LGBTQ people with consistent, explicit, and nationwide protections across all of the key areas of daily life, including employment,

housing, and access to public spaces and services.” Right now, LGBTQ people in some places are protected from discrimination by a patchwork of state and local laws. Arizona still does not protect LGBTQ people from discrimination statewide, although six municipalities (Phoenix, Tempe, Tucson, Flagstaff, Sedona, and Winslow) include sexual orientation and gender identity in their nondiscrimination ordinances. The Equality Act would supplement this patchwork, creating stability across the country for LGBTQ people and giving businesses that operate across state lines a better understanding of their potential liability for discrimination. In addition, the Equality Act includes important updates to federal civil rights laws that have nothing to with sexual orientation or gender identity. Here are some of the ways the Equality Act would improve our federal civil rights laws. Many of the changes would benefit everyone, not only LGBTQ people. COMMUNITY

The Equality Act would prohibit housing and employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Some courts have determined sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination are forms of sex discrimination, which is already prohibited by federal law in the housing and employment contexts. But the U.S. Supreme Court is considering LGBTQ employment cases during its next term and could come to the opposite conclusion. For that reason, it would be best to have an LGBTQ-inclusive definition of sex discrimination written into the housing and employment civil rights statutes. The Equality Act would prohibit sex discrimination, including sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination, in public accommodations. Right now, federal law only prohibits public accommodations from discriminating because of race, color, religion or national origin, so this update would provide new discrimination protection for everyone. The Equality Act would expand the types of businesses considered public accommodations. Under current federal law, public accommodations include hotels and motels, restaurants, gas

stations, and entertainment venues, like movie theatres and sports stadiums. The Equality Act would make this list of businesses longer by including “any establishment that provides a good, service, or program” in either a brick-and-mortar setting or online. Transportation providers, retailers, salons, food banks, shelters, and funeral parlors, as well as health care, accounting, and legal services, are all among the types of businesses that would be newly identified as public accommodations. This expanded definition would be helpful to everyone and would clearly prohibit the common forms of discriminatory harassment that have come to be known as “shopping while black” and “flying while brown.” The Equality Act would also make it clear that sex discrimination, including sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination, is prohibited by credit providers, public schools and other public services, and federally funded programs. Excluding LGBTQ people from jury service because of their sexual orientation or gender identity would also be banned. The Equality Act would also make plain that a federal law protecting religious freedom, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, is not a giant

loophole for religious beliefs to be used as a license to discriminate. Again, this clarification benefits everyone who might face discrimination, not just LGBTQ people. It seems unlikely the Equality Act will gain traction in the Republicancontrolled Senate. But because the strength of our civil rights often depends on our elected officials, we should still know where our senators stand on the bill so that we’re informed next time we’re asked to cast a ballot in their favor. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is a co-sponsor of the Equality Act. Sen. Martha McSally is not, and her office did not respond to an inquiry about her position on the bill. Mark Kelly, who is challenging McSally in 2020, did reply though. “No one should be subject to discrimination in the workplace or elsewhere because of who they are,” Kelly said. “I support the Equality Act to ensure that all LGBTQ Arizonans and Americans have equal protections and the opportunity to earn a living and Steve Kilar, is the communications director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona (acluaz. org). If you have questions about your rights that you would like addressed in a future issue, write him at skilar@acluaz.org.

The Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) is an EEO/AA institution and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, or national origin in their programs or activities. For Title IX/504 concerns, call the following number to reach the appointed coordinator: (480) 731-8499. For additional information visit: www.maricopa.edu/non-discrimination.

EchoMag.com

JULY 2019

HISTORY

By Clayton McKee.

