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MUSIC REVIEW: LGBTQIA (A New Generation) by Matt Fishel

We’re Queer, we’re here, and rocking out this year.

Welcome to the Queer rock track celebrating the Generation of freedom.

Rock is heavy, harsh, hard-hitting and inherently political; It’s a tough act to follow. So many have paved the way for the genre of rebellion, with their tangled guitars, stringy melodies, booming baselines, and whirling vocals. But few have ever hit home with Queer issues. Enter Matt Fishel.

Imagine if punk and early 2000’s rock had a baby that grew up to protest Trump at every rally, and you’d have the latest track from self dubbed Queer rocker Matt Fishel.

Decorated in its title LGBTQIA (A new generation), the punky track is the ode to past and present LGBT+ alumni “In every creed, race, religion and society” all in a lively thrash of head bobbing rhythms.

Matt Fishel
Matt Fishel

Sharp is the blade of guitar

Cutting through

A heap of electricity to

Engulf your ears,

With passionate protest

And powerful words

Matt himself

Calls in listeners

To scream

in a chorus

Of pride,

To their heart’s content

As the main part of the song

Comes crashing into

The foreground

Angsty, rebellious, powerful. A nod to the original rebels with its rocky sound, the fast paced charge of pop punk rhythms drives the listener’s passion until you can’t help but sing along.

Each power chord roars like a fire, emblazoned with gritty electrical fuzz to burn your ears in the best way. Arguably the best section of this collage of crashing rhythm, the chorus is a straightforward clean-cut onslaught urging you to “Raise your glass to the ones that paved the way”. It unashamedly demands your attention – it’s yelling at you and you can’t ignore so you yell along to.

High pitched vocals string themselves around an angsty shrill guitar, prepared to thrill with its sharp cutthroat melody. I’m instantly reminded of early All time low and they’re playfully light musicality that just enhances the juxtaposed powerfully deep lyricism.

With streaming light to the shrouded electrical hum of a chorus, the intro immediately sets the celebratory tone of the track. Gleefully shouting:

L

G

B

T

Q

I

The letters of our community

spelled out

By a glorious burst from

Backing vocals,

In the stripped down

Chordal backdrop

Of the intro.

Matt wills the listener on

With a playful riff

From the suddenly melodic

Second guitar

Which powers you through

Into the verse.

My only criticism is the vocals in this section. Compared to the smooth higher pitched calling in the chorus, the verse’s whispery EQ riddled vocal falls flat. If only there was a guitar amp filter, or drench of distortion married to his voice, perhaps then the spiky guitars would be matched. Otherwise, the production talents of Matt are well on display. Deservedly so, the track is smothered in pristine clarity (which is tough to pull off in this genre). Each little guitar melody or drum beat has its own spotlight – there’s no muddy mesh of music here.

And just as I’d wrapped my head around the catchy head-nodding chorus and intro, a middle eight decides to crop up out of the blue. It’s empowering. There’s the perfect marrying of politically charged lyricism and head-bobbing melody.

The chordal sequence of choppy muted power chords and fuzzy distortion is predictable for the genre. And yet in this instance I still think it sounds fresh.

Could there have been more dynamic chords choices? Sure. But this style of music doesn’t need that much embellishment. It’s about the lyrics here. That’s the main part. It doesn’t really need anything distracting from that. So yes, I’m disappointed by the lack of challenging musical components, but not all music can be writhing with technical prowess. If every song did that, it would sound horrific. What the track loses in musical structure, it makes up for in tone, message and its delivery.

Who would have thought such a political track could be so entertaining?

US campaign group reacts to Trump’s first State of the Union address

President Donald Trump delivered his first State of the Union address to a joint session of the United States Congress on the evening of January 30, 2017.

Heavily contested topics were covered in President Trump’s speech including immigration, tax reform, and religious freedom.

However President Trump did not mention ‘LGBT’ or commit to safeguarding the protections and civil rights of LGBT+ people in his speech.

