June 13, 2023 • 34 mins
Can a love revolution truly start on the dance floor? Join us as we explore this possibility with my special guest, Mr. Slade, while discussing his unique blurring of music genres and allow his aggressive fun nature to motivate you.
Throughout our conversation, we dive into Mr. Slade's electrifying, sexy blend of metal, techno, and disco. We discuss the power of music and how it can transcend differences to connect people on a deep, personal level, fostering understanding and compassion. Discover the importance of maintaining integrity in the face of differing beliefs and how Mr. Slade's music acts as an extension of his political and spiritual views.
Learn how music can have a transcendent, healing effect even in the darkest of times, and connect people with differences in beliefs.
Find Mr. Slade on Instagram
Mr. Slade's YouTube Channel
Hear his playlist on the Queer We Are Website
or
find it directly on Spotify.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Brad Shreve (00:00):
This is Queer We Are.
I like to brag.
I like all kinds of music, andI'm talking about from opera to
jazz, to hip-hop, to reggae, todubstep, to alternative.
I mean, I don't like them allequally.
I can take or leave metal, forexample, and while many people
(00:25):
won't admit it, I remember backduring the disco era when many
of us treated it like it was adisease.
Yet today we talk about itnostalgically like it's what we
lived for at the time.
There's a scene in the BluesBrothers movie where Jake and
Elwood go to a honky-tonk, andask the woman behind the bar
what kind of music do youusually have here?
(00:47):
Her answer Oh, we got bothkinds country and western.
It's a great line and a greatmovie.
But what if you want to mix itup a bit more than that?
Well, it can and has been done.
A reporter for the HollywoodDigest wrote this about my
guest, " Mr.
(01:07):
Slade took on the challenge ofcovering an iconic rock song and
he crushed it.
"The song that the article refers
to is Call Me, originally byBlondie.
His take on it?
Well, maybe it's metal, maybedisco, alternative, classic rock
(01:29):
, trance, house.
How about I tell you.
I'm not really sure what thehell to call it, but whatever it
is, he did it right And, on topof doing all that, being a
queer South Asian Canadian dude,he did it while breaking a lot
of stereotypes.
I'm Brad Shreve and I'm yourhost and I'm with my aggressive,
(01:52):
sexy and always fun guest, Mr.
Slade.
So don't go anywhere becausequeer we are.
I'm going to make Mr.
Slade hang tight for just amoment so I can ask a question
Did you hate gym class?
I know I did, but, contrary tostereotypes, not all LGBTQ kids
(02:16):
did.
Plenty of queer kids lovesports but may fear being
themselves to their teammates.
Adults too.
Founded by pro baseball playerBryan Ruby, Proud to Be in
Baseball's mission is toadvocate, educate and create
opportunity for the nextgeneration of LGBTQ baseball.
It's past time for inclusion inAmerica's pastime.
(02:39):
As part of your pride month,learn more at proud tob e inb
aseball.
org and, while you're there, howabout making a tax-deductible
donation?
Help prevent future generationsfrom experiencing the same
fears you may have had or evenhave.
Check the show notes for thelink to Proud to Be in Baseball
(03:03):
From the great white north, thecity of Toronto, Mr.
Slade, and I want to welcomeyou to Queer, we Are.
Mr. Slade (03:09):
Hello Brad, Thanks so much for having me.
Brad Shreve (03:12):
It's a pleasure to have you.
We follow each other on socialmedia.
I feel like you're an oldfriend.
Mr. Slade (03:17):
We are old friends.
Bosom buddies actually.
Brad Shreve (03:20):
Absolutely.
Back a couple of years ago youdid the cover Call Me by Blondie
, and so I'm going to ask youabout that.
But I'm going to ask thelistener this question.
The 1980 song Call Me byBlondie is about what?
There will be a few seconds tothink about it.
Mr. Slade (03:38):
There will be copyright and.
Brad Shreve (03:38):
I shouldn't tell him that.
Oh no, Now I'm going to getshut down because you did
copyright music.
Okay.
So now that you've thoughtabout it, Mr Slade, what is the
answer?
What is Call Me about?
Mr. Slade (03:52):
What is male sex workers in the 80s.
Brad Shreve (03:55):
And you know what?
I didn't know that.
And then when I read that itwas the theme song to American
Gigolo, i'm like, duh.
Mr. Slade (04:03):
Yeah, what is male?
sex workers in the 1980s.
Brad Shreve (04:08):
But you know what American Gigolo made me fall in
love with Richard Gere.
But the movie was boring ashell, So I probably purposely
tried to keep it out of my head.
Mr. Slade (04:16):
I've only seen the poster.
I figured that was enough.
Brad Shreve (04:19):
Well, i will tell you this He seemed really hot,
but he has that and maybe it'llcome back, so I probably
shouldn't say this.
He has that 70s body hot, whichis okay.
Mr. Slade (04:25):
I t's Richard Gere, it's on Richard Gere's face, so
I mean.
Brad Shreve (04:34):
I know, you know what Richard Gere gives such
good face.
Who cares?
Mr. Slade (04:37):
Who cares?
He's still super hot, he's nowa Zaddy.
Brad Shreve (04:40):
Yeah, he looks fabulous, Totally a daddy.
Well, I have been playing someof your songs throughout the
week and I want to tell you Ienjoy them.
Mr. Slade (04:47):
Thank you.
Brad Shreve (04:49):
But when every time I saw an article or something
that would describe your music,I avoided it.
Because I wanted to describe itmyself because it's really hard
to peg and I'm sure you've heardthis before.
To nail a label on it.
So I kept thinking it throughand I'm like At first I wasn't
(05:10):
sure because it sounded likemetal, but I've never been a big
fan of metal, but that's whatfirst jumped out at me, so I was
kind of surprised, because I'mlike metal and I like it.
So it definitely has a metalaspect to it, but there's kind
of some techno and some disco.
So my definition is going to bemetal, techno, disco.
Mr. Slade (05:34):
I like it.
I like it.
I too have had a hard timedescribing my music when people
ask me.
Essentially what I want to dowhen I create a music was
Personify my or take mypersonality and put it into
music.
And I think in general, i liketo go out, i like to have fun.
I'm aggressive.
I'm A total extrovert and theslightly on the borderline of
(05:56):
obnoxious, and so I kind ofwanted a music that kind of
sounded like that.
I think nowadays everyone likesa bit like.
I love AC DC, i love ABBA, ihave a Kylie Minogue tattoo on
my chest.
I think everyone lovesdifferent bits of music, and I
think it's kind of cool to justincorporate little bits of like.
Coolness or things that you likeand mush them together and
create something To getsomething that's fun and unique
(06:19):
or different.
Brad Shreve (06:20):
Well, you got that.
I'm gonna give you one wordrebellious and fun.
Mr. Slade (06:25):
Oh, i love that.
Oh, thank you, i love that.
Brad Shreve (06:29):
Okay, Mr.
Slade, i want to wish you happyPride Month.
Mr. Slade (06:38):
Happy Pride to everyone out there.
Oh geez, i think, surviving,surviving, thriving, living.
I think we live in an age wherepride means more so now that it
ever has.
I think, when the walls startclosing in, that's when our
voices need to be amplified andunified and And as strong as
possible in order to fight, youknow, in order to fight the
darkness that that tries toengulf us.
(06:58):
So pride is, i think, more sonow than ever before, the like,
such an important and integralpart of, of our community.
Brad Shreve (07:07):
That was a very quick and excellent answer, but
you said fight the darkness.
Mr. Slade (07:10):
Yeah, yeah.
Brad Shreve (07:11):
Are you fighting the darkness?
Mr. Slade (07:13):
I think we are, and here's the thing.
I look, I'm up in Canada and soour laws are different, our
culture is very different, andwe look on at the United States
in in shock, horror and sadness.
But we're so Ready to rallybehind you guys because you guys
are the, you know, a Beacon tothe world in some, in so many
(07:34):
ways, right.
You guys are beacon ofdemocracy and of enlightened
theory and enlightened thinking,and if America fails, we all
fail, and so everyone in theentire world even when I go to
the UK or into you, go to Europe.
You know we're all very proudof our own distinct country and
culture, but you know, if wecan't let America fail, we
(07:55):
cannot let the darkness and thenegativity and the anger and the
hatred and the fear That'srising above right now Overwhelm
us.
And I think you know whathappened with Roe versus Wade.
