Get Out! GAY Magazine – Issue 519
Featuring content from the hottest gay and gay-friendly spots in New York, each (free!) issue of Get Out! highlights the bars, nightclubs, restaurants, spas and other businesses throughout NYC’s metropolitan area that the city’s gay a population is interested in.
Featuring content from the hottest gay and gay-friendly spots in New York, each (free!) issue of Get Out! highlights the bars, nightclubs, restaurants, spas and other businesses throughout NYC’s metropolitan area that the city’s gay a population is interested in.
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TOP 10<br />
DJ DAVID<br />
MICHAEL<br />
Facebook /davidmichaelnyc<br />
Instagram @djdavidmichaelnyc<br />
SoundCloud /djdavidmichaelnyc<br />
CURRENT<br />
1<br />
2<br />
3<br />
4<br />
5<br />
6<br />
7<br />
8<br />
9<br />
10<br />
BARBIE WORLD<br />
NICKI MINAJ, ICE SPICE, AQUA<br />
BY MY SIDE (JAMES HURR UK<br />
LOVIN’ HOUSE REMIX) KRISTINE W<br />
DANCE AROUND IT (EXTENDED<br />
MIX) JOEL CORRY, CAITY BASER<br />
EAT YOUR MAN (EXTENDED MIX)<br />
DOM DOLLA, NELLY FURTADO<br />
I’M GOOD (BLUE) (EXTENDED<br />
MIX) DAVID GUETTA, BEBE REXHA<br />
KING OF HEARTS<br />
KIM PETRAS<br />
MAKE MY DAY<br />
COI LERAY, DAVID GUETTA<br />
MOVE IT<br />
STEFFLON DON<br />
RUSH (DAVID MICHAEL CLUB<br />
MIX) TROYE SIVAN<br />
YOU MAKE ME FEEL (MIGHTY<br />
REAL) ADAM LAMBERT, SIGALA<br />
THROWBACK<br />
1<br />
2<br />
3<br />
4<br />
5<br />
6<br />
7<br />
8<br />
9<br />
10<br />
BAD ROMANCE (GRUM REMIX)<br />
LADY GAGA<br />
DON’T START NOW (BARRY HAR-<br />
RIS CLUB MIX) DUA LIPA<br />
IT’S NOT RIGHT, BUT IT’S OKAY<br />
(THUNDERPUSS RADIO EDIT)<br />
WHITNEY HOUSTON<br />
JUICE (BARRY HARRIS CLUB REMIX)<br />
LIZZO<br />
LADY MARMALADE (THUNDER-<br />
PUSS RADIO EDIT) CHRISTINA<br />
AGUILERA, LIL KIM, P!NK, MYA<br />
LET ME THINK ABOUT IT<br />
(RADIO EDIT)<br />
IDA CORR, FEDDE LE GRAND<br />
LOSE CONTROL (EXTENDED MIX)<br />
MISSY ELLIOTT, CIARA, FATMAN SCOOP<br />
ONE KISS (DENIS FIRST &<br />
REZNIKOV REMIX)<br />
CALVIN HARRIS, DUA LIPA<br />
THIS IS WHAT YOU CAME FOR (DJ<br />
FMSTEFF 2016 EXTENDED MIX)<br />
CALVIN HARRIS, RIHANNA<br />
WORK BITCH<br />
BRITNEY SPEARS<br />
Weekly Appearances:<br />
Tuesdays - CURTAINS UP! at The Monster 9pm-11pm<br />
Fridays - The Ritz & Stonewall I Saturdays - SPUNK at The Monster 9pm-4am<br />
Also, guest spots at The Ritz & Stonewall.<br />
Follow my social media for announcements.
