3/6/2011

8 PM

Littlefield

Ariel Aparicio

Bring down the lights – a hint of color in the corner, black and white photos of Ariel Aparicio blink across the wall, the mumbling of those mingling in and out of the room began  to grow to a sounding of excitement – a rumbling of the urge to sing lyrics to his new album – we were waiting for him.

When the band took the stage and began playing the riffs of “Love Left Bleeding” – the audience gazed – they felt the empowering lyrics about to begin – and there he was.

Ariel took the stage and the mic – like he always does, a seasoned professional, a musician that puts heart and soul into every note, lyric, melody. He grasped every single word to the opening song – thrusting himself into the spotlight as if to be bringing out every inner emotion he possibly could have mustered up (and with the deepest tone of his embellishing, blissful, soulful voice – he echoed Daddy was a Sinnin’ Man … )

My ears were full with the voices and screams, claps and hollers – the crowd loved him, they were a part of this brilliant emotional journey that he was sharing.

I had to remember there was a band on stage. When I looked into Ariel’s eyes I only saw him performing – the stage was HIS – he was above the earth in his own musical heaven and he was sharing it with us – through each and every single word.

The very powerful Tattered Heart drew roaring applause – She Can Show Us had us on our feet, I rocked out to the sheer fabulous perfection that was Sorry (and back up vocals by the ever so talented Ayanna Williams, in one word: spectacular).

One cannot forget to mention the quiet, yet astounding Flowers – to which Ariel added “that was for you Robin…” – Robin, a fan who had traveled in from Florida, began to cry and was comforted by musician Luciar. What a moment – to see that impact that Ariel has beginning to grab each hand around the room and take that person’s soul into his own.

Caroline followed by Amor Sangrando had the crowd swooning and in awe – this man is a genius. His swagger on stage and his ability to turn into this performer that just tugs at you – his voice is like hearing a calm wind after a vicious storm – he is soothing.

After saying some thank yous Ariel sang his very classic tune “Lucille” followed by “Pretty in Pink” (with Psychedelic Furs Paul Garisto on drums) and dedicated it to fan Holly Canfield from West Virginia (a huge fan of the song -  she danced in the audience in pure glee – once again, a moment to forever be remembered.)

With him on stage as well were Steve Dawson on guitar and Pemberton Roach on Bass.

Ariel is clearly talented – no one dared question this fact – but if ever new respect could grow for an artist – it happened at Littlefield on March 6, 2011. I considered this a break out performance for Ariel Aparicio. His volume of musical sound and vocal fluidity combined with his overwhelmingly raw, real, honest stage presence proved in the age of over produced vocals and forced lyrics – that creativity, originality, and pure blissful musical talent still exists.

After seeing his record release party performance I began to wonder what the future would bring for Ariel – for those who are not listening, open your ears, mind, and hearts to this intense invention. Aerials, releasing officially on Tuesday, March 8, 2011 brings to life its own genre – a flavor you will long taste even after you finish playing the last track.

Of course you will press repeat.

These memories of Ariel’s record release party will long last in my own head – through the screaming fans, loving admirers, and Ariel’s sheer possession of the stage – this night will always be special.

A rose to surely keep.

JGE.

*Jennifer Etebari is THEE go to lady for anything Ariel Aparicio related as well as for Bully MGMT. You will find links to those sites all over the Twisted Peppermint site because they are one of our best friends in the world of music and art.  It is such an honour to get to have her guest blog about Ariel’s release party. Now go out and get your copy of the CD!

THEE LiveLavaLive T-Shirt available at Hot Topic NOW! Go get it!

TwistedP : My friend’s sixteen year old daughter linked me to one of your videos months ago and I loved it! I think what you’re doing is really positive and encouraging to young people. Was that your intention when you started or did you just want to have a good time w/ YouTube?

Mitchell Davis: Honestly, i was just making videos of me being me… having a good time with this whole new YouTube thing
but i do love to promote the message with my video that being yourself is awesome!

TP: Twisted Peppermint (my webzine) is really about encouraging people to express themselves and be creative and I think that is exactly what you’re doing, while entertaining and at times even pointing out issues (ie. the recent environmentally friendly webisodes).  What sort of things inspire you when you’re doing this?

MD: I just really love making people laugh… just trying to bring a smile and show being the weirdo you really are is nothing less than super sweet

TP: I noticed you were rather excited about the new My Chemical Romance album, what other music are you into? Is music a big part of your lives? (I’d imagine so!)

MD: I am very very very pumped about the new MCR… some other music i am into right now: kid cudi, analog rebellion, kanye west, and matt & kim
and yes music is a HUGE part of my life ( i have a good idea that it is for kyle too) but for me its really one of the few things that really makes me feel alive alive

TP: How do you view what you do? Do you see it as an art form?

MD: Well on my MM channel i definitely see it as art… its just something i can do to show that a video from me doesnt have to have a laugh and can make you feel something new or remind you of a feeling you havent felt in a while

oh and how do i view what i do?… a perfect job for me

TP: My usual question to everyone I talk to is, What is art to you?

MD: Oh woah that is a huge question…
i really think art is everything… if it makes you feel something (even if its just a small spark of something new or old)
also its all about our persecutive and how we view the “everything” around us

TP: You have a tshirt at Hot Topic! I used to work at Hot Topic in the Monroeville Mall outside of Pittsburgh (you know, where Dawn of the Dead was filmed!) and usually we had very dark, moody clothes. Where did the design from your shirt come from and how excited are you to have that there?! That must mean something to you and say something about what you’re doing.

MD: I am very pumped about having a shirt there!
and the design came from Districtlines and me working together… i am very happy with it and feels very “livelavalive” to me (with all the red and blue and randomness)

TP: The colours in your shirt are awesome! I like that it isn’t black and moody…but you both don’t seem to be dark and moody, so I guess that is a good reflection of your show. Have you seen the shirt actually in some stores yet? (Or maybe you don’t go to Hot Topic — but you should probably say you do right now because they do have a shirt for you there!)

