Justin Vivian Bond (born May 9, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. Described as "the best cabaret artist of
heir
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...
!--
MOS:GENDERID --> generation" and a "tornado of art and activism", they first achieved prominence under the pseudonym of Kiki DuRane in the stage duo
Kiki and Herb
Kiki and Herb (Justin Bond and Kenny Mellman) are an American drag cabaret duo. Bond portrays Kiki DuRane, an aging, alcoholic, female lounge singer. Mellman portrays her gay, male piano accompanist, known only as "Herb."
Despite Bond and Mellm ...
, an act born out of a collaboration with long-time co-star
Kenny Mellman
Kenneth Mellman is an American musician and cabaret artist. He is a member of The Julie Ruin.
Mellman is co-creator of Kiki and Herb with Justin Bond and plays the role of Herb. He created his solo show ''Kenny Mellman Is Grace Jones'' and co-w ...
. With a musical voice self-described as "kind of woody and full with a lot of vibration", Bond is a Tony-nominated (2007) performer who has received
GLAAD
GLAAD (), an acronym of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals ...
(2000),
Obie
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the A ...
(2001),
Bessie (2004),
Ethyl
Ethyl may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Cold Ethyl, a Swedish rock band
*Ethyl Sinclair, a character in the ''Dinosaurs'' television show
Science and technology
* Ethyl group, an organic chemistry moiety
* Ethyl alcohol (or ethanol)
* E ...
(2007), and a
Foundation for Contemporary Arts
The Foundation for Contemporary Arts (FCA), is a nonprofit based foundation in New York City that offers financial support and recognition to contemporary performing and visual artists through awards for artistic innovation and potential. It was ...
Grants to Artists (2012) awards. Bond is
transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
.
Early life
Bond grew up in
Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland,
United States and the county seat of Washington County. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2020 census was 43,527, and the population of the Hagerstown metropolitan area (exten ...
.
As "a trans kid in a small town", Bond recalls feeling "I wasn't being accepted for who I was, but at the time I didn't even have the words to express who I was." Meanwhile, they were taking voice lessons and singing in church and in the local community theatre.
Bond studied theater at
Adelphi University
Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York. Adelphi also has centers in Manhattan, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County. There is also a virtual, online campus for remote students. It is the oldest institution of higher ed ...
on
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
from 1981 to 1985.
[ Albo 2011.] They saw
Simon and Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...
in concert in Central Park, but it was visiting
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
for the first time to see
Judy Collins
Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ec ...
that invoked the realization that "I had escaped my hometown and was finally beginning to live the life I'd dreamed of."
[Bond, September 10, 2014]
Early career
After graduation, Bond worked briefly at ''Details'' magazine with Lumet. Returning to Maryland, they found roles in regional dinner theaters, often doubling as a server. Bond moved to San Francisco in 1988.
Bond started out clerking in a gay bookstore,
[Als, 2011.] and at some point, adopted the stage name of Justin.
[Perry, 2012.]
A turning point occurred when
Kate Bornstein
Katherine Vandam Bornstein (born March 15, 1948) is an American author, playwright, performance artist, actor, and gender theorist. In 1986, Bornstein started identifiying as gender non-conforming and has stated "I don't call myself a woman, ''and ...
cast Bond in her play ''Hidden: A Gender'', using the life of the French, intersex person
Herculine Barbin
Herculine Adélaïde Barbin, later known as Abel Barbin (November 8, 1838 – February 1868), was a French intersex person who was assigned female at birth and raised in a convent, but was later reclassified as male by a court of law, after an affa ...
as an autobiographical device. Bond "was not sure
hey
Hey or Hey! may refer to:
Music
* Hey (band), a Polish rock band
Albums
* ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014
* ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980
* ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...
could really pull off playing a girl," according to Bornstein, and feared the censure of "
heir
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...
gay male friends."
[Swanson, 2011] With the assistance of
Kenny Mellman
Kenneth Mellman is an American musician and cabaret artist. He is a member of The Julie Ruin.
Mellman is co-creator of Kiki and Herb with Justin Bond and plays the role of Herb. He created his solo show ''Kenny Mellman Is Grace Jones'' and co-w ...
