Robinrichmondva's BlogThe Electronic Newsletter of the Richmond Bisexual Network (ROBIN)
“It is always better to come out late…than to never come out at all”.
Volume 10 — Issue 2
Winter, 2011 ISSUE
Item 4: Robin Renee Round-Up
Item 5: And now featuring Zoe Lewis!
Item 6: …Also Following Julie Clark
Item 7: Reserved for Future Use
Item 8: Reserved for Future Use
Item 9: Fall 2011 Issue of Bi Womens Newsletter Now Available
Item Last: A refresher in grammar and punctuation.
The Business End of Bi Lines On Line
Celebrated folk artist, Tret Fure, delights Peninsula
audience with heartfelt performance
By: Michael T. Wagner
On Sunday, January 15, fifty men and women from across Hampton Roads gathered at the Universal Unitarian Fellowship of the Peninsula (UUFP) in Newport News for a live concert with celebrated folk artist Tret Fure (pronounced fury). The event, hosted by Young’s Mill Music, was the second that Fure has given at the UUFP, and the fourth on the Peninsula.
Hailing from Madison, Wisconsin, Fure has nearly four decades of performance experience, and an acclaimed history of touring across the United States. Having begun her career in Berkeley, California, where she was a UC Berkeley undergraduate student, her career took her from the West Coast to the East, and then onward to Europe, including the United Kingdom and Russia.
The atmosphere inside the Sanctuary at the UUFP was calm yet ecstatic – an exciting mix that exists when an audience knows the performance they are about to indulge in will be pleasurable. The small crowd, mostly returning Fure fans, seemed more like a friendly get together than a collection of strangers whose paths have crossed by chance of musical taste only. Unified by their admiration for the artist, the enthusiastic audience sat rapt in their chairs, responsive to Fure’s every word.
Aside from Fure’s obvious musical talent – with four decades of performances and twelve albums under her belt – it became immediately clear that what defines a Fure performance, and often those of other folk artists, is the intimate nature of the event. A singer/songwriter whose ballads are known for having deeply personal resonances, her music is inspired by the keen observations and often seminal events of her life. By explicitly communicating this, Fure was successful at amplifying the meaning of each song, thus deeply enriching the experience. In many ways by pairing non-lyrical narrative with lyrical performance, Fure allowed the concert to transcend that of a standard event and evolve into the artistic telling of a life, rather than a mere compilation of disconnected songs.
For instance, Fure spoke candidly about how the song titled Grace of God (featured on her latest album The Horizon) was inspired by a phone call she received from one of her brothers announcing the near fatal auto accident he had survived the day before, thus causing an intensely introspective moment regarding the importance of telling those we love that we love them while they are still here to hear it. Fure also spoke of society’s inclination to exist in a state of disconnected apathy, and through song expressed her thoughts on the matter, which were inspired after having spent a week commuting on New York City’s A-train. She also shared humorous stories about growing up in a half Norwegian, half Italian family, and the stark dichotomy that often presented.
“You really feel like you know her by listening to her stories and then hearing the beautiful song that goes with it,” explained Stacey, a Fure fan, and New York resident who happened to be in town for the performance.
Fure was gracious enough to also elaborate on her current partner, Lauren Furey (yes, their names are identical in sound), a local resident who was the sole actor to introduce Fure to Hampton Roads nearly a year ago.
To learn more about Tret Fure you can follow her on Facebook, or visit her website at: www.tretfure.com
Hampton Roads Bisexuals
A social and support group for folks that are bi, bi-curious, bi-friendly, fluid, pan, poly, T/G and others…supportive members of the LGBT community are also welcome!
Tuesday, February 21
Meet at Panera at Jefferson Commons on Jefferson Avenue near Bland Avenue starting at 7:30PM for another “drop in” meeting”. The person that ”drops in” first gets to lead the discussion with a topic of their choosing.
Tuesday, March 13
Return back to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of the Peninsula – Annex Building at 13136 Warwick Boulevard at 7PM. The topic will be “Bedtime Stories”.
As usual be there…or be someplace else!
and now, some surprizing news…
It seems a slew of new peopel have joined ROBIN via the Meetup page, so Karen is giving it the “old college try” and is working on having a meeting. Please come out or at least say “hello” or just acknowledge her e mail about coming to a meteing in 2012.
