Sobering stats revealed
at AIDS conference Page 3
Coalition responds
to anti-gay ads Page 11
The Carolinas’ Most Comprehensive Gay & Lesbian Newspaper
Published Every Two Weeks On Recycled Paper • Volume 13, Number 5 • July 25, 1998 • FREE
Cultuire Club: Reunited and it feels so good Lesbian accused
of hate crime
by Jeffrey L. Newman
Special to Q-Notes
Nearly 14 years after becoming the first
queen since Elizabeth to grace the cover of
People, Newsweek and Time magazines, singer
Boy George is doing what no one ever thought
he would; getting back with his old band.
After a much publicized break-up — and
years of backbiting and cat-fighting between
band members — Culmre Club, with all of its
original personnel including George (vocals),
Mikey Craig (bass), Roy Hay (guitar, key
boards) and Jon Moss (drums), has just kicked
off a comeback tour. (The band s Charlotte stop
is scheduled for the day this issue hits the street,
the Raleigh show the day before.)
Born George O’Dowd, Boy George came
to prominence 12 years ago as the staple drag
queen in one of the ’80’s most popular music
groups. With his flamboyant persona and sur
prisingly soulful voice, George helped Culture
Club amass a collection of hits that included
“Do You Really Want To Hurt Me,” “I’ll
Tumble 4 Ya,” “Karma Chameleon,” “Church
of the Poison Mind,” “Miss Me Blind” and
“Time (Clock of the Heart).”
The band’s debut album. Kissing To Be
Clever, produced three top 10 singles, more than
any debut since The Beades, and was a smash
all over the world. The follow-up. Colour By
Numbers, produced three more top 10s and
propelled Culture Club to superstar status.
Things soured quickly, however, and by the
end of the decade, the group had disbanded.
But according to George, the behemoth never
really died.
*%»
Club kids: (Tr) Roy Hay, Boy George, Jon Moss and Mikey Craig
hoax in SC
“Culture Club was such a big thing. It’s re
ally difficult to escape from that. Look at David
Lee Roth; he had the same problem [after leav
ing Van Halen]. Any artist who is associated
with a big band does. Only a handful of artists
have been able to transcend that successfully,”
he adds. “But we never completed our cycle.
Wc never topped Colour By Numbers, which
was the perfect pop album. After that, we be
came too bogged down with being fabulous and
living a luxurious lifestyle. Music became sec
ondary. This should correct that.”
George says the band has moved on from
their earlier troubles, which included his own
highly-publicized bout with drug addiction and
his tumultuous romantic relationship with
bandmate Moss, who now has a longterm girl
friend with whom he has a daughter. “Jon and
I are still best friends and very much still a
couple, we just don’t shag each other any more.
“As I got older, I realized that it was more
See REUNITED on page 4
Gay directory publisher closes doors, future uncertain
by Dan Van Mourik
Q-Notes Staff
CHARLOTTE—In January, Q-Notes re
ported that the Gay Community Yellow Pages
(GCYP) would publish a Charlotte edition in
July. Now, we must report that Out West Pub
lications in Phoenix, AZ (headquarters for a
variety of companies in various states to pub
lish the directories) has gone out of business.
GCYP was known as Chapter 2 Publishing, Inc.
in Charlotte and should not be confused with
the Gay Yellow Pages,” a separate company in
New York which is still very much in business.
Marci Alt, owner of Out West Publications,
says she has lost $1.4 million revenue during
the past year and has decided to sell off each
publication in the major individual cities it
serves, leaving the Charlotte directory very
much in limbo.
In February, Q-Notes also reported a variety
of allegations levied against GCYP in an inves
tigational article published in Phoenix-based
Echo magazine. The allegations included a
murder-for hire plot, kidnapping, drug use,
forgery, business fraud, writing of bad checks
and a maze of lawsuits regarding business prac
tices and personnel disputes.
In a June 11 Echo article, Alt blamed the
earlier Echo article for the demise of her com
pany. “This company did $2 million in rev
enue two years ago, but since that Echo came
out, we’ve only produced $600,000,” Alt said.
“It is very difficult to run this company with
that kind of loss. I have no alternative but to
close the doors. But we are not closing the doors
in a typical way. I have individual buyers for
each book in the major cities, and Phoenix is
one of those major cities.”
Alt insisted she and the company have op
erated openly and honesdy and that she still
plans to file legal action against Echo.
Answering the two most prevalent rumors,
Alt said she is neither filing bankruptcy nor has
the Internal Revenue Service shut down the
business. “The IRS is giving me plenty of time
and doing everything in its power to let me pay
off the tax money owed to them,” she said, add
ing it was her decision to close down.
All phone numbers for Marci Alt and her
company have been disconnected. GCYP’s web
site remains operational, but Q-Notes has not
received a reply to email . Therefore, we do
not know if Alt has arranged for a buyer of the
Charlotte edition nor if there are plans for the
return of monies paid by advertisers. Based on
the information received, it appears unlikely the
directoty will be published by GCYP.
