#YINZ CITY

[vagrats]

YINZ CITY ISSUE #5 IS HERE!! it was released in spring/summer BUT IT'S HERE ON TUMBLR NOW! have you ever had a coworker who's like, a little too enthusiastic? and a little too friendly? and you kind of wish they'd chill out a little? well issue #5 is told from that coworker's perspective-- thru the eyes of Kit, the youngest of the 4 main characters in YINZ CITY. costarring Nabokov, everyone's favorite weird girl. this comic is a love letter to baristas everywhere, and a tribute to a special place here in pittsburgh.

check out this preview and then go read the full issue for FREE on the site!

you can buy a physical copy from my shop! YINZ CITY will always be free to read, but it is written/drawn to be read as a physical book.

NEAT!

[taylornation]

Pittsburgh... Yinz ready for Taylor to take over the city of bridges again tonight? 🌉

[july-19th-club]

it's been very interesting seeing what people in the tags of the pennsylvania post think about wrt pennsylvania. of the people who are in my notifs (which is as far as im going on that research front) ive seen not one mention of the allegheny mountains, any of our civil war battlefields, lancaster county, the amish, the word 'yinz', THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH, or indeed anything west of central at all

[safety-pin-punk]

Virginia I gotta be honest, I’ve been in your state for less than an hour, and either I have been surrounded by idiots the entire time or yinz are shit at driving

Also, I’ve been through 2 tunnels in your state. I come from a city surrounded by tunnels. WHY ARE YOU PEOPLE HITTING YOUR BRAKES IN A TUNNEL WHAT ARE YOU DOING?????

[drunken--raccoon]

Oh I forgot to tell yinz also, but I'm almost definitely finally moving on June 6th. The apartment I'm moving to is kind of really shitty and it's closer to a dorm than a studio apartment but it's literally all I'll be approved for in my city with no credit, so I'll stay there for a year and then move somewhere nicer

[protoslacker]

Some reasons to think that local-sounding speech features may persist: • People often resist being "homogenized." They may do this by speaking in distinctive ways. • Especially when outsiders start to move in, people may need ways to express local pride. • When they feel that their local dialect is in danger of dying out, people may want to exaggerate certain features of it to keep it alive. • Local ways of talking in Pittsburgh and in many other places are associated with the working class in people's minds. So showing working-class pride may be a reason for people to use local-sounding language. • Words like "yinz," "dahntahn," and "Stillers" have become symbols of localness in Pittsburgh . As a result, they can be useful to people who are trying to "sell" the city to tourists or businesses from outside.

Pittsburgh Speech & Society. Pittsburgh Speech Overview

Is there really a unique Pittsburgh dialect?

Pittsburghese Translator

[usertimothee]

hi yinz! @beautifulcinephile sent me an ask recently with some lovely questions, but tumblr isn't letting me answer it for some reason? so i'm going to answer them here.

what is your favorite timothée chalamet movie? my fav overall movie is little women for sure, but my fav timmy performance is beautiful boy.

what is the best outfit timmy has ever worn in your opinion? his oscars 2022 outfit is definitely my favorite that look literally changed my life. but i also liked his red outfit at venice last year summer.

favorite movie in general? oooh this is hard. my top five is eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, little women 2019, interstellar, la la land, and romeo + juliet 1996. but the last couple and the order of the first two change a lot lol.

what do you like the most about timmy (it can be body parts such as hands, feet, smile, hair or his personality traits)? my favorite physical feature is his hair and eyes! my other favorite thing is how we've got to watch him go from this adorable but kind of awkward young adult and grow into this man who is confident in himself and comfortable in his own skin. and regarding just characteristics, i love how kind and unselfish he is, especially with his peers and fans.

city of stars... ...just one thing everybody wants. there in the bars and through the smokescreen of the crowded restaurants. it's love. yes, all we're looking for is love from someone else. a rush, a glance, a touch, a dance. a look in somebody's eyes, to light up the skies, to open the world and send it reeling. a voice that says, "i'll be here, and you'll be alright."

favorite ryan gosling movie? la la land! although it's closely followed by barbie and the notebook.

thanks for these questions! i had fun answering 🥰💕

[freebooter4ever]

Fellow pittsburghers - yinz know our city has a cannon too right? I did NOT know until i went down to the point for the fourth of july for the very first time. and my friends and i walked all the way to the end and found a perfect spot right on the steps of the fountain. And we were wondering like, wow there's soo many people here, how did we manage to get this spot, why is no one sitting here? WE FOUND OUT. Oh boy did we find out. That thing is fucking terrifying when it goes off like feet away from your head.

