Who: Brian Grillo
Then: Howled lead vocals in his LA punk band, Extra Fancy.
Now: Touring for his September 2004 solo album, Stomping Back on Fire. Go to www.spitshinerecords.com for a listen.
Quote: “‘Sustiva’ is my favorite song on the new album. I wrote it after the first night I had to take it. I felt like I was coming off a bad acid trip.”
Who: Alexandra Billings
Then: Won rave reviews opposite Greg Louganis in a 1999 production of Larry Kramer’s anti-Reagan farce Just Say No.
Now: Starring in Diva Diaries, a musical about drag queens, and will appear on ER and the made-for-TV version of Romy and Michele.
Quote: “On ER, everyone was so nice and down-to-earth, I almost forgot I was on an Emmy Award–winning TV show.”
Who: Shawn Decker
Then: Started a witty Web diary (www.mypetvirus.com), a POZ column and a synth-pop band, Synthetic Division.
Now: Plans to publish his HIV and hemophilia memoir, tentatively titled My Pet Virus, crammed with raucous anecdotes and tips on how to live positively.
Quote: “Writing my memoirs was about discovering how I went from someone who wouldn’t speak about being HIV positive to someone who won’t shut up.”
Who: Sharon Sopher
Then: Wrote, produced and directed the Emmy Award–winning and Oscar-nominated PBS film Witness to Apartheid.
Now: A cross-country road trip in her HIV-info-packed bus, the Goddessmobile, to show her documentary HIV Goddesses: Stories of Courage—Diary of a Filmmaker.
Quote: “Going cross-country with my film, my message is going to be: Do you know where his wiener has been? If not, then you better be damn careful.”
Who: Bill T. Jones
Then: Choreographed the controversial 1994 death-defying dance classic Still/Here.
Now: A June solo show at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and a new work titled Blind Date, also in June, at New York’s Aaron Davis Hall.
Quote: “My [dance] influences come from varied places—HIV is just one more. It also casts a particular light on any success I have.”
Who: Mark Weigle
Then: Queerifed ’80s classics on his album Different and the Same, like morphing “867-5309”’s Jenny into Jimmy.
Now: The February release of his double CD, Soulsex. One disc focuses on being gay; the other is all about s-e-x. Find out more at www.markweigle.com.
Quote: “The LA Gay Men’s Chorus plans to perform my songs, and LOGO, the new gay channel, may feature my music in a film. It’s going to be a banner year.”
Who: Barton Benes
Then: Shredded money, splattered blood and sculpted cremains in earlier artworks, which appeared in his 2002 book, Curiosa.
Now: Upcoming gallery shows of multicolor found goodies, meticulously classified and encased, at the Lennon Weinberg Gallery in New York City and Europe.
Quote: “I think the reason I am using colors now is because I am happy. I have a boyfriend.”
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