January 15, 2015 Edition of the Bay Area Reporter by Bay Area Reporter

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Vol. 45 • No. 3 • January 15-21, 2015

Housing key concern for SF supes San Francisco Supervisors, from left, Jane Kim, Scott Wiener, Mark Farrell, Malia Cohen and Julienne Christensen were sworn in to their terms on the board January 8. Not pictured is Supervisor Katy Tang. Christie Smith via NewsOne

BART protesters chained themselves to a train at the West Oakland station November 28.

BART charges criticized by Seth Hemmelgarn

rotesters in Oakland who disrupted BART train service the day after Thanksgiving last year to call attention to police brutality are hoping to see charges and restitution sought against them dropped. Meanwhile, two gay progressive BART board members are being asked to support the protesters’ request, and a demonstration is planned for Friday morning on the underground platform at the Montgomery BART station, potentially affecting the morning commute. The Alameda County District Attorney’s office is charging 14 people with trespassing on railroad property, a misdemeanor. Officials are also seeking $70,000 in restitution. The situation, stemming from the November 28 Black Friday protest that interfered with service for hours, has drawn out BART directors Rebecca Saltzman and Tom Radulovich into a controversy with others, including San Francisco’s Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club. According to court documents, several protesters had chained and locked themselves to trains at the West Oakland station. The Black Friday protest was one of many across the country that have centered on police brutality after grand juries in Ferguson, Missouri and Staten Island, New York declined to indict white police officers who killed unarmed black men. Karissa Lewis, 32, of Oakland, one of the defendants, said the BART protesters believe “the charges should be dropped because we were doing our due diligence as citizens to protest and object to unjust living conditions in our community.” Lewis, who’s black and is acting as a spokeswoman for the protesters, known as the “Black Friday 14,” said those conditions include “being targeted by the police,” gentrification, a lack of access to health care, and other issues. See page 5 >>

by Matthew S. Bajko

an Francisco’s affordable housing crisis will continue to top the agenda at City Hall in 2015. The issue was a key focus for the city’s returning supervisors as they gathered last week to welcome Julienne M. Christensen as the new District 3 supervisor and elected District 5 Supervisor London Breed as the new board president during the January 8 swearing in ceremony for the five even-numbered supervisors who won re-election to new terms in November.

“Most of all, we need affordable and safe housing for our residents,” said Breed as she listed a number of issues she plans to tackle as the board’s new president. The second African American woman to lead the board, Breed recalled how only blocks away from City Hall she grew up in public housing with her siblings, grandmother, and an aunt. “I remember standing in church lines to get donated food and standing in fire department lines for toys at Christmas,” said Breed, who in 2012 defeated bisexual former Supervisor Christina Olague, who had been

appointed to fill a vacancy, to represent the Haight and Western Addition on the board. “I felt left out, isolated, powerless as I watched the city move by all around me,” added Breed. “The good news is I had a grandmother and community who loved me. Wealth is nothing without love, without compassion.” Christensen, a North Beach neighborhood activist and businesswoman, also spoke of the need for the city to do more to protect current residents from being evicted. See page 5 >>

Campaigns target uninsured LGBTs Rick Gerharter

by Matthew S. Bajko

tanding in his floral design studio in Los Angeles’ Echo Park neighborhood, Maurice Harris discusses why he signed up for health insurance through Covered California, the state-run exchange where uninsured residents can choose from a variety of plans. “I need to take care of myself as well as my business. And now I can do both with health coverage,” says Harris, noting that his job comes with risks that could require him to seek medical treatment. Not said in the 15-second ad, part of Covered California’s “I’m In” marketing campaign, is that the 33-year-old Harris is a gay man. Nonetheless, Harris is the public face of the state exchange’s latest efforts to reach uninsured LGBT residents in the Golden State. Since the fall his television spots have aired in the state’s various media markets during shows known to attract a sizeable LGBT audience. And print ads featuring Harris have also been running in LGBT publications, such as the Bay Area Reporter, for several months. “Maurice was someone we found while looking for individuals and families to tell their stories about why having health coverage was important to them,” Covered California spokesman Roy Kennedy told the B.A.R. in an emailed response to questions. “We do this on a regular basis because having actual enrollees tell their stories is very impactful and gives people a real perspective of how Covered California helps people.”

Courtesy Covered California

Los Angeles floral designer Maurice Harris is one of the faces of the Covered California ad campaign.

When Harris opened his business Bloom and Plume in 2010, he opted not to enroll in a health insurance plan. He cited the cost of having to pay a monthly premium between $400 and $500 as a barrier to having coverage. “It was too much of an overwhelming process for me. It seemed really expensive and unapproachable,” said Harris, who grew up in Stockton and moved to southern California when he enrolled at the Otis College of Art and Design. “I really just avoided the whole thing.”

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That changed with the launch of Covered California in the fall of 2013. Harris logged onto the website and found a plan costing $200 a month, far less than what he had been quoted in the past. “It was significantly more approachable than what the private sector was offering before this bill was passed,” said Harris, referring to the Affordable Care Act enacted by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama. Shortly after he signed up, Harris received a call from a representative with Covered California inviting him to audition for a marketing campaign. That led to a crew visiting him at his studio a few blocks from his home to tape the spot. A black man, Harris also appears in a 30-second television ad with two black women that has been airing during shows with large African American audiences. His being featured in the spots has led strangers to approach him on the street to discuss the ads, which he was surprised to learn were being shown on TV. “I thought it would be an online testimonial kind of thing ... I didn’t realize it would be a commercial running all the time,” said Harris, who missed the first call back. “They really wanted to see me, so they called me back again a second time.” Having disclosed his sexual orientation to the marketing team, Harris said they asked him if he would be interested in using his story to See page 13 >>

<< Community News

2 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 15-21, 2015

Not guilty pleas entered in Mrs. Doubtfire house arson by Seth Hemmelgarn

transgender woman accused of setting fire to the Pacific Heights house known for its role in the 1993 hit film Mrs. Doubtfire has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, arson, and other charges. Tyqwon Eugene Welch, 25, of Los Angeles, whom officials have indicated is a transgender woman, appeared Friday, January 9 in San Francisco Superior Court. Through her attorney, Welch pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, two counts of burning an inhabited dwelling, possession of an incendiary device, criminal threats, and residential burglary. She’s also been charged with misdemeanor counts of trespassing and making annoying phone calls.

Media reports have identified the victim as Dr. Doug Ousterhout, 80, who specializes in facial feminization surgery and works with transgender clients. According to police, at about 8:15 p.m. Monday, January 5, Ousterhout was cooking in the house at 2640 Steiner Street when “he smelled gasoline and saw that the front door mat was on fire.” He put out the flames and called police. Police spokesman Officer Albie Esparza said last week that Welch was taken into custody just before 10 a.m. Wednesday, January 7 in San Jose after police arson investigators developed information on her whereabouts. Welch, who was in handcuffs Friday, looked annoyed as Elizabeth Hilton, managing attorney in

the misdemeanor unit at the public defender’s office, escorted her into Judge Ethan Schulman’s courtroom. Several TV camera people were there to record the scene, but Schulman prohibited them from filming Welch, at Hilton’s request. After the hearing, Hilton told reporters she couldn’t comment on the facts of the case, including what relationship Welch had to Ousterhout, but she said the case is based on circumstantial evidence. “I ask people not to rush to judgment,” she said. “... Sometimes things are not exactly as they appear.” Asked whether Welch identifies as transgender, Hilton said, “She has asked me to refer to her as ‘Miss.’” In response to a question about whether Welch, who’s in custody on $1 million bail, is being held in the men’s side of the jail, Hilton said that concerns her, too, and she wants to make sure Welch is “comfortable.” Van Ly, Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi’s chief of staff, later said that Welch is being housed in the jail’s seventh floor, which has “a male housing unit and a gender non-conforming housing unit.” Ly said she couldn’t disclose the specific section that Welch is in, but she said “generally,” they assess each inmate to determine “the safest housing for that person. ... Our main goals are to house people safely and securely.” Asked by a television reporter Friday about where Welch is in the transitioning “process,” Hilton said, “Isn’t that a bit personal?” and asked him, “Are you a man or a woman?” In response to Hilton saying the evidence against Welch is circumstantial, Alex Bastian, a spokesman

that during a jailhouse meeting with a reporter Thursday, January 8, Welch “declined to be interviewed” but said “these charges have nothing to do with me.” Welch is next set to appear in court January 20 for a prehearing conference. Assistant District Attorney Andrew Clark was the prosecutor in court Friday, when Schulman ordered Welch to stay at least 150 yards away from Ousterhout, his son, and the house.

Ousterhout’s home Seth Hemmelgarn

The charred bottom of the front door of the Pacific Heights house that was featured in the film Mrs. Doubtfire was visible last week.

for the district attorney’s office, said there are “many forms of evidence,” including “direct evidence and circumstantial evidence.” In a follow-up call, he said, “A judge and a jury determine the weight of the evidence.” Bastian explained the attempted homicide charge by saying, “Anytime you have an arson, it’s very concerning, especially when it involves someone’s residence.” He couldn’t say what an apparent confrontation before the fire had been about and he couldn’t discuss the “annoying” calls or other details. “It’s too early to be able to talk about all those things,” Bastian said. He also said he was “unable to comment” about what the relationship between Ousterhout and Welch was. The San Francisco Chronicle said

Ousterhout hasn’t responded to a message left with his Castro neighborhood office, and no one came to the door when a reporter rang the doorbell at his home Friday. Burn marks still scarred the bottom of the front door. The garage door, which has been shown with burns in a Chronicle photo, appeared to have recently been repainted. His son hasn’t responded to an interview request through Facebook. Tributes left to Mrs. Doubtfire actor Robin Williams after he committed suicide in August could still be seen on the house’s front steps and sidewalk. Asked about the case being “tricky” since it involves the internationally known home, Hilton said, “I love that movie. It’s sad the house got damaged.” There didn’t appear to be any security cameras outside the front of Ousterhout’s home Friday. Two of his neighbors said they hadn’t seen the incident allegedly involving Welch. They declined to give their names. See page 14 >>

Fake cop trial opens by Seth Hemmelgarn

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he trial of a San Francisco man accused of pretending to be a police officer and forcing other men to engage in sexual acts with him is underway. Jurors started hearing evidence against Jeffrey Bugai, 36, last week. Opening statements in the trial, which is estimated to continue for two more weeks, were given Tuesday, January 6. Bugai faces 33 counts, including accusations of impersonating a public officer, sodomy by anesthesia or a controlled substance, and forcible oral copulation. There are seven alleged victims. During the preliminary hearing in October, one alleged victim Luis R., who wept during his testimony, said that in late 2008 Bugai had handcuffed him and a friend after meeting them at El Trebol, 3149 22nd Street, in the Mission district, and taken them

to an apartment after tell“No, I don’t remember ing him he was a cop. having said how long,” Luis testified that Bugai Luis responded. eventually “threw me to Luis went to police in the ground,” told him, “all November 2013 after seeillegals are weaklings and ing Bugai outside a bank. they shouldn’t be here,” The other men came and touched Luis’s penis forward following media through his pants as he coverage of his report. tried to pull Luis’ pants The alleged incidents Courtesy SFPD down. He said he’d fled occurred from January the apartment after hit- Jeffrey Bugai 2008 through March ting Bugai with a ratchet. 2014, according to the In superior court Thursday, complaint prosecutors filed against January 8, Deputy Public Defender Bugai in September 2014. Phoenix Streets picked apart details Police have said Bugai targeted Centhat Luis had offered. tral American immigrants with “limDuring one exchange, Streets asked ited English speaking” skills who had Luis about an alleged struggle he’d recently arrived in the United States. had on the floor with Bugai. Streets The men who testified against reminded Luis that at one point he’d Bugai during his preliminary hearsaid he’d been on the floor for 20 to ing said they believed Bugai was 30 minutes, then asked him whether a cop, and some said after he took he’d said during a visit to the district them to his apartment, he made attorney’s office that he’d been on the them drink something they suspect floor for an hour and a half. See page 13 >>

EQCA to hold town hall in SF by Seth Hemmelgarn

he head of Equality California, the statewide lobbying group that works with legislators and others to promote protections for LGBTs, will be in San Francisco Thursday night, January 22 to seek input from the community on where the nonprofit should focus its work. After years of concentrating on issues like school bullying and marriage equality, the organization has been expanding its efforts to include health care, undocumented LGBTs, and other subjects. EQCA Executive Director Rick Zbur said the town hall Thursday is meant for community members “to raise issues that are important to

Courtesy EQCA

EQCA Executive Director Rick Zbur

them, so that we’re aware of them.” It’s also designed for his organization to give people “a sense of where

we are directed, from a strategic perspective,” and get people’s input on that, Zbur said. He and his staff want to know “whether we’re missing something that is important to our community,” he said. Zbur will also discuss EQCA’s Fair Share for Equality initiative, which is meant to address health disparities and other concerns by assuring that LGBTs are counted in social service programs. EQCA hopes to have another town hall in San Diego soon and similar events in the Central Valley “in late spring,” Zbur said. The San Francisco town hall starts at 6:30 p.m. at Most Holy Redeemer Church, 100 Diamond Street, in the Castro. Bay Area Reporter news editor Cynthia Laird will moderate.t

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<< Community News

4 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 15-21, 2015

Hayashi hired to lead Transgender Law Center by David-Elijah Nahmod

trans man has been hired to become the Transgender Law Center’s third executive director, and he’s already familiar to many associated with the Oakland-based nonprofit. The agency’s board of directors last week announced that Kris Hayashi, currently TLC’s deputy director, will become executive director effective February 1. Hayashi

replaces longtime Executive Director Masen Davis, who announced last fall that he was stepping down after more than seven years with the legal and advocacy nonprofit. TLC has been at the forefront of fighting for equality, and for the safety of, transgender and gender non-conforming individuals. It was one of the co-sponsors of a California law designed to protect trans students in public schools that went

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into effect in 2014. Hayashi, 39, said that he has always considered himself gender non-conforming, even before he transitioned. “I grew up as a gender non-conforming child,” Hayashi told the Bay Area Reporter in a telephone interview. “I very much understood the types of harassment kids face.” Hayashi said that his own transition came several years ago. “I identified as a queer woman of color for most of the early part of my life. I was exposed to transgender people in my 20s, and it became very clear who I was,” he explained. “So I began to transition.” His activism also began at a young age. “I’ve been involved in the movement for social justice and LGBT rights for over 20 years,” he said. “I got involved in the rights of transgender and gender non-conforming people about 10 years ago. I’m someone who’s very grounded in the community. Advocating for transgender people and the gender non-conforming is a big part of who I am.” Hayashi becomes one of the few trans people of color heading a nonprofit organization. Jacob Richards, a TLC board member who chaired the hiring

Courtesy TLC

Incoming Transgender Law Center Executive Director Kris Hayashi

committee, said in a statement that Hayashi is up to the task. “Over his years with the movements for LGBT rights, racial justice, economic justice, and similar issues, he has built an impressive expertise and network of relationships that will help Transgender Law Center take to the next level our work serving the most vulnerable members of our community,” Richards said. According to the news release, Hayashi served for nine years as coexecutive director of the Audre Lorde Project, a New York City-based center

for LGBT, two-spirit, and gender nonconforming people of color. Prior to that, he served as executive director of the California-based Youth United for Community Action. Davis said that the agency will “undergo a successful change of leadership” with the hiring of Hayashi. Hayashi said that he came to TLC to make a difference. “I came to the law center about one and a half years ago,” Hayashi said. “I wanted to be at an organization that could advance rights and really make change for our community. It’s been a real pleasure to work with Masen as he transitions out of the organization. He’s a tremendous leader, and I’m really excited to take over and build on his legacy.” Last year, when Davis took a sabbatical for several months, Hayashi was tapped to lead TLC, so he’s already familiar with running the agency. Hayashi is thrilled by the emergence of transgender celebrities such as Laverne Cox, Janet Mock, and Chaz Bono, as well as the recognition trans-themed entertainment has received at major award shows. On Sunday, the Amazon.com show Transparent received Golden Globe wins for actor Jeffrey Tambor, who See page 14 >>

HYPE aims to expand horizons by Yael Chanoff

n 2015, the queer disabled artists of Sins Invalid will continue to bring their cutting edge performance to the people, and Maven will grow its network of LGBTQ coders creating new worlds. But this year, they’ll do it with a little help from HYPE. Both organizations are receiving grant funding from HYPE – or

Horizons Young Professionals for Equality – a group that wants to give back to LGBT organizations. HYPE will be celebrating Thursday, January 22 at its third annual Grantee Partnership Launch event at the San Francisco LGBT Community Center. “The goal of HYPE is to make giving accessible and get more LGBT folks involved in philanthropy,” said Allison Sparks, HYPE co-chair. Founded three years ago, HYPE has so far granted $40,000 to local nonprofits. “That’s from hundreds and hundreds of individual monthly contributions,” Sparks said. That money comes mostly from $25 monthly membership dues. HYPE membership has peaked at 65, and is now around 40. By pooling their money, members of this small group – a “scrappy bunch” as Sparks put it – have a much bigger impact than they could alone. The “H” in HYPE stands for the Horizons Foundation, the LGBT philanthropy organization that helped bring HYPE to life in 2011. Sam Pedersen, HYPE co-chair, explained that he approached Horizons along with his boyfriend, Corey Rosenberg, and their friend, Peter Denny, because they wanted to get more involved in the community. Through meetings with Horizons and experience with the Stonewall Quarter Share, a similar organization in New York City, they came up with HYPE. “Most people can’t afford $10k tables at fancy galas. Our $25 per month membership is intended to be as accessible as possible,” Pedersen wrote in an email. “That said, we totally understand

that even $25/month is a stretch for many budgets. We’ve had a member in the past for example complete a “run-raiser” where this member raised $300 (a year’s membership dues) with the support of friends and family and running in a local marathon,” he wrote. Besides giving money, some HYPE members also volunteer at grantee organizations and form lasting relationships. An example is Our Space, a LGBTQ youth center in Hayward that HYPE gave a grant to in 2013. That year, Our Space held the first East Bay Youth Pride, and HYPE members were enthusiastic volunteers. The youth also led an adult ally training for HYPE members to talk about the best ways older people can help their younger community members. In 2013 HYPE also gave grants to the Pacific Center in Berkeley and San Francisco-based GSA Network. Grantees in 2014 were the LYRIC Undocumented Queer Youth Workforce Program and Somos Familia. The Transgender, Gender Variant and Intersex Justice Project, Queer Rebels, and Out in the Bay all received smaller grants as finalists in 2014. At this year’s celebration, people from Maven and Sins Invalid will talk about their work, and HYPE members will have a chance to get together and talk about the upcoming year. For people interested in HYPE, Sparks said, “This would be an excellent time for them to get involved.” See page 14 >>

Stephanie Perron

Members of HYPE and Our Space, an LGBTQ youth center in Hayward, take part in an adult ally training.

t <<

From the Cover>>

BART charges

From page 1

“BART in particular has had a history of engaging black and brown communities in very violent ways,” Lewis said, pointing to the 2009 BART fatal police shooting of Oscar Grant, an unarmed black man. She also called the $70,000 restitution “unfair.” It’s “our right to protest, and we feel like the restitution is being charged unequally,” she said, given that such fines haven’t been sought in similar cases. The protesters wouldn’t be willing to do community service, an idea put out by some officials, but “I don’t think we’re talking about that now, because what we want is the charges dropped,” Lewis said. Protesters had known they would be arrested, but based on what’s happened in other actions that have included shutting down street traffic, they thought they’d be cited and released, rather than face criminal charges, she said. Lewis, who’s part of the Black Lives Matter group in Oakland, didn’t want her sexual orientation published, but she said the protesters included LGBTQs and people who are gender non-conforming.

Outside calls

Others outside the protest group

SF supes

From page 1

“Allowing people to remain in their homes unthreatened by speculative evictions. Allowing rents to remain affordable so people can remain in the neighborhood they love. I understand that is job one, that is clear to me,” said Christensen. Mayor Ed Lee last week appointed her to fill the vacancy created when the former board president, David Chiu, resigned to join the state Assembly. She will go before the voters of District 3 this Novem-

January 15-21, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 5

have also called for the charges to be dropped. More than 10,000 people have signed an online petition calling on BART board President Thomas Blalock and Radulovich, who is vice president, to withdraw the criminal complaint against the protesters and suspend the $70,000 restitution. The Milk club sent Radulovich a sharply worded letter Friday, January 9 calling for the charges and restitution demand to be dropped, and reminding the gay board director that the club has endorsed him for office, most recently in 2012 for his current term. In an interview Tuesday, January 13, Radulovich wouldn’t say directly whether he thinks the charges should be dropped. BART directors are “not the ones who decide who gets charged with what. That’s up to BART PD,” he said, referring to the BART Police Department. Pressed on the issue, he said, “It would concern me to establish that the ability to stop BART operations is somehow a right. I’m totally sympathetic to the cause of the protesters. However, if we say these protesters can stop BART trains” because the system’s directors like them, “does that mean anyone can stop BART trains?” Radulovich was clearer about the $70,000 that’s being sought.

“The restitution felt to me like it was excessive, so I talked to [BART general manager Grace Grunican] about it. ... It is ultimately her decision, but she’s leaning toward not seeking financial restitution and looking instead at a community service or restorative justice approach, which is not going to please everybody, but feels to me like a better approach” than what’s been sought. Still, he said, “It’s the Alameda County DA that ultimately is going to decide what they’re charged with and whether restitution would be granted.” Teresa Drenick, a spokeswoman for Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley, said she couldn’t comment on the case because it’s active and ongoing. In a statement released Wednesday, January 7, Grunican said that she and BART police Chief Kenton Rainey have discussed with O’Malley Grunican’s interest in including community service and restorative justice programs in the legal proceedings. However, she said, “I must ensure safe public access to the BART system,” and the protesters had “shut down four of five transit lines, and for three hours interfered with the movement of every train running through the Transbay Tube and the entire BART system.” The protesters “created a danger

to themselves and those traveling throughout the system,” Grunican said. Grunican worked to place the blame for the restitution on O’Malley. She said while “Restitution is every crime victim’s right under the California Constitution,” O’Malley “has indicated that her office is guided by California law on issues regarding restitution, and she made it clear that the handling of restitution is within her purview and premature to discuss at this time.” BART director Saltzman has also weighed in on the case. In a Thursday, January 8 statement on Facebook, Saltzman said she and other directors weren’t involved in the decision to pursue charges and restitution, explaining that BART police had requested that of the DA. She said she’s a “strong supporter of the right to protest injustices,” but she’s also “a strong proponent of public transportation, and I think it is critical that our public transportation systems remain reliable to all who depend on them. For anyone whose purposeful actions cause the shutdown of BART, there should be consequences, and those consequences should be fair.” Saltzman said “pursuing community service and restorative justice

programs” is “an appropriate path in lieu of financial restitution.” As the East Bay Citizen online news site reported Thursday, Twitter user JP Massar asked Saltzman, “Do u think Rosa Parks should have had to do ‘community service?’” Saltzman replied, “Rosa Parks did not shut down an entire transit system for hours.” (Parks was a black woman who refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus in 1955, sparking a bus boycott. Her action is seen as one of the most iconic moments in the civil rights movement.) The Citizen reported that “Saltzman later apologized for the statement on Twitter.” The next court date for all defendants, who were released not long after their arrests, is February 4, when the court will hear what is essentially a defense motion to drop the charges. The petition calling for the charges to be dropped is available at http:// iam.colorofchange.org/petitions/ bart-directors-when-it-comes-toending-the-war-on-black-communities-which-side-are-you-on. The January 16 protest demanding that charges against the Black Friday 14 be dropped is planned for 7 a.m. at the Montgomery BART station. For more information, go to https://www.facebook.com/ events/684891331631587/.t

ber to win election to serve out the remaining two years of the term. “No one at City Hall wants to see seniors evicted from their homes or move out of the city,” said Christensen. “So middle income housing is very important to me.” The incumbent supervisors who won re-election to second terms also spoke of the need to address the city’s rising housing costs for both renters and homebuyers. “There are so many challenges around housing and housing affordability,” said gay District 8 Supervisor Scott Wiener. “Not only

with people being evicted, but so many people are living in absolute terror if they lose their apartment they will have to leave this city.” District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim also highlighted the need for more affordable housing in the city, pointing to the passage by voters in November of a nonbinding policy that calls for 30 percent of the expected 30,000 new housing units to become available by 2020 in the city to be affordable to low- and moderate-income households, and T:9.75” 50 percent within reach of middleclass San Franciscans.

“We look forward to the introduction of legislation and funding to make that a reality ... affordable housing for everyone,” said Kim, who on Tuesday introduced legislation calling on the planning department to track how many affordable units of housing are being created in the city. “Our homeless population is not growing but certainly is aging in place. We have to address that as well.” District 11 Supervisor John Avalos said the city’s full leadership, from the board to the mayor and his administration, needs to make housing a priority. In addition to building middle

class housing, he called for solutions to ensure those in the middle class can remain in their current homes. “This year I am really focused on how we can work together to deal with our affordability crisis in our city. We need all of our offices to work together to deal with this as much as we can,” said Avalos, noting that he has seen San Francisco change before his eyes the last four years. “We need to make sure the widening disparities we are seeing can be closed and share what we can generate in wealth to as many people as possible.”t

Saltzman weighs in

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<< Open Forum

6 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 15-21, 2015

Volume 45, Number 3 January 15-21, 2015 www.ebar.com PUBLISHER Michael M. Yamashita Thomas E. Horn, Publisher Emeritus (2013) Publisher (2003 – 2013) Bob Ross, Founder (1971 – 2003) NEWS EDITOR Cynthia Laird ARTS EDITOR Roberto Friedman BARTAB EDITOR & EVENTS LISTINGS EDITOR Jim Provenzano ASSISTANT EDITORS Matthew S. Bajko • Seth Hemmelgarn CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ray Aguilera • Tavo Amador • Race Bannon Erin Blackwell • Roger Brigham Brian Bromberger • Victoria A. Brownworth Brent Calderwood • Philip Campbell Heather Cassell • Belo Cipriani Chuck Colbert • Richard Dodds • Krissy Eliot Michael Flanagan • Jim Gladstone David Guarino • Liz Highleyman Brandon Judell • John F. Karr • Lisa Keen Matthew Kennedy • Joshua Klipp David Lamble • Max Leger Michael McDonagh • David-Elijah Nahmod Elliot Owen • Paul Parish • Sean Piverger Lois Pearlman • Tim Pfaff • Jim Piechota Bob Roehr • Donna Sachet • Adam Sandel Khaled Sayed • Jason Serinus • Gregg Shapiro Gwendolyn Smith • Jim Stewart Sean Timberlake • Andre Torrez • Ronn Vigh Ed Walsh • Cornelius Washington Sura Wood ART DIRECTION Jay Cribas PRODUCTION/DESIGN Max Leger PHOTOGRAPHERS Jane Philomen Cleland • FBFE • Rick Gerharter Gareth Gooch • Lydia Gonzales Jose Guzman-Colon • Rudy K. Lawidjaja Georg Lester • Dan Lloyd • Jim Norrena Rich Stadtmiller • Robbie Sweenie Steven Underhil • Dallis Willard • Bill Wilson ILLUSTRATORS & CARTOONISTS Paul Berge • Christine Smith ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATION Colleen Small VICE PRESIDENT OF ADVERTISING Scott Wazlowski – 415.861.5019 ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Lance Roberts NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Rivendell Media – 212.242.6863

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News Editor • news@ebar.com Arts Editor • arts@ebar.com Out & About listings • jim@ebar.com Advertising • scott@ebar.com Letters • letters@ebar.com Published weekly. Bay Area Reporter reserves the right to edit or reject any advertisement which the publisher believes is in poor taste or which advertises illegal items which might result in legal action against Bay Area Reporter. Ads will not be rejected solely on the basis of politics, philosophy, religion, race, age, or sexual orientation. Advertising rates available upon request. Our list of subscribers and advertisers is confidential and is not sold. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, and writers published herein is neither inferred nor implied. We are not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or artwork.

