| Transcript |
....-------free I
a austin
.vol. 3. no.1 se·ol. '1978 ,.
=--2 ___ gay austin
GAY AUSTIN is the monthly publication of
Gay Conmunity Services. The advertisements
signify that the following businesses support
the work of the organization. Patronize
these establishments and, above all
else, let the people know that you appreciate
their equal, Open-hearted support.
ADULT BOOKSTORES
All lvnerican News 2532 Guadalupe 478-0222
Stallion Bookstore 706 E. Sixth 477-0148
BARS
Austin Country
New Apartment
Private Cellar
705 Red River 472-0418
282d Rio Grande 478-0224
709 E. Sixth 477-0387
BODY AWARENESS
Safari Growth Studio 2004ls Guadalupe 472-6828
COIN SHOP
Capital Coin Company 3004 Guadalupe 472-1676
LAWYERS
Legal Clinic 501 W. Twelth 478-9332
PRINTERS
Red River Women's Press 908C w. 12th 476-0389
RESTAURANTS
Old Pecan St. Cafe 314 E. Sixth
Private Cellar 709 E. Sixth
EDITOR Kelly Kay
CONTRIBUTORS
Bob Scott Li~d
Steve Akin Art Morris
478-2491
478-9732
Greg Calvert David Morris
David Dole Harvey Neville
All1ne Hogan Carr Strong
ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE
Art Morris
OPINIONS expressed herein are those of the
writer or editor, and not necessarily those
of Gay Comnunity Services nor the advertisers.
The publication herein of any individual's
name, portrait or photograph is not an indication
of that individual's sexual orientation.
CONTRIBUTIONS and LETIERS for the October 78 ;
issue of GAY AUSTIN should be mailed or de- #
livered by September 23 to the GCS offices:
2330 Guadalupe, no.7
Austin, Tx. 78705
Torrmy Connell, GCS' new Office Coordinator
GAY AUSTIN is published by Gay Conmunity Services
of the University Y, 2330 Guadalupe, Austin, Tx.,
78705. The coordinators of GCS are:
Art Morris Gereral Coordinator
Troy Stokes Finance Coordinator
Tonmy Connell Office Coordinator,
incl. peer counseling
Speakers Bureau Coordinator
Media Coordinator
Publications Coordinator
(vacant)
Bruce Aleksander
Kelly Kay
contenls
VIEWPOINT
The Future of Gay Radical ism
by Greg Calvert ••..•.• . ....... . . 3
Everywhere at Once: violence in gay austin
by Bob .. . . .. .. . ...•....... • . •. .. 4
NEWS .•.••.. •.....•...•••. ••........ .. ...... 5
A DASH THROUGH GAY AUSTIN
A Gay Night on the Town
by Scott Lind ................... 8
~ GCS: serving gay austin for 3 years
by Art Morris •••..•.........•.. 10
A restaurant for gay austin
by Harvey Neville ..•.•.•....... 11
gay austin at play •••.•.•....••..•.••.•..• 15
FI CTI <Ji
The Enchanted Doves of Farathastan
by Steve Akin .................. 12
Classified ..•.•••...• . .......•..•. back cover
Ca 1 endar ...•...•. .• ...•••................. 16
COVER by David Dole
v~i~e:::::.J.......!w...!._fp:::::::..__:o=--:i:--=n:....=....::l:..___ _________Se ,_tpemb~!:_ 1978 GAY AUS-'-'-TIN.;..;_ _3=-
The Future of Gay Radicalism
BY GREG CALVERT
EDITORS NOTE : this article is a copy of a speech
made at the Gay Freedom Rally in Austin 's Woolridge
Park on June 24, 1978.
Today I want to address myself to the question :
Where is the gay movement at and where is i t going?
And to ask what is our relati onsh ip to other move'
ments for change in America? Then f inally, I want
to ask the question : Will there ever be a broad
movement for change that has the kind of spirit and
unity and willingness to work together that wi ll
make fundamental changes possible in this country?
Let me say that if we are to find the answers to
those questions we need to understand what happened
to that movement of the l~O's which called itself
the New Left and which seemed for almost a decade
to offer such hope for changing America before it
tore itself apart.
I want to focus on an important aspect of those
problems by telling a story :
In late 1970, after a year of watching what we
had called the movement tear itself apart, I was
living in Chicago and suffering from a very bad
depressi nn and thinking about going to work as a
psychotherapist (at least partially because .I
couldn't afford to see one). One morning I read
an article in a Chicago newspaper about a psychiatrist
in Boston who was working with Vietnam vets
who'd come home from he war an freaked out or
cracked up. And he recounted some of the stories
told by those men about their experiances in Vi etnam.
One of those stories made an indelible imprint
on my consciousness. It was the story of a GI
who had been driving a truck down highway 1 in
South Vietnam. There was an ARVN soldier along the
side of the road on crutches with one leg missing
f rom battle wounds . And this Vietnamese soldi er-th
i s"all y"-- was trying to fl ag a r i de . So the
truck stopped and they pi cked up the Vietnamese soldier
and drove on down the road. And the Vietnamese
soldier was so grateful that he reached over
with his hand and squeezed the leg of one of the
GI's 1n a gesture of thanks. And then the soldier,
the one who later cracked up and was in treatment
with the Boston psychiatrist, became enraged and
started yelling "You fucking queer" and with the
help of his buddies pitched the Vietnamese amputee
out of the truck and killed him.
