Nice To See StevieB: Christmas Tree

By StevieB

To begin our celebration of Christmas, the roommate and I decided to head to the mountains in order to get our own live Christmas tree. We had decided that we would go massively overboard for Christmas this year, so this was the first step. This choice stemmed from me having just ending a nine year relationship with Mr. Scrooge himself, and the roommate, whom had roommates for years, never had his own celebration the way he wanted it to be done. First step? Go murder an innocent tree and drag it back to the house. I declared this trip into the woods triumphantly to the boy I’m dating, (still known as TMBBE, or “The most Beautiful boy ever” for the lack of a better nickname) as a normal, healthy super-Christmasy thing that normal people do. This is when he calmly informed me that he never had a Christmas tree before. Like ever…ever.

My mouth dropped open. I stammered. “Like growing up you never had a tree?” He flatly informed me that no, his family had never. The next question that came out of my mouth will forever be noted as the stupidest thing I have, or ever will say. Please note the stupidity level… I said…. “But… where did you put your Christmas presents?” Oh. My. God. There is not a more ignorant thing I possibly could of said at that point. And I said it. I was an ignorant baboon asking someone raised Hindu where they kept their Christmas presents if they didn’t have a tree. The Most Beautiful Boy Ever was polite in response to my stupidity.

What I learned is that if you take a grown man, who was raised Hindu, to a Christmas tree lot, and ask him to pick out any tree he wanted, you're going to see a lot of Christmas repression un-cork. It was non-gentile to Santa elf in 3.5 seconds. I have never had so much fun picking out a tree.

I had spent nine years with someone who saw Christmas as a hassle. A chore that involved assembling the same artificial tree over and over. Then, suddenly I was standing in a muddy field watching someone search for the perfect tree. I watched the grin on his face grow. A grin that comes from the magical act of family going to the tree lot and taking home for the perfect Christmas. I was cold, I was muddy. I was never so happy. 

This post originally appeared on Steven Bennet's website Nice to See StevieB. Republished with permission.

Nice To See StevieB: Christmas Tree

By StevieB

To begin our celebration of Christmas, the roommate and I decided to head to the mountains in order to get our own live Christmas tree. We had decided that we would go massively overboard for Christmas this year, so this was the first step. This choice stemmed from me having just ending a nine year relationship with Mr. Scrooge himself, and the roommate, whom had roommates for years, never had his own celebration the way he wanted it to be done. First step? Go murder an innocent tree and drag it back to the house. I declared this trip into the woods triumphantly to the boy I’m dating, (still known as TMBBE, or “The most Beautiful boy ever” for the lack of a better nickname) as a normal, healthy super-Christmasy thing that normal people do. This is when he calmly informed me that he never had a Christmas tree before. Like ever…ever.

My mouth dropped open. I stammered. “Like growing up you never had a tree?” He flatly informed me that no, his family had never. The next question that came out of my mouth will forever be noted as the stupidest thing I have, or ever will say. Please note the stupidity level… I said…. “But… where did you put your Christmas presents?” Oh. My. God. There is not a more ignorant thing I possibly could of said at that point. And I said it. I was an ignorant baboon asking someone raised Hindu where they kept their Christmas presents if they didn’t have a tree. The Most Beautiful Boy Ever was polite in response to my stupidity.

What I learned is that if you take a grown man, who was raised Hindu, to a Christmas tree lot, and ask him to pick out any tree he wanted, you're going to see a lot of Christmas repression un-cork. It was non-gentile to Santa elf in 3.5 seconds. I have never had so much fun picking out a tree.

I had spent nine years with someone who saw Christmas as a hassle. A chore that involved assembling the same artificial tree over and over. Then, suddenly I was standing in a muddy field watching someone search for the perfect tree. I watched the grin on his face grow. A grin that comes from the magical act of family going to the tree lot and taking home for the perfect Christmas. I was cold, I was muddy. I was never so happy. 

This post originally appeared on Steven Bennet's website Nice to See StevieB. Republished with permission.

The MileHighGayGuy Guide to 2013's Best Christmas and Holiday Music: Erasure, Kelly Clarkson, Mary J. Blige & Tamar Braxton

By John Hill

Have you had a hectic December? Did it just dawn on you that Christmas is mere days away? If that’s the case, we’re here to help you get in the Christmas spirit with four Christmas albums that you may have missed while being busy doing whatever else was more important. Hopefully something here will help your heart grow three sizes like the Grinch.

