A Homo in Washington
Steven Levine
I had a really great time in Washington DC, where I played
percussion with the Lesbian and Gay Bands of America for the 53rd
Presidential Inaugural. Nearly two hundred representatives
from lesbian and gay bands (and cheering squads and twirling
corps and flag squads) throughout the country met in DC
for a couple of days of rehearsals and one big performance
on Inauguration Day, at a spot along the parade route, from
9am to 3pm (whew!). I gave myself the task of reporting
back on how SIGNIFICANT and IMPORTANT it was to be part
of a lesbian and gay group that was an official and visible
part of the Inaugural festivities. I wanted to stand straight,
with a Mt. Rushmore look on my furrowed brow, and talk once
more about taking our place as full citizens of our own country.
In fact, that's what I said on tv, on channel 7 in Washington,
at 5:59am on Monday morning from a 45-second live feed in the
Pentagon parking lot where I stood waiting for the sun to come up
and the rest of the band to arrive. But in restrospect, instead
of thinking big political thoughts, I find myself thinking
"Wow. That was fun."
Well, it *was* fun. It was a weekend of hoopla and formality
and Inaugural Balls. I even attended an Inaugural Ball (that's
the answer to the question most asked of me on my return):
The Triangle Ball at the Omni Shoreham. There are many
Inaugural Balls, both official and unofficial, formal parties
on Inauguration night in honor of the President and Vice-President,
and this $150-person event was the first "Gay and Lesbian
Inaugural Celebration." It was just like every other Inaugural
Ball: A big room with no place to sit down packed shoulder-
to-shoulder with people in formal clothing paying $3 for
soft drinks and $6 for glasses of cheap wine. Pretty tedious,
really, although this ball had better food than most, and
better entertainment (Chita Rivera, the Cast of "Howard
Crabtree's When Pigs Fly", Men Out Loud, Catie Curtis,
Julia Nixon, Irene Molloy). Also, in attendance but not
speaking, we had a congressman (Barney Frank, natch) and
a celebrity (Harvey Fierstein). Candace Gingrich was there.
I certainly wouldn't have attended if I had to pay
retail. My host for the weekend had invited me to be
her guest at one of the official balls (where the President
shows up), and even at no cost I turned the chance down.
But what happened was that thirty musicians from the
165 who had played in the morning for the parade opened
the ball by playing for thirty minutes, as the first
attendees arrived. I was fortunate enough to be able
to be part of this ensemble (billed as "The Lesbian and Gay
Band of America", which sounds self-important, but
there you are). This little do turned out to be the
musical highlight of the weekend for me, as the group
was *fabulous*. The ball organizers, who had to be
sold on the idea of us (we pointed out how all big political
events open up with marching bands), were delighted.
Oh, and by playing in this group we got our tickets for $15.
Free would have been better, but hey, I got dinner out
of it. Well, greasy hors d'oeuvres and little sandwiches.
It was also fun being part of a big LGBA event for the
first time since Stonewall 25. The Lesbian and Gay
Bands of America was the focus of my life for nearly
ten years, and just being back in rehearsals with some
people who have become very dear to me was a delight.
I was co-section leader of the percussion section, and
at one point during rehearsal the artistic director
(whose involvement with the organization began just when
mine ended) introduced me as if I were a grand old
man of LGBA or something. When I mentioned this the
next day to one of my co-oldtimers, he said, empathetically,
"Oh, Steven. You're not grand."
Four years ago, playing at the Inaugural was a logistical
nightmare. Buses didn't show up. Buses couldn't take
us where we needed to be. Buses got lost, with our
suitcases and lunches. We had no restrooms all day.
Not that any of this mattered, ultimately, but the memories
loomed large in our minds. This year, however, everything
went wonderfully. The President of the DC Band had
done a tremendous job of organizing things, and so many
people did so much work on no notice that I am left awestruck.
