Tag: out musicians

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Pride Music: June 27, 2020

It’s the last weekend of Pride 2020, and since we can’t get out on an actual dance floor here’s new music to bop to from Lizzo and the Fab 5, Ariana and the Rose, The Aces, GRiZ and Sara Bareilles. • Self-care queen Lizzo teams up with the men of Queer Eye for the music video for her hip-hop/pop tune, “Soulmate.” The colorful video is an animated Pride-themed romp with the Fab 5 as Lizzo picnics with Bobby, throws a corgi party with Antoni and throws down a pole dance with Karamo.

• Ariana and the Rose serve up an inclusive, colorful celebration of all kinds of love with “True Love.” The synth-pop dance track is a bouncy bop, and the video features six diverse, real-life couples spanning the diverse spectrums of race, age and sexuality. Ariana DiLorenzo, the band’s frontwoman, is a “proud and fierce ally for the LGBTQ community,” and told NewNowNext that performing at Pride events, lending her voice as a soundtrack to the celebrations, “is an honor.”

• “Daydream” is the latest single from Utah-based all-girl pop/rock band The Aces. While the infectious track is about long-distance lovers, the tune can easily relate to the distance many of us are feeling during the ongoing pandemic. The band, launched by queer sisters Cristal and Alisa Ramirez, decided to make the video about the crew out on a summer adventure rather than a too “on-the-nose” tribute to romance.

• Multi-instrumentalist and producer GRiZ releases his new single, “Medusa,” featuring DJ and producer Wreckno. What he coins his ‘queer anthem banger’ is a bass-fueled, hip-hop-laden slice of empowerment, created to uplift the underrepresented LGBTQIA+ voices in dance music. In celebration of Pride Month, “Medusa” is a message to queer kids encouraging them to embrace exactly who they are. (Explicit lyrics).

• And finally, Sara Bareilles covers the title track from the Grammy/Emmy Award-winning TV special, “Free To Be…You And Me.” Bareilles’s pure, soulful voice is perfect for the folk/pop tune. Created by actress and activist Marlo Thomas (That Girl) in 1972, the iconic album, book, and television special was the first anti-racist, anti-sexist, anti-judgment entertainment for children. All proceeds for the project will benefit NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Fans of the song will notice the new version of the includes two lyric changes. The word “children” has been changed to “people” in one of the song’s main refrains. And, in order to better embrace the non-binary community, a lyric that referred to ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ growing up to be ‘men’ and ‘women’ was rewritten: “Every child in this land, may you all understand, that you’re proud and you’re strong and you are right where you belong.”

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News Round-Up: June 26, 2020

Some news items you might have missed: • The Gaily Grind: The U.S. House unanimously passed a bill Friday that would establish the Pulse nightclub in Orlando as a national memorial site, four years after a gunman opened fire on hundreds of people inside the club, killing 49 LGBTQ Americans and wounding dozens more. • Texas Tribune: Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday expressed regret for the first time about the reopening process he spearheaded during the coronavirus pandemic, saying he should not have allowed bars to open as quickly. “If I could go back and redo anything, it probably would have been to slow down the opening of bars, now seeing in the aftermath of how quickly the coronavirus spread in the bar setting,” Abbott said. • New Music: The late Harry Hains, a compelling musician, actor (best known for American Horror Story, The OA) as well as artist and model, didn’t define himself by the constructs surrounding us, and his concept of ANTIBOY offers a portal into an age of existence where there is complete unparalleled freedom to live without preconceptions and societal labels. At a time when society is rising up to break down old systems and demanding equality for all, Harry’s personal perspective of the intersection of sexuality, gender, race, and self-expression endures because of its cultural relevance.

• NY Times: In the middle of a world-wide pandemic, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court late Thursday to overturn the Affordable Care Act — a move that, if successful, would bring a permanent end to the health insurance program popularly known as Obamacare and wipe out coverage for as many as 23 million Americans. • NPR: Donald Trump’s disapproval numbers are at an all-time high, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll. Trump’s approval rating sits at just 40% overall, while a record 58% disapprove. What’s more, a whopping 49% of voters “strongly disapprove” of the job Trump is doing. That kind of intensity of disapproval is a record never before seen for this president or any past one. • Twitter: Add another musical group not having Donald Trump use their music at his rallies. Brendon Urie, lead singer for Panic! At The Disco, made it short and sweet in tweeting his disgust at the Trump campaign for using one his band’s song during its MAGA rally in Phoenix this week. “Dear Trump campaign,” Urie wrote on Twitter. “F*ck you. You’re not invited. Stop playing my song. No thanks, Brendon Urie, Panic! At The Disco & company.”

