LGBTQ Resource Center sponsors Athens Boys Choir performance

Katz, a one-man choir, performed and shared intimate stories.

By Britney Buchanan

Published Feb. 3, 2009

Athens Boys Choir performed at Neff Auditorium on Monday night but the performance did not consist of several male vocalists indulging in the usual choir songs.

Athens Boys Choir is actually one man, Harvey Katz.

Katz is a transgender male who writes and performs music. His spoken word explores everything from love and sex to politics and religion.

Katz signed with Daemon Records in 2004 and released four albums since then.

The pieces encouraged laughter, whistles and cheers from the crowd in the auditorium.

Athens Boys Choir was hosted by Missouri's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning Resource Center.

Katz interacted with the crowd on a personal level, talking to people and sharing intimate stories.

Sophomore Victoria Lake said she was intrigued when she saw the event on the LGBTQ Resource Center's Web site and agreed this type of event is important to have on campus.

"All LGBTQ events are important, they help to open people's minds," Lake said.

President of Fluidity Ashe Kolieboi was among those who helped bring the Athens Boys Choir to MU.

Fluidity is a student-run transgender organization at MU founded by Kolieboi.

"Katz is a friend of mine," Kolieboi said. "We met at Camp Trans in Michigan and I was totally blown away."

Katz's spoken word used unexpected visuals and rhythms.

"Our like-like is like pop rocks and coke," he said.

He doesn't write about love, he said, only "like-like," because it's more realistic.

Katz spoke about subjects, ranging from funny to serious, with many drawing from personal experiences. The song "EZ Heeb" was about his bat mitzvah and included actual footage from the party playing during the performance.

"Taken in like Oxygen" was about the strong women in his family. In it, Katz remembers his grandmother's advice that hearts can bend without breaking. In one song, he sang in Hebrew. In another, the words were set to the Mario theme song.

Kolieboi said he hopes Katz's performance and other LGBTQ events will bring awareness of other sexual orientations and other identities.

"I wanted to educate people in a really fun way," Kolieboi said.

Katz called for the community to stop passing judgment, followed by his last piece, "Fagette." Members of the audience began dancing in the aisles to the song.