Motor City Pride, Now and Then

Back when I was still doing this somewhat regularly, Motor City Pride moved from Ferndale to Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit. It was somewhat controversial, as Ferndale has been a hub of gay community in Metro Detroit for a long time. There was resentment. There was discord. There was a hissy-fit.

I spearheaded an initiative among the small businesses of the greater downtown area to show that Detroit was a welcoming community. Honestly, I did it because someone shared with me that the businesses in Ferndale - the ones that had Pride at their doors because it was a street fair - didn't donate to Pride, and I figured Detroit small businesses could at least throw down the welcome mat. We raised like seven grand. Pride that year was the best gay Detroit thing ever.

It was a little rough going at first. I joked that the parade was the Saddest Gay Pride in America, with like fifteen groups marching and four spectators along the way. Don't get me wrong, it was fun. I like it when it is janky - I am a real Detroit 1.0 gal at heart.

In 2013 (year three) there were so few spectators
they were power washing the sidewalks during the parade.

But we made it work anyway.
(Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Cindy Elmwood.)

Fast forward six years. Detroit is now the hottest thing going. I don't know if it's the fact that we have a white mayor or the fact that Shinola has legitimized the city to the Somerset shopper, but the suburbs suddenly cannot get enough Detroit. If you have a problem with that statement all I can say is I talk to suburbanites who haven't come to the city since they finished grad school at Wayne State all week long at work, and I'm just paraphrasing everything they say to me. Whatever it is, the change in the last five years is kind of astounding.

So now the parade is jam-packed full of participants, Griswold Street lined with folks watching the parade. Corporate sponsors up the wazoo (although not a lot of participation from the handful of gay bars remaining in SE MI. Chipotle is in though).

Pre-parade prep. The excitement is palpable. 

Lines to get into Pride at Hart Plaza are long on both Saturday and Sunday. It's kind of amazing, the growth.

I have no snark to add, actually. It's great that finally the whole Pride in Hart Plaza thing has hit its stride.

Every year since year one I have marched with the Robert M. Nelson Presents group, and every year it's one of the highlights of summer. Some people ask, "Who is Robert M. Nelson?" and I feel bad for them. Not everything is instantly discoverable with the Internet. But the people who know, know. (I'll explain some other time).

He's only a Craigslist "Missed Connection" away!

See?

My partner and I have been throwing a gay pride Saturday party since the second year, caftans optional. Sunday we march in the parade. In the beginning we did if for our own entertainment, and today, entertaining thousands, it's no less fun. It's kind of crazy that we can still have a spot in the parade just for the sake of having a spot in the parade. And when it's all over we go into Pride and check it all out. (And the last few years, wind down watching the Tony Awards).

Against all odds, Pride weekend has become the best weekend of the summer. Kudos for that, Motor City Pride. And more importantly, kudos queers of Detroit.

Epilogue/Prologue

It's been almost two and a half years since I last posted on here, and it was intermittent at best before that. So I think it's been pretty safe to say that this blog, as we've known it, is dunzo. What can I say? Sometimes life intervenes.

It's actually been a pretty tumultuous couple of years personally and professionally, sometimes in pretty uniquely Detroit ways. Maybe I'll write about the details someday. Suffice to say things have leveled off. Unlike the heyday of this blog when I was single and living the cheap glamorous life that only Detroit 1.0 could afford you, I now live with my partner outside the downtown bubble in a little house I enjoy quite a bit. And unlike the free-wheeling pre-recession days, I have to work a hell of a lot more to get by. But I'm happier than I've been in a long time, which is good because complaint-blogging is so 2011.

I've actually felt the urge to write a few times in the past year, but it always seems weird just starting up again. So officially closing a chapter seems the best thing to do.

The blog stays up for anyone remotely interested in a slice of the Detroit that caught everyone's attention before Dan Gilbert set his sights on turning downtown into a romper room and Shinola decided Midtown needs to be Williamsburg. Hey, I'm not complaining. I'm just describing it the most concise way I can. Bring on your money Detroit 2.0. If shit's going to be more expensive here I need it.

The future of this blog is less clear. I don't feel the urgency to address the things that brought Supergay Detroit to life 7-1/2 years ago. But (some) people know the name, and it seems too ridiculous to just let it go completely. We'll see.

In the meantime, Season 8 of Doggy Style at the Park Bar starts up again in November, one of the last vestiges of downtown's vestigial ad-hoc gay scene. The Tuesday after the election, November 11, should be the startup. Drinks and my take on the gay video bar. Search the blog if you need details.

