Inside the Secret Sisterhood of Women Who Worked at Playboy

I was recently interviewed by Elle magazine about my time working for Playboy magazine. The article is HERE

Patrick Stewart in Macbeth

Blood-soaked drama, abusive power, abominable brutality--terms synonymous with Shakespeare's Macbeth. Rupert Goold's dark production, which debuted in New York on February 12th at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Harvey Theater, comprises all of these frightening elements with a modernized interpretation that is positively chilling. Coming off of a wildly successful run in Britain, all shows for the five week American debut sold out within a week of going on sale, and Patrick Stewart's celebrated return to his Shakespearian roots in the title role undoubtedly has lured audiences in.

In a press conference held earlier this month, Stewart waxed passionately about the role. It was at the very young age of fourteen (!) when he first memorized Macbeth's lengthy speeches and colorful soliloquies, and relearning them at his current age of 67 was a pleasure for him. He read everything he could about Joseph Stalin, since Goold's production has a distinct Soviet-era feel and style. When questioned about his age as it relates to Macbeth, Stewart thought it created a fantastic dynamic: As an older man with a much younger and beautiful wife in Lady Macbeth, it provides the character with more inspiration to commit his heinous deeds, as if to say, "It ain't enough.I want everything."

Playing Lady Macbeth is Kate Fleetwood, the stunning British actress and wife of director Goold. Stewart jokingly claimed that her role should have come with a warning label because of all the "manhandling" his character does. Fleetwood did not study Stalin to prepare, but paid close attention to the sexual mannerisms of Nigella Lawson, Britain's sexpot TV star, chef and author. She also read "Women Who Kill" and confessed to being perversely fascinated by people with a similar history to Macbeth. Fleetwood and Stewart share a wonderful chemistry with each other that carries the audience throughout the epic, three-hour production.
               
What about those few over-zealous Star Trek fans showing up in full costume to view Stewart's stage performances? When asked about the phenomenon of his celebrity, Stewart takes great pride when he sees television fans convert to classical live theater. Although he wishes they'd leave the uniforms at home, he does feel single-handedly responsible for creating new audience members for his stage productions and derives great satisfaction from that.

Patrick did an interview with Playboy in 1992 where he spoke about his experience working on Star Trek and his most coveted Shakespearian role that we have yet to see him play: Hamlet.

For Those About to Rock, She Will Dress You

I recently interviewed New York City designer Alison Roberto about her new rock and metal inspired clothing line Metal Couture after her photographer took some shots of me wearing different pieces (photos above).

Alison works in the music industry designing graphics for projects ranging from large-scale award shows to CD covers and websites, so her aesthetic for blending art, fashion and music comes quite naturally. Alison told me about her edgy new clothing line as well as the surprising pastime of Tommy Lee and why the skull is such a popular symbol in fashion.

PLAYBOY: What’s it like working with high-profile musicians?

ALISON: Working in the music industry really is a lot of fun and I get to spend extended periods of time with the gods of the metal world. I’ve had Spinal Tap moments with Testament, shared veggie tacos with Lamb of God, been treated to beers by Zakk Wylde and hung out in a boxing ring with Phil Anselmo.

Recently I saw Anne Lindfjeld, the gorgeous host of Headbangers Ball Denmark, who was in New York doing an interview with tattoo artist Paul Booth. She wore one of our shirts during the interview, which blended nicely with the macabre surroundings of Paul’s midtown studio. (Ed. note: You can see more of Anne on the Grapevine pages in the November 2008 issue).

PLAYBOY: A few of your designs depict golf imagery. What’s the connection with rock n’ roll and golf?

