An unparalleled record of activism against injustice for over 50 years. Check. Was once called the most powerful gay man in the country by Newsweek. Check. Best selling author and acclaimed playwright. Check. Quizzed about Bill Clinton during sex. Check. Introducing David Mixner, an American original.
Where did you grow up? On a farm outside a small, southern New Jersey town called Elmer, which had about 1,000 folks. What do you miss about it there? The outdoors, the animals, the wildlife, the lightening bugs, and the folks. Where do you live now? In the theater district in NYC, about a half block from Times Square. What drives you crazy about Time Square? Nothing. I absolutely love the wild and unpredictable nature of it. I love people-watching. Although New York may have changed, what’s still special about Manhattan? Hands-down, the diversity of people, ideas, entertainment and politics. It’s 24/7 and a place that never sleeps—there’s a place and a role for everyone in Manhattan. I’m also an architecture nut, so I revel in the buildings, public spaces, and design of this unique and wonderful place on earth. What New York venue do you miss that that’s gone? The destruction of New York Penn Station and replacing it with this Soviet-style brutalist architecture called, “Madison Square Garden.” It was one of the most obscene moments.
ADVERTISEMENT
In this stirring personal history, one of America’s most influential gay rights advocates recounts his extraordinary career as a policy maker and adviser to the major political leaders of our time, and his own often anguishing, ultimately triumphant life as a gay man.
Of all the places that you’ve lived, what was the best one? Guess I would have a tie. One was the time on a houseboat in Amsterdam writing a screenplay while my lover was painting art. It was magical. The other would be living in Turkey Hollow in the Catskills, recreating a “Walden Pond” moment with the abundance of wildlife. I became a first-rate animal whisperer with the deer, bears, wild turkeys, and other wildlife. Which one of your old jobs least prepared you for what you do now? Being a janitor cleaning food halls at Arizona State University. I hated it. If God were to take you tomorrow, how would you like to be remembered? That, without fail, I served others my entire life. What do you want to live long enough to see? Beto O’Rourke in the White House. Will you ever retire? When I can’t contribute to making the world a better place through my activism, performances and writing, then it’s time for me to go.
PHOTOGRAPH BY NIGEL BARKER
Of all your awards and accomplishments, which one do you cherish the most? Living my values and principle even when they made me very unpopular and I was attacked for them by many people who I loved and respected. Also, any awards that may come out of my writing or performances would be very satisfying in my later years. What’s the weirdest question that a fan has asked you? I was having sex one time, and a guy looked up at me and asked, “What is Bill Clinton like as a person?” I must say that it killed not only the moment, but the entire evening. What celebrity did you act like a “fan” around? Oh God, I have a horrible man-crush on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. If I ever met him, I think he’d have to take a restraining order out on me the next day! He’s the person at this stage of my life that I’d most like to meet. What’s the last thing that you looked at online? Beto O’Rourke’s video on “Taking A Knee.” I’ve looked at it over and over. It’s simply extraordinary. What’s the best place that you’ve visited? Singita Castleton in South Africa.
PHOTOGRAPH BY NIGEL BARKER
What was the most unjust war that America was ever involved with? Oh God, there were so damn many, but just for kicks, the war on Native Americans, The Spanish-American War, World War I, the Vietnam War, the Iraq War, and all those covert operations by the CIA in places like Guatemala, Chile, the Congo, and Indonesia—those operations led to the death and torture of millions. Who’s the most important political figure since WW II? President John F. Kennedy, who in such a short time moved us from being totally a cold war nation to the light of helping other nations, to transitioning into civil rights, and to inspiring in so many of us that we should work for something greater than our selves. What’s your guilty pleasure? Judge Judy and TV crime shows. What’s your favorite band? Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band. What’s your fondest childhood memory? Swimming naked in the irrigation ponds in the countryside with my buddies. What were you like in high school? Oh God, I think they must have looked at me as a goofball, and not quite sure what to do with me, but I really liked high school and had tons of fun at it.
ADVERTISEMENT
Bestselling author and renowned presidential campaign adviser (Bill Clinton, Dick Gephardt, Jerry Brown, Gary Hart) David Mixner returns with his first book in 10 years. In At Home with Myself, Mixner writes from and about his country home in Turkey Hollow, an upstate New York town so small and remote that it has just 10 residents.