getoutmag.com week in pictures<br />
BELINDA CARLISLE - SONY HALL, NYC<br />
>> BY MIKE TODD<br />
ISSUE #<strong>519</strong><br />
KRISTINE W<br />
PHOTO CREDIT:<br />
KORBY BANNER<br />
PUBLISHER MICHAEL TODD<br />
MIKE@GETOUTMAG.COM<br />
DESIGN AGOTA CORREA<br />
AGOTA@GETOUTMAG.COM<br />
CELEBRITY INTERVIEWER EILEEN SHAPIRO<br />
@EILEENSHAPIRO3<br />
NYC’S NIGHTLIFE AWARD WINNING BLOGGER/<br />
WRITER & INTERVIEWER JIM SILVESTRI<br />
NIGHTLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER WILSONMODELS<br />
JEASO86@HOTMAIL.COM<br />
The publications of MJT/GOOTH ENTERTAINMENT, getoutmag.com or any<br />
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getoutmag.com week in pictures<br />
>> BY MIKE TODD<br />
PAT BENATAR & NEIL GIRALDO @ CATHOLIC HEALTH AMPHITHEATER, LI
getoutmag.com week in pictures<br />
>> BY MIKE TODD<br />
TAYLOR DAYNE @ CATHOLIC HEALTH AMPHITHEATER, LONG ISLAND
BY EILEEN SHAPIRO<br />
CELEBRITY CORRESPONDENT<br />
KRISTINE W<br />
“BY MY SIDE”<br />
PHOTO BY KORBY BANNER<br />
Engaging the whole world in a conspiracy<br />
of love, dance queen extraordinaire Kristine<br />
W is dazzling the dance floors this summer<br />
with her new hit single “By My Side.” The<br />
song is a tribute to all the people who give<br />
us unconditional support and friendship,<br />
no matter the circumstances. Love in all its<br />
forms, precious and fragile and enduring,<br />
is the priceless gift that makes our lives<br />
worthwhile, invisibly holding us up while<br />
demanding no repayment.<br />
From a Miss America contestant to the<br />
glamor of being named the the eighth<br />
greatest dance artist of all time, the Vegasbased<br />
artist began recording in the ‘90s with<br />
hits including “Feel What You Want” (#1 on<br />
Billboard), “Stars”, and “Love and Lies”,<br />
now tying Mariah Carey for the seventh<br />
most number one dance hits. Kristine has<br />
also headlined her own show in Las Vegas,<br />
winning “Las Vegas Entertainer of the Year”,<br />
and is officially sanctioned as the<br />
entertainer who performed more live shows<br />
in the Las Vegas Hilton than any other<br />
performer in history, including Elvis Presley.<br />
“By My Side” is destined to stand out as one of the biggest and brightest hits of the season.<br />
In an intimate interview, Kristine W shared some deep thoughts and revealed facts about<br />
her life and career not well known by the wider world……<br />
INTERVIEW >><br />
So You Have A Brand New<br />
Song And It’s So Cool.<br />
Isn’t It Cool? It’s The Greatest.<br />
I Finally Captured It. I’ve Been<br />
Working On The Dang Song<br />
For 20 Years And I Finally<br />
Captured It. I Finally Finished<br />
The Bridge. I Just Could Never<br />
<strong>Get</strong> The Bridge Right. I’ve<br />
Written So Many Bridges For<br />
That Song, But It Just Never<br />
Seemed Right. It Seemed Too<br />
Simple Without A Bridge To<br />
Take It Somewhere. I Always<br />
Wanted To Do An Old School<br />
Donna Summer Percussion<br />
Breakdown, Where It’s All Live<br />
Percussion. It’s Hard To <strong>Get</strong><br />
Anybody To Want To Do That<br />
Because It Takes A Lot Of<br />
Work. Chris Cox Is Like Me.<br />
Like I’ve Studied All The Old<br />
Producers And The Productions<br />
Back In The Day, So I<br />
Met My Kindred Spirit There.<br />
I Brought My Bongos Over To<br />
His Place. We Mic’d Everything.<br />
So That Bridge And That<br />
Whole Breakdown Is All Live.<br />
Methodically Recorded One<br />
At A Time. Nobody Does That<br />
Anymore. But You Can Hear<br />
It. You Can Feel It. This Is A<br />
Special Song. It Celebrates<br />
Families And People That<br />
Stick By Us.