A nod to Wink’s By Buddy Early

o celebrate Echo’s 30th birthday, this year I will be catching up with some of Arizona’s LGBT personalities from past and present to revisit the people, places and events that helped shape our community. When I was younger — much younger — I could hold my liquor like I held my secrets. (I held onto a pretty big one for 24 years.) Let’s just say I enjoyed a beer or 12, and the place you were most likely to find me twenty-plus years ago was a cabaret bar on North Seventh Street. As someone who was still finding his place in the community, it was where I felt extremely welcomed and comfortable, where everybody knew my name. I think a lot of people back then had that experience with Wink’s. There certainly were bars around before it, bars that have been around long after it, and bars that were around before and after it. But Wink’s held such a special place in many hearts that they still celebrate the Starbucks-sized show bar 15 years after it closed. Recently another Wink’s Reunion was held at Stacy’s at Melrose, gathering former employees and patrons for another last call. Clayton McKee, former Wink’s deejay and current black V-neck wearer, organized the reunions until 2013, which was the last one until this year. For both Clayton and me, Wink’s was the portal of entry into Phoenix’s gay social scene. He had moved here in 1993, and during his first visit to the bar a longtime employee shouted, “I knew you were gay!” (The employee had seen Clayton on an episode of The Maury Povich Show, on which he appeared as a George Michael impersonator.) It wasn’t long before

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Clayton was behind the bar deejaying for shows. “We always said that Wink’s was the place you could take your mom,” Clayton told me over brunch, where we reminisced about days gone by like the two old farts on The Muppet Show. “It was a quaint little neighborhood bar, a place you could go where everybody knew your name.” (See? I told you.) It was the gathering place for community big shots. If you threw a dart at the Wink’s monthly calendar you were likely to hit a fundraiser for an HIV/ AIDS organization; if not, it was for the Arizona Human Rights Fund, or Pride, or the Community Center, or a gay softball team, or a drag queen who fell down a well. But it’s also where the movers and shakers met — purposefully or by chance — to plan, deal, and celebrate community successes. The family atmosphere is why Clayton started hosting reunions after the bar’s abrupt closure in 2004. Staff and regulars did not have an opportunity to say a proper farewell, so Clayton gathered them all a year later at Plazma, and then every year for nine years. “There were rumblings for a few weeks, but everybody got the news (of the closing) that Sunday morning,” said Clayton. “We were doing whatever we could to let everyone know it was the last day.” It was before smartphones and social media, so people texted, paged, called and dispatched barflies like carrier pigeons to deliver the news to the regulars and semiregulars. A notice to drag queens went out, a notice that anyone who wanted to perform was welcome.

Clayton was the deejay one last time to a packed bar, although that’s about all he remembers since “I was so drunk I ran the entire show and don’t remember it.“ Still, he holds on to hundreds of memories from his 10 years at Wink’s — not to mention the physical memories he took after one last last-call: chairs, glasses, candles, ashtrays, a bottle opener, the ice scoop, dressing tent, stage lights, the awning sign. Other memorabilia are floating around town, in the possession of employees and patrons. Clayton and I shared some our fondest memories: performers falling on their asses; employees taking all the liquor from the bar for a White Party road trip; Barbra Seville in high glamour riding through the crowd on a bicycle someone had left outside the door; the scandals that occurred in the restrooms … but neither of us is delusional. We know it was just a bar to most people. People made bad decisions there. They got drunk, high, and got hit by cars trying to cross the street. (Some people will tell you Wink’s was a place for drug trafficking. But so was my high school, and I still have fond recall of that place, too.) A number of establishments have filled the voids left by Wink’s closure. Perhaps some twentysomething will write a column like this when he or she is 48, extolling the memories of their favorite place. In fact, I hope they do. Buddy Early grew up in Tempe and has been involved in various communities across the Valley since. He is a former managing editor of both Echo Magazine and Compete Magazine. COMMUNITY

