What's Up

       I had the extreme pleasure of seeing Romanovsky & Phillips perform at the Highland Theatre as a benefit for The Community AIDS Network on Saturday, August 30th. All I can say is ten-thousand times wonderful!!! Every gay person in the world should see them. What an incredibly gay empowering experience. Honest to God, I almost felt as intensified in my own gay pride as I did at the March On Washington in '93. I think everyone there was floating an inch or two higher in their heels.

       I know a lot of the people that were there and I felt just as close to everyone else that attended, that I had never met before. All we needed was some pink and purple clouds and we'd have had our own little Queer Heaven! You simply can not allow yourself to miss these guys, the next time they are around.

       I don't care what kind of music you like, you will love what they do. It's not heavy. It's not folk. It's not typical show tunes. It's just really good. Both of them sing beautifully. Paul Phillips has a kind of Mel Tormay, golden-fog-thing going and Ron Romanovsky has a strong, clear and proud voice too. They're sort of like Simon & Garfunkle -- except they're OUT (Ha!). If you're into music theory, their chord progressions are fascinating, with lots of diminished, augmented, minors and modulations -- singing in unison, in harmony and in melody / counter melody. I haven't heard this kind of attention to vocal treatment in popular music for a long time. And, this was true of EVERY song. Good Stuff!

       From the moment they stepped onto the stage they had the whole house captivated. Everyone was entirely tuned-in to them. You know how sometimes you can get swept away in a great musical moment at a show? Well I lost it and kept right on losing it. They had it, cherished it and took very good care of it. I loved every minute of it. I saw every major issue of my life put to song with great dignity, style, grace and pride. They are masters at creating a space of real love. Add to this the fact that they had everyone in tears from laughing so much. Terry and I were in the second row, so I can tell you that their facial expressions were an integral part of their performance. When Paul did the bit about the Gay and Lesbian Finishing School -- Introduction To Pillow Tossing, I almost peed my pants! I still laugh out loud when I think about it. Dare I say Ron plays the "straight-man" to Paul? Nooooo.... That just doesn't describe the great comedy team relationship that they have.

       They have their own record label, Fresh Fruit Records (http://www.freshfruit.com), and between the two of them they have seven full length albums of music. They had stacks of CDs and cassettes for sale in the lobby and every one of them sold. I know, because Terry and I got the very last CD there. I think some people bought their entire collection right then. If that's not an endorsement for their talents, then I don't know what is. They signed autographs after the show and mingled with the good people who came to see them. They are both sweethearts.