SEPTEMBER 27, 1996 GAY PEOPLE's ChronicLE 23

EVENINGS OUT

Michael Callen's tender, campy legacy lives on

Legacy

Michael Callen

Significant Other Records

Reviewed by Samuel Wade

"I believe that we can change the world. And I believe the change begins with you and me." That's the opening line from the moving activist ballad "Love Worth Fighting

Michael Callen

For" by Michael Callen, from his posthumously released album Legacy. Michael Callen lived his music; Legacy gives us one last opportunity to learn from that life well lived.

Raised in rural Indiana and tortured as a "sissy boy," Callen fled to city life as soon as he graduated from high school. There he

found and embraced his people. Gay people. Diagnosed with GRID (before it was even called AIDS) in 1982, he refused to accept the death sentence of the day.

Callen became, arguably, the most public and visible model of an empowered gay man living, rather than dying, with AIDS. His book Surviving AIDS is one of the most-read books by people in the HIV spectrum, empowering us all to live long and well against

the odds. I read it within two weeks of my diagnosis, and it has been an important part of my empowerment as an HIV positive gay man.

Michael Callen knew that part of living well is to live your passion. Callen's passion was making music, and his disease is, at least in part, what motivated him in pursuit of that passion. For nearly twelve years, Callen made bold, beautiful, out music while living with AIDS until his death in December 1993.

The last nine months of his life were spent recording the vocal tracks for Legacy. You'll find here a diverse collection of pop styles, everything from tender ballads to campy comedies to activist love songs-any song sung by a man to another man is certainly activist.

One minute you'll be inspired by the courage and honesty with which he and his colleagues sing on "They Are Falling All Around Me." The next, you'll be giggling out loud as the diva soars on "Glitter and Be Gay."

Callen had a beautiful voice and knew how to work a ballad. He was also a master of campy falsetto. Not everything here is serious-there's a lot of levity! There's so much diversity here that you probably won't love

every song, but you're sure to find some that strike you just right for where you are today. The musicians joining Michael are truly outstanding. Fred Hersch, an out HIV positive man, is one of the best jazz pianists in the business. You'll love their artful collaborations on "Roundabout” and “Smile." Holly Near and Cris Williamson, pioneers in women's music and Callen's loving friends, add their voices to many tracks.

Not only is the music well worth a good listen, but the liner notes are rich reading. Many have contributed their writing on Callen's life and legacy to this project. Gay playwright Tony Kushner beautifully sums

up the power of Callen's music. He writes: "And it is surely one of the astonishing features of the album... that the lungs producing this soaring music were at the time.... thoroughly ravaged by KS lesions. More than a testament to Callen's immense willpower, the singing you hear is in a sense produced in collaboration with, or at the very least accompanied by the plague, transformed through artistry into incredible music. It's an illusion, but until the cure arrives, it's a helpful one: Callen has found a way to make even this murderer sing."

Michael Callen was truly an amazing man. Give his Legacy a listen.

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