metro2_05

March 3–16 Volume 2

■

Issue 5

Hate Crimes Defeated Again Mitchell: ‘The will of the people was not done’

Ex-Gay No More Former LDS anti-gay propagandists come out

Will There Be Money for AIDS Drugs?

Activists appeal to state legislature to step in

Sing Out Louise!

Karaoke attracts a growing gay following A Chat With Allie Mac Kay Why we love the diva of Utah’s morning news Liam: Finding a Common Voice in the Alphabet Soup Polygamists and the Gay Rights Movement Things Look Bleak for a Cold-Ridden Laurie Gay Agenda Classifieds

2

■

SALT LAKE METRO ■ MARCH 3, 2005

MARCH 3, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 3

News NATIONAL

Study: Support of Gay Rights Not a Re-election Factor

by Jere Keys jere@slmetro.com

4

■

SALT LAKE METRO ■ MARCH 3, 2005

Washington, D.C.—Despite the claims of anti-gay marriage activists, a report, “Standing Up for Equality: A Report on the Impact of Marriage-Related Votes on State Legislative Races,” released by the Human Rights Campaign and the Equality Foundation found that in 2004, support for queer equality did not heavily influence which candidates voters chose. OverwhelmSeth Kilbourn of Human Rights Campaign ingly, state legislators who voted against discrimination in marriage of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in 2004 were not hurt by their votes when they sought re-election.

News reports leading up to and follow-

ing the 2004 elections often suggested that same-sex marriage rights cost many legislators their seats, as many voters went to the polls on “moral values.” However, the study challenges that characterization.

“This study is a reminder that people who support equality for all families and couples are also moral values voters,” said Toni Broaddus, executive director of the Equality Federation. “As the debate about how to protect all families continues in the states, legislators should be confident that they can vote for equality without fear for their jobs.”

“Voting against discrimination is good policy and good politics,” said Seth Kilbourn, HRC’s national field director. “Anyone trying to score political points by discriminating against same-sex couples should be put on notice. Prejudice does not win at the polls.”

The study found that in 2004, legislators in 28 states cast votes on proposed bills, constitutional amendments and resolutions that dealt specifically with the right of same-sex couples to marry. 640 Legislators who cast votes opposing discrimination in those states faced the re-election in November. Of the 640 legislators for whom the issue of marriage could have factored into their election, 604 won. In the races of the 36 legislators who lost, the legislator’s vote against discrimination was cited as a factor in only 11 races.

Ninety-four percent of legislators who voted against discrimination were re-elected. This re-election rate is consistent with or higher than the average rate of re-election for all state legislators, which is 90 percent of state House incumbents and 92 percent of state Senate incumbents.

Another report released by HRC in December looked at all the queer-rightsrelated legislation across the country. The study, “Equality from State to State,” pointed out that while there has been much news coverage of the 13 states passing anti-gay marriage bans, 15 state legislatures defeated similar amendments in 2004.

“A complete picture of the past year includes 15 anti-gay amendments defeated in the states,” said Kilbourn. “Where the legislative process provided a forum for deliberative and thoughtful conversation, a majority of these anti-marriage amendments were defeated.”

State legislatures saw 160 gay-positive bills introduced in state legislatures in 2004.

Of these, several important bills became law, such as hospital visitation rights in New York as well as domestic partner registries with a handful of rights in New Jersey and Maine.

“Even in the midst of anti-marriage attacks, several state legislatures moved forward with providing basic rights for same-sex couples and their children,” Kilbourn said.

The studies provide evidence that antigay sentiment was not the deciding factor in the 2004 elections that critics of queer-rights activism have claimed it was.

Ex-Ex-Gay LDS Couple Come Out Evergreen and Deseret Book Are Still Selling Their Book that Calls Homosexuality an “Addiction”

by Jason Clark Martha and John C. Beck, authors of a Deseret Book publication that dubbed homosexuality “an addiction,” are now living openly as homosexuals.

“While Dr. [Martha] Beck is now highly critical of the Mormon Church, in 1990, she and her husband, John C. Beck, had a book published by a company owned by the Mormon Church arguing that homosexuality Dr. Martha Beck is a compulsive behavior that can be overcome,” wrote Edward Wyatt in the Feb. 24 New York Times. “After leaving the church, however, the Becks divorced and have lived openly as homosexuals, something each acknowledged in interviews.”

In their 1990 book Breaking the Cycle of Compulsive Behavior, the Becks follow the well-established LDS rhetoric of lumping homosexuality together with alcoholism and drug addiction as “addictions” or misguided compulsive behavior that must be controlled.

Despite the fact that the Becks have since embraced their own homosexuality, Evergreen International, an organization for those wanting to “overcome homosexual behavior,” is still selling the book. LDS-owned Deseret Book is also selling the book, along with other anti-gay titles such as Dean A. Byrd’s Homosexuality and the Church of Jesus Christ and Joseph Nicolosi’s A Parent’s Guide to Preventing Homosexuality.

Martha Beck’s credibility as an author is now in question, as her forthcoming Leaving the Saints is already being criticized for its alleged inaccuracies. In her shocking memoir, Beck recounts how in 1990 she recovered memories of being sexually abused between the ages of five and seven by her father, renowned LDS Egyptologist Hugh Nibley. Beck claims that her father, unable to defend Joseph Smith’s translation of the newly rediscovered Book of Abraham papyri, went crazy and began to ritually abuse her, possibly wearing some kind of Egyptian garb.

According to Sunstone reviewer Tania Rands Lyon, Beck “first wrote Leaving the Saints as a 500-page novel,” but was later “redirected by her editors to own her story and [called] a memoir.”

Experts Split on AIDS ‘Super Strain’ Boston, Mass.—Experts at the country’s foremost scientific conference on AIDS, who met in Bostom last month, aren’t sure what to make of the so-called ‘super virus’ of HIV reported by New York health officials. Some call it a premature scare, while others worry that it’s the beginning of a new danger—but all agree that further data and tests are needed.

To date, the virus has only been confirmed once, in an unidentified 46-year-old gay man who reported having hundreds of unprotected sexual encounters, often under the influence of crystal methamphetamine.

There is no evidence that the virus is readily transmissible, and there is also uncertainty over whether the bug detected is really a single, highly resistant strain of HIV, or possibly many subtypes of the virus in the same patient—each resistant to some drugs, but not to all.

Dr. David Ho created a controversy when

his lab turned the data on the new patient over to public health authorities, which in turn led to a nationwide alert about the possibility of a new strain—a move some criticized as premature.

“That is a decision that we stand by today,” said Ho, before an auditorium packed with delegates.

Ho and the New York City Health Department are concerned that this case uniquely combines two rare but worrisome traits: viral resistance to almost all available drugs and the rapid onset of AIDS. Ho, a prominent New York AIDS researcher who is serving as co-chair of the conference, has been criticized for making too much of a single case, and also has been praised for promptly warning about the potential threat.

Some scientists have also suggested that using crystal meth may make patients more receptive to the virus—a theory skeptical scientist want to study more.

Idaho Defeats Anti-Gay Marriage Bill Boise, Idaho—Although a majority of Idaho Senators endorsed a constitutional ban on same-gender marriage, it wasn’t enough to pass the measure.

On Feb. 2, the Idaho Senate voted 21-14 in favor of the bill, but fell short of the twothirds requirement, or 24 votes.

The bill’s sponsor, Republican Senator Curt McKenzie of Nampa, said he would not try to pass an amended version of the bill this year. But the narrow margin of defeat means the bill will probably be considered at least once again next year. Eight Republican senators and six Democrats voted against the bill.

Both in committee and before the floor

vote, the bill was the subject of a great deal of testimony from gay and lesbian citizens, and divided even the Republican leadership. While supporters of the bill argue that it is necessary to place the ban on gay marriage in the constitution, opponents called the measure divisive and discriminatory.

Idaho law already bans gay marriage.

Since the 2004 elections, 16 states have considered similar amendments. So far, only Idaho has successfully defeated the proposal. Kansas, Alabama, Virginia, Indiana, South Dakota and Massachusetts have anti-gay marriage bills that are moving forward through the legislative process.—JK

WORLD AND NATIONAL BRIEFS Britain to Recognize Civil Unions by ‘Christmastime’

Congress Considers Striking “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

London—Britain will become the tenth European Union nation to extend to gay and lesbian couples some protections enjoyed by married partners Dec. 5.

Washington, D.C.—In the wake of a report estimating that the U.S. military’s ban on openly gay, lesbian and bisexual service members has cost $191 million since 1993, lawmakers have unveiled the Military Readiness Enhancement Act designed to repeal the eleven-year-old policy.

“Our homeland is more secure when every qualified, capable American who wants to serve is allowed to do so,” said C. Dixon Osburn, executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. “The choice we now face is clear: Spend $191 million on firing patriotic Americans or spend the same amount on a dozen Blackhawk helicopters or 800 sidewinder missiles. Our priority should always be defense and security.”

According to the Government Accounting Office report issued earlier this month, the estimated $191 million included only money associated with recruiting and enlisting trainees to replace service members discharged under the ban. The report did not include the cost associated with the firing of nearly 800 specialists with critical skills because of their sexual orientation.

A bi-partisan group of 22 members of congress requested the GAO analysis last year.

Authored by Rep. Marty Meehan, DMass., and sponsored by a bipartisan coalition, the Military Readiness Enhancement Act will be introduced March 2. —JV

Under the Civil Partnerships Bill passed

by Parliament in 2004, same-sex couples will be able to sign witnessed civil partnership documentation at their local register office. Such legal partnerships will offer gay and lesbian couples rights to a partner’s pension and exempt them from inheritance taxes on their partners’ homes. The legislation will also give gay and lesbian partners access to divorce-like legal proceedings, and require them to provide for any children in the event of the union’s dissolution.

“This legislation is going to make a real difference to these couples, and it demonstrates the government’s commitment to equality and social justice,” said Jacqui Smith, Deputy Minister for Women and Equality.

In a separate announcement, the Royal Navy said it would now allow couples in such registered partnerships to share family quarters.

Department of Trade and Industry officials estimate that over 42,000 gay and lesbian couples will enter into partnership agreements by 2050.—JV

Connecticut Senate Approves Civil Unions Legislation

Topeka, Kan.—On March 1, Topeka voters decided not to repeal a four-month-old ban on anti-gay discrimination in municipal employment and to allow protection of gays and lesbians in anti-discrimination legislation.

When the ordinance, which prevents the city from discriminating against gays and lesbians in hiring and employment decisions, was passed last November, the Westboro Baptist Church presented a counterproposal to repeal it. In the next few months, the church, headed by self-professed anti-gay minister Fred Phelps, collected 37,000 signatures from voters—the number needed to get his proposal considered.

When faced with the mandate to put the newly adopted policies on the books or on the ballot in January, the city council unanimously decided to hold the vote, which coincided with the city’s primary election.

But the voters chose to reject Phelps’ proposed measure, rejecting it 52% to 48% according to figures available at press time.

“Today, the people of Topeka not only rejected discrimination, they chose decency over immorality, truth over despicable lies, and they repudiated the hate-filled beliefs and practices of Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka,” said Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

The defeat of the proposed ordinance leaves intact a recently-adopted law banning anti-gay discrimination in city employment and leaves the door open for broader nondiscrimination measures. Local activists also hope the election results will be a prelude to the upcoming election to decide if the Kansas Constitution should be amended to ban gay marriage and civil unions.—JV

MARCH 3, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 5

Hartford, Conn.—In a historic 25-13 vote Feb. 23, Connecticut’s Judiciary Committee endorsed a bill bringing the state one step closer to legalizing the creation of a civil union system.

If approved by the rest of the state’s Senate, House of Representatives and Gov. M. Jodi Rell, the proposal will make Connecticut the second state to extend to gay and lesbian couples several of the rights and responsibilities of marriage. These include the right to file joint tax returns and to inherit a partner’s property free of taxes.

The vote came after a heated two-hour debate that included criticism from senators who opposed gay marriage and from those who favored it.

Rep. William Hamzy, R-Plymouth, Connecticut House Assistant Minority Leader, said he opposed the measure because he saw no difference between marriage and civil unions.

“If you call it a different name, I guess that makes some people feel more comfortable,” he told the Associated Press. “But the end result is identical.”

Sen. Mary Ann Handley, D-Manchester, said she voted against the bill because it would create “marriage light” for gays and lesbians, thus making them second-class citizens. Connecticut-based lobby group Love Makes a Family opposed the legislation on similar grounds.

After the civil union bill’s passage, opponents attempted to amend it with legislation defining marriage in Connecticut as the union between a man and a woman.

This proposal, along with one to add a marriage amendment to the state constitution, also died.—JV

Topeka Votes Not to Repeal Anti-Discrimination Ordinance

News LOCAL

Utah Pride Unveils New Logo The board of directors of The Center met Monday, Feb. 28 and selected a logo for the 2005 Utah Pride celebration. The design, one of four created by board member Jim Rengstorf, will be reproduced on posters, t-shirts and other promotional items.

“I wanted to express diversity through the use of colors, sizes and heights (to form abstract figures) all unified by the half circle which represents our local community or our world,” commented Rengstorf. “Coloring outside the lines emphasizes our democratic and progressive

values as well as expressing our unique, creative and un-homogenous traits.”

Rengstorf also explained that he deliberately chose not to include the traditional rainbow flag, as he feels it has become too commercialized and has lost some of its symbolic meaning.

Utah Pride, which is themed “Equal Rights.

No More. No Less.” this year, will be held June 8–12. The official website is expected to launch at the beginning of April and the Pride organizers are well under way in organizing the events.—JK

McCoy’s Husband Makes Mark on Hill State document listing Mark Barr as McCoy’s Spouse Yanked.

6

■

SALT LAKE METRO ■ MARCH 3, 2005

Mark Barr, long-time partner to State Senator Scott McCoy, isn’t exactly a stranger to the spotlight. In 2000, the two were married on the nationally televised show Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher. The witnesses to the Universalist Unitarian wedding ceremony and guests on the show were an unlikely bunch: Maher, Lou Sheldon, Bruce Vilanch, and Bill Horn.

Apparently, Barr is still unintentionally raising some eyebrows among the more conservative crowd. According the Salt Lake Tribune, the Utah Legislature’s an-

nual Legislative Manual first listed Barr as McCoy’s “Spouse.” Since gay relationships have no legal standing in Utah, the books were quickly recalled and McCoy was listed as “spouseless” in the revised version.

Linguistic nitpicking aside, Utah first lady Mary Kaye Huntsman had no qualms about inviting Barr to attend a Spouses’ Luncheon on Feb. 11. He was also welcomed at the Senate president’s dinner.

Barr is a 32-year-old real estate broker and documentary filmmaker. The couple moved to Utah in 2001.—JK

Toni Johnson, Director of the People With AIDS Coalition of Utah, joins the crowd at a candlelight vigil asking the state to make up shortfalls in federal funding of HIV/AIDS drug assistance programs. PHOTO: JERE KEYS.

Activists Make Last Minute Plea to State Legislature for AIDS Funding

by Jere Keys jere@slmetro.com

About 75 people showed up at the capitol on Tuesday, Feb. 22 to rally around requests for the Utah Legislature to inject $500,000 into life-saving HIV/AIDS programs. The candlelight vigil, organized by activist Stuart Merrill, was prompted by a half-million dollar reduction in monies provided by the federal government for the Ryan White AIDS Drug Assistance Program.

House Minority Leader Ralph Becker, D-Salt Lake, Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake, lobbyist/activist Pamela Atkinson, and others addressed the crowd about the unexpected reduction in funding and what some call a life-and-death need.

The Ryan White program buys medication, insurance and other services for people who are infected with HIV but have not yet developed AIDS—people who are not yet eligible for Medicaid or Medicare.

The drugs and medical services can help delay or possibly prevent HIV from developing into full-blown AIDS. The costs of those medications can be around $15,000 a year per individual. Of Utah’s estimated 1,800 people with HIV, about 750 qualify for some level of Ryan White services.

Merrill, who sits on the Treatment and Care Planning Committee for Ryan White, said that when the group got together on Feb. 15, they were expecting to learn about cuts in federal funding for Utah, but they had no idea they would lose half a million dollars.

“We were expecting bad news,” said Merrill. “But we were shocked and horrified at how bad it really was. Especially considering that just a few days before President Bush had promised $10 million in new dollars for that program.”

But changes to the program required the feds to flat-fund states in most programs, causing a shortage of $500,000 in Utah.

Merrill and other advocates turned to the state to make up the difference. Unfortunately, at this late date in the legislative session, most of the budget has been set and all the available monies allocated.

“We are very concerned about this, although my understanding is still vague,” said Stan Penfold, executive director of the

Utah AIDS Foundation. “We haven’t seen the actual figures yet and I’ve got no firm numbers from Washington D.C.” Penfold, who was unable to attend the last-minute rally, says that an increased number of Utahns who qualify for Ryan White support makes this a critical concern.

He is worried that either a reduction in federal monies or even funding at the same level will cause the creation of a wait-list to get on the program as the demand grows.

Pamela Atkinson explained that lawmakers and the governor are aware of this unexpected budget reduction and are taking the matter seriously. Atkinson says that even if it’s too late to get funding from the state, she hopes to find support from foundations and grants with the help of influential Utahns. According to Merrill, even Gayle Ruzicka has joined the lobbying effort to get some state dollars diverted to these critical lifesaving programs.

