Gay Bars Facing Losses, Attract Straight Customers

From Alaska on adn.com:
"By JULIA O'MALLEY
jomalley@adn.com

(03/21/09 00:02:01)
In Mad Myrna's drag dressing room, where a J-Lo song wound out among the wigs and gowns on a recent Friday evening, Isanoel Pinson leaned into the mirror, pursed his lips a little and smeared foundation on his forehead.

Pinson, who is in his 40s, started performing drag just after he emigrated to Anchorage from the Philippines in the early '80s. His first haunt was an old bar called the Jade Room. These days the crowds that come to his shows couldn't be more different than they were back then.

"Oh. My. God," he said, applying a ribbon of glue to a false eyelash. "Before is all like gay, gay, gay. Now would you believe? Our audience is all straight people. Couples!"

Myrna's has been home to a drag show for a decade, and straight people have long been part of the audience. But on some Friday nights lately, gay patrons have thinned dramatically, replaced by military couples, bachelorette parties and curious young professionals. It's part of a national trend.

From San Francisco to Pittsburgh, Boston to Nashville, gay bars are closing their doors and shuttering drag shows, citing lack of patrons.

There are plenty of theories why clientele is changing at Myrna's. People are making connections on the Internet. Growing social acceptance means there are few establishments were gays don't feel comfortable. Simply put, the need for gay bars is fading.

"I have this feeling now that it's like 'mission accomplished,' " said Mike Richardson, board president of the Imperial Court of All Alaska, one of the state's oldest gay organizations.

"We really don't need safety in numbers."

Myrna's had to get creative to attract new customers to fill in where the old ones used to be, said manager Jeff "Myrna" Wood. Over the last few years, that has meant retooling the drag show to appeal to a wider audience. And now the venerable gay bar depends at least in part on the dollars of straight customers to keep its doors open.

As Wood likes to say, gay or straight, "everybody's money is green."


QUEEN OF QUEENS

The clock ticks toward 9 p.m., Paige Langit arrives in the dressing room with her mother, Donna Langit, carrying bags of costumes.

Langit is 28. Lounge singer and comedienne, she's the sexy, bossy, busty co-host of the show. She's also a registered Republican with a boyfriend. She stands in front of the mirror in a pink bra, teasing her hair and caking on purple eye shadow. A queen named Mariquita squeezes in next to her, pawing through a make-up bag.

Langit is the face of the new scene. The drag show, once the exclusive domain of gay men and transgender women, has morphed into a variety show -- kinky and freaky -- with something for everyone, from burlesque to torch singing, along with a diverse stable of queens.

A singer and actress since her teens, Langit started performing at Myrna's in her early 20s after one of the drag queens saw her sing karaoke. She had a couple of gay friends in high school but had no experience with drag.

"I didn't know anything about the transgender community," she said, but enjoyed the personalities she encountered at the bar. "It was like, 'Oh great -- a group of people who like to perform.' "

Drag is mainly about exaggerated femininity, Langit says. Once she has her hair and make-up and magenta high-heels on, she feels a bit like a drag queen too.

People in the audience wonder if she's a lesbian or if she's a "real" woman. All that ambiguity is part of what makes the show interesting, she says.


SOLDIERS IN THE AUDIENCE

Lights dimmed, cocktails flowing and tables full, music pounds out of the speakers in Myrna's show hall. Scott "Daphne DoAll LaChores" Koeller, the other drag show co-host, is dressed in a red Sarah Palin-esque suit, enormous ratty blonde wig and matronly glasses. He takes the stage, warming the audience with a monologue full of double-entendre one-liners.

Then Langit makes her entrance, sashaying into the spotlight in a tight pink top and white leggings, bubble gun in hand. An old cross-dresser and a young lady-- a drag version of Regis and Kelly -- their witty, bawdy banter serves as the backbone for the show, bridging generations and sexuality.

Koeller makes a joke referencing a decades old commercial. Langit tilts her head to the side, her face blank.

"I'll YouTube it," she says.

Soon an old-time burlesque dancer in a bustier and ruffled panties weaves through the audience starting her act. Then comes the lithe, shirtless male go-go dancer. Then the Karaoke crooner in a brown v-neck sweater. The room is full of whistles and belly laughs. There's a soldier in dress uniform and his wife in the front row.

