mandrake society radio “make love. give birth. change your community.” Audio intersections at community life and music, hosted by JW Richard.

Is it just a Southern thing or is iced tea the new summer “hit” this year? I mean you’ve already got Sonic’s brand that definitely has my personal rating of 4-2 (That’s four tea bags for every two cups of sugar!). Then, McDonald’s $1 large iced tea rates about 2-2 on that same scale for me and the promotion is perfect to blind you to the fact the food prices are going up. Now, Jack-in-the-Box is serving flavored ice teas. I haven’t tasted their product yet, so I don’t have a rating for them. Then I have Firefly Vodka out of South Carolina following me on Twitter with their brand of sweet iced tea vodkas (that I can’t get in Texas!). So, what gives? Is this iced tea buzz just a Dallas thing this summer, a Southern thing, or what?

I read an interesting interview with author, James Hannham at Salon about his new book, “God Says No”. It’s a fictional work based on a B/black man in the South dealing with his homosexuality and eventually going to reparative therapy (also called “change ministries”). If the book is as interesting as the article, it could be something for the bookshelf.

Having been involved in reparative therapy myself before I came to my senses, I remember how being in the closet seem to magnify my lust and I definitely saw other men in my group reparative therapy sessions who identified with that. I remember one Saturday morning where we sat in a semi-circle facing the therapist at MacArthur Church of Christ in Irving (honestly don’t remember our instructor was the infamous Christopher Austin or not), and I noticed the men seem cordial but cautious about touching one another. Even Paul, my program buddy at the time, was fine with handshakes but timid if I offer a hug after the group session. I felt sorry for the guys, however I knew that I just couldn’t live that lie that with a few more sessions I could “change”. And it really didn’t help for me to be a somewhat sheltered B/black guy in a room of some moderately handsome W/white men around my age because of my own issues with ethnicity, culture, and sexual curiousity–all magnified in the dark closet like the heat of human touch.

Again, check out the article, and see if it’s one for your bookshelf.

Podcast: Play in new window

After the delicious sounds of Dallas’ own, Ms. Badu, I speak with Michelle Carter about her new venture, Honey Entertainment, as she seeks to bring mainstream R&B/jazz artists to gay/lesbians audiences in Dallas. In fact, as I mentioned last week in our interview, N’Dambi will be the artist featured this Saturday night, July 4, at the Sweet Sensation kickoff of Honey Entertainment. And from what I’ve heard tickets are VERY limited as of this writing, so listen to the podcast in a pop-up window, get to the Honey Entertainment website, and get your seats fast!

Sweet Sensation – Honey Entertainment Launch Party featuring N’Dambi live in concert
Saturday, July 4, 2009 9pm
1727 (LuminArte Design Studio)
1727 Levee St.
Dallas, TX 75207

If you’re an artist looking for a stage and you’re interested in working with Honey Entertainment, Michelle gives the lowdown on how you can get involved.

Podcast: Play in new window

Well, it’s hotter here in Texas and we’re not even in July. Whew! Thank goodness for some cool jazz (and some cool water!). It’s time for another Jazz session mixtape podcast!

Here’s the lineup:

1: The Sai Ghose Quartet – CingRoMesh
2. Sean Nowell – New York Vibe
3. Fonkmasters – Once I Get Up
4. Randy Scott – Breathe
5. Jaime Cullum – I Want To Be A Popstar
6. Sean Jones – Allison
7. Torcuato Mariano – Just Groove Me

Enjoy some video, shots, and conversation I’ve gathered from today’s march in Dallas. I’m admittedly a video newbie, however in small resolution I’m generally pleased with what a Canon PowerShot A570 IS can do.

