Script for February 2001, QMH:

Intro

In 1975 Olivia Records released what would become the best selling women's music album of all time, "The Changer and The Changed," by Cris Williamson. Williamson also co-founded the label. And she's released over 20 albums, is working on a new one, and tours regularly. She's considered one of the founding members of the women's music movement. From "The Changer And the Changed" album, here is "sweet woman."

Cris Williamson - sweet woman (1975)

We're going to stay in the 70s for two more songs. First, from 1979 we'll hear another women's music pioneer, Robin Flower, singing the title track from her album "More Than Friends."

Robin Flower - more than friends (1979)
Trish Nugent - were you there (1977)

I followed Robin Flower with Trish Nugent. The song "Were You There" was from her 1977 album "Foxglove Woman," and she also sang it in the grown-breaking documentary about homosexuality, called "Word Is Out."

Since there will be so many obscurities heard on this show, I thought those of you on the internet would like to be able to see photos of the artists and recordings, and view the playlist. So I've set up a special web page just for this show.

Okay, I've got two special interviews on the show tonight and the first is coming up next.
This month I had a chance to hear Austin artist Christy Claxton perform. She frequently does
shows in Houston, and I really enjoyed it. She has a new album called "Out Of Nowhere." And a few
weeks ago she agreed to do an interview for me, so I've got some short clips to share with you.
She'll first tell you a little about her music and then we'll hear "Funky Little House."

My name is Christy Claxton. My CD is "Out of Nowhere." How would I describe my CD and musical style? That's a hard one. In fact, after a year I still have a hard time pigeon-holing it. In fact, we just sort of say it lacks a genre; it lacks a pigeon-hole, but if I had to tell someone what they were hearing I guess I would just have to tell them a little bit folk, a little bit country, maybe a little rock, ah, it's definitely Texas music. I think that my Texas roots are very evident in the CD. I am a full time musician. I quit my day job in February of 2000, once the release, once we were ready to release "Out of Nowhere." I was able to go ahead and quit my job. For ten years prior to that I had sort of been a moonlighting musician. I played part time in several different kinds of bands in and around Texas, and I just sort of waited until I was at a point in my life that I was financially able to pursue this dream. And I'm of the opinion that maybe more people should just do what they believe in, even if it's for a year or two. Who knows? Maybe in a year or two, we'll go belly up and I'll have to the grind. I hope not, but in the meantime, full tilt, and hopefully we'll be able to take this music to a level that everyone can enjoy

Christy Claxton - funky little house (2000)

"Out of Nowhere" loosely is a concept album. The ten songs that are there were written over a ten-year period of time. When I decided to sit down and make this record, I wanted to tie it together and have some sort of theme, have a continuity to it, and therefore I sat through ten years of songs that I'd written, and found ten songs that could thematically express a journey, and probably more than anything, a personal journey, since many of the songs feel very personal. Ah, sometimes a song is written from a third-person point of view with characters, who are often real people that I've met, experiences that I've seen or been involved in. Sometimes they are very personal songs. You asked about "Best Loved Girl." That is really and truly a very tongue-in-cheek song. It's original intent was sarcasm, written for a young woman that I dated for a short period of time. I thought she had a huge ego, and ultimately decided I didn't much care for, and I wrote that song as an insult, really. And it's funny now it's taken sort of an anthem type life on the CD, and I like that. I think that it can be taken that way, and that's the beauty of writing. Songs can have many meanings for many different people. In fact that song…I was approached by a gentleman at the Millennium March, who asked if he could print the words to that in his drag queen publications, so, there you go.

Christy Claxton - best loved girl (2000)

Again, those songs were "Funky Little House" and "Best Loved Girl" from her new CD "Out Of Nowhere," and you can hear other song clips at her website, www.christyclaxton.com. I want to thank Christy for the interview, and of course the promo spot at the end.

This would be a good time to take a break and remind you that you are listening to Queer
Music Heritage, a part of Lesbian & Gay Voices on KPFT, Houston. Also, be sure to
listen to KPFT every Saturday night at midnight for After Hours with Jimmy Carper. It's
Queer Radio With Attitude.

Spotlight Feature: Gays In The Military

My spotlight feature for tonight's show is on Gays In The Military. I've got six songs that all deal a little differently with the subject.

I start off with Martin Swinger. He sings a two-part song called "Military Ditty/Give Us Our Own" from his 1994 release "Singin' Out!" And I follow that with John Forster singing "In The Closet". That's from his 1997 CD called "Helium."