Publisher’s Note: This information is on their website, and if you sign up for their mailing list you can get this in either TEXT or HTML format. Sometimes what we down load isn’t very pretty and we need to “clean it up” before posting.
LGBT News and Upcoming Events
January 14, 2012
GCCR’s Third Annual Winter Dance
Saturday, February 11 | 7 – 11 pm | Event Hall | $10 for Adults, $5 for Students with ID
Come out to GCCR and dance the night away on Saturday February 11 at our Third Annual Winter Dance. Although it’s happening right before Valentine’s Day this is not just for people with a sweetheart or significant other – singles and couples of all ages are welcome. We encourage singles to come and join the fun. There will be a DJ and light refreshments provided.
You can dedicate a song to that special someone or possibly meet someone new to dance with. If you have requests for specific songs, email Stephanie at Stephanie.Smilth@LGBTRichmond.net.
Saturday, February 11, from 7 – 11 pm in the GCCR Event Hall. $10 for Adults, $5 for students with ID. More information will follow soon.
Telling Stories That Matter: GCCR Celebrates Black History Month 2012
Audre Lorde, self-styled “black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet,” dedicated her life and her talent to confronting the injustices of racism, sexism, and homophobia. Her writing, as Joan Martin notes in Black Women Writers (1950-1980): A Critical Evaluation, “rings with passion, sincerity, perception, and depth of feeling.” Lorde resisted modern society’s tendency to categorize groups of people and fought the marginalization of such categories as “lesbian” and “black woman,” thereby empowering her readers to react to the prejudice in their own lives.
Born Audrey Geraldine Lorde on February 18, 1934, this Caribbean-American essayist, poet, and activist was published very regularly during the 1960s—in Langston Hughes’ 1962 New Negro Poets, USA; in foreign anthologies; and in black literary magazines. During this time, she was politically active in the civil rights, anti-war, and feminist movements. Lorde identified issues of class, race, age, gender and even health—this last was added as she battled cancer in her later years—as being fundamental to the female experience. She argued that, although the gender difference has received all the focus, these other differences are also essential and must be recognized and addressed.
Lorde was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1978 and underwent a mastectomy. Six years later she was diagnosed with liver cancer. She wrote The Cancer Journals which, in 1981, won the American Library Association Gay Caucus Book of the Year Award. She lost her fourteen year battle with the disease on November 17, 1992. Her outspoken poetry and cultural criticism are her legacy.
This course will meet 6 times: February 2nd and 16th, March 1st and 15th, and April 5th and 19th from 7:00 – 8:30 pm. Registration is $95. For more information contact jrandymarshall@gmail.com or call Cindy Bray at 804-622-4646 ext. 22.
OWLS Discussion Group Reveals Topics for 2012
Tuesday afternoons, Feb 7 – Mar 13 | 2 – 4:30 pm | GCCR Classroom | Free
You Can! Live Well, Virginia! is a 6 week program designed to help you take control and feel more in control of your health. It is primarily focused toward people with chronic conditions: chronic pain, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, etc., and their families, friends and caregivers. It can give everyone a better understanding of their own health and better strategies to deal with chronic conditions. This program is a great way to start making 2012 a healthier year!
SAGE Central Virginia is partnering with Senior Connections, the Virginia Department of Health and the Virginia Department of Aging to offer this free program developed at Stanford University here at GCCR. The Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) is a free 2.5 hour six-week workshop that teaches practical skills for living a healthy life. If you or someone you care for has a chronic condition such as diabetes, arthritis or high blood pressure this workshop can help you feel better, be in control, and do the things YOU want to do.
You will get the support you need as you learn about:
This is an interactive program; it helps put YOU in charge of your own health and helps you do more of the things you want to do.
Tuesday afternoons, Feb 7 – Mar 13
2 – 4:30 pm
GCCR Classroom
Contact Cindy Bray at Cindy.Bray@LGBTRichmond.net or 622-4646, ext. 22 for more information.
Gina DeLuca to Headline Cindy’s Birthday Blues Bash
Saturday, March 3rd | 8 pm | Small Event Hall | $10 in advance
Gina DeLuca will be headlining this year at Cindy Bray’s Second Annual Birthday Blues Bash. Cindy can’t figure out a way she would rather celebrate her birthday than to have a blues concert and to raise money for GCCR and SAGE. The concert is Saturday, March 3rd at 8 pm here at GCCR in the Small Event Hall, unless the response is so overwhelming that we have to move it to the big hall (wouldn’t that be wonderful!?).