MD: haha i just said like the same thing as you in my last answer… we rule!
and actually i have not had a change to go check my local HT to see if they have it but if i do im gonna buy 3 (one for me, kyle, and my grandfather)

TP: Better yet, Have you seen anyone wearing the shirt?  I was thinking about going into the local Hot Topic and getting a few to give to some of my readers that I know enjoy your show.

MD: That would be cool but really just watch the videos and im a happy camper (but really BUY THE SHIRTSSSSSZZZZZSSSZSZ )

TP: Okay, I admitted that a friend’s daughter turned me onto your show, so I’m admitting I’m out of touch with how it all started. This is probably not something you enjoy answering but as my final question, I’d love to know where the name came from? LiveLavaLive…

MD: haha i never answer that question its a big secret and means a ton to me

TP: Thank you so much for answering my questions and I look forward to your answers! (and even more forward to more of your show!)

MD: and thank you so much for having me!

You can check out more of what Mitchell Davis is up to by checking out:

Mitchell Davis of livelavalive

livelavalive

Hal Sparks is a badass NOH8 mofo

Hal Sparks, comedian, actor, musician, activist, inspiration. Put that in any order and it still makes me wish I did more than I do already. The first place I ever saw him was on E! when he hosted the show Talk Soup. After that I saw some of his stand up on TV but it wasn’t until Queer As Folk that I started to really admire him. (Not for the reasons you might be thinking!) I was blown away by his versatility and his ability to play a character that many actors wouldn’t have the guts to play. Instant admiration.  Eventually I saw him at an AIDS Walk and started to see his name around many of the charities that I support. My admiration only grew as I realized that he was for real. He didn’t do Queer As Folk because he was looking for fame and fortune, he sincerely cared about the issues. Then I find out he has a band. Zero 1. What else can this man do? “I think I’m a combination of all of them really, I don’t think I feel like I’m more of an actor than a musician or a comedian, they all seemed to be a beautiful and great way to express things since I was a kid. I mean, I’ve been a Kiss fan since I was five, I’ve been listening to Steve Martin, Robin Williams, Jonathan Winters, Richard Pryor, George Carlin, since I was the same age.”, he assured me, “They all have their own challenges and none of them come easier to me than another.”  He was one of the first people that I started to follow on Twitter which is where I learned that this guy is pretty much too smart for me. His passion, compassion and eloquence make him someone that I enjoy reading just about everything he talks about. I learn a lot from him. And I learned a lot during my opportunity to talk to him as well.

One of my favourite things that he said was, “I have my own ideas about what happens to us after we die, but I do know that no one can tell you how much time you have, no one can tell you how much experience you can have in your life, so anyone who tries to limit you on what you should or shouldn’t be doing as far as societal pressure, is selling something.” If there is one statement from the entire conversation that sums up what Twisted Peppermint is about, it is the idea that you do what is you and what you feel as an individual, not let others tell you who you are. Essentially “be yourself” right?

I wanted to know where all of this compassion he has comes from? I suppose I was of the understanding or belief that we tend to lean towards compassion for various issues because they have touched us in some way. Hal explains differently, “I think the natural inclination is towards being compassionate, open-minded and hopeful, but it usually gets beaten out of you as opposed to into you, so I think I just managed to avoid the beating, you know? The sort of societal push towards not caring.” And with that the lessons began. I had never heard it put that way nor thought of it that way on my own. It really made me rethink my reasons for my own compassion and concern for various issues.  “I sort of view the way that I am as just common decency, but there is this idea that doing stuff or taking an interest in issues takes a lot of work. There is a level of work involved, you do have to get up and leave your house to go to an event or volunteer, but the effort really comes from avoiding it and the stress of avoiding it.  The negativity comes from not being compassionate.”  In just the first five minutes my perspective on issues and being involved in issues had changed and that isn’t a bad thing, it has made me realize that maybe we really are so involved in the issues we are involved in because we are these compassionate and caring people that we constantly strive to be. So maybe the key is in not striving so hard and just let it come, because it is inside of us already.

So what about the issue of hate? Does hate come naturally to us as well? If you have been reading my blog for a while (or any number of blogs I’ve had) you know how I feel about the state of hate these days. I don’t even like the word and I feel that hate has become the norm these days. We (as a culture) seem to love to hate others. Reality shows, celebrity gossip, so much about our media is about making fun of or disliking others. I asked Hal how he feels about all of that. “If anything it has really lessened the strength of the word ‘hate’,  really you can’t genuinely hate a lot of the things people say they do, especially as far as people go. There are a lot of people out there who are saying things like ‘OMG I love this band or that person’ so really saying ‘I hate Incubus’ is the equivalent of saying ‘If I’m not home by a certain time my parents are going to kill me.’ So that doesn’t concern me as much as a lot of other things going on.” He makes a great point here and one that highlights the issue of vernacular and how we can take a word and essentially beat it to death until it no longer has the same meaning anymore or at least isn’t nearly as intense as it once was.  He feels that, “we use extreme language to express extreme emotion even when the situation isn’t essentially that extreme.” Personally, I still can’t say that I hate a person, but that is just me and how I was raised, but I can certainly see his point and how, for the most part, people throwing that word around doesn’t have much of an impact anymore. He continued, “I think linguistically we have to be careful about how we talk, but only in how we communicate to ourselves. I think it was Lenny Bruce who said, ‘There are no dirty words, just dirty minds.’ and I think the same thing applies to violence, you know? That kind of language can be turned on ourselves as much as it can be turned onto another person or an activity. And the funny thing is, the people who are always saying they hate something do more damage to themselves than to the thing they actually hate.” Actually, that is exactly how I look at throwing hate around, that it can be detrimental to ourselves and to me it is just a way to attract more negativity.

