It’s that time of year again, ladies (and the few gents who read this)!

New Jersey Pride will be held this Sunday, June 2, in that big ol’ field between Wonder Bar and the Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel on Ocean Avenue. Wander around and sample the fabulous food and drinks, support local artists and vendors, and enjoy entertainment from Kathy Sledge (lead singer of Sister Sledge), Alex Newell, “Unique” from GLEE, and God-Des & She. More details are available on the official New Jersey Pride website.

Planning to imbibe? As many of you may remember, we put up a good fight last year when we heard that coolers and outside alcohol were going to be banned from the field. Though we were ultimately successful in our mission, this year we have had no such luck.

Per the official NJ Pride Facebook page, “Coolers and other insulated items with food and non-alcoholic beverages are permitted. Outside alcoholic beverages are not permitted and are subject to confiscation. Please remember to bring your valid ID. IDs will be checked and those age 21 and over will receive a wrist band that indicates they are of age to drink. You must have a wrist band to consume alcohol within the festival grounds.”

They also posted the statement they received from the Asbury Park Police Department:

I also understand that you wanted to permit attendees to bring coolers with their own alcoholic beverages into the licensed area. This is not going to be allowed. This is due to the fact that alcohol is being served by establishments with valid liquor licenses that you requested. If there are any issues with persons who consume excessively, disorderly persons or persons who consume under the legal age, these issues may have an impact on the liquor licenses for these establishments to include sanctions, suspensions or forfeiting of the license. Additionally, should anyone drink to excess and get into a motor vehicle accident, the establishments may be liable for any injuries or death. Coincidently, these licenses are up for renewal in June of this year. The police department, as well as your event, should want to protect the licenses as best we can. Therefore, the consumption in the licensed area will only be allowed for those who purchase from those establishments listed on the catering permit.

It is also requested that alcohol not be served in bottles and some form of ID checking be put in place for the licensed area. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Sgt. Robert Ash
Asbury Park Police Department

Spread the word, folks. Nothing will be more annoying than showing up to the field with a 30-pound cooler, only to be turned away. Pregaming is going to be more intense than ever this year, methinks.

I think it’s safe to say that this girl is gay … and she’s fabulous.  JennaAnne has a gorgeous voice and an amazing talent for both the guitar and the piano.  But her strong point is giving us a new take on common songs.  Take the video above, for example – I guarantee you’ve never heard “Titanium” quite like this. (And if you like her, check out her version of “Coming Home“)

As if you needed another reason to love Asbury Park.

Cliff Galbraith, creator of Rat Bastard, father of the Partysaurus, and self-made deranged millionaire, has summoned the nerdilicious subculture of the comicon and forced it to make out furiously with the edgy, artsy, and sometimes sticky, Asbury Lanes. It’s like when you were a kid and you made your mohawk-barbie marry your Wolverine action figure.

No?

Anyway, the point of the pairing was this: Comic book conventions, if you can believe it, have become less focused on the comic books themselves, and more about the rabid fanboys/girls that dress up in thousand-dollar costumes to chase the sweet, sweet dragon of internet fame. That’s not what the Asbury Park Comic Con is about. Or this, or this.

This might be ok.

Between moving tectonic plates with his mind and his new project to rid the world of poverty using only pixie sticks and a can-do attitude, Cliff’s a pretty busy guy, but I took it upon myself to interview him date-rape style: Don’t ask permission, just do it before he can scream, and  I was able to ask a few questions about the experience before he pulled out his can of keychain mace. Below is a word-for-word transcript of our little “interview”:

TA: Did you put this together by yourself or did you collaborate with other parties to make it happen? Shh…it’s supposed to feel like that.

CG: Lots of people helped — I’m so lucky to have so many friends in the neighborhood and in the comics community. I had a lot of old friends in comics who took a chance on a con that nobody knew if anyone was going to show up. And of course, the mighty Rob Bruce, who became my partner somehow around three months of me launching the con — Rob was the key to getting it done. I couldn’t have done it without him, well I could’ve and then I would’ve passed away.

TA: What the hell were you thinking? Don’t make it weird.

CG: Crazy shit – like how much a record fair at the Asbury Lanes looked like a comic con. I saw people rifling through boxes and I thought it looked very similar to collectors looking through long boxes at comic cons. So I asked how many tables there were, and could we throw a small comic con. Jenn Hampton of Asbury Lanes was really supportive — the venue was so important to the success.

TA: Are you averse to being referred to as a “self-made deranged millionaire”? And remember, this is our secret, so don’t. Tell. ANYONE. I’ll be watching.

CG: Well, I must be deranged, because I was very successful when I was in my late twenties, and then I managed to squander much of it. Maybe I didn’t squander it, but I took chances on projects that didn’t pan out — I had a store in Laguna Beach, CA, a sunglass company in Los Angeles, a screen printing business in NJ, a publishing company, probably some other ventures — but I’m no millionaire these days. I am still very entrepreneurial, and I’m back in publishing of my own comics and just made a deal for an enhanced comic app with company in Italy. But this convention promoter thing is new to me — I never saw myself doing this, but it’s actually fun.

The great thing is that I get to create a comic convention that I would want to go to, one where comics are the most import aspect of the con. Many of the bigger cons are more about TV and movie celebrities — to me that’s no longer a comic con and it disrespects the people who created the whole history of comics. So artists and writers are treated well at my cons.

I’m really lucky to get to do all this kooky stuff — I feel as if I never go to work. There’s a lot of effort that goes into writing and drawing a comic or putting on a convention — but I enjoy the whole process.

