August/September issue of Mint Male Magazine

Fashion + Design + Politics + Health + Fitness + Mind + Music

US $5.00 August/September 2010

Contents

exclusive

042 Lady Starlight An exclusive interview and photo shoot with Lady Starlight, Rock DJ of the year and headline DJ for Lady GaGa’s Monster Ball. She dishes about the future of rock, Lady Gaga, and taking risks.

012 Stay Golden Paying homage to the bitter-sweet end of golden summer days.

fitness

006 The Walking Lunge

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Mint Male’s personal trainer John Cotter shows you how to get tighter, stronger glutes.

Mint Male’s first ever centerfold still leaves some room for the imagination.

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024 Serial Cut Interview Eye-popping, edgy and contemporary designs in 3D. A bold look at the incredibly creative design studio Serial Cut, with an exclusive interview with the Creator, Sergio del Puerto.

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Tea Party Duel

Dueling sides of the political aisle may have found some common ground with the Tea Party.

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Pride 2010

Photos from Chicago’s Pride Parade 2010 featuring Mint Male + Harrington College of Design’s float, ‘Human Powered Change’.

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MINTMALE Publisher Joey Grant Director of Operations Lisa Kimmey Director of Fashion + Grooming Josh Shores Creative Director Christina Burton Director of Photography Bret Grafton www.photografton.com Lead Editor Jennifer Schnoes Contributing Writers Jesse Darnay Gerard McGuiggan

fashion

Mint Male Personal Trainer John Cotter www.FFC.com

038 fail-ure

Mental Health Writer Michael Bricker PhD, LCP

A sneak-peek of Serial Cut’s t-shirt line, Fail-ure.

009 different strokes A straight male’s perspective on the trials and tribulations of being a gay male in a straight man’s world.

Featured Models Chris McCray Chris Hill Joshua Blake Carter Rusty Slovenec Nate Gonzales Featured Stylists Heather Bear Leslie Shores Lauren Carino Advertising + Marketing Lauren Carino Edwin Martinez Serial Cut is Represented by Bernstein & Andriulli in the United States. http://www.ba-reps.com/artists/serial-cut. All photos courtesy of Serial Cut.

Cody Cranch is an artist living in Chicago. His work deals primarily with the human figure. However, Cody’s inspiration is not the flawless body cut from stone, but rather the individuals of his own life. Friends, loved ones, ex-lovers, unnamed strangers who crossed his path and left a mark. Cody seeks to capture their essence, their unique self, beautiful and real, through gestural lines and stark simplicity.

Special Thanks to James Walker, Paul Trout, and Andrew Edeker for location use.

Mint Male Magazine has been independently published in Chicago, IL since 2009. We appreciate your feedback and advertising inquiries at Advertising@Mintmale.com

www.codycranch.com

Please visit our website at www.mintmale.com

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Photography by Bret Grafton

If you have done them and are cursing my name for the lasting pain that they will cause I recommend a good massage, a hot bath or a light tension ride on the nearest cardio bike, all of which will break out all those nasty lactic acids built up in your muscles and will further stimulate your muscles to grow to big, beautiful and sculpted.

You will need a runway, no not a modeling runway, but a walkway where you can travel while doing these walking lunges. One set of walking lunges will consist of 12 to 18 one way and the return trip back to start; you are expected to do more than one set! To get a bangin’ butt I recommend 3 to 4 sets 3 times a week. The different variations are done with dumbbells, a barbell or no weights at all. When doing these, use your head and know the difference between good pain and bad pain.

Be sure to focus on your breathing. Your breathing should be fluid and natural. With the motion of the walking lunge the breathing should be: as you step and lunge, inhale; while squeezing back to the start position, exhale. Breathing will keep your body aerobic, and cool. Another reason for good breathing is that without good breathing, you could hyperventilate and pass out and nothing is more tragic than explaining to the doctor as you are rushed to the ER that you were trying to sculpt your glutes and passed out. These will kick your butt in every way and at the end of each set I recommend dedicating a minute to catching your breath and grabbing some fluids. Nobody likes to dehydrate.