Putting the ME in Menergy

Those of you who are awesome will remember an early Macho City where a certain gay blogger was a guest DJ and introduced the Detroit queer world to the glory of Disco Evita, among other rare disco delights. It was a, if I do say so myself.  Well guess what?  I'm at it again!

This Saturday marks the third run of Mike Trombley's fantastic Menergy party and yours truly is the special guest star!  I will be bringing my minimal beat-matching skillz but, frankly, rather amazing and esoteric musical taste to the Temple Bar for one night only, serving up gay 80s Hi-NRG, Italo Disco and more the way I remember it happening.  Or at least the way I imagine I remember it happening.

Menergy has turned out to be a fantastic new dance party from the Mike Trombley (TM) brand, a very fitting sequel to Macho City and a super fun way to get a cultural history lesson while you gay dance the night away!  Plus the cover is a ridiculously low $1!

[Speaking of, the Macho City, Three-Year Anniversary party is coming up April 28, so mark your calendars!]

Come this Saturday, it all starts about 10pm and goes til 2!  And don't forget your poppers!

Doggy Style Curtain Call!

The last Doggy Style of the season is here!  How did that even happen?  I blame global climate change.

Anyway, tomorrow night, Tuesday April 3, is the last Doggy Style of the season!  Come on out and get one final dose of downtown gay camaraderie, plus drinks and fun videos!  Come and watch the Hotel Charlevoix fall apart into the street!  Park on the street before the city bans it after 10pm!  So many things to enjoy at this special moment in time.

The good times start around 9:30 and continue into the evening.  I've got lots of new videos for you to watch, or you can even talk to friends, old and new.  See you tomorrow!

Later, Skater!

The sad story of my life is that I don't get out much anymore.  You know how that goes: the less you go out, the harder it is to force yourself to go out.  Sometimes you just want to hang out and watch some episodes of New Girl on demand, ok?

Last night, however, comedic genius and my partner-in-crime Robert M. Nelson managed to stir me from the sofa to head out for a night of gay rollerskating in, of all places, Farmington.  That's a hell of a drive.

I am not a good skater, never was.  The last time I rollerskated was in, say, 1980 when I face-planted on the rink at Metro Beach (resulting in three root canals a few years later). The last time I rollerbladed I ended up in the ER with a closed-head injury (cute ER resident though!).  And one thing I really hate is not being good at something in front of other people.  So it was with great trepidation I approached the entire adventure, but I'm really glad I did.

Snack 'n Chat!!

Robert obeys the rules in the Snack 'n Chat.

The Bonaventure Family Skating Center is a full-on 1980 time capsule, from the architecture to the interior signage to the skating rink lightshow.  I don't think I have to tell you how much that excited me!  It was exactly like this scene in Tales of the City.

It was boys-boys-boys and some girls (and some ladyboys) and everyone was so damn nice, it was great.  I watched the action rink-side for a while before venturing in, and one guy was skating by and said "hi!" and then fully wiped out.  Classic!

Robert M. Nelson, rollerskating enthusiast.

Cindy Elmwood only fell twice, but looked lovely doing so!

The Lady Anastasia was booking around the rink.

Robert loves Prize Time!

I wasn't as bad at skating as I thought I would be, although I hesitate to say I had it mastered by the end of the night.  But I did see some guys I know and haven't seen in a long time except on Facebook, and I got to skate to "Xanadu" which is pretty much the greatest thing to happen to me this year.

Shiny disco balls.

After the fact I found out it was organized by Menjo's and Backstreet, so I think I am in love with them and I'm going to check out the new Menjo's re-do as soon as it opens. There's an article about the gay skating night here, and God willing they will do it again soon!  Best gay time ever!

Bonaventure really IS the home of the good times!!

Lezzie les bons temps roulez!

In the interest of the recap, let me just say that Menergy was the funnest, gayest dance party I've been to in forever.  It was so fun to see so many friends and SO MANY new faces.  It's always nice to get an influx of new gay folks to meet.  And check out.

It was also great because it was really, really a gay night.  I love a gay dance party when it's just the gays and the cool kids because it reminds of what a trip to the gay bar used to be like.  There have always been straight women, and sometimes straight men, but they were always there as part of the party, not to co-opt the party.  One of the trade-offs with gay mainstreaming is now the gay world is more accessible to more straight people, so you sometimes get a phenomenon like Boystown in Chicago, the bachelorette party capital of the Midwest.  Where it isn't about having fun in the context of a gay scene, it's about the novelty of the gay scene.  No, really, I'm not super-fun and I DON'T want to do body shots off the bride-to-be, I just want to check out the gay eye candy. Plus seriously, until gay people can get married don't you find it a little cavalier bringing drunk wedding hijinx into a gay bar?