WHEN I READ that story, I was overwhelmed with a
sense of grief and despair and my d~pression got
lllJCh worse. Because what that story did was trigger
a lot of feeling inside me about what it meant
to grow up in America where men were taught to be
afraid of their tenderness toward each other and
where that conditioned fear was then manipulated to
make men into obedient soldiers, willing to fiqht
and kill in wars that were not in their interest, to
maintain a system of domination and power which reassured
their shacky ego's that they were part of a
manly enterprise of which they could be proud. I
was also increasinglydepressed because I had to
face the fact that the very movement of American
young people, who struggled to stop that war and of
which I ha~ been a part and to which I had given
the best I knew how to give, had embodied many of
the same sexist values which warped the minds of
those soldiers in Vietnam---so much so that I got
trashed for being gay by both male and female com-rads
in the very organ izati on (SOS) where I had
spent several years of my l ife as a f ull -time organizer.
So much so that women left t he movement
en masse to avoid t he psychol ogi cal damage in fl i cted
by macho leade rship.
That story about the Vi etnam soldier, together with
the experience of betrayal in t he Americ an~ew Lef t ,
syllbolized for me a si tuat ion of apparent hopel essness
in whi ch the possibi l i ty of breaking out of
t he vicious cycle of what America had become seemed
completely unrealizeble. And I 'm sure that my feelings
were shared by many activists, especialy women
and gays who had suffered from both 'the casual dayto-
day sexism or the more calculated, occas ional
brutalities of that mtn'ement of the 1960's,
were also shared by many sensitive straight people.
Just as the movement of the 60's was falling apart,
two newly vitalized forces for change werebeg1nning
to emerge in a powerful way. Feminism and gay liberation
werebeg i nninq to raise in the arenas of culture
and politics ttie very issues which their predecessors
had failed to face and which challenged the
very foundations of macho dominated sexist movements .
Out of these new movements was emerging a vision of
personal, cultural, and political change that promised
a fudamentally di fferent di rection for society
and suggested the possibility of a truly holistic
poli t i cs, i nfus ed with a truly revolut ona ry culture.
THUS, JUST as the new left of the 60's was dying,
something new was being born which contained the
seeds of a vision of human liberation which could
only arise when the issues of feminism and gay freedom
were adressed.
It has taken most of t he decade of the 1970's for
us to absorb and e 1 abor ate t he impact of the transfo
nnati on. And al t hough we sometimes feel t hat too
little has been accompli shed, we need also to appreciate
the immensity ot the progress which has been
made.
Once again in 1978 there are winds of change blowing
in this country. Once again in Austin and elsewhere
people are talking together and finding ways
to work together where that hasn't been possible for
s1x or eight years. Once again, after the bankruptcy
of the Nixon conservatfves has been followed by
the impotence of the Carter liberals, Americans are
starting to ask basic questions and point to answers
that suggest fundamental solutions. What's more,
this time around we're part of it.
As we try to understand what lies ahead of us--the
challenges and the tasks--there are pitfalls we
might be wary of. In the newness of the moment, we
must go beyond the temptation to hide in new ghettos
or to erect new walls. We must not live on the comfortable
edge of the village where we were once sent
as outcast~ but make our home in the center of the
city--in the open center of public. Let us not turn
the discovery of ourselves as gay people into a
new trap.
continued on page 7
~ GAY AUSTIN September 1978
violence in gay austin
Everywhere at Once
By BOB
I'm back. Was I gone? Lots has happened here.
I have a dull, pressing pain in my head, near the top,
and a teasingsore throat. It could be the heat here,
the climate. I've been gone three months, and I'm
not used to it. But it also could be gonorrhea. I
don't know.
My tongue is not swollen. When Steve got throat gonorrhea
his tongue swelled, and he had trouble speaking.
Last I heard he was taking tablets and waiting
for the swelling to go down. His doctor told his mother
he had a staff infection. Or was it strep
throat? I can't remetd>er.
This ts a violent place. At least it seems so. It's
probably no different than any other.
In June, so I'm told, a friend of a friend of mine
had it in mind to bring s0111eone hOllle with him. This
friend of a friend, I hear, is blond and baby-faced .
I imagine him with a tan, and blue eyes, though I
can't say for sure, as I've never met him. He
lived in an apartment, alone, as of June. I don't
know where he 11ves now.
This friend, as I say, wanted someone to go home
with him, to have sex. He likes Vaseline Intensive
Care Lotion. I used to use that a lot, but I quit,
partly because I was scared of what mi~ht be in it.
Also, you can't eat it. At least I can t.
I don't know anything about the next part, so I
won't speculate. I have thought about it, but I
don't want to share my thoughts.
This friend of a friend was found stabbed 108 times.
The police say there was lotion all over the apartment
I'm told, and all over the body, particularly
in the rectal area. They asked my friend if he could
explain why that might be. They said others they had
talked with were reluctant to discuss it. My friend
didn't answer them. I don't blame him. I don't like
rhetorical questions, and I'm sure they are worse
--~~~~~~~~-- ·~·
&& ·----· · -·- 2532 Guaclalupe
''!Fo-t. //,.e acli11e man''
the 11••1 selection In. .c.u.l.u, l.t • ....
Aaywherel
coming from police officers.
All the knife holes were in his back, someone told
me. Someone else said his face was also bashed in.
I'm not sure I should believe all I'm told. Originally
I was told the guy was sta~bed only 20 times, a
la Goodbar. It may be like that irrmortal fish story,
about the big one that got away. No one ever told me
that story, but I know it. I never liked fishing.
The grandparents of this friend of a friend knew he
was homosexual. His parents didn't, at least not
until after he was murdered. I don't know how they
feel. They might have been close to him, which of
course would make a difference, but circumstances
make that seem unlikely. After all, they didn't
know he was homosexual. My parents don't know about
me, either. That says something , and then again ••
I do plan to tell them, perhaps in tile near future,
preferably before I get murdered. The odds are in
my favor, I suppose.