Being involved in issues can be overwhelming to many of us and as much as we might like to help, sometimes we can’t express ourselves properly because we get that enraged about an issue. “Anger and being enraged like that really becomes ineffective towards the issue. If you’re too angry, you don’t have all of your skills at hand.” he told me, as I sat and realized, I have some anger management to work on. As humans we are expressive and I am always encouraging others to express themselves in a positive way yet I know I sometimes can’t do the same. My anger over an issue gets in the way and he’s right, I become quite ineffective. “If an issue is really that important to you and you really want to make a difference you have to learn to steady yourself and have all your wits about you.” So true.

Our art and how we express ourselves can sometimes create an inclination towards or away from an issue as well, especially if we encounter something during that expression that makes us suddenly realize differently about issues or the way we handle an issue. (As is the case as I talk to Hal and have my eyes opened to a new way of seeing.)  I asked him if he has encountered anything while working that has made him change his feelings on any issues. “No, I just think it is a natural expression of who I am. I mean, my views towards the gay community didn’t change after I did Queer As Folk. It was a natural expression of something that I thought needed to be done, which is largely why I took the role in the first place.” Told you so! If you haven’t seen his brilliant performance on the show, you have to check it out.

For those of us who seem to feel overwhelmed by the very issues we care about, it makes sense that we probably have to retrain our thought processes and start realizing that our efforts need not be overwhelming. What does Hal Sparks do to decompress from his efforts. “Well I always have something else to do. I have many outlets and they all feed into each other. My life feeds into my art and my art feeds into my life so there is no point where I actually let go of an issue.” There was a zen about talking to him. He speaks very confidently, animately and positively, which was slightly intimidating (due to my own insecurities) yet calming because he really expresses himself so intelligently, it was inspiring.  After talking to him , the idea of making our art flow into our lives and our lives flow into our art made perfect sense. That process is even pretty calming when you think about it.  Most likely this is all common sense that, as Hal stated previously, was kind of beaten out of us.

One of my favourite question to ask everyone is “What is art to you?” I did ask Hal this question. I did not, however, remember to turn the recorder on during that part of the interview. I loved his answer too. It was good, trust me. I’m bummed I didn’t record it, but if you follow him on Twitter, check out his stand up or follow him in anyway, you probably already get the gist of how he views art. He is art. So while I am admitting this was one of the toughest articles for me to write, it wasn’t for a bad reason.  Hal Sparks is a human being who never seems to slow down, but yet doesn’t seem bothered by being busy, which I think many of us can’t say for ourselves. We run ourselves ragged doing things we don’t believe in and save the things we love for later and call them hobbies. If there is one thing I came out of this interview with it is that I should be more diligent about the things I care about and my life should reflect my art, and vice versa.

I cannot thank Hal enough for talking with me. It really meant a lot and was by far one of the most informative and inspiring interviews I’ve done thus far.

Because I tend to like to focus on why people do what they do and what their thoughts are on how we process our compassion, art and ideas, I tend not to get too into asking people about things like, their bands, shows, movies, etc, I like to know about what goes on in their minds about why they do what they do. So I didn’t get into asking Hal about a few things.  So here I’ll just link you via some images so you can check them out yourself!

Zero 1

Charmageddon

Humpdays w/ Hal on the Stephanie Miller Show

His tongue...

Check more Hal out at:

www.HalSparks.com

PS: A HUGE THANK YOU to Amy for spending weeks going back and forth with me via email to make this happen. You rock!

I first met the guys of EC a few months back and had so much fun that I couldn’t wait to meet up with them again. Their big, in-your-face sound, sense of humour as a whole, their lightheartedness and genuine personalities and…above all, their knack for wanting to have a good time, really held them above the rest in my opinion.  So why can’t we get more of this UK band here in the US?  Well we are about to.  And I, for one, cannot be more excited.

Ella Carrera are indeed the UK’s best kept secret. I mean, they aren’t just playing little shows here and there in their native country, these guys can be found on LastFm and have been on Kerrang! radio.  Their shows attract lines of fans and luckily for us that secret is about to get out and by out I mean full blown technicolour out.  The band consists of six members, five of which are from England and one from Wales (for good measure, according to their website!) and they are about to hit the east coast of the  US on their Everyone’s Invited Tour 2010.

I’m going to pull the band’s description of the members directly from their website just because it will give you an idea on what I mean about how much fun this band are:

Adam Cooper: Vocals, tattoos, aggression, loves that Twilight film and long walks, usually found in Blowers (the local pub).

Ceri Collins: Vocals, awesome accent, better moves, crap hair, scared of spiders, usually found watching Liverpool F.C.

Martin Moseley: Guitars, height, pretty face, van driver, bit Marty McFly-esque, usually found fixing things.

David Carthy: Guitars, riffs, hats, riffs, easily influenced, riffs, wannebe dancer, usually found in his room… riffing

Adam Furmage: Bass, face, friend to everyone, needs a Topman card, rarely knows where he is, if found, call Ceri.

Simon Greenaway: Drums, massive arms, conversation, my hero, usually found online giving someone a tuning on Call of Duty.

Brigitte Maenhout (aka Bri or Cheese): Manager, idealist, always trying to make the world a better place, magic, usually found in the universe.

See what I mean. It’s just fun. It isn’t just for boys, girls and anyone in between, even your grandma would have fun watching these guys play. So lucky me got to talk to Adam Furmage the other night and get the skinny on how much the band is looking forward to touring here.  I asked him some other things, but more than anything, I think the important information should focus around this tour and their new self-titled EP.  The EP! Self-titled and available on iTunes? “Yep, in Europe, all over and coming in early November to the US.” Adam informed me via Skype last Wednesday evening. “It’s doing really well over here, I mean, we’re selling them, so that’s good isn’t it?” It really is because I know a lot of people here in the US who can’t wait to get their hands on it!

The tour dates can be found HERE and I highly recommend that if you are in any of the areas (or even if you aren’t) you should check them out live. These guys are energetic, interactive and infectious. You see one show, you have to see another.  You won’t be able to see them in venues like this for long, so get out there and check them out! Buy merch too because that is one of the other things I really like about this band. They aren’t afraid of colour. Adam explained the use of colour not only in their merch but their logo and other imagery as well. “Well you have to have your standard black tshirt, but then you can have a white one with bright pink on it, I like technicolour. We like colour, colour is good.” Currently, the webstore only takes orders outside of the US but hopefully that will be remedied soon because I have a feeling there will be a lot of new fans made during this tour.