Boxer leaves big shoes to fill

arbara Boxer’s announcement last week that she would not seek re-election to the Senate in 2016 was hardly a surprise. For months political reporters had noted that Boxer had not been raising money, which is usually a good indicator of a reelection bid. Boxer’s January 8 announcement – delivered via a YouTube video with her grandson, Zachary Rodham, playing the part of a reporter – was clever and covered all the bases. At 74, Boxer wants to return to California, but said she will remain active in issues dear to her like reproductive rights and the environment. It was also delivered a couple months earlier than pundits expected, but that’s because, in the race to succeed her, running a viable statewide campaign in a state as large as California likely will run upwards of $20 million. So, Boxer’s erstwhile replacements need all the time they can get to raise that campaign cash. Boxer has represented California ably during her 21 years in the Senate, and the decade before that in the House of Representatives. She was a leader on women’s rights, and famously, as a congresswoman, marched with seven others up the steps of the Senate in 1991 to demand that a vote on Clarence Thomas for a seat on the Supreme Court be postponed

until accusations of sexual harassment against him could be investigated. That protest led to televised hearings – and almost derailed Thomas’ nomination – and ultimately led to the 1992 “year of the woman” that saw Boxer, California Senator Dianne Feinstein, and others elected to office. In recent years, Boxer cosponsored the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which President Barack Obama signed into law in 2009. The law expands the federal definition of hate crimes to include those based on the victim’s sexual orientation and gender identity. With the increased visibility of LGBTs in everyday life and 36 states (plus Washington, D.C.) that now have marriage equality, it’s hard to remember back to the mid-1990s when Boxer was blazing her trail in the Senate. She was one of just 14 senators to vote against the homophobic Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. Back then that was a big deal; we didn’t have a lot of straight politicians standing up for us, especially in Congress. Boxer also took the late homophobic Senator Jesse Helms to task during the confirmation hearings for lesbian then-San Francisco Supervisor Roberta Achtenberg to a top housing post in the Clinton administration.

Jane Philomen Cleland

Senator Barbara Boxer

Despite Boxer’s courageous stand against DOMA, she didn’t come around to embracing marriage equality until 2010, although she did oppose Proposition 8, California’s now-defunct same-sex marriage ban. But, as gay state Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) told us, “once she got there, she kicked up her heels.” Boxer leaves a legacy of service in the Senate and we’re confident that whomever is elected to replace her will fully support the LGBT community.t

Privacy concerns abound over BiblioCommons by Peter Warfield

he wholesale eviction of all community newspapers and other publications from the San Francisco Public Library’s main branch north entrance, along with removal of all the shelving, last month [see the Bay Area Reporter’s story, “SF main library removes newspaper shelves,” December 25] upset a number of newspaper editors concerned about the action and the lack of public input – not to speak of patrons who were used to finding the B.A.R., Central City Extra, and other publications available in quantities for pickup right at the entrance opposite the new Asian Art Museum. Unfortunately, SFPL has a long history of making decisions without public input, and even making decisions that are contrary to library ethics and what its own surveys and public input solicitations say. The list of such decisions includes the library’s 2012-13 plans to cut back popular evening and weekend open hours for the next five years – until a Library Users Association education campaign helped stop all but three of at least 44 planned weekly cuts – and the library’s preparation of changes to patron behavior rules that were so extreme that the American Civil Liberties Union wrote the library a detailed, two-page letter of concern last April criticizing, among other things, “draconian” increases in patron suspension times for violations. Indeed, there is currently an attempt to implement a supposed catalog improvement, BiblioCommons, which includes social media features – and trashes privacy so badly that city Librarian Luis Herrera is trying to get the Library Commission to gut existing patron privacy protections as a prerequisite to implementation for SFPL patrons. And there was no public input at all into the plan to implement this – not a word on Library Commission agendas, or any public notice – until November 2014. It was only after sharp public criticism at the December 4, 2014 Library Commission meeting by Library Users Association and two other members of the public, followed by questions from Commissioners Zoe Dunning, John Lee, and Susan Mall, that the truth came out: there was a half-million dollar contract that had already been signed with BiblioCommons. Library Users Association subsequently learned that there had been no competitive bidding, and that the contract had been signed in February 2014. The commission put off voting on changes to the library’s privacy policy until the next meeting, scheduled for today (Thursday January 15), at 4:30 p.m., in the Koret Auditorium at the main library, 100 Larkin Street. To summarize, the planned implementation of BiblioCommons software would (a) create

significant privacy breaches for all users of BiblioCommons; (b) would censor patron expression at the sole discretion of the vendor once three users from anywhere among 200 participating libraries “flag” any comment; and (c) would sell patron information to third parties. As the draft privacy policy presented at the commission’s last meeting says: “In contrast to the SFPL registration and circulation record policies for cardholders, library users are hereby advised of a lower threshold for disclosure of a user’s personal information and content associated with their BiblioCommons account ...” Teenage minors at the library (13-17), whose borrowing and other records are currently confidential at SFPL, would be especially hard hit. The BiblioCommons privacy statement says, “Guardians of underage users in the U.S. (BiblioCommons is a Canadian corporation) may make a request to review and alter the personal information collected from their children on this service, or to deactivate their child’s BiblioCommons account.” By contrast, the American Library Association’s Code of Ethics strongly calls for protecting patron privacy as part of defending a patron’s intellectual freedom. “We protect each library user’s right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired, or transmitted.” (Article III.) “What is your gender, educational level, and ZIP code?” That is an example of questions BiblioCommons would be allowed to ask. “For some services, for example youth and literacy programs, BiblioCommons may also ask you for your ZIP/postal code, education level and gender,” according to the company’s privacy statement, second page top (PS-2). And the company is misleading, if not outright deceptive, in its narrow definition of “personal information” that it promises will not be shared or sold – such as name, birth month and year, email address and the like. But the company says it “may display shared content (such as patron comments about books) or make other commercial uses of shared content. (PS-2). The assumption here is that shared content is not personal information when, in fact, a username such as PWarfield is clearly identifying. Is it not personal information when a patron with a clearly identifiable username writes a comment saying, “This is a really good book about illegal immigrants (or gays/ transgenders/drug users/felons/ballet lovers) – I know because I am one (or my parents/ friends/family are”)? And guess what? Patron expressions are in

many cases kept – and displayed – permanently. “Messages and chat cannot be deleted or edited once they have been sent. They are logged and archived indefinitely,” BiblioCommons says. There’s more: “Deleted content is removed from our data bases and inaccessible to other users, but may remain in our data back-up system and in third-party search indexes like Google.” (PS-4) As for censorship, the company has sole discretion to delete any comment that is “flagged by a number of different users – three at this time. ...” So any three people who don’t like a person or comment could completely eliminate their expressions within BiblioCommons. That is a corporate autocracy, run from BiblioCommons in Canada – not a commonlyowned “commons” where people have a right to free speech under, say, the U.S. Constitution. The company also appears to restrict potential criticism of itself. Under its terms of use, “All visitors to the BiblioCommons Service agree not to frame the BiblioCommons Service or portion thereof so that the BiblioCommons Service or BiblioCommons Content appears in the same window with a portion of another website.” Whatever happened to fair comment, and a website that wants to illustrate a problem with BiblioCommons and would like to show exactly what that website looks like? Whatever we understand about BiblioCommons today may change tomorrow – or in five minutes – with no notice to the patrons. “This privacy statement may change from time to time in response to new laws, or to an evolution in BiblioCommons policies or practices. We encourage you to check this privacy statement from time to time for changes. Your continued use of BiblioCommons after a change will signify your acceptance of the new terms.” (PS-5) The library administration says use of BiblioCommons is a patron “choice” with full notification, and that using the classic catalog would avoid loss of privacy. But we reject the idea that any product as toxic to patron privacy, and as complex as BiblioCommons, should be offered to patrons under any circumstance. The library needs to be held accountable, and unfortunately the only way to do that now is for members of the public to make themselves heard via letters to the mayor, Board of Supervisors, and Library Commission – and/ or a visit to Library Commission meetings to make public comment.t Peter Warfield is the executive director of Library Users Association, an independent group that works for better libraries for everyone. He can be reached by email at: libraryusers2004@yahoo.com.

Politics>>

January 15-21, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 7

CA LGBT caucus elects first inland lawmaker as chair by Matthew S. Bajko

y electing lesbian Assemblywoman Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton) its chair, the California Legislative LGBT Caucus is being led for the first time by a lawmaker from the state’s inland region. Since its creation in 2002 the affinity group for out lawmakers had elected chairs from the coastal regions in both northern and southern California. For the past three years gay Assemblyman Rich Gordon (DMenlo Park) had served as chair. Eggman’s election to her Assembly seat three years ago marked the first time a Central Valley legislator had joined the LGBT caucus. To date only one other member of the group, which now numbers seven, has hailed from the state’s inland region: lesbian state Senator Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton). (After former Republican Bakersfield state Senator Roy Ashburn came out as gay in 2010 following his arrest on drunk driving charges after he left a gay Sacramento nightclub, he did not join the LGBT caucus. He was termed out of office in November of that year.) “As an Assembly member from the Central Valley, one thing I have focused on since I arrived here is the inequities between coastal California and inland California,” Eggman told the Bay Area Reporter. “As chair of the LGBT caucus, that is something I will continue to focus on.” Eggman, elected chair January 7 during the LGBT caucus’ first meet-

Rick Gerharter

Assemblywoman Susan Talamantes Eggman

ing of 2015, said there is an “intersection” between the issues confronting LGBT and rural residents of the Golden State, such as poverty and the concerns of youth and seniors. Within both communities “disparity exists,” said Eggman, 53, a former Stockton City Council member who married her longtime partner, Renee L. Hall, last summer. Although the state has made remarkable strides in advancing rights and protections for its LGBT residents, Eggman said she is concerned about how those advancements and gains are being enacted at the local level in more conservative areas. “Sometimes the implementation in rural communities is not the same as on the coast,” Eggman said, adding that a priority of hers is find-

ing “ways to advance that feeling of safety and equality across the state as far as LGBT issues are concerned.” In terms of actual LGBT legislation to be introduced this legislative session, Eggman said the caucus members “have a lot of ideas still. We haven’t narrowed down the legislative agenda yet.” One top priority for Eggman over the next year will be to recruit LGBT people to run for state Assembly and Senate seats. In 2016 three of the caucus’ current members will be termed out of office: lesbian Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), gay state Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), and Gordon from his Peninsula seat. As was evidenced last year in the race to replace gay Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco), who was termed out of office, there is no guarantee that their successors will be LGBT. Due to the defeat of gay San Francisco Supervisor David Campos by Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco), who is straight, in their race for Ammiano’s 17th Assembly District seat, the city for the first time in nearly two decades has no LGBT representation in the Legislature’s lower chamber. The same scenario could play out again in the races next year for all three of the legislative seats held by out lawmakers that will be up for grabs. Any LGBT candidates are sure to face strong challenges for the seats from straight opponents. Ensuring the longevity of the LGBT caucus was among the topics its members discussed during their meeting last week, said Eggman. “Certainly, I will be able to be out in the forefront searching for See page 14 >>

Reception to be held for E. Bay LGBT politicos compiled by Cynthia Laird

various HIV/AIDS nonprofit organizations, private health care providers, and UCSF officials, has devised a multi-pronged strategy, called “Getting to Zero,” to dramatically reduce new HIV infections in the city. At the time, it was unclear what sort of additional funding would be needed to the plan, which is designed to be updated and revised as needed. Next week’s meeting will likely focus on funding sources and costs.

he East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club will start the new year with a reception honoring the region’s considerable number of out political leaders. The event takes place Wednesday, January 21 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the California Nurses Association headquarters, 2000 Franklin Street in downtown Oakland. LGBT electeds from Alameda and Contra Costa counties will be on hand to meet constituents and celebrate their accomplishments. Club officials noted that on Election Day, the number of LGBT elected officials in the East Bay increased from five to 18 (at least). Lesbian former state Senator Carole Migden will emcee, and the following electeds are expected to attend: Ruth Atkin, Emeryville mayor; Jovanka Beckles, Richmond City Council; James Chang, Berkeley Rent Board; Valerie Cuevas, West Contra Costa school board; and Lori Droste, Darryl Moore, and Kriss Worthington, Berkeley City Council. Also on hand will be Rebecca Kaplan and Abel Guillen, Oakland City Council; Andy Katz and Marguerite Young, East Bay Municipal Utility District board; Gabriel Quinto, El Cerrito City Council; Joaquin Rivera, Alameda County Board of Education; and Rebecca Saltzman, BART board. New Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf,

Tenderloin Pride meeting Jane Philomen Cleland

Richmond City Councilwoman Jovanka Beckles

a straight ally, will also attend, and club officials said other LGBT electeds likely will confirm prior to the party. The event is limited to East Bay Stonewall Democratic club members and invited guests; people can join or renew their club membership at the door or by visiting www.eastbaystonewalldemocrats.org.

Date set for supes’ HIV hearing

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors budget committee will hold a hearing on the city’s new plan to cut HIV transmission to zero. The panel will meet Wednesday, January 21 at 10 a.m. in the board chambers (Room 250) at City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place. As detailed in the Bay Area Reporter in late November, the health department, working with City Hall,

Aja Monet, a gay Tenderloin resident, is planning an LGBT Pride event for June in the neighborhood and will be holding a planning meeting Thursday, January 22 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Mary Lousie Strong room (first floor) at the main library, 100 Larkin Street in San Francisco. Earlier this month, Monet led a walk through the neighborhood that explored some of its LGBT history, including the Tea Room Theatre, a gay porn cinema, and the spot where Compton’s Cafeteria once stood. The cafeteria was the site of protests by trans people in 1966 when they stood up to police. The proposed location of the Pride event is Boeddeker Park. Monet previously told the Bay Area Reporter that he’s interested in holding a Pride event in the Tenderloin because of the area’s rich LGBT history – at one time it had numerous gay bars and was considered the gay center of San Francisco before the Castro held that distinction. For more information about the Pride planning meeting, contact Monet at ajamonet25@gmail.com.t

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415-781-6500 *Certified by the California State Bar 400 Montgomery Street, Ste. 505, San Francisco, CA

COMPLERA is a prescription medicine for adults who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before and who have no more than 100,000 copies/mL of virus in their blood. COMPLERA can also replace current HIV-1 medicines for some adults who have an undetectable viral load (less than 50 copies/mL) and whose healthcare provider determines that they meet certain other requirements. COMPLERA combines 3 medicines into 1 pill to be taken once a day with food. COMPLERA should not be used with other HIV-1 medicines.

Just the

one

for me

COMPLERA is a complete HIV-1 treatment in only 1 pill a day. Ask your healthcare provider if COMPLERA may be the one for you.

Pill shown is not actual size.

COMPLERA does not cure HIV-1 infection or AIDS. To control HIV-1 infection and decrease HIV-related illnesses you must keep taking COMPLERA. Ask your healthcare provider if you have questions about how to reduce the risk of passing HIV-1 to others. Always practice safer sex and use condoms to lower the chance of sexual contact with body fluids. Never reuse or share needles or other items that have body fluids on them. It is not known if COMPLERA is safe and effective in children under 18 years old.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION What is the most important information I should know about COMPLERA?

COMPLERA can cause serious side effects: Build-up of an acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious medical emergency. Symptoms of lactic acidosis include feeling very weak or tired, unusual (not normal) muscle pain, trouble breathing, stomach pain with nausea or vomiting, feeling cold especially in your arms and legs, feeling dizzy or lightheaded, and/or a fast or irregular heartbeat. Serious liver problems. The liver may become large (hepatomegaly) and fatty (steatosis). Symptoms of liver problems include your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow (jaundice), dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored bowel movements (stools), loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, and/or stomach pain. You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or serious liver problems if you are female, very overweight (obese), or have been taking COMPLERA for a long time. In some cases, these serious conditions have led to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any symptoms of these conditions. Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. If you also have HBV and stop taking COMPLERA, your hepatitis may suddenly get worse. Do not stop taking COMPLERA without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to monitor your health. COMPLERA is not approved for the treatment of HBV. •

•

• •

The most common side effects of COMPLERA include trouble sleeping (insomnia), abnormal dreams, headache, dizziness, diarrhea, nausea, rash, tiredness, and depression. Other common side effects include vomiting, stomach pain or discomfort, skin discoloration (small spots or freckles), and pain. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that bother you or do not go away.

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking COMPLERA? •

•

Who should not take COMPLERA?

Do not take COMPLERA if you: Take a medicine that contains: adefovir (Hepsera), lamivudine (Epivir-HBV), carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Equetro, Tegretol, Tegretol-XR, Teril, Epitol), oxcarbazepine (Trileptal), phenobarbital (Luminal), phenytoin (Dilantin, Dilantin-125, Phenytek), rifampin (Rifater, Rifamate, Rimactane, Rifadin), rifapentine (Priftin), dexlansoprazole (Dexilant), esomeprazole (Nexium, Vimovo), lansoprazole (Prevacid), omeprazole (Prilosec, Zegerid), pantoprazole sodium (Protonix), rabeprazole (Aciphex), more than 1 dose of the steroid medicine dexamethasone or dexamethasone sodium phosphate, or the herbal supplement St. John’s wort. Take any other medicines to treat HIV-1 infection, unless recommended by your healthcare provider.

•

What are the other possible side effects of COMPLERA?

Serious side effects of COMPLERA may also include: New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood tests to check your kidneys before starting treatment with COMPLERA. If you have had kidney problems, or take other medicines that may cause kidney problems, your healthcare provider may also check your kidneys during treatment with COMPLERA. Depression or mood changes. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any of the following symptoms: feeling sad or hopeless, feeling anxious or restless, have thoughts of hurting yourself (suicide) or have tried to hurt yourself. •

•

Changes in liver enzymes: People who have had hepatitis B or C, or who have had changes in their liver function tests in the past may have an increased risk for liver problems while taking COMPLERA. Some people without prior liver disease may also be at risk. Your healthcare provider may do tests to check your liver enzymes before and during treatment with COMPLERA. Bone problems, including bone pain or bones getting soft or thin, which may lead to fractures. Your healthcare provider may do tests to check your bones. Changes in body fat can happen in people taking HIV-1 medicines. Changes in your immune system. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new symptoms after you start taking COMPLERA.

•

All your health problems. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you have or had any kidney, mental health, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis virus infection. All the medicines you take, including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. COMPLERA may affect the way other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how COMPLERA works. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist. Do not start any new medicines while taking COMPLERA without first talking with your healthcare provider. If you take rifabutin (Mycobutin). Talk to your healthcare provider about the right amount of rilpivirine (Edurant) you should take. If you take antacids. Take antacids at least 2 hours before or at least 4 hours after you take COMPLERA. If you take stomach acid blockers. Take acid blockers at least 12 hours before or at least 4 hours after you take COMPLERA. Ask your healthcare provider if your acid blocker is okay to take, as some acid blockers should never be taken with COMPLERA. If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if COMPLERA can harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking COMPLERA. If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in breast milk. Also, some medicines in COMPLERA can pass into breast milk, and it is not known if this can harm the baby.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088. Please see Brief Summary of full Prescribing Information with important warnings on the following pages.

Brief Summary of full Prescribing Information COMPLERA® (kom-PLEH-rah) (emtricitabine 200 mg, rilpivirine 25 mg, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300 mg) tablets Brief summary of full Prescribing Information. For more information, please see the full Prescribing Information, including Patient Information. What is COMPLERA? • COMPLERA is a prescription medicine used as a complete HIV-1 treatment in one pill a day. COMPLERA is for adults who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before and who have no more than 100,000 copies/mL of virus in their blood (this is called ‘viral load’). Complera can also replace current HIV-1 medicines for some adults who have an undetectable viral load (less than 50 copies/mL) and whose healthcare provider determines that they meet certain other requirements. • COMPLERA is a complete regimen and should not be used with other HIV-1 medicines. HIV-1 is the virus that causes AIDS. When used properly, COMPLERA may reduce the amount of HIV-1 virus in your blood and increase the amount of CD4 T-cells, which may help improve your immune system. This may reduce your risk of death or getting infections that can happen when your immune system is weak. • COMPLERA does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. You must stay on continuous HIV-1 therapy to control HIV-1 infection and decrease HIV-related illnesses. • Ask your healthcare provider about how to prevent passing HIV-1 to others. Do not share or reuse needles, injection equipment, or personal items that can have blood or body fluids on them. Do not have sex without protection. Always practice safer sex by using a latex or polyurethane condom to lower the chance of sexual contact with semen, vaginal secretions, or blood. What is the most important information I should know about COMPLERA? COMPLERA can cause serious side effects, including: • Build-up of an acid in your blood (lactic acidosis). Lactic acidosis can happen in some people who take COMPLERA or similar (nucleoside analogs) medicines. Lactic acidosis is a serious medical emergency that can lead to death. Lactic acidosis can be hard to identify early, because the symptoms could seem like symptoms of other health problems. Call your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following symptoms which could be signs of lactic acidosis: –feel very weak or tired –have unusual (not normal) muscle pain –have trouble breathing –having stomach pain with nausea or vomiting –feel cold, especially in your arms and legs –feel dizzy or lightheaded –have a fast or irregular heartbeat • Severe liver problems. Severe liver problems can happen in people who take COMPLERA. In some cases, these liver problems can lead to death. Your liver may become large (hepatomegaly) and you may develop fat in your liver (steatosis). Call your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following symptoms of liver problems: –your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow (jaundice) –dark “tea-colored” urine –light-colored bowel movements (stools) –loss of appetite for several days or longer –nausea –stomach pain

BS Page 1

• You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or severe liver problems if you are female, very overweight (obese), or have been taking COMPLERA for a long time. • Worsening of Hepatitis B infection. If you have hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and take COMPLERA, your HBV may get worse (flare-up) if you stop taking COMPLERA. A “flare-up” is when your HBV infection suddenly returns in a worse way than before. COMPLERA is not approved for the treatment of HBV, so you must discuss your HBV with your healthcare provider. –Do not run out of COMPLERA. Refill your prescription or talk to your healthcare provider before your COMPLERA is all gone. –Do not stop taking COMPLERA without first talking to your healthcare provider. –If you stop taking COMPLERA, your healthcare provider will need to check your health often and do blood tests regularly to check your HBV infection. Tell your healthcare provider about any new or unusual symptoms you may have after you stop taking COMPLERA. Who should not take COMPLERA? Do not take COMPLERA if you also take any of the following medicines: • Medicines used for seizures: carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Equetro, Tegretol, Tegretol-XR, Teril, Epitol); oxcarbazepine (Trileptal); phenobarbital (Luminal); phenytoin (Dilantin, Dilantin-125, Phenytek) • Medicines used for tuberculosis: rifampin (Rifater, Rifamate, Rimactane, Rifadin); rifapentine (Priftin) • Certain medicines used to block stomach acid called proton pump inhibitors (PPIs): dexlansoprazole (Dexilant); esomeprazole (Nexium, Vimovo); lansoprazole (Prevacid); omeprazole (Prilosec, Zegerid); pantoprazole sodium (Protonix); rabeprazole (Aciphex) • Certain steroid medicines: More than 1 dose of dexamethasone or dexamethasone sodium phosphate • Certain herbal supplements: St. John’s wort • Certain hepatitis medicines: adefovir (Hepsera), lamivudine (Epivir-HBV) Do not take COMPLERA if you also take any other HIV-1 medicines, including: • Other medicines that contain tenofovir (ATRIPLA, STRIBILD, TRUVADA, VIREAD) • Other medicines that contain emtricitabine or lamivudine (ATRIPLA, Combivir, EMTRIVA, Epivir, Epzicom, STRIBILD, Trizivir, TRUVADA) • rilpivirine (Edurant), unless you are taking rifabutin (Mycobutin) COMPLERA is not for use in people who are less than 18 years old. What are the possible side effects of COMPLERA? COMPLERA may cause the following serious side effects: • See “What is the most important information I should know about COMPLERA?” • New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys before you start and while you are taking COMPLERA. If you have had kidney problems in the past or need to take another medicine that can cause kidney problems, your healthcare provider may need to do blood tests to check your kidneys during your treatment with COMPLERA. • Depression or mood changes. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any of the following symptoms: –feeling sad or hopeless –feeling anxious or restless –have thoughts of hurting yourself (suicide) or have tried to hurt yourself • Change in liver enzymes. People with a history of hepatitis B or C

PALIO Date: 12.03.14 • Client: Gilead • Product: Complera • File Name: 24057_pgitvd_Master_J_Bay_Area_Reporter_fi.indd Trim: 9.75” x 16.0”

Bay Area Reporter

virus infection or who have certain liver enzyme changes may have an increased risk of developing new or worsening liver problems during treatment with COMPLERA. Liver problems can also happen during treatment with COMPLERA in people without a history of liver disease. Your healthcare provider may need to do tests to check your liver enzymes before and during treatment with COMPLERA. • Bone problems can happen in some people who take COMPLERA. Bone problems include bone pain, softening or thinning (which may lead to fractures). Your healthcare provider may need to do tests to check your bones. • Changes in body fat can happen in people taking HIV-1 medicine. These changes may include increased amount of fat in the upper back and neck (“buffalo hump”), breast, and around the main part of your body (trunk). Loss of fat from the legs, arms and face may also happen. The cause and long term health effect of these conditions are not known. • Changes in your immune system (Immune Reconstitution Syndrome) can happen when you start taking HIV-1 medicines. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections that have been hidden in your body for a long time. Tell your healthcare provider if you start having any new symptoms after starting your HIV-1 medicine. The most common side effects of COMPLERA include: • Trouble sleeping (insomnia), abnormal dreams, headache, dizziness, diarrhea, nausea, rash, tiredness, depression Additional common side effects include: • Vomiting, stomach pain or discomfort, skin discoloration (small spots or freckles), pain Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away. • These are not all the possible side effects of COMPLERA. For more information, ask your healthcare provider. • Call your healthcare provider for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

may become resistant to COMPLERA or other HIV-1 medicines that are like it. • Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you take any of the following medicines: –Rifabutin (Mycobutin), a medicine to treat some bacterial infections. Talk to your healthcare provider about the right amount of rilpivirine (Edurant) you should take. –Antacid medicines that contain aluminum, magnesium hydroxide, or calcium carbonate. Take antacids at least 2 hours before or at least 4 hours after you take COMPLERA. –Certain medicines to block the acid in your stomach, including cimetidine (Tagamet), famotidine (Pepcid), nizatidine (Axid), or ranitidine hydrochloride (Zantac). Take the acid blocker at least 12 hours before or at least 4 hours after you take COMPLERA. Some acid blocking medicines should never be taken with COMPLERA (see “Who should not take COMPLERA?” for a list of these medicines). –Medicines that can affect how your kidneys work, including acyclovir (Zovirax), cidofovir (Vistide), ganciclovir (Cytovene IV, Vitrasert), valacyclovir (Valtrex), and valganciclovir (Valcyte). –clarithromycin (Biaxin) –erythromycin (E-Mycin, Eryc, Ery-Tab, PCE, Pediazole, Ilosone) –fluconazole (Diflucan) –itraconazole (Sporanox) –ketoconazole (Nizoral) –methadone (Dolophine) –posaconazole (Noxafil) –telithromycin (Ketek) –voriconazole (Vfend) Know the medicines you take. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine. Do not start any new medicines while you are taking COMPLERA without first talking with your healthcare provider.

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking COMPLERA?

• Stay under the care of your healthcare provider during treatment with COMPLERA. • Take COMPLERA exactly as your healthcare provider tells you to take it. • Always take COMPLERA with food. Taking COMPLERA with food is important to help get the right amount of medicine in your body. A protein drink is not a substitute for food. If your healthcare provider decides to stop COMPLERA and you are switched to new medicines to treat HIV-1 that includes rilpivirine tablets, the rilpivirine tablets should be taken only with a meal. Keep COMPLERA and all medicines out of reach of children. This Brief Summary summarizes the most important information about COMPLERA. If you would like more information, talk with your healthcare provider. You can also ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist for information about COMPLERA that is written for health professionals, or call 1-800-445-3235 or go to www.COMPLERA.com.

Tell your healthcare provider about all your medical conditions, including: • If you have or had any kidney, mental health, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis B or C infection. • If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if COMPLERA can harm your unborn child. –There is a pregnancy registry for women who take antiviral medicines during pregnancy. The purpose of this registry is to collect information about the health of you and your baby. Talk to your healthcare provider about how you can take part in this registry. • If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed if you take COMPLERA. –You should not breastfeed if you have HIV-1 because of the risk of passing HIV-1 to your baby. –Two of the medicines in COMPLERA can pass to your baby in your breast milk. It is not known if this could harm your baby. –Talk to your healthcare provider about the best way to feed your baby. Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements: • COMPLERA may affect the way other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how COMPLERA works. • If you take certain medicines with COMPLERA, the amount of COMPLERA in your body may be too low and it may not work to help control your HIV-1 infection. The HIV-1 virus in your body

BS Page 2

How should I take COMPLERA?