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PHOENIX BARS

Phoenix Bar Guide

18 19

7 6

21 22 45 24 25 17 18

16 9 10

14 15 25

20 21 15

5th

32nd St. St. 32nd

Bethany Home

24 23 2 19 3 20

e. Av

5 6

1 13 22 14

11 12 43

16 17

12 13

11 10 *MAP IS NOT *Map is notTO drawn DRAWN SCALEto scale

60 92

JULY FEBRUARY 2019 2017 |2018 EchoMag.com EchoMag.com OCTOBER | |EchoMag.com

LOCAL BUSNESSES

111

ANVIL ANVIL

2424 E. E. Thomas Thomas Road Road 2424

602-334-1462 602-334-1462

M, D, D, L L M,

3 2

BAR 1 NIGHT CLUB AQUA

3702 E. N.McDowell Sixteenth Road St. 1730

602-266-9001 602-253-0682

M,N, E,E, ND F,

3 4

BAR 1 eBAR BLISS/R

3702 16th St. 901 N.N.Fourth St.

602-266-9001 602-795-1792

M, MF,N,N,ER

4 5

BLISS REBAR BOYCOTT BAR

901 St. Ave. 4301N.N.Fourth Seventh

602-795-1792 602-515-3667

M, MF,N,D,EE

5 65

BOYCOTT BAR BS WEST

4301 N. Seventh Ave. 7125 E. Fifth Ave., Scottsdale

602-515-3667 480-945-9028

MF, D, E MF, D, E

6 76

BS WEST BUNKHOUSE

7125 E. Fifth Ave. 4428 N. Seventh Ave.

480-945-9028 602-200-9154

MF, D, E M, L, N

7 87

BUNKHOUSE CARAVAN TAP ROOM

4428 N. Seventh Ave. 4835 N. Fifteenth Ave.

602-200-9154 602-592-9386

M, N, L MF, E, N

8 98 9 11 9

CHARLIE’S CHARLIE’S

727 W. Camelback Road 727 W. Camelback Road

602-265-0224 602-265-0224

M, C, E, D M, E, D

CLUB VOLT CRUISIN’ 7TH

3108 E. McDowell Road 3702 N. Seventh St.

602-244-1465 602-212-9888

MF, D, E M, E, N

10 10

CRUISIN’ 7TH

3702 N. Seventh St.

602-212-9888

M, E

2 10 11 11

DICK’S CABARET DICK’S CABARET

3432 E. Illini St. 3432 E. Illini St.

602-274-3425 602-274-3425

M M, G

11 13 12 12

FEZ FEZ

105 W. Portland St. 105 W. Portland St.

602-287-8700 602-287-8700

MF, R R

12 14 13 13

FLEX SPAS PHOENIX FLEX SPAS PHOENIX

1517 S. Black Canyon Highway 1517 S. Black Canyon Hwy

602-271-9011 602-271-9011

M, A M, AO

15 13 14 14

KARAMBA NIGHTCLUB KARAMBA NIGHTCLUB

1724 E. McDowell Road 1724 E. McDowell Road

602-254-0231 602-254-0231

D, E D, E

14 16 15 15

KOBALT KOBALT

3110 N. Central Central Ave., Ave., Ste. Ste. 125 175 3110 N.

602-264-5307 602-264-5307

MF, N MF, E, E, N

17 15 16 16

LOS LOS DIABLOS DIABLOS

1028 E. Indian Indian School School Road Road 1028 E.

602-795-7881 602-795-7881

MF, R MF, N, R, N

17 16 17 18

TOWNE SALOON SALOON NU TOWNE

5002 E. Van Buren St.

602-267-9959

M, N, L L, N

18 18 17 19

OFF CHUTE TOO TOO OFF CHUTE

4115 4115 N. N. Seventh Seventh Ave Ave.

