Get Out! GAY Magazine – Issue 295 – December 21, 2016
Featuring content from the hottest gay and gay-friendly spots in New York, each (free!) issue of Get Out! highlights the bars, nightclubs, restaurants, spas and other businesses throughout NYC’s metropolitan area that the city’s gay population is interested in.
Featuring content from the hottest gay and gay-friendly spots in New York, each (free!) issue of Get Out! highlights the bars, nightclubs, restaurants, spas and other businesses throughout NYC’s metropolitan area that the city’s gay population is interested in.
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
interview<br />
interview<br />
Ultra<br />
Naté<br />
/ GET OUT! MAGAZINE >> GETOUTMAG.COM<br />
/ GET OUT! MAGAZINE >> GETOUTMAG.COM<br />
BY EILEEN SHAPIRO<br />
CELEBRITY BY EILEEN CORRESPONDENT<br />
SHAPIRO<br />
CELEBRITY CORRESPONDENT<br />
This This New New Year's Eve, superstar,<br />
pop pop singer, songwriter and DJ<br />
Ultra Ultra Naté will will be be performing her<br />
heart out out at at the forever famous<br />
and and popular Monster Bar in New<br />
York City.<br />
She is is best known for her songs<br />
"Free," "Automatic" and "If You<br />
Could Read My Mind," which all<br />
reached the Top 10 in the U.S. Last<br />
year she was featured at Night of<br />
a a Thousand Gowns, a huge annual<br />
event produced by The Imperial<br />
Court of New York.<br />
Next year she will be coming out<br />
with a brand-new album, one she<br />
has had in in the works for the last<br />
six six years, called, "Black Stereo<br />
Faith." I I caught up with Naté, and<br />
we we spoke about New Year's Eve,<br />
as as well as as some more surprising<br />
information.<br />
PHOTO BY<br />
PHOTO BY<br />
KARL<br />
KARL<br />
GIANT<br />
GIANT<br />
I’m I’m so so excited excited<br />
that<br />
that<br />
you<br />
you<br />
will<br />
will<br />
be<br />
be<br />
performing<br />
performing<br />
in<br />
in<br />
New<br />
New<br />
York<br />
York<br />
City<br />
City<br />
for<br />
for<br />
New<br />
New<br />
Year’s<br />
Year’s<br />
Eve<br />
Eve<br />
at<br />
at<br />
The<br />
The<br />
Monster Bar.<br />
Monster That’s my Bar.<br />
That’s understanding. my I’m<br />
understanding. looking forward I’m to it.<br />
looking I’m very forward excited to to it. be in<br />
I’m New very York excited and not to be have in<br />
New to go York far on and New not Year’s have<br />
to Eve go to far get on to New where Year’s I<br />
Eve have to to get go. to I won’t where be I<br />
have tired, to and go. I I can won’t really be<br />
tired, get into and the I can festivities really<br />
get of New into the Year’s festivities Eve. No<br />
of jetlag. New Year’s Eve. No<br />
jetlag.<br />
You You will be performing<br />
at<br />
at<br />
the<br />
the Monster. What<br />
are<br />
are<br />
you<br />
you<br />
planning<br />
planning as<br />
as<br />
far<br />
far<br />
as<br />
as<br />
the<br />
the<br />
show<br />
show<br />
goes?<br />
goes?<br />
Once<br />
Once<br />
we<br />
we<br />
ring<br />
ring in<br />
in<br />
the<br />
New Year I’ll start the my<br />
New set with Year a I’ll live start show! my<br />
set Definitely with the live hits show! and<br />
Definitely some new the surprises hits and<br />
some to get new 2017 surprises off to a<br />
to great get start. 2017 After off to my<br />
great performance start. After I’m gonna my<br />
performance spin hour I’m or gonna so<br />
spin and remind for an hour everybody or so<br />
and of the remind epic days everybody of New<br />
of York’s the epic underground days of New<br />
York’s scene. underground<br />
A scene that<br />
scene. helped nurture scene my that<br />
helped nurture my<br />
career career so so it’s it’s special.<br />
I’m<br />
special.<br />
I’m<br />
seriously<br />
seriously<br />
looking<br />
forward<br />
looking<br />
forward<br />
to<br />
to<br />
this<br />
this<br />
NYE<br />
at<br />
NYE<br />
at<br />
The<br />
The<br />
Monster<br />
Monster<br />
