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and of well-crafied emotional paint-
ings and ear candy.

In the wake of the recent Phelps
demonstration in Montpelier, “If
You’ve Ever Loved” — written by
Kathleen Hannan — is the perfect
antidote. It speaks of the pain of los-
ing of friends and family to homo-
phobia an_d fundamentalism, and
goes on téi say “Christ said only one
thing makes us whole. It’s love that
sets us free...deep down I’ve always
known God blessed this love of
mine.” I found myself wishing that

I more songwriters had Hannan’s gift
of truth and gentle defiance, and that
more singers had the courage to give
life to such a message of spirituality,
love, passion, and tolerance.

It’s unfortunate that the first and
title cut of the album is “I’m Ready.”
1 think that this is the weak link in the

g compilation. As a drummer, I was
disappointed that Lucie chose to use
a_ drum machine in this live recording
instead of taking Danielle Zanella
(her most excellent drummer) to the
concert. Perhaps she got carried
away with the audience, but she sings

 

      
   
  
       
 
     

,-RI C-I-I,.%\_R.I),,. T A F 33. L

  

Republican and Proud
a review by Paul Olsen

        
   
       
   
    
    

Party Crasher:
A Gay Republican Challenges Politics as Usual
By Richard Tafel

I’ve always been intrigued by gay Republicans.

Not the self-hating closet cases, mind you. You know
the type — the ones who oppose gay rights and think
that being gay is something that tlfby do, mostly on
weekends, as opposed to who they are.

I’m talking about the folks who are out and proud
about both their sexual orientation and their politics, and

     
      
    
      
     
    
   
 

 

too far back in her throat on this one,
making it difficult to understand
without reading the lyrics. It could
have been good, but the arrangement
is lame. It made me nervous about
the remainder, but nothing on the rest
of the album disappointed‘ in the
least. ‘

“Un Etranger dans la Ville” paints
a stark, compassionate picture of
homelessness and battery in the city
and points out that if it were our
mother, our father, then surely we
would find something to do. If we
can see all people as our family, per-
haps there will be deeper compassion

motorcycles going to "a sugaring
party, washing the dishes, riding in
the rain, driving through mud, and
singing “like Ellen.” Oh, yes, Lucie
Blue has a sense of humor!

She also has versatility of vocal '
styles. “Pour Toujours” is a classic
love song in any language, sung in a
sweet, breathy voice. “New English
Moosh Song” is just that, but I’m a
sucker for good moosh and the
arrangement is beautiful. “Treasure
of the Soul,” sung in clear, deep, sexy
tones, is a lovely love song with nice
percussion and an V evocative cello
line. It brings up bittersweet memo-' '

 

ries of old loves and reminds me that
some relationships happen in order to
open your mind, rather than to last
for any length of time. “Crushes”
makes me want to flirt with someone

just to feel that tension between ‘

impulse and ‘good behavior.’

In another example of her sense of
humor, Lucie Blue treats us to two
different arrangements of “Sweet
Torment.” At first, I thought my CD
player was repeating itself until I
read the notes. She says “okay, so I
couldn’t make up my mind... it had a

groove, yet it also made me feel so

      
 

not necessarily in that order. Log Cabin Club executive I

for those who are different or less
fortunate; ' '
In contrast, “Les Ailes d’Angele”
(sounds like Hells Angels) is a cool,
driving, dark, and funny tale of a
women’s motorcycle group on a road
trip one Saturday. The arrangement is
brilliant. From the intro, I expected
to hear a story of dark deeds, anger,
and import. The lyrics made me gig-
gle. A heavy bass line in a minor key
gives a contradictory background to
the picture of a bunch of women on

  

L BI Tngmblay
|’rfi"'Ready
Record Company

Here

director'Richard Tafel, an ordained minister, gives read-
ers an opportunity to understand his journey as an out
and activist member of the GOP in Party Crasher: A
Gay Republican Challenges Politics as Usual.

In Part I of his book, Tafel offers a unique, albeit
biased, look at gay history. His review of how gays react
to rejection (assimilationists, liberationists, and libertar-
ians) is interesting. According to Tafel, assimilationists
like the Human Rights Campaign want to be liked, lib-
erationists like ACT UP want to overturn the entire sys-
tem, and libertarians reject identity politics, hate big
government, and take responsibility for their own lives.

Party Crasher also offers a look at Tafel’s coming out
process. Sadly, Tafel describes his struggle with whether
to come out as a Republican while a student at Harvard
Divinity School — not his struggle with coming out as
a gay man. “I made the decision to be honest with my
classmates that day, to tell the truth and let the chips fall
where they may. I came out as a Republican,” he writes.
Not exactly a bold move for a white guy presumed to be
straight at Harvard.

Tafel’s book contains other disappointments; a big
one is a misunderstanding of the political spectrum. He
characterizes I-IRC executive director Elizabeth Birch as
“far left” in spite of the fact that the I-IRC endorsed Sen.
Al D’Amato (R-NY) injhis unsuccessful reelection bid
and has abandoned the transgendered community in the
ENDA debate. Why then does Tafel characterize Birch
as “far left?” His explanation is inadequate.

Tafel’s revisionist view of history also applies to his

love fest with the Reagan administration. He even goes

 

"fragile :)” Both are worth a listen. V

  
   
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
  
  
 
    
  
 

   
   
   
   
    

so far as to make excuses for Reagan’s response to the
AIDS crises. “President Reagan didn’t veto any AIDS
bills,” he writes. Unfortunately Tafel’s analysis com-
pletely misses any discussion of Reagan’s lack of lead-
ership on AIDS; one is left wondering if Tafel has ever
heard of the term.

Throughout Party Crasher, Tafel is rightfully critical
of President Clinton’s “compromise” on the military
ban. Ironically, though, Tafel himself advocates a “don’t
ask, don’t tell” policy regarding sexuality. He profiles
high-ranking gay Republicans who lived their profes-
sional lives in the closet, uses pseudonyms to describe
some of the other people in the book, and even touts a
speech by a closeted gay man at the 1996 Republican
national convention.

Additionally, he is critical of Gay Pride marches.
According to Tafel, Gay Pride marches provide libera-
tionists an opportunity to prove “how loud and radical”
they are and assimilationists with an opportunity to
demonstrate “how organized and powerful” they are.
Apparently “liberationists” like Tafel just stay home -
more “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

In spite of the book’s flaws, Party Crasher is worth
reading. Although biased, Tafel’s views are sincere and
rarely heard by the gay community — or by the GOP,
for that matter. “Changing the Republican Party on gay
issues should be the single most important goal of gay
Democrats, Republicans, and Independents_,” he says
when summarizing his view of gay political strategy. If
you also believe this, no matter what your politics, Party
Crasher is worth a look. V