Arts & Entertainment
From music to fashion, catching up with Steve Grand
‘All American Boy’ now focused on his clothing brand
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of gay singer/songwriter turned fashion designer Steve Grand? Some folks will undoubtedly answer his breakout hit single, “All American Boy,” and the accompanying video. Both were significant in that the song was an unabashedly queer country tune with visuals to match. Of course, it didn’t hurt that Grand was model-handsome and had a flawless body on display. So far, we have his singing voice, songwriting chops, and impressive looks and physique. It’s that gym body, and his own personal interest in the kinds of garments that show them off, that has led him to create his Grand Axis (shopGrandAxis.com) clothing line, featuring men’s underwear and swimwear. Steve was kind enough to make time for an interview, and after you finish reading it, you’ll want to follow him on his socials: @GrandAxis (Instagram), @GrandAxis (TikTok), and @Grand_Axis (Twitter). You won’t be disappointed.
BLADE: Since the release of your debut single in 2013, the country-oriented “All American Boy,” several other male country artists, including Ty Herndon, Billy Gilman, Orville Peck, and TJ Osborne have come out as gay. Do you feel that your being an out musician had anything to do with that?
STEVE GRAND: I think, more than anything, it had to do with the major cultural shift that was happening across this country. According to the Gallup polls, public support for gay marriage went from 40% approval in May 2009, to 60% approval in May 2015. Gay marriage was a big topic of discussion in the early 2010s for a lot of reasons. You had artists like (Lady) Gaga frequently talking about her gay fans, you had gay characters coming out in TV shows; you had the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” in 2011, and then Obergefell in 2015. I think the internet, and the rise of social media had more to do with it than anything. Before social media, corporate press and big movie and TV studios drove the narrative on these sorts of things. And because they are beholden to advertisers, which are more conservative and risk-averse, they would often avoid even acknowledging LGBTQ+ people for fear it would upset large sections of the country. But I think social media gave regular people an opportunity to be their authentic selves. And it gave artists/content creators like me the ability to make music and videos that could be seen by millions without needing the backing of a big record label.
BLADE: Almost 10 years ago, in 2015, you released your full-length debut album “All American Boy.” When you look back on that time, how would you describe it?
GRAND: It was a whirlwind. I remember being cognizant of the fact that it was all moving fast and that I needed to make a conscious effort to stop and take in all the cool, special, unique experiences I was having. Looking back, I don’t think I listened to that voice inside me enough. I always felt like my best days were ahead; that my moment had yet to come, and that I just needed to hunker down and keep working. And, unfortunately, that often kept me from embracing the present moment.
It’s funny, my best memories of that time end up being all the times in between, like the road trips with my tour manager and whatever members of the band I was traveling with. I was always thinking about what I needed to be doing better or focused on the show, but it is those conversations on the road when we were tired, hungover, and stressing about where we needed to be, traveling from one venue to the next, that I remember most fondly.
BLADE: What kind of music are you listening to for enjoyment these days?
GRAND: I am loving the new Billie Eilish record. And the country record Post Malone just made. I continue to appreciate him more and more. Whenever I see him in interviews I am just so impressed with how centered and genuine he is; how he seems to know exactly who he is. There is a real depth and a goodness in him, and I think that really comes through in his voice.
BLADE: Am I remembering correctly that for a while, you left Chicago for LA? If that’s correct, what was that experience like for you?
GRAND: I spent some time in LA while I was making my first record. I stayed with a friend of a friend. Funny enough, I had never met them before the day I showed up at their door with my bags. It was on my 24th birthday. They gave and gave to me and never expected anything in return. I don’t think I ever went out and did any nightlife there. The friends I stayed with had a large group of friends and threw a lot of parties and events, so I really benefited from having their sort of built-in group of guys to hang out with when I stayed out there.
BLADE: How long have you been back in Chicago?
GRAND: Other than the several months I’ve spent in LA, my summers in Ptown, and winters in Puerto Vallarta, I’ve been in the Chicago area the whole time.
BLADE: What do you like best about being in Chicago?
