The IFGE
Conference
Conference Central
Local Hosts Welcome Letter
Costs & Registration
The Schedule
At-A-Glance Full Workshop List Thursday Friday Saturday
Evening Events
Who's Who?
Presenter Biographies
Men's Role at
IFGE 2008
Visiting Tucson
Hotel Information & Registration
Vendor, Advertiser,
& Sponsor Info Volunteer! Scholarships
Conference Photos
Link to Us
Contact Us
Conference
Conference Central
Local Hosts Welcome Letter
Costs & Registration
The Schedule
At-A-Glance Full Workshop List Thursday Friday Saturday
Evening Events
Who's Who?
Presenter Biographies
Men's Role at
IFGE 2008
Visiting Tucson
Hotel Information & Registration
Vendor, Advertiser,
& Sponsor Info Volunteer! Scholarships
Conference Photos
Link to Us
Contact Us
Pace yourself at the conference's daily workshops. Save some energy for the evening — there will be entertainment and activities worth staying (and dressing) up for!
Tuesday, April 1
No Fooling! — You wouldn't want to miss our annual Pool Party and Bathing Suit Contest with a Mexican Buffet and live music by Mariachi Serenata, an internationally recognized group that plays at a local Tucson club and travels extensively with the Tucson Gay Men's Chorus.
Wednesday, April 2
Join us at the conference Welcoming Reception provided by the hotel. Catch up with old friends or make some new ones on the night before the Conference really gets down to business.
Thursday, April 3
Thursday evening, the whole conference will be headin’ out, as we visit Old Tucson Studios, where history is captured on film and re-created for our entertainment.
Miss Kitty and her girls, and the cowboys and townspeople will greet us as we enter the studios... but be on the lookout... there are outlaws hidin' amongst the townfolk and the sheriff is sworn to find them. A good old fashioned gunfight might break out! We will be directed to the Town Square where a country-western trio will be playing and a historian is available for tours of the famous Old Tucson Studio sets “Where the Legends Walked.”
Dinner — a delicious western buffet — is in the Grand Palace and Saloon, Miss Kitty's place. She will welcome us to her establishment and introduce us to her girls and Jackson, the bartender. After dinner, we'll take a musical tour of the Old West, followed by line-dancing (with lessons) and more live music for the rest of the evening.
With the entire IFGE gathering moving from our headquarters hotel to the studio, we feel we've created an unprecedented outing that we're very excited about. It's included in the regular registration package, so come to Tucson ready to join us for a thrilling evening! (Wear your favorite western wear.) Buses leave the hotel at 6 PM and will return at 10 PM.
Friday, April 4
The Doubletree Hotel is setting up a scrumptious picnic, and singer-songwriter and Tucson local Namoli Brennet will be singing for us. This is Namoli's second time performing at the IFGE Conference; she was with us in Philadelphia in 2006.
Tucson-based Namoli Brennet has honed her craft through hundreds of performances and thousands of miles on the road. This hardworking and prolific performer has independently produced and released 5 CDs since 2002 on her own label, Girl’s Gotta Eat records. She’s toured the country many times over, making stops at the San Diego Indie Music Fest, DC Pride, Chicago’s Queer is Folk Fest, Boston’s Club Passim, and hundreds of coffee shops, clubs, festivals, colleges and house concerts. Namoli has shared the stage with Melissa Ferrick, Jill Sobule, Michelle Shocked and spoken-word artist Alix Olson.
She’s a 3-time Outmusic award nominee who’s been featured in Performing Songwriter Magazine, The Advocate and the Chicago Free Press. Her music has received airplay in Houston, LA, Philadelphia, NYC, San Francisco, Portland, New Haven, Chicago, and in Australia and France. She's intense, passionate and gifted — a performer who is as moving as she is entertaining.
Saturday, April 5
Saturday Night brings the IFGE Gala Banquet (we suggest your formal wear or best party ensemble), followed by live entertainment and dancing. The guys and gals (you sort them out!) in Tucson have put together a jam-packed extravaganza for us — featuring musician and singer Stevie Gold; performance artists Dragstar Cabaret; TransFormations, a one-woman play by Martie van der Voort; and classic rock, blues & dance music from the band Too Much Information.
Stevie Gold is a Phoenix-based singer, songwriter,
producer, arranger, and studio & touring musician. She has recorded, toured, and
performed with many well-known entertainers, including
Sister Sledge, Donna Summer, Billy Paul, Teddy
Pendergrass, The Coasters, Bernadette Peters, Denise
Williams, The Benny Goodman Orchestra, Bob Newhart,
Annie Moscow, Percy Sledge, Connie Francis, Patti Page,
Bobby Vinton, John Davidson, and many others.
