The Butch Please Film Festival is a celebration of queer women on the big and small screen. We’ll be screening some classic movies and TV shows from “Bad Girls” and “Ellen” and to films like “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues” and “Desert Hearts”.
6:30pm Thursday 12th September at the cinema at The Newtown Hotel
For one night only during Sydney Mardi Gras we’re taking over Goodgod Small Club to play some indie/hip-hop/eighties party music all night long for lesbian/queer/trans folk and their friends.
ZineWest Launch Details here
I have a short story “The Rabbit Game” in this Zine. True.
I have a story called The Teratoma published in this zine from Manila. Check out Paper Monster Press here: https://www.facebook.com/papermonsterpress
A teratoma is an encapsulated tumour with tissue or organ components. Teratomas have been reported to contain hair, teeth, bone and, very rarely, more complex organs such as hands, eyes, torsos, feet and limbs. Teratomas are thought to be present at birth , but small ones are often not discovered until much later in life.
Deep inside me there’s a secret sticky place that’s not meant to be there. It’s a big glob of fat and muscle covered in gooey stray pubic hairs, broken bits of teeth and bone. I can’t see it and I don’t know exactly where it is but when I shut my eyes tight in the dark I can see little malformed eyeballs pleading with me, an armpit or maybe a sphincter gasping for air and a single white toe, horrified, lonely and dreaming of sand, grass, fresh bitumen and clean ocean water. This thing inside me was only tiny when I was born and it might never have grown so big if the world hadn’t given it so much 
indignation. With every disapproving prod from my father, jab from my brother and life weary sigh of resignation from my mother it gained a little more room. It gained weight as I did and my gut had to fight for room inside me where they did battle for room until they formed their inevitable alliance and pushed aside my heart, kidney’s, liver and lungs to grow and grow.
I sometimes wonder if I it can be removed or if it will keep pushing on my heart until it cries out in pain and stops beating altogether. I try to tell myself it’s not really there and that the world is jolly, kind place full of love and untold possibilities. When this does not work I run from place to place and appointment to appointment trying to wear it down, hoping it will get tired of me and slip out to find a more compliant, sleepy host. When it will not leave I even try and find it companions in sad novels, movies and songs where it can bask in it’s own smug knowledge that it is right and that things are not at all nice, hoping that it may find peace in this and stop trying to take more of me away.
Nothing like this has worked so far, and all I can do is smile at it and joke with it and cuddle it when it cries out for more love and fealty. I stroke my belly hoping it can feel my touch. I tell it that I know it’s there, I know it’s broken and that if it just lets me keep enough of me to keep going than we can stay together forever.
In an effort to take an interest in things other than myself I’ve signed up to be a submissions reader for Headspring Press, an online journal of new Australian writing. I have three short stories to read over so far and it’s only now I realize how difficult it is to be an editor! My first inclination is to simply read them and say “oh, boring subject, I hate it” or “ooh I love stories about adolescent conflict, it’s great!”. Being able to be even remotely objective about work and actually look at the way that it’s constructed and whether or not it’s of a publishable standard it a stretch. Anyway, if you are looking to get your work published check out http://www.headspringpress.com/- they are currently after new flash fiction of 1000 words or less in any genre to publish in their first E-Journal.
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I have just taken on the role of Secretary of the Sydney Writers Room. It’s a cool little space in the Old Trades Hall Building on the corner of Goulburn and Sussex St’s in the Sydney CBD. It is a perfect place for me since it’s got strong links with both the Trade Union movement and creative Sydney. There are a good mix of established and emerging writers too so it’s full of interesting people writing their first or fourth novels. Check it out here: http://writersroom.org.au/
Electrelane are a queer indie rock band who went on “permanent hiatus” in late 2007 to the devastation of art school lesbians and twee gay boys world wide. Since their teenage years the band created a whole new space in the British alternative music scene for emotional, feminist inspired indie rock reminiscent of the likes of Neu!, Stereolab and Sonic Youth.
Recently they announced a comeback tour across Europe and Australia and Sam Salvidge and Rachael Cilauro (from the Melbourne queer night Orlando and upcoming new night Tomboy) talk to Mia Clarke, guitatist and vocalist from the band to discuss Chicago, The boss and the welcome return of Electrelane.
Will this be the bands first time to Australia?
We came out in 2005 for a few shows to promote our instrumental album Axes. We did shows in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane so it was great to get a bit of a chance to explore the place.
How did you come to the decision to go on tour again?
It came about very organically. Our last show was in 2007 and even though we didn’t break up we certainly didn’t think we’d be playing together so soon. But then we were emailing each other and chatting and we just got back into the idea.
Do you expect to get some new fans from this tour or do you think you’ll be playing to a committedElectrelane fan base?