Advance Tickets are $10 or $15 at the door – remember folks, you’re supporting a great cause as well as having a great time celebrating. There will be finger foods and, of course, cake provided. Beverages will be available for a donation. Proceeds will be split between GCCR and SAGE Central Virginia. If you like the blues, you’ll love Gina! Listening to great blues is a great way to chase away those birthday blues.
A little bit about Gina… Nothing leaps off of the page like a little primary color, which is why redheads are so popular. Red is the color of love, the color of passion, the color of power. When you first see Gina DeLuca, you immediately notice her fiery red curls, and brilliant blue eyes – equal parts playful and mysterious. Her presence is confident and sincere; deeply introspective, and she is in complete command of her audience before the first note is played or word is spoken. When you first HEAR Gina, you are swept up in her innate vocal ability. She is raw power, seductive finesse, and shades of soul – all brought together by a single, pure, natural voice.
Her natural style, and deep understanding of the blues are evident in every song. From soft, delicate whispers to powerful, defiant wails, Gina bears her soul for all to witness. Red truly is the color of love, passion, and power. Gina currently has 2 CD’s available “Angel with Dirty Wings” and “Blue-Eyed Soul.” Come enjoy the show and take her home with you…
Gina is influenced by Nina Simone, Annie Lennox, Brian Setzer, Ray Charles, Eva Cassidy, Susan Tedeschi, Aretha Franklin, Joss Stone and Saffire -The Uppity Blueswomen, who covered her original song “Nothing in Your House” on their last CD “Having the Last Word.”
Again, Tickets are be $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Remember folks, you’re supporting a great cause as well as having a great time celebrating!!! Tickets will be available at Diversity Thrift and DT2 on Wednesday, January 14.
You can purchase tickets online by clicking here. Online tickets include and additional $1 service fee.
Women’s Coming Out Support Group Announces Topics for 2012
Monday, February 13th | 6:30 pm | GCCR Lounge | Free
GCCR is forming a new Inspirational/Spiritual Book Discussion Group! Our hope for this book group is to provide each person with an atmosphere that will give us an opportunity to encourage and experience personal growth through the reading and discussion of inspirational/spiritual books. To start off 2012 the Group will be reading and discussing “The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom” by Don Miguel Ruiz.
Each group will have a leader and will consist of thought provoking questions which will be discussed during each group. This is a safe group, encouraging open sharing and listening respectfully of one another. Confidentiality will be part of the group requirements.
The group will meet every other Monday for 6 weeks beginning February 13th. The group will meet on from 6:30-8:00PM in the GCCR Lounge. The group is free and open to all – men, women, the religious as well as non-believers.
We encourage people to sign up for this group so that communications via email are able to take place after each session. The questions for the next week’s group will be sent out a week prior to the group. This gives each member time to really think and study the questions and then to journal any thoughts they might have before the next group meets.
To register for the Book Group please email Stephanie Smith at stephanie.smith@lgbtrichmond.net by Feb 6th, 2012 to ensure a spot. Seating is limited, so if you’re interested register early!
If you don’t have a copy of the book already, most bookstores carry this book as well as you can order a copy on-line at Amazon by going to this link
(please read below for in-depth info on the Book and Author)
“The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom” by Don Miguel Ruiz
Don Miguel Ruiz’s book, The Four Agreements was published in 1997. For many, The Four Agreements is a life-changing book, whose ideas come from the ancient Toltec wisdom of the native people of Southern Mexico. The Toltec were ‘people of knowledge’ – scientists and artists who created a society to explore and conserve the traditional spiritual knowledge and practices of their ancestors. The Toltec viewed science and spirit as part of the same entity, believing that all energy – material or ethereal – is derived from and governed by the universe.
Don Miguel Ruiz, born and raised in rural Mexico, was brought up to follow his family’s Toltec ways by his mother, a Toltec faith healer, and grandfather, a Toltec ‘nagual’, a shaman. Despite this, Don Miguel decided to pursue a conventional education, which led him to qualify and practice for several years as a surgeon. Following a car crash, Don Miguel Ruiz reverted to his Toltec roots during the late 1970′s, first studying and learning in depth the Toltec ways, and then healing, teaching, lecturing and writing during the 1980′s and 90′s, when he wrote The Four Agreements (published in 1997), The Mastery of Love (1999), The Four Agreements Companion Book (2000), and Prayers (2001).