Do you think that entertainment awards should be genderless? Yes, I do. Acting is acting and has no gender. What’s something that you learned in life only when you got older? Two things: how to cope with loneliness, and to never stop laughing and being outrageous. What did you learn from your parents? To help thy neighbor. Who’s your favorite performer? Judith Light. What’s your best characteristic? That I’m spectacular and a loyal friend. How do you enjoy spending your time? Having kinky sex. What celebrity do you have a crush on?Ed Harris. Who do you admire? President and Mrs. Obama. If you could bring one person back from the dead, who would it be? My sister, Patsy. Where would you go in a time machine? I’d go along with Lewis and Clark. I’d also go to the roaring 20’s and hang around with Hemmingway, Josephine Baker, Picasso, Gertrude Stein, and so on. What would your last meal be? Ice cream, pizza and coconut cake. What do you worry about? Where am I going to get the next month’s rent? What are you afraid of? Earthquakes.
If you were a musical instrument, what would you be? The sax. It’s so fucking sexy. Are you more like a sheep or a wolf? A lamb. Who depends on you, and for what? My cats, for love and food. Who are you closest with? My small circle of friends, who I love and adore. What music do you listen to when you’re upset? The blues and country. What’s on your bucket list? Seeing the northern lights, taking a first-class rail trip with a hot man, having a nudist weekend with friends somewhere, and getting rid of Trump. What’s your greatest regret in life? Not coming out of the closet sooner and allowing more intimacy into my life earlier. What’s the great tragedy of your life? The AIDS epidemic. What’s something that you never told anyone else? It shall remain a secret. Nice try! Where can we see you? On Twitter, Instagram and my Facebook page. Also, I’m single and can be arranged to be seen any weekend night.
Ladies and gentlemen, meet your grand marshal for Stonewall 2018—LGBT activist, local resident, and founding-member of Styx, Chuck Panozzo.
How long have you lived in South Florida? For 12 years. Why did you move here? I moved to Miami first. I had a friend that lived there. I lived in Miami for five years. I wanted to buy a house, and I wanted to be near the gay community, so I choose Wilton Manors. What part of South Florida do you live in? In Wilton Manors. What do you like most about living here? I know it’s a rainy day today, but, besides that, it’s an easy lifestyle here. The traffic is never a problem—you can get around. Also, the conveniences are close—it’s a walkable town. What South Florida venue do you miss that’s gone? There was something called the Davie Casino in Davie, but I don’t think that’s it’s around anymore. We played there a few times. It was a good venue. I’m also glad to see that Tropics is opening up again. Where do you hang out in South Florida, and why? In my house (laughs). I think that there’s a certain time in your life when you just say, enough is enough. When I go out now, I say to myself, “why does everyone look like my nephew, and why do I look like everyone’s father?” We used to say that a good test was, “Would my parents be here?” But then again, they never went anywhere. Also, if you’re looking for romance, you’re not gonna find it in the bars. If you want to find the drunk of your dreams, go to a bar (laughs).
ADVERTISEMENT
Styx’s fans will enjoy Panozzo’s detailed look at the band’s internal conflicts, but the heart of Panozzo’s autobiography is a sensitive and insightful look at “one gay man’s struggle to come to terms with himself” while performing in a rock world where “the things that would make the other guys laugh—a female fan lifting up her skirt, a pair of panties thrown on stage—just didn’t do it” for him.
What was your recent performance in Key West like? It was raining in the morning, and then it was cloudy in the afternoon, but the evening was great. But we play rain or shine, regardless. We were coming straight from a gig in Orlando, and the tour bus didn’t get to Key West until 6:00 a.m., so that part was hard. But they were so gracious to have us there that it made all worth it. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but it’s important for a major act to play in an area that’s been negatively impacted by a hurricane. Maybe we didn’t bring a lot of awareness to Key West itself, but probably to the smaller neighboring islands. How did you get involved with the Stonewall Festival? Well, I feel strongly about Stonewall and how that event changed our lives. I remember when it first happened, but I educated myself about it more by reading about it. As far as the festival goes, it’s an honor to be asked to be the grand marshal for it, so I made it happen. I’m leaving the tour two days early, and they’ll have a replacement for me (they had to do this for some of my illnesses as well). I feel that the Stonewall Festival is an important event, so we need to do things as a community to keep getting the message out there. After all, we all want the same things in life. A better life, to live in peace, and to enjoy ourselves, so that message needs to be reiterated, because it seems like some are trying to take it away from us.
