Sissy Van Dyke: Just her name is compelling, but if you’d like to know more about this 24-year-old lesbian punk-rock musician and her band of friends, be sure to grab a seat at The Glenwood, 6962 N. Glenwood, Tuesday, March 23. She’ll be there, although you may not recognize her because she’ll be speaking through her alter ego, Rhonda Pretlow; the creator, writer and publisher of The Adventures of Sissy Van Dyke, the first in a series of Sissy-themed titles.
“Sissy started out as one of several characters in my act,” Pretlow recalled. Pretlow was performing stand-up comedy while she was living in California in the mid-’90s. “Audience response to Sissy was so good that she took on a life of her own. Eventually I began performing all of my comedy as Sissy Van Dyke.” Today Sissy has further evolved and now chronicles her life in an episodic adventure and in an ongoing blog (sissyvandykeblog.blogspot.com).
So, if you’re more than just a little curious about Gigi Thoroughgood, Sissy’s best friend and bass player; Phyllis Navidad, keyboardist and lipstick lesbian extraordinaire; Mele Kalikimaka, Phyllis’s insanely jealous girlfriend and band roadie, Dixie Newoman, former male, reformed burglar and professional drummer, no to mention, Fabian, Trixie, and, Danielle; then clear your calendar.
Sissy will be reading from her novel at a benefit for the Chicago Family Literacy Project 7 p.m. at the Glenwood Bar, 6962 N. Glenwood.
Remember what Sissy says: “It’s not just a name; it’s a lifestyle.”