22 out in the rnuuntulns I MAY 2006 l l\'/lOUNTAlNPRIDEMlEiDIA.ORG FROM THE ONNECTICUT Rwlg TO'l"l-{E CANADIAN BORDER REAL ESTATE INSURANCE 179 Main St., Derby - 800-243-2401 (802) 766-2401 - 766-4731 (D mick@realestatevermont.com realestatevermont.com to view our current listings Woman-Stirred Radio the Premier GLBTQ Radio Show 5- Thursdays, 4-6pm gm 6 ii Hosted by Merry Gangemi \ May 4th Minnie Bruce Pratt May 1 1th Robin Williams May 18th lane Rule May 25th Elana Dykewomon WGDR 91.1 FM Goddard College Stream it live at www.wgdr.org Wedding Gowns und Guitars: one llersiun at the Guy llgendu BY CLARK SHELDHON hat do you get when you mix John Cam- eron Mitchell, Ala.n Cumming, Margaret Cho, Lou Reed, Moby, Kathleen Han- nah, Bob Mould and Sandra Bernhard with a giant stage, a microphone, and a piano? A party, of course! Along with pithy comments, strong politics and rock and roll! Oh! And a bunch of gay, lesbian and straight people speaking out for marriage equality. In April 2004, in a West Chel- sea club, the album Wed-Rock was recorded live from a benefit show for Freedom to Marry, a national coalition working for marriage equality across the United States. This short CD packs both a serious and silly punch. Serious fans of Margaret Cho take note! Cho sends out a serious blast of attitude in 12 minutes—the longest track on the entire disc. She covers legislative ammendments, morality, Eve, weddings, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney! She com- ments about her routine when talking to ‘straight audiences.’ “If you are against same sex marriage but laugh your ass off to ‘Will and Grace’... Fuck You! You are not al- lowed the benefits of our cul- ture and leaving behind the burden of in-equality. That is just like in the 50s when white people stole rock and roll from black people." You tell ‘em, Margaret! It's - easy to tell that all the guest art- ists are happy to be performing in support of gay marriage, and, they take their job seriously. Sleater-Kinney covers John Fogerty’s song, “Fortunate Son,” and dedicates it to George W. Bush. I've always thought Fo- gerty's song was powerful, but explicitly naming Bush as “the. ultimate fortunate son" makes so much more sense! Bless Sleater-Kinney for making the connection from Vietnam to Iraq and the goals of Bush's White House. Stopping at nothing, Cho play- fully asks the audience, “What is the gay agenda exactly? Is it ass—less wedding gowns?" A roar of laughter and cheering erupts. I laughed out loud too—in my living room. V Clark Sheldon, International Man of Mystery, rides his bicycle in Burlington's Old North Endand hangs”o’ut', "'5'" 1 with daffodils.” MENSPACE: BRATFLEBORO MEN'S PROGRAM THRIVES 6 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16 JASON: What challenges have you encountered since you've started working for the Men's Program? HOWIE: I think the biggest chal- lenge we face is finding ways to support guys in staying safe that really work. Beating guys over i the head with the same old safer- sex messages they've been hear- ing for the past 20 years will not work. But addressing the issues that keep guys from staying safe - like low self-esteem, overuse of drugsdand alcohol, isolation and lack of emotional support — is where we need _to focus our efforts. Getting guys connected to a supportive community is a major step in addressing those issues — and finding ways to reach guys who aren't yet con- nected is a major challenge. Alex: It can be challenging to reach guys and get them out and energized in a rural, small town environment. Some men are still a bit hesitant about being overly out in their small towns, and worry that being too involved in something like the Men's Program may com- promise their privacy. Another challenge we face in working with HIV prevention is that the gay and bi community overall has a serious case of AIDS—fa- tigue. So many of us have been hearing these messages for so many years. We meet a number of men who simply don’t want to talk about it one more time. And we really understand that. JASON: What do you hope to accomplish at the Men's Program? HOWIE: What I'd really like to do is reach more and more guys who don’t feel at all connected to the local men's community, A and even if they don’t really want to be coming to Men's Program events all the time, help them get connected with at least a few other gay and bi guys for friendship and support. ALEX: I hope to accomplish the creation of those connec- tions I’ve talked about, and the creation of strong community norms around safer sex, thereby having a true impact on the health, wellness and happiness of the men in this area. V Jason Whipple is a freelance writer whose work has been featured in the Seattle Gay News, RFD Jouma! and Genre Magazine. He was previously an editor of Out in the Moun- tains. He lives in Brattleboro, VT. You can reach him at jason@ghostmediaonline.com. I:unnerte,Il-tuitIIeIlleII’5|'fIItII‘IIlII Are you iooking to connect with other guys front-the.oorn‘« - munity in afun and relaxed way? Are you interested in final- ing space and time to talk about what truly matters to gay and bi men? Look no further. Connections, a three-hour in- teractive workshop focusing on how we meet. date, hecorn intimate and have sex as men, is where you want to be. To learn more about the Connections workshop and how to I register, email Howie at the Men's Program at menOsovor.net