GRAND: The lakefront in the summer. The fact that the crumby winters are something we all endure together, which means we also experience the beauty and aliveness of the spring and summer together. The winters are so cold and dead, but it makes you appreciate the beautiful weather in the summer, and all the plant life that comes back to life. The whole city comes alive when it starts getting nice. Everyone’s mood is lifted and there is a real sense that we need to make the most of the summer because it’s fleeting. I also love the people. Chicago is not as transient as cities like LA and New York where most people are not from there. Most Chicagoans have roots here. And people are genuinely nice and kind.
BLADE: In 2019, you launched Grand Axis, a clothing line designed by you that includes underwear, swimwear, shorts, socks, T-shirts, and hats. How did you come up with the name Grand Axis?
GRAND: I was about two weeks from going into production with the name “Grand.” I stupidly assumed I could use it because it was my name, but decided I should hire a trademark attorney just to be sure. I was told there were about 200 other companies that could have a copyright infringement claim, so I needed to come up with a name very quickly. I used word generators and all sorts of other methods of coming up with names. I went with “Axis” because I just like how it sounded together; I thought the word “Axis” was very strong, and I liked that it had the letter X in it, which just looks cool and strong.
BLADE: Was designing this kind of clothing a lifelong passion of yours, or was it something you stumbled upon and decided to run with it?
GRAND: Like a lot of gay men, I had my sexual awakening in the men’s underwear aisle at our local department store [laughs]. And personally, I’ve always found an attractive guy in a Speedo, briefs, or jockstrap even more sexy than seeing him naked. Even when I was a college student working a $10 an hour job and didn’t even have many regular clothes, I was buying more of this attire for myself than anything else. I started to get very fixated on the design and fit. I didn’t know how to sew, but I learned enough to make basic alterations to design and fit. Then I found some sites that made custom pieces. I began drawing my own patterns and having them sewn up. When I posted them on Instagram, I’d get lots of guys asking where they could buy them. And at that point I decided I should just produce them en masse. I thought it would be a side gig. I had no idea all that was involved. I think if I knew how hard it would be I may not have started it [laughs]! So, my ignorance kind of worked out to my benefit, because now I am deep in it and I’m happy I made it all work. So far at least.
BLADE: What’s the most rewarding part of Grand Axis?
GRAND: Going to the beach and seeing guys I don’t even know wearing my brand! It is so rewarding to see guys enjoying and looking great in something I spent hundreds of hours obsessing over every detail. That makes it all so worth it.
BLADE: What’s the most challenging part?
GRAND: A few things: Delegating. Dealing with factories to get them to make the pieces exactly how I want. Always having to make decisions about every aspect of the products and the business. The stress of wiring tens of thousands of dollars of my own money before I see any product. At the end of the day, if the factory goes under, you really don’t have any recourse. I’ve heard horror stories from other brands.
BLADE: You shared your recent pec tear workout injury, as well as your recovery, on social media. Are you fully back to 100% or still taking it easy?
GRAND: I am very grateful to be able to say recovery has been easy and painless. I had an excellent surgeon. The first surgeon I saw said it could not be repaired so I am very glad I got a second opinion. The worst part has been not being able to move much weight with it. There are so many exercises I can’t do, I’m afraid to say I have only had a handful of workouts in the last 10 weeks. I will be 75% healed at 12 weeks, but it will still be a few months before I can lift heavy. But in the scheme of things, I am just grateful I had a problem that could be fixed.
BLADE: Your second album, “Not The End of Me” was released in 2018. Because most people came to know you as a singer/songwriter first, I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask if there was more music from you in the works.
GRAND: I still will write music, but most songs are incomplete. I wish I could say I had another record ready to go, but when the pandemic happened and I wasn’t able to perform and lost 90% of my income that year, I had to make Grand-Axis my full-time job to pay the bills. And now that it has, I struggle to find the time and creative energy to make that happen. But I am still hopeful I will get back to it one of these days.
Movies
The queer appeal of ‘The Devil Wears Prada’
Tying the feminist and LGBTQ rights movements together on screen
“Would we have fashion without gay people? Forgive me, would we have anything?”
Those words, spoken by Miranda Priestley herself (actually by Meryl Streep, the 76-year-old acting icon who played her), may well sum up why “The Devil Wears Prada” has been a touchstone for queer audiences for two decades now.
