mandrake society radio » trans identities

Music Review: Jomama Jones – Lone Star

JW Richard — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 05:22:27 +0000

Take of the premise of a early 80’s vocal superstar making her come back to America and the music spotlight and you have Lone Star, the new recording by Jomama Jones. Jomama Jones is the creation of artist/playwright, Daniel Alexander Jones, who with music director, Bobby Halverson, have crafted an engaging and poetic project that gives a respectful nod to 70’s soul song craft without being cheesy retro. Some of tracks including the title track and the rock-influenced, “Uninvited Guest”, scratch the modern musical landscape, however this trip is most fun as Jomama sings what sound like timeless affirmations in revisited musical memories. Consider the (self) nurturing in the track, “Jomamasong”,

Just close your eyes / I’ll come into your dreams / and hold you every night.
A thousand kisses when you wake / smoothing the ground / before each step you take.

Other key tracks for me are, “Down, Down, Down,”, “Open”, the jazzy, “Lilac Tree”, and the catchy, “Show Pony”. I had the opportunity to see Jomama Jones perform in Austin, TX, during Fire & Ink III and the energy of the act was incredible. So, grab the CD (or download from CD Baby), and make sure to see them live should they come to your town!

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

In Memoriam: People who’ve lost their lives because of their gender identity.

JW Richard — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:15:19 +0000

For every name listed and the ones not listed here, we at Mandrake Arts & Media remember you. You are not forgotten.

If you live in the D/FW area, please join in a memorial for these lives. Click here to find out where.

Transgender Day of Rememberance: Why it should matter to everyone.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Transgender Day of Rememberance: Why it should matter to everyone.

JW Richard — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:34:14 +0000

The 11th annual Transgender Day of Remembrance will be observed in Dallas this Friday, November 20, on the campus of Southern Methodist University, 6425 Boaz Lane (in the Quadrangle, under the flagpole), and will be observed in Fort Worth at Carr Chapel on the campus of Texas Southern University, 2855 S. University Drive. The events are free and all are welcome. The event is a candlelight memorial to lives lost violently due to gender identity and expression this year.

Now here’s why you should be there to support regardless of whether you are heterosexual or homosexual: any of these crimes could happen to you or someone you love. It’s not just about whether you’re transgender, cross-dresser, or gender-queer. It’s about perception of your gender identity and expression, which not only speaks to homophobia but also highlights the glaring inequities against women in our society. Similar to rape and domestic abuses against women, these are the crimes that will never see the major attention of the media or even the attention of family members until, sadly, it is too late to protect them.

So if you happen to be a man with pierced ears, a hint of makeup, a voice that’s not very deep, or simply holding your wife’s purse as she tends to another duty, you could be attacked for simply being identified as a woman. In other words, those who would view women as an easy target for abuse or violence could very well view a man who, in their minds, chose to outwardly display attributes of femininity as deserving of even worse abuse of violence. Notice that sexual orientation hasn’t entered this discussion and that’s why whether you are heterosexual or homosexual, you should be here to be to provide support for fellow humans being.

For more information, contact the Gender Education and Advocacy Resources office through Resource Center Dallas at 214-528-0144

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Your Silence will not protect you. Break the Silence.

JW Richard — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 10:41:04 +0000

Even though I still believe the story of Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover’s death is about pre-teens turning to suicide as an answer even more than about bullying itself (as I wrote about earlier this week), The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (or GLSEN) wants to remind you on this Day of Silence that anti-gay violence in schools must come to end. When you’re a kid, it’s tough enough to try to deal with the raging hormones and navigating pre-teen and teen social circles without the feeling or actual threat of some other kid or kids wanting to do you harm because they think you’re unacceptably different or “gay” or “queer”. Find out more about the Day of Silence here.

Continuing that theme, the 2nd Annual DFW Breaking the Silence Rally will be held at SMU and the details of the rally can be found via this Facebook link.

California Supreme Court to give judgement on Prop 8 today at 10AM (12 CST)

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Podcast–Conjuring Black Funk-A Discussion with Dr. Herukhuti pt.1

JW Richard — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 11:00:03 +0000

While I’m preparing for the African-American LGBT writer’s festival,Fire and Ink III, in Austin this October (and you should be, too), I wanted to make sure I speak with more authors who will be there.

Today, sociologist, sexologist, and author Herukhuti (full name, Aih Djehuti Herukhuti Khepara Ra Temu Seti Amen) joins me in a two-part conversation about his book, Conjuring Black Funk: Notes on Culture, Sexuality, and Spirituality Vol. 1 by Vintage Entity Press. The first ten minutes or so, we discuss growing up spiritual, queer, and black. Then, at about 11:12 in, we discuss the analytic framework that this book is built on called Afrocentric Decolonizing Queer Theory. This theorizing is necessary to really understanding the layers of the book. And while I’ve shared a written account about the book before, I want you to hear his thoughts and purchase his book at his website, www.blackfunk.org.

Other notes:

Online meetings made easy. Try GoToMeeting FREE for 30 days! www.gotomeeting.com/podcasts

music by:

The Messenger
“Ethereal Springs” (mp3)
from “Edges & Bounderies”
(Night Drive Music)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
More On This Album

Sudden
“Evening” (mp3)
from “Magnitude”
(Spiral Recordings)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at Napster
Buy at mTraks
More On This Album

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.