By Drew Wilson
Together with his boyfriend of four years Angelo Peterson,
DJ Grind and
The Maverick Men, Ford is sure to rev up what is already one of Denver's most high octane events.
I had the chance to chat with him recently about his upcoming appearance at PORNSTAR Pride, his new album, his porn past and what he's been up to in the ten years since the last time I interviewed him.
Colton: Um, you know, aging.
Aging well, as far as I can tell.
Well, you know. I do what I can.
You are coming to Denver this Friday for the PORNSTAR Pride party. Do you do a lot of Pride events? What’s a typical day like for
you?
I do. I'm coming to Denver, going to Portland and Providence. I’m kind of all over the map. Especially now with new music
coming out. I’m just in the process of finishing up my new album. Mastering
and all that kind of stuff. Just an hour ago I had a meeting regarding the
new video for the single that’s coming out, 'Let Me Live Again'. And I’ve got a new talk show I’m
doing on Yackit.com – an online talkshow.
So this new one is gonna be your fourth album?
This will be my third full record. The album I did when I
was on Virgin Records in the 1990s never got released. But I did get one of the
tracks from that album and now it's the last track on the new album. A good song is a good song and
I’m happy to be getting it out there 15 years later. The new record has a lot of collaborations including the
Nervo girls. There’s a
nice variety of material on this album. There’s a dance element and some, like, Dazz Band, Gap Band old school funk and then I have a couple ballads on there
as well. It’s a wide variety.
And you're going to be performing songs from the new album at the PORNSTAR Pride party?
I’m actually just going to do the single 'Let Me Live Again' and then I’ll be
hosting the show along with my boyfriend Angelo.
I'm interviewing him later in the week. What should I ask him?
He was a big male model for 10 years
so I would ask him about his modeling experience. He traveled the world, did
very well. He won a modeling competition and very quickly got signed by
agencies all over the place and did very well for himself.
The last time we talked your documentary Naked Fame was just about to be released.
At the time it was supposed to be a way for you to complete your transition from porn back to music. What are your thoughts looking back on that so many years
later?
It’s a mixed bag. Ultimately, hindsight’s 20/20 and at the
time my partner Peter - Blake Harper - and I went into it thinking it was going
to be great and fun and all that. But what you don’t realize is that they shot 300 hours of
footage and you can pretty much edit together whatever story you want to tell
with that much footage.
The way the documentary came to me was that I was working
with Chris Long who had heard my music and had a lot of industry connections. He said he thought it would be
compelling to document the transition and have this be a calling
card for my music career. But what was presented to me and what it turned out to be
were two different things. He had something else in mind when he was cutting
the movie which is why you don’t see that much – or hear that much – of me
musically in the movie. You know? So it really wasn’t a calling card.
The other
piece that he left out was any footage of people in the business who had
worked with me prior to my adult film experience. Like, they had Frankie Knuckles saying
that I was one of the best kept secrets in the music business but none of that
made the film. Anything to do with really establishing my history and
credibility as an artist was not included in the film. And there were some
other shady things too but it was a good experience in terms of learning the business
and some of the behind the scenes stuff.
At first I wasn’t happy with it and Peter wasn’t happy with it. There was a lot of stuff that wasn’t correct and wasn’t
honored. But what I realized was that what the film really showed was a gay couple
having an extreme experience and I think the most perceptive people picked up
on that. And both of my parents were supportive and I think that sends a
powerful message to people in our community who don’t have that kind of
acceptance and love in their family. To show them that it does exist and it’s a
really powerful thing when parents love their children regardless of their
orientation.
So in that regard I think that the documentary served a powerful
purpose. But was that the reason I did the documentary? No. I opened up my
life, my family, my partner and what I was told was going come from it and
what did come from it were two different things. I’m glad it was a positive
thing but the bigger picture is that a lot of people were like, "why didn’t we
get to hear more of you and your music?" In the big picture I think the director
did not make good choices in editing the film. In the long run it served me
in ways I didn’t anticipate but I just wish someone had come to me in the
beginning and just said, you know, we want to capture your life and your family
and this, that and the other for no reason other than that you did porn and we
want to see the reaction to that.
Have you ever done porn since?
No. Just 10 months back in 2001-2002.
Amazing. At that time I was surprised that you had only done porn for such a short time but I have to tell you that, just before this interview, I was talking to people about you and all of them were under the impression that you still do porn.
That’s the thing about it. You do 11 or 12 films and they
get recut and repackaged and remarketed and that shit never goes away. It’s
just emblazoned in peoples' minds. It’s a powerful image and in some people’s
eyes it’s a hard thing to get past but I got everything out of the experience
that I wanted in that 10 month period.
Here's a dumb question. As I was researching for this interview I came across a lot of photos and information from when you and Peter - Blake Harper - were together. Now, it can be difficult for people to run into or see or hear about their old flames but you and yours are all over the internet. Is that difficult at all for you?
Peter and I are still very close and obviously, with what we did
back in the day, it’s not an issue for me. When you have a partner who’s also in
it you don’t really think about what would happen if you don’t sustain that
relationship for whatever reason.
But then it’s different when you get into
another relationship with someone who hasn’t done porn. I mean, there are
things that I can’t save just for my boyfriend because it’s out there. Angelo
has done a great job and he understands but when we’re eating breakfast and
peole come up and interrupt our breakfast to let me know they just beat off to my
video earlier, you know, obviously they don’t mean anything bad by it but it’s
just not cool. It’s not cool.
For me, I knew what I was getting into and I
signed up for it but my partner didn’t and there’s nothing I can do about the
residual affects of that. It can be challenging at times because I want to
protect my partner and want some things just for us but, when you put those
images out there, that’s something that you can’t keep sacred for just your love
object. It’s done.
It sounds like you've got some regrets, but your public persona is still so sexually charged …
No. I’ve always been provocative by nature. Just look
around, when isn’t sex used to sell something? I get so sick
of hearing this. God forbid that somebody sees the crack of my ass in a video
when girls run around naked in their videos all the time and it’s never an issue. It’s a
double standard. It’s OK for girls to do it but when guys do it, watch out
because they’ve got that loaded gun called the penis.
I’m doing what I feel
comfortable with and what represents me and there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s
everywhere. Everywhere. Look at the movie Black Swan. Natalie Portman won an
Academy Award but did you see the scene where she’s getting eaten out? The only
thing we don’t see is the tongue going into the vagina. I mean the girl is all
up in there. And it’s art and it’s OK and it’s mainstream but come on, it’s so hypocritical to me. I’m like, get over it, people. We’re sexual creatures. It’s part of the human
condition. Get over it and let’s move on.
Let's move on to what you'd like to say to readers of MileHighGayGuy.com about why they should come see you this Friday at PORNSTAR Pride.
I think my message is for people to come on Friday because
it’s gonna be a good time! We’re gonna have fun and kick off Pride weekend and
enjoy the camaraderie and fellowship, if you will, that we experience together especially
during these Pride events. That’s what its about - our love and support of one
another and feeling the power we can have when we are connected as a community.
Every second Friday, MANHUNT & DjTatiana present PORNSTAR - the HOTTEST MONTHLY PARTY that Denver has ever seen. Beautiful gay men, sexy staff and the finest
superstars of the adult film industry all under the same roof make this is a party not to be missed. And this Friday, June 15 PORNSTAR's Pride edition
kicks off a weekend of festivities for Denver PrideFest 2012 with
superstar Colton Ford, Angelo Peterson and DJ Grind.
A Conversation with The Maverick Men
Sounds like a plan, man! What do you guys usually look for in a third?
