Jamie Faye Fenton's Blog |
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This page covers Jamie's life as a transgender journalist and personality. |
Monday, October 27, 2003
Lipstick Conspiracy to Play at Galia this Thursday Evening My friends Tori, Marilyn, Sarafina, and Shawna, all of the Lipstick Conspiracy, played at the Tom Ammiano fund raising event last night. They came on near the end of this "Artists for Ammiano" event. My only complaint is that they were only allowed to play two songs. Not nearly enough for a compulsive dancer like me! Fortunately, they will be playing again on Devils Night, Thursday, October 30, at Club Galia. They are the first act of a three-band bill, so appearing at 11PM is recommended. My plan is to attend the TGSF "Leather and Lace" event at the Blue Muse, and then high-tail it over. The two songs they did play were worth waiting around for. Sarafina tells me that they have considerable new material, which I am looking forward to dancing to on Thursday. Friday, October 24, 2003
Unisexy Report I did make it over the Princess Kennedy's show at Unisexy. This was at the Make Out Room, which is a small club on 22nd Street, a few doors down from Mission. It was the second time this monthly party was put on. The crew was from Glamorama, which is a busy TG/Drag beauty parlor on South Van Ness. Kennedy, Johnny Kat, and many of the others work there. It was the place to be. They did have edible (& imaginative) hor d'ovres and a table where you can have a glamour hair make-over. I think I was supposed to be one of the Go-Go Bots, so I danced like one! Kennedy arrived in The Pink Lady and put on a show that was short and sweet. I watched it with Sarafina and Tori from the Lipstick Conspiracy, who were also on the prowl. TG Party Girls who are not afraid of edgy venues and entertainment will love coming out to Unisexy. The next party is on Thanksgiving, and the following one is on Christmas. Wednesday, October 22, 2003
Princess Kennedy performing at Unisexy tomorrow San Francisco drag star Princess Kennedy will be appearing at Unisexy, "a monthly dance party for boys and girls", at the Make Out Room. This regular party happens on the fourth Thursday of each month. Princess Kennedy is a member of the tranny rock band Pepperspray and a regular at Trannyshack. The show starts at 11 and I will be there. The Make Out Room is in the San Francisco Mission District, at 3225 22nd Street, between Mission and Valencia. Admission is $5. The flyer also mentions edible hors d'ovres, glamor hair make-overs, and go-go bots - so I will come prepared for anything! Thursday, October 16, 2003
I Love It Costumes ... is a store in Fremont on Warm Springs Blvd. Jo An is the owner, and she is an enthusiatic one at that. The space is in an industrial park and takes up two bays. Inside are an immense collection of clothes and costumes on two levels, packed densely. Some of the outfits are suspended 15 feet in the air and you need a pole to retrieve them. The area near the entrance has been remodeled into a dressing room and lounge area. Every Wednesday night, Jo An has a group of transgender girls over to try on outfits and socialize. Last night the featured attractions were Charlie Anders, author of The Lazy Crossdresser, and Madam Steele, a local domme. I gave Charlie Girl a ride down to Fremont and we discovered a group of about 20 trannies, who, not surprising, had a variety of interesting outfits on! Charlie gave a short presentation and the group posed for a photo. It was loads of fun. This Friday, the gang is going over to see Pageant in Oakland. Monday, October 13, 2003
Southern Comfort 2003 ... is the largest transgender convention. It is held in Atlanta each year near the end of the Summer. I always enjoy going, and frequently cover the event for Transgender Forum.  This year I took my new Nikon D-100 digital camera. It did a dramatically better job than the Kodak 4800 I had been using for the past few years.  I uploaded many of the best images to my web site into the SCC2003R folder. The enlargements are still reduced substantially in size from the actual captured images. (I can send the full-sized file to those who request them). Also, while I don't think I have any camera-shy people in my pictures, if I made a mistake, let me know! Sunday, October 12, 2003
The Veronica Klaus Blues Instead of watching the Blue Angels, I headed over to the Plush Room to catch a matinee performance entitled "All of Me" by Veronica Klaus and her band. The Plush Room is an intimate cabaret venue which is perfect for live jazz. Veronica started out dressed like a dance-hall girl and sang several honky-tonk blues numbers. Later she switched over to a red bar-fly dress and to torchy-blues standards and originals. They were all delivered with extraordinary show-womanship and as always, Jamie could not sit still. Veronica was backed up by a string bass, piano, and drums, along with two adorable male singers. We even heard from the Blue Angels, who seemed to roar on by right on cue. While Veronica is a tranny, her performance was much more than the typical drag show fare. It was Blues from the Soul. Saturday, October 11, 2003
