March benficiary is G.L.I.T.Z Fest

The month is almost over and funds raised this month will go towards set-up costs for Pittsburgh's G.L.I.T.Z. Fest 2011, a queer music/performance festival happening this summer. Stay tuned. Hoping to have a few new songs before my birthday in May, and few new photos too, so please come out and act crazy...and tip your Dusty.

February beneficiary is The Brown Boi Project

As of this month, we've been rocking Stowaway Soundsystem weekly at Belvedere's for a whole year! How crazy is that? Raised lots of $, had lots of good times, and popped a lot of karaoke cherries. For this month, I wanted to send money to The Brown Boi Project out in the Bay Area. They're not local (I met the director, Cole, at the Social Forum) but they are down with something very close to my heart, which is wrestling with male privileges and its intersections. "The Brown Boi Project is a community of masculine of center womyn, men, two-spirit people, transmen, and our allies committed to transforming our privilege of masculinity, gender, and race into tools for achieving Racial and Gender Justice." So there.

If you know anyone who might be interested, they offer all-expense paid skill-building retreats for young masculine of center womyn, trans men, and straight/queer men of color. Check it out. Lots more to come, and we'll just keep this thing rolling.

THIS weekend, for instance, Stowaway Soundsystem is doing a special set at Belvedere's 90's night, which will be a benefit for a friend's cancer treatment. THIS is what community support can look like. Please come out to Belvedere's (karaoke from 10-midnight, dancing from midnight on...), or go to the dance party at Brillobox which is also a cancer support fundraiser. And donate blood if you can.

January benefits Justice For Jordan Miles

This month, money raised from wednesday nights at Belvedere's will go to the Justice For Jordan Miles campaign by the Alliance For Police Accountability. A year ago, 18-year-old Jordan Miles was attacked on his street after dark by 3 men who did not immediately identify themselves as plainclothes Pittsburgh police officers. They severely beat him (the pictures are extremely disturbing), arrested him and left him in jail for 22 hours, and fabricated a story to justify their actions. The bogus charges against Jordan Miles were dropped, but the 3 officers involved in the attack have been on paid administrative leave. No criminal charges have been brought against the officers, and internal investigations have neglected to provide a full account. Keep the pressure on! Let's get justice for Jordan, and make the police understand that they cannot act with impunity in our communities.