You see… I’m a big, big fan of underground, indie, queer-made music – and the struggles for visibility and good exposure for indie music and indie porn, especially in the queer world, are hard, and it’s a very similar world working in both. I’ve been in four bands, including a solo project and a band with my wife. I’ve been on tour five times with Nomy Lamm, Nicky Click, Jenna Riot, and my wife’s old band Forever – it’s a lot like travelling to different places to shoot Roulette.

The music in Roulette, Roulette Dirty South, and Roulette Berlin all really reflect that travelling road show kind of feeling. Sleeping on your friend’s floor, crashing at a lover’s house after the show, leaving your favorite peice of clothing somewhere on the road, sweat dripping down your tits on the road to the next city.
Here is the soundtrack playlist for the original Roulette, and bios for all the bands included on the sountrack.

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Erase Errata Erase Errata are a band from San Francisco, California. Their music draws inspiration from experimentalists such as Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band, The Fall, and disco-influenced post-punk. Since forming in 1999, the band has released several albums as well as a number split singles with various other bands including Black Dice, The Need, Numbers and Sonic Youth. Erase Errata means Erase Errors (“errata” in latin is a plural neuter participle from the verb “erro”). The band consists of Bianca Sparta (drums), Ellie Erickson (bass), and Jenny Hoyston (guitar, trumpet, vocals). Sara Jaffe left the band prior to the recording of current album ‘Nightlife’.
Katastrophe katastrophe (aka rocco kayiatos) is an up-and-coming, genre-busting, emo-hop mc, whose stunning lyrical skills merge with beats that slide from slick to raw to solid to eccentric, creating a sonic otherworld that snags you in a dance-trance while teasing your head with rhymes that snap, pop and educate. with a background of slam poetry, (katastrophe was a featured youth slam performer in the acclaimed documentary poetic license), katastrophe’s mc delivery veers from clever machine gun rat-a-tat to hypnotic emotional rhythm, and on his heavily anticipated second release, fault, lies, and faultlines, explores new melody.
Scream Club Over the last few years, Cindy Wonderful and Sarah Adorable have been slowly taking the world by storm. These two have songs to touch every inch of your heart, and all the right places on your body. Having influences from literally every music genre and a love for pop music is evident in their sound, and you can’t help but have fun as you watch them on stage. With three European tours and numerous U.S. tours under their belt, Scream Club have developed a cult-like following around the world.
the Younger Lovers Brontez, the sole composer of the Younger Lovers, is better knows as Junx from the Bay Area super band, Gravy Train!!! Don’t expect electro club bangers from this project though, Brontez brings a beloved mix of Northern Soul and garage rock to these songs, with lyrics you wouldn’t expect to see out of a boy who’se usualy dancing naked with Gravy Train!!! across the country.
Cottages Cottages is one of those bands you wish you had heard while they were still playing shows. A little punk, a little surf, a little new wave and noise, Cottages doesn’t really sound like your average “queer band.” Why? Because they don’t believe in “queer” music – they just believe in making great sounds no matter who ya are.
Stephen Stienbrink & French Quarter “Pudgy” – Benjamin Leatherman, Phoenix New Times, August 2007 Hello. My name is Stephen Steinbrink, and this is a my biography typed in the first person. Thank you for reading. I was born to my mother, father, brother, and eventually my two sisters on May 1st, 1988 in Phoenix, AZ. Later, I grew up and with the help of the punk and diy community in the phoenix metro area, I learned how to write songs and put out tapes and records and cd-r’s and tour constantly and play shows everywhere with everyone. This “band” or “performance project” or “scam” used to be called French Quarter, but now it is called stephen steinbrink, which is also my name. I feel more comfortable with this. Sorry for the confusion. Anyway, listen to my records, or don’t, or whatever. Thank you eternally for the moments that have been shared, or will be shared.
the Divine Feud the Divine Feud was Courtney Trouble (owner of NoFauxxx.Com and the director of Roulette, if you didn’t catch that already) plus Marissa Magic and Kandis–three girls with a dynamic obsession with free drinks, loud speakers, and hating male sound techs.
Delta Dart Formed in 1999 in Los Angeles, CA, this long-distance trio called Olympia, WA and California home. Delta Dart was comprised of Sissy Chrome, Amber Bayer, and Erin McCarley. Using acoustic and electric guitars, bass, casio, turntables and vocals they created heartwrenching songs

Here are some photos from my upcoming film, Roulette: Dirty South.

