Skip to main contentRufus Wainwright's a new kind of queer folk singer. Since he's the offspring of outlandish '60s troubadour Loudon Wainwright III, you'd expect him to be, well...different. But the very out Rufus is redefining the word. On Saturday, he brings his wry and dry songs to the Aladdin Theater. Before he arrived though, QW woke him up to ask him a few...different questions.
QW: Do you perform at queer events?
RW: I feel claustrophobic. There are sections of today's gay world that I don't relate to.
I find queer festivals extremely--queer!
Were you bummed when they canceled the queer-themed Wotaplava fest?
I was quite bummed. My thing with queer stuff is that I'm a believer in integrating queer and straight culture.
Why Poses?
I toured the hell out of my first record and decided to not write anything for a long time. I moved to New York and banged myself around. Poses wrote itself. It was my baby. The one that wasn't aborted.
Are you trying to reach a wider audience?
At first I was green--especially with fame. I thought I'd found the yellow brick road, that I'd walk to the ghost of the wizard and become the emerald princess. I found out that art was only part of it. The other part is relating to audiences and, God forbid, selling records!
Are you a pop artist?
I'm a pop doctor! I use pop as a medicinal force as opposed to something that causes brain damage. I grew up in a golden age of pop. I'm trying to bring back that sort of feeling. Pop has become so homogenized.
Gay guys stay in the music closet. Why?
Then they'd have to make out with me! Really, I don't know how much support there is for gay male artists. Lesbian singers really have a vying public. I'm liked by 14-year-old girls.
You talk about being attracted to straight men. Does that have to do with internalized homophobia?
That could be true. I do feel that one of the reasons I'm attracted to straight men is that they're also very attracted to gay men. I think that gay men and straight men really need each other. There's a lot that they can learn from each other.
You call yourself a slut. For years you thought you had AIDS. How did your life change when you found out you were HIV-negative?
I was relieved, but I went through another unsafe sex period. I've come to realize sex is dangerous in many ways. Whether it's diseases or emotions--there's no way that you can be safe from that danger. And I love danger! I love flirting with disaster. The deeper that I get into this whole sex thing, the more blurry the lines become. We're living in a really strange period. It's more frightening because nobody really knows what the hell
is going on.
A troika of choirs, including the Portland Gay Men's Chorus, the Portland Lesbian Choir and Bridges Vocal Ensemble, will gather together for one mega-choral power concert.
It's time for the biggest drag show this side of the Mississippi. So go ahead, grab your glammiest lip gloss and head for the river for the 20th annual pageant to crown the most beautiful female impersonator in the world. P.S. Expect to see a lot of old (and we're talking old) faces.
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WWeek 2015