Arts & Entertainment
Born again music
Gay former gospel singer finds success in electro-dance pop
Chris Willis, who’s single, averages about 40 weekends a year traveling. (Photo by Marco Ovando courtesy BIG Management)
Paris is apparently a lucky name for singer Chris Willis.
The Ohio-born singer/songwriter had a great run in contemporary Christian music in the ‘90s; one of his biggest gigs was working as a backup singer for gospel legend Twila Paris on her seminal 1993 “Beyond a Dream Tour” though later he established himself as a go-to session singer and had his own gospel album out.
Later in Paris, France he collaborated with French producer/DJ David Guetta and the two enjoyed an unusually rich partnership that resulted in the No. 1 dance hits “Love is Gone”, “Give it All You Got” (both 2007) and “Gettin’ Over You,” a 2010 collaboration with Fergie and LMFAO.
Now Willis, who essentially rebuilt his music career from scratch after coming out around the new millennium, is branching out solo once again. His hit “Louder (Put Your Hands Up)” was a No. 1 hit in 2010 on the Billboard dance chart. Last year’s “Too Much in Love” went to No. 4. Last month it went to No. 1 on the DJ Times Dance/Crossover chart.
They’re both on his latest EP “Premium: Songs From the Love Ship, vol. 1,” which dropped in November. He’s planning two more installments and spends about three weekends a month on the road, performing 30-minute sets in dance clubs all over the world. He’ll be in Washington on Feb. 21 for a media blitz, though no performances are planned.
He remembers a pivotal turning point during a break in performing on a cruise ship in the late ‘90s — the feelings are eerily similar to those shared by many other gays who grew up in evangelical Christianity.
“I was always thinking, ‘How do I reconcile this with what I hear in sermons and what I read in the Bible,’” Willis, 43, says during a phone interview from his Atlanta home. “All those years living in the closet I tried to pray it away and lived with all this doubt, guilt and shame. I couldn’t reconcile the process either. It felt odd in a way because to a degree, I always had a certain sense of peace in my soul. I had to really learn to adopt a philosophy that there are no mistakes and for whatever reason, this is the hand I’ve been dealt. I started to realize that nothing positive was ever going to happen unless I accepted it.”
Despite the inner struggle, Willis says he enjoyed his years in Nashville working with gospel acts like Paris, Mark Lowry, Amy Grant and others (he’s also cut vocals for Dusty Springfield, Ricky Martin, Kelly Rowland and Quincy Jones). He considers several of Grant’s former back-up singers such as Donna McElroy, Vickie Hampton and Kim Fleming, dear friends who helped him network wildly in the ‘90s.
“I have such respect for those years and that time,” he says. “It was a great grooming period for me and though it was tough personally and internally, I learned to take the good with the odd and bad and embrace and appreciate the whole pie.”
After moving to New York, he started to rebuild his career almost from scratch. He had “almost no contact” with people from his Nashville years and says there’s almost zero crossover between the gospel and electro/dance industry brass. Never mind that the industry paradigm was, of course, crumbling around him — he did one album for Warner Brothers that was shelved. His second, an eponymous 1996 release, did modestly well on Star Song, in imprint eventually bought by EMI.
Willis met Guetta in Miami in 2000. They clicked musically and Willis is featured on the title cut to Guetta’s 2002 debut, “Just a Little More Love.” It was only a modest international hit but it was the start of the second major phase of Willis’s career.
Despite his successes — Willis says clubgoers all over the world know his songs and sing along when he makes appearances — it’s still a highly competitive field.
“I can make a great impact in the electro market but on the charts, you’re up against the latest remixes from Beyonce or Rihanna and it’s really intimidating,” he says. “As an artist, it obviously makes me a little nervous, but I love making music and taking that risk and chance. And you know, I tend not to pay so much attention to the charts. It’s a great way to avoid being disappointed. I’m just happy to be able to work and travel and I have many loyal supporters who help keep me going.”