Photo by Carlos Batts

Photo by Carlos Batts

Pleasurists is a round-up of the adult product and sex toy reviews that came out in the last seven days from bloggers all around the sex blogosphere. Did you miss Pleasurists #47? Read it all here. Do you have a review for Pleasurists #49? Submit it here before Sunday October 11th at 11:59pm PDT. Please re-post this list on your own blog if listed.

Want to win some free swag? All you’ve got to do is enter.

• Eden Link $100 Gift Card Contest Deadline: October 11th @ midnight eastern.
• Butchtastic First Birthday Contest Deadline: October 15th.
• Blogiversary blowout: oodles of sex toys Deadline: October 27, 2009 @ 11:59 p.m. PST.

Madame Editrix

Scarlet Lotus St. Syr

Editor’s Pick

• Tantus Stroker by Undressed Reviews

I was really excited when this toy arrived. I really wanted to like it. Really badly. So badly that when I initially hated it, I just assumed that I was doing something wrong because Tantus and its Stroker were obviously above suspicion. On a mission to prove me and my stupid nerve endings wrong, I ask the internet about the Tantus Stroker.

Note: What makes this review is actually the accompanying visual aids, specifically the video of the awkward sound the stroker makes and the picture at the bottom of the review which I absolutely love. You must go see it!

On to the reviews…

Vibrators

• Fairy Mini Mini Wand by Scarlet Lotus St. Syr
• Grrl Toyz Silk Touch Egg Vibe by Toygirl
• Delight by Joan Price
• Doc Johnson Alumination Vibrator by Sarah Estrella
• Rock Chick by Essin’ Em
• LELO Lily by Joan Price
• California Exotics Couture Rhythm by Laurel
• Jimmyjane’s Form 6 by HotMoviesForHer Sex Toy Crew
• Perfect Platinum Vibrating Egg by Domina Doll
• Hitachi Magic Wand by Joan Price
• Ellove by Shay
• My Mini Miracle Massager by True Pleasures
• Desire Rabbit by Darling Dove
• Fusion Duality by Cinnamon
• Purring Thrusting Panther by Kara Sutra
• Beyond 2000 Ribbed Bullet by Kara Sutra
• Nasstoys Ultimate massager Pocket rocket by Valyn
• Fusion Duality by Dani Darling
• Diamond Lustre by Melen’s Rayne

Dildos

• Tantus Alumina Revolve by Beautiful Dreamer
• Leo by HotMoviesForHer Sex Toy Crew
• Tantus Scout by AveryDragon
• Tantus Vamp by True Pleasures
• Incubus by Domina Doll
• Dragon Tongue by Domina Doll
• Tantus Alumina Revolve by Domina Doll

Anal Toys

• Njoy Pfun Plug by Scarlet Lotus St. Syr
• Sexy Spade (small) by namelesschaos

Toys for Cocks

• Tantus C-Sling by AveryDragon
• Fleshlight by Epiphora
• Penthouse Laura Doone 1974 Hairy Pussy by Tales from the Porn Store

Lube, Massage Oil, Bath Stuff, & etc.

• Sliquid Original H2O by Scarlet Lotus St. Syr
• Astroglide Natural by Sarah Estrella
• bWarm Massage Candle by Thursday’s Child
• Pjur Woman Aqua by Undressed Reviews
• Intimate Organics by Domina Doll
• Sex Tarts by Epiphora
• Lust for Body Luscious Body Lotion by Melen’s Rayne

BDSM/Fetish

• Under the Bed Restraints by Miami Pepper
• Sportsheets Noir Wrist Cuffs by Laurel
• Camo Starz Spank-Her by AveryDragon
• Tantus Ball Gag by Red
• Colt Nipple Grips by Sexorcism
• Leatherbeaten Bullhide Wrist Restraints by Darling Dove

Adult Books

• The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women by Saraid

Adult Movies/Porn

• Courtney Trouble’s Nostalgia by Scarlet Lotus St. Syr
• CrashPadSeries.com Volume 3 by Undressed Reviews
• Her Porn Volume 1 – Disc 1 – Scene 3 by J.D. Bauchery
• San Francisco Lesbians 5 – Scene 4 by The Porn Librarian
• Juicy Pleasures by J.D. Bauchery
• Rogue Adventures 18 by FrzKey
• Michael Lucas’ La Dolce Vita Pt 1 by AveryDragon
• Crash Pad Series Volume 4: Rope Burn by Nadia West
• Sex in the Library by The Porn Librarian
• The Da Vinci Load by FrzKey
• Totally Screwed…Out Of A Shower by J.D. Bauchery
• Carlos the Great by The Porn Librarian
• Porn of the Dead by FrzKey
• Eon McKais Content by Domina Doll
• Bend Over Boyfriend by Domina Doll
• Hard Love and How to Fuck in High Heels by Red
• Content by Epiphora
• Roulette by Amber of DivergentDance