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Pride Music: Billy Porter & The Shapeshifters “Finally Ready”

Emmy/Grammy/Tony Award winner Billy Porter drops this disco-tastic new track, “Finally Ready.” Porter describes the collaboration with The Shapeshifters as “a declaration of Pride, of breaking free from past traumas to take a chance on love.” Cinematic strings, live horns and Billy’s unmistakably powerful voice create a sonic dancescape complete with a message of Pride via Billy’s joyful lyrics. “Finally Ready” hits on so many levels for me,” says the Pose star. “First, being ‘finally ready’ to experience what real love is. And thankfully, I have somebody who loves me enough to love me through trauma, to be present, and allow me to grow, into this.” “I’m also ‘finally ready’ to be who I am, who I’ve always been,” he adds. “It has been a rough road, I’ve been through so many changes, but I always kept the faith and now I’m here.” “And lastly, I’ve made a lot of different kinds of music – R&B, show tunes, ballads. But it should come as no surprise to anyone at all that disco is in my blood! I love to feel sparkly and have that light shine back into the audience. So, yes, I am ‘finally ready’ to make a classic disco record.” “Now, let’s dance!”

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Podcast: Josey Greenwell On New Music, That ‘Thing’ That Happened & ‘The Road To Me’

Singer/songwriter Josey Greenwell (photo via Big Picture Media)
In advance of his upcoming album, City Games, out singer/songwriter Josey Greenwell recently released a teaser music video, “102.” Greenwell and his co-writer/producer Daneon penned the track (featuring Philup Banks) about “the feelings of ‘compare and despair’ with seeing everyone online living lavishly, when in reality that’s not their truth.” Wait – you mean, everyone’s fabulous Instagram lives aren’t real??? The handsome indie artist adds that the title is “a play on the phrase ‘keep it 100,’ but the song’s BPM is a chill 102 so, keep it chill and keep it real!” The Latin-infused mid-tempo track has an infectious bounce that’s pretty hard to resist. And if you listen to the lyrics of “102,” you can hear part of Greenwell’s personal story shared loud and proud.

I’m first to admit been a hot mess And I had more names than your contacts Thought I was too cool but too lame Now he straight, now he gay And I talk kinda funny but I put it down Gotta grow up and own what you throw around

Greenwell initially moved to Nashville after graduating high school to pursue his dream of a career in music. But in a series of videos posted to his YouTube channel, titled The Road To Me, the artist candidly shares how homophobic advice from ‘industry experts’ repeatedly urged him to stay in the closet. As years went by and a few seemingly promising deals fell through, Greenwell, at the age of 21, released an independent album of all his work to date, titled My Life on the Radio. Marketing the indie release on his MySpace page, he won a fan-voted contest to be the opening act for Little Big Townʼs 2009 “A Place To Land” Tour in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He went on to open for more country acts such as Zac Brown Band, Dierks Bentley, and Steve Holy. He also hosted and performed at various LGBTQ Pride Events across the nation. But with no record label, management, or financial support, Greenwell became increasingly discouraged. Unhappy with his career, Greenwell moved to Miami, Florida, and in 2012, he released his single “Stuck in My Head” which reflected an expanded sonic landscape influenced by his experience in Miami. With this new single and having completed his first European tour, he revisited Nashville record labels hoping to be signed to a record contract. But ultimately, music executives passed. In one of those Nashville label meetings, a few well-known executives advised him to rebrand his image and leave “all questions of sexuality up to the listener.” He was told a good way to be asked fewer questions about his then-referred to “current issue” was to appear “more masculine.” Greenwell shares that he was advised not to do interviews because his “gender expression would be too ‘gay.’” Taking their unfortunate advice to heart, Greenwell moved back to Nashville in the fall of 2013 to begin production on what would become his country-pop EP titled Road Map, released under the stage name “Nate Green.” The blend of country influences coupled with dance-pop production proved popular with a new audience. But it wasnʼt long before the media realized ‘Nate Green’ appeared to be a non-gay version of ‘openly gay, Gay Pride performing Josey Greenwell.’ The result was a frenzy of public backlash, especially from the LGBTQ community, who regarded his seeming retreat back into the closet as a sort of ‘betrayal of gay pride.’ During the period of backlash, Greenwell recalls a writer coming up to him in a club and saying, “Hey, I wrote that awful thing about you.” The artist remembers, at the time, it seemed like the writer almost wanted to be thanked. “This was the journey, and looking back, it was one of the most miserable times of my life,” he admits. “It was what I thought you did since I didn’t know any successful LGBTQ musicians.”

