Outspotlight XXXII

On April 26, 2008 Rufus Wainwright was presented the Stephen F. Kolzak Award to Rufus Wainwright. The Stephen F. Kolzak Award is presented to an openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for the LGBT community. But it is more than just coming out after gaining success, Rufus Wainwright is one of the first male musicians to rise to fame while living an openly gay life.

Born in 1973 to folk singers Loundon Wainwright III and Kate McCarrigle, it didn't take long to know that he was going to go into the family business. "It was painfully obvious to everyone from the age of about two," Rufus recalls. "I was banging on the piano, banging on pots, putting on top hats. I think everyone knew right away." Music mixed with comedy and drama and stirred with passion his life could be written in a cross between folksongs and arias, and in a way a good description of his songwriting and music.

Photo: NY Times

His parents divorcing when he was a child, he lived with his mother in Montreal for most of his youth. Both a U.S and Canadian citizen. He attended high school at the Millbrook School in New York (which would later inspire his song "Millbrook") and later briefly studied piano at Concordia and McGill Universities in Montreal. He began playing the piano at age six and started touring at thirteen with "The McGarrigle Sisters and Family" (a folk group featuring Rufus, his sister Martha, his mother Kate, and aunt Anna. His song "I'm A-Runnin", which he performed in the movie Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveler, earned him a nomination for a 1989 Genie Award(for Best Original Song). He was also nominated for a 1990 Canadian Juno Award (for Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year).

Rufus came out as a teenager, and has said many times in interview, he could never be in the closet because he's a terrible liar. His parents may have recognized that his son was gay, but could not handle him being gay. "We never talked about it really." He lived in fear he had been infected with the AIDS virus after he was sexually assaulted at the age of 14 when he was attacked in London's Hyde Park after picking up a man in a bar. Claiming that he survived only by pretending to be an epileptic and faking a seizure. In one interview he commented his first homosexual experience traumatized him so much, became chaste. In another interview he mentioned embarking on a promiscuous spree. He says, "I had a string of straight boyfriends. "Guys I would occasionally have sex with, maybe only make out with, but never be allowed to say they were my boyfriend."

But it has always been the music. Through weekly shows at Cafe Sarajevo in Montreal, Wainwright became a fixture on the club circuit and eventually cut a series of demo tapes,DreamWorks acquired the demo tapes and signed him. Moving to New York City in the spring of 1996 and performing regularly at Club Fez, he built a loyal local audience. He relocated to Los Angeles that fall, and began recording his first studio album, Rufus Wainwright Wainwright's self-titled debut received critical acclaim; Rolling Stone magazine recognized it as one of the best albums of the year and named the singer "Best New Artist" of the year. Wainwright toured with Sean Lennon in the summer of 1998 and began his first headline tour later that year. In June 2001, his second album, Poses,was released to critical acclaim, but limited record sales. From 2001 to 2004, he toured with Tori Amos,Sting,Ben Folds, and Guster, as well as headlining the 2001 and 2002 tour in support of Poses. Despite a growing cult following and critical success, Wainwright has experienced somewhat limited commercial success in the U.S.

While working and support Poses he became addicted to crystal meth and experience temporary blindness from his addiction. It reached its peak in 2002, describing it as "the most surreal week of my life." During that week, he played a cameo role in the UK comedy television programme "Absolutely Fabulous"; spent several nights partying with the president's daughter,Barbara Bush; enjoyed a "debauched evening" with his mother and Marianne Faithfull; sang with Antony of Antony and the Johnsons for Zaldy's spring 2003 collection; and, throughout, experienced recurring hallucinations of his father. He decided shortly after that he "was either going to rehab or I was going to live with my father. I knew I needed an asshole to yell at me, and I felt he fit the bill". Seeking guidance, he telephoned his friend Elton John who persuaded him to check in to rehab which he has claimed in several interviews gave him a second chance.

He released two ep's Want One and Want Two filled with story songs of life, love, addiction, family, religion, and his sexuality; common themes in all of his work. They were repackaged together in the album Want. In May 2007, he released Release the Stars to growing and widening group of fans, some who discovered him through his contributions on such soundtracks as Moulin Rouge, I am Sam, Shrek, Meet the Robinsons and for his work on the Brokeback Mountain's soundtrack.

In 2006, Rufus took to the stage in tribute to Judy Garland and of her live performance at Carnegie Hall. He went on to do the tribute at the London Palladium and the Hollywood Bowl, release an album and DVD of the show.

He is currently working on writing his first opera, Prima Donna which he says will be about "a day in the life of an opera singer. I've been wanting to write an opera ever since I was 14, when I first heard Verdi's. After that I became an opera fanatic. All I could listen to was opera. I have more of an appreciation for pop because that's the world I live in, but my main passion is opera. So I just decided to write it, finally.

He shares his Gramercy Park home with his boyfriend, Jörn Weisbrodt, an arts administrator.

"I find that, especially in America, because being gay is relatively tolerated, now we're totally part of society and now you have to act like everyone else and move to the suburbs, and have kids, and be responsible. My argument is that all this acceptance could all change on a dime, so you always have to be a little smarter. You can't expect the world to be handed to you, and it's tremendous folly to think that now that we have totally blonde hair and act like everyone else, we will always be given the same rights and privileges and everything will be rainbows and sunshine. Life will always be a battle. But maybe that's just me. I love life as a battle."

Rufus and Jake : Release the Stars Tour