‘cause<br />
it<br />
‘cause<br />
it<br />
means<br />
means<br />
so<br />
so<br />
much<br />
much<br />
to<br />
be in America and to<br />
celebrating be America with and<br />
amazing celebrating community with an of<br />
people amazing that community really know of<br />
how people to make that really the most know<br />
out how of to an make occasion! the most<br />
out of an occasion!<br />
New Year's Year's Eve Eve in in the the West West<br />
Village at: at: The Monster<br />
80 Grove Street NY, NY 10014<br />
The Monster<br />
monsterbarnyc.com<br />
Ultranate.com 80 Grove Street<br />
NY, NY 10014<br />
monsterbarnyc.com
map / GET OUT! MAGAZINE >> GETOUTMAG.COM
Sherry Vine Brings<br />
‘Oy to the World’<br />
With a Whole Week of<br />
Hanukkah TV Specials<br />
BY KEVIN SALAMONE<br />
gaySVTVworld is<br />
bringing queers home for<br />
the Challah-days this year<br />
with “Oy to the World,”<br />
eight days of music and<br />
merriment, all gelt free!<br />
The fun begins<br />
<strong>December</strong> 24, the first<br />
night of Hanukkah, when<br />
the all-gay network airs<br />
its first of eight new<br />
hilarious music videos,<br />
one for each night of<br />
The Festival of Lights.<br />
These eight musical<br />
parodies starring Sherry<br />
Vine at her Jewciest<br />
are for viewers seeking<br />
unique Judaic humor<br />
that is suitable for goyim<br />
too. As<br />
a special<br />
holiday<br />
gift,<br />
Vine has<br />
recreated<br />
popular<br />
songs into<br />
Jewish<br />
carols,<br />
like “Jew<br />
Christmas”<br />
(a rework<br />
of “Blue Christmas”),<br />
“Jappy” (a Jewish<br />
version of Pharrell<br />
Williams’ “Happy”) and<br />
“Mohel” (sung to Lorde’s<br />
“Royals”).<br />
“Josh and I have<br />
talking about doing a<br />
Hanukkah celebration<br />
for years,” says Vine<br />
from gaySVTVworld’s<br />
Manhattan studios.<br />
“Christmas has<br />
always been strongly<br />
represented in drag,<br />
but to my knowledge,<br />
no other drag queen<br />
has ever done a huge<br />
Hanukkah event like<br />
this. After putting the<br />
week’s ‘Oy to the World’<br />
programming together, I<br />
see why. It’s a lot of work!<br />
Christmas is just one day.<br />
Hanukkah is eight!”<br />
Vine is a drag icon.<br />
She became a national<br />
sensation when her<br />
hilarious video parodies<br />
of celebrities began<br />
airing on YouTube.<br />
She has appeared<br />
in numerous films<br />
including “Stonewall”<br />
and “Wigstock” and<br />
has starred on the off-<br />
Broadway stage and<br />
in two seasons of Here<br />
TV’s variety show, “She’s<br />
Living for This.”<br />
It’s Vine’s hope that the<br />
Hanukkah videos are<br />
seen as not only fun<br />
and entertaining, but<br />
educational as well.<br />
“I’m only half Jewish,<br />
so I learned a lot by<br />
preparing for the week,<br />
including the history and<br />
story behind Hanukkah<br />
and the job of the<br />
Mohel, who is trained<br />
in the practice of brit<br />
milah, the covenant of<br />
circumcision,” she says.<br />
Two-time Emmy<br />
Award nominee Josh<br />
Rosenzweig, Vine’s<br />
partner at gaySVTVworld.<br />
com, adds: “A few<br />
of the videos are just<br />
plain old filthy fun. But<br />
even the most sordid<br />
of videos have little<br />
nuggets of information<br />
that everyone can learn<br />
from.”<br />
Some of the notable<br />
guests who will help<br />
Vine turn Hanukkah into<br />
Ha!-Ha!-Ha!-nukkah this<br />
season include Jackie<br />
Beat, Alexis Michelle, Miz<br />
Cracker, Richard JMV and<br />
Richard Cortez. Among<br />
the award-winning<br />
directors presenting films<br />
are Chris Semers, AJ<br />
Mattioli, AleksundShantu<br />
(Berlin), Kain O’Keeffe,<br />
Francis Legge and<br />
gaySVTVworld cofounder<br />
Rosenzweig.<br />
gaySVTVworld’s “Oy to<br />
the World” begins the<br />
first night of Hanukkah,<br />
<strong>December</strong> 24, completely<br />
free at YouTube.com/<br />
MissSherryVine.
