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Issue VI September 2014 Volume I

Carla Rossi is Portland's premier drag clown, but you may know her better as the shockingly-shunned runner-up from Season 6 of AMC's "Hoarders." A truly cosmopolitan starlet, she lives in a double-wide dumpster behind the 7-11 where she enjoys moonshine sold by pigeons. On November 20th you can see Carla's latest (and first) one woman show at the Alberta Rose Theatre, "CARLA ROSSI SINGS THE END OF THE WORLD," a light-hearted & jazzy romp about 1920s Germany just before the Nazis came to power.

PRO TIP: Do not look Carla directly in the eyes. And remember, she can't see you if you don't move Illustration, above, by Michael Horwitz whose actually premiered on page 20 of this issue

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Note from the Editor Hello Everyone, Always such a pleasure writing to you, I’m so excited that we have brought you over 6 Issues with many more to come! I want to thank you all ONCE AGAIN for believing in the team of Premiere and all the love and creativity behind it all. We have sooooo much to do, and we just cant wait to delve into Portlands delicious assortment of music, fashion, entertainment, art and the like. Thats why we are starting our GoFundMe page, it will be up for a couple months to pursue our goal of getting a little funding for shows, supplies, hosting events, online advertisements along with our purchasing of our website. We hope you’ve enjoyed what we’ve brought to you this last year, we will continue to highlight those who deserve the recognition theyve earned. So happy reading and feel free to shoot us an email with anything you’d like to be covered, or brought to our attention. Photography: Avishai Micaiah

Love Always, Bruce Ross Editor-in-Chief

Staff Credits Editor in Chief: Bruce Ross Design Editor: Jennifer Howe

table of contents Makinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Life Meaningful

The Genie Inside Us: Robin Williams Flirting With... Michael Horwitz Fashionably late

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20 Questions with DJ Robb

Photography: Avishai M. Writers: Perry Larkin Amanda Russel Tabatha Knight

Guest Writers: Steve Watkins Cover art and Illustrations: Diana Wood

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Issue VI September 2014 Volume I

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We have put together a monthly publication collection of artists, entertainers, musicians, drag queens and people who’ve bring something of worth to the community.

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We at Premiere need your help to continue this brilliant and bold publication, our team of six are dedicated to donating their time and love into this magazine. Currently we are supported entirely by volunteer efforts and we graciously offer this magazine to the community free of charge. Even dedication can’t make up for a few of the essential things that go into producing such a affirmative publication. We are in need of resources when it comes to supplies, time, tickets, advertising, and hosting events within this fair city. We need your help as we enter the world as Portland’s premiere LGBT brand, so we may develop into a flourishing business. We are asking for your help in supporting Premiere! We would love for Premiere to continue bringing exciting things and showcasing our communities diverse and beautiful talent. In return for your generous support we will be offering you some awesome perks and sweet swag items. In addition to monetary donations, we are always in need of volunteers, event tickets, advertising opportunities, and social media wizards. Please reach out to us, if you are interested in helping in anyway. Thank you for all who go out of their way to support us, we couldn’t do it without you inspiring us to continue our mission of community and positivity! We are currently launching a two month GoFundMe campagin, where we will be accepting donations. It’s a great to support us and get some collectable Premiere swag items! $10.00 donations recieve a Premiere Vinyl Sticker $20.00 donations recieve aPremiere Sticker/Listed on our Donor Page $50.00 donations recieve a Premiere Shirt and everything listed above

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http://www.thelivingroomyouth.org #: 503-901-5971

Makin’ Life Meaningful By Perry Larkin

So now that I started this series, the difficult choice is what organizations I will feature. Do you currently work with an organization with volunteer needs? If so, go to our Facebook page and tell Premiere. This month, fellow Premiere teammate Amanda recommended The Living Room in Clackamas County. I was excited to help our readers get a chance to learn about a wonderful organization that provides a safe space for LGTBQ youth and helps train the youth to be leaders. When Amanda was growing up, she was lucky to have liberal and supportive, forward thinking parents. When she came out to them at age 14, the first thing her mom did was apologize that we lived in such an ignorant, conservative area (West Linn), therefor her mom went online to look for places that Amanda could go to talk to other kids who were struggling with coming out and being LGBT in her area. The places available in Clackamas were struggling and losing funding, so she ended up going to SMYRC, but it was a far drive and they

photo (right) by Kelly Blixhavn photo (next page) by Stephanie Day

wanted something available to the youth in Clackamas County. This inspired the Living Room. A quick search online and I found http://www.thelivingroomyouth.org/ with a link to contact their volunteer coordinator, Jess Guerriero. She currently works full time as Program Director at LifeWorks Northwest and has volunteered with The Living Room for two and a half years. Jess moved here from Boston three years ago and she was looking to connect with the community that she is a part of and do something she is passionate about. At the Pride Northwest festival at the waterfront, she came across The Living Room’s booth and met Kelly Blixhavn, who at the time was the Program Director and now acts as a consultant. Jess started volunteering doing drop-in nights and helping with tabling events around the area, but when they asked her to join the board it was a “no brainer”. Jess works

