Sequins and creamed corn

Glam is awesome. Don't try and deny it. As long as you don't take it too seriously, wearing wigs and sparkles can be some of the best fun you can have. That's what the Glamagic Shove N' Love at the Rat Soap Art Studio (think a Brooklyn style factory set up for dancing and art) was all about. Having fun in whatever way possible. Throw in drag queens, music acts and fashion shows, and you have yourself a stellar way to spend a Wednesday night. Of course, there were a fair share of surprises. Check the photos below to find out for yourself.

Can you get much cooler than this? Victorian wig, Sequined blazer and a pimp cane with a diamond on top, Ricky Diamond was flaunting some extreme style. I've never seen that much dancing at an art show but he got the people moving. Add in a quick costume change to look 80S cool (complete with neon shades!) and you have a man who knows how to put some fun into music.

Meet Sloppy Seconds. Don't know them? Give it a little while and you just might. This new group has got some style that has to heard to be believed. Think hip-hop mixed with rap and then throw in a whole bunch of sexual content just to be safe. The way they describe themselves is electro-sexual. It's nifty and and they kind of remind me of Electrocute. If you like your hip-hop nasty and dirty, keep an eye out for this duo.

I'm not sure how I feel about Nicky Click. If you listen to her music on-line, it sounds alright. In person, she's all over the place. Literally. Falling on the ground and climbing all over stuff. It makes the show very erratic and interesting to say the least. She did fit right in with the crowd at Rat Soap though. I'd say she's a unique Florida oddity but she's from New Hampshire. I'm not used to seeing this type of oddity outside of Florida!

What event is complete without wrestling? Seriously though, that's creamed corn. I felt absolutely disgusted but I couldn't keep from laughing. It was like watching a real-life Jackass episode. It's vomit-inducing, it's stupid but you can't keep from watching and cracking up.

Overall, I'm definitely going to keep a look at Rat Soap Art Studio from now on to see what they do. If they did all this on a Wednesday, I want to see what they'd pull off on a Friday! Make sure to check out the rest of the glamtastic pics!

 

Keep them screaming for more

This Friday (10/17), I had the opportunity to travel to Orlando to see some of the horrific sights of Spooky Empire's Halloween Horror Weekend. I mainly wanted to check out the massive zombie walk of over 500 people going on for the start. I can assure you that it was utter madness and I've never seen that much fake blood being thrown around in my whole life.

Wherever there are zombies, there are going to be those who want to destroy them. A group called Z.E.D. (Zombie Emergency Defense) was on patrol for the whole walk. They even barricaded the doors to the hotel but were brutally slaughtered by the shambling hordes. This, of course, was all acting but it still looked pretty gruesome.

Taking a cue from Fido, Justin Mashburn holds Lindsey Mann at bay while she struggles with the neck restraint. Of course, when there's hundreds of zombies on the loose, what good is it to restrain just one?


Aaron Stanton as a giant gorilla thing with a cane and straw hat. If that doesn't get you to a double-take, I'm not sure what will. I feel bad for him because it was a scorching hot day and he must've been burning up under all that fur.

This is scary. Everyone knows mimes are freaky, but mimes who eat flesh? That's a different level all together. Tracy Abrahams and Carina Mattis managed to have the scariest costumes to me because they had the idea and stuck to it. I didn't hear them utter one word to anyone while they were there.

Possibly another So Tampa Bay Pseudo-Celeb, the Boogie Man made his first appearance. Here's the breakdown: Take equal parts Ybor Drag Queen, 70's funk star, Geraldo Rivera and make them undead and you have the most fabulous zombie talk show host to grace Tampa Bay. Being a member of the Deadite Empire, I expect to see lots more of the Boogie Man and his fierce attitude!

Make sure to check out the rest of the bloody action that happened at the zombie walk and check back tomorrow when I'll have the lowdown on the Zombie Fetish Party going on at Pegasus!

Holy costumed Yborites!

From now on when I'm in Ybor, I know who to call if I'm in trouble.

