Published May 20, 2010
“My name is Harvey Milk and I’m here to recruit you.”
Harvey Milk Festival
1-10 p.m. Sat., May 22, Rosemary District, 5th St. and Central Ave., Sarasota, 228-4872 orharveymilkfestival.com; The Milk Collection Art Opening: 6-9 p.m. Fri., May 21, Pure Luxe, 513 Central Ave., Sarasota, 364-5800 or pureluxeonline.com.
Shannon Fortner sits in her home just north of the Rosemary District flipping through a small notebook filled cover to cover with phone numbers, hastily scribbled notes and artistic doodles. “This is my Harvey Milk book,†she explains, her scratchy voice straining with exhaustion. The volume was nothing but blank pages not two months ago when she decided to start organizing the Harvey Milk Festival just before traveling to England to visit her girlfriend of three years.
Fortner’s partner was her inspiration for the festival. The U.K. native has been limited to no more than 90-day stays in the U.S. due to the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, which states that same-sex partners of U.S. citizens are not granted permission to be sponsored for family-based immigration. So Fortner, a long-time civil rights activist and lead singer of local bandsMeteorEyes and Spontaneous Habit, decided to spend much of her two-week vacation on the phone putting together the event to raise awareness about laws that she sees as discriminatory toward Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) individuals. (more…)Tag: meteorEyes
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Milking it: The 1st Annual Harvey Milk Festival aims to entertain while getting the word out about the fight for LGBT civil rights
Published May 20, 2010
“My name is Harvey Milk and I’m here to recruit you.”
Harvey Milk Festival
1-10 p.m. Sat., May 22, Rosemary District, 5th St. and Central Ave., Sarasota, 228-4872 orharveymilkfestival.com; The Milk Collection Art Opening: 6-9 p.m. Fri., May 21, Pure Luxe, 513 Central Ave., Sarasota, 364-5800 or pureluxeonline.com.
Shannon Fortner sits in her home just north of the Rosemary District flipping through a small notebook filled cover to cover with phone numbers, hastily scribbled notes and artistic doodles. “This is my Harvey Milk book,†she explains, her scratchy voice straining with exhaustion. The volume was nothing but blank pages not two months ago when she decided to start organizing the Harvey Milk Festival just before traveling to England to visit her girlfriend of three years.
Fortner’s partner was her inspiration for the festival. The U.K. native has been limited to no more than 90-day stays in the U.S. due to the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, which states that same-sex partners of U.S. citizens are not granted permission to be sponsored for family-based immigration. So Fortner, a long-time civil rights activist and lead singer of local bandsMeteorEyes and Spontaneous Habit, decided to spend much of her two-week vacation on the phone putting together the event to raise awareness about laws that she sees as discriminatory toward Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) individuals. (more…) -
The Local Original: An overview of the Suncoast music scene reveals progress and change
Published October 13, 2010 In trying to improve the Suncoast music scene it’s important to examine where it came from, how it developed, and where it stands today. Therefore, I felt it was necessary to use this week’s column as a State of the Scene Address of sorts. When looking back at what’s taken place over the past year, I figured the best point of comparison would be to examine where the scene was back in February. That’s when 38 bands from the 941 area code joined together in collaborative musical harmony to produce theNoise Ordinance CD compilation, culminating in the momentous CD release celebration that united Suncoast musicians like never before. But a lot has changed in eight months. Some of the standout bands in the area — Villanova Junction, Youth, The Silent Film Exhibitionists Club — have disbanded. Other popular artists like Sam Robertson and Reggie Williams bid farewell and headed off to college, or in Devin Robinson’s case, Nashville. Thankfully, there’s a silver lining in many of those developments. SFEC’s former keyboardist Aimee Guerin found a home in the lineup for Cassolette, who just cut a deal with Miami’s Cloud Berry Records to release a 7†vinyl. Former SFEC guitarist Adam Marret took over bass duties for Fancy Rat, although the band is now scouting replacements for their recently departed drummer and French horn player, only months after the release of their first album. Villanova’s ex-frontman Ryan O’Neill stepped in as bassist for Sons of Hippies, who after releasing their second album A-morph in August, embarked on a six-week tour that ends with a homecoming show at Pastimes this Thursday. As for the Devin Robinson Band, word on the street is Jack White’s Nashville-based label, Third Man Records, has shown interest in signing them. Nice job, boys! (more…) -
Once upon a time: Anthony Paull and Something Spilled Productions represent SRQ at this year’s LGBT Film Festival.
Published August 18, 2010 This weekend Burns Court Cinemas invites Sarasota to celebrate diversity with The Fabulous LGBT Film Festival, a two-day event featuring six feature-length films, four opening with a short by local filmmaker and writer Anthony Paull. The Once and Future Me is Paull’s directing debut and the second short he’s written and filmed in Sarasota through Something Spilled Productions, which Paull started with locals Steve Lesser and Heather Manley. The company was named after an incident that happened while Manley and Paull were covering the Sundance Film Festival. Paull had spilled some wine during an after party at a swanky house and had told the maid, “Something spilled over there.†The first film to emerge from Something Spilled was a short called The Green, Green Heart, which screened at the Delray Beach Film Festival. A promising outcome for such a low budget project, the trio decided to up the ante and hired a professional cinematographer and assistant director for The Once and Future Me. “It looks hot,†says Paull, “I mean, compared to our first film? Our first film was like a porno.†(more…)