Everyone's on alert now andeveryone is like on guard,
because we know that we have toprotect our rights Not just our
rights, but our futuregenerations rights or it can be
(08:16):
taken away from us.
So it's such a pivotal pointright now and pride is supposed
to be fun and it's supposed tobe, you know, a celebration, but
I think the wonderful, you know, the only like silver lining
out of this horrible darkness iswe're all kind of getting
together now and rallying behindour Transgendered friends or
non-binary friends, everyonethat feels othered.
(08:37):
We're kind of rallying behindthem now because we understand
that what, what affects oneperson, affects all of us.
So it's it's a it's so pivotaland I think it's so important
right now.
Brad Shreve (08:48):
And thank you for saying such nice things about
the United States, because we,many of us, feel like your
downstairs trashy neighbors.
Mr. Slade (09:01):
But, like I said, again, if you guys fail, we all
fail.
I think what we're seeing inthe world right now is.
You know we all need America.
At the end of the day, you know, no offense of course, us
Canadians, and of course othercountries, we like to trash
America to some degree, you know.
I mean it's an awful, but likewe need America.
America is so important to theentire world, right and
Democracy and American freedomand American values, literally
(09:25):
light the way in so many placeswhere, where, where they don't
have that right.
So American values, i think,need to be protected, need to be
fought for as much as humanlypossible.
Brad Shreve (09:39):
Brad
deserve it.
But thanks for being in ourball court here too.
I Normally don't read guestintros that are sent to me
exactly, because usually they'revery long and then I just kind
of make them short and sweet.
Yes, it was perfect, and youknow, i said yours, your music
is rebellious and fun and AndI'm gonna read your bio verbatim
(10:02):
here, because this is all yougave me, mistakes included I.
You put a capital letter worddone belong with that's okay.
Mr. Slade (10:09):
Canadian spelling.
Brad Shreve (10:13):
All right, and then you know there are no Z's in
there, so I don't have to tryand say Zed.
So, listener, here's the biothat he sent me.
I make music that sounds likesweat beer and that feeling you
get when you're done working forthe weekend, and That's it.
That's it.
I love it, but what does thatmean?
Mr. Slade (10:34):
Um, i, to me I was one of my music beat escapism to
some degree.
I mean, here's the thing Weknow, if you're living a dreary
life or whatever and you want tofeel like you're a Rocker chick
on the back of a motorcycledriven by Rob Halford, you know
you turn on one of my songs andfor three minutes and 42 seconds
you're with that rocker chickAnd you know you're shared with
(10:54):
Meatloaf.
Love like I wanted to be kindof a fantasy of you know rock
and roll and Sexiness and funand rebelliousness.
So to me it was all aboutcreating a mood and creating a
feeling, more so than anythingelse.
And sweat and beer I mean whodoesn't love sweat and beer?
and That right before you'relike right before your shifts,
about the end for the weekend isthe sweetest half hour in the
(11:18):
entire world.
So I kind of wanted to create,put that in together and turn
that into music.
Brad Shreve (11:26):
You know those times when you and a friend or
family member are trying to findsomething on Netflix and,
instead of watching your flipflip Flip, looking for one movie
after another.
Well, sometimes your decisioncomes down to the reviews, and
the same thing happens topodcasting.
So, for those that aresearching madly for a new
podcast, help them make thedecision and leave a review for
(11:48):
Queer We Are on Apple podcast orwherever you're listening to
this show.
I Don't think I'm alone when Ithink of metal as being kind of
aggressive and maybe even angry,and I know that you're a Billy
Idol fan and other similarsingers, obviously like Blondie,
who has kind of an angry, edgyquality, but you seem edgy and,
(12:12):
as I said, you're obviously veryplayful too.
So for a closed-minded personlike me who likes boundaries and
labels and things that aresimple to understand, explain
how that aggressiveness andplayfulness are not mutually
exclusive.
Mr. Slade (12:30):
Well, i think the best kind of playfulness is
aggressive playfulness.
I think the best kind of livingyour life and the best kind of
dancing and the best kind ofenjoying your life is aggressive
.
I think I wanted to kind ofmarry both worlds.
I think my music is you know,there are essentially pop songs
with an aggressive background toit.
I kind of love the idea of liveyour life out loud aggressively
(12:52):
, love aggressively, fight forthings aggressively, enjoy your
life aggressively.
That kind of really was thekernel in terms of what I wanted
my music to sound.
So, yes, it is aggressive, butit's also at the same time, very
playful and, i hope, enjoyablein nature, because I think those
things they're not mutuallyexclusive.
I think they make perfectpartners and make perfect
(13:14):
bedfellows.
Brad Shreve (13:17):
And along those same lines, when I think of
fetish balls and sex parties,which are things I've heard of
only, of course, i think of yourmusic.
Thank you, yeah, it fits rightin.
Mr. Slade (13:31):
I'm very flattered by that.
That is a huge compliment.
Rebellious and fun and perfectfor sex parties.
You've made my day.
Brad Shreve (13:39):
Your version of Call Me has a very.
I guess I like it better thanBlondies, But I guess I
shouldn't say that They're verydifferent.
Mr. Slade (13:48):
I wouldn't even say that.
Brad Shreve (13:50):
Well, they're different.
It's really, you know, it'slike almost apples and oranges.
Yours is just a very differenttake on it.
It is very much edgier andcertainly a lot more sexy.
Mr. Slade (13:59):
Thank you, i appreciate that very much.
I'll take that.
Thank you very much.
And when I when I just I meanI'm a huge blondie fan I think
there there've been a bandthat's been able to do reggae,
disco, punk rock, quite a lot ofeverything, and so I was very
much inspired by them And Ithought Call Me such a great A -
It's about sex workers And Ireally kind of wanted to have
(14:20):
slightly seedier, darker,dirtier feel to the song, as
opposed to the, you know, thepoppy version.
Again, i love Blondie more thananything, but I kind of thought
, ooh, it'd be kind of fun toexplore a more seedier version
of it, like an undergroundnightclub with only a red light
in the back, allegedly.
So what I've heard about theseplaces from what I've heard
about these places, you knowlike one big red light and
(14:42):
everything's kind of dark andsmoky.
I kind of wanted to feel likethat allegedly Yes from what
I've heard, i liked the versionbetter.
Brad Shreve (14:50):
I like the version better and then when I read,
when I found out that the songis about sex workers, i'm like
that makes all.
It actually clicked in muchmore to me.
It seemed more appropriate.
Mr. Slade (15:01):
Thank you.
Brad Shreve (15:03):
You have that kind of sexy male voice, kind of
edginess to it.
I've mentioned labels a fewtimes And we know with labels
come stereotypes.
You're a South Asian guy, Yourparents were immigrants and
you're queer And typicallyneither of those.
(15:24):
As far as stereotypes go, thedefinition of those, you don't
think of somebody that is reallyinto metal.
Mr. Slade (15:29):
No, not at all.
Brad Shreve (15:30):
It's not typically what comes to mind.
No, no, and I love that I lovethat.
Mr. Slade (15:33):
No, no, and I love that.
I love that.
And again, i'm not trying tocalculate or think, oh, what
would be an interesting take.
It's just, i think, organically, who I am, what I listen to,
what I like, and I think theidentity politics of it is just
an addition.
It's just a nice little kind offuck you.
Here's your preconceivednotions and I want to fuck with
them, but at the same time I'llfuck with them and then let's
(15:55):
just have fun And those thingsare so important to me.
I think moving forward sociallyas a person of color, as a
person that's queer, you cantalk to people's heads, but I
think it's more important totalk to people's hearts And I
think getting together on thedance floor is the best way to
kind of breed a future or thebest way to kind of breed
(16:20):
compassion and empathy.
And I hate the word tolerance,but tolerance for lack of better
work.
So to me it was kind of likeokay, i do have a message, i do
have a stance, i do hate the waythat people that look like me
are perceived and what'sexpected of us, whether it's
from our own community or ourown culture or our own family or
our own selves.
I love idea of fucking with it,but also to like, let's do it
(16:41):
and let's have fun at the sametime.
So that was very important tome too.
So it was kind of what Irealized is all the things that
to your point, yes, you wouldn'tthink of a brown queer guy
doing metal, and all of thosethings would have been negatives
and obstacles.
But I thought, hmm, i'm goingto like, fuck around with that
and change it and make it astrength as opposed to an
obstacle.