Erasure, Snow Globe – Part 80s New Wave Pop, part traditional Christmas music (in Latin, no less!), and 100% gay…who would expect any less from Erasure! In all seriousness, this album is brilliant. Leave it to Vince Clarke and Andy Bell to take a 16th Century hymn like “Gaudete” and turn it into a thumping Christmas jam that you’ll want to listen to on repeat. While there are traditional carols like “White Christmas” that receive the full Vince Clarke treatment like “White Christmas,” the originals are the true stars here. “Make It Wonderful” is easily one of the best Erasure songs of the past 10 years, and "There'll Be No Tomorrow” bring back memories of old-school Depeche Mode while still sounding current. If you are looking to make the Yuletide gay, Snow Globe is the way to go.

Kelly Clarkson, Wrapped In Red – Speaking of originals, Kelly Clarkson got in the holiday spirit and decided to release her own Christmas album with original songs as well. “Underneath the Tree” has been hailed as the best new Christmas song since “All I Want for Christmas is You,” but if you want something a bit left of center, check out “4

Carats,” a modern take on “Santa Baby” co-written with pop legend Cathy Dennis. “Wrapped in Red” has that old school vibe as well, and “Every Christmas” goes for the torchy vibe as Kelly is “waiting, praying” for her man to come home. If you like your Christmas songs on the traditional side, Clarkson’s got that covered as well, including a diva-tactic version of “Silent Night” recorded with country royalty Reba McEntire and Trisha Yearwood. There is something amazing about the harmonies on this track, which has quickly become my favorite version of the traditional carol. The mix of classics with new compositions should help keep you from getting bored while still feeling the Christmas spirit.

Mary J Blige, A Mary Christmas – Of COURSE Mary J. Blige would release a Christmas album that uses her name in the title. That’s a no-brainer. What is surprising is the song selection, which changes up things a bit from Mary’s typical R&B style. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” works on the same level as a Michael Buble recording with the big band arrangement, “Noche de Pas (Silent Night)” is a sweet bi-lingual duet with Marc Anthony, and “Little Drummer Boy” busts out the choir to open but settles into a more contemporary arrangement. If there’s one song that doesn’t quite work, it would probably be “When You Wish Upon a Star,” which features Barbara Streisand in a duet that doesn’t wow the way you would expect this pairing to do. All is forgiven by the time “Mary, Did You Know” pops up, imbuing this modern classic originally recorded by Michael English with an original take that evokes No More Drama-era Mary. While you would expect an album filled with R&B standards, this eclectic mix works just as well, showing a versatility that Blige’s fans have known was there for years.

Tamar Braxton, Winter Loversland – She did that! Toni’s little sister not only came into her own in 2013, she decided to double the return on her visibility by releasing a Christmas album only two months after her comeback disc Love and War. As with Blige’s A Mary Christmas, if you are expecting a strictly R&B Christmas party, you might be a bit disappointed. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” takes on a loungy vibe that suits Braxton’s voice well and the stripped-down medley of “Away in a Manger/Little Drummer Boy” show off a more restrained Tamar than the over-the-top personality would lead you to believe. Still, Tamar does a great job of making a few standards her own, including “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late),” which she sings with sister Trina, and “Sleigh Ride.” However, the most satisfying track on this record is the original “She Can Have You,” which Braxton has described as a personal song about being alone at Christmastime but choosing to be alone rather than with Mr. Wrong. Tamar covers all aspects of love at Christmas on Winter Loversland, and it works all the way around.

While his full-time job is in education, John Hill also writes a successful music blog titled Pop Music Notes. He is also active on Twitter @popmusicnotes and lives in Denver with his partners in crime James and Bruiser.

Nice to See StevieB: The Annual Christmas Rant

By StevieB

Ahh, December 7th. It’s time to gather around and listen to Uncle Steve’s annual Christmas rant…..

WHAT THE F*#K DO PENGUINS HAVE TO DO WITH CHRISTMAS!?!?

Have you seen the inflatable, glowing Christmas crap that everyone displays on their front lawns? Big billowing snowmen, elves, and insidiously happy penguins. Seriously, What the heck to penguins have to do with Christmas?

At night it’s quite a cute little scene. A winter wonderland all blown up and bopping around to the forced air whooshing up their butts. During the day it’s another story, driving through any upscale neighborhood it's a reenactment of Jim Jones goes to Christmas town. Dead, flat elves and snow people scatter the lawns like a mass suicide cult hit the North Pole. A massacre of merriment. One half-inflated penguin dragging its self off the lawn coughing out, I only live in Antarctica and parts of South America why am I even here?

Aaaaaaaaaghh!

This post originally appeared on Steven Bennet's website Nice to See StevieB. Republished with permission.

