Krave Nightclub Closing
- July 22, 2014 - 11:22pm
Since re-positioning itself back on the Las Vegas Strip in November of last year, Krave, the #1 LGBT nightclub in the USA is closing its doors at its current venue, The Tommy Wind Theater and Events Center effective Sunday, July 27, 2014. While this may appear to be the end of an iconic nightclub, Sia Amiri, the owner and creator of the legendary gay nightclub Krave, thinks otherwise.
“I have developed a brand new and very revolutionary nightlife concept for the LGBT community,” says Sia Amiri, “and while I sort though the logistics and implementation of this concept, as well as secure a suitable venue with a better operation, we have decided to close the existing location.”
Remaining very secretive on the new LGBT nightlife concept, Amiri was the first person to bring a large scale gay dance club to the Las Vegas strip and promises that his latest incarnation is exactly what the gay community needs for the continued evolution of nightlife entertainment. When asked what Amiri thought of recent new LGBT venues opening in the Las Vegas market, and if these had played a role in his decision to close the existing Krave location, Amiri responded “I have always welcomed new gay clubs in the community, but these new clubs try to emulate what Krave used to be and I have never perceived them to be a determining factor in my decision to close Krave. Instead, I am so excited about my new concept that I need to be very focused on it.”
“This is a very positive step in the overall improvement of the venue and brand,” says Sia Amiri, creator of Krave in 2004. “I am excited to debut it soon and I am confident the LGBT community will embrace and share my excitement.”
For 9 years in a row Krave has been the recipient of Las Vegas Review Journals Best LGBT Nightclub award, and last year also received BEST overall dance club. Krave boasts that it has the largest LGBT databases in the western USA and Sia Amiri is certain that the Krave brand will again make its mark on the Las Vegas strip in an manner more conducive to its LGBT customers nightlife entertainment needs.
Join Krave for its closing celebration this Friday and Saturday, July 25th and 26th, as it offers $25.00
All You Can Drink with Free Cover and DJs Lightknife and Michael Graves!
IKEA is coming to Vegas!
- July 14, 2014 - 11:48am
It's official, I am crying tears of joy as I type this, IKEA is finally coming to Las Vegas.
IKEA emailed us all the official details this morning, including the renderings and location information of the new IKEA location.
IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today announced it is submitting plans to Clark County, Nevada for a Las Vegas-area store that would increase the Swedish retailer’s presence in the western United States. The application marks the beginning of the governmental approval process that could lead to the store’s opening as early as Summer 2016. Until then, customers can shop at the closest IKEA stores in: Covina, CA; Tempe, AZ, or Draper, UT; or online at IKEA-USA.com. Located in the Spring Valley area of Clark County, approximately 13 miles southwest of downtown Las Vegas, the 351,000-square-foot proposed IKEA store and its nearly 1,300 parking spaces would be built on 26 acres along the northern side of Interstate-215 at Durango Drive, near the intersection with Sunset Road. Store plans reflect the same unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide. IKEA also will evaluate potential on-site power generation possibilities to complement its current U.S. renewable energy presence at nearly 90% of its U.S. locations.
“We look forward to continue growing our western U.S. presence with IKEA Las Vegas,” said IKEA U.S. CFO Rob Olson. “This accessible location would provide the already 101,000 Las Vegas-area customers a store of their own and introduce the unique IKEA shopping experience to other consumers throughout Clark County and Southern Nevada.” IKEA Las Vegas would feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area, and a 450-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the Showroom, baby care rooms, play areas throughout the store, and preferred parking. In addition to the more than 500 jobs that are expected to be created during the construction phase, approximately 300 coworkers would join the IKEA family when the new store opens. IKEA Las Vegas also would provide significant annual sales and property tax revenue for local governments and schools.
IKEA, drawing from its Swedish heritage and respect of nature, believes it can be a good business while doing good business and aims to minimize impacts on the environment. IKEA evaluates locations regularly for conservation opportunities, integrates innovative materials into product design, works to maintain sustainable resources, and flat-packs goods for efficient distribution. U.S. sustainable efforts include: recycling waste material; incorporating key measures into buildings with energy-efficient HVAC and lighting systems, recycled construction materials, warehouse skylights, and water-conserving restrooms; and operationally, eliminating plastic bags from the check-out process, phasing-out the sale of incandescent light bulbs, facilitating recycling compact fluorescent bulbs, and by 2016 selling only LED bulbs.
