Peaches Christ, Gerry Visco and Shealita Baby after “All About Evil” screening
Peaches Christ, Gerry Visco and Shealita Baby after "All About Evil" screening
Originally uploaded by Gerry Visco
Join the Gerry party!
Do you want to improve your life, look better, feel better, and save the planet? Are you plagued by depression, wrinkles, lack of energy, constipation, erection problems, or just plain old boredom? Gerrification is the answer and it’s FREE. A new technique, a movement and a burgeoning political party, we all need Gerrification because let’s face it, we could all use a makeover.
“Gerrification” is an interactive, multi-media show premiering at the 19th annual Hot! Festival at Dixon Place, a celebration of queer culture and performance, on the Lower East Side on Tuesday, July 27th at 9 PM. The show, starring Gerry Visco, who is also the writer and director, will reveal the secret strategies Gerry Visco has used to become truly fabulous. She will put into action some of the methods she has used to become a style icon and nightlife personality with the audience and her cast members. She will demonstrate Gerrification, which is guaranteed to make you laugh and have a good time. Gerry Visco believes that feeling good and looking good is synonymous. Gerrification, her divine mission on planet earth, is an anti-gentrification global effort designed to bring joy and beauty to America and the world by inviting people to dress like her—by donning a characteristically outlandish platinum wig, cat-eye glasses, and bright clothing. The show celebrates individuality, non-conformism, outer beauty, fashion, pleasure, cosmetics, social interaction, partying, and plain old fun.
Interactive methods include encouraging members of the audience to “volunteer” to become Gerrified and to join the Gerry party. A group of Gerrys will speak in unison to narrate the history of Gerry and present the Gerry platform. Some of the proposals in her manifesto: the new workday will be 2 to 9, not 9 to 5; plastic surgery will be mandatory; free makeup will be distributed at every street corner; the water system will be filled with gin; the color beige will be banned on penalty of death; there will be parties going on everywhere at all times of the day and night.
Slide shows demonstrating her fabulosity will be shown to instruct and entertain you. She will also show some of her most fabulous outfits that she’s put together over the years, beginning with her mother, a traditional 1950s mom, who was married in a huge Mafiosa wedding. The decades of Gerrification will demonstrate a lifetime of looking good, from frilly frocks and socks with banana curls and bows to elegant designer outfits to the wild disco glad rags she sports nowadays. In a more serious vein, Visco will narrate her life during the 1970s when she first arrived in New York City and she took a walk on the wild side in more ways than one. Videos interviewing her friends and enemies will be played and her excursions Gerrifying and terrifying the citizens of New York City will be featured. Gerrification in song and dance will be celebrated by the cast and audience alike.
Cast members, apart from Gerry Visco, include Jennifer Blowdryer, Matthew Herra*C, Fritz Donnelly, Christina Ewald, Mari Gustafson, Inbred Hybrid Collective, Louis Jordan, Katie Madonna Lee, Cole Nahal, Sir Pudge, Dennis Rolland. Joseph Keckler will appear on video.
Gerrification will make you look better, feel better, and improve your day, your mood, your life. It’s cheaper than Prozac without all the side effects. Let’s face it, we could all use a makeover.
Gerry Visco is illegally blonde and is at large on the Upper East Side after years of causing trouble on the Upper West Side. She lives in a soulless huge apartment complex across from the mosque where she swims laps daily in the rooftop pool. She toils at a day job at one of New York’s leading research universities. She moved to New York City from Boston, Massachusetts in 1974 during the days of grit and glam. Taking the subways in those days meant checking behind you frequently to make sure no one was there with a knife ready to stab you. Hers is a Moll Flanders-like tale of the picaresque. Needless to say, Visco was raped and robbed shortly after arriving into town. Among numerous other casualties, most of her friends from the early days have left New York City, many of whom are dead from AIDS or drug overdoses. She’s been called a bipolar fashionista and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disordered but she manages to cope with her disabilities, even thrive on them. One of her frequent laments is, “I’m so fabulous it makes me sick.” A writer, performer, photographer, style icon, performer, and radio show host, she regularly covers parties, events, and the arts for New York Press. She created her own one-woman show at the Hot! Festival at Dixon Place in August 2009 dramatizing her colorful life as muse, FIT student, actor, fag hag, rent girl, and disco diva in the gritty glamorous world of New York City during the 1970s and 1980s, the subject matter for the memoir she is currently writing. She’s appeared at venues such as Dixon Place, the Slipper Room, Envoy Enterprises Gallery, Parkside Lounge, Paddy Reilly’s, and Chantal’s House of Shame in Berlin. Her photographs have been exhibited at Envoy Enterprises Gallery, Artflux, Gallery U in Montclair, NJ and at the upcoming opening of Gallery U in Detroit, Michigan. Current projects include transforming into Miss Juicy Geraldine, an 85-year-old senior citizen sex advocate. Visco’s first role was in Woody Allen’s “Stardust Memories” in 1977. She has a BA, MFA, and MS in Journalism from Columbia University. According to one of her professors, “Gerry Visco is a piece of work!”