We certainly hope to pick up a few more fans from this tour. We were surprised about it how many new fans we had when we did a few festivals in Europe. That was really encouraging that people are still getting into our music.
We love Electrelane’s interesting covers and we were excited to see you’ll be playing the Bronski Beat track “Small Town Boy” at your Australian shows. Is that a collective favourite for you guys?
We do all love the track, the lyrics are quite touching for all of us and of course it’s a major gay anthem so that’s a bonus. We also do a Bruce Springsteen track “I’m on Fire” and we’ll be playing that at our shows as well.
Did you have a favourite act on that tour?
Unfortunately we didn’t get to see too many bands on that tour, yeah never get to see many bands when you are on tour! We did see Warpaint in Istanbul who are a favourite of ours we played one really fun show with a local Brighton band Espen and the Witch so that was a real pleasure, they are a quality act.
For the uninitiated what does an Electrelane crowd tend to look like?
Lots of queers, lots of indie music fans I guess. The band’s ages range from 28 to 34 so I guess we tend to pull a late 20′s kind of crowd. But then we have a lot of people who are in their late 50′s, it’s great to have that kind of mix.
Brighton, England is where you guys first started and just happens to be a place that a lot of Australian lesbians tend to do a queer pilgrimage to. Do you have a favourite venue there?
Well I’m living in Chicago now so I don’t know heaps about Brighton anymore, new stuff keeps popping up all the time I’m told.
What can you tell us about the music scene in Chicago?
There is a really good garage band that I’m quite into called White Mystery. Oh yeah and also a band called White Light. It’s strange but a lot of Chicago bands seem to have “White” in the title. Oh and I can’t forget to mention a great local band called Bloodiest. Chicago has a really thriving musical culture and that’s one of the things I love most about the place.
You’ve got a Chicago based band that you play in as well right?
Yeah I do have a side project called “Follows”. It’s pretty relaxed, we play a gig once every few months, I sing and play lead guitar in that band.
So I guess last time you were on touring it was pre- global financial crisis. Have you seen much of a change in the European band seen this year?
Can’t say I’ve seen heaps of change but that’s the nature of doing tours, you don’t really get to immerse yourselves in the places and so don’t get to know exactly whats going on behind the scenes.
You guys are known for your strong feminist principles and for playing political tracks like “The Partisan” that took a snipe at Bush and the Iraq War. Have you been involved and/or inspired by the Occupy Movements in your respective towns?
Don’t know about the others but I definitely went to some of the Occupy Chicago marches and been following it online and in the news.
You guys seem to have a really tight tour schedule, playing a show every night in three cities. Do you all have things that you have to get home to quickly?
Yeah it is an intense tour schedule and you always wish you had more time to explore the cities you are playing shows in. I am studying at the University of Illinois so I have to get back to class!
Wow, what are you studying?
I am studying a bit of British Literature and doing some psychology. I am just starting as an undergrad because I joined the band so never got to go to college when my friends did.
Oh no, does all this study mean you won’t have time to do a new album?
We’ve definitely had a talk about that over email, do all want to do it so that’s an important first step right? We’ve just got heaps of things to figure out logistically and time wise. When we were all living in the samecity we could meet up for after work and work on a record together but it’s a lot more complicated now.
There have been some great albums like David Bryne and Brian Eno’s Everything that Happens Will Happen Today that they managed to create by sharing files and chatting online. Do you think you guys would work like that or do you really need to be in the same space to make it happen?
Look we’ve obviously never worked like that before but we might be able to, we should give it a shot, it could be the most economical option since we are spread out across Chicago, LA and London.
Electrelane play:
Thursday, March 22 | Manning Bar, SYDNEY TIX http://manningbar.com
Friday, March 23 | Corner Hotel, MELBOURNE TIX http://cornerhotel.com
Friday, March 23: Liberty Social, Tomboy Queer Disco Electrelane DJ set
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/events/328356447215441/?ref=ts
Saturday, March 24 | The Zoo, BRISBANE TIX http://thezoo.com.au
- by Sam Salvidge and Rachael Cilauro
It was a mixed crowd that attended last nights show to see Lambchop’s frontman Kurt Wagner strut his stuff in a musical side product with country singer Cortney Tidwell. By the end of the night the response to the show was no less mixed. During faithful renditions of tracks from their 2010 album Invariable Heartache, a mixed bag of Nashville covers from Tidwell’s family record label Chart Records, scores of people left the venue. Perhaps it was their casual reference to drug use (Wagner quipped that he and Tidwell had shared an ecstacy pill before taking to the stage), or the fact that there show felt more psychadelic as the night progressed, but by the end of the show only a committed core of punters remained to cheer them on for a single encore. Those that stayed enthused about what a show it had been, how authentically Nashville the whole thing was. And as for those that left, well I guess drug addled psychedelic country just isn’t for everyone. http://youtu.be/6qS4clO-ohM
One of the events I managed to get along to at Midsumma in Melbourne this year was the launch of My Agender, a collection of short stories from the sex and gender-diverse community. I wasn’t game to brave the queue at the time because Hares and Hyenas was packed out, but S.J Tipping was kind enough to send me a review copy. I finally managed to make some time to read it over a few days on the train on way to and from work, and was touched by a number of the stories. The highlights for me were David Mejia-Canales “Some of the Boys Were Girls” that describes his tumultuous and unresolved relationship with his father and Bastian Fox Phelan’s “Transhairstorical”, a disarming tale of life with a gender variant beard.
