Butch Voices Performances

Join us for two events jam packed with thought provoking and provocative performances. Our featured event on Saturday night August 22nd is Butch Nation – hosted by Fairy Butch. A night of theater, dance, live music, drag and comedy starts at 6PM at the Humanist Hall in Oakland.

Your host for Butch Nation – Fairy Butch. Photo Credit by Ohalysia.

Sunday August 23rd we have our Spoken Word Performance featuring selected readings, comedy, storytelling, and poetry. This event begins at 9:30AM in the Calvin Simmons Ballroom at the Oakland Marriott City Center.

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Butch Voices Fundraising, Financial Aid & Scholarships

Butch Voices would like thank all who participated, attended and donated at the Queers R’ Us performance put on by Arnetta Smith aka King McQueen at Velvet this past weekend. We raised $550 that night.

We’d also like to again thank those who were a part of the performance fundraiser at Re/dress in Brooklyn last month headed up by Kelli Dunham, where we raised a little over $400.

We will have two other performance fundraisers coming up. The next one is the Gender Blender Splendor Variety Show in Austin on July 11th at The Rusty Spurs, emceed by Belinda Caroll.
Austin fundraiser link
http://www.butchvoices.com/austin-fundraiser/

Then we will also have Let’s Hear it for the Butch in Portland on July 30th at the Egyptian Club, emceed by Sahara Dunes.
Portland fundraiser link
http://www.butchvoices.com/portland-fundraiser/

Both nights will be filled with an array of fantastic performers and entertainment, and will be two great events and more ways to bring together community for a good cause too.

Monies raised at these events are going towards funding our scholarship and financial aid program.

Butch Voices really wants you to come to the conference-did you know that scholarships and financial aid are available? Check out more info here link
http://www.butchvoices.com/registration/scholarships/

We plan to be very generous, so apply! And do it soon, because the first deadline is July 1! Hurry!

We are also accepting donations online on our website with a Paypal link as well as taking donations via snail mail at our PO Box address. Check out our donate page info here:

http://www.butchvoices.com/participate/donate/

Butch Voices, understand funds are limited for a lot of us at this time, but we hope that as a community we can come together to ensure the success of all of our efforts. Every donation counts, and no contribution is too small.

Queers R’ Us – Oakland Butch Voices Fundraiser

Enjoy a night full of community performance. Queers R’ Us will be featuring queer arts ranging from Poetry, to Live Music to the Ancient Art of Drag. We are also auctioning off some of the finest Queers in the Bay. Both our performers and auctionees have donated their talent and time for a great cause. Please join us and help raise funds for the much needed Butch Voices 2009 Conference.

Queers R’ Us – Butch Voices 2009 Conference Fundraiser
Velvet – Oakland
Friday, June 12, 2009 8pm
3411 MacArthur Blvd
Oakland, CA 94602

To download a flyer for this event, click here: Oakland Fundraiser Flyer

Performers

Identity Tee Bee Dee is a gender queer writer, performer, professor, humorist, blogger, male tomboy and all-purpose muse. He is at work on a book called “Compulsory Masculinity.”

Outmusic Awardee Irina Rivkin layers poetic lyrics with rich textured harmonies, swirling with vocal percussive beats, all created live on-the-spot using her loop station instrument. Her songs are like sand sculptures – and after each song she erases it all and creates a new one. www.myspace.com/irinarivkin

ButchTap, brought to you by the creative forces behind ButchBallet, is a loose collective of Oakland based queer performance artists who have a passion for tap dancing, fabulous costumes and dance-offs. ButchTap includes current and former members of Queen Bees, Disposable Boy Toys, Titland, Chicago Kings, Cuntry Kings, Citizen Kings, the Saucy Knickers, Trekking with the Stars, Bromantics, Freeplay Dance Crew & Hogwarts Express: The Musical. So, prepare yourself for a treat as these performance veterans explode into your hearts with the footloose and fancy-free percussion sounds so unique to tap dancing! ButchTap Performers: Jake Danger, Billy “The Poof” Elliot, Dirty D, Ricky T. Smiles, & Lance ArmStar

Heaven has been singing her entire life. She is currently working in the studio on an album to be released next year. Her style is a reflection of her influences, which are Pop, Soul and R&B, along with the music of her heritage, traditional Arabic music.