I asked him what colour he felt he looked good in, you know, because there is a promo party happening at Artisanal Tattoo on November 19th where attendees will actually be able to paint band members. “I think I look good in violet and white, manly violet and manly white.” he answered. I will be keeping an eye out for manly colours in the paint I buy for the event.  That is an event you definitely won’t want to miss, look for details at the end of this article. I asked one of my usual questions, what is art? Adam replied, “Expression. I guess it could be any kind of expression as long as you are expressing yourself. That’s art, isn’t it? I don’t think there is one way to describe it so yeah it’s expression.”  Good answer.

The band is getting ready to release their first video “Everyone’s Invited, Not Just You” which was the inspiration behind the name of the tour. “We wanted to include everyone, not just like us playing a show but get everyone involved as well. Everyone is in this video and it was great fun! We want the tour to be like that too, get everyone involved.” I recalled a video I saw of the band playing a show where Ceri (Collins, one of the lead singers) jumped into the audience and started a circle pit. I asked him if we were going to see some of that on this tour. “Oh yeah, we like to get in the middle of things. I’m sure there will be a lot of that.”

I have heard a few things about what will be at the shows and they sound more like parties so I really hope some of you get to come out and see them. I know it won’t dissapoint you.  If you really want to get involved in helping to promote the upcoming shows you can join the Official US street team the Ella Carrera Knights. They are also on Twitter and MySpace.  Let us know if you’re interested in helping because the more the merrier and I know the band will really appreciate it as well.

So what else will they be doing when they aren’t playing shows here in the US? Probably some promo as well as checking out a few bands themselves. I asked Adam if they had visited the Ghost Buster’s Building while they were in NYC last time.  “That’s a real building? I’m there. Can I dress as a GhostBuster?” he asked. I don’t see why not, I’ve seen weirder things in NYC.

This is one band wagon you want to jump on. Great music, great people, and a fun time all around.  People are tired of being in the dark and being dragged down by all of the negativity out there.  Ella Carrera takes a genre we all know and love already and makes it fresh and new again and gives us something to look forward to. We are invited, YOU are invited, and I hope you will come.

Be sure to check out their website at WWW.ELLACARRERA.COM

Keep an eye out for their EP on iTunes very soon here in the US.  Those of you who can get it and have it now in Europe, colour the rest of us jealous!

Christian Thatcher

On Friday, September 1oth, we held an art opening for artist Christian Thatcher.  It was an incredible success.  I can safely say it was probably the most successful one I’ve seen since working at Artisanal Tattoo.  There were so many people there. His friends and loved ones, new people who wanted to check out this incredible artist’s work.  Everyone was there except the artist. Sadly Christian Thatcher left this world in July 2010 unexpectedly, leaving an incredible legacy of artwork and a reputation for skateboarding to match.  That did not stop this from being a celebration of his life.

Flier for Christian Thatcher show at Artisanal Tattoo

According to many of his friends, Thatch, as they called him, was involved in quite a few scenes but very well known in the art scene as well as the skateboarding scene on both coasts.  There was an amazing array of artwork displayed in the gallery at 26 Davenport Street, Somerville, NJ 08876.  Paintings, pen and ink, sketches, photos, a zine that was put together by Chris as well as a lot of skateboard decks and video footage of his life skating and just being an inspiration to many of the people around him.  He had a distinct style of his own when it came to his artwork, showing a very busy mind full of creativity and imagination as well as opinions and strong ideas.

There are photos from the show but currently I haven’t heard from the photographer yet about getting a few of them to post. Just to see how many people showed up and continued to show up for weeks afterward, made you realize how many people this man touched.  You didn’t have to know him, you could feel it.  His art work will be removed from our gallery in the next week or so and be heading back to his parents in Minneapolis.

If you want to know more about this artists and his impact to our culture, please check with http://handmemypunkerjacket.wordpress.com/ You can read more about him as well as see more of his artwork.

Thank you to everyone who made it out to this show.  It was definitely a success and the energy was immense.  Once I get more info, I’ll post more, but until then, be sure to read more about him at the link posted above!

Edited by Kate Bornstein and S. Bear Bergman

Seal Press; September 5, 2010; 302 pages; $16.95 paperback

ISBN 13: 978-1-58005-308-2

Keeping secrets about myself is not my greatest asset. Many people who know me will tell you right out that I am very open and opinionated and tend to not care what anyone thinks of what I say or do.  I’d say this is partially true, but sometimes it gets me in a lot of trouble.  From high school on, I can easily say I lived in a very queer bubble. Most of my friends were and still are queer, I still didn’t know what I was and everything I did seemed to involve something queer.  I’ve had friends who definitely always challenged the definition of gender, but for the most part my friends either identified as gay or straight and some as bi.  My first experience with someone who is genderqueer did not go so well.  Of course I had known about trans people and the like, but there were not so many in my circle.  This was during my undergraduate studies at Penn State University.  I was terrible. I still feel terrible about how I acted.  Ze caught me so off guard as ze came up to my then girlfriend to talk to her, that I kind of just said “Hi.” and walked across the street to wait for them to stop talking.  It was pointed out later by my girlfriend that I was “kinda rude”.  Yeah I kinda knew that, but did not know how else to react.  I am being honest here because I know no other way and also just to say that I have since come a very long way.

