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Showing posts with label Exclusive. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Exclusive. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 2, 2022

NW EXCLUSIVE: Victory Fund President, Annise Parker on the MidTerms

 

by MK Scott

It had been 3 years since I last seen Annise Parker, the former out mayor from Houston and currently the president of the Victory Party Fund, in Seattle. The last two summer parties were canceled due to COVID. We chatted a little and made arrangement for a zoom interview a few days later.

MK Scott: Tell me about some of the open candidates that are currently running this year.

Annise Parker: So, well, there’s more than a thousand out LGBTQ candidates running across America.

It’s slightly a larger number than two years ago. We have endorsed a little more than 300 of those candidates so far, although we’ll have another batch endorsement as we get close to November. I’m going to give you two answers: one, you know, there’s some really exciting congressional candidates, but everybody pays attention to your congressional candidates. And then there are some interesting down ballot races as well, and we’re really the only national organization that engages in down ballot races. But for the congressional races, you might want to highlight just a handful; one, Becca Balint is running for congress out of Vermont. They have only one member of congress, two senators, but a representative. She is the first woman, and obviously the first LBGTQ person elected there, but it is a statewide race. So we are fully backing Balint, and right now she’s in a two way race. She’s the president of the senate, she’s in a two way race with Lieutenant Geller, also a woman. Vermont will send in their first woman to congress, which is great, but we want it to be Becca. Daniel Hernandez, who’s a great story running for congress in Arizona. He is the person who, as an intern, saved Gabby Gifford’s life. He was … after he was an intern for her he was elected to the school board there. Then he was elected as the state representative, and now he’s running for congress. It’s a highly contested race, but he’s contending, and we’re all excited about Daniel. And then I’ll also highlight Robert Garcia who is the current mayor of Long Beach running for congress. He should, you know, they have, California has the single primaries, and two of them end up in the end, but he creamed everybody in round one and should be the next member of congress from our community, we’re very excited. On the other hand we have both Sharice Davids and Mondaire Jones who had their, who are incumbents, who had their districts just eviscerated through redistricting and are in tough battles to return. They’re both really excellent members of congress. There are more than a hundred out candidates for congress this year. We’ve endorsed about a dozen of those. Lots of them don’t have really a path to victory, they’re viable candidates, but it’s exciting to see so many people willing to step up and get out there and put themselves in front of others.

MK: I’m very excited about the governor’s race in Oregon. You’ve got Tina, Tina Kotek, an Openly lesbian running, following Kate Brown, who was openly bi.

AP: Yeah, it’s a legacy seat. To be already at this stage of our movement to have a potential legacy seat in a governor’s race is astounding and exciting, and Tina’s a great candidate. It is going to be a very tough race for two reasons; one, Oregon, like Texas, has unlimited financing. There’s no cap on what you can contribute to a campaign. So the race could get quickly really expensive. And you have Tina as the democrat, you have a republican, and then you have someone running as an independent who is apparently a republican and then became a democrat and now running against an independent, who has already been like the statewide. So you have, and you can definitely be a spoiler in the race. It’s kind of hard to tell how much of an impact, but Three wealth financed campaigns sort of covering the waterfront. Tina has been the, like the speaker of the house for about eight years, which is a long time for serving a leadership position. Clearly has the respect of her colleagues, and must have great political skills, cat hurting skills, I would say, because that’s a tough position. And she crushed it in the primary, but with the three way race everybody is going to have to pay attention and show up in Oregon to get her across the finish line. The other big governor’s race, Gerry Paul is running for re-election and we’re looking forward to his re-election, but Maura Healey, Attorney General of Massachusetts is going to be the next governor of Massachusetts. She is well ahead in the democratic primary. It’s an August primary. And Massachusetts has elected several moderate republicans, and the current governor is a moderate republican, but it looks like Maura should have an excellent shot in November. And absolutely would be a great governor, but also has, I don’t know if she has any ambitions, but I can tell you that she’s a presidential caliber candidate. And one of the goals of victory after the last presidential campaign we were, we got friendly with Pete Buttigieg, and he did a good job, but it’s a heavy lift going from a relatively small city to a presidential contender. So we absolutely believe it’s imperative to elect more governors, more big city mayors, more senators, folks who have the, you know, objective status to move up.

