Check out some music videos by Katastrophe and Athens Boys Choir.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
F to (e)Mbody to wrap up 2010 Tour in February
Along with Boston Univeristy, F to (e)Mbody has performed events at Cornell University, the University of Virginia, the University of Maryland, and many others. Athens Boys Choir and Katastrophe will continue traveling down the east coast and have upcoming shows this February at Hunter College, Montclair State University, and Weselyan University.
Marje Nesin, a journalism major at BU who went to the event not knowing much about the F to (e)Mbody cause, said, "I thought it was surprisingly entertaining. I thought [the event] might be slightly cliche, maybe even a bit preachy, but the performers were such real people and very mature in talking about their situations."
Both Katastrophe and Athens Boys Choir had no problem with sharing their very personal life stories, especially on how hard it was for both of them growing up as kids, always knowing that there was something different about them compared to the other kids.
"I was always the weird one throughout middle school and high school," Katastrophe called out to the crowd in the middle of his set. "Did any of you guys feel that way?"
Many people in the audience silently nod or loudly voice their agreement.
"I found the way they presented their life stories were both informative and personal, but everyone in the audience could still relate to them," Nesin said. "They weren't looking for sympathy for their cause. To be honest, i thought the one guy was pretty cute before I found out he was once a girl!"
F to (e)Mbody's last show of 2010 will be held on February 27 at Weselyan University in Middletown, CT.
Marje Nesin, a journalism major at BU who went to the event not knowing much about the F to (e)Mbody cause, said, "I thought it was surprisingly entertaining. I thought [the event] might be slightly cliche, maybe even a bit preachy, but the performers were such real people and very mature in talking about their situations."
Both Katastrophe and Athens Boys Choir had no problem with sharing their very personal life stories, especially on how hard it was for both of them growing up as kids, always knowing that there was something different about them compared to the other kids.
"I was always the weird one throughout middle school and high school," Katastrophe called out to the crowd in the middle of his set. "Did any of you guys feel that way?"
Many people in the audience silently nod or loudly voice their agreement.
"I found the way they presented their life stories were both informative and personal, but everyone in the audience could still relate to them," Nesin said. "They weren't looking for sympathy for their cause. To be honest, i thought the one guy was pretty cute before I found out he was once a girl!"
F to (e)Mbody's last show of 2010 will be held on February 27 at Weselyan University in Middletown, CT.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Katastrophe and Athens Boys Choir Hit the Stage at BU Central
A small yet united crowd convenes at BU Central tonight. The show opens with the treasurer of Spectrum, Vishnu Karaya, introducing the two acts for F to (e)Mbody - Katastrophe and Athens Boys Choir - and announcing Spectrum's main agenda: to provide gender neutral housing at BU in the near future.
Katastrophe (Rocco Kayiatos) is up first and is looking good in his black-and-red checkered winter hat. He starts off with a poem entitled "Enough Man." He rarely skips a beat or bites his tongue and his lyrics are very smooth and quick-witted. Born in San Francisco, he pokes fun at Boston weather and how he's amazed at how small the size of snowflakes actually are in person. He personally imagined them to be the size of large paper plates.
Favorite song by Kayiatos of the night: "Big Deal." The bass beat and chorus are very smooth and catchy. He gladly dedicates the song to all the kids that once made fun of him back in high school. Katastrophe focuses his performance around sexual humor while incorporating more serious issues, such as his being transsexual and having to deal with bouts of depression. He ends his set by hopping into the crowd and singing along with the ecstatic audience.
Athens Boys Choir (Harvey Katz) hits the stage next, dedicating his first poem, "Lindsay Lohan," to the celebrity and her keeping it real with her "natural red hair." Katz focuses his set on life stories expressed through rhyming words and poetry without background music. He reminisces of a youth filled with confusion and questioning before being able to embrace his transsexuality.
He skips a few beats throughout his set, but recovers each rhyme quickly and starts back up with twice the amount of energy and emotion. He incorporates a home music video entitled "EZ Heeb" during his performance. The video is of his Bat Mitzvah, which exhibits his life living as young woman "Elizabeth" before he came out as a transgendered male in the year 2002.