Your following leg should be extended far behind you, and you should be using your toes for balance. From this position you will feel a stretch in your following leg quadriceps; your leading leg will have a stretch in the glutes. Now pressing your heel down with your leading leg, squeeze the quads and bring yourself back into a standing position and repeat with your other leg.

Form when lunging, whether stationary or walking, is crucial. The starting position is simple: stand and then take a giant slow step forward, planting your heel to maintain balance. Bring your body down low to the ground so that your leading front leg bends to a 90 degree angle; do not go any deeper than 90 degrees as that puts unnecessary tension on the knee and will increase the risk of injury.

One of my favorite and most hated exercises is the walking lunge. Yes I hate them. Why? I am not going to lie to you but in all the years I have been working out the walking lunge is still as challenging today as it was on day one. There are very few exercises that will better sculpt the glutes (butt) and quadriceps (front muscles of the legs) and in addition, the walking lunge is a wonderful core exercise and done properly helps with balance and your proprioception or the knowledge of where your body is as it moves in space.

by John Cotter

John Cotter can be found working at FFC at 939 W North Avenue. www.FFC.com

Photography by Christina Burton

Human Powered Change. Mint Male + Harrington College of Design. Chicago Pride Parade 2010

Perhaps this plight of which I’m speaking is symptomatic of a greater fundamental human problem which stretches back thousands of years: the idea that most individual human beings are more apt to reject that which they perceive to be “different” by subjugating it (Jews and Christians, Western Europe and Native Americans, etc.) The acceptance of difference requires the individual to admit his or her own powerlessness and inability to understand all things. But what seems to happen, sadly, is that we decide not to ‘go there’, instead willing ourselves to power by assuming authority and thereby making delusion our reality.

This idea of rejecting differences has never been made more clear to me than in my own romantic relationships. The women I have been with in my life have all had a difficult time accepting my acute senAs a straight male, I’ve taken the plight of the gay man living in Chicago sitivity, and I theirs. In a moment of anger or too lightly. I came to this realization over the past few months after frustration born of a situation not necessarbefriending a wonderful gay man on the North Side. It took me many ily related to the relationship itself, one of us weeks to learn that he was gay, because the subject just never came up. has said something very hurtful to the other as We talked about movies, parties, famous people, literature, etc. Normal, means of venting angry feelings. Rather than everyday conversation, and nothing more. admitting to my own minimal importance in the grand scheme of all that exists outside of me When he told me, jovially, that he was gay one night, I was quite taken (admitting that I was a part of my partner’s life, aback. Hitherto I had figured he was a straight male because he had an which was complicated, rather than the whole easygoing and open attitude about him — an attitude about life that of her life, which would be simple), I would was very familiar to my own and seemed incompatible with the typical always come to vilify my partner and make her attitudes of gay men I’d met in the past, who had all either presented into something she wasn’t based on her feelings themselves as rebellious, flamboyant or highly defensive. in the moment. This behaviour would continually be reciprocated until all that my partner After this large fact about my friend was established, he began to feel and I could see of each other were two horrible comfortable enough with me to discuss the intricacies surrounding a people that were in no way related to who we person living in Chicago who was intelligent, sophisticated and who really were or what we were going through. preferred to be romantic with men. My friend explained to me that he was mostly fearful about his sexual preference and had been for Again, accepting difference (a quality which inmany years. He was always conscious of the environments he placed evitably leads to a more peaceful and happy sohimself in and if he found himself amongst groups of straight men who ciety) starts by not seeing ourselves as being so exhibited machismo qualities, he was excessively careful not to let on ‘grand’. If we can temper our own self-images, that he was gay lest he be ridiculed, ostracized or even attacked. He our firm notions of identity, those aspects will would have loved to discuss his romantic interests with his parents, who no longer obscure the reality of that which exlived in a different state, but they had always been religious people and ists outside of us, which is indefinable, which is wouldn’t know how to interpret what he was saying even if they could actually quite challenging and beautiful. bring themselves to accept the reality of it. My friend also talked about *Artwork by Cody Cranch, more information his frustration with “Boys Town” in that the over arching theme of this on page 5.

Chicago pocket seemed to be using homosexuality as a great justification for escapism and misanthropic behavior. He felt that the image of homosexuality that was being advertised by Boys Town was not only misrepresenting his sexual preference, but that it was further polarizing a gay/hetero society.