, they created the lounge act Dixie McCall's Patterns for Living around the persona of actress and singer
Julie London
Julie London (née Peck; September 26, 1926 – October 18, 2000) was an American singer and actress whose career spanned more than 40 years. A torch singer noted for her sultry, languid contralto vocals, London recorded over thirty albums ...
. The duo played a number of gigs, both in and out of character; three years after attending Pride for the first time, Bond was hosting the show at the end of the parade.
[Lamble, 2010] In 1993, Bond hosted the first
San Francisco Drag King Contest The San Francisco Drag King Contest is an annual contest for drag kings held in San Francisco, California and founded by performer and producer, Fudgie Frottage. It is the biggest drag king contest in the world, and the longest running drag king co ...
at the
DNA Lounge
DNA Lounge is an all-ages nightclub and restaurant/cafe in the SoMa district of San Francisco owned by Jamie Zawinski, a former Netscape programmer and open-source software hacker. The club features DJ dancing, live music, burlesque performanc ...
with
Elvis Herselvis
Elvis Herselvis is the stage name of the American actor and singer Leigh Crow, whose rise to international exposure was performing as a female Elvis Presley impersonator. Crow still performs as Elvis Herselvis on occasion as well as sings, acts an ...
. In 1994, they appeared on film for the first time, as Amphetamine in John Moritsugu's ''
Mod Fuck Explosion
''Mod Fuck Explosion'' is a 1994 film by Jon Moritsugu about a young girl named London who is trying to find meaning in the world, or a leather jacket of her very own. Unaccepted by the Mods or the bikers, she tries to find her own path through lif ...
'', and again the following year in ''
Fanci's Persuasion
''Fanci's Persuasion'' is a 1995 American film directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld
Charles Herman-Wurmfeld (born July 5, 1966) is an American film and television director
A television director is in charge of the activities involved in mak ...
''.
Trans-Atlantic cabaret
Kiki and Herb: 1993–2007
Bond is best known for originating the role of washed-up lounge singer Kiki DuRane, "an alcoholic battle-axe with a throat full of razor-blades." Kiki's equally-damaged accompanist Herb, played by pianist
Kenny Mellman
Kenneth Mellman is an American musician and cabaret artist. He is a member of The Julie Ruin.
Mellman is co-creator of Kiki and Herb with Justin Bond and plays the role of Herb. He created his solo show ''Kenny Mellman Is Grace Jones'' and co-w ...
, made up the other half of the duo, billed as
Kiki and Herb
Kiki and Herb (Justin Bond and Kenny Mellman) are an American drag cabaret duo. Bond portrays Kiki DuRane, an aging, alcoholic, female lounge singer. Mellman portrays her gay, male piano accompanist, known only as "Herb."
Despite Bond and Mellm ...
. Critics lauded both the performance and the edgy, eclectic repertoire. Described in one place as "tragically hip", the inspiration arose "out of my own trauma regarding AIDS and so many people dying,"
[Hoby, 2011] according to Bond. "All our friends were dying of AIDS, and it was a way to get out all our rage," said Mellman.
Bond moved to New York City in 1994 in the midst of crackdown on queer clubs by then-mayor
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...
. Journalist John Russell saw in Kiki "an icon to rival
Hedwig Hedwig may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Hedwig (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Grzegorz Hedwig (born 1988), Polish slalom canoeist
* Johann Hedwig, (1730–1799), German botanist
* Romanus Adol ...
."
[Russell, 2009.] ''The New York Times'' called Kiki "the town's most endearingly unhinged chanteuse", comparing Bond favorably to more conventional performers for whom "the point is never the prettiness of the voice." Bond has said that "I think that the reason people liked Kiki so much is that she had just about everything wrong with her."
Kiki and Herb
Kiki and Herb (Justin Bond and Kenny Mellman) are an American drag cabaret duo. Bond portrays Kiki DuRane, an aging, alcoholic, female lounge singer. Mellman portrays her gay, male piano accompanist, known only as "Herb."