The Charlotte edition is not the only publi
cation in question. Several other cities are still
waiting for their editions of the directory. The
Philadelphia edition was scheduled to be pub
lished in January 1998 and as of June, had not
yet appeared. The Phoenix edition has also
missed its target date.
Q-Notes has learned that Alt has moved back
to Adanta where she started GCYP, but her tele
phone number is unlisted. Calls to her attorney’s
office produced no results other than the ac
knowledgement that our calls were received. T
by Brian M. Myer
Q-Notes Staff
LANCASTER, SC—The Lancaster woman
who made headlines in mid-May as the appar
ent victim of two vicious anti-gay hate crimes
will face charges of fabricating her story and
furnishing false information to law enforce
ment. Regan Wolf, 40, turned herself in to po
lice the morning of July 15 and was charged
with falsely reporting that she had been tied up
c and whipped twice because she’s a lesbian.
If she is found guilty. Wolf could get up to
_ 30 days in jail or a fine of $200. With court
.5 fees, the fine would be $850.
“ In December 1997, Wolf told police that a
man had come to her home in eastern Lancaster
o County, hit her on the head and knocked her
unconscious. Police reported that her mother
found her tied spread-eagle to the front porch
with numerous whip marks across her back. The
words “Jesus weren’t born for you, faggot” were
spray painted on the steps.
Wolf reported a similar incident to police
on May 13, saying that her partner, Jenna Wolf,
found her tied up after she had been attacked
and brutally beaten a second time {Q-Notes,
May 30 1998).
On July 14, the Lancaster Sheriff’s Office
and the SC Law Enforcement Division (SLED)
issued two warrants for Wolf’s arrest. Hugh
Munn, SLED spokesman, said an acquaintance
of Wolf had come forward and admitted to in
flicting the December heating for money. “He
was paid $50, with a promise of a total pay
ment of $350. The following payments were
never made.” Munn reported that the unnamed
acquaintance claimed he and Wolf purchased
red paint, gloves and a double-thick belt at Wal-
Mart and teturned to her home where she lay
face down on a bed while he repeatedly struck
her across the back.
Joe McCulloch,Wolf’s attorney, flatly
charged that the unnamed informant’s story was
false. “[Regan] does not know why that person
would make such an untrue statement,” he said.
“We’re looking into his motivation and back
ground right now.”
Though Wolf, through her attorney, is
standing by her story, in the arrest warrants
SLED claims that the acquaintance was admin
istered a polygraph test that showed “no de
ception.” Also, Munn reported that forensic
experts had analyzed photographs of the paral
lel whip marks across Wolf’s back and hypoth
esized that she may have been “a willing par
ticipant in their infliction.”
Wolf was escorted in handcuffs to the
See HOAX on page 22
MCC-Chariotte approves new pastor after year-long pulpit vacancy
by David Stout
Q-Notes Staff
CHARLOTTE—Ending a
period of more than a year
without a pastor, members
of the Metropolitan Com
munity Church of Charlotte
filled the vacancy at a spe
cial June congregational
meeting when they over
whelmingly called Rev.
Mick Hinson into full-time service.
Although the church’s pastoral search com
mittee fielded applications from across the na
tion, in the end they recommended the outgo
ing pastor of another MCC just 90 minutes
away in SC — MCC-Greenville.
Rev. Hinson led the church for six years be
fore stepping down in early summer. During
his tenure, MCC-Greenville tripled in atten
dance and acquired its own building. He said
his decision to tesign was not connected with
his subsequent hiring in Charlotte.
Rev. Hinson takes over a pulpit that was in
turmoil a year ago, when the previous pastor
was forced out under a cloud of controversy.
Despite the hurt and upheaval that accom
panied the ouster, most members continued to
attend services and financially support the
church. Membership still stands at around 135,
making MCC-Charlotte one of the largest
churches in the Gulf Lower Adantic District.
According to Rev. Hinson, enough time has
passed for the church to complete its healing
and enter a period of new growth. “Dealing
with the pain and hurt is a priority for us to
move on. But, teality dictates that people must
identify their anger, forgive it and move for
ward. I know we are going to do it.”
What does the future hold? “In five years I
see us tripling in size and in our own place.”
Rev. Hinson is certain the church can reach
this lofty goal. “There are so many more people
involved in ministries in the church here [com
pared to MCC-Greenville]. We have a Coun
cil of Ministries here. Also, this community has
a lot more agencies for gays and AIDS services.”
Serving the community is a big issue with
Rev. Hinson who displays a “Volunteer of the
Year” award on his office wall. He says the
church should focus on areas that aren’t being
covered by the city’s other groups. “We have to
get with them and find out how to fill the gaps.
In Greenville, we had to start all the services
for gays and lesbians. The church has greater
flexibility in this community.”
But, there is plenty of time to explore all of
that. Fot now, Hinson and six-year partner
Gene Skelton are simply happy to have gotten
all their belongings into an apartment that is
slightly more than half the size of their old one.
And like nearly every other transplant to the
Queen City, they wonder, “What’s up with all
the roads that have the exact same name?” ▼