***Breaking Beaverhausen Bulletin***

Ok, everybody, I can blab it! I got off the phone with Barbara Sobel of Queens Our City Radio (thanks for your patience, Barbara) earlier today and I'm signed up as Dance Promoter! Wish me luck in this new endeavor! 

As Barbara blabbed on Facebook: Here we are! An interview with the one and only Chris Colby, Dance Personality Of Queens Our City Radio! Thank You Charles Truenski for the interview who has just joined Queens Our City Radio as our Dance Promoter! The World Famous Blab It To Beaverhausen Blogs & Interviews Moves To Queens Our City Radio!

http://blabittobeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2013/10/internet-with-queens-our-city-radios.html 

 

It will bring Beaverhausen to a larger audience. And it will also expose my interviewees, to whom I'm so grateful, to an even wider circle of embracing fans.

A love shout-out to all my readers. In the USA, Brazil, the UK, Canada, Dominican Republic, France, Sweden, Ukraine, Germany, Japan, Ireland and Israel! We've got some hot interviews coming up.

Blab It to Beaverhausen was launched last month but it's already skyrocketing! Thanks to all my interviewees! Without you, I am nothing. No, I really mean that!

As Faye as Joan howled in Mommie Dearest: "Barbara, please, Barbara!" Or, really, as I meant to quote from that film, Faye's very first line: "Let's Go!"

Exclusive Q&A with Sheena Rose, "Queen of Clubs"

It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to talk with San Francisco's Sheena Rose about the upcoming release of her new dance single, "Queen of Clubs."  The “Queen of Clubs” EP includes remixes by some of today’s hottest remix producers and circuit DJs from around the world, including LFB, Shayne B, Cindel Coss, Obra, Primitiva, William Bhall, Rafael Starcevic, LiuRosa, William Umana, Junior Silverio, Eduh Silva, Erick Gaudino, Eric Santana, Jossep Garcia, and MJC. 

Special thanks to Barbara Sobel and Sobel Promotions https://www.facebook.com/groups/SobelPromotions/permalink/742698822423663/ for arranging this Q&A.

Dj Buddy Beaverhausen: You have a hot new dance single with remixes, "Queen of Clubs," coming out on October 29th and available on iTunes. How are you feeling about that right now? 
Sheena Rose: I am so excited! I still can't believe it. This project came together so quickly. I jumped at the chance to work with DJ MDW and VButterfly La Mariposa on this record, and there are so many hot mixes on this release from DJs and remix producers from around the world. Its gonna be epic! Everyone is gonna love it! 

DBB: Tell us about the San Francisco release party that follows in November and the music video. 
SR: Oh My God! It is so exciting! I cant wait! DJ MDW and VButterfly are flying in from New York and Miami so all three of us can be together and celebrate the release of our hot new song in my hometown. You know, we actually have never met in person, and the way this project came together so quickly and the release party is happening ~ it's pretty damn amazing! To me it is the icing on the cake. The official San Francisco "Queen of Clubs" Release Party will be held Friday November 8th at DJ Alex's dance party "Release" at Club OMG (43 6th St @ Mission, 9p-2a, Free Admission). My dear friend Carla Gay will be hosting and performing, the simply amazing DJ Tweaka Turner, who is also a great friend of mine, will be DJing and getting the party started, VButterfly and I will be performing our dance music as well as our new hit "Queen of Clubs", and DJ superstar MDW will be spinning from midnight to closing. It's going to be such a hot dance/release party, I hope all my San Francisco peeps can make it out. Unfortunately, there won't be a music video yet, but we will be filming a behind-the-scenes of the release party and our weekend together. 

DBB: Are you a San Francisco native? Or how did you make your way there? 
SR: No, I wish I was! [laughs] I grew up in the Bay Area though, the small town of Martinez to be specific, but I have lived in the San Francisco Bay Area my entire life. I moved to San Francisco in 2004 with the boyfriend at the time. We had lost our apartment in San Ramon, and moved in with his mother and her girlfriend. San Francisco was just supposed to be a temporary move for us, but I fell in love with it, so I stayed! 

DBB: What kind of music did you hear growing up? How does it differ from the music you like to listen to now? 
SR: Growing up, it was my dad and mom's '70s rock records like The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, Rod Stewart. I was born in '79, so I was an '80s kid. By the time I was in grade school, it was all about MTV. I loved the music of Cyndi Lauper, Boy George, Madonna, Prince, George Michael, Tina Turner. Though my favorite music nowadays is dance and house, I still love and listen to all my favorite '70s and '80s artists and records that I grew up on. I remember when Tina Turner came out with her comeback hit, "What's Love Got To Do With It," my mom went and bought it. I remember when she first put that record on, and I was like whoa! Even at that young age, I was like, she is something special. I've always had a soft spot for Tina.  

