HOWARD ZUCKER
Body-positive photographer Howard Zucker, from SylvesterQ Photography, makes everyone feel sexy under the camera’s gaze in South Florida.
Where did you grow up? In New York City. What do you miss about it there? The friendships built over the years. How long have you lived in South Florida? For 15 years. Why did you move here? For the warmer weather. What part of South Florida do you live in? In Fort Lauderdale. What do you like most about living here? That it’s an openly-gay city. Where do you hang out in South Florida? At Ramrod. What South Florida venue do you miss that’s gone? My recent favorite restaurants that are closings. If you had to live somewhere else other than here, where would you live? In California.
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What’s your claim-to-fame? I’m a self-esteem photographer—I help people be body-positive about themselves. Which one of your old jobs least prepared you for what you do now? Banking—always get it in writing! What’s the hottest shoot that you’ve ever done? When I shot ten guys in a group leather scene. What have you been doing to keep yourself busy during the quarantine? Networking my photography. Will you ever retire? When I can’t take photos anymore I will. What’s the best place that you’ve ever visited? Greece. If God were to take you tomorrow, how would you like to be remembered? As someone who made a difference for people with my photography.
What are you an expert at? Making people feel comfortable. What do you want to live long enough to see? Solid equality for the gay community. What’s your favorite movie? Private Benjamin. What drives you crazy? Trump and his followers. Would you give a kidney to a relative or close friend? Yes. What’s something that you learned in life only when you got older? To let go of what people think of you. Who’s your favorite performer? Cher. What’s your best characteristic? I’m a great communicator. How do you enjoy spending your time? Watching movies and TV. What celebrity do you have crush on? Ryan Reynolds.
Who do you admire? Michelle Obama. If you could bring one person back from the dead, who would it be? My grandmother. Where would you go in a time machine? To my younger years to encourage myself as a child. What would your last meal be? Creamy pasta. What do you worry about? Today’s politics. Are you more like a sheep or a wolf? A wolf. Who depends on you, and for what? Friends do, for advice and companionship. What would your autobiography be called? Discovering Self-Image Photography. What’s on your bucket list? Writing a book. What’s your greatest regret in life? Not coming out earlier than after college. Where can we see you? Right now…? At home! You can also see me at HowardZucker.net and at SylvesterQ.com.
BRUCE LABRUCE
From cleaning toilets at a nuclear power plant, to becoming one of the pioneers of the New Queen Cinema, no one makes movies quite like Bruce LaBruce does, including his new film Saint-Narcisse. But beyond his cinematic proficiency, what does LaBruce have in common with a former king of Scotland?
Where did you grow up? I grew up on a farm near Lake Huron, on the Bruce Peninsula. The farm is gone; I miss it. Where do you live now? In Toronto. What’s special about Toronto that isn’t common knowledge? “Bore-onto” can still be provincial. Or maybe that’s common knowledge… If you had to live somewhere else, where would you live? In Colombia. Which one of your old jobs least prepared you for what you do now? Cleaning toilets at the Bruce Nuclear Power Development Station. How did you come up with your name? I was born in Bruce Township—which is in Bruce County, at the base of the Bruce Peninsula—and to pay for university, I worked at the Bruce Nuclear Power Development Station. I’m also almost a direct descendant of Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland. I added the “La” to add a feminine touch. What would your drag name be? I used to do a tiny bit of drag back in the day. My drag name was Judy LaBruce or Fonda LaBruce.
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Who’s your favorite punk or hardcore band? Feederz. What’s the best punk or hardcore show that you ever went to? Husker Du at Larry’s Hideaway in Toronto, in 1985. What have you been doing to keep yourself busy during the quarantine? Wanking. Will you ever retire? No. What’s the weirdest question that a fan has asked you? Is “Bruce LaBruce” your real name? What other celebrity did you act like a “fan” around? Karen Black. What’s the last thing that you looked at online? Porn. What’s the best place that you’ve ever visited? Bogota. What are you an expert at? Procrastinating. If God were to take you tomorrow, how would you like to be remembered? Take me where…? What do you want to live long enough to see? Teleportation. What’s your current state-of-mind? Horny. What were you doing before you saw this email? Sleeping. What’s your idea of perfect happiness? Good dick. What’s your greatest fear? Simulation hypothesis. Either living or dead, who’s the greatest political figure in America or Canada? Judy LaMarsh. What’s something that you learned in life only when you got older? That you don’t have to worry so much.
