SUSAN LEVINE & PORSCHE GET STONEWALLED
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THIS AND THAT
Story By: James Edstrom
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THIS AND THAT
Story By: James Edstrom
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The Legends Porsche And DJ Susan LevineConsidering it has been a very boring winter with not much snow or any real excitement here in Times Square, I had a wonderful evening with DJ Legend Susan Levine the other night. I just had to see her before the summer season started on Fire Island. On the famed gay mecca, Susan is always working and even when I get a chance to hang out with her there, she has so many fans coming up to her, I can't get anything much to say in without being disturbed. So it was a relief the other night when I met her for drinks at the Cubby Hole and then went over to Stonewall to see the superstar herself perform, Porsche. This is where the whole gay revolution started and it seems Miss Porsche has started a revolution of her own. The place was packed!
It was kinda the same thing in the village, everyone coming up to Miss Levine, but I found a secluded spot way in the back of Stonewall where we could talk and laugh without being disturbed. It was like a flashback to the past, but the club has changed over the years.
THE NEW VILLAGE
Gone were the old video slot machines where if you won the bartender would pay you. There were no orgy's in the men's room like the old days, drinks are not 3 bucks anymore and there is now a second floor that was filled with a lesbian party. Gone are the days when you stood out in front of Stonewall and you got harassed on the street by str8 people. I used to love that. I can't tell you how many times years ago when a str8 person would start a fight out in front of Stonewall thinking they were gay bashing and were so cool, only to be surprised when we kicked their ass and they were the ones running down the street like a crying queen. We used to be able to smoke at the bar and always were allowed to light up some good marijuana and no one blinked a eye. We had our own world and nothing could match it in this day and age.
I know I may sound like one of these old people who always say, "things were better in the old days", but they really were. The fight for gay rights and Aids has taken a toll on the gay community. Now that being gay is accepted everywhere, being in a gay bar feels like a str8 club. The gay community has been assimilated into str8 society and in a very big way this sucks. We used to have our own clubs, our own shows and our own identity. Now you can be gay everywhere.
As I looked at the young gay people in the club, I turned to Susan Levine and told her that they had no idea how they got here. They have no idea about the gay beatings, the gay murders and the harassment that being gay brought. They have no idea about the fight for equal rights, the raid on the village clubs where they could just arrest you for being gay. They have no idea how much fun the village used to be. Gay leather men walking up and down Christopher street, butch dyke lesbians fighting on the sidewalk, hundreds of naked men sun tanning on the piers at the end of the famed street. Yes, this was fun!
The str8 people have taken over the village. You can always see Sara Jessica Parker and other celebrities walking around with their children, high end stores are open everywhere, and gone are the days when every bar was open at noon time. Being accepted by everyone has cost the gay community their identity. I liked it better when all you str8 people hated us, I really do.
One thing that Stonewall has, besides it historic past, is bartender Tree Sequoia. This guy is a legend in village history. I first met him at a seedy bar called The Ninth Circle on West 10th street. I was 17 years old and Tree was the bartender downstairs. In the old days when you were young and gay, the gay community and the clubs used to take you in. You couldn't drink, but you could meet other gay people. You were shown that being gay was nothing to be ashamed about and you were taught gay life, because you really were not accepted in any part of str8 society. And the drinking age was 18 then. There was always magic in the air in the village and Tree was a huge part of that. You also had another famed bartender Johny Pool in those days. These were the guys a young gay kid could trust.
So watching these young gay kids at Stonewall was really surreal. Gone are the days when a young gay kid would be welcomed into a club. The drinking age is now 21 years old and anyone under that age will not be allowed into any club. Gone are the days when a confused young gay or lesbian could reach out looking for answers. As I watched these young kids ordering a drink from Tree, I knew that they had no idea that they were in front of history and even if they did, young kids do not appreciate the fight of so many people before them had, that give them their freedom today.