Issued: September 2014

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Bay Area Reporter

<< Sports

12 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 15-21, 2015

Sports in transition by Roger Brigham

ecades after tennis player Renee Richards became the first transgender woman to successfully challenge sports institutions to win the right to compete professionally, attention paid to transgender individuals in sports continues to be plagued by ignorance, fear-mongering, and suspicion. We’ve seen it over and over in the career of mixed martial arts fighter Fallon Fox, with frustrated competitors, rabid fans, and even ill-informed commentators shooting off their mouths with transphobic slurs and disproven crap about alleged biological advantages. We’ve seen it when a Minnesota newspaper

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agreed to run baseless fear-mongering advertisements while that state was debating the rules by which it allowed access to girls’ and boys’ restrooms. We’ve seen it (subtly) when the International Olympic Committee earned kudos for adding sexual orientation to its non-discrimination language, but did not have the courage or compassion to include gender identity or expression. There is not a shred of scientific evidence to support such hostility: merely blind, ingrained ignorance and fear. Fear of the unfamiliar, the unknown, the misunderstood. And that is truly bizarre. Sports are supposed to be a unifying force, something we can all identify with, and we can all benefit from regardless of our backgrounds. And when I talk with transgender people in sports, I find a passion for sports involvement that transcends sexual orientation, identity, or expression. For individuals who go through a struggle to transition from their assigned gender to their true gender, sports are often a part of their identity they will not and cannot let go. Whether they are fans, coaches, athletes, or journalists, sports is what they grew up loving and continue to enjoy as adults. Stephen Alexander, 36, grew up playing sports. “I had a high competitive drive,” Alexander told the Bay Area Reporter. “I lived by competing. It’s

by Belo Cipriani

t one time, the best news was hearing about a gay house party. I was 17, newly out, and feeling great about coming to terms with my sexuality. And while I had never been a wallflower during my short straightpretending days, being immersed in a sea of gay boys my age somehow made me even more outgoing. With my crew, the same group of friends that years later would blind me, we made attending gay parties our thing. We swept through backyard gatherings that year, dressed in the flashiest clothes our mall jobs could afford. In retrospect, my teenage confidence came from my choice of hairstyle – a military buzz-cut – and from the brand of clothing I wore. But as I got older and attended clubs and, later, work-related functions, my self-assurance derived from being able to converse on various topics. Technology, wine, literature, I could yap about just about anything. Seventeen years later, I am now blind, a writer, a college instructor, and a staffing consultant. Still, when I attend social functions, people

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where I could focus my energy. It’s where I could be with people. I was always interested in the mechanics and the fundamentals of sports.” But even as a star, the high school girls’ basketball player knew he was not a girl. “I’ve always inside been a man,” Alexander said. “It was coming to the realization that something had to be done to my body. Around 1999 or 2000, something had to be done.” Alexander started preparing his family and friends for the idea that he was going to undergo reassignment surgery, and then began his transition in 2002. Problem is, the world of sports is divided into the male-female gender binary and the transition meant that there would no longer be a place in women’s sports for Alexander as an athlete. “I had to leave basketball,” he

said. “I felt like there was no way for me to exist as a guy playing on a girls team. I gave up sports so I could transition. Sports for many years was what drove me, what helped me survive. That was the painful part – giving up sports for awhile. The sexual binary in sports is too limiting – there’s segregation going on, so you have to fit into one box.” Alexander left his rural Rhode Island haunts and met up with other transgender individuals in New York City as he underwent his physical transition. He learned what other people’s coping mechanisms were, how they survived in a world of ignorance and intolerance. He learned how they held on to the things that mattered most – which in his case, was sports. “I thought, ‘Well, why don’t I coach?’” Alexander said. Which is what he ended up doing when he moved back to Rhode Island, coaching boys and girls in basketball, tennis, volleyball, soccer, and baseball. “It’s been an amazing experience,” he said. “You get to look at the dynamics of how you get the most out of kids, their development. That is what fuels me. It’s one of the greatest things I’ve ever done.” Christina Kahrl, 47, grew up on a horse ranch, learning to compete in equestrian events at an early age. She ran in track and cross country to keep her legs in shape for the equestrian events and got involved in her father’s football betting pool at the age of 10. See page 14 >>

Getting past someone’s disabilities in conversation

Obituaries >> David LaRosa

Therapeutic massage for men and women in the heart of downtown.

Courtesy Stephen Alexander

David LaRosa was born in Waltham Massachusetts, February 17, 1957 to the late Patrick A. LaRosa and Evelyn G. Bailey LaRosa. He passed away peacefully at his home in San Francisco, California on December 12, 2014 after a long illness. David was a hairdresser and bartender in

focus on my disability. No matter how hard I try to discuss the news or the hottest restaurant, people always revert back to my lack of sight. And at gay parties, people tend to ask more intimate questions. “Do you dress yourself?” “Who feeds you?” “Do you want your sight back? Why not?” The inquisitive nature of the LGBT community sometimes takes me back to my adolescence – that era full of uncertainty. If I tell the inquiring person that I don’t want to discuss my blindness, they tend to walk away, leaving me talking to myself. But if I don’t hold back, and I share that I lost my sight from a brutal assault in San Francisco’s infamous Castro district, they cry or start to vent about the hate that goes on within the gay community. Either scenario feels like a downer and makes me think hard about what to share and with whom. Because I cover technology, careers, gay culture, and disability stories for various publications, I find meet ups through Meetup.com very useful. The website, which is fairly accessible for the blind, suggests both Columbus, Ohio and San Francisco. He enjoyed being with family and friends and will be missed by all who knew him. He is survived by a brother Thomas LaRosa and wife Joyce LaRosa in Hemit, California and their five children; a sister Kathleen J (LaRosa) Miceli and husband Lawrence Miceli and five children; a sister Susan (LaRosa) Dawid and husband Stanley Dawid and their three children in Newark, Ohio. Additionally, he had multiple nieces, nephews, great nieces, and great nephews that will all miss him terribly. Last living relative, Aunt Lillian Rine and Uncle Joseph LaRosa.

Courtesy Belo Cipriani

Columnist Belo Cipriani at age 17.

events to go to based on hobbies and work interests. So, when I heard my laptop read an email alert suggesting I may want to join a meet up called Gays Who Tech, I could not help but smile. Clicking the “Yes, I will attend” link, I flashed back to the last gay meet up I showed up at, where I heard the five attendees cry over my blindness story. Petting my guide dog Oslo’s soft head, I pushed the memory away and decided to give the gay techie meet up the old college try. See page 13 >>

David has an extended family in San Francisco including Alfonso, Mark, Steve, Tommy, Ed, Sylvia, Liz and Mark, Jade, and many dear friends. David held many other friends, acquaintances and customers that will miss him too. David was such a gift to all that knew him. What a pleasure it has been to have David as part of all of our lives. David was a kind soul who did not know a stranger. With fond and loving memories, we thank you David. You will be sadly missed. Per his request, there will be no memorial or services.

t <<

Community News>>

Uninsured LGBTs

From page 1

target LGBT people. “Absolutely, that is awesome,” he replied. “I am a happy, healthy gay person. If I can inspire others to get coverage great.” Harris, who doesn’t watch TV, has only watched the ads online. In late 2013 Covered California rolled out its first LGBT marketing effort, which included billboards and print ads, featuring images of same-sex couples. Like the ads featuring Harris, there was nothing explicitly stating they were meant for an LGBT audience. “We know California is an extremely diverse state, possibly the most diverse in the nation. Our marketing is driven by many factors including our Marketing Advisory Group, which gives us feedback in

Fake cop

From page 2

was drugged. Most of the men also said they had been drinking before they went to the apartment with Bugai. All of the men, who appeared to be in their late 20s to early 30s, spoke through Spanish interpreters. According to court documents

Seeing in the Dark

From page 12

Oslo and I arrived at Blush on 18th and Castro and were seated at a large table. Over some light chatter, I ordered a glass of wine, feeling good about my decision to attend. Like I had done with other meet ups, I posted a comment telling the group I was blind and that they needed to greet me as I would not be able to spot them. Wondering how many guys may have read the note, I waited for the group. One by one, the men began to show up and reach out to me. Large and small hands tapped my shoulder and I heard different voices ask if I was Belo.

January 15-21, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 13

each demographic including LGBT,” explained Kennedy. “We think with their help we’ve had positive results with providing access to quality, affordable health care to all demographics we serve.” This past weekend Get Covered Illinois debuted the first LGBToriented ad featuring a married same-sex couple in a major primetime buy, said Kellan Baker, an analyst with the Center for American Progress involved in the national Out2Enroll effort to encourage LGBT people to sign up for health insurance. The airing of the television spot coincided with the start of the National LGBT Outreach and Enrollment Week for the Affordable Care Act, which began Monday, January 12 and runs through Sunday, January 18. “Inside LGBT communities, a

lot of LGBT people have no idea the Affordable Care Act includes a non-discrimination clause or financial help for them to get coverage,” said Baker, a Los Angeles native now based out of New York who travels the country promoting the ACA to LGBT people. “A lot of people just have no idea the Affordable Care Act is an option for them.” Yet many LGBT people have gotten the message that the ACA is welcoming to them and a viable option, based on a report the Center for American Progress released this week. It found that the uninsured rate among low- and middleincome LGBT people – those who are potentially eligible for financial assistance to get coverage under the law – dropped almost one-quarter between 2013 and 2014. It went down from one in three, or 34 percent, in 2013 to one in four,

or 26 percent, in 2014, according to the center’s findings in its report “Moving the Needle: The Impact of the Affordable Care Act on LGBT Communities,” which Baker co-wrote. “The needle needs to move in terms of LGBT people need more coverage that works for them,” said Baker, adding that the number of LGBT people who remain uninsured “is very high.” The deadline for people to sign up for health coverage under the current open enrollment period ends Sunday, February 15. At the website http://out2enroll.org/, people can search via ZIP code to find free assistance in signing up for a plan that works best for their needs. “We know that is what a lot of people need to understand the process and find health coverage they want,” said Baker.

Covered California’s latest marketing push will continue to air up to the enrollment deadline. “Covered California’s visibility has increased after the holidays so consumers can expect to see more ads in all relevant platforms targeting specific audiences and ethnic populations,” wrote Kennedy. “The LGBT community is a target audience for us and part of our uptick in marketing toward the end of open enrollment includes ads targeting the LGBT community.” As for Harris, he intended to reenroll last week, even though he has yet to see a doctor under his health insurance plan. “I guess I am a very stereotypical male. I don’t like going to the doctor,” he said. “I pay my fee but I don’t really go to the doctor. But just in case, you never know, I like to be covered.”t

and testimony, Bugai often dressed like a police officer and drove a vehicle that resembled a police patrol car. Police Sergeant Sean Perdomo testified during the preliminary hearing that a former roommate of Bugai’s has said he saw Bugai putting pills in people’s drinks. Another alleged victim who testified last week has been identified in court

as Miguel M. Miguel was 26 when he testified in October that he met Bugai at El Trebol around December 31, 2007. He got into a cab with Bugai, thinking he was getting a ride home. Miguel said when they got to the apartment, Bugai gave him a glass of what looked and tasted like water, but after that, he testified, “I did not know anything anymore until I had him on

top of me without any clothes.” Bugai was performing oral sex on him, Miguel told the court, and Bugai soon took Miguel’s penis and penetrated himself with it, he said. He said he unsuccessfully tried to push him away and told him “No” during the incident, but “I had no strength.”

Streets recently said in an email that it hasn’t been decided whether Bugai, who’s been in custody since his July arrest, would testify. His bail is $3 million. According to court records, Bugai changed his name to Jeffrey Thomas in 2011.t

I quickly engaged many of the men in conversation and I was stunned to hear that none of the inquiries that evening dealt with my disability. All questions were aimed at Oslo, my writing, or my experience recruiting for startups. And before I knew it, the event began to wrap up. With a handful of business cards that I would later scan, I left the event feeling energized. I know that people don’t mean to be malicious or rude when they zero in on my lack of sight. However, having to answer things related to how I function in the world often becomes taxing. Maybe the gay techies didn’t focus on my blindness because many

of them are familiar with adaptive technology or perhaps they’ve even created applications themselves to help someone with a disability. Whatever it was, the Gays Who Tech meet up brought me to that time when I was 17, in someone’s backyard, and socializing simply for the fun of it.t Belo Cipriani is a staffing professional, the award-winning author of Blind: A Memoir and Midday Dreams, a spokesman for Guide Dogs for the Blind, and the career expert for the “Ed Baxter Show” on Talk Radio San Francisco 910AM. Learn more at BeloCipriani.com.

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14 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 15-21, 2015

Political Notebook

From page 7

candidates,” she said. “We are really looking at picking up seats in 2016. I think we will be very visible across the state this legislative cycle.” Eggman noted recruitment of LGBT candidates dovetails “very nicely” with her role as both Democratic Caucus chair in the Assembly and also the head of the LGBT caucus’ own political action committee, its fundraising arm. Eggman intends to duplicate Gordon’s success in raising money during the last election for the LGBT caucus’ endorsed candidates in 2016. “Rich has done a phenomenal job raising money for our PAC. We maxed out our donations to all the

Jock Talk

From page 12

But baseball always held a social appeal. “Before there was the Internet,” Kahrl said, “I was participating in baseball discussion groups – chat rooms and message rooms and things like that.” She became involved in statistical analysis of baseball data and that led to the job opportunity of a lifetime. “When Gary Huckabee launched Baseball Prospectus, I was one of the four people he cast as one of his co-founders. That’s something that started off as just something we were doing as a hobby.” But throughout her life as a young athlete and growing baseball analyst, Kahrl’s awareness of who she was was slowly growing and acquiring a vocabulary. “I didn’t even know about Renee Richards when I was a kid,” Kahrl said. “I remember being introduced in 1976 to a cousin and his partner my family was comfortable with growing up outside Sacramento. Then when Harvey Milk was killed, that affected me in a way that was different. I realized it’s dangerous to be different. “In fifth grade, we had a health class in which they talked about the human anatomy,” she said. “I realized, ‘That means I’m in the wrong

Doubtfire house

From page 2

Los Angeles charges

Los Angeles County Superior Court records show that Welch has some criminal history in that area. In December 2011, she was convicted of driving on a suspended or revoked license, according to court data. A vandalism charge filed in Janu-

Hayashi

From page 4

plays a 70-year-old woman coming out as transgender, and for best comedy or musical series. Cox, who stars in the Netflix show, Orange is the New Black, received an Emmy nomination last year. “Five to 10 years ago I would not have thought this was possible,” Hayashi said. “We are in a pivotal moment.” But the picture isn’t all rosy, he pointed out. “A majority of our people struggle to get by,” Hayashi said. Violence against the community remains a serious problem, he said. “This past year, a number of transgender women of color have been murdered. Clearly there is much work to be done.”

HYPE

From page 4

Getting involved can mean anything from voting once a year on grantee finalists to joining the committees that run HYPE. It also means lots of chances to meet and get to know other HYPE members. This model is part of a growing number of “giving circles,” groups

LGBT people running in the last election,” she said. In a statement following Eggman’s election as chair of the LGBT caucus, Gordon praised his successor in the role. “Assembly member Talamantes Eggman has been a strong advocate for the rights of the LGBT community, and I am confident the caucus will continue to thrive under her leadership,” he stated. Leno also had high praise for Eggman’s ability to lead the LGBT caucus. “It was a unanimous decision and I appreciate Susan stepping up to the plate to take on the responsibility and hard work necessary to do the job justice,” Leno told the B.A.R. in an interview. “I’ve been impressed with Susan Eggman since

the first day I met her.” And he also was effusive about Gordon’s leadership of the group. “Rich Gordon took the caucus to the next level and did a fantastic job,” said Leno.t

body.’ But it was not until college that I had words to explain it and realize transition was a possibility. Even when I understood I was bisexual, the whole concept of being a sexual person I punted until I got to college. I buried myself in school and sports.” She started her transition in 2002. “I was very direct in terms of telling people this was the shape of things to come. This didn’t mean I was getting a personality transplant. If they would work with me as I went through it, I was going to be the same kind of colleague and worker. Overwhelmingly there was confusion and uncertainty, but then also concern for a teammate and acceptance.” Because concern and acceptance for teammates is one of those bedrock values in sports, the culture we all share. “Sports is like a shared activity where there’s nothing alienating,” Kahrl said. “It’s an opportunity to make connections with people. Fandom is such a space-common experience. It lends family to complete strangers. Being able to stay in sports was critical.” And she has stayed in sports. Currently Kahrl writes for ESPN. She’s pretty good at it too, although like too many reporters she sadly believes Pete Rose should remain banned for life. But hey, nobody’s perfect.

“It’s a bunch of fun to be on a sports desk,” she said. “Women in baseball and major league teams have been incredibly supportive and awesome. The men have been awesome too.”

ary 2012 is pending, the records say. Welch was convicted in August 2007 of misdemeanor disorderly conduct, according to the county court’s website. The code she was charged with violating applies to someone “who solicits anyone to engage in or who engages in lewd or dissolute conduct” in public, the state penal code says. Also in August 2007, a misde-

meanor disorderly conduct charge against Welch that’s related to someone “who solicits anyone to engage in or who engages in lewd or dissolute conduct” in public was dismissed or not prosecuted, the records show. The state code doesn’t appear to specify whether Welch’s other charges in Los Angeles County are also misdemeanors.t

Hayashi was asked what the solution to these problems might be. “A large part of what needs to happen is to build up a strong movement of transgender leaders and allies,” he said. “That’s critical to bringing about change.” To that end, TLC does advocacy work and also helps people through a legal information hotline, and provides information on employment, identity documents, housing, and other issues. The center also partners with organizations like Gender Spectrum and Gay Straight Alliance Network, two groups that work with school students. Hayashi said that TLC’s current budget is $1.4 million, and said his annual salary was $100,000. The agency doesn’t receive money from

the government but does get a variety of foundation grants. “We have an incredible development staff,” Hayashi said. With his eyes firmly planted on the future, Hayashi spoke more about what he hoped to accomplish during his tenure. “Transgender and gender nonconforming people struggle due to a lack of access to jobs and health care,” he said. “There are a wide range of issues that make it difficult for people to survive on a daily basis.” To that end, he hopes to reach out to other communities, including those that may not be supportive of transgender people. “I believe that building bridges is critical,” he said. “We can all do more work on building bridges.”t

that make philanthropy decisions together with the intention of forging bonds along with donating money. Sparks believes that giving circles could be crucial in providing sustained financial support to LGBT groups. She quoted a Horizons survey, which found that only 5 percent of LGBT people in the Bay Area donate

to local LGBT organizations. “I would love to see a larger culture of giving back and supporting the community,” Sparks said. Groups like HYPE are trying to make that a reality.t

Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check http:// www.ebar.com Monday mornings at noon for Political Notes, the notebook’s online companion. This week’s column reported on expected leadership changes at LGBT Dem clubs in SF. Keep abreast of the latest LGBT political news by following the Political Notebook on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/politicalnotes. Got a tip on LGBT politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 8298836 or e-mail m.bajko@ebar.com.

Mall security: Observe and pummel

Former Stanford and current 49ers offensive lineman Jonathan Martin was in the news last week when he reportedly broke up an alleged shoplifting attempt at the Beverly Center in Los Angeles. On Thursday, January 8, Martin reportedly saw one man stealing several luxury items from the Versace Collection and then another person doing the same. As the first person ran off, Martin was able to tackle and repeatedly punch the second suspect until security guards arrived to take charge. “I didn’t even think,” Martin said. “I just reacted. It wasn’t till later when my friend said, ‘He could have had a gun.’ I didn’t even think about it. I just wanted to help.” Martin was the victim of a bullying culture previously with the Miami Dolphins. That led to the suspension of fellow offensive lineman Ritchie Incognito. Martin was subsequently traded to the 49ers before last season and started nine games for San Francisco.t

Learn more about HYPE and its 2015 launch event from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the SF LGBT Center, 1800 Market Street, January 22.

Legal Notices>> FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036206200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RONA CAREER AND LIFE COACH, 1425 FILLMORE ST, #609, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RONA DANEILO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/03/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/17/14.

DEC 25, 2014, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036210100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PHYSIOROBOTICS CONSULTING, 399 STEINER ST, #19, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ANN STERNIN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/12/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/19/14.

DEC 25, 2014, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036201500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ALYSSA BLOCK STUDIO, 1015 PACIFIC AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MARY ALYSSA BLOCK. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/01/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/16/14.

DEC 25, 2014, JAN 01, 18, 15, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036207600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LEILA’S FLORAL DESIGN, 1950 15TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed LEILA SIMMS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/18/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/18/14.

DEC 25, 2014, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036194900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BOTANICA LOS SUENOS, 3274 23RD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MELISSA TREJO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/10/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/10/14.

DEC 25, 2014, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036211000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ASCEND FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS, 1957 BEACH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed CARGO CORP (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/19/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/19/14.

DEC 25, 2014, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036205400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: INTACT QUALITATIVE RESEARCH CORP., 599 THIRD ST, #104, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed INTACT QUALITATIVE RESEARCH CORP (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/17/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/17/14.

DEC 25, 2014, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2015 NOTICE TO CREDITORS OF JENNIE V. MAYBON, SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NO. PTR-14-298395

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036193100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MAREEN SWIMWEAR, 2400 PACIFIC AVE, #408, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed MAREEN SWIMWEAR LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/06/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/09/14.

DEC 25, 2014, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036211700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ITTY BITTY VITI, 820 SCOTT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed ITTY BITTY VITI, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/22/14.

DEC 25, 2014, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2015 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-034305500

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: BOTANICA LOS SUENOS, 3274 23RD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by MARIA G. PATINO. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/30/2012.

DEC 25, 2014, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036211300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CHRYSALIS DEVELOPMENT GROUP, 2838 BUSH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SIUYIN SHALVARJIAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/22/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/22/14.

JAN 01, 08, 15, 22, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036215800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: UNDERGROUND GRILL KINGS, 2543 NORIEGA AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed OP GG LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/23/14.

JAN 01, 08, 15, 22, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036181500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: INSTA VISER, 760 MARKET ST, #500, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed GOGO TRACKER, LLC (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/24/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/02/14.

JAN 01, 08, 15, 22, 2015 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-14550830 In the matter of the application of: ROBERT HORVAT & VESELKA BUDIMIR, 615 ORTEGA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner ROBERT HORVAT & VESELKA BUDIMIR, are requesting that the name ADRIENNE BUDIMIR HORVAT, be changed to ADRIANA BUDIMIR HORVAT. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514 on the 12th of March 2015 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036210800

Notice is hereby given to the creditors and contingent creditors of the above-named decedent, that all persons having claims against the decedent, Jennie V. Maybon, who died on November 14, 2014, are required to file them with the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco at 400 McAllister Street, San Francisco, California 94102-4515, and mail a copy to Howard J. Lewis, as trustee of the Jennie V. Maybon Trust, Dated December 06, 2011, wherein the decedent was the settler, c/o Law Office of Justin W. MacNeil, P.O. Box 26024, San Francisco, California 94126-6024, within the later of four months after January 08, 2014, the date of the first publication of notice to creditors or, if notice is mailed or personally delivered to you, 60 days after the date this notice is mailed or personally delivered to you. A claim form may be obtained from the court clerk. For your protection, you are encouraged to file your claim by certified mail, with return receipt requested. Howard J. Lewis, Successor Trustee Jennie V. Maybon Trust Dated December 06, 2011 c/o Law Office of Justin W. MacNeil, P.O. Box 26024, San Francisco, California 94126-6024

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HERZ APPLIANCES, 1700 BAY ST, #105, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JHONSSON HERNANDEZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/05/2015.

JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2015

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: S9 CONSULTING, 3055 GOUGH ST, #205, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed BRIEANNE SENN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/19/14.

JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036229400

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Read more online at www.ebar.com

Legal Notices>> FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036218300

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036239400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: VANCE JACOBS PHOTOGRAPHY, 237 CLARA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed VANCE PATRICK JACOBS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/05. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/08/15.

JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036228100

JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036237800

JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036225200

JAN 15, 22, 29 FEB 05, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036237200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ED HSU ACUPUNCTURE AND PHYSICAL THERAPY, 1424 VALENCIA ST #12, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed EDWARD C. HSU. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/15/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/08/15.

JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036218800

JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036234900

JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036210300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PENABRAND, 608 ELIZABETH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed PENABRAND, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/01/2005. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/19/2014.

JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036203900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HOUSE RULES, 2227 POLK ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed POLK STREET PARTNERS, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/15/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/16/14.

JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2015 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-035901600

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: THE NAIL ROOM, 4205 GEARY BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by JERRICA LUONG. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/20/2014.

JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036247000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BABALOONS BUILDERS, 4407 18TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOHN JOSEPH TURANO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/09/09. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/13/15.

JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036241100

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The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HE XIE, 914 GRANT AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed GUO QIANG LAI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/08/15.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FAYES, 3614 18TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed JOSEPH WONG & MICHAEL GERALD MCCONNELL. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/2015. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/02/2015.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: EYE CARUMBA OPTOMETRY, 4 EMBARCADERO CENTER, LOBBY LEVEL, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed JOSEPH TORRES O.D., A PROFESSIONAL OPTOMETRIC CORPORATION (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/26/2004. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/29/14.

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The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NELLY REYES IMMIGRATION CONSULTANT, 210 POST ST, #413, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed NELLY REYES-ROSENBERG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/2001. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/26/2014.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE NAIL ROOM, 4205 GEARY BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed JERRICA LUONG & LINDA HOANG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/2015. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/05/2015.

January 15-21, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 15

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BRAYDEN FASHION, 564 GRANT AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed YIWEI KUANG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/07/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/07/15.

JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036212900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CALPE PAELLAS, 428 11TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed NICOLAS ULLOA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/23/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/23/14.

JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036242500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RYDAIRE GAMES; RYDAIRE; 227 NINTH ST #44, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed CLAIRE TANG & RYDER BRIGHT. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/09/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/09/15.

JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036242000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SWAG CABIN, 269 2ND AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed RYAN ALLEN SCHENK, JAMES CHO & DAVID ALEGRE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/26/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/09/15.

JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036241800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BERNAL HEIGHTS PIZZERIA, 59 30TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed BERNAL HEIGHTS PIZZERIA, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/2015. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/09/15.

JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2015

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Legal Notices>> ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-15550851

In the matter of the application of: RUTH WOO ENG, 418 40TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner RUTH WOO ENG, is requesting that the name RUTH WOO ENG be changed to RUTH YING WOO, and the name CAITLIN NICOLE ENG be changed to CAITLIN NICOLE WOO. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Rm. 514 on the 19th of March 2015 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2015 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-15550859

In the matter of the application of: DAVID FREDERICK HAYES, 33 ELGIN PARK #10, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner DAVID FREDERICK HAYES, is requesting that the name DAVID FREDERICK HAYES be changed to DAVE HAYES. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Rm. 514 on the 24th of March 2015 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

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JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036229500 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036239500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RUG AND CHAIR, 2536 FOLSOM ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ANNE NEUMAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/09/15.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BRICK AND MORTAR REAL ESTATE SERVICES, 44 GOUGH ST #202, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed KATZ GROUP (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/05/15.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: EMBARKADERO SOCIAL CLUB, 1766 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed WALAC PET SERVICES LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/08/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/08/15.

JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036237500

JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036239600

JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2015 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-035421800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: STAR LIGHTS S.F., 914 GRANT AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed YUE HUA CHEN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/08/2015. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/08/2015.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: EAZEMEDS LLC, 2035 OAKDALE AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed EAZEMEDS LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/08/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/08/15.

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: BERNAL HEIGHTS PIZZERIA, 59 30TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business was conducted by a general partnership and signed by MEGHAN C. MURPHY & MARIO A. JUNQUEIRA. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/08/13.