“Gerrification!” with Gerry Visco
Hot! Festival at Dixon Place
161a Chrystie Street (betw. Rivington and Delancey)
full bar in the Lounge upstairs
tickets: $10 in advance, $15 at door
212-219-0736
www.hotfestival.org
https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/748625
Tuesday, July 20,2010
Bash Compactor: Once Upon a Penis
at the Daniel Cooney Fine Art Gallery for Jessica Yatrofsky’s Performance and the Male Nude No. 6
By Gerry Visco
…….
The press release said Jessica Yatrofsky is wholly interested in men, and their underrepresented sexuality. Huh? What about Internet porn—the whole industry is geared towards the male sex. But I saw her point: Mainstream America never shows dick anywhere, whether it be flicks, pics or TV commercials.
It was a sweltering Thursday night in Chelsea and I was at the Daniel Cooney Fine Art Gallery to see Yatrofsky’s performance and show, titled Performance and the Male Nude No. 6. Yatrofsky does a lovely job photographing naked dudes, both composition-wise and in finding delicious subjects. Maybe that’s why the room was so crammed. The one-time performance was designed to complement Self Exposure, the gallery’s current exhibition featuring Zachari Logan, Francesca Romo and Shen Wei.
We were warned the performance would start at 7 sharp, but nobody told me it would be over 17 minutes later. Given New York City’s bumper-to-bumper traffic, some missed most of the show and there wasn’t a drop of wine, beer or even sparkling water in the sweatbox of a room. But who the hell cared—within 10 minutes of arriving, I hit the jackpot, meeting breathtakingly handsome models Edo Tastic and Andrew Yang, as well as Jeffrey Gaunt, wearing black sunglasses and toting a book called Sex at Dawn. “I’m learning a lot about sexuality,” he confided.
With the longhaired and tattooed Yang as model, Yatrofsky re-enacted the famous scene from the 1966 Antonioni flick Blow Up, where the photographer practically fucks the model with the camera. She used four different ones, snapping away as Yang disrobed. “I present my work as live performance to physically confront an audience with the penis itself, either erect or not,” said Yatrofsky, herself a pretty wholesome-looking brunette. “I’m passionate about male sexuality.” The Polaroids she took were scattered on the floor, where they will remain throughout the Self Exposure exhibit.
I wanted to see more nude performance, but that would have to wait until the fall, when Yatrofsky’s book on male nudes will be published. Meanwhile, we bumped into Tastic on the way out. “I’d love to take some photos of you,” I said, eyeing the male beauty’s luxuriant, tawny-colored Afro. Yatrofsky is originally from Las Vegas, where nude performance is more commonplace. “It was hard finding a gallery in Chelsea that would allow it,” she told me. And this is supposed to be the naked city!
Tuesday, July 13,2010
Bash Compactor: On a ‘Casserole’
At VIG27 for Jeffery & Cole’s season premiere party
By Gerry Visco
…….
Jeffery Self takes it off / Photo by Gerry Visco
We were only munching on sliders, but last Wednesday night, Jeffery & Cole Casserole was what really filled me up. I was at VIG27 for a party celebrating the premiere of the second season of the LOGO sketch comedy show, which is nothing like your mother’s tuna fish surprise.
The show stars Jeffery Self and Cole Escola, who write, direct and edit the series, which is filmed on their webcam. They were discovered by LOGO executives, broadcasting their VGL Gay Boys videos on YouTube. “Jeffery and Cole have a DIY-style that makes them really funny,” said performance artist Erin Markey, who’s appeared on the show.
Escola is tiny and adorable, with big, saucer-shaped eyes. Self is handsome and tall. Their show is called “casserole” because it’s a mash-up that they make. The protagonists undergo absurd, Kafkaesque situations in a world gone mad. Their friends and fans, including Project Runway winner Christian Siriano, performer Bridget Everett, singer Kim Smith, actress Jenn Harris and more, filled the room with laughter and after the screening, the room was abuzz. This was a good party, I thought, as I was preparing to leave. “Visco, don’t leave now!” a friend of mine commanded. “No, I have to go,” I said. “There’s an open bar and food!” he added, seated with a posse noshing on crab cakes and champagne. Well, maybe I could linger.
