June, in addition to being Vision Research Month, Fireworks Safety Months, Light the Night for Sight Months, National Candy Month, Adopt-a-Shelter-Cat Month, Cancer in the Sun Month, Dairy Month, National Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Month, National Iced Tea Month, National Pest Control Month, Safety Month, Scleroderma Awareness Month, and Zoo and Aquarium Month, is also Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, first established by Bill Clinton back in '00. Therefore, I may in the coming weeks blog about iced tea or become aware of Scleroderma, but for now I will focus on Gay Cinema.

One of the first things I noticed about gay people's feelings toward Gay Cinema is that they're almost all negative.  Exceptions are usually foreign films, which are almost invariably downers. The first year Amoeba observed Gay and Lesbian Pride month in the movie department in the form of a display, we all had an uncomfortable chuckle about the unfailingly depressing storylines of the films we featured. Films based on the lives and deaths of famous gays like Joe Orton, Brandon Teena, Oscar Wilde and James Whale all ended tragically. And here I thought gay meant happy!


The history of Gay Cinema is quite unlike most minority driven alternatives to Hollywood. Unlike American Asians, blacks, Latinos and Natives -- whose identities have always been fairly obvious (except in cases of passing) -- gays have always had the option of remaining invisilble. Therefore, gays were never required to sit in the back of the bus, attend special schools or live in segregated neighborhoods. In the silent film industry, most gay actors understandably chose to hide their identitites. Though there are few overt representations of homosexuality in silent films -- mostly in European films -- most are merely hinted at. More importantly, however, the contributions of gays both in front of and behind the camera are many and noteworthy.

And the best current Black Flag tribute band award goes to Mimosa Beach, CA based Black Fag who are currently in the midst of their state-wide I Caught Henry Kissing Santa Claus tour with dates this week including at The Exit in Fresno on Thursday, Thee Parkside in San Francisco on Friday, 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley on Saturday, and Downtown Brew in San Luis Obispo on Sunday.

At these shows Black Fag, who are comprised of Liberace Morris (vocals), Greg Streisand (guitar), Cher Dykeowski (bass), and Robo Simmons (drums), will be doing enthusiastic covers of such Black Flag classics as "TV Party," "Six Pack," and "Wasted." And perhaps they will be joined at some of these shows by their backup dancers: Raymond Pettiboner, Joe CarGucci, and Bugger.

According to Black Fag's pink backdrop MySpace, their story began back in the small town of New Hope, PA. "Singer Liberace Morris was raised in neighboring Doylestown, but found a home among New Hope's thriving gay community. He worked at a vintage clothing/toy store while pursuing musical theatre at the Bucks County Playhouse at night. One night after Pippin rehearsal, Liberace came home to find his boyfriend in bed with another man. While drowning his sorrows at the local watering hole, The Raven, Liberace started singing and playing Black Flag's "Nervous Breakdown" on the piano. The rest of the bar simply ate it up until the end of the song, when Liberace stood up and started haphazardly hurling martini glasses around the place. He was permanently ejected from The Raven and convinced that his life was officially over." 

Welcome to Amoeblogay Music Lists Part IV, in the ongoing five-part series that began last Tuesday and was inspired in great part by the recent Out Magazine Top 100 Gayest Albums list. This second to last installment includes two lists --  both from Amoebloggers. Brad Schelden has compiled a list, in no particular order, noting that, "I did agree with a lot of the albums they (Out Magazine) listed. Seems to be a lot of disco and dance music missing as well."

The other list below comes from Amoeblogger Job O Brother, who says his list includes, "Some records that deserve a spot in any comprehensive list of recordings significant to the LGBT community. Word." Job also added that, "Some of these are so obvious it baffles me they were missed by Out Magazine. In scrutinizing their list, it seems rushed, haphazard, and the work of a small pool of people who would never get a job at someplace like Amoeba Music! I didn’t bother to include Pansy Division – again, so obvious! – because I know that other people contributing to your project will include them." 

Special thanks to both Job O Brother (Another Witty and Unnecessary Blog) and Brad Schelden (Pen is mightier than the sword) for their time and insights in this series and check back here for the final Part V to be posted here in a few days. Meantime, be sure to check out the wonderful Latino Gay Music Icons Amoeblog immediately below this blog, compiled and posted by Gomez Comes Alive!