DBB: What was the first record or cd you ever purchased on your own? 
SR: That was the year Paula Abdul exploded onto the scene with "Forever Your Girl." I wore that tape out. [laughs] 

DBB: How did you get involved in performing? Did you always feel this is what you wanted to do? 
SR: If you had told me back in 2004, when I moved here, that I would become a drag queen and that I'd be performing all over San Francisco and later become an international dance recording artist, I would of laughed and said you were crazy. I have always been kind of a shy person. I think that comes having a very bad stutter growing up. It was so bad that, in grade school, I was afraid to speak in class or read out loud. Though I overcame it eventually, I think it left me kind of shy and guarded. Drag has helped me to become a better person in and out of drag, more open, and much more ambitious. In 2006, a friend of a co-worker (who became my dear drag sister Marcy Playground) took me to my first drag show and I fell in love with it. Something inside me just connected with what these ladies were doing. They were all so gorgeous, hilarious, fierce and entertaining in their own way, I wanted to do it. Two weeks later, I was up there. Though I still get a bit of stage fright and butterflies when I perform at a new club or perform a new song, I can honestly say that I have grown a lot over these last seven years as a drag queen, a performer, a person, an artist. Drag has definitely made me more ambitious and has helped me to take chances in my life. It has helped me to believe in myself and go after my dreams. A couple years ago, though, I started to get bored with just lip-syncing other singers' songs, and was inspired to write, record and perform my own dance music. I don't have the strongest voice in the world; I'm no Mariah Carey, but I have grown to really like and appreciate my voice and style, it works for me. Last April, I released my dance single "Make Me Over", which I co-wrote with my husband, Juan, and my friend, Michael Circhiai (aka Tweaka Turner), produced by the amazing Leo Frappier (LFB), with a ton of hot remixes by big names like, Subgroover, Doctorz MD, DJ MDW, Nina Flowers, Naked Highway and more. The single did pretty well, opened a lot of doors for me, and is being played in clubs all over the world. I have come along way on this journey. This isn't what I wanted to do or had set out to do in life; well, maybe subconsciously I did, but this is what I want to do now and what I feel like I was meant to do. 

DBB: Who are your idols -- the music divas, the movie stars? 
SR: Well, musically, of course, Tina. She really is "Simply the Best." I also love the music of and idolize Macy Gray, Cyndi Lauper, Kristine W, Sylvester, Divine, Amanda Lear, Nina Flowers, Boy George, Jeanie Tracy, Cher, Dolly Parton and more. Now, in terms of music and movies together, the ultimate diva for me is Bette Midler. The Rose is one of my favorite movies of all time, Bette rocked it! 

DBB: Tell us more about your song, "Queen of Clubs" and how that came together ~ from concept to production and release. 
SR: Wow! I am so excited! It came together so quickly! We started the project in June. I had the wonderful opportunity to reconnect with Michael Crespo (MDW), he wanted to produce a really hot dance house/vogue track set to some real bitchy, cunty vocals. "Queen of Clubs" were lyrics that I had written in 2011 for, and were inspired by, Nina Flowers, after hearing her single "I'm Feeling Flowers" with MDW. I chickened out and never sent the lyrics to her. Nina Flowers is the queen of the clubs. Little did I know two years later Nina and MDW would contribute remixes for "Make Me Over" and I would be working on a new track with MDW! MDW loved the lyrics and produced a hot banging club track, suggesting Miami-based Puerto Rican house vocalist VButterfly La Mariposa sing on it as well. Of course I said yes. I jumped at the chance to work with VButterfly ~ she is amazing! I love her work with Nina Flowers on "Bailar" and "The Queens," and her classics like "Fuck My Drums" and "Vaporize the DJ." I went into the studio here with Leo Frappier (who remixed "Queen of Clubs" and produced "Make Me Over") and recorded my vocals, and sent them to MDW in New York. By early August, our track was finished, and a ton of hot remixes started pouring in from some of the hottest DJs and remix producers from Miami, New York, San Francisco, Brazil, Mexico, Canada. The cover art is amazing as well. My husband, Juan Duenas (Diva Deluxe Drag, gowns and costumes for plus size queens on Ebay), came up with the Evil Queen concept, designed the black lace gown, beat my face, and shot the cover. I am so very proud of this project, everything came together perfectly. "Queen of Clubs" will drop worldwide October 29th (iTunes, Beatport, Amazon) on the Flava Music label. 