Still, they haven't caught whoever freaked out and
killed the friend of my friend. Work on the case has
been slow. The police have some semblance of a des- .
cription, and they have given it out to the bar owners
in town.
Last week a bartender thought he saw someone who
matched the description, and he called downtown.
Two hours later someone showed up to check it out.
I think the lead fizzled out.
My throat feel$ better. My head still hurts. I really
don't think I have gonorrhea.
About a month after the murder, one of the kid's
fonner lovers killed himself. I guess the murder
wasn't the only thing on his mind. His business
wasn't doing very well, I'm told. He had been depressed.
I didn't know him, and as far as I know
none of my friends knew him either.
The former owner of one of the local gay bars killed
himself, too. The bar hadn't been doing well at all
last spring, and just before I left (did I ever go?)
the owner closed the place down, and put it up for
sale, I guess.
They say he was under severe pressure. Something
about back taxes, I have heard.
I don't know if the bar can be sold, at least as a
bar. And of course if it does reopen there's no
guarantee it will be a gay bar. It wouldn't surprise
me in the least if it were straight. That
would leave us with four bars, three bookstores,
the baths, Pease Park, street cruising, and several
social and political organizations. Oh--and the
various and sundry tearooms situated across town, but
those don't really interest me anymore.
I don't know. Somehow moving to San Francisco just
doesn't seem to be the answer. We've lived there all
our lives anyway. Just last year, a gang jumped a
guy in a parking lot down the street, and murdered
him in the name of Anita Bryant. He was a friend of
a friend, too.
news
MCC DEDICATES BUILDING
The Metropo11tan Convnun1ty Church of Aust1n
dedicated its building 614 E. Sixth Street
August 6.
Jeff Bishop, worship coordinator for Austin's
MCC since the spring, was officially installed
as Interim Pastor of the church by the Rev. Don'
Eastman, assistant coordinator of the South Central
District of UFMCC and pastor of MCC Dallas .
THe South Central District includes congregations
in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and southern
Missouri.
The MCC Austin congregation has just completed
refurbishing and air-condit1oning the church
building.
On August 4 the congregation approved its local
by-laws and granted permission for incorporation
of its board of directors. The church's petition
for charter has also just been completed and
church members expect to be fully chartered by
October.
KTVV NIXES NBC'S 'SGT MATLOVICH' IN AUSTIN
After holding the made-for-TV movie 'Sgt. Matlovich
vs the US Air Force' ' for nearly two years since
filming was completed, NBC scheduled the show for
Aug. 21. But unless you caught it on San Antonio's
KMOL via cable, you didn't get to see the movie here
in Austin, even though local newspaper TV listings
indicated it would air at 8 p.m. Aug. 21, a Monday.
KTVV, Austin's NBC affiliate, apparently cancelled
the film at the last minute, showing instead the
~iss Texas pageant and a documentary on tornadoes.
As late as the Friday before the show was to air,
a KTVV spokesperson assured GCS that 'Sgt Matlovich'
would be shown Aug. 21 at 8 p.m. as scheduled.
So why did KTVV cancel the first television program
ever whose central theme concerned the human
and civil rights of gay Americans?
General Manager of KTVV Al Tanksley told GCS that
he made his decision to cancel the show based on
his perception of viewer interest. He said further
that at the time of the decision he did not
know that the film was based on fact nor that it
was an NBC premiere movie. Tanksley said that
NBC us~ally promotes its movies very heavily
before their first run and further that NBC almost
never premieres a movie in the middle of
August. Tanksley said that no one at the TV
station consults the gay c011111Unity or reads the
gay press and that he had been unaware of the
importance of the Matlovich case to the gay
conmunity.
Leonard Matlovich, awarded the Bronze Star,
the Purple Heart, two COflmendation medals
and a meritorious service medal as an officer
of the US Air Force during the war in
Viet Nam, was honorably d1scharged from the
Air Force in October, 1975, seven months
after having told his comnanding officer that
he is homosexual. Matlov1ch's court battle
to rejoin the A1r Force 1s still before a
US Court of Appeals.
.... ..,.;.··
Septelllber 1978 GAY AUSTIN
MCC MINISTER LICENSED TO PERFORM 'HOLY UNIONS'
The Rev. Dr. Jeff Bishop, Interim Pastor of MCC
Austin, is licensed by UFMCC to perform Holy
Unions, and lists the following requirements
for tho~e wishin9 to be united in Holy Union.
--Each party must be legally single, widowed
or divorced at the time of the union . If a
person has been previously married to a person
of the opposite sex, the divorce decree must
be fi nal. If a person has previous ly had a
Holy Union, that Holy Union must have been
offici ally dissolved under UFMCC proceedi ngs.
--The two parties must have l i ved together for
at least one year.
--The two parties must not be involved in an
' open relati onship'.
--Both parties must be regular participants
in church worship services, whether at MCC
or another church.
--Both parties must be of legal age.
--Both parties must as a couple attend three
counseling sessions with the minister with
each session spaced at approximately a two
week interval.
--The minister's honorarium is $25, which does
not include the cost for use of the church.
LESBIAN/GAY DEMOCRATS OF TEXAS HEAD TO
STATE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION IN FT. WORTH
In preparation for the semi-annual Texas
Democratic Party state convention, over
fifty gay delegates and alternates have
fonned a new organization called the
Lesbian/Gay Democrats of Texas. The caucus
may be contacted through the Texas
Gay Task Force, Box 2036, Universal City,
Tx., 78148, telephone (512) 655-3724.
