HISTORY
At one time gay bars and clubs were considered the foundation of the LGBT community. A place to socialize - form new friendships - gossip - momentarily escape the homophobia of the outside world - meet up with other men for sex and just as importantly - a center for organizing. Their existence can be traced back to London England's THE WHITE SWAN that was once raided in 1810 leading to the executions for sodomy of two of its patrons - Keith Mangum and Constanza Beucheat. California's BLACK CAT BAR was the site of our first victories in the struggle for civil rights where in 1951 the CA Supreme Court affirmed the right of homosexuals to assemble. In NY the JULIUS BAR staged a "Sip-in" in 1966 - a demonstration that challenged a NY State Liquor Authority rule that prohibited serving alcohol to gays because we were considered disorderly. The court ruled that gays could peacefully assemble at bars - a decision that led to the opening of the famous STONEWALL INN in 1967 where riots occurred and is now known worldwide as the place where the struggle for LGBT rights in the U.S. began. Today the gay bar is fading as an epicenter for our community's activism and cultural identity as the once predominately and exclusively "Gay" clubs have transformed into mixed bars and clubs for gays and str8's.
ABOUT THE VIDEO
The challenge in this video was to recreate the vibrant energy of the gay club - from its pounding rhythmic beats that penetrate body and soul to the visual delights of not only the eye-candy of handsome hunky men - but also the stunning brilliance of strobe - laser and other lighting effects. A place where the break of dawn outside belies the ongoing nightlife that began with the approach of dusk within. Once gain "bursting" is used as a way to express the breathless pace and dynamic energy of the gay dance clubs themselves. However, unlike my "Lady Gaga - I Like It Rough" video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7wBhFTpyzw - the transition in editing used is a fade to black rather than a fade to white. In this way the picture and video clips themselves become the focal point as they emerge and re-emerge into darkness. In addition each picture has been modified to create a halo effect around its perimeter to accentuate the transition itself. The video - though less than 4 minutes - contains over 450 pictures and video clips while repetition of the same pic is kept to a minimum. NO nudity or sexually explicit imagery appears in this work - yet with the use of bursting and considering the context of the music's interpretation - is it possible to make it seem as though it did? Best viewed with room lights dimmed and volume CRANKED TO THE MAX! Created 9 Dec 2010. 720p HD
THE MUSIC
In recreating the dynamic vibrancy of the gay club scene - the choice of music was paramount. Serving as my inspiration for my previous video "Wet Like Sweat" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onkniVNv2ZA - i turned again to what has become one of my favorite electro-glam groups or what i affectionately call "gritty glam"- NAKED HIGHWAY - a group best known for overtly sexual lyrics focusing on New York City nightlife and gay and bisexual urban themes.The song BETTER OFF NAKED debuted on their debut album NOVOCAINE SMILE in 2005. Re-recorded in 2007 - it is this song that gave Naked Highway their first club hit and its video version placed 7th on LOGO's channel "Best of 2008 Countdown." That video and links to their official website can be found on Youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/user/nakedhighway PLEASE NOTE: The audio prologue is verbiage that is not part of the original song.
Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED
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