Issue 42 - noiZe Magazine
Transcription
Nu umbe er 42 • Winte er 200 04 • © Circu uitt No oize e Maga azine,, LLC C. TM The Premier Guide to Dance Events Worldwide FROM THE EDITOR We’ve often heard that the Circuit was born out of the need to rebuild our community after the plague had so devastated it. After the long dark night of losing so many friends and loved ones, we rose from the ashes, dancing to reaffirm our place among the living. The truth is the earliest parties were not fundraisers. Huge forprofit dance parties were springing up in Atlanta and New York. Some brilliant and compassionate men saw what was happening and decided to harness this idea to raise much needed funds for the community-based organizations that were helping us to deal with the crisis. These fundraisers provided money for services needed by those living with HIV. Did the boys really come to these parties out of a sense of altruism? Nah. They came because these parties were populated by beautiful young men and they were hoping to get laid. That may sound like sacrilege to some. But is it really? Should we be ashamed of having a sex drive? It’s ironic that the gay community had just experienced its first decade of exploring our sexual birthright, of removing our sense of shame about sex, of freely connecting to the primal man-toman sex drive that had been suppressed since the time of the Romans - when HIV surfaced and reinforced all of those old puritanical views about sex. Cover Photo by Onno Visser [email protected] As we gain acceptance from the mainstream, some in the gay community want us to be just like everyone else. But we cannot allow ourselves to be pulled into the belief systems of society at large. One of the main reasons that we exist as a people in this time and place is to teach the world the power of sex. Good sex can empower us by reconnecting us to our primal nature. Sexual connections have the power to expose us to new ideas – after all, is there any time that you’re more receptive to listening to someone than when you’re laying in their arms after a good fuck? And ecstatic sex has the power to heal us on a multitude of levels in ways that we are only beginning to understand. Sex is not only natural and good but it is an essential part of what makes us human. No one is better equipped to teach the world this lesson than the gay community for we know that sex is about something far more than simply procreation. --Steve Kammon Circuit 2 Noize Fall Circuit Photo Album (Page 56) TM Editor in Chief Steve Kammon [email protected] Publisher Stephen Ceplenski [email protected] The Premier Guide to Dance Events Worldwide Advertising Director Gary Steinberg 818-769-9390 [email protected] TABLE OF CONTENTS 14 Miranda Rights by D. Michael Taylor 22 The Ecstatic Path by Joseph Kramer, Ph.D. 28 Connecting with Strangers by Steve Kammon 32 The Ears Have It 40 3-way Intersections by Stephen Ceplenski and Steve Kammon 46 Bro’s and Brokers and Bears...Oh My! by Alejandro Marin 48 Music Reviews by Jamie Nicholes 52 The Insecurity Diet by Cristopher Blake 56 Fall Circuit Photo Album 72 Benefit Spotlight: Jungle Senior Editor Jeffery Taylor Schedule Editor Tony Hayden Art Director Stephen Ceplenski Prromotions Circuit Boyz Productions Cover Artwork Onno Visser: [email protected] Event Accent Photos Moody Mustafa & Getty Images Circuit Photos The Boyz of Circuit Noize David Flower GreatPartyPics.com John Stoltzfus Jeff Trentham Tim Wong Writers and Contributors Josh Adler Cristopher Blake Mike Collins Siana-Lea Gildard Joseph Kramer, Ph.D. Alejandro Marin Tony Miros Jamie Nicholes David Sexton D. Michael Taylor East Coastt Office 954-764-8210 (voice) 954-764-6392 (fax) by Mike Collins West Coast Office 11288 Ventura Blvd #700 Studio City, CA 91604 818-769-9390 (voice) 818-769-5482 (fax) 84 Winter Circuit Schedule E-mail Website 98 Winter Party - The Beat Goes On! by Siana-Lea Gildard ©Copyright 2004 Circuit Noize. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced without permission from the publisher. Publication of name or photo of any person or organization in Circuit Noize is not to be construed as any indication of the sexual orientation of that person or organization. 100 Let There Be White! by David Sexton and Tony Miros 102 [email protected] www.circuitnoize.com www.partyfinder.com travel.circuitnoize.com Carnival Awakening by Josh Adler Published in February, May, August and November Circuit 3 Noize UNITE! 15th Annual Produced by: BLUE BALL PHILADELPHIA • 2005 January 28, 29, 30 Tickets: www.circuiticket.com Information: www.blueballphilly.com 267-514-2088 Sponsors: National Constitution Center DJ Tony Moran • DJ Alyson Calagna • DJ Billy Carroll DJ Lydia Prim • DJ Junior Vasquez Bronze Silver Gold davidlewisIMAGES All proceeds from Jungle 13 go to BCBC beneficiaries. Each beneficiary provides direct services to people affected by HIV/AIDS, in the Houston area, ranging from primary medical care to research. BCBC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL PARTICIPATING PROMOTERS, DJS, SPONSORS, NIGHTCLUBS, PERFORMERS AND MOST IMPORTANTLY ALL OF YOU WHO MADE QUEER AS FOLK - FUTURE BABYLON TOUR AN ENOURMOUS SUCCESS WE WILL ANNOUNCE DETAILS OF 2005'S QUEER AS FOLK - BABYLON TOUR ON JANUARY 1, 2005 THROUGH MIRANDA RIGHTS by D. Michael Taylor There are very few constants in life, especially when you live in a big city. There are the clichés,, death and taxes, and most of us try as hard as we can to avoid thinking about either. I still owe New Jersey some tax money, I think. I’m considering pulling the McGreevey card: I’m a gay American, dammit! Perhaps a third option should be added to that list – boredom. Nothing seems to motivate me to distraction like the slow, cruel monotony of feeling like I’m not doing anything special. Which is why we constantly try to find new and inventive ways to busy ourselves. Some find distraction in their work, or a club, or the gym. A lucky few find someone to stay busy with on a regular basis – keeping a home together, shopping for groceries online, maybe buying a pet or an expensive couch. All of which can take on a monotony of its own if you’re not careful. And then there’s my personal favorite, sex. It was a boring, lonely Saturday morning for me. I crawled out of bed, still feeling ill from the beef and scallops “special” I had on Wednesday night at a cheap Chinese place on the Upper West Side. Don’t ever trust a restaurant Circuit that has an all-you-can-drink wine night. My tender stomach limited my options for the weekend. Drug binges and allnighters were out. I hadn’t been to the gym in several weeks, so that was out, as I didn’t relish the full-body sprain that follows a gym hiatus. My only options seemed to be writing this overdue article and bingeing on Sex and the City reruns. So I started with the reruns. No matter how many annoying little fags they managed to stick in that show, there was always only one gay character. Samantha Jones stands out as probably one of the most vivid urban gay men on TV. As she would say herself, “Isn’t she fabulous?” She was strong and independent, knew how to keep her game face on even when life troubled her, and took life by the balls – literally. She waltzed into every VIP entrance and restaurant opening in the city as if she owned the place. She even ended up with a gorgeous model boyfriend. It’s every boy’s dream life, no? So, the recipe for a cosmopolitan fag is as follows: flippant, fun, delightfully 14 Noize shallow, never boring, and sexually adventurous with a dash of nasty wit. Add vodka and shake. Those of us that venture outside the boundaries, seeking our inner Charlotte or indulging in our neurotic Carrie, don’t play as well with the Circuit Noize crowd, and generally fall off the radar as far as gay culture is concerned. But I’ve always had the nagging suspicion that under neath my sparkling wit and endless sexual escapades (which have been quite fabulous, actually), I harbor a deep, dark secret. My sense of humor tends to be a bit on the bitter side, I look better in a suit than a Whittal & Shon ensemble, and I harbor awkward feelings for an exboyfriend. All of which points to one inescapable parallel. I’m actually Miranda. Except for the rich lawyer part. Who the hell wants to be Miranda? She’s the depressing character, right? The dowdy, realistic downer of the crew. The quintessential bitter midtown career woman who sits there just to make the other characters look more fabulous. For Christ’s sake, she just came out as a lesbian! She’s… boring. This can’t be who I am. The parallel isn’t perfect, thank goodness. Like any good ensemble cast, I see a little bit of me in each of the characters. But Circuit the preponderance of evidence points in one inescapable direction, and I don’t even like redheads. This is a crisis, an unmitigated disaster. Which is, of course, exactly as Miranda herself would see it. I certainly know how to get my Samantha Jones on. Sex with strangers? Check. Kinky experimentalism? Check. Slings, Viagra, parties, role-playing, leather, neighbors? Check. Everything except sex with women. (There are some lines that a girl just won’t cross.) I can turn any situation into a witty retort. I’ve even briefly considered PR as a career move. Unfortunately, the real life of a flack isn’t nearly as glamorous. The actual stress and annoyance can drive a girl to run people over in the Hamptons. Underneath all of this fun and frolic, though, there’s a creeping sense that I’ve turned my sex life into a sort of career of its own. Gone are the days when sex was what followed an elaborate courtship ritual involving too much alcohol and intimate conversation at 2 a.m. in the darkest recesses of the East Village. The internet makes the business of sex so simple. Like Fresh Direct, it’s much easier to sift through your options online and then wait for them to be delivered to your door. Clean, efficient, and if you forget the guy’s name, you don’t have to rifle through his wallet in the mor ning because you can just check your IM log on the computer. And for those late 15 Noize work nights, you can turn to the professional’s drug of choice for a sleep-free weekend fueled by the intensity of a well-matched business merger with someone. No muss, no fuss. And never, ever any of that messy intimacy that can make things so awkward. So there you have it, even my crazy sex life has become a sort of Mirandaesque law practice. All of this is designed to mask my real fears, of course. The fear that maybe no one wants an averagelooking thirty-ish gay man who doesn’t fill out a tank top very well. The fear that I don’t even want the cracked-out losers that I order online without the aid of the same soul-numbing substances they’re taking. The increasing fear that I have outsourced my love life to an underground culture of decadence and shallow gratification, and that I won’t be able to appreciate the simpler forms of romance again. I still crave having someone to hold at night, but do I still have the tools to find that person and hold onto him? Is it like riding a bike, or have I crossed too many strange thresholds to remain interested in the boring cadence of a ‘normal’ relationship? These are the Miranda thoughts that plague me. These are the worries that force me to hide behind a mask of impenetrable bitterness and false emotional Circuit strength. What if I don’t end up with the guy I’m in love with and my life isn’t tidied up in six and a half seasons? It’s enough to make you go Jewish and marry a fat balding lawyer sometimes. The strength of Miranda, I suppose, was her ability to experience emotions like these in a much more threedimensional way than her cohorts did. Her bitterness masked a complexity that tortured her, but it was that complexity that saved her in the end, allowing her to experience the richness of real love with someone that she always knew she shouldn’t have fallen for to begin with. Her intricate masks slipped at all the wrong moments, she would stubbornly avoid the things that she knew she wasn’t ready to deal with yet, and her constant annoyance with the unpredictable and unwanted excitement that her life threw at her made her the understated star of the show. The most intricate character in the ensemble, really. When you compare that to the predictable monotony of empty banter, drug-fueled weekends that are indistinguishable from one another, and the lifeless ennui of one sexual escapade after another, maybe her life doesn’t seem so boring after all. Of course, that’s just the Charlotte in me, finding hope amongst the rubble of emotional wreckage. Wait, maybe I’m Charlotte! Oy. 16 Noize S TE V E N G O M E Z BRINGS YO U B E ST NEW YEAR’S IN THE WO R L D DECEMBER 31st - 2004 10 PM - 12 Noon @ James L. Knight International Center Hyat t Hotel - 400 S E 2nd Avenue Downtown Miami MUSIC BY PRODUCER ABEL / all night long S I N G I N G S E N S AT I O N SHOWTIME 3 AM DEBORAH COX K i t ty Meow ( N YC ) , F l a v a DIVA: Elaine La n c as te r F E ATURING: VIP HOST Electric Violinist - D r . D r a w Decor by: RKM - Paul Thomas Design Amazing Las e rs by: E d u a rdo Capriles Tickets and VIP passes on sale: or visit w w w. t i c ke t m as te r. c o m $75.00 Until December 1st - $95 after - $120 at the door. VIP pass $220 until December 1 - $260 After Stay at these Host Hotels Surfcomber Hotel M.B. / 305.532.7715 St. augustine Hotel, M.B. / 305.532.0570 ( LA ) N E WW E Y EE AK R E’ SN ED V E S C A N D A L -MIAMIT h u rs d a y, December 30 - Sunday, January 02 ** LA ST DANCE * * D J A m i ka Lo u n g e Eddie X - 1532 Was h i n g ton Av e n u e 12 / 3 0 / 0 4/ From 10 PM - 5 AM ** S CA N DAL, NEW YEAR’S EVE * * D J Abel James L. Knight International Cente r 12 / 31/04/ From 10 PM - 12 Noon ** F I R ST DANCE ** D J Pa u l o T BA / 01 / 01/05 / From 10 PM - 5 AM ** LO V E R B OY / tea dance ** D J Bongos Tony Moran - 601 Biscayne Blvd - Downtown Miami 01/02/05 / From 6 PM - Midnight ** DEEP DARK Victor Calderone Escape Dj Andre Xcellence JUNGLE ** D J WWW. V I CTO R CA L D E R O N . C O M DJ Opening S PAC E - 34 NE 11 St. - Downtown Miami 01/02/05 From 11 PM - 11 AM ?? LIMITED VIP PA S S E S : $220 (FOR ALL PA R T I E S ) INCLUDES NO WAIT IN LINE SPECIAL VIP ACCESS FRUITS AND REFRESHMENTS AT MA I N E V E N T T i c kets in Ad vance / MIA / W h i tall & Shon 900 Was h i n g ton Avenue, M.B. (behind parking l ot ) New Concept Video 16 71 Meridian Avenue, M.B. NY / R o b e rto Novo Salon 192 8th Avenue between 19 and 20 St. ATL / B r u s h s t ro ke s / s e n s o ry ov e r l o ad 1510 -J Peidmont Ave Ne D.C. / E m p i re Video 1435 P street NW Travel Arrangements by : 8 0 0 . 716 . 