MK: And then also speaking of previous candidates. We chatted about about the chances for Beto O’Rourke.

AP: Beto is an excellent candidate. He came close to taking out Ted Cruz. His presidential ambitions hurt him, the race for president. He jumped out there and kind of fizzled out. But his campaign is ramping up here in Texas, with a lot of money and this is a republican leaning state for the statewide election. But, you know, don’t discount’s Abbott's ability to do something stupid, or us, unfortunately, you know, we’ve had three of the most horrific mass shootings in American history in Texas with the Uvalde shooting the most recent. But we had a shooting in the Santa Fe school which is just outside of Houston. We had the big Walmart shooting in El Paso. So an election could turn on something like that. Hopefully it won’t happen.

MK: One thing about Texas, it’s pretty much like the center point of everything. You’ve got gun control, you’ve got abortion, you’ve got the anti-trans bills, you’ve got, you know, the anti-gay bills and all that all in the state of Texas....

AP: You know the thing about Texas is the big cities, three of the largest cities in America are, three of the top ten cities are in Texas; Houston, San Antonio and Dallas, and you know, Austin somewhere not far behind. So, and El Paso, and they’re all blue islands in the big toxic red sea. So Texas is not a monolith, but the rural vote is stronger, often times than the urban votes, and it’s the sort of suburban women’s vote that will decide this election. And I hope they’re terrified because the Supreme Court is lost for another generation as it stands. And if they care about access to abortion, if they care about the attacks on schools and what’s being taught in schools, if they care about their LBGTQ family members then they need to show up and vote out the turn offers of which Greg Abbott is one.

MK: Beto, he went to that press conference and going after Abbott. Do you think that helped his chances or hurt his chances?

AP: I don’t think it hurt his chances. I don’t know if it helped it very much because I don’t think he, I don’t think it was as effective as it could’ve been, but it certainly inspired democrats who feel like, you know, Abbott … Abbott is in his bunker. Beto is out there talking to people, he goes everywhere, he campaigns everywhere. That was a strength of his, the last time he ran statewide against Cruz, his willingness to go to the small town diners and have real conversations. Abbott stays in his bunker and doesn’t expose himself to that. So, you know, Beto being there and calling him on it was important, but it was a game changer for the campaign, and he, you know, I think he could’ve been, I think it could’ve been orchestrated a little bit better.

MK: Do you think gay rights in marriage will be protected by the Equality Amendment?

AP: Well, I don’t know that the equality act will pass, but the Marriage Equality act, Senator Baldwin is whipping that as we speak. And I have every reason to believe that the democrats will be able to pick up, considering the number of republicans who voted for Marriage and Health that they will be able to put at least ten to get us there. The alternative is, you know, I know that there are some other riders saying, oh, you know, it’s not really an issue, we shouldn’t have to deal with it. When you have a sitting Supreme Court justice say; this is what we need to do next, and we need to take away marriage, we need to take away this and that. Then you have someone like Ted Cruz, Senator Cruz saying; yeah, we need to do this, and other senators jumping on, it is an issue that needs to be addressed because just like in a similar way, but also standing on its own to the abortion issue, where we are now because the Supreme Court really has states where you can get an abortion and states where you can’t, we’re going to end up with states if they proceed because all these, you know, Griswold, Bergenfield and Lawrence were all under guarded a right to privacy. If that goes away then you’re going to end up with states where you can get married, it’s very much like before Obergefell, but what do you do with a million people who have been married since then and are full faith and credit clause as interpreted in the constitution. We recognize marriages from other states. This will codify that. It won’t standardize our relationships and our ability to marry across the country. There will still be state differences, but it will force all states to recognize marriage. And it will affirm that the federal government, as it did after the Windsor decision, will recognize marriages. It’s not perfect, but it’s a really important step. Because it’ll be chaos if you just assemble marriages that way; well, I’m married, but my friends over here can’t be. How do you deal with that? So, apparently Justice Thomas doesn’t care, but some people do.

MK: Do you think in order to be able to rectify Roe V. Wade do you think they could probably do an amendment on that?