How will you celebrate after the parade? I’ll probably be asleep (laughs). I’ll be coming off a three-week tour, and I’m flying in on Friday so I can make it to the pre-Stonewall event at The Manor on Friday. If you had to pick one of your songs to be included in a welcome package for aliens, what one would you choose? “Come Sail Away.” And sometimes I dedicate the angels part of the song to people who are in trouble. But, speaking of inviting aliens to earth, we better be careful what we wish for. Assuming that they’re even physical, who knows what me might get? They might have some pathogen that could wipe us all out. What do you attribute Styx’s longevity to? If anything, I think that Styx has survived because we’ve been able to evolve after every tour. But rock and roll has become generational. Everyone knows Elvis, but when you say Guy Lombardo, they say, “Who?” Many bands are only around for five years, but we’ve been around for the 70s, the 80s, the 90, the 2000s, and now this decade. That’s five decades, but I’m just glad that we’ve been able to do it. And after all that, we’re still learning as a band.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Mission is a thrilling return to Styx’s progressive roots, across 14 tracks. With a sound as big as a galaxy, and two years in the making, it embodies a throw-back progressive-rock feel. Recorded at Blackbird Studios in Nashville, The Mission, which is Styx’s first album in 14 years, comes complete in a true hi-fidelity analog recording and mixed with a larger than life sound.
What’s touring like? The traveling is a nightmare. The show is the easy part. If it wasn’t for the show, I would never do it! What’s are your future plans with Styx? To live to 75 (laughs). If I make it to 75, Styx will have been together for 50 years! I always joke that I’ll live until 75, just so that I can reach that goal with Styx, and then I’ll drop dead an hour later. What award do you cherish the most, and why? Every year I get invited to speak to a gay youth group in Canada, and they named the award after me. I said to them, “I thought you had to be dead for that to happen?” (laughs). But seriously, it really is a great honor to be able to help people. For them to see someone who’s gone through the same things that they’ve gone through tell them, “don’t give up hope. It will be okay.” A lot of it is overcoming the negative things that we learned in our youth. If you wrote a sequel to your book, what would it be called? Maybe Touring 101? But I might just publish something like that online. It might just be my own personal travelogue. I go to so many places. Other than your bandmates, what musician do you admire, and why? The one who impressed me the most was Barbara Streisand. Oh, Bette Midler, as well. I talked with her for quite a while, and she’s so down to earth. It’s funny but the ones who you think are gonna be the biggest snobs end up being great.
Who would play you in a movie? Anyone but Scott Baio. What kind of music do you listen to that might surprise someone? I like classical music a lot. What dead musician would you like to have lunch with, and why? I might pick my dead brother. What’s the best concert you ever went to? I saw Boy George recently, and he was really good. Sometimes, when they’ve been gone for so long, you don’t know how they’re going to be. But he didn’t disappoint. What gay activist do you admire? I’m from the Harvey Milk generation, so I would say him. I was at bars with him as well. How would you like to be remembered? I want to leave two marks: I’d like to leave one for my music, and one for my gay life. But I never thought that in a million years that I’d still be performing after all these years. Look at me—I’m a gay man living the American dream. And if I can do it, you can do it. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it, or that you have to be lucky, or that you have to be in the right place at the right time. That’s all nonsense. If you keep plugging away, your dreams will come true. Will you ever retire? No. I told someone once, “the person who leaves their own band, a band that they helped form, is an idiot.” As long as I can keep doing it, physically, I’ll keep doing it. Even if you have a chronic condition, you can manage it and still work. What am I gonna do? Stay at home and watch TV? I wanna be the rock star on TV, not the one at home watching them on TV.