4 3 5 4 M O R E I N F O @ WWW. ST E V E N G O M E Z P R O D U CT I O N S . C O M THE ECSTATIC PATH by Joseph Kramer, Ph.D. The message was a bit mysterious. “I am exploring erotic trance. I want to book a session with you u. My name is Dan,” and he left his number. Although most of my work as an erotic bodyworker involve es transformative altered states, I wondered what Dan meant by “exploring erotic trance.” When I finally reached him, he told me, “You’re an expert on prolonging orgasm, aren’t you? So am I. My whole sex life shifted into high gear nine months ago when I started using crystal. I want to go further.” I get a funny feeling in my stomach whenever someone tells me the glories of sex on crystal meth. Why this drug? Why aren’t thousands of Circuit boys eating mushrooms to discover what is erotically possible? Why don’t gay men in search of an astonishing high check out the ecstasy produced by eating only uncooked foods? For many guys, the first contact they have with crystal is with a sex partner. That first introduction is often a powerfully charged experience. Crystal, like coffee, stimulates the central nervous system, so a sex scene usually involves high levels of excitement. With all of our neurology firing with this excitement, it is easier to focus on the sensations of the body. It is also easier to obliterate any thoughts outside of the sexual experience. Circuit For guys who normally experience some level of shame or self-judgment during sex, crystal overwhelms these distracting thoughts. It can feel liberating. However, the excitement of crystal also overrides clear thinking about unhealthy sexual choices. Sex on crystal can quickly degrade into compulsive behavior when sex without the drug ceases to be interesting. I spent some time talking to Dan, trying to understand what he thought I could offer him. I learned that what Dan called “erotic trance” was having long sex sessions while crystal stimulated an electrical storm within his body. We spoke for quite a while. I told him I couldn’t work with him while he was using. He asked me if he could call me if he stopped. I told him, “The first six months after crystal is a crucial time to explore orgasmic states. I look forward to your call.” I decided that if he called back, I would invite Dan to commit to the same amount of sex he was having while he was using. If he was having twenty hours of sex a week on crystal, he would need a month or two of twenty hours of erotic education a week while he is rebuilding his life. Learning to have blissful sex is a behavior that can assist Dan not to relapse into using. This pleasurable relearning of sex 22 Noize as conscious, sacred, and heartful can be the foundation for all the other changes he wishes to make. So where do wayward boys go to become great lovers? Are there pleasure schools for queer lads who have burned out on sex as overexcitement? T h e B o d y E l e c t r i c (www.bodyelectric.org) offers over a hundred classes throughout North America in erotic touch and conscious S/M for men who want guidance in waking up and sustaining the erotic energy in their bodies. The erotic education offered in their weekend class “Celebrating the Body Erotic” is a good place to create more deeply satisfying erotic relations with one’s self and with others. This school specifically recommends their sex classes for “men in recovery from substance, mood, and behavior addictions.” Where might a seeker of sexual wisdom find a guide? The gay community is full of eroshamans and erotic coaches. I personally recommend men (and women) trained as “Sexological Bodyworkers”. Members of this new profession, certified by the state of Califor nia, teach individuals, couples and groups how to consciously access profound ecstatic and erotic states that are not limited to the experience of excitement. S a c re d E m b o d i m e n t (www.sexologicalbodywork.com) is a month-long program in Northern California for queer men. This nonresidential training offered by a team of Sexological Bodyworkers is limited to twelve committed men. Sacred Embodiment helps men Circuit develop pleasurable, healthy and loving ways of connecting with others. This erotic-spiritual training includes twenty hours of erotic rituals and other structured group erotic experiences each week, involving erotic massage, erotic self-massage, conscious breathing, and anal massage. Sacred Embodiment allows men to bond intimately with each other while reclaiming the awesome pleasure available in their bodies. Pleasure - as great lovers know - is not just excitement, but also involves the physiological state called bliss or joy. This more peaceful and heartful aspect of pleasure is defined by a decrease in the rate of neural firing in an individual. Blissful sex revolves around the calmer experiences of sensuality, playful fun, and intimacy. Crystal meth never takes one to bliss, joy, or heartfulness. I recommend the Body Electric School and the Sacred Embodiment trainings for all men - even those who have never tried crystal meth - because these programs help us to grow in our capacity to love. Men in recovery from crystal need to know that none of their new sexual experiences, no matter how orgasmic or loving they are, will offer the intense but narrow experience of crystal. This will cause disappointment in some men. The healthiest way to deal with that disappointment is to learn to savor all that is erotically possible. Sex is not the problem. Sex - ecstatic, heartful sex - is the solution. Joseph Kramer has offered trainings in erotic trance states for thousands of men through the Body Electric School and The New School of Erotic Touch (www.eroticmassage.com). He has produced seven instructional DVDs; the latest is “Anal Massage for Relaxation and Pleasure”. 23 Noize CONNECTING WITH STRANGERS by Steve Kammon The lighting was very dim, but he sure looked hot sitting in the doorway of his cubicle. He nodded to me as I passed, and I hesitated only briefly. What if his hotness was an illusion of the shadows?? I was in the sauna in Amsterdam – the city of anonymous connections. I went with the flow and leaped into the abyss of his opened door. As my hands explored his body, he kissed me. It was an easy-going kiss, just a hint of tongue, not too intrusive, but tantalizing in its promise. It would be the last sign of affection he’d show me. Circuit His body was incredibly ripped and smooth. His nipples perky, stretched from prior pleasures. He pushed my head towards one of those nipples and like a puppy finding its mother’s teat, I gladly sucked on it. He stood up then, removing his nipple from my mouth and replacing it with his dick. He slammed it into me, seemingly hoping to make me gag. Thankfully it wasn’t that large, I don’t do the violent deep throat thing so well. I prefer to apply a long, slow, luxurious technique to a man’s cock. 28 Noize After face-fucking me for a while, he dropped back to his knees and shoved me backwards; spitting in his hand, he reached for my hole. This wasn’t what I’d signed up for and I resisted his aggressive tactics. He grunted in frustration and moved to put his cock back in my mouth. I decided to humor him, letting him pummel my face while my hands explored his body, massaging him, trying to get him to relax a bit, to settle into a more easy rhythm. But he wasn’t having it. His motions became only more spasmodic; his hands gripping my head, he was determined to use my body for his own selfish purposes. Soon he pulled out and shot a load down my chest. But his domination wasn’t yet complete. He flicked the cum off his hand onto my body and, almost sneering, tossed the only word of this encounter over his shoulder as he exited the cubicle, “Ciao.” Circuit I told this story to one of my friends living in Amsterdam and his comment was, “Wow, that’s hot!” It immediately made it clear to me that his behavior was only evil when reflected through the lens of my experiences and expectations. Perhaps I’m the fool, expecting to find a little affection in a bathhouse – but does having sex with strangers have to be an empty experience? Amsterdam is a place where anonymous sexual encounters are easy and guiltless. Coming from America, where so many guys are conflicted about hooking up, I certainly like the fact that the gay guys that live in this city suffer from very few hang-ups when it comes to sex. But, it seems this casual attitude towards sex is often coupled with a mechanical attitude towards the act itself. Rather than looking to meet someone halfway, to explore another being in the most intimate of ways, guys are simply looking for a body onto which they can project their sexual fantasy. 29 Noize Maybe this “fantasy projection” is what all of us do when we have sex with strangers. Could it be that my disenchantment with the sex scene that opened this article was merely a case of my beautiful stranger’s fantasy being a total mismatch with my own? I don’t think that’s the whole truth. I’ve met guys that do play out roles that are more aligned with my fantasy of the boy that allows me to pleasure him. And w h i l e t h o s e encounters were far m o r e satisfying than the guy who flicked his cum at me, they still left me feeling a bit disconnected. There was some ingredient that was lacking. Over time I understand more about what that missing ingredient is. That understanding does not provide a magical path to finding what I need, but having the goal clearly identified does help in the search. At one time, my search for sex was all about the conquest, about needing the validation of having someone find me attractive enough to shed their clothes with me. Meeting strangers for sex will always have some of this motivation wrapped around it – it simply feels good to be desired. This simple pleasure isn’t something that we should just throw away because the psychologists tell us it is a component of sexual addiction. Why not revel in those good Circuit feelings? But if this need for validation is your primary motivation for meeting boys, you aren’t experiencing all of the life-affirming joy that can be yours in a more fully grounded sex life. Some people shrink from having connected sex because they feel that opening themselves up to the experience of connecting with someone else is going to leave them too vulnerable. They could get hurt. O t h e r people are afraid of t h e opposite – that if they act too war m and caring, this stranger could get the wrong idea. What if this person falls for me and then I have to hurt them? Neither fear is real. Having sex with someone one time is not a commitment. This is especially true if the sex happens the first time that you meet them and there is no existing emotional connection. And this is true whether the sex is cold, disembodied sex, or whether it is war m and enchanting. Rather than worrying that connecting to someone could get us into an uncomfortable position, we should be more worried about what we’re doing to ourselves by having disconnected sex. Whenever we repeat a behavior pattern over and over again, we are making that behavior more and more a part of who we are. That’s just the way our brains work – repeated behaviors reinforce the neural pathways associated with that behavior. Have you ever met someone that is only turned on in a certain sexual position or when using a certain mix of stimulants? These are not necessarily unhealthy 30 Noize behaviors – rather, they are limiting. The people trapped in these behavioral cages are missing out on the richness of experience that is possible when you are willing to continue to explore other ways of being. Disconnected sex, when repeated often enough, becomes a behavior pattern that is extremely difficult to shake. ★ Mix it up. It’s not all about jamming it in anymore than it’s all about feathery kisses. Let the intensity ebb and flow. Allow yourself to both give and receive pleasure. Look for those transition points where you can switch back and forth between giver and receiver. Here’s some ideas on how to connect – and they can be used whether or not the person that you’re having sex with is a stranger or your long-term partner: ★ Resist the urge to establish comfortable mental patterns that allow you to disconnect from the present moment. This doesn’t mean that fantasy is a bad thing – rather that too much fantasizing about the same subject is likely to create a mental rut that becomes a necessary part of your lovemaking. ★ Look into your partner’s eyes often during the act. Your willingness to gaze into someone’s eyes says that you’re willing to be vulnerable. Looking into someone’s eyes establishes an energetic connection that goes much deeper than what you can see with your physical eyes. ★ Maintain an attitude of exploring another being. Really listen to what your partner’s body is telling you. Adjust and adapt your technique based on the signals that you’re receiving. ★ Hold on to your sense of awe. If you forget what this is like, try having sex with someone who only discovered sex with men in the last couple of years. Remember how the simple act of reaching inside someone’s pants used to send an electric charge through your whole body? It’s almost impossible to reconnect with that level of intensity – but you can allow yourself to be more wide-eyed and less jaded. Circuit ★ Breathe. There’s no better way to bring yourself into the moment and connect with the person in your arms than to periodically check in with your breath. Send the air deep into your abdomen and simply watch as your body naturally exhales without any effort from you. This is also a great way to relax when you’re having trouble opening up to allow someone inside of you. Sex can be one of the most lifeaffirming of acts. It can also leave us feeling empty and alone. You can have either kind of sex regardless of whether it is with a stranger who you will never see again. Having connected sex doesn’t mean that you’re making a commitment to the person you’re playing with – don’t confuse the two. If you’re going to take the time to open yourself to someone on the physical level, why not create a more rich experience that leaves you both in a better place than where you began? 31 Noize THE EARS HAVE IT …you never know who’s listening! "You know what they say - you give ‘em an inch, they want all ten." "He works out all the time and his body still looks like that?" "His body is just not susceptible to fierceness." "I had heard he was back in the sling of things." "He's looking at you like a cheetah eyeing a gazelle with a limp." Circuit "Some people think monogamy is that island off the coast of Africa." 