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Vol. 45 • No. 3 • January 15-21, 2015

www.ebar.com/arts

Spirits of the operatic future

by Philip Campbell

n our recent year-end piece about highlights of the San Francisco Opera’s 2014 fall season, we mentioned the announcement by General Director David Gockley of his intended retirement in July 2016. We didn’t have to wait long to hear about the amazing impresario’s plans for his farewell season with the company he will have overseen for more than a decade. See page 21 >>

Soprano Diana Damrau will sing the title role of Gaetano Donizetti’s bel canto masterpiece Lucia di Lammermoor for San Francisco Opera. Ken Howard, courtesy Metropolitan Opera

January splendor in the galleries by Sura Wood

ould there be a better way to welcome in the New Year than with the resurfacing of a nearly lost work by the famously elusive, highly publicized English graffiti artist/activist Banksy? Legend has it that in 2010, the man of mystery painted six pieces in San Francisco, only two of which remain. One of them, whose former home was the side of a Victorian building, is “Haight Street Rat,” the spitting image of a rodent gamely sporting a revolutionary’s beret and clutching a large paint pen in its little mitts. Ripped from the wall and later rescued from oblivion before it was about to be painted over, the big rat makes a triumphant return to the city, where it will be displayed in the window of 836M, a non-commercial art gallery. (Jan. 21-July 11) See page 27 >>

Moving the Banksy mural “Haight Street Rat” (2010) in San Francisco.

{ SECOND OF THREE SECTIONS }

Besties 2015 The LGBT Best of the Bay

Voting begins January 29! www.ebar.com/besties

Brian Greif

<< Out There

18 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 15-21, 2015

This charming man by Roberto Friedman

orrissey’s Autobiography (Penguin Classics) is to typical pop-star memoirs as Bleak House is to the Kardashians. We know we are in the hands of a natural born writer from its very first pages, about Stephen Patrick Morrissey’s childhood in the hardscrabble North of England. “Birds abstain from song in post-war industrial Manchester, where the 1960s will not swing, and where the locals are the opposite of worldly.” When the paperback deal was announced, there was some general guff expressed about its immediate induction into the Penguin Classics series, unusual for a contemporary memoir. But the reason for its inclusion in this storied imprint becomes clear upon reading. Dense and full of illustrative detail, it reminded Out There of the thick tomes of Victorian literature captured in squat Penguin paperbacks that we read in grad school. The book’s first hundred pages (there are no chapter divisions) describe Morrissey’s miserable beginnings. He also fairly extensively catalogs the poetry and music that mattered to him. In the former category, he cites and gives exegesis to W.H. Auden, A.E. Hous-

man, and, supremely, Oscar Wilde. In the latter, we get paeans to the New York Dolls, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Lou Reed, Jobriath, and the Ramones. “Bare-chested in tight silver pants, Iggy defined the new manhood that the world so badly needed, lest we die beneath the wheels of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. ‘Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell’ has a quality of emotion in line with Paul Robeson, and this is why I am still writing about it 40 years on.” Finally, on p. 141, he is set up as on a blind date with guitarist Johnny Marr, and the die is cast: the Smiths are born. The Moz proceeds to chronicle the stupidities and rampant greed attendant to record companies specifically and, in general, corporate capitalism. We never would have suspected that M. cared quite so much about where on the charts his latest single landed, but there’s rather a lot of score-keeping about Billboard and the like in these pages. Oddly, the Smiths breakup is mentioned only in passing, dealt with perfunctorily in one paragraph. The later High Court trial in which his bandmates sued for a share of royalties is extensively dissected, and the 60 or so pages devoted to a bitter take-down of the trial are

guiling pose in the orchard, on the sofa bed. Park even has a Johnny Marr doll. giving the important former bandmate his due. Because there ain’t never going to be a Smiths reunion, that’s for sure.

Still ‘Looking’

Courtesy the artist

Knitted Morrissey doll by Kate Park.

Morrissey’s revenge and the book’s nadir. Judge John Weeks’ ruling is refuted clause by clause, blow by blow. “Beware, I bear more grudges/ than lonely High Court judges.” Still, the Moz cannot be faulted for lacking self-knowledge. “Whenever I’d overhear how people found me to be ‘a bit much’ (which is a gentle way of saying the word ‘unbearable’), I understood why. To myself I would say: Well, yes, of course I’m a bit much – if I weren’t, I would not be lit up by so many lights.” And for a public figure who has long been coy about his sex life, he is surprisingly forthcoming about his romantic connections. “Conversation

is the bond of companionship (according to the Wildean scripture), and Jake and I neither sought nor needed company other than our own for the whirlwind stretch to come, and for the first time in my life the eternal ‘I’ becomes ‘we,’ as finally, I can get on with someone.” The hills, it appears, are not always alive with celibate cries, and Jake seems a babe. P.S.: Hat tip to fellow Moz fan Matthew S. Bajko, who pointed us to some fantastic creations by fan Kate Park, who has knit several versions of a Morrissey doll and is selling them online. There he is, in be-

Looking cast members were in the house last Tuesday night at the Castro Theatre for the premiere of the HBO series’ second season. Actors Raul Castillo, Murray Bartlett Bartlett, Frankie J. Alvarez, Jonathan Groff and others graced the movie palace, and then the Terra nightclub downtown for the afterparty. Out There enjoyed the Looking episodes and the glamorous soiree, and wants to personally thank the HBO publicity team for the new season’s slogan referencing us, “There’s more Out There.” Yes, there certainly is. Finally, we have advance word on the 13th Noir City film festival at the Castro Theatre, ’Til Death Do Us Part, playing Jan. 16-25: namely, that it’s the queerest year ever for the festival. In its first week, the films feature bisexual or gay actors including Cary Grant, Raymond Burr, Charles Laughton, Cesar Romero, and writer Arthur Laurents. Our coverage begins this week, and continues with next week’s issue.t

Was she Whitney’s girlfriend? by David-Elijah Nahmod

ctress Angela Bassett makes her debut as a director with Whitney, a biopic of the late music icon Whitney Houston. The film makes its debut on Lifetime on January 17. Bassett, currently seen in the wildly popular FX series American Horror Story, is no stranger to the biopic genre. She became a star as a result of her acclaimed performance as the legendary Tina Turner in What’s Love Got to Do With It? in 1993. Bassett has also portrayed Rosa Parks and Katherine Jackson, Michael Jackson’s mother. The Houston family isn’t pleased with the new Lifetime film. They say the film, which focuses on Houston’s troubled marriage to R&B su-

perstar Bobbie Brown, was made by people who didn’t know Houston or Brown. But Bassett might have more insight than the family realizes. She and Houston co-starred in the 1995 film Waiting to Exhale. Yaya DaCosta gives a strong performance as Whitney Houston. Though she doesn’t quite look like the singer, DaCosta effectively captures Houston’s mannerisms and is quite convincing in conveying the emotional anguish that Houston lived with during her tumultuous marriage. Deborah Cox provides Houston’s singing voice, and she sounds very close to the real thing with her stunning renditions of hits like “The Greatest Love” and “I’m Your Baby Tonight.” Yolanda Ross plays Robyn Craw-

ford, Houston’s lifelong best friend and personal assistant. Depending on whom you ask, Crawford and Houston were “more than friends.” The film offers a few mild hints as to how close the two women were, but doesn’t fully address the actual status of their relationship. Ross chatted with the B.A.R. about that question, and about how she approached the role. David-Elijah Nahmod: Are you a Whitney Houston fan? Yolanda Ross: Yes, I am, have been from the beginning. Whitney, to me, represents a beautiful brownskinned woman who shared her gift with us and shined brightly without limitations. She touched people, and I feel the light she exudes is

NEW CONSERVATORY THEATRE CENTER In Association with Bob A. Ross Foundation, Executive Producer Enrique & Jason Monagas, Executive Producers David Meders, Producer Present

“Wickedly funny... witty and tender”

what people walked away with and were drawn to. That’s special. I feel that as a fan and as a brown-skinned woman in the industry, I can only hope that my work and talents will be in the same way as hers. I want to touch people. Describe who your character is. Robyn Crawford was Whitney Houston’s friend and assistant since they were teenagers. She was the person you had to go through to get to Whitney during their time of working together. How did you prepare for the role? I scoured the Internet for whatever I could find on Robyn. Though I had heard about her for years, I never knew what she looked like or sounded like. Even when we were shooting, there was so little to go on for distinct traits of her. So, just like with any other part, I took what was in front of me. I played each moment written as that character in whatever the situation was, and took whatever direction Angela gave me. I don’t think you can go wrong

if you are being true as your actions in the character. Some people dispute whether or not Whitney ever had a relationship with a woman. What is your response to them? Not knowing either one of them, knowing only hearsay, I don’t think it would be a stretch at all if they were. Having someone you love and can trust is a hard thing to find for anyone, and to get to the level that Whitney was at, I’m sure much harder. I think they would have been lucky to have each other if that was the case, because their feelings seemed to be genuine for each other. Ross told the B.A.R. that she’s not had contact with Robyn Crawford, and that the Houston family was not speaking about the film. She hopes that people will keep an eye out for her other new film, Lila and Eve, with Viola Davis and Jennifer Lopez.t Whitney premieres on Lifetime on Jan. 17.

VA R I E T Y

Tie a rope to the shore and hang on.

BY CHAD BEGUELIN DIRECTED BY ED DECKER

JAN 23–MAR 1

Courtesy Lifetime BUY TICKETS AT NCTCSF.ORG BOX OFFICE: 415.861.8972 25 VAN NESS AVE AT MARKET ST

Yaya DaCosta plays Whitney Houston, and Yolanda Ross plays Robyn Crawford in Lifetime’s Whitney.

Explore the most intriguing planet in our solar systemâ&#x20AC;Ś our own.

A new planetarium experience starts January 16. Discover the living networks that connect all life and see Earth as youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve never seen it before. Get tickets at calacademy.org This program is funded in part by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

<< Theatre

20 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 15-21, 2015

Cowboys underneath it all by Richard Dodds

Jay Yamada

Brian Martin and Maria Leigh play a couple who were childhood sweethearts and now find their relationship spiraling downward in Sarah Ruhl’s Late: A Cowboy Song at Custom Made Theatre.

n Sarah Ruhl’s view, realism is not realistic. “If you distill people’s subjectivity and how they view the world emotionally, you don’t get realism,” the playwright said in an interview several years ago. Ruhl has been a popular presence on both local and national stages with such plays as The Clean House, Dead Man’s Cellphone, and In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), in which her take on the flitting nature of human emotions turns up with varying intensity. Late: A Cowboy Song is one of Ruhl’s earlier plays, and it provides a chance to see the artist in a formative mode that gives free rein to her notions of slippery realism. Custom Made Theatre is presenting the area debut of the 2003 play, and its characters can run hot and cold and back again in a heartbeat. At least, two of its three characters can. Crick and Mary have been sweethearts since grade school, and their relationship often drips with syrupy sentiment. They coo and snuggle and giggle, and suddenly arising grievances can be subdued by more cooing and snuggling and giggling. The third character, one of Mary’s child-

hood friends who has reappeared on the scene in the Pittsburgh suburbs, knows who she is, knows what she wants, and is a symbol of a life that doesn’t require a rulebook. Red rides horses and wears full cowboy regalia, and if she hasn’t actually seen where the deer and the antelope play, she increasingly pulls Mary into her free-range philosophies, to Crick’s increasing consternation. When Crick and Mary have an intersex baby, the doctors decide on a female identity and perform the surgeries to facilitate that. Crick, who works as a museum guard and wants a family like in a Swedish painting, insists on calling the baby Jill (“a good, old-fashioned name out of the Bible”) while Mary prefers the more gender-neutral Blue for a name. “Why does she have to be one thing or another?” asks Mary about their child, to which Crick replies, “You can’t live on the fence.” In fact, Mary and Red spend a lot of time sitting on fences ruminating about the world, and there is little doubt that Red is sexually attracted to Mary. Tensions increase at home, and Mary’s disillusionment is manifested in a manic scene of obligatory holiday celebrations that seem to ar-

rive in an increasing rush. The above synopsis may suggest a meaty play, but Late: A Cowboy Song is something more of a sketched-in fable. Director Ariel Craft balances the play’s shifting idiosyncrasies with a steady hand, and the cast finds its ways into the characters’ often absurdist skins. As the somewhat doltish Crick, Brian Martin has a boyish charm that can turn sour whenever his wife wants to color outside the lines. Maria Leigh sharply balances her portrayal of Mary between the growing weariness of home life and the sparks she feels under Red’s tutelage. As Red, Lauren Preston has an inviting selfassurance in the role of a self-styled renegade. As an early work, Late finds a playwright in search of her footing. Ruhl spirits us off in many directions in a mere 90 minutes, and the destination remains vague at the end. But it’s intriguing to take the journey because we know it will lead into a potently realized career.t Late: A Cowboy Song will run at the Gough Street Playhouse through Feb. 1. Tickets are $20-$40. Call 7982682 or go to custommade.org.

Til death do them part by Tavo Amador

ame-sex marriage is legal in most states, which is cause for celebration. But as this year’s 13th Noir City film festival at the Castro Theatre, ’Til Death Do Us Part (Jan. 16-25) shows, matrimony isn’t always blissful – it can be deadly. The program honors actors Joan Fontaine (19172013), Robert Ryan (1909-73), and Barbara Stanwyck (1907-90), all of whom suffered onscreen marital tribulations. The festival begins with the world premiere of a restored print of Woman on the Run (1950), starring the unjustly forgotten Ann Sheridan. When her husband disappears after witnessing a murder, the police think she’ll lead them to him – but he’s history to her. Reporter Dennis O’Keefe charms her, however, and suddenly she’s at risk. Superb San Francisco locations. Norman Foster directed. Screenplay by Alan Campbell (Dorothy Parker’s husband). Fontaine became a star as the shy, insecure second Mrs. De Winter in Rebecca (1940), but she chafed at being typecast. As Christabel Caine in Nicholas Ray’s Born to Be Bad (1950), she arrives in San Francisco posing as a lost lamb. Cousin Joan Leslie helps her, but soon regrets her generosity. Christabel snares her benefactress’ very rich husband (Zachary Scott), has a torrid affair with a novelist (Ryan) and leaves emotional devastation in her wake. Screenplay by Edith Summer. Presented with its original ending, deleted for the initial release. (Fri. evening, Jan. 16) Fontaine was the only performer to win an Oscar in an Alfred Hitchcock film, earning the Best Actress award for 1941’s Suspicion. She’s a trusting heiress who, against all advice, marries a penniless charmer (bisexual Cary Grant), then wonders if he’s trying to kill her. With Cedric Hardwicke, Nigel Bruce, and Dame May Whitty. Samuel Raphelson, Joan Harrison, and Alma Reville (Mrs. Hitchcock) adapted Frances Iles’ novel Before the Fact. Preview audiences demanded a revised ending, alas. Whiskey-voiced Ida Lupino was a leading actress and director during the 1940s and 50s, and The Bigamist (1953) shows how adept she was in both capacities. A childless San Francisco couple

Joan Fontaine in director Alfred Hitchcock’s Suspicion (1941).

(Fontaine and Edmond O’Brien) want to adopt a baby. Social worker Edmund Gwenn discovers that O’Brien has another wife (Lupino) living in Los Angeles. Lupino brings a sharp feminist perspective to the risks of marriage in an era when most women were financially dependent on men. Screenplay by Collier Young (previously married to Lupino and wed to Fontaine at the time). Newly restored print. (Sat., Jan. 17, matinee) As Ivy (1947), Fontaine relished playing her first unsympathetic part. She’s a beautiful, proper Edwardian lady who’s also ambitious and manipulative. Herbert Marshall, Richard Ney, and Patric Knowles are her victims. With Hardwicke and Lilian Fontaine (mother of Joan and her older sister, Olivia de Havilland). Sam Wood directed from Charles Bennett’s screenplay. The Suspect (1944) is Charles Laughton, one of the era’s finest actors and, sadly, a guilt-ridden homosexual. In this Edwardian noir, he’s a mousey, henpecked tobacconist whose infatuation with beautiful Ella Raines has unexpected consequences. Laughton is very touching. Directed by Robert Siodmark. Screenplay by Bertram Millhouser. (Jan. 17, evening) A parole officer (the superbly buffed Cornel Wilde) thinks he’s Shockproof (1949), but Patricia

Knight, released from jail after serving five years for killing her husband in “self-defense,” has news for him – especially after they marry. Douglas Sirk directed from a screenplay by Robert Fuller and Helen Deutsch that, despite censorship-mandated cuts, remains potent. In Sleep My Love (1948), Claudette Colbert awakens on a train but cannot recall how the ride began. Husband Don Ameche helps her regain her memory with hypnosis – but does he have something else in mind? With Robert Cummings and, in a bit, gay Raymond Burr, years before television’s Perry Mason. Smooth, taut direction by Sirk. Screenplay by St. Clair McKelway and Leo Rosten. (Sun., Jan. 18, matinee and evening) Marriage, murder, and martinis mix merrily in The Thin Man (1934) and After the Thin Man (1936). William Powell’s celebrated portrayal of Dashiell Hammett’s Nick Charles was matched by Myrna Loy’s Nora (reportedly based on Lillian Hellman), and the harddrinking pair became classic Hollywood’s ideal screen husband and wife. The second film is set in San Francisco. Among the supporting players are soon-to-be-a-star James Stewart, Maureen O’Sullivan, gay Cesar Romero, and Asta, the beloved terrier. Woody “One-Take” Van Dyke directed both pictures from scripts by husband-and-wife

Ann Sheridan stars in director Norman Foster’s Woman on the Run (1950): unjustly forgotten.

team Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich. (Mon., Jan. 19, matinee and evening) A pre-Dallas Barbara Bel Geddes is Caught (1949) in the great Max Ophuls’ film based on a script by gay Arthur Laurents. She marries the man of her dreams, the fabulously wealthy Ryan, who turns out to be a nightmare. She finds refuge working for a doctor (James Mason in his American film debut), but reconciles with her husband and becomes pregnant, before once more escaping his maniacal control. Can the doctor save her? Ophuls’ camera technique remains unmatched, and he elicits fine performances, especially from Ryan. In The SetUp (1949), Ryan plays a boxer who, against wife Audrey Totter’s pleas, agrees to one more match, which his unscrupulous manager has guaranteed he‘ll lose. His unexpected victory results in life-threatening

danger. Ryan had been a pugilist, and it shows. Robert Wise directed. Screenplay by Art Cohn. (Tues., Jan. 20, evening) “Home is where you go when you’ve seen all the other places,” says a weary Stanwyck in Fritz Lang’s Clash by Night (1952). She marries a simple fisherman (Paul Douglas), but has a torrid affair with Ryan. Lang gives this melodrama a noir feel, and Stanwyck is superb. Marilyn Monroe is surprisingly believable as a cannery worker engaged to Apollo-like Keith Andes. Alfred Hayes adapted Clifford Odets’ play. Stanwyck commits a Crime of Passion (1957) after giving up her journalism career in San Francisco to marry Sterling Hayden and move to Los Angeles. Her restlessness results in serious trouble. Burr plays a police inspector. With Fay Wray. Gerd Oswald directed from an original screenplay by Jo Eisenger.t

Music>>

January 15-21, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 21

Countertenor in the Temple of Dendur by Michael McDonagh

“ ’ve been four or five people since

then,” countertenor Nicholas Tamagna says as he, his manager Sarah Stephenson, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Communications head Egle Zygas, and I make our way across its jammed Great Hall on a rainy day last fall. The occasion? An interview with the singer about one of the previous people he’s been, “the heretic king” Akhnaten, who ruled Egypt from 1375-1358 BCE, and who is the subject of Philip Glass’ 1983 opera of the same name. The imposing 32-year-old countertenor enters wearing a baby-blue velvet jacket, rust-colored cords, and a white shirt open at the collar. Then he stands jacket-less between the pillars of the Met’s rescued-fromthe-Nile Temple of Dendur as if he really is the pharaoh who overthrew Egypt’s many gods to install his sole god, the Aten, in one of the opera’s most powerful scenes, The Temple. Tamagna’s live-on-DVD performance of director Candace Evans’ Indiana University production, which also invokes the Egyptian people’s overthrow of Mubarak, is set to be released on Orange Mountain Music this year. Our photo shoot done on Tamag-

SFO, 2015-16

From page 17

Last week, subscription tickets went on sale for an intriguing schedule of opera and musical theater that sets the seal on Gockley’s mission and validates his careful taste in choosing productions that will please the critics and keep the donors and traditionalist subscribers happy. Opening night 2015 is probably the only jarring note in the roster, but not because it is an unwel-

na’s iPhone, we get right down to business, with Fifth Avenue in the window just over his shoulder. “Did you know Philip’s music before you took this role, and how did it come to you?” “I knew about his two previous operas Einstein on the Beach [1975 -76] and Satyagraha [1983],” he says, “but the only thing I remember knowing about Akhnaten was a private recording by tenor Ryland Davies of the love duet between Akhnaten and Nefertiti. I fell in love with it. My manager Sarah got a call from Cori Ellison, who was a dramaturg I believe at Glyndebourne, and she knew me from the Mozart Mitridate I did in New York, and recommended me to the Indiana University people, so that’s how I got the job.” Getting a job in your chosen field is always a plus, but what sorts of challenges did Glass’ repetitive music pose for Tamagna, who has sung 18th-century countertenor parts by composers like Handel? “The thing you have to master is the sequences, and what I learned was how to stay where you’re singing four or five notes over and over again and not get tired, and you spend a lot of time figuring out the slight shifts. But what I was actually thinking each time was imbuing each piece

with a new energy, so if you just keep thinking ‘Out out, new new,’ it’s sort of a technique like in bel canto, where you’re trying to expand the emotional energy, and you try to find a way within this smaller compass to feel this expansion.” Expansion isn’t a word that comes to mind when some listeners think of Glass, but his tactics in thrilling pieces like Music in Similar

Motion (1969), though constructed from rhythmic/melodic cells as in its opening two figures (two plus three plus three; two plus three plus three plus three), were obviously, as Tamagna noted, interested in making the sound go “out, out” to arrive at someplace entirely new. Akhnaten, though written four years after Satyagraha, inhabits an entirely different sound world. It’s

come production of an important and infrequently performed opera. Rather, because it will seem an awfully sober-sided choice for an evening known more for extravagant audience excess than musical appreciation. Giuseppe Verdi’s gorgeously melodic, bitterly tragic and typically complicated Luisa Miller is a treatment of a play by Friedrich Schiller that expresses the composer’s cynical distaste for class politics and family intrigues. The cast is mouthwatering for a score that requires

a real Verdi spinto (between lyric and dramatic) soprano and tenor to make a satisfying impact. Leah Crocetto and returning star-standout (for his La Boheme last season) Michael Fabiano should prove quite the dream team, with Verdi veteran baritone Thomas Hampson making a welcome appearance as the stubborn father of a bourgeois girl in love with an aristocrat. There is more Italian tragedy on the horizon, with Gaetano Donizetti’s bel canto masterpiece Lucia

di Lammermoor joining conductor Nicola Luisotti with gloriously gifted soprano Diana Damrau in the title role. Tenor Piotr Beczala is Lucia’s secret lover Edgardo. It will be the premiere of a new SFO production directed by Michael Cavanagh and designed by Erhard Rom, the pair responsible for the Company’s memorable Carlisle Floyd Susannah last year. Mozart-lovers and fans of contemporary art will be pleased to hear the SFO is bringing back The

Sarah Stephenson

Countertenor Nicholas Tamagna plays Akhnaten at the Temple of Dendur in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

unique and solitary, as in Debussy’s equally internal Pelleas, where the music seems more dreamed than enacted. But it’s entirely fitting for “the great criminal” whose name was erased from “2,000 years of faceless pharaohs,” as Glass says, quoting the American Egyptologist James Breasted in Michael Blackwood’s Orange Mountain Music documentary A Composer’s Notes. Philip Glass: The Making of an Opera (1985). The dream, or what we think happened, may be even more powerful than what actually happened. But who knows? Indiana University’s production of Akhnaten sets its king in a place that is strangely not unlike our own. “There’s nothing in the story that isn’t contemporary, really. It’s about power, and upholding old ideas, and trying to force these new ideas into the world, and what happens to people who do that,” Glass says in Blackwood’s doc. IU’s beautifully imagined production is way beyond what anyone would expect of kids. Vet conductor Arthur Fagen’s beat is clear and unassailable. Glass’ Akhnaten, though not a standard rep dish, is just as serious and far more approachable than Schoenberg’s Moses und Aron (1930-32), and that’s saying a lot.t Magic Flute with Jun Kaneko’s wonderfully kinetic and whimsical multimedia designs in the smashhit production of 2012 directed by Harry Silverstein. David Gockley’s English-singing translation, with additional English translation by Ruth and Thomas Martin, still needs supertitles, but if there was ever a Mozart tale that should be performed in the language of the listeners, this endlessly fascinatSee page 27 >>

<< Out&About

22 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 15-21, 2015

Felix d’Eon @ Magnet We Blaze Away, a new exhibit of art by the unique painter who blends vintage looks with contemporary homoeroticism. Reg. hours Mon-Wed 10am-6pm. Thru Jan. 4122 18th St. 581-1600. www.magnetsf.org

O&A Out &About

Fresh Festival @ CounterPulse

Fri 16 The Twentieth Wife

Dangerous talents by Jim Provenzano

ast week’s violent tragedies, both local and around the world, may give you pause. But don’t let it stop your boldness in going out to see controversial art, banned literature, biting comedy, and thoughtprovoking drama. Celebrate freedom of the press, of the pen, of the brush and the voice.