PHOTO BY KORBY BANNER<br />
You Have An Album Coming<br />
<strong>Out</strong>. I Don’t Know How Much<br />
You Want To Talk About Or<br />
How Much You Can Talk<br />
About It, But Talk Away. Tell<br />
Me About It.<br />
I Kind Of Haven’t Even Put<br />
The Titles To Any Of My<br />
Songs <strong>Out</strong> There Or Even The<br />
Title Of My Album <strong>Out</strong> There,<br />
Because Last Time I Did It, I<br />
Had The Stronger Album. And<br />
I Was Talking About It To The<br />
Press And Then Britney Had<br />
A Song Called “Stronger”. So<br />
Now, After That, I Was Like<br />
“Ok.” That Was In My Rca<br />
Days. I Decided Maybe Talking<br />
About The Names Was Not A<br />
Good Idea. So I Haven’t Really<br />
Talked About It Too Much.<br />
Do You Recall A Moment In<br />
Your Life That Changed The<br />
Whole Trajectory Of It?<br />
As Far As Music, Something<br />
That Changed Me Was<br />
Taking My Lifeguard Money<br />
And Jumping On A Plane<br />
And Going To Reno. I Was<br />
15 Years Old. I Jumped On<br />
A Plane And I Made All That<br />
Money Lifeguarding. My Uncle<br />
John Used To Travel And Go<br />
To Vegas. He Would Go To<br />
Gamble And Have Fun. And<br />
He Would Leave His Little<br />
<strong>Magazine</strong>s With All The Stuff<br />
Going On. He Was At The<br />
Mgm Grand In Reno. And He<br />
Would Tell Us, “This Is What’s<br />
Going On. I’m Going To Leave<br />
This Here<strong>–</strong>Check It <strong>Out</strong>.” And<br />
Then I Saw The Talent Show.<br />
And I Got It In My Mind That<br />
I Wanted To <strong>Get</strong> On A Plane<br />
And Go There And Compete In<br />
This Talent Show, Not Thinking<br />
That I Wasn’t Old Enough To<br />
Go Into Bars. Then My Mom,<br />
I Don’t Think She Really Took<br />
Me That Seriously. So When<br />
I Called Her From The Mgm<br />
In Reno And I Said, “Well, I’m<br />
Here. I Told You I Was Going<br />
To Do This,” She Was Like,<br />
“What The<br />
Hell? I’m<br />
Going To<br />
Call The<br />
Police.” I<br />
Didn’t Tell<br />
Anybody<br />
What My<br />
Age Was.<br />
I Was 16<br />
And I Was<br />
About 5’11.<br />
We Had An<br />
80-Year-<br />
Old Lady<br />
That<br />
Owned<br />
A Bridal<br />
Shop. She<br />
Had Gotten<br />
This Red<br />
Dress In<br />
By Accident<br />
And<br />
She Didn’t<br />
Know What<br />
To Do With<br />
This Red<br />
Dress. So She Told Me If I<br />
Wanted To Have It, I Could.<br />
And That’s What I Put In My<br />
Suitcase And Went With. I<br />
Ended Up Winning That Talent<br />
Show In Reno Against All<br />
These Adults. Singing “Last<br />
Dance” By Donna Summer.<br />
They Had A Live Band. I Think<br />
That Just Changed Everything<br />
Because In My Mind, I Was<br />
Like, “Oh, I’m Good Enough To<br />
Beat All These Adults.” Bottom<br />
Line Is I Made The Top Four<br />
And I Ended Up Winning It.<br />
What did you get for winning?<br />
I’m just curious.<br />
I think you got $100 and a free<br />
night in the hotel and maybe<br />
breakfast or something like<br />
that. It wasn’t that big of a<br />
deal, but you could also go<br />
to the entertainment director<br />
to be considered to perform<br />
there sometimes. It gave me<br />
a lot of confidence. I had won<br />
a lot of local talent shows. I<br />
won the state fair. I was the<br />
soloist in a jazz band. I think<br />
that crazy trip I did changed<br />
my path. And on a personal<br />
side, I think leukemia changed<br />
me. I got leukemia in 2001. I<br />
think that changed me greatly.<br />
That was a year living at<br />
UCLA. Fighting everyday to<br />
stay around. Trying something<br />
that was new at that time,<br />
which is stem cell transplant.<br />
You watched a lot of people<br />
die and it was horrifying, but<br />
also enlightening in that “If I<br />
make it out of here, I’m going<br />
to do positive things.” Not that<br />
I wasn’t already. I mean, I had<br />
two babies<strong>–</strong>a one-and-a-halfyear-old<br />
and a three-year-old.<br />
You fight like you never fought<br />
before. You look at things<br />
and say, “OK, I’m not really<br />
going to sweat the small stuff.”<br />
You look at what’s important.<br />
I really dedicated myself to<br />
making sure that my kids were<br />
good people.
