October, 1991

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

Page 15

Review

The courage to "Be Political Not Polite"

by Bob Boone

Right the wrong of human rights; The risk you take could save a life. Silence keeps us all in darkness; We can't change it overnight, But we can shed a little light. Be political not polite.

This refrain from the title song of the latest album from Romanovský and Phillips reverberates through each of its 15 songs, from the whimsical tale of a patient falling in love with his therapist to the bluesy lament for a lost lover.

Be Political Not Polite is an album that revels in the diversity, the struggles, the dreams, and the everydayness that compose the lesbian and gay community. Through the expected highs and lows of dating and relationships and the pressures of dealing with bigotry and AIDS, humor and passion

combine in the lyrics and music of Romanvosky and Phillips to expose and empower.

Anyone who saw the singing duo perform at Cleveland's Pride '90 celebration will probably recall their immensely fun "Once Upon A Time", which appears on this ablum.

A humorous look at the evolution of lesbian and gay roles and identities, as well as, gender roles in general, this romping song leads from the Well of Loneliness and queens in tight jeans to quantitative lesbian dating and potluck dinners. With a melody and some witty verbal snapshots, Romanovsky and Phillips have charted the contintental drift of lesbian and gay culture since the sexual revolution and AIDS.

There is also the memorable “Oh, no. . . I'm in Love." What begins as a profile of the rightest Mr. Right quickly exposes itself as an understandable if misguided crush on a therapist. "He calls it progress when I cry / Oh, what a sweet and sensitive guy."

It's not surprising Romanovsky and Phillips turn to their therapist for romance after listing in "I Met a Man" the litany of duds the dating world has offered. 'He was hearty and hale / The essence of male / But his consciousness paled when compared / To a potato."

But even breaking up is a laugh when, as in "Tango Indigesto," the last goodbyes are said in a bad Mexican restaurant.

Among the humor there is also a highly constructive anger in "Be Political Not Polite". "Hymn" is a cry of outrage at the Catholic Church, about which Romanovsky offers, "I have no patience left."

His lyrics demand uncompromising progress in the church's treatment of lesbians and other women as well as gay men. About the "dinosaur" that is the Catholic Church, he writes, "If Jesus walked the Earth today/ I think he'd be appalled."

With the hypersensitivity of issues surrounding organized religion, "Hymn" could easily be considered the most inflammatory song on the album. Perhaps that is why it is also one of the most powerful.

For "Queers in the Closet," which blasts lesbian and gay celebrities who waste the potential benefits of their visibility by cloaking themselves in heterosexuality, "One of the Enemy" serves as a complement. The frustrations of a gay teacher, “One of the Enemy" is a reminder that one need not be a celebrity for his or her closeted behavior to perpetuate oppression.

photo by trene Young

Romanovsky and Phillips are tired of gays and lesbians in the closet, and they're singing about it. Being political means being out.

Ron Romanovsky and Paul Phillips have reiterated their activist and humanist message all across America, in Canada and even in Australia. Since their emergence as a singing duo in San Francisco in 1982, they have recorded four albums and performed at countless lesbain/gay pride festivals, as well as, at numerous colleges.

Along with the words of their songs and the deeds of their innumerable performances, Romanovsky and Phil-

lips have acted to raise money for such events as the National March on Washington for Gay and Lesbian Rights. They have appeared with many other artists, including some who are guest vocalists on Be Political Not Polite: Holly Near, Phranc, Alix Dobkin, and Michael Callen.

Be Political Not Polite ends with "No False Hope", an echo of their tender yet strong "Living With AIDS" from the last album, Emotional Rollercoaster.

"It's hard to feel hope in our moment of grief," they sing. "But if that's what it takes to help someone live/Then we have a lot we can give."

And give is what Romanovsky and Phillips do. With a truly sensual cover photograph by Irene Young, Be Political Not Polite immediately promises to be quite a stimulating album. It is a promise fulfilled, an album with a heart and a temper cooled with assured laughter.

Copies of Be Political Not Polite can be ordered on CD or cassette from Fresh Fruit Records, 369 Montezuma #209, Santa Fe, NM 87501, or by calling 1-800-47-FRUIT.

Romanovsky and Phillips have an appearance scheduled at Brady's Cafe in Kent for Oct. 1st, as well as Nov. 14th in Ann Arbor, Mich., Nov. 15th in Bowling Green and Nov. 16th in Columbus.

Romanovsky also reports that an appearance in Cleveland is being scheduled through the sponsorship of the North Coast Men's Chorus for late June 1992.▼

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