32 Noize "Please, that one wants a husband so bad he puts the ring on their cock as soon as he meets them." "If they say they have a swimmer's build, my next question is 'How big is the pool?'" "His asshole has its own gravitational field." "I tried a 12-step program, but I'm afraid of heights." "I would love to get together but I have a boyfriend now." "Well, I'm gonna keep your number because boyfriends come and go but phone numbers are forever." "Lord, have mercy on his hole!" "I am NOT messy... just a tad untidy." "It's just a hop, sniff, and a bump away!" Submit your own “Overheards” to us at [email protected] Circuit 33 Noize P R E S E N T S J A N U A RY 2 FROM 11 PM - 10 AM Rio MUSIC by producer ABEL / ALL NIGHT LONG S CA L A - RIO The biggest club in Brazil Rua Afrânio de Mello Franco, 296 Leblon Rio de Janeiro . VIP ti ck ets $3 5. 00 i n clu de s op en ba r al l nig ht lon g T. 3 1 0 . 8 6 0 . 0 1 0 1 Travel Arrangements by : 8 0 0 . 716 . 4 3 5 4 MORE INFO @ WWW. S T E V E N G O M E Z P R O D U C T I O N S . C O M 3-WAY INTERSECTIONS by Stephen Ceplenski and Steve Kammon One of the great things about our relationships is that we have so few expectations about how they should be structured. While some may strive to imitate the straight world’s surface obsession with monogamy, many of us understand inherently that two men can be so much more creative and accepting ab bout forming non-traditional relationships that allow sex outside of the primary relationship. There are many possibilities for allowing outside sex. Finding the right fit for you and your mate is a complex task that depends upon each person’s level of trust and their need to feel in control of things. Some can only feel safe when they can be present in the room to actively monitor what’s going on, while others can’t stand the idea of actually seeing their partner intimately engaged with someone else. Some people want to know everything about their lover’s dalliances, while others use the “out of sight, out of mind” coping technique. Lots of guys start out their experimentation by bringing in strangers for 3-way hookups. Before you decide to go this route, compare notes on the kind of guys that you like. Are there crossover types that you will both be able to appreciate, or is your type so wildly different that you will never both be satisfied with the same guy? Talk about what you want to do, everything from what you’d like to do with an outsider to whether they should be allowed to stay overnight. As you select Circuit someone for an encounter, beware of falling into the trap of “I want that one” – instead create an experience where “we” are picking up someone else. But a 3-way is hardly the only possibility for sex beyond your partner - the possibilities are endless. Below we discuss just some of the rules for open relationships that various gay couples have adopted. Perhaps not all of these relationship rules are equal in terms of how healthy they are for the participants – but all of these have been seen to work for the people that dreamed them up. __________________ Faux Monogamy This is perhaps one of the most common arrangements out there. Sometimes it’s used by those who can’t admit that they want sex with boys besides their husband – that would make them immoral. Other times this arrangement works because half of the fun in extra-marital sex is that feeling that you are doing something that you’re not supposed to be doing. Togetherness in All Things Sometimes I think the Circuit was invented so that couples could hunt for 40 Noize boys together. It often seems easier to pick up a couple than it is to pick up a single guy. Nonetheless, this arrangement is a good way to ease into playing outside of the relationship as it can allow the slow building of trust between partners that want to play. It can also be a recipe for disaster because some people simply can’t handle seeing their other half in a compromising position with someone else. eliminates a lot of the stress, because it is during the selection process that people’s feelings tend to get hurt. When you find someone that works for both of you – why not keep them around for a while? They are often glad to return because the service is so good. The danger of this arrangement lies in the fact that you will now start to explore the issues of intimacy with outside partners – an issue that never arises if you only do boys once. Unlimted Trump Card This is what happens when the regular fuck buddy moves in and the two of you take on a third boy friend. Making a relationship with one guy work is hard enough; this arrangement simply boggles the mind. Throuple This is a variation on the “3-ways only” rule. You’re only allowed to play together but you recognize the importance of everyone being completely happy with the selection process. To achieve this end, both partners always have the option of vetoing a potential third wheel. There are no questions asked – you only have to say, “Nah, that doesn’t work for me.” Extremely Limited Untrump Cards The problem with unlimited trump cards is that you might sometimes meet a guy who is your idea of the perfect extracurricular activity and your partner is simply being selfish by not seeing that you really, really want this one. The extremely limited untrump card can be played to overrule your partner’s veto of this dream date. These untrump cards work best if they’re extremely limited in how many of them you get – as they can easily lead to resentment. Regular Fuck Buddy In this arrangement, you adopt a boy toy who comes over regularly for some 3-way action. This Circuit Don’t Bring It Home Under this set of rules, the partners are allowed to do whatever they want, with whomever they want - they’re just not allowed to bring it home. The marital bed is considered a sacred place – it should only be used for sex with your boyfriend. What you do on your own time is your own business – and I may or may not want to know about it. Limited Yearly Dispensation Coupons Under these rules, a couple is primarily either monogamous or they only play as a couple. However, each partner is allowed a limited number of coupons for playing outside of the relationship, without their partner present. Honesty is a key component - you’re supposed to tell when you lay around, thereby using one of your allowed coupons. If you do meet a hottie using a dispensation coupon, it’s only considerate to try to set up a future rendezvous that includes your partner – share the wealth, baby! 41 Noize The Cat’s Away This is a variation of the mostly monogamous relationship. Under these rules you can play around but only when one of the partners is out of town. The advantage to this rule is that you know that your cheating ways will never interfere with the dinner that your other half has planned for his visiting sister. Buffet Dining This is where you’re only allowed to play around separately when at the bathhouse. The logic behind this one is that this environment is all about anonymous sex – there’s virtually no chance for a romantic entanglement to arise from a tryst in the sauna. Hunter and Gatherer In this kind of relationship, the partners recognize that they have different talents for picking up boys and in the name of efficiency they stick to those roles. The hunter holds the fishing pole making sure that the bait is fresh. Once a big fish has taken the bait and the hunter has reeled him near the surface, the gatherer whacks him over the head and gets him into the boat. Tag Team Under this arrangement, you pick up boys together but you never actually do them at the same time. Each partner takes a turn with the invited guest, but when it’s not your turn you leave the room. This works best for partners into the idea of togetherness but who don’t like those down times when you’re sidelined watching your partner get fucked by some hot stranger. Circuit This arrangement is no cure for the problem of excessive jealousy – your imagination about what is going on in the other room can often be worse than what is really happening in there. Limited Action You’re allowed to play around, but there are acts that are permitted and those that are not. The logic behind this can have something to do with safe sex, but more often it is based on a twisted sense of the intimacy involved in certain forbidden acts. One guy simply was trying to keep his boyfriend from turning into a sex pig. He was allowed to suck dick or get fucked, but he was not allowed to become a human shish-ka-bob. Wife Swapping While some people swear that you should stay away from even numbers in any multiple partner encounter, others simply feel more comfortable when everyone involved is getting the undivided attention of one other person. In a party setting, you can make this work by writing the names of all the tops on a slip of paper, put them in a hat, and let the bottoms draw. __________________ While many different arrangements are possible, there is undoubtedly one overriding rule to remember when dealing with the thorny issue of sex beyond marriage. Your outside sex partners should be viewed as frosting on the cake. Your life partner is the one that you wake up next to and you’ve likely got quite a bit invested in him. If you’ve managed to create a loving relationship where you also get to bop boys under terms that are comfortable to both of you, then you really do have something special. 42 Noize 2 SSCANDAL CANDAL CARNIVAL LAST YEAR’S BEST PARTY! RIO - BRAZIL F E B RU A RY 7 FROM 11 PM - 10 AM MUSIC by producer ABEL PERFORMANCE BY DECOR BY R K M / ALL NIGHT LONG FLAVA (LA) Asa Branca Ballroom Rua M em de Sá, 1 7 - Lapa VIP tickets $35.00 includes open bar all night long Travel Arrangements by : 8 0 0 . 716 . 4 3 5 4 T. 3 1 0 . 8 6 0 . 0 1 0 1 M O R E I N F O @ WWW. ST E V E N G O M E Z P R O D U CT I O N S . C O M Pickup at these Preferred Locations: Atlanta, GA Outwrite Books The Poster Hut Backstreet Boy Next Door Austin, TX Splash Boston, MA We Think the World of You Metropolitan Gym MAP Fritz Francesca's Vinyl Connection Machine Calgary, Canada Priape Dallas, TX Cross Roads Market Detroit, MI Menjo's Detroit BodyZone Club Elk Grove, IL Hunter's DanceClub Ft. Lauderdale, FL Better Bodies Gym Georgies Alibi Colliseum Catalogue X Gay Mart Boom Cathode Ray Honolulu, HI Cabana Waikiki Tryst Angles Las Vegas, NV Blue Moon Resort Krave Los Angeles West Hollywood, CA Perfect Beat The Factory PowerZone Raving Rainbow Pleasure Chest Jocko L.A. Sporting Club Rage Nightclub Hollywood Spa A Different Light In 101 Video West VideoActive Miami, FL Sidetracks Borderline Music Universal Gear LA Tan in Century Mall Circuit Nightclub Beatnix Unabridged Bookstore JR's Bar and Grill Rich's M2M Fashions O Houston, TX Crobar Miami Score Iron Works Twist Space Ulloa Sport 11th St Diner BodyBodyWear New Concept Video Columbia, SC Laguna Beach, CA Minneapolis, MN Chicago, IL Club Metropolis Columbus, OH Torso An Open Book Boom Boom Room Woody’s Mainstreet Rainbow Road Montreal, Canada Presse Cafe BodyBodyWear Priape New Orleans, LA Bourbon Pub / Parade Oz Nightclub New York, NY Splash SBNY Energy Kitchen XL Lounge Roxy Revision Universal Gear 19th St Gym Wear Me Out Eagle NYC Rainbows and Triangles Orlando, FL Urban Body Men's Clothing Pulse Palm Springs, CA AEU Studios Heaven Philadelphia, PA Phoenix, AZ Crobar Provincetown, MA Mussel Beach Crown & Anchor Ptown Gym Provincetown Deli San Diego, CA Club Montage Obelisk Bookstore San Francisco, CA Mezzanine Powerhouse BodyBodyWear Citizen / Body Clothing Books Inc Club 220 MASS Metropolis Sanctuary Always Tan Saugatuk, MI The Dunes Resort Tampa, FL Urban Body Men's Clothing Club Underground Chambers Chrome City Side Tomes & Treasures What2Wear Toronto, Canada 5ive Lifelounge BodyBodyWear Priape Woody's Vancouver, Canada GayMart Washington, DC Nations Night Club ATLAS Universal Gear Lamda Rising Capital City Health Café Millenium Coffee 12th St Gym Shampoo To Become a Distribution Point for Circuit Noize Magazine Send an Email to: [email protected] BRO’S AND BROKERS AND BEARS...OH MY! by Alejandro Marin Gay boys continue to blossom into a more diverse and colorful spectrum of subcultures. It used to be that your choice of identities was limited to leather man, Circuit boy, or twink, but today’s homo osexual has more options from which to choose. And why limit yourself to just one subculture? No one fits neatly into just one crude stereotype. Today’s boys are taking bits and pieces from various identities, remixing them, and creating something entirely new. Increasingly, the variables of color, age, nationality, and language play less of a role in determining gay identity. There are an infinite variety of options for the modern gay man. Yet, crossing over between subcultures is easier said than done. Take your time and observe a little before trying one on for size. It’s all about having fun, but you don’t want to become a wannabe. If you are obviously not already part of a subculture (for example, you’re an older white gentlemen who wants to start going to hiphop clubs), then be sure to keep some of your own essence. Don’t impersonate people – just adapt some of their sensibility. Combine your own point of view with some elements of the clan you are about to conquer and you have the best Circuit chance for success. Here are some of the gay subcultures you’ll find in most big cities today that you can sample from to create your own fabulous personality: The Bears This is one of the classics, having grown out of the leather scene. These guys really appreciate masculinity, so butch it up. A pair of old jeans and a sleeveless carpenter shirt or a black stretched tshirt with some kind of black leather accessory works great. Forget about shaving, and shower early in the day rather than right before the party. The Bro’s This is a quickly growing crowd, so chances are that sooner or later you’ll find yourself bouncing to a hip-hop beat or throwing down to a salsa rhythm at a club near you. If you feel uncomfortable with all that baggie clothing and the huge gold chains, realize that in the end the rewards can be huge. Underneath the gangsta attitude, most of these guys are real sweethearts. 