[yungpilk]

This broken city sky like butane on my skin Stolen from my eyes, hello angel, tell me Where are yinz

[novarpg]

WELCOME TO NOVA, CATHERINE "CAT" MILLER

Character age: 21

Character birthday: December 8th

Gender identity: female, afab

Pronouns: she/her

Character face-claim: Eliza Dushku

Clan of origin: New Pittsburgh

Occupation at Nova: Guard

Bio:

Cat always said she was from New Pittsburgh; the local dialect slid off her lips in a convincing enough manner, each yinz never felt wholly displaced, but Cat worked in half-truths. She knew the people; knew their alliances, how their currency worked, and what kinds of people they aimed their weapons toward. Fact: Catherine Miller had lived in New Pittsburgh since she was a kid. Fact: Catherine Miller considered teenagers to be children. Fact: Catherine Miller was born in Blue Ridge. She was an orphan, a child whose parents had fallen victim to the virus long before she had even been given a chance to remember them, and became a ward of the faction. Against her will, she received militant training from a remarkably young age. Handling a gun became a reflex, basic first aid was second-nature, and she knew how to…kind of listen to orders. A nearly perfect soldier. 

What happens when a soldier defects? In 2114, a friend of Cat’s, a man by the name of Eugene Williams, mentioned he knew a way to get out of the city untracked. Eugene was easily in his early fifties back then he was always attempting to fill in for a father that Cat had so desperately wanted; sparring together, forcing him to read those stupid old-world comic books he always brought back for her from scavenging expeditions, indulging her incessant need to tell bad puns. If Eugene were leaving Blue Ridge, Cat would go with him. At thirteen, it was the most logical choice and so they fled in the night. The surmounting month of hiking from Blue Ridge up to New Pittsburgh was the roughest thing Cat had experienced in her young life; people who didn’t belong to the different clans of the region, or maybe they did, shot first if they had the bullets and asked questions later. The infected they encountered, though small in number, were even more ruthless than the stragglers. By the time she and Eugene reached New Pittsburgh, the trip that had been meant to take four days had taken them an entire month.

Upon their arrival to New Pittsburgh life was, simpler: Their arrangement was simple so the leadership wouldn’t separate them, Cat was Eugene’s daughter. The regimented life was harder for Cat than for Eugene, he said something about liking the rhythm, but Cat made it work for five years. She made a few friends and only skipped school a few times to explore the decaying city. Eugene would go to work trying to keep the power in the buildings on, Cat would go to school, they would come home, they’d make dinner together, read a comic book, Eugene would teach her how to play guitar, birthdays were celebrated, jokes were shared, memories were made. It was simple, it was the closest approximation to pre-outbreak life that Cat figured they could live. A normal family.

Then Eugene died. No, no, not died – Eugene was murdered. Debts catch up to everyone in the end, Eugene’s took five years to locate him. The entire reason Cat and Eugene left Blue Ridge was to run from a sizable debt he knew he couldn’t pay back. Unwilling to risk Cat’s life as a collateral, he fled, taking her with him. So, they killed him. A group of people Cat recognized from Blue Ridge killed Eugene and she fell apart. Guards from New Pittsburgh caught two of the perpetrators, stringing them up in front of the prison for all to see. Some people told Cat that was enough, that justice was served, but for her? Justice had just begun.  Eighteen felt too young to lose the only person she considered her family, she was barely an adult herself. Five years of family and then what? Nothing but a  two bedroom apartment in a decaying building with a dresser drawer full of dad sized flannels but no one to fill them. 

Her assigned career aligned with her upbringing, she found herself acting as a guard. It felt like gruntwork and she frequently began to miss shifts – finding it hard to pull herself out of her apartment, the loneliness beginning to eat away at her. For the next two years this made Cat a frequent flier in and out of prison as she couldn’t break the rut of grief. The moment the opportunity of Nova arose, New Pittsburgh offered up Cat as a guard. Getting rid of a problem child was too opportune and, well, she was good at her job when she wasn’t distracted. At first Cat wanted to fight and kick and scream and then the idea of revenge became almost like a delicacy. Fact: Citizens from Blue Ridge would be in Nova. Fact: She would be out from under the watchful eye of New Pittsburgh. Fact: Cat would do anything to get her hands on the people who killed Eugene. If the potential Second Wave doesn’t get her first. 