IKEA U.S. has solar arrays atop 90% of its locations, has announced plans to purchase 49 wind turbines in Illinois, and has rolled-out EV charging stations at 13 stores. Since its 1943 founding in Sweden, IKEA has offered home furnishings of good design and function at low prices so the majority of people can afford them. There are currently more than 350 IKEA stores in 44 countries, including 38 in the U.S. IKEA has been ranked in FORTUNE’s annual “100 Best Companies to Work For” list, Working Mother magazine’s annual list of “100 Best Companies for Working Mothers” and Training magazine’s annual “Top 100.” IKEA incorporates sustainability into day-to-day business and supports initiatives that benefit children and the environment.
Hear Me Out: Lana Del Rey, Sam Smith
- July 4, 2014 - 2:16pm
Lana Del Rey, Ultraviolence
The feigned public image adapted by Lizzie Grant (better known as Lana Del Rey) extends to the singer’s latest album, Ultraviolence, where her divisive commentaries on greed, danger and dying complement her made-up mystique. To like Lana’s music is to like Lana, which is especially true when it comes to her languid, third full-length released under the “Lana Del Rey” moniker. Fleshing out the persona introduced on 2012’s Born to Die (and then later on her EP, where we learned she has a carbonated vagina, or something), Rey’s follow-up feels like a hallucinatory acid trip – it could levitate you to the sky on its feathery sound pillows. Lulling you are bittersweet, nostalgic songs like “Old Money” and “Pretty When You Cry,” where Rey, resembling a sad, woozy bird, sings over guitar. In keeping with the dangerously-in-love muse she’s been drawing from, Ultraviolence reels in the sonic boom of the less-cohesive Born to Die; its intent, even more so than its predecessor, seems to be to conjure a linear mood, and it does this by illustrating, quite brazenly, the tragic effigy of disillusioned women ruined emotionally, and even physically, by men. From the title track’s abusive retelling (“He hit me and it felt like a kiss”) to Nina Simone’s wistful “The Other Woman,” Rey goes darker than she did on Born to Die, making Ultraviolence not just fascinating, complex and uncomfortable, but also bold and beautifully tragic.
Grade: B+
Sam Smith, In the Lonely Hour
On “Stay with Me,” British song-slayer Sam Smith politely asks a prospective boyfriend to do just that. It’s suitably vulnerable and full of feels, the case throughout his chart-topping debut, but staying – at least through his first album – is easier said than done. And it’s obviously not his sweet tenor – that particular tone is capable of expressing emotions previously unknown to man. The promise of that passionately resonant croon goes unfulfilled on In the Lonely Hour, where the blandness of the music and even the writing – it’s all a little too black and white – can’t quite live up to his brilliant voice. Taken in full, the lethargic, ballad-bloated production on Smith’s first venture keeps his heart-on-sleeve outpourings from making the impression they should. The gospel-powered “Stay with Me” is, by far, the album’s standout – a tour de force, even. Smith has revealed that In the Lonely Hour is a reflection of unrequited love, and here, particularly, you sense that. It’s real; it’s wrenching. And the choir coming in at the chorus? It’s the kind of lift the rest of this sonic snooze needs. Opening with the refreshingly spry “Money on the Mind,” the sameness of the album’s minimalism falls into a monotonous loop of lovelorn misery, where every contemplative moment hardly differs from the one preceding it. By the time Smith gets to “Lay Me Down,” you’re longing for something as much as he is – in this case, a better album.
Grade: C+
Also Out:
Jennifer Lopez, A.K.A.
The best that can be said of Jennifer Lopez’s 10th outing – besides the surprisingly not-awful ballad “Let It Be Me” – is how it achieves a level of inadequacy all its own. Indeed, you’d have to try really hard to be this bad. “Jenny from the Block” is in street-slang mode on “I Luh Ya Papi” – not “love” (get it right) – and then there’s the Pit Bull-assisted “Booty,” a thundering Middle Eastern-inspired throw-down with hilariously cringe-worthy rump references (“I wanna take that big ol’ booty shopping at the mall / I wanna pick it up and put that booty in my car”). But “TENS,” a Gaga wannabe, is the song bound to live on in gay infamy. When it’s all said and done – and you’ll be glad when it is – A.K.A. is the Gigli of music.
Birdy, Fire Within
It’s hard to imagine a version of “Skinny Love” that grazes the brilliance of Bon Iver’s woodsy original, but on just piano, Birdy pulls it off. Turning her debut single into a blatant ballad, its emotional underbelly is still heavy – maybe even heavier. Along with “People Help the People,” the song is a carry-over from her 2011 debut, presumably in light of newfound notoriety thanks to her ubiquitous Fault in Our Stars single. That said, the 18-year-old English songstress’ sophomore disc doesn’t exactly break any new ground. But, particularly with “Wings,” it suggests Birdy may one day really take flight.