The event turned out to be a much-needed shot in the arm
for the national organization, as everybody came away feeling
very good about being part of the organization and excited about
our history and our possibilities. (The 1-2-3 punch of the last
Inaugural followed almost immediately by the March on Washington
followed not long after by Stonewall 25 took a serious toll
on the organization, as three huge expensive productions
in 18 months sapped our resources. Oh, but that's
band politics, and ancient band politics at that. Sorry.)
Some other things that were different this time:
- A member of Clinton's staff came to our rehearsal,
to tell us of how he works to bring up gay and lesbian
issues. He gave us all wonderful stuff: A formal
invitation from the Inaugural Committee and a pass to
stand on the Mall for the swearing-in (not that any
of us could use it). We gave him an LGBA silver
Inauguration uniform jacket.
- Our "military escort" was a lifetime army guy who
plays in the President's honor guard. He saw our
name on the list of route bands and asked to be assigned
to us, thinking our presence might be a "sensitive" issue
that could require his help. He loved us. He let us
play as the President rode by (technically a no-no at
that point). He took personal offense at the bible-thumper
who stood before us for the first hour we played. Now
to me, this didn't seem *such* a big deal, to have this
sargeant-major being so supportive of us, but there were
many folks in the band who thought this was a symbolically
big thing. We gave him an LGBA silver Inauguration uniform
jacket.
- Five women from the Minnesota band attended, one of whom
was very active years ago in the early days of the national
organization. She warned the other women, new to LGBA,
that there wouldn't be many women at the national event.
The other women, on arrival at rehearsal, looked at her
and said, "Hey, you were really wrong about the number
of women! Fantastic!"
Now, it's been many years since the gender balance was as
off-kilter as this woman remembers it, but it's true that
this was as balanced of a national band event as I've
ever seen.
- The Inaugural Committee itself was a delight to work with.
They provided a tourguide on our bus from the Pentagon to
our playing site. They gave us official "Parade Participant"
souvenir hats. And they gave us chemical hand warmers.
- Sweet men from the San Francisco band flirted with me
at 6 in the morning.
And then there's this funny aspect of the Inaugural: It's
completely about politics, but it doesn't feel as if it's
about specific political positions. There was some controversy
in the national organization about our playing in this
event, because some felt it would be seen as our organization
supporting policies and a President they do not, individually,
support. But those concerns seemed not to be part of the
day. People have been writing reports to the LGBA mailing list,
and somebody who had been concerned about this very issue
wrote this wonderful paragraph (describing what you could
hear on CNN, even if you couldn't see us):
You can also hear the band cheer loudly as the limo goes by. That
cheer made me pause to reflect, since I was hollering as loudly as the
next person. I don't really like Clinton; heck, I didn't even vote
for him. So why was I cheering as he drove by?
This man goes on to write the sort of emotional report
that I wrote after the last Inaugural, about the meaning
of being an openly lesbian and gay organization playing
for the President and Vice President of the United States,
and how that was something that would have been inconceivable
twenty years ago. But I love the paragraph I quoted
above in isolation, because it conveys that sense of
cheering, cheering, cheering, and suddenly saying, "What?"
The reports to the band mailing list have been enthusiastic,
and they include a wonderful account from the conductor
of the Boston band (who conducted some of the pieces
at the Inaugural). She is a junior high band director,
and she used her participation in the Inaugural as a
way to come out to her sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade
students.
So it was great. I really do feel as if I were representing
gay men and lesbians throughout the US by playing in front
of two banners that said "Lesbian and Gay Bands of America"
when the President of the US drove by. I feel proud that
I was one (of many) who worked for many years for the
national lesbian/gay band organization, which meant that
we had the structure in place and the performing history under
our belts to apply to play at this politically significant
event.
I now own a silver jacket with a sewn-in LGBA logo that
says "1993 Inaugural". Beneath that, I have a patch that
says "1997 Inaugural". It's starting to feel like
a merit-badge sash. Which makes me consider what could
be next. The Rose Bowl? The Coronation?
It's a long way from my conception of what being gay
would mean when I was first coming out, I can tell you that.
-Steven Levine
ste...@cray.com