Cat can be described as rash and downright explosive at times – she’s never willing to stand down on an argument to a fault, her mouth often landing her in trouble. It’s only because she cares so much about the people she holds close – if you can even get close to Cat. Once she does deem someone worthy of any kind of friendship, it’s for life, the loyalty she maintains a nigh unbreakable bond. Additionally, she’ll start to open up and become a lot goofier once she’s bonded with people. 

PENNED BY: Olyn

[vagrats]

~*~BL QUILT~*~

digital illustration version of a larger project i’ve been working on. here’s Isaiah being... y’know... like that...

[airasilver]

Words Pennsylvanians say that are unique to Pennsylvania

Matt Benedetto

2 days ago

(WHTM) – Pennsylvania is the 33rd largest state and has multiple different dialects across the state.

From “Pittsburghese” to Philadelphia English or Delaware Valley English in the southeastern part of the state, you may hear multiple words that are unique or said differently than you may say them.

Red Things Up

When your mom comes in the room and tells you to red things up you better do it quickly because you either have guests coming or dinner is about to be ready.

In Pennsylvanian, this means to tidy up or clean up whatever you are doing.

Dippy Eggs

I like my eggs dippy with a side of sausage, bacon, and hash browns, but what are dippy eggs you may ask?

The simple explanation is that it’s eggs that you dip your toast in and it will break the yolk.

Other states call them either over easy or sunny-side up.

Djeetyet?

Well, Djeetyet? If you haven’t you better because you look starved!

Instead of slowly taking our time to ask you if you have eaten food yet, well we get quickly to the point with “Djeetyet.”

History of three iconic Pennsylvania roller coasters

Creek

This word is said differently throughout Pennsylvania, if you meet someone from a larger city area they may say it “KREEK,” but if you meet someone from rural Pennsylvania they will tell you it’s a “CRICK”.

Someone who says crick will say that a kreek is the sound a chair makes and those who say kreek will say that a crick is in your neck.

Credit Jenn Teson

Yinz, yous, youse guys, y’all

Why make it easy when talking to a group of people in Pennsylvania?

If you are a Yinzer from Pittsburgh then you’ll say Yinz as in, “Yinz want to go to the Steelers game?”

The eastern part of Pennsylvania will say “youse guys” as in, “Youse Guys want to grab some hoagies?

Rural Pennsylvania uses y’all, yous, and youse guys, it just depends on who you ask.

Jawn

Mostly used in Philadelphia, a jawn can be whatever you want it to be, some examples:

“Where did you put my jawn?

That jawn was wild last night!”

“See that jawn over there?”

Basically, a jawn is a person, place, or thing.

Scrapple

In the morning when you ask for dippy eggs at a diner, the waiter/waitress may ask if you want to add scrapple to your order.

Scrapple: What is it and why is it popular?

Scrapple was created by the Amish and is made up of pork fat and trimming with flour and seasoning baked into a load.

Buggy

Need to load up on groceries? Go to the store, grab the buggy, and get those groceries.

In other states, the grocery cart is the term they would use.

In rural areas that have Amish in the area, people call the thing Amish’s horses pull them around in a buggy or horse and buggy.

Gutchies

Today someone might say “Gucci” as in the fashion company and use it in a sentence like, “That purse is Gucci” or “That restaurant is Gucci.”

But in Pennsylvania, Gutchies refers to underwear.

Pop

Most of Pennsylvania will say soda but out in the Western part of the state, you’ll hear someone ask for a pop and they aren’t talking about a lollipop.

Long Johns

No, not Long John Silvers, just Long Johns.

Parents might tell their kids to put long johns on before they go outside to play during the winter months.

Long Johns are just pants and/or a shirt that goes underneath your jeans or sweatshirt and the term is used by many Pennsylvania Dutch, Amish, and Lancaster folks.

How the Mini Statue of Liberty came to be

Jimmies/Sprinkles

Do you want Jimmies on your ice cream? Well, what is a Jimmie?

A Jimmie is just another word for sprinkles that can be put on your ice cream but some say that jimmies are just the chocolate sprinkles and all other colors are regular sprinkles.

