Autostraddle Calendar Girls: Elena is Miss October

Oh hey it’s October! Time for cardigans and pumpkins and a brand new hotsexy half-nude gay girl IN THE RAIN. Did you think it couldn’t get better? Did you think we were kidding around here? Autostraddle does not play, y’all. Lesbians. Underthings. Rain.

Firstly, a little refresh of the Calendar Girl concept for any newbies:

We just think Maxim, COED and Playboy shouldn’t get to corner the market on “monthly devotions to very very good looking women.” We know lots of hot lesbians who also look good casually lounging on bedsheets and hanging out at the pool/on the couch.

Each month our photographer Robin will shoot a Le Cadeau by Robin set (as featured on WeTV) with one beautiful, talented, smart, interesting and sexy lesbian lady. At the end of the year, we’ll have a pretty kickass calendar that you can buy for 2011, which is our last year on earth before the apocalypse. Don’t you want to keep track of that in style?

Missed a month, or need an repeat performance?
We made this page of our 2011 Calendar Girls
for your browsing needs!

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This month’s Autostraddle Calendar Girl is:

Elena

Miss October

From Photographer Robin Roemer:

“Elena was super adorable and fun to work with. She is also quite brave as we shot with her on a roof during a lightening storm! We loved the really pretty bird tattoos on her stomach. Thanks to stylist Sara Meddand make-up artist Christina Natale for all their work on this shoot!”

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Autostraddle Calendar Girls: Laura is Miss August

Hey-o it’s August! Can you believe the summer went by so fast and it’s already time to see another girl in her skivvies for the Best Calendar of All Time? I hope you’re wearing a cute rash guard!

Firstly, a little refresh of the Calendar Girl concept for any newbies:

We just think Maxim, COED and Playboy shouldn’t get to corner the market on “monthly devotions to very very good looking women.” We know lots of hot lesbians who also look good casually lounging on bedsheets and hanging out at the pool/on the couch.

Each month our photographer Robin will shoot a Le Cadeau by Robin set (as featured on WeTV) with one beautiful, talented, smart, interesting and sexy lesbian lady. At the end of the year, we’ll have a pretty kickass calendar that you can buy for 2011, which is our last year on earth before the apocalypse. Don’t you want to keep track of that in style?

Missed a month, or need an repeat performance?
We made this page of our 2011 Calendar Girls
for your browsing needs!

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This month’s Autostraddle Calendar Girl is:

Laura

Miss August

From Photographer Robin Roemer:

“Laura has a great androgynous and unique look. We loved her hair and her tattoos. She’s also just a cool chick who knows how to work it for the camera! Thanks again to Sara Medd [stylist] and Christina Natale [make-up] for all their genius and help!”

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Autostraddle Calendar Girls: Avni is Miss July

It’s July: the month we celebrate America’s independence from England by blowing things up and eating hot dogs with our families! What better way to celebrate our own negative feelings towards our country than to ogle a hot British chick and talk about ab definition? Miss July’s gonna set off sparklers in your pants! Hey-o!

Firstly, a little refresh of the Calendar Girl concept for any newbies:

We just think Maxim, COED and Playboy shouldn’t get to corner the market on “monthly devotions to very very good looking women.” We know lots of hot lesbians who also look good casually lounging on bedsheets and hanging out at the pool/on the couch.

Each month our photographer Robin will shoot a Le Cadeau by Robin set (as featured on WeTV) with one beautiful, talented, smart, interesting and sexy lesbian lady. At the end of the year, we’ll have a pretty kickass calendar that you can buy for 2011, which is our last year on earth before the apocalypse. Don’t you want to keep track of that in style?

Missed a month, or need an repeat performance?
We made this page of our 2011 Calendar Girls
for your browsing needs!

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This month’s Autostraddle Calendar Girl is:

Avni

Miss July

From Photographer Robin Roemer:

(more…)

Photo Gallery: Autostraddle NYC Rodeo Disco 2 Pride Party Photos

Hi everyone! How were your respective Pride celebrations?! We’re still recovering from ours. It was a fun weekend and it seems like it’s time to reminisce. So let’s do it with photographs!

As you may have heard, we held our 2nd Annual Rodeo Disco at Mason Dixon in NYC this past Sunday and man, you guys did not disappoint! Thanks for all who showed up and got down, and of course thanks to everyone there in spirit ’cause I know there are quite a few of you out there (wherever you are not in New York City). (more…)

Autostraddle Calendar Girls: Nicole Pacent is Miss June!

It’s June, can you believe half a year went by so fast? And June is National Gay Month or something, so we knew it’d be especially important to have a really bangin’ Miss June. Duh.

