Barry Manilow to marry a man
- May 1, 2015 - 3:57pm
Barry Manilow is so Vegas. It turns out, he’s also so gay, which makes him so Gay Vegas.
While the rumors have followed him around for decades, People magazine reported on April 8 that Manilow, 71, wed his longtime manager Garry Kief, 66, last year in a private ceremony. That’s right – Barry and Garry are married.
Well, to be accurate, they had a commitment ceremony. They did not obtain a marriage license or file papers. The couple plan to officially marry later this year, reports New York Daily News.
The world best knows Manilow for his 1970s hits, like "Copacabana" and "Mandy,” as well as for his impressive stage presence and wardrobe. The latter, coupled with the fact that he was only previously married for a short period (1964-1966) to Susan Deixler has meant that suspicions about his sexuality have always persisted. His tight-lipped approach to discussing his private life hasn’t helped matters either. Now news of his big day seems to have finally put those rumors to rest.
The ceremony was held in Manilow's Palm Springs, California, home and, according to a source, counted on 20 to 30 guests in attendance. Not that they knew a wedding was to be held – they were simply given a lunch invite!
Two guests in particular stand out. Sources say Marc Hulett, Manilow’s assistant since the 1980s, performed the ceremony after registering online to become a minister. As if that wasn’t fantastical enough, Suzanne Somers was reportedly Manilow’s best man!
While the pair did not sign any official paperwork, reports say both Manilow and Kief wear wedding bands.
Indeed it was a ring that cemented the speculation, and there’s a Vegas connection there. Cameras caught Manilow sporting a wedding ring during a performance at the MGM Grand the night of April 12.
According to various reports, the couple have been together for more than 30 years. As of the writing of this article, Manilow has made no official announcement about the news.
Exclusive Interview: Lisa Lampanelli
- May 1, 2015 - 3:47pm
The hilarious Lisa Lampanelli will be performing in our city next month. Ahead of her appearance, the Queen of Mean was gracious enough to speak with Gay Vegas.
So Lisa, your weight loss has been a topic of conversation. You lost over 100 pounds.
It was three years ago. I came out about it about six weeks after the surgery. I talked about it publicly because I just am proud of it and didn’t want anyone to feel it was a shameful thing to do. The first place I went in detail about it was on Bethenny Frankel’s show, which was about nine months after the surgery.
So when dining, what’s your hardest temptation to resist?
Well it’s not a diet. Basically what happens is you have weight loss surgery.
All it really means is they take out most of your stomach so you can’t eat like you have nine rectums.
You basically can eat tiny little amounts and no food is bad. But I have given up sugar and I have given up a lot of things that are bad for me just because why fill your tiny little stomach with something that isn’t helping you physically? I definitely miss tons of sugar and I miss tons of desserts and all that, but if that’s how I ate now, unfortunately with the small amount I can eat I’d have no energy whatsoever just to get through daily life. I kind of chose to do that. If it’s really something that I want at a birthday or a holiday, I’ll have a little piece of it. But that’s pretty much the best I can do.
Let’s move on to a question that’s a bit more fun. President Obama. If circumstances were different, would you?
Date him or marry him?
Either.
Well look, I have brand new standards for dating because I married Jimmy Big Balls [Jimmy Cannizzaro] about four and a half years ago now, and got divorced last year. My new standard is – because Jimmy was a good guy – a good guy who has a good job, so I guess president would qualify as a good job. He would have to have no out of wedlock children, which so far I don’t think Barack has any. But he would have an angry ex-wife. Think about it. Michelle would be very put off with him dating such a beauty as myself.
This would be if Michelle didn’t exist and there were no kids.
If she didn’t exist?! Oh my god! I guess so. Although if you’re going to date a black guy you might as well date a thuggy one to really piss off your parents. So I don’t know, he might be a little bit too safe for me, but that’s probably what’s good for me.
Now, if you were to take over an entire casino and turn it into your own personal home, what casino would it be and why?
Well, first of all, I would have to say The Venetian because it has that big Canyon Ranch Health Spa there and I like to pretend I like to be healthy. So I pretend that I go to the spa. I usually don’t, but it appears to be a classy move on my part.
But those guys who are rowing the boats seem a little suspect to me. They seem like pickpockets from old Italy.
You would hire all new staff obviously.
Oh yeah, yeah. They would be all gay. 100 per cent gay men. And lesbians would be the security force.
Would you take the gondola everyday to get where you need to go?