with Elichia Owens to coordinate training, schedule volunteers, and be a part of fulfilling The Living Room’s mission to be a safe space for youth and to provide education. Jess describes The Living Room as a youth driven organization where the youth help mold the direction of their programming, outreach and even the hiring. The Living Room is made up of a “rad group of enthusiastic and passionate people that are trying to make that part of the world better for the queer youth.” The Living Room, as described by their website, is a place where “youth and adults work together to connect youth with one another through fun, healthy, positive, social, and educational activities. Additionally, The Living Room offers resources to teachers and students who wish to actively engage GSA and Diversity clubs in their schools. The Living Room also holds a yearly GSA Summit, an alternative prom every spring, and summer wellness activities that often happen outdoors.” Weekly from 4:00 to 8:00pm at Atkinson Memorial Church in Oregon City, The Living Room offers a safe space for the youth to “dropin”. Each week, there is a rotating topic or activity that the night is built around and once a month is “support group” night. Some social activities include karaoke, outdoor game night, movie night, planting a garden, etc. Thanks to increased support and success for the Living Room, in September they’ll be adding Saturday drop-in activities as well. When training volunteers, Jess is excited to see when things “click” with the volunteers, whether it be learning basic terminology or hearing the statistics (some

depressing, and some being the positive outcome of what The Living Room’s done). A regular exercise at The Living Room is making a Gender Gumby to help them identify using 4 continuums: Biological Sex (male - female), Gender Identity (male - female), Gender Expression (masculine – feminine), and Sexual Orientation (gay – straight). Then they decorate their Gender Gumby however they want. Jess remembers a memorable experience where a mother who was volunteering made a Gender Gumby with her son in mind, “it was really cool to see her embrace him as he is, and to have it as a source of pride.” She points out that volunteering is a great way to give back, to serve as a role model and to find inspiration you aren’t getting from your 9 to 5 job. Every drop-in she works, she says she learns something new from the youth that show up. Are you ready to be the reason these kids say things like “you’ve saved my life” and “I’m so excited I can be gender fabulous finally”? It’s easy and only requires a commitment of 2 hours a month. Email tlrvolunteer@gmail.com and Jess or Elichia will get back to you with an upcoming volunteer training date. If you are someone who is good with finances or grant-writing, there are also other opportunities you can use these qualities to help The Living Room expand and grow. Grants have recently allowed The Living Room to extend their reach to Middle Schools and expand their age group from 14-21 to 12-21. Give your life more meaning and help inspire the youth to be leaders of tomorrow by volunteering today!

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Fashionably Late... By Amanda Russel Illustrations by Diana Wood

www.facebook.com/BOYeurism

I was totally excited to finally make it to Boyeurism, which I unfortunately always have missed because of prior engagements. The bi-monthly show is produced by Isaiah Esquire (who can also be seen at Superstar Divas every Sunday, 8PM at CC Slaughter’s) and John-Nuriel, and MC’d by Alexis Campbell Star (who can also be seen at Darcelle XV and Queens of the Night every 3rd Wednesday of the month at the Local Lounge). This installment of Boyeurism took place August 7th, at the Star Theater in downtown Portland. To open the night’s performances, Alexis recreated the video for “Flawless” flanked by some truly impressive backup dancers. Having spent a solid afternoon binge-watching every single video when Beyonce’s visual CD dropped last year, I recognized that Alexis had successfully recreated Bey’s outfit from the video: the hair, the necklace over the buffalo plaid shirt, the shorts. A lot of work went into the number and I definitely appreciated all the thought she put into it. La Femme is just around the corner and because she is such a hypnotizing presence onstage, I must also mention Amora Dior Black. She is truly an amazing and dynamic performer and never seems to stop moving. I almost got tired for her, watching her dance and run around and split and death-drop. She came down off the stage and ran through the audience, who were screaming by the end of her number. She’s approaching her step-down as La Femme Magnifique 2013 and it was a huge treat to have her as a guest. Cracking almost Vaudevillian jokes during his entire act, Curtis Carlyle managed to make juggling entertaining, which is in itself a feat. After demonstrating his ability to juggle a handful of objects in a variety of different ways, he brought out his bullwhip. He had an audience member come up and hold a rose between his teeth, at which Curtis cracked his whip (very loudly, I might add. I was right up front and I could see the people nearby jumping right along with me), severing the flower from its stem from clear across the stage. The crowd went nuts. John-Nuriel performed several numbers that combined his unique blend of balance, bellydance, masks, poi spinning, light-up hula hooping, and dancing fans with

beautiful long trains of cloth attached to them. He also did a duet number with Isaiah that had them both suspended from the same cloth and made me tear up, because when they perform together you can tell how much they love each other and it’s beautiful. Niki Villiarimo and Josh Hernandez sang a duet version of Adele’s “Someone Like You,” with Josh on guitar, that got a much-deserved standing ovation. The harmonizing was gorgeous and soulful. Both singers visibly were putting their all into creating beautiful music together and having seen them both perform separately

Breaking the speed of sound with his handy bullwhip, Curtis Carlyle, depicted above, snares the rose from a lucky audience member’s mouth.

now, I very much hope that they perform more collaborations together in the future. They have great onstage chemistry. For the closing number Isaiah brought a group of dancers onstage with him and they performed a group number that they are going to bring to Finland very shortly, involving a dancing class and a mashup of several high-energy songs. They introduced it rather apologetically because supposedly they are still working on it, but I thought it was fabulous. It cast Isaiah as a snooty teacher (with a scarf that he kept emphatically wrapping around his neck to punctuate his points) trying to teach a class of kids to twerk, among many other things. Another standing ovation. Best of luck on your Finland travels, Isaiah. They are lucky to have you! 19

Flirting with... Flirting with... Flirting with... Flirting with... Flirting with... Michael Horwitz