CRITICS’ CHOICE AWARDS<br />
NOMINEE<br />
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM<br />
“SEXY AND VISUALLY OPULENT.”<br />
-Stephen Holden, THE NEW YORK TIMES<br />
El Deseo presents<br />
Emma Suárez Adriana Ugarte<br />
PUBLISHER<br />
MIKE TODD<br />
MIKE@GETOUTMAG.COM<br />
(646) 761-3325<br />
DESIGN<br />
AGOTA CORREA<br />
AGOTACORREA@GMAIL.COM<br />
(347) 776-9568<br />
NATIONAL<br />
ADVERTISNG<br />
REPRESENTATIVE<br />
RIVENDELL MEDIA<br />
(908) 232-20<strong>21</strong><br />
CONTRIBUTORS<br />
CELEBRITY CORRESPONDENT<br />
EILEEN SHAPIRO<br />
IAN-MICHAEL BERGERON<br />
KEVIN SALAMONE<br />
DAN HECHING<br />
ISSUE <strong>295</strong> - DECEMBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
Photographer Rick Stockwell @rickstockwell<br />
Glam Photos by Gustavo Munroy<br />
NOW<br />
PLAYING!<br />
a film by Almodóvar<br />
WWW.SONYCLASSICS.COM<br />
LINCOLN PLAZA CINEMAS LANDMARK THEATRES<br />
BROADWAY BET.2ND & 63RD ST. SUNSHINE CINEMA<br />
ADVANCE TICKETS:<br />
143 EAST<br />
WWW.LINCOLNPLAZACINEMA.COM HOUSTON STREET<br />
FOR MORE INFO: <strong>21</strong>2-757-2280 <strong>21</strong>2-260-7289<br />
VIEW THE TRAILER AT WWW.JULIETAMOVIE.COM<br />
Happy Holidays<br />
from<br />
<strong>Get</strong> <strong>Out</strong>! <strong>Magazine</strong><br />
ADVERTISE<br />
WITH<br />
___________________<br />
ANUNCIA<br />
EN<br />
The right price, the right distribution, the right size,<br />
the right quality, the right quantity, the right service<br />
24/7 - everything is just right! Call us to get the best<br />
prices in the tri-state area.<br />
CALL TODAY & GET OUR<br />
SPECIAL WELCOME OFFER!<br />
MIKE TODD<br />
(646) 761-3325<br />
mike@getoutmag.com<br />
The publications of MJT/GOOTH <strong>Magazine</strong>, getoutmag.com or any related<br />
print or Web publications or social media accounts, their images, quotations or<br />
articles, should not be construed to be an indication of the sexual orientation<br />
of anyone portrayed therein.<br />
All content © <strong>2016</strong> MJT/GOOTH Entertainment LLC.<br />
MJT/GOOTH Entertainment LLC<br />
47-16 67 St. Woodside, NY 11377<br />
@getoutmag<br />
getoutmag.com
What is TRUVADA for PrEP (Pre-exposure Prophylaxis)?<br />
TRUVADA is a prescription medicine that can be used for PrEP<br />
to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 infection when used<br />
together with safer sex practices. This use is only for adults<br />
who are at high risk of getting HIV-1 through sex. This includes<br />
HIV-negative men who have sex with men and who are at high<br />
risk of getting infected with HIV-1 through sex, and male-female<br />
sex partners when one partner has HIV-1 infection and the other<br />
does not.<br />
Ask your healthcare provider if you have questions about how to<br />
prevent getting HIV-1. Always practice safer sex and use<br />
condoms to lower the chance of sexual contact with body fluids.<br />
Never reuse or share needles or other items that have body fluids<br />
on them.<br />
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION<br />
What is the most important information I should know<br />
about TRUVADA for PrEP?<br />
Before taking TRUVADA for PrEP to reduce your risk of getting<br />
HIV-1 infection:<br />
u You must be HIV-negative. You must get tested to make<br />
sure that you do not already have HIV-1 infection. Do not take<br />
TRUVADA for PrEP to reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 unless<br />
you are confirmed to be HIV-negative.<br />
u Many HIV-1 tests can miss HIV-1 infection in a person who<br />
has recently become infected. If you have flu-like symptoms,<br />
you could have recently become infected with HIV-1. Tell your<br />
healthcare provider if you had a flu-like illness within the last<br />
month before starting TRUVADA for PrEP or at any time while<br />
taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Symptoms of new HIV-1 infection<br />
include tiredness, fever, joint or muscle aches, headache, sore<br />
throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, night sweats, and/or enlarged<br />
lymph nodes in the neck or groin.<br />
While taking TRUVADA for PrEP to reduce your risk of getting<br />
HIV-1 infection:<br />
u You must continue using safer sex practices. Just taking<br />
TRUVADA for PrEP may not keep you from getting HIV-1.<br />
u You must stay HIV-negative to keep taking TRUVADA<br />
for PrEP.<br />