Fast forward to graduate school and I now had quite a few trans and genderqueer friends and for me it was just a part of my circle.  I, of course, still didn’t know how I identified (straight, gay, bi or just plain queer) but I was comfortable with all of those around me at this point but not without questions.  Many of the questions I was afraid to ask so I didn’t. I just looked things up on the internet and hoped I found the right information and didn’t make a fool out of myself when trying to use that information in real life.  During this time my best friend (who was my prior girlfriend, mentioned previously) and her friends were going to see Kate Bornstein speak at the University of Pittsburgh.   I’d been asked to go but not being familiar with Kate’s work and also not feeling as though I was worthy to be with these people while they got to see one of their favourite people speak.  So I am not sure what I did that night but I do know that I didn’t go. It did however force me to look into Kate and start reading hir books so that I could keep up.  I can’t lie, ze spoke of so much that I couldn’t even wrap my head around but at the same time forced me to realize that so many people in my life were dealing with something that I probably will never deal with.  I may have questioned my sexuality but I have never questioned my gender.  That did not stop me from falling head over heels into the things that Kate wrote about.  Regardless of my own personal battles, they were not all that different from those battling their gender identity when it came to coping with life.  And on that level I could definitely relate.

Fast forward to now, after having read Kate’s books, followed hir and Bear on Twitter, I can say I’m still learning but have the best teachers. In hir first Gender Outlaw book I was able to really see into the mind and heart of someone who does question whether gender does exist.  Through hir personal experiences and expressions, I had my mind blown and felt an entirely new level of understanding and even more compassion that I did already for the queer community (which I actually felt and maybe still feel, doesn’t always include trans folks).  By this time, I myself had taken to identifying as queer.  In hir ability to make me understand and see aspects of gender and gender identity issues, I felt freed in a way to finally (and safely) go out there and express my own views on these issues.

In Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation Kate and Bear clearly have their differences of opinion in certain areas, but are able to bring them together with this very thorough collection of essays, poems and other writings that is more comprehensive than I could have ever wished for.  To have the opportunity to read the experiences of such a broad variety of people who express gender (or not) within their communities, cultures and lives in general, for me, is almost overwhelming. I say this in a good way.  I need to be overwhelmed by something for it to affect me to want to know more or for me push myself to go even further to understand it.

So much of this book makes you think. It makes you think about the world in general.  How the world defines and expresses gender.  How the world (or some people in the world) choose to force gender upon so many people who clearly are not able to fit into these societal molds of what gender is or isn’t. It makes you think about how incredibly beautiful the world is if we do stop only looking at these forced genders and start looking at the people for who they are.  In a way that is what made this book so moving for me.  Right from the start, when Gwendolyn Ann Smith (We’re All Someone’s Freak) expresses:

“Being transgender guarantees  you will upset someone.”  Later saying “…I am the only person responsible for my own comfort or discomfort about my gender…but ultimately what others do cannot change who I am.”

That is such a powerful statement for all of us.  Cisgender, transgender, nongender, mixedgender, black, white, red, yellow, etc, that statement transcends sexuality and gender and speaks volumes to me about life in general and our ability to express ourselves.  When Raquel (Lucas) Platero Méndez (A Slacker and Delinquent in Basketball Shoes) pays homage to 1968 Francoist Spain’s treatment of María Helena N. G. and ends the essay by stating:

“Today is Saturday and I am going to raise my glass of wine in a toast to you M. H.  To you and all the trannies, faggots, and queers who reinvent ourselves every day.”

my heart felt heavy. Not because this tribute was a bad thing, but because this brought this book even deeper into my purpose in life which is to show the importance of art and, more importantly, our place in art. Just as art evolves and reinvents itself, so do people and when people are stopped in some way or forced to not express themselves, that kills the art. It kills the person.  It reinforced so much how strongly I believe in the issues of gender and self expression.

Some of the authors state their inability to choose or even understand a fixed gender identity for themselves. Having never seen any of these authors aside from the one of them and one of the editors in person, I felt that every single author had to be some of the most beautiful people I could ever know of in the world. Their strength, their emotions, their abilities to express these emotions, made me imagine an entire world of people like this. Yes! That’s it, this book made me wish there was never such a word as “gender” because people are too beautiful in their own right to pigeonhole into a stereotype.  I even found myself wishing I could relate directly through my own questioning of my own gender, but I can’t lie and say that I ever thought about it…until reading the one essay that I could most relate to.

In A Drag Queen Born in a Female Body by Adrian Dalton (aka Lola Lypsinka) so many issues were brought up that hit home.  I can’t count the number of times when I’ve said to someone “I can never be a drag queen but always a drag.” because I have a thing for costumes and overdoing my femininity with make up and hair and glitter.  I never could relate to straight females the same way that I could relate to a gay man who liked to accessorize.  The more flamboyant my gay male friends were the better.  And yes, I thought I was maybe a lesbian too, the same way Adrian thought.  When it all came down to it, like Adrian, I wanted to date gay boys and basically be a gay man, but be just as femme as I’ve always been.  Unlike Adrian, I never have nor do I feel the need to actually transition, but the idea that one of these essays hit home so much meant that this book is not just for people who are dealing with gender angst, it is for everyone.   It is even for those people who have no idea about what I’m talking about at all in this review because there is a lot of learning here.

There is a lot of learning in this book. A lot of learning about what is to be transgendered and transsexual and queer and all of those things that shouldn’t need labels but still do.  I always wished that our names were just good enough. “Are you gay?” No. “Are you straight?” No. “So you’re bi.” No. “Then what are you?” I’m Rose.  This book gave me hope.  It taught me that there is so much more going on with these issues than one can possibly fathom all alone. It makes me grateful to know that there are so many people out there who can relate to each other because no one should be completely alone when they deal with issues that can become this emotionally upsetting or even this emotionally joyful! We need people to cry and celebrate with and the essays in this book proves that there are those people out there.  It isn’t all perfect endings. There are tears of sorrow, especially when we read about how different cultures treat their transgendered members. Especially when we think about Leona Lo’s Letting My Light Out and the experiences of being the first transsexual woman to “lift the veil from the ‘invisible’ transsexual community in Singapore.” The fear of being seen as an activist and thrown out of clubs and being called “ladyboy”. Or when Andrea Jenkins (Calling for the recognition of self-love as a legitimate relationship in the game of life) recites:

Why We Pray: Because gender discrimination is a form of lawful discrimination, because we can be fired from our jobs or evicted from our apartments just for being ourselves, because the American Psychiatric Association still labels us as mentally ill, because too many transsexuals die every day at the hands of murderers that hate themselves and take it out on us.