Despite Bond and Mellm ...
met with more critical acclaim and developed a cult following. They received their first ''New York Times'' review for ''Have Another'', (1999), a show that earned a
GLAAD
GLAAD (), an acronym of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals ...
media award the following year. They performed extensively, namely in London's Soho Theatre and Queen Elizabeth Hall and New York's
The Knitting Factory
The Knitting Factory is a nightclub in New York City that features eclectic music and entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United States.
The Knitting Factory gave its audience poetry readings, perform ...
and
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
, as well as a host of other venues worldwide. Their numerous collaborators included
Debbie Harry
Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981.
Born in ...
of
Blondie, comedian
Sandra Bernhard
Sandra Bernhard (born June 6, 1955) is an American actress, singer, comedian and author. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy, where she often critiqued celebrity culture and political figures.
She is perhaps b ...
, and Antony of
Antony and the Johnsons
Antony and the Johnsons is an American music group presenting the work of Anohni and her collaborators.
Career
British experimental musician David Tibet of Current 93 heard a demo and offered to release Anohni's music through his Durtro label ...
. Their recordings included the Christmas album, ''
Do You Hear What We Hear?'' (2000), and ''
Kiki and Herb Will Die for You: Live at Carnegie Hall'' (2005). In 2004, Bond and Mellman did a cameo in the
Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...
release ''
Imaginary Heroes
''Imaginary Heroes'' is a 2004 American drama film written and directed by Dan Harris. It focuses on the traumatic effect the suicide of the elder son has on a suburban family.
Plot
Matt Travis is good-looking, popular, and his school's best com ...
'', with script by
Dan Harris. Appearing alongside
Sigourney Weaver
Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver (; born October 8, 1949) is an American actress. A figure in science fiction and popular culture, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Gram ...
,
Jeff Daniels, and
Emile Hirsch
Emile Davenport Hirsch (born March 13, 1985) is an American actor. He played Chris McCandless in '' Into the Wild'' (2007). Other notable film roles include '' The Girl Next Door'' (2004), ''Lords of Dogtown'' (2005), ''Alpha Dog'' (2006), ''Spe ...
, the duo reprised the
Melanie Safka
Melanie Anne Safka-Schekeryk (born February 3, 1947), professionally known as Melanie or Melanie Safka, is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for the 1971–72 global hit "Brand New Key", her cover of " Ruby Tuesday", her compositi ...
composition ''Tonight's the Kind of Night'' from ''
Do You Hear What We Hear?'' Their stage act was captured on video in ''Kiki and Herb Live at the Knitting Factory'' (2007). They toured twice in the U.S., including the 2007 'Year of Magical Drinking Tour.'
The duo traveled repeatedly to London, where Bond continued to work on an MA in
scenography
Scenography (inclusive of scenic design, lighting design, sound design, costume design) is a practice of crafting stage environments or atmospheres. In the contemporary English usage, scenography is the combination of technological and material st ...
at
Central St. Martin's
Central Saint Martins is a public university, public tertiary education, tertiary art school in London, England. It is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and pos ...
College of Art and Design when not performing. London shows included ''Where Are We Now?'', ''Kiki & Herb: There's a Stranger in the Manger'', and ''Kiki & Herb Mount The President'', the latter performed aboard in the River Thames. Bond had a Top 20 Single on the UK alternative chart and was named one of England's fifty funniest people by ''Time Out London''. The mockumentaries titled ''Kiki and Herb on the Rocks'' (2005) and ''Kiki and Herb Reloaded'' (2005) followed the pair to London and around the UK, respectively.
Their show ''Kiki & Herb: Alive on Broadway'' ran for five weeks in 2006, and was nominated for a 2007 Tony for Special Theatrical Event. One critic noted that onstage they are "Alive with a capital A, with all the human vitality and fallibility that that implies." A poster on tribe.net reported hearing them mentioned on an episode of ''
Will and Grace
Will may refer to:
Common meanings
* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
* Will (sociology)
* Will, volition (psychology)
* Will, a modal verb - see Shall and wi ...
'' early in 2006, noting that "now they have crossed over."
After closing on Broadway, Bond returned for the final, American tour. This was followed by a return to Carnegie Hall for a one-night show on December 12, 2007, billed as ''Kiki and Herb: The Second Coming – A Christmas Concert''.