Lingerie

• Butterfly Crotchless Panty by Valyn

Miscellaneous

• Shunga Secret Garden by Miss KissThis
• P Style by Nadia West
• Ice Rack by Domina Doll
• One Finger Medical by Domina Doll
• Mr. Right Packing Strap by Amber of DivergentDance

Roulette is a good starting point to Courtney’s humor and vision. The first scene in particular is lovely, a tender lesbian scene between real-life lovers. We liked the all-dyke gangbang, too, with a moll and a barroom full of gangsters. And don’t miss the lace-clad stripper who douses herself with nice cold milk straight from the fridge.

If you like Full Load: Scenes from ssspread, you’ll like Courtney Trouble. And if you like The Crash Pad and its subsequent series, you’ll especially like Roulette.

Nostalgia, also directed by Courtney Trouble, takes a different direction than Roulette. Here we have queer porn parody—for sure chockablock with butches, femmes and all manner of dykes, but with a tongue-in-cheek nod to the early days of porn. One disturbing scene in here is redeemed in the end with a sexy fourway romp between two big girls and their girlfriends.

If you buy both Roulette and Nostalgia, you get 15% off.

Two especially good things? In Nostalgia, you’ll see Carol Queen in the first scene—love that vibrator! Also, a short by Emilie Jouvet is a welcome surprise tucked between two other scenes in Roulette.

Courtney Trouble is highly recommended. Enjoy.

Enjoy

The Casting Couch: an interview with Courtney Trouble, director of Roulette

Though it may cause my mother undue stress to read this, I have to get it off my chest:  I’m a radical feminist who loves good porn.  And it goes without saying that there’s all too much terrible porn out there — porn that’s degrading, misogynist, or even just poorly lit/scripted/acted.  So when I get my grubby little hands on a DVD that portrays sex — queer sex, to be exact — in all its raw honesty, undeniable chemistry, quirks, and messiness, I get pretty excited.  And that’s what I’ve got in my hands right now:  friends, I bring you Courtney Trouble’s debut film, Roulette.

Fresh from an avalanche of community recognition, accolades, and awards, Courtney has agreed to let me pick her brain and show you what I find.  (Thanks, Courtney!)  But before I do, a little background:  Courtney’s the founder of the alternative web porn site Nofauxxx.com, and she’s a pioneer in the world of showing queer bodies and sex for the gorgeous, wide-ranging, flawed, and delicious things they are.  Join me, won’t you, as I get inside her head a little bit about what it’s like to break down sexual boundaries through a steamy camera lens.

Babeland: What inspired you to make Roulette?

Courtney: I wanted to expand my porn site (NoFauxxx.com) into video, and I wanted to make something that people would be inspired to show their friends — so much porn gets hidden under beds or tossed, and I wanted to make something that people could hold on to, or throw a porn-viewing party with.  I liked the idea of the word “roulette” in the sense that you never know what you’re going to land on, and because it’s a game.  And we all know that sex is really just the way adults have playtime.

Babeland: And this was your first porn film, right?  What was that like?

Courtney: Well, I’m a trained photographer, but before Roulette I had never really filmed anything more than a punk show!  Shooting and editing was challenging at first, but when I finally saw everything come together and screened the final version at an old-fashioned theater to an audience of hundreds, people really loved it, and they did think it was special and meaningful for our time.

Babeland: I wish I could’ve been there to see it with so many other appreciative viewers!  I see a lot of porn, and Roulette is one of the most successful I’ve seen at portraying so many sexualities and gender identities in a thoughtful and totally hot way.

Courtney: Thanks!  It was so rewarding to have made a porn that could be viewed in public as a piece of art, and to have people leave the theater feeling like they just witnessed queer history…it’s something I hold on to as I move forward with my work.

Babeland: And you won some awards for Roulette, yes?

Courtney: Yes!  We won “Most Deliciously Diverse Cast” at the 2009 Feminist Porn Awards, and NoFauxxx.com just won SF Bay Guardian’s Best of the Bay award for Best Queer Porn.  It’s so amazing to be recognized for my first film for diversity, as that’s something that NoFauxxx has always tried to reflect with race, gender, sexual orientation, and behavior in general.  I don’t like to think of “queer porn” as dyke porn — it’s a diverse mix of men, women, and all the people who identify in between, who will themselves to be proud and flamboyant with their fluid sexualities.