Streep, who returns to big screens this weekend in the sequel to director David Frankel’s beloved 2006 classic (succinctly titled “The Devil Wears Prada 2”), expressed this nugget of allyship in a recent interview with Out magazine, promoting the new film’s upcoming release. It would be hard, as a member of the queer community, to disagree with her assessment. The world of fashion has always been inextricably linked with queer culture, and the whims of taste that drive it are so frequently shaped by queer men – and women, too – who have adopted it as a means of expressing their sense of identity from the very first time they thumbed through a copy of Vogue.
At the same time, the notion that “Prada” has been claimed by the community as “canon” simply because of the stereotypical idea that “gay people love fashion” feels like a lazy generalization. After all, fashion is about discernment – about knowing, if you will, whether a sweater is simply blue or if it is cerulean, and, importantly, understanding why it matters – and just because something ticks off a few basic boxes, that doesn’t mean it qualifies as “haute couture.”
So yes, the setting of the “Devil Wears Prada” universe in what might be called “ground zero” of the fashion industry plays a part in piquing queer interest, but to assume our obsession with it is explained as simply as that is, frankly, insulting. The fashion angle catches our interest, but it’s the story – and, more to the point, the central characters (all of which return in the sequel) – that reels us in.
First, there’s the ostensible heroine, Anne Hathaway’s Andrea (or rather, Andy) Sachs, who falls into the world of fashion almost by accident. She’s a recent college grad who wants to be a journalist, to write for a publication that operates on a less-superficial level than Runway magazine, but fate (for lack of a better word) places her in the job that “a million girls” would kill to have – assistant to Streep’s Miranda Priestly (based on Vogue editor Anna Wintour), who can determine an entire season’s fashion trends merely by pursing her lips. She’s idealistic, and dismissive of fashion in the overall scheme of human existence; she’s also stuck with a truly terrible boyfriend (Nate, played by Adrian Grenier) and trying to live up to the self-imposed expectations and ideals that have been foisted upon her since birth.
It’s clear from the start that none of this “fits” her particularly well. More significantly, the natural grace with which she blossoms, from “sad girl” fashion-victim to the epitome of effortless style, tells us that she was meant to be exactly where she is, all along.
Then, of course, there is Nigel (Stanley Tucci), the ever-loyal art director and “Gay Best Friend” that’s always there to provide just the right saving touch for both Miranda and Andy, helping to boost the former while gifting the latter with his own insight, “tough love,” and impeccable taste. Never mind that he’s a queer character played by a straight actor – Tucci avoids stereotype and performative flamboyance by simply playing it with pure, universally relatable authenticity – or that he ends up, at the end of the original film, betrayed by his goddess yet deferring his own dream to double down on his commitment to hers. Anyone who has ever been a gay man in the orbit of a remarkable woman knows exactly how he feels. Of course, they also probably know the precarious life of being a queer person in the workplace – something that carries its own set of compromises, disappointments, and determinations to go above-and-beyond just to make oneself invaluable to the powers that be.
Which brings us to Emily (Emily Blunt), the cutthroat “first assistant” who does her level best to keep Andy in her place, who goes to extremes (“I’m just one stomach flu away from my goal weight”) to be the “favorite” no matter how much cruelty she has to unleash on those who threaten her status. Some see her as merely an obstacle in the way of Andy’s rise to success, an antagonist whose efforts to embody the “no mercy” persona of an ascendent girl boss only expose her own mediocrity. But for many, she’s just another victim doomed to fail and fall while watching others rise to the top. Queer, straight, or in-between, who among us hasn’t been there?