PHOTO BY MARK MATSON<br />
Have you had your ultimate<br />
stage fantasy yet?<br />
I think this last show I did a<br />
couple of weeks ago, opening<br />
for Kylie Minogue, was kind<br />
of like that. In a way, you’re<br />
playing Jones Beach Amphitheater<br />
with 12,000 people out<br />
there. I think that was probably<br />
a dream come true for a lot of<br />
performers to be able to have<br />
that kind of sound. That kind of<br />
lights. That kind of production<br />
behind you. The Jumbotron,<br />
where your music videos are<br />
playing. I was transported. I<br />
had a couple of my dancers.<br />
Just being there with Deborah<br />
Cox, who I’ve done a lot of<br />
shows with, and Taylor Dayne.<br />
I mean, just being on stage<br />
with so many professional<br />
females. Just being there with<br />
all these female artists bringing<br />
their A game, it was just a wonderful<br />
moment. It’s a full circle<br />
moment for me because the<br />
first radio station that I heard<br />
my song played on in New<br />
York was KTU. My song “One<br />
More Try”. I wrote a song about<br />
it and it’s called “Song Lives<br />
On”. It’s just one day in New<br />
York that I will never forget.<br />
That was actually one of my<br />
questions to you: What did<br />
you think the first time you<br />
ever heard yourself on the<br />
radio?<br />
I was in Bob Jamieson’s office,<br />
waiting for him to come. My<br />
song was playing throughout<br />
RCA Records and “One More<br />
Try” was playing, and I just lost<br />
it. And he walked in and asked<br />
if I was all right. And I said,<br />
“That’s my song!” I don’t even<br />
think he realized it was my<br />
song. He had so many artists<br />
and so many things going on at<br />
that time, I don’t even think he<br />
realized it. So anyway, it was<br />
a full circle moment getting to<br />
perform in that KTU lineup.<br />
If you could have me ask you<br />
any question on the planet,<br />
what would it be?<br />
Boy, that’s tough. I think people<br />
don’t really ask me about my<br />
love of horses because they<br />
don’t really know that I do that.<br />
People don’t even know I have<br />
this whole other thing going on.<br />
It helps me finance my music.<br />
I have my own independent<br />
label. I’m not with a label. So I<br />
have to be creative in financing<br />
the promotion of the records<br />
and paying the producers and<br />
the remixes and all that stuff.<br />
The shows only pay for so<br />
much of it, so I got creative<br />
during covid. I knew I had to do<br />
something else to get income<br />
going. So I basically turned my<br />
place into a horse hotel. And<br />
now I kind of host a lot of the<br />
cowboys in the national finals<br />
of the rodeo.<br />
So you ride, I assume?<br />
Yes, I do. My grandpa raised<br />
and trained quarter horses. He<br />
was a farmer<strong>–</strong>all of my family<br />
is. I even still have a little bit of<br />
land that I raised sweet onions<br />
on.<br />
I understand you have a day<br />
named after you in Vegas?<br />
I do. I have Kristine W Day<br />
because I performed more<br />
shows than Elvis. Actually, I<br />
think I performed more shows<br />
than anybody else that played<br />
that main showroom, except<br />
for now, I think, Barry Manilow<br />
has stepped in. You have to<br />
put it in perspective that when<br />
I first started there, like 1990,<br />
the headliners did one show a<br />
night. I was in the Tina Turner<br />
room, which is a small room<br />
with like 250 seats. We did<br />
four 45 minute shows a night.<br />
So you accumulate a lot more<br />
shows than you do being a resident<br />
there. My hips are feeling<br />
it now. I was jumping around<br />
and dancing for a long time.<br />
Is there anything that you<br />
want to add that we haven’t<br />
discussed?<br />
Just tell everybody to appreciate<br />
those that support<br />
them. That are around them,<br />
that support their dreams and<br />
visions. Because those people<br />
are so critical in helping you,<br />
even if they can’t finance it.<br />
Their support keeps driving<br />
you forward. That is what “By<br />
My Side” is about. I’m really<br />
proud of this album because<br />
the songs are heartfelt. “So<br />
Much Love, So Little Time To<br />
Give To You”, that’s one of the<br />
titles. Another one is “I Hope<br />
Your Heart Found a Home”.