Jessica Stern
Jessica Stern

Commenting on President Trump’s remarks, Jessica Stern, Executive Director of OutRight Action International, said: “OutRight is very proud to be the oldest international LGBTI rights organisation in the United States. And we are very clear how we achieved 28 years of impact. Two-thirds of our staff in the US is an immigrant or child of immigrants. Our staff around the world are based in the Philippines, Singapore, Spain, the U.K., and St. Lucia. This rich combination of immigrants to the US and global talent gives OutRight the resources to be effective.

“And so, when we listened to last night’s State of the Union, we rejected the coded language and explicit attacks on immigrants or anyone not American. We heard a right-wing fantasy where manufacturing and automobiles rule, where military force makes Americans safer, and where the Constitution is frozen in time. This is Trump’s moral panic, and we reject his world view.

“As a leading American organisation, we declare our love of immigrants and people who are not American. We love all workers not just veterans. We love healthcare. We love equal rights and non-discrimination, not coded “religious freedom.” We love modern interpretations of the US Constitution. We love the visa lottery. We love all families, not just the nuclear family. We call for the radical principle of love to be the new state of the union.”

OPINION: Transitioning with Sugar – TNG – The Next Generation

TNG – The Next Generation. Ms Sugar Swan looks at her feelings towards children and motherhood.

Firstly, I need to apologise to my regular readers. I’m sorry there was no January column from me, I’ll be open and honest as to why. A lot of people look up to me and I get a lot of positive feedback from my work, other trans people are glad to see trans representation in Gscene and strangers get in touch telling me how great it is that I’m holding space for trans people and that they can often relate to what I write, whether they’re trans masculine, feminine, non binary and regardless of whether they’ve been transitioning for two months or 20 years. People think I’m brave and strong to do what I do, but it’s important that you know I’m not Wonder Woman. I’m not always strong and brave and my smile often hides sadness, just like everyone else.

These last few months I’ve been struggling, struggling hard. Last year was a huge one for me in both losses and gains and in December and January it all came to a head. December marked the first anniversary of Mouse’s death and January marked the 20th anniversary (yes, I’m that old) of my first partner Clare and our baby’s death. Whilst 2017 was the best and most productive year in my transition it was the most painful personally for me. Losing Mouse was horrific and something a year later I haven’t even begun to fully unpack. The 20th anniversary of the fatal road traffic accident is a big one, an anniversary that shouldn’t have happened would have left me with a 20-year-old child of my own and I can’t help but wonder how that would have turned out.

This brings me onto this month’s topic of children. Would I have made a good parent? Would I have made better life decisions, would I have transitioned earlier or not at all? Would they be proud of their parent and what I’ve achieved in life, or would they be estranged to me? I’d like to think that I’d have been more responsible with my young life if I had someone 100% dependant on me as their single parent. I’d like to think that I’d have taken fewer risks. However, this is just speculation and I’ve no way of predicting how things would have panned out. What I can do is look forward and look at the relationships I have with children now and possible relationships in the future.

I’m estranged from my only sibling as she turned out to be terribly transphobic so I’ve no scope for being an auntie there. I have friends with young children in our home town, but due to the distance I’ll never be anything more than a family friend, albeit one who they hold very dear. I was absolutely honoured when, in November, I was asked to be godmother to the son of a long-standing friend who I’ve known from the Brighton scene for around 15 years and now we’re busy planning a christening.

When it came to my transition I was asked twice about freezing my sperm for future use should I wish to become a mother, once before starting HRT and again before ‘The Op’. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a viable option for me being HIV positive. So I, like many other trans people, am infertile. It’s something I have to struggle with on a daily basis. I so desperately want a child of my own. I long to experience pregnancy and childbirth and bonding with my baby, something I’ve watched countless people do with a tear in my eye. I’m painfully aware that if I were to meet a male partner and he desired children I cannot give them to him. Yes, plenty of cis women are infertile too, but it still doesn’t help make me feel any less of a woman.

