Gay Strip Club Junkie

Shower Contest at Spin

2010-01-02T19:50:00.001-08:00

Here are some video stills from the shower contest at Spin nightclub in Chicago, IL. I took them with the new love o' my life, my Digital Harinezumi 2.

You can see some pix that I took at another Spin shower contest here.

More Go-Go Boy Montage

2009-12-13T02:17:00.000-08:00

Go Go Boy Montage at Club Rush in NYC

2009-12-07T02:16:00.000-08:00

Pics from Sex Worker Literati

2009-12-07T02:14:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos that my friend, Seth (yes, the "Seth" from the book), took of me reading at Sex Worker Literati in NYC last week:

Shower Contest at Spin

2009-10-25T02:12:00.000-07:00

AMERICAN BOYS: a strip club diary

2009-08-05T02:11:00.000-07:00

For the past few years, I've been working on a project chronicling my adventures in gay strip clubs across the country. Now I've compiled the project into a photo book and video presentation. Below, you can order the book, which includes pictures of such adult film stars as Brent Corrigan, Blake Riley, Cameron Marshall, and Austin Wilde. You can also view an excerpt from the video presentation and footage from the video premiere. Enjoy and thanks, as always, for the support.

AMERICAN BOYS:...

By Craig Seymour

Book Preview

AMERICAN BOYS: A STRIP CLUB DIARY--THE VIDEO
* I've posted it on multiple sites because sometimes my stuff gets deleted...

AMERICAN BOYS: a strip club diary

VIDEO FROM THE PREMIERE:

ALL I COULD BARE 101

2009-08-04T02:08:00.000-07:00

All I Could Bare: My Life in the Strip Clubs of Gay Washington, D.C.

WHO AM I:
I am a writer/photographer, who has written for The Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, Vibe, and Spin, among other publications. I've served as Pop Music Critic for the Buffalo News and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. I hold a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Maryland in College Park, and am currently Associate Professor of Journalism at Northern Illinois University.

WHAT'S THE BOOK ABOUT:
It's the true story of how I started stripping as a part of a grad school project and ultimately found the experience to be life changing. Through various twists of fate, stripping led me to become an entertainment journalist (the book include humorous run-ins with Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, and Mary J. Blige) and now a college professor.

WHAT CRITICS HAVE SAID:
"Unafraid to bare it all...readers will feel they’re in the hands of an expert." Publisher's Weekly

"...a bare-assed, neon-lit tour de force..." The Bay Area Reporter

"Raunchy splendor...somehow both bawdy and sweetly nostalgic at the same time." Dallas Voice

VIDEO EXCERPTS:

The Shit Story (NSFW)

2009-06-24T02:07:00.000-07:00

Here's an excerpt from my book, All I Could Bare: My Life in the Strip Clubs of Gay Washington, D.C., taken from a reading at Women & Children First bookstore in Chicago.

And if you missed it, here's a video of me reading Chapter 1:

And here's a quick ALL I COULD BARE 101

ALL I COULD BARE Paperback Jacket

2009-06-09T02:06:00.000-07:00

Pre-order here.

NYC Trip

2009-06-08T02:04:00.000-07:00

So I went to NYC last week and took some pix. First I went to The F Word party on Saturday. And, seriously, hasn't this acrobatic, Cirque-du-Soleil shit jumped-the-shark when it's being done in nightclubs. Hard for me to get a boner when I feel like someone is risking their life. (And I'm fully aware that some guys can only get a boner when someone is risking their life...)

Then I went to Splash's Thursday night Twink-fest, Campus:

Brent Corrigan Dancing or What "Peter" Looked Like

2009-05-27T02:03:00.000-07:00

As promised, here's some video of Brent Corrigan shaking his money maker at Hydrate in Chicago. And before you think this blog is turning into a Brent Corrigan fan site, I just wanted to explain a little about why I like him (other than the fact that he's cute, of course). I realized over the weekend that he looks almost exactly like my friend "Peter" from my memoir, All I Could Bare: My Life in the Strip Clubs of Gay Washington, D.C. So watching him dance brings back a lot of memories. "Peter" even used to dance in briefs and swimwear like Brent does in the clip. If the film version ever pans out, I'm totally gonna recommend him for the part.