Like I said previously, this book is for everyone. Not just those in the communities dealing with gender identity issues. There is something in here for everyone to learn. And i mean EVERYONE.  Maybe it should even be required reading for certain people who refuse to accept certain people for who they are. I don’t know if that is a good or bad idea, but I do know that the more I know about people and their experiences, the more compassion I develop as I realize just how big, yet small this world really is.  And maybe I seem a little overzealous about the contents of this book. I tend to get excited and want to share everything with everyone because I think everyone needs to know these things. I am an overzealous person. That’s just who I am.  And I can be whoever I feel that I am.  So can you.  And by reading this book, you’ll find out there are so many more people out there dealing with similar ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc that you won’t feel alone.  Once again, Kate Bornstein alongside S. Bear Bergman, has found a way to save lives.

Dedicated to the memory of Jim Carroll (August 1, 1949 – September 11, 2009)

Eliza Siep, writer of Pretty Cheap beauty blog

Then this woman’s blog came along.  Eliza Siep has made a name for herself not only by writing a great blog for ChicagoNow.com, which is a part of the Chicago Tribune,  but also just as a creative, artistic person in general.

A few weeks ago (yes, weeks, I have taken forever to write this, sorry) I had a great chat with her over the phone.  She was one of the few people I’ve ever been nervous about talking to simply because she epitomizes how I feel about getting out there and doing what you want and making it all happen. (Nevermind that I think she is one of the prettiest women out there doing what she does!)  So I really had this kind of knot in my stomach before we talked thinking that I would totally annoy her and she would just be like, “Can we get this over with?” but it didn’t happen at all like that! She’s a joy to talk to and so well spoken and easy to get along with. I loved my conversation with her.  So I guess you want to know who she is and what we talked about?

Well, I think we all know that some people just think beauty school isn’t cool.  I can say I always thought that even though I have beauticians in my family, I guess I just went along with the idea that those people in highschool that were aiming for beauty school had no real aspirations in life.  As I got older I started to realize how wrong I was about it all.  I feel bad because now we have such go-get’em women in the industry, like Eliza.  She went to Cosmetology School in 2005 and explained,  ”I’ve always loved the beauty industry. I ended up in LA when I was 19, completely broke and this girl was cutting my hair and she was doing such a terrible job of it that I just stopped her and went home and finished it on my own.”  That was it.  It was at that point that she knew what she had to do.  They always say if you want something done right, do it yourself and that is exactly what she did.  And she is definitely doing those of us interested in beauty and fashion right with her knowledge.  And she has definitely changed a lot of how I see the beauty industry.  Not only is it make up and hair and pedicures and manicures and all of that, but it is people like Eliza who make it not only interesting but fun too.

The beauty industry isn't all glamour and fancy expensive clothes, it can be a lot of fun for everyone!

Even though she is finished with school, “I consider myself to always be a student of the beauty industry because I’m always learning and trying to keep up with things, so I’m always learning, I love learning about it.”  When we are inspired to do anything creative, of course we have people or things that have inspired us. Sure the woman with the bad hair cut was the last straw but what inspires Eliza to do what she does on a daily basis? “Music. I’ve always been inspired by music. I can hear something and then want to go out and create something in beauty. Music inspires a lot of people in how they write and that sort of thing,  and it definitely inspires how I create and do what I do.”

Eliza hanging with Mat Devine and Thomas R. Hane II (I mean, who's the rockstar here? They all look fun! And that outfit on Eliza, Adam Lambert eat your heart out!))

Another big influence for her is Editor in Chief of Vogue magazine, Anna Wintour. You may know her as the recent subject of R.J. Cutler’s documentary September Issue.  ”Yeah, Anna Wintour, she IS the beauty industry. She has worked from the ground up and people might not like her personality but you have to like what she does and what she has done.” When Eliza speaks it is kind of hard not to want to type exclamation points after everything she says. I loved it! So much passion from her for what she does.  I wasn’t surprised when she mentioned Anna Wintour, I almost hoped she would.  People sometimes find it easy to dislike a tough business woman, but it was definitely great to hear Eliza’s appreciation for her and how she has turned Vogue around in this country.

One of the things that Eliza periodically brings up in her blog is that she does hair and make up for bands.  I had to ask her about it because that has to be a plus to someone who is such a fan of music.  ”How that happened, well I was in beauty school and I would go to shows in Davenport and Iowa City in Iowa, where I’m from and I would just do hair outside the shows while people were waiting to go in, you know? I was a big talker and I’d offer to do this and eventually the bands started asking me to cut their hair and I was very fortunate to kind of become known for doing this because I got sponsored six months before graduation to go on the Vans Warped Tour. That was definitely something I would have never thought would happen, but of course it was a great thing to get to do.” THIS is what I’m talking about when I say that people who really put themselves out there and make a name for themselves are the people I admire most.  No looking for the easy way out, if you want it, you just do it and it happens and just like that you’re on the Warped Tour doing hair. Love this story!

Is that Matt Skiba underneath that skull?

BUT! Not only does she do hair for bands, “I’m happy to do it every so often.  It’s always my first love (music and hair) and I love that experience I had.”, but she has a band of her own! (see her MySpace:  http://www.myspace.com/elizacutsonlyrealmyspace I love how important of a role music plays in her life.  I can relate really heavily to this so I could’ve gone on all day talking to her, I wanted to. But I asked her about her band and where she sees that going. She laughed a bit, “It kind of centers me in a way to be able to do that. We practice whenever I’m able to show up for practice. It’s just a lot of fun.”