Ginny's Photo Album Ginny Knuth was the backbone of the ETVC transgender social/support group, which is now called TGSF. She passed away several years ago. Fortunately I was able to spend many hours with her during her last few years. Perhaps the most memorable time was when she started showing me photo albums of ETVC social activities from the mid 1980s. Then, as now, the group obviously knew how to have fun. As she went through the pages, she pointed out each ETVC member who had died from AIDS. There was one on every page. Then she showed me a photo of a dozen of her gay friends, all seated for Thanksgiving dinner. Ginny was at the head of the table and was the only one who was still alive. It is ironic - the kids in school who bullied me into putting on a pretense of masculinity and forced me to hide Jamie in a deep-dark interior closet, they probably saved my life. Few people in the gender community today realize how devastating AIDS was before the invention of anti-retroviral drugs. Ginny and her partner, Nancy Ann Martine knew first-hand. They did something about it, too. Nancy Ann walked in the AIDS Walk every year, 10 kilometers, in her high heels to raise money. The TRANS Project is a project by the University of California - San Francisco "Health Studies for People of Color, Center for AIDS Prevention Studies". They have an office/outreach center about two blocks from where I live, at 1145 Bush Street. I was introduced to this program last year by Michelle Garcia, and visited it again on Friday. Thousands of trannies live in the Tenderloin/Polk Gultch districts of San Francisco, including many who do sex work. From street queens to CEOs, I see them on the street every day. Any of us can come into the outreach center, rest, take a shower, watch TV, or grab a snack. TRANS also has workshops on a variety of harm reduction and empowerment subjects, which they will pay you to attend. Their mission statement reads "TRANS will provide a safe place for transgender women in which they are welcomed and made to feel at home". TRANS hopes to engender a spirit of unity and build strength within the transgender community at large. The transgender women who utilize TRANS will be given support, guidance, and referrals to service prodivers, and linkage to the Transgender Recovery Program (TRP) for substance abuse treatment and to the Transgender Life Care (TLC) project for expanded mental health services. TRANS workshops will mainly serve to educate transgender women in HIV prevention to assist them in reducing their risky behaviors, thereby allowing them to maintain healthier lifestyles. Other TRANS workshops will also serve to educate transgender women in self-care, immigration issues, legal issues, networking, and empowerment. Overall, TRANS hopes to empower transgender women to address problems they face as a marginalized group of people". My contact with this group is through Health Educator Anna Hernandez - I last saw her on Polk Street at 10PM. She was passing out condoms and lube. Thursday, October 09, 2003
The Blue Angels ...are performing in San Francisco this weekend for Fleet Week. I have a great vantage point at Post-Fentonia, and I used it today to snap a few pictures of the pilots practicing for the weekend shows. There was one point before I got the camera out when one jet buzzed Sutter Street from several hundred feet up.  From the practice I witnessed, it seems they will be performing over the Bay, North of the City.  I was able to try out my new Nikon D-100 digital camera - which is the first digital camera that I don't have to apologize for. (I have used 6 diferent ones over the years).  While it turns out I can go up onto the roof of the apartment building, I do have the perfect seat to watch the show from. I got it in Los Angeles from a store on Melrose. It is supposedly from a F-102. 
Sunday, October 05, 2003
Post Fentonia Jamie finally has a place of her own to live at. It is a studio apartment on Post Street in San Francisco, between Leavenworth and Jones. The Tenderloin district is to the left, the Theatre District and Union Square is on the right, and I have a terrific view of Nob Hill from my 15th floor window. It is surrounded by an incredible "walking neighborhood", with an infinite variety of restaurants, theatres, shops, and culture. Losing weight is going to be a real challenge!  It is expensive and cramped - but the apartment has a good interior design, including a fold-up bed. The management company has an excellent reputation and my interactions with them have confirmed this. I can have a cat, and will probably get an adult cat who is used to small indoor spaces once the move-in is complete. While I wish I could bring Daphne up here, she has been staying with Erf and has come to love the outdoors. I also have to figure out where to put the litter box!  Here is the updated contact information: Jamie Fenton 737 Post Street #1511 San Francisco, CA 94109 415-567-4115  |