DBB: My readership is international, largely LGBT. Would you care to shout anything out to them? 
SR: That is great. I have so many friends and supporters around the world - having their support in each of my music ventures has meant the world to me. Thank you! I think that we have come so far in the LGBT civil rights movement, in this fight for our rights, but we still have so much more work to do. I feel for all my LGBT brothers and sisters, who because of where they live, they have to live in fear of being persecuted and forced back into the closet, or killed or take their own lives ~ it is just heart breaking. I really feel for all my LGBT brothers and sisters in Russia ~ my heart goes out to them. 

DBB:  What do you see that is wrong in the world today? And what do you see in it that gives you hope? 
SR: I think that we have become so obsessed with technology, I think it has made some people numb and cold. I think we need a little more compassion for others. I feel sometimes we are so quick to judge others that we don't know and turn a blind eye when they are in need. There's something really wrong with society when someone is robbed or attacked by another in a crowd full of people and no one stops to help. They're so quick to whip on their camera phones but not actually stop to help the person in need. I hope that, as a society, we can learn to show a little more compassion and not be so wrapped up in ourselves and our gadgets. 

DBB: I really believe the dancefloor is a great uniter for people all around the world. Do you feel there is inherently power in the messages of dance music and in the tribal gathering of people on the dancefloor? 
SR: Yes I do. That's what dance music is there for. It's there to make you dance and feel good about yourself and forget about your worries. You hear it in the lyrics, the melodies. There's just something about the music and the dancefloor that really brings people together and unite. You really see it and feel it in the gay community; we hit the dance floor for everything! Like the night Obama won the election and Prop 8 passed here in California, even though the night was bittersweet for the LGBT community, we still closed Castro Street down and had a dance party and rally in the streets. That kind of unity gives you hope and inspires you. 

DBB: Sheena Rose, thank you for your time and thoughtfulness in answering these questions. We look forward to the release of "Queen of Clubs." Are there any last words you'd like to leave with my readers and me? 
SR: Thank you so much for all your love and support in what I do, it means everything to me. If you are in San Francisco, come down and see me at Dream Queens Revue (2nd/4th Wednesdays) and Hot Boxxx Girls (2nd/4th Fridays & 1st/3rd Saturdays) at Aunt Charlie's Lounge. Don't forget to get "Queen of Clubs" with DJ MDW and VButterfly La Mariposa October 29th, and watch for my holiday single "Just Can't Wait ('Til Christmas)" with LFB and Gypsy Love ~ available December 3rd on iTunes!

Q&A with Matt Alber

Matt Alber is an incredible talent and yet such a modest guy. Openly gay, he possesses a beautiful voice and is a brilliant songwriter. It was my privilege to interview this great contemporary talent who was a most gracious interviewee. Thanks to Barbara Sobel and Sobel Promotions for arranging this Q&A! Please check out Matt's web: http://m46882.wix.com/mattalberofficial

Dj Buddy Beaverhausen: Hi Matt, and thank you for doing this Q&A with me. We have a lot of LGBT club music fans around the globe reading Blab It, so I would like to begin by saying your song, "End of the World," has new dance remixes coming up. What do you think about its continued popularity and remixing revivals?

Matt Alber: Heya Charles! My pleasure. There were some very cool remixes of "End of the World" (Morgan Page & Saul Ruiz). My newest remixes are for a song called "Tightrope." I teamed up with a brilliant producer named Reddfield and it turned out so great, we decided to shoot a music video for one of his mixes. I play four characters in the video who all bust a move ~ complete with a surprise ending you won't want to miss.

DBB: Cool. I recall reading you wrote "End of the World" on a bus in San Francisco. Is that a true story?
MA: Yes indeed. I was working in North Beach as a performer in a Vaudeville-style show called Beach Blanket Babylon at the time, and I had to take the 30 Stockton through Chinatown to get there. Things were on thin ice with the fellow I was in love with at the time, and I scribbled down the first verse and chorus on the back of my bank statement. I still have it, actually. I should probably take it out of that drawer and frame it!