Anyway, here's the clip. (PG-13 but prob NSFW) I'm posted it at multiple sites, b/c sometimes clips are yanked for various reasons. Enjoy...

Brent Corrigan's Love Game from Craig Seymour on Vimeo.

Brent Corrigan's Love Game
Uploaded by craigspoplife - Explore videos for gay and lesbian community.

And if you want to download it, go here.

And if you want to see my other video of a dancing porn star -- in this case, tatted-up bad boy, Ricky Sinz--go here:

Grabbys #4: Brent Corrigan @ SPIN

2009-05-25T01:55:00.000-07:00

Grabbys Day #4: Blue Brent

2009-05-24T01:54:00.000-07:00

Brent Corrigan Auctioning Off His Undies For Charity (TPAN) at North End:

Grabbys '09: THE SHOW

2009-05-24T01:51:00.000-07:00

Had a gr8 time at the Grabbys. Thought Chi Chi LaRue, Honey West, Brent (dreamy) Corrigan, Wolf Hudson, and Blake "Baby Got Back" Riley did a fine job hosting. Here's how it went down:

Let the gay-mes begin...

Honey & Chi Chi get the party started...

Little Blue Hosting-hood...

I feel like this should be one of those Insert-Your-Own-Captions for what Chi Chi is thinking. Send me ur ideas and I'll post them:

Blake Riley being "Straight-ish for Pay"

All up in that ass...Why do I get the feeling that Honey West is a total playa?

Chi Chi flaunting the fact that she can now wear stripes w/o any fear of looking fat...

Erik Rhodes winning a gigantic-ass award. But he wasn't paying attention, so he didn't know what it was for. And, honestly, neither do I.

Since he's my Twitter pal, I'll refer to him as @jasonsechrest accepting an award for his B.F.F. @djchichilarue.

Brent getting to know his co-host Wolf Hudson a lil' better...

Altogether now, "awwwwwww:" Logan McCree & his boyfriend Vinnie D'Angelo, who met on the set of The Drifter, which happened to win the Grabby for Best Picture. It also happened to be their 1 year Anniversary. Puke if ya want, but I think it's sweet.

More fierceness from Chi Chi, who's totally giving off a Madonna-wearing-Givenchy vibe with the black & the chains.

Chi Chi and some scary leather dude who ran onstage

If those buns could talk...

Steve Cruz, who apparently has a cool, award-winning blog, sharing the award for Best Performer with Diesel Washington--also a blogger--who brought his mom to the show and, later the same evening, would be seen on Twit Pic drinking his own lemonade, if u catch my drift.

My New England homie. (Not using his name b/c not sure what his nome-de-screw is.) Used to have a big crush on him. If u see him, ask him 2 do his rave dance. (LOL.)

Show respect 2 Lifetime Achievement Award winner Steven Scarborough.

Strike a pose:

Honey & Chi Chi givin' u the "laters..."

GRABBYS 'O9: RED CARPET

2009-05-24T01:50:00.000-07:00

Had a gr8 time covering the Grabbys '09. The Red Carpet was a blast-ola!!!

Predictably, there were fans:

...and gawkers

But most of all, there were the stars that u luv...2 wank off 2...

Here's Chi Chi LaRue making a glamorous arrival. (Btw, see the guy in the far left corner: I DO NOT HAVE A CRUSH ON HIM, SERIOUSLY!!!)

Here's that guy--whose name is Cameron Marshall--getting in the way of my lens, again. Dude, honestly, move! Oh yeah, he's with his pal, Blake Riley.

OMG, would u believe that Cameron kid--who's totally giving me a younger, less Republican Rick Schroeder vibe--is in another shot? WTF? And his bud, Blake, is showing off the reason he was nominated 4 Hottest Bottom.