THE KEEPERS OF GAY HISTORY
Tree Sequoia and Johny Pool should write a book. These two were part of the revolution and it seems that this era has not been well documented at all. Seems that anytime gay history is explored on some television show, it's the same old thing. The Stonewall riots, the fighting in the streets for gay rights. I really believe Tree and Johny could shed some light on what it really was like to be gay back in those days. It was fun and exciting and being gay was a world of adventure. These two could help to preserve the real story behind gay history for future generations.
SPRING AND SUMMER IN CHERRY GROVE
Spring and summer is almost here. Petra Brehl and Rick Dugas from Dune Point are still busy putting on the finishing touches too all the renovations they did over the winter. I am so excited about seeing all the work done there. Remember Times Square Gossip readers this summer will once again get a 10% discount at Dune Point Fire Island. Just type in the word "GOSSIP" at your checkout to receive this. You might even see me in the Dune Point office, working on stories for Times Square Gossip. I might even check you in. Master Chef Steven Daniello from Top Of The Bay restaurant will be writing recipes for our readers and DJ Susan Levine who will be spinning at Cherry's On The Bay this summer, will be writing about the top club tunes. For all you West Coast gals, you will have a chance to meet Susan Levine in Palm Springs for The Dinah Shore weekend coming up. You can find out more info on FACEBOOK.
DO THE CHERRY GROVE WOBBLE WITH DJ SUSAN LEVINE
You have no idea what a great DJ is, till you hear the spinning Of Susan Levine. Spring and summer are almost here and Cherry Grove has her. Weather it's the top guest house Dune Point or dancing at Cherry's On The Bay, the excitement is about to begin. Fine dining is right off the Cherry Grove dock at Top Of The Bay and a new addition coming to the ocean side will be Sand Castle, run by Donna and Jacque from Cherry's. There is so much happening, I really hope to see so many of my new and old friends there. To experience the way gay life in NYC used to be, Cherry Grove Fire Island is the place to be.
It was kinda the same thing in the village, everyone coming up to Miss Levine, but I found a secluded spot way in the back of Stonewall where we could talk and laugh without being disturbed. It was like a flashback to the past, but the club has changed over the years.
THE NEW VILLAGE
Gone were the old video slot machines where if you won the bartender would pay you. There were no orgy's in the men's room like the old days, drinks are not 3 bucks anymore and there is now a second floor that was filled with a lesbian party. Gone are the days when you stood out in front of Stonewall and you got harassed on the street by str8 people. I used to love that. I can't tell you how many times years ago when a str8 person would start a fight out in front of Stonewall thinking they were gay bashing and were so cool, only to be surprised when we kicked their ass and they were the ones running down the street like a crying queen. We used to be able to smoke at the bar and always were allowed to light up some good marijuana and no one blinked a eye. We had our own world and nothing could match it in this day and age.
I know I may sound like one of these old people who always say, "things were better in the old days", but they really were. The fight for gay rights and Aids has taken a toll on the gay community. Now that being gay is accepted everywhere, being in a gay bar feels like a str8 club. The gay community has been assimilated into str8 society and in a very big way this sucks. We used to have our own clubs, our own shows and our own identity. Now you can be gay everywhere.
As I looked at the young gay people in the club, I turned to Susan Levine and told her that they had no idea how they got here. They have no idea about the gay beatings, the gay murders and the harassment that being gay brought. They have no idea about the fight for equal rights, the raid on the village clubs where they could just arrest you for being gay. They have no idea how much fun the village used to be. Gay leather men walking up and down Christopher street, butch dyke lesbians fighting on the sidewalk, hundreds of naked men sun tanning on the piers at the end of the famed street. Yes, this was fun!
The str8 people have taken over the village. You can always see Sara Jessica Parker and other celebrities walking around with their children, high end stores are open everywhere, and gone are the days when every bar was open at noon time. Being accepted by everyone has cost the gay community their identity. I liked it better when all you str8 people hated us, I really do.