A few G&Ts later, we were out on the dance floor and the boys were going mental, that kind of quirky dancing that only the truly trashed can pull off with aplomb. Wearing an open crisp white shirt, Self revealed a lovely and chiseled chest. “I never knew you were so handsome,” I gushed, picking him up as we danced. I lifted Escola, also; he was light as a feather.
Taking a breather from the dancing mob, some of us lounged out front in the hot summer night at the café tables, where playwright Ben Rimalower and I attempted to sing Supremes songs but had trouble with the lyrics. It was getting late.
And what about the show? Self told me they hope to keep the vibe from the first season, though they’re shooting in a new apartment. “I got evicted from the old one,” he said.
The season premiere aired Friday at midnight, featuring everything from a faux trailer for a movie called Babies With Money to a celebration of both moms and watersports. “There’s something for everyone!” Self said.
Tuesday, July 6,2010
Bash Compactor: So Many Little Eggies
Party hopping July 4th from Red Egg to Kenny Scharf’s Cosmic Cavern
By Gerry Visco
…….
Sadria Benge and Tyler Stone at Red Egg / Photo by Gerry Visco
July 4 should start with a bang, but my fireworks began a day or two earlier. Sometimes on holiday weekends, you start partying on the Friday, but luckily you have three full days to lie in bed recuperating. All I knew was by this past Saturday, my head was pounding like firecrackers and bottle rockets had already blasted me. But when you’re stuck in town, you might as well make the most of it.
Dim Sum and Then Sum was the name of the party located in Chinatown at Red Egg. “Red eggs in the Chinese culture are for good luck,” Darren Wan, the recently opened restaurant’s owner, told me. The restaurant has been renovated and dolled up into a sleek, black-lacquered boite with low lighting and cozy tables perfect for groups. And I was there with a bunch of club kids and party people.
Our host for the evening, Cole Nahal, is a designer who’s been plying his trade throwing splashy parties since the interior decorating business started to slow down. A few others at our table were in-between jobs, which was why the bottle of vodka languishing in ice at the table was appealing. We’d all get a generous glass or three.
The DJs were Kimyon Huggins, of The Danger, and MSG from The Standard. I was glad the music was cooking, but so was the kitchen. Red Egg serves up dim sum, which I’d heard was quite tasty, so I ordered vegetarian spring rolls and shrimp dumplings. I knew some at the table were low on pocket change, starved but broke, so I told the waitress to only bring out a couple of plates. “Can I have one?” one of my underemployed pals begged when the steaming platters came out. No problem. Greed is good, I figured, but that’s what friends are for.
I didn’t want to imbibe too much more of that vodka, though, because most of us had been out the night before—that’s when my headache began.
But Red Egg was merely the first stop of this night. At 2 a.m., everyone insisted on cabbing out to Williamsburg for Kenny Scharf’s party Cosmic Cavern. Although late, things were in full swing. Scharf was all in DayGlo with a paint-spattered Egyptian headdress, cavorting with beauteous burlesque artist Amber Ray. I began wrestling with the tall lean actor Kyle Kupres, who was dancing with a girl newly arrived from a Minnesota pig farm. My weekend had just begun, but it would be days before the real pyrotechnics.
Tuesday, June 29,2010
Bash Compactor: Heavy Flo
At New York City Food Film Festival screening of Florent, Queen of the Meatmarket
By Gerry Visco
…….
Florent Morellet / Photo by Gerry Visco
Last Thursday night, The Altman Building was packed and abuzz. The idea behind the New York City Food Film Festival was to pair film with food and this was the night devoted to restaurateur Florent Morellet and Florent, his 24-hour French bistro in the Meatpacking District, which closed in 2008 after 23 fabulous years. “Where’s the food?” I whined, jealous of the other guests traipsing around with fragrant boxes of French fries. But I’d just located the open bar, serving wine and a strange tasting vodka cocktail, when it was time for the film to start. Dubbed Florent, Queen of the Meatmarket, the new documentary was premiering at the Festival.
Director David Sigal was on hand and there was Florent himself, standing near the entrance, smiling and saying hello to a few of his many friends—a popular guy, judging by the dozens of devoted customers who’d shown up. Both appearing in the film and gadding about at the party were entertainers Penny Arcade, Dirty Martini, Murray Hill and Tigger!, gay nightlife impresario Daniel Nardiccio and director Kevin Malony, among many others. Julianne Moore was a talking head in the film but was not present, but then neither were customers like Johnny Depp, Mick Jagger or Amy Winehouse.