Babeland: And there’s so much porn out there that just plays into tired stereotypes, so this is truly inspiring.  What do you think the biggest deficits are in the world of porn right now?  And what are your favorite porns to watch these days?

Courtney: Well, I do dream of making “alt porn” for gay men.  There’s a lack of that punk rock/subcultural appeal in gay male porn, and it’s such an untouched arena.  I would love to see more porn made by trans women, and starring trans women.  I think there’s more porn coming out lately that’s artistic and creative — I’m a big fan of Carlos Batts and Kimberly Kane’s directorial works.  If your fantasies are on the dark side and you’re open to some creepiness, her stuff is so incredibly edgy and sexy, and shot so beautifully.  Carlos Batts’s stuff is so sexy and hilarious; I’m really, really looking forward to seeing more of it.

Babeland: Well, maybe some of your viewers will also be inspired to make their own porn after seeing Roulette — I wouldn’t be surprised.  Any advice for budding pornographers?  What do you do to help set the mood?

Courtney: I make sure the performers are fed and comfortable throughout the day, and I give couples ample time to cozy up and talk about what they want to do.  And all the scenes in Roulette are creative collaborations between me and the performers; I think there’s comfort in working for a director who trusts their own vision enough to include your ideas, wants, and needs into the shoot.

Babeland: And finally, what’s next for you?

Courtney: My next movie, Nostalgia, comes out August 17th.  My third movie, Speakeasy, comes out in September.  I’ve got a whole lot up my sleeve for the rest of the year, and I’m looking forward to having all of it at Babeland!

My debut DVD Roulette has been out for about a month, and I’m really starting to feel the heat. NoFauxxx.Com and my movies have immediately become a full time job, and right now I’m sitting in a hotel in Vancouver BC getting ready to present Nostalgia to an audience for the very first time here at the Vancouver Queer Film Festival. It’s like one day I just woke up with my dream job, and I feel like it’s really just beginning.

Yesterday I wrapped up the editing on Speakeasy. What an ambition project that was, dear lord. I went from making two movies with interlacing vignettes to a full story line. I got to work heavily with Lorelei Lee, a star in many porn communities who is just so brilliant, gorgeous, and talented. Morty Diamond came up from L.A. to help me shoot, and I worked with a ton of seriously handsome FTM performers. It was amazing because here’s me and Morty, a queer femme and an FTM, filming other queer femmes and FTMs have sex. It was an amazing collaboration. I feel I am contributing something entirely new and exciting to the FTM porn shelf. Also, working with Jiz Lee is always such a fucking pleasure (it’s true, we’re in it for the puns, people) and introducing Billy Castro, Tomcat, and Mustache Malone to the scene is something people will be thanking me for for a long time. These men are drop dead gorgeous and any one of them could easily become the next FTM Porn Star.

The reaction to me making films has been so incredibly wonderful and amazing. Winning “Best Queer Porn” for the 35th Annual SF Bay Guardian’s Best of the Bay awards was unexpected and makes me fell so incredibly full of love for everyone who has ever posed for photos, written a blog post, or interviewed me for an academic paper, long before this credit was ever given to the project. It’s at the same time humbling and huge.

I’ve understood for a long time that the ethics model of NoFauxxx.Com has set the standard for other queer porn projects that have come around the past few years, but it’s always been such an obscure little bastard of a porn site… my little baby’s all grown up now, and I’m about to go full force with everything all at once. I’ve hired my darling wife as a photo editor for No Fauxxx so I can focus on the movies I’m making for Reel Queer Productions, and we’ve already started updating the porn site twice a week thanks to her diligent work.

After this already fun and relaxing trip to Canada, I’ll be going home to shoot my next movie, an adorable little social experiment of mine that’s sure to bring out some interesting results… All I’m going to say for now is that you played this game in high school, but this time the heaven lasts about 90 minutes.

Anyways, read on:

I’ve been waiting for Roulette to come out for a while. It’s been a busy week and every day I’ve looked at it on my dining room table and said, “tomorrow, I’m watching this tomorrow.” It’s easy to put off the fun stuff because I always feel guilty prioritizing watching videos over calling vendors, or coming up with new marketing strategy, or, or, or whatever. Sometimes working at a sex store can be really not sexy. So this morning I decided I was going to ignore the 19 new emails since I checked at 11 last night and watch Roulette. Because I deserve it. I settled down to watch it after assembling a few toys (Delight, Medium Realistic) Getting toys together before porn is kind of like popping popcorn before watching any other kind of movie.

Read the whole review at the Smitten Kitten Blog.