ALISON: Hell if I know! The only thing that I like about golf is driving the little cart around. My fiancé, Mike, is really the one who inspired the brand. He’s the voice of Headbangers Ball and the lead singer of The Burn & Cry, and he absolutely loves golf. After he played a round with Chuck Billy, the singer of Testament, I realized how many rockers are into golf: Tommy Lee, Alice Cooper, Vinnie Paul and Aaron Lewis of Staind, just to name a few. Alice has said that golf saved his life. It helped him stop drinking and gave him a new focus. After being dragged through countless golf outlets I found the true offender not to be the sport itself, but the fashion sense. I thought with this new audience of younger people and rockers that the sport is attracting, they really need a clothing line all their own.

PLAYBOY: What does the skull symbolize to you and why do you think the image has become so closely associated with rock n’ roll?

ALISON: The skull is a global icon for rebellion. It’s seems only natural for rock n’ roll to embody such a powerful symbol. Historically the skull has been associated with everything from secret societies and toxic substances to black-flagged pirate ships. In some cultures skulls were used in various ceremonies and mythical rituals in order to commune with the dead. It’s been thought to represent wisdom and guidance and also as a symbol for death. Skulls have often been used as ornaments or weapons to terrorize enemies. But the skull has definitely grown beyond its ancient significance and rock n’ roll has helped turn it into a fashion icon. Covered in jewels, silhouetted in leather, cast in metal, silkscreened on clothes or embroidered on a diaper bag, it’s this union of opposites that allows Metal Couture to straddle the line between sophistication and debauchery.

PLAYBOY: The color palette of your line is refreshingly light. Are you trying to encourage rockers to put away their dark clothing?

ALISON: No, not at all. I still rock all black on most days myself! I just think there’s a new breed of fashionably conscious metalheads out there who are entirely underserved. Over ten years ago when girlie tees were hard to come by, we had to buy men’s band tees and custom cut them to fit our bodies. It forced me to be creative while remaining sexy! My mission became finding and creating the best fashion forward materials and graphics without ditching our classic rock & metal staple icons. I think we should have choices that not only have amazing graphics, patterns & bodies, but colors as well. Not everything has to be dark & heavy all of the time. My hope with this line is to be able to mix it in with your regular everyday wardrobe. Guys can rock an acid washed tee underneath a blazer for work, and girls can compliment our poofy sleeved “skulls n’ razor blades” top with a high-waisted skirt.

PLAYBOY: Who are/were some of the best-dressed musicians?

ALISON: Rock has had a few dark periods–the 80’s pop metal era was not a shining moment for fashion–but I think we’ve managed to scrape out a few decent dressers; Keith Richards, David Bowie, Queen, Gwen Stefani, Debbie Harry, Marilyn Manson, Jim Morrison….and let’s not forget, Elvis. I love style that defies expectations.

PLAYBOY: What’s the strangest custom order you’ve ever done for someone?

ALISON: We haven’t had too many strange requests, but we certainly welcome them. Making custom golf polos for Chuck Billy was probably the coolest. We’ll be adding accessories in the spring. We get so many requests for the black tutu skirt and bracelets pictured on our models, so we’ve decided to expand into accessories as well as apparel.

I’m also happy to announce that on March 5th, 2009 Metal Couture will have its first runway show and launch party at Fontana’s in New York City. We’ll have models from Suicide Girls and Playboy and there may even be a few metal celebrity appearances (wink, wink). The event will be co-hosted by José Mangin, host of Sirius Satellite Radio’s Liquid Metal, and Allison Hagendorf, host of Playboy’s Rock the Rabbit and Miss Playboy Mobile. Limited tickets will be made available to the public, so keep checking our website for details!

Photos by Justin Borucki.

Meeting Erica Jong

Eariler this month, author Erica Jong was in New York City to read from her new book of poems "Love Comes First" at my favorite independent bookstore, McNally Jackson Books. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to spend time with and speak one on one with this talented author.

I read Erica's first novel "Fear of Flying" published in 1973 two years ago. It was certainly interesting to read her unabashed thoughts and insights about sex from a young woman's point of view living in NYC in the 70s and how this influenced many women to act on their desires. (One might argue that Erica was the first to break down the barriers that helped "Sex and the City" become so popular). Her words continue to influence people to this day as evidenced by a girl at the book signing who was almost in tears when she spoke to Erica about how much it meant for her to identify with the unfulfilled character in Erica's book who was in an unhappy marriage.