My heart began to break. I felt frustrated by my own obliviousness over the past decade. I was grateful as well, however, to have found someone peaceful and comfortable enough to express these things to me.

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Most of us can probably recall a time when we’ve felt a little blue or down-in-thedumps. Maybe we’ve experienced a break-up or some difficult news, or we’re in the middle of a rough spot with a partner or friend. Sadness can often be a natural and adaptive response to these events, signalling us that something important is in transition. Sad feelings can also help us to recognize our need for support and provide the momentum we need to make changes in our lives.

What You Need To Know About Depression

By Michael Bricker, PhD, LCP

But, how do we tell the difference between a case of the blues and actual depression?

Research shows that depression is different than sadness. Depression may involve more serious changes to our everyday routine. We may lose interest in things that are usually enjoyable to us or may lack our usual motivation to get things done. Depression can also cause us to feel fatigued, draining our energy to get things done and making it more difficult to focus and concentrate. People who are experiencing depression may also notice changes in their appetite, and find themselves having problems with sleep and being less social. It is also possible to experience feelings of worthlessness about ourselves or hopelessness about the future.

Although we all may experience these changes from time to time, depression can be distinguished from occasional periods of sadness by recognizing the severity and regularity of these symptoms. For example, while we may feel sadness for a few days, depression usually lasts longer and may also involve a combination of changes including things such as tiredness, poor concentration, and feeling badly about ourselves. Depression can also be more constant, affecting us most days over a long period of time.

Also, while it can be common to experience sadness when we are grieving a loss or experiencing challenges in our lives, these feelings do not usually result in a huge impact on our daily living. In contrast, people with depression often experience multiple changes that pose a real challenge to their day-to-day life. They may notice these symptoms affecting their performance at work, or may notice that they are arguing more in their relationship. Depression often begins to take a toll, leaving us to play catch-up, while never really feeling that we are getting a handle on things.

It can be hard to admit that we are experiencing depression; however, it is important to realize that depression can worsen if left untreated. While many individuals with depression start out with just a few symptoms, these symptoms can create a repetitive cycle of problems that can be difficult to overcome. What’s worse, untreated depression can lead to more serious concerns, such as using drugs or alcohol to cope or contemplating suicide. Research shows us that LGBT individuals are already at greater risk for depression, suicide, and substance abuse; therefore, it is important to consider seeking help at the first signs of trouble.

The good news is that depression is highly treatable. For those with mild depression, regular exercise and social activity can often play a vital role in helping us to feel better.

Science shows us that these activities can even cause chemical changes in the brain that lead to improvements in our mood and well-being. Research has also repeatedly shown the beneficial role that psychotherapy and counseling can play in treating depression.

Therapy can provide us with a chance to discuss struggles we have faced and offer support and guidance through a difficult time. It may also provide us with help in better understanding why we may be stuck, and can offer solutions that can assist us in achieving our long-term goals.

Fortunately, many community resources exist for people struggling with depression, and for LGBT individuals specifically. Weekly outpatient counseling is often a common choice for treating depression. Psychologists or other mental health providers are trained in both assessment and treatment of mental health concerns and can be a good first step on the road to feeling better.

For some, medication may also be an option. While recent research suggests that anti-depressants may have little impact on mild to moderate depression, these same medications often have excellent results for more significant depressive concerns. While your primary care physician may be a good resource for exploring medication options, psychiatrists are medical doctors that have special training in medications relating to mental health, and may be better aware of options that could help.

Although we may feel stigma about seeking treatment for depression, over 70% of people suffer from a period of depression in their lifetime. It’s likely that many of those around you can relate with your experience, and reaching out to others for support can often help you feel less lonely. Talking with others can also allow you to try out options that have been tried and tested. Taking the risk to admit to yourself or someone else what you are going through could be just the thing that allows you to finally feel better and more capable of getting what you want out of life!

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Q: Wh at’ A: Art, s your life pa ssion? especia ll Aside f rom pe y the perform rformi ing art creatin ng, s. g makes art through d I’ve found t hat me fee ance n lf ot only and aff ect oth ulfilled, but can im ers in s pa uch a p ositive ct w ay.