Or to frame it locally - one of the first times I went to Macho City I heard a couple straight folks talk a bit incredulously that there was a guy giving another guy oral pleasure against the pool table.  It's a gay leather bar, you were expecting hopscotch?  One of the last times I went there were two hipster-glam straight girls making out on that same pool table, which just struck me as a terribly desperate cry for attention. You're at a gay bar, ladies, so for once, it isn't about you.  Hang out, be cool and just have fun, mkay?

Of course Temple Bar isn't technically a gay bar, so I probably feel less defensive about any and all sorts showing up.  As long as Mike Trombley is spinning awesome music and Robert is running around the dancefloor offering poppers to everyone, I'm good.  And I can't wait for next time!

In other news, the Doggy Style countdown has begun!  We're about six weeks out from Opening Day, so crawl out of your hole one of these Tuesdays and enjoy Detroit's best gay-er night before it's gone for the season.  Tonight will be extra fun because a whole slew of unsuspecting Guns 'n' Roses fans will stumble in after the show and enjoy some Abba or Limahl or Angela Lansbury with their nightcap.

So, perhaps we will see you tonight at the Park Bar for some Mardis Gras fun?  And don't worry, we are respectful and all about having fun in the context of the straight scene, because really, what novelty is left?  Kidding!

Menergy

Is it just me or are things kind of blah around here lately?  I know people are saying all kinds of nice things about Detroit and if life were as active as my Facebook feed things would be rockin', but it isn't and they aren't. Maybe it's the winter doldrums but I just haven't been feeling it lately.

Which is why you can imagine my excitement when I was chatting with Mike Trombley a little while ago and he told me that while Macho City is on hiatus, he's come up with a new dance party for homosexuals like (possibly) you and (definitely) me. Moving forward a little bit on the gay dance music timeline, this one focuses on the synth-heavy dance music of the early 80's, and it takes its name from the iconic hi-NRG track by Patrick Cowley: Menergy.

If you're like me and obsessed with gayness before your time, Menergy (menergy) is of course a completely thrilling concept. It's San Francisco, 1981. You dance the night away rocking the clone look and doing poppers on the dancefloor, hooking up with a stranger in the back room and not worrying about AIDS because nobody heard of it yet.  Well, there's no back room and we have heard of AIDS now, but maybe make out with a stranger in the corner and pretend, or get a handy in the bathroom.  And bring your own poppers, they won't be for sale behind the bar like at Macho City.

Menergy (menergy) is also generating enormous excitement Chez Supergay because Mike Trombley is THE KING of finding great music you never knew existed.  To help you visualize the vibe, Mike has provided a list of people, places and things you should contemplate (which, conveniently enough, are also gay blog keyword search gold):

Think Hi-NRG, Patrick Cowley, Oil Can Harry's, The EndUp Club, Bath House Etiquette, Bobby Orlando, Ian Levine, Sequential Circuits, Trocadero Transfer, Todd's, Midnight Funk Association, Man Parrish, Mr. Master, Italo Disco, Disconet mixes, mustaches, Numbers, Club Heaven, Stock Aitken Waterman, Tales of the City, Joe Dallesandro, Cruise or be Cruised, The Hanky Code, Tom of Finland, Fire Island, Urei 1620, Minimal Synth, Megatone, Kenneth Anger, Bruce LaBruce, Peter Berlin, Chad Douglas, Klaus Nomi, Keith Haring, Larry Levan, Den Haan, The Music Box, Continental Baths, poppers, beards, booze and dance moves. 

Menergy (men-er-gy) will be held at the Temple Bar, which is super awesome because it is conveniently located downtown and has a proven track record of hosting awesome dance parties ie: Haute To Death. It debuts this Saturday night, February 11, so prepare to get hot and sweaty on the dancefloor.  I'm off to listen to my Megatone 12-inch compilation to get in the mood - see you there!

M E N E R G Y

Hi-NRG * Italo Disco * Minimal Synth

21+ / $1 Cover

The Temple Bar, 2906 Cass Avenue, Detroit

Centaur Style!

For our first Doggy Style of 2012 we're going on a little road trip!  And by little I mean very little ... Doggy Style is moving up Park Avenue for one extra fancy night at Centaur!  So everyone come out for a whole new audio/visual/homosexual experience tomorrow night!

Why the switch-up?  Well, I have been friends with Centaur owner Sean Harrington for what seems like forever.  It has to be 15 years now.  He is a great guy, and we have worked together on many projects together over the years, most significantly my temporary (and soon to be permanent) store Hugh, where he served as very accommodating landlord.