I'm going to make those thingsmy bitch.
(17:03):
That's what I'm going to do.
I'm going to make thoseobstacles my bitch.
Brad Shreve (17:07):
There you go.
Mr. Slade (17:08):
Yes.
Brad Shreve (17:10):
So I want to find out about little Mr Slade, but
let's start with the label thing.
How was, how did that impactyou growing up?
Mr. Slade (17:19):
It impacted me in a humongous way, but the thing is,
i was like what I liked.
I was never apologetic about itAnd I think my option was
either a I like and pursue and Iwill go after what I like, or
else What is the point of living?
I have no interest in makingmy parents proud.
I know that sounds awful, butI have no interest in making
anyone else proud other thanmyself.
I learned from a very young age.
(17:40):
you know, i am the person thatI need to make proud.
I am the person that I need toimpress.
I'm the person that I want toaccomplish what I need to
accomplish for my own personalsatisfaction, which sounds a bit
selfish, but at the same time,it freed me from ever having to
depend, rely or placate anyoneelse.
So it was a challenging, bigtime.
(18:02):
But again, the option, theother alternative, was death,
not being alive.
What's the point?
What's the point of being aliveif you can't like what you like
and be proud about it?
Brad Shreve (18:15):
What about family's gay attitude?
Mr. Slade (18:18):
Um, it was, I mean, as you would expect, it was
terrible, it was awful, i mean,although now my partner and my
parents get along very, verywell.
So I mean, of course it was ajourney, and I think that's why
kind of I'm very empathetic tothe current journey that we all
have to go to And I kind of Ireally strongly believe that you
know, when compassion doesn'tstart with your head, it starts
(18:41):
with your heart, right, i think,even if you disagree with
someone, if you can get together, laugh, dance, have a couple of
pints with them, you've built aconnection through your heart,
and I think that's the only waywe can move forward.
I don't believe in policingpeople or cancelling them or
talking down to them.
I don't believe in having thisidea of having to preach to
people.
I think the best way to changepeople's hearts is is to build a
(19:05):
bridge And, of course, at theend of the day, we all kind of
want the same thing.
So to me, culturally, growingup, it was a very long journey,
a journey of kind of reachingpeople in my community, in my
family, through their heartversus their head, and then I
made them my bitch.
Brad Shreve (19:22):
You want to make everything your bitch.
That's just your attitude.
Mr. Slade (19:25):
I know right.
Brad Shreve (19:32):
Well, i don't usually get controversial
because that's not really thepoint of the show, but you said
something that made me think ofa quote that I have that you
made, and I'm not going to tellyou what the quote is because
I'm going to lead up to it.
You said you don't like thecancel culture, so I'm going to
bring up Dave Chappelle and hiscomments about trans folks.
How do you feel about him beingpeople wanting him canceled?
Mr. Slade (19:52):
Yeah, i think again, the idea is, i may not agree
with you, i may not agree withyour politics, because your
politics and your beliefs arebased on where you're from,
you're upbringing.
There's a thousand differentfactors.
In no way does that indicatewhether you're a good person or
you're a loving person.
But I bet you a hundred bucksIf I bought you a round of beers
, we went on to the dance floorand danced, we would get along
(20:13):
really well.
I think that is, in my opinion,the way we can connect.
We can.
All those other artificial,superficial layers are
insignificant and they'remutable and they can change.
But I think let's try andconnect on a personal level, on
a spiritual, social, fun level,because I think that's what's
going to bridge the gap And Ithink that's what's going to
make the world a better place is, again, you're allowed to
(20:35):
believe what you believe, yourreligious beliefs, your
religious beliefs based on whatyou were brought up on.
I'm not trying to change them,but we can connect, and I think
it's more important to find thatconnection more so than
anything else.
And so my music really was kindof like yeah, it's aggressive.
It's fun.
It's a little dirty sometimes,but it was meant to be that It
(20:56):
was meant to.
You know, it wrote a song aboutstarting a love revolution And
that, to me, was reallyimportant.
I think a love revolution canstart on the dance floor just as
well as it can in a protestmarch.
There might be more benefits,in fact, of starting a love
revolution on the dance floor,more so than anywhere else.
Brad Shreve (21:12):
You make a good point.
If I sat down with JK Rowlingright now, i would actually have
a very civil discussion.
You're right, absolutely, and Ithink we certainly need a lot
more of that.
But at the same time, had I notalready owned all the Harry
Potter movies, i wouldn't buyone.
Can't you have both?
Mr. Slade (21:30):
I think you can absolutely 100% have both,
because that's your personalintegrity.
That doesn't sit right with youbuying into something that is
going in any you know, spendingyour hard earned dollars going
towards a person that you don'tbelieve their cause.
I think that's about integrity.
But I think again, at the endof the day, if we want to have a
future where we're listening toeach other and, i think,
(21:52):
getting to a better place, ithink it's just so important
that we all listen and talk andspeak more, as opposed to
silencing.
But I also agree with you.
I think it's really importantto have integrity.
There's certain artists I willnot buy into or I will not give
attention to.
There's certain people I don'tgive attention to or buy into
because part of my integrity isI don't believe that what you're
(22:13):
producing or putting out is ofvalue in the long run.
You know, socially, consciouslyor whatnot.
So I think you absolutely canhave both.
Brad Shreve (22:23):
The reason why I ask the Dave Chappelle question
is because a quote that I readthat you made is my music is an
extension of my beliefs, bothpolitical and spiritual.
(24:03):
So speaking of dance floors, as,a kid.
Almost all of us love music.
Like there's something inherentin all cultures.
It seems that people just havea passion for music, at least
especially when they're children.
But when did you realize youhad more than the average kid,
that you just had a really deeppassion for music?
Mr. Slade (24:26):
I probably, you know, again, being, maybe the first
time I was at a gay bar.
I was 16, I should appreciateit.
I was Big Time Sensuality wasplaying And it was just this
most magical experience being ona dance floor with a bunch of
other people dancing andsweating, and whatever was
happening in the world didn'tmatter.
Whatever was happening, youknow, it brought, it was like a
(24:49):
magical, magical world And to meI thought, wow, like that's
such a special, amazing,spiritual, cosmic, metaphysical
force And if we can take thisenergy and magnify it by 1000,
we'd have world peace instantly,instantly.
If everyone just spent, youknow, remember Hands Across
America, right, i think, if wejust had like a five minute
(25:11):
dance, a global dance party, ithink, ta-da, you'd have world
peace.
Brad Shreve (25:16):
Oh, you are so gay.
And I gotta say, I was thewhole time.
You're saying that I'm like, Ohmy God, that would be awesome.
Mr. Slade (25:30):
But it wouldn't be like if everyone just like a
five minute global dance partyyou know, we'd have world peace,
in my opinion, because thatenergy of love and excitement it
just transmutes and it becomesbigger and bigger and it becomes
quantum, And that's the energyI wish you know we should all
kind of vibrate on And I thinkwe'd have peace.
(25:50):
Who cares what you believe in?
We're dancing together andwe're laughing and having fun,
Ta-da.
Brad Shreve (25:55):
I gotta tell you a story because it really connects
with what you just said.
I went through a really, reallydark time in my life, as most
people do at some point in theirlife.
It was pretty dark As that wasending and things were getting
better.
my now husband and I weredancing in the club and the song
it's not a great a song.
The video sucks.
It's Born to be Alive .
Mr. Slade (26:15):
Born to be alive.
Did you know Madonna did backof vocals for that?
Yep.
Brad Shreve (26:20):
She did.
There you go.
Do you ever see the video I didPatrick Hernandez?
He walks in circles in a cane.
I can't figure that one out,But anyway.
So we're dancing and this songcomes on and I just started
bawling Yeah, Because I'm likethat's saying, that is exactly
true.
Mr. Slade (26:36):
It's magic.
Brad Shreve (26:37):
It was.
Mr. Slade (26:40):
It's magic 1000%.
I got 100%.
Brad Shreve (26:42):
Somebody could have told me that a thousand times
and it wouldn't have made thedifference.
But hearing that, as the musicis playing, as I'm dancing and
I'm with somebody that I love it, just even if I wasn't with him
, the music just went through meand I'm like, wow, this is
really speaking to me.
Mr. Slade (26:57):
Yeah, no, 1000%.
I totally agree with you.