AP: Well, I mean, clearly you get through the house, but you can’t get it through the senate. Marriage is a much easier issue in a lot of ways, I mean, marriage is a contract law. And it’s not, while there are certain people who are offended by same gender marriage others recognize it as both an emotional issue but a contract law issue. So it’s fundamentally different than abortion. And I’m fairly hopeful that at least this, again, it’s not, it won’t make it, you’ll still have, if the Supreme Court goes where we think it’s going to go, you’ll still have states where you can’t get  married, but if you want to get married you can just go across state lines and take care of that. Been there, done that. I had to go to California to get married when I couldn’t get married in Texas, so.

MK: There were some people that were at the party that were important including Danica Rohm. Your thoughts on Danica?

AP: You know, Danica is an amazing person. She is an inspiring candidate and a very capable elected official. She is running for, she’s been a state representative, she’s been running for state senate in Virginia. And Danica would be the first to say this, what is important about candidates like Danica, she was the first, not the first trans person elected, but the first elected to a state house here in the United States, but the important thing is she’s not going to be the last, and she wasn’t. The next cycle, I think we elected three more, and then we elected more, and she would only be the, she would be the second trans state senator after Sarah McBride of Delaware, so that’s the important message of Danica. You need people to stand up and be the first as long as they’re not the last. And she’s a great example of that, and she doesn’t, she’s amazingly generous in going around supporting other candidates and supporting the community. And it is more important to have trans candidates when they’re at the tip of the spear of anti-LBGTQ legislation. The culture war folks are targeting the trans community. Trump did it when he kicked trans service members out of the military. Betsy DeVos, the Education Secretary stripping away the Obama era support for trans students. Now you see republican legislatures across the country with a plethora of anti-trans bills. We’re never going elect; you’re not going to have a legislature where the LGBTQ community is in the majority much less than trans elected representatives. We always need allies. But the ability to be in the chamber and speak to your own life experience and your own reality is transformative. And it may not make a difference the first time, but over time, and we at Victory play the long game, it absolutely matters.

MK: There was also our two local lesbian senators, Emily Randall and Claire Wilson.

AP: You know, I think Claire is in good shape. I think Emily, just again, the issue of redistricting and being what happens is a little bit more of an uphill battle. But they do a great job. They’re real constituents and they’re exciting candidates. We’re going to miss Kate Brown.I mean not only is she a very capable and effective public servant, she’s a heck of a nice person. And she cares deeply about her constituents, but she also, again, understands the power of representation, her willingness to be open about her sexual orientation, even though married to a man in a very, you know, from the outside, a very mainstream relationship, being willing to embrace that she’s bisexual. And I’m leaning into that, it has opened the doors for many candidates in other places, and certainly the excellent job that she has done, I mean, Tina Kotek doesn’t have an easy path, she is, you know, she doesn’t have to run to say I’m going to rescue the state. She could run to say I’m going to continue the great policies and we’re going to continue to get better.

MK: My last question. I wanted to know does Kate Brown, was she one of the victims of a recall campaign? And also Jenny Durkan was also, they were trying to do a recall campaign for Jenny Durkan as well, and I know they did one for Sam Adams down in Portland as well.

AP: Some of my constituents wanted to do one for me too. It didn’t get off the ground.

MK: So the question is why do they usually target the LGBTQ candidates for recall campaigns?

AP: Okay, I think you’ve answered your own question. It’s because we are LBGTQ. And there are certainly folks who, you know, but are offended by our very existence. The organizer behind, the person behind most of the anti-LGBTQ, the organizer here in Houston, is obsessed with, I mean, literally he says things like I pollute the gene pool. So they target us. Again, if you look at, you know, we’re not … better or worse as public officials. I mean I happen to think that there’s so few of us that we actually tend to over perform because it’s harder for us to get there. But we are targeted simply because of who we are. That’s just … yeah, so …Clearly, if we do things that offend people, and Adams had some legal issues that are, some issues that came to light that she had to address. But there were no scandals in my a administration, there were no scandals that I know of in Kate Brown’s administration. Durkan was attacked because it was a Catch 22 situation, she was attacked from the left and the right. Protests. That’s the nature of the job.

Thursday, May 28, 2020

EXCLUSIVE: Questions for Ann Collier, MD on her latest study on a COVID-19 treatment

by MK Scott

As we announced last week, Dr. Ann Collier, well known AIDS researcher and Director of the UW AIDS Clinical Trials Unit is heading up a new study for a potential COVID-19 treatment. I had a chance to chat with Dr. Collier via email earlier this week.