UAF and other non-profit charities do not have the capacity to effectively raise funding for the program, according to Penfold. “It’s not financially feasible for [UAF] to supplement drug costs,” he said. “I don’t think any non-profit could afford to do that. I don’t know if the community as a whole has the capacity to support [drug assistance programs].”

In regard to his hopes that the state would make up the funding shortage, Merrill said, “Yesterday I would have said I was on the sunny side of 50/50. Today, I’m on the darker side of 50/50. I honestly don’t know. I just find it horrifying that we live in a state that can spend $50 million to improve roads, but can’t find 1% of that to save lives.”

Merrill’s message to the readers of Salt Lake Metro is different than his message to the state lawmakers. “We need a lot more than just your political and financial support,” Merrill said. “There are hundreds of people in this community with HIV/AIDS who feel completely isolated from the gay community. We need the community’s social support.”

On Monday, Feb. 28, the Senate voted to approve $100,000 for funding HIV medication. The House must also give its nod of approval.

Utah Bears Hold First Title Contest

by Darren Tucker darren@slmetro.com

Spring is almost here.

Snow is melting, flowers are blooming and soon bears will shake off their winter sleep and crawl onto a stage right here in Salt Lake City.

Saturday, March 12 marks Utah’s first-ever “Mr. Utah Bear” and “Mr. Utah Cub” contests. Eight of Utah’s manliest men will hit the stage at Club 161 to vie for the titles. Five are looking to be Mr. Utah Bear and three are signed up for the Cub competition.

All of them are looking to promote their community and a love for bears everywhere.

“We want to show our pride,” said Noal Robinson, president of the Utah Bear Alliance. “We want to promote a strong gay community and a strong bear community.”

April marks the first anniversary of the Utah Bear Alliance, so it’s an appropriate time for the club to hold its first competition. The contest also coincides with the International Mr. Bear competition held in San Francisco each spring. Robinson said the timing is set up so Utah’s winners can hold their office for a full year before heading off to San Francisco to compete for the big title.

“We’re pleased this has come together so quickly,” said Ron Hunt, board member and one of the event organizers. “We think it’s a great way to promote the club and a great way to reach out to other individuals who may consider themselves bears.”

The club will hold a “Meet & Greet” Friday evening before the main event. A brunch is planned for Saturday morning and the contest will begin Saturday evening at 9:00.

During the evening, each of the contestants will be called on stage five times.

Each time they will show off a different type of clothing including work attire, swim wear (“We want them to show as much as is legally possible,” Hunt explained), and cruise wear. They’ll be asked questions about what it means to be a bear, charity work and other topics. During each clothing change, the Cyber Sluts will take to the

stage to add a little extra spice.

Robinson said the alliance looked to contests in other states for some inspiration, but most of what will happen in Utah were the planners’ own ideas. He said many clubs around the country hold similar events and he hopes Utah’s will flourish.

“We didn’t just want it to be a beauty pageant or talent contest,” Robinson explained. “We want to know how they serve their community, and what it really means to them to be a bear.”

Hunt said the question of what defines a bear is tough one to answer. On the surface (literally) he said it could just be a hairy guy.

But he said bears come in all shapes and sizes, sometimes with plenty of hair, and sometimes without.

“What really defines most of us is a healthy appreciation of masculinity,” he said.

Contest winners will be expected to maintain a fairly busy schedule. They’ll act as a spokesperson for the Alliance and hold a non-voting position on the club’s board of directors. They’ll also be expected to sponsor at least two charity events during the year and raise all of their own money to travel to the international competition.

Robinson said the response to the contest has been huge—and gratifying considering how much the winners are expected to do.

“We have some really, really nice guys competing,” Hunt said. “They certainly are handsome, and they certainly are bears.”

Both Hunt and Robinson point out the event is not just for those who consider themselves bears or friends of bears. They would like the gay community at large to embrace the Alliance and the contest.

If nothing else, they hope plenty of people will turn out just for the fun of the event and to meet some new people.

“We already know we have 20 or 30 people coming from out of state,” Robinson said.

There will be a five-dollar cover charge the night of the event.

Will Pratt, Bret Hanna, Douglas Burr and Duana Abplanald attended the Utah AIDS Foundation’s 15th annual Oscar Night America at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center. The event drew over 625 people and raised close to $75,000.

Bambara, Squatters and Gastronomy Restaurants were sponsors. Guest talent for the evening included Randall Carlisle, Barbara Smith, Chris Vonocur, Lisa Conely and Blakenfeld. PHOTO: KIM RUSSO.

T

he Bungalow

at

N in t h

an d

N in t h

An immaculately kept, fully furnished Arts and Crafts house in the 9th and 9th District of Salt Lake City.

Ideally suited for those who require a serene, home-like environment for a day, a weekend, or longer.

Available for rent $110. per day Visa or MasterCard only Adults only - No pets or smoking

For reservations or color brochure please call or e-mail: 801-582-2515 bungalowslc@comcast.net

For more information, visit the Utah Bear Alliance website at www.utahbears.com.

sWerve Party Gras Attracts Crowd

by Mandy Q. Racer mandy@slmetro.com

sWerve is a nonprofit organizing resource for lesbian-focused social and civic activity in Utah. sWerve supports charitable organizations and programs within the queer community and the community at large. www.swerveutah.com.

MARCH 3, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 7

Rose Wagner’s Black Box Theatre was home to sWerve’s Party Gras event Feb. 19—a decadent celebration of Valentine’s Day, Mardi Gras and, according to sWerve, “other dark doings.” Mustaches and masks were provided and greeters coated in gold body paint ushered partygoers inside the large theatre, one wall of which glowed red, backing the dance floor.

“There were more lesbians gathered in one place than I’ve ever seen in Utah except Pride,” said Michelle Sherwood, who attended the event with girlfriend Shauna Sanchez.

“It seemed like something that took place outside of Utah, which was nice,” Sanchez said. sWerve’s last dance took place on New Year’s Eve, 2003. Chair of the Board Brandie Balken cites cost as a main reason why this type of event happens infrequently; total figures range between $1,750 and $2,500 depending on the cost of the venue and the entertainment.

Turnout for Party Gras was 168; Balken

had hoped for 300. “That number provides for a hefty donation to our recipient as well as covers our costs.” Saturday’s dance benefited The Sharing Place, a local nonprofit organization that provides grief counseling services to children.

Some attendees would have preferred a cash bar and a lower ticket price ($15 apiece, $25 for two) to the free bar. Balken said that charging for drinks is not an option. “To sell drinks at an event you have to apply for a permit which costs approximately $500, and you can be turned down without a refund for the permit.” She also argues that a typical evening of dancing, music, food and alcohol (all of which were provided at Party Gras) would run anywhere from $25 to $40 per person. In addition, sWerve offers a sliding scale for these fundraising events. “If you can’t come up with the $15 you can still come in,” Balken said.

News LOCAL

School District Finds Queer-Free Textbooks Difficult to Find Restrictive Policy Puts Officials In a Tough Spot

by Jere Keys jere@slmetro.com

When former State Senator Bill Wright, R-Elberta, proposed a revision of Utah’s education law in 2001, few people foresaw the logistical problems the new law would have on schools just a few years later. Wright’s law specifically forbids the “advocacy of homosexuality,” and the subsequent decision by some school districts to be even more restrictive, has made it difficult, if not impossible, for Nebo School District in Utah County to replace their seven-year-old psychology textbooks.

The seventh largest school district and fifth largest employer in the state is having difficulty finding psychology textbooks that do not mention homosexuality. At least, that’s the message from Priscilla Leek, the psychology teacher from Springville High School who brought the problem to the attention of district officials.

Nebo School District has chosen to use a stricter standard than state law. They are required to “disapprove any curriculum discussing perversion, homosexuality, contraception, promiscuity, and abortion, except when presenting the negative consequences thereof.”

But almost all psychology books now include rather extensive entries about homosexuality—entries that don’t treat it as a negative thing. Homosexuality was removed from the American Psychiatric Association’s list of disorders in 1973, but is still covered in most introductory level psychology books—usually with a discus-

sion of the history of psychiatric understanding and the debate between people who believe homosexuality is caused by environmental versus genetic factors.

The Nebo School District board considered continuing to use the existing text books or finding more used copies from other school districts, but Leeks is concerned that seven years of advances in the science have made many sections of those books incorrect or incomplete.

Other proposals include skipping chapters that include references to homosexuality and teaching without a textbook, relying instead on articles and internet resources.

“In the last seven years the world has changed,” Leeks told The Daily Herald.

“And texts are much more likely to have information they didn’t have seven years ago, including homosexuality.”

Complicating matters even further, students taking the advanced placement psychology class are practically required to have an understanding of homosexuality if they intend to take the nationally-crafted AP test for college credit.

Nebo School District’s tough policy isn’t necessarily the norm in Utah. Other school districts deal with Utah law in different ways. Alpine School District doesn’t exclude the mention of homosexuality—recognizing that “teaching about” and “advocating for” are different things.

Salt Lake City School District requires a parental permission slip for students taking classes that might contain sensitive subject matters.

Mitt Romney Bashes Gay Families in Utah Fundraising Appearance

by Jere Keys jere@slmetro.com

Since Vice President Dick Cheney announced that he will not be seeking the office of President in 2008, political gossip has held that Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has his eye on the ballot opening for the Republican Party.

Despite his protests that it is too early to begin that talk, he has spent several days on the road speaking—visiting South Carolina, Utah and Washington D.C.—only adding fuel to the fire of speculation about his political goals.

Romney, a Mormon and BYU graduate, gained national attention when he invoked a 1913 law originally intended to prevent interracial marriages as an excuse to prevent gay coupes who are not Massachusetts residents from marrying. ‘’America cannot continue to lead the family of nations around the world if we suffer the collapse of the family here at home,” Romney told Utah Republicans at a $100-per-plate fundraiser at Little America.

“I believe fundamentally that every child has a right to have a mother and a father,” he went on to say.

“We lost on marriage in court and we lost on civil unions in the Legislature,” he told the applauding crowd. “But I’m convinced that when finally we hear the voice

of the people in my state, we will win at the ballot box.”

These and similar remarks made in South Carolina have earned Romney very harsh criticisms back in Massachusetts.

“To us, it sounded as if you were using certain Massachusetts families either to garner applause or as a laugh line,” wrote a group of couples who married under Massachusetts law last year. “We urge you to be more circumspect as you travel the country and remember that you represent all of the families of Massachusetts. To reduce gay families to a political talking point is not only unfair, it’s mean-spirited.”

“He is using our families as jokes by saying that they even have their own children, by talking about that he did not agree with the law of the Commonwealth,” said Hillary Goodridge, one of the people who first filed the lawsuit that opened Massachusetts up to gay marriage. “What was most upsetting was that our daughter sees our governor on television mocking the laws and mocking our families. That’s incredibly disrespectful.”

Romney is also criticized for seeming to flip-flop on his support of civil unions.

While in the more liberal environment of Massachusetts he backs a civil union alternative, but speaks out sharply against them when in more conservative locations.

‘L Word’ Premieres at MoDiggity’s

by Mandy Q. Racer

8

■

SALT LAKE METRO ■ MARCH 3, 2005

mandy@slmetro.com

Over the course of nine hours, 500 women packed MoDiggity’s for the hotly anticipated Feb. 20 premiere of The L Word. The first episode of the hit show’s second season was shown four times throughout the day; the first time slot drew crowds that lined up outside the door.

The Human Rights Campaign Utah Steering Committee’s Megan B. Pedersen organized, planned and marketed the event along with Washington, D.C.’s Kate Driscoll, who worked directly with Showtime. “Showtime was great,” Pedersen said.

The network donated items for raffle prizes as well as postcards and business cards for HRC to use in the premiere’s promotion.

“Our goal for this event was to have 250 people and raise $250 to $500. We had over 500 people show up and raised over $1000, which all goes to HRC and our fight for equality,” Pedersen said, thrilled, her voice hoarse from a fever that had spiked that week through the last planning stages.

“This is what I want HRC to be here in Salt Lake.

Something fun for everyone.” Pedersen sees similar events in the future. “HRC and I really want to get out in the community much more. We want to continue to do fun, low cost, and frequent events that bring the community together and build bridges.”

Pedersen can be contacted at hrc_web_content@comcast.net

House Hate Crime Bill Defeated NAACP, Sandy City Respond to Ninth Year of Defeat michael@slmetro.com

by JoSelle Vanderhooft joselle@slmetro.com

(Fifth in a six-part series on gay spirituality.)

Randy Burks never intended to become the world’s only “gay Zen Buddhist monk born and raised in Utah.” At first, he was only there for the bonsai trees.

“Years ago, a good friend of mine took me to Ben’s House of Bonsai. It was the middle of cold, dead winter and I just became completely enamored by the trees,” he says. The tiny plants spurred Burks to study Japanese gardening, culture and art history. And when the monks at the Kanzeon Zen Center permitted him to build them a rock garden, Burks began studying their religion. But would the monks accept him as an openly gay man?

“Once I started sitting [meditating] with them, I asked, ‘How do you guys feel about people being gay?’ They said, ‘First of all it’s none of our business, second of all it’s not that big a deal. As long as you’re not hurting people, who cares?’ I was absolutely stunned by that. Here’s a very ancient, illustrious spiritual community here in America saying it’s OK to be gay, and you have more important things to deal with other than who you’re sleeping with. I found that a very mature way of dealing with that issue.”

Centered primarily in Japan, Zen Buddhism is just one of several schools or traditions of Buddhism, a religion founded in India over 2,500 years ago by Siddhartha Gautama, an Indian prince turned mendicant. Other major schools include Theravada (in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos), Mahayana (China, Korea and Japan), and Tibetan Buddhism.

Although each school eventually developed its own take on the Buddha’s teachings, each tradition adheres to the four noble truths, one of the main pillars of Buddhist thought. These state that physical and emotional suffering (dukkha) is part of life, that suffering is the result of selfish desire (tanha) and that the end of suffering is Nirvana, a place of peace and ultimate understanding. The fourth noble truth is known as the Eightfold path—the things a Buddhist must do to successfully end suffering. This truth consists of eight factors: right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.

Several gay and lesbian Utahns in various Buddhist schools are currently doing their best to live by these precepts.

Bryan Stone-Daly says he became a Tibetan Buddhist largely because of his interest in the teachings of the Dalai Lama—the religion’s “highest teacher,” whom Buddhists of all sects revere. Attracted to the leader’s commitment to world peace, Stone-Daly says he was troubled when he heard a quote from the Dalai Lama’s book Beyond Dogma, in which the religious leader, while condemning violence against gays and lesbians, said “homosexuality, whether it is between men or between women, is not improper in itself. What is improper is the use of organs already defined as inappropriate for sexual contact.” Generally, Buddhism has been known to prohibit anal, oral and manual sex for people of any orientation, and not all sects are gay affirming.

Like Burks, Stone-Daly asked his teachers if his orientation would prohibit him from

studying with them. After some discussion, they concluded no reason existed.

However, Stone-Daly says that the Dalai Lama has been attempting to learn from a scientific perspective all he can about things such as homosexuality.

“Remember he’s from the old Chinese tradition,” he says. “For his whole life he has been a monk and he sees life from that point of view. He’s trying to understand the latest research into the human mind. The more he knows the more compassionate he’s becoming.”

Stone-Daly added that Buddhists consider their leader to be a Bodhisattva, an individual who has achieved enlightenment but continues to reincarnate on Earth until everyone’s karma (the consequences of their actions both positive and negative) is balanced and “no suffering is left here.” The Buddhist belief in reincarnation is one Zen practitioner Jason Martin finds especially attractive.

“I’ve never believed you could get everything right in one time,” he explains. “There’s always forgiveness but you still have to work that karma out and there are so many people who pass on without getting a chance to do that, I just think it’s an unjust universe if you don’t get the chance to work that out and work towards perfection.”

Martin also says he was drawn to the religion because of its “bare bones” structure and its emphasis on zazen, or meditation.

These can include something as simple as counting the number of breaths one takes, to the “most pure form,” known in English as “just sitting,” where the practitioner “sits in an open state of awareness, not trying to control or alter anything, just letting thoughts rise and fall as they want to.” He also says he finds the traditional koan or “riddles” helpful.

“My understanding is the idea behind the koan is you concentrate your mind on this paradoxical statement that doesn’t have a logical solution and it forces you to go beyond the logical mind,” he says, noting that the question “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” is a good, if somewhat stereotypical, example of a koan. “The mind that is trying to rationalize and figure something out, so you can just get into a space of experiencing things as they are instead of having a dialogue in your head trying to figure everything out.”

He also thinks that Buddhism may be a good religion for gays and lesbians, particularly those who have come to see their sexuality as a “particular type of sin.”

“Growing up [my sexuality] was intertwined with my spirituality in a negative way because I was LDS and of course homosexuality is not accepted in that religion,” he remembers. “So there was always this sense of separation for me, this conflict that couldn’t be resolved. I think the way Buddhism resolves that for me is by allowing me to realize that it isn’t really that different from anything else ... For me, arguments about homosexuality are like the biggest smoke screen ever because every human being has to deal with the issue of desire and attachment. For me, it’s no different whether you’re gay or straight, the fundamental issue is the same.”