I totally like 1000% high fiveand you yes on that one, because
that's the magic power of music, of dancing, of drinking beer,
sweating, all that kind of stuff.
That's the magic in it And I100% agree.
I had a very similar situation.
(27:18):
I was in Berlin and this was in2021.
So this was right after thepandemic And a Kylie Minogue
song came on and I was on thedance floor and dancing, and
then I started bawling my eyesout because it was the PTSD of
COVID.
I was just like, oh my God,2020 was so horrible.
And the DJ came up to me andshe started patting my back and
she was just like, let it go,just let it out, let it out, let
(27:40):
it out.
So here I am on the middle ofthe dance floor, so I completely
, 100% get where you're comingfrom.
Brad Shreve (27:45):
As a musician, what's it feel like to have that
power?
Mr. Slade (27:49):
Amazing.
Amazing But also like again, atthe end of the day, it's not so
much about me, It's more solike how does this make other
people feel more so?
That's to me the most importantthing.
Don't really care much about,you know, how does this make me
look or whatnot, But if I cansay that, if I could make
someone for three minutes and 14seconds, if I could make
(28:10):
someone feel their most sexiest,dirtiest, coolest rocking
roll-ist, then I'm very, veryhappy.
Brad Shreve (28:17):
Is that a lot of responsibility?
Mr. Slade (28:20):
Yeah, probably yes, but again, it comes from love,
more so than anything, right?
So again, if I could share mylove of music and my love of a
perfect, sweaty, beer-infusedworld with other peoples, then
it's a pleasure.
Brad Shreve (28:35):
So what makes you successful?
Mr. Slade (28:39):
I would say what's the impression you leave.
So that to me is what I wouldmeasure my success with.
What's the impression?
Do I make people feel good?
Do my people feel horny?
Brad Shreve (28:53):
I'm biting my tongue.
Mr. Slade (28:59):
That would be the marker of my success How many
people I make horny.
Brad Shreve (29:04):
Listener, if you listen to his music, and he puts
some sexy pictures of himselfon Instagram.
I'll leave it at that.
Well, what makes you feelinspired to be your best self?
Mr. Slade (29:23):
That's it.
Brad Shreve (29:26):
I only know I'm a Libra.
Beyond that I don't knowastrology.
So you're going to have toelaborate more than that.
Mr. Slade (29:29):
I think it's just the end of the day, for me
personally, and spiritually orconsciously speaking and whatnot
my religious beliefs or whatlack of better word are, again,
how can I be a vessel of love,or how can I be a vessel of
sharing, how can be a vessel ofcompassion?
Those things to me are reallyimportant because, at the end of
the day, when you're dead,hopefully you left a great mark,
(29:51):
hopefully you left an imprintof love or inspiration or
compassion, and those things tome are far more important than
anything else.
So again, i'd like to thinkhopefully, five years from now,
i'll be a better version of me.
How I get there, i don't know,i don't care at this point, as
long as I'm kind of focused onall right, how do I become
(30:11):
better for the world?
Brad Shreve (30:12):
The variety of music that your music comes
across to me.
I'm presumed that you'd listento a lot of different types of
music growing up.
What really stood out Like ifyou had to say this was my
favorite which is always hard todo, but what would it be?
What artists did you listen tothe most?
I guess Madonna.
I've listened to a lot of Yeah.
Mr. Slade (30:33):
we've mentioned her 10 times, i think Our sponsors
of our show.
can we say hello to theirsponsors at the show You're
sponsored by Madonna, right?
Madonna, Kylie Minogue, PetShop Boys, Erasure.
I listened to a lot of thatkind of music, but I also
listened to Nirvana and ACDC, soagain, i would say a little bit
(30:53):
of everything.
I never liked the idea of okay,I like one thing, so therefore
I have to like a bunch of otherthings I'm like no, no, Led
Zepplin's awesome.
I.
love Led Zepplin.
I love Kiss.
Thank you to the Tinkles downthere.
Brad Shreve (31:07):
Well, I'm glad you got Nirvana in there.
You picked up my ears therebecause I'm a total Nirvana
fanatic.
Yeah okay, i think it's likeanything.
Well, it's like guys.
I had this discussion withsomebody recently about your
favorite type and I said youknow?
anybody that says Actually, iwas interviewed for another
podcast is what it was.
And I said anybody that saysthey don't have a type is full
(31:27):
of shit.
Mr. Slade (31:27):
Yes, that's a lie.
Brad Shreve (31:28):
Because if you're in a room, it doesn't mean that
you aren't interested in anybodyelse, but there is going to be
one that grabs your attentionmore than others.
Mr. Slade (31:37):
Absolutely.
I think same thing with types.
I have types, i have lots oftypes.
I just don't put a period at theend of what my types are,
because Exactly energy's, energySomeone's you know it can
change all the time, so whywould I limit myself by placing
a period at the end of what mytypes are, so we get 100% agree
with you And there's nothingwrong with I mean, listen, i'm
some people's types, i'm somepeople's dog food, it's A-okay,
(32:02):
like I don't think there'sanything wrong with that.
I don't think we shouldpenalize or I don't think we
should be mean to people whohave types.
Brad Shreve (32:09):
Yeah, but a lot of people flip out.
Mr. Slade (32:14):
Yes, and I think that's wrong.
Again, that's not fair.
I think that's not flip out,let's, you know, flip on, let's
find out what's going on, likewe don't need to flip out.
Brad Shreve (32:30):
And I love that you said you may be some people's
dog food because I remember, itwas a number of years ago, I was
actually at a bear bar that ismore a traditional bear bar.
That was the biggest clienteleAnd it was a bear event.
And this guy was in the cornerwho I knew He's actually my ex's
ex And we had a friendlyrelationship.
We weren't friends, we had afriendly relationship And he was
just cowering in the corner AndI'm like what's going on?
He goes, nobody wants me, i'mjust ugly And I'm like you're at
(32:50):
a bear event, you're the belleof the ball for God's sakes.
Mr. Slade (32:54):
I hope he said that too.
Brad Shreve (33:00):
I did And I said you know what?
I go to West Hollywood.
I go to West Hollywood and Idance, but I know I'm probably
not going to get hooked up,maybe, maybe.
But I'm just there to have agood time.
It doesn't mean that I'm apiece of shit.
Mr. Slade (33:14):
Absolutely, absolutely.
Brad Shreve (33:16):
It's okay if they don't like you.
Mr. Slade (33:21):
It's absolutely okay.
I think if you put weight intothe fact that people like you,
that's just going to fuck you uplater in life.
I think you just kind of haveto just be fluid with it.
It is what it is.
It's great, it's not greatWhatever, and just kind of just
do you.
Brad Shreve (33:36):
It fucks a lot of people up.
Mr. Slade (33:38):
Yes, yes And I think that's Yes.
I think, just focus on dancing.
Brad Shreve (33:42):
If we all focused on dancing, it would be much
better.
Yes, absolutely.
Mr. Slade (33:46):
Solution solved.
There you go Five minutes ofBorn to be Alive, blasting from
every city.
World to be a better place, iguarantee it.
Brad Shreve (33:54):
But before I let you go, do you make the world a
better place?
Mr. Slade (33:59):
I hope so.
I hope I make people laugh ordance, or I hope I'm Most of my
friends will say I am quite alot of fun to be around with or
I make them laugh, and that tome is really important.
Laughers again.
Laughter is another form ofmeditation in my point of view,
because you're again so caughtup in just the moment, you're
(34:20):
connected to source and yourbody is releasing this
involuntary kind of chat withGod for lack of a better word
And I think that's the bestthing.
So I would say that.
Brad Shreve (34:34):
Well, listener, in this show notes you'll see a
link to his Instagram accountwhere you can see him lots of
pictures of him laughing andhaving a good time with his
friends, in addition to his sexyposes as well, and if you go to
website queerweare.
com, i'll have a link directlyto his page.
I am going to have his Spotifyplaylist right there on the
(34:54):
website for you.
Mr. Slade (34:55):
Thank you so much.
Brad Shreve (34:56):
Go listen to it, listen to it, listen to it.
Call me.
I want folks let me know if youagree with me that it's a
better, updated version.
It's a version for today.
Mr. Slade (35:07):
I'm very glad that you said that.
I'm very flattered.
Brad Shreve (35:10):
Thank you, Mr Slade .
It's been great to have you on.
