(Originally Published on The Huffington Post on 6/15/2012)

Happy Pride Month, everybody! I am preparing to be neck-deep in an array of Portland’s gape ride festivities this coming weekend, then I’m flying east to New York City with my man to promote my new single, relax, and do Pride all over again. There is much to celebrate this year! For me, this time is about honoring our love, valuing who we are as people, and remembering the brave LGBT folks who have paved the way for us.

For this (third) round of “Queer Celebrities Need Love, Too” I chatted with pop legend Fred Schneider (The B-52s, The Superions), Bravo’s Chris March (Project Runway, Mad Fashion), transgender rapper Katastrophe, electrorock lovechild Seth Bogart (Gravy Train!!!!, Hunx and His Punx), queercore pioneer turned folk powerhouse Kaia Wilson (Team Dresch, The Butchies), Joan Jett‘s indie rock prodigies Girl in a Coma, self-proclaimed drag terrorist Christeene, artist/author Slava Mogutin, and English singer/songwriter Scott Matthews. They all answered the same five questions about what queer pride means to them:

1. If you could sum up in one word what it means for you to have queer pride, what would it be?

2. How will you celebrate pride this year?

3. Would you ever be in a relationship with someone who was still in the closet and planned on remaining that way?

4. In thinking about your own experience with relationships and just what exactly we are celebrating this Pride Month, please tell us about the first time in your life when you felt proud of who you are and of your queer love.

5. If that personal pride experience were adapted into a film, what song would be the soundtrack to that scene?

Well, people…we did it again! Last Saturday night was the biggest Blow Pony ever. Thanks so much for coming out, y’all! My favorite part of the night was when Beth Ditto & Nathan “Brace Paine” Howdeshell (from Gossip) were dancing front and center during “Come Home”. Oh my God. Portland is my favorite.

For those of you who weren’t there (and for those of you who were, but couldn’t get past security to get upstairs for my set) below is a bit of what went down on stage with me and The Gentry.

Here are our opening 2 songs, “Smoke Rings” and “Bottom Your Way To The Top”. This was so fun.

…we went from there into “Come Home”…

…and “Write It On My Left Arm” (with a little bit of me preaching to the queers beforehand about telling all the gay hating fuckwads who think we should burn in hell for being ourselves to go screw)…

Big thanks to Airick and the Pony crew for having us play their Pride party and to Kaj-Anne Pepper, Jer Ber Jones, Christeene and all the resident Blow Pony DJs for being so cool and making things awesome with us! We had a great night.

This week’s issue of The Portland Mercury is called “Secrets of Portland’s Queer Underground” and just hit stands today. On page 19 for their 2010 Top 10 Pride Picks they picked this Saturday’s Blow Pony “Bash Back” show (which I’m performing at with The Gentry) as their number one choice and had some really nice stuff to say about me!!!

For the local folks, go pick up a copy. Our show is on pages 19, 23, 27, & 33. For the rest of you, read what they had to say below the photo of the fag in the raccoon hat.

From “The Portland Mercury“: (6/17/2010 Issue)

‘2010 TOP 10 PRIDE PICKS’

Blow Pony “Bash Back”: Rotture, 315 SE 3rd, Sat June 19th, 9pm, $5.

IN ADDITION TO THIS…

The Portland Mercury picked me as their “Band Of The Week” this week. You can check it out online HERE or via the photo below. Pretty fun, right?

🙂

Well, dirty birdies…it’s time to get rowdy once again at Blow Pony in Portland this Saturday night! It’s their 2nd annual “GAYS BASH BACK” Party for Portland Gay Pride Weekend (to take back the night when the Blow Pony attacks occurred a few years ago) and I have the honor of being one of the performers! Also on the bill for the evening are Christeene, Jer Ber Jones, & Kaj-Anne Pepper so…It’s gonna be a wild, WILD pony ride!!! Doors at 9pm, close at 4:30am!!! Super late gay times.

Check out what happened the last time I played Blow Pony with The Gentry below! That shit was NUTS! Let’s do it again this weekend, Portland. I’m ready. Are YOU???