AUGUST 5, 1994 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE
11
ENTERTAINMENT
Good, danceable, and gay rock 'n' roll
Deflowered Pansy Division
Outlook Records
Reviewed by Wade Tolleson Gay-oriented dance music that's not disco? That's right: it's called "rock 'n' roll." Pansy Division's second release, Deflowered, offers a heavy dose of just that: good, dancable rock 'n' roll.
"Rock" has become so commercialized and integrated into our lives that we tend to forget that rock 'n' roll was originally black dance music meant for having a good time--
and very often dealing with sex. There was also a strong anti-establishment, rebelliousness to early rock 'n' roll, a quality that was reamplified by the punk rock movement of the late seventies. This is the point from which Pansy Division takes off.
With strong influences from the Buzzcocks and the Ramones, Pansy Division establishes a hard driving in-your-face queer rock presence. They are out and open with their sexuality, no apologies necessary! With the analysis in "Groovy Underwear" of the advantages of different styles of underwear, and the realization in "Beer Can Boy" that a big mouth does have its value, there is no ques-
Pansy Division braves hostile Buzzard crowd
by Christine Hahn
Although the word pansy is often equated with cowardice, the three members of Pansy Division are anything but. At the free "Buzzardpalooza" show at Cleveland's Nautica on Saturday, July 23, the Pansy Division guys were downright courageous. Cleveland radio station WMMS brought the band Green Day to town, and Green Day insisted that Pansy Division share the bill among 10 or so other bands. The crowd was mostly teenagers, few of whom knew about Pansy Division and that they were a queer band. Watching the crowd, you could see tiny little lights go off over their heads as they slowly realized that these were a bunch of fags singing about kissing, sucking and loving men. Some of the crowd smiled in amusement, others walked slowly backward for fear of catching boy-to-boy-love fever.
There were a few there, though, that definitely came to hear the homocore sound. A dozen or so queer kids, scattered throughout the pseudo-grunge pack and tightly clutched their mini recorders hoping for studio-quality results.
The straight girls screamed in agreement to the song "Reciprocation," which bassist Chris Freeman said was about going down on his boyfriend and his boyfriend not reciprocating. "You know what I'm talking about, don't you girls?” he yelled out. After the song, Freeman ran back and forth across the front of the stage spraying lavender Silly String onto the bewildered audience.
As Freeman brought out a larger than life-size dildo, some homophobic Neanderthals in faux flannel and dated Maple Heights haircuts started yelling, “Faggots! Go back in the closet, faggots!" Freeman blew them a kiss and said, “Yeah were faggots, get a clue! We're not going back in the closet. Get used to it!" The rest of the crowd seemed mostly supportive, and surprised by the band's up-front honesty about being out and gay. Pansy Division kicked into "Rock & Roll Queer Bar" and the crowd started moshing around and enjoying the Ramones-inspired song.
I asked lead singer Jon Ginoli if the harassment was typical. He said the tour has been up and down in that aspect. “With free shows you tend to get jerks; if people are paying they know what they are getting into,” he said. Freeman said that after the show, one of the the guys that had been yelling insults was waiting for him by the back of the stage and tried to grab him. Freeman said he just kept walking, until he caught up with the security guards. After the interview the band asked if my friends and I would walk them out to their van. As I agreed to help them out, I felt a bit embarrassed and ashamed of Cleveland.
Ginoli was involved with other bands before Pansy Division. “I was working for the now-defunct Rough Trade Records, 2 Nice Girls' record label,” he said. “I went to see 2 Nice Girls play and wondered why there weren't any gay men out there doing the same thing." He proceeded to hook up with Freeman and drummer Butch Flowers, going on to release two albums, Undressed and Deflowered, and numerous 7-inches. As I was getting ready to leave Ginoli insisted that I spread the word about the record label Outpunk, that is releasing a compilation of homocore bands like Tribe 8, Power Snatch, C.W.A., Sister George, and others in late August. For more information on this compilation and other Outpunk releases write to P.O. Box 170501, San Francisco, California 94117.
tion about where they are coming from or where they are headed. It's music where hormones are going wild, but it's not the boy-wants-girl of traditional rock, but boy (unashamedly) wants boy.
Like much early punk rock, their music is fun and spiked with humor, often aimed against the power establishment. Composer, guitarist, and vocalist Jon Ginoli has no trouble lampooning several images of power within the gay community. When you hear "Fluffy City" ("Attitude cuts you like a knife, Ken dolls on steroids come to life") and "Negative Queen" ("He's quick to follow, but thinks he's in the lead... He drips disdain, he's lacking in tact. He's popular in a scene where being nice is a radical act") you will laugh at the same time you recognize portraits of real people.
Chris Freeman of Pansy Division
In "Denny," based on a poem by Trebor Healy, Ginoli paints a very different, much starker picture, the story of an HIV-positive man who cannot get past his anger and direct it in non-distructive ways, reminiscent of Jim Carroll's "People Who Died". This song however, with its darkness, is the exception in Deflowered. The emphasis is on lusty joy, whether it is dealing with the straight world ("Anonymous"), developing relationships ("Rachbottomoff" and "Kissed"), or living out fantasies ("James Bondage," written by Chris Freeman).
Another link with seventies punk rock is the social consciousness in the liner notes, similar to early Tom Robinson albums. There is safe sex information and a directory of lesbian-gay youth groups in the U.S. Their concern about the isolation of lesbian-gay
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youth is also addressed musically in “Deep Water."
While Deflowered is an album of "queer rock," there is no reason why a straight person couldn't enjoy it just as well. (Don't gays enjoy straight music?) It could even give them a chance to see the world from a different perspective. Straight women should also be able to identify with many songs because they must deal with the same attitudes held by many men in our society.
Pansy Division's openness, energy, and humor make Deflowered an album to enjoy. [If you are interested in Pansy Division, ask for it in local stores. If you can't find it, Pansy Division can be reached at P.O. Box 460885, San Francisco, CA 94146, $10/CD or $7/cassette payable to Jon Ginoli.]
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