Flame Magazine Apr 2015 by FLAME Magazine

SCOTT ROMSTADT NEW HOME, NEW BEGINNINGS

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APRIL 2015

Jacob Lewkow

CONTENTS

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NEW HOME, NEW BEGINNINGS

STRAIGHT GIRL GAY WORLD

THE WORLD ACCORDING TO JOAN BECOME WHO YOU ARE

Andre Xcellence

Scott Romstadt

“Game of Thrones” is a highpowered club banger by out rapper Andre Xcellence. The track, about the games people play in their quest for love, is reminiscent of Azealia Banks’ “212,” where rap-meets-EDM in a tightly bound, lyrically clever tune that manages to name-check everyone from Hollywood from little person

SOUND CHECK

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The People Watcher

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Eggs and Bunnies

SPRING CLEANING

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FLAME // SOUND CHECK

ANDRE XCELLENCE BATTLES FOR HIP HOP SUPREMACY With New Single “Game of Thrones” Written by Shane Gallagher

“Game of Thrones” is a high-powered club banger by out rapper Andre Xcellence. The track, about the games people play in their quest for love, is reminiscent of Azealia Banks’ “212,” where rap-meets-EDM in a tightly bound, lyrically clever tune that manages to name-check everyone from Hollywood from little person Peter Dinklage to musician John Mayer; even Nintendo and Pop-Tarts are mentioned. The title and its cameo-filled video pay homage to the HBO fantasy drama series and include appearances by RuPaul’s Drag Race alums Manila Luzon and Courtney Act, as well as Andrew Christian underwear models Noah Wright and Pablo Hernandez. The stars face off in a dance battle developed and created by famed Haus of GaGa choreogra-

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pher Michael Silas. Of course, in the end, it’s Andre Xcellence that reigns supreme over all. “We all want to be the king or queen in the relationship game,” explains Andre Xcellence from his home in West Hollywood. “The song is about winning the man or women of your dreams.” His aim with “Game of Thrones” was to make a fun dance track. The sound draws inspiration from will.i.am, an artist Xcellence refers to as a musical pioneer. “Songs like ‘My Humps’ and ‘Scream and Shout’ changed the sound of music and proved that artists can’t be afraid to take chances,” he says. Xcellence boldly breaks new ground by including something not often seen in Hip Hop music videos: drag queens.

house. “It’s a new genre and I’d like to be the leader of it,” he says. His name, given to him by his college fraternity brothers, is a nod at his desire to strive for perfection. “I aim to be the voice of the voiceless and make great music with no politics.” In addition to his recording work, Andre Xcellence heads the independent label, American Commission, with his executive production team, “The Prodigal.” He lives by the motto, “You do not have to like me, but you will respect me.” “Game of Thrones” is available on iTunes now. For more information, visit www.andreXcellence.com.

Courtney Act and Manila Luzon are two stars from the popular LogoTV show, RuPaul’s Drag Race. “They are amazing talents and just scratching the surface on where they’re going career wise,” says Xcellence. “I really believe they are two artists the world will be talking about a decade from now.” Andre Xcellence introduced himself to Hip Hop last year with music that artfully blends urban beats and progressive

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SCOTT ROMSTADT NEW HOME, NEW BEGINNINGS Written by Geo Glam Photos by Jacob Lewkow

Scott Romstadt has lived all over the nation, from Toledo to the tundra. We’re now lucky enough to have this country boy in our own backyard, slinging drinks over at Menjo’s. For now, Scott is calling Detroit home, but for how long, we wonder. Let’s hope he’s here to stay, because, man, does he know how to wear that cowboy hat! We lassoed Scott in for an interview to get his thoughts and perspectives on life as well as life in Detroit.