5
wom€n's P~€ss
12th st austin. t€JAS 78:'03
TFWU Support ~ter
2·oolor •llk..,....n
13.00 plua tax
(~12) -476·0389
RedRiwr~'a~
UNION BUG lll1k-...d
- t~ -t-T-uirt,
varlet)' ol oolON, '4.00
plu• taa
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~~~~J-._-~~-~-~=.-..~ ..~ -. =..=.·.~.- =--=-=--·-=---~-~~---l
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HORE NEWS .••
VENEREAL DISEASE #4
Now along with the old favorites of
gonorrhea, syphillis and herpes, there is
a new disease benching sexual athletes.
Gfardfasfs, caused by the intestinal
parasite Gfardfa larnblfa, has been linked
to male homosexual activity. According to
researchers, the ailment may be contracted
following rectal intercourse with either
oral-genital or oral-rectal sex.
Symptoms to be on guard for include nausea,
abdominal cramps and fecal tumult.
NEW AUSTIN LESBIAN FEMINIST NEWSLETTER
OUR TIME HAS COME, a lesbian feminist newsletter
published once each month in Austin, provides
information and serves as a forum for the diversity
of views held by lesbians.
The newsletter is conmitted to political action
and to helping to create a real sense of the
lesbian conmunity.
Our Time Has Come will also include poetry
and short stories and other examples of
artistic and creative lesbian self-expression.
The publication is a project of the Our Time
Has Come collective, and open collective of
four lesbians. Pick up a copy at the COlllllon
Woman Bookstore or at WomenSpace.
II r HAVE LIVED AND SLEPT IN THE SAHE BED WITH ENGLISH COUNTESSES
AND PRUSSIAN BAUERINNEN (farm women) ••. NO W()llAN HAS EXCITED
PASSIONS N40NG WOMEN MORE THAN I HAVE ••. "
ANOTHER PLACE N TIME
By Amne Hogan
We roun n roun n up again
go lfckety split so fast
fn light at window
Glass twixt us n it
-- FLORENCE ltlGHTINGALE, in one of her letters
Shelves line up go lickety split
n fall the lamplight
s fighting light at window
n glass twixt it n it
go crackety pop
s tiny tongues's slivers
n 11ckety split we here again
n lickety spl ft
n lfckety split
n lickety slit
we here again go roun
THE NEW GAY RADICALISM
continued from page 3
An even greater mistake would be to assume that any
model from the past can tell us exactly what gay
freedom means in this time and place. We must be
willing to explore and discover the ever new in our
gay humanness and what treasures it holds both for
ourselves and all humankind. No one can provide
those answers for us. Neither Budd~a nor Jesus nor
Baba Ram Das--nor Marx, nor Lenin, nor Chair~an ~ao
has the final word on human growth and freedom.
Liberation is both an 1ntensely personal experience
and a social process. Those who treasure the personal
without involvement in the political sphere
run the risk of escapism. Those who talk of politics
divorced from the struggles and unfoldings of
the human heart run the risk of dogmatic irrelevance.
I feel that as gay men and lesbians we have a special
role to play in this exciting process. Not the
game of "better than." Not the arrogant role of vanguard.
But the special role that comes from the special
experience of being gay.
Change in this country is not going to be complete
without us. The human spirit will not be free until
the fear of us is overcome. And without that, human
beings will never know who they truly are--will
never finally be able to .look at themselves in the
mirror of society without fear. They will never
experience that coming home to an acceptance of
GREG CALVERT lives
in Austin and works
here as a gay psychotherapist.
He
was a long-term
activist fn the New
Left and fn 1966-67
served as National
Secretary of the
Students for a
Democratic Society.
He fs co-author with
Carol Neiman of
A Disrupted Historh:
The New left and t e
New Capitalism (published
by Random
House, 1971). He is
currently working
on a new book ,
The Politics of
Openness.
PLACE A
CLASSIFIED AD
IN GAY AUSTIN
*******
SEE BACK COVER
FOR DETAILS
...
the fullness of the h11nan experience whic~ i ncludes
the joy of the gay experi ence .
One night six years ago I was driving down Nob
Hill in San Francisco with my lover. It was our
first night in town and we saw these two guys about
sixteen years old walking down the sidewalk with
their arms around each other and looking very much
in love. Suddenly they just stopped in the middle of
the sidewalk and put their arms around each other and
1ugged and gave each other a long kiss. And I started
to cry--both for joy because it ~as so incredi)
ly beautiful and for the grief of not having had
that chance and couraQe and freedom when I was six-teen.
-
Right now I want to make up for all I missed by witnessing
something about 200 times more beautiful than
what we saw that night in San Francisco. Because I
want you each to turn and hug your brother or your
sister and give them a big kiss. Right now! Yeah,
that's right. Right now here in our hometown in Austin,
Texas. And let everybody know we've come home
to ourselves here today. And that we intend to stay,
and that we intend to be very gay.
(Editor's note: And at just that moment during the
Gay Freedom Day Rally in Wooldridge Park, we all
turned one to another, and gaity abounded. And it
was good.)
drawing by Davfd Dole
..
8 GAY AUSTIN Septenber 1978
A Gay Night
By SCOTT LINO
YOU FEEL that thirst. Something to slake it, to cool
it down. You're thirsty and restless. You want something
to do. You've finished registering for classes,
or maybe you late registered , or maybe you completed
adds and drops, or it's the first night after class
and the thought of remaining at home and attacking
that Accounting textbook makes you ..• restless.
You're gay. You wouldn't want to be any other way.
Or you're a lesbian, and no straight frat guy's going
to pull his macho power trip on you. To be like
the others, to emulate Silly Willy or Betty Baptist,
that isn't you. You have your own life to live, and
you' re determined to make 1 t good.
So you're restless. You want to 111eet people. What to
do, you ask, what to do. And the answer as if by ra-gi
c c011es to you. ·
But where, you Might ask, where?