What did you learn from your parents? Love. Who’s your favorite performer? Kembra Pfahler and Ron Athey. What’s your best characteristic? Resilience. How do you enjoy spending your time? Existing. What celebrity do you have crush on? Bryce Dallas Howard. Who do you admire? My Mom and Dad. If you could bring one person back from the dead, who would it be? River Phoenix. Where would you go in a time machine? To 1972. What would your last meal be? An egg salad sandwich. What do you worry about? Homelessness. If you were a musical instrument, what would you be? A cymbal. Are you more like a sheep or a wolf? A wolf. Who depends on you, and for what? My family, for just showing up. Who are you closest with? That’s classified. What would your autobiography be called? I already wrote a premature memoir called The Reluctant Pornographer. The next would be called Wondering. What’s on your bucket list? To visit mainland China. What’s your greatest regret in life? Everything. What’s something secretive about you that people don’t know? That I’m not an exhibitionist. Where can we see you? In your dreams!
DIXIE LONGATE
Country girl Dixie Longate debuts her new show in Fort Lauderdale next month. Get ready for booze, tales of sordid life, and displays of domestic acumen.
Where did you grow up? In Mobile, Alabama. I was born and raised there. It’s a great place to come from, but it’s an even better place to leave. That’s why I like going on the road. I can’t wait ‘till this virus is gone so I can go back to not being here. When you’re not in Mobile, what do you miss about it? When I leave, I do miss the people, the honky-tonks, and the fact that you can drink from your car, as long as you don’t get caught. Oh, and Mardi Gras. It actually started here, you know. What were you arrested in L.A. for? I actually have never been arrested in LA. But I had to leave Alabama as part of the conditions of my parole, so I went to L.A., figuring if Nicole Kidman can get famous and marry Tom Cruise, why can’t I? We’re both red heads. Are you still on parole? Currently, no. I only see my parole officer socially these days. Did you have anything to do with the death of your three ex-husbands? Not according to the court. Just because you’re holding the ax, doesn’t mean you have used it. What are you children doing now? Wynona is looking for a job, because the Hooters where she used to work doesn’t have outdoor seating, since they never got the patio awning fixed after the last hurricane. Dwayne is making llamas. Absorbine, Jr. is lying face down on the floor, and has been for a few hours. He’s three-years-old. That’s what they do.
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Why did you move from L.A.? I’d been on the road for so many years with my show, that it didn’t make sense to keep paying the rent in L.A., when I could just move my life and the kids back to Mobile. Plus, the moving boxes keep my kids thoroughly entertained and busy while I’m gone for months at a time. Which one of your old jobs least prepared you for what you do now? I think that everything sort-of prepared me for it. Cashier at the Piggly Wiggly, collection-plate coin-counter at the He is Risen Baptist church, pole-cleaner at the Snazzy Beaver—I’m using skills from all of those jobs to help me get where I am today. Did you ever go to the Tupperware headquarters in Orlando? Of course I have. Every year I go to the Jubilee. It’s right by Gator World. What theater would you love to bring your show to? I’m hankering to get my show back to New York City, where it all started 13 years ago. What have you been doing to keep yourself busy during the quarantine? I’ve been doing Live Facebook Happy Hours several days a week, where I make myself a cocktail and sit and share stories with people online. It has kept me busy, and has kept people smiling, which is important during this crazy time. Will you ever retire? From entertaining, or from drinking? What’s the weirdest question that a fan’s asked you? Someone asked me to do a shout-out video for the “Corn Dog Association of Houston, Texas.” It was different, but it made me laugh. What other celebrity did you act like a “fan” around? Do you know who I got so excited by in my audience one night? Gedde Watanabe came to see the show. He was “Long Duck Dong” in Sixteen Candles. I just remember always loving him in that movie. He was such a source of joy growing up. I was beside myself that I got to be the one making him laugh this time.