u To further help reduce your risk of getting HIV-1:<br />
• Know your HIV-1 status and the HIV-1 status of your partners.<br />
• <strong>Get</strong> tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months or when your<br />
healthcare provider tells you.<br />
• <strong>Get</strong> tested for other sexually transmitted infections. Other<br />
infections make it easier for HIV-1 to infect you.<br />
• <strong>Get</strong> information and support to help reduce risky<br />
sexual behavior.<br />
• Have fewer sex partners.<br />
• Do not miss any doses of TRUVADA. Missing doses may<br />
increase your risk of getting HIV-1 infection.<br />
• If you think you were exposed to HIV-1, tell your healthcare<br />
provider right away.<br />
u If you do become HIV-1 positive, you need more medicine<br />
than TRUVADA alone to treat HIV-1. TRUVADA by itself is not<br />
a complete treatment for HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take<br />
only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time.<br />
TRUVADA can cause serious side effects:<br />
u Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis),<br />
which is a serious medical emergency. Symptoms of lactic<br />
acidosis include weakness or being more tired than usual,<br />
unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing,<br />
nausea, vomiting, stomach-area pain, cold or blue hands<br />
and feet, feeling dizzy or lightheaded, and/or fast or<br />
abnormal heartbeats.<br />
u Serious liver problems. Your liver may become large and<br />
tender, and you may develop fat in your liver. Symptoms of<br />
liver problems include your skin or the white part of your eyes<br />
turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools,<br />
loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, and/or<br />
stomach-area pain.<br />
u You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or serious liver<br />
problems if you are female, very overweight (obese), or have<br />
been taking TRUVADA for a long time. In some cases, these<br />
serious conditions have led to death. Call your healthcare provider<br />
right away if you have any symptoms of these conditions.<br />
u Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. If you also<br />
have HBV and take TRUVADA, your hepatitis may<br />
become worse if you stop taking TRUVADA. Do not<br />
stop taking TRUVADA without first talking to your<br />
healthcare provider. If your healthcare provider<br />
tells you to stop taking TRUVADA, they will need to<br />
watch you closely for several months to monitor your<br />
health. TRUVADA is not approved for the treatment<br />
of HBV.<br />
Who should not take TRUVADA for PrEP?<br />
Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP if you already have HIV-1<br />
infection or if you do not know your HIV-1 status. If you are<br />
HIV-1 positive, you need to take other medicines with TRUVADA<br />
to treat HIV-1. TRUVADA by itself is not a complete treatment<br />
for HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1<br />
may become harder to treat over time.<br />
Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP if you also take lamivudine<br />
(Epivir-HBV) or adefovir (HEPSERA).<br />
What are the other possible side effects of TRUVADA for PrEP?<br />
Serious side effects of TRUVADA may also include:<br />
u Kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare<br />
provider may do blood tests to check your kidneys before<br />
and during treatment with TRUVADA for PrEP. If you develop<br />
kidney problems, your healthcare provider may tell you to stop<br />
taking TRUVADA for PrEP.<br />
u Bone problems, including bone pain or bones getting soft or<br />
thin, may lead to fractures. Your healthcare provider may do<br />
tests to check your bones.<br />
u Changes in body fat, which can happen in people taking<br />
TRUVADA or medicines like TRUVADA.<br />
Common side effects in people taking TRUVADA for PrEP are<br />
stomach-area (abdomen) pain, headache, and decreased weight.<br />
Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that<br />
bother you or do not go away.<br />
What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking<br />
TRUVADA for PrEP?<br />
u All your health problems. Be sure to tell your healthcare<br />
provider if you have or have had any kidney, bone, or liver<br />
problems, including hepatitis virus infection.<br />
Please see Important Facts about TRUVADA for PrEP including important warnings on the following pages.