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FLAME // FEATURE: SCOTT ROMSTADT

Scotty, we don’t see guys like you everyday here in Michigan. Where are you originally from? I grew up in Toledo, Ohio, then went to New York City when I turned eighteen. I lived there for a little over six years then I moved to Los Angeles, was there for a little over three years, then I moved to Talkeetna, Alaska for about a year and a half to get away from it all. Now here I am in Detroit! Describe to us what the most adventurous day in Alaska would be like? Well, my only regret about my stay in Alaska is that I didn’t get to have MORE adventure... There was a lot of working and a lot of hard times mixed in with the glory of living in such an incredible place. I moved there with my partner at the time and our three dogs, and we found ourselves a little out of our element when winter hit... So there was a lot of struggle just to keep things going, and a lot of catching up to do when spring and summer hit. However, even with all the difficulties, it was a beautiful experience I wouldn’t trade for anything. Living there really humbled me... I think about that experience all the time. Of all places, why did you choose to come to Detroit, Michigan? Detroit had been on my mind for years. After I left Alaska, I had no plans. I worked on a farm for a few months in Northern California then came home to Toledo with the intention of spending some time with my family and figuring it out from there. I needed a place I could start over fresh, I also didn’t have much money and Detroit was close to Toledo and relatively affordable, so I made the leap. I’m happy I did. I feel like Detroit is my new home and that I’ll be here for a while. We’re both starting over again, so we’re perfect for each other.

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Now that you’re here, where can our readers find you?

What do you like to do when you’re not working at Menjo’s?

Well, I’ve been bartending for a little over a year at the New Menjo’s Complex. I’m always there on Monday nights, for our one-of-a-kind karaoke, and Thursday nights for our party, “Cream.” Sometimes I’m there on a weekend. Menjo’s was my first job here in Detroit, and they’ve been like family to me. It’s been incredible to see the bar grow and come back, and I couldn’t be more excited for this summer and all the fun things we have coming up. I have so much fun when I’m there!

Well, I like to keep active. I practice yoga and I take classes at the Detroit Flyhouse... I’ve recently discovered that the hula-hoop is my new best friend. I also like to play guitar and listen to a lot of old country music, and anything film and photography related. Are you single? But most importantly are you mingling? I’m happily single and mingling just a little. My main focus right now is getting my life together, and I’ve got a lot of work to do in that regard. Dating is

kind of on the back-burner, but I do like a date from time to time... I’m only human. When dating, what are your biggest turn ons and turn offs? Biggest turn on is quiet confidence. Somebody who is secure enough with himself to not give a crap what anyone thinks of him, but who also isn’t a cocky jerk. Biggest turn off is probably jealousy and people who tend to be controlling or very insecure. In the game of life, what are some of your short-term and long-term goals? Short term, I’d like to stop working so much and have a little more fun this summer. I really need to explore Detroit and all of what Michigan has to offer. I’m hoping to start massage therapy school in June and looking to get deeper into my aerial training. Long term, I’d love to work for myself and produce some creative art—whether it’s with film, photography, performance, or all of those things combined. I’d like to be an independent, working artist. What are your true feelings about Zane leaving One Direction? I think that Zane probably figured out that there was more than just one direction. And good for him. Lastly, is there anything else you would like to share with our readers? Come say hi to me at Menjo’s on Mondays and Thursdays!

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The People Watcher

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Written by Rachel Mann

I like to consider myself more of an observer than an eavesdropper. When I am sitting by myself in public, I will admit it: I listen to other people’s conversations and I watch what they are doing. I like to use the, “I’m a writer and studying people gives me good material for stories” excuse. In one of my recent peoplewatching escapades, I was sitting in the hallway outside of my evening class waiting for the preceding class to be over. Sitting about twenty feet down the hall, a girl was sitting with her male friend talking over their love lives. “It seriously sucks being single. I can’t find a good, attractive gay guy to save my life,” he said. “Oh my gosh, I know! I feel like I’m going to die alone. I hate being single, especially when all of my friends have boyfriends!” she said, utterly clueless. Upon hearing this, I had to turn my head to see what this duo looked like. The guy was decent looking— brown hair, dark eyes, tall and slim. He wasn’t my type by any means, but that was irrelevant in my study of his appearance. The girl, on the other hand, was drop dead gorgeous. She had long blond hair that extended to the middle of her back, big green eyes, bright white teeth, and an adorable figure. Now, even though I’m not single or unfortunate looking (at least in my opinion), I still found myself thinking, “Quit whining! You look like you belong on a runway and you’re fretting dying alone!” I immediately thought about all of the women that have never had a companion and are pushing sixty, really staring being alone forever right in the face. I thought about women that don’t look as young and outwardly beautiful as that girl in the hallway and how they couldn’t acquire a drop of romantic attention as a result. Then, my eyes shifted to her male friend sitting next to her and my mind went back to