PHOTOGRAPH BY WARING ABBOTT
What’s the weirdest question that a fan has asked? I was talking with a fan once. He left after the conversation was over, but then he came back to me. He started talking with me again, but this time, he thought that I was my brother John, who had already died! I guess he didn’t know that John had died. He said, “Don’t you have a twin brother?” What celebrity did you act like a “fan” around? Barbara Streisand. What’sthe lastthing that you watched on TV? Judge Judy, just this morning, at 6:30 a.m. What’s the craziest thing that you ever did? A few years ago we took my nephew to an amusement park and we went on all those roller coasters. What’s your favorite book? How about, “what’s my favorite magazine?” (laughs). I try to read something light when I’m on these airplanes. I’ll flip through the magazines that are on them. But I do try to get as much information from as many sources as I can. I also read The Wall Street Journal every day. What’s the last thing that you looked at online? My email. Do you like Facebook? Not really. All they seem to do is argue on there. They’re arguing with each other, about politics and other things, but they’re not really hearing each other. At first, I thought that social media was going to bring us closer together, but I think that it’s made things worse.
PHOTOGRAPH BY WARING ABBOTT
What’s the best place that you’ve visited, and why? I’m looking forward to going back to Quebec, San Francisco and Denver. You look forward to seeing your fans in all of the various cities, but in these cities, particularly. It’s funny, but people remember the last time that they saw you perform. They remember the exact time and place—they keep it in their consciousness. It’s amazing to me, and it means more to me than everything. What’s something that you learned in life only when you got older? That you shouldn’t let the government, your religion or your family stop you from your dreams, because if you listen to them, you might give up. What did you learn from your parents? Hard work and love. When my father got cancer, I went through all the histrionics with God, such as, “Take me instead.” He died when he was only 56, so I didn’t get to spend as much time with him as I would have liked. Who knows what more I would have learned from him? What’s your best characteristic? That I’m a loyal friend. What celebrity do you have a crush on? Everyone in The Avengersmovie (laughs). I don’t know. I’m more attracted to someone’s personality rather than to some guy who thinks he’s so great looking.
WITH TWIN BROTHER, JOHN
Who do you admire, and why? I admire my brother’s love of music. I also admire my sister, Emily. She has MS, and she’s totally paralyzed from it, but she never complains. She still has a great sense of humor as well. I talk with her every day. I have a deep love for her. Where would you go in a time machine, and why? I wouldn’t go backwards. If I did, they’re probably curse me as witch. But I’m also afraid of the future. All this technology, with the iPhone, and what-not. And I’m NOT ready to see myself as a hologram yet. I’m more worried about the hear-and-now and how to keep the planet safe for future generations. But I think that there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done here first. And if we’re going to colonize space one day, the last thing that we want to do is bring the problems that the world is having right now up there (laughs). What would your last meal be? Good fried chicken. If you were a musical instrument, what would you be, and why? I wouldn’t mind being a big double bass in a symphony. Are you more like a sheep or a wolf? I think that I’m becoming both of them. I’ve learned some boundaries, so I’m not such as easy target as I used to be. Who depends on you, and for what? No one in particular depends on me, but I think that a lot of younger gay people are interested in hearing the experiences of an older guy who’s gay. Older people have the history behind us, and that can’t be replace. But the kids will have that one day, too.
Who are you closest with? My sister, Emily. It’s hard to put the emotions into words. I’m still alive—I had two bouts with cancer, so I’m supposed to be dead. But she went from being this very attractive woman, to being confined to a wheelchair full time. Life is hard, you know? I’ve yet to meet the person who hasn’t been beaten down by it in some capacity, so I just try to be thankful for each day. What’s on your bucket list? I’d like to go back to Southern Italy, to Pompeii. That’s where my mother’s from. To think that there are things there that were locked in time 2,000 years ago blows my mind. Do you think that you’ll ever find romance again? I’m married to my music. And if that’s how it is for the rest of my life, I’m okay with that. What’s your greatest regret in life? Not coming out sooner. I didn’t come out until I was almost 60. If I came out, I thought that it might hurt the band in some way, but it was foolish of me to think that. I officially came out at a human rights convention in Chicago, and it immediately changed my life—for the better. What’s something that you never told anyone else? They always say that you shouldn’t give away your beauty secrets (laughs), so the same stands for this question. You have to keep some things private. Where can we see you? You can see our tour schedule on our website, and you can also see me as the grand marshal at the Stonewall Festival in Wilton Manors on Saturday, June 16!