46 Noize The Brokers If you dig the preppy Wall Street type then you’ll need to invest in a couple of nice suits. If Armani and Pink are out of your financial range, try Century 21 or your local discount label store. Don’t forget to google the latest political and economic news so that you can impress your date between cocktails. The Exhibitionists They say that when we’re naked there aren’t so many differences between us. Not sure I agree with that, but this subculture certainly has the lowest cost for accoutrements. The Dot-Cummers This is the easiest subculture to invade. In the virtual world, you can be anyone you want to be. These guys prefer to live and cruise in the ether. You can use this blank canvas to try out various takes on your personality that incorporate elements from any of the other Circuit subcultures we’re discussing. If you strike out, you can always create a new screen name. The Fetishists If your thing borders on the fringe of sexual excitement, there are all sorts of specialized communities of freaks out there to amuse you. The outerwear depends on the kink, and there are usually pretty specific modes of conduct, so tread carefully and enjoy! Just don’t let your mother find the leather paddle in your closet. These are just a few of the lifestyles you have to choose from when trying to decide who you want to be in this big gay world. Throughout history, gay people have excelled at the art of theatricality – mimicking, creating, and improving on modes of fashion, lifestyle and sexual quirk. Finding the look that’s right for you depends entirely on what makes you feel comfortable, what turns you on, and what makes you happy ultimately. Be creative and unique, and in no time at all you’ll have a fabulous look tailor-made to suit you. 47 Noize MUSIC REVIEWS by Jamie Nicholes Bloom Gabriel & Dresden Nettwerk Records This so isn't your father's trance compilation. I'm actually reluctant to classify Josh Gabriel and Dave Dresden as trance; the product of their musical union doesn't easily fit into a single category. Gabriel & Dresden have headlined a progression in club music that blends the ambience of old-school trance with the hard-hitting beats of house and created a sound entirely their own that is equally intoxicating in both their remix productions and their original material. On Bloom , Gabriel & Dresden mix their own compositions with tracks by other forward-thinking artists like Push and Junkie XL who have also played a part in ushering this new sound. Remixes for mainstream pop artists like Dido and Lili Haydn Circuit are also included: the white label-only mix of "Don't Leave Home" and the Code 313 Dub of "Anything" are exclusives on this two-disc mixed set. There is an acoustic version of the new track "Imagination" by Motorcycle (the Gabriel & Dresden moniker that brought you "As the Rush Comes") again with flawless vocals by Jes Brieden. There is also a new offering from Andain (the voice from "Beautiful Things" and "Summer Calling") - a cover of Depeche Mode's dark ballad "Here Is the House". After the dust settled from the frenzy of people running to get their hands on "As the Rush Comes", easily the biggest club track of the year, all eyes were on Gabriel & Dresden to see what they would come up with next. With the release of Bloom, any doubt that G&D are one of the biggest names in club music was dragged outside kicking and screaming, stripped of quality hair products, and forced to dance on a podium at the White Party while wearing hideous clothes. Take that. 48 Noize Party Groove: Soakin Wet Mixed by David Knapp Centaur Music Centaur's Party Groove series has consistently delivered with DJs like Alyson Calagna and Ralphi & Abel. It never rests on its laurels, zealously striving for an even more amazing track listing with each new release. But when David Knapp's Soakin Wet dropped, the heavens opened up and bestowed upon the party boys an anthem-laden pink diamond tiara that would make J-Lo wet herself. The instant attraction of this release is Debby Holiday's "Dive". Debby came into Perfect Beat and told owner Jeff Tardiff that she wanted to be a "dance diva". Then, after a few phone calls and an enormous flow of talent from both Debby and the remixers involved, "Dive" emerged and proceeded to become one of the biggest summer Circuit anthems, possessing the capacity to be "that one song" you remember from a night out every time. Knapp was smart enough to Circuit include the masterpiece just as the single disappeared and wedge it among a slew of hard-hitting buzz tracks to produce the most complete "sum of the Circuit" cross-section in recent memory. The disc is mostly "chorus/verse" vocal, with two dubbier tracks that serve as intermissions and tease so as to make you a slave to the lyrics all over again when the vocals reappear. Jahkey B's "Heart Attack" appears in the form of the Sarrin Friedman Club Mix (previously unreleased), Junior staple Vernessa Mitchell lends her ferocious rasp on "Took My Life", and Tony Moran gives you a warm fuzzy with his cover of "The Promise" (Deep Influence Dub). The disc closes with another 80s cover, "Chains of Love", produced by Liquid 360, whose name I haven't seen since their bootleg remix of Destiny Child's "Independent Women Pt.1", but who do Erasure proud and conclude the disc with a positive energy that sends you off with a smile and the belief that love conquers all as long as you don't give up. 49 Noize Buy these releases and all your other dance music favorites at Perfectbeat.com. Boy Mixed by Roland Belmares One Tribe Entertainment There is a clear difference between commissioned work and something that an artist willed into existence purely for the sake of their own creative thirst. Roland Belmares stands out to me among most DJs for how turned on he is by the music he spins. Most DJs stand motionless behind the decks, head cocked to one side to hold the askew headphones in place, looking more like a secretary flipping through a rolodex than an artist flipping through records. But when Roland spins, the energy he washes over the crowd flows in both directions, charging both the room and himself with tribal beats and seething vocals. I remember the first time I saw him spin in Los Angeles; I was floored because I'd never seen a DJ behave as he did bouncing around with head bobbing, arms in the air and hands clapping along with the beat. He's as excited to be doing this as you are to be experiencing it. On Boy, Circuit his 6th commercial compilation release, Roland brings together 11 peak-hour, big-room anthems that flirt with the separation between progressive and tribal house. The set begins with the beckoning sensuality of Betty Dee's voice on "My Body (Tu Cuerpo)" then consents to the lust it just conjured with Dolce's "Feels Good" and draws you deep inside its beat-driven core. The breadth repeatedly builds and breaks, forming a rhythm of stimulation and "bedroom-eyed" sensuality. Contained within are two percussive beatings by Brown Sugar, "Hornetz" - a tribalized reincarnation of "In De Ghetto" by Bad Yard Club featuring Crystal Waters, and "One Ticket To Chicago" which loops the line spoken by Robert Hays in Airplane! ("Smoking or non?"). The set refuses to exit quietly and does so as ungraciously as possible with the incomparable Pat Hodges and the nearly ten-minute Rosabel Mix of "Saving My Love". If the scene has gone stale and the current sound has exhausted itself, then Roland is the messiah come to save us all, raise the standard, and create a new atmosphere of positive Circuit energy. 50 Noize 3 Pak: Everybody Dance Now Remixed, Remolded & Remade Various Artists Sony Music Like the first remix disc I ever bought back in junior high, The House of Groove: Arista's Most Fierce Tracks , Sony Music has released all their best remixes in one package. The set includes three unmixed discs of all the club makeovers they've commissioned over the last umpteen years, many of which were never commercially released. And to add compliment to cosmetic surgery, the list price is only $17.99 for 40 tracks! The contents are both full-length and radio-edited, and include a lot of artists that you'd never think would be remixed like Jimmy Ray, Sophie B. Hawkins, and Earth, Wind & Fire. The collection features classic early 90s "keyboard and high-hat" garage with immortal gems like Rozalla's cover of R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion" and the first remix I Circuit ever fell for: Cleve's 122 Classic House Mix of Groove Theory's "Tell Me". There is also the "hands in the air" sound of more contemporary club hits like the Thunderpuss remix of Donna Summer's romantic relinquishment of freewill "I Will Go With You (Con Te Partiró)" and Hex Hector's mix of Anastacia's enormously successful breakup maelstrom "I'm Outta Love". The album also contains several near impossible-to-find concessions like the Soul Solution Vocal Dub of Cyndi Lauper's "Ballad of Cleo & Joe", The Indigo Girls' "Shed Your Skin" remixed by Stephen Nikolas, and Sandra Bernhard's "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)". My personal favorite is the massive Hex Hector 12" Main Mix of Lara Fabian's "I Will Love Again." Being single sucks when you're a hopeless romantic (read: helplessly codependent), and I've a profound appreciation for a song that glorifies that agony into an 11-minute wail with one of the most elongated builds I've ever heard. This CD set is a gold mine, and with that price, I don't know how anyone could resist. 51 Noize THE INSECURITY DIET by Cristopher Blake I have a thirty-inch waist, complete with rippled abs. This is due to my strict adherence to a veryy modern and simple diet plan, which was developed by leading nutrition specialists, all of whom were e taught by the very best Soviet prison camps. My issue is that I don’t get any credit for my abs, despite the fact that my midsection - through constant vigilance, even in my advanced years (in party-boy years, I am very near retirement) retains the unvarying appearance that I have ingested nothing that day with the exception of a turtle shell. Still, no individual credit at all. Nope. In fact, I am constantly accused of actually cheating . I cannot appear shirtless for longer than twenty-minute intervals without being accused of either having an eating disorder, or using enough ephedrine-based chemicals to sterilize a herd of sheep. Why does no one believe that I retain my slim waist and thick pectoral muscles with a diet restricted to moderately spiced vegetables and live squid? I am only kidding. I hardly ever eat live squid anymore. But I do have, I believe, an exceptional discipline when it comes to what I will consume foodwise. [Outside of the area of food, I must admit that I have very feeble criteria regarding what I am willing to consume.] Circuit There are some very basic principals within the human psychology of desire for which I believe I have a viable comprehension. I understand, for example, that if Twinkies had never been invented, then no one would ever develop a craving for them. Therefore, I never eat Twinkies. Never. Ever. Not if they were made from tofu would I consider eating a Twinkie, thereby completely eliminating the possibility of developing any degree of desire for them. Of course, I do this because Twinkies are certainly not made from tofu. They are made of a substance that is a compilation of unpronounceable, yet apparently digestible, ingredients, which may in fact contain ephedrine-based chemicals. In regard to diet, that particular psychological component - let’s call it the ‘We Crave Only What We Consistently Eat’ component - is certainly not unknown. What is unknown, evidently, is its actual successful application. I understand that if I ever ‘treat’ myself to fattening goodies, that doing so would unquestionably cause me to want even more of them, forcing me to either endure the desire or submit to it 52 Noize (thereby rolling down the road toward looking like Tom Arnold in the event that he were to ingest James Earl Jones). For that reason, I never, not ever, never, not ever, ever, even after a hunger possibly developed from typing the word ‘ever’ several hundred more times, ‘treat’ myself to anything fattening, or fried, or containing an unreasonable number of carbohydrates, or that doesn’t yet have his driver’s license. metabolism-augmented, insecure observers will say is, “So, are you on the pipe, or do you just make yourself throw up?” This is the point where I am goaded into screaming, “I am not bulimic, you asshole! I’m neurotic, godammit!” Despite its possible contradiction, few individuals are able to construct a viable counterargument to this particular proclamation, thereby revealing their probable level of intellect, as I believe that bulimia could quite possibly be a type of neurosis. Of course, I also understand the psychology that bolsters my dietary discipline, which is based upon a neurotic compulsion similar to anorexia, where I am subconsciously unable to feel that I look – or, indeed, am – good enough. But do I ever get any credit for this? No, dammit! Instead, all these young, That is all beside the point. The point is that the behavioral manifestation of my particular type of neurosis has beneficial aspects. That is no accident. Through a frighteningly long process, whereby I gave a number of alternative ‘behavioral manifestations’ a very good, hearty try, I’ve been able to develop and maintain one that makes much more Circuit 53 Noize sense in the long-term, healthwise, though still does not force me to actually address my core neurosis directly, which might be a very unpleasant experience, I believe, in the fact that it would totally suck and I won’t do it, dammit. I believe instead that it says much more about the subconscious condition of an individual who would maliciously make the assumption of drugs or an eating disorder without considering more socially respectable possibilities first. For example, there’s the fact that I could actually have successfully restricted myself to an effective diet, in addition to the sensible degree of exercise provided by a battery-powered nylon belt I ordered from the television that, once delivered, will electrocute my stomach muscles every twenty seconds. I believe that it says a lot about such a person, in regard to their need to, not only make such an observation, but to actually go so far as to publicly articulate it. It’s one thing to use private judgements about total strangers in order to reinforce your own selfimage, but to publicly criticize someone in the hopes of influencing still others toward such an assumption is another issue completely. Let’s talk about what that person is really saying. What that person is really saying is they believe themselves to be completely incapable of applying the Circuit necessary self-discipline to achieve what they consider a worthy, aesthetic goal. Therefore, no one else in the entire world could possibly have such a level of self-discipline either. Consider the times you might have been at the gym with a friend and, as the two of you took notice of someone who happened to be looking very, very good lately, your friend said, “Oh, yeah, baby, he’s juicin’.” That’s exactly what I’m talking about. That’s exactly the typical manifestation of deeprooted insecurity seeming to consume a hearty portion of the community. Pointing out an assumed behavior in others, a behavior that is generally considered mendacious, is nothing more than a clear attempt to shore up one’s own self-image by bringing down the image of someone else. For example, quite often I’m accused of using steroids myself. That infuriates me! Clearly, as my use was so minimal and nearly ten years ago, it means that it does not count! We all should remember a very basic rule of human psychology, which, I think, if I’m not wrong, is, “We criticize most that which we fear of ourselves.” That simple message, which may have been on a bumper sticker, or inside a cookie that came with my chicken salad, I don’t recall, is crucial in contemporary social interaction. This is especially true when dealing with insecure people, whose personal paranoia has obviously been exacerbated by their use of ephedrinebased chemicals. 