raannt

Last night, having no events to attend and just wanting to hang out with our crew, Demi and Cole, we headed over to Greg’s for awhile. When low and behold, who did we run into but Miss Austria Andrews, from Nashville Tennessee, with Zori Zannell and Strawbella Be’Agoddess, both looking absolutely, ranntt worthy, stunningly fierce and raging! Austria is an old friend and it was great to see her again, along with her sexies. You can see her this weekend at Talbott Street. Word straight from her mouth is that she plans to call Indy her home again very soon…Hmmm…wonder where she’ll be “playing”! If you have never see Miss Austria perform before…go out and see her…She is absolutely amazing, the body beautiful!!! So excited to have her back in town! We’ve missed you!

And down the street Greg’s will be hosting The Bitches With Balls Meet The Sluts With Nuts…”an annual employee turn-a-bout drag show, with the performers and employees donating ALL tips to the DEFA(Direct Emergency Financial Assistance) Fund via Indiana AIDS Walk 2009! Sounds like a rather awe-inspiring means to choke up some much needed cash! (Later in the week, we’re going to be doing a piece on “Change4Change”, to help raise funds for local Aids Service Organization, formed by local legend Vicci Laine.

We’ve been e-mailing Vicci back and forth for the last several days and are so excited to begin working with her. She truly seems like the goddess we have heard she was by so many people!!! (She has also included us on the judges panel for a pageant in December…can’t wait!!!)
If they gay scene is not exactly what you had in mind…we have a few suggestions tonight! First, since it’s such a drizzly, stay in bed all night kind of night, couple it up, head down to Blu, which has really turned things around to the positive in the last few months, and drink and dance all night!!! Of course, we would never want you to drink and drive, so don’t be cheap and take a cab over to The Conrad and do it up right! If Broad Ripple is more your speed, we DEFINITELY suggest you head over to Midtown or The Upper Room to start, and make your way down to the new and improved Landsharks.

But of course we think visiting Talbott to see Austria, as well as guests Ashley Kruiz and Mokha Montrese, with shows at 9:30, 11 and 1, is the most raannt worthy choice!

Eyes Open…We’re Watching!

Hey Everyone…Just wanted to inform our readers that the boys of raannt are the NEW gossip columnists/bloggers for The Bilerico Project…The web’s largest GLBTQ group blog! We are extremely honored that they asked us, and true to our mission on raannt, we will continue to improve the social vibe of Indy while reporting on events, new restaurants/clubs and local celebrities.

raannt will remain intact as a separate entity but now we are able to truly cover the ENTIRE city! Thanks to the Bilerico family for this awesome opportunity!

Click here to visit The Bilerico Project-Indiana…

Eyes Open…We’re Watching!

Tonight, Talbott Street hosted “Drag Race”, a competition of drag acts to raise money for Theatre on the Square. Not only did some local “ladies” perform, but Dave Smiley and his crew from The Smiley Morning Show were there, in mixed drag. This was our second time meeting up with Dave and once again, he was as genuine and hilarious as before, as were the rest of his gang! They all seemed to be having so much fun, even though they would be walking into work in only a few hours, with probably traces of foundation and eye shadow on their faces. We hope you guys had as much fun as everyone else did! Thanks for coming out and raising your skirts for money!

Yesterday, we had a chance to speak for a few minutes with our friend Vivian Farris, managing partner at Talbott Street, who was gracious enough to call us back on her birthday and fill us in on the purpose of the event and how Talbott Street strives, as a vibrant, social entity both in the gay and straight communities, to consistently support local charities and fundraisers, as was evidenced by tonight’s event as well as advertisements in Talbott for their raising money for AIDS awareness. We would especially like to thank Miss Vivian on filling us in and always being so wonderful! Happy Birthday Libra! Hope it was amazing!

All in all the night was a great success! We were unable to stay for the entire event, but our friend, local DJ Jared Curry, texted us the totals for the evening; including $620 in tips and $1,800 from the door. Not too shabby!!! Thanks everyone involved for continuing to support the arts and we’ll continue to update and inform you of other upcoming charity fundraisers…and as always…

Eyes Open…We’re Watching!