When I came up with the idea of the Pride Project last year, Sean was one of the first people I called and was the very first one to commit to a sponsorship - for both Centaur and Town Pump - so I guess you could say he is the one who really gave me the assurance I needed that I would be able to pull together a reasonable amount of support.  And obviously, that turned out great.

So as a thank you, I told him we'd do a Doggy Style "uptown" and hopefully spend a little of that alleged gay dollar up his way.

Those of you who have been hanging around the Detroit scene for a while will remember the Guerrilla Queer Bar events that were held at Centaur (there were two), and they were always great fun.  So to kick off 2012 we're going to give a little love back to Sean, since really a big reason anything I've done in the past few years was remotely successful was because of his help.

Centaur is going to hook us up with special prices on drinks for the night!  House pours are usually $7, but they will be $5 for the night (and their house pours are not junk).  And if you've been meaning to check out the new Hot Taco in the old Hugh space, you can do that cuz they're open 'til 2!  So come out to Centaur, the original home of the gay straight guy, and have some fun, Centaur Style!

Shaping Up Detroit

One of things that has been on my to-do list with this blog (which I’m sure you can imagine is pretty long at this point) is to write about gay and lesbian business owners in Detroit.  In the first piece I wrote for Model D back in 2007 I talked about some of the gay-owned businesses in the city, and what great ones they are.  But where do we stand four years later?  Is there anyone new?  It turns out that yes, there are, and I am going to start talking about them, beginning with Kimo Frederickson of True Body Fitness.

I first met Kimo last year at Doggy Style.  As you may be aware, fitness is not my milieu, so when I found out he was a personal trainer I naturally tried to get away as quickly as possible to spare myself any judgment.  Well, several friends started working out at TBF and it turns out it is like the least judgmental place ever.  Which I guess I would have known if I’d looked at their website where it says in big letters “Fitness without the attitude” but you know, gym websites are not high on my browsing list. 

I probably never would have gotten to know Kimo unless Liz Blondy (of Canine To Five, Detroit’s best dog daycare, boarding and grooming facility) hadn’t said to me, “Dude, you won Hatch Detroit and are going to have your picture taken a million times next year.  You will need to look good.”   So I finally got my act together and met with Kimo on a professional level. 

Now this isn’t meant to be a SGD fitness report, but it’s kind of hard to separate out my experience from writing about True Body Fitness.  So let me just say it’s going fine, don't expect anything crazy and we will never speak about me working out again.

Kimo actually started True Body Fitness in 2008 in a residential space in Howell.  Can you imagine how bleak that was? (Nothing personal, Kimo)  So at the end of 2010 he made the big leap and not only moved to Detroit, but rented a ground-floor studio space in Corktown on Michigan Avenue, set it all up and started putting together all the components of a full-fledged fitness studio.

The studio is awesome.  I’d just assumed it was going to be some small-ish crappy drywalled space but it’s all brick walls and mirrors and high ceilings and lots of light.  It’s in that commercial strip on the north side of Michigan Avenue just before Trumbull, the one with all the brick buildings and green awnings.  Watch for it the next time you drive out of downtown.

Kimo’s main thing is the one-on-one fitness instruction, which I can attest really kicks your ass.  He’s so nice about it though, not so much in the way he’s a total prick making you finish a set that is really fucking hard but in the way he makes you feel like you genuinely did a good job when you finish.  Personal training isn’t totally cheap, though, and I get it isn’t for everyone.  What is cool about TBF is that there is an entire separate room where you can get your Zumba or yoga on.  I could give the whole spiel but you should take a look at the class schedule here to see the offerings.

I asked Kimo why he opened up in Detroit, and his answer wasn’t unexpected.  He wanted to feel connected to a diverse community and do his small part to make Detroit a better place.  He has had a really great response, especially to the classes.  One very nice idea he had is the “Fit to Give” classes, where the proceeds from those particular classes each month benefit a designated charity.  

Overall, he told me it’s the people that are the best thing about being open in Detroit, and how overall it’s been great being a new-ish member of the community.  I know that’s a common refrain, but it does make me happy to hear that people are coming to town, genuinely working hard to build something and having a good experience.

I have to throw this in though: the other day we were talking about this whole “gentrification” discussion that’s going on (which is not really about gentrification but that’s another blog post) and he told me about an email he got when he opened.  Some woman from Corktown wrote to let him know that she and her friends viewed him as some kind of interloper from the suburbs and she and her friends were carpooling to Dearborn for their yoga class.  Just to let him know.  It turns out it’s some white chick originally from northern Michigan somewhere.  If that doesn’t sum up how ridiculous that whole “outsiders moving in” bullshit is getting, I don’t know what does.