54 Noize Fall Circuit Photo Album Photographer: Moody Mustafa Location: Crobar, NYC Event: Victor Calderone’s “Light” Pride Party Circuit 56 Noize Find your friends. V iew amazing performances and light shows. Perhaps even see yourself. For even mor e photos, visit our r enowned website, www.cir cuitnoize.com, for the largest online library and ar chive of event photos. Are Are you a photographer? Do you bring a camera to events? Submit your photos to us and we’ll feature feature them in upcoming issues. Contact [email protected] [email protected] for more more information. Circuit 57 Noize BENEFIT SPOTLIGHT by Mike Collins photos by Paul Stricklin & David Lewis Like so many benefit events on the Circuit, Jungle emerged from humble beginnings. In 1993, a group p of Houstonians, each celebrating their 30th birthday that year, hosted a combined birthday party on n the Saturday night before Easter. Anticipating about 200 guests, the group secured a tropical plant warehouse as the venue and hired a local DJ to spin. Given the venue, it seemed only natural to dub the party “Jungle Lust.” an ambiance that no amount of professional decoration could have duplicated. Imagine a dance party in a tropical rain forest with narrow trails wandering off into the darkness of the jungle and away from everyday civilization. The dance floor and two bars were carved out of the forest of tropical plants that filled the warehouse. The birthday boys worked with close friends who volunteered to move and arrange the hundreds of p l a n t s warehoused in the facility. What they created was That first Jungle Lust was a labor of love and a celebration to help heal a community that was wearied and shocked by the loss to AIDS of so many of its members and friends. Like communities everywhere, Houston had b e e n devastated by more than a decade of AIDS. Each of Circuit 72 Noize the those original organizers had been touched in some way by this relentless plague and so decided to use the party as a means of giving something back to the Houston community. Guests were asked to make a donation to the Houston Clinical Research Network, a non-profit organization conducting clinical trials for new HIV/AIDS medications. As a fundraising mechanism, the party was a huge success, so the group agreed to make it an annual event. Soon after, the group incorporated, acquired non-profit status, and was named Bayou City Boys Club, Inc. (BCBC). The founders of BCBC made very clear in its incorporation that the sole mission of the new organization was to raise funds for Houston-area HIV/AIDS service providers, education efforts, and research. Over the next five years, Jungle Lust grew steadily in both size and popularity, and the donations to its beneficiaries increased dramatically. After Jungle Lust 6 in 1998, it became clear to BCBC’s leadership that the party had outgrown the plant warehouse, so the search began for a more accommodating venue. In 1999, the group settled on the Houston Polo Club, ironically one of the Circuit more conservative bastions of the Houston “old money” set. Jungle Lust 7 and 8 were held in the open-air pavilion adjacent to the polo fields. Legend has it that some of the more adventurous guests found time for selfguided tours of the off-limits stables complex. Jungle Lust 8 in 2000 marked a turning point for the event, when BCBC made determined efforts to take the party to a higher level, establishing it as a firstrate event that compared favorably with other regional and national parties. Joe Gauthreaux, a young DJ from New Orleans who was beginning to make his mark on the Circuit, was selected to spin for the event. After much consideration, the budget for the party was increased based on BCBC’s certainty that if it built a first-class Circuit event in Houston, people from other parts of Texas and the United States would attend, thereby increasing the fundraising potential. To offset increased expenses, an additional event was added to the weekend to compliment the Saturday night main event. Ben Parsley of Austin’s Splash Productions graciously produced a Sunday night closing party at Rich’s Houston, sharing the proceeds with BCBC’s beneficiaries. This would also be the year that one of Houston’s most prominent fundamentalist churches unwittingly contributed to the fundraising efforts. 73 Noize Limited parking at the Polo Club caused BCBC to seek offsite parking for guests. The closest significant parking facility belonged to the First Baptist Church of Houston. While the church would not donate the use of its parking lot, it did agree to allow use of the lot for a fee. After the event, a check was mailed to the church to cover the agreed upon fee. The check was returned along with a letter explaining that the church did not condone events that promoted a homosexual lifestyle. Seeing no other acceptable response, the returned fees were donated to the beneficiaries and BCBC gleefully sent a letter to the church thanking them for their donation on behalf of the local HIV/AIDS organizations. Even more changes were ushered in for the 2001 event. The Houston Polo Club issued an edict that future events could not exceed 800 guests. Since attendance at Jungle Lust 8 had surpassed 1100, the organization again sought a new venue. A warehouse in the near east side of downtown Houston that had once been a blimp hangar was selected as the new site. The owners promised improvements such as working restrooms and sufficient air conditioning, which did not materialize. Portable toilets were brought in along with a backup generator for sound and lighting should the building’s dated power system fail. Having attracted some more conservative corporate sponsors, the name of the event Circuit was changed to “Jungle 9” so as not to offend their sensibilities. Despite logistical challenges, the new venue proved to be very popular while giving the party an edgier, more underground feel. Jungle 10 in 2002 was one of the most successful Jungles ever, but also presented the organization with its most significant challenges. The plan was to return to the warehouse where Jungle 9 had been hosted. With less than two months before the event, the venue lost its occupancy permit. A new venue had to be secured with no time to spare. After pursuing numerous leads, a cavernous space on the south side of the city was finally located. Because it was four times the size needed for the party, the members of BCBC set about the considerable task of downsizing the venue to a more intimate and appropriate space. This was achieved by assembling a massive framework to support huge sheets of black plastic. Hundreds of tropical plants and life-sized topiary animals were also carried in to create the customary Jungle atmosphere. Among veteran members, Jungle 10 is still affectionately known as the “Black Plastic Jungle.” Despite the challenges, Jungle 10 set new records for attendance and fundraising. Jungle 10 also marked the first time that the event would host an entire weekend of affiliated parties. Working with several veteran promoters and club owners, a Friday night opening party, an after-hours party on Sunday morning following the main event, and a Sunday night closing party were added to the weekend. 74 Noize When the dust settled from Jungle 10, a core group of active and committed BCBC members were faced with two significant challenges – what direction to steer Jungle in the future and how to attract new, capable members to the all-volunteer organization. It did not take long for the group to come up with the answers. An e m e r i t u s membership tier was established, a l l o w i n g v e t e r a n members who no longer desired active, day-to-day involvement to remain as members of t h e organization to consult and to assist with fundraising. To recruit new talent, the organization also established an associate membership tier to augment membership and to educate new volunteers. This new organization unanimously committed to take the popular event to an even higher level. In 2003, Jungle 11 moved to Verizon Wireless Theater in the heart of downtown Houston’s arts and entertainment district. One of the finest perfor mance and event spaces in the southwest, the new venue provided Jungle revelers with an unmatched party experience including upgraded sound and lighting, live entertainment, and enhanced Circuit overall production values. Miami’s Monty Q was hired to spin and live entertainment included Circuit Mom in her Texas debut, backed up by a troupe of Houston’s beefiest male dancers. DJs Roland Belmares, Dawna Montel, and Barry Harris performed masterfully at the opening, after-hours, and closing parties. The entire line-up of weekend events was talked about by the amazed attendees for m o n t h s afterwards. Jungle’s name and Houston’s place on the Circuit were now fir mly secured. Not willing to rest on the laurels of its m o s t acclaimed effort to date, BCBC sought to once again upgrade the 2004 edition of Jungle in subtle but meaningful ways. Superstar DJ and producer Manny Lehman was hired to spin for Jungle 12 where he gave one of his signature high-energy performances that have vaulted him to superstardom. Special attention by the members was given to theme and decoration in order to evoke memories of the earliest Jungle parties held in the plant warehouse. BCBC arranged for the donation of bottled water, which was distributed to guests free of charge. Over 130 generous individuals provided a record amount of underwriting support for Jungle 12. In return, these VIP guests received exclusive use of the entire upper level of Verizon Wireless Theater, where they enjoyed an open bar, private restrooms, concert-style 75 Noize seating, and a view overlooking the main event and dance floor on the lower level. Both the closing party with DJ Roland Belmares and the after-hours party with DJ Dawna Montel set new attendance and fundraising records as well. Jungle 12 attracted a record number of out-of-town guests, with about one third of the attendees traveling to the party from outside Houston. Best of all, the party received overwhelmingly positive feedback from guests from all over the country. While Jungle has evolved over the years, the core values of BCBC and the principles guiding the event have remained unchanged. BCBC continues to be an all-volunteer organization with no paid staff, no offices, and virtually no overhead. BCBC is steadfast in its dedication to raising funds for HIV/AIDS education, services, and research in the Houston area. Individual underwriting and corporate sponsorship still largely cover the cost of Jungle, allowing BCBC to donate general admission ticket proceeds to the designated beneficiaries. Over the past 11 years, BCBC has donated over $605,000 to Houston-area HIV/AIDS charities, the majority of which was generated by the twelve Jungle events. Jungle 13 over Easter Weekend of 2005 promises to be the best Jungle yet. The main event returns to Verizon Wireless Theater on the Saturday night before Easter. The name of the nationally known and infamous DJ talent for the main Circuit event is a closely guarded secret by the organization at the present time, but watch for announcements to be made soon. Once again, BCBC will partner with promoters and local establishments to create an exciting and benevolent weekend of fun. The organization’s goal for Jungle 13 is to surpass the expectations of our guests in ter ms of music, ambiance, and production values as set by previous Jungle events. At the same time, the members of BCBC have a renewed commitment to ensure the intimate feel and sense of community celebration that were hallmarks of the first Jungle Lust parties in the 1990s. By comparison, Jungle remains one of the most affordable weekend Circuit events in the country. While Jungle 13 pricing has not been released, a four-event weekend pass to Jungle 12 cost only $95 with host hotel rooms available for well under $100 a night. In planning for Jungle 13 and beyond, BCBC is keeping a watchful eye on a number of trends it sees emerging from the Circuit world. There is an awareness that attendance at some events appears to be down over the past several years. Charity events can be hard pressed to deal with a squeeze between declining attendance and rising costs. The leadership of BCBC believes that the future for our organization remains bright because it is one of the more intimate and affordable events while simultaneously conveying a strong sense of community celebration and maintaining the highest standards for music, sound and lighting, and overall ambiance. For more information about BCBC and Jungle, go to www.bcbc.info or www.junglehouston.com. 76 Noize W i n t e r P a r t y™ F e s t i v a l March 3 - 7, 2005 South Beach A world-class beach dance party and cultural festival benefiting the Miami-Dade gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. www.winterparty.com | National Media Sponsor | Host Hotel For sponsorship opportunities, contact Charles Robbins at (323)857-8746 or [email protected] © 2004 GREATER MIAMI CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU Abel Phil B Roland Belmares Tony Moran Lydia Prim Peter Rauhofer p u r e e x h i l a r a t i o n It's a run on fresh powder, majestic mountains, breathtaking views and dazzling casinos. Our 10th year on Lake Tahoe’s Scenic South Shore G AY A N D L E S B I A N S K I W E E K march 6-13, 2005 Lake Tahoe’s Premier Gay Winter Dance Party LakeTahoeWinterFest.com PASSPORT m a g a z i n e Nevada Gay and Lesbian