MK Scott: Please refresh our readers on your background?

Dr. Ann Collier: I am a doctor, Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the University of Washington, and Director of the UW AIDS Clinical Trials Unit. I have been involved with the care of people living with HIV and clinical research to improve treatment of HIV for over 30 years.

MK: You just launched a new study for a COVID-19 treatment. Can you briefly explain this study?

DC: This national study compares a combination of 2 medicines to 2 inactive “look-alike” (placebo) pills. The visits for this study are done by telephone. Participants are adults (with or without HIV) with mild COVID-19 symptoms who were diagnosed by nasal swab collected within the past 96 hours. The medicine is taken for 7 days; it is a combination of low dose hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin. There has been a lot of social media controversy about this combination based upon “observational” studies of hospitalized persons. There is still no FDA-approved treatment for COVID-19 and we need rigorous clinical trials to help us identify safe and effective treatments. It is also important to know that this study was designed with a lot of safeguards, including dose of the medication and excluding people at risk for side effects. Participants are asked to keep a simple diary about their symptoms for 20 days. Reimbursement is $50 at day 20.

MK: You are known as an AIDS researcher. Can you explain the difference between the HIV virus vs the coronavirus?

DC: HIV and coronaviruses are members of different virus “families”. Both are RNA viruses. HIV is a retrovirus. The virus that causes COVID-19 is called SARS-CoV-2. It is a member of the coronavirus family. Other differences include the types of cells that these viruses infect (enter) and the way these viruses enter human cells.

MK: What are your hopes for the study?

DC: My main hope is that this study will generate valuable and valid information about whether this combination of medicines and low dose of hydroxychloroquine is safe and effective for treatment of mild COVID-19.

MK: What have been the challenges so far?

DC: One major challenge is that the visits are being done by phone. This creates lots of new issues, including about how to provide informed consent via phone, how to confirm who the participant is, how to deliver the study medicine, how to collect the study diary, and provide the study reimbursement. The news about results of observational studies in hospitalized patients have led many people to think this combination has toxicity and decreased interest in studies of hydroxychloroquine. In addition, there is a short window of opportunity for people to join the study. They must enroll within 96 hours of the swab collection that shows they have COVID-19. I am proud that our team was able to screen, enroll, and deliver the first participant’s study medication to them all in one day.

MK: I have heard rumors that PReP (Truvada) has helped in decreasing the risk to COVID-19. Do you think that is possible?

DC: There are multiple medications that have been shown in the test tube to suppress SARS-CO-V2, and Truvada, the first medicine to be used as PrEP, is not one. The one anti-HIV medicine (antiretroviral) that is being studied for treatment of COVID-19 is the protease inhibitor lopinavir boosted by ritonavir. It has the trade name Kaletra®, and consists of two medicines in one pill.

MK: How long do you think the social distancing will last?

DC: There is a lot of variability across the state and the U.S. Sorry, I don’t have a crystal ball.

MK: Nursing homes are experiencing the most cases. How can they maintain safety?

DC: Important actions include the testing of staff, frequent handwashing with soap for at least 20 seconds, keeping residents apart by closing common areas, excluding visitors with symptoms of COVID-19, and the wearing of masks by occupants, staff, and visitors.

Many nursing homes have banned visitors and encourage communication via Facebook, Zoom, Facetime, or other electronic tools.

If you test positive for COVID-19 and would like to participate in this study, please call or text 206-773-7129 or email actu@uw.edu.

NOTE: PLEASE CONTINUE TO BE SAFE. Wear a face mask when out in public. Maintain 6 feet social distance when possible. Wash hands with soap and hot water for 20 seconds. https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/index.html.

If you’re feeling sick, stay home. If you have symptoms of COVID-19, a cough, fever, or trouble breathing, contact your health care provider before going to a medical facility. If you have an emergency, call 911.

Washington State COVID-19 Hotline: 800-525-0127; Washington State Crisis Connection: 866-4-CRISIS (866-427-4747).