Anyway, back to Kimo.  I haven’t even talked about the gay aspect of things, and I guess other than the fact that he has a lot of gay clients, there really isn’t one.  He’s just an out gay man running his business in the city, and since he has a boyfriend he isn’t even bitter about the gay social scene. Kind of refreshing!

I know some of you are making some New Year’s resolutions to be more fit, so why don’t you check out some classes at True Body Fitness and support a sister while you’re at it! Oh and check out TBF on Facebook for lots of studio pics and more info!

[Oh, and Kimo wanted me to ask: TBF is looking for a gay-friendly bootcamp instructor, dance instructor and maybe a trainer.  If you know anyone cool and city-loving, have them email Kimo here!]

"Kramer" vs Kramer

As you are probably aware, Huffington Post has started a Detroit section, featuring opinion pieces from every variety of Detroiter, and because we are ultimately a small town it has of course become a little bit of a shitstorm already.

Toby Barlow wrote a piece called "Detroit," Meet Detroit which was a strong argument for the idea that as much as people from the 'burbs want to say they are Detroit, they really are ultimately still the suburbs. Maybe not his strongest idea piece ever - this is the man who broke the $100 house story (much to Ryan  Cooley's chagrin) and who proposed the idea that became Dan Gilbert's business model - but a strong assertion to actually make in public. Naturally, a strongly worded response arrived from the Northwest Territories saying "Hey!  Whose money is fixing up your damn town anyway??"  It's a tale as old as time, revisiting itself in a new iteration: City vs. Suburb: the Blog Wars.

I'm not going to belabor this in a lengthy way, and I'm going to paint in relatively broad strokes, so take this all with a grain of salt.  But the fact is, if you don't live in the city, if you don't put up with the bullshit along with the glory, then you ARE a suburbanite.  The biggest lesson I learned when I moved to Detroit was that living in Detroit was a completely different experience than just hanging out in Detroit.  And you can't fake it and you can't learn it from the outside and it is almost impossible to create authentic, meaningful, non-douchebaggy change unless you live here.

I was having a drink with an old acquaintance a while back. someone who knew me from my store back in the Ann Arbor days and who now lives in Royal Oak.  He was doing what I call the Suburban Shuffle ... getting in on the street cred of Detroit while trying to rationalize staying in the 'burbs.  The old, "I'd move to Detroit except ..." And I said listen, nobody who lives in Detroit has any superpowers.  But they did make that leap, and they take the bad with the good.  So don't expect a pat on the back because you tool down I-75 for the fun stuff and then tsk-tsk from the comfort of your fake loft when the latest calamity strikes.

There's a lot of cool stuff going on in Detroit right now, and it hasn't always been this way.  And suddenly it's cool to say you're a Detroiter.  I do believe there are Detroiters "in spirit," but at the end of the day you don't get to use Detroit to validate yourself without fully committing.

So what IS the status of the suburbanite who loves Detroit but won't or can't move to the city?  Or who just loves where they live (because frankly our suburbs are pretty great if you're into that kind of thing)? Well, I think you are "A Suburbanite Who Loves Detroit."  Or a "Detroiter in Spirit." It's not an aspersion, it's just a fact. I know a TON of people who fit that description. Please, do stuff in the city, work to make it better if that's what you believe in, say good things about it.  And be honest and unapologetic about your level of involvement.  I think you'll find everyone appreciates that.

Or, why don't you move to Detroit?  THAT is how you really make a difference, and you can finally be a Detroiter!  Now wouldn't that be awesome?

Sit. Stay. Roll Over.

Hey!  It's a holiday week for Doggy Style, and that always means extra fun.  Especially if you have Wednesday off!

Doggy Style is off to a great start for its fifth season, but maybe you haven't been yet.  "What can I expect?" you may be wondering.  Well here's the deal:  there is an awesome (if I do say so myself) mix of videos from the sixties to now, with a bit of an emphasis on the golden age of music videos, the 80s.  There is gay music and new wave music and electronic music and not an insignificant amount of euro-pop.  There are the occasional clips from musicals, television shows and viral videos.  And sometimes I make my own videos because I still am occasionally inspired and have a little free time.

The crowd is always mixed - straight people like Doggy Style too!  But the vibe is gay and there is generally a good assortment of the city-oriented homosexualists I created Doggy Style to appeal to in the first place.  How many?  A good week might have fifty.  An off-week might have a dozen.  It's really a crapshoot, but everyone is friendly and sometimes there's even a love connection (although honestly, not that often).