By the way, here’s the freely downloadable track played under the voices:
Sixtoo
“Jackals and Vipers in Envy of Man Part 9″ (mp3)
from “Jackals And Vipers In Envy Of Man”
(Ninja Tune)

Buy at Amazon.com
More On This Album

These shots were from the Kroger parking lot on Cedar Springs Rd. as Elizabeth Pax and Daniel Scott Cates rallied the crowd before today’s March for Equality commemorating the 40th anniversary of the riots at Stonewall Inn in New York. What was very evident in today’s march (especially in light of the Rainbow Lounge raid last night in Ft. Worth (h/t Dallas Voice)) is that instead of it being about Pride in a celebratory way, it’s more about achieving the rights that we ask now for in order for our families and those coming up to be more proud.

It’s been two days and I’m still very torn over Michael Jackson’s death. Friends of mine may think I’m being silly about this, and I could care less what they think right now. As a B/black child, Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 were THE number one band on the list, period. As a solo artist, Michael inspired me to listen to the voice within. A voice that led me to trust my inner music arranger and create a Capella recordings to songs I heard on the radio (and wanted to hear), complete with vocal percussion. I would give these tapes to musician friends of mine to provide an idea of how I wanted a song to sound. You can hear an example of some those pieces on a CD I did in 1997 called The Regeneration Project, which is still available at CD Baby.

As actress, Barbara Ann Teer, referenced artists truly connected artists like John Coltrane and Nina Simone in the audio recording, Black Theater, said that if young people “want to be those kinds of master craftsmen, then they have to go into themselves and find the spirit, as Aretha [Franklin] says, in the dark. ‘Cause I’m talking ’bout spirit power. It’s not ‘I am’, as in ‘I am a doctor’ or ‘I am a dancer’. It’s ‘I am.’ And if ‘I am”, you know, ain’t nothing else that’s important.” I would add Michael Jackson to that category for sure.

As a mention that Michael and Elvis were American music icons, a friend of mine said the legacy of Elvis was far wider. Here’s my response to my friend:

Michael Jackson impacted film, TV, and music and smashed a color barrier on a fledgling music network that wasn’t paying any attention to B/black artists. So before mass audiences caught the big wind of Thriller, singles like, “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough”, “Workin’ Day and Night”, and the title track from Off The Wall were already burning R&B charts. Add this to being in one of the most successful child bands in American popular music history (also charting R&B singles) and having music in films (”Ben”, “The Wiz”).

Then, even after the album Thriller (and its impact on American and worldwide popular music charting and sales history cannot be overstated), following works by Michael still yielded sales and hits: “Man in the Mirror”, “Smooth Criminal”, “The Way you Make Me Feel”, “and of course the title track from Bad, the singles, “Jam” and “Remember The Time”, from Dangerous, the singles “Scream” and “Earth Song” from History.

Yes, went through highly publicized accusations and issues in the 90s. Michael indeed had issues with his skin color. However, in making my point about Elvis, Michael should be remembed best for his career-long musical and choregraphical magic just as Elvis is remembered for his career-long work of making B/black style blues and gospel palatable for white audiences.

No one wallows in the remembrances of the late 60’s and 70’s drug-addicted Elvis, so why should fans wallow in the accusations against Michael in the 90’s? Michael is an American music icon, I will now say, even more than Elvis because Michael is the unabashed B/black style that Elvis sought to re-create.

In all, thank you Michael. Thank you.

One the boldest hip-hop documentaries, Pick Up the Mic, has been released on DVD and you can get it from Amazon, Best Buy, or TLA Video. It is indeed one for the collection especially since many artists gained a wider audience through the queer-conscious hip-hop film. It’s the music that should be played at chanted at these Queer LiberAction protests in Dallas if they really wanted to get radical music involved.

Check out my phone interview with the film’s director, Alex Hinton, shortly before the film debuted at the 7th OUT TAKES Dallas Festival. Alex talks about the disconnect he experienced in the gay community’s entertainment scene that led him to discover gay hip-hop. http://www.mandrakesocietyradio.com/2006/10/26/a-talk-with-alex-hinton/