DBB: Could you fill us in on your childhood, what it was like? And who would you list as your musical influences growing up?
MA: Sure. I grew up in St. Louis, Missouri in the suburbs working at fast-food chains after school, going to church like three times a week, and singing on the weekends with a city-wide choir. I loved going to choir practice, but the church we went to was really homophobic so it was very difficult to be there. I sort of bought their story hook, line and sinker and for a few years. I prayed to be changed into a straight person. But thankfully, my prayers were answered in a totally unexpected way ~ nothing changed. I ended up leaving the church and finding a better definition of God and what it means to be a man. I'm so happy I'm gay. The world would be so boring if everyone were the same, so I'm glad I get to experience life as a gay man (this time around, anyway.)
    As for musical influences, when I was a kid, I pretty much listened to the 10 free CD's I got from BMG Music Club. To name a few… Elton John, REO Speedwagon, Def Leppard, Aerosmith, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and INXS. I still owe them $15.99 I think. Weren't you supposed to buy one? I should get on that...

DBB: You were part of the Grammy-winning group, Chanticleer. What was involved in your becoming a member? And could you please tell us about the experience of performing/recording with them?
MA: I got to tour for five years with Chanticleer, which is an a cappella classical men's group based in San Francisco. It was a dream come true to move to California and singing with those 12 guys taught me a helluva lot about singing and about life on the road. Two of the albums I made with the guys won Grammy Awards, so that was pretty amazing. We gave 100 concerts a year all over the globe and worked with thousands of students along the way.

DBB: What was the first song you ever sang as a soloist? And what is the personal favorite song you've recorded to date?
MA: The first solo I ever sang was "Do You Hear What I Hear?" during a Christmas pageant. I think I was 8 years old. I just recently sang that song again in Austin, TX with my dear friend Craig Johnson. He directs a choir there called Conspirare, and in the middle of the big concert, I got to go and sit next to him on the piano bench and sing in harmony with him. Songs are pretty cool little things. As for a favorite song I've recorded, I really enjoyed making a song with my brother Bryce called "Brother Moon." It's on my most recent album called Constant Crows.

DBB: How do you see your evolution or progression as an artist at this point?
MA: You know, man, I just keep trying to make the most honest music I can make and collaborate with other people doing the same. I'm really lucky because I have a very loyal group of listeners who come to my shows and support the new projects I'm working on. There's been a bit of evolution towards singing with men's choruses which is really cool. I'm singing with three of them this December: Washington D.C.'s group, Twin Cities in Minneapolis, and my hometown chorus in San Francisco.

DBB: What would you call your biggest break or best opportunity, so far, in your career?
MA: The day my dear friend Robin Scovil said "Yes!" to making a music video with me in a barbershop. Everything changed from that moment on. I got to be involved in every step of the process from concept to costume to the editing room and I was amazed at the craft and attention to detail the team brought to the project. My dad and brother even came and spent the weekend on set with me. And now I get emails almost every day from someone who stumbles onto it and is moved enough to write to me.

DBB: Could you tell us how you'd describe your sound? Your voice? Your style of songwriting?
MA: Sure thing. I'm an acoustic singer/songwriter and I write the story of my life and heart into my songs. I do my best to capture moments and memories and wrestle through my emotions using melodies and chords. But you know, you can talk about style 'til the cows come home. It's a lot easier to answer that question with a pair of headphones. My music plays for free from my site: www.mattalber.com.


DBB: Thanks for the link, Matt! Please share news about what you have upcoming for us.
MA: The biggest news I have to share is the release of a new music video for my song TIGHTROPE. It goes live online at midnight on Halloween from my channel: www.youtube.com/mattalber. We're releasing a remix EP as well with several different remixes by some amazing producers including Reddfield, The Spekrfreks, Saul Ruiz, and Paul Goodyear. Folks can check it all out by visiting my site: www.mattalber.com

DBB: Your views on what's going on in Russia right now in terms of LGBT rights and the winter Olympics? What do you think about Elton John's decision to perform there?
MA: You know, I've sung in Russia on two separate trips ~ once in high school and once in college. I found the people to be some of the most warm and welcoming folks I'd ever met. Governments often get it wrong, and Russia is no exception here. I really feel for the queer community living in Russia and I hope they are banding together to weather this storm. I'm glad Sir Elton is going to perform and I hope it forces Russia's hand to make the right decision and reverse their destructive policies.

DBB: Finally, any last shout-outs to our readership, Matt?
MA: I thank you so much for your time; it was sincerely a privilege to conduct this Q&A with you.
It's been my pleasure, man. I'd love to give a last shout out to my younger brother, Bryce Alber. He's an incredible musician in Los Angeles and he goes by a different name as an artist ~ it's Lou Jane. It's just full of heart and passion and beautiful powerful melodies. But his lyrics are just epically gorgeous and will stay with you forever. Folks can listen to his music at www.loujanemusic.com

Below, a link to the video for the original version of "End of the World":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZRygAf-m-g&list=HL1381453680