Solo career: 1993–present
![JVB Joe's Pub](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/JVB_Joe%27s_Pub.jpg)
Before retiring Kiki in 2008, Bond was touring nationally and abroad, appearing in film, and recording under the name of Justin Bond.
Bond's first album was the result of an improvised concert with experimental, electronic sound artist
Bob Ostertag
Robert "Bob" Ostertag (born April 19, 1957) is a musician, writer, and political activist based in San Francisco. He has published seven books, one feature film, a DVD, twenty-six albums, and collaborated with numerous musicians.
Musically, he ...
and a Japanese turntablist from the Tokyo noise underground,
Otomo Yoshihide
is a Japanese composer and multi-instrumentalist. He mainly plays guitar, turntables, and electronics.
He first came to international prominence in the 1990s as the leader of the experimental rock group Ground Zero, and has since worked in ...
, at San Francisco's Great American Music Hall in 1997. They already appeared on two tracks ("Not Your Girl" and "The Man in the Blue Slip") on Ostertag's 1995 album "Fear No Love", sharing co-lead vocals duties with
Mike Patton
Michael Allan Patton (born January 27, 1968) is an American singer, producer, film composer and voice actor, best known as the lead vocalist of the alternative metal band Faith No More. Noted for his vocal proficiency, diverse singing techni ...
. Other guests on the record were
Fred Frith
Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith (born 17 February 1949) is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser.
Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock ...
and
Lynn Breedlove
Lynn Breedlove (also known as Lynnee Breedlove) is an American musician, writer, and performer who was born in Oakland, California, United States.
Early life
Lynn Breedlove was born in and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area during early child ...
. At the behest of the record label Asphodel, an album was recorded in this location and in studio at Toast, with additional tracks and musicians added later. Because Otomo spoke little English and could not understand what Bond was saying, he watched the recording engineer through the glass and "when I see he laugh, I play something funny." The album was released under the Seeland label in 1999 as ''PantyChrist'', with a European, promotional tour. Although it failed commercially, Ostertag viewed it from an artistic standpoint as "one of my most successful projects."
Bond released a five-track EP ''Pink Slip'' in June 2009 featuring four original songs ("The New Depression", "May Queen", "The Puppet Song", "Michael in Blue") and a cover of
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...
's "Arpeggi/Weird Fishes". ''Pink Slip'' was recorded at Le Poisson Rouge and Bond hoped income from the EP would help fund the recording of an album.
Both of the albums were self-financed, and both were the result of a collaboration with pianist/producer Thomas Bartlett of the band
Doveman
Thomas Bartlett (born October 13, 1981), also known as Doveman, is an American pianist, producer, and singer. He has released four solo albums as Doveman, four albums as a member of The Gloaming, duo albums with the composer Nico Muhly and the ...
.
[ Angelo 2011.] The first, ''Dendrophile'' (2011), contained a mix of original compositions and covers modeled on a type of "early-'70s folk-pop variety album"
in the spirit of Judy Collins, featuring a duet with English singer-songwriter
Beth Orton
Elizabeth Caroline Orton (born 14 December 1970) is an English musician, known for her "folktronica" sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit, Andrew Weatherall, ...
.
[Varrati, 2012.] Bond used
Kickstarter
Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...
to finance the release of a second album, ''Silver Wells'', in 2012. The album was conceived as an homage to the 1970 Joan Didion novel ''Play it as it Lays''.
In 2012, Bond toured nationally with lesbian-feminist, spoken-word collective
Sister Spit. promoting the new album.
Later that year, they opened the holiday show ''Snow Angel''.
In June 2006, Bond appeared with
David Hoyle
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
in ''When David Met Justin'' at London's
Bush Hall
Bush Hall is located at 310 Uxbridge Road, Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. Originally a dance hall, it is now an independent music venue with a capacity of 400.
Bush Hall was built in 1904. It was used as a soup kitchen during World W ...
. Performing with the House of Whimsy Players at
The Kitchen
The Kitchen is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary avant-garde performance and experimental art institution located at 512 West 19th Street, between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was founde ...
in October, Bond staged ''Re:Galli Blond (A Sissy Fix)'', "a self-penned musical spectacle of transgender oppression and uplift."
