Podcast appearances and mentions of bonnie gabel

Hey, buds!  Did you miss us?  We missed you!  So, we're back with a bonus episode. But first:  Please come to our Season 2 Wrap Party, Friday May 31.  We will do trivia related to the season and have and listening booths.  We will also be rolling out the first ever Last Call Mix Tape.  It will be a free event, so please come join us!  You can find more details here. This piece was produced back in 2017 by Last Call Co-founder, Bonnie Gabel and free feral for a project Alternate Roots did, called Creating Place: The Art of Equitable Community Building.  "Creating Place is a multimedia collection of explorations, reflections, challenges, and offerings to the national dialogue around creative placemaking, created by ROOTS members."  In a nutshell, the series explores artists who are creating spaces for their communities with the work they do in the US South.  In this piece, we talk about the origins of Last Call, the process of creating the podcast, and the making of Alleged Lesbian Activities.  We also discuss building equity in a small organization. You’ll hear from Rachel Lee, Erin Roussel, Shanelle Mills, indee mitchell, Bonnie Gabel and free feral.  Music by free.  Enjoy.

This week, we are bringing you a newer take on a classic from season 1. This story came to us through Ellen Rabin in an interview with Bonnie Gabel and Rachel Lee.  Ellen became an ancestor in September 2018.  She was a entrepreneur and community caregiver for the LGBTQIA+ community of New Orleans all her life.  She owned several businesses throughout her life, including the Apple Barrel in the Marigny Triangle (now Horns -- previously La Peniche).  She shared so much of herself with so many people and kept so many people safe when they had no where else to go. Her friend, Alda Talley, said this of her: "She provided the places we could gather, like The Apple Barrel. She dealt with the mob (absolutely required in decades passed) so that others might open their bars, obtain a liquor license, have a jukebox and pinball machines, and be allowed to stay open w/o harassment. Somehow, she did this w/o ever paying them a dime. When they finally demanded money she left town instead, waited for a few years, and then was right back at it. She used her connections inside the NOPD to warn of raids on the bars, to keep people out of jail, and to get them out and cleared when necessary. Ellen housed, fed, and even sent to college many of our most vulnerable trans folks, sufferers from AIDS, victims of Queer on Queer violence, the down, and out. Her home was open to all comers, whatever their need. She helped bury our dead when no one else would claim them. All the while maintaining her raucous laughing ways and surviving multiple cancers and chronic illnesses. We should, any of us, be and do even half of all Ellen did for all of us. Blessed be Ellen Rabin with the Angels and the Saints. Blessed are we all for her having lived among us." We are SO SO thankful for Ellen and SO thankful she shared so many of her stories and experiences with us.  She is survived by a vibrant community who misses her.   this episode was produced and scored by free feral.

“We want to archive and collect stories on our own terms. A big part of documenting the history is documenting the history for us, by us. And that’s the big seed of everything, everything starts from the story. Everything starts from these interviews and relationships with these elders and the intergenerational connections.” - Indee Mitchell For episode 18 we talked to Bonnie Gabel and Indee Mitchell about their project Last Call: New Orleans Dyke Bar History Project. This project creates a digital archive of queer oral history, hosts a podcast series and tutorials and puts on live performances and events in service of these projects. Look out for our next episode where we talk to Sarah Humble about her interview with the queer photographer Janet Ryan that she submitted to The Leather Archives Museum. Follow this channel for more great content! Please share, like, and send us feedback about the podcast.

“Because I couldn’t define it in terms of sexuality, it’s like you would try to define it in terms of gender.” - Interview with Ann, Beth, and Susan facilitated by Michael Riordon For episode 17 we talked to Michael Riordon about his experiences collecting interviews for his book Out Our Way: Gay and Lesbian Life in the Country. We discuss his interview with Ann, Beth, and Susan and how understanding the texture of queerness has had different implications over time. We also discuss the particularities of queer activism in rural areas. Look out for our next episode where we talk to Bonnie Gabel and Indee Mitchell and their project Last Call: New Orleans Dyke Bar History Project. This project creates a digital archive of queer oral history, hosts a podcast series and tutorials, and puts on live performances and events in service of these projects. Follow this channel for more great content! Please share, like, and send us feedback about the podcast.

Bonnie Gabel & indee mitchell are theater makers, community organizers and cultural historians.  They are company members of Last Call.  Most recently the co-directed Alleged Lesbian Activities. Our theme music is by Rotary Downs. Our sponsor is Dirty Coast.

This special episode was recorded live from the set of Alleged Lesbian Activities on the afternoon of our last performance of a sold-out run. Rachel Lee discusses the process of creating ALA with writers nelle mills and Bear Hebert, and directors indee mitchell and Bonnie Gabel, with additional commentary from performer Erin Roussel. Special thanks to Mallory Falk and Wendy Gaudin. 

Why did all the dyke bars close? What did we lose when they shut down? In this final episode of our initial podcast series we hear answers to these foundational questions from interviewees and Last Call organizers.  Want to support the creation of powerful work that documents and interrogates the legacy of New Orleans dyke bars? Check out our kickstarter at bit.ly/dykebarmusical.  Produced by Free Feral with help from Bonnie Gabel and Rachel Lee. Music by Free Feral and Peter Bowling. Featuring the voices of: Liz Simon, Alda Talley, Mary Capps, Donna Bechet-Kilbourne, Mardi Youngblood, Ellen Rabin, Maxx Sizeler, Rachel Lee, indee mitchell, Bonnie Gabel and Blu Reine. 

Remember when Pride didn't come with corporate sponsorship and gay liberation was about standing up, not fitting in? Restaurant owner Ellen Rabin remembers the first gay march in New Orleans and her own subversive action. Produced by Free Feral with interviewing by Rachel Lee and Bonnie Gabel. Music by Free Feral.