Stevie is currently in the process of transitioning “on the job” as a working musician. She made her debut performance en femme in April 2007, when she shared the stage with TMI’s lead singer, Michael Woodward, at the FORGE-Forward Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Dragstar Cabaret: Formed in May of 2006, Dragstar Cabaret is a collaborative-based performance group that incorporates all facets of talent. The troupe is an eclectic mix of gender benders, fire manipulators, belly dancers, musicians, spoken word artists, and much more. Dragstar Cabaret has toured extensively in the Southwest and beyond, but is proud to call Tucson home. www.dragstarcabaret.com
IFGE 2008 is excited to present the world premiere of
TransFormations, a theatrical work-in-progress
portraying transgender stories, lives, and loves, written
and performed by Martie van der Voort, based on
interviews with transgender people and their loved ones.
Martie has been acting, singing, and songwriting for most
of her life. By day, she works as a therapist, currently at
the University of Arizona and in private practice. Martie is
a lesbian ally and is a founding volunteer with the
Alexander John Goodrum Transgender Mental Health
Advocacy Project, a project of the conference host
Wingspan’s Southern Arizona Gender Alliance (SAGA).
Too Much Information (TMI), Tucson’s notorious trans+allies band, was
named “Runner-Up - Best Cover Band” at the 2006 Tucson Area Music Awards–quite
an honor for a band that had not yet celebrated two years together. Fronted by lead
singer Michael Woodward, TMI plays the music of the "post-Boomer generation"—
70s and 80s classic rock—as well as a mix of older and newer hits. The band covers
a wide range of artists, from Traci Chapman and The Rolling Stones to Bonnie Raitt
and The B52s. They have a special knack for blues by way of Muddy Waters and Big
Mamma Thornton. Among the band’s original tunes is "Down There in New Orleans",
a soulful blues tribute to the victims and survivors of Hurricane Katrina, but they are
perhaps best known for their hard-rocking ZZ Top parody, “Cross-Dressed Man.”
Acclaimed for their rich vocal blends, TMI’s musical versatility is apparent in every set, and five of the six take the main mic from time to time. The instrument section showcases the talents of Tucson music scene veteran Bruce Blackstone (lead guitar/harmonica), as well as Jennifer Lopez on rhythm guitar; Sandra Starling on bass; Traci Payer on vocals, and KXCI-FM radio personality Susan “Susie B” Banes on drums. In addition to dozens of shows and benefit performances around Arizona, TMI headlined the 2007 Southern Comfort Conference in Atlanta, GA. Visit their Web site at www.tmi-band.com for more information.
Tuesday, April 1
No Fooling! — You wouldn't want to miss our annual Pool Party and Bathing Suit Contest with a Mexican Buffet and live music by Mariachi Serenata, an internationally recognized group that plays at a local Tucson club and travels extensively with the Tucson Gay Men's Chorus.
Wednesday, April 2
Join us at the conference Welcoming Reception provided by the hotel. Catch up with old friends or make some new ones on the night before the Conference really gets down to business.
Thursday, April 3
 Phyllis Frye calls 'em Trans-Westites! |
Miss Kitty and her girls, and the cowboys and townspeople will greet us as we enter the studios... but be on the lookout... there are outlaws hidin' amongst the townfolk and the sheriff is sworn to find them. A good old fashioned gunfight might break out! We will be directed to the Town Square where a country-western trio will be playing and a historian is available for tours of the famous Old Tucson Studio sets “Where the Legends Walked.”
Dinner — a delicious western buffet — is in the Grand Palace and Saloon, Miss Kitty's place. She will welcome us to her establishment and introduce us to her girls and Jackson, the bartender. After dinner, we'll take a musical tour of the Old West, followed by line-dancing (with lessons) and more live music for the rest of the evening.With the entire IFGE gathering moving from our headquarters hotel to the studio, we feel we've created an unprecedented outing that we're very excited about. It's included in the regular registration package, so come to Tucson ready to join us for a thrilling evening! (Wear your favorite western wear.) Buses leave the hotel at 6 PM and will return at 10 PM.
Friday, April 4
The Doubletree Hotel is setting up a scrumptious picnic, and singer-songwriter and Tucson local Namoli Brennet will be singing for us. This is Namoli's second time performing at the IFGE Conference; she was with us in Philadelphia in 2006.
