LEGAL Board
Of Directors
Elects Officers
For the first time since the
organization's inception, Louisiana Electorate of Gays And Lesbians (LEGAL) held its Board of Directors officer elections in Shreveport, LA. The Board met Saturday, Sept. 6-for the first time since the annual membership meeting in August-to plan its agenda for the upcoming year as well as to elect its President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer.
Randal Beach, president of Benefit Capital Life Insurance Company in New Orleans and Thibodeaux, was elected the Board's President, taking the reins of the organization in its fifth year of existence. A member of the Board of Directors of Louisiana Lesbian and Gay Political Action Caucus (LAGPAC), Beach feels that his work within the upper governance of the two gay organizations will help to bring about a closer working relationship between them.
"The increased coordination that we are seeing among all of the organizations throughout the state that are working on behalf of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered communities is extremely productive, and will certainly produce positive change," said Beach.
A newly created position on LEGAL's Board of Directors-Vice President-was filled by Charlotte Fowler of Shreveport. Fowler, an RN with the LSU-S Medical Center, is also a lay-minister with the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) in the Shreveport/Bossier Area.
Kevin Morgan of Baton Rouge was elected to the office of Secretary. Morgan is the owner of the Louisiana News Bureau (a legislative tracking agency in our state capitol building) in Baton Rouge. LEGAL contracts with Morgan's News Bureau to track its legislative agenda.
James "Rusty" Dooley of Shreveport, was elected to the office of Treasurer. Dooley is the Vice President of Operations for Manpower for the Ark-La-Tex area and a former member of the Board of GOCARE in Monroe, LA.
Brad Dupuy
Paintings At The Community Center
The Lesbian and Gay Community Center is proud to an
nounce the opening of "dreamvisions," a show of paintings by Brad Dupuy on Saturday, Sept. 20, 1997 from 6:30-8:30pm.
The figures that people Brad Dupuy's works confront the viewer with mock heroic poses. Some seem to ignore the restrictions their workaday lives place on them and flaunt their muscular, tattooed bodies. Others, perhaps escapees from some pharmacologically-induced dream, are revealed in all their exhibitionistic glory. Are they aware they're being watched? Do they care? Dupuy achieves the difficult task of bringing classical forms headstrong into the late 1990s.
Born and raised in Metairie, Dupuy graduated from Rummel High School and Delgado with an honors degree in commercial illustration. He currently studies at the University of New Orleans with Doyle Gertgejanson and acclaimed artist Jim Richard.
"The images I choose are taken from some combination of what I experience and what I imagine," says Dupuy. "I am intrigued by the current youth culture's interest in androgyny, body art, cult attire and the resultant sexual nuance. Cafe poetry nights, performances in the park, antiquated games and contemporary social settings all inspire me.
"I believe that the process of making art is a shared experience on a variety of levels. It is, I find, largely about giving and taking. All that I create revolves around the giving and taking between the viewer and myself."
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of artwork from this show will be donated to the Community Center by the artist. The Community Center is located at 816 N. Rampart St.; call 504.522.1103 to confirm daily exhibit hours. The show will run through November 2, 1997.
18th Annual Lesbian/Gay Pride Celebration Oct. 11& 12
PrideFest 97, New Orleans Eighteenth Annual Lesbian and Gay
Pride Celebration, is taking place Sat. and Sun., Oct. 11th and 12th, 1997 at Washington Square Park in the historic Faubourg Marigny. The theme for this celebration is Equality Through Visibility.
PrideFest 97 will feature the Lesbian and Gay Pride Parade, led by grand marshals Dr. Louise McFarland and Mr. Roberts Batson. Their selection as grand marshals will be officially announced at a press reception in their honor on Wed., Sept. 24, at 5pm at the Queen's Head Pub (above Good Friends Bar) at 740 Rue Dauphine. Members of the news media are encouraged to attend this event. Please call Jim Wiegand at 504.944.3800 for an invitation.
Activities for the fest include the opening ceremonies, lesbian/gay pride parade, live entertainment, kids' tent, Sunday morning fellowship and celebration of unions, food and drink vendors, merchandise and crafts vendors, National Coming Out Day Keynote Address, Speakers' Corner, pride pet show, art exhibit, silent auction, community outreach and networking, domestic partner registry and much more.
Sponsors for this year's pridefest are: New Orleans Alliance of Pride, Inc., Alterative Apparel Company, AmbushMag 2000, Absolut Vodka, Wood Enterprises, Miller Brands, Pepsi and Wet International.
Admission is $1.00 per person per day benefiting New Orleans Alliance of Pride and the Lesbian and Gay Community Center of New Orleans.
For information or to participate, call: Corporate Sponsorship/Public Relations, Stephen Graffeo, 504.949.1974; Vendor Booths, Jim Wiegand, 504.944.3800; Lesbian/Gay Pride Parade, Allan Spach, 504.945.2579; Volunteers, Crystal Little, 504.833.3046; Fellowship/Celebration of Unions, Rev. Kay Thomas, 504.944.9836; Entertainment/Stage, Lisa Beaumann, 504.523.3017; PridePages/Advertising/Internet, Sonny Cleveland, 504.522.8049; Pride Art Exhibit, Matthew Nesbit, 504.949.9555; and, Raffle/Silent Auction, Ronald Wilcox, 504.899.7735.
Men Out Loud Gay Pride Headliners
It's not a very typical group," says
Steve Steinberg, the de facto leader
of a new gay a cappella quartet from California called Men Out Loud that has just released its first CD. "We have a group made up of four solo singers. The lead vocal changes on every song we do. That gives us four distinct sounds."
And you'll be able to hear and see this queer quartet when they headline at the upcoming Gay Pride Fest 97 in Washington Square Park Oct. 11 & 12.
Four distinct voices that harmonize to create one very smooth sound. Think Boyz II Men meets Manhattan Transfer and you've got Men Out Loud. "It's all about harmony, it's all about blending together as one," adds tenor Santo Rango. "But when we have solos we really put forth our individual personalities. I'm like the Pat Benatar of the group, I handle the pop and rock songs. Rob (McElroy) is soulful, like Luther Vandross. Joseph (Pearce) sounds like Elton John, he's got that silky voice. And Steve is the bass, so he's really had to work at developing a style of his own."
Of course, the quartet's multi-faceted vocal arrangement isn't the only aspect that helps it stand out from its crowded field. The members of Men Out Loud also bring a unique gay sensibility to their music. The four men were clear from the onset of the formation of the group that they had no reason to hide their sexuality; however, they say they're not looking to use their music as a soapbox-they simply want to be themselves.
"We're a singing group that's gay, not a gay group that sings," Steinberg says. "The fact is we're four guys who like to sing, but we're also four gay guys who love to sing and we're not going to hide that."
Pride Fest Headliner Rob Nash
From L.A. by way of the Bayou City, Houston, Rob Nash will have you screaming with laughter 
at New Orleans Alliance of Pride's PrideFest 97, Oct. 11 & 12, to be held in Washington Square, which he will headline with the a capela quartet Men Out Loud.
Awarded Solo Performer of the Year for his one-man play 12 Steps To A More Dysfunctional You by the San Francisco Bay Area Critic's Circle, Mr. Nash has worked in comedy clubs from Houston to Seattle and has been seen on Comedy Central's third all gay and lesbian comedy special Out There In Hollywood, the HBO Comedy Half Hour, the VH-1 Stand-up Spotlight With Rosie O'Donnell, to name a few.