Visitor & Convention Bureau WINTER CI RCU IT 2004 As the cooler weather of fall changes to the cold weather of winter, the coat check lines of the Cirrcuit become both an annoyance and a delight as you get to watch the boyz disrobe from their jackets,, scarves and hats to reveal their skimpy dance floor costumes. The cold weather doesn't slow down the pace or number of events during this season. Miami is one of the few warm-weather destinations during this period with three different upcoming events - White Party over Thanksgiving, New Year's and Winter Party. As we head into the holiday season, New Year's festivities in every major U.S. city, and many more exotic destinations across the globe including Brazil, Europe, Australia and South Africa provide plenty of opportunities to get the year started right. Three major ski weeks take place this Winter, providing a bit of sport in conjunction with some dancing and playing. Blue Ball and FireBall prove that cold cities only make the boys of the Circuit's dance floor that much warmer. Circuit 84 Noize WINTER CIRCUIT 2004 November 23 - 29, 2004 LATIN FEVER-7 - Puerto Vallarta, Mexico Will Gorges and Gilles Belanger return to sunny Puerto Vallarta over Thanksgiving Weekend. Five boy-packed parties on this fun-filled trip south of the border will rock Mexico’s gayest resort town. New York’s Tony Moran is the headliner at this year’s event. Info: www.willgorges.com ________________________________________________________________________ November 24 - 29, 2004 WHITE PARTY WEEK - Miami, Florida Expect the unexpected this year during Miami’s White Party Week. Preparations are currently underway at Care Resource, Florida’s largest HIV/AIDS organization, for the 20th Annual White Party at Vizcaya and the week of events that surround this jewel of a party. In keeping with this year’s Revolution theme partygoers can expect some brand new parties and cultural events added to this year’s sizzling schedule. There are also some surprising changes to old favorites including moving the main event, The White Party at Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, to Saturday - instead of on the traditional Sunday night - and moving the Muscle Beach party to Sunday afternoon. This year’s dance parties will feature more than a dozen of the world’s A-list DJ/producers including Manny Lehman, Abel, Junior Vasquez, David Knapp, Smash, Kim Dazy, Bill Hallquist, Peter Rauhofer, Victor Calderone and many more. The hottest clubs in Miami, Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale will be hosting events through the week. White Party guests will come together to celebrate life in the time of AIDS, remember those they have lost to the pandemic, and help raise much-needed funds for the direct HIV/AIDS services that Care Resource provides. Info: www.whiteparty.com ________________________________________________________________________ November 25, 2004 VISION THANKSGIVING - Los Angeles, California Thanksgiving Day, Will Gorges and John Brady deliver the perfect solution to those unwanted T-day calories. Take an extra helping of stuffing provided by DJs Roland Belmares and Phil B. Start your holiday weekend with an all-night event at the renowned Avalon Hollywood, 1735 N. Vine Street in Hollywood. This is LA’s newest, most talked-about event for you to gobble-gobble up. Info: www.willgorges.com / www.johnbradypresents.com For recent changes or updates to this schedule, please visit us online at: www.circuitnoize.com and www.partyfinder.com Search 100’s of events by city, state, date or DJ. Circuit 85 Noize WINTER CIRCUIT 2004 November 25 - 28, 2004 MR. LEATHERMAN - Toronto, Canada Mr. Leatherman Toronto (MLT) once again hosts one of North America’s largest and most acclaimed leather celebrations over American Thanksgiving weekend. Four days of official events, including meet-and-greets, dinners, brunches, leather market, Bootblack Toronto Contest , and much more. Climax at the Mr. Leatherman Toronto Competition 2004 and Victory Ball on Saturday night. If the hunks competing for the coveted title of Mr. Leatherman Toronto 2004 don’t get your attention, try the daddies, muscle boys, titleholders, and beautiful leather folk in attendance from all over the world. MLT Weekend Pass includes VIP admission to leather contest and Victory Ball , Friday reception, Saturday breakfast, SM seminars, Victory Brunch and more. Don’t forget to stop at Toronto’s hottest bar, Woody’s, in the heart of boystown. This is a cavernous space with five bars, nightly DJs and regular theme parties. You’ll recognize the space from the TV show Queer as Folk. Info: www.mrlt.com / www.woodystoronto.com ________________________________________________________________________ November 27, 2004 INDUSTRY - San Francisco, California Dance off those Thanksgiving Day calories at Industry, San Francisco’s biggest Saturday night dance event located at famed hot spot, Mezzanine. Resident DJ Rob Kaftan and New York’s super-hot DJ star Alex Lauterstein will be providing the sounds to bring in the holiday season. Info: www.industrysf.com BEGIN: New Year’s Celebrations December 28, 2004 - January 2, 2005 NEW YEAR’S RIO! - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil New Year's in Rio is one of the biggest celebrations of this world-wide event. After all is there anyone on the planet that understands how to celebrate in quite the same way as Brazillians? Brazil's leading promoter, Xdemente, always throws an amazing event with production standards that far exceed what is being done in the United States. Be sure to keep your eye out for his flyers when you're at the beach. On Sunday Steven Gomez presents White Party 5. This over-the-top For recent changes or updates to this schedule, please visit us online at: www.circuitnoize.com and www.partyfinder.com Search 100’s of events by city, state, date or DJ. Circuit 86 Noize WINTER CIRCUIT 2004 event will take place at Scala, the Biggest club in Brazil. Dance to the mythic sounds of DJ Abel all night long. Info: www.stevengomezproductions.com / www.xdemente.com ________________________________________________________________________ December 29, 2004 - January 3, 2005 NEW YEAR’S EVE PUERTO VALLARTA - Puerto Vallarta, Mexico Six weeks after Latin Fever, Will Gorges and Gilles Belanger return to sunny Puerto Vallarta for New Year’s Eve Weekend. More boy-packed parties than you can count on this NYE south of the border. Info: www.willgorges.com ________________________________________________________________________ December 30, 2004 - January 1, 2005 NEW YEAR’S LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles, California Jeffrey Sanker and Brett Henrichsen once again present the largest New Year’s Eve event in the country. This year they team with Resolution to present an entire weekend of three massive events. DJs Abel and Adien spin the Last Dance of 2004 at Circus Disco on Thursday night. DJ Manny Lehman takes control of New Year’s Eve at the legendary Mayan Theater on Friday. Finally, the most popular event of the weekend returns on New Year’s Day. The legendary morning party Day One features DJ Brett Henrichsen at the Stock Exchange. Also on New Year’s Day, Will Gorges hosts Vision Hollywood, a morning party at L.A.’s hottest club space, Avalon Hollywood. Info: www.newyearsla.com / www.jeffreysanker.com / www.willgorges.com ________________________________________________________________________ December 30, 2004 - January 2, 2005 SCANDAL - Miami, Florida Leave the cold behind and cause a Scandal in Miami this New Year’s. International Circuit promoter, Steven Gomez, is proud to present one of the best New Year’s weekends in the world. Your fun begins with the Last Dance on Thursday night at Amika lounge and featuring DJ Eddie X. The highlight of the weekend is Scandal, an all-night dance party at the James L. Knight Center in the Hyatt Hotel, Downtown Miami. Internationally acclaimed DJ Abel will keep the dance floor as hot as our sun-drenched days and our tropical nights. Singing Look for the Circuit Noize QuickTrip Logo to make fast travel and ticket reservations for selected events. Enter to Win FREE Airline and Party Tickets online at: travel.circuitnoize.com Circuit 87 Noize WINTER CIRCUIT 2004 sensation, actress and diva - Deborah Cox, Dance with the Divas, Kitty Meow and Flava will all be performing during this star-studded evening. Jump start your New Year with First Dance and DJ Paulo on Saturday. Sunday don’t miss the Loverboy Tea Dance at Bongos with DJ Tony Moran. From there it’s just a few blocks to Space for Deep Dark Jungle with DJ’s Victor Calderone, Escape, and DJ Andre Xcellence. As a world-famous and international destination, Miami’s hot Latin flavor will captivate your heart and leave you with a life-time of memories. Tickets are on sale now at circuiticket.com. and ticketmaster.com. Vito and PM Parties in conjunction with Ferosh Records bring you the first party of the New Year. This morning party at Crobar features DJ diva Tracy Young. Info: www.stevengomezproductions.com / www.pmparties.com ________________________________________________________________________ December 30, 2004 - January 3, 2005 NEW YEAR’S NEW ORLEANS - New Orleans, Louisiana The Bourbon Pub and Parade has a weekend of dancing fun with a major surprise or two! On Thursday, they host a special 3rd Anniversary Student Body Contest with DJ Jayskee. Friday is the big night with DJ Darren Thomas. There will be a $1000 balloon drop and a complimentary champagne toast at midnight in the Parade with the year’s top videos in the Bourbon Pub with VJs Wayne Mancuso and Brendan Thompson. On Saturday, the Hung Over and Broke Early Tea sets the tone with special guest DJ Joe Gauthreaux. Sunday is the legendary Sunday Tea with Free Draft! Across the street, Oz is the other hot spot, with hot boys dancing on the bars all weekend long and special guest DJs. Info: www.gaynewyears.com / www.bourbonpub.com / www.ozneworleans.com ________________________________________________________________________ December 31, 2004 NEW YEAR’S EVE - New York City, New York John Blair, in association with Junior Vasquez, presents New Year’s 2005 at Roxy. Join Junior, Kevin Aviance, and a special performance by Tamyra Gray. Hands go up as the ball goes down in the city that does New Year’s the best. On Saturday, don’t miss Men’s Room Saturdays at New York’s favorite dance bar, Splash. With the hottest male strippers nightly, and a slew of your favorite DJs spinning in the main room, you can always count on Splash to heat you up and cool you down. Info: www.JuniorVasquezMusic.com / www.jblair.com / www.splashbar.com For recent changes or updates to this schedule, please visit us online at: www.circuitnoize.com and www.partyfinder.com Search 100’s of events by city, state, date or DJ. Circuit 88 Noize WINTER CIRCUIT 2004 December 31, 2004 KRAVE - Las Vegas, Nevada Krave is the brand new glam hot spot in sin city and the only gay club on the Las Vegas Strip. Kimberly S. guides you on a dance journey to usher in the New Year. Info: www.kravelasvegas.com ________________________________________________________________________ December 31, 2004 BAL DES BOYS - Montreal, Canada Ring out the old and bring in the new with The Bad Boy Club of Montreal. This is the 15-year anniversary of the BBCM and what a better way to celebrate than with their impressive end-of-the-year blowout. Info: www.bbcm.org ________________________________________________________________________ December 31, 2004 NEW YEAR’S VANCOUVER - Vancouver, Canada Join the influx of sexy men, feel the joy of the music, and the heartbeat of the crowd at Escape. Toy Box Boys Productions is proud to host the Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest’s largest gay New Year’s Eve event at Atlantis Nightclub. Now in its sixth year, this Toy Box Boys Productions event features top-name DJ talent and live performances each year. Info: www.NewYearsVancouver.com ________________________________________________________________________ December 31, 2004 - January 1, 2005 NEW YEAR’S 2005 - San Francisco, California San Francisco's number one dance club, Industry, returns for another massive New Year's Eve dance fest. Featuring the return of DJs Jamie J Sanchez and DJ Paulo on the decks, expect a night of tribal madness and hands-in-the-air anthems. Bring in the New Year at the gayest city in the world and dance the night away on the west coast's only Funktion One sound system. The party continues on Saturday at Industry as New York's groove master Susan Morabito plays the hangover party - all night long! Gus presents a Colossus Weekend as well. With five parties over the course of three nights and eight of the country's hottest DJs including Roland Belmares, Tony Moran, Kio Kio, Kimberly S., David Knapp, Rob Kaftan, Phil B. and Manny Lehman. Info: www.industrysf.com / www.guspresents.com Circuit 89 Noize WINTER CIRCUIT 2004 December 31, 2004 - January 2, 2005 SHORT CIRCUIT WEEKEND - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia is the place to be for New Year’s Weekend 2005. This is the new, New Year’s East Coast hot spot. DJs Joe Gauthreaux, Chris Cox and Kimberly S. ring in the new year with style. Philadelphia is known throughout the country as having one of the most exciting New Year’s celebrations, featuring a weekend of parties as well as cultural events like the historic Mummer’s Day Parade. Info: www.nightlifegay.com END: New Year’s Celebrations January 6, 2005 HUSTLABALL - Las Vegas, Nevada This party happens the week of the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas. Tom Weise and rentboy.com host this mega event. DJ Nineteen69 and DJ Andre Mendez provide the sultry sounds. Porn diva Chi Chi La Rue is the MC for the night and there will be lots of porn stars to entertain including Cody Cash, Chad Connors, Blue Blake, Robert Van Damme, Jason Adonis and many more. Info: www.hustlaball.com ________________________________________________________________________ January 16, 2005 VISION MLK1 - Los Angeles, California Will Gorges’ newest, most talked-about event celebrates its one-year anniversary. There’s going to be a catfight in the house, because hot chick DJs Tracy Young and Kimberly S. are ripping and tearing into some fresh ‘05 tracks especially for you. Arrive early for a Vision Card. The first 500 “Visionaries” to enter receive a special Club Card for discounted VIP perks. Info: www.willgorges.com Look for the Circuit Noize QuickTrip Logo to make fast travel and ticket reservations for selected events. Enter to Win FREE Airline and Party Tickets online at: