"...we’re engulfed in a misty, vivid world that feels beautifully alone, as if populated only by Riggs and the listener. It’s best entered via headphones, where each faint flutter and wry or cryptic observation stands revealed."- Brian Howe, Indy Week
"Let it be known that homosexuals are not cowards."- final words of Willem Arondeus, executed on July 1st, 1943
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PRESS RELEASE WITH NOTES ON PEAK PRESS RELEASE EFFECTIVENESS
Written by John Leavitt
Responses by al Riggs in parenthetical
Al Riggs’ new album LAVENDER SCARE declares "The first Pride was a riot"
Moody and dreamy synthpop beats form the basis of al Riggs’ (Who knows what number record this is, I stopped counting years ago) album, LAVENDER SCARE which promises “Pop for the dearly departed.” The album, which combines cabaret confessional and fuzzy electronica, is performed entirely by Riggs.
[Here is where you put in any good reviews or comments from the past, bands you’ve been compared too, or sold out venues, basically anything to catch a booker’s eye. You’re trying to sell the album here.]
(I went on tour with the Mountain Goats last year, have performed and recorded with members of Megafaun, Loamlands, Lavender Country, Hiss Golden Messenger, and The Love Language.)
The album’s title, LAVENDER SCARE, refers to the era of paranoia of persecution of suspected homosexuals and “sexual subversives” in the U.S Government. Following President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s signing of Executive Order 10450 in 1953, anyone could be fired from the U.S Government without recourse under suspicion of homosexual activity or associating with ‘known homosexuals’.They were not allowed to confront their accusers or refuse to testify. Tens of thousands of people lost their jobs, were refused passports and benefits, or blacklisted from industries. Organized opposition to the witch-hunts became a pillar of the emerging gay rights movement of the 1960s and 70s. Executive Order 10450 was rescinded in 1995.
[Paste in release dates, relevant links, and tour dates if applicable.]
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[Keep it to one page and a half of page if you can]
(No promises.)
SOME ADDITIONAL READING:
“The Lavender Scare: The Cold War Persecution of Gays and Lesbians in the Federal Government” by David K. Johnson
“The Homophobic Hysteria of the Lavender Scare” by Dorian Alexander and Kazimir Lee
thenib.com/the-homophobic-hysteria-of-the-lavender-scare
“White” by James Ijames
“Marat/Sade” by Peter Weiss