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from The Olympian, November, 2004:
t-reXXXa claims to be “The Gayest Band In The Universe!!!!” It’s a bold assertion that it backs up with the statement that the band comprises “two hot gay Jews and a Catholic school girl.”
t-reXXXa members name N’Sync, The Butchies and Team Dresch, as well as Scream Club, Fagatron and Gravy Train, as bands that they consider to be really gay. For the record, they think they could out-gay The Butchies and Team Dresch any day of the week but that Scream Club might just be able to give them a run for their money in a gay dance-off. Ah, youthful bravado. Where would rock ’n’ roll be without it?
 t-reXXXa is a three-piece punk band from Portland. They are big, loud and cute as buttons. A big, angry button. They will be performing at The China Clipper on Sunday with Bitch and Bonfire Madigan. It will be their first Olympia performance, but something tells me t-reXXXa will be spending much more time here—it’s their kind of town.
Discussing what makes a band the “gayest in the universe” in a phone interview, t-reXXXa founding member Zero Pants spoke for the band, saying, “We all identify as queer, and we take our politics very seriously, but we’re just having fun with the ‘gayest band in the universe’ claim. We’re sticking ourselves in a box, but we don’t fit in that box, so we’re making people question what the box means. Some nights, we wear our pajamas. Some nights, we’ll wear construction outfits and raunchy sex gear.”
They shared their thoughts on the recent gay marriage ban that was passed in Oregon earlier this month. According to t-reXXXa multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, Leigh Howard Burger: “We’re impressed with Oregon because, of all the states that passed gay marriage bans, it came closest to not passing here. People are probably more liberal than they voted because of the way the issue was framed. I don’t think that as many people would have voted for the ban if they knew that they were inserting prejudice into the state constitution.”
But what about the music? Cort Medieros, t-reXXXa hard rockin’ drummer, describes it as “pretty eclectic. Some poppy stuff but also some pretty heavy stuff. It’s just ‘pants down’ rock and roll, and it’s best when people participate. We love when people dance and sing along, even to songs they don’t know yet.”
All promotional bravado aside, the operative word in the “gayest band” claim for t-reXXXa isn't “gay” but “band.” Regardless of the specifics, it is the nature of bands to make bold claims as a way of asserting their identity in the competitive marketplace of pop culture. t-reXXXa does so with a mix of humor, intelligence, and a larger social agenda to balance their bravado.
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