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what he had said to spark this entire earth-shattering conversation: “I can’t find a good, attractive gay guy to save my life.” How could he even sit next to this girl and not tell her everything my internal voice was ranting about in my head? I stopped thinking about other women and instead began to wonder what it must be like to be a gay guy in this man’s shoes. He probably goes to at least four classes a week. Maybe he goes to different bars on the weekend. He probably has a job. It’s possible that at some of these places, there are other men that he finds attractive. It’s also entirely possible that in some or maybe even all of those settings, it isn’t obvious whether those attractive men are gay or straight. How frustrating would it be to see men that you are attracted to on a regular basis and be too afraid to make a move because you don’t know what their sexual preference is? I don’t blame him or guys like him. I can’t imagine seeing a guy and thinking, “Damn. He is gorgeous.” Then, after thinking that, walking up to said guy and attempting to make a move on him only to be told, “What the hell, dude? I’m not gay!” I honestly think I would melt into a puddle of embarrassment right there. Now, I know there are gay bars and other networks and places for gay men to go to meet other gay men. That’s not my point. My point is that straight people don’t have to go to a “straight bar” or search high and low for alternate avenues to locate other straight people that might be interested in them. Straight people have the luxury of being able to add someone they find attractive to Facebook, like all of their recent pictures, and leave suggestive comments before asking them to dinner without the fear of striking out. Straight people can approach someone in the grocery store that they are attracted to and give them their phone number. If a straight

person hears, “Sorry, I’m gay,” there is no sudden puddle of embarrassment resting where they used to be. Instead, there’s an “Oh, okay, no big deal. Have a nice day.” Straight people can get extremely weirded out if a gay person comes on to them. I’m not sure if it’s a level of homophobia in some people or if it just the panic that they experience of, “Do I seem gay? Do I look gay?” Whatever it is, I know that if I were that single gay guy in the hallway and I were trying to vent to my attractive female friend about how I couldn’t find any good gay men to date, I would want her to nod her head and try to understand. I suppose it’s not her fault, though. I seriously doubt she knew how ridiculous she sounded trying to relate herself to his being-single struggle. Besides, one of the perks of being a peoplewatcher is that you come equipped with an outsider’s perspective.

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FLAME // THE WORLD ACCORDING TO JOAN

SPRING CLEANING: REMOVE THE CLUTTER FROM YOUR CLOSET Written by Joan Stevenson

Spring is here and time for a little spring cleaning. It’s interesting how things accumulate. I was talking with a friend recently about Facebook and friend requests. I realized that I had a LOT of friends, way more “friends” than people I ever knew in life. It made me realize that it may be time for a little house cleaning. I’ve had others on my FB feed occasionally say that they are in the process of weeding out their friends lists, this usually comes after something has happened, some kind of argument or shade has been thrown, etc. And they are letting people know if you do not make the cut “It’s not personal, I’m just cleaning house.” I seriously have a truckload of “friends” that I don’t even know or that I have the thinnest of the thin six degrees of Kevin Bacon connection to. When you think about it, how many people do you actually “know” in life? According to Pew Research Center, 39% of adult Facebook users have between 1 and 100 Facebook friends, 23% have 101-250 friends, 20% have 251-500 and 15% have more than 500 friends.1 I fall in that 15%. The average number of friends among adult Facebook users is 338. But seriously do you really “know” that many people? I think my friend request “snowball” started years ago. I was entertaining in clubs around the city on a regular basis and I got to meet a lot of people. I was also involved with community theatre and so I got a lot of friend requests. I would wonder where I knew this person from or how they came to ask me for a request, then I would look at the list of mutual friends. If this list contained certain people, i.e. people I knew from the bar, or people I knew from the theatre community, then I figured I must have met them somewhere even in passing so I approved their request. I never gave it a thought until recently when I noticed my friend count was so high. I then only started accepting friend requests from people I ACTUALLY knew.