By Steve Wakins Photos by Avishi M. Original Art by Micheal Horwitz

We met outside the Pony Club Gallery over on NW Everett Street, the sun heavy on my headache; into the Pearl, a stone’s throw from China Town. Illustrations in the windows, and on down the street other galleries displaying their artists’ work. The closed sign caught my eye as I loitered, killing time. Early. First time for anything. It might have seemed like a chance meeting. After all, the interview was only taking place what felt merely a day after planning it. A sudden email graciously answered, a few text messages. When? Where? Photos? The pinning of a story, I suppose, in this business, can be ethereal, but I’m only just learning that. It seemed like Michael might be in the same boat, although he is far better prepared for his adventure. Where some professionals gird themselves with a carefully considered philosophy, a process, I just had a tape recorder. An app for everything. “Steve?” “Mike?” A handshake and an unlatched lock later found us in the stifling wooden bosom of the Pony Club Gallery, rolling around on chairs eclectic as the surroundings. “I’d just been invited to join the collective recently,” Michael is saying. He’s arranging his computer on a stool and I’m shuffling through my bag for paper and pen. “This is where I work.” The pictures on the walls are grinning down at us as I command my phone to listen. A brief tour of the gallery had been conducted before the sitting, the rolling. Up a quick flight of stairs, creaky as you like, sat some desks. Materials for drawing; sketches and smudges. The walls encroached, but not so unpleasantly. Of course, sunny as the day was, the whole place was warm. The air felt dead, as though any spark of creative vigor might whoosh suddenly into a hellstorm of productive fury. A static charge suffused the woodwork. Below the stairs awaited a kitchen, a bathroom, and more desks. Still, though, that feeling of being on a precipice. “Not much room,” I speculated, my voice amplified somehow in the aged wood. Outside, the daily traffic hummed. Busses sighed and beeped and a truck shifted into gear. You could almost feel each passerby through the closed door. Michael laughed off the comment and apologized for the heat. A pause. My first question tumbles out of my mouth. “I’m trying to move away from the portrait project,” Michael replies, somewhat hesitantly, but definitely with good humor. I ask a different question. And we’re off.

ihearthorwitz.tumblr.com/

Of course we talk about his portraiture! Because everyone who gets out, who goes around, who is hip, dialed in, or, at least, lucky enough, has sat, in varying degrees of intoxication (both on the part of the subject and on the part of the artist) for Michael Horwitz. And don’t get him wrong, he loves it. He cherishes it. But he has many other ideas and pursuits— lots of other things to art! Michael Horwitz’s work is unique and fun, but, probably best of all, it is accessible. On certain nights, in certain places, you, yes you! can have your portrait drawn by an engaging conversationalist and trained artist. “The portraiture is an interview process,” Michael explains. In certain moments, within certain vowels, you can detect a hint of Virginia still lurking, maybe laughing around the letter. “Sometimes I’m talking more than they are. It’s kind of running on automatic because I’m focusing

One of Hundred of unique Portaits created by Michael Hortwitz, in his previous portrait and interview project.

on trying to talk to [the subject].” I’ve seen some examples before, both on the internet, and on my roommate’s wall, and I know that these renderings are a far cry from the still-frame, composed, Civil War-era “Don’t smile, this is black-andwhite for God’s sake, and do you know how much I’m paying this quack with his ‘camera’?” portraiture that springs to my mind when the word is uttered. When I ask him about seeing subjects, I mean, really seeing them, and about how he details these images, Michael answers me plainly and honestly. “I rarely know what a drawing will look like before because it describes itself to me as it is happening. I’m not that good of a multitasker; the abstract thing has to go out the window.” But he’s not trying to create an image that is just a selfie stand-in, either. “:It’s not my job to

“Part “Part of of me me wants wants to to be be taken taken seriously seriously for for being being kind kind of of silly.” silly.” Horwitz -Micheal -Micheal Horwitz

flatter [the subject], and that’s where some trickiness comes in. I think I’m a very giving person when I draw- not that I’m generous or flattering, but I never make fun of them. I’m not going to exaggerate for the sake of humiliation.” We talk about caricature, and the fine line between exact imagery and a perceived discrepancy. While Michael is certainly inspired by the silliness of such carnival side-show antics, he searches for humor in his drawings that is true to the person and to his abilities and moods, not anything that seeks to denigrate his subjects. “A lot of people say the portrait doesn’t look like them, but it feels like them.” He’s sitting perched on his rolling chair with one leg crossed over the other, delicately professorial. Thinking about his words with the ghost of an amused smile. “Although that’s kind of a back-handed compliment, I’ll take it.” This isn’t Michael’s first rodeo. He knows how to talk to people, knows how to communicate his philosophies, his intentions. He’s very articulate; a good interview. I touched on his recent interviews with Queer Voices and Streetroots and about how it felt to be featured, or at least recognized, by periodicals writing for underrepresented populations. “It was super important [to me],” he says, perking up on his chair. “The idea of giving something or listening was never really something I considered a whole lot before moving [to Portland]. I was pretty selfish. So being able to contribute something to the community has meant a lot to me.” He halts for a moment to talk about other ways he hopes to use the portraiture project, ways to expand it, to incorporate more than just the random people at bars and events who desire to be drawn. Michael apologizes frequently for rambling, but it’s not hard to see why these bits of verbiage are important. This is a person really considering his work, not just in his own head, but in the world. “I’ve been super fortunate in my life,” he starts up again, “so to be able to have the ability to see this project be of use to other people in some way, in a cathartic way, is super important to me. To show people, ‘Oh, this kid just sat in a bar and drew people,’ and that’s one way of making relationships. It’s not something that is as hard as society wants us to think. That communication shouldn’t be impossible to build. That’s the take away.” Contrary to what Michael said, he is a very generous person- with his time and his words. And although I know that he’ll talk with me at length about a project he’s “moving away from,” I steer our conversation towards his Arabesque project. For those who don’t know, the first installment of Arabesque is a series of drawings that he has posted to his Tumblr account,