To make the whole thing worse I go through a period of symptoms once a month. Yes, female hormones Oestrogen and Progesterone make me not only crave a baby I can’t have, but they also put me through hell and back once a month just to remind me I can’t conceive. I go through all the standard pre menstrual symptoms that my cis counterparts do, except I don’t bleed. I start with the emotional imbalance and find myself teary-eyed for a day or two, followed by a loss of appetite and the smell of food making me feel sick, then comes the diarrhoea and vomiting, often both together at the same time while I spend a day or two in bed with a hot water bottle feeling sorry for myself that I have to go through all these symptoms but will never get to the end goal of what they are all about.

My best hope is that I meet a partner who already has young children and are in need of another parental figure in their lives. But then of course, my relationship with them is determined by my relationship with their parent and if that relationship were to not work out some years down the line, the likelihood is that I’ll stop seeing these children too at some point, so I’d lose not only a partner, but children too.

Fostering queer kids that don’t fit into mainstream foster accommodation is something that I think I’d be good at and am looking into for the future. Uterus transplants (whilst being trialled on trans women) are still some way in the future yet and I don’t have time on my side. I’ll be 40 in a few years and I don’t want to be the 60-year-old mother waiting at the school gates with the 40-year-olds. I was born to older parents myself and spent my whole life wishing they’d had me earlier in life.

Whatever the future holds for me in the way of children, I hope that I get the chance to be there for some in need and to help shape them into well-rounded adults, starting with my one-year-old god son who’ll certainly grow up to be no transphobe!

Barnardo’s makes Stonewall’s Top 100 Employers list for fourth year

Barnardo’s has been listed in Stonewall’s Top 100 Employers for LGBT equality for the fourth year running.

The UK’s leading children’s charity is just one of four organisations from the third sector to make Stonewall’s Top 100 Employers list – an annual audit of workplace culture for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transexual staff.

A total of 434 employers across the public, private and third sectors submitted entries.

Barnardo’s actively works to create a workforce that is inclusive of LGBT staff and volunteers and to both understand and respond to the needs of LGBT+ young people and to increase LGBT+ awareness. It has secured more than 400 sign-ups to its allies programme and its Safezone training has made Barnardo’s offices and services welcoming places for LGBT people.

Last year Barnardo’s won the inaugural Third Sector Equality Award at the Pink News Awards.

Javed Khan
Javed Khan

Barnardo’s Chief Executive Javed Khan, said: “If Barnardo’s is to fully understand and meet the needs of LGBTQ children and young people then it is vital that it has a workforce that is inclusive of its LGBT staff and volunteers. Barnardo’s has long supported LGBT equality- we campaigned strongly for LGBT adoption and led the way in placing children in secure, safe, loving homes.

“Equality and inclusion are at the heart of everything the charity does – from the way it supports children and young people to who works or volunteers for the charity. Building a diverse Barnardo’s is a core part of its ten year corporate strategy.”

Darren Towers, Executive Director, Stonewall, said: “Barnardo’s and all those who have made this year’s Top 100 Employers list have done a fantastic job. Taking part in our Index shows real commitment to understanding and advancing LGBT equality. This year, for the first time, the Index looked at what employers were doing for trans equality in the workplace. This work is crucial.

We recently published LGBT in Britain: Trans Report, which revealed the profound inequality facing trans people in Britain today. Half of trans people have hidden their identity at work for fear of discrimination. This must change and it’s encouraging to see so many organisations make a commitment to trans equality. With their support and hard work we can create a world where all lesbian, gay, bi and trans employees are welcomed and accepted without exception.” 

All entrants must demonstrate their organisation’s performance against a set of best practice criteria and supply supporting evidence to prove that this work is underway. Stonewall also seeks feedback directly from the entrants’ employees.