Firstly, a little refresh of the Calendar Girl concept for any newbies:

We just think Maxim, COED and Playboy shouldn’t get to corner the market on “monthly devotions to very very good looking women.” We know lots of hot lesbians who also look good casually lounging on bedsheets and hanging out at the pool/on the couch.

Each month our photographer Robin will shoot a Le Cadeau by Robin set (as featured on WeTV) with one beautiful, talented, smart, interesting and sexy lesbian lady. At the end of the year, we’ll have a pretty kickass calendar that you can buy for 2011, which is our last year on earth before the apocalypse. Don’t you want to keep track of that in style?

Missed a month, or need an repeat performance?
We made this page of our 2011 Calendar Girls
for your browsing needs!

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This month’s Autostraddle Calendar Girl is:

Nicole Pacent

Miss June

From Photoblogger Robin:

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Autostraddle Calendar Girls: Alison is Miss May!

It’s May and therefore it’s Autostraddle Calendar Girl time!

Firstly, a little refresh of the Calendar Girl concept for any newbies:

We just think Maxim, COED and Playboy shouldn’t get to corner the market on “monthly devotions to very very good looking women.” We know lots of hot lesbians who also look good casually lounging on bedsheets and hanging out at the pool/on the couch.

Each month our photographer Robin will shoot a Le Cadeau by Robin set (as featured on WeTV) with one beautiful, talented, smart, interesting and sexy lesbian lady. At the end of the year, we’ll have a pretty kickass calendar that you can buy for 2011, which is our last year on earth before the apocalypse. Don’t you want to keep track of that in style?

Missed a month, or need an repeat performance?
We made this page of our 2011 Calendar Girls
for your browsing needs!

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This month’s Autostraddle Calendar Girl is:

Alison

Miss May

From Photoblogger Robin:

When Alison wrote to me and told me she’s a big fan of Agent Provacateur, I knew we’d get along. She came up from DC for the weekend, saw some friends, and came over for an Autostraddle photoshoot.  We were ordering Dominos when she arrived, so we made sure to get her some cheesy bread as a reward for being such a good model!  And a good model she was.  She even let us put her in the shower!  What a great sport.

Thanks to Sara for her styling genius and her amazing heels and to Christina for the fabulous smokey eyes. Isn’t my style team amazing?!

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Autostraddle Calendar Girls: Sarah is Miss April

It’s April, it’s time to search for bunnies and look at a brand-new smokin’ hot lesbian lady! It’s Autostraddle Calendar Girl time!

Firstly, a little refresh of the Calendar Girl concept for any newbies:

We just think Maxim, COED and Playboy shouldn’t get to corner the market on “monthly devotions to very very good looking women.” We know lots of hot lesbians who also look good casually lounging on bedsheets and hanging out at the pool/on the couch.

Each month our photographer Robin will shoot a Le Cadeau by Robin set (as featured on WeTV) with one beautiful, talented, smart, interesting and sexy lesbian lady. At the end of the year, we’ll have a pretty kickass calendar that you can buy for 2011, which is our last year on earth before the apocalypse. Don’t you want to keep track of that in style?

As always; if you’d like to be gawked at by thousands of lesbians and get photographed by celebrity world-famous photog Robin Roemer, email Robin at robin[at]autostraddle[dot]com with two photos of yourself and tell her a little something about why you’re so special. You must live in the NYC area or be able to get there and be 21+.

Missed a month, or need an repeat performance?
We made this page of our 2011 Calendar Girls
for your browsing needs!

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This month’s Autostraddle Calendar Girl is:

Sarah

Miss April

From Photoblogger Robin:

Miss April Sarah Croce met stylist Sara Medd, make-up artist Christina Natale, and I at my new digs on a rainy Sunday.

Sarah’s a rugby player, an actress, and an all around blast to hang out with.  I actually photographed Sarah once before when she was doing the Logo/Levis Unbuttoned campaign.  So, Sarah and her crazy abs are no stranger to the lens.  I was glad when she contacted us to be an Autostraddle Calendar Girl and thought everyone else might be to!

Christina did beautiful natural make-up and Sara got some really fun, sporty threads that we knew Miss Croce would rock!  So I’ll say this in advance for Sarah and the whole team… You’re Welcome.  :) (more…)

GLAAD Awards 2010 Red Carpet, NYC: Robin Shoots!

The GLAAD Awards took place in New York City on Saturday night, and Robin and Taylor went out into the blustery day to capture the event. Taylor has some interviews with maintenance men which perhaps she will share with you soon.

In the meantime, check out the fantastic red carpet photos by Robin Roemer for Autostraddle.

