After the phenomenal success of the "Black Bra Party" and "Tanked," Kathleen and Julie, the girlz behind Chix Mix Productions, are currently putting the finishing touches to "Party Like a Rock Star," and it promises to be even more of an EXTRAVAGANZA than the other two.
These two hi-energy women recently took time out from their hectic schedules to talk with Windy City Times.
WCT: I'm guessing you two are a couple, so where did you meet?
Kathleen: I'm a Hoosier, born in Hammond, Ind. Julie and I met down there and moved up here together about three years ago. Julie was working in a casino when I met her.
WCT: I've worked for the gay press for over 20 years, so I've watched the lesbian community develop and change over the years. Separatism, invisibility, k.d.lang and Melissa Etheridge inspired lesbian chic, etc. etc. But a lot of gay men still cling to the old stereotypes of lesbians being humorless and feisty. So playing devil's advocate, when did lesbians get to be so much fun?
Julie: Well, lesbians have always had fun, it's just that we do it in public now. I think that began to change a couple of years ago. There are different aspects of the lesbian community and the type you're talking about is the women-only space type. Like the Bear community and the Leather Community, those women get together and do their own thing. So lesbians have always had fun, it's just that it was done in the privacy of their own homes, or wherever.
WCT: "The Black Bra Party" and "Tanked" were huge successes that took everyone by surprise. How did the idea come to you?
Kathleen: We've always had these big parties in the bars, and women kept asking us why there were no big women's dance parties, because the guys had them. Women go to their local bars, but it's also fun to go dance at places like Crobar, where there's a lot of energy. Why do men go out in droves and women don't? So we started thinking about it ...
Julie: Also, when you talk to the owners of lesbian bars, they will tell you that women are fickle and don't support the bars on a daily basis. They come out every so often. So that's why a lot of people don't take a chance on the lesbian community. Nobody was willing to step forward and organize anything this big, in case it didn't work. That's why we don't do these parties every weekend, we're doing this just a few times a year. It's something different, out of the ordinary, and that's why people support it.
WCT: When I came to the first party, I have to admit that I was thinking "Oh this could be a complete disaster." I didn't see women as being a part of that boys' party culture. Of course, when I got there and saw the crowds, I discovered how wrong I was. Drink was packed that night and with a more diverse crowd than a boy's Circuit party; which is mostly muscle queens.
How much of your success do you put down to doing the right thing at the right time?
Kathleen: I think that played a big part in it, people were just waiting for someone to organize something. But I was a ball of stress for four months, thinking that nobody was going to come, and that maybe it was just me who wanted to party with women dancers and a tattoo booth. We had so much praise for the first one, that we were on a high for two weeks after. Since then, we've seen copycat events, and we've even had guys doing parties phoning up and asking for advice. It's been interesting to see the spin-offs from this.
WCT: Women's sexuality is also something that came out of the closet in recent years, it's not hidden away anymore. I noticed that your parties are very sexy, with leather, rubber, Levis and feather boas all together on the dancefloor.
Julie: I think sex is as much a part of women's lives as it is for the guys. I think our parties give an opportunity for lesbians, bi, and gay friendly women to look at other women and see they're sexy.
WCT: Your first two parties were at Drink, so why did you decide not to do them in a gay bar?
Kathleen: Because we needed somewhere big. The estimate for the first party was 1,000 women. You can't fit 1,000 people into any of the women's bars. And anyway, that's where women go all the time, and we wanted something different. There's no way we're going to get a Sunday at Circuit or Crobar over the Fireball Weekend. So we decided to do what the guys do, rent out a place, like Fireball did with the Aragon. At the time, Drink had placed an ad in Windy City Times saying they wanted to do more with the gay community. That's when we had the meeting with them, and when we saw the place, it was unbelievable. So we decided to give it a go. We also wanted to bring the women's bars into the mix, so we got them involved in it too.
WCT: I know there are no on-stage performances at the upcoming "Party Like a Rock Star," because you've got other surprises lined up this time, but how did you choose the entertainment for the first two parties?
Julie: I manage Valerie James and she was very much a part of the process at the first party. We wanted her performing because she sings dance music. Then C.C Carter came in to entertain the crowd in a different way.
Kathleen: C.C. has so much energy, and we knew that if she pumped out something sexy like she does, that the crowd would really be into it. Both C.C. and Valerie were extremely well received. The idea of having dancers came from Drink having go-go boxes. They were there, so we used them.
Julie: We chose DJ Harry T because we had to appeal to a diverse crowd. He had new stuff, old stuff, but it was all fun. We listened to a bunch of DJs and he was the perfect fit.
Kathleen: You have the 20-somethings who want progressive house music, then you have the 40-somethings who want to hear something from the '70s. The music is the hardest part of these events.
WCT: So you had two mega-hits at Drink, so why change the location of the next party to Nocturnal?
Julie: Just to keep it fresh. We want to keep up the level of excitement. "Party Like a Rock Star" is going to be much bigger, and much better than the other two. We have a red carpet outside and searchlights, so there's going to be a Hollywood rock star feel to it. There's also a free champagne fountain, and other surprises.
WCT: Something that's topical right now is the widespread use of drugs at these big parties. I go to a lot of these events, and I see this all the time. It's not a boys do it and girls don't do it thing. I've seen girls overdose at boy's Circuit parties. But I have to say that I never saw any drugs at either of your parties, and I was looking out for it. How do you explain that?
Julie: In some respects, it's encouraged at the men's parties. Circuit parties have that reputation, and the new little gay boys going in there want to be like everybody else. If you don't do drugs, you're not going to fit in. I don't see a lot of drugs in the lesbian community anyway. We may abuse alcohol, but that's it.
Kathleen: Not only do we not encourage the use of drugs, we don't tolerate it either. If that ever occurred at our parties, we'd just stop doing them. Our parties are about dancing, having fun, and dressing up and being someone different for a night. Have fun with clothes, or come in a flannel shirt and shorts. That's fine too.
WCT: What about the boys coming?
Julie: We don't discriminate against men, we get bisexuals and straight girls coming with a boyfriend or a gay male friend, and that's OK.
Kathleen: It's not a women-only space, but we have to use our discretion; if 20 gay guys turn up and want to turn it into a circuit party, that's not going to happen. One of the coolest things about the "Black Bra Party" were the transgendered women and crossdressers who turned up, which was awesome because that's a community that's often ignored.
"Party Like a Rock Star" takes place on Sunday, Sept. 2, at Nocturnal ( 1111 W. Lake St. ) . Tix are $15 in advance or $20 on the door. You can buy them at Buddies, 3301 N. Clark, Karma Salon, 1750 W. Balmoral in Andersonville or on line at Ticketweb.com . Call ( 773 ) 583-5049, or see www.chixmixproductions.com