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Aside from taking dance classes (ballet, jazz, etc.) I am at the gym several times a week doing cardio and lifting wei ghts.

Of course a healthy diet is part of it too, but I find it to be the hardest part !

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1. What is your company philosophy or ethos?

I used to say that “good work calls for better work” and with 10 years working on this, I have to say it’s true. We always have it on our minds to make cooler pieces to showcase on our website. We like to make different kinds of projects and only some are innovative and these ones are the ones that we like, especially when we are asked to make something different.

2. Your designers are such forward thinkers/designers. Where do you go for design inspiration? From which period/style do your designers draw most of their inspirations?

Is there particular designer or designers the studio admires?

I can get inspiration from anything in life: colour combinations I see on any street but also in nature, any movie or song or just having a look to a 70s book or a vinyl covercase from my dad’s collection, traveling a lot… We here at Serial Cut like all kinds of retro stuff, but we usually make an interpretation, and update the idea, combining it with a contemporary look that fits our style. I don’t like the word “modern”, I prefer to say “contemporary”, as I feel it more accurate of this time period. As for designers, I love the classics: Herb Lubalin, Igarashi or Serge Lutens.

3. What inspired the establishing of the studio?

I started working in agencies and magazines when I was 22, and combined my freelance works with my own clients I’ve gained while working with other companies. So it can be said that I started the one-person-studio 10 years ago. But there was a moment that I had too many freelance projects so I decided to establish the studio as a physical place.

This happen only 2 years ago and was one of the best ideas of my life. Now I can’t imagine working for another boss.

4. Where do your designers start when a client comes to them with a project?

The brief is essential. Also image references are helpful to figure out what’s on the client’s mind. We also work for ad agencies, and we love when they come to us with a draft made in our style… they start out thinking of us, and they even use images of our portfolio to compose the image. This is great as we are already in some creative art directors’ minds!

5. Do you have a favorite client or project? What about it did you enjoy?

I have many cool clients. Zune is super nice, they always let us design with quite a bit of freedom and the final result is always a portfolio job to be showcased on our website.

We mostly enjoy the projects where the final result is innovative, we get bored when they ask us to make a copy of ourselves, of another project previously done.

6. Speaking of clients, we noticed that you worked with OUT Magazine. Tell us about that experience.

Well, it was like any other client… they wanted us to represent some vacation situations in a cut-out style still life, so the process was similar to another clients: the sketches, then we did changes, then we shot the images and finally we retouched them! This project was for the portfolio so it was a plus!

7. Being designers ourselves, we are always interested in other designers’ opinions on client management. How do you keep your clients from taking over a project?

I think the best way is to advise the client of your limits (number of rounds, sketches, etc) when you start the project. This is like giving them an education for the project, like a game with rules. Also we used to send timings for the project, so they will be more confident with us. The reps are important in this case, they are supervising everything, for the client side and also from ours!

8. If you could speak with your former self, when you were in school or just starting your career, what advice would you give?

WORK HARD WITH ILLUSION AND AMBITION! This has been my philosophy since I started. I’m always working towards better projects, better clients and a better portfolio. This is a vocational job. It is my hobby, so I also develop non-commercial projects for the studio, just cool images to have as samples and one day a client might ask for it for his or her brand. We also run Fail-ure®, a t-shirt collection with a strong image. We already have a few different projects in mind, some of which I’m working on during my vacation, so I really enjoy my job and later I’ll reap the benefits. Besides, if the job is nice and can be used on our website, the client is happy, and the project is featured in a magazine or design book, it’s a reference work for others. Being published in a book is the best end result for a project.

9. What is your personal pet peeve concerning typography?

I hate the broken types from the early 90s. Can’t stand them. You will never see any design from us made with those grunge types, no thanks! Also some types, like Curlz, Lithos or Comic Sans are disgusting. When someone uses one of these, a designer dies.

Type has to be clean and readable. This is the foundation of everything. I’m not into the super-trendy types, I prefer the ones that work perfectly after 5 or 10 years. You can get a very trendy and cool feel with a classic typeface, the secret is the other elements involved and how you combine them.