Don Miguel Ruiz survived a serious heart attack 2002, since when his teachings have been largely channeled through seminars and classes run by his followers, notably his sons Don Jose Luis and Don Miguel Ruiz Junior. Like many gurus and philosophical pioneers, Ruiz has to an extent packaged, promoted and commercialized his work, nevertheless the simplicity and elegance of his thinking remains a source of great enlightenment and aspiration. The simple ideas of The Four Agreements provide an inspirational code for life; a personal development model, and a template for personal development, behavior, communications and relationships. Here is how Don Miguel Ruiz summarizes ‘The Four Agreements’:
The Four Agreements – Don Miguel Ruiz’s code for life:
Agreement 1:
Be impeccable with your word – Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
Agreement 2:
Don’t take anything personally – Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.
Agreement 3:
Don’t make assumptions – Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.
Agreement 4:
Always do your best – Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.
Gay Community Center of Richmond | 1407 Sherwood Avenue | Richmond | VA | 23220 END
Publishers’ Note: We are keeping up with one of our favorite people who has made a musical name for herself…Robin Renee. We like Robin not only because she has a really cool name (ROBIN, get it?), but also because she is totally upfront about being a bisexual woman as she sings songs of feeling and sophistication. Robin spans a wide musical spectrum of styles and her CD’s to date are a blend of well-crafted lyrics and great musical ability. We have seen here perform live, and if you get a chance at any venue you should just go. For the record, we are not receiving any compensation from Robin or anybody else…we just like her.
* NEW ROBIN RENEE MUSIC & SALES @ ROBIN RENEE’S MANTRA-POP & ROCK SHOP*
If you’ve been in the loop for a while, you may have heard “(Almost Had A) Holiday” at solo shows this time of year, or way back in the day when I sang with a band called The Loved Ones. It is a fun, upbeat, mostly-true story of a holiday that didn’t go exactly as planned. One of the best things about gigging in November and December has always been the chance to sing “Holiday,” so it was high time for a recasting. If it’s all new to you, welcome to one of my favorite tunes.
Listen & download the new “(Almost Had A) Holiday:”
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/robinrenee6
If you are thinking about music as gifts this year, most rr CDs and album downloads are $2 to $4 off at CD Baby… Check it out here:
www.cdbaby.com/artist/robinrenee
or at “Robin Renée’s Mantra-Pop & Rock Shop” on Facebook:
www.robinrenee.com
rr on Facebook: www.facebook.com/robinreneefan
rr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/spiritrockssexy
rr on ReverbNation: www.reverbnation.com/robinrenee
rr on You Tube: www.youtube.com/RobinReneeTV
rr blog, The Dream Between: www.dreambetween.wordpress.com
rr on iTunes: www.tinyurl.com/rritunes
rr on CD Baby: www.cdbaby.com/artist/robinrenee
rr merch: www.zazzle.com/spiritrockssexy
rr @ Kirtan-o-Rama! www.groups.yahoo.com/group/kirtanorama
BIO on Robin Renee
Renée’s musical style blends a poet’s eye with Punk and post-Punk’s independent, defiant spirit, New Wave’s quirky art-pop, and the edgy introspection with which [the classic] singer-songwriters… dissected life. -Taylor Guitars– Discover the IndiesDavid Bowie in a dress on Saturday Night Live that lead the young Robin to realize that she could be anyone and all she is meant to be. It was an inner light experience that pointed the way toward renewed spirituality and the chant vibe that has woven seamlessly into her life and work. It was a dream that involved a billboard, oversize sunglasses, a drag bar, and fire ants that lead to her latest: spirit.rocks.sexy – mantra-pop headlines from the clairaudient dreams of the evocative Robin Renée (March 2009).spirit.rocks.sexy is a celebration of what Robin Renée does best. Featuring two previously unrecorded live show favorites – the lyrically arresting, AAA radio-friendly “The Other End of the Line” and bluesy “You’re In Demand” – plus tracks from three acclaimed releases – In Progress, All Six Senses, and Live Devotion, spirit.rocks.sexy brings together the smart pop rock (“I Don’t Wear Sweaters”), East-meets-West devotional sounds (“Jai Ma”), and the simmering love and eros (“My Bride”) that have continued to define her.Elvis Costello, Krishna Das, James Taylor, Gary Wilson, and Devo. In the biracial, multicultural family in which she grew up, the blended experience extended easily to music. She was just as likely to take a ride on Gladys Knight’s “Midnight Train to Georgia” as to drive along Kraftwerk’s “Autobahn,” and the easy-going sounds of “You’ve Got a Friend” were as common as Dylan’s acerbic “Masters of War.”