The Kanzeon Zen Center is located at 1268 E. South Temple., Salt Lake City

MARCH 3, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 9

of Appeals in Denver ruled that Utah’s existing so-called hate crime law is constitutional, however law enforcement Rep. David Litvack’s hate crime bill— officials and the Attorney General have House Bill 50, Criminal Penalty Amendlong said that the law is vague and the ment—suffered the same fate as its 1992 statute should more appropriately Senate sibling, dying in committee Feb. be interpreted as a civil rights law, as it 18. The bill failed 4-7 after 90 minutes of can only be narrowly applied to indebate, mostly in favor of its passage. stances which violate a person’s right to Republican Rep. DeMar Bowman of worship, vote or speak out on issues.

Cedar City joined all Democrats on the The Utah-Nevada-Idaho Tri-State House Law Enforcement and Criminal Conference of the National Association Justice Committee to vote in favor of for the Advancepassing the bill ment of Colored to the floor of the People (NAACP) House. The reis considering an maining Republi“The voters, the police initiative to put a cans voted against departments, the law hate-crime law on the bill, killing it the 2006 ballot in for the session. and justice systems Utah. The group Some were have all been in favor will discuss the surprised when issue at its March Clearfield Rep. of passing this bill. meeting.

Curt Oda, the only You’ve got the Attorney Edward Lewis Asian member of Jr., president of Utah’s legislature, General in support the NAACP Utahspoke against of it, police officers in Nevada-Idaho the bill. He said Tri-State Conferthat he believes a support of it. ence, said efforts person finds disWhat part of this to take the issue to crimination when voters will likely be and where they message do legislators headed up by the look for it and that not understand?”

NAACP Salt Lake the bill would only —Edward Lewis Jr. Branch. serve to further “The voters, divide the comPresident of the NAACP Utahthe police departmunity.

Nevada-Idaho Tri-State Conference ments, the law and Among the justice systems testimony was a have all been in fadescription of the vor of passing this murder of Church bill,” Lewis said to the Deseret Morning of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints News. “You’ve got the Attorney General founder Joseph Smith as a hate crime. in support of it, police officers in supThe only possible hope for revival of port of it. What part of this message do the issue is for a no-voting member of legislators not understand?” either the House or Senate committees “I would hope as elected officials, to move to reconsider the earlier votes. we would not require voters to put this These motions are rarely successful, issue to a vote,” Litvack responded in though a Senate committee did just that the Deseret Morning News. “We have a with a bill to ban smoking in private responsibility to represent them.” clubs last month.

On Feb. 22, Sandy city leaders passed This is the ninth year that hate crime a “Resolution Calling for Respect & Tollegislation has failed to pass the legislaerance” in response to the failure of the ture, the fifth attempt of Rep. David Litstatewide hate crime legislation. Citing vak, D-Salt Lake. Litvack has sponsored the fact that Utah was founded by peothe bill since 2001, after the late Sen. ple fleeing persecution and the inherent Pete Suazo, D-Salt Lake, who had carried ideals of liberty, justice and equality in the bill since 1997, passed away. the U.S. Constitution, the Mayor and “The will of the people was not done City Council of Sandy affirmed “the goal, today,” said Michael Mitchell, Equalwish, and commitment of our City to be ity Utah executive director. “When a a place of tranquility, peace, and respect strong majority of Utahns say they want for all citizens.” an enforceable hate crimes statute The failed hate crime legislation would with named groups and when the law have enhanced by one step the penalty enforcement community is lobbying for crimes based on bias or prejudice due hard for such a measure, it says loud and to perceived or actual attributes, includclear that lawmakers have no regard for ing race, color, disability, religion, sexual the opinions—or the well-being—of the orientation, national origin, ancestry, people who elected them.” age or gender. For example, a class A A January poll by the Deseret Morning misdemeanor would be prosecuted as a News showed that 64 percent of Utahns third-degree felony. support the passage of hate crime legislation.

Jere Keys contributed to this article.

On Feb. 23, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court

by Michael Aaron

Gay Utah Buddhists

Publisher Michael Aaron Editor Jere Keys Arts Editor Eric J. Tierney

Opinion

Sports Editor David Nelson Proofreader Nicholas Rupp Contributing Brandie Balken Writers Vanessa Chang Jason Clark John Cooney Beau Jarvis Laurie Mecham Andrea Moore-Emmett Rob Orton William T. Park Nicholas Rupp Mandy Q. Racer Ruby Ridge Joel Shoemaker Winnie Stachlenberg Eric J. Tierney Darren Tucker JoSelle Vanderhooft Ben Williams Contributing Lucy Juarez Photographers William H. Munk Kim Russo Joel Shoemaker Art Director Michael Aaron Designer Kris Kramer Sales Director Steven Peterson Display Sales Sebastian Cruz Chris Lemon Classified Roger Cox Sales Chris Wold Distribution Tony Hobday Managers Courtney Moser Copyright © 2005 Metro Publishing, Inc.

10

■

SALT LAKE METRO ■ MARCH 3, 2005

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner, including electronic retrieval systems, without the prior written permission of the publisher. One copy of this publication is free of charge to any individual. Additional copies may be purchased for $1. Anyone taking or destroying multiple copies may be prosecuted for theft at the sole discretion of the publisher. Reward offered for information that leads to the arrest of any individual willfully stealing, destroying or trashing multiple copies. Salt Lake Metro and Utah’s Best for 2005 are trademarks of Metro Publishing, Inc. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the publishers or staff.

Salt Lake Metro is published bi-weekly on alternating Thursdays by Metro Publishing, Inc.

352 S. Denver Street, Suite 350 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 (801) 323-9500 Fax: (801) 323-9986 President: Vice President: Secretary: Treasurer:

Michael Aaron Steven Peterson Steve Whittaker Larry Tanner

It’s Time for a New Approach on Hate Crime Law After the ninth annual defeat of hate crime legislation on Capitol Hill, it’s time to rethink strategy. There’s discussion happening with the NAACP to ask the voters of Utah to do what the legislature refuses to do: decide whether or not it’s time to start giving greater punishment to crimes based on bias or prejudice, by placing the proposed laws on the election ballot.

Salt Lake Metro applauds the NAACP for taking the leadership in contemplating a new method of achieving effective hate crime legislation.

We strongly endorse putting the issue before the voters. If it wasn’t clear before, it should be now—the state legislature simply refuses to follow the will of the people on this matter. Polls have indicated consistently that over 60 percent of Utahns supports hate crime legislation.

Throughout the last several months, gay papers across the nation addressed the growing divide between the black community’s civil rights movement and the queer community’s civil rights movement. Yet if there’s ever been a moment in Utah history when we share the same goal, this is it. We cannot let this golden opportunity to build a strong coalition pass. Every queer rights group, women’s rights association, racial minority organization and religious community needs to work collectively and actively to make this happen.

Nor can we allow this coalition to be so narrow that it falls apart once we have achieved our goal of effective hate crime legislation.

What we’re suggesting is that it’s time for the queer community to sign on, heart and soul, to the civil rights struggles of racial, religious and other minorities in the state of Utah.

The state legislature has refused repeatedly and consistently to do the right thing in passing hate crime laws. Their behavior is shameful. It’s up to us, now.

And we, as a community, have allowed other persecuted minorities who should be our allies to drift away from us. We have allowed intolerance and prejudice to grow in our own hearts.

This is also shameful. And it’s again up to us to start setting things right.

Now is the time to act. We encourage all readers of Salt Lake Metro to contact the NAACP Salt Lake Branch and tell them that you will support their efforts in eliminating racial prejudice—and not just toward hate crime legislation.

The NAACP is a membership organization and therefore, they do solicit memberships (beginning at $30 for adults). Individuals, businesses, churches, and organizations can be members of the NAACP, and people of all races or ethnic backgrounds are encouraged to join the cause. Our community can provide strong financial support, as well as invaluable volunteer assistance. Not only that, it’s simply the right thing to do.

And when the ball gets rolling on a ballot drive, we also encourage readers of Salt Lake Metro to donate their volunteer time to collecting signatures and helping to shape a campaign, and to vote.

We know that there are dozens of important causes within the queer community asking for your support, but if we want to build strong alliances and increase our political power, we need to start looking outside our community as well.

From the Editor Confessions of an Eagle Scout

by Jere Keys jere@slmetro.com

A few weeks ago, my younger brother Jordan received M his Eagle Scout award from the Boy Scouts of America.

Jordan has lived his entire W life with a number of disabilities, so it was a rather proud moment for our entire family. He has worked hard to attain the top honor in scouting, and I am very, very proud of him for his accomplishment.

But as many people in our community know, thoughts of scouting can be bittersweet for gay and bisexual men. In a decision upheld by the Supreme Court, BSA actively excludes queers and atheists from participating as members and leaders. Their policy is based on stereotypes about pedophiles and a “moral code” that is heavily influenced nationwide by the LDS church.

I was asked to speak at Jordan’s Court of Honor. I earned my Eagle Scout nearly 12 years ago. It is an accomplishment that I am still proud of to this day, even as my feelings about the BSA are mixed and disappointed.

As I prepared my speech for Jordan’s award ceremony, I thought long and hard about what I should say and how I should say it. Should I respect the wishes of my family and avoid mentioning my political differences with the BSA? Do I take my op- j portunity as a queer activist to educate a gathering of primarily LDS church leaders about how this type of discrimination hurts young men?

“In any case, I like to think that the BSA did not teach me to hate,” wrote one of my online friends as I deliberated on the subject.

And he’s right. My time with the BSA taught me a number of things: leadership, how to be an involved citizen of this country, the ability to learn and try many new things, teamwork and the spirit of volunteer service. It never taught me hate or exclusion.

One of the greatest lessons I did learn from scouting is that when I perceive a problem—I am capable, empowered and obligated to seek a solution.

“I have a difference of opinion with the Boy Scouts of America and their policies of exclusion,” I said, when the moment of truth came. “The reason I have this difference of opinion is because I don’t regret a single moment of my own involvement with this wonderful organization, and I truly wish that such opportunities were available to all young men.”

It is my love for the opportunities of scouting that makes me so disappointed in their policies of exclusion. That said, the great thing about the Boy Scouts, and that night in particular, is that it wasn’t about national politics or policies—that night was about celebrating the achievement of one boy, my brother Jordan.

The Boy Scouts taught me the leadership, citizenship and skills that I use daily to make the world a better place. Even if that means I work to make the Boy Scouts a better organization.

Afterward, nervous that I might have offended or crossed a line, I tried to shy away from the people milling about the Mormon church gym. But a remarkable thing happened—conservative, Mormon gentlemen began seeking me out to thank me for giving a thought-provoking speech. One even admitted that I’d inspired him to a new perception of what the Boy Scouts and the Eagle Scout Award stand for.

I guess the Boy Scouts still has a few things to teach me.

Did I move a mountain? No. But by being true to myself, by being open and honest about who I am despite the perceived prejudices of those around me, I made a small victory for tolerance and inclusion—perhaps I moved a small rock. Given time and enough of us doing the same, well, that’s how mountains get moved.

Letters Don’t Forget Good Things About the Royal Court Dear Editor: The article about the Royal Court of the Golden Spike Empire (“Royal Court Concludes Criminal Investigation,” Salt Lake Metro, Feb. 17, 2005) came as a bit of a shock.

I have been very pleased with the efforts the RCGSE has made on behalf of the Julie Wright New Millennium Chapter of City of Hope. It has been their support that makes both our Food For Hope and Walk For Hope to Cure Breast Cancer a success. I have never doubted the good work of the RCGSE. City of Hope is just one of the many charities helped by the RCGSE. I, on behalf of the Julie Wright Chapter board members, want to thank the RCGSE for supporting our AIDS research and a cure for breast cancer. Without RCGSE the great strides being made today in research for cures would not be happening.

Steven Whittaker State Chairperson, City of Hope

Royal Court is Out of Focus Dear Editor: The last time I checked, forgery, perjury and theft were all criminal or federal offenses. It baffles me that a community-elected official waited less than 24 hours to illegally dip their hand into the community’s cookie jar. Was no one paying attention when Utah Pride was forced to face the community? What is worse, the board of directors of the RCGSE further damaged the community’s trust by basically slapping their favored leader on the hand, while dragging another not-so-favored leader through the ringer to the point of great

hurt and loss for all parties involved.

So let me see if I got this all straight (so to speak): a liar and thief will remain in office only to guarantee the success of the annual Coronation. Their value is that this person will bring other people from out of town to ensure good attendance. The RCGSE is a Salt Lake-based, Salt Lake-focused organization. Shouldn’t the focus be on getting the locals and local organizations to participate with them in raising funds for the betterment of the community? Not just in May, but throughout the year? It seems that, in our new community order, many will not work with RCGSE, and now with good reason (and I thought it was the dresses).

It seems that the RCGSE fan base is dwindling, and this latest entry in the RCGSE history seems to be more salt in old wounds. The RCGSE history is riddled with scandal and innuendos such as this. While it does much good, the rather flippant way it has skirted this issue will shadow much in the coming months and perhaps even years. Members of the RCGSE board should wipe the Vaseline off the lenses and see that they have a greater responsibility, not only to the organization, but to the community as a whole. If they spent more time getting to know and finding ways to work with the local community rather than focusing on the national circuit, perhaps there would be no need to worry over attendance at their biggest fundraiser of the year.

While dreams would be shattered in doing what should be done, somehow good will come from it, and the community and all parties involved will be better for it.

Chad C. Keller Salt Lake City, UT

Guest Editorial Prevention Is Still the Key era of the epidemic that desperately needs new approaches. We need a redoubled effort to create new prevention strategies, marshal the best research, provide thorough care and treatment and deal with the pandemic on the global level.

While all of the facts are not in, these developments remind us how important prevention is—no matter what kinds of new strains may develop. Whether a new strain materializes or not, we must never lose focus on preventing the spread of any form of HIV. But for the past 10 years, prevention funding at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hasn’t only been stagnant, it’s been declining. Tragically, funding for ideology driven, un-scientific “abstinenceonly-until-marriage” programs has increased. Every hour, two young people are newly infected with HIV. Young people need frank and honest information to empower them to protect themselves.

The most recent issue of one of the most popular GLBT magazines had 6 six pages of glossy full-color ads for HIV drugs. There were zero pages of HIV prevention advertising. It’s time for smart, targeted messages to reach people with the unvarnished truth—everyone is at risk of infection and everyone needs to protect themselves.

Winnie Stachelberg is vice president of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation

MARCH 3, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 11

by Winnie Stachelberg Those of us who witnessed the emergence of the AIDS epidemic during the 1980s remember the stigma associated with infection and the tragic neglect of those who fell ill. We remember callous politicians who would not even acknowledge the crisis or—when they did—advocated quarantine. We remember those we have lost and we remember the heroes who brought our community together.

For both good and bad, a lot has changed since then. We’ve seen organizations and institutions build and grow—helping to provide care and treatment for those living with the disease. We’ve witnessed breakthroughs in medications allowing people to live long healthy lives. We’ve seen awareness rise but face continued misperceptions and discrimination.

One thing hasn’t changed. Nearly twentyfive years after the first cases of AIDS were detected, we still have no cure—no proven vaccine. We still face 40,000 new infections every year in this country because many people still do not think they are at risk for contracting HIV. With news of a possible new, more virulent strain in the United States, this is a new

Where’s Our Voice?

by William Todd Park liam@slmetro.com

12

■

SALT LAKE METRO ■ MARCH 3, 2005

It seems like just yesterday that Amendment 3 passed. The failures of Senate Bill 89 (Mutual Dependence Benefits Contract) and House Bill 50 (Hate Crimes Legislation) rubbed salt into an already fresh wound and once again brought to the forefront the critical need to be involved in the political process. These orchestrated attacks have also emphasized the real need for a unified voice of the gay community.

We get angry with these humiliating kicks to the crotch, yet we often lack anything more than emotion as we writhe on the ground in pain. We have to move past the anger, though and answer the seminal question: What are we really angry about?

It really boils down to a question of equality, yet most of us don’t fully understand the issue. Campaigning for equality requires common objectives, dedication and abandoning divisive turf wars.

Whether you’re the G, L, B, T, Q, XX, XY, or Z, it’s fair to say that we all just want to live a life that is free of fear, free of bigotry, and free of being told what is moral.

Every day, Valerie Larabee, executive director of the GLBT Center of Utah, faces the daunting task of finding and promoting the common voice out of the alphabet soup of labels that makes up our community, knowing that each one has positions that cannot be compromised, and balancing their nuances and special needs. She and I agree on a number of things, and with her experience and insight Valerie is able to bring definition where I may only have concepts. But she isn’t the only one with the perception to grasp what our collective voice should sound like. There are many organizations and truly talented individuals in our community that can draw from each other’s expertise to formulate its resonance, pitch, and tone.

Collaboration in the midst of so many competing needs is crucial to winning the battles that are waging around us. While we all have our own hopes, dreams, and fundamental needs, we can’t just rally around the banner with the label that we want to represent us. Rather, we all have to come together, adding our own individual voice, talents, and concerns to a common one.

In order to do that, though, we have

to find our own voice. When we find that thing we can give ourselves to and find our own voice, apathy fades and we finally get angry enough to act in a way that will bring positive results. Having our own voice eliminates the decision whether or not to be true to ourselves. It destroys the stereotypes that define us in narrow moral terms and moves us in a direction of contributing instead of taking.