10. What are your favorite sans-serif and serif typefaces?

Sans: Gotham, Amplitude, Futura Ultra, Trade Gothic, Sanuk and DIN. Serif: ITC Serif Gothic, American Typewriter Bold, Garamond BE Bold, Leitura, Giza and Lexia.

11. How long has your longest project taken to finish?

I had a project that was extended for a whole year. I try not to have one project last more than a month… you can get tired when it’s extended to that degree.

12. What are your personal feelings/thoughts on the collapse of the print publishing industry and how technology has effected the printing industry? Do you prefer print or digital media?

Print will never die! No please! The experience of opening a book, touching it and smelling it is amazing. It is a sensational experience that never can be replaced by touching a digital screen. I think now it’s a boom for the iPad, but it will simply be established as another option and format. It’s like when the TV came out, everybody back then thought those would be the last days of cinema.

13. What do you think of the iPad and its effect on the mobile print industry– will it replace the need for printed material?

I don’t think I would ever read a literature book on an iPad. I found it so tacky and not comfortable at all. I don’t like the iPad and besides the fact that it is a unique invention and revolutionary, it’s not for me. I once saw in a sci-fi movie an electronic flimsy paper simulating a one-page newspaper… that would be so cool: feeling like paper, but electronic and completely changing in it’s contents!

14. Do you think it is necessary or appropriate for artists to include a political message in their designs or projects? Do any of your designs have obvious or subliminal messages?

Political design is a style itself. It is your choice to give a political message or not, and depends on the character of the designer. So I don’t think it’s necessary if you don’t feel it. My designs try to give a visual impact and sometimes it’s good to look at each work with more attention to get more details of the message. Others are very graphic; very simple but strong.

15. We are very interested in Serial Cut’s fashion line. Why did you design to name it Failure? Where did the inspiration for the line come from? Any plans to expand the line?

Glad you guys are interested in the brand! Well, it was my father (my biggest fan) who was pushing me for years to establish a fashion brand made by Serial Cut. But I never had time to make it… until one day I started. This project was developed in my off time (weekends) during the year… I thought of Fail-ure® because no one dares to put such a negative connotation onto a starting brand. I had nothing to lose as we live for the studio clients, so I thought it could be ironic. Also I found it quite interesting that with failure, you learn more than when you have success, is that not true? Later the creative shooting concept came when I encountered the work of the German artist Robert Bartholot. His images have a very melancholy feel, a “lovely nightmare” that fits perfectly with the name of the brand. We wanted to make just one collection per year,

as we just sell online, so if you are in Argentina in August you will order a sweater, not a tee. I have some ideas in mind for the next collection, but haven’t found time yet for start the next line!

16. What are your five most recent songs on your iTunes (or other) play-list?

I’m a music fanatic, most especially electronic, but now I can’t find time to investigate as much as I used to, so I subscribe to many podcasts and I’m really happy with them. I don’t have to make anything, just wait for them to be downloaded! I love “Music Victim”, “Makin’ Music”, “Resident Advisor”, “Alez-alez”. I can’t work without music!

17. What would you do if you could become invisible whenever you wanted to?

I would prefer to control time and be able to stop it whenever I wanted! It’s just another way to be invisible while everything else is frozen!

18. Where do you see the future of design going and where Serial Cut is included within that future?

This is a terribly difficult question. My main concern is that Serial Cut will be known by different designers generations from now, meaning that it had turned into a classic that never got dated as it goes through time… that’s why I try to hire different freelancers to bring more freshness to the studio.

19. A question from new designers looking for work: What are the top three traits/skills you look for when hiring someone into your studio?

Portfolio, portfolio and portfolio. Our work is 100% visual, so I need visual info to get to know your style, references that you as a designer use, and how authentic or honest you can be. When I just receive a resume without a portfolio it’s like I’ve received nothing. I don’t care if you have studied in a the greatest places and you know all the design programs, I just want you to show me your talent baby!

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THE WALKING LUNGE

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Fail-ure速 is the definitive name for the new t-shirt and sweaters brand designed by the Serial Cut creative team. The Fail-ure速 products can only be purchased online. A collection will be released once per year, unifying the Spring-Summer and the Fall-Winter in a single collection. The styling and photography for this first collection, Carnaval Sportif, was done by Robert Bartholot.