HAPPY NEW YEAR BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE!
Thanks again for being on this list. l hope you’re ready for a wonderful 2012. I have lots of shows planned, a new musical in the works and plenty of touring. This weekend I’ll be in a great Pittsburgh venue, opening for the one and only Christine Lavin! Then I’m off traveling to Vietnam and Cambodia to collect some new songs followed by a U.S. tour down south in Texas,Louisiana and Florida. Nice and warm!
When the spring flowers awake and the lambs are being born I’ll be performing in England too!
I’ll keep you posted, meanwhile best wishes to all of you and hope to see you one of these days.
Cheers, Zoë
Sat JANUARY 21st 7:30pm
Calliope Acoustic Masters Series, PITTSBURGH, PA
opening for Christine Lavin
Sat MARCH 3rd 7:30pm Onion Creek House Concerts, AUSTIN, TX
info:onioncreekhouseconcerts@austin.rr.com
I hear this is a really wonderful house concert series. Can’t wait!
Sun MARCH 4th 6pm OWL RANCH open air concerts,
COLLEGE STATION, TX
Info: 979-774 7911 or cccrtx@gmail.com
One of those most beautiful places to play and very lovely people! Let me croon to you under the stars at Owl Ranch.
Fri MARCH 9th 8pm The Bugle Boy, LA GRANGE, TX
Back in La Grange! See you soon. Doors open 7pm.
Sat MARCH 10th 7:30pm
The Millbend Coffeehouse, THE WOODLANDS, TX
Fri MARCH 16th 8pm Uncle Calvin’s Coffeehouse, DALLAS, TX
A wonderful place to play and extremely happy that the wahooligans are opening! www.thewahooligans.com
Sat MARCH 17th 7pm Fairfield Studios, SHREVEPORT, LA
www.shreveporthouseconcerts.org
More info:318-219 7688
I can’t wait to play this venerable concert series!
Fri MARCH 23rd Wild Iris, GAINESVILLE, FL
Info:352-375 7477
A great community venue!
Sat MARCH 24th 6:30pm MOON CONCERTS, ST. AUGUSTINE, FL
Extremely happy to be back playing here at the Art Studio on St. Augustine beach. What a location and a great community! Jane Moon rocks! Please contact Jane for Info:jayne@age@yahoo.com
A worldbeat-vaudeville extravaganza! Zoe Lewis is a band in a body! She plays jazz, jump jive, latin grooves, swing, international folk, funk originals on anything from the piano to the spoons!
Publishers’ Note: It is with great pride that we can now feature Julie Clark. Julie has made a name for herself with outstanding music winning rave reviews for her craft. Again, we are not receiving any compensation…we just like her and want to spread the word about her. Openly lesbian folk-pop artist Julie Clark has released her second full-length CD of all-original materials on January 13, 2009. In addition to songs ranging from serious to sexy, her second disc features the funky, soulful gay rights anthem “Courage of Our Convictions” which is destined to help mobilize the GLBT equality movement.
- Saturday 3/17/12: Rockville, MD. House Concert Folk ‘N Great Music at Cheryl and David’s house. 8pm. (Doors open at 7:30pm). This will be a very special double bill with traveling songbird Abi Tapia, described by MainFolkMusic.com as “fun and full of surprises”! Join us for an intimate evening of music in a friendly & comfy setting. Reservation instructions are included online. The suggested contribution for this show is $20 per person, but those with limited income who can only afford $15 are also welcomed warmly. As always, 100% of the funds from this house concert series go directly to the performers (in this case, that’s me and Abi – Thank You Cheryl & David!) Directions and other details will be provided upon confirmation of your reservation.