Today's audience is usually couples or single women, Wood said.

"The girls want to go see the drag queens," he said. "Women are more tolerant than guys are."

"You can always tell the straight people," says Koeller, "because they're the ones who come on time."

Iesha Jones, 32, who is not gay, has become a regular at Myrna's. She started coming years ago because she had a friend in the show. She likes that the bar doesn't have a "meat market" feel, she said.

"It's like OK, I'm here for the show," she said. "I know I'm not going to get hit on by guys."

The straight men are almost always with women. In general men who come alone are "highly questionable" as a dating prospect, she said. Though it's not entirely impossible to meet someone.

"Occasionally you get a lot of soldiers. I did meet a guy who just got back from Iraq."

Members of the older generation might raise an eyebrow that she's spending time at a gay bar, she said. But people her age don't think it's strange and most of her friends would be comfortable joining her. There are a number of bars in Anchorage with an integrated gay-straight social scene, she said.


THE NEW SHOW

Backstage not everyone is happy. But then they wouldn't be drag queens without a little drama. Pinson, affixing a 3-foot-wide Afro wig, clicks his tongue, looking at the clock. The new acts take forever. He complains in Tagalog to Joebie Fernandez, a diminutive, smooth-skinned queen, who's sorting through a tackle box of earrings. There are eye rolls all around.

The class of drag queens once at the center of the show are aging -- most are at least 40 -- and like a fading order of nuns whose convents are closing, fewer among the younger generation are stepping into their size 13 pumps.

Some worry drag has become so mainstream, it may have lost its edge, so the younger generation isn't as interested. And, with fewer bars, there's fewer places for new queens to learn the craft.

That's what makes Trevor "Ashley" Council unique. At 24, he's the youngest of the queens by at least 10 years. On his hands and knees, he's pulling shoes out of a suitcase, naming each style as he examines them: "French Whore. French Whore. Hooker Shoe."

"I'm a boy during the day and girl on Friday nights and for special events," he says.

He stands in front of the mirror in a black dress, fluffs his wig and flashes a set of perfect white teeth. He's doesn't know what gay bars used to be like but likes the way they are now.

"I think the people who go there are the kind who are straight and more accepting of gay people," he said. "It's nice to be around those kind of people."

Out on the main floor, bass from the speakers vibrates the drinks on the bar. Pinson waits off stage for her Gloria Gaynor number. Fernandez, in a leather bikini and dangling earrings, steps out to face the audience, opening a huge set of gold lamé wings into a whirl of lights.

And at least for now, the show goes on."

EXP Magazine & Faces Present "The Condemned" Movie Release Party Sunday April 22

EXP Magazine & Faces on Fourth Street present the Movie Release Party for "The Condemned" on Sunday April 22, 2007. A limited number of screening passes will be available. Sunday is 18+ to enter & 21+ to drink. Doors open Sunday @ 10 PM. Candy Principle hosts the Sunday Drag Show @ 11:30 PM.

UNSPEAKABLE JOY Saturday April 7 - Special Guest DJ Danny Morris

Saturday April 7, 2007 Faces on Fourth Street Presents UNSPEAKABLE JOY with special guest DJ Danny Morris. You'll be runnin', and skippin', and jumpin' to the soaring vocals of Kim English, Kristine W., Thea Austin. Inaya Day, Simone Denny, Crysyal Waters and many more. Danny will salute the joy of uplifting dance music. Danny has been a legendary resident St. Louis DJ/VJ at Freddie's, Faces on Fourth Street, Loading Zone, Hyperspace, and Fall-Out. If you remember Danny's packed dance floors @ Faces or Fall-Out, then you'll be dancing until dawn tonight. Danny spins at Freddie's then brings the UNSPEAKABLE JOY to Faces on Fourth Street @ 1:30 AM. Marissa Bloomingdale hosts a special JOY Drag Show in the Cabaret @ 1:30 AM. Doors open Saturday @ midnight. Saturday is 21+ with iD required.