I've enjoyed the laughs.
Mr. Slade (35:14):
My pleasure, Brad.
Thank you so much for having me.
Brad Shreve (35:19):
Do yourself a favor right now.
It's quick, easy and you won'tmiss one second of the show,
whether you're on the phone oron the computer.
look at the app, where you'rehearing me now, and find the
button that says follow orsubscribe, and click it Now.
you'll be notified when a newepisode publishes and you won't
miss a single one.
This is Queer We Are.
I like to brag.
I like all kinds of music, andI'm talking about from opera to
jazz, to hip-hop, to reggae, todubstep, to alternative.
I mean, I don't like them allequally.
I can take or leave metal, forexample, and while many people
(00:25):
won't admit it, I remember backduring the disco era when many
of us treated it like it was adisease.
Yet today we talk about itnostalgically like it's what we
lived for at the time.
There's a scene in the BluesBrothers movie where Jake and
Elwood go to a honky-tonk, andask the woman behind the bar
what kind of music do youusually have here?
(00:47):
Her answer Oh, we got bothkinds country and western.
It's a great line and a greatmovie.
But what if you want to mix itup a bit more than that?
Well, it can and has been done.
A reporter for the HollywoodDigest wrote this about my
guest, " Mr.
(01:07):
Slade took on the challenge ofcovering an iconic rock song and
he crushed it.
"The song that the article refers
to is Call Me, originally byBlondie.
His take on it?
Well, maybe it's metal, maybedisco, alternative, classic rock
(01:29):
, trance, house.
How about I tell you.
I'm not really sure what thehell to call it, but whatever it
is, he did it right And, on topof doing all that, being a
queer South Asian Canadian dude,he did it while breaking a lot
of stereotypes.
I'm Brad Shreve and I'm yourhost and I'm with my aggressive,
(01:52):
sexy and always fun guest, Mr.
Slade.
So don't go anywhere becausequeer we are.
I'm going to make Mr.
Slade hang tight for just amoment so I can ask a question
Did you hate gym class?
I know I did, but, contrary tostereotypes, not all LGBTQ kids
(02:16):
did.
Plenty of queer kids lovesports but may fear being
themselves to their teammates.
Adults too.
Founded by pro baseball playerBryan Ruby, Proud to Be in
Baseball's mission is toadvocate, educate and create
opportunity for the nextgeneration of LGBTQ baseball.
It's past time for inclusion inAmerica's pastime.
(02:39):
As part of your pride month,learn more at proud tob e inb
aseball.
org and, while you're there, howabout making a tax-deductible
donation?
Help prevent future generationsfrom experiencing the same
fears you may have had or evenhave.
Check the show notes for thelink to Proud to Be in Baseball
(03:03):
From the great white north, thecity of Toronto, Mr.
Slade, and I want to welcomeyou to Queer, we Are.
Mr. Slade (03:09):
Hello Brad, Thanks so much for having me.
Brad Shreve (03:12):
It's a pleasure to have you.
We follow each other on socialmedia.
I feel like you're an oldfriend.
Mr. Slade (03:17):
We are old friends.
Bosom buddies actually.
Brad Shreve (03:20):
Absolutely.
Back a couple of years ago youdid the cover Call Me by Blondie
, and so I'm going to ask youabout that.
But I'm going to ask thelistener this question.
The 1980 song Call Me byBlondie is about what?
There will be a few seconds tothink about it.
Mr. Slade (03:38):
There will be copyright and.
Brad Shreve (03:38):
I shouldn't tell him that.
Oh no, Now I'm going to getshut down because you did
copyright music.
Okay.
So now that you've thoughtabout it, Mr Slade, what is the
answer?
What is Call Me about?
Mr. Slade (03:52):
What is male sex workers in the 80s.
Brad Shreve (03:55):
And you know what?
I didn't know that.
And then when I read that itwas the theme song to American
Gigolo, i'm like, duh.
Mr. Slade (04:03):
Yeah, what is male?
sex workers in the 1980s.
Brad Shreve (04:08):
But you know what American Gigolo made me fall in
love with Richard Gere.
But the movie was boring ashell, So I probably purposely
tried to keep it out of my head.
Mr. Slade (04:16):
I've only seen the poster.
I figured that was enough.
Brad Shreve (04:19):
Well, i will tell you this He seemed really hot,
but he has that and maybe it'llcome back, so I probably
shouldn't say this.
He has that 70s body hot, whichis okay.
Mr. Slade (04:25):
I t's Richard Gere, it's on Richard Gere's face, so
I mean.
Brad Shreve (04:34):
I know, you know what Richard Gere gives such
good face.
Who cares?
Mr. Slade (04:37):
Who cares?
He's still super hot, he's nowa Zaddy.
Brad Shreve (04:40):
Yeah, he looks fabulous, Totally a daddy.
Well, I have been playing someof your songs throughout the
week and I want to tell you Ienjoy them.
Mr. Slade (04:47):
Thank you.
Brad Shreve (04:49):
But when every time I saw an article or something
that would describe your music,I avoided it.
Because I wanted to describe itmyself because it's really hard
to peg and I'm sure you've heardthis before.
To nail a label on it.
So I kept thinking it throughand I'm like At first I wasn't
(05:10):
sure because it sounded likemetal, but I've never been a big
fan of metal, but that's whatfirst jumped out at me, so I was
kind of surprised, because I'mlike metal and I like it.
So it definitely has a metalaspect to it, but there's kind
of some techno and some disco.
So my definition is going to bemetal, techno, disco.
Mr. Slade (05:34):
I like it.
I like it.
I too have had a hard timedescribing my music when people
ask me.
Essentially what I want to dowhen I create a music was
Personify my or take mypersonality and put it into
music.
And I think in general, i liketo go out, i like to have fun.
I'm aggressive.
I'm A total extrovert and theslightly on the borderline of
(05:56):
obnoxious, and so I kind ofwanted a music that kind of
sounded like that.
I think nowadays everyone likesa bit like.
I love AC DC, i love ABBA, ihave a Kylie Minogue tattoo on
my chest.
I think everyone lovesdifferent bits of music, and I
think it's kind of cool to justincorporate little bits of like.
Coolness or things that you likeand mush them together and
create something To getsomething that's fun and unique
(06:19):
or different.
Brad Shreve (06:20):
Well, you got that.
I'm gonna give you one wordrebellious and fun.
Mr. Slade (06:25):
Oh, i love that.
Oh, thank you, i love that.
Brad Shreve (06:29):
Okay, Mr.
Slade, i want to wish you happyPride Month.
Mr. Slade (06:38):
Happy Pride to everyone out there.
Oh geez, i think, surviving,surviving, thriving, living.
I think we live in an age wherepride means more so now that it
ever has.
I think, when the walls startclosing in, that's when our
voices need to be amplified andunified and And as strong as
possible in order to fight, youknow, in order to fight the
darkness that that tries toengulf us.
(06:58):
So pride is, i think, more sonow than ever before, the like,
such an important and integralpart of, of our community.
Brad Shreve (07:07):
That was a very quick and excellent answer, but
you said fight the darkness.
Mr. Slade (07:10):
Yeah, yeah.
Brad Shreve (07:11):
Are you fighting the darkness?
Mr. Slade (07:13):
I think we are, and here's the thing.
I look, I'm up in Canada and soour laws are different, our
culture is very different, andwe look on at the United States
in in shock, horror and sadness.
But we're so Ready to rallybehind you guys because you guys
are the, you know, a Beacon tothe world in some, in so many
(07:34):
ways, right.
You guys are beacon ofdemocracy and of enlightened
theory and enlightened thinking,and if America fails, we all
fail, and so everyone in theentire world even when I go to
the UK or into you, go to Europe.
You know we're all very proudof our own distinct country and
culture, but you know, if wecan't let America fail, we
(07:55):
cannot let the darkness and thenegativity and the anger and the
hatred and the fear That'srising above right now Overwhelm
us.
And I think you know whathappened with Roe versus Wade.
Everyone's on alert now andeveryone is like on guard,
because we know that we have toprotect our rights Not just our
rights, but our futuregenerations rights or it can be
(08:16):
taken away from us.
So it's such a pivotal pointright now and pride is supposed
to be fun and it's supposed tobe, you know, a celebration, but
I think the wonderful, you know, the only like silver lining
out of this horrible darkness iswe're all kind of getting
together now and rallying behindour Transgendered friends or
non-binary friends, everyonethat feels othered.