As much as a common voice builds the community, apathy and fear will divide and destroy it. Vanquishing apathy and fear from our midst will take some doing, but it can be done. We can only hope it doesn’t take widespread and open discrimination or worse, a horrid hate crime reminiscent of the Matthew Shepherd murder. It’s time to get more involved in combating the latest notch carved in the legislature’s ultraconservative bedpost than who got voted off last night’s reality show. Suffice it to say, Utah politics make for some unwilling bedfellows as it is.

Words like ignorance, hypocrisy and bigotry are more than inflammatory rhetoric.

These extremist values have tangible impact and real consequences. In a supposed age of enlightenment, philanthropy, and advanced scientific thinking, it’s beyond me how people insist on clinging to values that have been hurtful for centuries. Letters in the Salt Lake Tribune public forum continue to equate homosexuality with alcoholism or drug addiction—more uninformed individuals, parroting the oft-cited dogma that being gay is a curable illness.

It’s interesting to note how many people have these same opinions until they actually meet someone who is gay. Hopefully, these uninformed people will hear humanity and integrity in our voices rather than shame or indignance. Perhaps rather than coming out it’s time to simply be out. Certainly, discretion with personal information is wise, but we shouldn’t give anyone reason to believe that being gay is either sinful or treatable. Gay is good.

It really doesn’t matter what label you wear. It does matter, though, that instead of bemoaning the injustices perpetrated by biased lawmakers, we support the people who are trying to make a difference on our behalf and contribute to the cause of equality by making a positive difference ourselves.

When it comes to legislators, it’s highly unlikely that we can ever fully agree, but we have to let them know where we stand. They should know that we care and that we vote.

They have to hear our voice.

AberRant Y O Y?

by Laurie Mecham laurie@slmetro.com

The question I ask you today is this: “Why live?”

Here is what we have going on as I write: I am sick. I have a very bad cold. I almost never get sick, and so I forget what a huge drag it is. My body aches and my eyes burn and in two days I’ve produced enough mucus for a small country—whatever that means.

They took away our coffee at work. It hasn’t been prohibited, but for longer than the eight years I’ve been here, it has been provided. Then last week, we were cut off without warning. There was simply an abrupt sign in rude block print stating that, “…the department will no longer be funding coffee, tea, etc.” Damn! The Man is trying to keep us down! We used to have cocoa and everything, back in the day. All of a sudden there are no foil packets of pre-measured caf and decaf, no orange spice tea, no stir stix—for the love of God, there are no more sugar cubes!

Why? Why live?

The Utah State Legislature is still in session. It will all be over by the time you read this, so maybe I can find the will to continue to draw breath, although it will be weak because of the caffeine withdrawal. But Lord, why must they be so insane? How can our state look any more backwards? First, let’s go for some kind of world record for the number of times a hate crimes bill has been defeated.

I mean, how does one punish hate-motivated crime while still embracing our cherished, long-standing tradition of hateful thought?

That was the argument on the hill—this law would be too close to creating some kind of thought police. The bill didn’t say that, and the truth is that here in Utah, we are actually quite supportive of policing the thoughts of our citizenry. For example, look at the new businesses that clean up movies to remove any jot or tittle (hee hee) of adult-ish content.

We have special web portals, internet filters, book stores and even entire college campuses designed to strictly police all thought—and behavior too!

A fine example can be seen right now in the Nebo School District. Those good folks are simply trying to find a quality, up-to-date psychology textbook that only teaches things with which they are comfortable. They aren’t willing to just keep using the 1946 or whatever texts, because as psychology “teacher” Priscilla Leek astutely observed, “In the last seven years the world has changed, and texts are much more likely to have information they didn’t have seven years ago, including homosexuality.”

Psychology texts mention homosexuality?

Well I don’t want to live now.

Leeks noted that, “So many advances have been made that older books just don’t fully cover all the facts anymore.” Apparently by “facts” she meant tidbits of information that she could deal with without feeling all icky and squeamish inside and without having to listen to the perverse doctrine of the American Psychological Association and then painting her own little mental picture of Abercrombie and Fitch models in gymnastically challenging sexual positions. Leeks said it would be possible to use other sources, such as the godforsaken internet. “I mean we’re not living in a cave.” It is possible that she went on to say, “We see it more as living in a tower, with a moat and chastity belts and Big Brother and other controls in place.”

Did I mention the part about me being sick?

And I swear that Utah politics make me want to chew off my own foot. Some legislators want to make sure that parents can only neglect their children a teensy bit. If the kids are chronically neglected, we may have to get Child Protective Services involved, but hey, who hasn’t occasionally taken off for a weekend to hit the Manti Mormon Miracle Pageant and left the tots to fend for themselves?

Besides, as long as we’re pouring a bunch of money into highways instead of edumacation, let’s head to Wendover!

NEGLECT THIS, suckas!

Finally, not only is the world going to heck in a handcart, but also in case I had not mentioned it: I feel like crap. One of my all-time favorite authors is Anne Lamott, because she is so very beautifully and pitifully human, and she is so wonderfully honest about it. In her book Traveling Mercies, she talks about a time when she had a really bad cold and felt like crap, and her neighbor stopped his car in front of her house. This neighbor had stagefour lung cancer which had metastasized to his brain, yet he maintained this Zen serenity, aware of the beauty around him and savoring all the moments of his life. Lamott pounded on his windshield and cried, “Why are you doing this to me? Look at me—I’m congested.” I CAN SO RELATE! The Bug is trying to keep me down!

I need you now, children. If you want Laurie to live, you need to believe in her.

Clap your hands! Clap your hands to keep her alive!

I’m not sure what I just heard. Perhaps it was only the sound of a virus mutating in order to become resistant to all antibiotics.

It could have been the whir of Gayle Ruzicka speed-dialing. Or maybe it really was you.

I am going to try to hang on, if only for you, dear readers. Besides, I still have some Thought Crimes I’d like to commit.

How can our state look any more backwards? First, let’s go for some kind of world record for the number of times a hate crimes bill has been defeated.

Laurie Mecham is desperately ill.

Guest Editorial Polygamists Try to Take Advantage of Gay Rights Movement case, in which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Texas sodomy law as unconstitutional, meant that the Utah antipolygamy laws are unconstitutional under privacy rights and freedom of religion.

Judge Stewart, however, specifically distinguished the Bronson case, in which one man sought to marry a second wife, from the Lawrence case, quoting its majority opinion as saying the sodomy case “does not involve minors. It does not involve persons who might be injured or coerced or who are situated in relationships where consent might not easily be refused....” Thus Judge Stewart acknowledged that polygamy, often involving young girls coerced into unwanted marriages, is different from private sexual behavior involving consenting adults.

The ruling recognizes the abuses of polygamy and distinguishes between the private consensual sexual conduct of adults, including gays and lesbians, and the coercive, extremely injurious practice of polygamy.

I have researched polygamy for more than 10 years and I urge the Utah GLBT community not to allow its struggle for rights to be co-opted by polygamists, who overwhelmingly believe that homosexuality is a sin.

If you are a person who believes in freedom, equality, and the rights of boys and girls to get an education and make free choices in life, consider these quotes from Utah polygamists: “Women are vessels to be worn out in childbirth.”

“One child is worth ten of the mother.”

—Sayings of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS) “What need have women to vote if they are in subjection to the law of their husbands?”

“Do not voice your opinion if it is contrary to mine.”

—Greg, polygamist patriarch “We have to let the brothers be who they’re going to be.”

—Polygamist patriarch’s response to hearing that his sons were molesting his daughter.

“You don’t need to know who you’re going to marry. Just pick a date and show up, and you’ll find out on the wedding day who it is.”

—Polygamist wife’s comments to her daughter Andrea Moore-Emmett is author of “God’s Brothel: The extortion of sex for salvation in contemporary Mormon and Christian fundamentalist polygamy and the stories of 18 women who escaped” (Pince-Nez Press, 2004)

Support Salt Lake Metro!

Subscribe today at slmetro.com

MARCH 3, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 13

by Andrea Moore-Emmett Last week, I appeared on The O’Reilly Factor on Fox News to promote my book, God’s Brothel.

As a feminist, indeed president of Utah NOW, I expected to be torn to shreds. To my surprise, O’Reilly was polite; I should have suspected he was up to something. At the end of my segment, he sprang in with a comment that if gays get the right to marry, so will polygamists. My last words were, “I don’t think so.”

O’Reilly, and, I am learning, many other people in this country and state, confuse rights of adults, including gays and lesbians, to engage in private sexual conduct with the rights of polygamists.

There is no correlation between gay rights and the type of polygamy that makes up the majority of the polygamy in Utah: Mormon and Bible-based fundamentalist polygamy with religious tenets that characterize women and children as chattel. Because of their religious tenets, these communities are characterized by child abuse, coerced marriages, incest, deprivation of education, poverty, and other ills that we condemn (and even go to war purportedly to stop) in less developed countries.

The pro-polygamists, however, are trying to cash in on the increasing national belief that adults should be able to do what they wish in private, with whom they wish. They’re trying to ride on the coattails of the gay rights movement. This is ironic because Utah polygamists (again, these are fundamentalists) overwhelmingly believe gays and lesbians are sinners and will go to hell. Nevertheless, the pro-polygamists are clouding the issue and trying to make people who believe in individual rights, including privacy rights, think that polygamy is similar.

Please do not fall for this! Gay rights are about adults making free consensual choices with other adults. Mormon and Christian fundamentalist polygamy is about child abuse and coercion. In a court case decided February 16, Bronson v.

Swensen (2:04-CV-21 TS), the U.S. District Court in Utah acknowledged this distinction. Judge Ted Stewart granted summary judgment, ruling that the Utah anti-polygamy laws are constitutional under the United States Constitution.

Brian Barnard, the attorney for the would-be polygamist plaintiffs in Bronson, argued that the Lawrence v. Texas

Lambda Lore Hate Crimes in Utah Part Three

by Ben Williams ben@slmetro.com

14

■

SALT LAKE METRO ■ MARCH 3, 2005

DARRELL WEBBER Darrell Webber, 38, a divorced gay man raising two boys in his West Valley apartment was murdered April 7, 1989 while cruising Salt Lake City’s State Street. Webber, a southerner by birth, was an interior decorator and active member of the gay community. At the time of his death he was the Secretary/Treasurer of Unconditional Support, a gay support group in Salt Lake City.

Late April 6, 1989, Webber began looking for sex with men who often hitchhiked on State Street for that purpose. He spotted a man with whom he had sex with once before, 27 year-old Marty Withers, an exconvict. Webber picked up Withers and drove into a parking lot behind a paint store where they then had sex. Afterward Withers took out a knife and began stabbing Webber, slashing his femoral artery.

Many members of the gay community attended Webber’s viewing where his youngest son, while patting his father’s face and brushing back his hair, cried “Wake up Daddy, wake up.” This is how I personally remember my 38th birthday—attending Darrell’s viewing and wake.

In April 1990, Marty Withers was tried for homicide and pled not guilty. His defense was that he was a straight man who had been attacked by a homosexual. Withers claimed he was drunk when Webber picked him up on State Street and had passed out in the car. He awoke when Webber, with his pants down, was unbuckling Withers’ pants.

Withers said he panicked, struggled, and Webber attacked him.

On Friday, April 13, following nearly two hours of deliberations by an eight member, all male jury, Withers was acquitted on the basis of self defense. The jury accepted Withers’ testimony that he was intoxicated and had stabbed Webber in self defense after Webber made homosexual advances toward him, regardless of the fact that Darrell Webber never had any weapon of his own. The defense attorney argued that under Utah law, if someone is being feloniously assaulted then he has the right to use deadly force to repel the attacker. Withers walked out of the courtroom free.

DOUGLAS KOEHLER Probably no other murder, besides that of Tony Adams, so galvanized the gay community to action as that of Douglas Koehler.

Koehler was shot to death in cold blood in Park City on Aug. 21, 1992. His murderer was sentenced to serve less time in prison than a shoplifter would have been.

Thirty-year-old Douglas Charles Koehler was co-owner of the Frame-It Shop in Salt Lake City. He was an articulate, talented, 6-foot-4 “gentle giant” who liked to ride his horse in the Utah mountains. His friends said he was a hell of an artist and someone who wouldn’t harm a fly.

On Aug. 20 Koehler had been partying in Park City with friends when he decided to go out drinking alone. At a Park West bar, Koehler met David Nelson Thacker, 26, a cowboy from Unionville, Nevada, and his

roommate Clint Marcus Crane, 21. Thacker and Crane were ranch hands in Summit County living in a condominium provided by the ranch owner.

Thacker, upon first seeing Koehler, told the bartender that Koehler was “as queer as a three dollar bill” and asked if he let people like that in the bar. Yet Thacker did not seem to mind drinking, playing pool and snorting cocaine with Koehler later in the evening.

After the bar closed, Thacker invited Koehler back to his place to party more. However, Thacker claimed that when he fell asleep, he woke to find Koehler performing fellatio on him. When Koehler tried to kiss him, Thacker kicked Koehler out of the condo and Koehler began his four-mile walk back to Park City in the rain.

Thacker drank another beer, took a shower and grabbed a .22 revolver. He then woke Crane and told him he was going to get Koehler for trying to kiss him but he needed Crane to drive the pickup truck because Thacker was too inebriated.

Koehler was only about 50 feet from the condo when Thacker spotted him and ordered Crane to pull up next to him.

Thacker ordered Koehler to come over to the passenger side of the truck, then, “bang, pulled the pistol out and shot him.” Thacker would later claim he aimed the gun between Koehler’s eyes and pulled the trigger only after Koehler grabbed him and kissed him on the cheek. However, when Koehler’s body was discovered both his hands were in his pockets. Thacker bragged, “You should have seen that queer drop, like a sack of shit.”

Koehler’s murder was Summit County’s first homicide in three years and when Thacker and Crane were released on bail five days after Koehler was murdered, the Salt Lake City gay community protested. On Sept. 1, 1992 more than 200 people gathered at the Gallivan Plaza in downtown Salt Lake to protest acts of violence against Utah’s gay and lesbian community. Chet Harris, a gay black man, had also been murdered within days of Koehler.

Thacker was tried a year later in Aug. 1994.

At trial he told the notoriously incompetent 3rd District Judge David S. Young that he didn’t kill Thacker because he was “gay or anything like that.” Judge Young agreed and blamed Koelher for his own death saying, “Koehler would be alive if he had not supplied the drugs and alcohol the night of his death.”

Finding Thacker only guilty of manslaughter, Judge Young then stated that the maximum prison term of 15 years for the killing was “too high.” He reduced the penalty to zero to five years while imposing a one-year firearms enhancement for the Nevada cowboy.

The light sentencing incensed the gay community and a rally of more than 100 outraged protesters gathered Aug. 15 on the steps of the state capitol. They called for Judge Young’s removal from the bench.

Five days later the Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats filed a formal complaint against the judge with the Utah Judicial Conduct Commission. They sought the “strongest possible penalty” against Young, including his removal from office. Utahns finally voted Young out of office for a number of complaints over a series of outrageous judgments.

Ben Williams is the founder and president of the Utah Stonewall Historical Society, utahstonewallhistoricalsociety.com

Ruby Ridge Living Free At Last, Free At Last!

By Ruby Ridge ruby@slmetro.com

Muffins, I am so damn happy I could just spit! By the time this edition of Salt Lake Metro hits, Martha Stewart will be a free woman.

And all I can say, darlings, is it’s about time. Martha has shown the world she has balls by simply doing her time and getting it over and done with. No pussy appellate courts, retrials, plea bargains, court diversions, or community service for Martha. This bitch has a backbone, and we love her for it.

With Ms. Martha released, it’s only a matter of time before The Apprentice: Martha Stewart goes into production, and pumpkins, my TiVo is set on stun. As much as I dislike “reality” shows on television, I must confess I have one guilty pleasure. Project Runway, which wrapped up on Bravo last night.

Oh my God, what a fag fantasy fest that series was! Fashion, drama, anorexia ... and great shoes! In the end it came down to three contestants, a Machiavellian house frau from Virginia who kept making constant references to her daughter, which just seemed so cloyingly Nancy Workman-ish ... sob, “I’m doing it for the children,” sob, sob ... ack. Then there was the token black chick that did some great stuff in her final runway show, but totally broke the contest rules by having thousands of dollars worth of custom shoes donated by a vendor (pre-prison Martha would probably approve, but honey you’re being televised nationally

to an audience of millions—get a clue).

And then there was the eventual winner, my favorite finalist: Jay MacCarroll.

Was he just a Cyber Slut in larvae form or what? I was dying with his whole sherpa meets Rain Man meets Juan Valdez chic.

His courageous vision has inspired me to rethink my whole fashion aesthetic for next year, kittens, and I have one word for you: Ponchos!

And what about Austin Scarlett? The designer so ultra-fem that he made Carson Cressley from Queer Eye look Marlboro-Man butch. I haven’t seen that much makeup on a man since Ronald Reagan’s viewing. Austin was so beyond androgynous he jumped right off the Kinsey Scale onto the Richter Scale; he was that out-of-control fabulous. It was such a shock when he was eliminated because he was the most memorable character in the whole series (sort of like the big hairy hippie guy Rupert in Survivor Magna or whichever one that was). Austin had this whole Romy and Michelle vibe going on that you just had to love.

If the show had a weak link it was Heidi Klum as the celebrity judge. There is a reason why Heidi should stick to runway shows and still photos, darlings, and that’s simply because she’s an idiot with the dramatic timing of a pork rind. I think they should have really amped up the show and had RuPaul as a celebrity judge. She could do a Trump style boardroom and just dismiss the contestant with a wave of her jeweled hand and a jaded “You’re tired!” It would be a good thing.