Last year 272,000 children, young people and families were supported by Barnardo’s through more than 1,000 services across the UK, such as young carers, care leavers, foster carers and adoptive parents, training and skills or parenting classes.

Sussex Police rose to 79th place in the index while Brighton and Hove City Council did not enter this year.

For more information about Barnardos, click here:

To see the top 100, click here:

Health Committee calls for a stop to immigration tracing

NAT (National AIDS Trust) welcomes Health Committee’s call for NHS Digital to suspend immigration tracing and respect patient confidentiality.

Sarah Wollaston MP

The Chair of the Health Committee, Dr Sarah Wollaston MP, has written today to the Chief Executive of NHS Digital calling for a suspension to the practice of providing addresses of migrants to the immigration authorities.

NAT (National AIDS Trust) has campaigned for an end to this practice since it came to light in 2014 claiming the practice breaches fundamental principles of medical confidentiality which allow disclosure to the authorities only in relation to serious crimes against the person. Migrant advocates say that this tracing service deters many people from accessing the healthcare they need, resulting in loss of life or serious harms to health.

By sharing patient data in this way, NHS Digital is operating to a different and lower standard of confidentiality from the rest of the health service. Faced with that inconsistency, the Department of Health proposes to reduce data protections for all patients in the NHS. This is an issue relevant to everyone in England who wants to continue to trust their doctors with their personal information.

Deborah Gold
Deborah Gold

Deborah Gold, Chief Executive of NAT, said: “NHS Digital is meant to be the trusted safe haven for patient information. Sadly it has proven to be nothing of the kind and has been far too eager to breach our confidentiality. Scaring people away from healthcare has grave consequences for the individual and, in cases involving infectious disease, can endanger public health. The bar must not be lowered on the high standard of confidentiality our health service implements and relies on. We call on NHS Digital to immediately heed the call from the Chair of the Health Committee, end its damaging immigration tracing service and take steps to restore public trust in its work.”

To read evidence provided by NAT and others to the Health Committee, click here:

GPs urged to encourage LGBT+ patients to come out

New research finds, disclosing sexual oriental could lead to improved healthcare for LGBT+ patients.

Researchers at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) have advised doctors to display rainbow posters and other ‘visual clues’ in their waiting rooms to encourage gay and bisexual patients to come out.

More than one in 20 of the population identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT+), and there is good evidence that their healthcare and some health outcomes are inferior to those of heterosexuals – including mental health problems, diabetes and substance abuse.

Knowing and understanding patients’ sexual orientation is essential for providing optimum health care, but there is also evidence that many barriers exist to disclosure.

BSMS researchers Hannah Brooks and Dr Carrie Llewellyn and colleagues have reviewed the international literature on this topic, analysing more than 30 research studies involving almost 2,500 patients.

They concluded that these problems have their origins in undergraduate medical education, where there is inadequate teaching about the healthcare of LGBT+ people, and also recognised the need for better postgraduate training along the same lines.

Dr Carrie Llewellyn
Dr Carrie Llewellyn

Dr Carrie Llewellyn, Reader in Applied Behavioural Medicine at BSMS, said: “This study shows that healthcare professionals and settings such as GP surgeries should be aware of the differing physical and psychological needs of the LGBT+ communities and remain open-minded regarding their patients’ sexual orientation in order to provide the best possible healthcare. Incorporating more LGBT-specific knowledge and communication skills into undergraduate medical education is essential to ensure that future healthcare professionals are armed with the tools they need to help their future patients disclose their sexual orientation if they feel comfortable to do so, and then provide them with appropriate care and advice.”

She suggests that healthcare settings such as GP surgeries could demonstrate a more “accepting atmosphere”, which needs to be reflected in the verbal and non-verbal communication of doctors and practice staff.

Patient information leaflets should reflect an awareness of the differing needs of LGBT+ individuals, the researchers argue.

Careful use of language in the consultation, a willingness to be direct and candid as well as sensitive, and an avoidance of making assumptions (in discussions about contraception and sexual health, for example), should form part of core training for general practice.