Overall, if you are looking to change it up from the usual gay bar thing and meet some clever and inspiring folks while watching clever and inspiring music videos, then Doggy Style is for you.  See you this week, maybe, for the good times of Doggy Style and the great taste of booze at the Park Bar!

No Stars

Man, I love a Doggy Style night, especially when it follows an Open City.  Open City, if you are not familiar, is a kind of grassroots small business incubator/support group/networking opportunity that's been going on for several years.  It's a good resource if you are thinking about embarking on your own independent retail adventure in Detroit.  Tonight's topic was "Localism" - ways to support and cultivate local business.

Of course I didn't make it despite my best efforts.  I was delayed by an extended meetup with some writing co-horts elsewhere, but I got to talk to a lot of the Open City folks at the Park Bar before Doggy Style.  So I had "Localism" on my mind all night.

Fortunately, I had a little local in the video mix for the evening.  It probably depends a lot on your age, whether or not you remember these guys, but Figures on a Beach were kind of a big deal in the 80s in Detroit.  They were signed to Sire records (in the Depeche Mode heydey) and were included on the first Sire compilation CD "Just Say Yes" with their song "No Stars."

Naturally they faded away, a bit of a one-hit wonder, although I still have their EP "Swimming" which is pretty great.  And man, did I have a new wave crush on the lead singer.

Anyway, "No Stars" made an appearance at Doggy Style tonight and in the spirit of "Localism," let's celebrate one of Detroit's few New Wave breakout bands, Figures on a Beach.

Late Night

Once upon a time, this would have been prime blogging time for me. 1:30am, after a night out with my favorite Detroit people. Lots of discussions about things on the horizon, and challenges that need meeting. Maybe not a typical Monday night, but a typical something night.

Instead, life has just been weird. I think about all the changes I've been though in the past year and a half - trying to develop new revenue streams; applying for abysmal jobs that you HOPE can make a difference, at least in your bank account; and wondering how did it all go so awry. I mean, once upon a time I bought art!

And that has been the full blog killer. I used to feel inspired, but lately I've just been tired. I can't believe how much I underestimated how much a lack of television and the killer view in my Lafayette Towers apartment inspired me. Sitting down and looking at the city evey night while I put on some old vinyl or listened to jazz was (it turns out) the perfect storm for blogging magic.

But now, Supergay Detroit has got to pull it together.

I've said about all I've had to say about the need for a more visible gay scene in Detroit. We are in desperate need for social outlet, this downtown-oriented crowd, and that hasn't changed too much in five years. What *has* changed is the fact we actually have a few more outlets now. It ebbs and flows, but the startup of Doggy Style again this year made me realize what a big difference even one night a week makes in connecting with gay people in the city.

Things aren't all doom and gloom though.  That Hatch Detroit competition I wrote about? I ended up winning. So within a year I'll be back doing what I love.

When Facebook became such a big thing, I decided I needed to make Supergay Detroit posts reasonably worthwhile, not just promos for gay events.. But I think I built it up too much in my head, and stopped writing because I couldn't do my goals justice. That will change. I think I can write and be a little frivolous and still produce reasonable content. Because ultimately, the internet is kind of lame. I can rise to that level!

This is a long kind of drunk way of saying hopefully, I'm back. There are still gay stories to tell in Detroit, and I want to get back to telling them.

Happy Tuesday.

Strap On Your Girdle ...

It's back!  Starting tomorrow night.  See you there!

Doggy Style Is Back

Yo guess what?  It's time to start up Doggy Style again.  Yep, now that the blight of baseball crowds is gone we can return to our own weekly takeover of the Park Bar for downtown's only and therefore by default best gay night!

The fifth season kicks off next Tuesday, November 8, around 9 o'clock.  Come and enjoy the music, videos and camaraderie that has given gay doggy style a whole new meaning!

Now very quickly, I need to ask you a favor.  As I've mentioned, Hugh, the pop-up shop I opened back in 2009 and 2010, is in the Hatch Detroit competition, and I could win $50,000 to open the store permanently.  It's big time.  If you could do me a solid and vote for Hugh today, tomorrow and Wednesday I'd be REALLY grateful!

You have to register using your e-mail address, which I know is a tiny pain.  But I'll spend 8 hours a week for the next six months taking care of your gay socializing needs if you'll just spend two minutes a day for three days taking care of my voting needs!  It's a fair trade!  Go here to vote for Hugh!

Out on the Town

There are a couple events in the SE Michigan LGBT community that really should be on your "don't miss" list.  Motor City Pride is a big one, of course, and fortunately you get the rest of the summer off because if you are involved with it in any way you will be exhausted.  Another big one is coming up though, Michigan Equality's State Equality Dinner.