Thu 15 Academy of Friends Reception @ Sui Generis Toast the nominees of the upcoming Academy Awards with a selection of wine, cocktails, and bites, a bowtie tying clinic and preview of the annual AOF gala Oscar party, A Century of Radiance (on Feb 22 at the Design Center Galleria). A percentage of clothing purchases benefits AOF. $20. 6:30-8:30pm. 2231/2265 Market St. www.academyoffriends.org

Banned Book Club/ Queer Edition @ Books Inc. Acclaimed author Michelle Tea hosts a night of discussion and reading with sexy, sexual, LGBT, banned or challenged books, with Nia King, Daniel Levesque, Kevin Killian, Baruch Porras-Hernandez, and Nan Alamilla Boyd. 7pm. 2275 Market St. 8646777. www.booksinc.net

Classical Concerts @ SF Conservatory of Music Jan. 15, 9am-5pm: New Music gathering with flutist Clair Chase, concerts, lectures Also Jan. 16 with pianist Sarah Cahill, and Jan 17 with Kronos Quartet. $30-$60. 50 Oak St. at Franklin. 503-6322. www.sfcm.edu

Comedy Returns @ El Rio Charlie Ballard, Francesca Fiorentini, Sampson McCormick, Bobby Golden, and Lisa Geduldig make you laugh with their unique perspectives on life, at the popular monthly comedy night. $7-$20. 8pm. 3158 Mission St. (800) 838-3006. www.elriosf.com

Haiku Tunnel @ The Marsh Josh Kornbluth returns with his acclaimed solo show about being a temp worker in a local law office. $20-$100. Thu-Sat 8pm. Thru Feb. 7. 10162 Valencia St. 282-3055. www.themarsh.org

New and Classic Films @ Castro Theatre Jan. 15: InForum with Cornel West : A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (7pm). Jan. 16-Jan. 25: Noir City 13, a festival of drak dramatic classics and obscure films. $11. 429 Castro St. www.castrotheatre.com

Unusual Movies @ Oddball Films Weekly screenings of strange and obscure short films. Jan. 15: Pioneering Women in Animation. Jan. 16: Not Your Mother’s Shockucation. $10. 8pm. 275 Capp St. 558-8117. www.oddballfilm.com

Shit & Champagne @ Oasis D’Arcy Drollinger’s hilarious nightclub hit, a whitesploitation satire-comedy with action-packed models fighting a drug cartel, returns at the new SoMa nightclub; featuring Matthew Martin. $20-$25. Thu-Sat 7pm. Thru Feb. 14. 298 11th St. at Folsom. sfoasis.com

San Francisco Magic Parlor @ Chancellor Hotel Theatre David Facer’s solo magic show, The World of Paradox, entertains and beguiles. $40. Thu-Sat 8pm. Openended run. 433 Powell St. at Post. www.MagicParlor.blogspot.com

Voices of Latin Rock @ Bimbo’s Benefit for Autism Awareness includes performances by $55-$150. 6pm. 1025 Columbus Ave. at Chestnut. www.bimbos365club.com

Wendy Wheelan @ YBCA Theater San Francisco Performances presents the innovative choreographer, who performs four duets with different male dancers. $40-$60. 7:30pm. Also Jan 16. 700 Howard St. 392-2545. www.SFperformances.org

Fri 16 Abrazo, Queer Milonga @ Finnish Brotherhood Hall, Berkeley Enjoy same-sex tango dancing and a potluck, with lessons early in the evening. $7-$15. 7pm-11pm. 1970 Chestnut St., Berkeley. (510) 8455352. www.finnishhall.com

The Anarchist @ Eureka Theatre Velina Brown and Tamar Cohn costar in Theatre Rhinoceros’ production of David Mamet’s tense drama about a lesbian anarchist who’s forced to confront a prison psychologist in order to get parole. $15-$30. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sat 3pm. Thru Jan. 17. 215 Jackson St. at Front. (800) 838-3006. therhino.org

Avenue Q @ New Conservatory Theatre Center The local production of the naughty hit Broadway puppet musical returns! (Music and lyrics by Robert Lopez & Jeff Marx; Book by Jeff Whitty). $22.50-$45. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Extended thru Feb 1. 25 Van Ness Ave., lower level. www.nctcsf.org

Cirque du Soleil @ AT&T Park Lot Last few days to see the Montreal acrobatic circus’ new show, Kurious: Cabinet of Curiosities, a steampunkthemed spectacle. $53-$135. Tue-Sat 8pm. Fri & Sat 4:30pm. Sun 1:30pm & 5pm. Thru Jan. 18. Third Street at Terry A. Francis Blvd. (800) 450-1480. www.cirquedusoleil.com

Edith Piaf: Beneath Paris Skies @ Cinnabar Theater, Petaluma World premiere of a concert/theatre tribute to singer Edith Piaf, with five singers and a five-piece band; adapted for the stage by Valentina Osinski, Michael Van Why and Lauren Lundgren. $9-$66. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru Jan. 25. 3333 Petaluma Blvd. North, Petaluma. (707) 7638920. www.cinnabartheater.org

Revisiting Ritual, a showcase of dances by choreographers. Other experimental dances and intensive workshops at several venues thru Jan. 18. 1310 Mission St. freshfestival.org

Glamorgeddon: The Spectacle @ SOMArts Cultural Center Group exhibition of works focusing on a freeform interpretation of glamour. Special live events thru the run. Exhibit thru Feb. 4. 934 Brannan St. at 9th. www.somarts.org

Herbert Huncke Centennial @ Beat Museum Authors read and discuss the marginal hustler/junkie of the Beat literary circle; Hilary Holladay, Dennis McNally, Tate Swindell, Ven Schafer, Brenda Knight, Regina Marler, and Laki Vazakas. 7pm. 540 Broadway. www.kerouac.com

Hick: A Love Story @ Berkeley City Club

The Twentieth Wife @ Z Space

SF Hiking Club @ Mt. Tamalpais

Choreographer-dancer Farah Shaikh and author Indu Sundaresan’s multimedia dance-music performance work about an empowered 17thcentury Indian woman and her goals of motherhood and power. $35-$50. 8pm. Also Jan 17, 8pm and Jan 18, 2pm. 450 Florida St. www.Zspace.org

Join GLBT hikers for an 11-mile hike to circumnavigate Mt. Tam. Connecting trails through every Mt. Tam microclimate will lead to beautiful views. Bring good hiking boots, sunscreen, hat, layers, water, lunch. Carpool meets 8:45 at Safeway sign, Market & Dolores. (510) 985-0804. www.sfhiking.com

Vonda Shepard @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko The ebullient and prolific singersongwriter and actress performs favorites songs and new original music. $40-$55 ($20 food/drink min.) 8pm. Also Jan. 17 at 7pm. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 6631063. www.vondashepard.com www.ticketweb.com

X’s and O’s (A Football Love Story) @ Berkeley Repertory World premiere of KJ Sanchez’ captivating docudrama about players and rabid fans of football; directed by Tony Taccone. $29-$79. Previews. Opens Jan. 23. Tue, Thu-Sat 8pm. Wed & Sun 7pm, Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru March 1. Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 647-2918. www.berkeleyrep.org

Terry Baum returns with her show subtitled The Romance of Lorena Hickok and Eleanor Roosevelt, written with Pat Bond, about the secret affair of FDR’s wife. $20 Thu (pay what you can) & Fri 8pm. Sat 2pm & 8pm. Sun 5pm. Thru Jan. 25. 2315 Durant St., Berkeley. (800) 838-3006. www.crackpotcrones.com

Vintage Paper Fair @ County Fair Bldg. Browse from dozens of dealers’ wares for vintage posters, postcards, prints and even vintage Valentine cards. 10am-6pm. Also Jan. 18, 11am-5pm. Golden Gate Park, 9th ave. at Lincoln Way. www.vintagepaperfair.com

The Waiting Period @ The Marsh Brian Copeland returns with his popular solo show, about the tensions of considering suicide, and waiting for approval to buy a gun. $30-$100. Saturdays 5pm. Thru Feb. 7. 1062 Valencia St. 282-3055. themarsh.org

Wilde Chats @ Sweet Inspirations Community Initiative’s weekly informal discussion group at the dessert shop. 10:30am-12pm. 2239 Market St. 6218664. sweetinspirationbakery.com

Tue 20

Slinging Satire

I Am My Own Wife @ Cinnabar Theatre, Petaluma Steven Abbott portrays 32 characters in Dough Wright’s Pulitzer and Tony award-winning play about a “deviant” German who survived the Nazi and Communist regimes. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru Feb 22. 3333 Petaluma Blvd. North, Petaluma. (707) 7638920. www.cinnabartheater.org

Indian Ink @ Geary Theatre American Conservatory Theatre presents a new production of Tom Stoppard’s drama about a 1930s poet, her relationship an Indian artist, and their descendants’ search for truths about her life. Special events thru the run, including Out with A.C.T. (LGBT after-party) Jan. 28. $20-$120. Tue 7pm. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sat & Sun 2pm. Also Sun 7pm. Thru Feb. 8. 415 Geary St. 749-2228. www.act-sf.org

Into the Cole @ The Marsh Berkeley Aaron Akins’ one-man show, inspired by Nat King Cole, includes songs and personal stories telling how the singer influenced the actor-musician’s life. $20-$100. Fri & Sat 8pm. Thru Feb 7. 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley. 282-3055. www.themarsh.org

Notions of Romance @ Vessel Gallery, Oakland Group exhibit of works (by David Burke, Thekla Hammond, Gordon Glasgow, Diana Hobson, Walter James Mansfield, Kevan Jenson, Cyrus Tilton, Sanjay Vora) that explores the concept of romance. Thru Feb. 14. Reg. hours: Tue-Sat 11am-6pm. First Fridays til 9pm. 471 25th St. (510) 893-8800. www.vessel-gallery.com

Our Town @ Ashby Stage, Berkeley Shotgun Players’ unusual take on the classic drama by Thornton Wilder (a 1915 Berkeley High graduate!) includes live music and a haunting take on life and death in a small town. $23-$30. Thu 7pm. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sun 5pm. Extended thru Jan. 25. 1901 Ashby Ave., Berkeley. (510) 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org

Sets @ Southern Exposure Christy Chan, Chris Kallmyer and Olivia Mole are artists-in-residence in two-week sets, where each perform and create video, installation and other media works. Special performances through the series. Thru March 7. Tue-Sat 12pm-6pm. 3030 20th St. 863-2141. www.soex.org

David Horsey

Sat 17

Sun 18

Beach Blanket Babylon @ Club Fugazi

Aquascapes @ Conservatory of Flowers

The musical comedy revue celebrates its 40th year with an ever-changing lineup of political and pop culture icons, all in gigantic wigs. Reg: $25$160. Beer/wine served; cash only; 21+, except where noted. 678 Beach Blanket Babylon Blvd (Green St.). 4214222. beachblanketbabylon.com

Fascinating new exhibit of underwater plant sculptures that resemble miniature outdoor English, Asian and classic gardens (thru April 12). Permanent floral exhibits as well. Free-$8. Tue-Sun 10am-4pm. Golden Gate Park, 8312090. www.conservatoryofflowers.org

The Book Was Better @ Bergeron’s Books The comedy series this time includes LGBT standups Natasha Muse, Justin Lucas, Jessica Sele, Ronn Vigh, Sampson McCormick and host Irene Tu. $10. 8pm. 375 15th St., Oakland. www.bergeronsbooks.com

Cindy Steiler, Amber Jean Young @ Campfire Gallery Vestiges, a duo exhibit of new works by the textile artists whose unusual works blend traditional craft with modern composition. Thru Jan. 11. 3344 24th St. 800-7319. www.campfiregallery.com

Fool La La! @ The Marsh, Berkeley Unique Derique’s holiday clowning show’s fun for kids and adults alike. $15-$35. Daily 2pm, extended thru Feb 282120 Allston Way, Berkeley. 282-3055. www.themarsh.org

Imogen Cunningham @ Harvey Milk Photo Center Exhibit of the renowned photographers Paris in the Sixties series. Tue.-Thu. 4pm-8:30pm. Sat & Sun 12pm-4pm. Thru Feb. 28. 50 Scott St. www.harveymilkphotocenter.org

Mark Johnson @ Hotel Rex The local vocalist and songwriter performs soulful jazz music, ranging from crooner classics to beatnik bop. $30-$50. 8pm. Cocktails and small plates available. 562 Sutter St. 8571896. www.societycabaret.com

David Barnett @ Squat & Gobble Exhibit of scenic landscapes by the local artist. Thru Jan. 31. 3600 16th St. at Market. www.davidbarnettart.com

Fertile Ground @ Oakland Museum Fertile Ground: Art and Community in California (thru April 12). Free/$15. Reg. hours Wed-Sat 11am-5pm (Fri til 9pm). 1000 Oak St., Oakland. (510) 318-8400. www.museumca.org

Houghton Hall: Portrait of an English House @ Legion of Honor Exhibition drawn from the collections of a quintessential English country house. $10-$18. Tue-Sat 9:30am5:115pm. 34th Ave. at Clement. www.legionofhonor.org

In the Name of Love @ Scottish Rite Center, Oakland 13th annual music and awards programs honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and local living community builders and African American female musicians; with Faye Carl, Linda Tillery, Gina Breedlove, Melanie DeMore, Tammy Hall and others. $8-$25. 7pm. 1547 Lakeside Drive, Oakland. www.mlktribute.com

Keith Haring: The Political Line @ de Young Museum New exhibit of 130 large-scale paintings, sculptures and retrieved subway drawings by the late great gay graffiti artist who came to global fame. Free-$26-$41. Other exhibits as well. Tue-Sun 9:30am-5:15pm. Golden Gate Park, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive. 750-3600. famsf.org

Out&About>>

January 15-21, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 23

Kronos Quartet @ Hertz Hall, Berkeley

Heklina & Meat and Cheese Productions Present

The acclaimed music ensemble performs works by Volans, Little, and Riley with pipa player Wu Man. $68. 7pm. Bancroft Way at College Ave, UC Berkeley campus. (510) 642-9988. www.CalPerformances.org

1500PM 0 2 , 5th @ 9:

Matthew Martin @ Oasis The local drag actor, known for hundreds of performances as Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Helen Lawson, Peggy Lee, and currently costarring in Shit & Champagne, performs a concert of Hollywood favorite songs and scenes, with surprise guest stars. $20-$25. 7pm. 298 11th St. at Folsom. www.sfoasis.com

Roads of Arabia @ Asian Art Museum Roads of Arabia : Archeology and History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (thru Jan. 18); Dual Natures in Ceramics : Eight Contemporary Artists from Korea (thru Feb. 22). Other fascinating exhibits as well. Free (members, kids 12 and under)-$15. Tue-Sun 10am-5pm. 200 Larkin St. www.asianart.org

Tours and Exhibits @ The Old Mint New Sunday program offers tours and exhibits about San Francisco’s history. Explore the fascinating building’s grand halls and vaults. $5-$10. Weekly, 1pm-4pm. 88 5th St. 5371105. www.SFhistory.org

Mon 19 All Aboard @ Walt Disney Museum A Celebration of Walt Disney’s Trains, thru Feb. 9, plus classic art work and ephemera from the park and animated films. Free/$20. Open daily 10am-6pm. 104 Montgomery St., the Presidio. 345-6800. waltdisney.org

Tue 20 Angela Lansbury in Blithe Spirit

Slinging Satire @ Cartoon Art Museum Slinging Satire: Masters of Political Cartoons, a timely exhibit of recent works by Mark Fiore, David Horsey, Matt Wuerker, Mat Bors, Jen Sorensen and Tom Tomorrow, plus many others, in left- and rightwing politics, print, web and multimedia formats. Thru Mar. 9. Also, Stranger Than Life: The Cartoons and Comics of M.K. Brown (thru Feb 15). Other exhibits and events. Free-$8. Tue-Sun 11am-5pm. 655 Mission St. 227-8666. cartoonart.org

Wed 21 At Large: Ai Weiwei @ Alcatraz Island The internationally acclaimed Chinese sculptor’s exhibit of seven site-specific multimedia installations; the largest art exhibit ever hosted by the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. $18-$30. Daily thru April 26. Ferries to and from Pier 33 at Embarcadero. www.AiWeiWeiAlcatraz.org www.alcatrazcruises.com/website/ ai-weiwei.aspx

Poe-Pourri 3 @ Alley Cat Books Third anniversary reading celebrating the (206th) birthday of Edgar Allen Poe, the king of gothic horror, with Jennifer Blowdryer, Gerri Lawlor, Colin Hussey and Nicole Henarea, plus open mic follows, and a screening of Curtis Harrington’s short film Usher, food, win and prizes. 7pm. 3036 24th St. 824-1761. www.alleycatbookshop.com

Various Exhibits @ California Academy of Sciences Exhibits and planetarium shows with various live, interactive and installed exhibits about animals, plants and the earth; special events each week, with adult nightlife parties most Thursday nights. $20-$35. Mon-Sat 9:30am5pm. Sun 11am-5pm. 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park. 379-8000. www.calacademy.org

Tue 20 Alien She @ YBCA The first exhibition to showcase the impact and ephemera of the Riot Grrrl movement and culture. Free-$15. Exhibit Tue-Sun 12pm-6pm. Thru Jan. 25. 701 Mission St. www.ybca.org

Lera Auerbach @ SF Jazz Center SF Performance presents the composer/pianist, who performs innovative chamber works with violinist Daniel Hope and cellist Joshua Roman; Auerbach will sign copies of her new book Excess of Being after the concert. $40-$65. 7:30pm. 201 Franklin St. 392-2545. www.SFperformances.org

Blithe Spirit @ Golden Gate Theatre Angela Lansbury stars in Noel Coward’s rollicking comedy about society people and spiritual mediums, where a man’s dead wife is conjured. $75-$185. Tue-Sat 8pm. Wed, Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru Feb 1. 1 Taylor St. (888) 746 1799. www.shnsf.com

Thu 15 Sampson McCormick at Comedy Returns

Dead Man Walking @ Temple Emanu-El Excerpts and discussion about the prison rights opera, with Opera Parallèle founder and Artistic Director Nicole Paiement and Creative Director Brian Staufenbiel, activist and author Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking, composer Jake Heggie, mezzo-sopranos Frederica von Stade and Catherine Cook, sopranos Kristin Clayton and Nicolle Foland, and Roslyn Barak, cantor of Temple Emanu-El (in advance of the YBCA prduction Feb 20-22). Free. 7pm. 2 Lake St. www.operaparallele.org

Lava Thomas @ Museum of the African Diaspora Exhibit of contemporary works. Also, The Art of Elizabeth Catlett, and historic exhibits of African cultures. Free/$10. 685 Mission St. www.moadsf.org

Melissa T. O’Keefe @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko The vivacious singer performs Gentlemen Prefer Redheads, a cabaret concert about the men in her life, with songs in various genres, and a sevenpiece band. $20-$35. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 663-1063. www.melissatokeefe.com www.ticketweb.com

Smack Dab @ Magnet Author Daniel Levesque ( Hairdresser on Fire) is the guest reader at the eclectic reading and performance showcase. Sign-up at 7:30. Show at 8pm. 4122 18th St. www.MagnetSF.org

2 - Show y r a anu 0PM

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Patti Smith @ The Fillmore The iconic rock legend performs her classic post-punk poetic music. $39.50. 8pm. Also Jan. 23 & 24 at 9pm. pattismith.net www.thefillmore.com

Twenty Favorite Photographs @ Robert Tat Gallery Popular photographs selected by the gallery’s collectors, including Imogen Cunningham, James Bidgood, Walker Evans, Aaron Siskind and others. Thru Feb. 28. 49 Geary St. 781-1122. www.roberttat.com

Thu 22 Carolyn Meyer @ ArtHaus Exhibit of the artist’s modern urban landscape paintings of San Francisco and New York. Also a group exhibit. Reg. hours Tue-Fri 11am-6pm. Sat 12pm5pm. 411 Brannan St. at 3rd. 977-0223. www.arthaus-sf.com

DNALOUNGE.com

Gen. Admission $28 -VIP premium Pit $40

MARIN CENTER PRESENTS

les ballets trockadero de monte carlo

Fotanicals @ SF Botanical Gardens Opening reception of Fotanicals: the Secret Language of Flowers, an exhibition of photographs by artist joSon. 5pm-7pm. Also, see blooming floral displays, including new Magnolia blossoms (51 species and 33 cultivars!), plus trees and exhibits. Also, daily walking tours and more, at outdoor exhibits of hundreds of species of native wildflowers in a century-old grove of towering Coast Redwoods. Free-$15. Daily. Golden Gate Park. 661-1316. www.SFBotanicalGarden.org

J. Otto Seibold and Mr. Lunch @ Contemporary Jewish Museum New exhibit of works by the beloved children’s book author. Also, Arnold Newman: Masterclass, an exhibit of prints by the influential photographer. Also, Jan. 22: In That Case, Helena Keefe and Jessica Prentice’s food discussion on Havruta. Other exhibits, lectures and gallery talks as well. Free (members)-$12. Fri-Tue 11am-5pm, Thu 11am-8pm (closed Wed). 736 Mission St. 655-7800. thecjm.org

Jean Conner @ Gallery Paule Anglim The prolific artist’s exhibit of whimsical collage art from the 1960s to the present. Reg hours Tue-Fri 10am-5:30pm. Sat 10:30am-5pm. Thru Feb. 7. 14 Geary St. 433-2710. www.gallerypauleanglim.com

Manuel Villacorta @ Books Inc. The Whole Body Reboot author discusses his diet and recipe book based on Peruvian Superfoods. 7:30pm. 2275 Market St. 864-6777. www.booksinc.net

Tom Ammiano @ Center for Culture and Politics The veteran gay politician and comic offers reflections on his recent duties in Sacramento and a preview of his new comedy routine. 9pm. 518 Valencia St. 863-9977. www.518valencia.org To submit event listings, email jim@ebar.com. Deadline is each Thursday, a week before publication. For more bar and nightlife events, go to On the Tab in our BARtab section, online at www.ebar.com/bartab

Join us before the show for our specialty cocktail the French 75

This ALL-MALE company showcases hilarious twists on the classics with equal parts comedy and technical prowess. Playing both male and female roles, the dancers perform an impressive repertoire of both classical ballet and contemporary dance.

Sunday, February 22, 3 pm $60, $45, $35, $25, students (20 and under) $20

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<< Film

24 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 15-21, 2015

Greed, violence & salvation by David Lamble

uman Capital It may seem far-fetched that a first-rate Italian film has been crafted from a Connecticut-based novel about greedy American real-estate moguls, but that’s exactly what director Paolo Virzi has given us. As to what grabbed him about Stephen Amidon’s novel, filmmaker Virzi, whom Bay Area filmgoers may recall from his adolescent-driven 2003 confection Caterina in the Big City, cites “characters and a story that seem emblematic of our times, even in Italy.” Human Capital opens on a snowy night with attempts to evade responsibility for the accidental death of a cyclist. Soon we are witness to the high-rolling lives, reckless money-laundering and stock-market crimes of powerful, ruthless traders. We see wives and college-bound kids have their futures jeopardized by a speculation-fueled merry-goround. Virzi overcomes the perils of trying to tell his story in the belly of a more emotionally incendiary culture than may be found in American suburbia. In some ways he grafts the social milieu of The Ice Storm onto behavior we are more accustomed to seeing in the early-60s Rome of Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita. The filmmakers also owe a debt to such emotionally opaque 60s moral thrillers as the Joseph Losey-directed, Harold Pinter-written Accident. A Most Violent Year In his third directed feature, J.C. Chandor (Margin Call, All is Lost) sets us down in the chaotic New York City of 1981. It’s only a few years past the city’s financial meltdown, with many residents still smarting from Pres. Ford’s refusal to bail out NYC. As the tabloid New York Daily News put it tartly in a banner front-page headline, “Ford to NYC: ‘Drop Dead!’”

Courtesy of Film Movement

Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi and Fabrizio Gifuni in director Paolo Virzi’s Human Capital.

A Most Violent Year centers on Abel and Anna Morales, a married couple of tough cookies who set out to earn their piece of the rock through their investment in a small but ambitious fuel-oil company. Like the Gotham crime-family-centered works of David Chase (The Sopranos) or Sydney Lumet (Serpico), grievous moral lapses eventually come off as mere social gaffes in the scheme of things. At one point, Jessica Chastain’s Anna needs to break up her kid’s birthday party because the appearance of cops searching through hubby Abel’s business records might create a poor impression with her kid’s friends and their parents. Most Violent Year’s authentic feel, sharp writing, and top-notch cast

make it an easy Oscar-derby frontrunner. In a bliss inducing moment, Chastain’s crime moll has an amusing chat with a black cop deftly portrayed by British character actor David Oyelowo, who will likely be in Oscar’s spotlight for his turn as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the moving civil rights drama Selma. Also splendid are veteran comic actor/ writer Albert Brooks as Abel’s attorney, and Sopranos vet Jerry Adler as a rabbi willing to lend to mobsters in financial straits. Oscar Isaac, the testy early-60s Village folksinger in Inside Llewyn Davis, here reveals a tough core as a struggling “businessman” combining immigrant grit with a page or two snatched from the Mafia playbook. It’s a tough juggling act that

Isaac aces, particularly in an early scene where he instructs baby-faced route salesmen in the fine art of impressing on customers the need to pick the more expensive heating-oil option. Isaac and company provide us with a sublime addition to the cinema of “down these dark streets.” Selma Fifty years later, the bloody events depicted in director Ava DuVernay’s searing drama about the 1965 Voting Rights Act can still evoke verbal fireworks from parties who

feel slighted if their hero doesn’t get the lion’s share of the credit for ending human bondage in America. The first thing DuVernay makes clear is that the right to vote was a precious, pivotal freedom over which much blood would be spilled. From the Klan-instigated murder of young black schoolgirls, a brutal explosion that sets the stage for worse to come, we watch a dedicated young Alabama minister, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (David Oyelowo), attempt to inspire a ragtag, mostly black army of students, working-class types, and a small, growing group of white ministers and nonviolent activists from the North. The film makes clear that everything that was supposed to have been settled by the Civil War and Reconstruction – namely, the soul of American democracy – was still very much up for grabs due to the determined resistance of a cadre of vicious white bigots. It’s also clear that when filmmakers look to dramatize unsavory chapters of our history, one of the key ingredients is a first-rate, largely British cast, here represented by Tom Wilkinson as President Lyndon B. Johnson; Carmen Ejogo as Coretta Scott King; Tim Roth as Alabama Gov. George Wallace, standing in the schoolhouse door for segregation; Andre Holland as civil rights leader and future Atlanta mayor Andrew Young; and Coleman Domingo as the Rev. Ralph Abernathy of Dr. King’s home-base institution, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.t

Hipster lesbian romance

Scene from Iranian-American director Desiree Akhavan’s Appropriate Behavior.

by David Lamble

ne of the new year’s hippest comedies, Appropriate Behavior is an achingly wise, poignant account of life in Brooklyn’s lesbian fast lanes from Iranian-American director Desiree Akhavan. Her wise-ass heroine Shirin, played with aplomb by Desiree herself, kicks off with a messy breakup – her ex cuts up her underwear as an exclamation point to their final fight. Shirin’s not out to her family, her day job involves teaching filmmaking to six-year-olds, and worst of all, she just can’t get her mind off her ex. Akhavan punctuates her story with flashbacks like that long-ago New Year’s Eve when Shirin first met her honey, Maxine (a droll Rebecca Henderson, whose selfpossession is underscored by largeframe eyeglasses), on the steps of a Park Slope brownstone. It’s a couple minutes shy of Midnight, and Shirin’s wearing a party hat, taking sips from a water bottle when her future girlfriend plops down on the stoop beside her. “Want a cigarette?” “I don’t smoke.” “Yeah, me neither.”

“What are you doing out here?” “Social anxiety, what about you?” “More or less the same.” “It’s nice to meet you. I love dykes.” “You know that that word is incredibly offensive!” “I’m bisexual, so it’s okay.” Like Lena Dunham before her, Akhavan uses today’s hip sensibility, the kind that produces slogans like, “It’s not TV, it’s HBO!,” to both reinforce and undermine classic tribal markers: straight, lesbian, gay, bi, Brooklyn, Left Coast. With a sharp eye for the pratfalls of coming out in a conservative ethnic culture, Akhavan offers a queer version of mumblecore classics like Andrew Bujalski’s Funny Ha Ha, or such queer-boy gems as Stephen McCauley’s funny first novel The Object of My Affection before it was butchered for the big screen. With the kind of comedy DNA Dunham revealed in her debut feature Tiny Furniture or her hip HBO series Girls, Appropriate Behavior offers Akhavan the chance to see if hipster humor lightning can strike twice. t Opens Friday at the Roxie Theater.