[ Murphy and Bond 2010.] They also appeared in
Paul Festa's ''Apparition of the Eternal Church'' (2006).
Bond has hosted the Weimer New York variety show since its inception in 2007. ''Justin Bond Is Close to You'' reinterpreted Karen Carpenter's album ''Close to You'' as part of Joe's Pub in the Park in Central Park in 2007, later moving to Australia's Sydney Opera House.
In 2008, the GLAAD-nominated show Lustre premiered at PS122 in the East Village, then toured the UK with stops in London and Manchester as part of the It's Queer Up North Arts Festival. In December 2008, Bond appeared at London's Southbank Centre in ''Sinderella'', written by
Martyn Jacques
Martyn Jacques (born 22 May 1959) is a British musician, singer and songwriter, mostly known as the founder and front man of cult British trio The Tiger Lillies.
Life and career
Martyn Jacques grew up in Slough. His song on the 1996 The Tig ...
of the
Tiger Lillies
The Tiger Lillies are a cult British musical trio formed in 1989 by singer-songwriter Martyn Jacques. Described as the forefathers of Brechtian Punk Cabaret, the Tiger Lillies are well known for their unique sound and style which merges "the ...
.
''Justin Bond: Christmas Spells'' opened in December 2010 at
Abrons Arts Center
The Henry Street Settlement is a not-for-profit social service agency in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City that provides social services, arts programs and health care services to New Yorkers of all ages. It was founde ...
on Grand Street in Manhattan's Lower East Side. The two-part show included a trademark cabaret performance of holiday tunes, showcasing an original composition ''Could Baby Jesus in His Manger Foresee the Hate Sprung from That Night?'' This was followed by a theatrical adaptation of a short story by gender-theorist
Kate Bornstein
Katherine Vandam Bornstein (born March 15, 1948) is an American author, playwright, performance artist, actor, and gender theorist. In 1986, Bornstein started identifiying as gender non-conforming and has stated "I don't call myself a woman, ''and ...
. In December 2015, an EP titled ''Christmas Spells'' was released, including three songs (''Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas'', ''Remember (Christmas)'' and ''Christmas Spells'').
Bond starred as
Warhol superstar
Warhol superstars were a clique of New York City personalities promoted by the pop artist Andy Warhol during the 1960s and early 1970s. These personalities appeared in Warhol's artworks and accompanied him in his social life, epitomizing his fam ...
Jackie Curtis
Jackie Curtis (February 19, 1947 – May 15, 1985) was an American actress, writer, singer, and Warhol superstar.
Early life and career
Jackie Curtis was born in New York City to John Holder and Jenevive Uglialoro. She had one sibling, half-br ...
in ''Jukebox Jackie'' as part of the 50th anniversary season of
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (La MaMa E.T.C.) is an Off-Off-Broadway theatre founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, African-American theatre director, producer, and fashion designer. Located in Manhattan's East Village, the theatre began in the ...
between May and June 2012. "I've always been really interested in Jackie, Holly Woodlawn, and Candy Darling," they recounted in an interview at the time, "because they, along with Renee Richards and Christine Jorgensen, were the first famous trans people. When I was young, they were really the only trans people to which I had been exposed."
According to Bond, the project originated as a revival of one of Jackie's "crazy, amphetamine-fueled" plays, but Bond (and director Scott Wittman) "couldn't really make sense of them" and turned to reportage instead. "I always liked Jackie," they said, "because Jackie wasn't willing to say 'I am a woman trapped in a man's body,' she'd say 'I'm trans, I'm not a man. I'm not a woman. I'm Jackie.' Which, by the way, was the last line of the show."
Bond's show ''Mx America'' was slated to open in Australia in February 2013.
Beginning in January 2014, Bond appeared alongside
Stephen Spinella in the
Classic Stage Company
Classic Stage Company, or CSC, is a classical Off-Broadway theater. Founded in 1967, Classic Stage Company is one of Off-Broadway's oldest theaters. Its 199-seat theatre is the former Abbey Theatre located at 136 East 13th Street between Third a ...
production of the
Bertolt Brecht
Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...
play ''A Man's a Man'' (''
Man Equals Man
''Man Equals Man'' (german: Mann ist Mann), or A Man's a Man, is a play by the German people, German Modernism, modernist playwright Bertolt Brecht. One of Brecht's earlier works, it explores themes of war, human fungibility, and Personal identit ...