Vogue Evolution

Sandra Bernhard

Cynthia Nixon

Cynthia Nixon won the Vito Russel award, presented to an openly lesbian or gay member of the entertainment or media community for outstanding contributions toward eliminating homophobia. Here’s Cynthia at a New York City Gay Marriage Rally in 2009:

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Autostraddle Calendar Girls: Carmen is Miss March

It’s March, it’s time to drink green beer and look at a brand-new smokin’ hot lesbian! It’s Autostraddle Calendar Girl time.

Firstly, a  little refresh of the Calendar Girl concept for any newbies:

We just think Maxim, COED and Playboy shouldn’t get to corner the market on “monthly devotions to very very good looking women.” We know lots of hot lesbians who also look good casually lounging on bedsheets and hanging out at the pool/on the couch.

Each month our photographer Robin will shoot a Le Cadeau by Robin set (as featured on WeTV) with one beautiful, talented, smart, interesting and sexy lesbian lady. At the end of the year, we’ll have a pretty kickass calendar that you can buy for 2011, which is our last year on earth before the apocalypse. Don’t you want to keep track of that in style?

As always; if you’d like to be gawked at by thousands of lesbians and get photographed by celebrity world-famous photog Robin Roemer, email Robin at robin[at]autostraddle.com with two photos of yourself and tell her a little something about why you’re so special. You must live in the NYC area or be able to get there and be 21+.

Missed a month, or need an repeat performance?
We made this page of our 2011 Calendar Girls
for your browsing needs!

This month’s Autostraddle Calendar Model is:

Carmen

Robin: Carmen is a comic so we knew right away she would be so much fun to work with. Who doesn’t love a funny girl? My style team and I decided that for March we’d do something bright, because we basically can’t wait for spring. Carmen’s smile is so infectious, we just smiled and laughed our way through the shoot. In addition to being naturally gorgeous, Carmen has a great personality and is super animated making her super easy to photograph. Thanks to Ashlee for letting us use her fabulous apartment! Thanks to Carmen for taking direction so well! Thanks to Christina for the wonderful make-up once again and to Sara for dressing Carmen in bright and sexy threads.

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All About Carmen: Carmen is an Ohio native and Marymount Manhattan grad who does stand-up comedy all over the city.

Carmen also enjoys eating pizza, reading, sleeping to dream, and writing a lot. Other passions include “erotic looking/tasting fruit,” Zen, truth, fishing, sweet wine, brunch, the color turquoise and fantasising about one day getting to do paintballing. Until her paint-balling dreams are realized, Carmen has settled for lazer-tag and other activities that spark & delight her youthful soul.

Follow Carmen on twitter and watch her on youtube .

See all our calendar girls so far.

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Autostraddle Calendar Girls: Julia is Miss February

Hey ladies it’s Autostraddle here with your favorite time of the month! Time for another smart, charming, talented, smokin’ hot lesbian to bestow her beauty/wit upon you. Before we get to the part where Robin talks about the shoot and we tell you about Miss February a little refresh of The Autostraddle Calendar Girl Concept if you’re new to the site (and don’t forget Jennifer Nieves, Miss January, who got us off to a very good start!):

We just think Maxim, COED and Playboy shouldn’t get to corner the market on “monthly devotions to very very good looking women.” We know lots of hot lesbians who also look good casually lounging on bedsheets and hanging out at the pool/on the couch.

Each month our photographer Robin will shoot a Le Cadeau by Robin set (as featured on WeTV) with one beautiful, talented, smart, interesting and sexy lesbian lady. At the end of the year, we’ll have a pretty kickass calendar that you can buy for 2011, which is our last year on earth before the apocalypse. Don’t you want to keep track of that in style?

We’d like to remind you that you too could be gawked at by thousands of lesbians and get the rare opportunity to do a photoshoot with Robin Roemer [which puts you in the same league as Adam Lambert, Tegan & Sara, Lady Gaga & Uh Huh Her, Kim Stolz and a bunch of people that got married]! If you want to be our next Calendar Girl, just email Robin at robin[at]autostraddle.com with two photos of yourself and tell her a little something about why you’re so special.

You must live in the NYC area or be able to get there, and based on what we’ve already got on our schedule, we’re now especially looking for girls who can add a little diversity to the mix — Not a model/actress? Not a size 0-6? We defo want you!! Apply apply!

Missed a month, or need an repeat performance?
We made this page of our 2011 Calendar Girls
for your browsing needs!