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Facebook is all about connectivity. Originally founded as a way for college students to contact each other, Facebook has become about keeping in touch with your different clusters of social groups. Everyone has their circles. Friends, family, co-workers, classmates and then there’s the outer rim of people you might know from any of those markers. But who do you decide gets a pass as a “friend” is up to you. I guess it all boils down to what your definition of connection is. Is it a bond forged by actual physical interactive friendship and shared experiences, familial ties, work or school, or is it a label used to describe a totally virtual, superficial association? “I’m on Facebook” has become a throw away phrase to use in passing when you’re in social situations where possible connections can be made. Way back in the ancient days of MySpace, profile users treated friends like accessories, displaying their top ten or twelve like charms on a bracelet. The inference being the more you collected, the “cooler” you looked. MySpace was more youth driven so the circle of friends was more likely to be more school chums and personal friends. Facebook was still in the college stages, but eventually it made the jump to open social media connecting among adults. For most of us FB is a way to reconnect with people from our past, keep up with people in our present, and collect acquaintances for the future, but how many friends do we really need? How many “friends” (virtual or real) can a human being really process? According to Robin Dunbar, an Oxford University anthropologist who studies social networks, any grouping larger than about 150 starts to strain the cognitive capacity of the human brain. Basing this figure on research into the brains and social habits of primates, Dunbar argues that we cannot effectively manage relationships with many hundreds of people. This goes for real-world friends as well

as online relations: “The interesting thing is that you can have 1,500 friends, but when you actually look at traffic on sites, you see people maintain the same inner circle of around 150 people that we observe in the real world,” Dunbar told the Londonbased Sunday Times. “People obviously like the kudos of having hundreds of friends but the reality is that they’re unlikely to be bigger than anyone else’s.” So basically it really doesn’t matter how many friend requests you accept, the number of people actually interact with will stay constant. It’s like having a closet full of shoes, rows and rows of shoes. You’re never going to wear ALL of them so that closet will continue to get more and more cluttered. Even though you may keep buying new pairs, there are only going to be so many pairs of those shoes you are actually going to wear. There’s only so much information you can scroll through day after day that constantly bombards your brain. The more friends you have the more you will have to wade through and you have to admit, that sometimes it can get a bit tiresome. TRUST, it can be totally mind numbing! There’s only so much information you can wade through: food pictures, status updates, pissing and moaning about one thing or another, the memes, the inspirational posts, the viral videos, the chain posts, the SJW rants, etc. I remember the days when I could scroll through my news feed in a relatively short time, but now it would take several hours to get through all of the posts. Most days after a few minutes of scrolling through my feed, I just give up and go play Candy Crush. So I think a purge may be long overdue. Depending on how large your friend list is and how active you are with your social contacts, you might want to think about doing a little spring cleaning of your own. So clean out that closet! Who knows? It might bring your network closer together and you may actually take a second look at your “friends” and decide whose really worth keeping in touch with.