Sunday, December 9, 2018

EXCLUSIVE: Rupaul All-Star Aja previews this year’s ‘A Drag Queen Christmas,’ new music and the short film Femme

by MK Scott

Murray & Peter Present and STG Presents present ‘A Drag Queen Christmas’ at The Moore Theatre on Wednesday, December 12.

Several Queens from ‘Rupaul’s Drag Race’ are scheduled to appear including host Miz Cracker, Aja, Vanjie Mateo, Farrah Moan, Monet X Change, Naomi Small, as well as Seattle faves Latrice Royale and Raja. After seeing her in the short film, Femme, that was part of this year’s Boys Shorts program at the Seattle Queer Film Festival, I had to talk to Aja about that, plus a new single and an album. We chatted via email this past week.

Monday, September 24, 2018

EXCLUSIVE: Judy and Dennis Shepard reflect on 20 years after Matthew Shepard’s death

by MK Scott

It is hard to believe that October 12th will be the 20th anniversary of the death of Matthew Shepard. It all started on the night of October 6, 1998, when Matthew Shepard was lured to an open field and was tied up to a fence and tortured for days. Not since the days of the AIDS crisis, both the LGBTQ and straight community came together to help put hate crime legislation into law. Yes, Matthew was known as being the face of combating hate crimes.

I first met Judy Shepard in the fall of 2001 during her visit to Seattle to appear as a keynote speaker at the screening of a documentary called Journey to a Hate Free Millennium at the old Opera House. In 2009, I met up with Shepard again at a cocktail party in Portland; so when I had a chance to actually interview this amazing woman (and meeting her incredible husband) at the National Conference of LGBTQ Journalists on September 8th in Palm Springs, CA I seized the opportunity.

Earlier in the day, the Shepards spoke to a jam packed room of over 200 journalists and when it was all over the audience got up and gave them a standing ovation that lasted for over 10 minutes. This was an amazing opportunity to reflect on the past 20 years and we got to go into detail of what we discussed 17 years ago.

Friday, August 17, 2018

{ICYMI} After 40 years, Olivia Newton-John still ‘hopelessly devoted’!

by MK Scott

Olivia Newton-John has been busy in the last few years with her Vegas Residency at the Flamingo, three albums and a new one on the way, and in her free time she devotes the proceeds and countless hours to her Cancer Wellness charities. On Aug 15th, she was on hand on Hollywood for Grease’s 40th anniversary. Here is my interview that was printed in the Seattle Gay News on Aug 19, 2016.

Friday, July 20, 2018

EXCLUSIVE: American Idol Alum, DeAndre Brackensick on Coming Out, Belonging and Music!

By MK Scott

Saturday, July 21st will mark the 4th Annual Alki Beach PRIDE with the years theme, COME OUT and Float at the Beach. From 11a to 6pm, join performers and FREE food and hang out at the beach. Hosted by Thadayus with music by DJ Ms Cruz Entertainment & DJ Fred Eddison and LIVE ENTERTAINMENT: Louvel, Visage “Legs” LaRue, Izohnny, Lakin, and DeAndre Brackensick.

From 2009 to 2012, I was proud of my work as being the only NW LGBT media to cover the American Idol tour. It was 2012 at the Key Arena, where I met DeAndre Brackensick. I could tell there was something magic about him. He had lots of passion when talking about his gay fans and that he had family that were gay and grew up around lots of drag queens. So, I was still surprised when he confirmed that he is Bisexual. I could find no mention of this on line, just a short-term relationship with Season 11 runner up, Jessica Sanchez. Despite this revelation, I management to ask the heartthrob, now 23, some questions (by email on July 17) about performing this weekend.

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Melissa Etheridge: ‘Making An Impact’ 25 Years Later

By MK Scott

It is hard to believe that it has been over 25 years since Melissa Etheridge first made it big with her Grammy-winning album, Yes I am. Who could forget such hits as “I’m the Only One” and “Come to My Window.”

Etheridge is back in the Seattle area playing the Tulalip Amphitheater on July 14 with another classic diva, Leann Rimes. I had a chance to speak Etheridge by phone.

Monday, January 8, 2018

(OUTview NW) EXCLUSIVE: Broadway and TV star Jeremy Jordan to appear in Seattle Symphony's 'Broadway Today' Seattle Pops concert January 12-14!

by MK Scott


Hard to believe it was a year ago when I had the opportunity to meet Megan Hilty backstage at Benaroya Hall after her 'Luck Be a Lady' concert with the Seattle Symphony as part of their Seattle Pops concert series.