What’s the last thing that you looked at online? The website for ALDO shoes. What’s the best place that you’ve ever visited? I have actually had really good luck finding wonderful things about each place I have traveled to while I’ve been touring. But I have a real love for Texas, Denver and Iowa. And outside the U.S., I loved playing Australia. It was a dream come true. What are you an expert at? Drinking. I’m also pretty good at knitting, and I’ve made a blouse or two on the sewing machine. If God were to take you tomorrow, how would you like to be remembered? Hopefully people will remember me as a funny, inspiring, no-nonsense kind-of generous soul. Or they will all just come to my funeral with flasks and shove them in my coffin. What do you want to live long enough to see? Affordable top shelf gin. And a woman president. Who would you like to be for a day, and why? Jennifer Lopez, but only during a halftime show. Do you believe in an afterlife? I think that we’re lucky enough to be here in the first place. I don’t want to waste any time here, because I don’t rightly know if we’ll get a second spin around the sun. Do you think that this is the most amoral time that’s ever existed? Since I have never lived during any other time, I can’t really judge, because they always leave the good stuff out of history books. Who or what is the greatest love of your life? The greatest love of my life is the time I get to connect with audiences after my shows. I get my yearly fill of hugs every single day. I wish everyone could feel that. It’s good for the soul. What talent would you most like to have? I wish I could sing. Singers have the coolest lives. To be able to serenade someone—and not sound like I was just in a horrible car accident and am screaming in pain—would be a total benefit.
If you were a dictator with unlimited powers, what would you do first? I’d give everyone a Bedazzler. The world instantly gets better when you Bedazzle things. What’s something that you learned in life only when you got older? That booze helps. What did you learn from your parents? Good stories to use to get out of trouble from the police. What’s your best characteristic? My sense of humor, I think. I tend to be able to make people smile even in the toughest of times. How do you enjoy spending your time? With booze. What celebrity do you have a crush on? I don’t know a soul who won’t tell you that Chris Hemsworth doesn’t make their Jesus place all tingly. Who do you admire? Anyone who has stood up for what they believe in, even when it’s unpopular. If you could bring one person back from the dead, who would it be? Cher. Where would you go in a time machine? To the fall of 1976. It just seems like a ridiculously fun and mellow time. What would your last meal be? Mexican food with a giant bowl of chips and guacamole. What do you worry about? My toenails getting tougher as I grow older. What are you afraid of? Lesbians who run out of markers when they have only six hours to make 100 signs for a march. If you were a musical instrument, what would you be? The harp, because there’s a lot more surface area to play with. Are you more like a sheep or a wolf? A sheep, mostly because I’m so cuddly. Ask the FedEx man.
Who depends on you, and for what? My kids for every damn thing. My best friend for laughs. And my momma, because she needs someone to roll her medical bed up the hill when we go for walks, and because she’s a pretty good drinking buddy. Who are you closest with? My best friend, Georgia Jean. She owns the local honky-tonk, so being best friends with her is a win-win. What would your autobiography be called? Well, I’ve seen stories called “Unstoppable,” “Unbreakable” and “Unflappable,” so I guess mine would be called Un-burp-a-bowl. What’s on your bucket list? I want to stay in one of those little bungalows over the ocean that you always see in commercials, but no one really can afford to stay there. What’s your greatest regret in life? That I never got to meet Brownie Wise, who created the Tupperware party. My show is a giant love letter to her. She changed more women’s lives than anyone else on the planet. What’s something secretive about you that people don’t know? That I have to look up damn near every drink recipe online, because I can never remember them. Where can we see you? I’ll be doing a brand new show called Dixie’s Happy Hour at the Imax Theater on September 8th and 9th as a fundraiser for Island City Stage. And you can always catch me on Facebook, Instagram or on Twitter. Or maybe standing on the cinder block that you left outside of your bedroom window.