i.heart.horwitz. The images feature ballerinas and genies and sheik-like princes or sultans set against a pallet of soothing blues, pinks, purples, and everything in-betweens, locked in what seems an immortal and bloody conflict. The contrasting blood spatters amidst the beautifully rendered figures and colors would be shocking in the hands of a less talented or dedicated artist. The whole project is about dealing with what Michael describes as his “political ignorance,” and it is, he can’t emphasize this enough, iterative. Which makes sense, because each image, each rendering or creation is a further exploration that began with a general idea that has moved into “several overlapping features.” “I’m a failed ballerina— failed because I never tried!” he laughs, a piercing and infectious sound. Drawn to ballet since childhood because of the “fragility and delicacy that characterizes it,” he decided to use ballerinas as warriors to display the “often embarrassed relationship [society has] with those things.” As for the violence, well, he was inspired by (gasp!) video games. “I played a lot of fighting games growing up— Tekken, Mortal Kombat– and my response to everything, I mean everything, is to kind of go Chun-li on someone. I’m not joking; I am. But conflict was something that I was raised on from a pure entertainment level, as most of us were who played video games, it’s something that we’re trained to fall into.” And it is these and other opinions, possibly and all too frequently taken for granted, that Michael seeks to examine through the project. In a more serious tone, he explains how growing up in a Jewish household meant he was no stranger to the knowledge

(Above, right) Example from Horwitz’s new series, Arabesque, to be on Display at the PDX Contemporary Art Gallery’s Window Project this September 2014.

that violence is very real and present in the world. “That was the fairy tale I was told, going to temple, like a bedtime story, over and over again, about the Jewish people being eternally caught in violence.” But it was when those basic religious stories of his youth came into contact with media influence that Michael was given pause. Somehow, the extra information, that additional lens, created more questions than assurances. “I felt like the stories that I was raised with were somehow constantly overlaying themselves across contemporary politics. And I didn’t understand how certain conflicts arise— where do I even start with this?” So he took these two ideas: ballet and bloody conflict, flavored them with video game- and pop-culture references, and began working through some notions. “I like to put two things together

that don’t really have a connection and then use that as a launching pad for a third kind of unforeseen component. I’ve always wanted to draw what it would mean to be in this madcat violence, but to be graceful at it. And to make fun of my own political ignorance while trying to describe the process of reading the news and not really knowing how to feel. And the idea of something looking super familiar, but also kind of foreign. It almost feels inherited. I don’t want to be an ignorant person, but part of that is admitting that I am. So instead of posting on Facebook about what’s happening in the outside world, I do the drawings instead.” To be clear, I had to ask, for the sake of quashing any hyperbolic overreaction to some very beautiful and entertaining drawings, “You’re not trying to portray bias in Middle Eastern conflicts, right?” “No.” Everybody exhale. Good. “The whole project responds less to an actual foreign conflict

than to the way the media turns it into fantasy football. There’s a difference between coverage and pornography, and I definitely think the news cycle veers more towards [the latter].” Which is a different conversation entirely. There is a reason Michael describes the project as iterative. This means that new meaning, imagery, even procedure can manifest itself in the subsequent installments of the project. And there is so much going on in each of his drawings that this is an understandable wrinkle the creator must convey when discussing what he is creating. Each stroke of the pencil is communicative; to try to unify every action on the page under the guise of a singular “cause” would be damning, not just to the creative process, but to the aspects of the work that make it seem whimsical. And these things are sort of, you know, silly. But with that necessary stroke of seriousness, a gravitas, just like that barely palpable suffusion of static charge emanating from somewhere deep in the old wooden walls of the Pony Club Gallery, waiting to ignite. Whether it’s the Romeo and Juliet scene featuring Aladdin and Abu or the portrait of my roommate with snakes in her hair, Michael Horwitz’s touch has an undeniable air of imaginative eccentricity, an eye for goofy, innocent irreverence that has so far served him very well. “Part of me wants to be taken seriously for being kind of silly,” he says with earnest laughter. He’s rolling on his chair and reaching for his bag. You can hear the colored pencils, his calling card, tumble as he hoists it. “Because that’s the only way that I can describe the world and not be completely miserable.” Seeing the world through his drawings is a similar kind of respite for us all. Michael will be displaying the second installment of his Arabesque project in the PDX Contemporary Art Gallery’s Window Project this September. You can also find his work available on display online at i.heart.horwitz.tumblr.com

20 twenty

Questions with DJ Robb By Perry Larkin

DJ Robb has been the man behind the sound at La Luna Queer Night, Panorama, Boxxes, Brig, Casey’s, The Eagle (on Burnside), 1201, Scandals, CC Slaughters and a ton of random nights here and there. You can currently find him spinning beats at CC Slaughters Monday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sundays and at Scandals Thursday and Fridays. We played 20 questions with Robb so you can get to know your DJ. 1. Are you originally from Portland? I am from California, I have been in Portland for nearly 20 years. 2. What other jobs have you done, besides a DJ? I used to work for Nordstrom and at an Insurance company. 3. What things have you seen in the Portland Club scene change? I am from the “Glory Days” of clubbing, the early 90’s were crazy fun. People used to go out to clubs to hear new music styles and mixes, now everybody has access to everything so people are really demanding and are less interested in things they don’t know. 4. What inspires you to Spin Music? I love dance music and mixing music together. I love parties with themes or a night I can put together something specific. I am a big fan of funky disco and house. Also hearing other DJs and bands. 5. Top 3 Favorite Artists: Grace Jones, Nina Hagen, Laurie Anderson and Prince (here we learn Robb doesn’t always follow the rules) 6. Top 3 Favorite Bands: Depeche Mode, IAMX, and Tears for Fears 7. Top 3 Favorite Songs: Of all time, for dancing I pick Michael Jackson Wanna Be Startin' Somethin', Underworld Cowgirl, and Ralphie Rosario You Used to Hold Me.