I haven’t seen that much makeup on a man since Ronald Reagan’s viewing.

Ruby Ridge is one of the more opinionated members of the Utah Cyber Sluts, a Camp Drag group of performers who raise funds and support local charities. Her opinions are her own and fluctuate wildly due to panty bunching and lithium withdrawals.

MARCH 3, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 15

Musical Theatre h, the chorus boys. They’ll be out en-masse on stages all over Utah this year, most notably filling out the casts of productions by two high profile arts organizations. Park City’s Egyptian Theatre Company will present the gender-bending camp classic La Cage aux Folles, which features a bevy of chorus girls with rather prominent Adam’s apples, and the Utah Men’s Choir will mount an allmale staging of Salt Lake’s favorite musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

The two shows, which open on the same night, will make for a uniquely strong gay presence on Utah stages this upcoming season. And both will seek to raise the bar for quality in Wasatch Front shows.

16

■

SALT LAKE METRO ■ MARCH 3, 2005

A

Spring Arts Guide

EGYPTIAN THEATRE. Dana Keiter, Artistic Director of the Egyptian, can’t wait to get La Cage on stage. The company had enormous success a few seasons ago with Pageant, another cross-dressing comedy, and has been fielding requests for revivals ever since. This year, with shows like the current staging of Jesus Christ Superstar, the company has moved into an era of larger, more professional-looking and sounding shows. Rather than repeat the usual summer season format of two shows in repertory, Keiter and company elected to pool resources for one large-scale musical.

They saw La Cage as the perfect way to combine audiences’ desire for more men-in-drag comedy with the company’s focus on higher production values.

La Cage aux Folles, with a score by Jerry Herman, one of the Great White Way’s most celebrated tunesmiths, is a stage version of a French film better known to contemporary audiences from the 1996 American remake, The Birdcage, which starred Robin Williams and Nathan Lane.

It tells the story of drag artist ZaZa and his partner Georges, who runs a Saint Tropez nightclub. Their son, Jean-Michel, brings his fiancée and future in-laws home to meet the parents, and ZaZa, in an effort not to offend the conservative sensibilities of the fiancée’s parents, must pretend to be the boy’s mother rather than the more flamboyant of his two fathers. As Keiter says, “I just adore the story. The Birdcage is one of those movies that you never tire of—whenever it’s on cable, you just have to stop and watch it.”

The stage version, which opens June 24 and runs through August 27 at the company’s Park City theatre, features nonstop slapstick comedy and grand production numbers in the traditional style, most of which feature a chorus of very attractive young men. The Egyptian’s version will be helmed by Brent Schneider, a modern dance professor at the University of Utah. Schneider is also one of the state’s most acclaimed directors and choreographers. Keiter points out that a mounting of La Cage is especially timely, as a Broadway revival opened in December; she sees her production as a means of providing Utah audiences a top-notch production of the show without the expense of a plane ticket.

SALT LAKE MEN’S CHOIR. While the Egyptian is going gay for the summer, one of Utah’s most established gay organizations is coming out all over again—onto the stage.

“This is the largest assemblage of all-male talent ever on stage in Salt Lake,” says Lane Cheney proudly. “And I’m not kidding.”

Cheney, music director of the Salt Lake Men’s Choir, is talking about the group’s upcoming production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, set for June 24-26 at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center in downtown Salt Lake. The show is a first of it’s kind for the celebrated choir, whose past performances have taken them everywhere from the Opera House in Sydney, Australia to the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Cheney and his

collaborator, stage director and choreographer Jonathan Stowers, couldn’t be more excited about the group’s first fully-fledged stage production.

Deamcoat tells the story of Joseph, eldest son of Jacob (known to some as Israel) and his eleven brothers. The other siblings, jealous of Jacob’s attention to his acknowledged favorite, sell him into slavery in Egypt. Joseph suffers greatly, even landing in prison, but eventually rises to become the Pharaoh’s right hand man. He is given the chance to exact revenge on his brothers, but instead forgives them. Such a story has special meaning to men and women in the gay community, says Cheney, who believes that people who’ve been estranged from their own families as a result of their homosexuality will find that the story has particular resonance. “This is a show about a family that reconciles after doing heinous things to one another. Who better to tell it than gay men?”

While the show is inherently campy and silly, Cheney maintains that it nonetheless features some stunning moments that are often overlooked in overblown, “schmaltzy” productions. But he promises that this Joseph will be different: most stagings, he says, “run to caricature with no character… [we] will let the funny stuff be funny and the moving parts be moving.” This means that, while the show will have the audience “rolling in the aisles,” the humor will be reined in enough that Joseph’s reunion with his beloved father at the show’s climax will have real emotional meaning and won’t be relegated to afterthought status, as in most versions.

The production will also look and feel different from a typical Utah-style Joseph.

Stowers has extensive experience in modern dance, and Cheney promises that the movement in the show will be “stunning.”

Indeed, the collaboration was one of the project’s chief attractions for Cheney, who says Stowers is “a brilliant artist.” Further, Stowers lends a unique perspective to what

has become Utah’s most ubiquitous summer theatre title, having directed the very first production in the Beehive State more than twenty years ago.

The sound will also be exceptional—the show will be staged in the Studio Theatre at the Rose Wagner, the complex’s smallest venue, so the choral sounds will be rich and powerful. To keep from overwhelming performers and audiences, the score will be performed by six hands on two pianos, collectively covering the entire orchestral score.

As Cheney points out, the all-male casting idea may sound innovative to Utah audiences, but is actually a return to Lloyd Webber’s original vision of the piece.

As originally conceived, the show was a half-hour retelling of the Genesis story, scored in pastiche and parody, written to be performed by boys’ choirs in English schools. The original New York and London productions were also all-male.

The two shows, the first a riotously funny take on gay domesticity and the other a familiar, riotously funny story staged in an unfamiliar context, share a common element—the importance of family, in all its diverse glory. With all the bile leveled at the gay community over the past year, seeing members of our collective family onstage, bold and beautiful, will be an empowering and emotional experience. Thanks to these productions, the summer theatre season will be tantalizing, provocative, heartwarming, and vastly entertaining.

JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT: June 24-26, 7:30PM. Studio Theatre at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, 168 W. Broadway. Tickets at 355-2787 or Arttix.org

LA CAGE AUX FOLLES: Opens June 24, Wednesdays through Saturdays until August 27, 8:00PM. Egyptian Theatre Company, 328 Main Street, Park City. Tickets at 435-649-9371 or egyptiantheatrecompany.org.

Dance One-Of-A-Kind Show Marks 20th Anniversary for Dance Troupe

by Jere Keys jere@slmetro.com

—continued on page 18

MARCH 3, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 17

Another Language Performing Arts Company is most often labeled a modern dance troupe, but as labels go, this one is pretty bad. It’s true that the group, founded in 1985 by co-artistic directors Beth and Jimmy Miklavcic, presents mostly dancebased works, but they also go far beyond that in providing cutting-edge artistic expression, mixing artistic disciplines in ways that amaze Utah audiences.

Need an example? Well, be sure to check out their 20th anniversary show Interplay: Loose Minds in a Box, from April 15-17 at the University of Utah. The show is a multi-faceted telematic event merging art and technology. Six simultaneous live performances occur in six states throughout North America incorporating theater, text,

music, performance art, virtual reality, and motion capture. These will be concurrently captured, mixed, digitized, encoded and streamed onto the network.

Sound a little intense? It will be. Loose Minds in a Box is a collaborative effort between many artists to explore the metaphor of the “box.” Surely you’ve heard the buzz phrase “think outside the box.”

Well, Another Language is doing that to determine exactly what the box is.

Here’s some idea of how it works. In Utah, Beth Miklavcic will perform her portion of the show from the confines of a closet (no, we’re not kidding) to explore how clothes bound our personalities.

Sculptor Eric Brown, on the other hand, will slowly build an enclosure around himself to express the kinds of social fortresses

Another Language Turns Twenty continued from page 17

we encase ourselves in to keep ourselves from unwanted human contact or away from the outside world. Throughout these, and other symbolic acts, performance artists, electro-acoustic musicians/composers, virtual reality and motion capture artists will add to the total effect.

In Maryland, Nadja Masura plays with the box that we live in. Using video processing techniques, Nadja will place remote performers into different rooms of her favorite dollhouse. Nicholas Bartoli and Brian Buck will dance within the constraining characteristics of the video box as well as augmenting Beth Miklavcic’s “clothes encounter” by changing their personalities with new fashions.

A team of artists in Indiana’s Envision Center for Data Perceptualization at Purdue University, including Dioselin Gon-

zalez (VR designer), T. J. Rogers (motion performance), Carol Cunningham (choreographer), David Sigman (graphic designer) and Joe Hayes (dancer) will delve into the virtual box where a performer transmits himself through a bizarre world of unique characters and environments, created by Miho Aoki in Alaska and David Sigman. At times, Joe Hayes will remotely control, through movement, electroacoustic music in Montana.

Artists Tina Shah and Helen-Nicole Kostis at the Electronic Visualization Laboratory at the University of Illinois, Chicago will explore the concept of confinement. The audience will participate by imprisoning the performer and witnessing the physical effects of isolation while at the same time viewing the metamorphosis of the performer’s psyche in a VR world.

Charles Nichols, composer and violinist in Missoula, Montana, will probe the musical possibilities of the “black box.”

Scott Deal, composer and percussionist in Fairbanks, Alaska will toy with numerous box icons such as a music box and Pandora’s box. The music is transmitted to all sites in real time, providing the entire work with piercing percussion and wild melodies.

Back in Utah, again, director Jimmy Miklavcic, will wrangle more than twenty video streams from all six sites, mix and process them for the local Utah audience and then stream the processed videos back onto the internet for audiences at the other five sites. Local audiences at all sites will experience the local performance with the infusion of live multimedia and video events.

Additional technical support is provided

by Paul Mercer and Bill Brody (Alaska), Dwight McKay and Mike Bass (Purdue), Sam Liston (Utah), Chris Rosenthal and

Gideon Goldman (Illinois), Robert Wachtel (Montana) and David McNabb (Maryland).

Another Language, in collaboration with all the participating artists and technologists, is forging a new performance form not yet experienced here in Utah. InterPlay: Loose Minds in a Box is the most innovative merging to date of Internet technology with the performing arts. The form brings together artists from unique backgrounds and geographical locations that would normally never occur under traditional collaborative processes.

The power of the Internet and videoconference technology enables and empowers this consortium of artists to expand their ideas of artistic creativity.

Another Language Performing Arts Company will perform InterPlay: Loose Minds in a Box April 15 and 16 at 7pm and April 17 at 4pm at the University of Utah INSCC Auditorium,155 South 1452 East. $7 general, $5 Students and University Staff. 531-9419 or email Jimmy Miklavcic at jhm@anotherlanguage.org

Spring Sensations in Ballet

18

■

SALT LAKE METRO ■ MARCH 3, 2005

by Johnny Cooney

Ballet West closes its 2004/2005 season with Spring Sensation, a triple-bill including performances of George Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco and Who Cares?, along with Christopher Bruce’s Ghost Dances.

Opening the program is Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco, a piece that began as an exercise for the School of American Ballet. The ballet, which is set to Bach’s Concerto in D minor for Two Violins, has been performed by such companies as American Ballet Caravan, the Ballet de Russe de Monte Carlo, and was one of the three ballets performed at New York City Ballet’s first production. In the early 1950s, Balanchine eliminated Concerto Barocco’s original costumes and instructed the dancers to perform the piece in practice clothes, Balanchine’s signature costume for his more contemporary works.

Following Concerto Barocco is Christopher Bruce’s Ghost Dances, a ballet created as a reaction to the assassination of Chilean President Salvador Allende in 1973, and set to folk songs of South America.

The ballet takes place in a South American village haunted by three skeletal figures who claim individuals before death.

Closing the triple-bill production is

the Utah revival of Balanchine’s Who Cares? This ballet includes various George Gershwin melodies, such as “Strike Up the Band,” “I Got Rhythm,” “The Man I Love” and “Embraceable You.” The Utah Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Terence Kern, will accompany Spring Sensation.

Seven performances will be presented at the Capitol Theatre starting April 8.

The performances will proceed to April 9, and April 13-16. The shows begin at 7:30 pm, with a matinee performance on April 16, at 2pm.

Tickets for Spring Sensation range from $10 to $65, and will be available for purchase on March 7. Tickets can be purchased through the ArtTix Ticket Office, 50 West 200 South, at any ArtTix outlet, or over the phone by calling 355-ARTS (2787).

Ballet West will be opening their 2005/2006 season with The Nutcracker, which will begin December 2, 2005, and will run though December 31, at the Capitol Theatre. The season will continue in 2006 with Romeo and Juliet, February 10, 11, and 15-18; Swan Lake, April 14, 15 and 19-22; and will close with a quadruple-bill, An Evening of Ballets, May 26, 27, 31 and June 1-3.

Theatre Exciting Season at Utah Shakesperean Festival

by Eric J. Tierney eric@slmetro.com

The Utah Shakesperean Festival, granddaddy of all Utah summer theatres, will combine the oldest and the newest of western theatre in its 2005 season.

The company will stage the Christopher Marlowe classic Doctor Faustus, which, at more than five hundred years of age, is one of the oldest extant plays in the Western canon. The piece tells the story of Doctor Faustus, who makes a fateful deal with Mephistopheles, the devil’s henchman: namely, the exchange of his immortal soul for the fulfillment of all his wildest desires for twenty-four years. The good Doctor, of course, pays a terrible price in the end.

Although the play is different in tone and form from the traditional Shakespeare works that Festival audiences are used to, founder and artistic director Fred C. Adams is confident that patrons will love it. “What excites me about it,” he says, “is that this is a play that Shakespeare would have seen as a young man. He was heavily influenced

by Marlowe ... all his lessons were learned from Marlowe. So it will be fascinating to see those influences on the stage.”

The company has been waiting to mount this particular production for some time; plans began almost three years ago, when Howard Jensen was commissioned to craft a performance-friendly version of the text.

Adams is confident that audiences will be

surprised by how resonant the play is in today’s world.

On the other end of the spectrum is one of the hottest theatrical sensations of the last five years, Marie Jones’ Stones in His Pockets. This insightful tragicomedy was an instant hit when it premiered in London in 2000 and has been garnering rave reviews around the world ever since.

It tells the story of Jake and Charlie, two Irishmen whose lives are forever changed when a Hollywood production descends on their quiet village. Beloved Festival regulars David Ivers and Brian Vaughn will play the show’s roles, which, according to Adams, amounts to about seventeen characters each. The piece is fast-paced, with sharp humor and fantastic characterizations, but also has a somber side. It is, as Adams puts it, “comedy with a heart-tug.”

Rounding out the season are new mountings of Romeo and Juliet and the rarely-produced comedy Love’s Labors Lost. Shakespeare will return to the indoor Randall Jones Theatre with Kathleen Conlon’s “art-deco” staging of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The production will be highly conceptualized, with a small cast playing multiple roles and the heavy use of mirrors throughout the design, creating fantastical illusions such as flight and highlighting the piece’s surreal atmosphere. Finally, to complement the retelling of the Faust legend at the outdoor Adams Theatre, the Randall will feature the

Arthurian legend in the musical Camelot.

When he speaks about the upcoming season, one can hear the smile in Adam’s

voice. “Were terribly excited about it,” he says. “And we think you will be, too.”

Bard.org and 1-800-PLAYTIX

Many Options for Spring and Summer Utah’s 2005 spring/summer theatre season will feature something for every taste. Here’s a breakdown of what’s happening on the Beehive State’s stages in the coming months:

OLD LYRIC REPERTORY THEATRE, in Logan, presents another fine season of American classics in its beautiful home at the Caine Lyric Theatre. This year, productions include the heartwarming musical The Fantasticks, the haunting Tennessee Williams play Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, the hilarious Arsenic and Old Lace, and perennial audience favorite You Can’t Take It With You. www.usu.edu/lyric.

SALT LAKE SHAKESPEARE returns to the Babcock Theatre stage for an eighth season with a mounting of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. Set in a corrupt and amoral Vienna, the play follows the story of Claudio,

UTAH MUSICAL THEATRE, based at Peery’s Egyptian Theatre in Ogden, bears the goldstandard for Utah summer musicals. This year the company will present a diverse season of works from all over the musical map: from the Cole Porter classic Kiss Me Kate, running in repertory with the Stephen Sondheim retrospective Side by Side

by Sondheim, to the national premiere of the film-noir inspired Wicked City Blues. community.weber.edu/umt/ PYGMALION PRODUCTIONS closes its season with The Maiden’s Prayer by Nicky Silver, one of the contemporary theatre’s most acclaimed comic playwrights. The story follows the devastating effects of unrequited love on the intertwining relationships of a group of friends. www.pygmalionproductions.org.

With such a wide-range of offerings by quality companies, it’s probably best to start your tan early this year. You could be spending most of the warmer months indoors.—ET

MARCH 3, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 19

PLAN-B THEATRE COMPANY presents Tragedy: a tragedy, which follows a news crew in search of today’s big story. The company says that,in light of the pervasiveness of fear-based media and politics in the country today, the play is “a timely, twisted look at how far the media will go to report (create?) the news.” The script is by hot young playwright Will Eno, who has generously permitted Plan-B to stage this early version of his still-unfinished play. www.planbtheatrecompany.org

who is arrested for violating strict new morality laws by impregnating his fiancée. His fate rests in the hands if his sister, Isabella, a novice in a nunnery who is faced with a profound moral dilemma—in order to save her brother’s life, she must compromise her vows and her integrity. ℡ 581-6448.

