Songs for humanity

At the Equality Rocks concert in Washington, gay and lesbian artists and supporters lift their voices in hopes of raising consciousness.

By GINA VIVINETTO, Times Pop Music Critic

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 7, 2000

WASHINGTON -- It was an unusual, perhaps unprecedented sight: the world's No. 1 country star, the very manly Garth Brooks, arm in arm with George Michael, the British pop singer who openly declares he's gay.

The duo, both sporting cowboy hats, sang Michael's hit Freedom '90 before a crowd of 45,000 screaming fans last weekend at the Equality Rocks Concert for Human Rights.

Nobody in the crowd at RFK Stadium seemed to find the duet at all odd. They roared their approval.

Michael was on the bill with many other gay and lesbian artists. Brooks, whose sister is a lesbian, was there to lend support. As a celebrity, Brooks said, he felt it was his duty.

"If people are crazy enough to listen to us," Brooks said, "then there is a responsibility. I came here to play music for human rights. I'm not here for gays. I'm not here for straights, black, white. We're here to tear down these fences we put around ourselves."

Backstage, Brooks encouraged artists who are considering coming out of the closet.

"You definitely have to be yourself," he said. "It's like anything: Don't use it (your sexuality) as an advantage or a disadvantage. If you're just being yourself, you're doing enough for your flag."

The five-hour concert, on the eve of a national march for gay rights, featured some of today's most high-profile gay and lesbian recording artists, such as Melissa Etheridge, k.d. lang, Pet Shop Boys, Rufus Wainwright and Broadway singer Michael Feinstein, plus actors Ellen DeGeneres, Anne Heche and Nathan Lane.

They were joined by straight friends including Brooks, soul diva Chaka Khan, salsa singer Albita and TV actors Kristen Johnston and Kathy Najimy.

The crowd was as diverse as the entertainment.

Karin Belger, 34, and two friends she met through a Brooks Web site drove from New Jersey to catch the star's performance. The three women, all straight, said they have always supported gay rights, and they hoped Brooks' involvement would open the eyes of all his fans.

"At least he'll get them to think about it," said Belger, who says she has read many angry Web site postings about Brooks' Equality Rocks performance. "He may not change their minds, but they'll think about it."

Belger referred to an interview Brooks did with the Advocate, the national gay and lesbian magazine. "He said his parents taught him it's okay to say "I love you' to anyone as long as you mean it," Belger said. "His mama raised him right."

Belger didn't think it at all strange that she skims a gay magazine for info about her idol. Homosexuality, she said, is just another way of life.

But just a few years ago, a concert like Equality Rocks would have been inconceivable. There weren't enough openly gay acts to fill the bill. Bisexuality has long been pretty much accepted in the rock world, but few stars would say they were gay. (One exception, Elton John, had been on the Equality Rocks bill but had a scheduling conflict.)

That all began to change in the early 1990s when singers lang and Etheridge came out publicly in the pages of the Advocate.

Then, the Indigo Girls came out. Michael Stipe of R.E.M. followed. Then newcomer Rufus Wainwright, who was never really in the closet.

But what does it all mean?

Is it safe or career suicide for a pop star to say he or she is gay? Do fans care?

And, if Garth Brooks is cool with gays, will other cowboys follow?

Stars coming out

Backstage with Etheridge, lang greeted the press, joking, "We're here, we're queer, I'm so over it.

She's not the only one who says the issue of sexuality has become a non-issue. With Will & Grace, a TV show starring gay characters, in the top 25 and MTV's The Real World consistently featuring gay men and women, mainstream America seems to be shrugging, as if to say, "Who cares?"

But even lang, who has been out of the closet since 1992, noted that this seeming acceptance is new. The singer said she spent her childhood in a Canadian town of 650, attending public school with the same 24 students, and felt like a freak. She wished for any kind of gay role model. Now she and Etheridge, who grew up feeling alienated as a lesbian teen in the Midwest, are those role models.

"People coming out (of the closet) after us," said lang, "that's a really, really satisfying thing." And, quipped lang, decked out in sweats and no makeup, "Since I came out, the best-dressed lists don't matter so much."

Etheridge, too, said coming out was worth the risk. "The quality of my life is so rich and fine and good since coming out," said Etheridge, whose partner, Julie Cypher, roamed through the Equality Rocks crowd with a video camera. "Ultimately, it is so healthy."