Hot in Herre: 9 Ways to Make the Most of Steamy Summer Nights
- July 4, 2014 - 1:48pm
When the mercury rises, so should your creativity. Consider these 9 ways to beat the heat – and add a little sexy time to your life while you’re at it.
1. Make a batch of adult popsicles
First things first: If it’s too hot outside to breathe – let alone move – it’s time to break out the blender and get phy-sicle. Start with a pitcher of margaritas (or your favorite summertime cocktail with a kick) and pour the liquid into ice-pop molds. Molds are abundantly available these days in all sorts of (unintentionally phallic) forms, like the rock-shaped ice pop molds from Tovolo, available on Amazon. When the hooch sets, enjoy instant refreshment (and perhaps satisfaction) that’ll not only cool you off but also help you perfect your form… if you know what I mean.
2. Use a rainstorm to act like a kid again
My mom never let me play in the rain – perhaps out of fear that I’d get struck by lightning (good lookin’ out, lady) – but I’m a grownup now with the power to make all kind of stupid decisions. While playing in the rain may not be the wisest choice you can make (especially if you’re hearing cracks and booms nearby), it can be a lot of fun if all that’s in the forecast is harmless precipitation. Slip on your swim trunks and a pair of old sneakers, grab your lover and frolic in a summer shower like a modern-day Gene Kelly.
3. Play a game of strip (enter favorite game here)
Air conditioner on the fritz? Create your own climate control by playing a game of strip whatever-you’d-like with your partner and/or a group of friends. The best part about this game is that everybody’s a winner (if you’re a glass-half-full kinda group), so there are no hurt feelings when the last player crosses the “finish line.”
4. Take a cool shower together
If you’ve been with your partner for a while, chances are the spontaneity has somewhat waned lately. Which is why a sweltering summer day is the perfect excuse to reignite some of that lost intimacy by cooling off with your clothes off in an invigorating shower. Of course, if you’re a ‘G’ in LGBT, a too-cold shower can present a problem that’s not conducive to the endgame of this activity, so be sure to regulate the temperature carefully.
5. Invite your friends over for a wet undies contest
One of the best things about being LGBT – in my humble opinion, at least – is that we generally don’t subscribe to the social norms of our hetero counterparts. Basically because they’re boring. Case in point: It’s easier to round up our best LGBT guy and gal pals for an impromptu wet-undies contest in the backyard that will, if you’ve got really good friends, result in an afternoon of sopping-wet flirty fun with endless possibilities.
6. Hop on your bike and head to the ice cream parlor
Not everything you do to beat the heat has to be tainted with sexual innuendo and opportunity, of course. A super simple and surefire way to rejuvenate your sun-worn body from the inside out is to hop your bike and take a leisurely ride to your local ice cream parlor or stationary ice cream truck for a cool-and-creamy treat.
7. Drop trou and go skinny dipping
If you have the good fortune to have access to a pool – preferably one surrounded by a privacy fence lest you want to end up with a court date for indecent exposure – there’s absolutely no excuse why you shouldn’t be shimmying out of whatever you’re wearing when the sun goes down to take a dip in the buff. If your partner is hesitant, do it the hard way – toss ’em in fully clothed (sans valuables in the pockets) to remind them that’s it OK to play every once in a while.
8. Get a little dirty washing the car
Is there anything sexier than a shirtless hard body soaked in suds from head to toe? Fulfill your college car-wash fantasy at home by heading out to the driveway to get your ride clean as a whistle in the naughtiest way possible. Just remember, the neighbors may be watching – so put on a good show.
9. Bring a bowl of ice to the bedroom
Yeah, I know what you’re thinking – this doesn’t seem practical unless you want a waterbed. Easy fix: Just put a few towels down. I’ve employed what I like to call the ‘
“Frat Sex” method for more than a decade – whether ice is involved or not (because who wants to wash the sheets every single time you get down to business) – and it’s the perfect solution to achieving all your goals by bringing ice to the bedroom. You’ll cool down, you’ll perk up, and you’ll both feel fresh as a daisy when all is said and done. Aaaaah.
Timeless Tori
- July 4, 2014 - 1:05pm
“Lighting, sweetie, lighting!” is Tori Amos’ theatrical retort to my compliment about how she’s still looking as radiant as she did at the launch of her career just over three decades ago.
Amos is now 50, and with her 14th album, Unrepentant Geraldines, she’s facing age head-on. Candor isn’t unusual for the composer; from rape to religion and even her MILF status, she’s approached a bevy of topics too controversial for most artists.
