Singer/Songwriter/Actor Jay Brannan melts hearts at The Croc on Tuesday, September 14!

He’s not keen on labels, but he IS gay and he IS talented and he, singer/songwriter Jay Brannan, IS coming to the Crocodile this Tuesday, September 13 at 8pm with opening act Lindsay Fuller. Jay Brannan is probably best known as one of the stars of John Cameron Mitchell’s notorious “Shortbus”, the (in my opinion) wonderful film about life and sex that featured some very graphic sex scenes including a gay three-way involving Mr Brannan, analingus and the singing of the “Star Spangled Banner”…I doubt if he will reprise that performance in Seattle, but one can always hope. Advanced tickets for the show are only $13 and available here and obvs this is a 21+ event.

Jay Brannan is a very open and frank young man…check out his website and blog for more info on him, his music and acting career. I especially liked the FAQ part of the website where he answers the question, “Q. the big annoying GAY factor: why do you hate being called a “gay” singer-songwriter, or being told you write “gay” songs, or always being asked to participate in gay-themed activities, etc.? “. Mr Brannan replies:

A. it’s 2009. i think it’s time that everyone, the “gay community” included, allow gay people to take their place in the world as real people, rather than continuing to be defined and separated by their sexual orientation. i want the freedom to be myself, unafraid and uncensored, without having to market myself based on a sexual orientation, or attaching that sexual orientation to my name as a title.

in recent years, an entire industry has developed around “being gay” — gay magazines, gay tv channels, gay movies, gay pride festivals, gay radio stations, gay record labels. and in my opinion, most of these entities are built around cheesy, outdated and cliché ideas of what it means to be “gay,” what gay people want, what is “sexy,” or what sells.

i have turned down thousands of dollars that i could have made by exploiting my sexual orientation and building a career in the gay industry and in gay media. because i want to be a musician and an actor and a regular person…on the same playing field as everyone else. i’m not interested in being a professional gay, and i refuse to make my entire life and career about that. i’m not that interested in playing at gay bars or gay pride festivals, or doing “gay singer/songwriter” programs (though i have done these things, and may again if i feel good reason to). i dealt with my sexual orientation when i was a teenager, and frankly i’m sick of talking about it. i don’t want my album or the films i’m in to be in the “gay section” of a music or video store. i think having a gay section at the video store is the same as asking black people to drink from a different water fountain, or to sit at the back of the bus. why can’t films with gay characters be classified with all the other films…as dramas, or comedies, or horror? “gay” shouldn’t BE a genre.

i understand why gay people of a certain generation still have this obsession with their sexual orientation, and maintain this sort of “us against them” mentality. they weren’t allowed to be gay for most of their lives, so they are still really excited about it, and feel that they need a community of other gay people for support….

please understand that none of this has anything to do with my view on civil rights. of course all people should be given equal rights…regardless of any demographics. and yes, i think gay people should be able to get married. i would certainly attend a protest supporting those rights, and i HAVE played at events such as gay marriage benefits. but to me this is all very different than the “pride” scene or gay media, or the commercialization of gayness. i deserve equal rights, but i’m not particularly proud or excited to be gay. i don’t really think about it much in terms of my identity.

Fierce! Check out his opinions in their entirety HERE. And, will Mr Brannan object because he’s being featured on a queer website? I hope not…I think he’s pretty awesome. (also, the whole “insanely cute” and “insanely talented” thing…)

-Michael Strangeways