In the past few weeks (see links below) I've been posting old P*rno Bingo posters on Pinterest and going over a little of the history of the event here on this blog in anticipation of our 400th show (Thursday December 20th).
As I posted the 2009 posters this morning, I was struck by how much fun we had all throughout that year - Amanda was a regular guest and author Damon L. Jacobs came by on a regular basis to do outreach for Project Achieve and talk about soaps (he and Roger Newcomb created the soap site, We Love Soaps).
We all buzzed in and out of Pieces on a weekly basis and I'd like to think that we were creating magic wherever we went.
I continued to create the posters and you can see where my skills got better over time - and as clunky as some of my work was, it sort of reflected the event - we're not really all that polished, and it's a kind of fun, fly by the seat of your pants type of experience.
It's amazing how, this many years later, there are a lot of weeks that I can remember clear as a bell.. like the one night one of the porn stars came in all cracked out of his brains complaining that he didn't really see why Will Clark is a big deal (honey, that's because you've cooked your brain with crystal meth). LOL or the other porn star who bailed on his appearance and it turned out spent the night filming himself taking a dump. Stay classy guys! LOL
But porn star Colin Steele was a frequent (and great) guest and Bryan Slater did something no one else had done before or since - and that's go to the venue to take a site specific photo for promotion. That was pretty awesome! :) It was incredible to have Matthew Rush on the show AND welcome then new porn stud Max Sinclair (one of my favorite porn star friends ever.. and that's saying a lot. Race Cooper, Mike Dreyden, Skye Woods and Avi Dar also made appearances. I think I was most charmed though by Antton Harri. Swoon.
The biggest story of the year was probably the non-appearance of Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black for our Pride show that benefited Heritage of Pride. Not only had HOP arranged the appearance, but then got mad at me and pulled out of the event when I, you know, promoted it. BTW they pulled out like an hour before hand and the Gay/Lesbian Anti Violence Project stepped in and made $1000 for the night (with help from our porn star Nick Capra and singer Bianca Leigh). (As a side note, the manager responsible for the debacle apologized and since left HOP and the new fella in his position offered me a sincere apology. Thank you HOP!)
A year later I got a sort of apology from Dustin himself and a promise to make an appearance "next time" he'd be in town. Well, it's three years later and gosh I'm still waiting (yeah I know, good luck with that, right? LOL)
On a happier note, SWISH introduced me to singer/drag queen Jackie Dupree, one of the most amazing voices in New York. And we got to have Trai La Trash on the show before she moved clear across the country for good. Rollerna returned and I got to interview New York nightlife legend Hatti Hathaway.
I also welcomed uniquely New York personalities - Doug Quint whose "Big Gay Ice Cream Truck" had just opened that summer and singer Elizabeth Soychak who created the Renegade Cabaret sensation by singing nightly for free off of the fire escape of her friend Patty's apartment adjacent to the Highline. Since then Doug has opened a brick and mortar shop in the East Village and Elizabeth performs frequently around the city. We also raised funds for singer Our Lady J's boob job. It's not often we do something like this but it does happen.
Reconnecting with the past Bingo nights has been a really cool experience and I hope you're enjoying this stroll down memory lane as much as I am.... even if you've never been to a Bingo night!
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