(08:37):
We're kind of rallying behindthem now because we understand
that what, what affects oneperson, affects all of us.
So it's it's a it's so pivotaland I think it's so important
right now.
Brad Shreve (08:48):
And thank you for saying such nice things about
the United States, because we,many of us, feel like your
downstairs trashy neighbors.
Mr. Slade (09:01):
But, like I said, again, if you guys fail, we all
fail.
I think what we're seeing inthe world right now is.
You know we all need America.
At the end of the day, you know, no offense of course, us
Canadians, and of course othercountries, we like to trash
America to some degree, you know.
I mean it's an awful, but likewe need America.
America is so important to theentire world, right and
Democracy and American freedomand American values, literally
(09:25):
light the way in so many placeswhere, where, where they don't
have that right.
So American values, i think,need to be protected, need to be
fought for as much as humanlypossible.
Brad Shreve (09:39):
Brad
deserve it.
But thanks for being in ourball court here too.
I Normally don't read guestintros that are sent to me
exactly, because usually they'revery long and then I just kind
of make them short and sweet.
Yes, it was perfect, and youknow, i said yours, your music
is rebellious and fun and AndI'm gonna read your bio verbatim
(10:02):
here, because this is all yougave me, mistakes included I.
You put a capital letter worddone belong with that's okay.
Mr. Slade (10:09):
Canadian spelling.
Brad Shreve (10:13):
All right, and then you know there are no Z's in
there, so I don't have to tryand say Zed.
So, listener, here's the biothat he sent me.
I make music that sounds likesweat beer and that feeling you
get when you're done working forthe weekend, and That's it.
That's it.
I love it, but what does thatmean?
Mr. Slade (10:34):
Um, i, to me I was one of my music beat escapism to
some degree.
I mean, here's the thing Weknow, if you're living a dreary
life or whatever and you want tofeel like you're a Rocker chick
on the back of a motorcycledriven by Rob Halford, you know
you turn on one of my songs andfor three minutes and 42 seconds
you're with that rocker chickAnd you know you're shared with
(10:54):
Meatloaf.
Love like I wanted to be kindof a fantasy of you know rock
and roll and Sexiness and funand rebelliousness.
So to me it was all aboutcreating a mood and creating a
feeling, more so than anythingelse.
And sweat and beer I mean whodoesn't love sweat and beer?
and That right before you'relike right before your shifts,
about the end for the weekend isthe sweetest half hour in the
(11:18):
entire world.
So I kind of wanted to create,put that in together and turn
that into music.
Brad Shreve (11:26):
You know those times when you and a friend or
family member are trying to findsomething on Netflix and,
instead of watching your flipflip Flip, looking for one movie
after another.
Well, sometimes your decisioncomes down to the reviews, and
the same thing happens topodcasting.
So, for those that aresearching madly for a new
podcast, help them make thedecision and leave a review for
(11:48):
Queer We Are on Apple podcast orwherever you're listening to
this show.
I Don't think I'm alone when Ithink of metal as being kind of
aggressive and maybe even angry,and I know that you're a Billy
Idol fan and other similarsingers, obviously like Blondie,
who has kind of an angry, edgyquality, but you seem edgy and,
(12:12):
as I said, you're obviously veryplayful too.
So for a closed-minded personlike me who likes boundaries and
labels and things that aresimple to understand, explain
how that aggressiveness andplayfulness are not mutually
exclusive.
Mr. Slade (12:30):
Well, i think the best kind of playfulness is
aggressive playfulness.
I think the best kind of livingyour life and the best kind of
dancing and the best kind ofenjoying your life is aggressive
.
I think I wanted to kind ofmarry both worlds.
I think my music is you know,there are essentially pop songs
with an aggressive background toit.
I kind of love the idea of liveyour life out loud aggressively
(12:52):
, love aggressively, fight forthings aggressively, enjoy your
life aggressively.
That kind of really was thekernel in terms of what I wanted
my music to sound.
So, yes, it is aggressive, butit's also at the same time, very
playful and, i hope, enjoyablein nature, because I think those
things they're not mutuallyexclusive.
I think they make perfectpartners and make perfect
(13:14):
bedfellows.
Brad Shreve (13:17):
And along those same lines, when I think of
fetish balls and sex parties,which are things I've heard of
only, of course, i think of yourmusic.
Thank you, yeah, it fits rightin.
Mr. Slade (13:31):
I'm very flattered by that.
That is a huge compliment.
Rebellious and fun and perfectfor sex parties.
You've made my day.
Brad Shreve (13:39):
Your version of Call Me has a very.
I guess I like it better thanBlondies, But I guess I
shouldn't say that They're verydifferent.
Mr. Slade (13:48):
I wouldn't even say that.
Brad Shreve (13:50):
Well, they're different.
It's really, you know, it'slike almost apples and oranges.
Yours is just a very differenttake on it.
It is very much edgier andcertainly a lot more sexy.
Mr. Slade (13:59):
Thank you, i appreciate that very much.
I'll take that.
Thank you very much.
And when I when I just I meanI'm a huge blondie fan I think
there there've been a bandthat's been able to do reggae,
disco, punk rock, quite a lot ofeverything, and so I was very
much inspired by them And Ithought Call Me such a great A -
It's about sex workers And Ireally kind of wanted to have
(14:20):
slightly seedier, darker,dirtier feel to the song, as
opposed to the, you know, thepoppy version.
Again, i love Blondie more thananything, but I kind of thought
, ooh, it'd be kind of fun toexplore a more seedier version
of it, like an undergroundnightclub with only a red light
in the back, allegedly.
So what I've heard about theseplaces from what I've heard
about these places, you knowlike one big red light and
(14:42):
everything's kind of dark andsmoky.
I kind of wanted to feel likethat allegedly Yes from what
I've heard, i liked the versionbetter.
Brad Shreve (14:50):
I like the version better and then when I read,
when I found out that the songis about sex workers, i'm like
that makes all.
It actually clicked in muchmore to me.
It seemed more appropriate.
Mr. Slade (15:01):
Thank you.
Brad Shreve (15:03):
You have that kind of sexy male voice, kind of
edginess to it.
I've mentioned labels a fewtimes And we know with labels
come stereotypes.
You're a South Asian guy, Yourparents were immigrants and
you're queer And typicallyneither of those.
(15:24):
As far as stereotypes go, thedefinition of those, you don't
think of somebody that is reallyinto metal.
Mr. Slade (15:29):
No, not at all.
Brad Shreve (15:30):
It's not typically what comes to mind.
No, no, and I love that I lovethat.
Mr. Slade (15:33):
No, no, and I love that.
I love that.
And again, i'm not trying tocalculate or think, oh, what
would be an interesting take.
It's just, i think, organically, who I am, what I listen to,
what I like, and I think theidentity politics of it is just
an addition.
It's just a nice little kind offuck you.
Here's your preconceivednotions and I want to fuck with
them, but at the same time I'llfuck with them and then let's
(15:55):
just have fun And those thingsare so important to me.
I think moving forward sociallyas a person of color, as a
person that's queer, you cantalk to people's heads, but I
think it's more important totalk to people's hearts And I
think getting together on thedance floor is the best way to
kind of breed a future or thebest way to kind of breed
(16:20):
compassion and empathy.
And I hate the word tolerance,but tolerance for lack of better
work.
So to me it was kind of likeokay, i do have a message, i do
have a stance, i do hate the waythat people that look like me
are perceived and what'sexpected of us, whether it's
from our own community or ourown culture or our own family or
our own selves.
I love idea of fucking with it,but also to like, let's do it
(16:41):
and let's have fun at the sametime.
So that was very important tome too.
So it was kind of what Irealized is all the things that
to your point, yes, you wouldn'tthink of a brown queer guy
doing metal, and all of thosethings would have been negatives
and obstacles.
But I thought, hmm, i'm goingto like, fuck around with that
and change it and make it astrength as opposed to an
obstacle.
I'm going to make those thingsmy bitch.
(17:03):
That's what I'm going to do.
I'm going to make thoseobstacles my bitch.
Brad Shreve (17:07):
There you go.
Mr. Slade (17:08):
Yes.
Brad Shreve (17:10):
So I want to find out about little Mr Slade, but
let's start with the label thing.
How was, how did that impactyou growing up?