The DC LGBTQ+ Community Center is marking a milestone year in its new home with a vibrant birthday celebration, inviting the community, allies, and media to join the festivities on Saturday, April 25 at 1 p.m.
Since opening its doors in Shaw, The DC LGBTQ+ Community Center has become a hub of support, advocacy, and celebration for LGBTQ+ residents across the District.
The birthday bash promises a day of programming including Yoga (Center Wellness), Micro Bouquet Making (Center Social), Zine Making (Center Arts), and so much more. Guests can also enjoy tours of the Center’s expanded facilities, showcasing spaces for programs, services, and community events.
Since relocating, the Center has expanded its programs, providing critical services. The birthday bash underscores the DC LGBTQ+ Community Center’s commitment to creating an inclusive space where everyone regardless of identity, age, or background can find community and empowerment.
For more details, contact Paul Marengo at 202-705-2890.
Friday, April 24
Center Aging Monthly Luncheon With Yoga will be at 12 p.m. at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. Email Mac at [email protected] if you require ASL interpreter assistance, have any dietary restrictions, or questions about this event.
Lesbian Visibility Week will be at 7 p.m. at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. There will be a special screening of “Ahead of the Curve.” Enjoy an evening of film, conversation, and community, with cocktails and beverages available throughout the night For more details, visit the DC Center’s website.
Trans Discussion Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This event is intended to provide an emotionally and physically safe space for trans people and those who may be questioning their gender identity/expression to join together in community and learn from one another. For more details, email [email protected].
Saturday, April 25
Go Gay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Community Brunch” at 11 a.m. at Freddie’s Beach Bar & Restaurant. This fun weekly event brings the DMV area LGBTQ+ community, including allies, together for delicious food and conversation. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
Sunday, April 26
Nellie’s Sports Bar will host “Nellie’s DC Drag Brunch” at 12 p.m. Join Sapphire Blue, Deja Diamond and their team of drag performers for the most fun you’ll have all weekend. Tickets start at $58.51 and are available on Eventbrite.
LGBTQ+ Community Coffee and Conversation will be at 12 p.m. at As You Are. This event is for people looking to make more friends and meaningful connections in the LGBTQ community. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
Monday, April 27
“Center Aging: Monday Coffee Klatch” will be at 10 a.m. on Zoom. This is a social hour for older LGBTQ+ adults. Guests are encouraged to bring a beverage of choice. For more information, contact Adam ([email protected]).
Genderqueer DC will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a support group for people who identify outside of the gender binary, whether you’re bigender, agender, genderfluid, or just know that you’re not 100% cis. For more details, visit genderqueerdc.org or Facebook.
Tuesday, April 28
The DC Center for the LGBT Community will host “Candlelight Vigil” at 6:30 p.m. This is a vigil centered on reflection, support, and collective care. Attendees are encouraged to gather at 6:30 p.m., with the program beginning promptly at 7 p.m. and concluding by 8 p.m. The event will take place on the closed-off Wiltberger Street, providing a dedicated and intimate space for remembrance. Electronic candle lights will be available to participants. For those seeking additional support or who have questions ahead of the event, please contact [email protected].
Wednesday, April 29
Job Club will be at 6 p.m. on Zoom upon request. This is a weekly job support program to help job entrants and seekers, including the long-term unemployed, improve self-confidence, motivation, resilience and productivity for effective job searches and networking — allowing participants to move away from being merely “applicants” toward being “candidates.” For more information, email [email protected] or visit thedccenter.org/careers.
The DC Center for the LGBT Community will host “Movement for Healing” at 3 p.m. This trauma- and yoga therapy–informed class is designed to help guests gently reconnect with their body and their breath. Through mindful movement, somatic awareness, and grounding practices, guests will explore how to release tension, increase mobility, and cultivate a deeper sense of safety and ease within. For more details, visit the DC Center’s website.