Hoagie

If someone asks a Pennsylvanian if there is a difference between a sub and a hoagie, the Pennsylvanian will say ABSOLUTELY!

A hoagie is a cold-cut sandwich that is on a long roll but no hoagie is a hot sandwich.

Wooder

During the summer, on those hot eastern Pennsylvania days, someone might need to buy a wooder from the store to quench their thirst.

Wooder is just water but with a slight accent, mostly spoken in the eastern part of the state.

Needs Washed

Pennsylvanians don’t need the “to be” for this sentence.

“Do those dishes need washed” or “The clothes need washed.”

Gum Bands

No this isn’t actual chewing gum but instead, it’s just a Pennsylvanian asking you if you have some rubber bands.

Slippy

If a Pennsylvanian truly cared about you, before you left their house they might say “Be careful the roads are slippy tonight.”

That’s just them making sure that you know that the ice is slippery and not to drive fast.

Gesundheit

If you sneeze around a Pennsylvanian, instead of saying “Bless you” they might say “Gesundheit!”

But why? Well, the word Gesundheit has Pennsylvania Germanic roots but this word has grown to be used around the United States.

Sheetz or Wawa?

Yeah, Pennsylvania has the Eagles vs. Steelers, Pirates vs. Phillies, and Penguins vs. Flyers, but the true Battle of Pennsylvania is whether you think Sheetz or Wawa is better.

Those not from Pennsylvania most likely do not care but in Pennsylvania, the answer to this question could make or break a friendship.

Non-Pennsylvanians may not even know what these are, both are gas stations but serve food, and no not just hot dogs and candy bars.

Sheetz has Mexican, breakfast, sandwiches, smoothies, coffees, burgers, fried foods, etc. and Wawa is known more for their hoagies but also has other options.

Categories: Digital Originals, Local News, News, Pennsylvania News, Top Stories

I agree on a lot of these but some I haven't heard of. Guess it's cuz I'm in the part they aren't spoken in.

[smokingoutthecloset]

Pittsburgh City Paper is putting its nominations in for Best of PGH. It would mean a lot to us if yinz could nominate our show. Nominations end 6/25 and final votes are done 7/10. We've been providing information on cannabis and lgbtqia info in Pittsburgh for almost 2 years now.

#pgh #bestofpgh #bestofpgh2023 #podcastersofinstagram #podcast #pghcitypaper

[pghbabesonbikes]

FBX Results

The tenth anniversary Frigid Bitch was a celebration of a decade’s worth of toughing out any shit the world had handy to throw your way, grabbing your bike and slogging through the elements with whatever ragtag badass crew you managed to scrape together. Vet racers worth their salt noticed that the checkpoints on their home-printed manifests were labeled by year instead of the classic cheesy conundrum codes. What could it possibly mean???

The start being remote, cyclists all over the city strategized their initial locations and prepared their maps, gear, & breakfast buffets. Clogging up cafe floors, squeezing into friends’ conveniently located apartments, or heading to the highest place they thought in likely proximity to a checkpoint; email inboxes were repeatedly refreshed as they waited for the location drop.

Then bam, there they were - in chronological order, the 9 best checkpoints from previous years’ races starting with the heart of the city and cycling down through social hubs, cliffside staircase intersections, riverside punk spots, aggressive cobbles, off road hike-your-bike sites, and of course: big ass hills. The tenth checkpoint was this year’s addition, the crown on the brow of FBX: The House of Raging Women.

The Point

The heart of the city that everyone knows, the only location to have already been used twice before including in the first Frigid Bitch frozen fountain race.

photos by Alex Diese

OTB

Longtime sponsor of the race and the original South Side cyclist social hub, home of the unforgettable Go Red Gold Sprints; the volunteers at OTB set up a Trek mechanic station stocked with all the typical tools of the trade.

photos by Murphy Moschetta

Romeo

One of the best/worst checkpoints of all time, anyone following the hand drawn manifest map found themselves riding down a deserted-lookin dead end street, discovering a set of steps apparently running through resident’s backyards and flowing into a massive staircase culminating in a full-on street-signed intersection in the middle of the urban wooded cliffside and then back up the adjacent staircase to find a host of members of Yinz Run Club cheering and slinging snacks & shots. Anyone clever enough to approach from the other side had to run or ride down and up one of Pittsburgh’s infinite steep cobbled hillsides.

