Pride Music: Wrabel "The Village"

In August 2017, out musician Wrabel released his powerful music video for "The Village" as a sign of solidarity with the transgender community in the aftermath of Donald Trump's 'out of nowhere' decision to ban trans military service members.

Beginning with this quote, "In nature, a flock will attack any bird that is more colorful than the others because being different is seen as a threat," the video follows a young transgender man's journey into self-acceptance.

Wrabel sent this message to the LGBTQ community via social media over the weekend:

“To anyone that feels like an outsider, the problem isn't you, it’s the village. I don't know how else to raise my voice than in a song. And so, I wrote a song for you. #transrightsarehumanrights #thevillage"

The mournful tune focuses on issues of isolation that arise with the exploration of one’s sexuality and identity.

The lyrics urge the listener to remember there is nothing wrong with them. The issue is with those who treat them differently.

Watch below.

At the time of the video's release, Wrabel tweeted:

TRANS PEOPLE ARE JUST THAT . PEOPLE . HUMAN BEINGS . please i beg you do not let his hatred sink into your heads and hearts .

— wrabel. \rā-bəl\ (@wrabel) July 26, 2017

social media is so weird but let's use it . send love to our trans friends and family . let them know this man does not speak for us .

— wrabel. \rā-bəl\ (@wrabel) July 26, 2017

Podcast: Antiretroviral Meds Prove Zero Spread Of Infection; President Trump Gets Push Back On Trans Military Ban; Philly Gay-Basher Claims "Self-Defense"

In this week’s podcast:

• A new study shows hiv+ men who take antiretroviral medication on a regular basis have pretty much zero chance of spreading the infection to others

• President Trump gets plenty of pushback on his proposed transgender military service ban

• Out singer/songwriter Wrabel releases powerful anthem of personal empowerment and community, "The Village," in response to Trump's trans military ban

• Convicted Philly gay basher Kathryn Knott now says she was acting in self-defense when she shattered the jaw of a gay man in 2014

All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report.

Out Music: Wrabel "We Could Be Beautiful"

Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Wrabel has dropped his 5 song We Could Be Beautiful EP, which includes the title track as well as "11 Blocks" (one of my favorite tracks for 2016) and "Bloodstain."

The five songs feel like a journey through his personal diary. From the awareness of proximity to a former love ("11 Blocks"), to love coming around again ("We Could Be Beautiful") to contentment ("Poetry").

Wrabel's writing presents a window into how he handles dating life:

"I tend to be silent when I need to talk the most," Wrabel told Out.com in April. "I push people away when I need them the most. I break my own heart to save another's, but I would rather love truly, wholly and completely, and hurt, than not love at all."

Check out "We Could Be Beautiful" below, and head over to iTunes to check out the rest of the EP.

Music Video: Wrabel "Bloodstain"

Out musician Wrabel shares his newest music video, "Bloodstain," calling the track metaphorically autobiographical.

Been in and out of love since I was nineteen,
Opening my heart has left a bloodstain.
And I don't know how to make a man stay,
Maybe I been putting my heart out in the wrong way...

"In relationships, I tend to be silent when I need to talk the most," Wrabel recently told OUT. "I push people away when I need them the most. I break my own heart to save another's, but I would rather love truly, wholly and completely, and hurt, than not love at all."

Via press release:

Wrabel calls it his favorite feeling in the world: that moment just before a song comes into being. “When the Rubik’s Cube of the song hasn’t quite clicked, and it’s about to,” he says. “You can feel it —everything turning to lock this thing in.” It’s a feeling he’s chased for years, since he began writing songs as a teenager. Songs of his —like “Ten Feet Tall,” recorded by Afrojack—have been heard by millions of people around the world. But that feeling of fresh discovery remains.

Wrabel specializes in music that telescopes small moments into songs with big impact. On tracks like “11 Blocks” the drums may get huge, but the feelings are deeply personal. This is pop music rooted in the singer-songwriter tradition, and it all starts with Wrabel sitting at a piano, fighting for self-expression and survival.

I've featured Wrabel's music in the past on The Randy Report here and here.

