Preview the Terrific "Bleed Pop" EP by LGBT Band WASI

Check out the terrific "Bleed Pop" EP recently released by Cali punk pop band WASI. It's insanely peppy and the music just crackles with energy. Plus the recording quality is shockingly great. If there is this much happiness coming through my speakers, I can't even imagine how much fun their live shows must be.

Here's some background from their press materials:

The band started becoming more involved with the LGBT scene after singer Merilou (Cosmo) threw a few No On Prop 8 rallies in Buena Park (about a mile away from Anaheim, one of the most conservative cities in the US). They expected just a couple dozen of our friends to show up and rally, but ended up catching the attention of a few hundred people who came out to be part of the cause - from attendees, to Knott's Berry Farm, to kids in the Inland Empire who heard about the rally through home-made Youtube videos the band created to promote the rally. 

Today, the band constantly finds themselves invited to schools and other feminist/lgbtq groups to perform or just speak about our struggles as women and lesbian musicians. They hope through each of these conversations to inspire others to find their safe space to create positive energy through music, art and other passions. Jessie, the bassist and other vocalist for the band, who has been bullied her whole life for her masculinity, makes a point to showcase what she was bullied is now a gift. Aside from performing at Pride festivals, LGBTQ art galleries and other lesbian/feminist events in Hollywood such as Her/LA & Single de Mayo, they throw on our own events such as Women Fuck Shit Up Fest - an annual feminist/queer event that seeks to empower those community to share their art and voice and to create an energy of confidence to own who they are with pride.

Since their formation, they have performed at select dates on the Vans Warped Tour and have shared the stage with artists such as Shiny Toy Guns and K. Flay. College friends Garret Harney (drums) and Dylan Robin (guitar, vocals) joined the duo in 2015, thus completing the dance-fueled, anthemic-pop lineup.

If you'd like to help support the band, you can download their EP here. Also, check out their Website and be their pal on Facebook!

All Girl, All Gay Band Sick of Sarah to Release "Anthem" EP June 30th!

Hands down, Sick of Sarah is the best all girl rock band in the country right now. Of course, the fact that their current line up is all gay makes everything so much more awesome for the LGBT community. For the first time in their decade long career, they are self-releasing their music. New EP Anthem is due out on June 30th. Honestly, I wish more artists would start doing this. I would much rather they keep the lion's share of the funds they generate from their labor of love rather than some label which uses artists solely as a means to potentially make money.

Take a listen to preview rockin' tracks "Rooftops" and "Blind." They more than prove that the Anthem EP is worth purchasing when it comes out! Also, be sure watch their YouTube tour diary. It's pretty entertaining.

Watch: Coming Out in the 1970s Short Documentary

In this terrific fifteen minute short documentary, directors Phil Siegel and Gabriel Gasca enlist four young activists to interview elder gay, lesbian and trans-gender activists who came out in the 1970s. They explore how the catalyst of the Stonewall riots enabled a new generation to come out and begin to organize, get visible and fight for rights. It's definitely worth a watch!

Stargayzer Music Festival - The Most Amazing Lineup of LGBT Musicians Ever - September 12-14 in Austin, TX!

The Stargayzer Festival is a 3-day celebration of LGBTQIA music and performance, held in Austin, Texas on September 12th-14th, 2014. It will take place at Carson Creek Ranch, a private, 20-acre ranch that sits on the banks of the beautiful Colorado River. For 3 days and 3 nights, this unique space will be transformed into a vibrant, all inclusive festival community focused on showcasing LGBTQIA musicians and performers.

Recently, they announced the final lineup...and it's insane! With over 100 performers to chose from, Stargayzer has a bit of everything - quasi-mainstream alternative, experimental indie, booty shakin' rap, electronica, folk, underground rock, tons of DJs, and tons and tons of camp disco! Among the notables are Austra, Trust, Xiu Xiu, Big Freedia, Mykki Blanco, Le Tigre's JD Samson, Ssion, Cazwell, and so much more. For the complete list, look at the bottom of this article!

Stargayzer will span across 3 main stages, including an amphitheater stage on the banks of the Colorado River. Also, there will be 3 lounge tents for resting, revelry and everything in between. Each tent will offer its own unique style of queer art, entertainment, décor and refreshing beverages. An eclectic selection of food will be available during festival hours from a host of food trailers serving delicious local and international cuisines, with vegan, vegetarian and gluten free options available.

For festival goers who want to stay overnight, a separate tent and RV camping area will be available on the festival grounds. Multiple options and amenities will be offered in this private area including portable showers, bathrooms and charging stations. Overnight guests will have access to a 24-hour café, a general store and a private, after-hours lounge tent, accessible only to camping wristband holders. Campers are of course encouraged to decorate and personalize their campsites to create a colorful, comfortable, home away from home.

So,  make your arrangements now before it's too late! September will be here before you know it! Visit their website! Or check out their Facebook page! 

Take a listen to some of the artists:



Full Line Up!

