goatboy
and
the music machines
a documentary by Randy A. Riddle
Web Links and Supplementary Material
Goatboy's Home Pages
Goatboy's
Short Mount Music Works Home Page
Goatboy's personal home page at MindSpring where he describes some of
his work on various types of player machines.
Goatboy's
Radical Satyr Home Page
On this Web site, Goatboy discusses the evolution of the "Radical Satyr"
and reproduces some columns from "Fairie Archives". (Currently offline,
click here
to see the page archived at The Internet Archive Wayback Machine).
Numerous books and publications are available on the topics of Radical Faieries, Gay spirituality, and mythology. Only a few of the resources used in researching this documentary are listed below and can be used as starting points for further information.
Player Music Machines
Conlon
Nancarrow
Composer for player machines.
Short
Mountain Music Works
On this home page for his business, Goatboy discusses some of the machines
he has worked on in great detail and gives some background on the development
of his restoration skills.
Fairie Archives
Old
Man Chrysanthemum
A Japanese folk-tale from Goatboy's "Fairie Archives" column for RFD
magazine.
Ida,
The Wayward Sturgeon
A comedy monologue by the "King Lear of the Nighteries", Dwight Fiske,
reproduced in Goatboy's "Fairie Archives" column.
"I
Love Me" and "Masculine Women, Feminine
Men"
Vaudeville tune representative of humor about Gay people during the 1920's
and early 1930's and demonstrating how records and piano rolls would contain
different versions of the same song.
Gay
New York, George Chauncey
This scholarly work examines the thriving Gay subculture of New York City
in the decades before World War II and includes some surprising material
concerning attitudes towards Gays and Lesbians during the period and the
level of self-identity among members of the community at that time.
Goatboy and Mythology/Spirituality
Goatboy's
Radical Satyr Home Page
On this Web site, Goatboy discusses the evolution of the "Radical Satyr"
and reproduces some columns from "Fairie Archives".
Paddy
McGinty's Goat
A folk tune frequently played by Goatboy.
The
Encyclopedia of Celtic Wisdom: A Celtic Shaman's Sourcebook,
Caitlin and John Matthews, Element Books (London), 1994.
A work that provides a good overview of Pagan spirituality and the intertwining
of common mythologies and legends in Pagan practices from a Celtic perspective.
Sacred
Places: American Tourist Attractions in the Nineteenth Century,
John F. Sears, Oxford University Press (New York), 1989.
A scholarly study of American natural spaces, such as Niagra Falls or
Yellowstone, that evolved as spiritual replacements for the great European
religious pilgrimmage sites for Americans of the 19th century. Although
the author does not deal with Paganism directly, the work demonstrates
how natural spaces are used in terms of religious spirituality and hints
at the "back to nature" movement of the 1800's that was a type of neo-Paganism.
Witchcraft
and the Gay Counterculture, Arthur Evans, Fag Rag Books (Boston),
1978.
Controversial work that deals with the persecution of Pagan practioners
in Europe by Christian missionaries during the early spread of the religion
and how present-day Queer culture is an extension of ancient Pagan traditions.
The author is preparing an updated edition that should be released later
in 1999.
Radical Fairies/Radical Satyrs
RFD magazine is a quarterly reader-written journal focusing on country living for Gay men. The magazine has become the main point of contact for the "Radical Fairie" movment. Contact: RFD, PO Box 68, Liberty, Tennessee 37095. The Short Mountain Commune that is home to the publication holds regular gatherings that are listed and discussed in the publication. Several communes are located around the US that also hold gatherings, typically around the time of the Winter and Summer solstice.
Goatboy
and the Potato Chip Ritual, short film by Harry Hay, available from
Frameline
Unscreened. This short film is a record of the ritual that led to
Goatboy's development of the Radical Satyr identity. As described
by Goatboy, the ritual occurred at a gathering where Goatboy, fed up by
the "all natural" vegetarian food at the gathering (no pun intended),
asked Harry Hay to buy him a bag of potato chips when Hay drove to town.
The Fairies forced Goatboy through a "drag" ritual, compared by Hay to
the Seven Labors of Hercules, before he was allowed to have the potato
chips. Part of the focus of some Fairies at that time was a need
to "get in touch" with "feminine" or "Goddess" energies.
The
Trouble With Harry Hay, Stuart Timmons, Alyson Publications, Boston
(1990).
Biography of one of the more influential and well-known founders of the
modern Gay movement; includes information about his involvement with the
Radical Fairies.
A
Place at the Table: The Gay Individual in American Society,
Bruce Bawer, Touchstone (New York), 1993.
A book that looks at some of the recent controversy within the Gay and
Lesbian community and the wider society on individuality and identity.
The God of Ectasy: Sex Role and the Madness of Dionysos, Arthur Evans, St. Martin's Press (New York), 1988.
Radical
Fairie publications
A listing of Radical Fairie-related magazines and newsletters; includes
online versions of some publications.
Internet Resources
Christmas in July Festival (Ashe County, North Carolina)
Corporate Encroachment
Disney
Company
During the shooting of Goatboy and the Music Machines, Disney had just
released an animated feature film version of the Hercules legend that
the director described as an attempt at a kind of "Frank Capra comedy".
McDonald's
Home Page
The famous restaurant chain that is often citied as a harbringer of "progress"
in remote areas of the world.
Walmart
Home Page
The retail store chain that has been accused of wiping out local stores
of various types when they movie into a rural area.
Player Music Machines
Goatboy's
Short Mount Music Works Home Page
Goatboy's personal home page at MindSpring where he describes some of
his work on various types of player machines.
Yamaha
Produces the "disklavier" digital player-piano system that has resulted
in a decline in demand for "roll" type player machines.
Recording and Broadcasting History
Hit
of the Week Records
A description of some of the first disposible recordings, originally produced
in the early 1930's.
Vaudeville and Nightclub Performers
Don't
Call Me Madam-The Sad and Crazy Life of Ray Bourbon
Some information on my site concerning an an outrageous female impersonator
whose career spanned four decades.
Paganism/Radical Faeries/Radical Satyrs
Goatboy's
Radical Satyr Home Page
A set of special Web pages where Goatboy describes his beliefs in more
detail.
A.f.k.a. Persimmon's Radical Faerie Home Page
Radical
Fairie publications
A listing of Radical Fairie-related magazines and newsletters; includes
online versions of some publications.
The Urban Gay Myth
The
Advocate magazine
The most-often cited example of a promoter of the "urban Gay myth".
Planet
Out
Another good example of urban-based Gay "lifestyle" promotion.
rand@coolcatdaddy.com/7.5.97