Quiet Conversations The Upstairs Lounge Arson Attack cover art

Quiet Conversations The Upstairs Lounge Arson Attack

Quiet Conversations The Upstairs Lounge Arson Attack

Written by: Arthur Severio
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About this listen

My name is Arthur Severio, and welcome to Quiet Conversations: The Upstairs Lounge Fire.

I left home with a suitcase filled with dreams, a pack of brand-new Fruit of the Loom underwear, two pairs of 501s, and some shirts that weren’t exactly made for a fat kid like me. My mama had stuffed a twenty-dollar bill in my pocket just in case I wanted a snack and a Diet Coke from the vending machine for my ride into the Crescent City.

My brother met me at the downtown Greyhound bus terminal to take a United Cab back to his French Quarter apartment. It was 1983, and I was only 17. I was so happy because I had finally reached the place that I had dreamed about to get me through those endless days of doing little more than surviving. Soon I met Marcy Marcelle who was scheduled to perform that night at the Upstairs Lounge.
In these Quiet Conversations, I talk to people whose lives were touched either in their personal experience or using their artistic talents to describe that night.



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Episodes
  • WITH A FRIEND LIKE REBA RAMBO

    WITH A FRIEND LIKE REBA RAMBO
    Dec 24 2023

    In this special Christmas episode, Reba and I have a quiet "let's get real conversation talking about our lives and where we are today as artists, and the evolution of our friendship. Her writing is up there with the greats for me and is much an inspiration.
    Reba talks about the changes in her life and how she deals with it as it comes. As an artist and a woman, what do changes like divorce and being a mother mean. As a vocalist of "seventy years young" what do you do when you have to Patti LaBelle it?

    Historian Frank Perez explains the mission of the LGBT+ Archives of Louisiana and a welcome to Quiet Conversations.

    with Rio Riggen

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    21 mins
  • Anita Bryant’s Pie in the Eye, how New Orleans shut her down, Stuart Butler and Regina Adams after the Upstairs Lounge Fire

    Anita Bryant’s Pie in the Eye, how New Orleans shut her down, Stuart Butler and Regina Adams after the Upstairs Lounge Fire
    Dec 15 2023

    In our fourteenth and final episode of Season 1:
    How did the city of New Orleans treat the survivors of the arson at the Upstairs Lounge?
    There were a lot of social and political changes happening in the @lgbti community regarding organizing and social awareness.
    Regina became the woman of her creation or as she said "started living in drag."
    Listen and find out about who Fury was and what it was like hustling in the seventies.
    How did the Advocate magazine did to help the victims of the arson at Upstairs Lounge and how it would set the precedent for what was about to come?

    Historian Frank Perez explains the mission of the LGBT+ Archives of Louisiana and a welcome to Quiet Conversations.


    Art Span NOLA’s mission is to do just that. It is a non-profit 501 c3 designed especially for contemporary artists just like You and me. Art span Nola extends across the globe, sponsoring programs like creative mentorship, exposure visibility, and project development through collaboration and community.

    Please visit Artspannola.org to make your contribution.



    with Rio Riggen

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    48 mins
  • WALTER JENKINS, EARTHA KITT, LADYBIRD JOHNSON, and G.I. JANE

    WALTER JENKINS, EARTHA KITT, LADYBIRD JOHNSON, and G.I. JANE
    Dec 3 2023

    A transwoman and a writer’s unique experience of the Vietnam War. Civil rights in New Orleans. The Please U restaurant. What happened to Eartha Kitt when she stood up to Lady Bird Johnson about the war in Vietnam? How does Viet Name veteran identify and feel about hormonal replacement therapy? Lady Bird Johnson takes a stand about Walter Jenkins being arrested for tea room behavior.

    Historian Frank Perez explains the mission of the LGBT+ Archives of Louisiana and a welcome to Quiet Conversations.

    with Rio Riggen

    Support the show
    Show More Show Less
    33 mins
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