Strained Intimacy and Fiery Stank: Austin 'Drag Terrorist' Christeene Releases New Single and Video (NSFW)

My undying love for Austin’s drag-punk-terror powerhouse Christeene is no secret. It takes a lot to shock me, but every time I find myself in the presence of this magical creature, she manages to take me there (and, more often than not, way beyond there).

This past year she also won the heart of Boy George, who, after watching her tear up the stage across the pond, tweeted, “What a fucking awesome hip hop, Beyonce, Evil Dead, queercore, unapologetic, sick show…KILL FOR A TICKET!”

The brainchild of performance artist and musician Paul Soileau, Christeene Vale is a self-described “human pissoire of raw unabashed sexuality; a gender-blending, booty-pounding, perversion of punk fully equipped with an arsenal of ferocious music intertwined with raw moments of strained intimacy and fiery stank” — which pretty well sums it up.

I’ve had the pleasure of sharing festival stages with Christeene and her backup boys for years now and have watched this spectacle transform from beautiful queer mess to undeniable cultural force.

This week Christeene and award-winning filmmaker PJ Raval (Before You Know It), her longtime music video collaborator, are back with a highly anticipated, in-your-face, cinematic, punk offering, launching an evil new sound and a unique brand of wickedness the world has never seen. “FUK V29” is just a first taste of what’s to come in 2015 for Christeene.

Watch the video below, then read what Christeene and PJ Raval had to say about it. (Oh, and be warned: This is very NSFW and cannot be unseen.)

When asked about the new single and video, Christeene wrote:

Diz video and song burns down da fuckin’ box dat society keeps fuggin tryin’ to put my spirit in, tryin’ to poison my pony with rules, regulations and structures dat turn majic into piles of accessible shit. Derr wuz a danger in mee an uh violent neeed to showcase dat danger in its rawest fuckin’ form. I must continue to release these feelings, diz work into tha gathering spaces and collective realms of those artists dat burn fire wit me around the globe. There iz a bird in my throat. There iz a pony in my belly. They speak to mee in da nite. They whisper tooo me an have uh message. We have reached a realm of very dangerous living. Our ability to self express…our ponies…are in great danger of becoming extinct. Da beautiful ones, iz time to wake da fuck up.

For those of you who don’t speak Christeene, director PJ Raval also took a stab at it:

With this video “FUK V29,” I was inspired by the rawness of CHRISTEENE’s new sound and paired the punk aesthetic with old school experimental film techniques, giving audiences something more tangible. I want to both disorient the viewer, yet allow them to take pleasure in the destruction of CHRISTEENE, much like the experience of seeing a CHRISTEENE show live. Raw, unfiltered, and reactive, like a newborn baby, you don’t know what you’re going to get. You could get spit on, or maybe a smile, or maybe handed a potato as a gift. As an audience we’re over saturated with media, over fed by celebrity culture. We forget we can ask for something different, something more challenging. I think Tilda Swinton said it best that we need to “separate the signal from the noise.” I think CHRISTEENE creates a new signal, a signal that pierces right through the noise. Believe it or not, it’s a breath of fresh air.

Christeene and Logan Lynn

For more on Christeene, visit her website, or follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

For more on Logan Lynn, visit his website, or follow him on Facebook and Instagram.

www.huffingtonpost.com/logan-lynn/christeene_b_6781718.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

Biography of Worst Mass Killing of Gays in U.S. History Named 2015 Book of the Year

Many have still never heard about what happened that night in New Orleans in 1973 — until now.

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Diane Anderson-Minshall

www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/books/2015/03/02/biography-worst-mass-killing-gays-us-history-named-2015-book-yea

Being Authentic Leads to Happiness On and Off the Court
Two weeks ago I was celebrating the biggest win of my career, and maybe the biggest win in school history. Myself and friends — Derek Schell, Kevin DeMille and Sean Smith — had a nice dinner and ended up at a club in New York City. It happened to be drag night and we enjoyed an hour-long show. A few years earlier I could never have imagined celebrating this way. Yet, here I was and there were not many other people I would have rather been with.

The remarkable thing is how much better my life has become. Twenty months ago, I was coming off of a difficult season. I had questioned my ability as a leader and whether I was going to continue coaching. This stemmed from a sub-par, frustrating season combined with personal problems. I had been closeted for 35 years and my charade was wearing thin. I knew that I needed to be myself, but fear of not coaching would not allow it. Hiding my true self, combined with a brutal break-up where I was betrayed had changed me as a person. I had become less trusting and much more guarded.