The study, Sexual orientation disclosure in health care: a systematic review, has been published by the British Journal of General Practice.

Prof Kamilla Hawthorne
Prof Kamilla Hawthorne

Professor Kamilla Hawthorne, vice-chairman of the Royal College of GPs (RCGP), told the Daily Telegraph: “Patients should never be made to feel as though they have to disclose their sexual orientation to their GP, if they don’t want to.

“But at the same time, they should be reassured that anything they discuss with their GP is strictly confidential, and that the consultation room is a safe space.”

To read the study, click here:

 

New homes to help people living with dementia

A new council housing scheme in central Brighton will help people with dementia carry on living independently.

The Brooke Mead Extra Care scheme in Albion Street will provide 45 self-contained rented flats, with first residents moving in now.

The development is designed for people living with low to moderate dementia and other people who need a little more care and support. Carers are on site around the clock if needed, and the scheme has a communal garden, lounge and social activity rooms.

Agincare has been commissioned to provide on-site care, and the council is working with a range of organisations to develop a vibrant and active community at the scheme.

Brooke Mead is the first extra care scheme to be built and managed by Brighton & Hove City Council. With a growing number of older people in the city and pressure on adult social care budgets, the scheme will help prevent or delay people needing more expensive residential care.

Cllr Anne Meadows
Cllr Anne Meadows

Councillor Anne Meadows, chair of the council’s Housing & New Homes Committee, said: “Brooke Mead is the first extra care scheme of its kind in the city with a real focus on dementia and it is great to see it complete and ready for residents.

“It’s not a care home, so it won’t necessarily be the right place for everyone living with dementia, but it will provide more support than the council’s other seniors housing schemes. It will also be suitable for people who need extra care and support for other reasons, not just those with dementia.

“Residents will have their own home and their own furniture and possessions around them, but also the reassurance of knowing there is extra help on hand 24/7 if they need it.”

People who think the flats may be suitable for them or a relative can visit the Brooke Mead scheme by appointment. The scheme manager will be available to answer any questions and offer a tour of the building and its facilities. The flats include wheelchair accessible properties.

All applications will be subject to the council’s Allocations Policy and approval by the council’s adult social care team to ensure the scheme meets the needs of the resident. While priority will be given to council tenants and eligible applicants on the housing register, people living in private accommodation in Brighton & Hove can also apply.

For more details on how to apply, contact the Housing Customer Services team on 01273 293030 or email housingcustomerservices@brighton-hove.gov.uk

The Brooke Mead Extra Care Scheme is part of the council’s New Homes for Neighbourhoods programme which aims to build 500 new rented homes on council land.

Switchboard launch new LGBT+ anti-smoking campaign

Brighton and Hove LGBT+ residents, LGBT Switchboard and Brighton and Hove City Council team up to deliver a campaign that encourages LGBT+ people to stop smoking.

With LGBT+ people far more likely to smoke than straight people, an awareness raising drive has started.

The council has teamed up with LGBT Switchboard, to ensure the LGBT+ communities knows there is support available to help them quit.

LGBT Switchboard’s Scarlett Langdon, a leading member of the campaign, said: “Most people know the dangers of smoking but wanted some messages that conveyed the dangers in a brighter and more positive way. 

“What’s important to people is they don’t feel like they’re being told off.  Together we worked to create a campaign that aims to achieve this.”

Figures from the ONS (Office of National Statistics) show that LGB adults are more likely to be cigarette smokers compared to straight adults. A number of local Brighton & Hove LGBT+ residents worked with LGBT Switchboard on developing the awareness campaign and some revealed what motivated them to quit smoking.

In a video made by the city council, Eric Page describes his journey to stop smoking, including why he started, how he’s tried to quit before, and how he finally gave up with the help of smoking cessation services in Brighton & Hove.

