Vancouver singer/songwriter and event producer Peter Breeze has come to terms with being known as a gay act.
“Being called a gay artist is fine by me because I’m not ashamed of it, but it’s kind of limiting and it’s putting me in a box,” says the 27-year-old co-producer of such events as the underground rave DUI, Half n Half, celebrity-themed parties Club La Lohan and Club La Spears, and Spice World nights at the Rio Theatre.
As a singer, Breeze says his toughest critics have been part of the gay community. “I’ve found it hardest to convince them to take me seriously and put them in the same place in their minds that they put other artists. We really want the equality, but we also eat our own. They don’t want another gay person representing them if they don’t feel like they can identify with them.”
He’s also weathered his fair share of anonymous online detractors.
“If I went by the things that people have written about me or said about me online — I mean, you would think that as soon as I walked out of my house someone would be throwing fucking tomatoes at me,” he says wryly.
“But then when I do have a show or release a video, people come out and there’s a huge support system there.”
After five years of devoting most of his energy to his music, Breeze is now pursuing other passions, such as event production.
He’s optimistic about the buzz in the local gay community and the creativity he’s seeing in the clubs. He sees the underground scene as a place where artists can go to experiment with their sounds and experiment with their looks before hitting the mainstream.
“The underground scene in Vancouver is really blossoming, and I think that was the thing that Vancouver was missing for a long time,” he says.
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