From the stage, Etheridge told of being recently asked for an interview by a teen magazine in Holland. Etheridge was shocked. She asked the magazine if it was certain it wanted her, a lesbian artist.

Yes, she was told, that's exactly why they want her in the magazine, to speak to young people, especially young gay people.

Etheridge told the crowd she wished American magazines would follow suit.

"I hope someday," Etheridge said, "I can sit down with Tiger Beat."

Perfect timing

Michael, 36, told the Advocate last month, "I'd have to advise a young version of me that celebrity and secrets don't go together. The bastards will get you in the end, baby," he said of the media. "So don't give them that power.

Wainwright could be that "younger version" of Michael. But unlike Michael, who was outed two years ago after he was caught soliciting sex from an undercover police officer, the 25-year-old Wainwright has always been open about his sexuality. The son of folk singers Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle, he says he has found the honest approach surprisingly easy.

"People don't like to be lied to," Wainwright said. "Generally, people like it when you tell the truth."

But Wainwright, who acknowledges that he is a sort of pioneer, says he owes a huge debt to older artists.

"A lot of it is because of the musicians who came before me," Wainwright said. "I don't think I could have done this 10 years ago. The timing is perfect."

Wainwright says he wishes more gay celebrities would be honest about their sexuality. He thinks they have the power to change the minds of the intolerant.

"If you're open and honest and eloquent about who you are," said Wainwright, "you can change their opinion."

Like the others on the Equality Rocks bill, Wainwright says the most rewarding thing about being an openly gay star is the young people who thank him for giving them courage. That, he jokes, and the fact that it helps him meet men.

Still, when asked which comes first, his sexuality or his music, Wainwright doesn't miss a beat.

"Oh, my music comes first," Wainwright said. "My sexuality," he added, grinning, "is for after the show."

'They're just human'

"It turned out bigger and better than we expected," Leider said. "It showcased the progress and the setbacks in coming out.

The progress was obvious, she said, in the fact that so many stars can be so open about who they are.

"They were up there onstage, doing their thing, and people were like, "Wow, they're just human,' " Leider said. "This is a very good message to send.

"There is something very powerful and dramatic about music," she said. "You put that together with a message as important as this, it's quite exciting."

The setbacks? Leider said the concert silently pointed out that there are still plenty of stars who are living a lie.

"Certain artists -- I'm not going to name names -- dropped out because they felt it would be hypocritical (as homosexuals) to play and not be out of the closet like the rest," Leider said.

For all the seeming acceptance, she said, some stars feel that their careers would be badly damaged if they came out.

"My work is still very filled to the brim as far as getting people out (of the closet.)"

The editor said she is talking to a "very famous rock star," who is still in the closet, about being interviewed by the Advocate. Leider says she will not "out" someone against his or her wishes.

Although she is uncomfortable with it, Leider acknowledged that the Advocate occasionally runs interviews with closeted gay stars. For many celebrities, she says, a feature in the Advocate is an important step in the star's coming-out process.

Leider also says she is aware that just because mainstream America is embracing gay celebrities and Will & Grace, everyday folks still get the brunt of homophobia.

"Having it on a large level, like with Melissa (Etheridge), it helps," she said. "But some of these people, if they had a family member come out, then they'd really have something to deal with."

Peter Nardi, a sociology professor at Pitzer College in California, agrees that society at large has a long way to go in accepting gays and lesbians.

But he said he has noticed a cultural shift in acceptance, and pop culture -- music, TV and movies -- has been a key player.

"Especially with younger people," said Nardi, who added that pop culture has helped "normalize" homosexuality.

"They are more tolerant, more accepting of all diversity, including sexual diversity. It's not an issue to young people who is gay and who is not."

Nardi pointed out that the only group in California that consistently voted against Proposition 22, which bans gay marriage, was the 18- to 25-year-olds.

Nardi also suggested that the mainstream can accept gay pop stars because rock 'n' roll has always been full of rebels.

"The history of rock 'n' roll is the history of breaking norms," Nardi said, mentioning gender-bending artists such as David Bowie and Mick Jagger. "That's what this music is all about."

Besides, these days so many stars are so outrageous, being gay seems downright dull. Consider Marilyn Manson, who toys with sexuality, drugs, religion and outer space. Or rappers like 2 Live Crew, with onstage sex acts. Or locally, the Genitorturers, noted for body piercing and wielding whips during their shows.

Next to acts like that, Nardi said, "Who really cares if the Pet Shop Boys are just gay?"

Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report.

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