Powered by Max Banner Ads Howl Review by Adam Lippe Recently, I interviewed Noah Buschel, the director of The Missing Person, for a podcast on the various ways the independent film world works and how it has changed over the past 10 years. Noah would know better than most about this subject, because he made three films in three different eras of independent films, always having to change... 

Columbus Gets a Taste of Cajun by Erin Phelan The gulf coast has certainly seen its fair share of tragedy over the past few years. From the devastating hurricanes in 2005 to the immense destruction of the recent oil spills, the people of the coastal regions continue to face a tough road of clean up and rebuilding. And they do it with a spirit and strength that I can only begin to wish I had. Where... 

Profligate Romances: Frank Anthony Polito’s Drama Queers! by Mackenzie Worrall “Poor Mom… She thought Lady Z was really a lady. Or she pretended to. I doubt she would ever point out something as obvious as a man wearing a dress. That would be rude.” (Drama Queers! by Frank Anthony Polito, Kensington Books, 411 pages, $15 paperback) Previously, In the Lambda Award-winning Drama Queers!… Best... 

Jordan Martin and Jim Maneri – Just Trying To Find The Song by Jon Dunn The life of a musician is not always a chosen path, it’s often chosen for you. Something stirs the desire to find a voice and share that voice with others, no matter how soft or how loud. From three chords to a symphony, music is an autobiography written with notes instead of words. And even if we share the same notes,... 

Too Gay or Not Gay Enough? by Mikey Rox Sixteen years ago, actor/playwright Travis Michael Holder embarked on a cathartic journey that has finally come full circle. His original, semi-autobiographical play, “Surprise Surprise,” – about a closeted gay actor with a much younger, disabled lover and an estranged teenaged son – is now a full-length feature releasing on DVD Aug 31. In a... 

Brilliant dreamers: an interview with Indigo Girls Amy Ray and Emily Saliers by Greg Shapiro It’s been 15 years since out duo Indigo Girls released their live set, 1200 Curfews. With more than enough material from which to draw, six studio albums including 2009’s Poseidon and The Bitter Bug, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers have released the exquisitely packaged double disc concert recording Staring... 

Chicago sounds like this by Gregg Shapiro Contributing writer In their early years, Scotland Yard Gospel Choir mined a respectful and respectable Belle and Sebastian sound. As if Belle and Sebastian hailed from Chicago instead of Glasgow. SYGC haven’t completely abandoned their U.K. pop influences on… and the horse you rode in on (Bloodshot), gently switching their allegiances to Pulp and Jarvis... 

Hear Me Out Katy Perry, Sara Bareilles by Chris Azzopardi September 6, 2010 Katy Perry, Teenage Dream As if Christina Aguilera and Ke$ha didn’t already send pop music to its deathbed this year, Katy Perry comes close to finishing it off. The Bible-girl-gone-bad runs wild on the emotionally scrambled hit-factory Teenage Dream – not kissing girls (and liking it), but waking up in a post-party haze,... 

Book Marks by Richard Labonte September 6, 2010 I Came Out for This?, by Lisa Gitlin. Bywater Books, 294 pages, $14.95 paper. Love comes late for Joanna Kane, who denied her sexual self well into her 40s. For a spell, newfound lesbian love is a luscious experience, after Joanna is introduced to Terri Rubin, a visitor to town. And then it vanishes, when Ms. Right returns home – and moves on to other... 

GIRL IN A COMA The San Antonio-based trio Girl in a Coma, (comprising of sisters Nina and Phanie Diaz and their friend Jenn Alva) were personally selected by Joan Jett for her Blackheart Records label, and they have toured extensively with Morrissey, at the personal invitation of the man who penned the song that inspired their band’s name. The San Antonio trio has been on tour most of the year and...