travel.circuitnoize.com Circuit 90 Noize WINTER CIRCUIT 2004 January 16 - January 23, 2005 ASPEN GAY SKI WEEK - Aspen, Colorado Picture this…four world-class mountains, daily après-ski parties, signature nighttime events with the world’s best DJs, Downhill Costume Competition, Comedy Night, a Gay and Lesbian Film Fest, and you right in the middle of all this fun! If that’s not enough, did we mention that there will be over 3000 other people there to share it with you? If you’re searching for a week to remember, Aspen is the place to be. Info: www.gayskiweek.com ________________________________________________________________________ January 28 - 30, 2005 BLUE BALL 2005 - UNITE - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love and sisterly affection, wants you! The Blue Crue, Blue Ball’s all-volunteer staff, asks not what the community can do for them, but what can they (and you) do for the GLBT community? Unite! in dance as multiple events culminate into the experience that will be Blue Ball’s 15th year of charitable fundraising. Rallying allies for Friday night’s event, ShamBlue, at Shampoo nightclub is DJ Alyson Calagna. Leading the charge for Saturday’s main event, Unite!, at the magnificent National Constitution Center features DJ Tony Moran. As dance advances into the morning hours, DJ Billy Carroll will command reinforcements at Pure nightclub for Cobalt. Newly charged with officially closing this endeavor Sunday afternoon will be DJ Lydia Prim for Release at the Trocadero Theater. For those willing to re-enlist for one more charge, DJ Junior Vasquez heads up the Metallic Blue party at Transit nightclub. This will be the time to rise up and UNITE! Info: www.blueballphilly.com ________________________________________________________________________ January 29 - February 7, 2005 ALTITUDE 2005 - Vancouver, Canada Over 4000 skiers and snowboarders from around the world hit the slopes, the dance floors and the hot tubs at Whistler Resort, the number one rated ski resort in North America. Whether you come for the skiing, snowboarding or all-night dance parties, there is something for everyone. It all begins in beautiful Vancouver with an over-the-top fashion show and the Avalanche kick-off party. Once in Whistler, it’s non-stop with more than 24 events and activities including a cowboy night, a uniform party, a mountaintop tea dance, the high-energy Snow Ball, Meltdown, and Recovery. An all-star DJ line-up awaits you. Whistler Resort was recently awarded the honor of hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics. Info: www.outontheslopes.com Circuit 91 Noize WINTER CIRCUIT 2004 February 3 - 8, 2005 MARDI GRAS WEEKEND - New Orleans, Louisiana Although Mardi Gras is celebrated around the world, no one does it like New Orleans. The Bourbon Pub and Parade is your gay hotspot to observe one of the wildest free shows on earth with some of the craziest street scenes available to the public. The official gay kickoff for the weekend is their annual Battle of the Bulge Contest on Thursday. The DJs currently on the lineup to spin upstairs at the Parade for the weekend are Lydia Prim, Max Rodriguez, Kimberly S., Joe Gauthreaux, Rick Mitchell, Darren Thomas and Jayskee. Mardi Gras is a great pre-spring party to check out before the rest of the Circuit gets busy. Info: www.gaymardigras.net / www.bourbonpub.com / www.ozneworleans.com ________________________________________________________________________ February 4 – February 8 ,2005 CARNIVAL - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil While this party has long been world-renowned as a destination for the international jet set that love a good party, in the last several years it has also become a major gay destination. The boys from Europe and the U.S. have discovered the beautiful beaches and boys that are so plentiful in this capital of fun. Xdemente presents a Saturday night event at the Marina de Gloria, where you can dance in an outdoor setting, surrounded on three sides by water, to the sounds of Tracy Young. Steven Gomez is back by popular demand on Monday night with Scandal 2. DJ-producer Abel entertains the dance floor all night long at Asa Branca Ballroom. On Tuesday Xdemente rocks the three story Fundiçao Progresso in downtown Rio for the closing party of Carnivale. Info: www.Stevengomezproductions.com www.xdemente.com ________________________________________________________________________ February 18 - 20 2005 FIREBALL WEEKEND - Chicago, Illinois The Great Chicago Fireball returns to the Windy City. The weekend promises world-class talent and takes advantage of some of Chicago’s amazing venues. The Hearts Foundation, an all-volunteer organization, continues its fundraising tradition for Chicago’s GLBT and HIV/AIDS beneficiaries. Friday Night will Ignite the weekend in a spectacular location. Abel and Ralphi Rosario return as Rosabel to headline Hearts on Fire Saturday night. Anyone who has experienced Rosabel and the star-studded talent will marvel at what 2005 will bring. Sunday keeps the party going as we join in the FraterniTea of our fellow revelers. You do not want to miss the sounds of Warren Gluck as he guides your journey at Chicago’s famed Excalibur Nightclub. The music continues into the morning as your spirits rise with Brett Henrichsen leading the way. Check the website for ticketing and further weekend details including the listing of our other exciting venues and additional DJs. Info: www.thefireball.com / www.heartsfoundation.com Circuit 92 Noize WINTER CIRCUIT 2004 February 19, 2005 PRESIDENTS’ DAY - Las Vegas, Nevada Krave, the new hotspot and the only gay dance club on the Las Vegas strip, is hosting a special party. Jeffrey Sanker is hosting this event, which features the first desert appearance of Junior Vasquez. Info: www.kravelasvegas.com / www.jeffreysanker.com ________________________________________________________________________ February 19, 2005 PRESIDENTS’ WEEKEND - San Francisco, California Industry brings back the beat with special guest DJ/producer Victor Calderone. Presidents’ Weekend has proved to be one of the busiest times in the “City by the Bay” and Mezzanine’s Saturday night hotspot promises a massive all-night dance event. Opening the night will be Industry’s head resident DJ Jamie J Sanchez. Info: www.industrysf.com ________________________________________________________________________ February 25 - 27, 2005 VOLCANO PARTY FESTIVAL - Honolulu, Hawaii Where will you winter? Get hot in Hawaii’s never-ending summer. Come and join the hip-shakin’ fun at Volcano Party IV for yet another explosive dance party. The event includes state-of-the-art laser shows by Laseronics, local entertainment, and the hottest men and women from around the world. DJs for this party include Hex Hector, Brett Henrichsen, Barry Harris, Tracy Young, Julian Marsh, Paulo and Phil B. This edition’s line-up will be announced soon. Your participation in the festival will help Maui AIDS Foundation to continue providing the services for individuals and families affected by HIV and AIDS as well as prevention services and advocacy. Info: www.volcanoparty.com Look for the Circuit Noize QuickTrip Logo to make fast travel and ticket reservations for selected events. Enter to Win FREE Airline and Party Tickets online at: travel.circuitnoize.com Circuit 93 Noize WINTER CIRCUIT 2004 February 27 - March 6 2005 ASCENT WINTER PARTY - Lake Tahoe Gus presents a gay ski week in Lake Tahoe with lots of winter fun in the day and a series of dance parties at night that feature DJ's Paulo, Jason G, Kio Kio, Joe King and Kimberly S. Info: www.guspresents.com ________________________________________________________________________ February 2005 RED PARTY WEEKEND - Montreal, Canada Let the color red seduce you to a heart-pounding weekend of BBCM’s best. Although Montreal is a vibrant city all year long, Red Party Weekend turns the volume up with pulsating production and international DJs. This spectacular feverish feast combines all the global allure of Canada’s best with the warm, welcoming atmosphere so characteristic of this wonderful city. Info: www.bbcm.org ________________________________________________________________________ March 3 - 7, 2005 WINTER PARTY - Miami Beach, Florida The Winter Party Festival heats up Miami Beach now and into the future. 2005 marks a new beginning for this spectacular event. The one-of-a-kind, worldrenowned dance on the beach is Sunday. Dancing under a warm sun while a cool breeze caresses your skin - this how every winter should be! Where else but on Miami Beach can you have the sun on your back while thousands of sexy hard bodies dance all around you? Info: www.winterparty.com ________________________________________________________________________ March 4 - 7, 2005 MARDI GRAS FESTIVAL - Sydney, Australia This month-long arts and cultural festival culminates this weekend with the overthe-top parade down Oxford Street and one of the biggest parties on the planet on Saturday. Televised nationally, with tens of thousands of spectators lining the parade route, this parade has grown into an Aussie national spectacle that is loved by gays and straights alike. The main party is housed in multiple venues that feature different sounds and different styles of crowds. With some of the most spectacular lighting and performances anywhere, this event has to be seen to be believed. Info: www.mardigras.org.au Circuit 94 Noize WINTER CIRCUIT 2004 March 6 - 13, 2005 WINTERFEST LAKE TAHOE - Lake Tahoe, Nevada Join the fun for Lake Tahoe’s tenth annual high energy Gay and Lesbian Ski Week. Lake Tahoe WinterFest is a seven day celebration that includes world class skiing, boarding, nightly receptions, DJ dance parties and the very popular WinterFest Comedy Night, plus a private dance party on the MS Dixie as you cruise Lake Tahoe! Lake Tahoe WinterFest always attracts the friendliest boyz from around the globe. This 10-year milestone marks WinterFest as Lake Tahoe’s premier gay winter party. You’ll find an atmosphere of camaraderie among skiers and nonskiers alike. With so many winter activities to choose from and daily receptions, everyone experiences a true winter vacation. Info: www.laketahoewinterfest.com ________________________________________________________________________ March 9 - 13, 2005 ELEVATION 2005 - Mammoth Lakes, California With seven parties and zero attitude, this is a great party week. More than 1000 boys (and girls) will make the trek up to Mammoth for the 3rd year of the fastestgrowing gay ski event in North America. Mammoth Mountain is ranked the #1 snowboarding mountain in the U.S. and has the best spring skiing and snowboarding anywhere, with a season lasting well into May. Headlining DJs include superstar DJ Manny Lehman, Masterbeat DJ Brett Henrichsen, and LA’s DJ Scotty K. World class parties, superstar DJs and hunky boarder boys from all over the country. Snowboarding is for fags. Info: www.mammothgayski.com / www.tomwhitmanpresents.com ________________________________________________________________________ March 12 - 19, 2005 EXOTIC CARIBBEAN CRUISE - Caribbean Islands Atlantis, the leading provider of gay cruises for the party boy set, sets sail from San Juan with stops at some of the southern Caribbean’s most exotic islands. With top DJ talent, exotic islands, theme parties, and entertainment targeted to gay men, this is a cruise you don’t want to miss. Info: www.atlantisevents.com For recent changes or updates to this schedule, please visit us online at: www.circuitnoize.com and www.partyfinder.com Search 100’s of events by city, state, date or DJ. Circuit 95 Noize WINTER CIRCUIT 2004 March 19 - 20, 2005 THE SAINT AT LARGE BLACK PARTY - New York City, New York The hottest of the hot turn out for this renowned party. Black leather, uniforms, and a touch of bondage doesn't come close to describing these manly hours of darkness. Unleash your fetish for a wildly wicked night to the pulsating sounds of the finest DJ/Producers. If tingling testosterone is your thing then Sunday night at NYC's Crobar will not disappoint. Alegria Extreme 5 will once again have a full roster of gorgeous men who are ready to dance to the hot and hard sounds of DJ Abel. Black Party Weekend is a real down 'n dirty experience with some of the most hottest most provocative parties on the Circuit. Info: www.saintatlarge.com / www.alegriaevents.com / www.splashbar.com ________________________________________________________________________ March 24 - 27, 2005 JUNGLE 13 - Houston, Texas If you like warm springtime weather and hot Texas men, join the tribe in Houston over Easter Weekend for what promises to be the best Jungle yet. Jungle 13 will feature the very best music and production values while retaining the intimate feel and sense of joyous celebration that have been the hallmarks of every Jungle party. As always, the men of Bayou City Boys Club are working hard to add fresh wrinkles and twists to a party that is now receiving critical acclaim from guys who come from all over the country. The main event returns to popular Verizon Wireless Theater on the Saturday night before Easter and will once again feature a nationally-known top-tier DJ. As in years past, BCBC will partner with local clubs and promoters to create four days of affordable fun, featuring top DJs and entertainment in some of Houston’s hottest clubs. Best of all, BCBC will donate all proceeds from the main event to designated Houston-area HIV/AIDS service and education providers. Watch for DJ and entertainment announcements coming soon. Info: www.junglehouston.com ________________________________________________________________________ March 25 - 28, 2005 WHITE PARTY - Palm Springs, California Remember the past…now experience the evolution. Join us as we look ahead to the future and embark on a new journey of music, dance, and celebration: a new vision… new venues…new technology — unlike anything you have ever seen. Info: www.jeffreysanker.com. Look for the Circuit Noize QuickTrip Logo to make fast travel and ticket reservations for selected events. Enter to Win FREE Airline and Party Tickets online at: travel.circuitnoize.com Circuit 96 Noize WINTER CIRCUIT 2004 March 27, 2005 BUNNIES ON THE BAYOU - Houston, Texas Bunnies on the Bayou is celebrating its Silver Anniversary on Easter Sunday. Starting as a small party, Bunnies has grown steadily in its 25 years, and now is one of the most eagerly anticipated gay events in Houston. Described once as the “world’s largest cocktail party,” thousands of partygoers spend an Easter afternoon enjoying great music, spending time with old friends, and making new friends. 