King McQueen started his drag career 2 years ago, although his passion started ten years ago when he entered his first drag bar. Born and raised in St. Louis, Mo, he was memorized by the glitter and lights. Wanting some of that hometown feel, King started the Royal Revue Cabaret in Oakland. His show features some of the most talented drag performers as well as providing a stage for local queer musicians. He lives by the motto: Community not Competition

Jen Cross is a femme dyke and a smut writer. Her work has appeared in a plethora anthologies, including, most recently, Visible: A Femmethology (vol.1), Tasting Her (Oral Sex Erotica), Best Sex Writing 2008, Nobody Passes, and lots more. Jen leads erotic writing workshops and workshops with sexual trauma survivors, and is, as you may have heard, a wholehearted believer in the transformative power of smut to release all our voices, butch and femme and otherwise…

Gwendolyn Bikis is the author of the novel Your Loving Arms, and the novella Cleo’s Gone, excerpts of which have appeared in The Best Lesbian Erotica, The Persistent Desire, and other anthologies. She has read and performed all over the country. She has lived in Oakland for over 20 years.

Rebecca Crump is a solo artist who occasionally collaborates with like-mind artists. She grew up in upstate New York singing with her family. She’s performed at events such as Sistahs Steppin’, East Bay, San Jose and Arcata Pride festivals. Rebecca belts out earthy protests songs. She loves it when the audience participates.

Auctionees

AJ is an 80’s Texas born lesbian. She loves all types of art, music, and food.
She’s really into design, particularly architecture and interior design. She’s open to having new experience and knows how to live life to the fullest.

Quote: “My favorite food right now is Thai food.”

ButchBoy is a chivalrous New Yorker who enjoys wining and dining a femme girl. He is sort of the LA Meets the Bay kind of GQ Guy. He loves to travel, driving manual shift sport cars, a good vodka, his dog and women. His passions are dancing and music.

Quote: “I am an “old school” Butch with a flair. What else would you like to know?”

Alicenne is a classy nature loving femme in stilettos. She’s into yoga, food, and the Saturday market. This vegetarian from New York is politically active and an organizer.

Quote: “I killed a black widow with the back of my cell phone while wearing flip flops.

Portland Fundraiser

Adding Portland to the list of Butch Voices Fundraisers and supporters. On July 30, 2009, at Egyptian Club, there will be a Butch Voices fundraiser. “Let’s Hear it for the Butch!”

We are currently looking for performers to help fund this ever so important conference. Whether you are a butch, femme, stud, boi, aggressive, fierce femme, andro, FTM, MTF…..whether you’re a singer, dancer, actor, actress, drag king, drag queen, burlesquer, comic, bellydance. WE WANT YOU AND YOUR KICK-ASS TALENT!

If you are interested in lending your skill, please email portlandbv@gmail.com. We will put you in touch with our organizer.

For information, to volunteer, or to submit your work for the conference, visit www.butchvoices.com

Austin Fundraiser

CALL FOR ARTISTS

BUTCH VOICES PRESENTS:

Glenderblender Splendor Variety Show!!

FUNDRAISER FOR THE 2009 BUTCH VOICES CONFERENCE

Saturday JULY 11th Doors at 9pm

The Rusty Spurs

7th and Trinity, Downtown Austin

We need performers of any talent to help us raise money for our conference in August.

Read More

Portland Fundraiser

Adding Portland to the list of Butch Voices Fundraisers and supporters. On July 30, 2009, at Egyptian Club, there will be a Butch Voices fundraiser. “Let’s Hear it for the Butch!”

If you are interested in lending your skill, please email portlandbv@gmail.com. We will put you in touch with our organizer.

For information, to volunteer, or to submit your work for the conference, visit www.butchvoices.com

To download a flyer for this event click: Flyer

Austin Fundraiser

CALL FOR ARTISTS

BUTCH VOICES PRESENTS:

Glenderblender Splendor Variety Show!!

FUNDRAISER FOR THE 2009 BUTCH VOICES CONFERENCE

Saturday JULY 11th Doors at 9pm

The Rusty Spurs

7th and Trinity, Downtown Austin

We need performers of any talent to help us raise money for our conference in August.

We are looking to book:

Singers

Drag Performers

Comedians

Live Performers

We are also seeking butches/transmen/tombois willing to do a non-nude tongue-in-cheek strip performance

And bois/butches/studs/aggressives willing to be in a Date Auction.