To buy Fail-ure Tees visit www.fail-ure.com

LADY DISHES ON THE FUTURE OF ROCK, LADY GAGA, AND TAKING RISKS Rock and Roll has a new face, and she goes by the name of Lady Starlight. Currently touring with Lady Gaga, Starlight is more than just a face in the crowd. She’s more than just any old club DJ too. Starlight has been rocking the New York City club scene for the past decade, and her amazing stage presence, innovative sound creations, and incredible theatrical stage productions are pushing her to the center of the spotlight.

And she’s just getting started.

Starlight’s first experience on stage was for a talent show she entered with a childhood friend. Their lyrical dance rendition of a deep Beatles track called Matchbox from 1964 did not go over as the girls had intended. She recalls, “A Ringo song nonetheless, and I was like, oh my god we’re going to win this! No no. That’s the story of my life. I always do things way before people are ready for them. And they’re very unsuccessful. Finally, everything has caught up now. It was just a matter of time before the world caught up.”

Starlight discovered her interest in Rock and Roll at a very early point in her life, and her inspirations are from all over the board. When asked what sparked her passion for rock, she replied, “My parents. From a young age, my dad had an amazing record collection.” Starlight’s brother is also a musician. Her strongest musical inspirations are constantly in lingo, although currently she’s found herself really into Peter Hammil of Van der Graaf Generator. That, however, is subject to change at any moment. “It’s really people that just follow, do something, take a risk. And they believe it, and they just do it.”

Starlight feels that Rock desperately needs to be brought back into the club scene, and has full intentions of making that happen. “I think they need me to DJ everywhere. I have to clone myself so that there’s someone in every city. People just need to hear Rock and Roll. They forget. It’s not that they don’t like it. Rock used to be pop.”

Starlight is impressed by games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero because they’re “spreading awareness of Rock and Roll to the younger generation who may have otherwise missed out on it.”

Staying in one place has not seemed to be an option for this diverse woman. Starlight lived in London for a while, working illegally as a receptionist for a salon called Toni and Guy. There, she went to school and obtained a degree in philosophy. Starlight returned to New York and started to focus on her DJing and stage performing. If given the option to live in any era, Starlight chose “1977, and in London, when all the new wave British heavy metal bands were forming.”

be a part of it.” Lady Starlight now tours with Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball, where she dances at every show and then throws after parties, were she throws down rock beats all night. LS explains in excitement “It’s the best thing ever. A lot of fun. It’s a dream come true. It’s finally happened.”

So what don’t we know about Lady Starlight? She likes to run. She loves athletics.

Being on tour, one would think it would be difficult to keep that killer figure of hers, and its definitely been a challenge for her. “When you see me at The Monster Ball, I literally dance for an hour straight. That really helps. It gives me the freedom to eat a little more than I would.” Luckily for Starlight, she’s on a tour that provides her with plenty of healthy food to nibble on as well as opposed to a diet of pizza and burgers.

“I’m not with a bunch of boys in a rock band, haha.” Starlight’s laugh itself is enough to make you fall in love with her.

Lady Starlight’s energy and contagious vibe goes beyond her love of Rock music and delves into every aspect of her life, including her fashion aesthetic. Her look is more than just some clothes she found in a closet. “It’s really my need to communicate with the world. I see fashion as you’re saying something. It’s not just like I just think, ‘oh, this looks cute,’ or whatever. I actually am communicating a message to my audience, which is everyone I see on the street.” It’s becoming quite obvious that this message is being hear louder and louder. Speaking of image, LS says, of bringing hairspray, fire and disco balls into her performances. “It was the cheapest way of getting the maximum theatrical excitement. No matter how rich I get, I will always find the cheapest way possible.”

On top of dominating the club scene, winning the hearts and ears of a culture trained to only love the current top 40, and being on the verge of becoming a major icon of her generation, Starlight was recently awarded Rock DJ of the year by L Magazine.

Now, she just wants to see more people with her luck. With intense focus and passion, she demands, “I would like to see more record companies taking a chance on heavy metal. There are so many good, new heavy metal bands out there that have traditional 80’s sounds. I wish people would take more chances.”