''), with new music by
Duncan Sheik
Duncan Sheik (born November 18, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and composer. Sheik is known for his 1996 debut single " Barely Breathing", which earned him a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. He has composed ...
. The show ran
off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
at the company's theater on 13th Street in Manhattan's East Village, with Bond playing the part of Leokadia Begbick, a role originated by Brecht's wife
Helene Weigel
Helene Weigel (; 12 May 19006 May 1971) was a German actress and artistic director. She was the second wife of Bertolt Brecht and was married to him from 1930 until his death in 1956. Together they had two children.
Personal life
Weigel was bo ...
.
In December 2014, Bond's performed in ''Star of Light! An Evening of Bi-Polar Witchy Wonder'', which opened at
Joe's Pub
Joe's Pub, one of the six performance spaces within The Public Theater, is a music venue and restaurant that hosts live performances across genres and arts, ranging from cabaret to modern dance to world music. It is located at 425 Lafayette St ...
on Lafayette near Manhattan's
Astor Place
Astor Place is a one-block street in NoHo/ East Village, in the lower part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs from Broadway in the west (just below East 8th Street) to Lafayette Street. The street encompasses two plazas at th ...
.
In 2006, Bond appeared in the film ''
Shortbus
''Shortbus'' is a 2006 American erotic comedy-drama film written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell. The plot revolves around a sexually diverse ensemble of colorful characters trying desperately to connect in an early 2000s New York City. Th ...
''.
In the movie, directed by fellow
Radical Faerie
The Radical Faeries are a loosely affiliated worldwide network and Counterculture, countercultural movement seeking to redefine queer consciousness through secular spirituality. Sometimes deemed a form of modern Paganism, the movement also adopts ...
John Cameron Mitchell
John Cameron Mitchell (born April 21, 1963) is a two-time Tony Award winning American actor, playwright, screenwriter, singer, songwriter, producer and director. He is best known as the writer, director and star of the 2001 film '' Hedwig and th ...
, they played the mistress of ceremonies at the eponymous avant-garde salon Shortbus, singing the
Scott Matthew
Scott William Matthew is a singer-songwriter born in Queensland, Australia. He was a member of alternative pop band Elva Snow (2001–2006), which he co-founded with Spencer Cobrin. On 7 March 2008 he issued his solo debut eponymous album. His ...
number "In the End" to the music of the
Hungry March Band.
Jake Shears
Jake Shears (born October 3, 1978) is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known as the male lead singer of pop-rock band Scissor Sisters.
Early life
Shears was born in Mesa, Arizona, the son of an entrepreneur father and a Baptist moth ...
, lead singer of
Scissor Sisters
Scissor Sisters were an American pop rock band formed in 2001. Its members include Jake Shears and Ana Matronic as vocalists, Babydaddy as multi-instrumentalist, Del Marquis as lead guitar/bassist, and Randy Real (who replaced Paddy Boom) as dr ...
, has cited the Kiki and Herb Christmas Show as inspiration. Bond and Shears became friends, with the Scissor Sisters fronting for Kiki and Herb at
The Knitting Factory
The Knitting Factory is a nightclub in New York City that features eclectic music and entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United States.
The Knitting Factory gave its audience poetry readings, perform ...
.
Bond appeared in the 2017
Music Box Theatre
The Music Box Theatre is a Broadway theater at 239 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1921, the Music Box Theatre was designed by C. Howard Crane in a Palladian-inspir ...
performance of the ''Tales of the City'' musical, with score by Shears.
In 2008, Bond participated in a Christmas show at the Knitting Factory that included
Rufus Wainwright
Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded 10 studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical operas and set ...
, members of Wainwright's family,
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including ...
,
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...
,
Velvet Underground
Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric
Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabri ...
, and performance artist
Laurie Anderson
Laurel Philips Anderson (born June 5, 1947), known as Laurie Anderson, is an American avant-garde artist, composer, musician, and film director whose work spans performance art, pop music, and multimedia projects. Initially trained in violin and ...