One thing that Stonewall has, besides it historic past, is bartender Tree Sequoia. This guy is a legend in village history. I first met him at a seedy bar called The Ninth Circle on West 10th street. I was 17 years old and Tree was the bartender downstairs. In the old days when you were young and gay, the gay community and the clubs used to take you in. You couldn't drink, but you could meet other gay people. You were shown that being gay was nothing to be ashamed about and you were taught gay life, because you really were not accepted in any part of str8 society. And the drinking age was 18 then. There was always magic in the air in the village and Tree was a huge part of that. You also had another famed bartender Johny Pool in those days. These were the guys a young gay kid could trust.
So watching these young gay kids at Stonewall was really surreal. Gone are the days when a young gay kid would be welcomed into a club. The drinking age is now 21 years old and anyone under that age will not be allowed into any club. Gone are the days when a confused young gay or lesbian could reach out looking for answers. As I watched these young kids ordering a drink from Tree, I knew that they had no idea that they were in front of history and even if they did, young kids do not appreciate the fight of so many people before them had, that give them their freedom today.
THE KEEPERS OF GAY HISTORY
Tree Sequoia and Johny Pool should write a book. These two were part of the revolution and it seems that this era has not been well documented at all. Seems that anytime gay history is explored on some television show, it's the same old thing. The Stonewall riots, the fighting in the streets for gay rights. I really believe Tree and Johny could shed some light on what it really was like to be gay back in those days. It was fun and exciting and being gay was a world of adventure. These two could help to preserve the real story behind gay history for future generations.
SPRING AND SUMMER IN CHERRY GROVE
Spring and summer is almost here. Petra Brehl and Rick Dugas from Dune Point are still busy putting on the finishing touches too all the renovations they did over the winter. I am so excited about seeing all the work done there. Remember Times Square Gossip readers this summer will once again get a 10% discount at Dune Point Fire Island. Just type in the word "GOSSIP" at your checkout to receive this. You might even see me in the Dune Point office, working on stories for Times Square Gossip. I might even check you in. Master Chef Steven Daniello from Top Of The Bay restaurant will be writing recipes for our readers and DJ Susan Levine who will be spinning at Cherry's On The Bay this summer, will be writing about the top club tunes. For all you West Coast gals, you will have a chance to meet Susan Levine in Palm Springs for The Dinah Shore weekend coming up. You can find out more info on FACEBOOK.
DO THE CHERRY GROVE WOBBLE WITH DJ SUSAN LEVINE
You have no idea what a great DJ is, till you hear the spinning Of Susan Levine. Spring and summer are almost here and Cherry Grove has her. Weather it's the top guest house Dune Point or dancing at Cherry's On The Bay, the excitement is about to begin. Fine dining is right off the Cherry Grove dock at Top Of The Bay and a new addition coming to the ocean side will be Sand Castle, run by Donna and Jacque from Cherry's. There is so much happening, I really hope to see so many of my new and old friends there. To experience the way gay life in NYC used to be, Cherry Grove Fire Island is the place to be.
Comments
It's not just the young gay people but all the late bloomers too. They come out now that it's "safer" and think they need only get a girlfriend and they have now arrived. They know nothing of the pain and grief, battles fought or the lives lost. Puffed up and they don't really no why.No activism for them it might take too much time. No LGBT events to promote equality they might have to invest themselves.Ack!
I for one always hated these people in the closet. Look at all the congressman and senators who voted down gay rights, then were caught having gay affairs. I used to love it when we would work on outing stories for the Star or the Enquirer. I firmly believed these closet cases had no right to enjoy anything the gay community had to offer, since they had nothing to offer back, except to hide and be ashamed. Now I read these stories on these aging publicists and celebrities that announced they got married, who spent all their life in the closet, and they act like they were always with us and they were not. We still have a very long way to go as far as rights and the war is not over, and most of these people still won't lift a finger to help the cause. I could go on and on, but maybe this will be another story.
Thanks for your insightful comment!
James Edstrom