photos by Matt Desmond

Rialto

The best known urban Dirty Dozen hill, clocking in at about a 20% grade average but hitting over 30% in spots. The narrow near-one-lane road shoots straight up into Troy Hill from Route 28. A brand new set up steps was a life saver for the racers not brave enough to attempt the ride up, while others resolutely blocked astounded drivers stuck behind them. Bike Pgh staff met them at the top with a hard cider reward.

photos by Monica Garrison

The Button v2

The last time the actual Button down the train tracks from 43rd street was a checkpoint for the Frigid Bitch, race day had it completely submerged by the icy floodwaters of that winter’s thaw. This year the stop migrated slightly west and featured a mechanic and ride-your-own-margarita station sponsored by SweetWater Bikes in front of a steep gravel descent onto rocky Allegheny Riverbed that only one cyclist dared ride down. A few others bypassed the gravel entirely by scaling the weedy cliff behind the margarita machine. Volunteers waited under the glorious looming presence of the 40th St Bridge, smoke-set with tiki torches and watching to make sure no roadie-shoe-shod babes slipped into the river.

photos by Ben Filio & Joel Levine

Grandview Overlook

The classic photo spot of the city, it is, of course, up a big ass hill.

photos by Himanshu Dedge

The Schenley Lake

Train tracks criss cross all over this town, and racers had to cut through another set in Schenley Park to get to Panther Hollow Lake. Volunteers at this checkpoint made all the early arrivees throw down their bikes and wait til go time before cowbelling them off in a run for their manifest stamps. Many ran, some jogged, a few sauntered, and one was heard to say “I’m not running just because some dude told me to.” Rock on.

photos by Evan Burlew

Melwood Steps

Oh hello, it’s another set of steps. Carrying your bike is a skill, they say. A couple racers self-penalized their time on this one by blasting down the Herron Ave S-bends without catching the turn to the Melwood Staircase just across the street from the RockRoom.

photos by Scott Kowalski

Climax St

Probably the best checkpoint of all time, back again from last year for double the fun. This time the overgrown sidewalks directed riders straight up to a crew of Venture Outdoors volunteers stationed at the apex of the small but mighty cobbled bump in our South Hills.

photos by Valerie Beichner

The House of Raging Women

The premier checkpoint of FBX! The HORW was never before used as a Frigid Bitch checkpoint but was once included in the first alleycat we ever hosted: the infamous Ladies’ Night race. Transformed to a surreal and dada-like celebration of the Frigid Bitch director, Bananna-LenaVille could only be found by the semi-secret back-alley entrance behind a flush of rowhouses under the shadow of Children’s Hospital. One group of riders spent precious clock time sniffing around up and down the hill block on 44th before the local post man hollered “Yinz looking for a party??? It’s in the alley!!”

photos by Keith Watson

The Finish

Back at the Wheel Mill a rush of racers threw their bikes on the ground and their bodies up the stairs to find the race official and fling their manifests into her hands. They celebrated, they chowed down on Revival Chili, they gabbed, changed clothes, grabbed a Necromancer Brew, and hunkered down to wait for the results. When the darling FBX MC picked up the microphone though, it was to announce something else first....

The Pittsburgh Babes on Bikes Racing Team Debut

There’s a brand new team in Pittsburgh and it’s pulled from the crew of women and under-represented gender identity cyclists that make up the massive pool of Frigid Bitch bad-asses. Powerhouse hitters in the cycling scene, the team is ready to rejuvenate racing in Pittsburgh and beyond. These babes are here, some of them are queer, and they’re out to have a damn good time racing bikes and taking you with them.

from left to right: Anna-Lena Kempen, Bonnie Gilbery, Laura Davidson-Brienza, Sara Khalil, Sawyer Sidelinger, and Shequaya Bailey.

The FBX Podium

If the debut of a brand sparkling new team of killers wasn’t enough, FBX was ready to pull out the celebratory stops with the first podium announcement. ALK took over the mic to haul up the best, the brightest, the bitchiest - the longest running Frigid Bitch contenders of all time.