EDMUND WHITE
In between some amorous comments, legendary LGBTQ writer Edmund White reveals a surprise location that he was cruised at, as well as what he’s been working on during the quarantine.
You grew up in the Chicago area. Is there anything that you miss about the area? The cruisy Oak Street Beach. Where you live now? In New York. Out of all your old haunts that are gone from there, which one do you miss the most? Well, the hottest one was the trucks at the foot of Christopher and under the train tracks along the Hudson. Guys would get into the holds of empty parked trucks and have late night orgies in the 1970s. What’s the best place that you’ve ever lived? Rome. You lived in Paris for a number of years. What’s special about Paris that isn’t common knowledge? The flea markets, and the big uncut cocks.
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Sophie’s choice: if you had to live in one place for the rest of your life, where would you live? In London, but it’s too expensive. What’s your favorite gay bar or club in the entire world? I liked The Stonewall in the sixties. It was a friendly dance bar with a jukebox. Which one of your own literary works in the most special to you? Hotel de Dream, because it involved research—which I love—and invention. Other than your own works, what’s your favorite gay literary work? Alan Hollinghurst’s The Folding Star. What’s your favorite overall literary work? Anna Karenina, because it explores the excitement and tragedy of love.
Other than yourself, what writer are you a fan of? Henry Green, because he’s so sly and funny. What LGBTQ civil rights leader do you admire? Sarah Schulman, because her politics are so enlightening. Which one of your old jobs least prepared you for what you do now? Public relations for an evil chemical company. What would your drag name be? Butch Cassidy. What have you been doing to keep yourself busy during the quarantine? I’ve written 150 pages of a new novel, in which I appear as a character. Will you ever retire? No. I have retired as a teacher, but I’m still writing. What’s the weirdest question that a fan’s asked you? “Why do you call this a novel instead of a memoir?”
Who would play you in a movie? Madonna. What are you superstitious about? Saying goodbye. Do you believe in aliens? No. What’s the gayest concert that you ever went to? A recital by a famous pianist when I was in my twenties, and he cruised me the whole time—I was in the third row. What’s the most times that you watched a movie or read a book? Key Largo, with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. I’ve seen it at least five times. What’s the last thing that you looked at online? The website for the Netflix series, Hollywood. What’s the best place that you’ve ever visited? Urbino. If God were to take you tomorrow, how would you like to be remembered? As a friend and a writer.
What do you want to live long enough to see? Trump’s imprisonment. What’s something that you learned in life only when you got older? To be more diplomatic and discreet. What did you learn from your parents? To be of service to others. Who’s your favorite performer? Gene Kelly in Singing in the Rain. What’s your best characteristic? Even-temperedness. How do you enjoy spending your time? Entertaining other. How do you take your coffee or tea? I take coffee, and with milk. What celebrity do you have crush on? Renée Fleming. Who do you admire? My ex, who’s a great doctor and a brilliant musician, and who’s generous to everyone he loves. If you could bring one person back from the dead, who would it be? Marilyn Schaefer, who was my friend for 60 years.
Where would you go in a time machine? To the1890s in Paris, if I were rich. What would your last meal be? Pasta alla Norma. What do you worry about? Dementia. What are you afraid of? Bad reviews. If you were a musical instrument, what would you be? A grand piano. Are you more like a sheep or a wolf? A sheep. Who depends on you, and for what? My husband, for support. Who are you closest with? My ex. What’s on your bucket list? A last affair. What’s your greatest regret in life? That I was too timid. What’s something secretive about you that people don’t know? That I’m a talent snob. Where can we see you? At virtual readings, here and there.
WALT CASSIDY
An artists’ domain is essentially a solo one. From his studio in Brooklyn, artist and ex-club kid Walt Cassidy discusses his predilections, as well as the release of his new book.