This annual dinner has been going on for some time, and it's a standout.  It brings together so many different people in our LGBT community into one room, it's like a one-stop gay networking shop!  Long-time activists, prominent community members, straight allies and the next generation of leaders all mixing and mingling at a "family" reunion. The evening also recognizes outstanding leaders who have worked hard to advance Michigan's LGBT movement.

This year the State Equality Dinner is a standout because the keynote speaker is Cleve Jones.  If you are an astute film viewer you will recognize the name from the movie Milk, where a young Cleve Jones is shown working with Harvey Milk in the pioneering days of the gay rights movement.  If you are an astute student of LGBT history you will recognize Cleve Jones as the founder of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.

When I was a youngster living in the gay ghetto of Washington, DC, I went to see the Quilt during its display on the National Mall in 1992.  I had maybe a mild interest in gay rights issues at the time, but more concern about HIV/AIDS (this was the pre-drug cocktail days, remember).  But mostly I was a gay kid more preoccupied with decorating my apartment than engaging with the gay community for more than a night at the bar.

My visit to the AIDS Memorial Quilt was an insane eye-opener about the extent to which AIDS was ravaging the gay world, and a huge early lesson about how many straight friends and family also really deeply cared about what was happening. People were mostly silent as they walked through the acres and acres of quilt panels, looking at highly personal memorial after memorial.  Volunteers stood by with boxes of tissue for those who were overcome, which were many - it was impossible not to be moved. 

I wish I could say that viewing the Quilt was an immediate call-to-arms for me, but it took a while for me to really start to realize there were things I could personally do to help.  It is something I can still remember vividly, though, and when I think about my current interest in working within the LGBT community, that experience is one of the early seeds.

A few years back I was at Common Language bookstore and picked up Cleve Jones' autobiography, Stitching a Revolution.  It's a great read full of info about the early gay rights movement, and it shows how the call to action isn't necessarily a deliberate choice, it can simply be a reaction to what we see happening in the world. For the gay historian, the casual activist and even just the curious, it's a recommended read.

You may not be the next Cleve Jones, but you can hear him speak (and maybe meet him) this Saturday night!

State Equality Dinner and Catalyst Awards

Saturday, October 22^nd

The Henry, Dearborn (formerly the Ritz-Carlton)

Featuring a VIP reception, silent auction, formal dinner, and an afterglow celebration.

Standard ticket: $150

VIP ticket: $250

Afterglow only: $50 (featuring DJ Jace)

All proceeds benefit the programs of Equality Michigan.

Tickets are available at www.equalitymi.org/dinner, or by calling 313-537-7000, x108

Transforming Spaces, Transforming Places

[This is a blog post I wrote for my store Hugh, which I've written about briefly on here before. Hugh is currently a semi-finalist in the Hatch Detroit competition, which will ultimately award a $50,000 prize to the business with the most votes. I don't usually mix the business of Supergay Detroit with the business of Joe Posch, but it's all becoming a blurred line anyway, so I'd really appreciate your support in this contest! You can vote here once every 24 hours per IP address - so once from home, once from work and once from your phone. Enlist some friends if you can - every vote helps!]

When I was interviewed on the Craig Fahle Show on WDET last week, Craig asked me why I am so bullish on retail in Detroit.  I gave my two cents on why I think Detroit is a great place to undertake a retail endeavor, but I didn't talk at all about why I think independent retail in general is a great idea right now.

The first thing that is so great about independent retail is the emphasis on the unique retail experience, and this has always been my favorite thing about retail and why I'll never stop loving bricks-and-mortar.  When you open a store you aren't just creating a space, you are engaging the imagination of your customers. There's an opportunity to inspire.  It's always primarily about the products you sell, but in the two spaces I've had in Detroit I think the thing that gives me the most pride is the way I created something that really exceeded people's expectations. Here are a few before and after shots:

Hugh - Before

Hugh - After

The second Hugh - Hugh for the Holidays

Mezzanine - Before

Mezzanine - After

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With the shift over the past twenty years toward big chain retail and internet commerce, we've lost sight of the ways that independent stores define our neighborhoods and our cultures, provide a singular point-of-view, and allow us to connect and build community.

I found a copy of a 1983 book called simply Detroit Guide at an estate sale this week.  It's a highly-opinionated take on everything the metro area had to offer at the time, and I was looking at the record stores reviewed: Sam's Jams, Village Records, The Record Collector and of course Harmony House. They were places music lovers could gather to hang out and talk, explore new music, and sometimes even get a job. And while the internet has made access to music easier than ever and taken the conversation global, that local community all but died with the neighborhood record shop.

