Check out Synthetic Division, Inertia and Bella Morte on Monday night (August 29) at The Delancey in the East Village in NYC.  7:30 pm doors, we start the show at 8 pm sharp. No cover, 21+!

We picked a fine time to tour the northeast coast, didn’t we?

This week has been kind of crazy, keeping tabs on the storm and keeping safety first and foremost in mind. I gave Andy of Bella Morte a ration of shit for naming their new album Before the Flood. I think he’s to blame for the bad weather. He names the album Sunshine and Goldfish and we’d have a whole different situation on our hands…

One of the convenient aspects of this tour was that Josh and I were planning on staying with his family for four nights, since the first three shows were so close together.  But after Cambridge, MA was postponed, we headed out of the area a bit earlier than expected to avoid Irene’s wraith. Josh and his father did get to enjoy a couple of days together, which is always an added bonus of these Synthetic Division jaunts.  As we were there, his dad was so inspired by all the iReporting that was going on with Hurricane Irene that he whipped out his camera and shot this footage of Josh and I returning to his home with water.

I’m beyond thrilled that the hurricane became a tropical storm and that the damage wasn’t the worst case scenario that was being projected.  I’m a prevention guy, so I really don’t mind being warned and thus easily avoiding otherwise disastrous consequences.  That’s why I was ready to get out of dodge completely if need be. Last night after the second show in Manchester, NH, Josh and I started making our way closer to NYC (avoiding I-95 and taking a more inland route), but were unable to make it to our friend’s house 4 hours away and had to seek shelter in Connecticut due to heavy rain and wind.

Until the storm landed in NYC earlier, that show seemed to be hanging in the balance. Earlier today, we woke up to find out that it’s still on, which is cool as it will be nice to see a lot of my friends who live the area. After that we return home to C’ville home for a day or so before the Charlotte show on Wednesday night.  The shows have been going really well, despite low turnouts due to concerns over the weather.

Better safe than sorry.

One of the coolest things about being on this tour is hanging out with my friends in Bella Morte, goofing around with Josh and discovering a new band (new to me at least!) in Inertia. They traveled all the way from London to be a part of this tour, and are not only a great band but a great group of people.  It’s been fun chatting about music, movies (seeing Human Centipede is now at the top of my priority list) and overcoming some of the obstacles this tour has put in all of our paths. It’s been a true bonding experience.

Positively Yours,
Shawn

Flower children- Bella Morte and Synthetic Division in Providence, RI at Remi’s.

Me with Inertia, minus guitarist Gabe, who was busy sniffing the flowers.

Big thanks to the Student Global AIDS Campaign for inviting me and Gwenn to speak at the University of Wisconsin Madison this week. We spoke in the Memorial Union, in the middle of a bar… was the first time a contact said, “If you want to grab a beer before the talk go ahead!”  At the moment, I had an iced mocha so I was all good.

The talk was unique because there was more than a bit of background noise and I thought- as Gwenn introduced herself and confidently spoke- that doing this for so long was really going to come in handy here. We both stayed focused, delivered our message as best we could even though there were several tables there to drink beer… I thought how surprised I would be if I were a college student and my drinking time were interrupted by a couple of sex educators. But everyone was pretty respectful, and there were quite a few people listening intently.  Plus, I kinda liked the idea of getting information to some folks who wouldn’t normally seek it out, it was a challenge that I believe we passed.

It helped having one of my positoid heroes in attendance- Bob Bowers. AKA One Tough Pirate.  I named Bob my 2010 Person of the Year, because his spirit and energy as someone living proudly and loudly with HIV inspires me, and has for quite some time. Bob has been really under the weather recently, but he and his lovely wife Teresa made it to the talk, and it was so great to finally meet them in person and share a non-cyber hug and chat.  One of the highlights of doing this work is getting to meet the people who give you the encouragement to keep at it. No one sends more of that energy my way these days than Bob.

Thanks, buddy, I really appreciate it!

Check out Bob’s incredible work at OneToughPirate.com

What I didn’t know until the next day was, as Gwenn and I were speaking in Memorial Union, one of my positoid pals back home was fighting for his life. After a long morning and afternoon of travel back home, I got the news that Bryce had fallen ill and passed to spirit.  Over the last few years, I knew Bryce vaguely from the local music scene; it wasn’t until after he had tested positive about a year ago- which I heard about via mutual friends because Charlottesville is such a small community and all- that we were introduced to one another.

