Love/Hate Mail

Kay West did a great job with the Gerry House “Best Radio DJ” writer’s choice last week (“Best of Nashville,” Oct. 2). She got it exactly right.

Mike Bohan, 98/WSIX

MikeBohan98@hotmail.com (Nashville)

Gay and country before it was cool

I’m writing to you about your article on gay country music singers, which I read with great interest and some amusement (“Gay, Proud and Country,” Sept. 25). It’s fascinating to hear people speculating about what it’s like to be an openly gay country singer, as though this has never been done before. Actually it has. I know, because I’m one of the handful of singers who laid the groundwork for this.

Country music has always been immensely popular in the gay community. As early as the 1980s, there were two full-time professional acts working the gay country circuit. In the 1990s, there were four, and I was among them. I toured full-time for 13 years, covering 45 states, Canada and Australia. In 1993, a major radio executive approached me about moving here. I did and was given access to many influential contacts and established artists. Over and over, I heard, “You have great talent, but you won’t get anywhere unless you play the 'game.’ ” I couldn’t do that, although many others have. I came here to make music, not lies.

What’s it like to be an openly gay country star? It includes having your tires spiked in Ft. Collins, getting picketed by Rev. Fred Phelps in Topeka and having your horse mysteriously killed in Nashville four days after The Tennessean did an article about minorities in country music. Then there’s not talking to my parents for 10 years because they didn’t want me bringing “my kind” around. On the flip side, I’ve gotten to see every inch of this great country and met so many incredible people who supported me with a meal, a place to stay and words of encouragement for being who I am. I truly hope that the boys of American Pride don’t lose focus on personal pride.

Jeff Miller

JohnDeereDiva@aol.com (Nashville)

Weare scared

It’s a sad day when even the thought of an openly gay country singer is seriously discussed (“Gay, Proud and Country,” Sept. 25). I know that the term “bigot” is applied to anyone like myself who is a conservative Christian and opposes the aggressive homosexual agenda. I’ve worked several times with the gay country music poster boy Brian Glenn. He’s an amazing talent. It’s sad that he feels the only way he’s going to get a record deal is to sink to this level. I know most of us in the circle of so-called “good ol’ boys” will never consider working with him again. This decision is not based on homophobia or hatred. Most of us have known he’s gay for a long time, and we think he’s a great guy. His sexual orientation wasn’t discussed, and it wasn’t important. This is a decision based on what’s right and wrong. I miss what country music was and what it stood for. It’s gotten off track lately, and if Mr. Dvoskin has his way he’ll take it straight to hell. I think there are many folks who feel the same way I do, and we need to have no fear in expressing those views. I ain’t scared.

J.D. Myers

twangit44@comcast.net (Nashville)

Touché

Judging by her letter to the editor last week, Lisa Dale needs a reality check. The Bible speaks against homosexuals, but also against judging and speaking for God. She has no idea what a good and loving God is, because she’s concerned with God as punishment, God as a threat. She claims that she knows what “true Christians” are, yet she judges, dismisses and ridicules.

I’ll show you the gay gene if you’ll show me the hetero gene. No one should speak for God, because no one knows what God thinks. The Bible is a book written by fallible men in archaic times that you use as a reason to hate. Use your head and ideas instead of other people’s. Separation of church and state is there for a reason. Everyone should have equal rights. Your husband seems to confuse special and equal, so help him with that. And if you’re such a “strong Southern Baptist,” act like one: Shut up and obey your husband and stay in the background, like the Bible says.

Bobby Milford

b@bobbysplace.com (Portland, Tenn.)

For Lisa

Lisa Dale’s apparent hatred and contempt for gay people (“In the animal world, they’re generally killed off”) is, according to the Bible I know, “a sin no worse or less than murder.” I can’t imagine how any intellectual discussion with regard to gay statistics would ever turn to the Catholic Church as a resource for accurate or non-biased information. If I were Dale’s archaeologist/anthropologist father, I would be embarrassed by her reckless and absurd references.