u If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not<br />
known if TRUVADA can harm your unborn baby. If you<br />
become pregnant while taking TRUVADA for PrEP, talk to<br />
your healthcare provider to decide if you should keep taking<br />
TRUVADA for PrEP.<br />
Pregnancy Registry: A pregnancy registry collects information<br />
about your health and the health of your baby. There is a<br />
pregnancy registry for women who take medicines to prevent<br />
HIV-1 during pregnancy. For more information about the<br />
registry and how it works, talk to your healthcare provider.<br />
u If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do<br />
not breastfeed. The medicines in TRUVADA can pass to your<br />
baby in breast milk. If you become HIV-1 positive, HIV-1 can be<br />
passed to the baby in breast milk.<br />
u All the medicines you take, including prescription and overthe-counter<br />
medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.<br />
TRUVADA may interact with other medicines. Keep a list of all<br />
your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and<br />
pharmacist when you get a new medicine.<br />
u If you take certain other medicines with TRUVADA for PrEP,<br />
your healthcare provider may need to check you more often<br />
or change your dose. These medicines include ledipasvir with<br />
sofosbuvir (HARVONI).<br />
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of<br />
prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch,<br />
or call 1-800-FDA-1088.<br />
Have you heard about<br />
TM<br />
TRUVADA for PrEP ?<br />
The once-daily prescription medicine that can help reduce<br />
the risk of getting HIV-1 when used with safer sex practices.<br />
• TRUVADA for PrEP is only for adults who are at high risk<br />
of getting HIV through sex.<br />
• You must be HIV-negative before you start taking TRUVADA.<br />
Ask your doctor about your risk of getting HIV-1 infection and if<br />
TRUVADA for PrEP may be right for you.<br />
visit start.truvada.com
I spent an hour figuring out what I should<br />
wear the The Glam Awards.<br />
Obviously, the theme seemed to be<br />
“Glam,” so I wanted to look Glamorous.<br />
(Capital “G.”) I didn’t have the money<br />
for anything new, not after splurging on<br />
a matching set of off-white leather pants<br />
and jacket. I actually tried that on first,<br />
but I looked more “granola Kill Bill” than<br />
glamorous nightlife queen.<br />
I ended up with all of the classic Ian-<br />
Michael pieces that make me me: a pair of<br />
short black leather shorts; knee-high socks;<br />
a blazer with gold bug pins on the lapel;<br />
and, naturally, a sequined top.<br />
Yes, I was freezing - it was the first snow of<br />
A Glamorous Night<br />
BY IAN-MICHAEL BERGERON<br />
the season. <strong>Get</strong>ting hypothermia, one lewk<br />
at a time.<br />
I arrived and Cherry Jubilee spied me,<br />
checking me off her VIP list. Before I could<br />
thank her for sneaking me in, she was gone,<br />
running the event like the boss that she is -<br />
and all in a floor-length gown. Respect.<br />
I entered Stage 48 into a sea of sequins.<br />
Sequined gowns; sequined shorts;<br />
sequined jockstraps. I fit right in.<br />
I found my boyfriend, and we got a table<br />
right next to the stage, sitting next to the<br />
stunning Cherry Lemonade and across<br />
from the iconic Sherry Vine. (The tables<br />
were pre-littered with copies of this week’s<br />
<strong>Get</strong> <strong>Out</strong>! <strong>Magazine</strong>: I’m not ashamed that<br />
I opened several of them to my weekly<br />
column and kept them out on display.)<br />
Our hosts took the stage: Bob the Drag<br />
Queen and Bianca Del Rio glided out in<br />
nearly matching black and grey ensembles,<br />
looking just as glamorous as you’d expect<br />
them to. They introduced the show and<br />
gave a nod to Sherry Vine, which essentially<br />
just became a Sherry Vine roast that
continued throughout the<br />
show. I ate it up. Vicky<br />
Boofant performed a lip sync<br />
to “Hello Dolly” complete<br />