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This month’s Autostraddle Calendar Girl is:

Miss February

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Autostraddle Calendar Girls: Jennifer is Miss January

Welcome to our very first month of Autostraddle Calendar Girls! We just think Maxim, COED and Playboy shouldn’t get to corner the market on “monthly devotions to very very good looking women.” We know lots of hot lesbians who also look good casually lounging on bedsheets and hanging out at the pool/on the couch.

Each month our photographer Robin will shoot a Le Cadeau by Robin set (as featured on WeTV) with one beautiful, talented, smart, interesting and sexy lesbian lady. At the end of the year, we’ll have a pretty kickass calendar that you can buy for 2011, which is our last year on earth before the apocalypse. Don’t you want to keep track of that in style?

So, if you’re a gay lady who wants to be an Autostraddle Calendar Girl and you live in the New York City area, email Robin at robin [at] autostraddle dot com. Send three photos of yourself and tell us why you’d be a kickass Calendar Girl.

Missed a month, or need an repeat performance?
We made this page of our 2011 Calendar Girls
for your browsing needs!

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This month’s Autostraddle Calendar Girl is:

Jennifer

Miss January

Jennifer is an up-and-coming New York City entertainer you may recall from the all-lady comedy troupe Candy Slice. In addition to writing, directing and starring in a lot of shorts, she’s appeared in many indie films as well as primetime network shows like CSI and Law & Order.

Robin says: Jennifer is probably the girl I’ve photographed the most over the past few years. She’s one of my little muses. Whenever I have a project where I need a model, I think of her right away. The thing I like about Jennifer’s look is that you can’t really categorize her into one “type” and her features are both dramatic and naturally beautiful. Because she’s an actress, she’s totally comfortable being in front of the lens.  Plus, she’s a sweetheart and so easy to work with.

You can find Jennifer at the WOW performing “empowering raw art pieces” and dreaming of one day starring in a Pedro Almodavar film. (more…)

The Girls of Candy Slice Comedy: The Autostraddle Photoshoot & Interview

Recently I had the opportunity to photograph the hilarious and hot ladies of Candy Slice, a NYC all-female comedy troupe of eight who met in the improv program at the famous Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theater and named their group after late comedian and SNL-star Gilda Radner’s “Candy Slice & The Slicers.”

The troupe performs their monthly variety show, “Up Late With Candy Slice,” in Manhattan, and their self-produced videos have garnered over a million hits on YouTube, including their very own behind the scenes spoof of the Beyoncé and Lady Gaga video for “Video Phone” (which also appeared on Perez Hilton):

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The most amazing thing about that video? They wrote the parody BEFORE the actual “Video Phone” video was released! They’re obviously oracles.

In the era of Tina Fey, Wanda Sykes, Amy Poehler and Kristin Wiig, Candy Slice is an example of a growing trend of confident, funny ladies taking over the comedy scene.

For the shoot, I had the help of talented wardrobe stylist, Sara Medd, who brought the bright threads, accessories, and lots of sweet props. We listened to Gaga, played with hair fans, and ate a lot of candy. Riese and Alex came by to ask the girls some inappropriate questions.

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Hi! I’m Riese! This is our interview, which we did on camera. Because so much of the pleasure of the Candy Slice Comedy Group is PHYSICAL, we’ve included some screenshots here & there for you. But probs you will be craving more, which is one of two reasons why we’re putting together a behind-the-scenes video of the interview and our subsequent photoshoot to debut later this month. The second reason for the video we can’t tell you yet, it’s a BIG SURPRISE. Get excited, these girls are f*cking hilarious… and cute! And maybe one or two of them are maybe partially or fully gay… which is really just the icing on the cake of awesome.

So here’s our interview with Jennifer (who is also our Calendar Girl for January!), Anna, Kirsten, Shamikah, Claire, Regina and Julie!

In the Beginning …

Riese: How did you guys all meet?

Jennifer: Well, we all met at UCB. Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.
Anna: That’s not true. That is a lie! Tell the true story.
Kristen: It’s sort of a – sort of a… we are all involved in UCB but most of us met through Shamikah.
Shamikah: None of them had a brown friend. Alright? This is what happened: each of them was trying to get a brown friend and I was like “Oh my gosh all of you do improv.” So then we all got together and MESHED.
Claire: It was our conduit.
Jennifer: I’m brown in the summer!

Riese: What was the timeline?
Kristen: We started getting together – there were six of us over the summer and then we brought in two new members in the early fall, Julie (she waves) and Tracy who is not here, but she’s still in the group.
Anna: Tracy plays Lady Gaga in the Beyonce/Lady Gaga video.
Alex: Where is that bitch? Get her here.
Anna: I wish that we could, but I think she’s out of state. What state is she in?
Kristen: I think she’s in St. Louis.
Anna: I thought she was in Illinois?
Regina: I think St. Louis is partially in Illinois.

