It’s truly been a hot minute since I posted anything new, but that’s because I have been too fucking busy. There have been any number of interesting and sexy things that have happened since I last took the time to sit down and write, and with any amount of luck I will be able to get this article done before something shiny floats by and my ADHD kicks in and whisked me away into a blur of executive dysfunction.
This article to some extent will feel a little bit like a fucked up history essay, only because some things require a timeline to fully grasp. I will bounce around a bit, and if you don’t like it, then there is a lovely article about how to dissect a chicken Rachael Ray recently published. I suggest you go google it because frankly, my writing style won’t be for you. Follow along and keep the fuck up!
Bears, Bikers, and Mayhem (BBM12)
Since 2017 I have been on the staff of BBM as the Contest Producer for the Mr. Mayhem Leather & Leather Bear Contests, and during my time as a member of the production staff I have gotten to see not only the event continue to grow and persevere during the pandemic, but also see the titles expand in popularity to become one of the premiere leather contests in North America.
Being able to work behind the curtain helping to shape the future leaders of our community has been a pleasure, but as anyone that runs a major contest and manages the title afterward will tell you, doing so is extremely taxing. In 2022, one of our former title holders Kevin O’Connell came on board at first as a co-producer. Little did we know I would be grooming him to replace me.
The Good, The Bad, and The “What da Fuck?!”
Around August of 2022, I started to experience some weird “health” issues. My mental focus is not the stuff of legends to begin with, but during this period in my life, it was fucking non-existent. I had issues with blurred vision and problems with my hand straight and dexterity. This continued for a bit to the point it began to alarm me, and after a fucking ridiculous number of medical tests, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
To be exact I have Relapsing-remitting MS which is a type of MS where you have relapses (symptoms getting worse) followed by recovery (that’s when it’s “remitting”). Your disability doesn’t get worse between relapses generally speaking.
Now, for the most part, I am getting by just fine, but there are days when I look like fucking Captain Jack Sparrow running down a beach.
This is a brand new reality that requires a significate amount of adjustment, and refocusing of energy into an inward direction. Not something I am used to. While I may seem to be a rather selfish person (I am a bottom and we all know bottoms only think of themselves), it’s not generally the case.
I have been accused of giving of myself without concern for myself to the extent that Daddy from time to time has to rope me back in and check me into fucking reality from time to time.
I enjoy being the center of attention, this site is a prime example of that desire. BUT it is less of a narcissistic need compared to a love of making others happy. It is possibly the masochist in me deriving my own personal pleasure from the pleasure of others.
But with the new Mad-Cow (Code word for the MS ~ Insert “Danny Crane” Quote here) bullshit I have to stop and reconsider everything because nearly anything will tax me to the point of illness-inducing exhaustion. Due to all of this, my personal energy needs to be shifted to the things that bring me the maximum amount of personal gratification, with the minimum amount of effort.
If you know anything about me, this just isn’t in my personality, so it’s been and will continue to be a major life adjustment. And with any adjustment, change, and compromise are bound to happen.
Mr. Mayhem Leather & Leather Bear ~ Producer Emeritus
Kevin, whom I previously mentioned in this article can not stand the word Emeritus. To him, it sounds like the word Moist which makes me use it even more, but it does describe my current position within the Mayhem Legacy. I plan to remain as active as I can possibly be. The family I have with BBM is forever, and the event has gotten to the point where it’s taken on its own life. So with the title and contest which has reached historic levels this past year with 13 contestants. The leather community has become and continues to be more diverse thus more titles focused regionally, with greater attention to both biographic and kink intersections have been created, while the pool of possible contestants hasn’t really increased. As such having a single event pull-in 13 hopefuls is nearly unheard of these days.
In recent years much like the British Monarchy, many have begun to question the need for titles. But everyone enjoys a good bit of pomp and circumstance for one, but titles also help to create rally points for people and have been known to stand in as examples for other’s personal inspiration.
I am very proud of the legacy we have built during my time in this capacity, and while I know I need to pass the torch on to Kevin, like a good case of gonorrhea I won’t go peacefully into the fucking night.
I plan to exist on a new god-like plane of “wassie-ness” existence never before obtained by the likes of simple morals. To put it simply, I plan on calling Kevin at least once a month to tell him what he’s doing wrong like any good mother would do.