with backup twink dancers.<br />
It was incredible. I screamed<br />
“Yas” until my voice ran<br />
horse, and then I realized I<br />
hated myself for screaming<br />
“Yas” so much.<br />
Bob the Drag Queen<br />
enlightened us to the<br />
difference between straight<br />
events and gay events: “At<br />
gay events, you see a lot<br />
of buttholes, don’t you?<br />
I’ve seen three buttholes<br />
tonight already.” I heard<br />
someone at the table behind<br />
me stand up and clap<br />
uproariously; when I turned<br />
around, I found a sequined,<br />
jockstrapped dick right in<br />
my face. (I wrote down the<br />
brand across his waistband,<br />
purely for research<br />
purposes.)<br />
A plethora of awards were<br />
given out. The ever-stunning<br />
Markus Kelle awarded Bob<br />
the Drag Queen with Best<br />
Comedy Performer, but Bob<br />
called Miz Cracker to the<br />
stage and gave it to her.<br />
Brita Filter and Terra Hyman<br />
deservedly took home Best<br />
Duo/Group. Bob the Drag<br />
Queen won Best Video for<br />
“Purse First”- she kept that<br />
award. The first drag queen I<br />
ever saw (back in 2004), Lady<br />
Bunny, won Best Cabaret<br />
for her show Lady Bunny<br />
Transjester. Entertainer of the<br />
Year was snagged by, you<br />
guessed it, Bob the Drag<br />
Queen.<br />
She wasn’t the only one to<br />
snag multiple awards - the<br />
gorgeous Aquaria, dressed<br />
in the most fabulous tinsel<br />
dress I’ve ever seen, won<br />
Best Dressed, Scene Queen<br />
and Breakthrough Artist.<br />
Stonewall won Best Bar,<br />
Monster won Best Club and<br />
Glow at G-Lounge won Best<br />
Bar Party. The audience<br />
erupted into applause when<br />
Amanda Lepore surprised<br />
everyone, taking the stage<br />
to present Best Club Party to<br />
Manster at Monster.<br />
The performances between<br />
presenting the awards<br />
blew me away. I saw Ritzy<br />
Bitz flip across the entire<br />
length of the stage, ending<br />
in a death drop for the<br />
gods. Holly Box Springs<br />
had me on the floor with<br />
a lip sync of Kathy Griffin<br />
talking about Celine Dion.<br />
The stand out performance<br />
was a Christmas number<br />
choreographed by Vincent<br />
Cooper, its stand-out<br />
performers Brita Filter and<br />
Terra Hyman. (I told you they<br />
deserved that award for Best<br />
Duo/Group!)<br />
The biggest award, The<br />
Lifetime Achievement<br />
Award, went to Sherry Vine.<br />
As Bob so eloquently stated,<br />
“The oldest drag queen in<br />
the city, and the oldest drag<br />
queen in the world. Sissy<br />
that walker!”<br />
Our hosts said goodnight,<br />
the tables and chairs went<br />
away and everyone grabbed<br />
a taxi down to Monster Bar<br />
for the after-party.<br />
As for my boyfriend and me:<br />
I told my taxi driver to go<br />
uptown and bring our tired<br />
asses home. I barely untied<br />
my shoes before falling into<br />
bed, slipping into a dream of<br />
sequins, jockstraps and the<br />
idea that maybe next year<br />
I’ll be nominated for a Glam<br />
Award myself.<br />
PHOTOS BY GUSTAVO MONROY<br />
JUSTGIVEITASHOT@ME.COM
It’s<br />
Tradition,<br />
Bitches<br />
Now in its in 10th year,<br />
Hebro’s annual Christmas<br />
Eve Jewbilee has worked<br />
its way into the lasting<br />
fabric of the New York<br />
City social scene<br />
BY DAN HECHING<br />
Follow DJ Xavier:<br />
Instagram/Twitter: Djxaviernyc<br />
Djxaviernyc@gmail.com<br />
Gone are the days of Jews sitting<br />
around eating Chinese food on<br />
Christmas Eve - at least for gay Jews<br />
in New York City and those that<br />
want to hang with them (read: just<br />
about everybody else). After humble<br />
beginnings at a Hell’s Kitchen gay<br />
bar 10 years ago, Hebro impresario<br />
Jayson Littman has taken his bash to<br />
new heights each year, attracting a<br />
guest list of over 1,000 people from<br />
the world over.<br />
“I love that the Jewbilee has turned<br />
Christmas Eve into a gay Jewish<br />
night of fun, but it’s also a party that<br />