The Candy Spice Girls

Alex: So which one’s like Sporty, which one’s like Scary? What sort of Slices do we have here?
Kristen: (to Shamikah) You’re our Ethnic Slice.
Shamikah: You can tell she only has one brown friend, she doesn’t know what else to say to the brown people.

Claire: Jennifer’s definitely Sexy Slice.
Kristen: She’s even sexy by accident, when she’s not trying.
Shamikah: Yeah, we’re like, “What funny thing can we do?” And Jen’s like, “I can do the salsa in a bikini. That’s funny right? That’s funny.”
Jennifer: That’s me. Yeah.

Anna: Claire’s really good at playing a stripper. I don’t know why.
Claire: I like it.
Shamikah: Claire plays guys. She’s played a man in like every skit.
Claire: And I like playing guys.
Anna: She’s a man or she’s a stripper.
Riese: So you like to play sexually powerful roles.
Claire: Yes I do.

Julie: Kristen is a wizard in most of the skits.
Kristen: Or a ninja.
Jennifer: A ninja wizard. She’s really good at playing E.T.
Kristen: Or E.T. Mythical creatures, magic …
Julie: They all do this ..

Regina: And then it’s in your face and it’s scary. It’s wizardry!

Anna: Regina’s like the “voice of reason who sounds like she’s been smoking since she was five years old” type.
Regina: [in long time smoker voice] Yeah, they have to listen to this a lot. That’s what they get. It keeps them in line. The little gal-pals, they love it.
Anna: I think my favorite is when she played Tinkerbell in one of our shows. And she was in her Tinkerbell costume and she was just like “Mwahhahhaaaaa”. It was terrifying for the children.
Regina: They loved it.

Hopes & Dreams

Riese: What’s your ultimate dream as a group?
Anna: To go to Disneyworld.

Kristen: No but we want to make stuff up, we want to be able to do whatever we want and produce it. So our dream is a place where we can all come together, and if we have an idea we also have a platform, people to act in it and funny people to do what they need to do. What’s really awesome about these girls is that you’re like, “Hey put on this wig and act like a giant in fairyland,” and they’re like, “OK”. And that’s a cool thing. Right?

[EVERYONE AGREES]

Kristen: Orrrr act like Adam Lambert, whatever you wanna do.
Jennifer: Or E.T.
Alex: I heard a little something about an Adam Lambert video. Did you guys do that?
Anna: Ohhhhh — yeah. Claire is gonna be playing Adam Lambert. She plays a really good Adam Lambert. She also plays Josh Groban in a sketch we have coming up. Give us your Josh Groban.
Riese: Yeah, do it. (pause) DO IT!

Claire: [singing] You raised me up, so I can stand on mountains. You raised me up!
Shamikah: So we were doing this in an elevator in Regina’s building and there was a guy with his poodle and I was like, “It’s okay, can your dog be in the video? Keep singing Claire!” And he was like — [does “brush your shoulders off” motion]

Anna: We like to make fun of social networking sites like Facebook a lot. We just find them ridiculously funny, even though all of us are obsessed with them.
Jennifer: Not all of us. Julie is not on Facebook.
Julie: (shakes her head and points) Neither is Kristen.
Shamikah: Kristen goes on the Candy Slice Facebook.
Kristen: And I’m on Twitter. Forty-two followers.
Regina: What!? Suck on that!
Anna: Remember back in the day when you wanted to hang out with your friends? But you had to call their house and if they weren’t home you couldn’t – it was like their mom and she was like (deep mom voice), “Oh, she’s at the mall, sorry.” And you couldn’t get a hold of her? That’s Kristen.
Kristen: (waves) Hi!
Anna: Then pagers came out and she wouldn’t have any of that.
Kristen: Oh yeah, I’m mysterious.
Claire: Julie’s good at playing psycho killer housewives. And her facial expressions are awesome.
Julie: I’m either myself or a disaffected version of myself [says this in a disaffected voice]. And those are the two things that I work on.