Thursday, April 30
The DC Center’s Fresh Produce Program will be held all day at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. People will be informed on Wednesday at 5 p.m. if they are picked to receive a produce box. No proof of residency or income is required. For more information, email [email protected] or call 202-682-2245.
Virtual Yoga Class will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This free weekly class is a combination of yoga, breathwork and meditation that allows LGBTQ+ community members to continue their healing journey with somatic and mindfulness practices. For more details, visit the DC Center’s website.
a&e features
Memorial for groundbreaking bisexual activist set for May 2
Loraine Hutchins remembered as a ‘force of nature’
The Montgomery County Pride Center will host a celebration honoring the life and legacy of Loraine Hutchins, Ph.D., on May 2. People are invited to attend the onsite memorial or a livestream event. The on-site event will begin at 10 a.m. with a meet-and-greet mixer before moving into a memorial service around the theme “Loraine a Force of Nature!” at 11 a.m., a panel talk at 12 p.m., break out sessions for artists, academics, and activists to build on her legacy at 1 p.m. and a closing reception at 2 p.m.
Attendees are encouraged to register for the on-site memorial gathering or the livestreamed memorial. The goal of this event is also to collect stories and memories of Loraine. Attendees and others can share their stories at padlet.com.
An obituary for Hutchins was published in the Bladelast Nov. 24, where people can learn more about her activism in the bisexual community. A private service for friends and family was held in December but this memorial service is open to all.
Alongside her groundbreaking work organizing for U.S. bisexual rights and liberation including co-editing “Bi Any Other Name: BIsexual People Speak Out” (1991), she also integrated faith into her sexual education and advocacy work. Her 2001 doctoral dissertation, “Erotic Rites: A Cultural Analysis of Contemporary U.S. Sacred Sexuality Traditions and Trends,” offered a pointed queer and feminist analysis to sex-neutral and sex-positive spiritual traditions in the United States. Her thesis was also groundbreaking in exploring the intersections between sex workers and those in caregiving professionals, including spiritual ones.
In an oral history interview conducted by Michelle Mueller back in August 2023, Hutchins described herself as a “priestess without a congregation.” While she has occasionally had a sense of community and feels part of a group of loving people, she admitted that “I don’t feel like we have the shape or the purpose that we need.”
“I’ve often experienced being the Cassandra in the room, the Cassandra in the community. Somebody who’s kind of way out there ahead, thinking through the strategic action points that my community hasn’t gotten to yet, and getting a lot of resistance and hostile responses from people who are frightened by dissent and conflict and not ready for the changes we have to make to survive,” she said.
“For somebody who’s bisexual in an out political way and who’s been a spokesperson for the polyamory movement in an out political way, it’s very exposing. And it’s very important to me to be able to try to explain and help other people understand the connection between spirituality and sexuality,” she explained citing how even as a graduate student she was “exploring how to feel erotic and spiritual, and not feel them in conflict with each other in my own spiritual contemplative life and my own sensual body awareness of being alive in the world.”
“Every religion has a sense of sacred sexuality. It’s just they put a lot of boundaries and regulations on it, and if we have a spiritual practice that is totally affirming of women’s priesthood and of gay people, queer people’s ability to minister to everyone and to be ministered to be everyone, what does that do to the gender of God, or our understanding of how we practice our spirituality and our sexuality in community and privately?”
“There’s no easy answer,” she concludes, and she continued to grapple with these questions throughout her life, co-editing another seminal text, “Sexuality, Religion and the Sacred: Bisexual, Pansexual, and Polysexual Perspectives,” published in 2012. Her work blending spiritual and queer liberation remains groundbreaking to this day.
Rev. Eric Eldritch, a local community organizer and ordained Pagan minister with Circle Sanctuary who has worked for decades with the DC Center’s Center Faith to organize the Pride Interfaith Service, is eager to highlight this element of her legacy at the memorial service next month.
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