Pansy Divisn - Life a Gay Rock Band Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMic

Contents:

• PANSY DIVISN: LIFE A GAY ROCK BAND
• SMELLS LIKE QUEER SPIR: HOW '90S PUNKS PANSY DIVISN BLAZED A TRAIL AS ONE OF ROCK'S FIRST OPENLY GAY BANDS
• PANSY DIVISN DOC: LIFE A GAY ROCK BAND DVD
• PANSY DIVISN: LIFE A GAY ROCK BAND: DVD
• LIFE A GAY ROCK BAND

PANSY DIVISN: LIFE A GAY ROCK BAND

Pansy Divisn is a punk rock band, wh clearly gay lyrics that n be unrstood by the average listener. One of the very first openly gay rock bands, they formed 1991 right the middle of the AIDS crisis, and almost lerally lghed the face of tragedy wh their sophomoric but ultimately unifyg and healg humor. Their NSFW songs — image, say, a gay Blk-182 —over the years have clud “Bill & Ted's Homosexual Adventure, ” “Touch My Joe Camel, ” “The C***sucker Club, ” “That’s So Gay” “Dick of Death, ” “Blame the Bible, ” and a rto ver of Prce’s “Jack U Off” and Weird Al-style Nirvana spoof brilliantly tled “Smells Like Queer Spir.

”And while Pansy Divisn didn’t exactly w over the mass, the unpromisg pop-punk band quickly veloped a cult followg among queer rockers seekg an alternative to the Hi-NRG dance mic pumpg through SF’s gay clubs. ”Much has changed over the past three s, but the dark and creasgly homophobic tim, Pansy Divisn’s si-spltg lyrics and balls-to-the-wall powerpop jams are clearly still as need as ever.

(Freeman's si gig GayC/DC, an all-gay live tribute to AC/DC, is also highly remend.

SMELLS LIKE QUEER SPIR: HOW '90S PUNKS PANSY DIVISN BLAZED A TRAIL AS ONE OF ROCK'S FIRST OPENLY GAY BANDS

) To celebrate Pansy Divisn’s anniversary as well as Pri Month, Yahoo Entertament spoke wh the band's founrs about Jon & Chris’s 30-year homosexual Entertament: I feel Pansy Divisn hered a lot of change, and you've certaly wnsed and experienced a lot of change sce your first album.

PANSY DIVISN DOC: LIFE A GAY ROCK BAND DVD

We thought we uld have fulfillg, happy liv as gay people — spe all of the prejudice, spe all of the bias — and we thought, “We're jt gonna go out and show our bt selv, and we're gonna do that by g humor and beg fiant about the suatn that we fd ourselv . We do not want to live a world where gay micians n't be out. … It seemed you uld be anythg [rock] mic except gay.

Speakg of early punk, sce you vered Pete Shelley’s “Homosapien, ” how big an fluence were his band the Buzzcks on Pansy Divisn? We’d done that ver of “Homosapien, ” which was a real landmark song for me, and I told him, “You know, you are a gay hero. ” And he said, “Well, I'm not gay…” And I said, “OK, how do you fe yourself?

PANSY DIVISN: LIFE A GAY ROCK BAND: DVD

” [lghs] But I thought that “Homosapien” was a song that had a great msage that took some darg to do. And as a gay man…” And I'm like, “Oh, wa.

LIFE A GAY ROCK BAND

We thought we were gog to be playg for a gay dience that wants somethg else bis dance mic, and we'll be big the gay ci and probably won't be that popular elsewhere. And stead, we got all the kids and a followg om all over the place — cludg the gay crowd we first thought we would get, but a much wir dience than we expected. [lghs]I image there were some parents who were unfortable, but I bet you've been told by many lennials or Gen-Xers that you sparked an awakeng for them — whether was regardg their own sexualy, or jt makg them even aware of homosexualy at What was really important, I thk, was that we were prent a i where gay people [were ually shunned].

You know, a rock ncert a stadium was not a gay-iendly place.

So, for to be there legimized what we were dog, wh a bunch of kids who were like, “They're really gay, aren't they? ” They'd actually e up to at our merch tabl and go, “Are you really gay?

I feel like kids get a lot of propaganda agast whatever you want to ll , the “gay liftyle, ” so actual gay people talkg to them and not censorg ourselv, I felt like that was Green Day tour gave you a taste of what would be like to be big, mastream rock stars.

But we weren't terted, bee we knew people the bs that we asked about The guy who signed Green Day, Howie Kle, he's gay, and I remember askg him, “What do you thk our future would be like on a major label?

And we were mentned that you wanted Pansy Divisn to be an alternative to the dance mic that ually domated gay bars and clubs. How do you thk you guys filled that niche, or even smashed stereotyp about “gay mic”? As much as we're proud to be gay, we didn't want to be too horned to stereotyp — even wh the gay world.

I mean, Chris and I grew up lovg rock mic; we loved rock mic before we even realized we were gay.

Freeman: What people don't realize is that when you e out and jo the gay muny, there's a whole different set of rtrictns and l about what you n do and what you n't do the gay muny, or what's acceptable the gay muny or what's normal. But we bucked those trends as much as we you ever feel ostracized wh the gay scene bee you were playg rock?

[lghs]Pansy Divisn are often creded wh beg the first openly gay rock Well, there were other bands who me out at the same time as who were not well-known and didn't make as far as we did, so our appearance me at a certa moment where seemed like there were a lot of people wag for somethg like to happen. … But when we started the band, the ter wasn't available, so there was nothg you uld do to fd out, “Are there any other gay [punk] micians?

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