After reading My Agender I asked S.J Tipping a few questions about how zie put the book together.
So first things first. How did the idea for this publication first come about?
The original idea for this project came about ruffly 5 years ago and it has changed and developed with me over time. I now know that back then timing wasn’t right. It was in late 2009 that I decided I was ready to move project into full swing. A whole lot of naivety assisted me to think this would be a simple task. I’ve learnt more than I could have ever imagined.
My personal experience inspired me to develop this project. I got frustrated by the consent need to label people and then expect them to confirm to stereotypical behaviours. Every one, has a gender and sexuality, and everyone expresses theirs differently. Gender and sexuality are fluid; and move along an ever changing continuum. I wanted to capture stories which explored just that. And create a body of knowledge that reflects the diversity of the people we are.
Were there any particular books or films that inspired you along the way? Or were you spurred along by the absence of texts tackling gender in this way?
Yes, I was spurred along by the absence of texts/books/personal stories which explore the fluid nature of gender. I struggled to find literature that talked to friends and my personal experiences. I felt restricted by the binary nature of many lesbian, gay and transgender writings.
I also love books and so many books over my life time have inspired this project.
What is your own background as a writer and editor?
My professional work is in another sphere and requires me to write and edit on a regular basis. My Agender is my first published writing/editing work. Hopefully there are more to come….
How did you find the authors for the publication and what was the process for selection like?
I initially contacted people through my professional and personal networks, inviting them to participate. From here the word spread, it was listed on a few queer writing blogs and people begin contact me to contribute. Everyone who submitted a story was given every chance for their story to be included. The editing team and I worked closely with each contributor to support them to get their story ready to be published.
There’s been a lot of talk about the difficulty in getting books published due to the diminishing publishing industry. How did you go about getting the funding to get it published? Did you pitch the book to a mainstream publisher?
I decided to self publish My Agender and thus inquired into several self publishing organisations before making my final decision.
We held two fundraiser events and received a small grant to cover publishing costs. The remaining associated costs will be cover through sales. Once we break even and begin to make a profit, the money will be returned to the community to fund future projects.
Did you find the queer media helpful along the way?
The queer media (print, internet, radio and television) have been helpful in publishing the project, fundraiser events, the launch and reviewing My Agender. The March issue of LOTL has a great review of My Agender.
Did you find that common themes emerged in your selections?
Yes and no….each story is unique. I noticed was several contributors choose not to label themselves. One other theme that emerged was the contributors journey, of reflecting on their life experiences whilst participating in this project. For many this has been an extremely challenging, yet positive experience.
Do you have a favourite story in the collection?
I love each and every story for different reasons! Having had the pleasure of working with each contributor, in various ways to finalise their story has been a privilege.
What’s next?
First things first….I’m currently focusing on promoting My Agender. I would love to be able to visit schools and youth groups, using My Agender as a tool to facilitate discussion groups around gender and sexuality.
As for the next project, right idea will present at the right time….
Check out the My agender blog here.
Find out where to get a copy here.
A well resourced public TAFE sector is vital to achieving a skilled workforce and contributes to reducing inequalities in society.
TAFE NSW has been the gold standard in the Australian vocational education and training system for generations meeting the collective needs of society, students and industry.
The drastic cuts announced to NSW TAFE will damage the TAFE sector in NSW and will see skill levels in NSW decline.
The cuts will see many important TAFE jobs lost, will stretch the already hardworking but overworked employees and will lead to TAFE courses being cut.
The cuts and the 9.5% fee increase will disproportionately affect students in disadvantaged and regional areas who rely on TAFE for accessible, high-quality skills training.
Regional economies will also be affected as jobs are cut from the local TAFE.
Workers Out calls on it’s supporters to sign the petition to save quality education in Australia.
Sign the petition here: http://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/save-our-tafe#
via SAVE OUR TAFE.
A blog about things I've found interesting lately. I live in Sydney.