BY GABRIEL EVAN<br />
CREDIT BILLY HESS<br />
RANDY EDELMAN<br />
THE MAN, THE MUSIC, AND THE MAGIC BY GABRIEL EVAN<br />
There is a neurosis in the air,<br />
which its inhabitants mistake<br />
for energy. The climate is<br />
scandalous, the traffic insane,<br />
and the competition savage.<br />
However, there is no place like it<br />
on the planet. People go to L.A.<br />
to try to find themselves, but they<br />
come to New York to become<br />
someone new…For the past two<br />
years, composer Randy Edelman<br />
has braved the chaos, the threat<br />
of plague, and the monotony of<br />
faces and has made a new and<br />
contrasting identity for himself<br />
amongst the sizzling concrete and<br />
the sold-out solo performances<br />
at the edgiest nightlife soirées<br />
in New York and recently also in<br />
London.<br />
He began his New York<br />
renaissance at the electric,<br />
9000-square-foot dance space Rumi and then jammed the Monster, the Townhouse,<br />
the Green Room 42, City Winery, and now a residency at the trendy night spot<br />
Chelsea Table + Stage, where he dazzles audiences with music and stories<br />
intimately celebrating the soundscape of his illustrious career.<br />
Randy is known above all for writing the soundtracks to over 100 television<br />
productions and motion pictures, including “Last of The Mohicans” (which<br />
earned him a Golden Globe nomination), “Dragonheart”, “Ghostbusters ll”, “My<br />
Cousin Vinny”. “Anaconda”, “<strong>Get</strong>tysburg”, “Drop Dead Fred”, “Kindergarten<br />
Cop”, “Twins”, “While You Where Sleeping”, the hit series “MacGyver”, and a<br />
kaleidoscope of ESPN events (which he won an Emmy for), the Olympics, and an<br />
massive array of others. He is also a pop recording artist, having written “Weekend<br />
In New England” (as recorded by Barry Manilow), “Isn’t It A Shame” (as recorded<br />
by Patti LaBelle), “My Place” (as recorded by Nelly), “You” ( as recorded by the<br />
Carpenters), and limitless others.<br />
Most recently he wrote the soundtrack for the new thriller “The Possession of<br />
Anne”, which will be out on Amazon Prime this October, plus “Athena Saves<br />
Christmas,” the new Josh Webber holiday movie starring Cuba Gooding Jr., “Too<br />
Hot To Handle: The Making of Ghostbusters ll” and “Heart Strings”, directed by Ate<br />
de Jong. Edelman is also currently working on another album to be released early<br />
next year. What’s more, he is being inducted into the New England Music Hall of<br />
Fame this September 30.
INTERVIEW >><br />
Hello, Randy. What is the<br />
process you go through<br />
when scoring the music<br />
to an entire film? In other<br />
words, what comes first<strong>–</strong>do<br />
you read the script or wait<br />
and see the rough cut of the<br />
movie?<br />
You can read a script, but to be<br />
very honest with you, that won’t<br />
really point you in the right<br />
direction. You have to see the<br />
movie after it’s shot and see<br />
the characters, see the style,<br />
the way the director shot the<br />
film, see the way the film looks,<br />
what period it takes place in,<br />
what year, what city….So, I<br />
found over the years that it’s<br />
best that I wait and actually see<br />
something before I start writing<br />
the music. Until you see it, you<br />
really don’t get that spark.<br />
You’ve also written songs<br />
for artists, including Barry<br />
Manilow, Patti LaBelle,<br />
the hip-hop artist Nelly,<br />
Olivia, Newton-John, and a<br />
bunch of others. How does<br />
that work for you? Do the<br />
artists come to you and say<br />
“Write me a song” or do<br />
you present the song to the<br />
artist?<br />
Nobody ever comes to me. In<br />
my case, I wrote songs and<br />
did my own albums. They<br />
didn’t, shall we say, sell in a<br />
big way. Therefore, I wanted<br />
other people to do the songs<br />
and they mainly heard them<br />
from the recordings on my own<br />
albums. I never really wrote<br />
songs for a particular artist.<br />
I usually write songs based<br />
on what I feel at the time and<br />
people usually pick them up<br />
from my own recordings. For<br />
example, the rapper Nelly<br />
heard a recording of my song<br />
that somebody else did,<br />
namely Patti LaBelle. Years<br />
later, after she recorded it,<br />
he heard that recording and<br />
adapted it to his style. So,<br />
records happen in lots of<br />
different ways.<br />
What inspired the themes<br />
you wrote for NASA and the<br />
Olympics? Did they come to<br />
you in this situation and tell<br />
you what they wanted or did<br />
it happen organically?<br />
What they did was used music<br />
that I had written for films or<br />
for the event just mentioned.<br />