Mr. Slade (17:19):
It impacted me in a humongous way, but the thing is,
i was like what I liked.
I was never apologetic about itAnd I think my option was
either a I like and pursue and Iwill go after what I like, or
else What is the point of living?
I have no interest in makingmy parents proud.
I know that sounds awful, butI have no interest in making
anyone else proud other thanmyself.
I learned from a very young age.
(17:40):
you know, i am the person thatI need to make proud.
I am the person that I need toimpress.
I'm the person that I want toaccomplish what I need to
accomplish for my own personalsatisfaction, which sounds a bit
selfish, but at the same time,it freed me from ever having to
depend, rely or placate anyoneelse.
So it was a challenging, bigtime.
(18:02):
But again, the option, theother alternative, was death,
not being alive.
What's the point?
What's the point of being aliveif you can't like what you like
and be proud about it?
Brad Shreve (18:15):
What about family's gay attitude?
Mr. Slade (18:18):
Um, it was, I mean, as you would expect, it was
terrible, it was awful, i mean,although now my partner and my
parents get along very, verywell.
So I mean, of course it was ajourney, and I think that's why
kind of I'm very empathetic tothe current journey that we all
have to go to And I kind of Ireally strongly believe that you
know, when compassion doesn'tstart with your head, it starts
(18:41):
with your heart, right, i think,even if you disagree with
someone, if you can get together, laugh, dance, have a couple of
pints with them, you've built aconnection through your heart,
and I think that's the only waywe can move forward.
I don't believe in policingpeople or cancelling them or
talking down to them.
I don't believe in having thisidea of having to preach to
people.
I think the best way to changepeople's hearts is is to build a
(19:05):
bridge And, of course, at theend of the day, we all kind of
want the same thing.
So to me, culturally, growingup, it was a very long journey,
a journey of kind of reachingpeople in my community, in my
family, through their heartversus their head, and then I
made them my bitch.
Brad Shreve (19:22):
You want to make everything your bitch.
That's just your attitude.
Mr. Slade (19:25):
I know right.
Brad Shreve (19:32):
Well, i don't usually get controversial
because that's not really thepoint of the show, but you said
something that made me think ofa quote that I have that you
made, and I'm not going to tellyou what the quote is because
I'm going to lead up to it.
You said you don't like thecancel culture, so I'm going to
bring up Dave Chappelle and hiscomments about trans folks.
How do you feel about him beingpeople wanting him canceled?
Mr. Slade (19:52):
Yeah, i think again, the idea is, i may not agree
with you, i may not agree withyour politics, because your
politics and your beliefs arebased on where you're from,
you're upbringing.
There's a thousand differentfactors.
In no way does that indicatewhether you're a good person or
you're a loving person.
But I bet you a hundred bucksIf I bought you a round of beers
, we went on to the dance floorand danced, we would get along
(20:13):
really well.
I think that is, in my opinion,the way we can connect.
We can.
All those other artificial,superficial layers are
insignificant and they'remutable and they can change.
But I think let's try andconnect on a personal level, on
a spiritual, social, fun level,because I think that's what's
going to bridge the gap And Ithink that's what's going to
make the world a better place is, again, you're allowed to
(20:35):
believe what you believe, yourreligious beliefs, your
religious beliefs based on whatyou were brought up on.
I'm not trying to change them,but we can connect, and I think
it's more important to find thatconnection more so than
anything else.
And so my music really was kindof like yeah, it's aggressive.
It's fun.
It's a little dirty sometimes,but it was meant to be that It
(20:56):
was meant to.
You know, it wrote a song aboutstarting a love revolution And
that, to me, was reallyimportant.
I think a love revolution canstart on the dance floor just as
well as it can in a protestmarch.
There might be more benefits,in fact, of starting a love
revolution on the dance floor,more so than anywhere else.
Brad Shreve (21:12):
You make a good point.
If I sat down with JK Rowlingright now, i would actually have
a very civil discussion.
You're right, absolutely, and Ithink we certainly need a lot
more of that.
But at the same time, had I notalready owned all the Harry
Potter movies, i wouldn't buyone.
Can't you have both?
Mr. Slade (21:30):
I think you can absolutely 100% have both,
because that's your personalintegrity.
That doesn't sit right with youbuying into something that is
going in any you know, spendingyour hard earned dollars going
towards a person that you don'tbelieve their cause.
I think that's about integrity.
But I think again, at the endof the day, if we want to have a
future where we're listening toeach other and, i think,
(21:52):
getting to a better place, ithink it's just so important
that we all listen and talk andspeak more, as opposed to
silencing.
But I also agree with you.
I think it's really importantto have integrity.
There's certain artists I willnot buy into or I will not give
attention to.
There's certain people I don'tgive attention to or buy into
because part of my integrity isI don't believe that what you're
(22:13):
producing or putting out is ofvalue in the long run.
You know, socially, consciouslyor whatnot.
So I think you absolutely canhave both.
Brad Shreve (22:23):
The reason why I ask the Dave Chappelle question
is because a quote that I readthat you made is my music is an
extension of my beliefs, bothpolitical and spiritual.
(24:03):
So speaking of dance floors, as,a kid.
Almost all of us love music.
Like there's something inherentin all cultures.
It seems that people just havea passion for music, at least
especially when they're children.
But when did you realize youhad more than the average kid,
that you just had a really deeppassion for music?
Mr. Slade (24:26):
I probably, you know, again, being, maybe the first
time I was at a gay bar.
I was 16, I should appreciateit.
I was Big Time Sensuality wasplaying And it was just this
most magical experience being ona dance floor with a bunch of
other people dancing andsweating, and whatever was
happening in the world didn'tmatter.
Whatever was happening, youknow, it brought, it was like a
(24:49):
magical, magical world And to meI thought, wow, like that's
such a special, amazing,spiritual, cosmic, metaphysical
force And if we can take thisenergy and magnify it by 1000,
we'd have world peace instantly,instantly.
If everyone just spent, youknow, remember Hands Across
America, right, i think, if wejust had like a five minute
(25:11):
dance, a global dance party, ithink, ta-da, you'd have world
peace.
Brad Shreve (25:16):
Oh, you are so gay.
And I gotta say, I was thewhole time.
You're saying that I'm like, Ohmy God, that would be awesome.
Mr. Slade (25:30):
But it wouldn't be like if everyone just like a
five minute global dance partyyou know, we'd have world peace,
in my opinion, because thatenergy of love and excitement it
just transmutes and it becomesbigger and bigger and it becomes
quantum, And that's the energyI wish you know we should all
kind of vibrate on And I thinkwe'd have peace.
(25:50):
Who cares what you believe in?
We're dancing together andwe're laughing and having fun,
Ta-da.
Brad Shreve (25:55):
I gotta tell you a story because it really connects
with what you just said.
I went through a really, reallydark time in my life, as most
people do at some point in theirlife.
It was pretty dark As that wasending and things were getting
better.
my now husband and I weredancing in the club and the song
it's not a great a song.
The video sucks.
It's Born to be Alive .
Mr. Slade (26:15):
Born to be alive.
Did you know Madonna did backof vocals for that?
Yep.
Brad Shreve (26:20):
She did.
There you go.
Do you ever see the video I didPatrick Hernandez?
He walks in circles in a cane.
I can't figure that one out,But anyway.
So we're dancing and this songcomes on and I just started
bawling Yeah, Because I'm likethat's saying, that is exactly
true.
Mr. Slade (26:36):
It's magic.
Brad Shreve (26:37):
It was.
Mr. Slade (26:40):
It's magic 1000%.
I got 100%.
Brad Shreve (26:42):
Somebody could have told me that a thousand times
and it wouldn't have made thedifference.
But hearing that, as the musicis playing, as I'm dancing and
I'm with somebody that I love it, just even if I wasn't with him
, the music just went through meand I'm like, wow, this is
really speaking to me.
Mr. Slade (26:57):
Yeah, no, 1000%.
I totally agree with you.
I totally like 1000% high fiveand you yes on that one, because
that's the magic power of music, of dancing, of drinking beer,
sweating, all that kind of stuff.
That's the magic in it And I100% agree.
I had a very similar situation.
(27:18):
I was in Berlin and this was in2021.
So this was right after thepandemic And a Kylie Minogue
song came on and I was on thedance floor and dancing, and
then I started bawling my eyesout because it was the PTSD of
COVID.