We had coffee together a couple of times, and I learned very quickly that Bryce had such a great attitude about his diagnosis.  His spirit was unshaken- he was so far ahead of the natural process that many newly diagnosed people have to go through.  We laughed a lot during that first encounter, when I was really expecting to go in as more of a counselor but instead was greeted as a new friend.  A musician and a DJ himself, we joked about forming an all positoid dance project and scaring the audience with fake blood.  He had a sense of humor about it all, and I knew that would be crucial for him going forward.  After that day, I loved running into him afterward and seeing that smile that told me he was dealing with everything just fine.

Bryce, I wish we could have met under different circumstances.  But we met- and I’m very thankful for that even if our friendship was all too brief.

Positively Yours,
Shawn
———-
Attention Charlottesville Area Friends: Umlaut (at the R2 space at Rapture on the downtown mall) is doing a fundraiser for Bryce’s funeral costs and to honor his memory. Here’s the Facebook event page which will be this Tuesday, April 26, from 10 pm until 2 am. Hope to see you there.

Got lots swirling around in the ol’ nugget today, but I want to lead out with yet another remembrance of Kurt Cobain.  I know many think he’s overrated and overmentioned, but this week marked 17 years since he took his own life… time flies, doesn’t it?

Near the end of high school, I really got into Nirvana.  The first time I heard them was just before Teen Spirit blew up. It was a random group of guys, hanging out in someone’s basement.  A cassette tape was pulled out and played, and despite the different musical tastes of everyone in the room (from Primus, to Depeche Mode, to Phish fans) we all agreed: Nirvana was awesome.

One thing I loved about Cobain was his understanding and empathy of the underdog.  Back before the modern era of Lady Gaga- a strong advocate for the gay community- Cobain rose to fame on the strength of a catchy guitar riff and an intense music video that MTV played with the feverish excitement that is now solely reserved for reality TV shows.  At the height of his fame Cobain did an interview with The Advocate Magazine, appearing on the cover to talk about how he appreciates the gay community.  Since we all know his music, I thought it would be more interesting to share this.

At the time, I probably appreciated his stance of gay issues because I’d taken a small amount of shit for in junior high and high school for having Depeche Mode as my favorite band. They were European and played keyboards, in Waynesboro, Virginia that somehow qualified as being gay. I don’t know how many times I was told my favorite band was gay- so many times that I figured it didn’t matter if they were or not.  It’s funny, but even the thought that a band was gay, a band that had influenced me and helped guide me through the somewhat treacherous experience of puberty, probably had a lot to do with my opinion that sexual orientation is not something that matters in the slightest.

Speaking of Depeche Mode- I had the great experience of helping my friend, Andy Deane of Bella Morte, with a cover of one of Depeche Mode’s classic songs. It sounds great- I’ll reveal the song when Andy does. It’s being done as part of Bella Morte’s Kickstarter campaign to help fund their new record, After the Flood.  The Depeche Mode cover is an exclusive giveaway to anyone who donates to their campaign, which ends of April 16. So if you want the tune, and want to help a very gay-friendly group of musicians in their own right, you have a week to donate.

It was a lot of fun singing back-up vocals on a song that I’d drive circles around Waynesboro singing in my car back in the day. Glad I could put the harmonies I worked out twenty years ago to good use!

Lastly, I’m humbled by the kind response that the Synthetic Division music video has received.  If you want to hear me talk about music more, then check out an interview I did for Horrorshow Radio this week, The Life and Times of Shawn Decker.  Geek Crafts also featured the “Out of Time” video, and called me a “geek chic trifecta” due to my involvement in music and writing, as well as the fact that I named my band after math… Speaking of the music video, if you look closely you’ll see a Depeche Mode music video within the Synthetic Division music video. (It’s not a clue as to which song Bella Morte covered, btw!)

Hope you have a great weekend.

Positively Yours,
Shawn

Watch, Friend and Follow me on:
YouTube, Facebook and Twitter
Website: ShawnandGwenn.com Also check out the lovely Gwenn’s Fashion/Coffee Blog
My CD, Synthetic Division, A Symptom of Life, is on iTunes!

A big thank you to my January iced mocha sponsors, Joyce Anderson, Carrie Meyd and Nina Martinez. Thanks for providing me the caffeinated goodness that helped me reach my goal of one-blog-post-per-day last month…

Cheers to you!