He ends his set with "Faggette," a rap song that embraces Athens Boys Choir's sexuality in a somewhat humorous fashion.
The artists give thanks to Spectrum and close the show with a homemade video of Katastrophe and Athens Boys Choir in their hotel room dancing along to the song "Butterflies" by Nicky Click.
Katastrophe (Rocco Kayiatos) is up first and is looking good in his black-and-red checkered winter hat. He starts off with a poem entitled "Enough Man." He rarely skips a beat or bites his tongue and his lyrics are very smooth and quick-witted. Born in San Francisco, he pokes fun at Boston weather and how he's amazed at how small the size of snowflakes actually are in person. He personally imagined them to be the size of large paper plates.
Favorite song by Kayiatos of the night: "Big Deal." The bass beat and chorus are very smooth and catchy. He gladly dedicates the song to all the kids that once made fun of him back in high school. Katastrophe focuses his performance around sexual humor while incorporating more serious issues, such as his being transsexual and having to deal with bouts of depression. He ends his set by hopping into the crowd and singing along with the ecstatic audience.
Athens Boys Choir (Harvey Katz) hits the stage next, dedicating his first poem, "Lindsay Lohan," to the celebrity and her keeping it real with her "natural red hair." Katz focuses his set on life stories expressed through rhyming words and poetry without background music. He reminisces of a youth filled with confusion and questioning before being able to embrace his transsexuality.
He skips a few beats throughout his set, but recovers each rhyme quickly and starts back up with twice the amount of energy and emotion. He incorporates a home music video entitled "EZ Heeb" during his performance. The video is of his Bat Mitzvah, which exhibits his life living as young woman "Elizabeth" before he came out as a transgendered male in the year 2002.
He ends his set with "Faggette," a rap song that embraces Athens Boys Choir's sexuality in a somewhat humorous fashion.
The artists give thanks to Spectrum and close the show with a homemade video of Katastrophe and Athens Boys Choir in their hotel room dancing along to the song "Butterflies" by Nicky Click.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Spectrum to hold F to (e)Mbody performance at BU Central
Spectrum, Boston University's Queer and Allied student group, will be putting on a hip hop music performance by two outspoken transgendered artists, Athens Boys Choir amd Katastrophe. The show is sponsored by the event F to (e)Mbody and will be performed from 6-7:30pm at BU's late-night entertainment venue BU Central. The show will also feature speeches from both performers in support of Spectrum's causes. Spectrum promotes the public awareness, tolerance, and support of the "Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Allied" (GLBTQA) community.
In its mission statement, posted on Spectrum's website, the student group promises to serve "as a social forum for members to get together and have fun with weekly discussions, games, movies and events a local Boston establishments."
Harvey Katz (Athens Boys Choir) hails from Athens, Georgia and is widely known throughout the GLBTQA community for his transgender-focused word performances.
Rocco Kayiatos, better known by his rapper persona Katastrophe, is a rapper and producer based from San Francisco, CA. He has been featured on two documentary films, Poetic License and Pick up the Mic, and has also been featured on the sound track for Showtime's The L Word.
F to (e)Mbody is a nationwide, college campus event focused on embracing and promoting transgendered art and visibility. Along with many free performances, F to (e)Mbody offers many workshops to help encourage self-identity and individuality. Click here for more information.
In its mission statement, posted on Spectrum's website, the student group promises to serve "as a social forum for members to get together and have fun with weekly discussions, games, movies and events a local Boston establishments."
Harvey Katz (Athens Boys Choir) hails from Athens, Georgia and is widely known throughout the GLBTQA community for his transgender-focused word performances.
Rocco Kayiatos, better known by his rapper persona Katastrophe, is a rapper and producer based from San Francisco, CA. He has been featured on two documentary films, Poetic License and Pick up the Mic, and has also been featured on the sound track for Showtime's The L Word.
F to (e)Mbody is a nationwide, college campus event focused on embracing and promoting transgendered art and visibility. Along with many free performances, F to (e)Mbody offers many workshops to help encourage self-identity and individuality. Click here for more information.
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