Of course, I am kidding (kind of) and I know Kevin will do a fantastic job…Or else! As for my involvement in BBM moving forward, we are still working out the details of what I can and can not do. I think my role will be more technical and less about “running-the-show” per say. But that all remains to be seen and of course is all dependent on my capabilities moving forward. But the days of Joey running around setting up tables, and spawning things into existence via my own sheer will are done.
House Music is Life! – BBM Edition
Over the past 5 years, my focus hasn’t been on music. I ended a 13-year relationship with my ex, got into another one (love you Daddy), helped build a Leather Title Legacy Empire and event, still building a business, travel, family, life, etc. Music took a place on the back burner for a bit. But a few interesting things happened one of which was the Mad Cow which brought back some of that desire to do cool shit with notes.
So in the past year, I have produced two remixed singles that are going gold and just released a third this past weekend which I am also super proud of. Thus with my interest in music taking a more foreground position in my existence again, the opportunity was presented to play a set for the opening party at BBM, and christ-on-a-fucking-cracker I forgot how much I love performing. Granted this wasn’t EDC but to me, it might as well have been.
Now anytime I do something, I become fixated on it. Getting my set just right became a crazy focus for me, and I spent weeks leading up to the event curating the music into a 4 movement list. Harmonics are core to my style and while I do not strictly adhere to a key or BPM, ensuring the performance quality is pivotal. I could bore you with musical theory and how good DJs use it to elevate their mix to a level of sonic perfection, but instead, just take my word that my set was the mother-fucking-bomb!
I plan on releasing it in the very near future as a produced set, but that takes a lot of time and effort, but you can expect one of the movements to be released as this year’s pride mixshow because it’s just that fucking good.
I also started a new series I am calling SunSet which will just be music designed and made for the summer.
As the summer season progresses I will release more sets so make sure you like and subscribe to my SoundCloud so you get notifications of new music.
Working with Mother-Fucking Pink!
In the latter part of 2022, I got the chance (thanks to some old friends who remembered at one point in my life, I was someone musically), to work with one of my favorite artists. You know her as Pink, but to me she will always be Alecia Moore from Doylestown, PA.
See we grew-up in generally the same area. I was from a small town in the Poconos and she was from subs of Philly just a bit outside of the Lehigh Valley. Pink and I did show choir together and even performed at “Music in the Parks” a choral festival that took place each Spring in Dorney Park. I know very, white-bred ~ middle class but back then who knew she would become one of the best-selling artists of all time, and I would become one of the biggest himbo super-slut you have “never” met.
While we aren’t like the best of friends or some shit, we have been able to keep in touch to some extent, and when her new album was about to drop, TrustFall I was asked by some stroke of stupid fucked-up luck to remix her single, Never Gonna Not Dance Again. WHICH WAS AMAZING, still I hadn’t done anything big like this in fucking YEARS so I had a lot of work to do. And when she selected it to be the official remix, I had nothing….No website, no stage name, NOTHING. Just me, Daddy, Bubba (the bio-doggo) and that’s it. So I had to come up with everything at a moment’s notice. We settled on Fangasma as a stage name, got a website up, and started putting together all the shit that goes with a major release.
Hine-Sight being 20/20, I should have just released all of this shit under my regular name since 99% of the world just knows me as Joey, or for you non-muggles Boy Joey. Thus coming up with some crazy ass stage name was just a fucking waste of time and energy. Now I am dealing with all of the fall-outs of bringing everything I have done under one name and there is a lot of “Artist Formally known as” kind-of shit going on. I feel like fucking Prince.
Oh, That’s just Joey, his like Cher?!
I shit you not, someone said that about me at BBM this past year. And I guess in some ways it could be true. I have been “Just Joey” longer than I have been anything else, and as I explained earlier I am known as that, so moving forward all of my musical work will be done under my given name, Joey.
Anyone in the music industry at any level will tell you that selling music, the act of writing, recording, and producing is no way to make a living. Streaming services killed the radio star and albums have become more of a promotional tool than anything else. Sure if you are a major artist you can make a good living from rotations, but someone like me or nearly anyone in the EDM space does it to help promote their brand and get gigs.
I have a bunch more stuff to release this summer, so keep an eye out.
In Mother Fucking Closing….
Well, that’s it for now. There is so much more I could go on about, but this is all my wrapped sense of focus will allow me…for today. Lack of executive function is a bitch, but it does make life interesting. And I can tell you, that’s all that matters. So keep an eye out for new shit, priorities are shifting, and with that will come new adventures, so let’s just see where things go.
