I love 69 popgejú

If the Red Hot Chilli Peppers shocked their fans, at the time, by wearing socks on their private parts, then i love 69 popgejů hypnotizes them with leopard print hand-made underwear (with a large stuffed phallus hanging out) while writhing their bodies and wearing tennis shoes on their head. Three of the four members of this performance group met in Valašské Meziříčí, Moravia. Currently they live and study in Ostrava (studying with Petr Lysáček and Jiří Surůvka at the Institute for Creative Studies). The beginnings of i love 69 popgejů can be traced back to their first performance in 2001, but it was not until last year that the group began taking steps towards a more serious approach in terms of musical and theatrical production. The "Popgejs" (pop-gays) dub themselves as psychiatric pop, considered a very tame label, which is meant to confuse producers into at least including their demo on a playlist. Their wild performances are a fusion of electroclash, invasive keyboard riffs inspired by 80s pop, throaty yelling and the afore-mentioned stage performance. These, along with their lyrics, are usually aimed at presenting the male sexual libido. This can be easily misinterpreted as an attack on gender equality, but is equally ironic as the glamorous visuals in their promotional materials. Accompanying photographs and videos are in the same vain.
ilove69popgejů try to infiltrate into clubs focused on both hetero and homosexual audiences, and they perform alongside a cabaret named the Return of the Masters of Entertainment. For the Ostrava community, their gallery space Watchtower – located in the basement of a suburban house that the "popgays" and other sympathizers rented - has become an irreplaceable fixture of the local scene. Their one day events attract most of the players in the progressive art scene. If the strong generation of Ostrava artists were at a loss for young blood, the i love 69 popgejů represent an articulate faction, whose local non-conformist humor is seasoned with unprecedented pre-pubescent perversion, a thrill for provocation and a focus on the relationship between entertainment and the questioning of stereotypes and norm violations. You will not see them on morning television, they are perhaps a bit much with your morning coffee. It is unlikely you will even see them on any cultural program.

www.ilove69popgeju.net

01.02.2006