You don’t need to be self- ID’ed as Butch to be in the show! (Believe me. If I were any more femme they’d call me Rupaul)

To be considered, please contact:

Belinda Carroll

BelindaDCarroll@gmail.com

Please place “Fundraiser” in the subject line and give me a bit about what it is you want to do!

To download flyers for this event, click: Flyer 1 and Flyer 2

Announcing: A Celebration of Butch Voices

An evening of performance, fashion and general butch mayhem to celebrate the diversity of Butch Voices with performances by award-winning gender illusionist Dred; Nedra Johnson, poet Renair Amin and dorky dyke comic Kelli Dunham. The evening will include a fashion show developed with the help of Paris Amari of the Sophisticated Aggressive Gents as well as a butch cook-off.

May 9, 2009, 9:30 PM until 2 am
Re/dress
109 Boreum Place
Bergen Street stop on the F/G train
Brooklyn NY
Admission is only five bucks

For more information contact kellidunham@gmail

About our performers:

Actress/Gender Illusionist Dred Gerestant (www.DredLove.com)

Created by Mildred Gerestant, Dred’s act is a gender-bending roller coaster ride alternating between man and woman, outrageous and serious, ironic and sincere. Using a blend of poetry, dance, music, and monologue, she explores the fragile, fluid definitions of sexual identity and cultural stereotypes. “A funky, fly, supernatural high, poetic and musical performance on gender fluidity.” The United Nations says: “To her work, whether in drag or otherwise, MilDréd (Dred) brings a sophisticated understanding and insight into issues or race, gender, ethnicity and using the medium of theatre and dance to break boundaries. I have often brought activists from developing countries (with whom I work at the U.N.) to her performances when they visit New York…They are unfailingly fascinated and elated by her performance…..”

Singer/songwriter Nedra Johnson (www.nedrajohnson.com)

Nedra Johnson is a singer/songwriter multi-instrumentalist born & living in New York City. Her unique style of guitar playing is unmistakably informed by her many years as a professional bassist and keeps her live solo acoustic performances more on an R&B tip then what one might expect of a “girl with a guitar.”

Nedra’s self-titled sophomore release is a 2006 OUTMUSIC Award (OUTSTANDING NEW RECORDING – FEMALE) winning, joyful mix of R&B, funk, rock and gospel. Honest in integrity to the music as well as the lyrical content, each song is a testimony of her experience as a black openly lesbian woman in love, spirituality, community and or politics. From the first song “Ahha (It’s A Good Thing)” on through to the Maxine Feldman tribute version of “Amazon,” this is proudly womyn’s music and a great example of how Nedra has grown as a writer, arranger, producer and musician. Featuring lush background vocals and danceable grooves, Nedra makes the personal political and the erotic downright spiritual.

Poet Renair Amin (www.myspace.com/renairamin)

Renair Amin is no stranger to the arts. An author, spoken word artist, producer, radio host and entrepreneur, she has been featured in numerous print and online publications in the LGBT community and has performed extensively, gracing stages in Atlanta, Rochester , New York City and her native Philadelphia . She is the host of Speak Your Myne, a monthly open mic in Harlem , NY and the Myne Myc radio show, both produced under Pmyner, Ltd., her company for the LGBT literary, visual and performance arts communities. She also acts as an associate producer with the OutFM Collective on WBAI (99.5 FM) in New York City. She resides in Far Rockaway, NY.

Kelli Dunham (www.kellidunham.com)

Kelli Dunham is a Fresh Fruit award-winning butch comic based in New York but is always traveling everywhere and never quite certain where she’s left her underwear. She has two comedy CDs to her credit: “I am NOT a 12 Year Old Boy” and “Almost Pretty” and is the author of four published books of light hearted nonfiction and a frequent contributor to humorous anthologies. She was been featured on Showtime’s Bullshit the Discovery Channel. She reads too many books to be able to relate to most humans in any normal way.

Kay Ulanday Barrett (www.kaybarrett.net)

kay ulanday barrett is a performer, poet, educator, and martial artist. kay is a feature in the documentary film BAKLA/TOMBOY: Filipino Gay & Lesbians in the U.S. and recently has contributed to LOUDmouth magazine and Kicked Out Anthology released by Homofactus Press.