The Brent-ster arrives. Ppl ask me why I like him since he's so controversial. And I'm like, fuckin' duh, he's cute...

More Brent...can there ever be 2 much?

Logan "F-in' Hot Ass Tatted Up" McCree...

Some guy showing off his "Baywatch"-worthy abs. (Note to his fans: Just email me and tell me who the F he is. No need 2 get all mad.)

UPDATE: So, at the afterparty @ Charlie's, I found out that this is T.J. Hawke. And he told me that I better not talk shit about him--which I found kinda hot!

Can I just say how glad I am that I didn't wear my Star Trek Romulan outfit to the Grabbys this year:

Weather Report: It was F-in cold out, but he was giving us South Beach -- respect!

OMG, remember the queen whose balls came out on "RuPaul's Drag Race?" Well, here she is. Notice how I was scared to shoot below the waist.

Someone went a lil' Gaga...

Just some random fierce queen getting out of a cab...Kinda Rihanna-ish, no?

AND LOOK, IT'S OUR BABY FROM THE OTHER NIGHT, DYLAN, MAKING HIS FIRST GRABBYS APPEARANCE. Here's to all ur dreams coming true, kid!

Grabby show pix soon (???) or ltr if I go 2 the afterparty...

GRABBYS NIGHT #2 or BRENT CORRIGAN DAY

2009-05-23T01:48:00.000-07:00

So, the day started with me heading to Roscoe's for a taping of The Tim & Roma Show". Various porn celebs showed up, including:

Director Chi Chi LaRue, who's totally done a Lagerfeld and lost more than 100 pounds...

Blake Riley

Matthew Rush

Cameron Marshall

Jeremy Bilding

Logan McCree

Brent Corrigan

Diesel Washington

Then, I headed to Hydrate for more Brent..

Video to come...

More Pix from Grabbys Night #1 @ Hydrate

2009-05-22T01:47:00.000-07:00

GRABBYS NIGHT #1: HYDRATE

2009-05-22T01:44:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics and video from Chi Chi LaRue's party @ Hydrate for the 2009 Grabbys, the Gay Erotic Video Awards. And can I just say that just b/c there are a lot of pics of a certain young gentleman, named Dylan, does not mean that I have a crush on him, O.K.? He just happened to always be in front of my camera. Nuthin' I could do about it, really. (LOL!)

But first, here's my interview w/ Twinkscape's Brett Star:

A STAR IS PORN: DYLAN!!!

For more of my work, go to my photography website.

ALL I COULD BARE in TIME magazine

2009-04-22T01:42:00.000-07:00

When I found out I was mentioned in the new TIME magazine, I thought it was kinda cool. But when I saw that they included a pic of the book, I thought it was REALLY cool. Check it out.

FLESHBOT reviews PSYCHEDELIC STRIP TEASE

2009-04-21T01:40:00.000-07:00

I love Brian O'Brien's review of my video, PSYCHEDELIC STRIP TEASE on Fleshbot. I especially love when he writes: "Drug abuse never looked so good."

PSYCHEDELIC STRIP TEASE (NSFW)

2009-04-19T01:38:00.000-07:00

I've been experimenting with video lately. I was influenced by watching A Walk Into the Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory and seeing the kind of lighting the unsung Williams choreographed for the Exploding Plastic Inevitable events with the Velvet Underground. (See below.)

It also dawned on me that, most often, when you see vintage videos of frenetic go-go dancers, the dancers are almost always women. I thought I'd flip the script a little.

Reading in Chicago

2009-02-14T01:36:00.000-08:00

$pread Magazine

2008-12-29T01:34:00.000-08:00

Hey - Sorry I've been away so long. Hope to post more regularly in '09. But I just wanted to make sure that everyone knew about the $pread magazine with me on the cover. There's a great article and it also includes some of my photography. Check it out.

ALL I COULD BARE in DC #2

2008-08-26T01:32:00.000-07:00

Here's a video that revolves around my book signing at Lambda Rising, DC's gay bookstore, on August 24, 2008. I had a lot of fun promoting the signing with a couple of hot, half-naked guys. Watch and enjoy.

