Just out., March 21, 2003, Page 44, Image 44

» march 2U2QÛ3
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DIVERSIONS
Dear Ellen, Call me!
Love, Lisa
A
t first 1 was just a little irked, but now I’m downright
pissed off.
' ■; C
A s you know, EUen DeGeneres is coming to town
M arch 22. The big-name queers always advertise in Just
O ut, erf course (M argaret C ho’s people bought three ads span­
ning three issues), so our advertising department contacted
Ellen’s management company.
“W e’re not targeting the gay press this tim e,” they said.
W e suggested that if money was an issue, we would run an ad
in exchange for a few tickets to the show. This is com m on prac-
rice for groups with a limited budget They said no.
Our ad manager made a few phone calls to Ellen’s peeps, sug­
gesting th at they would miss a lot erf potential ticket sales and
that, frankly, as a gay man, he’s concerned about the lack erf sup­
port o f the gay press. Finally, they caved and bought a quarter-
page ad— to run once.
Simultaneously, Just O ut requested an interview some time
ago and were put on hold about a m onth before we were told
she was not scheduling “any more interviews” in Portland They
did, however, send helpful press releases said photos to make
sure all the info got into our paper somewhere.
O K, I think. Probably she’ll talk to The O regonian and that’s
it. Time is short when you’re on tour, and sometimes celebrities
will lim it themselves to one paper, and it’s the biggest one in the
state. It happens.
So imagine my surprise *
n ot dits one. A m I to
M arch 19 and see at
;’t have 3 0 minutes to
tim e to talk to th a t:
believe ¿ ra t in the past six weeks«
talk to Just O ut on the phone?
guess m
since
Ellen
no 1 dc^bc
ention
thef Has
t all th e queers in her pocket, she
to? A n d why ra ft to u » w hen W illamette W eek ] _
circulation?
n o t for us, she
young lesbians in h er audi­
com ing-out q
en ce tearfully
tor changing th eir lives makes
good H B O special
And
shows if qu een like h er
m oney w here th eir m ouths are. Free papers rely entirely on
advertising dollars to stay in business. N o advertising, no
business. Ellen has th e m oney. A nd, let’s be hon est, she has
the 3 0 m inutes.
Just O ut is one of the largest and longest-running G LBT
newspaper in the United States. This is the third time Ellen has
visited Portland in the past four years, and the third time we’ve
been passed over for an interview.
Quid pro quo, Ellen, baby. W e put out for you; time to put
out for us.
Send com m ents to: EUen DeGeneres, c/o W arner Bros., 4 0 0 0
W arner B lvd , Burbank, C A 91522. |H
Tara Jane O ’N eil brings her ambient sounds to the Blackbird
on M arch 2 6
%
Lend her your keen ears
all her courageous. Tara Jane O ’N eil is a musician who
lingers in obscurity. Her recordings are quiet, ambient,
experimental. Her live performances— one of which you’ll
find M arch 2 6 at the Blackbird— demand you to be patient, to
find your keen ears, to accept subtle aural information.
And her boldness extends beyond sound— into the personal
and the political. O ’N eil’s latest album, T JO TKO , is released
on Mr. Lady Records, the dyke-run label churning out creamy
music by artists like Doria Roberts, Sarah Dougher and T he
Butchies. She also plays all of her own instruments and writes
her own songs. W hat more could you ask for?
A DIY altemagirl to the bone, O ’Neil also collaborates with
her life partner, Cynthia Nelson, in the studio (or, more likely, at
home with a four-track and headphones). After meeting on a film
set (director Suki Hawley’s indie-rock road film Half-Cocked) and
falling in love, the couple took the next logical step— started a
band and named it Retsin, hit the road, made a bunch of records.
Since her Louisville, Ky., band Rodan split up in 1994, O ’Neil
has been a regenerative organism reproducing like mad. In 10 years
she’s formed three bands and released 12 albums (five solo, five
with Retsin, two with The Sonora Pine).
