OutFront: January 2005

The Bead Man, a mother/son marathon pair, and a rocker’s new CD.

BEAD SWEET. Jim Shade, proprietor of the new Bead Atelier, explains that the late Mark Lincoln, owner of the Montrose boutique Bead Artigiani, was his mentor. “He taught me everything he knew. How to be sassy. How to be queenly. And how to be nice to people. It gave me a whole different outlook on the world.” Shade now operates his own Heights emporium with his wife, Cynthia, and hopes to make it a haven for artists, musicians, and other bead folk. “This store is not just a bead shop for me. It’s more of a social outlet.”

LIKE MOTHER, LIKE SON. Carlo Deason has trained and competed in track and field, cross-country, and road races for about 28 years. In 1996, he got his mother, Mary, involved in running to pull her out of depression following the death of her father. “The first race my mom ever participated in was the 1998 Heights Fun Run, and she was hooked. She followed this a week later with a good run in the 1998 Houston Gay Pride Run,” says Deason, who is active in Team Houston, the local group preparing for the Chicago Gay Games and the Montreal OutGames in 2006. Both Deasons will compete in HP Houston Marathon events on January 16, mother attempting her first-ever half-marathon and son his first marathon.

SHE ROCKS. Cindy Pruitt’s song “Figure It Out” opens the independent lesbian romantic comedy How to Pick Up Girls: A Guide for the Dating Impaired, just released on DVD (Passion Fruit Video). This month, Pruitt is completing work on the follow-up CD to her debut, Songs from Inside the Bubble, which features “Figure It Out.” Local music fans know Pruitt as the front woman for the popular band fluff the kat and host of Thursday open mic night at Chances. Pruitt is a big booster of that weekly event. “We get so many talented women (and some men) who show up to play. We are very lucky in that respect.”