Craig Interviewed on XM

2008-07-23T01:31:00.000-07:00

On Monday, I had a really great interview on XM's The Agenda with Joe Solmonese. Joe is the big cheese at the Human Rights Campaign. He kept pausing and making interesting "hmmm" sounds. Wasn't sure what to make of it because I was doing the interview by phone and couldn't see his face. Still, I had a great time talking with him and his co-host, Courtney Snowden, head honcho at D.C. Black Pride. (It cracks me up that these bonafide political movers and shakers want to talk to the lil' ex-stripper guy, but I really appreciate the support.) You can listen to the interview here.

ALL I COULD BARE review in DALLAS VOICE

2008-07-23T01:25:00.000-07:00

Here's a cool review of my book from the Dallas Voice. I love when the reviewer, Arnold Wayne Jones, calls the book "somehow both bawdy and sweetly nostalgic at the same time." And I really love the caption underneath my picture: "Seymour, the dick-dancing scholar."

New Interview

2008-07-18T01:24:00.000-07:00

Check out this new interview with me courtesy of the good folks at Homo-Neurotic.

Craig in Metro Weekly

2008-07-04T01:20:00.000-07:00

Check out this great interview with me in METRO WEEKLY.

A "Bare Assed, Neon-Lit Tour de Force"

2008-06-26T01:19:00.000-07:00

Here's a review of my book in the Bay Area Reporter. I love it, but what's with being called a prostitute again? :)

"Publisher's Weekly" Review

2008-06-23T01:16:00.000-07:00

I don't know whether or not to be flattered or mildly offended:

All I Could Bare: My Life in the Strip Clubs of Gay D.C.
Craig Seymour. Atria, $23 (256p) ISBN 9781416542056

If an account of one’s tour of duty as a stripper and sometimes prostitute in seedy downtown Washington, D.C. gay clubs could ever be called “breezy,” Seymour’s achieved it. Sure to please the hedonistic gay man in (almost) all of us, Seymour is frank and entirely explicit as he chronicles his journey from diligent Masters’ candidate (developing a thesis on gay strip clubs) to onstage talent working every night to make a living. Unafraid to bare it all, in person and in prose, Seymour details his brief foray into prostitution as well as the (very) personal stories of his fellow dancers. Seymour can dissemble, first pinning his stripping career on low self-esteem, but later admitting to some early success with more traditional dancing and acting; it becomes clear that the author is a bit of a narcissist, but a charming one. The last fifty pages, accounting for his subsequent work as a celebrity interviewer, are pure filler; when he sticks to the clubs, though, readers will feel they’re in the hands of an expert. (June)

ALL I COULD BARE book tour: D.C.

2008-06-22T01:15:00.000-07:00

ALL I COULD BARE book tour: Atlanta

2008-06-19T01:14:00.000-07:00

MY VIDEO RESPONSE TO THE WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE

2008-06-15T01:11:00.000-07:00

My First Time Seeing The Book In Stores

2008-06-15T01:10:00.000-07:00

Recent Interviews

2008-06-15T01:08:00.000-07:00

I've been lucky enough to be interviewed by some really cool people lately. The thing with an interview is that you often talk to someone for a long time and then it gets whittled down to a relatively short article. You never quite know what to expect. But I was really pleased in both of these cases:

1) The Washington Post q&a by Gabe Oppenheim.

Favorite quote o' mine: "I always wanted to be a writer, but taking the risk as a stripper allowed me to take risks in other parts of my life. . . . [but] I wouldn't put stripping on the curriculum for J-school. That was just part of my journey. That happened to be the thing I needed. The better solution perhaps is just to take chances all along the way."

2) The Atlanta Journal-Constitution article by my former colleague Rich Eldredge.

Favorite quote 'o mine: “People don’t come a la carte. Like anyone, I’ve got good qualities and I’ve got annoying qualities. You’re either going to like me or you don’t. All I can do is be honest and tell my truth.”

