White Party Headliner Natalie La Rose: Rapper Flo Rida Pushes Me to Perfection
With her debut single “Somebody” having recently cracked the Billboard Top 10, things are looking up for singer Natalie La Rose. However, the multi-talented performer recalls many times she thought about giving up on her dreams.

“There were definitely times when I couldn’t get bookings,” stated La Rose, “The struggle was real then!”

With a song in the Top 20, and an EP featuring “Somebody” in the works for early May, La Rose is now in demand, especially on the summer Pride circuit it seems. She proved a hit at Miami Pride and is scheduled for Jeffrey Sanker’s White Party, April 24-27, in Palm Springs. However, that wasn’t always the case, she shared during a telephone interview.

“Sometimes I was just staying home for days,” she described, flashing back on times when gigs were few-and-far-between, “I didn’t want to go out and spend money.”

Five years ago, La Rose came to the United States from her native Amsterdam to pursue a career in music. While aspiring to solo success, she lived the life of Los Angeles auditions, taking occasional modeling jobs, shooting periodic commercials and accepting an international tour dancing for Latin superstars Marc Anthony and Cheyenne.

On occasion, La Rose acknowledged, the opportunities dried up. During those times — long before “Somebody” featuring R&B hit-maker Jeremih was on the horizon — her confidence waned.

“Every now and then, my parents would be like, ‘You know, Nat, you can always come home,'” shared the 26-year-old Dutch beauty, “And I would always say, ‘No, I’ve got to go through this tough time, so I know how it is. I can only come out stronger.'”

“It took a lot of effort — and money too — to be able to stay and work in the United States as a foreigner,” La Rose continued, “For me, it was like, ‘I’ve got this far. Now I’ve got to really stay and fight to make it happen.'”

The turning point for the singer was meeting Flo Rida. Identifying the “G.D.F.R.” rapper as a performer on the same trajectory she wanted for herself – “He’s making global hits,” La Rose told me, “And that’s what I want to do” — the then-unknown singer introduced herself at a party and insisted they work together.

“Flo was… It was one of my missions,” she confessed, “I’ve always been on a mission.”

It was a ballsy move for the young performer, but “it definitely paid off!” Soon after, La Rose was touring with Flo Rida, getting an insider’s perspective on the life of a global superstar.

“It’s really not easy,” she said of the behind-the-scenes machinations of touring, recording and “living the life,” all of which “Somebody” is now letting her taste first-hand. “It’s very busy, a lot of responsibilities and pressure. I’ve gotten the chance to see it up close.”

More importantly, though, Flo Rida became La Rose’ strongest advocate and mentor. It hasn’t been an easy process, the young singer said. Before she fully understood the rapper’s insistence on perfection, she occasionally found herself questioning (again!) whether she could make it in the industry.

“I’d be in the booth, in the studio, and I would sing something. He’s be like, ‘No, it’s not good. Do it right!'” La Rose shared. “I would be very, very frustrated. I’d think, ‘Maybe I can’t do this? Maybe I’m not good for this song, because he’s not satisfied.'”

In the end, though, the results proved differently. “Somebody” has topped charts around the world, paving a path for future success.

“I guess I needed it, that toughness,” stated La Rose, “The best results came from it!”

With her EP now ready for the masses, and a bona fide hit under her belt, La Rose admits she “gets” her mentor much better now. When he pushes back, she rolls with the punches.

“It’s funny, because yesterday we were in the studio together again, creating a new song, and the same thing happened,” she concluded with a laugh. “He was like, ‘No, it doesn’t sound good. Do it right!’ I’m used to it now, so I just try to get it right!”

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

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Jonathan Groff Remembers Being So Repressed He Kept His Boyfriend A Secret From His Broadway Costars

— Jonathan Groff in his acceptance speech for receiving the Point Horizon Award for being a young LGBT trailblazer on Monday in New York, during which he remembered his closeted days while starring in Spring Awakening

H/t: Gold Derby

Jeremy Kinser

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McKinney, Texas Gay Man's Front Door Vandalized With Homophobic Slur, Image: VIDEO

John Wright

www.towleroad.com/2015/04/anti-gay-graffiti-vandal-obsessed-with-male-genitalia-video.html

Prominent Queer Korean, Chicana Leader Killed in Her Atlanta Home

Police have a suspect in custody, who they believe is responsible for a bloody rampage that left Catherine Han Montoya dead, another woman injured, and a third terrorized.

read more

Dawn Ennis

www.advocate.com/crime/2015/04/16/prominent-queer-korean-chicana-leader-killed-her-atlanta-home

House of Larréon's Larry Krone Gears Up For 'Look Book' Spotlighting Costumes And Couture
New York comedian and cabaret star Bridget Everett has been praised for her “dark, savage humor” and “outsize attitude,” but critical to her devil-may-care persona is a sassy, almost Grecian wardrobe that often leaves little to the imagination.