Likewise, Netflix and on-demand video have taken away many of the meeting (and working) places for film buffs. And bookstores look like the next endangered species.

What is so great about this moment for independent retail is that a well-executed endeavor can help define and transform a neighborhood, and can still build a community. Sure, it's got to be special if it is going to compete with the chains or the web, but that ensures that a shop's personality is strong and enduring. We have dozens of examples of this working in Detroit right now, changing our neighborhoods. And the best thing about it is we just think we're having fun.

That's why a competition like Hatch Detroit is so much more than simply a pot of loot for the winner. It endorses the idea that independent retail is not only alive but more important than ever, and that even though the powers-that-be may focus on bigger, corporate commercial development, there ain't nothing like the real thing. Baby.

Their Voices

If you recall, last year I wrote about a benefit for the Ruth Ellis Center called Kaleidoscope. And then, I went to it. And then? I meant to write about it but never got around to it. That’s a refrain you should be familiar with by now.

In the interim, I have gotten to know the Ruth Ellis Center quite a bit better than before, in part through my friendship with their outstanding executive director Laura Hughes, and also through a shopping event to benefit the Center we held at my pop-up store Hugh last March. It’s an outstanding organization that benefits some of the most vulnerable members of the Detroit LGBTQ community, homeless and at-risk youth. If you aren’t familiar with the Center please, PLEASE go to their website and learn about them.

Held at the Scarab Club, last year’s event featured the debut of a documentary on voguing produced at the Center that was … what’s the word? … oh yeah, fierce.  I met so many new people at the event, both supporters of the Center and folks involved with operations, and then I had the chance to watch a live performance by some of the young people at the Center. Which I recorded.

Werk.

In my visits to the Center I’ve learned how welcoming it is, and how a real family forms there. The Center’s Highland Park location is so unassuming, you’d never realize the beauty of the work that goes on inside. But the really wonderful thing about the Ruth Ellis Center is the community it has built. The young people who have benefitted from its programs. The staff that genuinely cares about the mission of the Center. And the supporters who are sincere in their dedication, but not so sincere that having a conversation with them is rash-inducing. Basically it’s a lot of great, unpretentious, interesting people.

Tomorrow night there is another benefit for the Ruth Ellis Center, called Voices, which I really encourage you to attend.  They’ve upped the ante in the party department – this one being held at MoCAD – and there is really not a single benefit event you’ll feel better about attending. Why? Well, the good works of the Center and the people who attend, but mostly getting a chance to see the youth who attend the Center put their best face forward and show you what they’re all about!

There will be spoken word performances, where youth from the center tell stories from the heart about their lives. And there will be art, where work produced by the young people of the center will be for sale in a silent auction. All in all, a brilliant night!

If you care about LGBT-related causes then figure out some way to show up. The Ruth Ellis Center is a big part of the Detroit gay community’s non-profit world, and you need to be a part of it!

Voices: A Benefit for the Ruth Ellis Center
Thursday, September 22  5:30pm - 10:00pm
Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, 4454 Woodward Avenue, Detroit
Tickets $175 for VIP, $125 regular admission, $50 for under 30
Dinner, beer, wine.
For detailed event information check out the Facebook invite.
To buy tickets, go to www.ruthelliscenter.org or call 313.252.1950

Some Video Fierceness

The following video was emailed to me from its mysterious producer, Inspire Inspiration, and it has some GREAT video footage from this year's Hotter Than July.  Check it out and see why next year, you'll be at HTJ!

Skip to about the 30 second mark to get to the action!

Raised Voices, Raised Awareness

Continuing in the vein of highlighting Detroit's LGBT community, there's another video making its debut this week.  This one is a partnership between Model D Media and The HOPE Fund.  Read more about it here.

This video highlights the growth of leadership in the gay communities of color in Detroit - KICK, which serves Detroit's African-American community; Detroit Latin@z, which serves the Latino community; and Al-Gamea, which serves the Middle Eastern community.  It's a great testament to the growing voices of *all* aspects of the LGBT community in Detroit.

That growth is so fantastic, by the way, because with growing voices comes increased visibility. That is key as we work to change policy toward LGBT people in Michigan, but also as we work to become a more interconnected gay community here in the city of Detroit.

I also recommend you check you yet another gorgeous photo slide show by Marvin Shaouni, which captures some great moments from Detroit's Black Pride celebration, "Hotter Than July," which took place this past Saturday!

I have to tell you, this has really been quite a year so far for the gay community in Detroit. I feel like our collective identity is really shining. And more importantly, I don't think I can remember when there has been so much bridge-building within the community. It's a pretty exciting time!