I finally got my Decker’s Daily Tumblr site updated. I really was set to abandon it until Joyce swept in with a sponsorship after I posted my Top Ten Mocha Moments. Thus, the mooching shall continue!

Positively Yours,
Shawn

Watch, Friend and Follow me on:
YouTube, Facebook and Twitter
Website: ShawnandGwenn.com
Also check out the lovely Gwenn’s Fashion/Coffee Blog
My CD, Synthetic Division, A Symptom of Life, is on iTunes!

SHARE THE BLOG. NOT THE VIRUS.

Some of you may have noticed my thoughts on Black Swan weren’t the usual Hemo2Homo Connection.  It’s not because Steve and I have “broken up” as your favorite living-with-AIDS movie review duo, it’s because we’re too lazy to organize ourselves.

Instead, we’ve found it easier to trade barbs on Twitter.  It’s a war of words of 140 characters (or less!) that we have dubbed “The War for the AIDSges”.  I’m not sure how it started, or how it will end, but it’s been a lot of fun and will likely provide fuel for the eventual return of the Hemo2Homo Connection. Here’s a taste of how we’ve been antagonizing one another on Twitter.

There was a popular trending topic about coming up with less intriguing movie titles than the original. Mine, “The Empire Strikes a Truce” was based on The Empire Strikes Back.  Steve tried to RT me but instead stole my joke by reposting it without giving me the proper credit.  Seeing that we were at “War”, I couldn’t let an internet mistake by an internet legend go unexploited…

@SteveSchalchlin

When my humorous memoir about growing up with HIV was published in 2006, I was doing a lot of self-promo for the book on MySpace.  I hardly ever log into that account these days, because it’s a Spam Hole.

Even though Facebook slinks closer and closer to the same fate as MySpace, I figured it would be smart to create a page for the book there and move over some of the pictures I received from people who were enjoying the book.  If you like the book and are on Facebook, join (Like) the group, I’ll be sharing more pictures and little knick knacks about the book, such as the following pearl of wisdom and insight:

“At first cats think the book is about actual pets… but once they get over that, they seem to really warm up to the content of My Pet Virus.“

Yes, I just quoted myself.  Join the group already!

Positively Yours,
Shawn

Watch, Friend and Follow me on:
YouTube, Facebook and Twitter
Website: ShawnandGwenn.com
Also check out the lovely Gwenn’s Fashion/Coffee Blog
My CD, Synthetic Division, A Symptom of Life, is on iTunes!

SHARE THE BLOG. NOT THE VIRUS.

Set your DVRs and Tivo for this one- tonight at 9 PM (EST) Anderson Cooper takes a look back at the last 30 years of HIV/AIDS. Included in the special will be comments from Jeanne White, Ryan’s mother.

From the Poz Newsfeed: “It was on June 5, 1981, that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published its first report on what became known as AIDS.”

The first time I remember hearing about AIDS was a few years later, in the 4th grade. I was likely already HIV positive by then, because I had an outbreak of shingles that covered my left arm and shoulder. There was a school field trip, and I wore a long sleeve button up shirt to cover the embarrassing and painful bumps. The shirt was button-up because putting a sweatshirt or hoodie over my head and shoulders would have hurt too much. I guess missing out on a field day trip was not an option socially at the time.

Positively Yours,
Shawn

Watch, Friend and Follow me on:
YouTube, Facebook and Twitter
Website: ShawnandGwenn.com Also check out the lovely Gwenn’s Fashion/Coffee Blog
My CD, Synthetic Division, A Symptom of Life, is on iTunes!

SHARE THE BLOG. NOT THE VIRUS.

I referenced a speaking pal, Erin Weed, in my last post about the It Gets Better campaign.  Well, this week on Wear Purple Wednesday, my good speaking buddies, Kelly and Becca, launched an ambitious campaign to provide resources for those affected by sexual assault.

When Kelly was sexually assaulted in college, she turned to her best friend, Becca.  She didn’t have any idea where else to go at the time…  I find it extremely admirable that the friends have educated so many students over the last several years, and have now created a one-stop resource for anyone who may find themselves in need of more information.  It’s called One Student… but you don’t have to be a student to sign the pledge (Gwenn and I have) and get informed about sexual assault.

So cheers to my buddies for caring and being pro-active about an issue that affects way too many people.