Tucson-based Namoli Brennet has honed her craft through hundreds of performances and thousands of miles on the road. This hardworking and prolific performer has independently produced and released 5 CDs since 2002 on her own label, Girl’s Gotta Eat records. She’s toured the country many times over, making stops at the San Diego Indie Music Fest, DC Pride, Chicago’s Queer is Folk Fest, Boston’s Club Passim, and hundreds of coffee shops, clubs, festivals, colleges and house concerts. Namoli has shared the stage with Melissa Ferrick, Jill Sobule, Michelle Shocked and spoken-word artist Alix Olson.She’s a 3-time Outmusic award nominee who’s been featured in Performing Songwriter Magazine, The Advocate and the Chicago Free Press. Her music has received airplay in Houston, LA, Philadelphia, NYC, San Francisco, Portland, New Haven, Chicago, and in Australia and France. She's intense, passionate and gifted — a performer who is as moving as she is entertaining.
Saturday, April 5
Saturday Night brings the IFGE Gala Banquet (we suggest your formal wear or best party ensemble), followed by live entertainment and dancing. The guys and gals (you sort them out!) in Tucson have put together a jam-packed extravaganza for us — featuring musician and singer Stevie Gold; performance artists Dragstar Cabaret; TransFormations, a one-woman play by Martie van der Voort; and classic rock, blues & dance music from the band Too Much Information.
Stevie Gold is a Phoenix-based singer, songwriter,
producer, arranger, and studio & touring musician. She has recorded, toured, and
performed with many well-known entertainers, including
Sister Sledge, Donna Summer, Billy Paul, Teddy
Pendergrass, The Coasters, Bernadette Peters, Denise
Williams, The Benny Goodman Orchestra, Bob Newhart,
Annie Moscow, Percy Sledge, Connie Francis, Patti Page,
Bobby Vinton, John Davidson, and many others.Stevie is currently in the process of transitioning “on the job” as a working musician. She made her debut performance en femme in April 2007, when she shared the stage with TMI’s lead singer, Michael Woodward, at the FORGE-Forward Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Dragstar Cabaret: Formed in May of 2006, Dragstar Cabaret is a collaborative-based performance group that incorporates all facets of talent. The troupe is an eclectic mix of gender benders, fire manipulators, belly dancers, musicians, spoken word artists, and much more. Dragstar Cabaret has toured extensively in the Southwest and beyond, but is proud to call Tucson home. www.dragstarcabaret.com
IFGE 2008 is excited to present the world premiere of
TransFormations, a theatrical work-in-progress
portraying transgender stories, lives, and loves, written
and performed by Martie van der Voort, based on
interviews with transgender people and their loved ones.
Martie has been acting, singing, and songwriting for most
of her life. By day, she works as a therapist, currently at
the University of Arizona and in private practice. Martie is
a lesbian ally and is a founding volunteer with the
Alexander John Goodrum Transgender Mental Health
Advocacy Project, a project of the conference host
Wingspan’s Southern Arizona Gender Alliance (SAGA).
Too Much Information (TMI), Tucson’s notorious trans+allies band, was
named “Runner-Up - Best Cover Band” at the 2006 Tucson Area Music Awards–quite
an honor for a band that had not yet celebrated two years together. Fronted by lead
singer Michael Woodward, TMI plays the music of the "post-Boomer generation"—
70s and 80s classic rock—as well as a mix of older and newer hits. The band covers
a wide range of artists, from Traci Chapman and The Rolling Stones to Bonnie Raitt
and The B52s. They have a special knack for blues by way of Muddy Waters and Big
Mamma Thornton. Among the band’s original tunes is "Down There in New Orleans",
a soulful blues tribute to the victims and survivors of Hurricane Katrina, but they are
perhaps best known for their hard-rocking ZZ Top parody, “Cross-Dressed Man.”Acclaimed for their rich vocal blends, TMI’s musical versatility is apparent in every set, and five of the six take the main mic from time to time. The instrument section showcases the talents of Tucson music scene veteran Bruce Blackstone (lead guitar/harmonica), as well as Jennifer Lopez on rhythm guitar; Sandra Starling on bass; Traci Payer on vocals, and KXCI-FM radio personality Susan “Susie B” Banes on drums. In addition to dozens of shows and benefit performances around Arizona, TMI headlined the 2007 Southern Comfort Conference in Atlanta, GA. Visit their Web site at www.tmi-band.com for more information.