Who would have thought a film about food would bring a tear to my eye? But Florent was never just about the food. Both the owner and the eatery will always be remembered as quintessential examples of everything that’s exciting about New York City. Dancing the can-can, burlesque artists taking it off on the counter, tough talking waiters, a clientele ranging from senior citizens to rock ‘n’ rollers, Hollywood actors and tranny hookers.
The difference between Florent, born in the bowels of the Meat Market, and the current glut of restaurants and bars in the new Meatpacking District is that Florent the bistro really was chic and the new breed are wannabes. We will always need people and places like Florent—even if we can only get them on the big screen.
Wednesday, June 23,2010
Bash Compactor: Easy Come, Easy Go
At the ‘Instant’ exhibition at Robert Goff Gallery
By Gerry Visco
…….
Why do men having an orgasm look like they’re about to croak? That’s what I discovered perusing the Instant exhibition at the Robert Goff Gallery last week presented by The Fearless Project art collective. Pasted upon the walls, lined with construction paper and wild colorful graffiti, were 80 Polaroids of men taken while they were about to bust. I get the feeling a lot of them were flying solo. Of course, faces look far better post-climax—afterglow is better and cheaper than a facelift.
The gallery was Meatpackingindustrial chic and filled with familiar faces from the arts, fashion and music worlds. While I enjoyed the concept of the art, I would have preferred for variety’s sake including some women, trannies, chubbies, seniors and a taxi driver or two, but the faces were mostly young, male and white. High fives for gay lib, but true rebels need diversity.
“I want you to meet a very talented photographer,” art curator Robert Greco told me, dragging over Diego Garon, whose work was in the show. Japanese artist Naruki Kukita was running around snapping photos of everyone, as was Baschti Pollin, the paparazzo from the website Suck It Boy.
Upon arriving, I bumped into the energetic half-naked gyrations of Gio Black Peter, premiering a new song and a fetching pair of American flag boxer briefs in the middle of the gallery. “Gio, do one of your handstands,” I urged. “No, I don’t feel like it,” he said, a crowd forming around him. “I’d rather do some pushups on top of you.” Afterglow here I come!
Wednesday, June 9,2010
Bash Compactor: The Bump And The Grind
With Jo Boobs at the release of The Burlesque Handbook
By Gerry Visco
…….
Jo Weldon (AKA Jo Boobs) / Photo by Gerry Visco
Walking into the dimly lit Slipper Room for a party celebrating the publication of The Burlesque Handbook by Jo Weldon, (AKA Jo Boobs) a shapely redhead with a quick smile who’s as smart as she is pretty, I expected to see a bevy of glamorous women parading around in dramatic headdresses, fans, pasties, tassels and g-strings. But as it was only 7 o’clock on a Tuesday, the sirens of shimmy on hand were looking gorgeous in plain old street clothes. The lipstick red booth near the entrance held a pile of the scarlet manuals on a table and the author was there in the flesh, chatting and signing books for her fans and friends.
Beginning as a stripper and sex worker in Atlanta in 1980, Weldon moved to New York City in the 1990s and became a burlesque sensation. She’s great on a stage, but the girl can also write. The Burlesque Handbook is the definitive manual, thanks surely to Weldon’s honing of her talent at her New York School of Burlesque, which has inspired many women—and some men—to go off into the bright lights and shake it.
“So, you work on the burlesque circuit?” I asked ginger-haired actor Dale Harris, who’d appeared in a play with me a few months ago. He was standing by the table with two books ready to be signed. “I’m off to Miss Exotic World Pageant in Las Vegas,” he told me. It seemed like everyone except me was going to Sin City, including boylesque performer Tigger!, dancer Julie Atlas Muz and drag king Bevin Branlandingham. I grabbed a glass of champagne at the bar and made my way to the booth again.
I was talking to Bambi Jones, a 79year-old former stripper and burlesque artist when another comely blond joined our tete-a-tete. “I’m Bambi, too,” she said. “Bambi Themermaid.” I was getting confused. How many Bambis can fit into one room? “Come out to Coney Island and see me sometime,” she said, referring to her Burlesque on the Beach shows happening all summer.
Between the Bambis and Weldon’s tome, I was feeling inspired. After all, the book is full of fascinating nuggets: Weldon describes 10 nipple tassel-moves and even demos twirling a tassel on your derriere— naturally, it’s called an “assel.” Besides teaching you how to shake your ass, she even gives instructions on making your own pasties—they don’t call her Jo Boobs for nothing!
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