Normally, I'm not a fan of the skin-tight spandex look but if you're going to do an homage to the greatest crime-fighting duo ever, I'll let it slide. How cool is it to walk down 7th Avenue and run into Batman and Robin? Granted, Robin looks a little older and is sporting a bit of scruff. Some clubs like the Castle and Level III have even started playing a techno remix of Danny Elfman's Batman theme just for him (Thank goodness they haven't started playing that atrocious song by Prince).

You've got to give a hand to this guy for his devotion to his character. Not only does he drive an all-black bat-scooter but he also has at least four variations of his costume that I've seen, including a very scary bat-skirt. Maybe he should design one where he has a place to put his keys though. Hanging them on the arm definitely costs him superhero points. Robin, on the other hand, needs to make some new costumes. Perhaps ones without hot pants. He's sure to get cold in those short shorts.

Want to meet Batman in person? No need for a bat-signal! You can catch them at Level III on 7th Avenue and running around Ybor City on Saturday nights protecting innocents. Sources at the Gotham Times tell me Batman has also been sighted in downtown St. Petersburg. If you are Batman or you know him, please contact me and let me know as we want to get more information on this masked vigilante!

Club Skye raps up its 5th annniversary in style

One of Ybor City’s destination rap and hip-hop clubs brought on the T-Pain connection with an anniversary party Saturday night that featured Tampa rappers Tom G., left, and 2 Pistols, right, with special guest and T-Pain sidekick Tay Dizm. tbt* photog Luis Santana was invited along and calls the action: Tay Dizm hit the stage first and sang his hit Beam Me Up, featuring T-Pain (who wasn’t there) as well as some new hits. During his set, Tom G sang his single I'm There, which got the crowd pumped. After a short break and DJ change, 2 Pistols sang his hit single, She Got It, featuring T-Pain and Tay Dizm. The video for the song was shot at Matt Geiger’s Tarpon Springs mansion as well as the Hip Hop Soda Shop in Tampa. After the show, the rappers left through a back entrance to an awaiting SUV, but signed a few autographs and took photos with fans before riding off to an after party.  Here are some more photos from the event:

Wild 98 DJ Jordan takes a moment to share a pic with Kaisha Yearwood and Ava Morales.

2 Pistols looks as if he could use just a touch more dazzlement, don't you think?

Didn't make it out to the party? Check out our photo gallery!

 

Exploring St. Pete's sidewalk chalk artist

Anyone who's been to downtown St. Pete on a Friday or Saturday night recognizes this lettering. It belongs to chalk artist/poet Jacob Christiano. One of my reporters first wrote about him in tbt* back in 2005, which was followed by a Times profile later that year (that he didn't appreciate at all). Now the talented summer fellows at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies have discovered this 'burg character. Here's a multimedia extravaganza they did on him. Among other things, you'll find out why this particular phrase is common in his work.

-- Anne Glover, tampabay.com editor (that's my photo from this past weekend's gay pride)

Don’t ask this Senator for any political favors

You gotta love the fact that in Tampa Bay, people can become local pseudo-celebrities for no reason other than being completely odd. Today, I wanted to shine the So Tampa Bay spotlight of faux fame on one of the most recognizable, albeit creepy stars of our nightlife scene.

Meet the Senator, an older guy who’s always got smile on his face and a beer in his hand – and a teddy and thong for his club attire. (No reason to shut your eyes to envision it because you can see the pics here and here if you really want to. It’s So NSFW.)

If you want to check him out, he’s at clubs all over Ybor; but his main hangout is The Castle (the center of weirdness in Tampa) and he'll probably be out there tonight so keep your eyes peeled. When he’s not creeping up on unsuspecting young women, you can usually spy him trying to make newbies to the club scene erupt in giggles. But he seems harmless enough and has been doing this for years, so he’s cool in my book.

On a side note, I’ve heard hundreds of stories of why he dresses the way he does, the weirdest including alien probing, but I want to know what you’ve heard. E-mail me your ideas on why he does it, even if it sounds like it came from the mouth of a raving lunatic. Given the nature of Tampa Bay, it could be true.