In first place, with ten years under her belt, having booked a back-up airplane ticket just to make sure she had a way to get to the race:

1 - Ngani Ndimbie

In second place, having missed only the first frozen fountain Frigid Bitch, here cuz she cut short a California vacation with her wife:

2 - Katharine Jordan

In third place, holding an 8 race record starting with the 2015 Frigid Bitch that only *6* people raced, the gorgeous MC:

3 - Alexandra Korshin

Honorable mention going to the 8-race record holders starting in 2016:

- Two-time tandem contestant Lauryn Stalter

- Masters category killer Frankie Montenegro

- Uncontested holder of the 9-month pregnant record and half of the banana tandem Alyssa Crawford.

And finally, the moment the crowds were waiting for: the official announcement of the category podiums and results.

  Masters 60+

1 - Laurie Plummer 2 - Lynda Stucky 3 - Cheryl Ritts

Masters 40+

1 - Hazel Shockey 2 - Jen Damon 3 - Melissa Celani 4 - Suz Falvey 5 - Courtney Ehrlichman

Single Speed/Fixed Gear

1 - Sky K 2 - Stevie Gallo 3 - Lavender Sedlock

Out of Town

1 - Kirsten Hoogenakker 2 - Adelaide Kelly 3 - Betsy Lewis

Mountain Bike

1 - Natalie Boehm 2 - Jodi Rafalko 3 - Betsy Lewis

Tandem

1 - Sol Moure & Lauryn Stalter 2 - Alyssa Crawford & Mo Riddle 3 - Ru Emmons & Tahel Axel

Open

1 - Acadia Klain 2 - Paige Anderson 3 - Bonnie Gilbery 4 - Eva Kloiber 5 - Hazel Shockey

check out the full rankings at Road Results

THANK YOU to everyone who came out to race, to all the volunteers that are dead set on making sure the annual stoke level chart runs exponential, thank you to the Wheel Mill for being such incredibly gracious and helpful hosts and to Necromancer Brewing for once again slinging our signature can, to Jarrod from Hope Cyclery for running the sag vehicle, to all of the photographers for immortalizing the race in 2 dimensions, and Brad Q for the portaits I can’t show yinz yet, kudos to Courtney E who smashed her bike into a car and broke it but finished anyway, and to Caitlin L who flew in FROM ALASKA and borrowed a bike from a stranger, to Judy D who was that stranger and also competitively raced in a BOOT, to Beth L and Deanna G who met at Frigid Bitch 9 and celebrated their anniversary by winning the SweetWater Bikes’ E-Bike, to SweetWater Bikes for donating an e-bike to raffle!, to Kiki who come in fron Minnesota, the Baltimore Bicycle Works team and all the other out-of-towners, to Christine Y who accidentally took a crew of those out-of-towners up Logan St instead of Rialto, to Two Frays Brewing for hosting all the winter training rides, THANK YOU to all of the sponsors who stack the prize table for us every year and HELL YES TO THE NEW TEAM! We can’t wait to race with you!

see you next year

[safety-pin-punk]

Warning about looking for punks in queer spaces, generally speaking: depending on where you are, a LOT of queer spaces are going to be very gentrified and have a lot of anti-punk stuff going on, so just be super aware if you go that route and on the lookout for what spaces are friendly and which ones are run by, like, corporate stuff and nonprofit dipshits.

(I'm actually from the same city as you OP xD which was so funny to notice when I opened your blog and saw it in your bio like wow hella coincidence!!! But yeah we deal with that a lot around here. I started holding my own queer events because so much queer stuff around here was run by people who support cops and work for corporations and stuff so the spaces were full of middle class white people who support them and act uncomfortable when you're too "weird" around them. It's so tiringgg!!!)

BROOOOO

1. It is actually very cool that you are also from Pittsburgh 😎 (I put that in my bio cause I got like 3 asks about it from occasionally using yinz lol)

2. You bring up a good point!! Not all queer spaces are safe spaces. I’ve never actually experienced this in the city itself (but I also dont venture *into* the city too too often), but when I was in college, we had TEA, aka The Everyone Alliance, and it was run my the absolute worst group of queers I had ever met. Like I’m talking hated any ounce of masculinity, queer or otherwise. They hated bi people in straight passing relationships. They were just a nightmare group of people who gathered once a week to find new ways to promote their club while putting down everyone else. I also went to a very christian university that supported this club. So yeah. Be safe out there and do your research.