All music talk aside, and back to beauty, but to me Eliza has really created this great beauty bubble around herself. How far does she plan to go with that bubble? “I’d love to focus on writing but I definitely need the connection to people. I love interviewing people and sometimes I am totally fanning out when I do it, but I love to do it, having that chance.”  She really has a lot to say about just putting yourself out there and how it affects you.  For me, if you are going to take the risk (which I always feel is totally worth it) you’re gonna take the good and the bad. In a similar vein, Eliza explains, “It’s the idea that you are public when you’re on the internet. I set myself up to aid famous people, prep them for shows or whatever and ended up becoming known.  I never set out to be famous and sometimes I am my only option to really get past the ridicule and the things people think.” For me she tied art and beauty together well in that statement. Beauty is an art and when you create an art of any form and put it out there you are always going to set yourself up for ridicule and the negativity of others. “I was just a normal girl with a MySpace and ended up with a handful of others who people really took some good shots at.  There’s no shame or disgust by me for any of it, I never set out with that goal in mind.”

But really? I mean, she looks so amazing herself! I have a hard time thinking someone like me can stand out very much when I really put myself out there, but Eliza not only creates beauty, she is a work of art herself. I mean look at the great way she puts herself out there:

She makes me want to colour my hair constantly!

She has definitely made an impact on the internet with those of us who are craving beauty information, tips and ideas.  An artist to me is someone who is constantly reinventing themselves or adding to what they’ve already made and she is nothing short of her own work of art. Being an internet presence is weird nowadays because some people just get shot up to this status of being important or have a large following. People really pay attention to Eliza. “I never think that I’ll be in the public eye. ” She refers to her recent audition for American Idol, “That was a joke with me and my friends that I was going to do that. That was the only one time I intended to do it but I normally do not want to think about the pressure and attention of being famous.  I know though with every step I take it does sometimes seem like I’m shoving myself down everyone’s throat, but I have to put myself out there.”

So she was a normal girl with a MySpace who loved beauty and fashion and music and honestly? The internet really is a great way to put ourselves out there and sometimes when we do we have to take the good with the bad.  But there is just as much in the real world. So her view on how she became known made a lot of sense. “Sometimes I do these interviews and people seem to think I have all of this stuff going on but really I’m just working a lot. A LOT! But there are worse things.” Winding down for Eliza means spending days NOT on the internet (unlike many of us!) and she just keeps on learning. “I do research a lot on the industry, on people in it that I admire or if I hear about something interesting, I keep learning. I know I keep saying it, but I truly am always going to be a student of the industry.”

“I feel like I maybe learned beauty backwards.  I was around all of this punk and hardcore music, cutting hair and handling the beauty end of things and even after going through school I keep on learning.” She explained further, “One of the things I noticed about myself is that I set standards for myself that are kind of unreachable,  I still manage to get most if not all of it. I reach all of my goals.  And I think it can be like that for people who are passionate about having a home, a family or pets, but I’m passionate about this industry.”

What makes her passionate or keeps that passion alive within the industry? “Oh Tarina Tarantino! I really love what she does, I mean she worked for NARS before she started making jewelry and another person I really like a lot is Kat VonD, she is so unique, so intense and she is such an individual.” Individuality, to me, is an art that I think Eliza has mastered.  ”I’m me, I’ve made mistakes but at the end of the day I think ‘What do my real friends think?’ That’s really what matters.  Life is hard enough when you’re working 40 hours or more a week, I have to be willing to push it, set high goals and put myself out there.” And what would she suggest to someone who is just starting to pursue their dreams? “Study up on the people you admire. When I look at the people I really admire, they had an intense, vivid, work ethic, that was their common thread so that’s what I knew I had to do.”

So we all have those people we would love to work with. I once read a quote from Eliza (I cannot recall where I read it, sorry) where she said “I want cut my favorite band’s hair!”  What blows my mind is that she says things like that and then does it. A woman after my own heart! If you want it, do it! Love.It.  So since she has worked with some of her favourite bands and still does, who hasn’t she worked with that she would love to get her hands on? “Siouxsie Sioux or Robert Smith!” she replied immediately. I have to agree with her. If I could interview them, I think I’d fangirl all over the place before I got into the room.

Nothing happens overnight. Eliza didn’t just wake up and have a job she loves and a blog writing about what she loves, she had to make it happen and in the process of making it happen she really came into herself and who she is.  She said, “Slow and steady wins the race.” and it is so true that when you have a passion for something you also have to have the patience and the perseverance to take the steps to reach your goals. Some of us sit around and wait for opportunity and some of us go out and just make the opportunities.

Rockstar? Moviestar? Beautystar!

Eliza Siep is one of those people. A beauty in the beauty industry and definitely a tough cookie who knows her stuff!

Do not forget to check out her blog at: Pretty Cheap

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I had a rough year and my whole life was changing and I was looking for ways to push myself and I just remember watching this woman interviewing bands and thinking, “Man, she just did that on her own?” So I figured, why can’t I just do what I want to do?   I can honestly say Brigitte Maenhout is one of my biggest influences in most things I did from that point on.  Just seeing her do this on her own has made me feel like I can do what I want, face fears and come out on top.  I’ve gotten to know her over the years and consider her to be one of my good friends (not just industry wise, but even spiritually and emotionally).  She has made so much sense to me over the years especially when a lot of people just weren’t making any sense at all.

So we sat down on a stoop in Queens, NYC a few weeks ago around midnight. (No joke!) We decided to have a talk right then and there about the who, what, why’s, wheres and whens of Brigitte Maenhout! Did that sound lame? Probably, but I don’t care, I was just so happy to finally get to ask her some of the questions I had wanted to for years. I still have more but I’ll see her again and we’ll talk again.

The biggest question I had by far was what her motivation was.  Over the years I have struggled with motivation.  Sure I’ve had plenty of ideas and passions but being motivated was a whole other thing.  Brigitte told me she basically decided she was sick of seeing so much injustice in the world.  One of the ways she dealt with her feelings and her health issues was through music. It was so important to her that she felt there had to be something that made listening to a song  evoke such emotion and feeling that it could impact a person more than just a great lyric or chord.  There had to be something more lurking behind that sound.