I’d have that ocean dried up and I’d make it cement. I can’t stand that idea of somebody rowing me around. Suppose I gain my weight back, then they’ll look at me and say I’m fat. I don’t need it. But do hire a lesbian security force, because this way you know I’m protected. Those lesbos have my back, finally.
Speaking of which, if you were a lesbian, who of your lesbian friends or acquaintances would you pick as your life partner and why?
I’m not friends with lesbians. They’re a pain in the ass.
Actually, I have a lesbian couple who are friends. My friend Jessica Kirson is a comedian. She’s really funny, so I couldn’t pick her because I don’t need the competition. So it probably would be her wife, Danielle, who’s a shrink. She’s a psychologist – that’s the best person to ever be involved with. I could get all their services as a psychologist for seven days a week. I could really save money on my therapy bills. I’ll take Danielle, Jessica’s wife, but unfortunately I’m not going to be licking it yet anytime soon.
Okay, so you’re known as the Queen of Mean. Growing up, were you the bully or did you use your clever wit to protect you and your friends from bullies?
I did neither of the two. When I was growing up I wasn’t particularly funny. I could make my mom laugh and she would stop yelling for a change, so that worked out. But usually I kind of stayed not class clown-y. If you talk to a lot of comics, they were never the class clown, because that’s always the idiot who is doing something stupid. We make jokes and are under the radar. So yeah, I was a little under the radar. I never got bullied. I never was a bully. I was just a kind of normal, believe it or not, theater geek. No one likes a theater geek more than a gay guy, so I’m sure I dated a few of them too.
What about now? Do people bully you? Do you feel like you’re more the kind of person that would stand up for someone who is being bullied?
I’m insane with that. I try to save everybody. That’s my problem. If I see something that I can help with, I want to jump in and change everybody’s life. So all my friends, I want to just write a check and get them out of their situation. Or I want to help them raise money for this cause or do that. And I think the problem is it’s not up to me to run and rescue everybody. Then they’re not going to go on their journey that they’re supposed to learn from.
Onstage is one thing. We have fun. Offstage, I’m more likely to have to smile, and grin and bear it when somebody says something crappy to me than bully somebody else.
You’re set to perform in a show at The Venetian called “Lipshtick”. What’s your favorite shade of lipstick?
Oh, it’s that – you can look it up, you’re a big ‘mo. Deep, deep, dark, dark, like bright purple that MAC has out that Rihanna was the spokesperson for. I don’t know the name of it [it's from Rihanna’s VIVA GLAM line], but it’s this really bold purple. My makeup guy, Rob, who’s another one of you people, says he likes me in a bold lip. And I said, “All right Rob, you know about lips. So let’s do it.”
So, tell me one of your funniest Las Vegas stories?
I have none because I’m freaking boring. I’m 53. Are you out of your mind? Who am I partying with? What am I doing? I basically do my show. We fly in. They pick us up. I sleep for three hours before the show so I actually have some energy in my 53-year-old skinny ass. Then I get out of the show and fly back home. I’m not fun! I’m boring as hell. You would hate me.
Now if you had to live the rest of your life as a Las Vegas’ show celebrity, who would it be and why?
You know, probably that one that got eaten by the tiger [that would be Roy of Siegfried & Roy]. Because you get a lot of sympathy for getting eaten by a tiger. I mean you never have to work ever again! That’s the way to do it. You get eaten by a tiger, you live, and then you collect disability. Perfect.
There’s this viral argument going on between Elton John and the creators of Dolce & Gabanna. What’s your whole take on their argument over the use of IVF?
I will absolutely boycott D&G – as I like to call them – because I can’t afford their stuff. I’m protesting them for the right reason, because it’s too expensive! Where were you Elton John when they were charging me $70,000 for an alligator handbag?! That bitch should have been mad at that. She – Ms. Elton – is picking his battles a little too frivolously.
But I feel all children, even ones born through a vagine, any kid who was born, even to straight parents, I feel is a scourge to humanity. Until you’re 15, I want nothing to do with you. Elton – shut up about it. All kids suck, including yours.
What can we expect from your new comedy special Back to the Drawing Board on Epix? Can you tell us more about it?
What do you think? The crap I’ve been telling you! I’m outspoken, I’m loud, I’m insane, I insult people, I talk about my life.