That same directness extended to our recent conversation, during which Amos chatted about the LGBT influence on “Promise,” a duet with her daughter; being the muse for the big Frozen ballad, “Let It Go”; and the gay fans who share their “traumatic experiences” with her.
How did your last several projects – Midwinter Graces, Night of Hunters and Gold Dust – reenergize the contemporary songwriting heard on Unrepentant Geraldines?
All of them fit into giving me fresh perspective. Starting with Midwinter Graces, I was thrown into the deep end, studying carols from the last few hundred years and just immersing myself in a different genre. It’s almost as if it became a baton hand-off, from Midwinter Graces to Night of Hunters and Gold Dust, back and forth with The Light Princess (a musical written by Amos), which was floating between all these projects, because she’s been in development for five years. All of them were giving inspiration to the other. Each one was giving some kind of spark.
The spark linking all of those works is very evident.
They’re very interconnected, and The Light Princess cast recording – I’m producing that for Mercury Universal. That will be out globally in early 2015, and we’re making the record on the tour, so this album (Unrepentant Geraldines) will be affecting that. They all gift each other something. I don’t always know what it is when it’s happening; you just get energy from one that propels another.
(For Unrepentant Geraldines) there was a freshness, a new perspective, that I was able to bring to contemporary writing because of all these other projects that had shown me different possibilities in structure and different possibilities in line. In that way, I feel like I’ve been rejuvenated by these other projects. When these songs were coming, they were coming not for me to make a record; they were just coming so that I could process what I was going through. And I didn’t share them with anybody. They were for my own private notebook.
What do you think people expect from you at this point in your career? Do you keep tabs on that?
No, because you can’t keep tabs on that. You have to stay true to the muses, and you have to push yourself. I think to be a visionary means you have to keep pushing yourself, and you don’t even know sometimes in which direction you’re pushing. How can you and I know? You don’t know what book you’re gonna write in two years’ time. You don’t know what you’re gonna write, but you trust that you’re committed to making exciting art, and that is your priority. Your priority cannot be success. Your priority has to be greatness.
Which direction are you currently pushing in?
Along with the 80-city tour and the new album, what we’re doing is recording the cast recording for The Light Princess while we’re touring. I wanna do something on the level of Jesus Christ Superstar, when it came out in the ’70s.
When I hear how they do cast albums, I say, “Yeah, no. We’re making records. We’re making rock fucking records! That’s what we’re doing!” And everybody’s just, “Well, there’s no budget for it anymore.” But you know, who cares.
My husband is on my team, so that’s just what it is – we’re gonna work during this tour. While we’re doing these shows, we’ll be working on the other record because that is the way that it has to be done. That’s just the way the music business is now. There’s no luxury to take a few months out and make that type of record unless you’re doing another project. So, we did the orchestra Easter weekend in London for 19 hours, and then we’re gonna be picking up the recordings of the actors as we travel, then editing them and mixing it in September and October.
There’s so much baton-twirling going on right now in your life.
But that’s the thing that you and I are talking about: Being an artist is a discipline and a devotion. You’re devoted to it, and you serve the muses.
And sometimes the muses serve other people. According to Gregory E. Miller, who interviewed Kristen Anderson-Lopez for the New York Post, you were the inspiration behind the Frozen megahit she co-wrote with her husband, “Let It Go.” They had you in mind when they wrote it.
Oh, really? That’s so great. How wonderful is that type of exchange? You don’t even realize that that’s happening, and I think that’s when art is really working – when the muses are working. I get inspired by something that I’m hearing or seeing, and then it’s that baton passing like you and I talked about. We’re tapping into this force that’s creation – the muse creative force – and it gets passed around, so the well never gets dry. You see, the well keeps getting filled up because people keep giving back to it and energizing each other. It’s really great to be a part of that type of process. Thanks for telling me that. That’s a great feeling.
I’d like to talk about how you’re 50 but look 35. How much pressure do you put on your looks?
Well, first, thank you for saying that. I have had really great people around me. Kevyn Aucoin – he was part of the gay community (Aucoin died in 2002) – was talking to me years ago about skincare. This was well over 15 years ago, and so I am very disciplined. Also, my husband has kidnapped me on and off for the last 15, 16 years, so I don’t get to see the sun much. And it rains all the time in England! I’m very disciplined, if I’m honest with you. I really watch what I eat too – except I did have two pieces of pizza today! I feel like, “Oh my god, it was my cheat day.”
You’re allowed maybe one cheat day a week.
But that’s all we get. Those French women, man…
They eat?
Yeah, but only meals. They don’t graze. They just have their meals.