attracts the entire gay community,”<br />
Littman says as he prepares for this<br />
year’s shindig, again being held at<br />
premiere NYC nightclub Stage 48.<br />
The party is always a guaranteed<br />
good time, with people ranging<br />
from religious Jews to gentiles who<br />
appreciate them.<br />
The special detail this year is that<br />
Hanukkah coincides with Christmas<br />
Eve. On tap at the party will be a<br />
menorah lighting by drag empress<br />
Lady SinAGaGa. “The Jewbilee<br />
is literally a perfect synthesis of<br />
three parts of my identity that<br />
are so integral to who I am,” says<br />
SinAGaGa. “Being raised as a<br />
religious Jew, living as an out gay<br />
man and performing as a drag<br />
queen!”<br />
Top DJ Xavier, who will be spinning<br />
his fourth Jewbilee this <strong>December</strong>,<br />
adds: “This is the official Chrismakah<br />
party for all to celebrate. Every year<br />
it helps me enjoy my craft even more<br />
to play for such a huge crowd!”<br />
In addition to welcoming back Xavier,<br />
the Jewbilee will bring together<br />
NYC’s Kosher Queens, Miz Cracker<br />
(aka Harlem’s Jewish Princess) and<br />
Ritzy Bitz. And of course don’t forget<br />
those nice Jewish go-go boys!<br />
Saturday, <strong>December</strong> 24<br />
Stage 48 - 605 W 48th Street<br />
Cover: $20 online / $25 at door.<br />
For more info, visit<br />
www.myhebro.com
HAPPY HOLIDAYS<br />
from G Lounge!
A Lounge With Dignity<br />
BY IAN-MICHAEL BERGERON<br />
I remember the first time I went to<br />
G-Lounge.<br />
It was 2012, the year I moved into the<br />
city. I showed up here with no money,<br />
no job prospects and no friends. I<br />
wanted to be a writer: This is where<br />
writers come to write, isn’t it?<br />
I managed to make one friend via<br />
random Facebook friend requests, Paq.<br />
Paq had lived here ages, and (unlike all<br />
of my other random Facebook friend<br />
requests) actually wanted to hang out<br />
with me, not just have sex with me or<br />
see my dick pics.<br />
Paq was the queen of happy hour<br />
specials, which was kind of essential<br />
since I had no job and he usually<br />
bought my drinks. He lived in Hell’s<br />
Kitchen, but to branch out, we<br />
wandered down into Chelsea, and into<br />
G-Lounge.<br />
We walked into a big open room that I<br />
was sure functioned as a pseudo-dance<br />
floor later at night, but now it was just<br />
spacious and calm. Homoerotic photos,<br />
framed with care, hung on the walls.<br />
I’d later learn that the art rotated<br />
to showcase different local artists,<br />
including Roger Wingman -<br />
I’d meet him in 2014, and attend<br />
the premiere party for his G-Lounge<br />
showcase “Be Mine” in <strong>2016</strong>.<br />
G Lounge best known for the original<br />
Frozen Cosmo included in their buyone-<strong>Get</strong>-one-free<br />
drink specials and<br />
included my favorite: margaritas.<br />
We sat at the bar for our first drink,<br />
chatting with a friendly bartender about<br />
“RuPaul’s Drag Race”- I’d never seen<br />
the show before. We sat on the couches<br />
outlining the dance floor for our second<br />
drink, watching patrons come and go,<br />
a lot of gay boys bringing family, what<br />
appeared to be their mothers. I wished<br />
my family lived closer, that I could<br />
take them out for a drink after work.<br />
We stood by the window for our third<br />
drink, right next to a stand with <strong>Get</strong><br />
<strong>Out</strong>! <strong>Magazine</strong>. I picked up a copy and<br />
skimmed it, no idea I’d be writing for<br />
them by the end of 2015.<br />
That night, G-Lounge was a reminder of<br />
my past and a premonition of my future.<br />
But I lived in the moment, right in the<br />
present, even when drinking our fourth<br />
drink - because it’s buy-one-get-one, we<br />
can’t possibly waste that, right?<br />
G-Lounge opened in 1997. I was 7<br />
years old, playing with Barbies, dressing<br />
them up in cocktail dresses and gowns<br />
just like the drag queens I hadn’t yet<br />
met.