It makes perfect sense, then, that the man behind Everett’s slinky looks is very much a visual artist and a performer in his own right. Larry Krone, a 45-year-old native Midwesterner who’s been dubbed an “alt-couturier,” has been styling singers and dancers for some time, including Adrienne Truscott, Kathleen Hanna and Neal Medlyn (also known as Champagne Jerry). Everett, however, has been a critical muse when it came to establishing the House of Larréon, Krone’s line of custom gowns and stage costumes, in 2010.

Even though he began creating Western-inspired costumes for his own performances through Larry Krone BRAND in 1997, Krone shrugs off the traditional “fashion designer” label when it comes to his own work. Noting that a House of Larréon ensemble involves “poor taste, at least to some degree,” Krone said, “Labels creep me out and trends seem so silly. So much of the time I see clothes by designers that look so silly that I figure they must be in on the joke, but then I realize it’s completely [not] ironic.”

On April 14, Joe’s Pub at New York’s Public Theater hosted a benefit concert that will subsidize the production of Look Book, Krone’s forthcoming art book which features photography by Todd Oldham. The event included a fashion show as well as live performances by Everett, Champagne Jerry and others.

The Huffington Post chatted with Krone over email about his design work, the Manhattan nightlife scene and his hopes for the new book.

Why did the timing feel right for a book now?
I feel like there is a moment happening right now. A lot of it has to do with Bridget Everett and Joe’s Pub. I was making costumes for a long time, but joining forces with Bridget and starting House of Larréon is what has brought me all this attention and encouraged so much cross-pollination among my different performing friends and me. The clothes and the photos in the book tell a story about this exciting creative time and place that is my world right now.

Larry Krone, Neal Medlyn, Becca Blackwell and Jim Andralis in various “Underwear of Many Colors.”

How would you describe the signature House of Larréon look to someone who wasn’t familiar with your work?
I started it as a joke on fashion with many of the earliest pieces, teaching myself rudimentary Grecian draping using see-through, glittery spandex. I love imagining that the person wearing them is convinced that they are wearing the most sophisticated, elegant gown even though you could basically wear it to go swimming in. But the joke is often on me, because when Bridget puts on a Larréon and the lights hit her, and her beautiful voice comes out, it does create something legitimately glamorous if I do say so myself.

What do you think separates your work apart from others in the fashion industry?
It’s funny to call it an industry, for one thing. I don’t think any of us downtown costume guys approach it that way at all, though I would love for this to start to make me more money! Maybe one thing that separates what I do from others is that I sincerely have no interest in the fashion industry.

“Maybe one thing that separates what I do from others is that I sincerely have no interest in the fashion industry.”

I always joke with Bridget that we at House of Larréon love to latch onto a trend exactly at the moment when it has gasped its last breath. Even with all the silliness, though, I must say that the bottom line is that the person wearing it should look and feel gorgeous and confident. I bet this is the same with most of the other designers. One of my favorites is Machine Dazzle and what he does for Taylor Mac and the Dazzle Dancers.

Bridget Everett in “Zebra Mama,” with baby Olivia in “Zebra Baby.”

How have you seen New York’s downtown scene shift since you first introduced the Larry Krone BRAND in 1997?
It has shifted a lot! I used to design clothes just for me and my family act which started as a conceptual art project disguised as a country-western music review. My only audience was the art world: galleries, museums, fairs, etc. When I wanted to branch out and test the waters outside of that world, I imagined getting booked in a burlesque show as one of the straight musical acts between the fan dances or whatever. That didn’t really make sense for me, but I thought it was my only option because burlesque seemed to be dominating the scene.

Everyone is pretty much supportive of each other in the big scene, but my actual “scene” is just a tight group of real actual friends who hang out together and are always looking for ways to do stuff together.

Your work really represents the intersection of fashion and nightlife. Is there still a space for this in New York’s rapidly changing downtown scene?
When I think of New York nightlife, the images that comes to mind are those black-and-white photos from the ’70s of Studio 54. Everything is flash-lit and overexposed, and everyone is either wearing Halston or some homemade ensemble thrown together to show off their tits or whatever other body part. This is where I’m coming from. That nightlife hasn’t existed for ages, but if you can feel it in what you’re wearing, then maybe you can bring it to wherever you go in the clothes.

