Date: Thu, 17 Aug 1995 16:27:09 -0700 (PDT) From: International Gay Lesbian Human Rights Commission August 17, 1995 The International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission presents OUT LOUD A Compilation CD Benefiting Lesbian and Gay Human Rights Around the World U2, The Indigo Girls, and Throwing Muses are amongst the seventeen acts who have contributed tracks to the compilation CD, OUT LOUD. Released on the Knitting Factory Works label, the CD's street date is September 20, 1995 with record release parties planned for New York City and San Francisco. As the first record specifically directed at the global struggle for lesbian and gay rights, OUT LOUD writes a new chapter in the history of the popular music industry's efforts on behalf of social and political justice. This CD owes a great debt to a serendipitous collaboration between siblings Julie and Michael Dorf. Julie, the executive director of the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), and Michael, owner of the highly successful and innovative Knitting Factory label and club, staged the Out Loud benefit concert series at Manhattan's Knitting Factory during the Stonewall 25 Celebrations (June of 1994). The OUT LOUD CD evolved from this concert series as a further step in the Dorfs' aims to raise both funds and consciousness. The CD brings together a colorful mix of artists ranging from multi-platinum selling to legendary indie performers. With thirteen previously unreleased tracks OUT LOUD breaks new ground in charting the evolution of a new 'queer' music phenomenon. After the recent success of queer indie bands (many featured on this album) and of compilation discs targeting a gay and lesbian market (OUT Punk Dance Party, OUT Classics, etc.), OUT LOUD achieves something unprecedented. This album unites fierce independents and some of the most critically and commercially successful artists of the 90's - behind a courageous message of lesbian and gay liberation. Proceeds from OUT LOUD directly benefit the work of the IGLHRC. Part of the IGLHRC's mission is to redefine the global battle for human rights to include the fundamental rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgendered people, and people with AIDS and HIV. For information about the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission: IGLHRC, 1360 Mission Street, Suite 200, San Francisco, CA 94103 USA Tel. 1-415-255-8680 Fax 1-415-255-8662 email iglhrc@igc.apc.org OUT LOUD will be available through national distribution, at local music stores, alternative bookstores, or by mail order through the Damron Company at 1-800-462-6654 ($12.95 + shipping). Individual orders outside the U.S. can be placed through the Darmron Company as well by mailing $12.95 + shipping ($5.00 to Canada and Mexico, $7.00 outside of North America) to Damrom Company, P.O. Box 42-2458, San Francisco, CA, 94142, USA. Include a note that you are puchasing the OUT LOUD CD. Inside the U.S.: to get the OUT LOUD CD into record stores in your city, ask your local record store to order the following from their distributor that works with the Knitting Factory Works label: the OUT LOUD compilation disc on Knitting Factory Works, catalog # 35828 01692 6, KFW#169. Knitting Factory Works, 74 Leonard Street, New York, NY 10013, Tel: 212-219-3280, Fax: 212-219-6401 or contact the Knitting Factory's web site at http://www.knittingfactory.com/ Outside the U.S.: to get the OUT LOUD CD into record stores in your city do the same as above, and in Europe try the Knitting Factory's European office at Bloemgracht 20/2E, 1015 TJ Amsterdam, Holland, Tel: 31.20.420.3658 or Fax: 31.20.639.2245. MEDIA ONLY PLEASE NOTE: We urge the media to highlight the 1-800 number, when appropriate, as this will provide the greatest proceeds for the IGLHRC. For more information, to arrange interviews with featured artists, Julie Dorf or Michael Dorf, to request CD copies for review and/or album cover artwork, contact Russ Gage or Myles Downes at 415-255-8680. OUT LOUD The contributors and their music: U2's Night and Day, their selection for OUT LOUD, is a cutting-edge collage fashioned around a classic - as legendary mix-master Youth reinvents their rendition of the Cole Porter standard. The gay composer's obsessive lament has been transformed from it's Red Hot & Blue origins to a hypnotic, inspired, floor-filling marvel. Indigo Girls Amy Ray and Emily Saliers add a fierce intro to this previously unreleased live acoustic version of This Train (Revised). The Amy Ray song was inspired by a visit to the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. and is based on the traditional gospel song of the same title. Kristin Hersh's haunting vocals float over hard driving accompaniment on Throwing Muses previously unreleased live remix version of Finished. The Jazz Passengers have evolved into one of the most respected groups of musicians today. Their song Swim To Me features gender bending vocals from renowned performance artist and drag diva John Kelly. Atlantic recording artist Melissa Ferrick opens the album with her exquisitely rendered song Taking A Liking that explores the emotional minefield of her life. The unapologetically political folk rock group Disappear Fear deliver striking harmonies and an unforgettable melody on their previously unreleased Michelangelo. Kay Turner leads the venerable Texan dyke combo Girls In The Nose, which offers Weddings Are Icky - a loopy assault on the ceremony and institution at the crux of "traditional family values." The cannily shambling, mixed-gendered, enigmatic posse The Mekons are represented here with the previously unreleased studio track, Lucky Star. British icons Everything But The Girl contribute their song I Don't Understand Anything, taken from their 1994 Amplified Heart album. Singer songwriter Daniel Cartier has been referred to as "the James Taylor of the Lollapalooza Generation". His song Stumbling Home is a powerful ballad about the freedom to love whom you choose. Internationally acclaimed recording artist Billy Bragg's previously released song Sexuality takes on new life and power in the context of this compilation. BETTY contribute Kiss My Sticky, a provocative R & B love romp that demands full-on dance floor jammin. The Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet conjure up a storm on Tri-Monk, weaving melodies and creative solos with delightful harmonies. The Gretchen Phillips Experience, with iconoclastic wit, offer a brash tribute to Austin, Texas' notorious gay male cruising spot Pease Park. San Francisco's notorious synth-pop duo Voice Farm offer an infectious celebration of the city's queer culture on the seductive anthem Shave Your Head. The Judybats have retired after four lps (they are due to reemerge next year as a trio: the Doubter's Club), but not before contributing their unique live track My Dead Friend to this compilation. Y'ALL brings the album down home with their song My Man, Our Horses, and Me. This white trash country gospel duo was named MTV's Most Unusual Band in the MTV 1994 Beach House Band Contest. ###