Recently, after talking about all of the interesting people we have met in Indy who contribute to the fluid, social vibe that we encounter, we decided we would dedicate a weekly interview to “local celebs” who contribute to this vibe, and really try to understand the person behind the image. After this week, we will let our readers decide, based on a poll, the personality for the weekly profile. Voting will end on Tuesday of every week! This week, we decided to interview Vicki St. James, a local entertainer and female impersonator, who is a headlining performer at Talbott Street. Vicki has held the titles of Miss Gay Indiana 1995, Miss Bloomington, Miss Indiana Continental 1997 and 2003, Miss Terre Haute and Miss Iowa Continental 2007. She was given an Honorary Miss Gay IU and Emeritus MGIU. Besides performing, she also has a background as a veterinary assistant, optician and photographer. Family, including her mother and two adopted sons, are a vital part of her private life.

1. What is your name? Vicki St. James/Victoria Geiger
2. Favorite Place in Indy to eat? Shapiro’s
3. The SEXIEST place in the world? My imagination
4. Three television shows you watch consistently? I watch a lot of History Channel, National Geographic Channel and The Golden Girls.
5. What books, if any, are you currently reading? I am currently reading two books by the same author. “The Other Queen” and “The White Queen” by Phillipa Gregory.
6. What is the last book that you read? The last book I finished was about the Donner Party Pioneers. Ironically I found it between the children’s section and the cooking section at Half Price Books.
7. What was the last movie you saw? In a theater-Ice Age;The Meltdown…On DVD; The Tudors.
8. What was a movie that profoundly impacted your life? Pay it Forward.
9. The SEXIEST place in Indy? Well Talbott Street of course. I get to see all of the eye-candy and pyt’s!
10. If you could only listen to one CD for the rest of your life? A compilation with Patti Labelle, Shirley Bassey, Amy Winehouse. Phyllis Hyman would have to be foremost, I feel a great connection to her music, lyrics, voice and sadness.
11. Last song you listened to? Margaritaville
12. Most interesting local celebrity? Brenda Williams. I love her. She and I have worked together both on and off stage. I love the warmth that comes from her and she loves the gay community and supports it all while sharing her gifts with us.
13. If you received $1 Million, but had to spend it all on yourself in one week, how would you spend it? Just me? I would buy back my great-grandmother’s farm in Mulberry, Indiana and start a nursery. I would rebuild the house and make it big enough that my mother and a “few chosen family members” always had a place to live and be cared for.
14. What is a song you want played at your funeral? Now you’re making me cry. Helen Reddy’s “You and Me Against the World.” It is significant to me and I and reminds me of my childhood. Not standard issue funeral music.
15. Three things you don’t leave home without? My purse, my keys and my courage to face the world as a woman, knowing I was born a man.
16. Favorite drink? Good ole Pepsi Cola, although now I drink a lot of water.
17. Recurring dream? We lived in a house on Purdue Street in Lafayette. I was in kindergarten and everyday my mother walked me to school and we sang and she was young, happy and vibrant. I walked with my hands along some bushes. I still remember how those bushes felt on my hands.
18. Do you ever want to quit what you’re doing and do something else? At times, yes. Outside influences have taken some of the joy out of it for me at this point. However, I’m stubborn and refuse to give up easily. I think I would go back into the veterinary field, animals are a lot more caring than people and I think their bite hurts less.
19.What is your proudest moment? Right now! My mother has bone cancer and lives with me. It gives me great pleasure to be with her everyday and know she is safe and loved. We have always been close even if she didn’t always understand the transgendered thing. I am happy to have time to spend with her and am proud to have her as a mother. DON’T BE JEALOUS Y’ALL!
20. Long or short showers? LONG AND HOT BABY! The steamier the better!

Thanks Vicki, we appreciate you contributing to our great city, always being a 1st class citizen and being a strong and classy lady!