Life on Stage

Kristen

Riese: Have you had any ideas for skits that totally failed that you thought were going to be awesome?
Kristen: Most.
Anna: No.
(laughter)
Alex: You guys perform onstage, right?
Claire/Shamikah: January 22nd.
Regina: (angry smoker voice) Mark your calendar Alex. Mark it right now.
(laughter as Alex marks her calendar)

Alex: Tell us about those shows.
Kristen: Let’s tell them about our terrible, terrible improv show.
Anna: Which one?
Kristen: We had a terrible, terrible show that was really bad. It was a Halloween show and we decided to wear costumes and…
Anna: Someone said it was a bad idea in the first place. [it was Anna]
Kristen: Anna thought it was a bad idea in the first place. And she was right. She’s always right. She’s not always right. Right?
Anna: Wrong.
Kristen: OK, so we all went 100% on our costumes and forgot that we had to show up and do improv, so every single scene was reduced to screaming or some sort of…
Jennifer: Airplane, we had an airplane scene!
Kristen: With screaming and everybody in the scene. Then we had sort of the lowest common denominator in improv is like “I’m black” or “rape” and we had that in every scene practically. So we were really mad at ourselves.
Claire: It was a great learning block.
Kristen: And we all made ourselves watch the video of it. Which was so painful.
Jennifer: But it was cool because we are all in costume, so maybe you didn’t know. I was the Grinch. I was the Grinch!
Claire: I was dressed up as a piece of shit.
Regina: Literally, she was.

Shamikah

Shamikah:We wanna do a show that’s like late night, but with improv in it. We’re gonna be Chelsea Handler soon. [Anna disagrees] She’s the only female on late night! She is! There’s nobody else!
Anna: We’re like the Sarah Silverman, if Sarah Silverman was more than one person.
Riese: Wanda Sykes.
Kristen: Oh yeah, that’s right.
Shamikah: She does late night?
Regina: C’mon, brownie.
Shamikah: How do I not know what every brownie is doing? So our show is like; we do an interview, and then some improv, a musical guest, it’s like a late night TV show.
Alex: That sounds cool.
Regina: Improv for musical guests, which is actually really awesome, audiences really enjoy that.
Kristen: And our guests are celebrities.
Jennifer: A-listers.
Shamikah: We had Angelina Jolie.
Kristen: Amanda Peet.
Jennifer: Brad Pitt, those kids, they join too.
Shamikah: Those kids, we had to improvise with them, improvising with kids is not easy.
Anna: Especially when they don’t know English.
Shamikah: Or how to talk.
Claire: They just always try to steal the spotlight.
Kristen: Especially babies are the worst though because they are just so cute.
Shamikah: Oooh actually, we did have a recent video semi ruined by a baby. I shouldn’t even say that, but the baby wouldn’t stop! We thought it would be a good idea to have the baby in it, but she just cried the whole time.
Kristen: Candy Slice hates babies.
Anna: No, no stop, that’s bad PR.
Regina: The number nine Candy Slicer will not be Baby.
Jennifer: We lovvvve babies.
Shamikah: Candy Slice kills babies!
Regina: What? Comedy! COMEDY!
(laughter)

Regina

Leaders of the Pack

Riese: Do you guys have positions within the group?
Anna: Yes. I’m the marketing director. Everyone, spit your gum out.
Shamikah: I’m the creative director of the group.
Riese: (to Claire) What’s your position?
Claire: Jen and I are co-chairs of the Social Chair.
Riese: Oh, what does that entail?
Claire: Basically we do the party atmosphere. Par-taaaay!
Riese: You sound like your job is like the culture guy on Queer Eye.
Jennifer: (puts a tissue over her mouth) I use the tissues and I try to lure you to come to our shows. (laughter) No, we create events, you know, we put amazing events together.
Shamikah: Fundraisers…
Jennifer: Fundraisers, and like everything under the sun.

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NEXT:
“We all do different things, whether that’s Kristen doing her Dungeons & Dragons thing, or the rest of us, doing normal people things.”

The Cliks, Reinvented and It Feels So Good: The Autostraddle Interview & Photoshoot

Hanging out with Lucas and the two new members of The Cliks (3.0) is like hanging out with your best friend and the girl she’s just totally fallen in love with who genuinely loves her back — these kids are just so happy together! They just, you know … CLICK.

I photographed The Cliks earlier this year in their former incarnation, before the July release of Dirty King and before September, when The Cliks announced on their myspace page that Morgan Doctor and Jen Benton had left the band. Lucas explained at the time, “…to be blunt, the road beat us up and knocked us out. When we all woke up, we each saw a different road ahead. These things happen, it’s that simple.”

In November Lucas announced that Brian Viglione and Tobi Parks had joined up and they were back to making music, so I was eager to talk with the New Improved Cliks and be the first photographer to get a chance to capture the trio together (in menswear!) for a photo session.  Luckily I have plenty of experience with engagement photos. ;-)

We talked about how they all got together, future musical plans, the impact of a genderqueer band, their backgrounds, the importance of queer visibility (our favorite topic!) and… well, you’ll just have to read it and find out.

It’s clear that Lucas, Tobi and Brian are three musicians made for each other… and if they can rock a stage anything like they can rock a tux (and I think they can), there are definitely amazing things in store for this group.