O h yeah, and O ’Neil has added her spooky vocals and
instrumental/producing talents to a bunch o f other people’s
albums, including Sebadoh’s Bakesale, Papa M ’s W hatever, M or­
tal and k.’s (aka Karla Schikele) last two releases.
Expect a different part of your cerebral cortex to be stimulated
from a night with Tara Jane O ’Neil. Listening to her music might
require more from you, but if you open your ears, it just might be
worth it.
Tara Jane O ’Neil plays the Blackbird at 10 p.m. M arch 26.
Tickets are $7 from www.insound.com or at the door.
C
Want to be head lesbian?
he Portland Lesbian C hoir is looking for a new head lesbian
After several years as the group’s director, T en Beem er
has decided to step down and take some time off from the
choir, which is hard at work preparing for its spring concert.
T h e choir, says original member Cindy Zrinyi, would love to
get a new director involved as soon as possible, but she “would
actually start directing us at rehearsals in September when we
start up again." T h e director position includes a stipend.
The group skipped its usual winter concert, Zrinyi says, to con­
centrate on the spring show because “we felt like we had enough
energy to produce one major concert this season.” They
however, been doing smaller performances, such as the one
at Portland’s International Women’s Day on March 8.
T he upcoming concert, titled Passion, is May 9 and
10 and includes “a lot o f songs that take a look at les­
bian love and relationships,” says Zrinyi, including
Mary Chapin Carpenter’s “Passionate Kisses” and
Holly Near’s “Simply Love."
For more information about the director
position or becoming a member, e-mail
portlandlesbianchoir@hotmail.com.
T
Red Dress Party
becomes CRP fund-raiser
A
ccording to fashion magazines, the little red dress
is a versatile outfit to have in any girl’s wardrobe.
If can take her from a garden party to a luncheon
to a...warehouse?!
T h a t’s right. Already infamous as a night o f depravity and
debauchery, the third annual Red Dress Party has outgrown its
humble basement beginnings and is moving to a former grain
warehouse in North Portland on M arch 29.
With the move, the event also becomes a fund-raiser for the
Kids Connection program at Cascade A IDS Project. Kids Connec­
tion helps HIV-affected children and their families access resources
and services such as counseling, medical care and immunizations.
Food for the affair has been donated by Afares Catering and
by Cham eleon Restaurant, and liquor is being provided by
M int, whose owner, Lucy Brennan, has created a berry vodka
cocktail called “Red” especially for the event.
You can do full-on drag for the event if you want to, but
really, all you need is that little red dress to get you through the
door. Com m ittee member Jeff Hawthorne notes that for the
more masculine-oriented, safe choices for shoes “have been
combat boots.” But, he warns, “I expect to see a bit more exper­
imentation in footwear choices.”
T he Red Dress Party is 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. M arch 2 9 at
2119 N. Kerby Ave. Tickets are $20 or $15 in advance from
Balloons on Broadway, Gai-Pied or reddresspdx@yahoo.com.
Peggy M elanson (left) and C atherine T hoele exhibited
extrem e dyke power on the slopes of Tim berline at the
W inter Games of Oregon
Dykes dominate slopes
atherine T hoele o f W elches decimated the field in the
W inter Games of Oregon slope style com petition M arch 2
at Timberline.
Slope style is a contest in which skiers ride jumps and rails
in a terrain park format. T hey’re scored on difficulty of tricks
and overall style. Thoele took home the gold in her age group
as well as gold for the entire event in the women’s division.
Her partner, Peggy Melanson— who apparently whipped the
crowd into shape with theatrical flair during a rendition o f the
Olympic song at the closing ceremonies— brought home silver
in slope style.
Lesbians excelling in sports...w hat next?
T h e W inter Games o f Oregon are held every year at Tim ­
berline and are open to snowboarders and skiers o f all ages. J H
C
Compiled by L isa B radshaw , F loyd S klaver and C ori T aratoot •
T h e third annual Red Dress
Party moves from its humble
basement
beginnings to
a great, big
warehouse
M arch 2 9