New Newsletter
Because I'm not good enough with html, this will be a different version than what goes out.
Vol. 3 The JT LeRoy Newsletter--the Hoax Edition Jan. 06
Another Magazine invited JT to be a part of their tribute to Johnny Cash. He wrote a song,Grounded, for it. Visit AS TOLD BY OTHERS to hear the song and see the video. .
GROUNDED
Lyrics by JT LeRoy
Once I got off the ground
I had the head to look around
And find out where you are
Stumbled by a hurricane
The rescue teams in town
Ain't nuthin' but bad surprises
Ain't nuthin' but blank horizons
Ain't nuthin' but rippin' at holes inside my skin
Ain't searchin' for fixes that leak me out
Ain't hopin' to keep me copin' out
Ain't looking to leave you hangin' out in the past
All around I see wreckage and watch them scavenge
All around I hold my ground and let waves scatter
Hold out for all you might've lost
Hold out for all you might've been
Hold out for hope and I swear it'll pull you in
Here I stand with my heart raw
By will I shoved through that closed door
To find out where you are.
Wish I had a world or wonder to show you what's in store
Ain't nuthin' but shards of promise
Ain't nuthin' but truth to harm us
Ain't nuthin' but backs still turned from hands we kicked
Ain't nuthin' but our hearts still beating
Ain't it funny how dreams are fleeting
but in the shallows I can see remains.
All around I see wreckage and watch them scavenge
All around I hold my ground and let waves scatter
Hold out for all you might've lost
Hold out for all you might've been
Hold out for hope and I swear it'll pull you in
- - - - - - - - - - -
JT was filmed by artist Robert Wilson and describes it here.
They flew in a team (even my beloved hair/
fella Mike Potter -- ) to film Sean Penn and... me, and for such a fuss it was very quiet and had this medicine feel to it. It was a meditation, and just let me be still, with just his voice... it was a very moving experience for me in the midst of this all. The hoax hoople headed showdown made them want to shoot me all the more -- so I requested a heap of gum (sugarless, no brown bubbles) and chocolate (very brown) and sushi (all pink), didn't do the NO BROWN M&M thing... too cliche. :
But it was really a nice time for me, just the art that they practice, was very flattering, specially after some of this stuff that is kinda ust super surreal and I think I mostly live in the surreal anyways.
It was swell. It was play and fun and art and all of it.
- - - - - - - - - - -
From the London Guardian, Jan 4, 2006:
But nothing has been taken from us. The books remain: as startling and disturbingly beautiful as they ever were. There is nothing that has sullied the New York Times's assertion that "his language is always fresh, his soul never corrupt". And what strikes me more than anything is that in this age of overblown celebrity, where people such as Paris Hilton can be famous purely for being Paris Hilton, mightn't JT LeRoy represent the precise inversion of this? The work is all. The identity is irrelevant.
The words that surface most frequently in my head are those of the writer Peter Murphy, who contacted LeRoy after the New York Magazine piece to show his support: "It all boils down to this," he wrote: "I can't prove the existence of god, but I sure do love the Bible".
- - - - - - - - - - -
JT will be there, will you?
- - - - - - - - - - -
Look for recent articles by JT in the following publications:
Self Service, 10 year Anniversary issue (on stands now)
Black Book: The Next Next Big Thing Issue, Post-Snark--the Inevitable Backlash to an overly Sardonic Pop Culture Media
Lemon: On newsstands January 2006. The Supernatural premiere issue features Jeff Koons,Fischerspooner, Annie, Robin Campillo, Rick Valicenti, Aesop Rock, etc. The magazine will also feature an end page by JT LeRoy, Editor at Large.
Soma: Interview with Asia Argento
Nerve Holiday Gift Guide
7x7: monthly column, Holiday Issue: JT’s newest baggage; Feb issue: J'Accuse
- - - - - - - - - - -
The Heart is Deceitful...Above All Things
OPENINGS
NYC: March 10th @ Sunshine Cinema
LA: March 10th @ NuArt Theatre
San Francisco: March 24th @ Castro Theatre
- - - - - - - - - - -
Conceptualized by JT's fans and designed by rock poster/t-shirt god, Lindsey Kuhn, this tee is the ultimate “answer-back” to the latest identity-probing press frenzy. Front of the shirt says “ I am the real JT LeRoy” while the back sports an image of JT’s wig and sunglasses. Totally au courant! For more info, contact Alice at: real_jt_tshirt@hotmail.com
- - - - - - - - - - -
Great picture of JT..........uh...
...Or was it ...Pink?
Only New York magazine knows for sure...
- - - - - - - - - - -
JT's intro to 7x7's February column, J'Accuse:
Used to be punk - which I grew up with -got folks pissed, empowered, enraged, inspired or just thinking…Punk fostered some interesting dialogs. I am OK with making folks uneasy, or whatever they need to bring to my work. I think identity, gender and authenticity are another frontier of quicksand that I am not into building any bridges over them for anyone. I like what punk used to be.
Any discussion about books? A writer? To me… all valid discussions, and if it steals a moment away from Lost Desperate Survivor Horseleeches -- we might be able to afford it, heck it might be useful. We live in fear or faith and I would never want to get in the way of anyone's fear, good way to get a set of tire tracks on your cranium though.
I always said, I don't know who I am, so how can I own an identity?
I've always been deeply horrified by the story of Oscar Wilde. He refused to believe that his work would matter so little to folks. He was a writer and he got murdered for it. It's a dangerous turf. Sticking your head out to peek with your words and saying this is who I am.
I've said it from my first interview and I'll keep saying it...everything you need to know you can find in my books. You'll find Wigs and Sunglasses between the commas and periods--thankfully, which has been edited to land in their proper places. The one rumor I can testify to is that I am crap at punctuation and spelling.