One of the breaking points came when he discovered the word “fa**ot” had been keyed into the side of his car. In a moment of clarity, absent any anger, he said to himself, “Ok, that’s true. That’s who I am – I’m ashamed of who I am. I can’t hide it anymore.” Between his personal struggle with his sexuality, believing he had to suppress who he was in order to live his passion, and the public ridicule of his decisions, Greenwell canceled all further Road Map promotion, set the guitar down, and turned to his next love, fitness. After moving to New York City, he became one of the most prominent fitness instructors in the city at the popular Barry’s Bootcamp. But his love for music and songwriting never faded, so he’s stepped back into his art as he gears up to release his first full-length album, City Games. Today, Greenwell says he hopes maybe he can be ‘that artist’ that didn’t seem to exist for him as a young LGBTQ musician, and perhaps inspire them to shift their perspective. Greenwell releases his newest single, “Cowboy,” Friday, June 28. You can check out the country/pop/hip-hop track here. You can listen to my full interview with Josey Greenwell below.

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News Round-Up: June 21, 2020

Singer-songwriter Pablo Alborán comes out (image via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • NewNowNext: The pandemic might have forced us to reimagine how we honor Pride Month, but the spirit of Pride is very much alive. Check out this list of 10 virtual Pride events you can attend from the safety of your own home, including a range of events centering Black LGBTQ people amid ongoing actions against systemic racism and police brutality. • The Know: Kenneth Felts, at 90 years old, recently came out as gay to his family and friends. After deciding to write his autobiography during COVID-19 lockdown, he was inspired by the memories of the man that got away. • Pride Music: Fab The Duo has also released their new blues/gospel-tinged music video “Our Love Is Resistance,” the title track from their new EP. The video shows the duo marching down the streets of Manhattan towards The Stonewall Inn, the birthplace of the gay rights movement. Of the title track and music video, Fab The Duo says: “We recorded this song and music video at the beginning of 2020 in a world that feels very different from the one we live in now. Yet this track and its message seem more relevant than ever. We must fight against the hate and injustices of the world at all costs and know that love will prevail.”

• Digital Journal: The Amazon Video series After Forever scored three trophies including “Best Drama Series” at the 2020 Indie Series Awards on Thursday. The second season of the acclaimed series  is nominated for six 2020 Daytime Emmy Awards including “Outstanding Digital Drama Series.” • ABC News: Florida continued to set record-breaking numbers of COVID-19 cases, with an additional 4,049 new cases reported Saturday. There were an additional 40 Florida resident deaths related to COVID-19, according to the state’s Department of Health. On Friday, Florida reported what was then its record-high one-day increase of 3,822 cases. • Out: In an emotional video message posted to his Instagram account, Grammy-nominated, Spanish singer-songwriter Pablo Alborán (top photo) publicly opened about his sexuality, and how he is coming out as a proud gay man. “Today, I want my voice to be louder and for it to have more value and weight. I’m here to tell you that I am homosexual and it’s okay. Life goes on, everything will remain the same, but I’m going to be a little happier than I already am.”

 

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News Round-Up: June 15, 2020

Some news items you might have missed: • SCOTUS: I’m still on cloud nine over today’s landmark ruling by the Supreme Court that current civil rights laws prohibit discriminating against LGBTQ people in the workplace. Read my post on the momentous ruling here. • Instinct Magazine: The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri now officially has a gay Black man in charge. The Rt. Rev. Deon K. Johnson, who is not only Black and gay but also a married Barbadian-immigrant and father of two children, was elected in a landslide of 115 votes out of 164. As the 11th bishop for the diocese, he represents 42 parishes in the Eastern half of Missouri. • Quibi: The new streaming app premieres its new program from ’60 Minutes’ titled, ‘60 in 6.’ Stories include features, investigations, and profiles in 6-10 minutes. In this episode, Wesley Lowery takes you to Minneapolis to go in-depth, in minutes. Download Quibi here and try it out for two weeks for free.

