From The Pit...
I remember a few years ago at a friend's wedding reception there was a band that had come down from San Francisco to play as a gift to the bride and groom. The bride's friend Christopher Freeman played bass. They played pretty mellow wedding reception stuff, but weren't too bad. Well, their singer did look like Michael Bolton so they had that against them.
They didn't play stuff like "Feelings" or "Close to You". Then again, they didn't play anything close to what Freeman was working on with his other band Pansy Division. There was no "James Bondage" or "Dick of Death" played at this wedding reception.
Pansy Division are now on Lookout! records and have released their fourth album on the label. The other members of Pansy Division are Dustin Donaldson on drums and Jon Ginoli on vocals and guitars. Freeman plays bass, guitar, and sings as well. There had been a buzz about Pansy Division for a while. What really helped the band was an opening slot on fellow Frisco punk band Green Day?s first big arena tour.
Pansy Division spearhead what has been referred to as "queer punk". They are an openly gay punk band. In their CD sleeves are addresses and numbers for gay youth groups and other helpful items as condom use directions, complete with illustrations. Don't forget that KY Jelly!
Pansy Division are almost like the gay sons of the Ramones. They hold nothing back in their songs and lyrics. Try "Horny in the Morning" for instance. "Woke up with a morning woody/Could not keep my hands off my goodies".
One of my favorites is, of course, "Dick of Death". "He had the dick of death/I looked into his eyes/and let him sodomize me with his dick of death." Once again, don't forget that KY Jelly!
Not all Pansy Division songs are humorous though. A number deal with issues you might imagine gay males going through (in addition to the "Dick of Death" that is).
Unrequited love, expired condoms, hiding in the closet and so on.
If you're an open minded person and not easily shocked you should check out Pansy Division. Like some other gay advocacy groups, these guy seem to try to go out of their way to shock and flaunt their lifestyle, but that's cool. They're people and they're punks. These guys kick ass. Don't forget the KY Jelly!
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