Martin Swinger - military ditty/give us our own (1994)
John Forster - in the closet (1997)
Fred Small - the marine's lament (1993)

After Martin Swinger and John Forster you heard Fred Small sing "The Marine's Lament," from 1993, and that version was only released on cassette singles he sold at concerts. Now, those last two songs took a kind of humorous approach. And they are by artists who I believe are straight. I will always tell you if I think an artist is not gay. And neither is this next artist. He is Charlie King and has been singing folk and protest music for at least 25 years, and many of his releases contain pro-gay songs. In fact, he has a brand new CD out called "I Struck Gold" that contains a song that is both about tinky winky and Matthew Shepard, and has a powerful message. I got to hear him sing it at a concert here in Houston this month, and will certainly play it on a future show, but for tonight's show, as part of my gays-in-the-military spotlight, you'll hear him sing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," from his 1995 CD "Inside Out."

Charlie King - don't ask, don't tell (1995)
Hypnotic Clambake - bisexual military (1995)

Now I have no idea if that last artist and group are gay. They have the strange name of Hypnotic Clambake, and that song came from their 1995 album "Kent The Zen Master." The song is called "Bisexual Military" and is one of the few songs I know of with the word "bisexual" in its title. I've got one more gays-in-the-military song and it is by none other than Boy George. He sings "GI Josephine." He wrote it in 1995 and it's from his 1999 album "The Unrecoupable One Man Bandit."

Boy George - GI josephine (1999)

You can find links to many of the websites of the artists on tonight's show on my website, along with the playlist and artist photos.

I've got a new artist to introduce this month, he lives in Philadelphia and his name is Matthew Cloran, and I'm very pleased with his CD. It's called "Finally Free" and is a wonderful, feel-good pop gay album, with many songs that are lyrically out of the closet. It is of the type that I wish I could have listened to when I was coming out. It touches many places in our hearts, but none more than its song "The Prince." I was able to get Matthew to record for me some comments about his CD, so first you'll hear him introduce the album, and after the song "The Prince," he'll talk a little about it.

um I think that "Finally Free" musically is a mix of inspirational, pop, some folk, a little bit of light rock, and a little bit of country, so it's got quite a few things going on musically, and that's one of the things I like about it actually, that there's more than just one genre of music I think going on.

Matthew Cloran - the prince (2000)

um a lot of people ask me if "the prince" is autobiographical and I guess it is in a way that um a lot of other um gay men have told me you know that they felt different early on and uh you know I'm no different there I definitely felt different as a kid and I think that it was being gay, um but ah some of the other stuff, you know, isn't true, my father didn't read to me um as a child. But um you know I certainly strived to win his love and affection and acceptance and ah you know found, thought that when I was coming out when I was about 17 or 18 that that was just something he would never be able to accept, so that was pretty tough. But also unlike the boy in "the prince" who grows up and who chooses not to come out I'm glad that I was able through the support of some pretty cool people in my life I was able to slowly very slowly come out and deal with being gay and then all of that so so that sort of uh you know with 'the prince' how it's autobiographical and how it's not. But I love the song it's ah again one of those songs that um as I was writing it ah was hoping that it would you know come out as well as I wanted it to, and it did, so I'm pretty happy about "the prince."

I wish I had time to play several songs from Matthew Cloran's album, but for my closing song I want to play "Love Came In (And You Came Out)." It's probably the most infectious song on the album. It takes the different, and welcome, approach of a man watching a close woman friend gradually realize she is lesbian, and rejoices in her finding someone to love. I asked Matthew about the recording of it.

I cant tell you how much fun we had recording the backup voices for "love came in and you came out" it was me and my best friend Julianne and one of my oldest friends were in the studio and we decided we were going to go for that you know that pop, bubble-gum pop background kind of sound um sort of like the Brady Bunch you know kind of thing going on and we just had a blast and it was just so much fun to do, the song itself was based on an actual experience, my friend Suzanne had been straight for the longest time and through some experiences realized that she was gay and I sort of watched her sort of go through that whole experience and sat down and wrote a song about it , the song is a lot of fun and Suzanne loves it which is pretty cool, we really did have a blast recording that number, so I really enjoyed the backup vocals to "love came in and you came out"

I want to thank Matthew Cloran for the interview and to thank you all for tuning in to the show. If you have questions or comments about any of the music I've featured, including maybe where to track them down, I'd be glad to help, so please email me. This is JD Doyle, and I'll be back on the 4th Monday of next month with another installment of Queer Music Heritage. Once again, here's Matthew Cloran from his album "Finally Free" singing "Love Came In (and You Came Out)"

Matthew Cloran - QMH promo, over song intro
Matthew Cloran - love came in (and you came out) (2000)