Visual Art The Art of the News

by Eric J. Tierney eric@slmetro.com

The Salt Lake Art Center’s current major exhibit,”The Daily News,” is a stunning look at the daily newspaper as a cultural mirror, as a tool, and even as an object.

The group show, which runs at the Center’s main exhibit space through June 1, features artists from all over the US,

M I L L E N N I U M

Europe and Asia, working in a diverse array of media.

The pieces, which run the gamut from piquant to profound, come together to create a dialogue about the news: what is news, how do we receive it, what is its meaning?

The array of interpretations of the

A P P R O A C H E S

20

■

SALT LAKE METRO ■ MARCH 3, 2005

Tony Kushner

Directed by L. L. West

will be performed as part of the 2005-2006 Babcock season.

University of Utah

Salt Lake City

Lower level of the Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre B O X

March 2 - 6 & 9 - 12, 2005

Angels in America Perestroika

O F F I C E

5 8 1 – 7 1 0 0 3 5 5 – A R T S

impact of the newspaper is astounding.

Pieces in the exhibit range from the observational, such as Xiaoze Xie’s photorealist paintings of stacks of papers; to the political, as in Jann Haworth’s powerful The Hollow Men, in which twisted human forms are created by newspaper clippings about the Bush Administration beneath the legend “We are the hollow men;” to the humorous, like Conrad Atkinson’s playful paintings, which create newspapers from a world where artists are powerful policy makers and politicians are purveyors of beauty, featuring headlines like “Rembrandt calls for sanctions against South Africa” and “Reagan tax plan at odds with Divine Spirit, asserts William Blake.”

Naturally, in exploring the omnipresence of news in modern life and the complex relationship between what the publications choose to tell us and how we choose to process it, neurosis and obsession play a big part. Take for example Al Souza’s piece New York Times Spitballs, in which the artist has taken the front pages of the venerated paper for an entire week and fashioned them into seven shadowboxes filled with uniformly shaped and placed—that’s right—spitballs.

Then there is the work of Bruce Campbell, who recreates entire pages of newspaper with nothing more than an ink pen on polyester fabric. Or Alphabet 2001 (NYT) by Pat Boas, in which the artist isolates the occurrences of all twenty six letters of the alphabet on, again, the front page of the New York Times. The piece is cast across twenty-six incredibly delicate silk panels, resulting in a sort of letter-map of that day’s news.

While some of the pieces look at the news from a philosophical standpoint, others explore it from a highly personal angle, like Nancy Chunn’s Front Pages (July). Chunn took the front pages of the Times each day for an entire year and used them as platforms for personal

expression, using rubber stamps and ink to reinterpret the content through her own lens, commenting on the news or relating it to her personal life. The exhibit features a one-month section of the larger piece, and offers a rich glimpse at individual reaction to public news.

In addition to the exhibit, which is free to the public, the Art Center has scheduled a number of art talks and panel discussions around the show. Previous talks have featured Regina Hackett, art critic for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, who wrote an in-depth essay on the exhibit for the catalog which accompanies it, and a discussion with print-media professionals on the meaning of the newspaper in an era when electronic media are becoming ever more prevalent. Future talks will feature artists featured in the show, including Christopher Finch, whose pieces explore the larger potential of the comic strip form, Derek Boshier, a participant in Britain’s Pop Art Movement, who appropriates imagery from the print media into his paintings to comment on popular culture, and Ms. Boas.

After closing in Salt Lake on June 1, the exhibit will travel to Nicolaysen Art Museum in Casper, Wyoming, and finally to the Boise Art Museum, where it will remain on display until March 2006.

Through ambitious projects like “The Daily News,” the Salt Lake Art Center continues to bring quality artwork to Salt Lake and to give exposure to talented local artists, in fulfillment of its mission to encourage art and artists that challenge and educate the public on social, civil, and aesthetic issues—good news for Salt Lake art lovers.

The Salt Lake Art Center, 20 S. West Temple, Salt Lake. Admission is free of charge. Hours are 10AM to 5PM Tuesday through Thursday and Saturday, 10AM to 9PM Friday and 1PM to 5PM Sunday. Closed Mondays.

Warm Up Your Minds With A Gallery Stroll Spring is practically here. As the weather warms, Utahns are filled with the impulse to get out of the house and into the air. The monthly Salt Lake Gallery Stroll offers them the chance to warm up their bodies as well as their minds and hearts.

On the third Friday of every month, some twenty local art galleries, members of the Salt Lake Gallery Association, throw open their doors to the public for free, providing viewers with the chance to take home a masterpiece or spend an evening savoring the work of local and national artists. The event, which takes place this month on the 18th, goes from 6pm to 9pm, and many venues offer refreshments and opportunities to interact with artists and art lovers. Locations dot the city, from the avenues, to the cluster of galleries in ArtSpace, to the heart of downtown, to the lesser known spaces on the fringes of the city in the warehouse district.

The Stroll offers a satisfyingly diverse selection of art forms, where art lovers of every taste—from traditional landscapes to cutting edge mixed media—can find something to marvel over. Some spaces, like the Rio Gallery in the Rio Grande Depot just south of the Gateway area, specialize in the work of Utah artists. Others, like the New Visions Gallery, concentrate on new and contemporary work, integrating other art forms such as performance. The E Street Gallery in the avenues offers handmade crafts from jewelry to furniture in addition to fine art showings. The range of styles represented ensures that each Stroll has a unique flavor and character.

In addition to the gallery shows, area businesses offer patrons the chance to make a night of it. Restaurants such as Baci Trattoria and Martine offer gallery-stroll coupons and discounts, and the elegant Peery Hotel offers special rates.—ET

Member Galleries Below is a list of all member galleries and their locations. Note that not all spaces participate in every stroll, but up-to-date information is always available at ourcommunityconnection.com/slga.html.

A GALLERY, 4878 Highland Drive, 277-8401.

ALICE GALLERY, 617 E. South Temple, 533-3581 ART ACCESS GALLERY, 339 W. Pierpont Ave., 328-0703 BRUSHWORKS GALLERY, 175 E 200 South, 363-0600 CHROMA GALLERY, 1064 E 2100 S, 485-6020 DAVE ERICSON FINE ART, 418 S 200 West, 533-8245 E STREET GALLERY, 82 E Street, 359-2979 EVERGREEN FRAMING, 3295 S 2000 E, 467-8770 F. WEIXLER GALLERY, 132 E Street, 534-1014 FINCH LANE GALLERY, 54 Finch Lane, 596-5000 FORUM GALLERY, 511 W 200 South GALLERY AT THE WASATCH, 1940 S 1100 E, 485-1353 HORNE FINE ART, 142 E 800 S, 533-4200 LOCAL COLORS ARTWORKS, Trolley Square, 531-6966 MAIN STREET GALLERY, 299 S Main Street, 535-4660 MAGPIE'S NEST GALLERY, 39 I Street, 363-7764 NEW VISIONS GALLERY, 242 S 200 West, 466-8818 PHILLIPS GALLERY, 444 East 200 South, 364-8284 RED KILN CLAY CONNECTION, 393 E 1700 S., 484-4016 RIO GALLERY, 310 South 455 West, 533-3582 ROSE WAGNER ART GALLERY, 138 W 300 S, 468-3517 SALT LAKE ART CENTER, 20 S West Temple, 328-4201 SOUTHAM GALLERY, 50 E. Broadway, 322-0376 TRASA URBAN ARTS COLLECTIVE, 741 S 400 W, 450-8977 UTAH ARTIST HANDS, 61 W 100 South, 355-0206 WILLIAMS FINE ART, 60 E South Temple, 534-0331

Live at Park City’s Mary G. Steiner Egyptian Theatre

LAST CHANCE!

Intensity, emotional power, and edge that transcends religious boundaries.

ng rring Starri Sta

Stuart Metcalf

r. 6 Feb. 11 - Maber

pean Tour Direct from the Euro rstar! of Jesus Christ Supe

by Andrew Lloyd Web and Tim Rice

ABSOLUTELY ENDS MARCH 6TH Don’t Miss It!

Music

Sponsored by Bonnie Durbano Burtenshaw and Canyon Creek Club

Sissy Becomes a Star direction of Lane Cheney, is one of Utah’s largest member-supported arts organizations and is celebrating its 22nd season as “Utah’s OTHER Choir.”

The choir just returned from Washington, D.C. where they performed as part of the National Cathedral’s quadrenial “Utah Day” Governor Jon Huntsman, Episcopal Bishop Carolyn Tanner Irish and Calvary Baptist Church Pastor France A. Davis participated in the services.

The event built bridges between people of differing faiths. Some of the participants and “the members of our choir, most of whom are gay, have quite different views regarding homosexuality,” Cheney told the Salt Lake Tribune. “But the point of a national house of prayer is that all of God’s children are welcome to come through the door,” he said. “It’s a place where we can overlook our differences and celebrate the fact we are all God’s children.”

The choir performed African-American spirituals, Protestant hymns and the LDS standard “Come, Come Ye Saints” prior to the service.

Sunday, March 20, 4pm. Leona Wagner Black Box Theatre, Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, 138 West Broadway (300 West). Tickets $4-10 through ArtTix at 355-ARTS

Park City Follies Apr. 22nd & 23rd

La Cage Aux Folles June 24th - August 27th A timeless hit from the Broadway stage, Jerry Herman wrote the music and lyrics to this stage version of “The Bird Cage”.

One of Herman's best musicals ever, it combines a tender story, memorable music and risque comedy to create a glittering, fast-stepping extravaganza.

FOR TICKETS CALL 435.649.9371 Mary G. Steiner Egyptian Theatre • 328 Main Street www.parkcityshows.com

MARCH 3, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 21

Children of all ages are invited to attend the first children’s concert of the Salt Lake Men’s Choir—Oliver Button is a Sissy. This concert has a universal and heartwarming theme—it’s okay to be different.

Oliver Button is a Sissy was premiered in 2000 by the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus.

The work was jointly commissioned by TCGMC and the Vancouver Men’s Chorus, the Gay Men’s Chorus of San Diego, and the Heartland Men’s Chorus. Based on the book by acclaimed children’s book author and illustrator Tomie dePaola, the 20-minute piece was composed by Minnesota-based composer Alan Shorter.

Oliver Button is a boy who doesn’t fit other people’s ideas about how boys should behave. He prefers dancing to baseball. He is mercilessly teased at school and called a “sissy.” When Oliver enters the local talent show, though, his classmates realize he has unique and wonderful gifts, and he becomes a star in their eyes. This charming story carries urgent messages–not just about acceptance and tolerance, but about celebrating diversity and encouraging individuals to be true to themselves.

The concert will feature other works and should be enjoyed by people of all ages.

Salt Lake Men’s Choir, under the artistic

Before there was The DaVinci Code and The Passion of The Christ there was Jesus Christ Superstar.

Raw, energetic, flamboyant and passionate,

THE GAY AGENDA

by Eric Tierney

3THURSDAY Ah, the long dark night of the soul. No one makes it as screamingly funny as absurdist playwright Samuel Beckett.

The University of Utah theatre department mounts his masterpiece ENDGAME today. Enter a world of eternal twilight, of time without context. You’ll wonder how spending an evening contemplating life’s innate hopelessness could ever be so pleasant.

7:30pm through Sat., 7pm Sun., 4:30pm Friday matinee, Lab Theatre/ Studio 115, Performing Arts Building at the University of Utah. Tickets $7 at 581-7100 or arttix.org.

22

■

SALT LAKE METRO ■ MARCH 3, 2005

THE SUNDANCE INSTITUTE is a year-round endeavor, you know. They do more than give schwag to Natalie Portman every February. Tonight, for instance, the Institute will screen the documentary AMERICAN HOLLOW in Park City. The film tells the story of an Appalachian family whose life has changed very little in the last 100 years. Neither has Robert Redford, if you think about it.

the HBO movie version by now, but seeing ANGELS IN AMERICA on stage is an experience you should not miss. The University of Utah presents part one of the saga, MILLENIUM APPROACHES at the BABCOCK THEATRE. 7:30pm Wed–Sat, 7pm Sun., 2pm matinee Sat. through Mar. 12, Babcock Theatre, 300 S. 1400 East. Tickets $12, 355-2787, arttix.org.

4FRIDAY You know when the conductor comes onstage at the beginning of the concert and shakes hands with the guy in the violin section? That guy is the concertmaster. Being concertmaster of a major orchestra like the UTAH SYMPHONY means you play the violin very, very well.

Well, Utah Symphony’s concertmaster RALPH MATSON, is ready to show you his chops. Come hear him play Glazunov’s Violin Concerto in a program that also includes Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty and Mussorgsky’s beloved Pictures at an Exhibition.

7pm, Park City Library, 1255 Park Avenue, Park City. Admission is free. sundance.org.

8pm tonight and tomorrow, Abravanel Hall, 123 S. West Temple. Tickets $12-$38 at 355ARTS or arttix.org

It’s been widely dubbed one of the most important plays of contemporary American theater. You’ve probably seen

You are getting sleeeeeepy ... wait, not yet! If you’ve never seen comedy hypnosis performed live, you’re in for a

Eric McGraw and Cheryl Michols in the Babcock Theatre’s Angels in America. See March 03, Thursday.

treat when SHAUN DEE HYPNO-HICK, the fastest hypnotist in the West performs at a benefit for THE CENTER. 7:30 pm, Multi-purpose room at The Center, 355 North 300 West. Tickets $10, youth under 20 $5. 539-8800 or www.glccu.org.

5SATURDAY Only the theatre company that celebrates Christmas every year by staging a show about a pot-smoking, lecherous elf could have dreamed up a fundraiser like this. TOOTH AND NAIL THEATRE will present SHHH! BURLESQUE!, a classic burlesque show featuring international sensation Miss Dirty Martini and Utah’s own Dee Milo. For those of you who might be a little young to know, burlesque is a slightly-less-dirty antecedent to stripping, but with jokes and better music.

You must be 21to attend, so looks like things might get a little freaky!

7:30pm, Black Box Theatre, Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, 138 W. Broadway.

Tickets $65 at 355-ARTS or arttix.org

Meet and mingle with the winners of SALT LAKE METRO UTAH’S BEST FOR 2005 at the official AWARD CEREMONY. Metro Cares presents the evening as a benefit for The Center.

7pm, Black Box Theater at The Center, 355 North 300 West. $5 donation benefits The Center. 323-9500 or www.slmetro.com

6SUNDAY Sunday is the day of rest; your chance to breathe and decompress. To really let go, why not experience AFTERNOON TEA, JAPANESE STYLE at the TEA GROTTO? You’ll be treated to a selection of Japanese Green Teas, and the resourceful staff will teach you a bit about what you’re drinking. You’ll then get the pleasure of a light meal in a bento box, catered by Tsunami. Wrap up with the full Japanese tea ceremony, and a bowl of Matcha tea, guaranteed to get you going for Monday.

Reservations required and taken throughout the day, the Tea Grotto, 2030 S. 900 East.

Cost if $14.95 per person; reservations at 466-8255.

8TUESDAY As all of us have surely seen, our community is facing a crisis. And it’s not the lack of authentic gay characters on television. It’s not even our cracker President’s marriage amendment. It’s meth.

The HARM REDUCTION PROJECT sponsors a weekly meeting for gay men who inject meth and is looking for drug users who wish to become peer educators. Participants will be paid $10 for their time.

2-3pm. Harm Reduction Project, 155 S. 300 West. Information at 355-0234, ext. 3

9WEDNESDAY Ralph Matson ain’t the only quality violinist along the Wasatch Front. The leg-

endary JOSEPH SILVERSTEIN is no slouch himself. The internationally-acclaimed musician and former music director of the Utah Symphony will play a fulllength solo recital tonight as part of the Virtuoso Series at Libby Gardner Hall.

7:30pm, Libby Gardner Hall, University of Utah, 1375 E. Presidents’ Circle. Tickets $25 at 355-ARTS or arttix.org

Odyssesy Dance presents Shut Up and Dance. See March 10, Thursday.

10THURSDAY Hey you! For pity’s sake, SHUT UP AND DANCE! Yes, it’s time for Odyssey Dance Theatre’s annual spring repertory event.

Tonight, enjoy a suite of works, entitled SLEDGEHAMMER, set to the music of 80’s icon Peter Gabriel. These dancers, it seems, are not joking around, telling us to shut up and threatening us with sledgehammers. Better listen. I’ll be there, for sure. Have you seen the arms on these people?

8pm Tonight, March 12 and March 16, 2pm March 19, Jeanne Wagner Theatre, 138 W. Broadway. Tickets $25-35 at 355-2787 or arttix.org

11FRIDAY Just in case any of us had forgotten who the Beatles were, or are finding their music difficult to come by, 1964 has created a Fab Four tribute show entitled, appropriately, 1964—A TRIBUTE. Using period costumes, the group recreates a pre-Sgt. Pepper’s Beatles show as authentically as possible, complete with band banter. What a relief to know that the mop-topped boy wonders won’t have to languish any longer in obscurity.

the humor and all of the heart, but with glorious music to boot.