Once in a while, they will call<br />
about something specifically<br />
as far as the Super Bowl<br />
or the NASA launch. They<br />
responded to some of the film<br />
scores I had used, which had<br />
a very triumphant, anthem<br />
type quality. They started using<br />
that for a specific event, like<br />
opening the Super Bowl or<br />
closing the Olympics.<br />
Throughout your amazing<br />
career thus far, what has<br />
been the biggest challenge<br />
you’ve encountered?<br />
You know what? Each area<br />
that I have been involved with<br />
is always a challenge. If you<br />
are doing an album, that’s one<br />
challenge. If you’re doing a<br />
film score and you don’t have<br />
enough time to do what it will<br />
take, then you have to figure<br />
PHOTO CREDIT BILLY HESS<br />
out how to get it done. Then,<br />
once in a while, you’re doing a<br />
concert and that’s a challenge<br />
because you want the music to<br />
sound in a live setting the way<br />
it sounded when you recorded<br />
it.<br />
Why did you become a<br />
composer in the first place?<br />
I didn’t really think about it.<br />
When I was young, it seemed<br />
it was the only thing I felt I<br />
had a leg up on other people.<br />
Nobody was really interested<br />
when I was young, as music<br />
wasn’t what it is now. I had<br />
a certain ear for it and I<br />
gravitated toward listening to<br />
things, whether it was a record<br />
or the radio, and then I would<br />
go to the piano and see if I<br />
could duplicate the sound or<br />
the melody of it. That’s what<br />
kind of led me to this from an<br />
early age. I didn’t have any<br />
idea what I was going to do or<br />
what I’m doing now for years<br />
and years….Actually, it was the<br />
only thing I was good at.<br />
TOUR SCHEDULE<br />
8/5/23 @9:15-THE CRAZY COQS-LONDON, ENGLAND<br />
9/22/23 @9:30-CHELSEA TABLE & STAGE-NYC<br />
9/23/23 @TBD-ICE PALACE-CHERRY GROVE NY<br />
9/28/23 @8:00-FIREHOUSE ART CENTER- NEWBERRY PORT, MASS<br />
9/30/23 @6:00-REGANT THEATER-ARLINGTON, MASS (INDUCTION TO NEMHOF)<br />
10/1/23 @12PM-BOSTON CITY WINERY-BOSTON, MASS (MAIN STAGE)<br />
11/11/23 @9:00- MARTINI-FALLS CHURCH,VA<br />
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12/21/23 @9:15- THE CRAZY COQS-LONDON, ENGLAND<br />
RANDYEDELMAN.COM
BY EILEEN SHAPIRO<br />
CELEBRITY CORRESPONDENT<br />
THE MARVELOUS<br />
MELBA MOORE<br />
“IT SEEMS TO HANG ON”<br />
The marvelous Melba<br />
Moore surprised fans<br />
with a Pride addition<br />
of the bonus track<br />
from her new album,<br />
“Imagine”, called “It<br />
Seems To Hang On”,<br />
written and originally<br />
recorded by Nickolas<br />
Ashford and Valerie<br />
Simpson in 1978. The<br />
surprise track is a<br />
gift of appreciation<br />
for her fans and the<br />
writers and it was<br />
recorded on her<br />
daughter’s label, the<br />
Gallery Entertainment/<br />
Orpheus Enterprises.<br />
INTERVIEW >><br />
Hello, Melba. Let’s start by<br />
talking about your fab new<br />
song. What inspired it?<br />
My daughter brought it to<br />
me and as a result, she is<br />
going to be my new boss.<br />
She inspired it and her name<br />
is Charli. She brought it to<br />
me by way of her Uncle Bo<br />
Huggins. He and his brother,<br />
my ex-husband, are really<br />
responsible for all of the recording<br />
success that I’ve had<br />
over the last 20 or 30 years.<br />
Although I’m not married to<br />
him anymore. I still have a<br />
friendship with her Uncle Bo<br />
and we have done some other<br />
things together. When I heard<br />
it was him that gave the song<br />
to her, I said, “Well, at least<br />
I know he knows a hit.” She<br />
told me that her Uncle Bo<br />
had given it to her before she<br />
played it. But then she played<br />
it for me without any other<br />
information. So I didn’t have<br />
any preconceived notions.<br />
After the first bar, I thought “I<br />
haven’t heard it yet, but I like<br />
it.” The hook comes right in<br />
the beginning. But it’s kind of<br />
muffled like that and you can’t<br />
hear what it is, but you still like<br />
it. By the time she got down to<br />
the first verse, I thought it had<br />
such a new, fresh sound to it.<br />
I really, really like it. So she<br />
got the person who did the<br />
demo<strong>–</strong>her name is Chantel<br />
Hampton<strong>–</strong>and she actually<br />
did the arrangement. She<br />
got permission for her so she<br />
could use it for herself. But<br />
I’m saying that my daughter<br />
brought it to me, and because<br />
she did that, it became part of<br />
this project. It reconfigures our<br />
family in a totally different way<br />
because I’m still divorced from<br />
her father.
