| Thursday,
June 16, 2005 Edition |
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| Cover
Story: I'm not gay, anymore |
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Chad Thompson says he
overcame his same-sex attractions,
but is his "ex-gay"
message a slap in the face to
the LGBT community?
By Carolyn Szczepanski
The day before he blew out 10
candles on his birthday cake,
Chad Thompson came
to the terrifying realization
that he was going to burn for
all eternity.
He remembers the scene as idyllic
- a soft breeze gliding through
his open window, the reassuring
sounds of his mother making cupcakes
downstairs, the childlike excitement
of a next-day birthday celebration.
But laying in bed that night even
the comforting sounds of baking
pans clattering onto kitchen counters
couldn't penetrate a sudden, deafening
silence.
For some time, Thompson's mind
offered a steady reassurance:
"I'm not gay, I'm not gay,
I'm not gay." But that night
in fourth grade the mantra stopped.
His internal campaign to convince
himself that his same-sex attractions
were all a big mistake suddenly
went silent. He was gay. And he
was terrified... >>
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| Gaskell:
'Wow' factor |
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Downtown is happening in a big
way
For nearly two decades, there has
been a steady stream of equal parts
bitching and moaning regarding what
to do with our downtown neighborhood
and when to do it. Should there be more
housing first? Should we concentrate
on entertainment? Should we have a year-round
farmers' market? Should we develop the
river? Should we give away the store
to huge corporations? Should we have
a park? The questions were all good
ones. And many of them had answers.
It's just that most of them seemed never
to be acted on. Downtown has been stuck
in first gear, leaving the masses to
think for some time, and rightfully
so, what a waste. >>
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| Scene
Scribe: Gear Daddies shift into reunion
mode |
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By Michael Swanger michael@dmcityview.com
 These
days, most bands reunite after a bitter
breakup for the sole purpose of cashing
in on nostalgia. But that's not the
case with The Gear Daddies, the Minneapolis
country-rock band that scored a handful
of hits like "Stupid Boy,"
"Don't Look at Me" and "Color
of Her Eyes" during the '80s and
'90s before an amicable split in 1992
to pursue solo careers and parenthood.
They're back together because, get this,
they miss each other.
"First and foremost, we've been
friends from the start," says 41-year-old-singer
Martin Zellar. Bassist Nick Ciola, guitarist
Randy Broughten, drummer Billy Dankert
and Zellar formed The Gear Daddies in
1982 during their senior year in high
school in Austin, Minn. "We've
discovered over the years that friendship
is irreplaceable." >>
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| Civic
Skinny: Back of the bus |
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Rich, white kids will indeed
come first in DMPS
Look for the downtown business community
to rally around Superintendent Eric
Witherspoon's plan to spend $8 million
on the Pappajohn Learning Center. "Many
promises have been made by the superintendent
and board members behind closed doors
to the downtown power brokers,"
a business leader told us. "Of
all the pieces of the superintendent's
proposal, the board will work swiftly
to commit these dollars first, even
with all of the other turmoil going
on." Said a reluctant school official:
"Never mind that $8 million could
build a premium elementary school from
the ground up. We've got to take care
of the rich, white kids first. >>
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| Upfront:
White hot... equinox? |
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Celebrate the summer equinox by wearing
your whites. What these have to do with
each other, we're not sure. But the
Des Moines Botanical Center is planning
a progressive dinner, dubbed the "White
Hot Party," for the occasion on
Friday, June 24, at 6:30 p.m. >>more
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| City
Sounds: Little Feat still marches
to own beat |
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By Michael Swanger michael@dmcityview.com
 Little
Feat drummer and Iowa native Richie
Hayward says he doesn't know what
his band's place is in the annals
of rock 'n' roll history, but
he does know why it has staying
power after 36 years.
"We're unusual," he
says. "We don't play a specific
style, we play 20 different styles
of music and it's fun."
Since its inception in 1969,
Little Feat's eclectic, memorable
songs like "Easy to Slip,"
"Triple Face Boogie"
and "Dixie Chicken"
has been a lasting fixture on
rock's landscape. A freewheeling
fusion of California rock and
Dixie-influenced boogie, its unconventional
sound is a hybrid of rock, folk,
blues, jazz, country and funk
that continues to elicit the question,
"How do you describe your
music?" ">>
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