https://soundcloud.com/djrobbn

https://www.facebook.com/djrobbpdx

8. Top 3 Favorite DJs: This is Hard… probably John Digweed, Lawnchair Generals and Mark Farina. 9. Top 3 Favorite TV Shows: I love TV. Ab Fab, 30 Rock and The West Wing. I can watch any one of those again and again. 10. What is your thoughts on the current evolution of music? It’s funny because I am drawn to things that have a more old school style or at least have a classic feel. There are a lot of really new sounding things that are great, but I think so many new things are trying so hard to be different that they just sound crazy and lose the solid 4 to the floor feel. I love dance music. 11. Most the people reading this don’t remember when MTV played music videos, now they are all online, what do you think about the change in access to the music? The internet is the greatest and the worst thing that ever happened. People having access to any and everything is awesome. However people are so different now that they can access anything I can, I get a lot of rude, specific requests and people don’t like being told no. 12. What do you prefer to play? I love deep funky house, and darker progressive, but I play a lot of big room rave-y hi energy stuff. 13. From the DJ Booth observation point, what do you see that will get people’s butts out of the seat? Usually it’s something class or something brand new and popular. Crowds are a lot harder these days, rarely do they get into something new they have not heard. 14. How do you feel out a crowd? I usually start off playing what I am into at the time, or what I think that crowd might like. Then I cycle through a few new things to see if they are up for it, but usually I start getting so many requests that whatever is popular takes over. 15. What’s your sign? Cancer 16. What is something people would be shocked to hear about you? That I am nice and I like a huge variety of music. I hardly ever listen to pop music. 17. What do you like to do when you aren’t DJ-ing? I remix and produce music… and watch TV. 18. Who is your favorite RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant? Jiggly… just kidding, Alaska hands down! 19. What’s the number one thing on your bucket list? I am really lucky that I have had the chance to meet a ton of people I admire and do a lot of things. I can’t think of any one thing. 20. What would you tell someone new to Portland they had to do? Just enjoy our beautiful city. Then leave. In a nice way of course.

By Bruce Ross Illustration by Diana Wood I was just getting back from a weekend at the lake house on August 11th 2014, when I heard the terrible news. One of Americas jewels of stand up comedy, film and TV, Robin Williams was found in an apparent suicide. For all of us it was such a huge shock, how could someone with such a wonderful disposition, who brings so much laughter do this? Someone whose made us laugh from the beginning of 70's for almost 40 years? It was heartbreaking witnessing the response the world had. What was shocking for me was the negative response towards Robin Williams. "Why should we care, we didn't even know him." Words that personally sickened me. People let him into their lives in every movie he has made, from The Birdcage, to Aladdin and has been a huge part of a complete comedic breakfast. He was human and depression took over someone we never would have thought to have been a victim, and that enough, is a reason to mourn. Depression has been such a serious issue and we all have the power to make sure it never gets to the point that it did with our friend Robin Williams. Feeling better takes a while, and you can get there if you make positive choices for yourself each day. Keep your friends close, seek out a doctor, change your diet, challenge your negativity and pursue that happiness! Everything works out eventually and we all are given the tools to succeed and conquer. So chin up, and cheers to Robin Williams. Our onscreen friend that has inspired millions and will forever keep a smile on our face and laughter in our hearts. Besides, he's the only one who does the best impersonation of a hot dog. ;)

Meet the Team I was was born July 5th 1990 at Adventist Hospital. A Portland native that enjoys life to the fullest, long walks on the beach and a good Cabernet. Wait...this isn't OkCupid...oh well...I speak Parsletongue fluently and love a good laugh. One of my main mantras is from the movie 'Auntie Mame': "Life is a Banquet and Most Poor Suckers Are Starving to Death." With that quote I live day to day trying to inspire others to enjoy the beauty in life and everything around it. You have the opportunity to make anything happen and you should recognize it. So hop to it! I may be rambling, but hey, why not?

Bruce Ross

Amanda Russel

Perry Larkin

Amanda Russel is a Portland-born painter, illustrator, and artist. She received her BFA in General Fine Arts from Pacific Northwest College of Art in 2012. Currently, she freelance paints and illustrates, writes the events column for Premiere, and runs a bi-weekly art therapy group for inpatients on the acute rehabilitation floor at Providence Portland Medical Center. She also volunteers for The Living Room, a community resource for LGBTQQIP youth in Clackamas County. In her spare time, Amanda enjoys going to drag shows, drinking coffee, and watching old European movies with poorly-veiled anticommunist undertones. She stores fire-roasted green chile in her freezer all year, and when asked, she will make you an excellent breakfast burrito.

Perry Larkin is originally from a small town in Northern Idaho called Sandpoint. He helped start his elementary school’s first newspaper. In High School, he was in DECA and opened a student store for his senior project. After High School, he moved to Honolulu for college and then transferred to University of Idaho where he graduated with a Marketing Degree. About ten years ago, he moved to Portland and fell in love with the city. He’s bartended for 13 years, starting in a Convention Center, and then Applebee’s, CDA Brewing, The Rose Quarter, and various other events and restaurants. For five years, he travelled the U.S. doing corporate training and opening new stores for Applebee’s. Now he is happy planning events, doing marketing, and slinging drinks at your local neighborhood bar, Scandals. He joined Premiere because he’s inspired by Bruce’s vision and loves celebrating the beautiful people of our community.