. Revelation Films released the concert DVD in November 2009 under the title ''A Not So Silent Night (Kate & Anna McGarrigle/Rufus & Martha Wainwright)''.
In May 2011, they appeared with various artists in A Celebration of
at New York City's Town Hall to commemorate the passing of the Wainwrights' mother, who had succumbed to cancer the previous year. A DVD was released in 2013. In August 2012, Bond officiated at Rufus Wainwright's Long Island wedding.
Activism
![JVB](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/JVB.jpg)
Bond participated in the original
Gay Shame event in New York in 1998, performing as Kiki and Herb and recorded in the Scott Berry documentary ''Gay Shame '98''. On September 25, 2012, they hosted a special edition of Weimar as a fundraiser for the reelection of U.S. President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
. In November, Bond announced a performance to benefit the Ali Forney Center for LGBT youth in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Ahead of the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, they appeared in a video by Brooklyn-based Potpourri of Pearls, protesting Russian mistreatment of LGBT persons.
Other projects
In July 2009 Bond made an appearance on the
Logo TV
Logo TV (often shortened to Logo, and stylized as Logo.) is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. Launched in 2005, Logo was originally dedicated to lifestyle and entertainment progra ...
comedy series ''
Jeffery & Cole Casserole'', playing a Catholic nun who serves as the principal of the show's all-girl Catholic school.
In 2012, Bond announced the creation of a signature fragrance by Ralf Schwieger, a "trans-scent" for all genders named The Afternoon of a Faun after the
French poem and
modernist ballet of the same name, and issued under the French label
Etat libre d'Orange
État Libre d'Orange is a French brand of perfumes created in 2006 by Etienne de Swardt. The fragrance company created for the brand is Editions des Sens.
Etymology
In French, the ''Etat Libre d'Orange'' is the name of the Orange Free State, an ...
. It was launched in February 2013, at Manhattan's
Museum of Arts and Design
The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), based in Manhattan, New York City, collects, displays, and interprets objects that document contemporary and historic innovation in craft, art, and design. In its exhibitions and educational programs, the mus ...
on Columbus Circle.
Bond received a 2012 Lambda Literary Award for the memoir ''Tango: My Childhood Backwards and in High Heels''. Also in 2012,
powerHouse Books
powerHouse Books is an independent publisher of art and photography books founded in 1995 by Daniel Power, based near the Brooklyn waterfront of DUMBO in The powerHouse Arena.
The powerHouse Arena also serves as a gallery, bookstore, and event ...
released ''Susie Says'', a picture book combining Gina Garan photos of the 1970s fashion doll, Susie Sad Eyes, with bon mots from Bond's Twitter account.
In the summer of 2014, Bond curated and emceed a cabaret season at the
Spiegeltent
A spiegeltent (Dutch for "mirror tent", from '' spiegel''+''tent'') is a large travelling tent, constructed from wood and canvas and decorated with mirrors and stained glass, intended as an entertainment venue. Originally built in Belgium during ...
at the
Bard SummerScape Festival in the Hudson Valley, New York. They are set to reprise this emcee role in summer 2015, with guests including
Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming (born 27 January 1965) is a British actor. His London stage appearances include ''Hamlet'', the Maniac in ''Accidental Death of an Anarchist'' (for which he received an Olivier Award), the lead in '' Bent'', The National Theatre o ...
,
Suzanne Vega
Suzanne Nadine Vega ( Peck; born July 11, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter best known for her folk-inspired music. Vega's music career spans almost 40 years. She came to prominence in the mid-1980s, releasing four singles that entered the ...
,
Martha Wainwright
Martha Wainwright (born May 8, 1976) is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She has released seven critically-acclaimed studio albums.
Wainwright is the daughter of musicians Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III a ...
,
Stephen Merritt
Stephin Raymond Merritt (born February 9, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the songwriter and principal singer of the bands the Magnetic Fields, the Gothic Archies, and Future Bible Heroes. He is k ...