To many people in the gay community, you’ve been a source of strength – a lifeline, even. What parallels do you draw between you and the gay community? How do you explain this affinity?
Well, I write a lot about emotions and things that I might not say or be able to say to somebody directly. In a song, though, I’m able to talk about things that I’m not able to talk about in linear terms, just because they’re too personal. I do think a lot of my friends in the gay community keep some of their feelings very private and they protect them, so therefore music and art is a way to express those feelings.
I’ve always been fascinated by the stories that I’m told. I am told a lot of stories and written a lot of letters from the gay community, from females as well as males. It shocks me sometimes some of the traumatic experiences (I hear about) – the abusive situations that some of the gay guys have told me that they’ve been through, being taken advantage of and getting involved in over their head, if you see what I’m saying. Not realizing what they’re getting involved in, thinking that they’re being appreciated for who they are and in reality they’re kind of being groomed for god knows what situation. I’ve heard quite a bit of these stories from young men. Then they’re quite shattered and have to go through the shame of what they’ve been through. They have to find their spirituality and their sexuality and a balance in that, they have to find how to integrate those two and how to forgive the self. How to forgive the self for getting involved in a situation that they didn’t realize would be perverse – perverse to their soul. Some people don’t realize that they’re getting involved in situations whereby they’re not loved at all; they’re just desired and manipulated. I get a lot of letters about young men coming to a big city and having to realize how to protect themselves, how to protect their soul, how to look after themselves.
There’s a line on one of the new songs, “Promise,” that you share with your daughter Tash: “Promise not to judge / Judge who you love.” Was that written with the gay community in mind?
Yeah, she and I talked a lot about that. We talked a lot about her friends who are gay and having issues being accepted within their family structure. We were talking about the difference between what somebody has to go through when they’re not supported by their family, and why does this have to happen? If a parent really has unconditional love, that has to mean unconditional love. It was something thereby we were realizing with each other – and she was teaching me! You know, as she does so much. Because it’s about sharing. It’s not about, “I’m the parent so I know.” No – I’m the parent and I can learn as well. So we were saying how there aren’t a lot of relationships that are unconditional, where you say “I love you, not because of this or that.” We were talking about that with friends, peers groups, teenagers – it can be quite something. So, we did talk about the idea of being gay. Tash and I have been talking about that for years because we have gay and lesbian people in our crew.
When we chatted a few years back you told me Tash said to you, “Mom, I’m not a lesbian. Black guys are hot.”
Yeah, she thinks black guys are hot. That’s what she said: “Black guys are hot.” All the gay men (on our crew) were saying, “Right on, Tash.” But I think “Promise” is really about, Can we listen to each other even though we think we know the answer for ourselves? When do we realize what’s right for me is not right for anybody else but me? And when do I not need to think that I know what’s right for you? My god, the arrogance in that! So we were beginning to really turn over stones based on what kind of promises we wanted to make to each other.
Musically speaking, you’re known for eliciting some pretty intense emotions. What’s a song of yours that still makes you cry?
The truth is, it depends on the mood. And sometimes it depends on if somebody’s asked me to play something and they’ve told me their story – then I hear it in a completely different way. I see it from their perspective, and I hear the song for the first time even though I’ve played it hundreds of times, and that’s the exchange.
At this point in your career, are you able to reflect on what you’d call your best work?
No, I can’t. I’m too close to it. I have no objectivity. Run into me in 20 years when I’m doing my granny rock…
Granny rock – how exciting!
Yeah, and in heels! That’s what Tash says: “Come on, you’re only 50 – go rock! When you’re a granny, you gotta do granny rock, but you’re not a granny, so no.” But we made a deal: not too much flesh on this tour and no interpretive dance. That’s the promise. (Laughs)
So, get back to you in 20 years and you’ll tell me what you think is your seminal work?
Maybe.
Deep Inside Hollywood: Ansel Elgort, Sundance TV, L Word Mississippi
- July 4, 2014 - 11:33am
Fault In Our Stars actor takes up piano
Not ready to be typecast just yet, hot property Ansel Elgort, currently making tweens cry nationwide in The Fault In Our Stars, is about to play a quiet, gay, Baptist piano master in Van Cliburn. He may no longer be a household name, having stopped performing publicly in 1978, but the late Cliburn, a Texas native, became an overnight star during the Cold War 50s when, in 1958, he won the Tchaikovsy International Piano Competition in Moscow. He went on to great acclaim, the anti-Liberace, if you will, and now the annual Cliburn Competition, sponsored by the Van Cliburn Foundation, keeps the legacy alive. Elgort’s a great choice for the role. He’s tall and lanky like Cliburn was, and he won’t need any hand doubles to take on the role – with a script based on Howard Reich’s biography, Van Cliburn – because the young actor already knows how to play piano. And if anyone can convince the little girls to go see a period film about a gay classical pianist, it’s this guy.
