GAYLETTER

The downtown ‘it’ boys, and skilled party crashers, John and Carlos, (together they are Jarlos) attended the Dragonette and Presets shows (plus later they crept into see Natalia Kills) for GAYLETTER.

One day Jarlos is gonna crash a party at the White House—trust, by the end of the night these two will be Pax-ing it up with Michelle and her hair stylist in the Lincoln Bedroom, cutting each others bangs and shit. For the first half of the night we hooked them up with tickets. Here’s what happened…

—–

It was like any other New York City Wednesday, when you wake up and attempt to catch up to all the missed tweets from the night before, until I saw that my friends at @GAYLETTER had posted about a Presets show that “everyone should definitely attend.” Being the brat that I am (and also a huge Presets fan) I tweeted them back requesting free tickets to the show, to my surprise, they said yes — but nothing is free.

So here is our diary of the Dragonette and Presets show, followed by a last minute Natalia Kills performance at The Box. You might have heard of her before, but she’s really coming for it now. She played a teaser of her new album and it slayed! What a night! Thank you GAYLETTER <3.

Some dude rocking a ‘Spring Breakers for Opening Ceremony’ tank top during the Dragonette performance. 

Grumpy sailor moon sweater girl, probably from Brooklyn.

The Presets during their set.

I sat on stage and took a photo of the crowd.

Me smoking a color coordinated cigarette after the show.

Fucking around at The Box before Natalia’s show.

This girl has a fierce PROBLEM.

Bottles and models. Me with Marc Jacobs boy Marc Sebastian.

John from the eyes down. 

Us and (model) Paris Nicholson and Frank Midnite from Bright Future.

After-party with Natalia Kills.

Crashing parties is like our day job so check raatcity.com  for more and follow @jarlos420 on instagram.

Producer and nightlife curator Earl Dax have been throwing his party Pussy Faggot! since 2009. It’s been a place where many artists and performers have the opportunity to showcase their art and express themselves freely. We’ve been fans of Earl’s drag personas for a while. As we learned Earl believes in the more the merrier when it comes to performers, he doesn’t have one drag persona, he has two, meet Enya Buttox and Indigo Earl.

Why did you decide to create a party called Pussy Faggot? How did you come up with the name? It was 2009, and I was looking for a venue to throw a benefit for the HOT! Festival. The Delancey turned out to be the best available option, but I hadn’t set foot in the place since the demise of UNISEX Salon, a weekly party I had thrown there in 2006/07. That party infamously came to an abrupt end during a contretemps with my co-promoter that ended with me in a fetal position on the floor of the bar where I was kicked three times, spat upon and called — you guessed it — a “pussy faggot!” Going back two years later was strange and surreal, and I wanted to acknowledge what had happened there.

How did people respond to the name Pussy Faggot? I was completely surprised by the response to the name. People loved it. I knew that it was provocative, but I didn’t fully understand that there are actually a lot of people who embrace the term, “pussy faggot.” I think it speaks to a post-Ellen generation for whom sexuality and gender identity are much more fluid.

What do you look for in an artist to perform at PF? I think of PUSSY FAGGOT! as a quarterly mini-festival of queer performance, so I look for a broad spectrum of artists from different scenes and subcultures within the larger LGBT community. I like strange bedfellows; the more eclectic and diverse the programming is, the better. Over the past four years we’ve featured slam poetry; play readings, contemporary dance, stand up comedy, performance art, cabaret, drag, video screenings, electronic dance bands, hip-hop bands, Mexican-American death metal, and live piercing installations!

Do you find the word faggot to be negative? I don’t find faggot to be negative or positive. It all depends on the context. Certainly PUSSY FAGGOT! is part of a long history of minority groups reclaiming words that have been used to disparage and demean them, and in this context I think the word ‘faggot’ is extremely positive. I really understood this about a year ago when I was waiting in line to get a cannoli at Veniero‘s. I was by myself and I heard someone say “pussy faggot.” Without hesitation I turned toward them and waved! Turns out the guy had been to the party, and he was telling his friend about it. That was a really powerful moment for me. A term that was used as an epithet toward me in a violent situation had become a term that I responded to affirmatively, a term that now has very positive associations based on the experience of this party.

What do you enjoy the most about doing this party? The event itself is the thing I most enjoy… the payoff for a couple months of planning and preparation. The mix of artists and friends and strangers. The barely controlled chaos. The unexpected moments of brilliance. The narrowly averted train wreck. The train wreck that wasn’t averted and is nonetheless spectacular. It’s a pop-up community, a little queer performance art utopia.

Now lets talk about your drag personas Enya Buttox and Indigo Earl…

When were they born? My first full-tilt experience in drag was, appropriately enough, in San Francisco. I was visiting three friends who all did drag and shared a one room apartment in the Tenderloin, and they put me in a cotton candy wig with a bedazzled pink cape, and I saw the sun come up on the patio of the End Up. Enya Buttox came later, when I was living in Philadelphia. I was involved with a queer direct action group called Grassroot Queers, and many of us would go to Thursday night drag shows at a dive bar on South Street called Bob & Barbara’s. I started performing there as Enya Buttox: the Drag Queen for Social and Economic Justice. It was a fledgling effort to combine my interests in politics, performance, activism and drag. Indigo Earl, my faux king character, is much more recent. — although it feels like a natural extension of my inner lesbian. Plus, I was mentored by Murray Hill when I moved to New York, so I learnt about being a drag king from the best!