The track is available on all digital download vendors. Watch the video below.

News Round-Up: March 10, 2017

Some news items you may have missed:

• Don't forget to turn your clocks forward early Sunday morning. Of course, I have my own thoughts on the subject above.

• Arnold Schwarzenegger is trolling President Trump with rumors of a possible run for U.S. Senate in 2018.

• The Washington Blade, which the New York Times rightfully calls the “newspaper of record for the LGBT community,” is set to launch a west coast sister publication, the Los Angeles Blade.

• The Office of Government Ethics isn't happy with the White House deciding to let Kellyanne Conway off with just a slap on the wrist after promoting Ivanka Trump's merchandise line at Nordstroms.

• With a shortage of Catholic priests, the Pope signals he may be open to allowing married men be priests.

• Out singer/songwriter Wrabel follows up his hit "11 Blocks" with new single, "Bloodstain:" "I’m used to wearing my heart on my sleeve but this time it's bleeding. I would rather love and bleed than never feel love at all." Watch the lyric video below.

Out Music: Wrabel "11 Blocks"

Out singer/songwriter Wrabel drops the official video for his new single “11 Blocks.”

Currently on tour with multi-platinum artists Gavin DeGraw and Andy Grammer, Wrabel is riding the strength of his single “11 Blocks,” as it powers its way to Top 10 at Hot AC radio and was added to iHeart Radio’s prestigious On The Verge program.

NYLON magazine says Wrabel is “stocked with the soulfulness of a Sia or Sam Smith, and a melodic pop DNA that throws back to icons like Paul Simon…”

Wrabel first made a splash on the world stage in 2014 with his debut single, “Ten Feet Tall”. Grammy Award®-winning DJ and producer Afrojack reached out to Wrabel to record his own version of “Ten Feet Tall” which was featured during Super Bowl XLVIII on a Bud Light commercial. The VEVO video for “Ten Feet Tall” has more than 65 million views to date.

Speaking to iHeartRadio, Wrabel shared that the song is not only personal to him, but actually straight out of his own life.

"It's a very literal story, which is frightening. I wrote it about the first person I fell in love with moved 11 blocks away from me in California. In New York everyone is 11 blocks away. I'm there [in NY] a lot and I kind of notice. You have a subway, or whatever. But LA is so spread out. I find myself taking the really weird long route to Whole Foods just to kind of be like, 'Are you there?' And so it just felt way too close. And I don't drive because I think cars are scary, people are scary, and then there's engines. So I'm walking a lot and I count, it's literally 11 blocks. And I drew the little map, which is now tattooed to my arm. It's a real song about a real person, two real people, and that's really weird. I keep saying weird. It's just bizarre to me because the night it came out I called my manager and I was like, 'I kind of want to call Mr. iTunes and be like, 'Can you take it down actually? Like I've made a big mistake.' It's too much. The map. I traced it off Google Maps. It's so dark."

Adding to the personal expression of this public release, Wrabel posted this to his Facebook this weekend:

tonite i quite literally set the past on fire.

ready to move on.

ready for change.

ready for new.

ready to leave for this tour and ready to share these songs and these stories and my head and my heart with whoever will listen.

hehe this is a bit dramatic.

but sometimes it just has to be.

I really like this. I hope you do, too.

I've previously written about out singer/songwriter Wrabel when he dropped his remix of "I Want You."

Here's Wrabel's "Ten Feet Tall" with Afrojack (66 million views):

Music: Wrabel "I Want You" (Bobby Blanco & Dim Jim Remix)

Music man Wrabel has been busy-busy of late with performances at 2015 Palm Springs Pride Festival, Los Angeles Pridefest, Good Morning America, VH1’s Fashion Rocks and at the Ultra Music Festival in Miami.

He shares this new remix by Bobby Blanco & Dim Jim of his "I Want You" just in time to bounce and boom off to the weekend.

You'll recall his song "Ten Feet Tall" premiered in early 2014 thanks to Bud Light's Super Bowl commercial. Nice way to get your music in front of 100 million people.

You can find him on iTunes here.