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BECOME WHO YOU ARE FLAME //

Eggs and Bunnies Written by Austin VanKirk

Spring is my favorite time of year. I love smelling the earth after a seasonal shower, noticing the flowers blooming into color, and seeing the trees regaining their green. After months of bareness and cold, the world starts to come alive again. In a way, it is reborn. This is also the time of the year that we encounter the Christian holiday, Easter, probably tied for first place with Christmas as the most important Christian holiday. In this country, I imagine it to be a rarity for somebody to not be acquainted with the story of Easter. The short version is we have a (demi-) deity, Jesus, who dies and rises again to divinity, and in doing so, saves the world. What’s interesting to note about this story is that it’s not unique. Sure the particulars—the names, places, protagonists, and antagonists—change, but the basic story is one that has been cropping up in mythology and religion since, well, always. And this is something that is pretty well spread across the world. The Norse have the god Baldr, who will return from Hel after Raganrök (the end of the world). In Hinduism there is a similar concept occurring with the god Vishnu, who has been reincarnated several times. The ancient Egyptians had Osiris, who was revived after being torn to pieces at the wishing of his sister-wife, Isis. Jarilo, a Slavic deity, was said to die every year and be reborn as a herald of spring. Greeks believed in the story of Adonis, who was resurrected by Aphrodite. There is also the Greek myth of Persephone, who returns from the underworld (she’s the wife of Hades, god of the underworld who dwells there), each year, bringing spring with her, and allowing winter to overtake the world when she returns to the land of the dead. And then we have, in my opinion, the best of these stories. It’s also the one that is receiving attention on the Inter-

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net since Easter is rolling around. It’s the story of Ishtar, a goddess in ancient Babylonian, Assyrian, and Akkadian belief, who goes to the underworld. Some sources say it was to rescue her husband who had died. Other sources claim that she just wanted to usurp the underworld for herself, stealing it from her sister goddess. Regardless, she enters a state of death while there and everything on earth stops having sex. Oh, yeah, she’s the goddess of fertility and sex. Nobody can get it on without her say-so. The other gods immediately recognize this to be a tragedy—because what’s life without good sex?—and revive her. She returns from the underworld and people and animals are able to have babies again— just like in the spring. This story is a bit more complicated and longer than what I have recounted here, and deviates depending on which mythological slant you use—but you get the idea. Still, every year in the spring the people who believed in this story had a festival to commemorate Ishtar’s revitalization. So, what has people riled up is the perceived similarities between Easter and Ishtar, causing some to claim that Easter is really just a Westernized version of Ishtar’s festival. The first of these is the resemblance in names. I imagine most people would say “ishtar,” but more phonetically and perhaps culturally correct, the name would be pronounced “eesh-tar,” which kind of sounds like the way we say Easter. There have also been claims that Ishtar’s symbols have been the egg and the rabbit, modernly connected with the Christian holiday. Now, mythology is something I research for fun. I find it fascinating. I don’t claim to be an expert, but I know and have read a fair amount about many religions and mythologies (including Christianity—just to stave off the inevitable backlash). Ishtar’s symbols have been the owl, lion, and bull—nothing about eggs or

bunnies. Apart from the name similarity and the whole spring=fertility=(re) birth motif, the claim is kind of thin. Further doubt is cast when we look at the word in countries with Latin-based languages; their words for “Easter” more closely resemble “Paschal,” which derives from the Hebrew word for Passover. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Romans (influenced by the Greeks, influenced by the Mesopotamians, i.e. Akkadians et al.), the folks who brought Christianity to the rest of Europe, didn’t somehow tie the Christian holidays and practices with the beliefs of the people they were thrusting their religion upon to make it more palpable. For instance, when the United States first became a thing, most of the people who had come here were of Germanic descent (so, we’re talking Germans and Anglicans). They of course had their religion, Christianity, and its holiday, Easter. But, what’s super interesting is that the Germanic people, before the Romans shoved the Old and New Testaments down their throats, believed in a dawn goddess whom they held feasts for in April. Scholars have named her symbols the rabbit and egg. This goddess’ name? Well, in Old English it’s Eastre. Do I have to connect the dots further? The point is, what we believe in (Christian or otherwise) hasn’t been monolithic or kept in some historical vacuum throughout the years. Our belief systems have influences coming from all sorts of unlikely places—perhaps even ancient Mesopotamia. The overlap of the resurrection story cross-culturally serves as a reminder that although we have our beliefs, it’s quite likely that they’re just one version of the same story. But what do I know?

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