Raised by a pack of wild traveling Shakespearen players, a transplant from the Midwest, this creative hedonist finds any excuse to don a costume or fancy set of plastic pearls. She earned her BFA in Digital Photography in Chicago and not soon after fled for the balmy breezes of the West Coast. She can often be heard humming showtunes and talking about her latest craft project. Besides her entrepreneurial ambitions she loves making life sexier and more over the top. She often enjoys teaching others about kink, playing cards, talking to strangers on trimet, sipping on a Whiskey Lemonade, and inevitably laughing at herself. She loves Portland for its amusing people, scenic outdoors views, and its weird events.

Jennifer Howe

Tabitha Knight is a local artist that graduated with a BFA in general fine arts in 2011. She focused mainly on performance with her alias “Tabasauras,” with which she curates visually stimulating shows, incorporating video installation, costume design and music. She sings, raps, models, acts, paints, prints and makes films. She’s very passionate about the arts and hopes everyone will be. Her goal with premiere magazine is to promote art, artists and bring awareness to the talent in our community.

Tabitha Knight

Steve Watkins

Steve Watkins is a penniless philanthropist who often forgets what he writes and where he writes it. He is the author of such renowned and unpublished works as the God’s Own Country Collection and a scrap paper cook book entitled Untitled Cooking. Currently working for peanuts as a breakfast cook and anxious baker, Steve resides in Portland, OR, where he washed ashore somewhat discombobulated and very thirsty after an extended run in the University Drinking Circuit. Though his peers informed him that he had performed admirably under pressure, they nonetheless insisted retirement might be best and wouldn’t meet his eye when he vocally considered the merits of everything he had “accomplished” during his time there. He is very frequently “wished all the best” and takes that to heart, though he would rather chat with you about basketball.

Diana Wood is an accomplished illustrator and writer. She moved to Oregon 7 years ago on her way to Hawaii. She liked the people in Oregon so much she never left.“It’s a fantastic place to live. I love it here.” Diana does portraits and illustrations. Her work can be found at Diana Wood Art and Illustration.

Diana Wood 31

Upcoming Events If you have any upcoming events that you’d like to be shared with out readers, please send us your ad and infomation to PremierePDX@gmail.com

Thursday, September 4th 2014

Testify II: A Musical Storytelling Revival Doors 7, Show at 8 Floyd’s Coffee (118 NW Couch) $6 cover “Come fill your heart-bellies with us one last time this summer as we wrap up the second year of this interactive storytelling experiment! Featuring testimonials, sermons, and soapbox confessions by: Margarine Powers, Stacy Stl Lisa, Stella Maris, Amanda Russel, Donal Mosher, and Kat Endgame!” Host: William Frederick Steuernagel V. Featuring music by April Brown, Donal Mosher, and Mike Palmeiri.

Caravan of GLAM Doors at 8PM, Show at 9PM Star Theater (13 NW 6th Ave) $10 General, $15 VIP (upfront seats) A queer cabaret variety show! “Special pre-show concert featuring Portland Idol winner Danie Sullivan-Ward.” Hosted by Angelique DeVille, and featuring performances by Ecstacy Inferno, Allie McQueen, Jayla Rose Sullivan, Alex Kennedy, Pagan Holladay, Topaz Crawford, Marchandt, Karlie Lever du Soleil, Layne Fawkes, and House of Aquarius. Halftime intermission show by Cloud City Circus.

Bey Day: A Birthday Celebration for the Queen! 9:30PM-2:30AM Holocene (1001 SE Morrison St.) $5 “It’s Beyonce’s birthday, and we’re throwing a tribute dance party for all of Portland to celebrate and honor Queen Bey! Expect our expert DJs to spin plenty of Yonce’s own jams, plus edits/remixes, jams from her influences and collaborators, and more!” There is a Beyonce- themed costume contest. Music by DJs Holla n Oates and Ronin Roc. Live dance performance by House of Aquarius. Video art by Four Eels and vVv Stardust.

Friday, September 5th 2014 Premiere: 1/2 Birthday Kickstarter 7PM Scandal’s (1125 SW Stark) Free Premiere has been alive for half a year, and we’re going to celebrate and launch our kickstarter to help keep our magazine alive. Cocktail specials, goodies, photobooth, gift cards, great music (DJ Robb will provide tunes for a dance after party), and performances TBA from past issue highlights.

Saturday, September 6th 2014 Exposure: Promcoming Dance 9PM-2AM Rotture (315 SE 3rd Ave) $3 Back-to-school “promcoming” dance for anyone and everyone! “Roll call for all friends, lovers, queers, non-queers, straights, gays, fems, mascs, bears, cubs, otters, dykes, hot mommas, babez of all genders, babez of no genders, babez in general, club kids, drag queens, drag kings, punks, swingers, whoever just wants to have a sweet ass time!” Hosted by Valerie Deville. Music by DJ Jackal and Tek Fabrics. Video projection installations by Alisa Akay. Contests, prizes, photobooth, and “fun shit all night long.”

Sugar Town Carnival - Queer Soul Shindig 9PM Spare Room (4830 NE 42nd Ave) $5 DJs Action Slacks and Freaky Outty play 60’s soul music and its cousins at this carnival-themed queer soul dance party .“Colorful carnival and/ or vintage attire is encouraged. So put on your party pants/dress or clown shoes and we’ll see you at the Spare Room!”