Christmas In Colorado: Making the Yuletide Gay

By Todd Craig

My husband loves Christmas. No, seriously, you don’t understand. He. Loves. Christmas. If our six year old son’s birthday wasn’t on Halloween, he’d probably start putting up the tree before Walmart and Target even clearanced out their back-to-school stuff.

Christmas to him represents the ultimate gay holiday. First and foremost: Christmas offers unabashed amounts of decorating. His decorating itch gets underway when I’m asked to drag out our nearly ten foot tree and three six-foot long plastic totes filled with ornaments. Over the course of the next week or two, the ornaments are sorted and hung, with the memories of each causing him to get all misty and emotional. Mariah Carey sings, “All I Want For Christmas,” and our house transforms into the holiday-version of Thunderdome.

Before we had our son, he would always do two trees: a “formal” tree and a “fun” tree. The formal tree looked like something from Martha Stewart’s wet dream. (I don’t know if women even have wet dreams, but I’m guessing that Marty probably has a penis anyway.) In any case, the “formal” tree glowed in beautiful gold and glittered ornaments. Ribbons draped the tree, and ornaments by Waterford, Lenox, and Wedgewood added the perfect classy touch as quickly as their purchase added the perfect empty touch to my wallet.

The “fun” tree was where a lot of the ornaments I liked ended up. There were my Broncos ornaments commemorating their back-to-back Super Bowl victories. My Captain Kirk and Spock collectible ornaments from Hallmark also ended up there, usually placed somewhere on the back, oddly enough. It turns out that gay geek chic takes a backseat to good taste when Christmas rolls around.

But when we adopted our son, our trees merged. Next to the Waterford crystal ornaments hangs Broncos Santa. A bell made out of tin foil crinkled by our son’s pre-school hands over a Styrofoam coffee cup resides next to the Millenium edition Wedgewood ornament. And even though my husband’s inner Martha might not admit it, I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have it any other way.

After the tree, comes the china and display cabinets. There he displays his Avon nativity scene, one of a few artifacts passed down from his side of the family. The Christmas pattern plates of his Noritake china are culled from storage and make their way to the front. Candlesticks take on red and green hues.

The dining room table gets covered in a red plaid tablecloth. In the center, you’ll find a handcrafted centerpiece made of pine, holly, and ribbon while gold chargers at each seat display both the season’s and my husband’s more “festive” qualities.

And we haven’t even gotten to the outside of the house yet.

My husband is a gay man whose flame burns brightly all year, but when Christmas rolls around, his flame is bright enough to attract wise men to our doorstep – too bad his tastes run more towards the thick-builds and think-skulls.

After all, when you stop and think about it, if I told you I was writing an article about decorating, sweaters, shopping, formal dinners, drinks made with healthy doses of peppermint schnapps, and reunions with even healthier doses of familial dysfunction, would you be able to tell if I was writing about gay life or the holiday season?

Imagine living both at the same time.

Now that our yuletide is sufficiently gay, it occurs to me that our ultra-gay Christmas isn’t all that different from everyone else’s. Both the lights and my husband are high-strung for the entire month. Our son dotes over toy ads in the newspaper and is rapt with all that is wrapped. We’re planning for in-laws, readying our guest bedroom, and preparing vast quantities of nog, a phrase that sounds dirty, but really isn’t.

So what is the most wonderfully gay time of the year? Go ahead with your Pride rallies in the summer, your Aspen Gay Ski Week, and the White Party. While they all have a number of packages on display, none of them quite brings out the gay like Christmas. At least at our house.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!

On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,

With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;

He had a broad face and a little round belly,

That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

Party in the FIP Boys - All I Want For Christmas Is You

The Party in the FIP boys just launched Firecrkr - a compilation of stuff they love on the internet spliced with some original content. To celebrate the launch they made the above holiday video set to Mariah's "All I Want For Christmas Is You."

Free music download: Loch & Key - Christmas Time is Here

Loch & Key has had an incredible year.  Since the September release of their debut limited edition CD Jupiter's Guide For Submariners, they've been the talk of Los Angeles.

In the spirit of the holidays, enjoy this free download of Loch & Key's version of "Christmas Time Is Here": http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14403653/Christmas%20Time%20is%20Here.mp3

A Beary Merry Christmas: The BearTones Christmas Show

They'll woof you a Merry Christmas!

Denver's BearTones put on their first-ever live holiday show tonight at the Avenue Theatre at 17th and Logan from 7:30-8:30 p.m.

Mi Christmas Loca: Drama Drag with Nina Flowers and Nina Montaldo

Enjoy Christmas with the two Ninas (Flowers and Montaldo) at Tracks. Tickets are $10 and if you get 'em now you'll also get access to the Heaven's Lounge VIP area and photo opps with the entertainers.