By Amelia G
Jun 5, 2004
I first interviewed Gen, the blonde powerhouse who leads The Genitorturers, almost exactly a decade ago. It was a cover feature for Blue Blood and, by putting The Genitorturers on the cover, I was hoping to do my bit to open people's minds and impact the culture around me. Gen's promo photos at the time featured her wearing gleaming black gloves and putting a long thick needle through the hole for her tongue piercing. You can get your nose pierced at the mall now, but, in 1993, just hanging out with someone with a nose piercing could get you aggressively ejected. A tongue? No way. Some of the European publications such as Tim Woodward's Skin Two and the old <<O>> Magazine (now Marquis) by Peter Czernich were showcasing fetish fashions, but there was nothing like it in America. The multi-sense assault of The Genitorturers was one of the things which brought fetish and certain sorts of fashion and an understanding of certain types of sexuality to the general population in the States. It was performance art with good music and it really transported the audience. I spent my teen years overseas, so I am always thrilled to see anything which brings the music and fashion I like from other places to my home.
Recently, promoter extraordinaire Joseph Brooks had The Genitorturers play a big show on Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. The band was on the West Coast for a music trade show where bass player Evil D was promoting his signature instrument. The club was packed and the night included a scorching warm-up from Dead Girls Corp and a suspension performed by Louis Fleischauer of AMF and the antics of the very beautiful black-winged Ambyr during The Genitorturers very popular set.It is no accident that so many of Gen's outfits scream ringleader with just a dash of circus pizzazz. Ten years ago, Gen told me that emotion was the most important thing to her; everything she did was all about "empowering people to think and feel." The reach of this mission is so far that business magazines mention The Genitorturers in articles about fringe markets and television stations look to Gen to appear on and host shows about subjects ranging from bike culture in Florida to spooky fashion in Tokyo. I'm sure there are times now when she is exhausted by this task, but I am here to say that we should all give Gen and The Genitorturers props for making it that much more fun to be who we are now. Sure the internet has made it easier to get in touch with like-minded individuals, but without cultural leaders like Gen, you might not be able to buy a PVC skirt at the mall today. You might not be able to enjoy many of the things which go along with that freedom.
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