People ask me all the time: what’s happened with the divorce? What happened with the weight loss? Do you struggle with your weight? I said, “Screw it. I’m going to tell it all in a special so that people stop asking me about this.” All the answers, all things people wanted to know, plus some behind-the-scenes stuff on some TV shows I’ve done that they will be very happy to hear about.
Finally, you have a background in journalism for Rolling Stone, Playboy and many others. How did you get into comedy?
I was a journalist yeah. When I hit 30-years-old I was like, “Okay, I’ve had this thing on my mind for about 10 years.” I really wanted to try it but was too scared. “Should I do it?” I said, “You know what? I’m going to try it once. If I’m terrible, I’m just not going to do it again.” Life’s too short to waste your time doing something you’re horrible at. But I got so lucky because I had taken this comedy class from this guy named Michael Jackson – and this is a different Michael Jackson. This one was actually black and had a penis. So I took the class and thankfully on my first open mic show I did really well, so I kept going.
And look at the gift I am to the world and to you gays. You should be thanking me right now.
We do thank you Lisa, and those of you wanting to show your appreciation in person can do so by checking her out in “Lipshtick- The Perfect Shade of Standup” at the Sands Showroom in The Venetian on June 13.
Matinée Las Vegas Festival
- May 1, 2015 - 3:35pm
As Vegas gets hotter, the Matinée Las Vegas Festival returns to cool things down while firing them up. Now in its fifth year, event promoters Jake Resnicow, Patrick Crough and Paul Nicholls have planned a party that promises fun, fun, fun!
Gay Vegas got to chat with Jake and Paul all about Matinée.
What are your roles in Matinée Las Vegas? Tell me a little bit about the history.
Paul: We’re all partners in the event and Jake was actually the one who originally brought Matinée to the US.
Jake: I brought Matinée to New York City for the first time in 2010 where we took over Governors Island for Gay Pride weekend. The next year we brought the Matinée experience to Las Vegas for what has become the fastest growing gay dance festival in the country. Paul has come on board and helped grow Matinée to where it is today, and we’re really excited for our five-year anniversary, where our Saturday main event will be taking over the newest waterpark in the country.
You say you brought Matinée to the US. Where did it originally start?
Jake: So Matinée is from Spain. It happens every Saturday in Ibiza at Amnesia, where they do 20,000-plus people every Saturday. It’s pretty incredible. And their signature event that really is for the gay community is the largest gay event in the world, which is Circuit Festival Barcelona. It happens every August and they do tens and tens of thousands of people in Barcelona.
Paul: And their biggest event of that is actually their waterpark party, which is why we’re so excited to bring that waterpark party for the first time to the US.
So at what point did you decide to have this party in Las Vegas? How did that come about?
Paul: I think Jake had explored Vegas. They had done an event on July 4th weekend, which I attended actually, as a guest the first time. And I think that’s where they really saw the potential in Las Vegas. You know, Las Vegas is unique obviously in many ways. One being that it is the entertainment capital of the world. There are so many amazing resources, whether it is nightclubs or performers at our doorstep. The other factor, especially in the United States market, is that you can serve liquor 24 hours. It really gives promoters like us a lot more flexibility when not dealing with a last call to really let the party flow organically and really deliver a true Barcelona experience, and the experience that people would get travelling to some of these parties in Europe, but obviously in a much more convenient location right in their backyard in Las Vegas. I think that’s definitely one of the reasons for the rapid growth of the event, and I think it’s also one of the reasons that the event just has a special and unique energy to it. I think Vegas has been a key part in us being able to deliver that product and really build a brand in the United States.
How did Cowabunga Bay, the waterpark, get involved with Matinée? Was it easy to convince them to do a gay party?
Paul: Yes actually. I’m pleased to say it was very easy to convince them to do it. They couldn’t be more into it frankly. There was more than one waterpark, but they were the one that immediately when we mentioned it to them were all about it and thought it was a great idea, and still could not be more excited about having an LGBT event, which is exciting. It’s a sign of the times I think. They’re thrilled to be welcoming us. In fact, not only that, but we’re their first real private event of this nature. It’s not like they’ve done straight events or something, which I’m sure they’re obviously open to and they’ll do those as well. We’re kind of really flattered and honored to be the first ones in there doing an event like this.
It is an unbelievable waterpark. They’re brand spanking new. They just finished putting the finishing touches on a couple of rides. They have everything from four-person raft rides to giant hot tubs to a wave pool, which is actually heated, 15 different types of waves. It’s a pretty amazing space. And the way this place was designed, you would almost think it’s designed for a party because it has a very central kind of vibe to it, as opposed to a lot of waterparks are very much like a maze and are very spread out, this waterpark focuses all around the wave pool, which is really perfect for us to create a party environment because it creates that nucleus of energy.