This article is not, I assure you, some absurd Coke
conmercial. Perhaps you've heard 1t on the radio, the
Sahara Desert and all that. No, I am not some disembodied
voice trying to sell you some Coke. I do not
deal in that. Coke I am not downgrading. Far from it.
Coke certainly has its place, at parties and such.
But not here. To partake of this has little to do
with gayness or straightness . Coke ls thus consigned
to the Sahara winds.
on the
THIS ARTICLE will relate: 1) where to go and 2) what
to do once there . But first a word on Austin.
Back some years ago, sfx to be exact, I wished to
attend the exalted UT. Certain people warned me 1n
advance that all sorts of devilish evil things inhabited
that fabled land: hippie longhairs puffing
weed, dealing all sorts of drugs. Card-carryinq
communists fomenting demonstrations against Nixon
and a certain war. And most dreaded of all, monstrous
ho-mo-sexuals seducing every young innocent in sight;
these, I was told, I would have to watch out for because
they came in various disguises. I took my informants'
advice quite literally. I kept my eye out.
And like those people said, these homosexuals were
everywhere: marching to ant1-N1xon demonstrations,
advocating socialism and even smoking weed at various
locales while others stayed home and attacked
their Accounting textbooks. I discovered Barton
Springs and Hippie Hollow, and most importantly,
found out that the Pearl Street Warehouse could be
found nowhere on Pearl Street.
Times have changed. Austin's gay bars now include
the Hollywood, the Austin Country, the New Apartment,
the Private Cellar, and the Tap.
We shall take a quick journey to these bars. So, in
line with T.S. Elliot, "let us go and make our
visit. "
.. g
::
"' ~
~ • "'
,.". .0. 0
"i
The Austin Country: Inside and ... Outside
THE HOLLYWOOD
Located at 304 W. 4th St. , the Hollywood Is the
place to go, particularly ff you are a woman. It adverti
ses itself as a women 's bar, but 1f you are a
man you also are cordially welcomed. This disco bar
has plenty of room to dance and two levels of tabl~s
to sit down and talk. It has all the atmosphere and
trimmings of a rustic, down home bar with all the
urban, but tastefully subdued, modernity of l 1ghts
and effect. A good sound system drums the disco beat.
but you never feel overwhelmed, unless you wish it.
ORESS IN your denims and feel at home drinking a
longneck, juice or gin-and-tonk at the bar, before
which looms a barback-to-ceiling mirror that looks
as 1f 1t had been there since the old days. Potential
friends left and right of you. The celling ls
miles high and the spaces add to this feeling of
laid-back comfort. Take a look at photographs of
women as you enter. All you have to do ls let the
mood carry you. It'll take you to good times. Or
p 1 ay some poo 1 at the corner of the bar.
The cover charge on weekend evenings Is good, as
well, to you: 50¢ 1n these Inflationary times ls
a comforting thought. Sorry, But no Coors sold
here. Check this place out. It's on the up and up.
Sept ember 1978 GAY PUST!~
THE AUSTIN COUNTRY
The AC s till reigns as Aust in ' s most popular disco.
But 1t 's more t han that. Large and spacious it
de f i nitely ls with t hree main ar eas. One area comprises
the dance f l oor; expect t o wr ithe along with
t he ot he r s sur rounded by "sensurround sound", which
means amplified bass and big, big speakers. For your
enj oyment, check out the central bar area with brown
carpeted floors and an area of s teps at one wall
with large pillows where you can flop after you have
tired yourself out dancing. A big-screen TV lies at
one corner of the pillows ff you want di vers ion . A
large aquarium demarks its separation from the t hird
area reserved for poo 1 freaks.
When I say "pool," I don't mean a swimming pool,
though that might be a good idea for later expansion .
Being a disco freak myself, I have thought more than
once of wishing to submerge myself 1n a pool so as
to return to the dance refreshed.
IF YOU DESCENO some sta1 rs to the side of the dance
floor, you'll find yourself outside listening to the
t...1tter1ng of birds In trees . Yeah, the patio' s a
good place to cool off.
Cover charge has lately been increased to $1.00 six
nights a week (closed Monday), and $2.00 for afterhours
Friday and Saturday nights (2 - 4:00 a.m.).
Check this place out. I promise you you'll go back,
barring soneeconom1c disaster. Drag shows Thursday
evenings. Free beer Wednesday nights from 10 -
11:00 p.m. Other specials, too. Oh yes, you'll find
1t at the northeast corner of E. 7th St. and Red
River.
THE NEW APARTMENT
Call it simply The Apartment, or attach the word
"New" to 1t, and you arrive at the same place. You
can fl nd 1 t at 29th and R1 o Grande with a large, but
not always ample, parki ng lot. It looks l i ke a house
with a fence fronting it (you go 1n through the back
way) . At the red light , it's there, right across
from the Rome Inn. An eatery called the Lous 1ana
Purchase 1 ooks as 1 f 1 t were attached to the Apartment.
No cover charge, and it's open from noon to
2:00 a.m •
If you're into leather (Allstin still doesn't have a
real leather bar yet), you can find like-minded and
suitably attired people here. Overall, the dress is
casual and fits with the dominant rough- hewn wood
motif of the walls.
THE BAR HAS ample sitting space and you cannot imagine
friendlier people. The two pool tables 1n a
separate room are always hopping . In another room
sits a juke box for those who like country-western
or disco. Another room houses those who 11 ke playing
cards, though I do wonder how anybody can see
whether they're holding a three of clubs or a king
of hearts in such darkness. If you want some of
that good ol' Austin air, just move to the back
(lr should one say, the front?) patio with your
l ongneck or whatever you brought to drink.