Finally, of course, there is Streep’s Miranda Priestley, the presumed “devil” of the title and the epitome of mercilessly autocratic authority, who has earned her status and her power by embracing the toxic modus operandiof a misogynistic hierarchy in order to conquer it. Yes, she’s more than just a little horrible, a strict gatekeeper who hones in on perceived weaknesses with all the vicious premeditation of a hawk with its eyes on a luckless rabbit, and it would be easy to despise her if she weren’t so damn fabulous. But thanks to the incomparable Oscar-nominated performance from Streep – along with the glimpses we are afforded into her “real” life along the way – she is not just aspirational, but iconic. Stoic, imperturbable, always three steps ahead and never affording an inch of slack for any perceived shortcoming, there’s an undeniable excellence about her that inspires us to see beyond the obvious dysfunction of the “work ethic” she represents; and sure, there’s enough emotionally detached enthusiasm in her torment/training of Andy to fuel countless volumes of erotic lesbian fan-fiction (Google “MirAndy,” if you dare), but when we eventually recognize that she might just be the ultimate “fashion victim” of them all, it doesn’t just cut us to the core – it strikes a chord that should be universally recognizable to anyone who has had to make their own “deal with the devil” in order to claim agency in their own lives. In this way, “The Devil Wears Prada” comes closer than probably any mainstream film to tying the feminist and queer rights movements together in common cause.
In any case, each character, in their way, can easily be tied to a facet of queer identity – and indeed, to the identity of anyone who must work twice (or more) as hard as a straight white Christian male to succeed. We can see ourselves reflected in all of them – and whether we aspire to be Miranda (I mean, who wouldn’t?), identify with Andy, recognize our worst traits in Emily, or empathize with Nigel and his deferential suffering, there’s something in “The Devil Wears Prada” that resonates with everyone.
Now let’s see if the sequel can say the same.
Lesbifriends Travel will host “Queer Night Out: DC Power FC Game” on Wednesday May 6 at 7 p.m. at Audi Field.
This will be a fun night out as DC Power FC takes the field at Audi Field, kicking off with a happy hour meetup in Navy Yard before the group walks to the stadium together. Lesbifriends and Travel group will be seated together in the stands, making it easy to connect, cheer, and enjoy the game with people who just feel like your people.
More details are available on Eventbrite.
Friday, May 1
Go Gay DC will host “First Friday LGBTQ+ Community Social” at 7 p.m. at Silver Diner Ballston. This is a chance to relax, make new friends, and enjoy happy hour specials at this classic retro venue. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
“Illusions The Drag Queen Show Washington, D.C.” will be at 7 p.m. at 2323 18th St., N.W. Come see this amazing D.C. drag show and laugh all night long while being amazed by the stellar performances in tribute to some of your old-time favorite classics as well as the latest pop favorites. Come see the likes of Madonna, Cher, Tina Turner, Whitney Houston, Joan Rivers, Phyllis Diller, Beyoncé, Pink, and many more. Tickets are $12.97 and are available on Eventbrite.
Saturday, May 2
Go Gay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Community Brunch” at 11:00a.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.
Drag Queen Sip and Paint Washington DC will be at 4 p.m. at Town Tavern DC. This event combines the joy of painting with the lively energy of a drag queen, offering an hour and a half of fun, creativity, and entertainment. Participants paint a canvas while enjoying cocktails, all under the guidance of a glamorous drag queen host. Tickets are $47.19 and are available on Eventbrite.
Monday, May 4
“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]).
Tuesday, May 5
Universal Pride Meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This group seeks to support, educate, empower, and create change for people with disabilities. For more details, email [email protected].
Wednesday, May 6
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.
Center Aging Women’s Social and Discussion Group will be at 6 p.m. on Zoom. This group is a place where older LGBTQ+ women can meet and socialize with one another. There will be discussion, activities, and a chance for guests to share what they want future events to include. For more information, email [email protected].
Thursday, May 7
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, breath work 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.
Tennessee’s trans data bill a frightening omen
The queer appeal of ‘The Devil Wears Prada’
Lesbifriends Travel to host queer night out
Republicans attach five anti-LGBTQ riders to State Department funding bill
Calendar: May 1-7
House Republicans push nationwide ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill
European Parliament backs EU-wide conversion therapy ban
Rep. Sarah McBride reflects on first year in Congress amid political backlash
LGBTQ people are leaving Orthodox Judaism behind
Democracy Forward files FOIA request for State Department bathroom policy records
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Federal Government5 days agoHouse Republicans push nationwide ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill
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European Union3 days ago
European Parliament backs EU-wide conversion therapy ban
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Delaware4 days ago
Rep. Sarah McBride reflects on first year in Congress amid political backlash
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News5 days ago
LGBTQ people are leaving Orthodox Judaism behind
