Beloved queer crooner Spencer Day is a busy guy, no more so than during pride month when he’ll performing in clubs from LA to SF to NYC.
“My birthday happens to fall on the Stonewall anniversary, which is fun,” he told GayCities in early June.
Catch him in San Francisco at Feinstein’s at the Nikko June 14-15.
And then he’ll perform at Rockwell Table & Stage Sunday night June 16.
The shows will include material from his recent album “Angel City” and a preview of his upcoming Broadway-based collection of Rodgers & Hammerstein (“Bali Ha’i”), Lionel Bart (“Who Will Buy”), Jerry Herman (“It Only Takes a Moment”) and more. With any luck, he’ll pull off his lovely ode to Southern California life, “72 and Sunny.”
Spencer took a little time out of his busy touring schedule to talk about performing, his Mormon family, and where he most loves to celebrate pride.
Well, the June 16 show is the final night of our Los Angeles residency for now and the first sneak peek at my upcoming “Broadway by Day” project. Of course, k.d. lang has probably been the biggest influence vocally and in a way I feel that her talent made her orientation a non-issue long before its time.
I have been out since my early 20s but my “official” coming out was about 10 years ago in The Advocate. So much has changed since then. I think many younger people who criticize older entertainers for not coming out don’t really understand how much of a career killer that decision could be. For me, I would say it was a mixed bag. I gained a new solitary and support with some and many others let me know in no uncertain terms how disappointed (and sometimes disgusted) they were by my “lifestyle choice.”
Maybe the rub is when you have traditional clean-cut appeal. I dyed my hair blue in high school, it turned green. I pierced my nose and it got infected. Nothing could scrub off the Mormon sheen! I had the type of voice someone’s mom wants to hear sing her favorite song, and then somehow I didn’t fit into the mold in other ways. I do think things are (slowly) improving with the church. I’m lucky my mom has been on a “Mormons for Equality” float in a pride parade with me. I am hoping unconditional love will win in the end and that we can embrace certain solid Mormon values while leaving the baggage that didn’t serve us. I think living our lives graciously and kindly but simultaneously transparently and authentically might still be the greatest form of activism there is.
I think it’s important to find a balance between being grateful and celebrating all of the progress we’ve made and still feeling inspired to not become apathetic and realize how far there still is to go to achieve real equality. My birthday also happens to fall on the Stonewall anniversary which is fun.