, and
Lea Delaria
Lea DeLaria (born May 23, 1958) is an American comedian, actress, and jazz singer. DeLaria is credited with being the first openly gay comic to appear on American television with her 1993 appearance on ''The Arsenio Hall Show''. She is best kno ...
.
In July 2020 Bond was announced as part of the cast of
Audible
Audible may refer to:
* Audible (service), an online audiobook store
* Audible (American football), a tactic used by quarterbacks
* ''Audible'' (film), a short documentary film featuring a deaf high school football player
* Audible finish or rush ...
's adaptation of
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...
's ''
The Sandman'' series, playing the role of
Desire
Desires are states of mind that are expressed by terms like "wanting", "wishing", "longing" or "craving". A great variety of features is commonly associated with desires. They are seen as propositional attitudes towards conceivable states of aff ...
of the
Endless
Endless or The Endless may refer to:
Business
* Endless (private equity), a British firm
* Endless.com, an e-commerce website selling shoes and accessories
* Endless Computers, an American operating system company
Film
* ''The Endless'' (film ...
.
Personal life
Bond is
transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
and has said, "for me to claim to be either a man or a woman, feels like a lie. My identity falls somewhere in the middle and is constantly shifting." They undergo
feminizing hormone therapy
Feminizing hormone therapy, also known as transfeminine hormone therapy, is hormone therapy and sex reassignment therapy to change the secondary sex characteristics of transgender people from masculine or androgynous to feminine. It is a comm ...
to appear more feminine,
[ Ordonez 2011.] and reported feeling great as a result, noting that "I like the way my body looks. Emotionally, it's evened me out."
They do not intend to undergo
sex reassignment surgery
Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and alle ...
, explaining that "I like my penis, and I am keeping it, but I am creating a transbody—a physical record on my body and a medical record that I am a transgendered person."
In 2011, Bond adopted the middle name of Vivian, identifying as Justin Vivian Bond instead of Justin Bond.
They use the
gender-inclusive honorific
Mx.
Mx (usually pronounced , or and sometimes ) is an English language neologistic honorific that does not indicate gender. Developed as an alternative to gendered honorifics (such as Mr. and Ms.) in the late 1970s, it is the most common ge ...
(in place of Ms./Mr.) and
neopronoun
Neopronouns are a category of neologistic English Third person (grammar), third-person personal pronouns beyond "he (pronoun), he", "she (pronoun), she", "singular they, they", "one (pronoun), one", and "it (pronoun), it". Neopronouns are preferr ...
v (with vself instead of her/himself), a reference to Bond's middle name.
In concert at the end of 2014, Bond disclosed having received an invitation to return home for Thanksgiving, conditional upon leaving behind "that fake woman." Acknowledging that "a lot of trans-kids get kicked out of their homes," they mused. "I didn't until I was 51. So I think I'm gonna make it."
[Stewart, 2014.] Elsewhere, they have said that "if it wasn't for my family and the rage they engendered in me, I wouldn't be here."
Recognition and influence
Bond was referenced in the 1999
Le Tigre
Le Tigre (, ; French for "The Tiger") is an American electronic rock band formed by Kathleen Hanna (of Bikini Kill), Johanna Fateman and Sadie Benning in 1998 in New York City. Benning left in 2000 and was replaced by JD Samson for the rest ...
song "
Hot Topic
Hot Topic, Inc. (stylized as HOT TOPIC) is an American retail chain specializing in counterculture-related clothing and accessories, as well as licensed music. The stores are aimed towards an audience interested in rock music and video gaming, ...
".
Discography
Filmography
Film
Television
Audio
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
News and magazine articles
*
*
*
*
*
*
Interviews
*
*
*
External links
JustinBond.com official website
*
*
*
''BroadwayWorld.com'' interview with Justin Bond, June 9, 2007"The Story of V" feature story in
''New York'', May 2011
Justin Vivian Bond by Joy Episalla, ''
Bomb
A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bond, Justin
1963 births
Living people
People from Hagerstown, Maryland
Non-binary musicians
LGBT people from Maryland
LGBT singers from the United States
Radical Faeries members
Non-binary writers
Lambda Literary Award winners
Singers from Maryland
LGBT memoirists
American non-binary actors
Adelphi University alumni