PAGE 4 Q-Notes ■ July 1986
Stevenson Beats Drummer
By bob BRADY
Special To Cl-Notes
Leather's biggest night of the
year.
That's how Drummer magazine
once described its annual Mr. Drum
mer Contest, and the same was true
for the East coast semifinal, Carolina
Charlotte Runnerup
Invited To Compete
In National Contest
Drummer magazine, at the sug
gestion of QCQ, invited Chuck
Lance to compete in the National
Drummer Contest, and Lance ac
cepted.
Lance, Asheville's entry in Caro
lina Drummer '86, had planned to
attend the contest as a spectator,
according to QCQ president Robert
Sheets. Lance finished a very close
second to Butch Stevenson m the
Charlotte regional.
Sheets was beaming.
"It's quite a compliment to us," he
said. "The chance that we'll have a
1 -2 Carolina finish in the nationals is
exciting. It'd be great even to have
two out of the top five."
The invitation couldn't have been
extended without the okay of Caro
lina Drummer winner Butch Steven
son.
"Butch was flattered that they
would consider asking Chuck,"
Sheets said. "Butch is behind Chuck
almost as much as he is behind
himself."
Both Stevenson and Lance have
indicated to QCQ that they would
be very glad to help out in 1987 not
only with the regional, but with all
preliminaries.
Territory won't be set for the 1987
contest until September.
Drummer '86, in Charlotte May 31.
Hometown contestant Butch Ste
venson, sponsored by Scorpio, took
first place, winning a trip to San
Francisco to compete for the na
tional title on June 27.
First runnerup was Chuck Lance
of Asheville, sponsored by Urban
Aborigines. He won a weekend for
two at Fifty Folly Place, a bed-and-
breakfast house in Charleston, S.C.
The second runnerup was Mark
Jackson of Charlotte, sponsored by
Brass Rail. i
All three went home with a me
dallion commemorating their win
ning roles in a night unprecedented
in Charlotte's gay history.
Hundreds of men trooped into
Park Center for the night's entertain
ment, which included singer Sam
Baker, performer Boom Boom La-
tour and six contestants strutting
their stuff on a 40-foot runway.
Boom Boom's humor, the cool pro
fessionalism of emcee Martin, flaw
less mixes of the latest music by
soundman Tracy and spirited beer
and wine sales kept the crowd
warmed as they waited for out-of-
town judges to arrive.
Judges and spectators were from
more diverse locales than the
mostly Charlotte contestants.
"It was a good mixture of people
from all over the place," Robert
Sheets of the sponsoring group.
Queen City Quordinators, said of the
audience. But he said the organiza
tions and businesses which could
have sponsored contestants seemed
to shy away from entering this year
because the contest was not in one
of the major metropolitan areas
such as Atlanta or Washington.
QCQ organized the contest as a
fundraiser and "made a little bit of
money," Sheets said.
Never A Cover At
The Brass Rail
Charlotte’s Hottest 7 Days A Week
ANNIVERSARY PARTY
Saturday, July 19; Free Beer & Cookout
MONDAYS
All The Canned Bud Or Lite Your Want
Members $5 ■ Guests $6
TUESDAYS
“BEER BUST” & Free Pool Open To Close
Unlimited Draft $3 ■ Schnapps $1
WEDNESDAYS
Pool Tournament: $20 Bar Tab To Winner
Schnapps $1
THURSDAYS
All Night: 50-Cent Draft, House Drinks For $1.
FRIDAYS
Rail T-Shirt Night: Bartender’s Specials
SATURDAYS
Bartender’s Liquor & Beer Specials
Different Each Saturday!
SUNDAYS
House Drinks $1.50
1 House Liquor $1 — Different Each Sunday
Mon-Fri 5-2:30 B Sat 3-2:30 B Sun 1-2:30
Visit Ciub South After Hours At 1708 South Bouievard
333-3859 And Open 24 Hours Every Day
*
Butch’s Fantasy Included Fog, Harley-Davidson
Standing in line at the concession
counter, it was evident that many a
cow had lost its hide to scores of
patrons clad in all of the things for
which the Drummer man is known
— from engineer's boots right up to
black leather armbands. The crowd
was ready for this, and it was show
ing all over.
Inside the auditorium the stage
was appropriately decorated
(which is to say, palm trees and not
petunias). The runway parted a sea
of tables to end up thrust in front of
the judges.
Judging from the number of gyra
tions and undulations that washed
CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
Trip To San Francisco
Began Leather Interest
By DON KING
Editoi
It was so very, very close.
But in the end, articulation with a
microphone won as the judges —
two from Atlanta, one from Raleigh
— hailed Butch Stevenson, a Brass
Rail bartender sponsored by Scor
pio, as winner of Charlotte's first
leatherman contest May 31.
Runnerup Chuck Lance, 26, of
Asheville may have had an edge in
jock strap — the part of Carolina
Drummer '86 that showed off the
body. Fantasy and leather attire
were both exceptional, but Steven
son's verbal acumen was clearly
superior.
Still, judges and officials of QCQ,
which sponsored the contest, metic
ulously double checked every
judge's tally card, then checked
and rechecked totals to rule out
mathematical error.
And America's East Coast will be
represented in the national Mr.
Drummer Contest by the 40-year-old
truck driver who is a native of Ta
zewell, a small town in southwest
Virginia, and one of 12 children.
It's been eight years since Butch's
life was changed on a trip to the
West Coast.
"The first time I noticed how much
I liked the leather community," he
said, "was when I walked into the
Brig (now the Powerhouse) on a trip
to San Francisco. I had always liked
masculine gay men, and being in
the Brig was like being in heaven.
"I guess I entered the Drummer
contest because people kept telling
me I couldn't do it. Both times, I was
surprised when I won."
Butch's road to the national con
test June 27 started when he won a
Carolina Drummer preliminary at
Scorpio.
"I knew it would be awfully close
at Carolina Drummer," he said. "All
the contestants had their own form
of leather, each attractive in its own
way. All were just super. Yet, only
one of us could win, and I'm glad to
be representing us in San Francisco.
I'm really proud I was able to do it
at my age.
"I want to make people under
stand that this part of the gay com
munity has lot of love to give. We
have a lot of pride, a lot of dignity;
and I want to help bring that out."
He brought out a lot of it on a
poignant trip to see him parents the
weekend of June 14-15.
"I showed them the photographs
from the contest," he said, "and
explained to them how much it
meant to me. They've known I was
gay since I came out of the closet in
1969 by going to the old Neptune
bar that was on North Tryon Street.
Mom — she's 75 now — told me that
they always support their children
when they do something that makes
them feel special and doesn't hurt
others.
"My whole family is close-knit. My
folks had seven girls and five boys.
I'm the 11th."
Well wishers in and out of Char
lotte's leather community have con
gratulated Butch.
"It really is special winning a con
test like this," Butch said. "Now I'm
in a position where I can help all of
us love and respect each other
more. We are a family; and though
we can sometimes be awfully vi
cious, we are also the most under
standing."
Butch drove a truck for 14 years
and is taking a break while working
at the Rail.
"I'll eventually do it again," he
said.
Rail manager Dennis Carey and
Larry Collier accompanied Butch to
San Francisco where the schedule
was full:
June 25; Dinner with Drummer
publisher John Embry.
June 26: reception at the Power
house and rehearsals at the Trocad-
ero Transfer.
June 27: rehearsals and Mr. Drum
mer Contest at the Trocadero Trans
fer.
June 30: riding on a float in the
. San Francisco Gay Pride Parade.