Out In the Night: the injustice system on display
The vital Out In The Night, from director Blair Doroshwalther, is not a feel-good documentary. It is, in fact, terrifying and enraging. It’s the story of four African-American lesbian friends (Renata Hill, Patreese Johnson, Terrain Dandridge and Venice Brown) who were attacked by a man (who allegedly threatened to “fuck them straight”) and who defended themselves violently. For this act of self-defense they were sentenced to between three and 11 years in prison. They were also characterized in the media as a “bloodthirsty” “lesbian gang.” The documentary that follows their case, the trial and its aftermath shines a harsh light on the treatment of queer women of color in the media and in the court system and demands to be seen by thinking people everywhere. It had its premiere at the Frameline LGBT Film Festival in San Francisco and will soon play at Outfest in Los Angeles, before finding its home on cable/on demand where it will have the biggest chance for audience impact. See it as soon as you can.
Sundance TV sees the future
Watching television has changed for good. Limited-run shows like Top of The Lake and short, concentrated seasons for offbeat, critically acclaimed, ongoing series are available for streaming and able to be watched at any time, inviting viewers to binge on entire seasons at once. And the networks with vision have responded. Case in point: Sundance TV, the newcomer that helped bring the well-reviewed Rectify to audiences, is moving forward with an entire slate of programming, a lot of it queer-themed. A series based on Chad Harbach’s baseball novel, The Art of Fielding, which had a gay storyline, is in development from producer Todd Field; Alan Cumming will produce an unnamed project inspired by the life of AIDS activist and restaurateur Florent Morellet; Joe Landsdale’s detective novels will find themselves transformed into Hap and Leonard, a comic buddy-detective piece set in the 1960s featuring a white Southerner and a gay African-American Vietnam vet; and A Visit From The Goon Squad, a story of a group of friends in 1980s San Francisco, will be adapted from the Jennifer Egan novel of the same name. You’re going to need a bigger DVR.
L Word Mississippi: Hate The Sin promises no lipstick
The title alone, with its “Hate The Sin” bump at the end, kind of gives you pause, doesn’t it? Weren’t we all pretty much aware that it’s not exactly great to be queer in rural America? But then there’s that first part: L Word. That L Word? The guilty pleasure lesbian fantasy of art-collecting, skateboarding, tons-of-sex-having, Prada-wearing, Sapphic sophistication? What exactly does L Word have to do with Mississippi? Well, everything, now that a reality show with that name is coming to Showtime in August. It follows the lives of a group of women in the Deep South, white and black, femme and (very) butch, all making their home uneasily in the swamp of American religious fervor, where dealing with people who claim to love and hate you at the same time is just a routine part of daily life. And because this is an opportunity to show a side of lesbian life the media’s not really interested in, let’s hope the series keeps it authentic and pulls no punches, rather than resorting to the usual reality show fakery of nonstop interpersonal fighting. Leave that to the Real Housewives, OK, Showtime?
The True Colors of Kathy Bates
- July 4, 2014 - 10:52am
Long before dishing lesbian wisdom to Melissa McCarthy’s mess of a character in this summer’s road-trip comedy Tammy, Kathy Bates had the gay community in shackles. It didn’t take a sledgehammer to maintain our obsession with her – it just took the Hollywood icon’s every turn on television (Six Feet Under, American Horror Story), Broadway (’night, Mother) and the big screen (Titanic, Misery).
Notably with Fried Green Tomatoes, her 1991 girl dramedy, and then with Dolores Claiborne and Primary Colors, Bates has kept us captivated for over four decades, bound to her boundless greatness. Now, as one half of a lesbian couple in Tammy (Sandra Oh of Grey’s Anatomy plays her partner), she’s giving you one more reason to be her biggest fan.
I’ve never been to an all-lesbian party, but based on the one your character, Lenore, throws in Tammy, clearly I’ve been missing out.
You have. It was a lot of fun! It really was. And there was a scene that was cut out of the movie where all the lesbian women on the dock were singing “Fire,” the Bruce Springsteen song, which was pretty fun.
You really can’t go wrong with some lesbians and “The Boss.”
No, no, no. It’s a sure thing.
Tell me about the best lesbian party you’ve ever been to.