Though, I’m sure you’ve heard of it, if you haven’t, you should totally check out Blue Moon on Butler Street. One of my favorite places to go on Saturday nights (they do drag shows every Saturday and I think hold drag king shows once a month too). Also also….. you should totally send me more info about the events you put together lol

[f3ralblog]

Alignment

I am constantly second-guessing myself. I’m confident in my talent and creative abilities, but admittedly less confident with my people skills. I have become weary of the idea that every time I seek attention for my discography, I’m looking in all of the wrong places. That my inability to communicate my works effectively has given rise to a narrative about me that doesn’t feel reflective of what I do, who I am and where I come from.

In fact, I feel completely out of control of my narrative.

Why can’t it just be “Feralcat” when we’re specifically talking about music and my life as a performer? It’s my stage name. It’s my artistic alias. It’s literally all over my internet presence. Yet, for some reason, I still see my government name or worse, “Roger Romero (Feralcat).” I’m not always as consistent about it as I want to be, but I have a press kit that goes largely untouched before someone decides to put my government name on yet another article talking about how great “x” is in this town. It makes me wonder why even have one if it’s going to be ignored?

How often is the work I do actually talked about? Worse still, my mentions seem more about the optics — having me as the centerfold image for whatever the white people in this city want to talk about.

Pittsburgh has this thing where any time you engage with art in a meaningful way, the city finds a way to claim it. It’s no longer the work of artist Feralcat - it is the work of Pittsburgh-based, community-oriented, local-minded and ferociously loyal to yinz artist Roger Romero (Feralcat).

I don’t necessarily want to bite the hand that feeds. But do my peers actually feel comfortable with the constant “Pittsburgh-local” tags? In all honesty, I feel embarrassed and used. The city claims you: the people who matter in this town (the ones with money, power, and often a generous-if-suspicious amount of anonymity) wouldn’t give my work the light of day. All that matters is that you’re here (the city of Pittsburgh) and that you’re making stuff for the people! All 300,000 people, and their suburban counterparts, in all of their increasingly geriatric glory!

If I wasn’t mentally fried, deathly afraid of career suicide, and tired from what feels like a lack of professional decorum, I’d ask for people to stop using my face and saxophone to further their agendas. Sometimes I see or hear something said about me, or my image being used, and am fully aware that nothing of my last 5-years worth of art, music or collaborations is mentioned. People love to say they know me, but will have nothing to do with me. I don’t see them at shows, and my listenership on streaming sites has barely changed even with more local public visibility. All that’s happened is that more of my online capital has been divested into propping up yet another local something. And of course Pittsburgh - can’t forget that!

I press on with music because I believe in my art. Every time I play a live show with my full band, I feel closer and closer to freedom. On stage, I control the conversation. I give you the honest, full expression of myself for that 30-60 minutes. It’s exhilarating - it’s among the only times I feel truly “seen,” and the reactions always re-affirm that what I’m doing is worthy of attention.

I mention my live shows because I don’t talk myself up enough, at least outside of my head. I am a masterful performer, and I thrive off of the thrill of the stage. I have to refer back to these moments that made me feel whole, and often wonder why nothing in that seems to be part of the conversation.

My whole career has been about leaving the box that I’ve been automatically placed in as a DEI supernova. My shiny instrument, where my mouth is occupied by a literal mouthpiece, has felt like an impediment to the story I’m telling. Playing as a hired gun for a number of years certainly didn’t help the narrative, but I needed the money and experience. At least, that’s what I had to tell myself before recognizing that it was making my beloved craft of music feel like a soul-less, steady decline into poverty and crowd-pleasing.

With Pittsburgh alignment, the city (personified) removes any sense of individuality from my body of music. I get lumped into a collective artist narrative with which I don’t feel connected at all. Sometimes it feels like the Pittsburgh overlords just picked names out of a hat, and I was included to make sure the list had enough “diversity.”

My music is niche. My goal is a cult following - one where folks with aligned interests (without sounding weirdly alt-right conservative) can feel comfortable expressing exactly who they are and what they bring to the table. Nobody should be made to feel like their only option is to be a generalist and appease everyone. I am personally embedded in this journey, and I cannot rest until the conversation stops being about me and starts to happen with me.

I’d rather be fully ignored by anyone furthering a “Pittsburgh-local” narrative. Ghost me, Pittsburgh, until my come-up where you finally claim Feralcat as one of the most important artists to “come from Pittsburgh.” At which point, I will craft the most back-handed “I told you so” and proceed with my career.