If you’re looking to expand your own love and knowledge of Rock and Roll, Starlight recommends iTunes Classics. “They have all these collections of different genres.

They’re really well done. They’re really well curated. Arena rock, 70’s hard rock, every kind.” As far as her favorite hard rock jam to get people moving in the clubs, “Paradise City. People love that one. And Pour Some Sugar on Me. That one never goes wrong.

Fast forward to 2007, Starlight teamed up with Lady Gaga and the two became the Lady Gaga and Starlight Revue. How Lady Gaga and Lady Starlight met is a story that has had rumors flying like crazy. Thus far, it’s seemingly been a mystery as to how the two crossed paths. From lesbian affairs to intros from Akon, Lady Starlight laughs at the ridiculous tales of how they originally coincided. “That is clearly the most ridiculous, I’ve never met Akon. I don’t know him. I was like, what? Who wrote this shit?”

Let the record show, Lady Gaga saw Starlight go-go dancing, and the two were introduced.

Worry you not, Lady Starlight has no intentions of stopping there. She’s currently working on a unique show of experimental soundscapes, taking progressive rock and metal songs apart and using different parts of them with all the audio and processing affects on them. She calls them “unmixes, not remixes,” and we can expect to hear more about them in the near future. On top of her unmixes, she’s totally ready for more film work, “I love to do film. I really love, love doing film. I would love to continue doing that as well.”

Later, upon seeing Starlight DJ, Gaga decided she wanted to collaborate with her.

While she never really saw herself doing anything with pop music, she recognized Gaga’s talent and took a serious interest in working together. Gaga and Starlight bring a lot to the table for each other. Starlight explains, “She brought a pop sensibility to me and I brought a rock sensibility to her. It was truly like a mutual exchange and both of us have the same aesthetic, like the maximum shock value. She wanted me to

At the end of the day, Lady Starlight is going to go out there and do her thing the way she wants to, and keep people ecstatic in the process. Her goal is simple. “To inspire.

That’s my way. At the end of the day, I want what makes me excited. What I like about the audience that Gaga has won over is that I’m able to expose them to a lot of things they might not know about. And they love it. They’re so young, it’s so wonderful to open up a new world of music to somebody.”

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/Mint Male Magazine 2010

Photography by Bret Grafton

Contents

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/Mint Male Magazine 2010

Mint Male Magazine 2010

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Contents

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Mint Male Magazine 2010

Mint Male Magazine 2010

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Tea Party

Tea Time with Hypocrisy

By Jennifer Schnoes

Social Security? Only if you can pay for it. Lower taxes? Only if they can still have Medicare! But only them. Not poor people. Less income taxes! Let the youngsters work their asses off and pay for our ungrateful retirement. Gay Marriage? Only at the state level! Wait what? There are unfortunately several different factions of Tea Partiers, and many of them flip flop and go back and forth between standard party issues. Their main issue is big government, where nearly all tea partiers agree that smaller government is better with fewer services offered, though they still want social security, medicare, medicade and other ‘big government handouts’. I’m guessing nobody told them that -coughcough- those are pretty socialist programs when you get right down to the facts.

Another big flip-flop, though they try to keep it quiet, is civil rights, more importantly at this point in time, equal marriage. When asked about the issue, most will shy away from discussing highly controversial social issues, though some have definitely stated their opinions about gay rights or a lack-there-of.

In my opinion, most Americans are still in the dark about what issues the Tea Party actually stand for besides fiscal matters since the Tea Party as a whole tends to go back and forth between issues at random. In fact, the Tea Party tends to shy away from divisive social matters in general. With regards to gay rights, they’re quietly split down the middle. For example, many tea partiers privately supported the judge’s decision that DOMA is unconstitutional, but not because they support gay rights. It’s mostly because DOMA infringes on the state’s right to think for themselves with regards to marriage.

But that doesn’t cross the line into supporting marriage equality. It’s just supporting their ‘states rule’ stance.