Vicki St. James can be seen Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights at Talbott Street. For more information, click here!

Eyes Open…We’re Watching!

What a long road it’s been in such an amazingly, short period of time! We’ve had such a great journey, and now, with the onset of our fan page, our numbers growing daily, being mentioned on The Smiley Morning Show and receiving tons of free publicity everywhere else in town and on the web, we just want to thank everyone that has helped us! Especially as we begin to tie together the loose ends of our new website to launch soon. So thank you EVERYONE! We believe that what we have all done together has already improved the social atmosphere of Indy! We have tons of exciting projects in the works, so please… keep your eyes open…and keep watching!

Charity is an amazing thing and since the beginning of our blog, and now in the planning of our promotions, we have made it a goal to continue to bring awareness to local charities and to help support local businesses, either by endorsing them or challenging them to improve. This Thursday, October 1st, Talbott Street will host Drag Race; a fundraiser for Theatre on the Square, which as been open since 1988, making it a leading venue in the arts community. Local art and theater is an integral vein in our cultural community and one that sometimes goes overlooked in relation to other charities. Tickets are $5 in advance. $7 at the door, and $25 VIP access. Doors open at 8pm and the show begins at 8:30pm.

As heard on the radio this week, Dave Smiley and the rest of the crew from The Smiley Morning Show, as well as the men of INDYPROV and other local names, will be contestants in the “drag race”, which will have different acts competing to raise money for Theatre on the Square. When asked about drag as a means of benefiting a charity, local female impersonation legend, Vicki St. James, a headliner of Talbott Street, stated, “A benefit without entertainment of any kind is just a boring way to collect funds. Drag is a part of gay culture. It definitely gets attention. When trying to raise funds for a charity, one wants everyone’s attention. It is hard to ignore a six foot man in a dress! The ultimate goal is to fill the coffers on the charity so it can serve it’s need. Drag is a form of entertainment. It is light hearted fun!”

Well said Vicki, we totally agree. Unfortunately, Vicki will not be working the event, but Asia LaBouche, Vicki’s fellow headliner at Talbott, will be present. Both can be seen Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights at Talbott Street. For more information visit Talbott Street here!

We hope to see you there!

Eyes Open…WE’RE Watching!

The new single, “3”, by the Queen of Pop and Goddess of Sensuality, Britney Spears was released today! The song is part of her new CD “Britney Spears/Revised”, which is a compilation of her hits and remixes, which will be released just in time for the holidays. As always, her single is a hot, steam filled, exhalation of raw sexuality which will be sure to induce sense arousing twisting on dance floors across the world. Listen below for the new single…

New music from Brit Brit! Listen On Demand!

Shared via AddThis

And be sure to look out for her new CD…

We, of course, will be praying for our autographed, pre-release!!!

Eyes Open…We’re Watching!

Just out…on April 30th, 2010, Freddy Krueger will return in a remake of the classic horror, slasher “A Nightmare on Elm Street”.
To see the preview/teaser watch below:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-tSvrkKx2Y]

We think…this could be a little spooky!!!

And we’re hoping this will help with the return of the Nike Krueger, which we didn’t get a chance to buy the first time around!

Eyes Open…We’re Watching!

After just hanging up the phone with our gal pal, Brittany Mason, Miss Indiana USA 2008 and the US representative for Miss World 2009, Alex and I were talking about how we, through Brittany, have so quickly been introduced to the world of pageants! And obviously, if you’ve been watching and reading, you know by now that we love beauty pageants and beauty queens! But having watched Miss South Carolina/Miss Teen 2007, Caitlin Upton, this week on Chelsea Lately…we’re wondering, to what extent will some pageant queens go to attain fame? Or are they really just this outlandish or stupid? To Miss Upton, her beauty way surpasses her brain…and as one of my friends used to say, “If I went to a brain surgeon and he was gorgeous, I’d walk out of his office!”, Implying that we get brains or we get beauty, but we don’t get both. Well, the boys of raannt did…But…In case you forgot the ridiculous nature of Caitlin’s answer during her interview, here you go! We’re just wondering if she is really this dumb or if she gave this response to make sure she was remembered before her move to LA where she is now pursuing an acting career?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQdhMSEqhfg]