• Out Music: Heather Mae and Crys Matthews’s new single “6 Feet Apart” showcases the phenomenal talent of the award-winning Mae (who has been described as Stevie Nicks meets Sara Bareilles) and the unique fusion of Matthews’ Americana folk/jazz sound. In addition to the new single, the duo has announced their LGBTQ+ virtual Pride concert tour, “The Singing OUT Tour,” with dates scheduled throughout the month of June. The concerts will feature not only music but games and giveaways as well.

• CBS News: Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order on policing Tuesday that aims to accomplish three things — to incentivize police departments to use modernized best practices, to increase information sharing by tracking people who have “excessive” use-of-force complaints, and to address mental health, homelessness, and addiction. • Philadelphia Inquirer: A Philadelphia court supervisor has been fired after a video surfaced on Monday of him tearing down Black Lives Matter protest signs made by children at a South Philadelphia park.

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Out Music: Tom Goss ‘Regretting’

Tom Goss in ‘Regretting’ (courtesy photo)
Out singer/songwriter Tom Goss has released the emotional single/music video for “Regretting” from his seventh studio album. Territories. On the track, neon bass reverberates through “Regretting” as a dreamy chant takes hold. After walking in on his husband with another lover, Tom and his husband decided to open their marriage, resulting in Tom falling in love with another man, to his husband’s dismay. The next music video in the story, “Regretting” comes full circle with Tom expressing his boundless love for his husband. The music video marks Tom’s third collaboration with Mean Girls/Looking actor Daniel Franzese. Franzese previously co-starred with Goss in the music videos for “La Bufadora” and “Quebec.” The 15-track concept album, produced by Ian Carmichael (Lamb, The Orchids, One Dove) candidly delves into the complications of love.

  “At the time, I was going through a really rough patch with my husband,” Goss shared with Gay Times. “I was writing a lot about the struggles we were having and I realized that I wasn’t focusing enough on why I was still in the relationship. I wasn’t honoring what we had built, what was still beautiful, and the potential future I hoped we still would have.” “‘Regretting’ is ultimately about not regretting. Regardless of how hard things have been, or may be in the future, I won’t live in regret. I will work to remember the wonderful, the beautiful, and the inspirational, regardless of how hard it may be from moment to moment.” To celebrate Pride Month, Tom is hosting a live stream show every Friday at 8PM PT for the month of June on the GROWLr dating app. The live stream events, titled Friday Night Live, feature the crooner serenading fans with original songs as well as covers. Goss has earned critical acclaim for Territories, which explores new emotional and musical terrain for the guitar-toting troubadour including a deep dive into electronic synth-pop sonic landscapes. Throughout the past year-and-a-half of world exploration and self-discovery, Goss found himself in a place that was not his own. Believing that we are more susceptible to emotional growth when we are pushed out of our comfort zone, Territories abandons any facade of safety and dives into the unknown.

(scene from ‘Regretting’)
Last year, I chatted with Goss at length about the story behind the new album, the new musical direction of the collection, and much more. Hit the play button below to hear Tom Goss share about his new album, Territories.

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News Round-Up: June 5, 2020

(image via sadanduseless)
Some news items you might have missed: • Summer Fashion: So, I don’t know if it’s a ‘thing’ but someone is apparently trying to make lace shorts for guys (above) a ‘thing’ this summer? #ThingsThatMakeYouGoHmm • Washington Blade: In yet another attack by the Trump administration to enable legal discrimination against LGBTQ people, the Justice Department is calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to allow religious-affiliated adoption agencies that receive tax-payer dollars to refuse child placement into LGBTQ homes. • Out Music: 80s pop icon Limahl (“Neverending Story”, “Only For Love”, “Too Shy” with Kajagoogoo) returns with “Still in Love,” his first foray into the mainstream in over eight years. American Songwriter calls the new track “a soulful and sultry pop ode to the darker side of love, that recurrent backfire of amore, and finding oneself after being crushed by it.”

• Buzzfeed News: A police officer in Salem, Oregon, was caught on video warning a group of white supremacists to seek shelter before the police were planning to tear gas the area and  avoid being arrested for violating a curfew so officers “don’t look like [they’re] playing favorites.” • Newsweek: Donald Trump finally got his wall/fence. But instead of being a barrier on the U.S. southern border, it’s a barricade around the White House. I’m sure you can parse the irony on your own. • The Advocate: Police fired bang shots at a queer bar owner in North Carolina after he’d set up a first aid station in his parking lot to treat peaceful protestors who had gotten injured.