St. John’s Nofest 12 noon until late, assorted locations, Free “The St. John’s Nofest is a free music and arts festival with over 90 performances this year. The event begins at noon in the historic town square, and continues across multiple venues late into the night. Every conceivable and perceivable music genre is represented, as well as installations and a micro-film fest showcase. Growing into its 7th year, the SJNF is evolving and expanding. We are committed to staying avante-garde… and awesome!” For a complete schedule of bands and locations, as well as more information about the featured artists in the lineup, please visit nofest.net

Sunday, September 7th 2014 Not Enough! Queer Music and Arts Festival 6PM Slabtown (1033 NW 16th Ave) Free “Not Enough Fest is a showcase of all the amazing energy we as queers can bring to creative projects. Since there are not enough of us in mainstream art and music scenes - let’s make our own! The goal of this event is to create space for queer people to express themselves and to create community by bringing together artists, musicians, and film makers to offer up their magic in front of a supportive audience.”

Wednesday, September 10th 2014 Peep Show - Artemis’ Birthday Bash! 6PM Slabtown (1033 NW 16th Ave) Free “Not Enough Fest is a showcase of all the amazing energy we as queers can bring to creative projects. Since there are not enough of us in mainstream art and music scenes - let’s make our own! The goal of this event is to create space for queer people to express themselves and to create community by bringing together artists, musicians, and film makers to offer up their magic in front of a supportive audience.”

Friday, September 12th 2014

Alaska Thunderf*ck 9PM Branx (320 SE 3rd Ave) $11 Adv gen/ $20 Adv Super Special VIP which includes 1 personalized Luscious cocktail, meet and greet photos with Alaska, upstairs access to no wait bar, patio, bathrooms and music by Art of Hot, and one custom Lulu Lusciouss Tshirt made exclusively for this event! Alaska Thunderf*ck, who made the top 3 in RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 5, is back in Portland, this time teaming up with your reigning Ms. Gay Portland, Lulu Lusciouss, and a slew of other performers including Aphasia, Carla Rossi, Kim-Chi, and Shitney Houston! Music by DJ Robb.

Saturday, September 13th 2014 Critical Mascara: A Post-Realness Drag Ball 10PM TBA’s The Works (2010 SE 8th Ave) $10 at door For the second year after a wildly successful first year, Pepper// Pepper is throwing a post-realness drag ball, this year featuring the categories “Fierce 1st Time at a Ball,” “Shapeshifter Fantasy,” “Next Level Femme,” and “Dance/Sweat/Vogue.” “It is part competition, part dance party and queer spectacle structured and inspired by the NYC and East Coast drag scene of the 80s a la ‘Paris is Burning.’ Music by DJs SPF666 and Hold My Hand. Winner receives a prize of $666.

Sunday, September 14th 2014 Gay Fair on the Square - Let Freedom Sing! 12:30PM-5PM Free ALL AGES Pioneer Courthouse Square “Founded in 2009, the goal of Gay Fair on the Square is to highlight the myriad of non-profit organizations in our community that support LGBTQ and allied communities, as well as support people who are out, newly out, considering coming out, curious, new to town, or those looking for ways to expand their horizons and support these communities.” Hosted by Bolivia Carmichaels.

Saturday, October 4th 2014 Jelly Roll Costume Extravaganza: A Benefit for Pudge PDX Crush Bar (1400 SE Morrison) 9PM-1AM $3 cover “Get your costumes ready and be prepared to wiggle your jiggle for our body positive dance party! A gaggle of pudge babes will take to the stage to show off their sweet dance moves and fat rolls. Costumes are not mandatory but they are highly encouraged. There will be a costume contest and prizes for best dressed as well as Pudge PDX merch.” About Pudge PDX, in their own words: “Pudge is a non-profit, body positive, fat positive and queer positive community based in Portland, Oregon. Our goal is to enrich our fat community by networking and supporting our fat allies.”

Events Cont.. Friday, October 10th 2014 Framed and Dried: A Tori Amos Tribute Night Crush Bar (1400 SE Morrison) 8PM Suggested donation at door goes to Portland Women’s Crisis Line. Summer Seasons and Marla Singer have come together to put on this Tori Amos tribute night. Musicians, drag performers, burlesque performers, and spoken word artists all come together to celebrate Tori. There will be a raffle featuring Tori-related items, and music by DJ Aurora. Special guest host from Seattle, Anna Rexia. Featured performers are Marla Singer, Donnie B and guest, Gagre Flexxx, Racquel Russo (of Naming Names), Blue Vanities Project and friend, Summer Seasons, Missaurora, Topaz Crawford, Marla Devyne, and Blomi Malone.

Saturday, October 11th 2014 Mystery Box Show Door at 7pm, Show at 8pm Mississippi Studios (3939 N Mississippi Ave) $12 in advance $14 at the door The Mystery Box Show is a live sex-themed storytelling series based out of Portland, Oregon. The show features real people sharing true personal stories about the many ways that sex influences our lives. www.mysteryboxshow.com

Sunday, October 19th 2014 Lipstick Divas with Yara Sofia Funhouse Lounge (2432 SE 11th Ave) Doors 8PM, Show at 10:30PM Gen. $10/ VIP $15 (includes private meet and greet from 9PM-10PM) Drag show hosted by Ivanaha Fusionn, co-hosted by Rhea Della-Vera. Featuring RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 3 contestant Yara Sofia, Valerie DeVille, and an array of local Portland talent. “This show will be the first lipstick divas production in Portland, OR and we are excited to bring back Yara to the PDX area. We hope for your support and to see you at the show.”

