That’s So Gay is the first new Pansy Division studio album in 6 years, released in March 2009.

At the time we began this album, we didn’t know we were beginning one.  Throughout 2005 and 2006, Pansy Division was on the back burner. Having jobs and having lives took precedence, and we played only 4 gigs in ’05 and 3 in ’06. By the time we played a gig in April 2007, we had gone almost a year without a show.  It seemed like things were slowly grinding to a halt. With band members now spread out to both coasts, it looked like no more recording would be in the cards, just the occasional gig.

In early 2007, Jon had expressed the desire to record of couple of his songs that had not been documented by the band.  Given the state of the band at that time, he emailed the other members and asked if they’d be interested in recording them.  If they weren’t, he had planned to get other people to help record them, as he thought they were top quality songs that deserved exposure. To his surprise, everyone agreed they’d like to do it. Better yet, Luis and Joel had an upcoming recording session booked for their band The Plus Ones, and Pansy Division could easily add a couple of days to that session.  Their instruments would already be set up, so Chris and Jon could just show up with their gear.

With this in mind, Chris & Jon convened in March ’07 to make demos of the two songs, “Twinkie Twinkie Little Star” and “You’ll See Them Again.” Showing Chris more of his unrecorded songs, one cracked them up so much they decided to add that one too. That was “20 Years of Cock.” Soon, Chris had a new song about an unsatisfying relationship, “What’s In It For Me?,” that was demoed as well.

So in April 2007, with everyone in San Francisco at the same time, we rehearsed, played a show, learned the new songs, and recorded them. The experience was so much fun, and the results so good, that we decided then and there to have those four songs be the start of another album. When conceiving of recording his two songs, Jon had thought they might be tracks for the band website.  Afterwards,

we knew it was meant to be spread further than that.

Part of the excitement was due to the presence of Joel Reader on lead guitar.  A bass player in his other bands (The Mr. T Experience in the past, The Avengers and The Plus Ones concurrent with Pansy Division), he’d offered to play with us in a pinch and showed himself to be incredibly good on guitar.  His great instincts and wide variety of sounds meant new possibilities and a renewed feeling of enthusiasm for the band.

In the fall of 2007, The Avengers had done a tour, with Pansy Division along as the opening band. This was both a great time and a successful tour. However, with Luis and Joel in both bands, there was almost no time to work on anything new. A second session did not take place for 9 more months, in January 2008.  In four days we played two live shows, learned and recorded seven new songs.  (That’s a lot.)  Joel wrote a song from his perspective of being a straight guy in our gay band, “Some Of My Best Friends.”  Jon dug deep in his songbook for two songs he’d held onto for nine years (“Average Men” and “Life Lovers”), finally able to give them an airing. “Obsessed With Me,” with its topical references to Larry Craig and Ted Haggard, grew out of Jon noticing gay graffiti virtually everywhere during the fall tour, in some odd places. Chris’ “Never You Mind” also had a political bent, and might be the hardest rocking song that PD has done (though “Average Men” gives it a run for it).

During the recording of “Average Men,” Jon turned to his bandmates and said, “Jello (Biafra, head of the label Alternative Tentacles and former Dead Kennedys singer) is going to love this.” Chris responded, “we should get him to sing on it.” We managed to get him out to the studio a month later, and he recorded another lead vocal for it; we mixed the two together, and thus have a “duet.” “Life Lovers” sounds by its title that it might be a gay marriage song, but is really about true gay liberation (bet you haven’t heard that phrase lately), an idealistic, almost utopian song.

Chris had also written a funny/angry song about the way vapid teens casually dismiss things with the phrase “That’s So Gay.” He thought it was a great song title and wrote a great song. Jon suggested it sounded like a great album title as well, and all agreed.

Chris also contributed “It’s Just A Job,” about trying to have a relationship with a sex worker, though not autobiographical (although he got the idea from someone he knows in that situation).

In June 2007 we laid down the last three tracks on the album. Jon’s “Dirty Young Man” changed a great deal between demo and recording, turning into a real glam rocker. It was also an unadulterated sex song. Chris looked over the songs we’d done and concluded that the album needed something lighter and a bit dancey, in the vein of “No Protection” from our previous album. That would be “Ride Baby,” another sex-themed song. Funny, that was what we specialized in at one time, but here those songs are just part of what we do now.

Last, but not least, is the most ridiculous and possibly funniest song on the album, “Pat Me On The Ass.” It really illustrates the Pansy way of doing things.  Instead of writing an angry or disgruntled song about the hypocrisy of male bonding in sports--the homoerotic aspect of sports within in a homophobic setting--Jon wrote a song about wanting to find any excuse for his hypothetical high school football teammates to pat him on the ass. It also illustrates Joel’s versatility on guitar, as it’s the only Pansy Division song that sounds like Johnny Cash.

During the sessions we recorded one song that we decided not to include on the album, a cover of Green Day’s “Coming Clean.” It will be released as the B-side of “Average Men,” the album’s single, on a vinyl 45.

The album was mixed in September 2008, was mastered in November, and released on March 31, 2009. It’s our new baby,
and we’re really proud of it.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Twinkie Twinkie Little Star

2. Average Men (duet w/Jello Biafra) 

3. Ride Baby

4. Some Of My Best Friends

5. That's So Gay

6. Obsessed With Me

7. 20 Years Of Cock

8. What's In It For Me

9. You'll See Them Again

10. Dirty Young Man

11. It's Just A Job

12. Pat Me On The Ass

13. Never You Mind

14. Life Lovers