Eric says: “I really felt like I was Bette Davis, and then I remember seeing Bette Davis after having had 4 strokes and been really ravaged by smoking, and I thought ‘actually I’m going to become that if I’m not careful’.”

The council’s e-cigarette friendly service offers free one to one support along with licensed stop smoking medications at the cost of a prescription.

The campaign is being run through the LGBTQ health improvement project (HIP), in partnership with the city council.

Scarlett added: “It’s time we came together as a community to raise awareness of the benefits that stopping smoking can have.

“Giving up has immediate health benefits, no matter how long you’ve smoked for. It’s the single best thing you can do for your health.”

For more information on kicking the habit, and the support available, click here:

PREVIEW: Love Happens Here – an LGBTQI cabaret

Like the LGBTQ+ communities, their soundtrack is vast and diverse – Centre Stage London present a selection of music celebrating this community and love in all its forms.

From dance classics from big-voiced divas to soul-searching slow jams that mirror struggles with self-acceptance and social rejection.

Centre Stage London celebrate a message of hope, acceptance, activism and love in Love Happens Here- An LGBTQI Cabaret.

Featuring songs from legends like Lou Reed, modern jams by Lady Gaga, classic songs Somewhere Over The Rainbow and Dancing Queen and numbers from musicals like Fun Home, Kinky Boots and Taboo; Love Happens Here is a cabaret/concert mash-up of music celebrated and loved by the LGBTQ+ community and it’s Centre Stage allies.

Director Stuart James, says: “At present, the world is going through an extremely turbulent time. While the LGBTQ+ community celebrates small human rights achievements, we continue to be faced with atrocious discrimination. A lot of which comes from our political leaders who are supposed to be there to protect and serve their constituents.

While we’ll never stop fighting for our basic human rights, it doesn’t mean we can’t do everything in our power to celebrate and enjoy our lives. The LGBTQ+ community has always had a close relationship with music and Love happens Here is a way for me to personally give back to my community, presenting my love of LGBTQ+ themed music for everyone who feels like a bit of cheering up!”

Centre Stage is a central London-based theatre company that has been entertaining audiences with musicals and cabarets for 50 years. An amateur society and registered charity, they began as a light opera company in 1966.

For this production, they have brought together an incredibly talented cast and creative team including a live onstage band and some of the best singers in London!


Event: Love Happens Here – an LGBTQI Cabaret

Where: Stockwell Playhouse, 208 Wandsworth Road, London, SW8 2JU

When: February 20 – 22

Time: 7.30pm running time is 2 hrs, including interval 

Cost: £15

To book tickets online, click here:

Stockwell Playhouse bar open 30 mins prior to performance, at interval and after show

Our members range in age from their 20s to their 60s and come from all walks of life – current members include teachers, lawyers, bankers, directors, web designers, nannies, librarians, managers, event organisers and retirees. But we all share one thing: a passion for musical theatre!

www.centrestage.london | @centrestageldn | #cslovehappenshere

 

 

Celebrate love and diversity at Refugee Valentine

LOVE is in the air!

A line up of local musicians, Yamaya (Afrobeat Funk Fusion) and Alaa (Oud and vocals from Syria) will bring the music of their international origins to create a night that defies categorisation as either global or local.

West African chefs will cook a celebratory feast served on big platters for 4-6 people so that strangers can eat together to share the love.

Refugee Valentine celebrates love and diversity.

Refugee Valentine will take love beyond monogamous pairings to begin rebuilding a community that celebrates difference.

Refugee Valentine is organised by Brighton Migrant Solidarity (BMS) and Thousand For Thousand (T4K) to celebrate love and diversity.

LOVE IS POLITICAL – It’s our differences that bring us together.


Event: Refugee Valentine

Where: The Rose Hill Tavern, Rose Hill Terrace, Brighton, BN1 4JL

When: Wednesday, February 14

Time: 6pm-11pm

Cost: £15

To book tickets online, click here:

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