Quiet Conversations

Dec 24 2023 1

Quiet Conversations Podcast artwork

My name is Arthur Severio, and welcome to Quiet Conversations I left home with a suitcase filled with dreams, a pack of brand-new Fruit of the Loom underwear, two pairs of 501s, and some shirts that weren’t exactly made for a fat kid like me. My mama had stuffed a twenty-dollar bill in my pocket just in case I wanted a snack and a Diet Coke from the vending machine for my ride into the Crescent City.My brother met me at the downtown Greyhound bus terminal to take a United Cab back to his French Quarter apartment. It was 1983, and I was only 17. I was so happy because I had finally reached the place that I had dreamed about to get me through those endless days of doing little more than surviving
In these Quiet Conversations, I talk to people who've used their artistic talents and creativity to enhance their lives and improve the world around them.

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WITH A FRIEND LIKE REBA RAMBO

Dec 24 2023 20 mins

In this special Christmas episode, Reba and I have a quiet "let's get real conversation talking about our lives and where we are today as artists, and the evolution of our friendship. Her writing is up there with the greats for me and is much an inspiration.Reba talks about the changes in her life and how she deals with it as it comes. As an artist and a woman, what do changes like

Anita Bryant’s Pie in the Eye, how New Orleans shut her down, Stuart Butler and Regina Adams after the Upstairs Lounge Fire

Dec 15 2023 47 mins

In our fourteenth and final episode of Season 1:How did the city of New Orleans treat the survivors of the arson at the Upstairs Lounge? There were a lot of social and political changes happening in the @lgbti community regarding organizing and social awareness. Regina became the woman of her creation or as she said "started living in drag." Listen and find out about who Fury was a

WALTER JENKINS, EARTHA KITT, LADYBIRD JOHNSON, and G.I. JANE

Dec 02 2023 33 mins

A transwoman and a writer’s unique experience of the Vietnam War. Civil rights in New Orleans. The Please U restaurant. What happened to Eartha Kitt when she stood up to Lady Bird Johnson about the war in Vietnam? How does Viet Name veteran identify and feel about hormonal replacement therapy? Lady Bird Johnson takes a stand about Walter Jenkins being arrested for tea room behavi

The Art that the Upstairs Lounge Fire has inspired

Nov 21 2023 34 mins

Amy Daley Williams, along with Frank Perez, Katheleen Conlon and the LGBT plus Archives produces the 50the anniversary of the fire.Kathleen Conlon, organizes multi eventsongtime admirer of the New Orleans LGBT plus community brings a creatvie panel together to share their stories for the fiftieth anniversary of the fire.Max Vernon writes a musical and brings the story around the wo

The Legacy of 32 Victims Left Us and the Pope’s new ruling of the LGBT+ Community

Nov 21 2023 43 mins

What happened when Charlene Schneider didn't quite make it to the Upstairs Lounge. Troy Perry and his activisim beginnings.Charlene's dedication to her activism to change thingsFather Tony from St. Jude's on Rampart Street speaks on his congregation and the Pope's rulling on the LGBT pluse coomunity.Historian Frank Perez explains the mission of the LGBT+ Archives of Louisiana and a

The Thirty-two Victims of the Upstairs Lounge Arson Attack

Nov 16 2023 26 mins

What happened to Regina Adams in the aftermath of the fire at the Upstairs Lounge Fire? What happened to the kids of Luther Boggs and Jean Gosnell?Then there were Mitch Mitchell's two sons that we will learn about.Troy Perry and Paul Britton come to New Orleans to offer comfort to those in need.Frank Perez talks about Ferris LeBlanc and the plight to find his body.Historian Frank P

Bill Larson and Bubba Copeland and the World Today

Nov 11 2023 26 mins

People who are in a lot of mental anguish and pain don't always crumble and give up. Instead, they reach out to help their community. After being ostracized by his mother his whole life, Bill Larson left home to create himself as the head pastor of the New Orleans chapter of the MCC moving the church from the backroom of the Upstairs Lounge to its new home in the New Orleans Uptown

The Fire at a Gay Bar in the French Quarter

Nov 09 2023 23 mins

Gay boys celebrate every Sunday in the French Quarter with what's called, "Tea Dance." Regina and Reggie, a young interracial couple went out to celebrate Gay Pride at a bar called the Upstairs Lounge on June 24, 1973.Stuart and his lover Alfred were also there with their new playmate in their lover's triad.Regina left the bar to take Adam Fontenot to dinner. Find out what happened

Amazing Grace

Nov 05 2023 34 mins

In this episode, we meet my new best friend, Lila who once worked as an emcee on Bourbon Stree at the Gunga Den. She tells us about how she needs adventure in her life and as the universe says, "Ask and it shall be given.."Trucker Patti tells us about working at the Midship and dealing with some of the rowdy trans-women when they drank too much.And finally, we call my friend Mary,

Apartheid, Homophobia, and Racism

Oct 29 2023 37 mins

In this episode, we meet Penny, who, grew up in the Mississippi Delta in a time where there were lines that couldn’t be crossed. At a young age, she was aware of not crossing lines drawn by society including her parents. After growing up and becoming awakened, she’s made a difference, She tells us of meeting and photographing Ernest Cole who came to Mississippi to photograph th