I asked her the following question: "How do you think feminism has affected relationships between men and women in the 21st century? Some say it has had a negative effect with men citing confusion at how they should act in relationships and chivalry seems to have gone out the window." She responded by saying that women should never stop fighting for rights and that many women are still taken advantage of and mistreated because of their gender. Women's voices should always be heard.

In her new book of poems, Erica is clearly comfortable with herself and focuses not on sex, but on the simple pleasures of life.

Just When I Thought...

...All the low-key, classy, stylized bars were a thing of the past in New York City, I discovered The Bourgeois Pig this past Sunday. The Victorian/Gothic decor is beautiful and creates the perfect atmosphere for escaping the banal-looking, cookie-cutter places that seem to be taking over Manhattan. You'll feel right at home wearing your finest threads, and after a few sips of special drinks like "Wolf's Breath" you might feel transported back to the time when one might have spotted Poe or Wilde brooding in the background writing their next masterpiece with a glass of absinthe at their side. 

My other favorite bar Death and Company is located on one block away on E 6th St.

Books!

My career with Playboy has involved not only working for the magazine and website, but also on some really great books. I made this cover collage of all the books I've helped produce, so if you are a fan of cartoon art, check out these wonderful titles: 

Playboy's Little Annie Fanny by the extraordinary artists Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder. All of the multi-panel stories ever published in the magazine from 1962-1988 appear in these two volumes. One of my favorite fantasy artists Frank Frazetta, whose pivotal and influential work has inspired the look and feel of many sci-fi and fantasy movies, was friends with the now deceased artists and his work was parodied in a classic story from 1985.

Playboy: 50 Years The Cartoons. This is a collection of Hugh Hefner's favorite cartoons from 1953-2003. The cartoons are Hef's second favorite part of the magazine. No need to say what the first is.

Playboy's Eldon Dedini. A beautiful hardcover collection of Eldon's best cartoons that appeared in Playboy magazine from the past six decades. Eldon was a wonderful watercolor artist from Monterey, California. This was a very emotional book to work on; the artist was ill during the production stages but worked diligently on the project. When his work was finished and he knew the material was being shipped to printer, he passed away shortly after. 

Author Bruce Jay Friedman's musings were illustrated by the French artist Andre Barbe in Sexual Pensees. Bruce is perhaps most well-known for being one of the writers of the movie Splash.

Gahan Wilson: The Complete Playboy Collection. If you are a fan of Charles Addams' cartoons (which inspired The Addams Family show and movies), you will love the macabre art of Gahan Wilson. He's one of my favorite cartoon artists and I've written about him and his work many times. His environmental and political cartoons from the 70s are just as poignant and relevant today. This deluxe collection comprises every single cartoon ever published of Gahan's in the magazine! It will be released at the end of 2009.

Sweet Emotions

Each holiday season for the past decade the musical juggernaut known as The Trans Siberian Orchestra has performed their orchestral heavy holiday rock music to audiences around the country. This past weekend the group made stops at New York's Nassau Coliseum and New Jersey's Izod Arena (formerly known as The Meadowlands and now affectionately called "The Metal Lands") where they played three sold-out shows. Historically, guest musicians have made surprise appearances at these particular arenas, which have included Joan Jett, Jon Anderson (Yes) and Roger Daltrey (The Who), and this weekend was no exception when the legendary Steven Tyler of Aerosmith took the stage to close out all three shows. It was a perfect holiday treat to hear the classic songs "Dream On" and "Sweet Emotion" to end the three hour, over-the-top spectacle from this entertaining group of musicians.

I was sitting in the 6th row and ran up when Steven Tyler came out and was able to take these really close shots.

This entry made playboy.com's homepage the day it was posted (click to enlarge):