St. Patrick's Day Weekend Drag Shows Friday - Sunday March 16-18

Faces on Fourth Street celebrates St. Patrick's Day Weekend with Drag Shows Friday, Saturday, and Sunday March 16, 17, and 18. Marissa Bloomingdale hosts the Friday & Saturday Shows. Candy Principle hosts the Sunday Show. Friday & Sunday Shows start @ 11:30 Pm & 1 AM. Saturday Show starts @ 1:30 AM in the Cabaret. Doors open Friday & Sunday @ 10 PM. Doors open Saturday @ midnight. Friday & Sunday are 18+ to enter & 21+ to drink. Saturday is 21+ with ID required. Cover is $5 every night for everyone. DJ Beezwakz spins Friday & Saturday night in the Main Room. DJ Steve-O spins AFTERHOURS in the Basement on Saturday. DJ Charlie Button spins Sunday.

"Dreamgirls" Salute Wednesday March 14th @ Faces

Wednesday March 14th Faces on Fourth Street presents a Salute to "Dreamgirls". Wednesday is our 18+ Dance Party & Battle of the Amateur Drag Queens. Dayonna Nicole & Alyssa Valentino host the show @ 11:30 PM & 1 AM. Our Amateurs will perform numbers from "Dreamgirls" as they compete for cash and audience applause. DJ Charlie Buttons takes requests before, between, and after the show. Doors open @ 10PM. Wednesday is 18+ to enter & 21+ to drink. Cover is $5 for everyone.

New Year's Eve 2007 @ Faces on Fourth Street

First pix from last Fridays U CAN DANCE @ Faces on Fourth Street! Hot Boys! Fabulous Drag Queens!

From Faces on Fourth Street - Judy Garland's "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"

We're open Sunday, December 24, 2006 (Christmas Eve) in case you
are tired of the family or maybe your alone for holidays....Our
Basement opens on Sunday @ 5 PM...our Main Room opens on Sunday @
11 PM with a $5 cover all night. This Sunday is 21+ with ID
required. Enjoy our Sunday Keg Party with Quarter (25 cent) draft
Pabst Blue Ribbon and $2 UV Vodka all night.

We're open on Monday, December 25, 2006 for a special 18+ Dance
Party. Doors open Monday @ 11 PM. Siren's Killer Queens perform a
Christmas show @ 11:30 PM & 1 AM. DJ Charlie Buttons takes your
requests all night. $5 cover for everyone until midnight.

Make Plans to Spend the Holidays @ Faces - Check Out Our Holiday Updates & Reminders

New This Month
The holidays can be a frenzy of activity...from work (if your in
retail or work in a restaurant we know your working your rear off
right now), shopping, moving (if your coming home from college),
and of course parties...so we thought we'd try to raise our voice
above all the noise and clutter in your life to remind you that
we will be here to help you deal with or escape all the holiday
pressure. Please read through this, save it, and forward it to
your friends.

------------------------------------------------------------

Wednesday 12.20 - 18+ Dance Party & Battle of the Amateur Drag
Queens hosted by Siren - Doors @ 10 PM - Show @ 11:30 PM & 1 AM
- DJ Charlie Button spins until 4 AM -$2 Bacardi Silver, $2
Peels, $2 Long Island Ice Tea, $1 Sake, $5 cover for everyone
until 11 PM then $5 for 21+ & $10 for 18+.

Thursday 12.21 - Back2Basics - Doors @ midnight (Basement only)
- 21+ - $1 domestic longnecks. $3 cover all night.

Friday 12.22 - 18+ Dance Party & Drag Show hosted by Marissa
Bloomingdale - Doors @ 10 PM - Show @ 11:30 & 1 AM - DJ Beezwakz
spins - $2 Mich Ultra - $10 cover all night for 18+ and $5
until midnight for 21+ then $7 after midnight for 21+.

Saturday 12.23 -THUMP! Dance Party - All music, all night - DJ
Beezwakz in the Main Room and Steve-O in the Basement - Doors @
midnight - 21+ - $5 cover until 2 AM then $10 after 2 AM.

Sunday 12.24 - Christmas EveDance Party - (yes, we're open) -
21+ with ID required - Basement open @ 5 PM - Main Room @ 11PM -
All music, all night with Rosee (no show) - $5 cover all night
- 25 cent draft PBR and $2 UV Vodka.

Monday 12.25 - Santa Sluts and Ho-Ho Hos: A Dirty Xmas
Celebration with Siren's Killer Queens - 18+ to enter - 21+ to
drink - Doors @ 11 PM - Show @ 11:30 & 1 AM - DJ Charlie Buttons
spins - $5 cover for everyone until midnight.