And then of course there is the bold and beautiful answer from Miss California, Carrie Prejean, where she responds to Perez Hilton’s question about gay marriage.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcQf1WQ3SvY]

We appreciate your honesty Carrie, but really? We’re wondering if you knew who you were responding to or who had designed that gown or bleached your hair. But really, the clip is so overplayed that now, with a possible political future in her midst, we’re wondering if she planned the whole thing just to get her name secured in the limelight and have a career future in place outside the pageant circuit?

Especially, since she is now being linked to Ms. Sarah Palin, who by the way, happened to be a beauty queen herself…interesting…see here!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUriWHPnjeU]

Of course, there is Rachel Smith, the Miss USA winner who competed in the Miss Universe pageant, who fell and was, well…forgotten…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZZd9UGV0uI]

And now, Miss Virginia 2008, Tara Wheeler, has shaved her head in an effort to raise money for pediatric cancer, which we think is quite amazing, but also newsworthy and attention grabbing!

So we guess the moral to the story is if you’re going to fall or foul…make sure you have a plan, and at this rate…stupid is looking pretty good!

Eyes Open…We’re Watching!

Last night, after partying it up with our friend’s Molly, CoCo, Smalls and Ruby, playing a few rounds of “What the Fuck?”, we headed over to the Blu Martini for their 6th Anniversary Party. When we pulled up, we could barely find a parking place because it was so incredibly packed. Inside, the music exploded over our heads as soon as we walked in the door. DJ Cool Hand Lex directed the vibe of the dance floor, which just so happened to be every inch of space in the bar/restaurant since people were dancing everywhere!

We ordered some drinks and waited for our friends to arrive. At first, we weren’t sure it was going to be that much fun because there weren’t that many people we knew and it seemed like kind of an older crowd, but literally within minutes, The Blu Martini changed and developed into the best time we had had in weeks, making it everything worthy of 6 years in business!
And actually…it’s probably just easier to understand the vibe, from all of the pictures we took! If you weren’t there…we wish you had been!

We would like to congratulate Bill Pritt on his amazing 6 years in business and wish him many, many more…He is always so courteous to us and always makes us feel at home! And it was awesome to meet his mom who also came out to enjoy the festivities…

Ohhhhhhhh….and we couldn’t possibly forget to send a SEXY BITCH SALUTE out to our Fisher’s Mom’s Group who danced the night away next to us the entire night! Thanks Fita for being such a great babysitter to your friend! She owes you a dinner and a night at The Conrad! (We were going to include pictures…but we couldn’t be that cruel and we were happy you gals were having such a great time!) But from now on…well let’s just say…

Be careful…we might just catch you curled up in a corner…or pumping the air!!!

Eyes Open…We’re Watching!

Several months ago, we attended Paul Van Dyk at Talbott Street. If you missed it, or haven’t seen him in another city on his international tour…you missed an incredible performance.

What was even more impressive to us, was the spinning of local legend DJ Jackola, in the side room at Talbott Street during the Paul Van Dyk performance. We happened into the side room, trying to find some cool air, when we found what appeared to be twenty to thirty old school rave kids tearing it up on the dance floor to DJ Jackola.

His spin was HAPPY, soul-induced freedom signature flows of polished vibe! We became instant fans and were hoping to hear him at local venues where he could draw larger crowds. Well…

Now we can! On Sunday, September 27th, DJ Jackola will be guest DJ’ing at The Vogue’s alternative dance night, Propaganda. Doors open at 9pm and admission is $3.

If you haven’t seen him, let us just say that $3 is a contribution to the beat driven gift DJ Jackola is bestowing upon Indianapolis.

Thanks buddy…we love ya!

We hope to see you there!
Eyes Open…We’re Watching!