Years before he opened it, Michael<br />
McGrail was working as a chef at The<br />
Waldorf Astoria; he’d been working<br />
in hospitality since he was 15. He<br />
felt gay nightlife in NYC was missing<br />
something and became inspired by his<br />
hotel’s upscale lounge.<br />
McGrail made his inspiration a<br />
reality. New York needed a place<br />
like G-Lounge: During Reagan’s<br />
presidency, a recent memory at that<br />
time, the president had silenced the<br />
surgeon general about HIV and AIDS.<br />
McGrail wanted to create a safe place,<br />
a place that was out and proud. As<br />
he said to me last week, “It’s a nice,<br />
respectful place to come and be proud<br />
of.”<br />
Now, just a week after winning the<br />
Glam Award for Best Bar Party (Glow),<br />
McGrail has announced that G-Lounge<br />
will be closing its doors.<br />
I have so many friends who have been<br />
employed there, from bartenders to<br />
DJs to drag queens. So many friends<br />
who have had their artwork displayed<br />
there.<br />
I have so many memories there. Happy<br />
hours with Paq. Great dates and<br />
terrible dates alike. Meeting my best<br />
friends for support after a breakup.<br />
Meeting my best friends to celebrate a<br />
new job. Just last June, we celebrated<br />
my boyfriend’s birthday there, ringing<br />
it in at midnight.<br />
After 20 years, we are losing a New<br />
York City staple, and a place that I<br />
have called home. “This place has<br />
dignity,” McGrail told me. “It has<br />
dignity.”<br />
I once asked McGrail the craziest<br />
thing that ever happened to him at<br />
G-Lounge. “Well,” he smiled, “for<br />
the 2001 Memorial Day weekend,<br />
G-Lounge transformed into a beach<br />
resort. There was a seven-foot chair we<br />
built to hold a buff lifeguard and filled<br />
an 8x8 inflatable pool. Everyone willing<br />
to strip down into their speedos were<br />
given free cosmos. But the inevitable<br />
happened: The pool burst, spilling<br />
water across the bar floor like a million<br />
martinis had fallen all at once.” I<br />
wished I had been there to witness it.<br />
I asked McGrail if he had anything<br />
he wanted to say to all of his patrons<br />
over the years. He was emotional, but<br />
proudly said, “We have been honored<br />
and privileged to serve our family and<br />
friends through the years, and we want<br />
to thank everyone for their patronage<br />
and express our gratitude for their<br />
loyal support over the past 20 years.”<br />
We’ll miss you, G-Lounge. If you’re<br />
looking for me, I’ll be at their bar,<br />
having a drink and making final<br />
memories before it closes on New<br />
Year’s Day.<br />
G-Lounge remains open through the end of the year daily from<br />
4 p.m. to 4 a.m. Ring in the New Year at G-Lounge for its final<br />
opening night on New Year’s Eve.
Wishing you and<br />
our community<br />
love, health, and happiness<br />
in the new year.