Vol. 3 The JT LeRoy Newsletter--the Hoax Edition Jan. 06
Another Magazine invited JT to be a part of their tribute to Johnny Cash. He wrote a song,Grounded, for it. Visit AS TOLD BY OTHERS to hear the song and see the video. .
GROUNDED
Lyrics by JT LeRoy
Once I got off the ground
I had the head to look around
And find out where you are
Stumbled by a hurricane
The rescue teams in town
Ain't nuthin' but bad surprises
Ain't nuthin' but blank horizons
Ain't nuthin' but rippin' at holes inside my skin
Ain't searchin' for fixes that leak me out
Ain't hopin' to keep me copin' out
Ain't looking to leave you hangin' out in the past
All around I see wreckage and watch them scavenge
All around I hold my ground and let waves scatter
Hold out for all you might've lost
Hold out for all you might've been
Hold out for hope and I swear it'll pull you in
Here I stand with my heart raw
By will I shoved through that closed door
To find out where you are.
Wish I had a world or wonder to show you what's in store
Ain't nuthin' but shards of promise
Ain't nuthin' but truth to harm us
Ain't nuthin' but backs still turned from hands we kicked
Ain't nuthin' but our hearts still beating
Ain't it funny how dreams are fleeting
but in the shallows I can see remains.
All around I see wreckage and watch them scavenge
All around I hold my ground and let waves scatter
Hold out for all you might've lost
Hold out for all you might've been
Hold out for hope and I swear it'll pull you in
- - - - - - - - - - -
JT was filmed by artist Robert Wilson and describes it here.
They flew in a team (even my beloved hair/
fella Mike Potter -- ) to film Sean Penn and... me, and for such a fuss it was very quiet and had this medicine feel to it. It was a meditation, and just let me be still, with just his voice... it was a very moving experience for me in the midst of this all. The hoax hoople headed showdown made them want to shoot me all the more -- so I requested a heap of gum (sugarless, no brown bubbles) and chocolate (very brown) and sushi (all pink), didn't do the NO BROWN M&M thing... too cliche. :
But it was really a nice time for me, just the art that they practice, was very flattering, specially after some of this stuff that is kinda ust super surreal and I think I mostly live in the surreal anyways.
It was swell. It was play and fun and art and all of it.
- - - - - - - - - - -
From the London Guardian, Jan 4, 2006:
But nothing has been taken from us. The books remain: as startling and disturbingly beautiful as they ever were. There is nothing that has sullied the New York Times's assertion that "his language is always fresh, his soul never corrupt". And what strikes me more than anything is that in this age of overblown celebrity, where people such as Paris Hilton can be famous purely for being Paris Hilton, mightn't JT LeRoy represent the precise inversion of this? The work is all. The identity is irrelevant.
The words that surface most frequently in my head are those of the writer Peter Murphy, who contacted LeRoy after the New York Magazine piece to show his support: "It all boils down to this," he wrote: "I can't prove the existence of god, but I sure do love the Bible".
- - - - - - - - - - -
JT will be there, will you?
- - - - - - - - - - -
Look for recent articles by JT in the following publications:
Self Service, 10 year Anniversary issue (on stands now)
Black Book: The Next Next Big Thing Issue, Post-Snark--the Inevitable Backlash to an overly Sardonic Pop Culture Media
Lemon: On newsstands January 2006. The Supernatural premiere issue features Jeff Koons,Fischerspooner, Annie, Robin Campillo, Rick Valicenti, Aesop Rock, etc. The magazine will also feature an end page by JT LeRoy, Editor at Large.
Soma: Interview with Asia Argento
Nerve Holiday Gift Guide
7x7: monthly column, Holiday Issue: JT’s newest baggage; Feb issue: J'Accuse
- - - - - - - - - - -
The Heart is Deceitful...Above All Things
OPENINGS
NYC: March 10th @ Sunshine Cinema
LA: March 10th @ NuArt Theatre
San Francisco: March 24th @ Castro Theatre
- - - - - - - - - - -
Conceptualized by JT's fans and designed by rock poster/t-shirt god, Lindsey Kuhn, this tee is the ultimate “answer-back” to the latest identity-probing press frenzy. Front of the shirt says “ I am the real JT LeRoy” while the back sports an image of JT’s wig and sunglasses. Totally au courant! For more info, contact Alice at: real_jt_tshirt@hotmail.com
- - - - - - - - - - -
Great picture of JT..........uh...
...Or was it ...Pink?
Only New York magazine knows for sure...
- - - - - - - - - - -
JT's intro to 7x7's February column, J'Accuse:
Used to be punk - which I grew up with -got folks pissed, empowered, enraged, inspired or just thinking…Punk fostered some interesting dialogs. I am OK with making folks uneasy, or whatever they need to bring to my work. I think identity, gender and authenticity are another frontier of quicksand that I am not into building any bridges over them for anyone. I like what punk used to be.
Any discussion about books? A writer? To me… all valid discussions, and if it steals a moment away from Lost Desperate Survivor Horseleeches -- we might be able to afford it, heck it might be useful. We live in fear or faith and I would never want to get in the way of anyone's fear, good way to get a set of tire tracks on your cranium though.
I always said, I don't know who I am, so how can I own an identity?
I've always been deeply horrified by the story of Oscar Wilde. He refused to believe that his work would matter so little to folks. He was a writer and he got murdered for it. It's a dangerous turf. Sticking your head out to peek with your words and saying this is who I am.
I've said it from my first interview and I'll keep saying it...everything you need to know you can find in my books. You'll find Wigs and Sunglasses between the commas and periods--thankfully, which has been edited to land in their proper places. The one rumor I can testify to is that I am crap at punctuation and spelling.