Next week (1/12-14) Seattle Symphony presents another Seattle Pops concert as Steven Reineke leads the Seattle Symphony and Broadway stars Betsy Wolfe and Jeremy Jordan in a concert of today's greatest Broadway hits.

Hits will include selections from The Phantom of the Opera and Cats as well as showtune modern classics 'Falling Slowly' from Once, 'You and Me (But Mostly Me)' from Book of Mormon and 'Suddenly Seymour' from Little Shop of Horrors.

I have been following Jeremy Jordan's career since 2011 when he was cast in the lead role of Jack Kelly for the Broadway production of Disney's Newsies. He then hit TV in the second season of NBC's Smash and is now appearing as office geek turned government techie, Winn, in The CW's hit series 'Supergirl.'


I had to chance to chat with Jordan by phone last month and following is our conversation.

Monday, January 1, 2018

(BEST of 2017) BEST MEMORABLE QUOTES 2017

by MK Scott

It has been quite a year as I brought about 2-dozen interviews (mostly exclusives) to the Seattle Gay News. What tied many of these interviews together - from Oscar winners to reality stars to music legends - were my questions related to the current political climate - from Activism to the Muslim Travel Ban to Healthcare to Sexual Harassment (ironically, all related to President Trump) - and those questions got each interview subject talking with such passion. Here are highlights from 14 of my exclusive interviews based on subject.

ACTIVISM

Dustin Lance Black: Well, so all - I, I think we have been - I think that we're doing it in the right way, right now. And that is, that the - what I was so afraid of four years ago - even as we were making great progress, is that we've become incredibly self-centered, myopic, really focused just on our own issues. And we had absolutely lost sight of our connection to other social justice movements. We were not working locked arm in arm. And as a student of Harvey Milk, who built the coalition of yesses, in order to start winning freedom and winning political power, that coalition of yesses wasn't just LGBT people. It was seniors, it was racial minorities, it was union workers. That's what built - well, I couldn't see it. You'd hear at the marches 'Gay, straight, black, white, same struggle, same fight,' but it was mostly Gay people with a few straight people, or mostly African American people with a couple white people. And I kept asking myself, why aren't we showing up for other people's rallies? And, you know, just ask Nero - divide and conquer - and we've become - not out of animus, but out of self-interest - we've become divided. And that was dangerous. And now we're seeing that indeed we've lost ground because we were divided. And what I'm seeing now, when I've gone to these marches, when I've been to some of these rallies, is that it is now truly Gay and straight and black and white, same struggle, same fight - and that's critical. So was it just a Gay rally? No. Should it be? No. We should be showing up for our brothers and sisters in other social justice movements as we wanted them to show up for ours when our rights come under attack. (2/24/17)

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

(OUTview AMERICA) EXCLUSIVE: The Kosher Baker Previews Hanukkah Favorites in her New Cookbook!

by MK Scott
 
Too often, Jewish recipes have too much salt, fat, sugar, and processed foods and lack whole grains and fresh ingredients. But now Paula Shoyer, THE kosher food expert and best-selling author has released her newest cookbook: The Healthy Jewish Kitchen: Fresh Contemporary Recipes for Every Occasion, a delicious new take on Jewish cooking. 

In each of Paula’s recipes she uses only natural ingredients and offers a fresh, nutrient-dense spin on every dish. Here you’ll find very little frying, and no margarine, frozen puff pastry, soup stocks and powders, and most jarred sauces. More than 80 recipes include both Sephardic and Ashkenazy Jewish classics (Israeli Herb and Almond Salad, Sourdough Challah, Tzimmes Puree, Potato and Scallion Latkes, Schnitzel with Nut Crust) as well as American and international dishes that extend beyond the Jewish culinary world.

With Hanukkah coming up next week,  the timing couldn't better to order this book as a gift or cook up a storm this holiday season. I had a chance to chat with Paula Shoyer by e-mail.

Saturday, November 25, 2017

(OUTview NW) EXCLUSIVE: Storm Large brings her new band Le Bonheur to Federal Way on Friday, Dec. 1

by MK Scott

Pacific Northwest favorite Storm Large will take the stage on Friday, Dec. 1, at 8pm at the Federal Way Performing Arts and Event Center (31510 Pete von Reichbauer Way S.)