TA: I bet you do…whore. 

The AP Con is about getting back to basics. It’s about appreciating the art and the artists that pour their entire lives into their craft. Little artists, big artists, and artists in the middle. Much like herpes and basic arithmetic at the cash register, the comic con is the great social leveler, the lunch table where everyone can sit and get along. On top of that, the tickets were free, the art was incredible, the food was delicious, and the beer was cheap. And it’s happening all over again on September 29th, 2012.

For a list of  the main artists and vendors at the Asbury Park Comic Con, go here, and if you’re interested in a couple of the comics and artists I became obsessed with after attending, go here, and here.

                                                      See you in September!

These girls may be straight. These girls may be gay. We have no idea, as they have no description on their YouTube profile. But I just  know they’re awesome. Two of their videos are here; check out the rest of their videos immediately if you like what you see.

They also do an amazing version of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know,” a song I know with which 382934 of you are obsessed. Check it out.

I was listening to Z100 on the drive to work the other day, as I tend to do if I’m not rattling the windows with my own warbling rendition of Fun’s “We Are Young.” Elvis and the other DJs were discussing songs that make them cringe, cry out for relief, or, in the words of one listener, “want to punch a baby.”

Needless to say, I know of plenty of those.

So, without further ado, here are the top five songs that make me want to rip off my own ears.

5. Cheeky Girls – Cheeky Song (Touch My Bum)

1. Butters – What What in the Butt

We want to hear from you! What do you think is the most annoying song ever released?

Header image elements courtesy of http://www.valdosta.edu/~amanderson/student.html and http://www.smilesbymartin.com/blog/2012/03/the-mystery-of-migraine-pain/.

Ladies and gentlemen – we have success!

In a previous post, we discussed the potential rule changes regarding coolers at New Jersey Pride, and were, understandably, a bit taken aback that things were to change after nineteen years of a successful event. So, in typical loudmouth Jersey lesbian fashion, we not only posted about it here, but also created a Facebook group called Don’t Change Asbury Park Pride (and, again, disregard the URL, as boycotting the event was never our intention).

Somehow, our efforts paid off!

The President of Jersey Pride, Inc., sent out the following message:

I believe the LGBTI Pride Celebration we produce each year in Asbury Park is special. I have always thought so. If pushed to say why, I would point to the fact that we hold our event in a uniquely NJ venue – the Jersey Shore. The Atlantic Ocean and the Asbury Park Boardwalk are the backdrops for Jersey Pride. How fitting. I would point to the incredible community in Asbury Park – its residents, the town managers and elected officials, and the business community – who have welcomed us for 21 years and helped us grow this event, and Pride weekend, into something fabulous. I would point to the Family Zone, and our support of the diversity of our community, including the soccer moms and dads. I would point to the incredible dedication of the volunteers who give up their lives for several months to focus on producing, for no personal gain whatsoever, this fabulous event. And I would point to our rally area and the real sense of community you see there. I don’t know that I would have specifically articulated the “cooler camps” as what makes that rally viewing area special, but clearly for many of the actual rally attendees, being able to bring in your own cooler filled with your beverage of choice (alcohol or otherwise), snacks, and generally your own picnic accoutrements, and invite your friends, both new and old, to visit in your “space” is something special about the Pride Celebration in Asbury Park.

Any special event is subject to a tremendous amount of planning and logistical manuevering. To produce the event that we do, Jersey Pride must work with the town of Asbury Park, the state’s division that oversees liquor laws, our insurance company, various vendors who supply the port-o-johns and sound and dumpsters, performers, and the community itself. We attempt to hear all the different issues, and regulations, and preferences, and needs that must be met and weave a path through all interested parties that can satisfy everyone.

We faced a particular challenge this year pertaining to responsible alcohol consumption during the festival. We remain committed to responsible alcohol consumption, but we’ve heard from the community that the path we chose would take away a part of the festival that for them is what makes it special. To meet our need for responsible alcohol consumption, and to meet the need recently voiced by at least some segment of our community, for the picnic-like rally area, we WILL BE ALLLOWING cooler access through one of the entry gates to the festival. At that gate, coolers will be inspected; for those with alcohol in them, the owner will be carded and will have to sign a hold harmless that lays out the festival’s policies about responsible alcohol consumption on the grounds.

What saddens me most about the discourse around this alcohol policy, particularly on the social media channels, is how the dedicated hard work of the VOLUNTEERS of Jersey Pride is getting dismissed and maligned. This event happens because people give up part of their lives to produce it for the community. Not only is no one at Jersey Pride paid, but they often don’t even get much in the way of a thank you. And this year, those hard working individuals get the added bonus of being blasted publicly by the very people they are working so hard to serve. Every person at Jersey Pride is a hero in my book. They are trying to provide a safe space for the community. They do this in addition to, and often while putting in jeopardy, their every day lives. I thank them for everything that they do and hope if you see anyone in a staff shirt at the pride celebration, you take the time to thank them too.

And for those to whom this applies, please drink responsibly. At pride, and every day.

Sincerely,
Laura Pople
President, Jersey Pride

So, for those of you carting coolers around, don’t worry about being turned away at the door. All you’ll have to do is show your ID and sign a waiver that removes the organizers from liability.

And, please, thank each and every one of the volunteers you see at the event. We at JSG never “maligned or dismissed” the efforts of these individuals, and it’s a shame that it had to be mentioned. These people are doing a ton for the LGBTQI community, and if it weren’t for them, we in New Jersey wouldn’t even have a Pride to call our own.

We look forward to seeing everyone in Asbury Park tomorrow!