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Photoshoot with Adam Lambert, Autostraddle’s Sexiest Man of 2009

Hey guys it’s me Robin for Autofocus!  Isn’t Adam Lambert so hot/handsome/pretty? In fact, we’ve decided to give him Autostraddle’s Sexiest Man of the Year Award. Here are a few more images of him from our shoot last week!

“People aren’t used to seeing a gay man portrayed [sexually] on TV. The gay male image in the media tends to be very cliché and safe… I think I got up there [at the American Music Awards] and put more energy, a little more I was attempting to interpret the lyrics of the song quite simply. I was putting on a character, putting on a persona being this kind of rock star, kind of dangerous kind of guy.”

-Adam Lambert on Ellen (Dec 1st, 2009)

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Carlytron and Robin in Buenos Aires, Part Tres

Robin Roemer Photography

Here’s the third and final installment of our Buenos Aires gaycation recap!

Thursday

El Ateneo Grand Splendid is a beautiful antique theatre/cinema turned fabulous bookstore which we visited first thing on Thursday.

A friend of mine worked for years doing international marketing for McDonalds and insisted that we eat at a McDonalds in Buenos Aires before our trip was over.  So, half reluctantly we ordered our burgers and sat down to something resembling In and Out Burger: delish! We walked around the Recoleta and Barrio Norte neighborhoods for a bit and stopped at El Fenix to buy a bottle of wine to bring home and drink by the pool.

We had steak and wine in the late evening with friends in Palermo Soho at Don Julio. Soooo good. They had us sign a wine bottle before we left to put above the bar. “NYC hearts BsAs” and our first names. Then we took them to Sitges so they could see the drag show which this time featured three drag queens rather than two. Thursdays were much more of a local crowd and everything was in Spanish, but those queens did not disappoint.

Friday

On Friday, we decided to visit the zoo in Palermo. The first thing we happened upon was an area called “Darwin’s Pond” which contained animals like the nutra rats, which look just like the Rodents of Unusual Size (R.O.U.S.) in Princess Bride, and also the Patagonian Mara, which we just called the Deerdog for most of the day. Those little guys just roamed around the zoo, which was mildy creepy. Visitors to the zoo here can buy animal food and many would not hesitate to walk right up to a zebra and stick a hand practically into its mouth.

Because we love modern art, we swung by the MALBA, which currently features a huge exhibit on Andy Warhol, “Mr. America.” Then in the late afternoon I took some shots of the cobblestone streets in Palermo Soho.

If you like Thai food, we strongly recommend Empire Thai which was packed that evening with a young hipster crowd and served up flavorful dishes for half the price of what we are used to paying in Manhattan.

Home Again

By Saturday, we were ready to make the long flights home to New York. I was really missing TV and the English language and since we had not attempted sushi again after our first experience, I really missed that too. Overall we had a fantastic trip.

Adam Lambert Photographed by Robin For Your Entertainment

Robin Roemer Photography

I had the honor of photographing rock star Adam Lambert yesterday and wanted to share a few preview images before I left for Thanksgiving! Adam is one of my new favorite people. One of the producers brought his three little girls on set and it was so fun to watch Adam interacting with them. When asked about his performance at the American Music Awards, Adam was rightfully unapologetic and spoke about a double standard in music and being gay, male, and a performer.

I was obsessed with his metallic nails so I had to take some hand shots!

Adam’s new album For Your Entertainment is out (get it here for only $9.99), and below is the brand-spankin’ new music video for his first single “For Your Entertainment“! Check it out:

Carlytron and Robin’s Gaycation in Buenos Aires, Part Two

Robin Roemer Photography

Trip update! We’re having a great time down here in beautiful Buenos Aires.

Monday

We saw a tango show and it was really fun, although the one we went to was super touristy. They even had small vans which go around to the hotels to pick people up and bring them to the show. Shortly after our arrival an older American couple entered the theatre. I leaned over to Carly and whispered, “I bet they’re going to sit Grandma and Grandpa with us. They will no doubt talk loudly the entire time.” They did and they did. I’m not sure what is more entertaining: Argentinian tango, or a old loud American couple commenting on Argentinian tango. There would be a dramatic lull in the music and a crescendo from the peanut gallery next to us: “Watch their feet!” “I’ve never seen anything like this.” “Boy, I need a hat like that.” “More wine, we need more wine!!” “VVvvvino!” (Its pronounced Bee-no) ” This music makes me feel like I’m in the mountains.”

The dancers were fantastic. In between dancing, there were various musical numbers. First a Chilean group came on to serenade us with their wooden flutes. I’m pretty sure these are the same guys who station themselves daily outside of the MTV building in Times Square. Or maybe those dudes on the V train. Also some lady who looked like Cher, which was pretty awesome/terrifying.