7:30pm tonight and March 14, 16, and 18, 2pm March 20, Capitol Theatre, 55 W. 200 South. Tickets $12-$65 at 355-ARTS or arttix.org

13SUNDAY Remember that Cake song about the guy who buys the rock and roll t-shirt “that proves you were there/ that you heard of them first?” That could be you tonight if you go and see STILL LIFE PROJECTOR. Better than a hot new band? A hot new band made up of hot young men.

7pm, Lo-Fi Café, 165 W. South Temple.

Tickets $8 in advance, $10 day of show, at 480-LOFI or smithstix.com. All ages show.

15TUESDAY Even if your nonprofit or social group has a spotless reputation, you need to know about the financial controls, policies and procedures to keep your funds safe. THE CENTER and the GLBT PUBLIC SAFETY LIASON COMMITTEE are co-hosting a FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY WORKSHOP open to anyone from any community organization, particularly financial officers.

Don’t let embezzlement happen to you!

7pm, Multi-purpose Room at The Center 355 North, 300 West. Free to the public. 5398800 or www.glccu.org.

16WEDNESDAY There was a time when poetry was as ubiquitous as television is today. As more convenient methods of entertaining ourselves have become prevalent, we as a society have forgotten about the sublime magic of carefully crafted words. Not so at the UTAH STATE POETRY SOCIETY—come join them tonight as they perform some readings and experience the power of language. You can tape The West Wing.

6:30pm, Murray Library, 166 E. 5300 South.

Admission is free. Information at 264-2580.

8pm, Abravanel Hall, 123 W South Temple.

Tickets $20-$35 at 355-2787 or arttix.org

7:30pm through March 26, Grand Theatre, 1575 S. State. Tickets $10-$20 at 957-3322.

12SATURDAY With the coming of spring each year comes also inevitable productions of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, Shakespeare’s timeless hilarious and haunting tale of love gone wild in the Athenian forest. This year, enjoy a new spin on the story as the UTAH OPERA presents Benjamin Britten’s operatic retelling. All of

“Dream Master” an illustration inspired by the Utah Opera production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. By Traci O’Very Covey. See March 12, Saturday.

friends. I am not entirely convinced that anyone at all reads this thing, but in case anyone does, I’m going to make

by Eric J. Tierney eric@slmetro.com you a bet of sorts: by the time you read this, of course, the ceremony will have I wish I had an Oscar taken place. Below you’ll find my preadvent calendar. Each dictions for winners in the major catday between nominaegories. If I guess incorrectly on three of tion day and Oscar the five, I will abdicate my power over Sunday I’d open a this space and write in the next issue little door and find a about whatever you, reader, desire. Just chocolate statuette email me at the address or miniature plastic above—first responder gift basket filled with wins. I’m afraid that’s miniature plastic digital all I can offer, since I’m cameras and coupons not really in a posifor SUVs and $400 tion to ask anything for scented candles or what anything from you. If I have you. At bedtime win, I’ll have nothing to every night I’d get to see show for it but a rather a different picture: an exacerbated case of my hysterical Sally Field, usual self-satisfaction. I sobbing Hattie McDanwill also point out that, iel, or bewildered David as this is the climactic Letterman. This notion event of Awards Show has only just occurred Season, you’re certain to me as I’ve been writto come up a winner ing, and I have to say anyway, in that this is that I’m rather taken the last time you’ll have with it—I think I’ll put to listen to me carp it on the agenda for about this crap until next year’s celebrations, right along with my tra- Hilary Swank on the red carpet at the Academy next year. Provided I’m here next year. That’ll ditional Oscar-shaped Awards.

Editor’s Update: Wow, as we go to press, be largely the result of a cookies frosted with we just confirmed that Eric got a clean sweep! separate wager between implausibly expensive I guess he won’t be surrendering his press Jere, my editor, and metallic gold icing. Ah, badge just yet.

Michael, our publisher. the holidays.

But I’ve said too much already.

Look, I know as well as anyone that Right then; here are my predictions the Academy Awards are, to put it Britand also who I feel ought to win: ishly, bollocks. They’re an advertising Best Picture: Million Dollar Baby. gimmick, they’re self-indulgent, they’re (Who should win? Sideways.) irrelevant and unimportant, and they Best Actor: Jamie Foxx, Ray. (Who never remotely represent actual artistic should win? Who cares, pretty weak merit, blah blah blah. Well you know field this year.) what? Exactly. The Oscars are, plainly Best Actress: Hillary Swank, Million and simply, fun. The Super Bowl, which Dollar Baby. (Who should win? Annette is the most likely cultural analog, is Bening, Being Julia in a tie with Imelda also just fun, but no one gets in your Staunton, Vera Drake.) face about watching it. (Which is not Best Supporting Actor: Morgan Freeto say that I do. No one gets in one’s man, Million Dollar Baby. (Who should face about watching it.) Of course the win? Clive Owen, Closer). right films don’t win. Of course we’re Best Supporting Actress: Cate being duped into watching commerBlanchett, The Aviator. (Who should cials through the promise of seeing our win? God I love Cate Blanchett.) favorite celebrities all glammed-up and Good luck! emotional. But take the thing at face Ladies and gentlemen, we are in value and it’s a raucous good time—I tend to think of watching the telecast as terrible shape right now: we’re dying in observing a kind of radical social exper- Iraq, there’s pretty compelling evidence iment: what happens when people with that the President stole the election in a terrifying Manchurian Candidate kind too much money, not enough responof situation, we’re all going to be destisibility, and an unhealthy self-interest tute in our old age and soon, it seems, congregate together for four hours of we’ll also be dying in Iran. For pity’s mass mutual masturbation? Watch the sake, sell out for one night, buy into the sparks fly! system, and look at all the pretty people I’m not a betting man, mostly bein their fancy clothes. You’ll feel better, cause I can never remember to double I promise. down and I’m forever thinking I can bluff while not realizing that, in reachEric Tierney is Arts & Entertainment Editor ing for my glass of wine, I have shown for the Salt Lake Metro and an unapologetic fan of Hollywood gossip. Apparently, he’s also my hand to the entire table, but I do clairvoyant. believe in the innocent wager between

An Oscar Wager

MARCH 3, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 23

Before there was Mel Gibson’s overblown Christian snuff-film, there was GODSPELL, the whimsical retelling of Mark’s Gospel in musical form. The show is performed by people in clown makeup and was written by Stephen Schwartz, the man responsible for the tunes in a lot of Disney movies, as well as the legendary musical Pippin. Go and see the Grand Theatre’s staging of the show—the music is incredible, the tone is lighter, and there’s a lot less blood than in Mel’s The Passion. Who wouldn’t love Jesus in a Superman T-shirt?

EarPiece

ation and people see that on television.

And I also think—and this could just be a stereotype—that gay men gravitate toward strong women, and I think that I’m strong.

What makes you so strong?

I can bench press between two- to threehundred pounds. I think my family allowed me to be myself. I grew up doing my thing and my family allowed me to learn from life.

Has anyone ever come out to you—confided in you that they were gay?

No, not really, no one that I didn’t know already, no one that was really surprising— “What, you’re gay? Could we turn down the Judy Garland a bit?” I think I’ve always been able to tell.

Do you think you have really good gay-dar?

Yes, very good. Except for this intern I had named Joel… I thought for the longest time he was gay, now I don’t know…

Uh huh. What’s it like being back in Utah?

Channel 2 treats me really well. It’s a whole different audience than FOX, it’s a completely different crew. At FOX there was this incredible chemistry between me, Megan [Henderson] and Mark [Wright] that just can’t be duplicated. I’ll never have that again. Now at Channel 2 it’s older, more conservative so I don’t get the away with as much. Now when I say stuff I get a lot more raised eyebrows.

It seems like your style has changed a bit, matured?

Yeah, it’s a different audience… [Later she adds: If I had a dollar for every email I get from people saying “You’re not as funny as before.” Well, maybe if my audience was younger than 80!]

And you don’t seem to get as much time to talk as you did on FOX. Right.

Got a News Tip? Suggestion?

Contact us at: editor@slmetro.com or

24

■

SALT LAKE METRO ■ MARCH 3, 2005

323-9500

All About Allie

PHOTO: JOEL SHOEMAKER

KUTV’s Morning Diva Allie Mac Kay Talks to Her Former Intern About Her Life Back in Zion and Why Gays Seem to Love Her

By Joel Shoemaker joel@slmetro.com

It’s been a long week for Allie Mac Kay: pipe problems at her Park City home, an emergency visit by her mother from California, and something crusty on her eye that required emergency medical attention. But you wouldn’t know it watching her live morning feature segments for KUTV’s

2News This Morning. One morning, she jokingly smacks the butt of a BYU basketball player, making him and his coach yell with laughter; later she yells “Yes!” when another player says he’s not Mormon.

Salt Lake City audiences grew to love Allie’s sarcastic, tell-it-like-it-is sense of humor on FOX13’s Good Day Utah. As an intern for her at FOX, I learned why gay people seem to love her—there’s nothing she’s not afraid to say, but is able to say everything with a smile. After a short absence from Utah’s airwaves, she’s back pulling in big ratings again. Now, in between breaks during her Feb. 26 live shot at the Steiner Aquatic Center ice rink, she’s candid, friendly and funny talking about her life back in Zion and her gay following.

When I interned at FOX with you, the owners of Club Naked once did an “Allie Mac Kay Drag Queen Look-a-Like Contest.” Why do you think gay people seem to love you—why are you such a gay diva?

Gay diva? Am I? Well, I don’t know, maybe it’s because I look so much like Liza Minnelli (laughs). I think it’s probably because I’ve always had gay friends and they’ve always been a part of my life. I’ve had an affinity with them. I think in Utah I’m not really the norm, there’s some sort of affili-

You came back to Utah popping out of a bed in a commercial… that got some flack, didn’t it?

That’s right! When I first came back, they didn’t tell me that the first two stories I would be doing would be about sex and Mormons! Welcome back to Utah! One of the commercials for the stories had me popping out of a couple’s bed. If they had told me about the stories, I’m sure I would have been fine to do them, but I didn’t know. And then after the stories aired a couple very conservative newspapers wrote some stories about me. I did get some flack.

And some bad emails? The rumor is one email was so bad you told them you would pray for them?

Someone wrote after the story and said I was a “slutty heathen.” What’s that about?

Taking the high road and then calling someone a slut? I wrote back that I had been raised spiritually . . . and then told her that I would pray for her. I continue to.

Where were you in between going away and coming back?

I was at E! Entertainment for a nanosecond where I hit on Josh Hartnet and confused poor Calista Flockhart by asking her if she gets called Allie Mac Kay as much as I get called Allie McBeal. That one actually cracked up Harrison Ford. The guy from Access Hollywood came over to me and was all, “What did you say to him, he was laughing, he never laughs!” I said I couldn’t say, it was my secret. After that I went to Sacramento where, after getting up before dawn everyday for three years, my days started at 2 pm! Now we’re back to mornings!

Hong Kong Tea House

by Vanessa Chang vanessa@slmetro.com

Address: 565 W. 200 South, Salt Lake City Phone: 531-7010 Hours: Tue-Fri 11:00am-9:30pm Sat-Sun 10:00am-9:30pm Visa, Mastercard, Discover accepted Handicap accessible

MARCH 3, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 25

I don’t have anything against fluorescent red sweet and sour sauce. It holds a bit of nostalgia for me as a babe weaned on good old Southern California food court fare. But there comes a point in time when you have to eschew Americanized incarnations of the real thing—simply because the real thing is just so damn good. There’s a plethora of bad Chinese food out there in the world. The Bay Area or Queens, New York. It’s everywhere.

Utah is no exception. But there is one haven where folks who know Chinese food and folks who are curious about the real thing can converge for one sublime experience.

Sure, the exterior doesn’t look like much, but on the fringes of downtown civilization the brick structure’s sign simply reads “Hong Kong Tea House.”

The intrepid entrepreneurs took a gamble opening shop in one of the most dilapidated parts of downtown’s warehouse district, just a mere stone’s throw from our local hub of corporate eateries: the Gateway Mall. But the teahouse has injected a bit of life into this block of 200 South. Hungry folks put up with the ridiculous 45-degree back-in downtown parking to sink their teeth into Cantonese specialties like delicately sweet shrimp and lotus dumplings and duck with meat so juicy and skin so crispy, it triggers something primordial in our brains telling us that it is utterly good.

The same team of ladies consistently serves as the wait staff and they work their asses off. Even so, it isn’t uncommon to experience a lag in service or delay in getting a table. There simply aren’t enough of

them. But when they’re on the ball, they’re quick with getting the plates out and keeping your teapot full.

Peaceful describes the dining area—sage walls, well-spaced lacquered tables, and of course, a fish tank. The constant hum of diners doesn’t take away from the mood.

Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and American folks from every walk of life flock here. A random snapshot of the dining room would look something like a Benetton ad. Call it an ideal microcosm—it simply proves that good food brings people together.

Here, there are no gimmicks; the food speaks for itself. Forget about chow mein, lo mein, and whatever mein. Challenge yourself. Salt and pepper calamari is borderline divine with a perfectly seasoned batter that manages to stay deep-fried crunchy even 15 minutes after its arrival. You’ll be sucking out every crevice of the deep fried crab claws swaddled in sweet lump meat and crunchy breading. Steamed barbecue pork dumplings with pillow-like dough and a sweet filling inspire nostalgia even if you’ve never had them before. Noodle rolls are lackluster in comparison. But the plate of deep Crayola green Chinese broccoli in oyster sauce and seemingly endless pots of tea make it forgivable. For the more adventurous, there’s spicy chicken feet and stewed tripe to impress any Chinese grandmother (or Korean parent). Otherwise, you can go straight for sweet egg custards, breads, and the piping-hot sesame balls. Filled with sweet red bean paste and made with a rice dough, it’s the Sino-equivalent of a donut.

If Hong Kong had a Homer Simpson, he’d certainly drool over this confection.

Don’t let the authenticity or classy digs scare you. Don’t worry about using chopsticks properly; impale morsels with them or just use your fingers. With food this good, get to it anyway you can. Always drink the tea with your meal, don’t stick to the ordinary and you’ll eat very well indeed. Only then have you truly experienced Cantonese fare—without the fluorescent red sauce.

Red,White Bubbly Luck O’ The Portuguese

by Beau Jarvis

26

■

SALT LAKE METRO ■ MARCH 3, 2005

beau@slmetro.com

Saint Patrick’s Day is the day on which, as a child, you wore something green (else risked a nasty pinch from the hall monitor/ St. Paddy’s enforcer).

Nowadays you likely celebrate March 17 with a pint in one hand and a plastic, green, shamrock-bedecked hat on your head. Yup, for most of us, “the luck of the Irish” means we might get to drink green beer in a pub to celebrate the Irish saint’s surprising skill at casting out serpents from the Emerald Isle (never mind that pesky fact about snakes never actually having slithered on the green hills ‘o clover).

Call me a snob, but the thought of drinking green beer makes my stomach turn. As a wine guy, I, of course, prefer a touch of the grape over the taste of hops and barley. So without being a buzzkill, I still like to make the effort to eat or drink something green and festive on the Irish saint’s holiday. Enter the Portuguese.

Believe it or not the E.U. brethren ‘o the Irish make a nifty little wine called, Vinho Verde, or “green wine.”

Vinho Verde isn’t actually green—at least not the shade of green that dye imparts to a draught. “Verde,” or green, refers to the fact that this wine is both young and traditionally made from green grapes (white grapes that aren’t yet terribly ripe). It’s a festive wine that is perfect for this green-loving holiday. Vinho Verde is fermented and bottled rather quickly. This often results in some bonus fermentation taking place post-bottling. And as we all know, Fermentation produces bubbles, which when trapped by a bottle and cork, results in a spritzy wine.

Vinho Verde, while young and often cheap, tastes heaps better than flat green beer in a plastic cup. It’s crisp and zesty with a little fruit. Think of it as a lime rickey. And all that spritz makes green wine a friendly bloke with any number of Irish culinary delights.

So this year, buck the trend and throw your very own Saint Paddy’s party with a little help from the Portuguese. May I suggest the following festive menu:

DRINK Green Wine, AKA Vinho Verde (Aveleda Vinho Verde, $7)

EATS Potato Soup 2 lbs potatoes 3 onions 6 cups of half milk and water Chives 2 strips of bacon Salt and pepper 1 cup light cream Chop the potatoes and onions into chunks and add to a large pot with milk. Cover and simmer until the vegetables soften to a smooth texture. Mash or rice the mixture and then add cream Fry the bacon until crispy Reheat the soup and serve garnishing with chives and crispy bacon

Sausage and/or Mushroom Pie 1 lbs traditional Irish sausages (Bangers) 2 tablespoons butter 2 onions, sliced 1/2 lbs button mushrooms, sliced 3 tablespoons flour 1 cup milk 1 cup chicken stock Salt and pepper 1/2 lbs puff pastry 1 egg, beaten Pre-heat the oven to 400 F Place sausages in a shallow baking dish.

Cook for 20 minutes and remove to cool Soften the onions in melted butter over low heat. Add mushrooms and stir for 1 or 2 minutes. Sift/sprinkle flour over mushrooms and cook for 1 minute Gradually add milk and chicken stock, stirring constantly. Increase heat, bring to boil, and simmer for 3 minutes. Season to taste, and set aside to cool Roll out pastry thinly on a floured board, and line a deep pie dish. Put sausages into the dish, pour sauce over the top, and cover with the remaining pastry.

