Lost Spaces: Memories from Gay Bars, Lesbian Clubs, and LGBTQ+ Parties

lost queer spaces

How do queer spaces help to shape people's lives?

Why are they so important to the LGBTQ+ community?

What is the impact of losing these spaces?

Lost Spaces explores these questions (and more!) through conversations with members of the LGBT community.

Each week host K Anderson sits down with a different guest to discuss a space from their past, why it was important to them, and how it helped shape who they are.

Expect conversations about coming out, going out, and getting down.

And snogging strangers on sweaty dancefloors. We can't talk about gay history without that coming up.

Episodes

Mentioned books

Oct 27, 2021 • 52min

"I Never Wanted To Do Drag. Other People Wanted Me To Do Drag" (with Regina Gently / Gentleman Reg)

One of the big perks of doing this show is that I get to reach out to people I admire with the flimsy excuse that I want to interview them for my podcast, and then get the opportunity to talk one-to-one with them for a few hours... And, this week's guest is very special. Regina Gently, who you may also know as Gentleman Reg, is a singer, songwriter and drag performer from Canada, who has worked alongside Broken Social Scene, The Hidden Cameras, and Owen Pallett. And, as Reg she even appeared in John Cameron Mitchell's film Shortbus. And this is a bit of a record for Lost Spaces, as this is the third time we've featured The Beaver, a dive bar set up by the visionary Will Munro in Toronto's West End that closed in 2020. In the late 00s he was working at the bar, and it's where he first fell in love with drag, which is where Regina comes in to the picture... We talk all about getting in to drag relatively late in life, transitioning from indie rock to dance music, and I continue my age old tradition of discussing Celine Dion with Canadian guests... Do you have any memories of The Beaver, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos! You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod) Find out more about Regina on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/reginagently/), Twitter (https://www.twitter.com/reginagently/) and Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/reginagently/)

Oct 20, 2021 • 53min

"I was trying to decide what watching so much gay porn meant, and why I still liked kissing girls..." (with Hayden Winston)

Hayden Winston is a Black, bisexual novelist, poet and activist whose work draws on his experiences as a QPOC and the child of West Indian immigrants. Though he currently lives in Sacramento with his husband Tom, he was born and raised in and around Los Angeles. It was here, in West Hollywood, that he started to explore the queer scene at the 18-and-up night Tiger Heat. And Tiger Heat was held at the West Hollywood institution Rage, a nightclub that was open for 37 years, closing in 2020. In this episode we talk all about sounding, gender reveal parties, and having skeezy strangers run their fingers through your chest hair. Do you have any memories of Rage, or from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos! You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod) Make sure you also find out more about Hayden at his website https://haydenwinston.com/. He has also recently published a queer coming of age novel, titled Wildflowers (https://ninestarpress.com/product/wildflowers/).

Sep 22, 2021 • 42min

“Lean Into My Transness” (with Simona Castricum)

Simona Castricum is a musician, DJ and producer based in Melbourne, Australia. We caught up to talk about Hugs and Kisses, a night that ran in the 2010s and took advantage of the looser licensing laws that applied to the venue it was based in, which created this wonderful, hedonistic atmosphere reminiscent of the early rave scene. We talked a lot about being safe on the scene and how to create that culture, becoming yourself, and drinking in the street. Oh, and I need to let you know that Simona is probably THE most Australian person that I've ever spoken to, and uses a whole heap of colloquial language, so you may want to familiarise yourself with the terms cooked, hoon, sick, goon and pingers before you listen to the episode! But, then again, it's kind of fun guessing as you go along so I'll leave that decision up to you. Do you have any memories of Hugs and Kisses, or from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos! You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod) Find out more about Simona at her website https://simonacastricum.com/, and on https://www.instagram.com/simonacastricum/

Sep 15, 2021 • 46min

"We Need To Be More Inclusive" (with Barb Snelgrove)

Barb Snelgrove is a radio presenter, inductee in the Canadian Queer Hall of Fame, and owner of megamouthmedia, a boutique media relations firm. She is also a life-long Vancouverite, and has seen the queer scene shift and change since she first started going out as an underage teen. We first caught up to talk about a bar called The Odyssey, but... well... you already know what I'm going to say... we ended up going a little off-piste. But, don't worry, cause it's all still gold. We talked all about the evolving Vancouver scene, our mixed feelings about hen parties in queer spaces, and Barb kindly informs me what a gurgle room is.... The venues we discuss in this episode are: The Odyssey, The Quadra, The Gandy Dancer, The Playpen Central, The Playpen South (which had a Gurgle room!), The Shaggy Horse... Do you have any memories from Vancouver clubbing or your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos! You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod) Find out more about Barb on Facebook (www.facebook.com/megamouthmedia), Instagram (www.instagram.com/megamouthmedia) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/megamouthmedia)

Sep 8, 2021 • 53min

Teenage Crush (with Alistair Barton)

Alistair Barton is the host of Picking at Perfection, a podcast that aims to explore and break down perfectionist expectations. And this week we're doing something a little bit different - instead of visiting a club we're going to a youth group. Alistair says that the youth group he went to as a teenager gave him a safe space to explore his identity with a group of young people that were outside of his school and outside of all the expectations and pressure that he felt there. But it wasn't all arts, crafts and ping pong! We caught up to talk about the group, growing up in the suburbs, and his number one teenage crush, Hot Gay Joey. Do you have any memories from your queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos! You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as @lostspacespod Find out more about Alistair via the Picking at Perfection website - https://www.pickingatperfection.com/, or follow him on Instagram @pickingatperfection

Sep 1, 2021 • 1h 5min

Taking your boyfriend to prom, foam parties, and gasp dating Republicans (with Michael Dumlao)

Michael Dumlao is an artist, activist and the author of 'The Wisdom of Guncles', a new book that celebrates the role of gay uncles and highlights the diverse perspectives and lived experiences they have to offer their families. Born in the Philippines, he spent his childhood in Sydney, Australia, and then California before moving to Washington, D.C. in his early 20s. It was here that he made his home, finding his chosen family and laying down roots. We caught up to talk about his early days in the city, going to the lost superclub Velvet Nation, getting hand jobs at foam parties, and *gasp* dating Republicans... Do you have any memories from Velvet Nation, or from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos! You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as @lostspacespod Find out more about Michael by following him on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/michaeldumlao/), and make sure to check out his new book 'The Wisdom of Guncles' - https://tinyurl.com/michaeldumlao

Aug 25, 2021 • 1h 1min

Flirting tips, avoiding audience participation and how to spot the signs you've joined a cult (with Erika and Paul from That Aged Well)

Erika and Paul are the co-hosts of That Aged Well, a podcast that examines 80s/90s pop culture through a modern lens. The two have been friends for over 20 years, and were finishing each other's sentences, and volleying back and forth throughout our conversation about their lost space. And, you'll be pleased to hear, there was a higher-than-average amount of giggles and guffaws. We met to discuss Vlada, a vodka bar in Hell's Kitchen, NYC, which was the place to be for a short time in the mid-00s (and, just as a little piece of trivia, I am in love with the fact that the owner of the bar was named Vlada Von Shats). But, you know, as is custom with this show we also talked about a bunch of other crap. Expect to hear flirting tips, advice for how to avoid audience participation, and how to spot the signs that you’ve joined a cult. Do you have any memories from Vlada, or from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos! You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as @lostspacespod Find out more about That Aged Well by listening to their show (obviously), and visiting their website https://www.thatagedwell.com/, or follow them on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/thatagedwell/), Twitter (https://twitter.com/thatagedwellpod) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ThatAgedWell/)

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