Are you friends with him,<br />
though?<br />
No. We weren’t really in touch<br />
with each other, but the music<br />
brought us back together<br />
and we found a way to work<br />
together by me, really, passing<br />
the baton on to our daughter.<br />
She is a head for this<br />
industry that I didn’t realize.<br />
She worked for other publishing<br />
companies and other<br />
record companies. It’s a new<br />
experience for me.<br />
It’s kind of coming<br />
all together in its<br />
own synergy. And<br />
I’m just like, “Wait a<br />
minute!”<br />
Does she sing?<br />
She can sing, but<br />
she doesn’t want<br />
to sing. She didn’t<br />
know her grandmother<br />
because<br />
she passed away,<br />
but she knows all<br />
about her. So I<br />
think she feels like<br />
she might be in<br />
somebody’s shadow.<br />
I didn’t push<br />
for that reason too,<br />
because I realized<br />
I really wanted to<br />
be my mother. She<br />
was beautiful, people<br />
treated her well,<br />
she had charisma,<br />
she was famous.<br />
You could see how<br />
you would want to do that.<br />
But she also saw how hard it<br />
is. How things could fall apart<br />
because when her marriage<br />
fell apart, her life fell apart.<br />
You have been a gay icon<br />
forever. How did that happen?<br />
And how do you feel<br />
about that? What motivated<br />
you towards the gay community?<br />
Nothing motivated or moved<br />
me. They come to you and<br />
they love you and they support<br />
you and you were in the midst<br />
of all of this incredible energy.<br />
There is a humanity that<br />
makes us. We are all human<br />
beings. I am a born again<br />
Christian. We are committed<br />
to loving each other<strong>–</strong>before I<br />
knew what that was, and I’m<br />
not sure that I still do, but now<br />
that I’m trying to live it out, I’m<br />
really glad.<br />
PHOTO BY BILLY HESS<br />
Because if we don’t have the<br />
same philosophy, we can<br />
still really care about each<br />
other. We don’t have to force<br />
anybody to take your philosophy,<br />
as long as I’m not trying<br />
to push it down your throat and<br />
you don’t be trying to push it<br />
down mine<strong>–</strong>we can share this<br />
part at, least.<br />
In other words, don’t judge.<br />
Yes, I guess it boils down to<br />
that.<br />
Have you had your ultimate<br />
stage fantasy yet? What are<br />
you looking for?<br />
Just for my team to be together<br />
again. When it was all kind<br />
of happening, the agents were<br />
here and the publicist and the<br />
managers, so everybody knew<br />
who you were because you<br />
have plenty of publicity. I’m trying<br />
to get that back<br />
together. You need<br />
a team<strong>–</strong>you can’t do<br />
it by yourself. So I’m<br />
getting ready to be<br />
big again.<br />
What do you mean<br />
“again”?<br />
Whatever happened<br />
in the beginning, I<br />
feel like it’s going to<br />
be even bigger.<br />
If you could have<br />
me ask you any<br />
question on the<br />
planet, what would<br />
it be?<br />
There’s lots of<br />
questions no one’s<br />
ever asked me. My<br />
whole thing is God<br />
in heaven. But it’s<br />
not religion. There<br />
are a lot of things on<br />
my mind that I think<br />
about that probably<br />
don’t fit into this context.<br />
But they all do. So you<br />
asked me a good question.<br />
I was expecting this to be a<br />
joyous, frivolous interview in<br />
comparison to what I’m thinking;<br />
it got deep. I think about<br />
really serious things. This is on<br />
everyone’s minds right now:<br />
What if we lose our democracy?<br />
But I don’t want you to<br />
ask me the question because I<br />
don’t have the answer.
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