Brigitte with Adam from Taking Back Sunday

“Then I would watch television and see interviews of bands and artists and see them being asked such ridiculous questions like about their hair or other unimportant issues to the music.” she explained, “I wanted to understand music and artists and where these emotions were coming from. As a fan I was curious and wasn’t getting the answers so I decided I wanted to find it out for myself.”

Didn’t I say she was inspirational? I don’t believe anything great ever started or changed by people sitting back and watching and taking what was handed to them. It was those who decided to do it themselves and make the change themselves who have made the biggest differences. Brigitte is indeed one of those people.  ”I always looked for purity in human beings.  Society teaches you all of the bad things in people and forgets that love, heart and honesty exist.”  She speaks almost shyly yet the passion in her voice adds a certain assertive quality that is admirable.  It is a delicate assertion and delivers a soft determination that can only imply that she means to do good things with her work. “With TasteiTTv I am trying to get the reality of the purity out over the negativity that is the ‘taught reality’ we see everyday.”  One thing is for sure, she has been able to bring out some of the greatest emotions and discussions of emotion and feelings from nearly every band she has talked with and she’s talked with quite a few at this point!

TasteiTTv has really made quite an impact, not just on me, but obviously on many of us who were submerged in the music industry for the past five years or so.  Her approach has inspired many people I am sure. I’ve seen many “take offs” of the TasteiTTv style but none will ever live up to what Brigitte (the original) has done.

Matt from TBS

After doing this for quite some time now, I wondered how she felt looking back and realizing what really she had accomplished.  ”It has made me into the person I am,” she explained (and we were still sitting on a stoop in Queens, I swear!), “I was able to be proud of myself and start to live.”  When she started out though, she had her day-to-day paying job and starting up and working on TasteiTTv and eventually she just started to exhaust herself.  ”I wanted to be responsible and you’re always told you have to have to do these things, have a job, have a place to live, and all of that.” She never saw a choice because she felt she had to do certain things for her parents and just to be a part of the world in general.  From working so hard day to day, she decided that, “…either my health will kill me, or i can follow my dreams and make it happen and through that i discovered the purity in myself.”  I’m not going to lie, when she was telling me this, I thought I might start to cry a bit. It was exactly how I was feeling. It is still part of how I’m feeling.  Brigitte claims that through this realization she found herself to be a strong, balanced and loving person. “I really discovered love and I really feel that when you find that, others around you can pick up on that feeling.”

Steve from WSOU, New Jersey

Eventually we ended up in a car headed back into New Jersey and continued our conversation there.  (Thanks Chris (of SLeuX for driving!)  That week prior, I had posted on Twitter “You can’t always get what you want, but you get what you need.” and so it made me smile when I’d asked Brigitte how she feels when something doesn’t go right in her pursuit of the purity in people and music and art and she answered with, “Well you might not always get what you want but you do get what you need, things not going your way, makes you humble.”

Since the advent of TasteiTTv, Brigitte has interviewed some very influential bands and artists known to fans throughout the world. She has made a name for herself on the internet through her site and insightful interviews, which she says gives her the ability to see herself as a catalyst for what the musicians and artists have to say and that the interviews and the messages are about the artist and not about the interviewer.

No Use For a Name

“I always felt like that weird outcast and that taught me how to listen and observe so I don’t include myself in the equation, I just want to know what they think and what they are feeling.”

So how did she even start doing this?  I had to know because I know how I started but it wasn’t without her influence so, for me it was kind of like finding out how my hero became a superhero.  She started out doing interviews for Europunk.net and then eventually set up TasteiTTv.  And who was her first interview? “MC Lars.” she smiled, “he was great.”

So as a devout believer in the Brigitte, I had to know a lot of things about what she feels and what she is thinking. (Although we all know I have a hard time keeping myself out of the equation.) So I asked her what her toughest interview was so far and she had to really think about it, but then confidently replied, “My second interview with Gerard Way.” Now if you are at all familiar with the lengths she went through to get her first one (visit the TasteiTTv website and read about it) and just how great her first one was, then you will understand her when she says, “It HAD to be better than the first one!”

As for her most frustrating interview, she told me it was the interview she did with Avenged Sevenfold.  Not at the fault of the band but “…the management took away the questions and basically censored the interview and told me I couldn’t ask about this, this or that.”  For me that would be frustrating as well. I’m new to this when you really think about it. I’ve only been interviewing for about three years and I’m an awkward and very anxious person so having something like that happen would throw my entire interview chi off. (Yes, interview chi) Brigitte intelligently handles such situations because she says that if a band, artist or in this case management doesn’t cooperate, …”if they are a true artist with emotions, you have to adapt to their personalities and if you’re genuinely interested, it works. It is about what needs to be said.”

With Todd from The Faint

Although Brigitte doesn’t keep a running list of artists and bands she’d like to interview, “I know I’ll be able to meet the people I need to.”, she has recently been challenged by WSOU here in New Jersey to manage an interview with Bruce Dickinson.  I, for one, have no doubt that it will happen.  I’ve gone on and on in this article about how much she inspires me, but who inspires Brigitte to keep doing what she is doing?

“Gerard Way definitely because of his genuine nature, Todd from The Faint for how smart he is and so open-minded, Chris from SLeuX has really inspired me because of his perseverance and never-give-up attitude, which is important in what I do and Ella Carrera motivate me and I motivate them as well, to be who they are.  When I think about it all of the artists I’ve interviewed and known have inspired me in one way or another. Stefan from APOP really had an impact on me spiritually, Peter from Project Pitchfork really appreciates me and is a caring and intelligent person and The Blackout really inspire me for their sense of humour and love of people. There are so many.” She smiles and the smile is sincere.

Honestly it is her sincerity, her perseverance and her spirituality that really help to motivate me to keep doing this blog and keep getting more heavily involved in art and working with artists.  If you haven’t experienced one of her interviews, please visit her website at www.tasteitttv.com and watch any of them.  No, watch many of them because you need to see how she approaches art and artists.  It is unlike any other webzine or interviewer out there.  If you walk away from her site uninspired, I’d have to say you really weren’t paying attention.

Over….and out!

Ville from HIM