Don't worry 1f you have trouble finding parking
space; you know what that means . You're destined
to pass your time hm! In good cheer. Cheers.
Check out happy hour 4 - 8:00 p.m. Check out
other specials too n,_rous to name.
continued on page 14
9
10 GAY AUSTIN Septent>er 1978
GCS:
serving
gay austin
for 3 years
By ART HORRIS
GCS Peer Counseling Coordinator Tomny Connell rapping with Kelly Kay
GAY COllfot.INITY SERVICES opened its doors at the
University Y in Austin on August 1, 1975.
But the organization was actually born across
the Drag as a group of UT students who called
themselves Gay People of Austin. The People moved
to 2330 Guadalupe when the University Y recognized
them as a viable group serving a previously neglected
part of the Austin connunity, and offered
office space in their headquarters above S011111ers
Drug.
A totally volunteer organization, GCS is staffed by
and for the gay people of Austin and Travis County.
Counseling and information services, available to
both telephone and walk-in inquiries, make up the
bulk of GCS' day-to-day activities.
Although some of our counselors may be professional,
they all function at GCS as non-professional peer
counselors. relying on personal experiences and
their own comnon sense in reacting to and discussing
gay people's lives and problems.
Many of those who call or come to GCS for peer counseling
are gay people in the process of caning out
who need to talk to someone in a non-judgmental
position who understands their problem.
In more complex situations, GCS operates a referral
system using psychiatrists and psy.chologists screened
by the organization so that we know they are
supportive of gay people. GCS also makes referrals
to other professionals, such as dentists, doctors
and l awyers .
FREQUENTLY, non-gay groups are interested in having
contact with gay peop.ie as a learning experience.
The GCS Speakers Bureau provides speakers to any
group requesting them. Frequent requests arrive
from UT, St. Edward's University, Southwest Texas
State University in San Marcos, Austin Community
College,Southwestern University in Georgetown and
Huston-Tillotson College. Church groups, high school
classes, and local TV and radio stations have also
called upon GCS for speakers.
Our newspaper GAY AUSTIN has been published for over
~o years, starting out as a four page mimeographed
newsletter, and gradually grow1ng 1n quality and
support. Published on newsprint for nearly a year
now, the paper has subscribers in Texas, California
and Utah.
Published mont~ly and distributed in Austin free,
Gay Austin may be found at any of our advertisers'
establishments, at GCS, in bookshops along the Drag,
and in the Austin/Travis County Collection of the
Austin Public Library.
Since its inception, GCS has sponsored a Friday
night Rap Group which meets at 8:00 p.m. in the
GC5 lounge above Somners Drug on the Drag. A good
place to meet gay people in a quiet atmosphere,
the Rap Group is open to everyone. Discussion
ranges from coming out to promiscuity, relationships,
and whatever else the group wants to talk about.
The only Austin gay organization with a permanent
telephone line, GCS acts as a clearinghouse for
information significant to other gay organizations
including the Austin Gay Political Caucus, Austin
H1.111an Rights Coalition, Austin Lesbian Feminist
Organization, UT's Lesbian/Gay Alliance, Texas
Gay Task Force, Lesbian/Gay Democrats of Texas and
Metropolitan C011111unity Church.
Pertinent infonnation is recorded on the answering
tape which is available on the phone when GCS is
closed.
Included in the Gay canmunity Services Directory
and Source Book published by the National Gay Task
Force, GCS is funded by private donations, the advertisers
of GAY AUSTIN and the United Urban Counci
1 of Austin.
GAY CO~UNITY SERVICES is open daily fran 6-10 p.m.
upstairs over Sonmers Drugstore at 2330 Guadalupe.
The phone n1.111ber is 477-6699.
September 1978 GAY AUSTIN 11
A restaurant for gay austin ____ _
By HARVEY NEVILLE
Have you ever tried to enjoy an excellent dinner at
a posh Austin restaurant with someone whom you are
really close to (or want to be) when suddenly your
stomach starts feeling queasy? It's a conmon feeling.
You have realized that your wait-person is rushing
you through the meal, and that most of the people
around you seem to be feasting their homophobic
eyes on the two of you rather than minding their
own business.
Want relief?
GO DCMN to the Private Cellar Restaur1nt on E. 6th
St tonight (unless it's Monday) and enjoy the good
C0111Pany, low prices and generally well prepared food.
The PC restaurant is brought to you by the same folks
who run the popular bar by the same name (which is
adjacent to the eatery).
The restaurant has given new life to the old building
which the Waller Creek Catering Co. vacated a
year ago. Diners can take in the sidewalk sights
marching by on Sixth Street through beautiful glass
doors. The dark hardwood floors, brick walls and
softly lighted interior work together to produce a
romantic mood. You can also enjoy dinner with a
view on the back balcony which overlooks the patio
behind the PC bar.
GEORGE, the proprietor, opened h1s restaurant on
Aug. 4, and says that business has been good. So
good, in fact, that the dining hours are about to be
expanded from 7 until 11:00 p.m., to 5 until midnight.
The PC restaurant is also open afterhours on
Fridays and Saturdays until 4:00 a.m.
Entrees range from Chef's Salad ($2.95) to
Chateaubriand (for two) at $12.50. The variety of
dishes and their prices compare favorably with the
selection of many equally (or more) expensive restaurants.
You can depend on four standard entrees whatever day
you go. In addition to the Chef's Salad and the
Chateaubriand, there's Shrimp Scampi ($5.95) and
Roast Pork.
00 c:
.0.. u
llJ ........ tJ
The Balcony at the Pr1¥ate Cellar Restaurant
Chef Howard also prepares three specials daily, and
the diner may be offered anything from a large portion
of Crab Newburg ($3.95), to Chicken Fried
Steak.
