Entertainment :: Music
On the verge with The Cliks’ transgender frontman by Sam Baltrusis
EDGE ContributorMonday Oct 15, 2007Only a few short years ago, Lucas Silveira was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
In a rapid series of gut-wrenching events, the vocalist’s band went through a complete lineup change, his father suffered a stroke, his grandmother died and he ended a long-term relationship after a tumultuous seven years.
And that was the least of the rocker’s pain. After a life-long internal conflict concerning his gender identity, Silveira came to terms with the fact that while he was genetically born female, he was living a lie.
In 2005, The Cliks’ frontman came out as a transgender male.
"When it rains it pours," says Silveira, phoning EDGE from his home in Toronto. "I’ve always kind of known since I was young that’s who I am, but it was an issue of putting it into words," Silveira emotes about his F-to-M transformation.
"For a long time, I suppressed who I really was. And when everything hit the fan two years ago, I looked inside and realized that I couldn’t live that way anymore," he recalls. "It was then when I was able to admit to myself that I am transgender. It took my entire life to come to terms with it, but when it finally came into my head I was able to move forward."
If art is forged from pain, the singer-songwriter used the series of life-changing events to craft the songs that eventually comprised The Cliks’ major-label debut, "Snakehouse."
Soon after publicly admitting that he’s rebuilding his life as a biological female who identifies as male, the frontman was the first out transgender artist to be signed to a high-profile label, Tommy Boy’s gay-friendly imprint Silver Label.
"Anytime a creative person comes to terms with their identity, whether it’s being gay or transgender or whatever, that bottled up passion comes out through their art." The Cliks were featured on the recent gay-oriented "True Colors Tour," playing alongside Cyndi Lauper, Erasure and Debbie Harry. Earlier this year, they released the CD "Snakehouse," an emotional, guitar-driven tour de force. Their single "Oh Yeah" spent several weeks at the top of LOGO’s charts.
Silveira, who underwent a double mastectomy but sacrificed the male attributes horomones to maintain his singing voice, says once he came to terms with his gender identity, things clicked for The Cliks.
"The fact that I can walk around everyday being who I am is the greatest gift I could have ever given myself," he adds. "I’ve been lucky because the people around me have been really accepting. I mean, I’ve had only a few negative reactions from people I’ve interacted with."
The singer concludes, "Anytime a creative person comes to terms with their identity, whether it’s being gay or transgender or whatever, that bottled up passion comes out through their art. I don’t have to pretend anymore. And I’m a better musician because of it."
The Cliks’ Fall/Winter 2007 tour dates. Visit www.thecliks.com for more information.
October
16 Cambridge, MA (T.T. The Bear’s)
18 NYC (GO! Magazine anniversary party w/Margaret Cho)
19 Baltimore, MD (Lo-Fi Social Club)
20 Vienna, VA (Jammin’ Java)
22 Charleston, NC (The Map Room)
23 Atlanta (Vinyl)
26 Toledo (Frankies)
November
17 Cincinnati (Bogarts with The Cult)
18 Columbus (Newport Music Hall with The Cult)
21 Cleveland (House of Blues with The Cult)
23 Grand Rapids (Orbit Room with The Cult )
25 Chicago (House of Blues with The Cult)
29 St. Louis (The Pageant with The Cult)
30 Maplewood, MN (The Myth with The Cult)
December
1 Milwaukee (The Rave with The Cult)
3 Denver (Fillmore Auditorium with The Cult)
7 San Francisco (The Warfield with The Cult)
9-22 Arizona/New Mexico/Texas (venues/cities TBD with The Cult)
Sam Baltrusis has worked for WHDH-TV, CW56, MTV, VH1, Seventeen, Newsweek and as a regional stringer for The New York Times. He’s currently a full-time freelance editor/writer based in Boston. Check out his blog at loadedgunboston.blogspot.com.
|
|
|
Email
Print
Share