That book Dave ref'd, The Fabulous Sylvester--I saw a guy reading it on the Montg'y Muni platform last night. Didn't know it existed, but my interest was piqued. Might have to hunt up a copy.
I mentioned it in another thread, but I'll retread here: Bob Christgau reviews the book in this week's Village Voice. Apparently it's an enjoyable read, but it's 300 pages, which I'm not sure is warranted or feasible no matter how engaging the deets of Syl's odd life may have been. Best revelation: Martha Wash and Izora Rhodes are masterful storytellers.
300 pages is pretty damn short for a bio, even if the subject died young. Xgau aside (I
love that abbreviation!) I've seen several rave reviews. But I'll wait for paperback (I'm just now catching up with
Moneyball). :wink:
Speaking of Syl & that period, KQED reran the docu "The Castro" for Pride, and lo & behold, that's where Dave got all his clips for the Pride set -- someone had asked Fri or Sat.