Earl as Indigo Earl, “this look was inspired by a tourist in NYC. A Hawaiian shirt and 35mm camera.”

Another Indigo Earl look, “this is the same thing I wore to the Brooklyn Nightlife Awards… Murray Hill’s younger cousin.”

Earl as the wild and slutty Enya Buttox. “For Enya  it was one look, zebra print dress and cowboy boots…”

Do you have a favorite? I wouldn’t say that I prefer one persona over the other. It all depends on my mood.

Who gets you in the most trouble? Enya is definitely more of a wild child. She likes to get into trouble, cause a ruckus. Indigo Earl is more mellow… a 70′s used car salesman who aspires to be Tom Jones.

Who’s hornier? Enya is definitely hornier… She gets a lot more action that Indigo

Has your PF influenced your drag personas? Enya preceded PUSSY FAGGOT! by several years, and the influences for Indigo Girl are drag kings like Murray Hill, Dred and Mo B. Dick. So, no there isn’t a direct influence.

When you become any of these drag personas do you feel different? Yes, I always feel different when I’m in drag, and each character allows me to express different facets of myself. Indigo Earl allows me to simultaneously express a lesbian/dyke identity and permits me to perform masculinity in a way that I don’t generally do as a gay man. Enya Buttox allows for the expression of a feral femininitiy, rebellion and rage which makes her more dangerous.

 

Recently, in between jobs, I took a 4 day trip to Miami — I needed some warmth before I jumped back into the ever-demanding New York work world. Miami is one of my favorite places to visit during the winter. I know that some people find the city a bit tacky—the perfect destination for those who like DJ Tiësto, Redbull and spinning class—but I’ve always been a proponent of the real Miami. The Cuban café-design-district-Herzog-&-de-Meuron’s-1111-Yardbird-C.Madeleine side of the city. In other words, the parts of Miami locals like to visit.

The Roman and Williams designed Freehand Miami most definitely belongs in the “beloved by locals” category. It opened during Art Basel 2012, and Abi and I were among its first guests. It’s technically a hostel, and it does have shared dorm rooms, but if you’re older than 22 I’d recommend you stay in a private room. The private rooms feature all the necessary amenities you’d find in a hotel (maid service, cable TV, iPhone dock) without the services that’ll leave you with a giant bill at the end of your stay. So there’s no mini bar to raid when you get thirsty, or room service to call at 4am when you’re coming down from the intense Molly you got from some random dude, who’s friends with one of your friends, at Twist. But honestly, you don’t miss them.

The Freehand is constantly having events by the hotel’s pool, so there’s plenty of chances to meet interesting peeps from all over the world. Their Broken Shaker bar is also a favorite with Miami residents looking for somewhere more casual to have a drink than the generally garish hotel bars found along Collins.

Below are a couple pics from my stay at the hotel. Click here to visit the Freehand’s website.

The hotel lobby is full of interesting shit— looking like it was designed by Mark Friedberg (Wes Anderson’s Production Designer).

There’s a few seating areas, and a bunch of National Geographics (sure, why not?)

Some coral and pretty flowers.

When I was there they actually had a band play one night around this piano. Very communal.

When I arrived in my room I was greeted with this lovely note, and a bottle of red wine. It’s a generous touch for a hostel. Shame I don’t drink red.

I love lamp.

Look at that bed, it’s a king! Perfect for a threesome, or for drinking beer, alone in your underwear while watching Iron Man. I did one of those things…I’m not saying which one.

It’s a shiny stool!

The place is filled with plenty of Roman and William design touches. This is the same team that designed the Ace Hotel and the Standard lobby, Grill and Boom Boom Room. You certainly get that vibe throughout the hostel.

The ONLY beach bag I’ll be using this summer.

Behind those red doors on the right is the Broken Shaker bar. It opens from 6pm to 2am and has the most wicked range of artsy, craftsy, super creative drinks on offer. My favorite was the Night In Oaxaca which consists of mezcal, campari, and cocchi americano topped with grapefruit bitters. They also do a different punch bowl each day for $70 (they’re massive).

This tree is everything.

In the garden by the pool they grow all these herbs that the Broken Shaker uses to garnish it’s cocktails. There’s tables and chairs, two ping-pong tables, and a bocce court. It’s a very pleasant place to sit on a warm night, far from the fucked up mid-western girls trying not to get date raped along the bustling Collins road to your south.

The most refreshing pool in town ie. it’s freezing, but nice once you’re in.

Representin!

Rocking chairs.

Ping Pong is fun at 3pm or 3am.

On most weekend’s they do a BBQ by the pool. The food is pretty good value; this delicious Neiman Ranch hot dog with Kimchee and spicy mayonnaise was $7. I had two.

Tranquility resides within you.