Books>>

January 15-21, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 25

Pioneer’s epistles by Brian Bromberger

Gay Is Good: The Life and Letters of Gay Rights Pioneer Franklin Kameny, edited by Michael G. Long (Syracuse Univ. Press, $36.95) n 2009, Yale Law professor William Eskridge Jr. said, “Frank Kameny was the Rosa Parks and the Martin Luther King and the Thurgood Marshall of the gay rights movement.” After reading Michael Long’s edited biography of Franklin Kameny, one would be hard put to disagree with Eskridge’s estimation. I confess that I was only dimly aware of Franklin Kameny before I encountered this book in early December. But Long, an associate professor of religious studies and peace and conflict studies at Elizabethtown College, has brought back to life (Kameny died Oct. 11, 2010 at 86) a decisive force in the early gay civil rights movement who was in danger of being forgotten. Kameny was a behind-the-scenes player and a prickly collaborator by nature. While he was a voluminous letter-writer, he never authored any books. The book collects about 150 letters from 1958-75, a critical period in Kameny’s life “during which he evolved from a victim of the law to a vocal opponent of the

law to the voice of the law itself.” Long places these letters in context, giving historical and biographical details about the subjects and events involved, providing a shorthand primer of early LGBT history. Long also points out that, despite Kameny’s importance, the early gay rights movement was a collective effort, and “no single person transformed the homophile movement or changed US culture.” Born in Manhattan in 1925, Kameny served in the military at the Battle of the Bulge in Germany during WWII, and later received his doctorate in astronomy from Harvard. Hired as an astronomer by the Army Map Service in 1957, he was fired five months later after the government found out about a previous morals arrest for cruising in Lafayette Park, across from the White House. At the time, “sexual perversion” was cause for dismissal from government employment, and Kameny would spend the next four years legally appealing his case through the federal courts. In 1961, the Supreme Court declined to hear his case, so while he lost, his was the first civil rights claim based on sexual orientation ever argued. He lived long enough to receive a written apology in 2009 for the way the government had treated him from

True grit by Jim Piechota

Tender by D. Clifford Hill; Charnel Ground Publishing, $12.95, paper; $2.99, e-book o often we hear about the gunplay, drug-dealing, crime, and perpetual homeless problem rustling the filthy feathers of San Francisco’s Tenderloin district. But what are the thoughts of those actually living there? These streets have a reputation for grime and grunge. Crime thrives, while on the flipside of Market Street, Twitter offices and SoMa start-ups perch high above, staring down like mean girls on a good day. It’s this underside of San Francisco life which powers much of author D. Clifford Hill’s searingly authentic debut memoir, Tender. Rich and raw with poetic prose, Hill, 49, guides us through a swirl of emotional trauma from losing his friend Maynard, the stalking of a coworker, psychotherapy sessions, and the daily struggle of living in a cluttered studio apartment. His kitchen is stocked with gadgetry gifted from friends, that kind of “shit I will never use but hold onto out of some sort of sick obligation like they are coming tomorrow to make sure I still have them.” Yet his kitchen is also where Hill hovers in the shadows and watches “the perfect V” of his young male neighbor as he smokes cigarettes out of a window. In this memoir, there is desperation and desolation, but there is also stark beauty. At its core is Darnell, a troubled, bipolar black man the author meets on the Muni subway who follows him home for a roll in the hay, then returns for more. Their interaction blooms into a turbulent relationship. Hill is enraptured with Darnell even after he is incarcerated. Yet Darnell’s sexual attention and unreliable company only mask larger issues of loneliness and the author’s hunger for unconditional love and honest companionship. Hill’s street smarts are obvious; he can peg an “addict, a thief, or a hustler” without a second glance, yet he also looks at himself with the same unflinching gaze, as when analyzing his reflection in a window “looking 60 when I am only 49,” a result

of two decades surviving with HIV. For all of their sadness, Hill’s experiences are leavened by the bracing, slam-poetry delivery of his writing style. Life in a Tenderloin apartment has an undeniable effect: “I am just a drunken, depressed, jaded old queen who sits in my rent-controlled apartment high on the edge of the Tenderloin giving head to a beer bottle.” The mean streets of his neighborhood are illustrated with cinematic accuracy: “The shadows of Hyde host the hustle of dealers, Bic lighters flash at the ends of crack pipes, laughter rises from a doorway we pass, huddles of the lost curl into themselves on laid-out cardboard, milk crates are stools, dice are thrown, transistor radios scratch, neon beer signs are bright and colorful over their heads through the night.” Hill peers around the murky corners of the Tenderloin and describes what he sees, hears, and feels in each moment. His sadness and yearnings are palpable, yet it’s obvious the author is a true survivor, not willing to embrace despair and relinquish all control. “The tears are there, but my tightened jaw holds them in.” This is immensely personal material; Hill lays bare the intimate essence of his humanity. His basic needs are simple yet elusive: “All I want is to pack my man’s lunch in the morning and hear about his day at the end of mine.” With unfettered honesty and graphic delivery, Hill’s memoir commands attention.t

John Berry, director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), stating, “With the fervent passion of a true patriot, you did not resign yourself to your fate or quietly endure this wrong. With courage and strength, you fought back.” Berry read the whole letter aloud at a special ceremony where Kameny also received a special OPM merit award. While the audience gave him a standing ovation, Kameny shouted, “Apology accepted!” As big a milestone as shattering the US Civil Service Commission’s policy against hiring homosexuals for federal employment and winning gays and lesbians the right to security clearances, this only scratches the surface of Kameny’s other accomplishments: co-founder of the Washington, D.C. chapter of the Mattachine Society; picketing outside the White House for gay rights in 1965; inventing the Gay Is Good slogan a year before Stonewall; working to remove homosexuality as a mental disorder from the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM classification in 1973; and in 1971, becoming the first openly gay candidate to run for Congress as D.C.’s delegate. This is not to mention counseling countless homosexuals suffering state-sanctioned discrimination. Gay is Good is not a full-length, indepth biography of Kameny; rather, it allows Franklin to tell his story in his own voice, one that Long describes as loud, sometimes shrill, infuriating, inimitable, but always persistent. Kameny wrote to almost every important person of his time – Richard Nixon, Ann Landers, Johnny Carson – and much of the fun of the book is reading Kameny’s bitchy barbs. For example, about homophobe Anita Bryant: “You are no different from the Ku Klux Klan, the Nazis, or any other hate group. Gay is Good; Gay is Godly. Anita Bryant is neither. Gay is Christian; Gay is American. Anita Bryant is neither.” His personal phi-

losophy was conveyed in a letter to Dick Leitsch, an early militant gay rights activist: “We must encourage our own people to hold up their heads, look the world in the eye and say, ‘Gay is Good’ without any reservations, and face the world with solidarity and self-confidence.” One could say Kameny’s principal contribution was as educator dedicated to correcting false stereotypes, and to presenting the truth that most homosexuals are normal, well-adjusted, decent citizens. Kameny’s work made it safer for many

gay men and women to come out. He helped eradicate so many distortions of what it meant to be attracted to the same sex, which then gave him ammunition to protest unjust laws and unequal treatment. Long succeeds in restoring Kameny’s vital voice during today’s ecstatic period when a 50-year struggle for equal rights is finally bearing so much fruit. Based on the compelling testimony Long uncovers, a convincing case could be made that Kameny’s name should be uttered in the same breath as Harvey Milk’s.t

Arnold Newman Portraits Over 200 photographs of artists, celebrities, and influential figures of the twentieth century. FINAL WEEKS!

On view through Feb 1, 2015. SPECIAL RELATED EVENTS

Jan 16

Poet Kevin Killian on Marilyn Monroe and Carl Sandburg

Jan 30

Artist Lisa Blatt on Robert Oppenheimer and Otto Frank

Plan your visit at thecjm.org.

Arnold Newman: Masterclass was organized by the Foundation for the Exhibition of Photography (FEP), Minneapolis, and the Harry Ransom Center, Austin. Patron Sponsorship for The CJM’s presentation is provided by Baird and Joyce Linker. Supporting sponsorship is provided by Naomi and Jeffrey Caspe, Nellie and Max Levchin, Rosanne and Al Levitt, and Howard and Barbara Wollner. Participating sponsorship is provided by Paul Sack. Additional generous support is provided by Sheila Sosnow and Richard Nagler. Major support for The Contemporary Jewish Museum’s exhibitions and Jewish Peoplehood Programs comes from the Koret Foundation. Image: Arnold Newman, Henry Miller, writer, Los Angeles, California, 1976. Gelatin silver print © 1976, 16 ¾ x 14 ¾ in. Arnold Newman/Getty Images.

<< TV

26 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 15-21, 2015

State of the terrorized union by Victoria A.Brownworth

lee is back. Looking is back. Shameless is back. Gotham is back. The Good Wife is back. House of Lies is back. These are some of the best shows on TV, so: Watch. Empire is new and fabulous. So is Agent Carter. Watch. But there are other things you need to watch as well, things that have none of the froth or drama tempered with humor of those shows. There’s a lot of new TV this month. There’s also a lot of TV news intersecting with those new shows. We want you to keep a close eye on how many terrorism-conspiracygovernment operatives-CIA-FBIstyle programs are on right now, because we think that trend means something provocative. TV sets a tone, and there is a tone being set now that is subliminal and not a little dangerous. The locus on terrorism and government spying in a significant number of major series speaks to where we are in the so-called “war on terror.” We were watching the debut episode of the new season of CBS’ Madam Secretary, along with the winter finale of NBC’s State of Affairs, and the overarching message was clear: there are layer upon layer of secrets within the

U.S. government, and they can catch you up at any moment and whisk you off. Even the Secretary of State in Madam Secretary is not aware that her husband has been tapped for a covert job for the CIA. And on State of Affairs, the President has been kept out of the loop by rogue CIA operatives for some time. and now a senator is attempting a veritable coup against her. ABC’s Agent Carter is set in 1946, but has a similar construct: layers and layers of secrets, with the “need to know” barrier creating artificial hierarchies within spy-dom. This spate of new programming is intriguing also for what it posits from the outset: Torture, for example, is a given. So is killing. The bar is set so that extremes of violence don’t even shock us because from the opening episodes we are shown that all of it is considered acceptable. When Fox’s long-running series 24 debuted less than two months after 9/11, the nation was in a bloodthirsty mood. But even 24 inched the bar ahead incrementally each week. The very concept of the 24-hour clock on each episode added a complexity to the scenarios. Yet 24 was considered the torture show, the show that Dick Cheney watched with glee, and that taught our military how to hurt people with impunity.

These new shows, set 15 years into the “war on terror,” presume we are acclimated to extremes of violence, that we know (thanks to Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden) our own government and those of our allies torture people. These shows presume that we know, as was said by the CIA director to the U.S. Attorney in an episode of Scandal where one of the characters was being tortured in the basement of the Pentagon, “This is America.” So it’s in the context of this that we view what happened in France on Jan. 7 & 9, the attacks on the Charlie Hebdo magazine and the Hyper Cachet kosher supermarket in Paris. How many TV shows have we seen with the “enemy” surrounded? We just saw an episode of CSI last weekend in which the concept of “the greater good” used a series of innocents as bait for a killer. Is that our collective mindset now? The lines between “art” and “life” are increasingly blurred, and we see that reflected in both TV dramatic series and the national news on TV. While the former may be worrisome because of that tone being set, the latter should be absolutely terrifying. The brutality of the attack on France’s satiric Charlie Hebdo was grotesque. The subsequent assault on the kosher supermarket in a mostly Jewish Paris neighborhood was an unpleasant echo of France’s anti-Semitic past. But what concerns us is TV news reportage on the Paris attacks brought American Islamophobia into the spotlight yet again. As the endless “war on terror” continues, now in its 15th year with no end in sight, the tone of TV news remains disturbingly similar and increasingly confusing. TV reporting uses the words “terrorist” and “jihadist” with an almost gleeful abandon. But as we embed these terms into the national discourse via TV, we gradually shift the onus of “terrorism” onto one group: Muslims. Every terrorist on TV has an indefinable accent. Every terrorist has darker skin, dark hair, a “look.” We don’t need to know where these men are from, we know, because it’s being embedded in our consciousness with each successive TV newscast or TV show. We have never before seen the kind of extreme violence depicted in torture scenes on Scandal, State of Affairs, Madam Secretary and Blacklist. The violence is stomachchurning. Scenes of water-boarding on Scandal and SOA were so hyper-realistic, we found them very hard to watch. And those being tortured? They have that look. A profile. We know who we are supposed to think they are, whether that is named or not.

Legacy lost

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Phylicia Rashad, the former Mrs. Huxtable on the long-running Cosby Show, spoke out on the controversy surrounding rape allegations from nearly 30 women. The allegations have dogged Cosby for years, but reached a crescendo in the past two months when a half-dozen new women came forward. Among those women were black supermodel Beverly Johnson and African American actress Michelle Hurd. But Rashad doesn’t want to hear them or the other women. “Forget these women,” Rashad told Roger Friedman of Showbiz411. “What you’re seeing is the destruction of a legacy. And I think it’s orchestrated. I don’t know why or who’s doing it, but it’s the legacy, and it’s a legacy that is so important to the culture. Someone is determined to keep Bill Cosby off TV. And it’s worked. All his contracts have been cancelled. And now you’re seeing it being destroyed. Why? This show represented America to the outside world.

TV icon Bill Cosby: a level of arrogance.

This was the American family.” Apparently, as in many American families, there were secrets. Rashad’s comments went viral, prompting her to attempt to redirect them in an interview with ABC’s Lindsay Davis for World News Tonight. The segment was reprised on Nightline. Rashad had likely not expected a tidal wave of African Americans creating a Twitter hashtag, #ByePhylicia, pivoting off her famous Huxtable lines. Comedian Chris Rock, who has appeared on numerous talk shows in the past few weeks discussing the Cosby scandal, tweeted this: “Dear Phylicia Rashad: I respect you, but I will not allow you to perpetuate rape culture for your TV husband. #ByePhylicia.” Cosby’s recent contract for a Netflix special, as well as for a new NBC show, have been canceled. Cosby was the spokesperson and voice of our undergrad university for decades, until he resigned last month due the controversy. He has been a philanthropist and he has made a lot of people laugh for, well, ever. We can’t remember a time when we didn’t see him on TV. But we also can’t remember a time when famous men haven’t been given a pass when it comes to rape. That’s the real issue in the Cosby story. The hardest thing for straight America to realize is that straight men rape. One of the reasons NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has sustained over nearly 20 seasons is that there isn’t a single person in America who doesn’t know someone who has been raped. So when Rashad, a noted actress from TV, film and stage, calls up a conspiracy, she’s just supporting a TV image, she’s not supporting real women. There’s a scandal here. The women accusing Cosby are white, black and Latina. Some have settled out of court with Cosby. All have risked condemnation because Cosby is a national icon; he was the first black man on TV, in a major role on I, Spy; and The Cosby Show did for blacks what Will & Grace did for gays, it de-marginalized. No one wants to see that legacy destroyed. But what Rashad and the increasingly small group of Cosby supporters must understand is that the legacy of the show and Bill Cosby the man, not the Best Dad on TV character, are separate. No one can take away what that show did to alter perceptions of white America about black America. But that doesn’t mean Cosby gets a pass at rape. Cosby actually joked about the rape allegations at a performance on Jan. 8, which is a level of arrogance that’s truly insupportable. Much as we support free speech, especially in the wake of the French killings, we would like to see the new TLC program My Husband’s Not Gay permanently silenced. We thought 2015 might be the year we would stop hearing reparative therapy stories. We particularly thought after the much publicized suicide of trans teen Leelah Alcorn; the less well-known suicides of two young

trans men, Andi Woodhouse and Jay Ralko; and the even less well-known suicide of lesbian teen Lizzie Lowe, there would be an outcry over this show. Instead we have what seems like a promo ad for reparative therapy. My Husband’s Not Gay (yeah, he is!) has four gay men parading their wives and explaining how they just had to have a normal life like their parents had, so they repressed their gayness, and now they are sort-ofnot-gay. GLAAD actually got a change.org petition (useless, but a statement) with 80,000 signatures demanding that TLC drop the show because of how dangerous it is. According to the AP, “Responding to GLAAD, the network says it will tell compelling stories about different ways of life, and the four men on the hour-long show speak only for themselves.” Some lives mean so little. What a life is worth is a subtext of Fox’s stunning new drama Empire, which debuted Jan. 7. Having Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson back on the small screen is a thrill. Having out gay black director Lee Daniels at the helm is another thrill. Empire is like a darker, hip hop Nashville, with some King Lear tossed in. And it’s great. Some of the most compelling scenes in the season-opener were of the conflicts Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard), a music industry kingpin, is having with his son Jamal (Jussie Smollett). Jamal would be perfect to take over the reins of Lucious’ empire, but he’s gay and Lucious can’t cope. We see a flashback to the young Jamal playing dress-up in his mother’s clothes. Lucious’ rage takes over: he shoves his son into the trash. His feelings have never changed since. But Jamal’s mother, Cookie (Taraji P. Henson), loves and accepts Jamal, and wants him to take the reins of the business. Empire is the highest-rated show to debut on Fox in three years, and ties ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder as the highest-rated new show premiere in the 2014-15 season. On HTGAWM, Viola Davis won Favorite Actress in a New TV Series for her role as Annalise Keating on ABC’s hit from gay creator Peter Nowalk. Davis said in her acceptance speech, “Thank you, Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers, and Peter Nowalk for thinking of a leading lady who looks like my classic beauty. I’m so happy that people have accepted me in this role at this stage in my career.” The “classic beauty” line and reference to her age (49) was a subtle slap at New York Times TV critic Allessandra Stanley, who wrote that Davis was not a classic beauty. Stanley’s piece so infuriated readers that the Times’ Public Editor was forced to give Stanley a dressing-down. She’s still at the paper, however, despite myriad calls for her firing. Stanley wrote that HTGAWM executive producer Rhimes ignored “the narrow beauty standards some African-American women are held See page 27 >>

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Music>>

January 15-21, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 27

SFO, 2015-16

From page 21

ing opera is it. After highly praised performances in last season’s La Boheme and Handel’s Partenope, former San Francisco Opera Center Adler Fellows soprano Nadine Sierra and bass baritone Philippe Sly are Pamina and Papageno. Tenor Paul Appleby makes his SFO debut as Tamino, along with American conductor Lawrence Foster. Coloratura soprano Albina Shagimuratova returns to repeat her dazzling portrayal of The Queen of the Night. David Gockley is also making good on his life-long loyalty to American composers and commissioned works with a double bill called The Fall of the House of Usher (Dec. 8-13). For the first time in the U.S., the pairing, comprised of Gordon Getty’s Usher House and Claude Debussy’s La Chute de la Maison Usher (both inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s short story), will feature baritone Brian Mulligan in the role

Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd is coming to San Francisco Opera.

of Roderick Usher in both interpretations. Director David Pountney’s production, designed by Vicki Mortimer with video projections filmed by David Haneke, also marks the

American professional premiere of Robert Orledge’s reconstruction of Debussy’s unfinished score. David McVicar’s production of Richard Wagner’s Die Meistersinger

Galleries

From page 17

It’s My Job to Be a Girl, an exhibition of paintings and drawings by Zak Smith, and photos, watercolors and oil paintings by William T. Vollmann, may have the catchiest title of the year. Vollmann, a macho war correspondent and prolific novelist, initially began dressing up as a woman to enhance his understanding of the psychology of his female characters, though these “performances” went beyond mere research and led to his construction of a chubby alter ego he christened Dolores, portrayed here in various guises and mediums. (The Book of Dolores, a collection of paintings and photographs of her, was published last year.) Identifying with the feminine and the erotic, the outcast and disdained, his visual art, shown for the first time in a gallery show, features self-portraits of the artist exploring various aspects of femininity and the murky terrain of gender. He also has photographed and painted compassionate images of the prostitutes he encountered in combat zones and brothels while working on his journalism and fiction projects. Zak Smith, known for portraits of his friends in the porn industry, is also partial to sex workers as subjects in his intricate, cartoonish, comic book-styled paintings and small-scale, detail-packed ink-on-paper artworks such as the 193-piece series Drawings Made from Around the Time I Became a Porn Star. (Steven Wolf Fine Arts, Jan. 24-Mar. 7) Sly humor coupled with incongruous, discomfiting subject matter is a through-line in the work of Jennie Ottinger. That goes for her new show Letters to the Predator at Johansson Projects, where the San Francisco artist has devised an amoral animal kingdom a long way from Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too. In an array of oil paintings, humans and their fellow creatures, all carnality and instinct, perform unwholesome scenarios that play out in stadiums and public arenas like the not-so-child-friendly carnival/circus scenes “Snake Wrestler,” where a naked fellow stage-manages his asps; or “Jump Rope,” which de-

Marie-Noelle Robert, courtesy Theatre du Chatelet

Lavender Tube

From page 26

to,” and “chose a performer who is older, darker-skinned and less classically beautiful” than other actresses in Rhimes’ shows. Rhimes must have been smiling at the Golden Globes, and not just at Davis’ bravado. Rhimes’ longrunning series Grey’s Anatomy won again for Favorite Network TV Drama, and stars Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey each won for Favorite Dramatic TV Actress and Ac-

Courtesy the artist and Johansson Projects

“Lions Attack” by Jennie Ottinger, part of Letters to the Predator at Johansson Projects.

picts a trained bear standing on two legs in the center ring as grotesque spectators leer in the peanut gallery. In “Lions Attack,” a perturbed displaced king of the jungle growls at what appears to be a slave auction hawking naked white and black men in front of a crowd; and in “Orangutans,” a cabal of apes lounges in a cage while humans gape at them, but wait – have the tables turned, with the apes as jailers, and the humans behind bars? It’s hard to tell. “Watching exploitation is predatory,” explains Ottinger, who’s intrigued by social hierarchies and group dynamics. “I wanted to portray people asserting their power and the different things that change the dynamics: nudity and the audience being most interesting to me.” Also in the show: soft sculptures of disfigured toy animals. Thrift-store cast-offs that have been cut-up and collaged, they resemble sinister sock puppets that have gone a few rounds with a bigger dog. (Through Feb. 28) Difficult to look at and impossible to turn away from, Aftermath, San Francisco photographer Kerry Mansfield’s documentation of her two-year journey from her diagnosis of breast cancer in 2005 when she was 31, and subsequent treatment that included chemo and a mastectomy, through her reconstructive surgery, is a tough sell and an important record of human experience. Creating the photographic imagery she searched for but wasn’t available to her at the time, and in-

tent on producing a visual resource for others, she bared her scarred body and wounded soul in a series of nude self-portraits shot against the same sterile tile background. The pictures show her starting out as an apparently healthy woman with long, wavy blond hair and both breasts, and moving through the process that left her bald, a result of the life-saving treatment that seems like slash-and-burn medieval torture. For now, though, it’s the best we’ve got. (SF Camerawork, through Jan. 24) Wondering what to do with those stacks of old New York Times and Artforum magazines crowding you out of your abode? Francesca Pastine has put them to imaginative use, skillfully slicing, dicing and reconstructing them for Totem, her solo show at Eleanor Harwood Gallery. Wielding an X-acto knife, she cut into copies of the magazine, an arts-and-culture bible born in San Francisco, inverting, skewering and appropriating iconography of the art establishment – Damien Hirst and Cindy Sherman are but two unwitting participants in her “unsolicited collaborations” – to form masks, totemic figures and subversive commentary. In an accompanying body of work, Pastine applied silver leaf to the New York Times financial pages, which she then cut, folded and shaped into masks that she photographed, producing an effect suggesting archaeological relics. (Through Feb. 21)t

tor. Other gay wins included Glee’s Chris Colfer, who won Favorite Comedic TV Actor. Out gay actor Matt Bomer won Favorite Cable TV Actor, and lesbian fave Pretty Little Liars won Favorite Cable TV Drama. Angie Harmon won Favorite Cable TV Actress for her role as the encoded lesbian in Rizzoli & Isles. Orange Is the New Black won Favorite TV Dramedy. Ellen DeGeneres won for Favorite Daytime TV Host for the 15th straight year, a record winning streak, making her the most popular lesbian in America.

Finally, the return of Glee Jan. 9 on Fox was much more than we could have hoped. This show has seen better days, but for its final season everyone comes home to McKinley High, reminding us of all the times we spent there with all our faves. It is somehow a comforting moment. And the worst torture you’ll see is a flashback of someone getting a slurpy in the face, so no worries about being traumatized. So for the fave gays and the faux gays, the terrorism and the torture, you really must stay tuned.t

von Nürnberg will open in November, and I am looking forward to a new visit (last time was 2001) with the monumental comedy (his only one) by a composer hardly known for his drollery. We love the music and the warm-hearted humanity of the score, even if we could easily live without the queasy nationalism of the third act. It is always a pleasure to wallow in the sheer beauty of Wagner’s melodic outpouring honoring the philosophy of a longgone era, and the remarkable cast includes some local favorites: Brandon Jovanovich, mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, and bass-baritone Greer Grimsley returning to SFO in his role debut as Hans Sachs. Perhaps the biggest news of Gockley’s final run in San Francisco is the SFO premiere of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd. There will be blood on the venerable boards of the War Memorial Opera House in September, and maybe a few stunned patrons in the orchestra seats and boxes, but this promises

to be a slam-bang shocker that will keep us talking about David Gockley for years to come. The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is performed with Sondheim’s original score for the lyric stage (orchestration by Jonathan Tunick), with some wonderful stars of the operatic world making their role debuts. Sexy Canadian bass-baritone Gerald Finley (a great Don Giovanni) and American mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe take the parts of Sweeney and the crazily quick-witted meat-pie-shop proprietor Mrs. Lovett for the first time. Conducted by San Francisco Opera Principal Guest Conductor Patrick Summers, the cast also includes Heidi Stober as Johanna, Elliot Madore as Anthony, Matthew Grills as Tobias, and Wayne Tigges as the despicable Judge Turpin. The production is directed by Lee Blakeley and designed by Tanya McCal. Wow, that’s only the plans for the fall! We will talk about Gockley’s plans for the summer as the time draws closer.t

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Imperial Court: part 2

Looking premiere

On the Tab

NIGHTLIFE DINING

SPIRITS

SOCIETY

ROMANCE

LEATHER

PERSONALS Vol. 45 • No. 03 • January 15-21, 2015

Jim Norrena

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w e h tt a M Matthew Martin dances as Victoria Grant in “Le Jazz Hot” from Victor/Victoria, at a film screening night that honored actress Leslie Ann Warren.

Martin

The down-to-earth diva by Jim Provenzano

e’s performed as more iconic female film actresses than the most devoted pop culture fan could name, and yet Matthew Martin remains humble about his decades-long performing career. His new cabaret act, Matthew Martin Goes to Hollywood, premieres the new nightclub Oasis on January 18, and promised a colorful array of divas, plus other perSee page 30 >> formers as special celebrity guests.

Friendly faces at the New Club BnB early in the evening.

d n a l Oak p m a v Re Gareth Gooch

Bench and Bar becomes Club B nB by Heather Cassell

ith a fabulous New Year’s Eve event, and several weeks of attendance at the new space, the former Bench and Bar, now named Club BnB, is set to become the largest most popular LGBT See page 31 >> nightclub in the East Bay.

{ THIRD OF THREE SECTIONS }

Besties 2015 The LGBT Best of the Bay

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30 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 15-21, 2015

Matthew Martin

From page 29

other sold-out run of The Golden Girls, the popular drag performances of scripts from the senior ladies’ sitcom. With Heklina, Pollo del Mar and Cookie Dough, Martin returned as Blanche Devereaux, the sultry Southern senior with slutty tendencies. “It’s always fun to work with

With hundreds of performances on stage and screen as Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, even fictional characters Helen Lawson and Mamma Rose among his repertoire, this upcoming Oasis show is a bit of a reunion for the native San Franciscan. “I remember going to the old Oasis with a fake ID, and using the pool,” said Martin, 51, in a phone interview during a break at his day job with a downtown law firm. “To see the landscape of nightlife change, with so many places having gone by the wayside, it’s exciting to kick off a show in a new space,” he said. Oasis has a lengthy history as various other bars, from The Leatherneck to even a sex club. Its initial incarnation as Oasis included an upper outdoor deck and a swimming pool. Martin offered praise for the lighting and stage professionalism at the new Oasis, where he also just opened in Matthew Martin the revival of Shit & Champagne, D’Arcy Drollinger and people you’ve known for years,” Laurie Bushman’s raucously comic said Martin of the shows, which he spoof of exploitation films. As Dixie counted among his favorites. Stampede, Martin’s villain character His current favorite, Shit & plots an evil plan as part of a drug Champagne, is packed with what cartel disguised through a WalMartin calls “low brow potty humart-type chain store. mor, but executed by such excellent “You kick ass and get your ass actors with a sophistication, that it’s kicked for the show,” said Martin, silly but smart.” who only weeks ago finished an-

Martin said he enjoys diving into his role. “Villains are always more fun. You just expunge all of your bile onstage. It’s very therapeutic. That’s why I’m such a lovely person offstage!” The sheer number of previous shows which have featured Martin are so numerous that the performer can’t recall them all. “It’s surreal,” he laughed. Some early shows include Christmas With the Crawfords and Baby Jane? at the Victoria Theatre. But Martin’s first significant performance was with a show business icon, not as one. “I was hired at age 20 as a vacation replacement dancer in a 1983 local production of Sugar Babies,” said Martin. “What a thrill to spend time with Ann Miller and Mickey Rooney.” Martin first performed in drag in 1984 at the Alcazar Theatre in After Dark, which he described as “a wild drag show from Sweden, very sophisticated. I was the American replacement actor. I had done drag at Halloween for years, but that was my first professional engagement.” As one of few drag performers who uses his real name, Martin isn’t concerned with labels. “I consider myself an actor,” he said. “People say, ‘Is Matthew Martin your drag name? Your stage name?’ I always want to be me, and it’s me as Joan or Bette. I’m not married to one character, and hope to even play a wider range of characters. I’m a ham. Call me what you want, but just call me!” A singer and dancer since his high school days at St. Ignatius College Preparatory, and as a theatre major at San Francisco State University, Martin keeps his family ties close, with supportive parents who figured out their son, the youngest of six children, was a little bit special. “My parents [now in their 80s] have always supported me, even taking me to tap dance lessons. It was very Billy Elliot,” said Martin. “They came to see The Golden Girls this year. We introduced them after the bows, and they got a thunderous ovation. They got a roar! One of my cast mates joked, ‘Your parents got a bigger hand than you did!’ I’m very grateful that they’re alive and well.” Despite his worries about the very scatological humor, his parents even came to see Shit & Champagne. “My mom said, ‘I don’t know what you’re so nervous about. It’s so silly.’” Martin’s mother was also a performer in local commercials, and even played Martha in a 1984 San Francisco State production of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? “I thought I got my talent from my Croatian mother’s side,” said

Steven Underhill

Mark Heustis

Steven Underhill

Top: Matthew Martin, with Jane Russell and Jordan L’Moore (as Marilyn Monroe). Bottom: Matthew Martin as Dixie Stampede (with Seton Brown) in the 2014 production of Shit & Champagne.