After coming out and being embraced by my players and community all of that changed. We had a great season that included my players wearing #Betrue shirts to our first game. We fell short of a playoff win, but knew we would be in much better spot a year later.

During the eight-month off-season I was able to find my authentic self. I lead conferences on leadership and inclusion to athletes in Denver, New York and Portland. I was able to speak at various schools and promote the acceptance and inclusion of LGBT athletes. And of course, I returned to the LGBT Sports Coalition Summit in Oregon. Taking a leadership role at the summit was amazing and just as empowering as the previous year.

Being more comfortable led to opening up and creating amazing friendships. Derek Schell, Sean Smith, Micah Porter, Kevin DeMille, Cyd Zeigler, Conner Mertens and several others are all people I couldn’t imagine not having in my life. All of them are constantly there for support and love. The connections are amazing and I would not trade them for anything in the world.

As this season began, I knew that it would be special. Over the four-month period we won 17 straight games, captured the Yonkers City Tournament, the Gugliotta Tournament on Long Island, an undefeated league championship and the school’s first sectional semi-final berth since 1982. Some of my above mentioned friends were able to watch practice and attend our games. You Can Play Executive Director, Wade Davis addressed the squad in December and my players repeated his message all season long. My two lives that were once very separate for a very long time had finally merged. I couldn’t be happier.

Prior to the playoffs my peers voted me Conference Coach of the Year. It gave me a feeling of personal validation and pride. I was proud to be gay. Proud to be myself and find such great success. Over the next two weeks, I won my first playoff game. Afterwards I was flooded with emotions. A week later, we took home a quarter final game victory and advanced to our Sectional Semi-Final.

The hype leading into our game with national powerhouse Mt. Vernon was awesome. The public debate, media coverage and crowd was spectacular. As I took the floor I was met by my mentor and friend Henry Sassone. He was one of the first people I came out to and has been supportive of not only me, but the entire movement. As we embraced I saw tears in his eyes and had to contain my own emotions. At this point I recognized how important reaching this level was. We suffered a 84-74 loss to a better team. As always, I thanked the team and told them I love them. They responded in kind and have continued to do so these last few days.

We will celebrate the success of the season over the next few weeks and begin preparing for 2015-2016. I often wonder how much success we would have if I was still in the closet. I believe it would have been very different.

Coaching with a clear mind has allowed me to be better at my job. It has allowed me to open up to my team and share experiences. It has made us closer. I have friends that I truly could not live without and are active parts of my daily life. We are a unique family that exists from similar experiences.

We often hear people question “Why does someone need to come out?” The answer is simple; visibility. There are thousands of coaches and athletes who felt the way I did for 35 years. They fear rejection, and the possibility of not being able to do something they love is terrifying. Well, it can be done. My players, peers and community have embraced me for who I am. The results are evident in the most memorable season of my career as a coach.

I coach boys high school basketball and yes, I’m gay.

www.huffingtonpost.com/anthony-nicodemo/being-authentic-leads-to-happiness_b_6780992.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

Hear From Closeted Gay Republicans Cruising Grindr At CPAC

Oh to be a young, white affluent conservative gay man. The cards are really stacked against them.

They’re like rare birds — you know they’re flying around the jungle somewhere, but finding them can prove to be quite the challenge. The squawking is the same, too.

But Reason TV wanted to find these near-mythical creatures at last weekend’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). And what is the gay equivalent of birdwatching? Grindr of course.

So they set up a profile — “Gay at CPAC?” — and waited for them to start flapping.

And they got such displays of internalized homophobia as this fun exchange:

Reason TV: “Do you identify as being gay?”

Gay guy who wouldn’t agree to show his face on camera: “I would have to if I was being honest — yes.”

While Jeb Bush was literally in the next room telling Sean Hannity and a room full of supporters that he has not changed his views on gay marriage and “believes in traditional marriage” only, these self-described gay conservatives were cruising Grindr during their moments away from the busy convention floor.

Take a look:

Dan Tracer

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/k5fQLIOBxuo/hear-from-closeted-gay-republicans-cruising-grindr-at-cpac-20150302

What To Watch This Week On TV: Streaming 'Kimmy Schmidt'; 'Housewives' Goes Down Under

Bobby Hankinson

www.towleroad.com/2015/03/what-to-watch-this-week-on-tv-streaming-kimmy-schmidt-housewives-goes-down-under.html

Missouri: Latest to Seek Clerk's 'Right to Discriminate' in Marriage Licenses

His bill would provide for the firing of any public employee who granted a license to a same-sex couple.

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Trudy Ring

www.advocate.com/politics/marriage-equality/2015/03/02/missouri-latest-seek-clerks-right-discriminate-marriage-licens