The Tea Party falls, on the political scales, far right of middle, even farther right than some conservatives but because of their stance on big government, though some of their views stray into the equality for all arena on some odd levels. So what exactly is the generally accepted version of the Tea Party’s views on LGBTQ equality? Speaking generally, as they are a flip-flop extravaganza most of the time, the Tea Party does not perceive gay rights as an issue at all. We just don’t deserve rights. In fact, a huge percentage (over 40%) of tea partiers say that the LGBTQ community should not have the right to marry. Only a fraction of them, about 15% support same sex marriage. That’s a pitiful number and doesn’t do much for our fight at all.

With regards to the recent ruling on Prop 8, or any social or civil rights matter, you wont see tea partiers rallying against or for us. Like I’ve said before, they tend to stay away from social issues, especially those issues that are so controversial and causes such a discord within the population. In the end it’s anybody’s guess how the Tea Party would vote on gay issues, considering the majority of those issues deal with big government control. If they vote against big government taking our rights away, I’m happy to welcome them. While this is an ideal situation, we all have to remember that the vast majority of Tea Partiers consider themselves conservatives, so any mass vote on Gay rights on the state level may result in them voting against us, but I’m happy to keep them out of the bull ring on the national level if only to have one less opposing party against us.

The crazies we deal with already are just about all my nerves can handle these days.

featuring

Jennifer Schnoes &

Gerard Mcguiggan

To Tea or Not to Tea?

By Gerard Mcguiggan

That is the question. For many though, the question is ‘What the hell is the Tea Party?’

The Tea Party is the Johnny-come-lately to the political movement pool. The original Tea Party was a protest in 1773 by colonists who were protesting being taxed by the British government. They dumped hundreds of chests of tea into the Boston Harbor.

It was partially in protest to a new tax on tea, but it was also a protest about paying taxes in general. They didn’t mind paying some tax, but the real problem was that they had no say in how their taxes were spent. It was ‘Taxation without Representation’.

Today, the TEA in Tea Party is an acronym for ‘Taxed Enough Already’. The Tea Party movement began during the campaign period leading up to the 2008 presidential election, but really going in 2009. Although there’s really no single incident credited for its inception, it was formed largely in protest of a several new federal laws. Namely, the health care law, the bailout and the stimulus.

There are approximately 40 million members in the Tea Party through more than 2000 individual groups or chapters. It also is estimated that approximately 100 million Americans approve of the movement and think it’s good for America. Tea Partiers believe in limited government, balanced budgets, limiting governmental spending, accountability in all areas of government, lowering taxes and adherence to the constitution. I know, these Tea Partiers are evil, right?

There are many factions within the Tea Party. The big arms of the movement are the Tea Party Express, Tea Party Nation and Tea Party Patriots. They’re called Tea Baggers (LOL), racist, dangerous, violent. You name it, they’ve been called it. I’ve followed the movement from a considerable distance at times and closer at others. I’ve not seen any semblance of racism. I see a group of people with real concerns for their country.

I see a group of American citizens standing up for their beliefs, traditions and values.

Is there something wrong with pointing out to government that it is not possible to spend your way out of debt? Is it too much to ask that we respect and adhere to the US constitution? There’s not one iota of racism in that. When will people accept that not everyone opposed to this administration is racist? The race card is so over.

The caustic atmosphere that congress has created eventually became too much for many Americans and not getting answers or positive results on anything from either party of congress was the last straw. Despite overwhelming opposition to much of what congress is doing, they turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to millions and forge ahead as though they have no constituents to answer to.

The movement is currently thriving, but I fear it will deeply divide conservatives as a whole which could result in little or no ground gained in the Fall elections. Moreover, it could mean that conservatives could potentially fall short in November 2012. Recently, on June 8th, there were many Tea Party backed candidates elected. Sharron Angle won the GOP primary for US Senate in Nevada and about a half dozen others won as well in their respective races. From Texas to Long Island, Tea Party backed candidates are making history.

If you think the government, both republicans and democrats, have spent money foolishly, and if you believe that we should respect the constitution and follow the rules of law, you might just be a Tea Bagger, err I mean Tea Partier yourself!

As for me, I’m more of a center-right kind of guy on most issues, but very far right on issues that threaten any of my personal liberties and freedoms that were given me via the constitution. There’s no room for compromise there. For the most part, I’m an independent. While I have many of the same values as the republicans and Tea Partiers, I’m neither. I would rather attend a Tea Dance.

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