Martin. “But my dad’s a retired attorney, and lawyers in the courtroom are sort of on stage as well.” Martin recalled a moment when the seed of his drag career was planted. “I must have been ten years old,” he said. “All About Eve was on TV, and I was compelled to get a tape recorder and capture the sophisticated dialogue, half of which I didn’t even understand.” Martin also made collages of images from vintage movie magazines of Judy Garland, Barbara Stanwyck and others actresses. “I realized years later that this art from my childhood became all of the characters I would portray,” he said. “Learning a great old musical theatre song is like learning one I already knew.” While it may not take ESP for a parent to realize their tap-dancing Judy Garland-loving son is gay, Martin never forgets how lucky he is, compared to those who didn’t enjoy such supportive parents. “So often, after a show, a guy will come up in tears and say, ‘I wanted to perform, but they wouldn’t let me.’ I guess being from San Francisco, the ramifications or reasoning that people take on drag names is they don’t want to be associated with their family lives. They assume another identity. But I don’t have to.” Martin also maintains a sense of wonder about his fans. “Audiences remember my performances,” he said. “Someone will say a line to me that I did 20 years ago.” That’s because so many of them are memorable. Along with shows like Baby Jane?, Martin starred as

Steven Underhill

Margo Channing in Eve, a musical version of All About Eve in 1998, which, he said, “really threw the screenplay out the window.” A 2004 faithful stage version of the film script is among his many Bette Davis incarnations. In his Oasis show, he’ll sing one number from the other musical adaptation, Applause. Two other Davis-derived roles are in Billy Clift’s film adaptation of Baby Jane?, a sardonic satire of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, and Hush Up, Sweet Charlotte, which is nearing completion. Both costarred other local drag talents like Katya Smirnoff-Skyy and Heklina, and were filmed at the Victorian home of actor Mike Finn. In an email from Los Angeles where he’s in post-production for Hush Up, Sweet Charlotte, director Clift praised Martin as “completely professional and a delight to work with. He knows his lines and is prepared, and even if he’s not completely prepared, he quickly figures it out. He’s also amazing at continuity, so it’s a delight to edit. I can jump to a closeup shot and he will have done exactly the same thing as he did when we shot the master. Often, I can even use another take’s dialogue and put it on top of another take and it fits perfectly. He also is a supporter of his fellow actors, and makes them feel comfortable. I’ve used him in all of my features so far, and when possible I’ll continue.” Martin compliments his collaborators easily. “Anyone who knows me knows that my forté isn’t hair, makeup or costumes. This is why I See page 31 >>

Gareth Gooch

Left to Right: Matthew Martin as Peggy Lee at The Rrazz Room; Matthew Martin in another Victor/Victoria moment as Norma at the Castro Theatre; Matthew Martin as Blanche in The Golden Girls.

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Club BnB

January 15-21, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 31

in lacey lingerie as women crowded the stage and stuffed dollar bills into their panties and bras. One dancer was a gender-queer cross between burlesque and drag king; nearly naked, and bumping and grinding for the crowd with a femme in a lacy red lingerie outfit. It was my first time at the club’s new location and it turned out that I was there on the burlesque group Seduction Feroce’s night. Usually, the clubs are dominated by men, but Carrillo said the second and fourth Fridays of the month are patronized by women with two different lesbian parties – Bleu Sugar and Lez Menage. The Third Friday of the month Seduction Feroce takes over. Every other night of the club, it’s mostly men, with Club BnB’s popular parties, such as Club Rimshot, and featuring the hottest gay DJs pumping out the Hip Hop and House music on the dance floor. Club 21, which has been in business for 13 years and is owned by Bench and Bar, Inc., remains a Latin club. Soon Bisbee and Carrillo will begin booking live music to appear on the mega club’s new stages, they said. Club-goers’ response has been quite good. “It’s got a bright future,” said Carrillo about the new Club BnB, adding the gay club is open to everyone – LGBT and their friends. Bisbee agreed, adding that Oakland is experiencing a renaissance, and Club BnB and Club 21 are at the forefront of the emerging nightlife – queer and straight. Guests agreed that it was about time Oakland’s nightlife matches its vibrant diverse younger population. “It’s a great party,” said Jeana Pfeifer, who was hanging out with her two other friends – Sara Goodman and Gram Grham – drinking and supporting one of their best

friends who were performing in the burlesque show. The queer 30-something girls who were patrons of the former version of BnB liked the new club and enthusiastically supported it, along with any other queer club around the Bay Area. They bemoaned the loss of the Lexington Club, which will soon close. The women were excited to learn that there were two other monthly lesbian clubs hosted at Club BnB. “If you’re looking for performance and you know some dance, gogos and burlesque stuff, it’s an

produced countless film screening tribute nights to great actresses, has worked with Martin on more than 20 productions, which inspired Martin’s performances as Mamma Rose (Gypsy), Helen Lawson (Valley of the Dolls), and Victoria Grant (Victor/ Victoria). “He’s one of those performers who, once they’re onstage, you know they own it,” said Huestis in a phone interview. Huestis mentioned some highlights, including Martin’s two performances as Helen Lawson in Valley of the Dolls screenings (with guestBarbara Matthew Martin with Katya Smirnoff-Skky interviewees Perkins in 1997 and Patti in Billy Clift’s film Baby Jane? Duke in 2009). Other Castro Theatre Matthew Martin highlights include Martin’s ‘MamFrom page 30 ma Rose’ in a Gypsy Rose Lee tribute night and two other events, and respect these other art forms. I can a disco night with Thelma Houston do my makeup. But I know other at a screening of Can’t Stop the Mupeople can do much better. I’m sic where Martin sang “I Will Surmore of an actor than a drag artist.” vive” as Bette Davis. Asked about the variances in “He’s also done Judy Garland female impersonation from stage Christmas shows with Lorna Luft, a acting to film and a nightclub act, bunch of Bad Seed events, where he Martin said he strives for a balance. played Mrs. Daigle,” recalled Hues“If you get it just right, the auditis. “We did a Carrie White Christence falls on the floor,” he said. “The mas with Piper Laurie, too. The first time I did Bette I was nervous. thing about Matthew; he goes by I didn’t want to make it a caricature, his given name, which takes a lot of waving my arms, repeating, ‘Petah, guts. Whether he’s Ann Miller, Jane Petah.’ I understood her changes Russell or Judy or Katherine, he’s aland how her characters were each ways Matthew.” different. When audiences get what Huestis even rented floor-microyou’re doing, there’s nothing more phones so the audience could hear gratifying. I never want to get too Martin’s tap dancing at the Ann self-serious about it.” Miller tribute night. From film close-ups to big ven“I wanted her to hear me tapues like the Castro Theatre, Marping,” said Martin. “It was her last tin’s acts have wowed audiences. public appearance, so that was a Impresario Mark Huestis, who has thrill. Getting to play the Castro

Theatre, it’s like a temple.” But even the smallest of audiences can enjoy a full serving of Martin. He recalled a Halloween night performance of Eve with Theatre Rhinoceros, which had a mere four people in the audience. “Months later, one of those people told me what fun he had,” said Martin. “The audience isn’t counting heads. They’re not thinking about that. I’ll go on for one person. It’s all a once in a lifetime experience. Never again will the same chemical compounds of people be the same the next night. A throwaway line one night will get a giggle, and the next night the audience is laughing their asses off. You have to trust yourself. Of course it

From page 29

Charles Bisbee, the gay president and CEO of Bench and Bar, Inc., recently took over the lease of the entire building that makes up Club 21 and Club BnB between Broadway and Franklin and 21st and 22nd Streets in the Uptown district of Oakland. He said he hopes to create Northern California’s only gay mega club and the first with its own phone app. Club BnB softly opened November 29, but Valentin Carrillo said that its grand opening will be sometime in February 2015. That is when Bisbee is targeting that the final renovations for the VIP room overlooking the main club will be completed. The VIP room is a much larger space from the previous location and will feature a lot of seating, a private bar along with a red carpet and elevator entrance, said Carrillo as he gave me a sneak peak of the new digs. The clubs are still undergoing transformations, but Club BnB retained touches of its former club on 17th Street. The same will be true once Bisbee begins renovating Club 21 later this year. Once the undisclosed amount for renovations are completed, the mega club –which features a completely upgraded bar, dance floors, elevator, sound system, electrical system, stage and more– will be able to host upwards of 1,144 partiers, said Bisbee. Both clubs also feature daily happy hour 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. six days a week. I was surprised when I walked through the doors of the new Club BnB on a recent Friday night. I was expecting a bunch of sweaty beautiful shirtless men. But instead I was greeted by sexy voluptuous girls dancing on the stage in fanciful costumes, and others prancing around

amazing venue,” said Goodman as her friends enthusiastically agreed. Even straight boys liked the club. “It’s so much more attractive to be in San Francisco because there is so much more nightlife, but there is no good reason that it couldn’t be over here as well,” said Sam Costello, 25, who was there with his friend Zak Thomas, 24. The straight men were out at Club BnB to support Costello’s roommate, who was performing in the burlesque show. Costello, a native of Oakland who now lives in San Francisco, and

Gareth Gooch

Top Left: Bartenders at the new Club BnB. Top Right: A hunky gogo guy at Club 21. Bottom: Cocktail pals at the new Club BnB.

helps to have a big audience. But you give as good as you get. You want to be as great on your closing night as your opening night.” That goes for his most known portrayal of Bette Davis or ‘Margo Channing.’ Asked to explain the popularity of sometimes vicious characters, Martin said that he looks for the humanity in any role. “You want to find something redeeming in the most hateful of characters, like with Baby Jane. Why do people love her so much? Maybe there’s a little Baby Jane in everyone; an utterly ugly pissed-off bitch in all of us.” For his Oasis show, Martin will also share monologues as Kather-

Thomas, who currently lives there, said that there should be more happening in the East Bay. “It’s a great, vibrant young community,” added Costello, pointing out the diverse communities that are engaged and that make up the East Bay. “There should absolutely be more happening.” Thomas agreed, adding, “Oakland has a lot of options too, but you feel like it’s at a point it’s developing to be what San Francisco is right now. So, it’s good to be out tonight and do something that is pretty new for me. It’s been a fun time and a blast.” It’s a new adventure for the club that has been the East Bay’s gay nightspot for more than 35 years. Bisbee, who is the third owner of the Club BnB, believes this will be its fourth and final location after signing a more than 20-year lease with the building’s owner, he said. The club’s offices are in the basement along with Oakland Pride, the only other organization in the building, said Carrillo. There’s plenty of parking in the well-lit parking lot next to the club and the surrounding streets. It’s also only two blocks away from 19th Street BART, making it easy for clubbers from San Francisco who aren’t done partying for the night to catch the after-hours club that goes until 4 a.m. For more information, visit www.bench-and-bar.com or www. club21oakland.com or download the new apps, www.bench-and-bar. com/Club-BNB-APP.html or www. club21oakland.com/Club-21-Oakland-APP.html or call Club BnB at 510-444-2266 or Club 21 at 510268-9425. 2120 Broadway and 2111 Franklin Streets.t Heather Cassell is a travel and entertainment writer for the Bay Area Reporter and other publications. Read more at www.GirlsThatRoam.com

ine Hepburn and Judy Garland, and songs galore, including his understated yet hilarious interpretation of the owlish latter-day Peggy Lee. “She was doing so much by doing so little,” Martin said of his more subtle characterization. “Of course I do it because I love these women with reverence, but I don’t want to lose a sense of humor. And I’m usually very exacting and particular about material. But with this show, it’ll be more of a party.”t Matthew Martin Goes to Hollywood, with the Tom Shaw Trio, includes special guests, table seating and a full bar. $20. Sunday, January 18, 7pm, at Oasis, 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

32 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 15-21, 2015

The Imperial Court

Part 2: The 1970s and early 1980s

by Donna Sachet

1975

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left behind bird affiliated names, when out of a field of seven candidates, the Daisy Empress X Doris took the throne. At her Investiture –when the Empress receives all the symbols of office in an elaborate ceremony– there was a bomb threat and the Sheraton Palace Hotel had to be evacuated; as soon as the all-clear sounded, Investiture resumed. Doris turned heads in 1975 when she rode a live elephant in the Gay Freedom Day Parade, costing her $800 with a trainer from Marine World. Since Emperors and Empresses were still elected independently and at different times of the year, Doris shared most of her reign with the Cable Car Emperor III Bob Cramer, who fittingly founded the Cable Car Awards, honoring men, women, and businesses in the gay and lesbian community for their accomplishments. Sadly, these important awards, which lasted for 20 years, ending with a grand finale program in 1994, are nowhere to be seen on Wikipedia or any other easily accessible on-line historical site. Bob Cramer is also the only San Francisco Monarch to lie in State at the City Hall Rotunda, evidenced by a video in the official archive.

Bay Area Reporter Archive

Daisy Empress X Doris rides an elephant down Polk Street at the 1975 Gay Freedom Day Parade.

acted much older, although they of San Francisco. Perhaps because were close in actual age. When she of her age and/or her proclivity for stepped down, Ginger amazed evleather, demonstrated by her arrival eryone with her elaborate Elizabeat the San Diego Coronation in full than costume, make-up, and draleather with crawlmatic sets borrowed from the San ing slaves on leashes, Francisco Opera. Jane had many runBoth Chuck Demmon, The Triins with the Tavern dent Emperor VIII, A.N., and BobGuild Board and by Pace, the Shamrock Emperor IX, Privy Council, reA.N., stepped down not at a Corosulting in her being nation, but at the Joshua Norton prohibited at the end County Fair, showcasing various of her year to do her vendor booths, games, and chartraditional final walk ity events. Chuck became instantly and number. recognizable for his uniforms sugAfter much discusgestive of Emperor Joshua Norton, sion at the ball, she including a hat with plume. Bobby was granted her final was well known as a bartender at performance and Maud’s, Rickki Streicker’s Lesbian completed it by walkbar; at the time California law proing off the stage and hibited women bartenders, unless out the door of the Hilton ballroom. See page 38 >> This was the infamous Coronation attended by Carol Channing, who famously asked, photo from Coronation 2001 Program “Are Coronations always Cable Car Emperor III Bob Cramer. this exciting?” She went on to crown Char In September of 1975, Michael the Silver Star Empress XIII, Caringi defeated two other candibesting three other candidates to become the Golden Gate dates, and to be declared Carol Emperor IV. In 1976, out of five Channing, the Honorary Emcandidates for Empress, Flame aspress of California. cended to the throne as the Red CarMeanwhile, Hector was dinal Empress XI, and San Francisfollowed by Jim Ostlund the co has been seeing red ever since. In Golden Spike Emperor VI, Afa comical salute to her leather roots, ter Norton, competing against Flame had a stepping down party three other candidates. Jim South of Market, where courtiers was the owner of the Castro wore red firemen helmets among Station bar and known for his flashing street repair signs as they train engine prop, in which “put out the Flame.” he rode, even into Portland’s Her second Emperor, running for Coronation in 1977. the second time against four other In 1978, Bob Ross, succandidates, was Hector Navarro cessful businessman and Caceres, the Gamecock Emperor V. part owner of the Bay Area One of his first proclamations was Reporter, stepped up to comthat the words “After Norton” or pete against two others and “A.N.” be added after the Emperor became the Double Eagle Emtitles and numbers in deference to peror VII. He became known the historic figure Joshua Abraham for his auctions at monthly Norton. charity events, raising money The next year, Hector started an for various organizations, annual pilgrimage to visit the grave generosity which continues of this first Emperor at Woodlawn today through the Bob Ross Cemetery in Colma; Jose Sarria Foundation. He shared much was a special guest at that first pilof his reign with the Spice grimage, a tradition that continues Empress XIV Ginger, who to this day, bright and early on the won in 1979 against two commorning after our annual Impepetitors who went on to win rial Coronation (sunglasses encourthe title in later years. aged). from Imperial Court of San Francisco Coronation program Much later, Jose Sarria In 1977, Jane Doe became the gave Ginger the dubious title Silver Rose Empress XII, to this Red Cardinal Empress XI Flame. of Grandma, thinking she day, the youngest elected Empress

Read more online at www.ebar.com

January 15-21, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 33

La Drag Haute by Donna Sachet

n our 2014 year-end column, we were remiss in recognizing businesses outside of our usual strolling distance, as we were gently reminded by several readers. Indeed, don’t ever forget that there are gay bars in neighborhoods other than the Castro. For instance, Aunt Charlie’s in the Tenderloin, 133 Turk Street, has been welcoming our LGBT community for decades, offering drag shows, patron birthday parties, DJ nights, reasonably priced cocktails, and fundraisers nearly every night of the week. Every second and fourth Wednesday at 9:30PM, enjoy Dream Queens Revue, a dazzling show led by Collette LeGrande-Ashton with hostess Ruby Slippers and performers Sophilya Leggz, Sheena Leggz, Joie de Vivre, the current Miss Gay San Francisco Kipper Snacks, and that handsome devil Bobby Ashton. (Collette was featured in James Hosking’s 2014 documentary Beautiful by Night.) Every Friday and Saturday at 10PM, the Hot Boxxx Girls pack them in with emcee Gina LaDivina, Aurora Styles, Ginger Snap, Evita Minx, Jackie O Nasty, and more. This show was started by and starred the late Vicki Marlane who has the street in front of the bar officially named after her. Both shows offer up close and personal drag performances with glittering costumes, sparkling make-up, and spectacular wigs, designed to amaze even the most jaded drag aficionado. And while we’re talking about drag, on the third Thursday of every month, indulge in the decadent set-

ting and premium service of Infusion Lounge, 124 Ellis, in downtown San Francisco, where Faux Girls continues its 14-year history with creator/producer Victoria Secret, director/hostess Alexandria, and performers Chanel, Mini Minerva, Kipper, Ruby LeBrowne, and Lulu Ramirez. Showtime is 8PM for this classy, elaborate show and be sure to have dinner beforehand, selected from their extensive Pan Asian menu. Every organization has its own internal calendar, containing dates of key events and periods of extraordinary activity. Well, the Imperial Court of San Francisco began its busiest time of the year last Saturday, as the review board approved two official candidates for Empress, Deana Cartier and Khmera Rouge, and one official candidate for Emperor, Kevin Lisle. What may seem to outsiders as a grueling process is really designed to make sure that each applicant knows what they are getting into and for

Gareth Gooch

D’Arcy Drollinger, partner Geoff Benjamin and Heklina on Oasis’ opening night

The SF Imperial Court’s board review on Sunday with (standing, left to right) Donna Sachet, Deena Cartier, Kevin Lisle, Khmera Rouge (all candidates), Jacques Michaels, Frankie Fernandez, (seated, left to right) David Fleming, John Weber, Keri Hanna, Steven Rowell (board members).

the board to become more familiar with those running. The official announcement was made in three locations: on the corner of 18th and Castro for all to hear, at Twin Peaks Tavern (Mama Jose Sarria’s favorite watering hole), and at Beaux bar on Market Street, where the Reigning Emperor JP Soto and Reigning Empress Misty Blue were hosting their final monthly Shenanigans event. All year long these monthly fundraisers and many others have yielded a hefty sum to be given to selected charities on the night of their step-down, Imperial Coronation, Saturday, February 14, at the Design Center, 101 Henry Adams. Now the four-week campaign begins, with each candidate hosting parties, meeting potential voters, and spreading their message throughout town. One of their first official events is the Imperial Gala Presentation of Candidates, this Sunday, January 18, 4-7PM, at Balençoire, 2565 Mission Street, when each will offer a musical number reflective of their style and sup-

port group for the approval of those gathered. Additional entertainment will be provided by the Reigning Emperor and Empress, Monarchs celebrating certain anniversaries, and other Imperial title-holders. This is always a fun night, and Balençoire provides a welcoming home base. Voting is on Saturday, February 7, 10AM-6PM; complete details as we get closer to that date. Get to know your candidates and remember this is a public vote, representing a process begun nearly 50 years ago and still garnering excitement today. Watch this column for a full schedule of Imperial events, as well as the five-week series of columns detailing the unprecedented history of this remarkable organization. Also on Saturday was the private Twelfth Night event of Krewe de Kinque, when they kicked off Mardi Gras season. Although this was a member-only event, they were finalizing their theme, beneficiary, venue, and date for Bal Masque

2015. Watch this column for announcements of Mardi Gras style events right here in San Francisco, the “other” Big Easy! Tomorrow, Friday, January 16, slip into your sexiest onesie and raise money from 9PM-2AM for the AIDS Memorial Grove at Lookout! Suzan Revah hosts, Georg Lester photographs, DJ Philip Grasso spins, and Sister Phyllis With Litaday and this columnist judge the contest for best onesie at midnight. Saturday, Jan. 17, Heklina debuts her new weekly party Mother at her brand new club Oasis, 298 11th Street, with performers Glamamore, Putanesca, Holy McGrail, Mahlae Balenciaga, D’Arcy Drollinger, Fauxnique, Matthew Martin, and more. Showtime is 10PM. If you loved Trannyshack, you’re going to love Mother. How often does a new club open in San Francisco and how often owned and operated by some of our own? Let’s support Oasis!t

<< On the Tab

34 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 15-21, 2015

Bf eON THE15T–2A 2 January

★

Pan Dulce @ The Cafe

Shit & Champagne @ Oasis

Amazingly hot Papi gogo guys, cheap drinks and fun DJed dance music. Free before 10pm. $5 til 2am. 2369 Market St. www.clubpapi.com www.cafesf.com

D'Arcy Drollinger's hilarious nightclub hit, a whitesploitation comedy with action-packed models fighting a drug cartel, returns at the new SoMa nightclub; featuring Matthew Martin. $20-$25. Thu-Sat 7pm. Thru Feb. 14. 298 11th St. at Folsom. 985-4442. www.sfoasis.com

Pussy Party @ Beaux Women's happy hour, with all-women music and live performances, 2 for 1 drinks, and no cover. 5pm-9am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Rock Fag @ Hole in the Wall Enjoy hard rock and punk music from DJ Don Baird at the wonderfully divey SoMa bar. 12pm-2am. 1369 Folsom St. 431-4695. www.hitws.com

Tubesteak Connection @ Aunt Charlie's Lounge Disco guru DJ Bus Station John spins grooves at the intimate retro music night. $4. 10pm-2am. 133 Turk St. at Taylor. www.auntcharlieslounge.com

Fri 16 Double Duchess @ Swagger Like Us

Mica Sigourney and pals' weekly offbeat drag performance night. Jan. 17 is the five-year anniversary, with DJ Stanley Frank. 10pm-2am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Swagger Like Us @ Oasis Double Duchess performs uniquely queer hip hop/bounce music at the new nightclub, with guest DJ Durt (Ships in the Night). $10. 10pm. 298 11th St. at Folsom. 985-4442. www.sfoasis.com

Sat 17 Abrazo, Queer Milonga @ Finnish Brotherhood Hall, Berkeley Enjoy same-sex tango dancing and a potluck, with lessons early in the evening. $7-$15. 7pm-11pm. 1970 Chestnut St., Berkeley. (510) 8455352. www.finnishhall.com

Beatpig @ Powerhouse Walter, Juanita and Side Kick's monthly event (third Saturdays) gets leathery with grit and glamour; this month, kink mastery with Jorge Vieto, Jr., glamour snaps by Uel Renteria, Daddyhunt sponsors, and $5 door benefits the Transgender Law Center. 9pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

VIP @ Club 21, Oakland

f Happy Hour is usually 4pm to 8pm, when is Sad Hour? When you can’t find anything fun to do? Problem solved. Here are your weekly listings full of uplifting mood-improving entertainment.

Maria Connor @ Martuni's

Thu 15 B.P.M @ Club BnB, Oakland Beats, People, Music, Olga T's new weekly R&B/soul/variety dance night at the newly moved LGBT (and straight-friendly) nightclub, with DJ Lady Lu. No cover. 9pm-2am. 2120 Broadway at 21st. Oakland. www.bench-and-bar.com

Bulge @ Powerhouse Grace Towers hosts the weekly gogotastic night of sexy dudes shakin' their bulges and getting wet in their undies for $100 prize (contest at midnight), and dance beats spun by DJ DAMnation. 10pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Circle Jerk @ Nob Hill Theatre Get very interactive with fellow horny patrons and upcoming headlining stripper David Benjamin (who performs onstage Jan. 16 & 17, 8pm solo, 10pm with Brian Bonds). $25. 8pm. 729 Bush St. at Powell. 3976758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com

D'Arcy's Birthday Extravaganza @ Oasis D'Arcy Drollinger celebrates another fab year with a bevy of drag acts, DJ Stanley Frank and cake! No cover. 10pm-2am. 298 11th St. at Folsom. 985-4442. www.sfoasis.com

Fuego @ The Watergarden, San Jose Weekly event, with Latin music, halfoff locker fees and Latin men, at the South Bay private men's bath house. $8-$39. Reg hours 24/7. 18+. 1010 The Alameda. (408) 275-1215. www.thewatergarden.com

The local drag talent, and host/ producer of the Under the Golden Gate variety show, plays piano and accompanies the open mic night (3rd Thursdays), with Andy Woodhouse on bass, at the popular martini bar. 6:308:30pm. 4 Valencia St. 241-0205. www.martunis.ypguides.net

Mary Go Round @ Lookout Suppositori Spelling, Mercedez Munro and Holotta Tymes host the weekly night with DJ Philip Grasso, gogo guys, drink specials, and drag acts. 10pm-2am. 3600 16th St. www.lookoutsf.com

The Monster Show @ The Edge Cookie Dough's weekly drag show with gogo guys and hilarious fun. Jan. 15: TLC, SaltNPepa, Destinys Child '90s Throwback Thursday. $5. 9pm2am. 4149 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

My So-Called Night @ Beaux Heklina hosts a new weekly '90s-themed video, dancin', drinkin' night, with VJs Jorge Terez and Becky Knox. Get down with your funky bunch, and enjoy 90-cent drinks. '90s-themed attire and costume contest. No cover. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Nap's Karaoke @ Virgil's Sea Room Sing out loud at the weekly least judgmental karaoke in town, hosted by the former owner of the bar. No cover. 9pm. 3152 Mission St. 8292233. www.virgilssf.com

Nightlife @ California Academy of Sciences Themed event nights at the fascinating nature museum, with DJed dancing, cocktails, fish, frogs, food and fun. Jan. 15: Habitat Earth theme, with a new planetarium show, sea and space displays, including pygmy seahorses! $10-$12. 6pm-10pm, 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park. 379-8000. www.calacademy.org

Funny Fun/Exotic @ Club 21, Oakland Weekly LGBT and straight comedy night hosted by Dan Mires. $10. 8pm. Followed by Exotic, a dance (salsa, merengue, hip/house) and drag show night with cute men and women gogos. 2111 Franklin St. Oakland. (510) 268-9425. www.club21oakland.com

Hip Hop, Top 40, and sexy Latin music; gogo dancers, appetizers, and special guest DJs. No cover before 11pm and just $5 after all night. Dancing 9pm-3am. Happy hour 4pm8:30pm 2111 Franklin St. (510) 2689425. www.club21oakland.com

Voices of Latin Rock @ Bimbo's Benefit for Autism Awareness includes performances by Big Mountain. $55$150. 6pm. 1025 Columbus Ave. at Chestnut. www.bimbos365club.com

Fri 16 Dancing Ghosts @ Cat Club The monthly goth night returns, with DJs Andy Rourke (bassist for The Smiths and Morrissey), Xander, Sage and Davey Bones; this month, a Manchester tribute to Brit hits (New Order, OMD, Buzzcocks, etc). $5-$8. 9:30pm-2am. 1190 Folsom St at 8th. 703-8965. www.sfcatclub.com

David Benjamin @ Nob Hill Theatre Tanned, muscled, tattooed sexy porn stud performs a strip show (8pm) and onstage sex show with Brian Bonds (10pm). $25. 8pm. Also Jan. 17. 729 Bush St. at Powell. 397-6758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com