100% of the gate receipts go to local charities. Celebrate Bunnies on the Bayou’s 25 years of parties this Easter. Info: www.bunnies.org April 29 - May 3, 2005 QUEENS DAY AMSTERDAM - Amsterdam, Netherlands This is the perfect time to visit this vivacious city. Are you ready for six days of partying in Amsterdam? It’s one of the biggest and most popular national holidays in Holland as literally millions take to the streets. Amsterdam transforms itself into a fairground as the streets become one huge market. There are parades and orange pendants flying from every conceivable position. But what’s probably of most interest is the array of gay parties, which coincide with this spectacular event. Riedijk Productions presents the main event of the weekend Orange Ball Amsterdam V. Info: www.gayeventseurope.com ________________________________________________________________________ Spring 2005 CHERRY - Washington, D.C. The nation’s capital once again welcomes the ultimate spring festival. From the historic streets of D.C. to the magnificently grand venues, Cherry is prepared to celebrate the extraordinary. This party features hot boys, hot DJs and plenty of Cherry pickin’ fun. It’s easy to see why so many Circuit boys from all over congregate to this event. The Cherry Fund’s weekend dance event is one of the few that is produced entirely by volunteers, and that still donates all of its proceeds to worthy non-profit charitable organizations in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Info: www.cherryfund.org For recent changes or updates to this schedule, please visit us online at: www.circuitnoize.com and www.partyfinder.com Search 100’s of events by city, state, date or DJ. Circuit 97 Noize WINTER PARTY THE BEAT GOES ON! by Siana-Lea Gildard With the recent announcement that Hotlanta has been cancelled and the news about the bankruptcy of the previous entity running Winter Party, it seemed that some prominent Circuit parties would be disa appearing from the national event scene. Fortunately, a new organization is going to keep Winter Party™ alive and kicking. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has recently acquired the rights to the Winter Party. The goal is to continue the legacy of a l o c a l fundraiser via an event that has national appeal. The Task Force is the n a t i o n ’s o l d e s t lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender ( L G B T ) organization and is well known for its partnership with Miami-Dade in working on ballot initiatives. Recently, they held their annual “Creating Change” conference in Miami. Winter Party is another way Circuit for the Task Force to partner with a local community - one of their main objectives - to help support local organizations. “It’s an amazing party – sand, surf, sun – and one of the few events that continues to grow in strength and visibility,” said Charles Robbins, Director of Development for the Task Force. “There are also very few dance events that are fully operated by and for the LGBT community. Winter Party is near the top of that list.” Robbins also reported that two-thirds of the net proceeds from Winter Party will be donated to Miami-Dade LGBT organizations through the Dade Community Foundation. The 98 Noize remaining one-third will help fund the national work of the Task Force, which focuses on helping local communities facing anti-LGBT ballot initiatives. The Winter Party is scheduled for March 3-7, 2005, and will continue to include the popular Saturday pool party and iconic Sunday beach party. Working with local community members such as Joe Guerrero, the chair of the event, and a dedicated group of over 500 volunteers, the Task Force hopes to not only continue the strong points of this event, but to add a few new ones. “The event will be even more spectacular than ever,” said Chris Verdugo, Miami native who Circuit previously served as the producer of the Saturday pool party and now works with the Task Force as an events manager. “We are adding a few cultural events such as a Friday night dining out, weekend brunches, and an art show and exhibition to appeal to a wider range of partygoers.” The line-up this year will include an international slate of DJs and a special Saturday night performance from a nationally recognized celebrity at Barton G’s “1501” in South Beach. The full line-up of venues including DJs will be announced in November. In speaking about the event, Robbins added, “You’ll have an amazing time, but more importantly, you’ll be contributing to the strength and vitality of the LGBT community.” 99 Noize LET THERE BE WHITE! by David Sexton and Tony Miros In the beginning, back when Reagan was running the White House, when “circuit” was a word used only by electricians, and when we still called it GRID, a group of people got together for a small cockta ail party at Vizcaya to raise a little money and help some sick friends. The world was very different in 1984. The gay community was fighting a hostile conservative environment and trying desperately to do something to stop the terrible illness that was plaguing our people. Okay, so maybe things are not so different. But since it first burst into being twenty years ago, the White Party at Vizcaya has changed dramatically. For one thing, the typical White Party attendee has changed. Back in the day, the attendees were all in their 30’s. There was this group of a few thousand gay men who had lots of disposable income and very little body fat. They were the ones who traveled from city to city on the weekends, following the hottest parties. We referred to them as “The Fabulous Four-Thousand.” Now the “Fab 4000” are in their Fab 40’s (or 50’s even), but they still want to be a part of the big tribal celebrations. With 100 Circuit Noize the majority of the attendees in their 20’s today, the age range has really expanded. Our community is about inclusion, and we want to reach out to everyone. Not just to get them to be a part of the festivities, but also to help raise awareness about what Care Resource does and how it helps the community. So, more and more, we try to offer different kinds of events to satisfy all of our attendees. The newer generation really loves the morning parties, and this year we have added the very first officially sanctioned hiphop event to the week to keep the young’uns happy. On the other hand, many of the older crowd think “rap” is spelled with a silent “c” at the beginning, and they are just not interested in partying past dawn anymore. For them, we have created more elegant events. The VIP Cocktail Party will feature sophisticated standards instead of hard-core house. There is also the addition of the first ever theater Circuit event as part of White Party. The show is called It’s a Fabulous Life, and it’s a hilarious, but heartfelt, gay holiday show. It kicks off The White Week on Thursday, November 25th. As we look towards the future, we see further changes on the horizon. It’s a matter of thinking outside the box and trying new things - which is why the theme of this year’s White Party Week is “Revolution.” HIV and AIDS are still very big problems in our world, and for us to help those infected and affected by it, this week-long series of events must continue. Millions of South Floridians count on us to be there for them, and the only way we can do that is by making this event as successful as possible. The White Party started a job twenty years ago that is far from over. And until that day comes, we’ll still be wearing white and supporting those who need us the most. For tickets or more information go to www.whiteparty.org 101 Noize CARNIVAL AWAKENING by Josh Adler It is 9 p.m. on Sunday night in New York City, and I am standing in the Daryl Roth Theatre in Union Square watching a harnessed woman descend from the ceiling on a bungee cord, land feet first on the crowded floor, and proceed to undress a sinewy, tattooed party boy who is standing next to me, grinning widely and bouncing to a pulsating tribal beat. He grabs his clothes in one hand and his pierced cock in another, and people around him clap and cheer as he pushes his way into the center of the space where he explodes into dance. There are multi-colored lights ricocheting like scattered rainbows throughout the otherwise darkened space, and there are showers of warm water cascading from the ceiling and drenching several hundred dancers below, many of whom have joined the party boy in his joyful nakedness. There is an unbridled spirit of sheer revelry and a sense of danger and unpredictability that permeates the smoky air. No, this is not Eden before the fall, nor is this some bacchanalian hallucination brought on by too many of those triple-stacked pills. This is the final performance of De La Guarda , the off-Broadway spectacle that originated in Argentina, opened in New York City in the late 90s and became an Circuit international cult phenomenon among experimental theatre aficionados, club kids, and Euro-ravers. This was my first and, sadly, my last experience with this mind-boggling show, and most people in the crowd - audience is too conservative a word - had experienced it multiple times. Last year, the producers promoted several exclusive “Boys Night” performances that drew flocks of Chelsea boys to hear DJs like Brett Henrichsen and Manny Lehman spin during the show. While I was one of a handful of Circuit types present for the final New York show, most of the die-hard fans were heterosexual men and women who looked like they spoke at least three languages and had lived outside of the United States for a large chunk of their lives. “This is Carnival, the celebration of Spirit and Flesh,” I thought, as I stood shirtless in the falling rain, splashing with smiling strangers. This is the Carnival energy that is missing from so many of our parties, and this is the kind of color, exuberance, exhilaration, and 102 Noize ecstatic danger that we must rediscover. Our tribal gatherings began out of an urgent need to celebrate life and claim a community of our own. In the beginning, we entered the Circuit in order to shed the old skin of fear and betrayal. Eventually, we created a space where we could celebrate our bodies, believe in the rapture of sexuality, and proudly say, “I’m a different person…turn my world around!” As I stood in the rain at the final performance of De La Guarda , I wondered, “What do we need to reintroduce into the Circuit in order Circuit to bring it new life, new spirit, into new territory?” There seems to be a vocal desire to re-invent and re-imagine the Circuit. All you need to do is flip through the pages of recent back issues of Circuit Noize . Many parties have become crystallized into hard, impenetrable caves of darkness. Other parties continue to play it safe by refusing to integrate new forms, and some parties are simply stuck in monotonous ruts. The Argentinean acrobats who flew above my head in a dizzying array of party splendor reminded me that magic still exists, and such magic can be transported into the Circuit if we open our parties and our minds to new possibilities. It’s no big surprise that our friends on other continents can teach the partygoers of the United States a few things about re-establishing Carnival spirit at our events. Gay Pride in London is a perfect example. Imagine if, on the last Sunday in June, the mayor of New York City sectioned off a large portion of Central Park and sponsored a massive festival that included carnival rides, champagne bars, food stands, above-ground pools and hot tubs, a stage for live performances, and several circus tents with DJ lineups from nightclubs all over the city. This pipe dream would look a lot like Big Gay Out, London’s festive and outrageously fun answer to Gay 103 Noize Pride. No, it is not an overpriced, over-heated and over-capacity tea dance on the pier; it is an affordable, all-day party that manages to lure a beautifully mixed crowd to Finsbury Park after the parade. Is there a Gay Pride festival in America where you can dance on the lawn to a cute boy band, make out with a twink in a hot tub, pop a pill in a funky-house circus tent, and then ride the Tilt-aWhirl, all in one setting? Will there ever be a party like this in the States? There are deep threads that run through the fabric of our consumerist, capitalistic culture that block the Carnival spirit. Many of us have heard the statement that Americans live to work and Europeans work to live. Albeit overused and perhaps a bit simplistic, this expression is actually quite true. We Americans are obsessed with work. We have become slaves to a toxic culture that promotes rugged individualism, unparalleled wealth, celebrity worship, and corporate mass marketing. The people of Madrid, Milan, Paris, and Amsterdam have not been as intensely seduced as we have. There are places across the Atlantic Ocean where people of every stripe spend their days and nights enjoying life and living as though every day were a holiday. As a Circuit community, we need to not only acknowledge these Circuit cultural differences, but also actively embrace them and consciously integrate them into our parties. We can look to these festival cultures as models for redefining our party landscape. If we really do desire to “tur n on the switch,” we must be willing to open our minds to new possibility and open our bodies to fresh perspective. So much of this reawakening is simply a matter of looking at our American life through a critical lens. Not a pessimistic or jaded lens, but a lens that allows us to examine our position in the world from a place of humility, empathy, and concern. So much of this reinvention depends on our individual and collective abilities to resist oppressive political structures, challenge the dominant paradigm, and return to the origins of Peace, Love, Unity and Respect. It’s easy to fall prey to neo-liberal fatalism by thinking that this country has moved so far to the right that there is no chance for a Carnival Awakening here. I often fall into this trap, and I must constantly remind myself that true change, vibrant change, radical change starts with each individual and spreads like wildfire through communities who hunger and thirst for liberation. Transformation happens when we smile at a passing stranger on the dance floor. Transformation happens when our bodies connect in an ocean of compassion. Transformation happens when we walk boldly into the darkness knowing that the most powerful light shines through our eyes. 104 Noize Advertise! Everyone Else Does. On the Street: February 15, 2005 Ad Deadline: Janauary 15, 2005 (818) 769-9390
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