Tuesday 12.26 - Closed

Wednesday 12.27 - 18+ Dance Party & Battle of the Amateur Drag
Queens hosted by Siren - Doors @ 10 PM - Show @ 11:30 PM & 1 AM
- DJ Charlie Button spins until 4 AM -$2 Bacardi Silver, $2
Peels, $2 Long Island Ice Tea, $1 Sake, $5 cover for 21+ & $10
for 18+.

Thursday 12.28 - Back2Basics - Doors @ midnight (Basement only)
- 21+ - $1 domestic longnecks. $3 cover all night.

Friday 12.29 - U Can Dance hosted by Siren - 18+ to enter & 21+
to drink - Doors @ 10 PM - Show @ 11:30 PM - DJ Pavel spins
after the show - $2 Mich Ultra - $10 cover for everyone.

Saturday 12.30 - Last Dance - 21+ Dance Party - all music, all
night with DJ Pavel in the Main Room & Steve-O in the Basement -
Doors @ midnight.

Sunday 12.31 - NYE 2007 - 21+ - Doors @ 9 PM - Balloon Drop @
midnight - Show hosted by Marissa Bloomingdale and Candy
Principle @ 1 AM - warm chocolate fountain and fresh fruit
buffet from 9 PM until midnight - DJs Pavel, Beezwakz, & Steve-O
- Video stars Kevin Brown and Luca DiCorso perform in the
Cabaret. Advance tickets on sale now. Visit our website for more
NYE 2007 details. Where will you be on NYE?

Monday 01.01 - One: First Night Dance - 18+ to enter & 21+ to
drink - Doors @ 11 PM - Drag Show @ 11:30 PM - $1 rail drinks &
$1 domestic longnecks.

Tuesday 01.02 - Closed (we have to recover too).

Spend NYE 2007 With Our Girls - Candy Principle & Marissa Bloomingdale Host NYE Cabaret Show

Candy Principle & Marissa Bloomingdale host Faces on Fourth Street's Special NYE 2007 Drag Show om Sunday, December 31, 2006. Door open @ 9 PM. The the NYE Drag Show starts @ 1 AM in the Cabaret. All Worlds Exclusive Keven Brown & Rascal Exclusive Luca DiCorso share the stage. Where will you be on New Year's Eve?

Marissa Bloomingdale Hosts Friday Drag Shows

Spread the word...Marissa Bloomingdale hosts Drag Shows Friday December 8, 15, and 22 @ Faces on Fourth Street. Start your weekend off with drag and dancing. Fridays are 18+ to enter & 21+ to drink. Doors open Friday @ 10 PM. The Drag Show starts @ 11:30 PM & 1 AM. Enjoy $2 Mich Ultra all night.

Check out last Friday's U CAN DANCE pix! Were you there?

Siren's U CAN DANCE - Friday November 24

Drag Shows Friday, Saturday, & Sunday

Faces on Fourth Street hosts Drag Shows this Thanksgiving Weekend. Meet your friends, bring your family for our holiday shows. Wednesday November 22 is our Homecoming Dance with our Battle of the Amateur Drag Queens hosted by Siren. Doors open Wednesday @ 10 PM and the show starts @ 11:30 PM & 1 AM. Wednesday is 18+ to enter & 21+ to drink. Friday night November 24 Siren hosts U CAN DANCE, a non-stop dance event with go go bois, drag performances, and great music. The show starts @ 11:30 PM on Friday. Doors open Friday @ 10 PM. Friday is 18+ to enter & 21+ to drink. Saturday November 25 Siren hosts the show in the Cabaret @ 2 AM. Doors open Saturday @ midnight. Saturday is our Lights Out/Underwear Party. Drop your pants and dance. Clothes check available. Saturday is 21+ with ID required. DJ Pavel spins both Friday & Saturday in the Main Room. DJ Steve-O spins Saturday AFTERHOURS in the Basement. Sunday November 26 Siren hosts the show @ 11:30 PM & 1 AM. DJ Charlie Buttons takes your requests before and after the show. Doors open Sunday @ 10 PM. Sunday is 18+ to enter & 21+ to drink. Sunday is our Keg Party with Quarter (25 cent) draft Pabst Blue Ribbon all night. Come home for the holidays and celebrate with your friends @ Faces on Fourth Street.