The Top 5 retreats for any artist to be inescapably inspired into a fit of creativity

by Tabitha Knight

The artistic psyche is a delicate and vulnerable one; struggling with the constant deliberation of feeling it’s surroundings to the core, and not taking things too personally. Such an undertaking can cause an incredible build up that, inevitably, bursts through in a spectacular and glorious creative bout (or a complete psychotic meltdown) that culminates to eating an entire box of chocolate mini donuts while huddled in a laundry basket, then burning said basket on your front lawn. So what’s the best way to overcome discouragement? By finding something that reminds you why any of this was important to you in the first place. Which brings me to number 5 on our countdown.

photo credit: http://hyperallergic.com

Roden Crater In 1977, artist James Turrell managed to purchase an extinct volcanic cinder cone, and has since turned it into a most ingenious display of light utilizing the surrounding elements. Let me say that again… a man purchased a volcano for an art project. If that isn’t the ultimate baller status I don’t know what is. Located near the Grand Canyon and Arizona’s Painted Desert, Roden Crater stands 600ft tall and is just shy of 400,000 years old. While some of this project is still in progress, 1.3 million cubic yards of earth have already been moved to complete the first phase of construction, and the next phase is currently underway gathering funding. So wait… why did I want to make art again? Oh right, because it’s f***ing rad. Do you think James Turrell cared when his peers said, “I don’t get it?” Or when his teacher said, “This feels unfinished?” Probably not. He probably flipped his beard and said “Girl, Bye, I’m working.”

Le Cyclop

Said to be buried so deep in the forest of Milly-la-Forêt, France, that you need a guide to take you, “Le Cyclop” is the 75ft tall masterpiece of Jean Tinguely, and his wife Niki De Saint Phalle. This enormous sculpture is a testament to the importance of collaboration and teamwork. Originally, it was designed to deteriorate and eventually disappear. However it has become such a staple in the town’s history that they spend almost 1 million francs a year maintaining it. Jean Tinguely labored over this insane sculpture for about 30 years, but he wasn’t alone. Friends of his, including Marcel Duchamp, Arman César, JR Soto and, not to mention, his badass wife Niki De Saint Phalle, poured just as much of themselves into this project to complete one of the world’s most complex and intriguing sculptures. So wait…. I work on something for like a year and I feel like I’ve taken too long on it? Do you think maybe Jean Tinguely got a tad discouraged working for 30 years on something he thought probably wouldn’t be around past his lifetime? Um, yeah. But he had his French ass posse to not only back him up, but also contribute and make his vision theirs too.

The Lightning Field

photo credit: http:// accessibleart.com

photo credit: Baudoin lebon Galerie d’art Contemporain

3 Somewhere in the high desert of western New Mexico, 400 stainless steel, 20ft poles, are laid out in a giant grid. This handy work is that of none other than Walter De Maria. “The Lightning Field” doesn’t need a thunderstorm to be enjoyed, and is said to be most magical at dusk. This awe-inspiring installation uses the forces of nature to create split-second masterpieces. Interestingly enough, once the poles are struck, they must be replaced to keep the fluidity of the work constant, and are set in 3 feet of concrete underground. Walter De Maria received funding to play with lightning in the desert and people love him for it. Do you think at some point while he was setting these poles he thought “Jeez I hope a storm doesn’t come by at this second and strike me down?” Or do you think the whole time he was thinking to himself, “Jeez this world is great and my life is beyond amazing to be doing this right now.” Come on. So wait… why did I want to make art again? Oh right, because it’s f***ing rad. Do you think James Turrell cared when his peers said, “I don’t get it?” Or when his teacher said, “This feels unfinished?” Probably not. He probably flipped his beard and said “Girl, Bye, I’m working.” 39

Palais Idéal (The Postman’s Dream)

If you’re really in need of inspiration, consider Ferdinand Cheval’s “Ideal Palace” or “Palais Idéal” built in the 1800’s. While Cheval was living a respectable life of poverty as a postman, he one day noticed a remarkable looking pebble on his route. As the story goes, this was the first of many, and every day on his mail route he began collecting rocks and pebbles that fascinated him. It started with pockets and moved to wheelbarrows, which he then brought home to create his masterpiece “Ideal Palace” also referred to as “The Postman’s Dream.” It took Cheval 33 years, with no prior experience or training, to build the 85ft long and 30ft high structure, its intricacies carefully sculpted and carved into cherubim, mummies, birds, and mermaids. He then gave his creation to the public, and wished only to be buried in it. The request was denied him as the laws forbade it, and he then spent the remainder of his life creating an equally complex tomb, which he resides in now. Ferdinand never gave up, obviously, and neither should you. If a simple postman with an enormous imagination can create one of the worlds most intricate palaces that still inspires millions of people today, you can probably make that deadline you gave yourself, or finish that song that’s frustrating you, right?

photo credit: http://democraticunderground.com

Lake Retba

The last on our countdown isn’t manmade, but you totally deserve it. “Lake Retba” is a 1sq mile lake in Senegal that is completely pink. A special kind of algae grows all throughout the lake producing an unusually high amount of salt content. The pink color is caused by what is known as Dunaliella salina bacteria that’s attracted to the salt, and produces a red pigment in order to absorb sunlight. It’s completely harmless to humans and only gets about 9ft at it’s deepest, meaning that (due to it’s high salt content) you can easily float, all day in a giant pink lake. So there you have it, inspiring places worth the trip, or the mouse click. I know it’s easy to get downhearted, but don’t let that stop you. Pebble by pebble, you can do whatever you set out to achieve, and you will dammit. The world is full of beautiful places, and beautiful people…just like you.

photo credit: http:// accessibleart.com

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