Where did you grow up? I grew up between Southern California and the Missouri Ozarks. Is there anything special about those areas that isn’t common knowledge? No. What was the best club kid party of them all? Disco 2000. What outlaw party stands out the most to you? The Highline. What club kid was the most underrated? The ratings were pretty accurate. What club kid surprised you the most with his or her career? None. Everyone was distinctly talented. The people who were less talented did less talented things. What’s the scariest or weirdest thing that happened to you during those club kid days? Doing time-traveling experiments at the Chelsea Hotel was the most eccentric experience. Who’s your favorite hardcore band? The Plasmatics.
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What’s the best show that you did with your band BOOB? All the shows at the Westbeth Theater were fantastic. It was the perfect setting for our style of performance, and our show and music had really gelled at that point. What New York venue that’s gone do you miss the most? The Palladium is the most tragic loss because of the architectural achievements that were erased by its destruction. It should have been deemed a historic landmark. Everyone knows that New York isn’t what it used to be, but what’s still special about it? The parks and the beaches. If you had to live somewhere other than New York, where would you live? In Paris. I love the North African influence in the city. Who’s your favorite visual artist? I will say, “myself.” Otherwise, the list is too long and detailed. What’s the most special art opening that you’ve had so far? My first solo show at Invisible Exports.
How do you describe yourself? As an interdisciplinary artist. Which one of your old jobs least prepared you for what you do now? I’ve gotten something out of every job or project in life so far. Will you ever retire? There is nothing to retire from. My life is built off of my creativity, and I would never want to put that down. What’s the weirdest question that a fan’s asked you? Someone once insisting that I had sex with them, when I did not. What other celebrity did you act like a “fan” around? None. Celebrity has never impressed me. What’s the last thing that you looked at online? News on The Guardian. What’s the best place that you’ve ever visited? Paris. If God were to take you tomorrow, how would you like to be remembered? As unique. Who would you like to be for a day? No one. I’m very happy being myself. Do you believe in an afterlife? Yes.
Do you think that this is the most amoral time that’s ever existed? There is an ebb and flow throughout history. Who or what is the greatest love of your life? My creativity. What talent would you most like to have? I‘d like to have better computer skills. Particularly, with Illustrator. What have you been doing to keep yourself busy during the quarantine? I’ve remained extremely busy negotiating and developing additional projects related to my book, New York: Club Kids. I have some very exciting things in the pipeline, so stay tuned. If you were a dictator with unlimited powers, what would you do first? I’d abolish the police force and the electoral college. What’s something that you learned in life only when you got older? How to meditate, and the knowledge that creativity will get you over every obstacle in life.
What did you learn from your parents? Independence. Who’s your favorite performer? I missed the emergence of people like Frank Ocean, Drake, and Tyler the Creator, since I was too focused on my own world. So I’ve been enjoying catching up on their work recently. What’s your best characteristic? Intuition, honesty and courage. How do you enjoy spending your time? Doing creative problem-solving. How do you take your coffee or tea? I don’t drink caffeine. I start my day with lemon, apple cider vinegar, and ice cold water. What celebrity do you have crush on? Mahmood. Who do you admire? People with courage. If you could bring one person back from the dead, who would it be? My dear friend, Anita Pallenberg. Where would you go in a time machine? To Babylon.
What would your last meal be? I’m into frozen fruit at the moment. What do you worry about? I don’t worry so much about anything, but I am haunted by some memories. What are you afraid of? Getting to a point where I no longer change and evolve. If you were a musical instrument, what would you be? A sax. Are you more like a sheep or a wolf? A wolf. Who depends on you, and for what? The present day does, because I am present. Who are you closest with? My creativity. What’s on your bucket list? To go to Morocco. What’s something secretive about you that people don’t know? I don’t keep secrets. What’s on the horizon for you? There are a couple projects related to the book on the table. Where can we see you? On my website, or Google “Walt Cassidy.” I’m easy to find.