Cowabunga Bay is located where exactly?
Jake: It’s in Henderson. We’re going to be running free shuttles from the Rumor Hotel throughout the night.
Paul: We always encourage people, especially if they’re going to be drinking, to cab it or shuttle it over, as opposed to driving.
I’m sure there have been some outrageous things you’ve seen in the five years of doing Matinée in Las Vegas. What are some of the most out there things you’ve seen happen?
Paul: One of the things that happened, and it’s kind of become a yearly tradition now, is at the Monday dance people do little shows from their balconies. It’s always really funny. People have found new creative ways to perform these shows. We had one group on a balcony that were parading out a guy sitting on an ironing board like he was Cleopatra or something. I could give you a list of things we’ve seen. It’s become kind of an unspoken tradition. We call them the Monday balcony shows.
Shifting gears, tell me about the pyrotechnics that are going to be involved this year?
Jake: I think what makes Matinée Vegas so special is access to venues that can do things you really can’t do anywhere else in the world. For example, on Sunday night at our main event we’re literally shooting out massive fireballs in the middle of the club that as you’re dancing on the dance floor you just feel the heat and see it right above you. It’s like no club in the world, and we take it over for our Sunday night main event. . It’s incredible. I’ve been to Ibiza, I’ve been all around the world, to Barcelona – nobody can do what they do at Rain.
And what kind of attendees do you get? Internationals? Locals?
Paul: Huge international crowd. Vegas is a very easy place to get people almost from anywhere in the world.
Of course it makes sense that we get a lot of people who would travel up from LA and San Diego.
Jake: It’s also a very young crowd, which is really exciting, with many of our attendees coming for the fourth or fifth consecutive time. We always start our weekend passes at an incredibly low rate that we don’t even really make money on. Starting an entire weekend at $99 or $149. We’ll slowly release the information – whether it be DJ lineups or venues. But those people that jump on those early bird tickets really trust and have come to expect same great production every year and it’s really exciting to see that. The hardest thing is price for so many people and we want to make it so everyone can come and experience Matinée.
What about locals? Do you get a lot of people from Las Vegas?
Paul: Yeah, we do. We get more and more locals every year. I think the locals have realized that this is something that’s in their town that they should feel they have some proprietary vibe over. Every year we get more and more people who really embrace the festival.
What else do you think would interest your partygoers?
Paul: We’ve just announced we’re now doing Matinée San Diego every Labor Day. We really want to kind of bookend, so to speak, and kick off the summer season with Matinée Las Vegas and end the summer season with Matinée San Diego, which is something we’re really excited about. We’ve had an unbelievable initial response to Matinée San Diego and we’re really hoping to create the same energy there that we’ve been able to do in Vegas.
Where can people see the lineup?
Jake: They can go to www.matineevegas.com and click the lineup tab.
You held a DJ contest. Has the winner been announced yet?
Paul: No, it should be announced in the next couple of weeks.
Jake: One of the things that makes Matinée unique is we’ve created new stars through this Matinée DJ contest. We encourage everyone to enter. We always put them at the main parties. So the winner has a chance to really take the biggest stage in Vegas.
Great! So is there anything else people might be surprised to learn?
Jake: We’re always quiet about this – we always give back to the community. Every year we team up with LifeBall, which is the world’s largest AIDS fundraiser. We make significant contributions to them. As well, in New York, we’ve teamed up with the Ali Forney Center and raised close to $50,000 this year with a calendar that we produced.
Amazing. So, any last messages for the locals in Las Vegas?
Paul: We would love them to come. Matinée Vegas is something we’re really proud of and we would like the locals to be really proud of it as well because it wouldn’t happen without their amazing city.
It’s a big thing for Vegas. It’s a big thing for the local LGBT community. We really want them there. We really want them to be a part of it.
I think at the beginning some of the locals weren’t sure what it was. Were maybe a little intimidated by it or thought it was a group coming in. We’re not a group coming in – we’re building something in Vegas. The Vegas aspect of Matinée could not be bigger.
Vegas is really our partner in crime in this event, so we really want the local community to feel as though this is their festival.
If you want to join the fun, May 22-25 are the dates to clear on your calendar! Visit www.matineevegas.com to book your hotel room and purchase tickets.