I don’t know if I’ve been to a lesbian party quite like the one we have in Tammy. (Laughs) I’ve known and loved many lesbians in my life … but I don’t know if I’ve ever gotten them all into the same room at the same time! I always imagined that my and Sandra’s characters lived in a very small town, so I think many of these lesbians they’ve known were shipped in and probably work in Lenore’s (pet) shops in other towns, that it’s an annual thing and they come in and hang out for the holiday.
Melissa said your chemistry with Sandra was instantly palpable. Who are some other women you could see yourself going lesbian for onscreen?
Let me think about that. I do know that I’m just absolutely in love with Sandra, and let me just say that she really brought our relationship to bloom. She brought a lot of love and warmth, and it was her idea to have wedding rings – because of course! – which I hadn’t thought about, and also, really, to think that our relationship is the healthiest relationship in the movie.
You know, we’re non-judgmental, and my scene on the dock with Melissa – it was important for me to be able to ad-lib how difficult it is, or was, especially 20, 25 years ago, for lesbian women to come out. I think almost more difficult than for men to come out as gay. She brought just so much love, and she really helped create the little bubble of our relationship, and now I have forgotten your question. Oh, whom else would I like to be with. Ahh, let’s see. Who do I love? Oh, I could totally see this: I shared a plane trip with Uma Thurman once and I thought she was pretty cool. I could see doing a movie with her and having a lesbian relationship – although I’m much too old for her! (Laughs)
These days, Kathy, that doesn’t matter.
Yeah, that would probably be a fantasy movie relationship. Who else? I don’t know really. I’m just so in love and married to Sandra that I don’t know if I could come up with anybody else. It would feel like cheating! (Laughs)
Growing up in the South and in the Methodist church, what was your introduction to the gay community?
I really didn’t know what gay was until I got to college, but I was really in love with two of the guys who were in the theater department and then I realized they were in love with each other. It was like, “Oh. Fuck,” – excuse my language – “that just cut my opportunities in half here. It’s hard enough to find a guy, and now that means there’s 50 percent less!”
See, my parents were more of the age of grandparents in the ’60s, which certainly made it difficult for both parties. It took a little bit of doing. So, when I brought gay friends home to visit, it was really kind of funny to see them react. But they embraced them. They just thought it was hysterical that one of my friends, Milton, was walking around in a nightshirt that had been pressed beautifully. They got along with them pretty well. I have to say my parents never said anything to me derogatory about them, which was cool.
Unfortunately, one of the guys I was in love with passed away a few years ago from lung cancer, but I’m still very close to the other love of my life. I just saw him in New York – he actually wrote the Vanities play that we did off-Broadway for many, many years; his name is Jack Heifner – and so it’s wonderful that that relationship has continued.
Lenore and her partner are based on Melissa McCarthy’s own friends. Did that help inform your character? Did you base her off any lesbians you know?
I didn’t know that. Melissa never told me, but cool! I really didn’t. Like I say, I mean, how do you behave lesbian? (Laughs) I really thought about that. Unless you’re gonna go to some kind of extreme caricature that’s demanded of the script for some reason, these are just regular people and that’s their sexual orientation. Why do we have to ask if somebody’s gay or straight? I hope we get out of that. I hope I see us get out of that before, you know, I exit this plane.
It’s refreshing to see a gay couple portrayed as the most “together” part of the story. What do you think that says about how far we’ve come as a society regarding gay issues?
Going back to the scene on the dock, I wanted to improvise about Sandra and how she stood by me when the times were tough, how big her heart was and how comforting she was.
I remember being at a wedding; it was a male gay couple and they must’ve been in their 70s. They had been together for 50 years, and for the first time they had been able to go to Massachusetts and get married. It was so moving to me that they were able to have a wedding and celebrate their love in front of their friends and stand up together and say, “We love each other,” and be open about it and have the union blessed after all those years.
I remember last summer I was on vacation with my best friend who’s gay and we heard about Prop 8 and how people were gonna be allowed to marry, and it’s just like, why does it have to be legislated? How can you legislate something like that, really? Why is it up for discussion? That’s my feeling about it.
One of your earliest lesbian roles was in Primary Colors, which is notable for the big wet one you exchanged with your co-star, Stacy Edwards.
She was a doll.
What do you remember of shooting that kissing scene?
I was really nervous! (Laughs) I wanted to do it great, you know. I wanted to make it look like we’ve always done it. At the same time, it had to be a shock for Adrian Lester’s character, and Stacy’s so adorable. I loved the fact that everybody assumes she’s straight, or maybe she swings – who knows! I think there’s also that: People are on the spectrum sometimes. So, I just wanted to make it look real and tough and sexy.
Let’s talk about your involvement in the upcoming season of American Horror Story: Freak Show. What can you tell us so far?