I know my syntax is a little jacked up there. Jeez, maybe that's one of my annoying qualities. (And it's not like I have that many, O.K.)

First I'm a Slut, Now I'm a Whore...

2008-05-24T18:39:00.000-07:00

So it still cracks me up that someone called my book, All I Could Bare: My Life in the Strip Clubs of Gay Washington, D.C., "not just your standard slut autobiography." But I just came across a review of a book in which I had an article (Prostitution: On Whores, Hustlers, and Johns), and the reviewer calls me an "academic-turned-whore." I swear, I can't get no respect... : )

Do I Write Like a Slut? or The First ALL I COULD BARE Reviews (Sorta)

2008-05-10T00:54:00.000-07:00

[Just in case you need some tunes to read this post, check out Avenue D's electro classic Do I Look Like a Slut?"]

O.K., I admit it -- it's Friday night and I'm up googling myself. Totally not my fault though since my friend Joe canceled our plans to hang out, something about his boyfriend coming over. (yawn) Plus, the weather's crap and I wanted to start my friend Josh Kilmer-Purcell's funny new novel Candy Everybody Wants anyway.) So, I google my name -- nothing new, sadly. Then, I google my book, All I Could Bare: My Life in the Strip Clubs of Gay Washington, D.C., and stumble (well, after a couple of pages) on two interesting new review-like mentions.

The first is by far the most strange since it appears on the website of Thomas Schlück, a German literary agent. Weird, right? Check it: his homepage is totally in German.

Anyway, he apparently does a roundup of new books coming out. (Here's the actual link, but, trust me, you'll be scrolling for days.) He has this to say about the story o' my life (or at least the butt-naked-on-top-of-various-bars-being-felt-up part of it):

Craig Seymour details his three years dancing in the gay strip clubs of Washington D.C. in the mid-‘90s while attending graduate school in ALL I COULD BARE.

Seymour’s compelling, often bawdy, and humorous story explains how he hid his secret occupation from friends and family, his first porn audition, and his failed attempt at having sex for money. ALL I COULD BARE ultimately reveals the complex world of the strip club and explains how the experience led the author to both take chances and gain courage.

Craig Seymour is an accomplished writer and journalist who has written for The Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, Vibe, Spin, The Village Voice, and Tracks. He holds a Ph.D. in American Studies, and is an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. He lives in Providence, RI.

I think this is totally cool, and I love being called "often bawdy." I might even get a t-shirt made with that phrase on it. In fact, if I really blow up, I might contractually insist on people using "often bawdy" whenever referring to me. Kinda the way Jacko does with the whole "King of Pop" thing. So, thanks Thomas Schlück, wherever you are (assumably some place in Germany).

The second mention comes from Katherine Volin's roundup of forthcoming gay and lesbian books in Express Gay News. She ends the piece by writing:

And going into full summer, make sure to look for "All I Could Bare: My Life in the Strip Clubs of Gay Washington, D.C." Not just your standard slut autobiography, author Craig Seymour has actually worked as a journalist and is an assistant professor of English at the University of Massachusetts.

I freakin' love this!!! But now I'm all like, if my book is not "your standard slut autobiography," does that mean I'm like super-duper-extra slutty with whipped creme and sprinkles and cherries and shit on top -- a virtual Cold Stone Creamery concoction of sluttiness. Not sure quite what to make of it, but I'm TOTALLY taking it as a compliment. Thanks, Katherine.

STARS TAKE IT OFF

2007-11-29T16:39:00.000-08:00

Here's a great EW photo gallery of stars who've played strippers. This image is of the adorable Christopher Atkins from A Night in Heaven, a flick that was a real knob-polisher for me back in my pre-coming out teenage days. My only beef with the photo gallery is the exclusion of Gregory Harrison in For Ladies Only. Both are mentioned as, ahem, seminal influences upon me in my book, All I Could Bare: My Life in the Strip Clubs of Gay D.C..