Austra , Big Freedia , Xiu Xiu, JD Samson, Mykki Blanco, Trust, SSION , Crystal Ark , Avan Lava, Kingdom, Cakes Da Killa, Peaches Christ, Sister Crayon, Cazwell, Rebecca Havemeyer, Brad Loekle, Nakia, Christeene, Honey Sound System, Double Duchess, Blow Pony, Yo! Majesty, Abdu Ali, Baathaus, Dead Music Capital Band, Moira Scar, Thelma & The Sleaze (TATS), Big Dipper, Holiday Mountain, Mark Louque, Mary Messhausen, Mitzi Meyers, Produzentin Proddy, Whiite Walls, Gretchen Phillips Disco Plague, Ambrosia Salad, Ben Aqua, Mirror Travel, Silky Shoemaker, BLXPLTN, Airick X, Althea Trix, Arcie Cola, B.E.B., Bearracuda, Bitter Heart Society, Boo Nanny, Bulge, Butch County, Carletta Sue Kay, Chandallier, Chelsea Starr, Collin Bass, Daniel Webb, Deep Time, DJ Begbick, DJ Blood Kisses, DJ Boyfriends, DJ False Flag, DJ Girlfriend, DJ Ketsup, DJ Lemz, DJ Terpsi, DJs Fine & Dandy, Dren Pasht, Dylan Reece, Fantasy and Khatti Q, FEA, Girl 4 Girls, G-Luv, John Mark Robbins, Light Fires, Logan Lynn, Louisianna Purchase, Magic Mouth, Michael Foulk, MikeQ, Mirror Fears, Mom Jeans, Mouthfeel, Night Cadet, Oracola, Pink Leche, Poo Poo Platter, Prom Date, Queer Church Revival, Russell Reed, Saakred, Seratonin, SF Album Project, Shorty Shorts Queer Film, Slash and Spread, Stanley Roy, Tony Banks, Ursula, Werkout Palace, Wild Moccasins, XBRMNT, Zane Xena, Zombie Baazar, Vacation Eyes, Potpourri of Pearls,Young Creature

HeroesCon 2014 Wrap Up & Full LGBT Characters in the Comics Panel Video!

If you live on the East Coast and have not been to HeroesCon, you owe it to yourself to go. It is one of the nation's oldest and largest events. And, frankly, it's pretty great. The Charlotte Convention Center is an ideal venue, one of the few large enough where there can be 30 people in line waiting to talk to Matt Fraction and still allow the flow of traffic between the aisles to move freely. Also, it's fairly well ventilated, so none of the comic-con funk that you are forced to endure at smaller cons. The folks at Heroes Aren't Hard to Find make sure HeroesCon is  always exceptionally well run, everything starts on time, everyone on staff is friendly, and the admission price is actually affordable. You can't really beat this con.

While I love that there were so many well known creators, inkers, and colorists in attendance, my favorite part is always walking through the indie section and getting to meet the up and coming illustrators. It's always fun to see what hilarious creations people are having artists do on commission. I couldn't help but to giggle as I watched Brockton McKinney from Lost Story Studios draw Shawn of the Dead fighting zombie Jesus! Also, I got an unbelievable print for $3 from Logan Faerber! We will certainly try to interview him in the coming weeks.

This year, HeroesCon also had their very first gay themed panel discussion: LGBT Characters in the Comics. Hosted by Bryan Pittard from the The Nerdy Show's Flame On podcast, the panel featured Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez of Love & Rockets, Terry Moore of Strangers in Paradise, and Kate Leth of Kate or Die! We went to a grand total of 8 panels this weekend, and hands down, this was our favorite, though the Afterlife With Archie Panel and Kevin Eastman of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles panels were pretty entertaining, too. Fortunately, we were able to film the entire LGBT panel! If you have 40 minutes, you should watch. It's well worth your time.

My pal Steve M. has been going to HeroesCon quite some time. He is a huge comics buff. He has more comics and boxes of comics and closets of comics than anyone I know. This time around he said one of his favorite panels was Using Digital Tools to Make Comics.

"They were a great panel because they were so excited about talking up the programs they used and how they would flow between digital and traditional sketch-on-paper work for everything they do. Brandon Peterson is a long time photo shop user and expert, and he was talking about a particular tool within the app that cuts merging scans together seamlessly automatically. The other two artists David Marquez and Juan Doe went nuts because they spend hours merging scans by hand for their larger pages. The best thing overall about that panel was how enthusiastic the artists were about sharing with each other and with the audience." Steve's husband Jason adds, "I love watching established artist still getting excited about their work."

So, we already posted our Drink and Draw photos from the Friday night charity event raising money for Parkinsons research. Here's our favorite pics from the rest of the weekend. We purposely left out cosplay pics (except for one), as we are certain there will be a million of those floating around the interwebs.

Click on any pic to enlarge!

HeroesCon 2014 Offers LGBT Characters in the Comics Panel!

It is so wonderful that all of our beloved comic and gamer conventions are starting to offer a more gay friendly atmosphere and LGBT content. While there are a few Cons specifically for the LGBT crowd like GaymerX and BentCon, we will always still be in mass attendance at the mainstream cons. So, it's great that more and more often, they are recognizing that a good portion of their audience has been been feeling a bit left out for decades.

If you are unfamiliar with HeroesCon, it has been held in existence since 1982 and it is one of the largest and oldest independent comic book conventions in the United States. The convention has a history of charitable work, donating to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and numerous other charities. HeroesCon is organized by Shelton Drum and his staff at Heroes Aren't Hard To Find, a really fantastic comic book shop in Charlotte.2014's HeroesCon is June 20th through 22nd at the Convention Center in downtown Charlotte, NC.

This year, they are hosting the terrific looking panel LGBT Characters in the Comics. The panel is on Sunday, June 22nd at 2pm and features Terry Moore of Strangers in Paradise, the legendary Gilbert and Jamie Hernandez of Love and Rockets, Kate Leth of Kate or Die, and is moderated by The Nerdy Show's Bryan Pittard.

Should be great! We hope next year they do even more LGBT panels!