Press the edges together Brush egg over top of pastry. Make one or two small holes and bake in the oven (still at 400 F) for about 40 minutes. Serve hot There you have it. An easy Irish meal to celebrate Saint Patrick’s day; paired with a tasty, truly green wine. Your friends will celebrate this emerald effort all night long by coming up with naughty limericks that begin with the phrase, “There once was a lad from Nantucket.” Cheers.

Beau Jarvis is a sommelier and wine educator.

He operates basicjuice.com, a wine review and info website. He also runs basicjuice.blogs.com

Di ing Guide Dining de SALT LAKE CITY, UT

Michelangelo Ristorante

Café Med

michelangeloristorante.com

2156 S, HIGHLAND DR./ 466-0961

420 E. 3300 S. / 493-0100 HOURS: SU-TH 11AM-9PM F-SA 11AM-10PM CUISINE: MEDITERRANEAN PRICE: $ CARDS: TC AE D MC V

TU-SA 11:30AM-1:30PM 5:45-9PM CUISINE: ITALIAN PRICE: $$ CARDS: AE D MC V HOURS:

Persian, Greek, Italian, Turkish and Vegetarian in a warm, relaxing atmosphere.

Coffee Garden

Begun by childr\hood friends Paulo Celeste and Marco Gabrielli of Tuscany.

32 beers to choose from, including Utah’s best selection of microbrews.

Gringo’s West Valley 2785 W 3500 S / 969-8811 HOURS: M-SA 10:30AM-9PM SU 10:30AM-8PM CUISINE: MEXICAN PRICE: ¢ CARDS: MC V

Salt Lake Pizza & Pasta

Restaurant Owners: Gay men and lesbians eat at restaurants three times as often as anyone else.

SU-TH 11AM-10PM F-SA 11AM-12PM CUISINE: PIZZA PRICE: $ CARDS: AE D MC V HOURS:

Orbit Cafe

M-TH 11AM-11PM F-SA 11AM-12AM SU 9AM-10PM CUISINE: AMERICAN PRICE: $ CARDS: TC AE D MC V

CUISINE: RESERV.: PRICE: CARDS:

M-F 11:30AM-3PM M-TH 5-9PM F-SA 5-10PM ITALIAN, SEAFOOD SUGGESTED $$$ TC AE D MC V

nicknwillyspizza.com

Fiddler’s Elbow HOURS:

HOURS:

WEST VALLEY CITY

Good Mexican food...fast.

Fresh salsa bar, food made to order. See our coupon!

Dine in or take-out. Call ahead and we’ll have it ready. Albertsons Shopping Ctr.

fiddlerselbowslc.com

panini.us

Robust Italian fare in an elegant atmosphere with a tasteful, contemporary vibe.

SLC’s buzzing java shop with a diverse crowd. Sandwiches, desserts, sidewalk dining.

1063 E. 2100 S. / 463-9393

299 S. MAIN ST. / 535-4300

Nick-N-Willy’s Pizza

4538 S, HIGHLAND DR./ 273-8282

898 S 900 E / 355-3425 HOURS: SU-TH 6AM-11PM F-SA 6AM-12AM CUISINE: COFFEEHOUSE PRICE: ¢ CARDS: AE D MC V

Panini

540 W. 200 S. / 322-3808

orbitslc.com

SU-TH 11AM-10PM F-SA 11AM-3AM CUISINE: AMERICAN ECLECTIC PRICE: $ CARDS: TC AE D MC V HOURS:

Open late nights on Fridays and Saturdays with DJs and a special menu.

1063 E. 2100 S. / 484-1804

saltlakepizzaandpasta.com HOURS: CUISINE: PRICE: CARDS:

M-SA 11AM-11PM SU 11AM-10PM ITALIAN $ TC AE D MC V

Voted as Utah’s Best Pizza two years in a row! Great beer selection. Sugarhouse.

Xiao Li 307 W. 200 SOUTH / 328-8688 HOURS: LUNCH: 1130AM-2:30PM DINNER: 4:30-10PM F-SA 4:30-11PM CUISINE: CHINESE PRICE: $ CARDS: TC AE D MC V

Advertise in the Salt Lake Metro Dining Guide. Call 323-9500 today!

The restaurant that serves the most authentic Szechwan and Mandarin cuisine.

Queeriscaping Getting Your Fix

by Brandie Balken brandie@slmetro.com

What exactly should we call this time of year? Pre-spring?

This nebulous season where the bulbs begin to break through the soil, the buds begin to swell on the trees, and the next big snowstorm is just 3 days away.

Some years we make a smooth and rapid transition from winter directly into spring.

This year, however, seems like it’s going to give us several painful months of pre-spring conditions. The plants don’t love it, and frankly, neither do I. I feel like more than 2 days of 45 degree weather should NEVER be followed by 4 inches of snow. These warm days make me itch to begin the Great Gay Gardening Season.

I literally have to console myself during these months with frequent shopping trips to greenhouses; and while the primroses, azaleas and orchids delight me, it is simply not the same as the Outdoor Gardening Experience. I have a few tricks that I employ annually to help me through these difficult pre-spring conditions.

forsythia, cherry, spirea, apple, pear, lilac.

If you’re adventurous and want a unique look, you can cut willow branches and force those lovely yellow-green catkins to appear. It’s easy! Simply cut the branches and smash or fray the cut end to allow water to easily permeate the tissue. Place the branches in a large vase filled with warm water and a little non-caffeinated soda or aspirin to prevent the vascular tissue from sealing up. Wait a few weeks, and presto—spring has arrived in a vase inside your home—thrilling!

PRE-PLANNING: I am aware that this one is going to sound a little obsessive, but it works. Go online and search for perennial plant suppliers and request a catalogue.

Browse the catalogues once they arrive and pick out the things that excite you. Design a new bed, or re-design an existing bed with your new favorite plants. For me, this can be a 2-week process. The added bonus is that if you go ahead and actually order some of these “new favorites” you can save 30 to 50% off the cost of buying these plants at retail price once spring comes.

Satisfying and smart!

Brandie Balken is a horticulturist in Salt Lake City and can be seen at Cactus & Tropicals, 2735 S. 2000 East. cactusandtropicals.com

FORCED BRANCHES: Sure, you can pick

Department of Corrections In “Protect Your Nonprofit Funds” (Vol. 2, Issue 4), an implication was made that the People With AIDS Coalition of Utah has had problems with theft of corporate funds. No such accusation has ever been officially made nor proven about the organization, its officers or employees. Salt Lake Metro regrets the error.

Got a News Tip? Suggestion?

Contact us at: editor@slmetro.com or

323-9500

MARCH 3, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 27

these up at a greenhouse, but it’s so simple and rewarding to do your own. You can cut and force almost any spring-blooming woody perennial that you have available:

Is Karaoke the Piano Bar of Yesterday?

by Darren Tucker darren@slmetro.com

It’s the sensation Sweeping the nation…

The lights go down, a hush falls over the crowd; the mournful sound of a slow honky-tonk piano fills the air… And DJ Bell steps into the spotlight and slips into a slow rendition of the Patsy Cline classic “Crazy.”

It’s Karaoke Monday at Heads Up, and the regulars are out. They sing, croon and sometimes croak their way through show tunes, country favorites and rock classics. They laugh, joke, gossip, clap, whistle and cheer as singer after singer takes to the stage and does their best with whatever talents the universe has given them.

And they do it with the religious fervor of a Christian tent revival.

“This is my church,” Bell says. “This is where I feel peaceful and happy.”

Bell is a typical Karaoke performer, if there is such a thing. He’s been at it for about four years, starting at the old Zippers and even moving his hobby to Tennessee for a year. Now he is a regular at Heads Up, belting out his favorites every

Monday and Thursday.

“You either hate it or you love it,” claims Megan Dunyon, a friend of Bell’s and another regular. “This is an addiction for me.”

Dig the hot, hot sound That’s going around…

It’s an addiction for a lot of people, according to Heads Up co-owner David Hurst. He says he has seen an increase in sales every week since karaoke started when the bar opened. (He doesn’t sing, but his son Brandon, the other owner of the bar, usually opens the Thursday night session.)

And nearly every bar in town, gay or straight, has a night for karaoke lovers. MoDiggity’s, The Paper Moon, The Trapp, The Tavernacle, Todd’s… they’ll all be glad to give you your 15 minutes of fame.

The crowd is fun, they love music and they get a few shining moments, Hurst says. That is enough to keep them coming back week after week.

Host Jamie Gartin agrees.

“Three years ago, this was much more low-key,” Gartin explains. “But it was bound to catch on. Gay people love to

Crooning at Heads Up Karaoke Night. PHOTO: MICHAEL AARON

sing, and here is their chance to do what they want to do.”

Gartin compares karaoke to the piano bars so popular a few years ago. It’s your chance to choose the music you hear— to be involved and have a good time with other music lovers. But, he says, karaoke is much more interactive—and he thinks much more popular.

Bell said shows like American Idol are partly responsible for the huge popularity of karaoke. “We all love to sit there in front of our TV and say ‘I could do better than that bitch!’”

It’s got the swingin’ beat Really makes you move your feet…

28

■

SALT LAKE METRO ■ MARCH 3, 2005

Things can get a little crazy on karaoke night. Gartin says he’s seen people take their clothes off on stage—and even had a few trying to take his clothes off. But overall it’s a chance for many gay and lesbian people to let loose with that inner performer in front of a crowd instead of a full-length mirror at home.

And it may be a character builder as well.

Chris Swan is a “newbie” to the karaoke scene; he says his first two tries on

stage were disastrous. But his friends were supportive no matter what—and that’s why he is still at it today.

“I was in the Navy and we had a certain camaraderie,” he said. “This is like

Karaoke Nights: SUNDAY Tavernacle MONDAY Heads Up Todd’s Bar & Grill Trapp TUESDAY Paper Moon Tavernacle WEDNESDAY MoDiggity’s Trapp THURSDAY Heads Up Todd’s Bar & Grill

that. No matter how you do, people are so supportive.”

Bell says he thinks that’s the reason karaoke is becoming so popular. “Everybody who walks in that door is either is a friend or soon will be a friend,” he said.

And Dunyon, who is heterosexual, says she prefers belting out a tune in a gay bar.

“Straight bars scare me. In a gay bar, they really get what it is all about,” she explains. “They know better why you are up there. And nothing is more important than crowd participation.”

So grab the microphone And make the song your own Time to lose your fright It’s karaoke night!

Bar Guide Club 161*

Club Try-Angles*

MoDiggity’s*

Todd’s Bar & Grill*

161 S. Pueblo St (1440 W.) 363-8161 / club161.com HOURS: M&W 7pm-2am TH–SU 2pm-2am CLOSED TUES GAY: Every Day AGE: 21+ / COVER: No Levi, Leather, Fetish.

Monday Fetish Night, Thurs Underwear Night, Friday Leather and Bear Night

251 W. 900 South 364-3203 clubtry-angles.com HOURS: 2pm-2am daily GAY: Every day AGE: 21+ / COVER: No FR-SA DJ Boy Toy. MO “MorMondays.” TU, FR, SA–$1 drafts. SU afternoons–Buffet.

3424 S. State St. 832-9000 / modiggitys.com HOURS: M–TH 4pm-12am F–SA 4pm-2am SU 11am-2am GAY: Every day / AGE: 21+ COVER: $4/members free A sports and music club for women. Football and mimosa brunch Sundays. Live shows.

1051 S. 300 West HOURS: 10am-2am daily GAY: Wednesdays / AGE: 21+ COVER: $3/Members free $1 drafts, $4 pitchers.

Cyber Slut bingo 8-10pm.

Heads Up*

Paper Moon*

Club Panini*

163 W. Pierpont Ave. (250 S) 359-2161 / headsupslc.com HOURS: 4pm-2am daily GAY: Every day AGE: 21+ COVER: $2 / Members free Salt Lake’s newest club.

MO & TH Karaoke. TU 50¢ drafts. FR, SA High NRG.

3737 S. State / 713-0678 HOURS: M–F 3pm-1am SA 7pm-1am SU Noon-1am GAY: Every day / AGE: 21+ COVER: varies SL’s premier women’s club.

TU Karaoke, WE 80¢ drafts, shots. FR & SA hip hop/dance

299 S. Main Street 535-4300 / panini.us HOURS: M–TH 11am-10pm F–SA 11am-12am GAY: Mondays AGE: 21+ / COVER: No Metro Mondays. Speed dating first Mondays of the month. $2 drafts.

Trapp/Trapp Door* 102 S. 600 West 531-8727 / thetrapp.com HOURS: 10am-2am daily GAY: Every day / AGE: 21+ COVER: $3/Members free Really gay every day. SU Buffet and NFL, MO & WE Karaoke. Latin Sundays

Bar Owners: Get listed in this Bar Guide, call 323-9500.

MARCH 3, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 29

30

■

SALT LAKE METRO ■ MARCH 3, 2005

Service Guide

Comics

ACCOUNTING ESTATE PLANNING

ADAM AND ANDY by James Asal

RENAISSANCE FINANCIAL Group CPAs serving Utah’s alternative lifestyle business clients with bookkeeping, payroll, tax, mortgage services. 571-4011 x102 www.renaissancefinancegroup.net

ATTORNEYS MARLIN G. CRIDDLE, P.C. Serving Utah’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered communities. Estate Planning, Probate, Criminal Law, Bankruptcy, Corporations/Business. 474-2299. marlincriddle.com

EMPLOYMENT SERVICES APPLE ONE Employment Services is seeking qualified people in many skills. Apply and begin your qualification today. Employers, let us fill your staffing needs.

Call Steven Whittaker at 801-463-4828 for an appointment.

JANE MARQUARDT & DOUG FADEL Attorneys at Law, providing comprehensive estate planning services, custom designed to your unique family situation, including trusts, wills, partnership agreements, estate administration. 294-7777

HOME REPAIRS

MASSAGE BEST THERAPISTS, best price, best place, best hours, call for appointment 486-5500 Pride Massage 1800 South West Temple Suite A224 WWW.DENNISMASSAGE.COM A Man’s Man. 598-8344.

“For Men” Model/Massage.

LMT#98212332470

HOMO IMPROVEMENT? Home repair and remodeling. Fast, friendly, professional service. No job too small. Kevin 815-4016

STIMULATE YOUR SENSES, or feel deep peace with a relaxing full body massage. Call Therron for an appointment 801-879-3583 for $5 off mention this ad. LMT #5608006

JEWELERS

TAX SERVICES

CUSTOM DESIGN JEWELRY. RENAISSANCE FINANCIAL Relaxed atmosphere. All types Group CPAs serving Utah’s of stone settings. Commitment alternative lifestyle clients rings, wedding rings, earrings, and businesses with tax prep. Free electronic filing. pendants. Repairs welcome.

Charley Hafen Jewelers. Trol- 571-4011 www.renaissancefinancegroup.net ley Square. 521-7711

Classifieds FOR SALE AVENUES 4 bed, 2 bath, 2-story. New kitchen, walk to stores and restaurants. $268,500 Brad at Stonebrook Realty 550-0330.

FOR RENT 15TH AND 15TH Beautiful house 4bdrm 2 bth 2 car garage, W/D. updated kitchen,hrd wds,new carpet, patio. no smk/pets.

1407 E Emerson Contact 801-674-5568 WALK TO Starbucks & boutiques in upscale neighborhood. Spacious 3 bd, fml dining, hrdwd flrs, w/d hookups, private yard & garage. $1195 Call 581-0234

DOWNTOWN 2 BR. All new inside, lndry, garden patio w/pond. Next to SLCC. $600 Photos at:www.xmission.com/~bradley/kensington.htm or 550-0330.

ROOMMATES WANTED AIRPORT/DOWNTOWN. Male to share large furnished home. No smoking, no pets. $350/month Call 631-8110 SWF LOOKING for funny gay man to share apartment downtown/Capitol Hill. 5 min walk to trax and downtown malls. Awesome view. $400/mo includes all utilities & parking. Call Kim 633-5705 SHARE HOME near Valley Fair Mall. Pet friendly, internet/dsl access, storage. $350/mo. util./cable included. Contact James Williams at 792-6099.

A COUPLE OF GUYS by Dave Brousseau HELP WANTED APPLE ONE Employment Services is seeking qualified call center experienced in sales. Can earn $12+/hr plus commission. Apply today. Employers, let us fill your staffing needs. Call Steven Whittaker at 4634828 for an appointment.

MISC. STUFF ARE YOU HIV+?

Pride Counseling is restarting a Therapy/Support Group for men who are HIV infected and seeking support from others in similar situations. Men who have participated in this group report a sense of connection and the permission to safely explore their uniqueness in a safe and affirming environment. We are able to bill most insurance companies, Ryan White and sliding fee scale available. For information please call Jerry Buie LCSW at 801-595-0666

TIRED OF THE BAR LIFE?

BITTER GIRL by Joan Hilty

MARCH 3, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 31

Pride Counseling is offering a Gay Men’s Therapy/Support Group. Gay men often find that their options to socialize limited to clubs and bars. This group seeks to bridge the gap of isolation and help gay men safely explore personal issues unique to their circumstances. Gay men regardless of “coming out” status, or life circumstance are welcome to this group.

Most insurance companies billed, sliding fee scale.

For information please call Jerry Buie LCSW at 801595-0666.

32

■

SALT LAKE METRO ■ MARCH 3, 2005