602-274-1429 602-274-1429

M, MF,AA

19 19 20 18

OZ BAR OZ BAR

1804 Bethany Home 1804 W. W. Bethany Home Road Road

602-242-5114 602-242-5114

MF, N N MF,

20 20 21 19

PLAZMA PLAZMA

1560 E. Osborn Road 1560 E. Osborn Road

602-266-0477 602-266-0477

MF, N, E MF, E, N

21 21 22 20

ROYAL VILLA INN ROYAL VILLA INN

4312 N. 12th St. 4312 N. Twelfth St.

602-266-6883 602-266-6883

M, AO M, A

22 23 23 21

STACY’S @ MELROSE STACY’S @ MELROSE

4343 N. Seventh Ave. 4343 N. Seventh Ave.

602-264-1700 602-264-1700

MF, D, N MF, D, N

23 24 24 22

THE CASH NIGHTCLUB & LOUNGE THE CASH NIGHTCLUB AND LOUNGE

2140 E. McDowell Road 1730 E McDowell Road

602-244-9943 (602) 244-9943

F, C, D F, D, N

25 24

THE CHUTE

1440 E. Indian School Road

602-234-1654

M, AO

25 23 26 25

THE CHUTE THE ROCK

1440 E. Indian School Road 4129 N. Seventh Ave.

602-234-1654 602-248-8559

M, A M, N, E

27 24

THE ROCK

4129 N. Seventh Ave.

602-248-8559

MF, E, N

MAP CODES: 25 2601 ON CENTRAL 28 A Adult Retail & Entertainment M Mostly Males F Mostly Females MAP CODES: MF Mixed Male/Female M Mostly Males F Mostly Females MF Mixed Male/Female

LOCAL BUSNESSES

2601 N. Central Ave. N Neighborhood Bar R Full Restaurant D Dance Club C Country Dancing A Adult Retail & Accomodations D Dance Club E Entertainment (Karaoke, Drag)

602-466-2074 MF, E, R L Leather/Bears E Entertainment (Karaoke, Drag) G Go-Go Dancers AO Accommodations/Other L Leather/Bears N Neighborhood Bar R Restaurant

EchoMag.com | JULY 2018 2019 EchoMag.com | | FEBRUARY EchoMag.com OCTOBER 2015

61 93

BAR SPECIALS

Splash Bash

June 8 at Embassy Suites, Phoenix. Photos by Bill Gemmill.

BUNKHOUSE S HH and $1 Drafts all day. Indian Fry Bread with Joe Jackson 12-9pm, Live Jazz with Kenny Thames 7:30-10 M 2-4-1 8am-2pm, HH 2-8pm, Pool tournament 9pm T 2-4-1 8am-2pm, HH 2-8pm W 2-4-1 8am-2pm, HH 2-8pm, Karaoke 9pm-close T 2-4-1 8am-2pm, HH 2-8pm, Underwear/ Gear night $1 off drinks if in gear or underwear 8-close, WMW dancers 10-12 F 2-4-1 8am-2pm, HH 2-8pm $2.50 Miller 8-close S 2-4-1 8am-2pm, HH 2-8pm, $2.50 Bud 8-close

CHARLIE’S S Super HH 4-7 p.m., $3 pitchers; $3 Long Islands open-close M 2-8 p.m. 2-4-1 well & domestic bottles, $3 pitchers; 8 p.m.-close, 1/2 off drinks for wearing underwear, $3 Jack Daniels T 2-8 p.m. 2-4-1 well & domestic bottles, $3 pitchers; 2-4-1 cocktails & beer 8 p.m.- close W 2-8 p.m. 2-4-1 well & domestic bottles, $3 pitchers; $3 Three Olives vodka, 8 p.m.-close T 2-8 p.m. 2-4-1 well & domestic bottles, $3 pitchers; 2-4-1 drinks open-close F 2-7 p.m. 2-4-1 well & domestics, $3 pitchers; HH 7-9 p.m.; $1 well & domestics, $1 drafts 10 p.m.- midnight S Noon-7 p.m. 2-4-1 well & domestics; HH 7-9 p.m.; $1 well & domestics, $3 Absolut & Bacardi 10 p.m.-midnight