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News Round-Up: June 4, 2020

DJ Thiago Oliveira (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: DJ Thiago Oliveira (above) getting in some straight-up social distancing at the beach in Spain. Follow the ‘Daddy Wolf’ on Instagram here. • NBC News: The Trump administration submitted a brief to the Supreme Court on Wednesday arguing that a taxpayer-funded organization should be able to refuse to work with same-sex couples and others whom the group considers to be in violation of its religious beliefs. • Out Music: Trey Pearson, who first found fame fronting the Christian rock band Everyday Sunday, channels LGBTQ Pride’s history of protest in his latest music video, “1984.” Pearson, who came out as gay four years ago, called the song “a love letter sent to us from the LGBT community of the ’80s” to inspire people in a time of crisis and uprising.

• Washington Post: Donald Trump’s former chief of staff John F. Kelly defended former defense secretary Jim Mattis on Thursday over Mattis’s criticism of the president’s handling of nationwide protests. Kelly also dismissed Trump’s assertion that the president fired the retired general in 2018. “The president did not fire him. He did not ask for his resignation. The president has clearly forgotten how it actually happened or is confused.” • Out: Following fellow gay dating app Grindr, Jack’d and Scruff have announced they will disable their ethnicity filters in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. “We stand in solidarity with the fight against systemic racism and historic oppression of the Black community.” • Lincoln Project: The conservative anti-Trump PAC drops this new campaign ad writing, “Trump is no longer hiding that he’s a brazen authoritarian, so desiring of control and power that he’s willing to turn our once peaceful cities into #warzones.

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Out Music: Mike½Nelson ‘Crazy World’

Mike ½ Nelson (via Instagram)
Out recording artist Mike½Nelson ponders the plight of the planet in “Crazy World,” the first single and music video release from his new visual EP, All Are Welcome. The pop-noir mid-tempo brims with an uneasy sense of foreboding meant to convey to listeners that it is ok to hit rock bottom. Mike½Nelson’s vocals sit right in the pocket with an edge that cuts like a knife through the hooky chorus. “There have been moments in my life when I couldn’t take it anymore and I had to surrender to a higher truth,” admits the artist. “I mean, look at how things are today. Why shouldn’t we feel despair and rage? The f*cking Nazis and KKK are back. They’re being called ‘very good people.’ The unacceptable has become acceptable. We should feel anguish.” “I wrote ‘Crazy World’ when I was trying to emotionally detach myself from a relationship that wasn’t working anymore,” adds the Iowa native from his NYC home. “My ex was in the throws of an intense opiate addiction, and it was a very volatile experience. At the same time, Sandy Hook, the mass shooting of an elementary school, was in the news and I had this overwhelming feeling that I needed to scream my grief out the window.” In the song and its music video, directed by Max Richardson of HBO’s Euphoria, Mike½Nelson encourages listeners experiencing pain to surrender to it. Especially men, he says. “Society teaches men to suppress their emotions, but if we were given space to feel the pain inside, maybe we would have more music videos and less mass shootings.”

As a gay young man, he admits to feelings of isolation through much of high school, but says he eventually found his niche within the artsy crowd. They would wear outrageous costumes and put on theatrical shows in their town square. It was at that time that he started writing music and continued through his years at the University of Iowa, where he also discovered his first gay bar, a tiny watering hole called “The Alley Cat.” After college, he made the journey to NYC where he found his new tribe – the underground scene populated by drug addicts, prostitutes and scoundrels. “They were nice to me when nobody else would be,” he remembers. “And I loved the drama that they brought. They were fun and I have a soft spot for people who struggle because I have struggled myself.” He watched as some would eventually evolve into healthier occupations. Others found their bliss going even deeper into the underground. “If someone is lucky enough to find happiness in this life, then go for it, baby. I really can’t judge. It’s a big tent. All are welcome.” The songs for All Are Welcome view the world through a prism of danger, grit and fun as they explore topics of resilience, hope, and heroism. “One thing that gives me hope for the world is witnessing the courage and devotion of the frontline heroes and hospital workers today,” Mike½Nelson adds. “To get up every day and fight to help others when you’re putting your own life on the line. That’s a strong heart, baby.” Mike½Nelson’s “Crazy World,” is available now on Apple iTunes, Amazon, and all other major e-music retailers. His upcoming EP, All Are Welcome, drops June 12. Follow Mike½Nelson on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

(photo credit: Wiafe)