I don’t mean to be snarky, its just that since both Carlytron and myself have worked in or near Times Square, we know a tourist trap when we see one and we fell in every tourist trap imaginable today. I love this city, but I wish we could have avoided a few of these. Thanks for nothing, Lonely Planet!

The first of our tourist traps occurred in Retiro on Florida Street, which is known for its cheap leather goods. Cheap garments and pushy sales people who follow you around and tell you how high quality everything is. So, a big fat NO on Florida street leather; unless we COMPLETELY missed something, we were not at all impressed.

“Basically we spent the evening with creepy old men hootin’ and hollerin’ at Robin and looking at me like I had two heads. Not very different from midtown Manhattan!” – Carly

In the evening, we wandered around San Telmo, eventually finding a cute Parilla (or grill) with friendly waitresses where we could relax and eat more steak! Halfway through my first glass of wine, a cat (un gato) — whom Carly affectionately named Julio — hopped up on the chair next to me to take a nap. SO CUTE! I thought it was hilarious and took photos. I mean, seriously, a cat… in a nice restaurant? I actually don’t mind the cat. I actually prefer to dine with strange cats at the table next to me, but was quite surprised that no one looked twice at this. Maybe because at the table behind us, a woman was breast feeding her infant.

“This shit would not fly in Times Square. JK!” – Carly

Tuesday

Today it was raining and we spent a lot of our day just relaxing by the pool and shopping. We tried a sushi restaurant down the street which was really expensive and not so good, but we needed something other than steak.

Wednesday

We walked around the Plaza de Mayo and over the Puente de La Mujer (The Bridge of Woman). For dinner, we had Italian and stopped in at a Scandinavian bar called Olsen to have a cocktail. Olsen looks exactly as you’d expect a Scandinavian vodka bar to look, with a big courtyard and awesome modern design. Later that night we went to a gay bar called Sitges to see their drag show. We totally fell in love with this place instantly: as we walked in they were playing “3” by Britney Spears and Carly turned to me and said, “We’re home!” We got drunk watching drag queens make fun of tourists in Spanish and could not have asked for a better end to a really awesome day.

People are so nice here. I really am so grateful to be in a city where you can be a dumb tourist and people are okay with it. I’ve been to places where they are not.

One more thing: I regret the fact that I haven’t taken too many photos on this trip. Just a quick snapshot here and there. I’ve needed a little break from my camera. I’ll try to be better with it from now on!

Carlytron and Robin’s Gaycation in Buenos Aires

So after 15 hours on 2 different flights and very little sleep, Carlytron and I arrived in the devastatingly adorable city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The travel books are right. Its like a tropical version of a European city where the very old and the very new are blended across an oddly harmonious landscape.

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Autofocus! with Tegan and Sara at MTV Studios

I really love Tegan and Sara. I love their music and I love their dynamic. Tegan & Sara interviews are hilarious. Their banter on stage is not only part of their performances, it seems to be part of their everyday dynamic as sisters and a band. So when I was offered the chance to take some stills of Tegan and Sara, I snuck in to hear two interviews first. Did not disappoint.

The last time I took pictures of these two it was 2007 and they had a large gap of time afterwards and said they were just going to go back to their hotel and relax. After they left, I kicked myself for not inviting them out but maybe it was my innate fear of being rejected by cute girls that stopped me.

This year was a bit different. As their popularity grows, my time with them at MTV Studios shrunk to a 15 second time slot where I popped off a few shots of the twins against an already set up backdrop before they were whisked away for a series of interviews and shoots that took them from 9 in the morning into the evening. They’re such busy girls now, which is great for them!

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Autofocus! Goes to Carlytron’s Hollywood Scares Halloween Costume Eleganza

So Friday, Carlytron and her gay roomies had a TV/film character-themed Halloween Party and it was awesome. The Golden Girls, Dr. Horrible, Rufio, Jem, Ashley from Top Chef and Sookie Stackhouse were among those in attendance.

As with past parties, I set up a camera with a self-timer on a tripod to allow guests to take photobooth-type images. This is a fun idea for parties and its always a big hit on The Facebook! Check out Team Autostraddle and a bunch of other lesbians, gays & allies in all our costumed glory! Recovering today, Tegan and Sara post to come!

Roger Rabbit (Carlytron) and Jessica Rabbit (Robin) mug for the camera

Alice and Keyboard Cat (Stef)

Adam Lambert (Alex) and Lady Gaga (Riese)

DJ Carlytron as Roger Rabbit