Edwardian Ball @ Regency Ballroom The 15th annual celebration of all things Edwardian, with shows, costumery, music, acrobatics, ballroom dancing and special events honoring gothic cartoonist Edward Gorey. $5. 8pm. Also Jan 17, with a vendor bazaar 12pm-5pm. 1300 Van Ness Ave. 673-5716. www.theregencyballroom.com

Friday Night @ de Young Museum Nightlife events at the museum take on different themes. Free/reduced admission. 6pm-8:45pm. 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive. www.deyoung.famsf.org Society Cabaret presents an evening of Broadway duets, with local singers Jill Gould, Brooke Michael Smith, Christopher M. Nelson, Paula & Tim Heitman, and pianist G. Scott Lacy. $25-$45. 8pm. cocktails and small plates available. 562 Sutter St. 857-1896. www.societycabaret.com

The local jazz band performs at the scenic ballroom. No cover. 7pm-10pm. 1800 Madison St., Oakland. www.klipptones.com www.theterraceroom.com

Latin Explosion @ Club 21, Oakland

Wed 21 Melissa T. O’Keefe @ Feinstein’s

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It Takes Two @ Hotel Rex

The Klipptones @ The Terrace Room, Oakland

Gym Class @ Hi Tops Enjoy cheap/free whiskey shots from jock-strapped hotties and sexy sports videos at the popular sports bar. 10pm-2am. 2247 Market St. 551-2500. HiTopsSF.com

Some Thing @ The Stud

The festive gogo-filled dance night; no cover before 10pm. ($10) 9pm-4am. 2111 Franklin St., Oakland. (510) 268-9425. www.club21oakland.com

Vonda Shepard @ Feinstein's at the Nikko The ebullient and prolific singersongwriter and actress performs favorites songs and new original music. $40-$55 ($20 food/drink min.) 8pm. Also Jan. 17 at 7pm. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 6631063. www.vondashepard.com www.ticketweb.com

Winter Onesie Party @ Lookout Don your finest once-piece pajama/ costume outfit with a Best Onesie contest at 12am, DJ Philip Grasso, host Suzan Revah and judge Donna Sachet; proceeds benefit the National AIDS Memorial Grove. $5. 9pm-2am. 3600 16th St. www.lookoutsf.com

La Bota Loca @ Club 21, Oakland DJed tunes, gogo hotties, drag shows, drink specials, all at Oakland's premiere Latin nightclub and weekly cowboy night. $10-$15. Dancing 9pm-4am. 2111 Franklin St. (510) 268-9425. www.club21oakland.com

Club Rimshot @ Club BNB, Oakland Get groovin' at the weekly hip hop and R&B night at their new location. $8-$15. 9pm to 4am. 2120 Broadway. www.bench-and-bar.com

Frolic @ The Continental, San Jose The South Bay's big Furry convention is capped off by DJ NeonBunny's dance night, with Forest Green, Genki, LyCanCatt, Raid Zero, DJ Recca, Sean Bass. $5-$15. 8pm-2am. 349 South 1st St., San Jose. www.frolicparty.com/sanjose

On the Tab>>

January 15-21, 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ BAY AREA REPORTER â&#x20AC;˘ 35

Gameboi @ Rickshaw Stop

Big Top @ Beaux

The popular gay Asian dance night returns (3rd Saturdays). $8-$15. 9:30pm-2am. 155 Fell St. at Van Ness. Ave. www.rickshawstop.com

Joshua J.'s homo disco circus night, with guest DJs and performers, hotty gogo guys and drink specials. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.BeauxSF.com

Industry @ Beatbox

Brunch Sundays @ Balancoire

DJs Pagano and Wayne G spin grooves at the MLK Weekend dance night. $25-$30. 10pm-4am. 314 11th St. at Folsom. www.industrysf.com

Kink Salon @ Powerhouse Jason Husted and Beth Bicoastal cohost the monthly erotic open mic and art show and sketch salon, with live sexy models, raffles and music by DJ Dutchboy3. $3. 6pm-9pm. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Weekly live music shows with various acts, along with brunch, mimosas, champagne and more, at the stylish nightclub and restaurant. 2565 Mission St. at 21st. 920-0577. www.balancoiresf.com

Disco Daddy @ Eagle Tavern Enjoy a special extended T-dance of disco classics, with a Studio 54 tribute by DJ Bus Station John and guests. $5. 7pm-2am. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

GlamaZone @ The Cafe Pollo del Mar's weekly drag shows takes on different themes with a comic edge. 8:30-11:30pm. 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

Sunday's a Drag @ Starlight Room

Red Hots Burlesque @ El Rio

Donna Sachet hosts the weekly fabulous brunch and drag show. $45. 11am, show at noon; 1:30pm, show at 2:30pm. 450 Powell St. in Union Square. 395-8595. www.starlightroomsf.com

Women's burlesque show performs each Wed & Fri. Karaoke follows. $5-$10. 7pm. 3158 Mission St. 282-3325. www.elriosf.com

Mon 19 Drag Mondays @ The Cafe Mahlae Balenciaga and DJ Kidd Sysko's weekly drag and dance night, 2014's last of the year. 9pm-1am. 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

Rookies Night @ Nob Hill Theatre

Wed 21 Patti Smith @ The Fillmore

Epic Karaoke @ White Horse, Oakland Mondays and Tuesdays popular weekly sing-along night. No cover. 8:30pm1am. 6551 Telegraph Ave, (510) 6523820. www.whitehorsebar.com

Mahogany Mondays @ Midnight Sun Honey Mahogany's weekly drag and musical talent show starts around 10pm. 4067 18th St. 861-4186. www.midnightsunsf.com

Monday Musicals @ The Edge The casts of local and visiting musicals often pop in to perform at the popular Castro bar's musical theatre night. 7pm-2am. 2 for 1 cocktail, 5pmclosing. 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

Name That Beat @ Toad Hall BeBe Sweetbriar hosts a weekly musical trivia challenge and drag show. 8:30-11:30pm. 4146 18th St. at Castro. www.toadhallbar.com

No No Bingo @ Virgil's Sea Room Mica Sigourney and Tom Temprano cohost the wacky weekly game night at the cool Mission bar. 8pm. 3152 Mission St. www.virgilssf.com

Piano Bar 101 @ Martuni's Sing-along night with talented locals, and charming accompanist Joe Wicht (aka Trauma Flintstone). 9pm. 4 Valencia St. at Market. www.dragatmartunis.com

ed, as the rk, with all inment, 015!

Underwear Night @ 440 Strip down to your skivvies at popular men's night. 9pm-2am. 440 Castro St. 621-8732. www.the440.com

Tue 20 Dina Martina @ Oasis The hilarious eccentric drag comic returns, this time at the new nightclub. $20-$25. 7pm & 9pm. Also Jan. 21. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

et.com Mother @ Oasis Premiere of Heklina's new weekly drag show night at the renovated SoMa nightclub; acts include Fauxnique, Glamamore, Putanesca, Holy McGrail, D'Arcy Drollinger, Matthew Martin and other talents; DJs MC2 and Guy Ruben. $10-$15. 10pm-2am. 298 11th St. at Folsom. www.sfoasis.com

Sun 18 Beer Bust @ Lone Star Saloon The ursine crowd converges for beer and fun. 4pm-8pm. 1354 Harrison St. www.lonestarsf.com

Beer Bust @ SF Eagle The classic leather bar's most popular Sunday daytime event in town draws the menfolk. 3pm-6pm. Now also on Saturdays! 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

Funny Tuesdays @ Harvey's

Looking @ Midnight Sun Viewing parties for the second season of HBO's San Francisco-set gay dramedy series. 10pm. 4067 18th St. 861-4186. www.midnightsunsf.com

Sundance Saloon @ Space 550 The popular twice-weekly countrywestern dance night includes linedancing, two-stepping and lessons. $5. 6:30-10:30pm. Also Thursdays 6:30pm-10:30pm (closed dec 25). 550 Barneveld Ave. at Industrial. www.sundancesaloon.org

Watch newbies get nude, or compete yourself for a $200 prize. Audience picks the winner. $20. 9pm. 729 Bush St. at Powell. 397-6758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com

Ronn Vigh hosts the weekly LGBT and gay-friendly comedy night. One-drink or menu item minimum. 9pm. 500 Castro St. at 18th. 431-HARV. www.harveyssf.com

Gay Skate Night @ Church on 8 Wheels LGBT night at the former Sacred Heart Church-turned disco roller skate party space, hosted by John D. Miles, the "Godfather of Skate." Also Wed, Thu, 7pm-10pm. Sat afternoon sessions 1pm-2:30pm and 3pm-5:30pm. $10. Kids 12 and under $5. Skate rentals $5. 554 Fillmore St at Fell. www.churchof8wheels.com

Meow Mix @ The Stud The weekly themed variety cabaret showcases new and unusual talents; MC Ferosha Titties. $3-$7. Show at 11pm. 9pm-2am. 399 9th St. at Harrison. www.studsf.com

Naked Night @ Nob Hill Theatre Strip down with the strippers at the cruisy adult theatre and arcade; free beverages. $20. 8pm. 729 Bush St. at Powell. 397-6758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com

So You Think You Can Gogo? @ Toad Hall

Weekly women's night at the stylish intimate bar. 9pm-2am. 456 Castro St. www.QbarSF.com

The weekly dancing competition for gogo wannabes. 9pm. cash prizes, $2 well drinks (2 for 1 happy hour til 9pm). Show at 9pm. 4146 18th St. www.toadhallbar.com

Underwear Night @ Club OMG

Trivia Night @ Harvey's

Switch @ Q Bar

Weekly underwear night includes free clothes check, and drink specials; different hosts each week. $3. 10pm2am. Preceded by Open Mic Comedy, 7pm, no cover. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

Wed 21 Bingo @ Club OMG Michael Brandon hosts the monthly (3rd Thursdays) game night $1-$5 for sheets and daubers. 7pm-10pm. 43 Sixth St. 896-6374. www.clubomgsf.com

Booty Call @ QBar Juanita More! and her weekly intimate dance party. $10-$15. 9pm2am. 456 Castro St. www.qbarsf.com

Bottoms Up Bingo @ Hi Tops Play board games and win offbeat prizes at the popular sports bar. 9pm. 2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

Dream Queens Revue @ Aunt Charlie's Lounge The classic drag show includes Collette LeGrande, Ruby Slippers, Sophilya Leggz, Bobby Ashton, Sheena Rose, Kipper, and Joie de Vivre. No cover. 9:30-11:30pm. 133 Turk St. 441-2922. www.dreamqueensrevue.com

Good Times @ Bench and Bar, Oakland Olga T and Shugga Shay's weekly queer women and men's R&B hip hop and soul night, at the club's new location. No cover. 8pm-2am. 2120 Broadway, Oakland. www.bench-and-bar.com

Melissa T. O'Keefe @ Feinstein's at the Nikko

BeBe Sweetbriar hosts a weekly night of trivia quizzes and fun and prizes; no cover. 8pm-1pm. 500 Castro St. 4314278. www.harveyssf.com

Way Back @ Midnight Sun Weekly screenings of vintage music videos and retro drink prices. Check out the new expanded front window lounge. 9pm-2am. 4067 18th St. 8614186. www.midnightsunsf.com

Wooden Nickel Wednesday @ 440 Buy a drink and get a wooden nickle good for another. 12pm-2am. 440 Castro St. 621-8732. www.the440.com

Thu 22 The Monster Show @ The Edge Cookie Dough's weekly drag show with gogo guys. Jan. 22: Broadway showstoppers. $5. 9pm-2am. 4149 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

Nightlife @ California Academy of Sciences Themed event nights at the fascinating nature museum, with DJed dancing, cocktails, fish, frogs, food and fun. Jan. 22, Gallery Crawl, with several galleries showcasing animalthemed art, including a few Andy Warhols, plus drawing activities and other hands-on fun, DJed house music by Roche and techno with Physical Therapy. $10-$12. 6pm-10pm, 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park. 379-8000. www.calacademy.org Want your nightlife event listed? Of course you do. Email events@ ebar.com, at least two weeks before your event. Event photos welcome.

The vivacious singer performs Gentlemen Prefer Redheads, a cabaret concert about the men in her life, with songs in various genres, and a sevenpiece band. $20-$35. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 663-1063. www.melissatokeefe.com www.ticketweb.com Dina Martina @ Oasis

Tue 20

Miss Kitty's Trivia Night @ Wild Side West

The weekly fun night at the Bernal Heights bar includes prizes, hosted by Kitty Tapata. No cover. 7pm-10pm. 424 Cortland St. 647-3099. www. wildsidewest.com

Open Mic/Comedy @ SF Eagle Kollin Holts hosts the weekly comedy and open mic talent night. 6pm8pm. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

Patti Smith @ The Fillmore The iconic rock legend performs her classic post-punk poetic music. $39.50. 8pm. Also Jan. 23 & 24 at 9pm. www.pattismith.net www.thefillmore.com

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

36 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 15-21, 2015

David Benjamin by Cornelius Washington

he minute I saw his framed image in the lobby of The Nob Hill Theater, I could see that David Benjamin was not just your average porn star. The perfect size, height, age, and coloring for serious sexuality on film, David is just what the erotic industry needs. Falcon/Raging Stallion Studios was very quick and very smart to sign this new, versatile star. The sky’s the limit for this stud, and it’s no surprise that The Nob Hill Theater would want to start the year on a high note, featuring him on its legendary stage, bringing a freshness and fearlessness that should set the stage for the rest of the new year.

Porn’s new stud at the Nob Hill Theatre

What brought you into the porn business? I’ve always been a fan of porn, since first being exposed to it as a teen. I always fantasized about being a model in the movies I watched. Then about a year ago, I was taking stock and realized that I was unhappy with the trajectory of my life. I was unfulfilled in my career, resented the security and routine of my life. I have always craved a life filled with experiences, and I decided there were not enough new experiences in my life. So I asked myself what I wanted to do and the idea of being a stripper and escort popped into my head. After initially setting aside the thought, I asked myself an important question

Cornelius Washington: How did you create your porn name? David Benjamin: First, thanks for taking the time to talk with me and offering me the opportunity to introduce myself to your readers. I’m a huge fan of the Bay Area Reporter and have read it online for some time. I’m honored to be featured. As a newcomer to porn, I’m very excited to be able to talk with you today! But to your question, I chose the name David Benjamin for two reasons. First, I thought that a name with a Jewish flavor would appropriately address the Hebrew tattoo on my chest. Second, I wanted a stage name that I hoped would evoke the qualities I bring David Benjamin to my performances: intelligence, maturity, and confidence. “Why not?” and that was it. Is this your first time performing Within a week I got a job as a at the Nob Hill Theater? stripper and in May I signed with Yes it is, and I am very excited! my agents (Ducati Models) and Nob Hill is a legendary space that shot my first sex scene. The followover the years has hosted some of ing month, Falcon signed me to an the greatest gay adult entertainers of exclusive contract. Since then, I have all time. It’s an honor to be invited been filming and making appearto perform here! ances around the country; and I’ve never been happier and more fulHow do you think you’ll feel when filled professionally. you see your name on the marquee on one of the world’s most venerable What is the very first porn film gay porn venues? you ever saw? A mix of emotions: excitement, Well, when I was younger, my faaccomplishment, nerves. Marquee ther kept a small collection of porn billing is a special experience and a magazines and videos hidden in his very visible indicator that I am dobedroom closet. When I discovered ing something right…but I very it, I would watch some of the videos. much want both staff and patrons While I cannot remember specifito enjoy themselves and walk away cally, the first porn I ever watched satisfied. was probably one of those terrible Playboy channel scenes! How do you think you’ll feel, as you’re performing, seeing yourself Have you ever fallen for a scene have sex on the big screen, 30x40 partner? feet? No. But I have been attracted to First, I did not know that there all of them. I believe that in order was a 30x40 foot screen….wow! to make sex on camera entertaining Honestly, I suppose I’ll be turned on and believable, performers need to by the experience. be attracted to each other. Is dancing nude a sensual and/or sexual experience for you? Absolutely! I am a true exhibitionist and performer at heart. So when I perform, the experience inevitably turns me on. How do you want your Nob Hill Theater audience to feel when you dance nude for them? I hope they enjoy themselves. The male body and sex should be celebrated and enjoyed!

Who’s your fantasy scene partner, and what would you do? Ken Ryker, and I would bottom.

What do you do onscreen that you don’t do off, and vice versa? Everything I’ve ever done onscreen I’ve done off-screen. And I can’t think of anything I do offscreen that I wouldn’t do on-screen. What sexual act that, at first, repelled you, are you, now, totally into?

Fisting. How do you prepare (mentally, physically, etc.) for a scene? Physically: I groom and workout before a scene. Mentally: I try to develop a connection/attraction with my scene partner. As a porn fan, watching performers who are into each other increases my enjoyment of the scene. So I try and develop that attraction so that it comes across in my performance. What do you want people to see and feel when they watch your work? I hope they are reminded that sex is natural and fun, and walk away having enjoyed themselves. What is your favorite sexual position? Doggy style. What is your favorite sexual act? Fucking. What’s your favorite guilty pleasure (shopping, food, sex, video games, etc.)? Taco Bell. Who is your fantasy celebrity hook-up, and what would you do with them? Joe Manganiello, and we would have dinner on the beach, before making love in the surf. Superhero and “sword and sandal” films are huge now. Which legendary hero would you be, and why? Perseus, because he used his intelligence, more than his strength, to defeat Medusa. What is your #1 fitness tip, for the BAR readers who have exercise as part of their New Year’s resolutions? Fitness is a practice more than an accomplishment. So get out there and do what you can do. Pursue your goals with slow, steady consistency and you will see results! What is your favorite body part, on yourself and others? On Myself: My eyes. They are a beautiful shade of hazel. On Others: Their eyes. You can tell a lot about a person by looking into their eyes. Whom, in the adult industry, do you admire? Chi Chi LaRue. He has forged a singularly unique career in the adult industry, while retaining his kindness and compassion. What, in adult film, turns you on? When someone has the confidence to “let it all hang out” and gives viewers both a mental and physical performance. What stereotypes about adult film stars and the industry, in general, have you found to be true and/or false? I believe many people think porn is populated by damaged people: addicts, survivors of childhood trauma, deviants, etc... In my experience there are no more damaged people in porn than in any other industry. What is different is that the porn community is populated by people who celebrate sex and sexuality in a way that many do not. What do you now know about the adult industry that you wish you knew when you entered it? See page 37 >>

Read more online at www.ebar.com

January 15-21, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 37

Colt classics by John F. Karr

as the source of all evil. One transmission of the AIDS virus among he news of an alleged HIV some thousands of opportunities? I transmission during a gay porn celebrate this statistic, and hope the shoot was reported several weeks industry can hew too it. ago with near hysteria and condemCan I pass from that nation. Yet it seems to me to be an non-issue to the celevent that should be celebrated, not ebration of our sexudenounced. Only one such transality which has always mission reported over a period of been the basis for my some years during which innumerarticles? (Sidebar: able persons could have been infectsaying that makes ed shows me that the self-imposed me suddenly see the precautions of the industry are root of my distemper working as expected, not failing, as over Gay4Pay guys— the self-appointed do-gooders and they’re not celebrating gay sexualmoralists have insisted. ity, they’re making a buck. But how It’s one incident now. But will could I expect porn producers to a growing reliance on PReP bring honor my quite ‘70s sense of gay about more? It’ll take a year or more erotic politics that launched my to judge the effects of Truvada on the writing? Most of them are gay, but if industry. While I don’t support barethey ever were celebrants of sexualbacking, and am extremely wary of ity, they’ve become businessmen.) its growing acceptance within the inI think I’ve finally gotten around dustry, I just don’t see it—as of yet— to Colt Studios’ Vault Classics. For a while there I didn’t think I was going to make it. Vault Classics is a new collection of old movies that pre-date the plague. It promises pre-condom films. We’ll see about that. “Pre-condom” has become the synonym for movies that feature barebacking. They’re so old that their absence of condoms is sort of grandfathered in, their un-safe sex thus sanctioned. As they generally lack the warning, “Don’t try this at home,” it’s arguable that they encourage barebacking just as much as any contemColtStudioGroup porary bareback movie. I’m not getting into that A hair fairy’s dream; Del with Erron, argument now; I watch in Colt’s Vault Classics. them myself, but more for nostalgia and an appreciation of the stars of yore than to see bareback fucking. But I’d be lying if I said that the absence

of condoms wasn’t at least a little bit of a lure (sidebar: someone other than myself can compile the list of pre-condom performers who died of AIDS). Despite the promise, there’s not actually that much barebacking in Vault Classics. There’s no fucking at all in two of the group scenes, and what little there is in another two passes quickly and is so obliquely filmed that you feel much of it could be simulated. As top notch a filmmaker as Rip Colt was, insertion was not a specialty. He must have really gone in for rimming, though, for these shorts wallow in big time, lascivious, get your face in there Rimmerama. Some flabbergastingly fine cocks deserve the devout worship they get, and the camera glides and gloats over beautiful bodies. The collection’s three scenes of body worship begin with John Pruitt, who is truly a god among men—physique, face, pristine skin with silken body hair, and a glamor cock. Mark Edwards’ solo lavishes boyish freshness upon us, and Erron drifts about in dreamy, patrician allure—although his best moment comes when he’s running down hill, his mesmerizing cock whirling around. He’s back for a romantic afternoon with Del, a man with a fashion model’s hauteur, and a fashion model’s luxurious head of hair. Actually, hair fairy that I am, I found most all the guy’s bewitching in the ‘70s fullness of their locks, so unlike the tortured hairdos so popular today. For what it is, I appreciated Vault Classics, and was momentarily aroused by it. A three-way featuring all time leather daddy Ledermeister is so raunchy, and Mark Rutter, a grungy leatherman of the grand ‘50s tradition that pre-dated today’s button-down leather couture, has

ColtStudioGroup

One of Colt’s most classic men, John Pruitt, is available for worship in Vault Classics.

David Benjamin

From page 36

When I started, I thought that there was a system whereby performers were brought in and molded into stars. There is not. I’ve learned that in order to make it in this business you need to be a selfstarter who is willing to hustle. What is your opinion of “bottom stigma”? It’s silly. Being confident and trusting enough to allow another person inside you, is the mark of real man. Where do you see porn going in the 21st century? The economics of the porn industry have changed in the last ten years due to Internet piracy. Profit margins have shrunk, and so too have production budgets. I believe

ColtStudioGroup

The epitome of the Colt Man, Ledermeister, gets down in Vault Classics.

there will always be a role for a few large studios to produce high quality content. But the number of big studios will shrink. Alternately, smaller, lower-quality producers will increase in number as they find and exploit niche markets (exp. feet, spanking, etc…). Where do you see gay male sexuality going in the 21st century? I see gay male sexuality experiencing a renaissance. By that I mean, for the last decade of the 20th century, gay male sexuality was shuttered by a combination of issues: the gay community’s focus on civil rights, and the echo of the AIDS epidemic. The former focused attention of monogamy and marriage while the later kept many gay men from exploring fully their sexuality. Now that the marriage debate has been all but won and anti-retroviral drugs have helped limit HIV trans-

mission, gay men can more openly explore and celebrate their sexuality. Barebacking, pro or con? I personally believe that barebacking is here to stay. That said, it’s the job of studios producing bareback content, to do so responsibly. None of the “viral load” or “bug-chaser” crap. That promotes unhealthy behavior and stigmatizes men living with HIV. Is porn art? Yes. David Benajmin will be at Circle Jerk in the cruisy downstairs arcade Thursday, January 15 (8pm), and performs solo shows (8pm) and a live sex show with Brian Bonds (10pm) January 16 and 17 at the Nob Hill Theatre, $25. 8pm. 729 Bush St. at Powell. 397-6758. www.twitter.com/davidbenjaminx www.thenobhilltheatre.com

dirty sex with Dick Trask in a bathhouse scene. And a final three-way delivers Dakota, John Tristam, and Mr. Olympia 1982, Chris Dickerson— three gorgeous muscle men who become one heaving mass of beautiful brawn, roiling so tight together they’re like a three-man version of the statue “Hercules and Antaeus.” There are better places to look if you want pre-condom films more

classic than these. Colt offers 11 such scenes in three Buckshot collections, and there’s 12 hours (!) of scenes within three volumes of Rip Colt’s Sex Rated Home Movies, and the five volumes of The Best of Colt Films. The present Vault Classics is a good addenda, intriguing to historians and fitfully rewarding to porneurs.t www.ColtStudioGroup.com

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

38 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 15-21, 2015

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From page 32

they owned the bar. In 1980 Tessie was elected the Red Rose Empress XV out of three candidates and became known for her dedication to the hungry. The Tenderloin Tessie Dinners she started continue today at Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, staffed with volunteers from the Imperial Court, the Ducal Court, and various other groups. Phyllis then defeated only one competitor in 1981 to become the Rainbow Empress XVI. She was until recently quite active in the San Francisco community, but now resides in Palm Springs and continues to say “Don-

cha know?” Finally, in 1982, coincidentally the same year as the first Gay Games in San Francisco, the Tavern Guild, the Emperors, and the Empresses agreed that a single annual Coronation made more sense. Gene Bettis, the Wild West Emperor X, A.N., would serve longer than any other Emperor in order to coordinate a joint Coronation in February of 1983. The Ivory Fan Empress XVII Mae had been elected over two others in 1982, but was in the hospital and unable to attend Coronation, so the Council of Empresses made special arrangements to crown her in her hospital bed. And so, the first Emperor and Empress to ascend their thrones together were the Mythical Dragon Emperor XI, A.N., Tattoo Jim Michaels and the Siren, Temptress,

To place your Personals ad, Call 415-861-5019 for more info & rates Seductive, Musical Empress XVIII Connie. It was a year of great transition as all the details of a joint reign worked themselves out, but the Imperial Court was finally unified and the organization was stronger. In 1984, at the Kabuki Theater, at the time a much larger single theater suitable for such a large event, the Golden Phoenix Emperor XII, A.N., Rich Carle and the Silver Nightingale Empress XIX Remy Martin stepped up, setting new standards of pageantry and authenticity. At their Investiture, they both appeared in bathrobes and were then properly attired by their attendants in the garbs and symbolic emblems of Emperor and Empress. Their step-down in 1985 introduced a new start time of 6 P.M. sharp and featured a dramatic opening entrance with the Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band dressed in Chinese costumes. Remy was the Empress who insisted that San Francisco Empresses, upon the successful completion of their reigns, would be titled Absolute to distinguish them as Empresses from the first Court of San Francisco, as opposed to any other court of the International Court System. And so, the Absolute Empress XXX of San Francisco comes to the end of this week’s special column. Next week, we enter the courtesy Imperial Court of San Francisco Coronation programs third decade of the ImpeTop: Trident Emperor VIII, A.N. Chuck rial Court of San Francisco as the City came face to face Demmon. Bottom: Emperor 10, A.N, with the AIDS epidemic.t Gene Bettis.

Read more online at www.ebar.com

Shooting Stars

January 15-21, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 39

photos by Steven Underhill

Looking season 2 premiere T

he Castro Theatre was filled with fans of the HBO series Looking on Tuesday, January 6. The first two episodes of Season 2 took our gay and lesbian characters to the Russian River, and continued the sexy, funny romantic entanglements and ‘dramedy’ in the acclaimed series set in the Bay Area. The Bay Area Reporter was the exclusive LGBT media sponsor for the event. Actors Jonathan Groff, Frankie J. Alvarez, Murray Bartlett, Raul Castillo, Lauren Weedman and new cast member Daniel Franzese, as well as creator Michael Lannan and HBO producer Andrew Haigh were in attendance, and held a postscreening onstage Q&A led by Frameline’s programming director Des Burford. The festive after-party, held downtown at Terra Gallery, was MCed by Heklina, DJed by Juanita More!, and included an array of colorfully costumed fairies (inspired by an enchanting woods scene in the Season 2 first episode). Celebrities in attendance included Armistead Maupin and his partner Chris Turner, and FourTwoNine Editor Kevin Sessums. For more info on Looking, visit www.hbo.com/looking# More event photo albums are on BARtab’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/lgbtsf.nightlife. See more of Steven Underhill’s photos at www.StevenUnderhill.com.

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