MOST SERVINGS are moderately sized and are accompaniea
by a soup and salad. Unfortunately, the vegetables
taste as if they were an afterthought, or at
least forgotten while everything else cooked.
The Private Cellar restaurant provides a long-awaited
service for Austin's gay C011111unity. The food itself
might actually take third place to the concept of a
gay restaurant, and to the warm4 comfortable atmosphere
which has been established at PC's eatery.
12 •' AUSTIN Sept!lll!r lt78
v ~~~
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September 1978 GAY AUSTIN 13
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····-··-------
-
14 GAY AUSTIN Septenber 1978
A GAY NIGHT ON THE TOWN
continued from page 9
The Private Cellar Restaurant
Familiarity breeds carelessness
but we are careful with each other
tonight in strangenoiays.
If you knew me better you
might be hurt by my care of a stranger
But tonight you are the stranger
just as my lover was once a stranger.
-- Arrrne Hogan
THE PRIVATE CELLAR
What can one say of the PC but "Wow .••• " one has to
say more than that, certainly, but go down there
any day at 2:00 p.m. and you'll know exactly what I
mean. The cut, frosted glass at the bottom of the
stairs prefigures the allure of the place. The PC's
right across from the Stallion bookstore, so you can
hardly miss it. It's at 709 E. 6th St., one-half
block west of IH 35.
The bar is both cozy and spacious, a remarkable combination.
Lots of attractive wood tones and windows
looking out upon the patio above Waller Creek.
Outside, tables among the banana trees provide added
comfort. After having done a look-around there, come
back in and watch people playing pool at either pool
table. Sip a nice cool drink and get a glimpse of
Paul Lynd's signed photograph over the bar.
HAPPY HOUR perpetually from 2 - 7:00 p.m. Free beers
Wednesdays at 10 (remember when Wednesdays were
spent listening to Brother Joe T. "Howdy" pray for
the damned inside the Big Tent?), and incredibly low
10¢ draft on the pat1o Monday nights. If you get hot
sipping the brew out there, just sidle inside and
catch the cool air.
Check this place out. Check other added inducements.
Sunday at 7:00 p.m. is after-Hippie Hollow hours at
the PC with free beer and hot dogs.
George, the proprietor, has also opened a restaurant
next door, and serves dinner daily 5 o.m. til midnight
{closed Monday), and a brunch on Sunday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
The PC restaurant is open afterhours (midnight til
4:00 a.m.) on Fridays and Saturdays. Sounds pretty
good, if you know what I mean. Just the right atmosphere
to enjoy the r~ght food. ·
THE TAP
The Tap? Where's that? I confess that I have yet to
traverse that place, but I hear it's an extremely
cozy bar with all types of interesting people. Rumour
has it of drag shows Wednesday nights. It's in
the same block as the Greenhouse at W. 36th St. and
Guadalupe. This has to be "mystery locale" number
one. It's time we checked it out.
Meanwhile, have a good time, and enjoy while you
have the energy to do so. Two for the road, and all
that.
CAPITAL
COIN
COMPANY
3004 GUADALUPE 472-1676
AN EXTENSIVE COLLECTION OF corns AND CURlfNCY
ffiLD JE\f:LRY Ff{)M All OVER THE vDRLD
ALSO BUYING ANTIQUES AND ALL GOLD
2CJk DISCOUNT ON GOLD JEWELRY AND COIN SUPPLIES
WITH THIS AD.
;;
,I
WHETHER YOU'RE a once-a-week jogger, an all-around
jock or a professional cruiser, Austin is
the place to be.
Hike and bike trails almost completely encircle
Town Lake (the Colorado River) from South Riverside's
"Apartment City" all the way to Zilker
Park. One path leads from Westerfield Park (at
Enfield and Mopac) south along Mopac to the
river. ·
For shadier, more cruisy running, head for Pease
Park, the verdant 14-block strip fed by Shoal
Creek j ust west of Lamar Blvd. be tween 15th and
29th Streets. Long the outdoor headquarters of
gay Austin, illicit activity in the bushes has
cut down ince the City of Austin cleared out the
underbrush a few years ago.
Few swimming holes are as beautiful as Zilker
Park's gigantic, spring-fed Barton Springs Pool.
Women may swim topless here, and many of the
straight men now sport bikinis.
Although at Barton Springs only 176 lenghts equals
the English Channel, serious lap swinwners stroke
away at Deep Eddy Pool. off Lake Austin Blvd. a
couple of blocks west of Mopac. Deep Eddy is also
a spring-fed pool.
Naturalists spend hot days sunning at Hippie Hollow
on Lake Travis, where nudity is the accepted convention.
Gay C011111unity Services sponsors volleyball every
Sunday at 5 p.m. in Ramsey Park (at 44th St. and
Burnet Rd.). The Private Cellar provides free beer
every second and fourth Sunday of the month.
And just fonned is the Capital City Athletic Club,
a group of gay sports enthusiasts which plans to
challenge other gay athletic clubs around the state
in baseball, swimming, and field sports. Call GCS
at 477-6699 for information on joining.
WOMEN/SPACE Is a counseling and information
center lor the women of Austin. It provides
a variety of services for women such as
walk-in counseling, legal and medical and birthcon
trol information, and information about
community resources. WOMEN/SPACE also
coordinates rap grouPs and consciousness-raising
groups. Phone 472.3053.