Known as a vocalist for Pink Martini, Large and her new band, Le Bonheur, will deliver a concert rolling with their interpretations of the American Songbook.

Large cartwheeled out of her checkered past across a thousand punk rock stages and into her infamous stint on the CBS rock 'n' roll reality series 'Rock Star: Supernova.' From there, she went on to tour the world, singing in 17 different languages, as vocalist for the joyful little pop orchestra Pink Martini.

Large has performed nationally from Carnegie Hall in New York to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Large is also an actor, playwright and author. Her award-winning one-woman show, 'Crazy Enough,' broke every box office record at Portland Center Stage in 2010. In 2012, she detailed her wild life in a memoir of the same title published by Simon and Schuster.

NPR's Ari Shapiro, co-host of 'All Things Considered' on occasion, also performs with Large and Pink Martini on occasion and I had a chance to chat with her in-person following Shapiro's one-man show, 'Homeward,' this past weekend in Portland, Oregon.

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

(OUTview AMERICA) EXCLUSIVE: Screen legend Tippi Hedren on her new memoir, sexual harassment in Hollywood from Alfred Hitchcock, and her involvement with the Roar Foundation and Shambala Preserve!


by MK Scott 

Sexual harassment in Hollywood is nothing new, according to screen legend Tippi Hedren, who has finally written her memoir titled Tippi. In the book she writes about her harrowing experience working with film director Alfred Hitchcock on 1963's The Birds and 1964's Marnie. By the time they shot Marnie, the now 87-year-old actress details that Hitchcock was controlling and threatened to ruin her career. So when I was given the chance to ask her about that time, especially as the #MeToo movement is gaining some steam, I jumped at the opportunity. I also asked her about her passion for Wildlife Conservation when I chatted by phone with her on Friday, November 3rd.

Friday, November 3, 2017

(OUTview AMERICA) EXCLUSIVE: Catching up with Broadway, TV star, and musician, Reeve Carney at Steamposium 2017

by MK Scott 

Six years ago, Reeve Carney had just started out on Broadway in title role of the much-talked about Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark musical with the sensational score by Bono with The Edge which was originally directed by Julie Taymor (The Lion King). The show was plagued with a high-budget and the dangerous aerial stunts that even injured a stunt man. In August 2011, I was lucky enough to attend and review Spider-Man and the music and the leading man was what made the show. I met Reeve Carney after the show and he was very gracious. I later learned that his band, Carney, had performed as part of the pit orchestra for the show. I also learned that he is the grand-nephew of TV legend, Art Carney ('The Honeymooners'). In recent years, Carney left Broadway for the starring role of omnisexual, Dorian Gray on Showtime's Penny Dreadful (2014-16) and last year as Riff-Raff in the FOX TV remake of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. So, it was a delight to catch up with Reeve at Steamposium 2017 (also known as Steampunk-Con) at Seattle's Bell Harbor Conference center on October 28.

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

(OUTview AMERICA) EXCLUSIVE: Catching up with Del Shores and Emerson Collins on A Very Sordid Wedding at TWIST 2017

Photo by Matt
by MK Scott

It was 1999 when Sordid Lives was a surprise hit for filmgoers with an all-star cast that included Bonnie Bedelia, Beth Grant, Ann Walker, Kirk Geiger, Leslie Jordan and Olivia Newton-John. In 2007, it spawned a prequel TV series on LOGO that added Caroline Rhea and Rue McClanahan to the cast. In the much-anticipated sequel to the film, A Very Sordid Wedding, promises a wedding in the tiny Texas town that Sordid Lives was set in. TWIST: Seattle Queer Film Festival screened the film on October 14 with creator and director, Del Shores, along with producer and actor, Emerson Collins in attendance. As I did with their other film, Southern Baptist Sissies, I had a chance to chat with them after the screening.