I gotta be honest with you, I don’t know yet. I have not read a script. Ryan keeps promising scripts. He says I’m supposed to get some this week, and I’m really hoping I do because I’m leaving town to head to New Orleans. I’m just now beginning to work on the character, so I have no idea.
Including the fact that almost all of the names of the characters on American Horror Story: Coven – Myrtle Snow, Madame LaLaurie, Misty Day, Cordelia Foxx – are ones you’d likely hear in a drag queen contest…
Myrtle – oh my god!
Right? Coven was widely regarded as being very gay. How aware are you, or have you become, that the show has really resonated with drag queens and the gay community?
Not at all! This is the first I’m hearing of it. I mean, I don’t know if it was a male or female because he was so far away from us, but when we were doing the PaleyFest (in Hollywood) there was a guy – I think it was a guy – in a Myrtle Snow wig, which we were delighting in. She just lends herself to that, I think.
But so does your character, Madame LaLaurie. And I’ve seen boys do her in drag. When that happens, can’t you retire? Inspiring drag queens – that’s really the ultimate life goal, right?
(Laughs) I hear there’s a gay bar here in West Hollywood where they do Dolores Claiborne a lot. Listen, it’s great to have your reputation still alive and kickin’ at my age, so I appreciate it wherever it comes from.
Lesbian Vegas: Lets Get Together!
- June 28, 2014 - 2:40pm
Believe it or not, there are A LOT of lesbians in Las Vegas, even though sometimes its hard to tell, rest assured we are here, the secret is knowing where to look.
Over the years Vegas has really gone through a lot of different ladies’ nights. There was Girl Bar, by Sandy Sachs and Robin Gans, at the Krave lounge, when Planet Hollywood was still the Aladdin, which did very well and then Krave took over and called it Kitty Bar which did not last.
DJ Lisa Pittman has launched several girl parties including Orchid Wednesdays at Piranha, Bootybar which began at the Bootlegger and then was relaunched at Share nightclub, and a daytime pool party called KittyDip Mondays at Tao Beach.
There was also G-Spot at the Gipsy which had the tagline “If you can’t find it, then you can’t come”, the Saturday night became extremely busy but eventually was cancelled for repairs and never relaunched.
Unfortunately, these event’s have come and gone, but Lesbians in Vegas still have options.
Freezone nightclub and bar has been running the longest on again, off again ladies’ night in Las Vegas and is currently the only ladies’ night in town. At one point FreeZone seemed to be dubbed a lesbian bar by Las Vegas locals partly due to the previous owner Kaye Taylors involvement with the venue. Ladies’ night is still on, and its every Sunday at Free Zone where you can get $8 beer busts, $10 liquor busts, HOT Go-Go girls, pool tables, contests and much more!
Betty’s Outrageous Adventures, Las Vegas’ largest and oldest lesbian social group was established in 2001 and has over 3000 “Bettys” who enjoy monthly dinners, coffee socials, movies, poker parties, sporting, cultural events and much more. Their primary mission is to provide a variety of activities in which lesbians can develop friendships and a sense of community within Las Vegas. Check out bettysout.org, get involved, and make some new friends!
Dinah Shore Weekend, Ladies from around the world descended on Las Vegas the weekend of April 24-27, as Girl Bar, in association with Truck Stop Girlz and Total Rewards by Caesars Entertainment, filled the city with tens of thousands of Lesbians for Dinah Vegas 2014. Now in its third Vegas year, the gathering of gals took full advantage of non-stop entertainment, food, beverages and gaming in the city that never sleeps and where there is no “last call!” Dates for next year’s event are set for April 23-26, 2015 with more information at DinahShoreWeekend.com
For more lesbian Vegas information visit www.LesbianVegas.com
Black & White Party AFAN Tickets
- June 28, 2014 - 12:57pm
Editors Note: July 2014 - Lets make this a summer of change
- June 28, 2014 - 11:49am
Let’s make this the summer of change.
I know that sounds cheesy, but I’m serious.
Growing up I was teased and bullied for being different. The way I ran, the way I held my arms, I was different and bullied for it. I would sit in the front seat of my junior-high school bus hoping I could run fast enough so the back of the bus ‘cool kids’, who heckled me the entire ride home, couldn't beat me and throw me into a dumpster again.
Being Gay is not easy and it's not something we choose. What we choose is our response to these things as we grow up.
Today I am an adult and I am still bullied by my own peers.. Why do we, some of the most fragile and judged people I know, choose to bully and judge one another. Instead, as a gay community let us unite and support each other.
Love one another. We are the support we need and we form a community that can make a difference in each of our lives.
Lets make this the summer of LOVE.