3/11/10

Deflowered: My Life in Pansy Division

Deflowered: My Life in Pansy Division Review



Ginoli, Jon. "Deflowered: My Life in Pansy Division", Cleis Press, 2009.

Out and Proud

Amos Lassen

It's been a Pansy Division week for me. I received both the DVD, "Life in a Gay Rock Band" and "Deflowered", the book by the band's founder, Jon Ginoli. I have already reviewed the film so I will concentrate on the book here. I have long been a fan of "Pansy Division" as I admire them for singing about the things they do and I believe they have a positive influence of our community. Jon Ginoli shows us his pride in his memoirs here and as you can imagine his road to success was not easy. The book looks at two different aspects of his life--the recording industry and being gay and out.
Ginoli was born in Illinois and he grew up there but it was not until the got to college that the idea of having a gay band actually became a reality. In his book he takes us with him on his journey of self-discovery as well as his passion for music. What is interesting about his passion for music is that it led him to write songs like "Queer to the Core", "Fem in Black Leather Jacket" and many others that amazon.com would not welcome me to write here.
Pansy Division was and still is the first out and proud queer band to go big time but it was a struggle to get to that point. Jon together with Chris Freeman worked their "buns" off to get to be where they are.
Ginoli is a good writer and his book reads smoothly. I felt as if I was with the guys as they forged their way and I have a sense of pride that they made it.
It is hard not to repeat what I said in my review of the film because the two are so similar and both are great. Get them both and be twice as knowledgeable---then drop them a line at
info@pansydivision and let Jon know how much you enjoy what he does.



Deflowered: My Life in Pansy Division Feature





Deflowered: My Life in Pansy Division Overview


"We're the buttfuckers of rock-and-roll, We want to sock it to your hole!" With these words written in a notebook, Jon Ginoli sets off on a journey of self-discovery and musical passion to become the founding member of Pansy Division, the first out and proud queercore punk rock band to hit the semi-big time. Set against the changing decades of music, we follow the band from their inception in San Francisco, to their search for a music label and a permanent drummer to their current status as indie rock icons. We see the highs—touring with Green Day—and the lows—homophobic fans—of striving for acceptance and success in the world of rock. Replete with the requisite tales of sex, drugs, groupies, band fights and label battles, this rollicking memoir is also an impassioned account of staying true to the artistic vision of queer rock'n'roll.



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