This will sound cliché, but my own personal nightlife consists of seeing my friends’ shows when I can, and otherwise sitting around my house drinking and eating with my husband Jim and our friends. So that Studio 54 thing is an admitted total fantasy from beginning to end!

Molly Pope in “Black Titty”

Which current artist or performer, in New York or otherwise, would you most like to create a look for?
Nobody could be more perfect for me than Bridget. So many of the clothes come from my reaction to and interpretation of what she does onstage combined with my love for her as a person. But I wouldn’t turn Dolly Parton away. Or Gloria Steinem. Or NY 1’s Donna Karger. Or Tonya Pinkins.

I’m really dying to make something for Lauren Tewes. I’ve been watching reruns of the “Love Boat” recently, and I have become a born-again fan. It would be fun to bring some of that Julie McCoy sass and glamour to Ms. Tewes today.

What do you hope readers and viewers take away most from your book?
I think the desire of most artists is to be seen. This is a chance for people to step back from the fun and craziness of experiencing these clothes in the moment when they are onstage and really see what I do. Plus how it all fits together. And how it might fit in with the rest of my practice as a visual artist, musician, and performer myself.

“I think the desire of most artists is to be seen.”

I also hope that it creates a little romance about New York and the artistic community that I’m giving a little peek of here. I like to imagine seeing this book as a teenager in St. Louis where I grew up and being completely overwhelmed with the desire to move to New York and be a part of something like this.

What’s next for Larry Krone?
I’m hoping that this benefit at Joe’s will raise the money I need to print the book! Once it is in the can, I’m looking forward to devoting a lot more time to being creative again in the artist’s studio as well as in the House of Larréon atélier and songwriting den, which are all actually the same place — my East Village apartment. I’ll also be doing the Afterglow Festival in Provincetown this September.

Erin Markey in “This is What a Feminist Looks Like” T-shirt of Many Colors

For more on Larry Krone, head here.

Hair and makeup in the above photos is by Frances Sorensen

This interview has been edited for content, style and length.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/16/larry-krone-house-of-larreon-_n_7075554.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

HRC Sends New Case Study to 12 State Legislatures: “Don’t Repeat the Mistakes of Indiana”

Today, HRC sent a new case study to state lawmakers across the country urging them to reject anti-LGBT bills like the religious refusal bill in Indiana that would put LGBT people at risk for discrimination.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/hrc-sends-new-case-study-to-12-state-legislatures-dont-repeat-the-mistakes?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Tennessee Lawmakers Want To Make The Bible The Official State Book Because, Well, Why Not? Jesus Is Lord!

Christian lawmakers in the Tennessee House of Representatives are intent on shoving the bible down everyone’s throats. So intent, it seems, that they recently voted to make it the official book of the Volunteer State.

“I know that (the bill) causes people to be divided,” said Rep. Jerry Sexton, the freshman Republican representative who sponsored the bill declaring Andrew Jackson’s Bible the book of the land. “It shouldn’t, but it does. And that’s OK.”

During debates, Rep. Ron Lollar said he supported the bill, telling his colleagues: “I am what I am because that book made me what I am. The morals, the values. Everybody that talks about diversity: in this country, they’re here because of that book and that constitution.”

Rep. Bud Hulsey added that supporting the bill is important “now more than ever.”

But other Republicans weren’t so keen on the idea.

“If we pass this,” Rep. Martin Daniel warned, “we’re going to be ridiculed.”

“It threatens to reduce our sacred Scripture to nothing more than a secular symbol, and that’s a slippery slope,” noted Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris.

A slippery slope, indeed.

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery III said making the bible the official state book would be unconstitutional, adding “I am quite confident that the bible’s distinguished place in history will not be diminished in the absence of a state’s endorsement.”

He then reiterated that the state’s constitution specifically states that “no preference shall ever be given, by law, to any religious establishment or mode of worship.”

But that didn’t stop state House members from voting 55-38 in favor of the bill anyway. It will now go to the state Senate, where Republicans hold 28 seats to five for Democrats.

If the state Senate approves the bill, it must then be signed by Republican Gov. Bill Haslam, who has already said he won’t support it, calling the bill “disrespectful.”

Related stories:

Tennessee Passes Bill Allowing Antigay Bullying Under “Religious Freedom”

WATCH: Insane Hate Crime Reported in Small-Town Tennessee

R.I.P.: Tennessee’s “Don’t Say Gay” Bill Dies (Again) In House Committee

Graham Gremore

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Martin O'Malley Goes After Hillary Clinton's Cautious Record on Gay Rights in Marriage Equality Video: WATCH

Kyler Geoffroy

www.towleroad.com/2015/04/omalleyclinton.html