•
September 1978 GAY AUSTIN 15
Running in Pease Park
gay
austin
at
play
Playing volleyball with Gay C011111unity Services
LE
at
GAL SERVICES
reasonable fees
The Legal Ciinlc c harges $15 for your initial cc:insultatoon s es -
y . There Is no time limit . If you went or need
- will aupply you with e written fee quot•sh
to go on with• case alter conaultetion
ther Obllgatlon.
aion with an attorne
addltlonal se r v ices
tlon , If you don't wl
you ar• under no fur
o UNCONTESTED 01 VORCE (NO PROPERTY OR CHILDREN) S 90
o UNCONTESTED 01V ORCE (WITH PROPERTY OR CHILORENI 150
I UNCONTESTED 01\IOllCE (WITH PllOPERTY &. CHILDREN) 175
•NAME CHANGE
•BANKRUPTCY, INOI VI DUAL
•BANKRUPTCY. HUS BAND ANO WIFE
o SIMPLE WILL, INOIV I DUAL
•SIMPLE WILLS, HU SBANO AND WIFE
45
225
275
40
80
The legal f-• q
f- are for casea fl
uoted above do not Include court coats. nled
in Travis county betw-n June 1, 1978 and
Sept•mber I, 1978. F -s for legal work outside of Travi • County
wlll be higher. The L
clvll cases not llat
eg•I Cllnie also accept• criminal cases and
ed above. Pie•- call for an appoint,,_,i, No
legal advice will b e given over the telephone.
Hours: 9 :00 5 :0 O weekdays. Y\oleekend• and evenings~ appolntment.
Legal Cl
Vlvlan Mahlab \
inic at 501 W. 12th St.
Au stin, Texu 78701
512-478-9332.~~-----J..J
-
•. I
16 GAY AUSTIN September 1978
weeklJ----
MONDAYSATURDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SUNDAY
Happy Hour at the New Apartment,
4:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
Lambda AA, 209 West 27th, 8:00p.m.
Free beer, the New Apartment
Lesbian rap group (open),
Womenspace, 7:30 p.m.
Showtime, Austin, Country,
10:30 p.m.
Womenspace programs with discussion;
coffee at 7:00 p.m.,
speakers at 8:00 p.m.; see weekly
Rap group, Gay Community Services
(open), 8:00 p.m.
Happy Hour at the New Apartment,
noon-.8:00 p.m.
Volleyball sponsored by GCS,
Ramsey'Park, West 44th at Rosedal~,
~:~O p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Free
keg of:b~er every second and
fourth Sunday (donated by the
Private Cellar). Come on out!
After Hippy Hollow Hour, free
beer and hot dogs, 7:00 p.m.,
Private Cellar.
Metropolitan Community Church
services, noon and 7:30 p.m.,
614 East 6th.
French Cuisin~. Courtyard, & Bar.
calendar
15 -WomenSpace: Depression and Women, Jan Wetzel of
the UT School of Social Work. 2330 Guadalupe, 8pm.
15 -Democratic Party State Convention, Ft. Worth.
16 -Democratic Convention continues.
17 -Texas Gay Task Force meets in Ft. Worth. Call (512)
655-3724 for details.
-'Sebastiane' and 'A Very Natural Thing' screened
at the Varsity Theatre, Guadalupe at 24th St.
18 -Films at Varsity Theatre (see above).
20 -GCS monthly meeting. Officers to be elected.
2330 Guadalupe, 8pm.
22 -Free VD Clinic for men and women. Club Austin,
308 W. Sixteenth St., lOpm-midnight. Sponsored
by GCS, Texas Dept. of Health Resources, Private
Cellar and Club Austin.
-WomenSpace: Running in Austin, Kay Hart of Austin
Runners Club. 2330 Guadalupe, 8pm.
23 -Deadline for contributions to GAY AUSTIN.
29 -WomenSpace: Nutrition and the Politics of Food,
Lynn Hayden of the Comnunity Nutrition Institute.
2330 Guadalupe, 8pm.
mmwe1
1881ST8D
706L6111Streel
A.U .l.!N llTIX. TBXAS
Learn about our unique collection of lotions,
oils, uibrators, incense, sponges, loofahs, and
creams. Grow through an assortment of books
on sexual enrichment, body awareness,
and massage.
..... .... _ Customer Parking at
~ .......... -... 22nd&: San Antonio
________3 _1_,_E_mr 6_ 1h_ St _._ _____- -.J _.... .. ,.....=~-== _, ·-- ·~· ,._,._ .... m-A Open 8 a.m. until 2 at night.
• c
IN reaches a very special audience which other Austin newspapers just
To mp aJtOcUh . cOllMl'ltcate with the gay cQllll.ln1ty, we will include a Classified
sect on in fnure issues. As an additional service, you can retna1n anonymous
and we wtll ass1tn a Box number to your ad, notifying you of all responses.
All ads llUSt be submitted and patd for by the publication deadline for the
iuue tn which you want your ad to appear.
ock Io WneOU: LD LIKE TO PLACE A WORD
MR CLASSIFIED IN THE ----ISSUE
OF GAY AUSTIN. $3.00 FOR 20 WORDS,
lot EACH ADDITIONAL WORD.
ws
D I WOULD LIKE TO PLACE AN ANONYMOUS
CITY ZIP WORD CLASSIFIED IN THE
ISSUE OF GAY AUSTIN. GCS WILL KEEP
~ NAME CONFIDENTIAL ANC' ~OTIFY ME
TECEPHONE OF ALL RESPONSES. $4.00 FOR 20
WORDS, 154 EACH ADDITIONAL WORD.
a.ASSIFIED:
I I ., _J I I
1 2 4 5
I I I I 10
I
6 7 8 i 9
I I !3
I J 15
I
11 iz 14
I I I I I
16 17 18 19 20
Additional words:
MAIL THIS FORM TO: GAY COMMUNITY SERVICES (Classifieds), 2330 Guadalupe,
Austin, Tx. 78705; or drop it off at the GCS office
'9tween 6:00 and 10:00 p.m. daily.
|