STACY’S @ MELROSE S $1.50 Rolling Rock & Wells, open-7 p.m.; Showtime 7-10 p.m.; $1 Rolling Rock & Wells; $2.50 Bud Light; $3 Fireball shots 7 p.m.-Close; Happy Hours 10 p.m.-сlose M Happy Hours; $2.50 Rolling Rock ALL DAY T Happy Hours; $5 Martinis & $2.50 Rolling Rock ALL DAY W 2-4-1 all day*; *no shots T Happy Hours 4-8 p.m.; $1.50 Rolling Rock & Wells 8 p.m.-midnight F Happy Hours 4-8 p.m.; $2.50 Rolling Rock all day; $2.50 Bud Light, $4.50 Pinnacle vodka & Fireball 8 p.m.-close S Happy Hours 4-8 p.m.; $2.50 Rolling Rock all day; $2.50 Bud Light, $4.50 Pinnacle vodka & Fireball 8 p.m.-close 62

JULY 2019

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ADVERTISER DIRECTORY Please support our advertisers who help keep Echo free

ACCOUNTANTS/ TAX PREPARATION

EVENTS

Matthew Hoedt, Realty One

3 58

Biz Bowl

Melissa Bailey, eXp Realty

Robert F. Hockensmith, CPA, PC

Dancing for one•n•ten

Nicholas Yale, Brokers Hub Realty

Steve Price, CPA

Musical Instrument Museum

Shawn Hertzog, West USA

Tricia Amato, HomeSmart

ADULT ENTERTAINMENT / RETAIL Flex Spas Phoenix

The Chute

Phoenix Mercury

Phoenix Pride Reception

Project Red

Community Church of Hope

FAMILY SERVICES

APARTMENTS

Voices for Casa Children

Broadstone Osborn

East and West Apartments

Bridgewater Assisted Living

Jackson White-Attorneys At Law

Phillips Law Group

GALLERY Exposed Studio & Gallery

ATTORNEYS

FINANCIAL SERVICES JW Advisors Inc.

ASSISTED LIVING

Lasting Impressions -

AUTO DEALERS Inﬁniti on Camelback

AUTO SERVICES Community Tire Pros & Auto Repair

RESTAURANTS China Chili

Denny’s

Hula’s Modern Tiki

Whyld Ass Restaurant

Anderson Windows & Doors

Rainbow Bug

Tilton Electric

Valdez Refrigeration

Off Chute Too

Bunkhouse

Charlie’s Phoenix

Stacy’s @ Melrose

57, 60, 61

RETIREMENT PLANNING Calvin Goetz, Strategy Financial Group

SALONS Salon 24

Beneﬁts Arizona Edward Vasquez, Allstate

47 3

MORTGAGES

Smirnoff

Independent Mortgage Corp.

PHARMACIES

DENTISTS Encanto Family Dental Care

TITLE AGENCIES DHI Title Agency of Arizona Inc.

Anytime Fitness

FitPro, LLC

HIV Hooray

CVS Specialty Pharmacy

Kneads Therapy

Fairmont Pharmacy

Ripple PHX

Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS

Stonewall Institute

Terros - Turning the Tide

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REALTORS

EDUCATION

Arizona Gay Realtors Alliance

Maricopa County Community

Berney Streed, Re/Max Excalibur

College District

EVENT PLANNING Turn Brew Designs

3 58

TERROS Health - Safe Out LGBTQ Youth

Bobbi Ryals, HomeSmart

Bradley B. Brauer, HomeSmart

Coalition

David Oesterle, ReMax

Thrive Med

Fred Delgado Team, Keller Williams

Willo Medi Spa

To find out more about advertising in Echo, call 602-266-0550 |

WELLNESS

Jeremy Schachter, Fairway

BEVERAGES

JULY 2019

INSURANCE

BARS & CLUBS

RETAIL

HOME SERVICES AZ Perfect Comfort

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