Friday, October 20, 2017

(TWIST 2017) EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Trudie Styler makes directorial debut in Freak Show!

by MK Scott 

When you think of Trudie Styler, you might know that she is the wife of rock legend, Sting and you might also know her from her environmental causes and even as an actress and producer. When I heard that Styler was making her directorial debut in a queer film and that said film was the closing night film at TWIST: Seattle Queer Film Festival, I jumped at the chance to talk with her about seeing her new film. Freak Show, a coming of age story with an all-star cast including Bette Midler, Laverne Cox and rising star, Alex Lawther (The Imitation Game). If you like such classics as The Curiosity of Chance and GBF, you will love this film. I had a chance to chat with Styler by phone last Thursday (October 12th.)

Saturday, September 23, 2017

(OUTview NW) SHE'S BACK: Peaches Christ presents 'Hocum Pokem' (w/ Jinkx Monsoon and Bob the Drag Queen) Sept. 28!

by MK Scott

Kick off the season of the witch with a bona-fide star-studded drag coven. On September 28, Peaches Christ, Bob the Drag Queen and Jinkx Monsoon promise to put a spell on you!

Don't miss the Pacific Northwest premiere of Peaches Christ's SHE-LARIOUS drag stage show parody 'HOCUM POKEM' starring 'RuPaul's Drag Race' alumni Bob the Drag Queen and Season Five winner Jinkx Monsoon. Presented by Qurb Media Group and Peaches Christ Productions.

The star-studded drag coven includes some familiar faces returning from previous Seattle and Portland Peaches Christ productions including: Abbey Roads, Sylvia O'Stayformore, Mackenzie Miller, Isabella Extynn, Tipsy Rose Lee, Visage 'Legs' LaRue, and Strawberry Shartcake.

Friday, July 14, 2017

(OUTview AMERICA) EXCLUSIVE: Jake Biondi releases seventh book in his popular BOYSTOWN series!

by MK Scott

'It's finally here and I'm so excited,' author Jake Biondi said of his seventh BOYSTOWN book in a press release, which he released on July 7th. 'The fans' wait is over and they can now discover what happened to their favorite characters whose lives were hanging in the balance at the end of the sixth book.'

The seventh book features a cover created by BOYSTOWN designer Anna Crosswell, who is responsible for the recent redesign of all BOYSTOWN book covers. Featuring the image of a casket, the cover of BOYSTOWN Season Seven teases what readers will find inside its pages.

Biondi recently announced a re-launch of his entire book series with an exciting new look.

'It's going to 'wow' readers from coast to coast,' Biondi said of the series' new design. 'I wanted the BOYSTOWN book covers and all the marketing materials to better represent the drama, excitement, and diversity of the BOYSTOWN series. The new covers hint at the story line twists and turns that readers will find within the books' pages.'

Saturday, July 1, 2017

(OUTview NW) EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: R&B sensation Mya to headline Tacoma Pride Party at Club Silverstone on July 8th!

by MK Scott

If you thought that the Cuff Pride Party with Berlin and Vicci Martinez was great, Club Silverstone in Tacoma has something special planned for their annual Pride Party on Saturday, July 8th. Hosted by The Lady Bunny, the headliner there will be R&B singer and actress, Mya. It was 15 years ago when she collaborated with Missy Elliot and was one of the foursome in the iconic Lady Marmalade remake for the Moulin Rouge soundtrack, which was followed by her cameo in the Oscar-winning Chicago as cellmate Mona. I had a chance to chat with by phone last week (June 22).

Saturday, June 24, 2017

PODCAST (It's FAB w/ MK) Happy Pride with Joey Arias, Terri Nunn and Mya!

MK w/ Joey
Welcome to It's FAB with MK Scott. This month I have some great chats with an old pal, Joey Arias, as well as a new interview with a Woman I have adored since 1982, Terri Nunn from Berlin and the amazing Mya.

(OUTview NW) INTERVIEW: Joey Arias on Pride, Drag and Bowie!


By MK Scott 

Seattle Pridefest on Sunday, June 25th at Seattle Center promises to be a great show to enjoy the
heat from Aleksa Manila to Ms Pak Man and the always fabulous Mary Lambert.

Pridefest has always done well with out of town legends in years past from Jackie Beat to
Amanda Lepore and Lady Bunny. This year brings bon-a-fide legend, Joey Arias to the main stage.
My relationship with Arias goes back to 2010, when she was in town for the screening of 'Arias
with a Twist” at SLGFF. I was elated to chat with her about her return to Seattle.
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