I was just like, oh my God,2020 was so horrible.
And the DJ came up to me andshe started patting my back and
she was just like, let it go,just let it out, let it out, let
(27:40):
it out.
So here I am on the middle ofthe dance floor, so I completely
, 100% get where you're comingfrom.
Brad Shreve (27:45):
As a musician, what's it feel like to have that
power?
Mr. Slade (27:49):
Amazing.
Amazing But also like again, atthe end of the day, it's not so
much about me, It's more solike how does this make other
people feel more so?
That's to me the most importantthing.
Don't really care much about,you know, how does this make me
look or whatnot, But if I cansay that, if I could make
someone for three minutes and 14seconds, if I could make
(28:10):
someone feel their most sexiest,dirtiest, coolest rocking
roll-ist, then I'm very, veryhappy.
Brad Shreve (28:17):
Is that a lot of responsibility?
Mr. Slade (28:20):
Yeah, probably yes, but again, it comes from love,
more so than anything, right?
So again, if I could share mylove of music and my love of a
perfect, sweaty, beer-infusedworld with other peoples, then
it's a pleasure.
Brad Shreve (28:35):
So what makes you successful?
Mr. Slade (28:39):
I would say what's the impression you leave.
So that to me is what I wouldmeasure my success with.
What's the impression?
Do I make people feel good?
Do my people feel horny?
Brad Shreve (28:53):
I'm biting my tongue.
Mr. Slade (28:59):
That would be the marker of my success How many
people I make horny.
Brad Shreve (29:04):
Listener, if you listen to his music, and he puts
some sexy pictures of himselfon Instagram.
I'll leave it at that.
Well, what makes you feelinspired to be your best self?
Mr. Slade (29:23):
That's it.
Brad Shreve (29:26):
I only know I'm a Libra.
Beyond that I don't knowastrology.
So you're going to have toelaborate more than that.
Mr. Slade (29:29):
I think it's just the end of the day, for me
personally, and spiritually orconsciously speaking and whatnot
my religious beliefs or whatlack of better word are, again,
how can I be a vessel of love,or how can I be a vessel of
sharing, how can be a vessel ofcompassion?
Those things to me are reallyimportant because, at the end of
the day, when you're dead,hopefully you left a great mark,
(29:51):
hopefully you left an imprintof love or inspiration or
compassion, and those things tome are far more important than
anything else.
So again, i'd like to thinkhopefully, five years from now,
i'll be a better version of me.
How I get there, i don't know,i don't care at this point, as
long as I'm kind of focused onall right, how do I become
(30:11):
better for the world?
Brad Shreve (30:12):
The variety of music that your music comes
across to me.
I'm presumed that you'd listento a lot of different types of
music growing up.
What really stood out Like ifyou had to say this was my
favorite which is always hard todo, but what would it be?
What artists did you listen tothe most?
I guess Madonna.
I've listened to a lot of Yeah.
Mr. Slade (30:33):
we've mentioned her 10 times, i think Our sponsors
of our show.
can we say hello to theirsponsors at the show You're
sponsored by Madonna, right?
Madonna, Kylie Minogue, PetShop Boys, Erasure.
I listened to a lot of thatkind of music, but I also
listened to Nirvana and ACDC, soagain, i would say a little bit
(30:53):
of everything.
I never liked the idea of okay,I like one thing, so therefore
I have to like a bunch of otherthings I'm like no, no, Led
Zepplin's awesome.
I.
love Led Zepplin.
I love Kiss.
Thank you to the Tinkles downthere.
Brad Shreve (31:07):
Well, I'm glad you got Nirvana in there.
You picked up my ears therebecause I'm a total Nirvana
fanatic.
Yeah okay, i think it's likeanything.
Well, it's like guys.
I had this discussion withsomebody recently about your
favorite type and I said youknow?
anybody that says Actually, iwas interviewed for another
podcast is what it was.
And I said anybody that saysthey don't have a type is full
(31:27):
of shit.
Mr. Slade (31:27):
Yes, that's a lie.
Brad Shreve (31:28):
Because if you're in a room, it doesn't mean that
you aren't interested in anybodyelse, but there is going to be
one that grabs your attentionmore than others.
Mr. Slade (31:37):
Absolutely.
I think same thing with types.
I have types, i have lots oftypes.
I just don't put a period at theend of what my types are,
because Exactly energy's, energySomeone's you know it can
change all the time, so whywould I limit myself by placing
a period at the end of what mytypes are, so we get 100% agree
with you And there's nothingwrong with I mean, listen, i'm
some people's types, i'm somepeople's dog food, it's A-okay,
(32:02):
like I don't think there'sanything wrong with that.
I don't think we shouldpenalize or I don't think we
should be mean to people whohave types.
Brad Shreve (32:09):
Yeah, but a lot of people flip out.
Mr. Slade (32:14):
Yes, and I think that's wrong.
Again, that's not fair.
I think that's not flip out,let's, you know, flip on, let's
find out what's going on, likewe don't need to flip out.
Brad Shreve (32:30):
And I love that you said you may be some people's
dog food because I remember, itwas a number of years ago, I was
actually at a bear bar that ismore a traditional bear bar.
That was the biggest clienteleAnd it was a bear event.
And this guy was in the cornerwho I knew He's actually my ex's
ex And we had a friendlyrelationship.
We weren't friends, we had afriendly relationship And he was
just cowering in the corner AndI'm like what's going on?
He goes, nobody wants me, i'mjust ugly And I'm like you're at
(32:50):
a bear event, you're the belleof the ball for God's sakes.
Mr. Slade (32:54):
I hope he said that too.
Brad Shreve (33:00):
I did And I said you know what?
I go to West Hollywood.
I go to West Hollywood and Idance, but I know I'm probably
not going to get hooked up,maybe, maybe.
But I'm just there to have agood time.
It doesn't mean that I'm apiece of shit.
Mr. Slade (33:14):
Absolutely, absolutely.
Brad Shreve (33:16):
It's okay if they don't like you.
Mr. Slade (33:21):
It's absolutely okay.
I think if you put weight intothe fact that people like you,
that's just going to fuck you uplater in life.
I think you just kind of haveto just be fluid with it.
It is what it is.
It's great, it's not greatWhatever, and just kind of just
do you.
Brad Shreve (33:36):
It fucks a lot of people up.
Mr. Slade (33:38):
Yes, yes And I think that's Yes.
I think, just focus on dancing.
Brad Shreve (33:42):
If we all focused on dancing, it would be much
better.
Yes, absolutely.
Mr. Slade (33:46):
Solution solved.
There you go Five minutes ofBorn to be Alive, blasting from
every city.
World to be a better place, iguarantee it.
Brad Shreve (33:54):
But before I let you go, do you make the world a
better place?
Mr. Slade (33:59):
I hope so.
I hope I make people laugh ordance, or I hope I'm Most of my
friends will say I am quite alot of fun to be around with or
I make them laugh, and that tome is really important.
Laughers again.
Laughter is another form ofmeditation in my point of view,
because you're again so caughtup in just the moment, you're
(34:20):
connected to source and yourbody is releasing this
involuntary kind of chat withGod for lack of a better word
And I think that's the bestthing.
So I would say that.
Brad Shreve (34:34):
Well, listener, in this show notes you'll see a
link to his Instagram accountwhere you can see him lots of
pictures of him laughing andhaving a good time with his
friends, in addition to his sexyposes as well, and if you go to
website queerweare.
com, i'll have a link directlyto his page.
I am going to have his Spotifyplaylist right there on the
(34:54):
website for you.
Mr. Slade (34:55):
Thank you so much.
Brad Shreve (34:56):
Go listen to it, listen to it, listen to it.
Call me.
I want folks let me know if youagree with me that it's a
better, updated version.
It's a version for today.
Mr. Slade (35:07):
I'm very glad that you said that.
I'm very flattered.
Brad Shreve (35:10):
Thank you, Mr Slade .
It's been great to have you on.
I've enjoyed the laughs.
Mr. Slade (35:14):
My pleasure, Brad.
Thank you so much for having me.
Brad Shreve (35:19):
Do yourself a favor right now.
It's quick, easy and you won'tmiss one second of the show,
whether you're on the phone oron the computer.
look at the app, where you'rehearing me now, and find the
button that says follow orsubscribe, and click it Now.
you'll be notified when a newepisode publishes and you won't
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