Watch, Friend and Follow me on:YouTube, Facebook and Twitter
Website: ShawnandGwenn.com
Also check out the lovely Gwenn’s Fashion/Coffee Blog

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I blogged about the It Gets Better campaign last week in regard to the bullying of the teenage LGBT community and the recent, tragic suicides linked to institutionalized bullying.  My friend, Erin Weed*, posted a great blog entry on how we all can do better than telling teenagers to “wait it out” and suffer.

You can read her thoughts on It Gets Better below:

“Telling kids “it gets better” is a kind and soothing thing to say. But it isn’t addressing the depth of despair these young people are faced with. From what I’ve seen in the schools, it’s almost insulting. Bullying, regardless of why the individual is being targeted, is a form of violence. Would we tell a person in a violent relationship that it gets better? Then send her home to her abuser with no intervention, education or proactive strategy to help her survive? Probably not.” -
Read the entire blog entry HERE
*Erin Weed is a women’s self defense instructor who could beat the shit out of any high school bully if she wanted to. (she probably wants to.)

I agree with Erin that the time for turning a blind eye on bullying simply based on someone’s sexual (or perceived, in many cases) orientation has passed.  It’s that mentality that allows legislators to pass discriminatory laws in adulthood.  If we allow these bigots free passage in their youth, then what’s to stop them from continuing their hateful actions beyond junior high and high school?

I thought of a funny idea to post an “It Gets Worse” message to the youth who are bullying, but the guy below beat me to the punch.  Sadly, his hilarious video was pulled from YouTube, as it was wrongly considered “hate speech” when it is obviously satire with a message that falls right in line with the It Gets Better campaign… So, this one goes out to all you bullies.  This is a glimpse into your future.  Either cut out the mean-spirited bullshit, or come to terms with the fact that your pitiful lives of entitlement and the mirage of moral high ground is going to catch up to you someday.

IT GETS WORSE

Positively Yours,
Shawn

PS… on Wednesday- tomorrow -, people are encouraged to wear purple in remembrance of those lost to suicide as a result of being bullied.

Watch, Friend and Follow me on:YouTube, Facebook and Twitter
Website: ShawnandGwenn.com
Also check out the lovely Gwenn’s Fashion/Coffee Blog

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Team Supersnack showed up in full force this year, but the belles of the ball were definitely the AIDS is a Drag crew.  It looks like I’m pageant posing here, but I’m actually holding my Wal-Mart hat between my legs, I couldn’t bear to wear it alongside this impressive squad of AIDS Walkers.

Speaking of the hat… I’d foolishly stated on Facebook- which is quickly outpacing AIDS as the worst thing I have to live with- that if a joke photo of me in the douchetron hat got like 80 comments or Likes then I’d buy it and wear it through Christmas.  Some terrible, terrible people launched a campaign and now I have the hat.  Poz blogger David Copogna posted on my page, “I’m sorry, you look like a redneck with that Jesus baseball cap on. Was that the point?”

I limped my way across the finish line on Saturday, in what is now a tradition of injuring myself during AIDS Walks.  It’s my bum ankle, it really starts to tweak out around the two mile point, and really craps out after we do a post-Walk team brunch.  There’s talk of renting me a Segway for next year’s Walk, which is the only thing more humiliating than wearing my bedazzled hat.

But hey, I’d make it work. Segways look fun, and I’d dress up as a cop and grow out the worst mustache I possibly could.  Perhaps carry a megaphone and cheer all the other Walkers on, which would get old after about 300 feet or so.  One way or another, I’ll be there every year to Walk.  I love it- seeing so many people who care about the issue and want to kick AIDS in the balls is an incredible thing.

Thanks again to all my donors this year, including my mom who told Gwenn and I to “put food on the card”- which was mostly used for drinks.  Oh, and a big thanks to Kimpton Hotels for putting us and Team Supersnack, who were once again the largest non-corporate fundraiser in the AIDS Walk, up.  It’s nice to have the support of a GLBT-friendly chain of hotels that gets the fact that we need to continue to fight HIV, one swift kick to the nads at a time.

For now, I put my feet up.  Where’s my Cryo Cuff?

Positively Yours,
Shawn

Watch, Friend and Follow me on:YouTube,
Facebook and Twitter
Website: ShawnandGwenn.com
Also check out
the lovely Gwenn’s
Fashion/Coffee Blog

SHARE
THE BLOG. NOT THE VIRUS.