LET ME GIVE you a mental picture of Sarah and Seth
Gottesdiener: While in Hawaii for Seth’s 21st birthday, they stayed in
a “danky surfer hostel” where they were both hit on by a group of
surfer dudes who thought they’d stumbled on a pair of attractive
ladies. Apparently this can happen when you’re a hot, queer
brother/sister duo out on the town.
For those not yet familiar with the Gottesdieners, take note: In
queer Portland, they’re everywhere, doing just about everything. Sarah
is a painter, a Plazm staffer, and plays in the dynamic indie
band the Gay Deceivers. Her younger brother Seth, AKA DJ Girlfriends,
regularly DJs queer parties around town, and fronts an all-boy pop
group called BoyJoy. Together, they spin at the monthly White Light
dance party at Valentine’s in downtown Portland.
“Everyone who knows us well tells us we are the gayest people
they’ve ever met—in completely unique and different ways,”
Sarah says.
Sarah moved here in 2004 and got a house, a dog, a Subaru, and
started a band. Seth wasn’t far behind, moving here from New York to
pursue his DJ dreams. “I want people to dance, that’s my goal in life,”
he says. “To gather around a fire, or a disco ball, and have lots of
people together in this communal way.”
Both Sarah and Seth are performing and showing work throughout the
month (see Pride Month Calendar, pg. 13). They acknowledge that while
being artists can be difficult, they’ve both found welcoming
communities here.
And when times get tough, they can always rely on each other: Sarah
supports Seth by dancing her ass off when he DJs, and in turn credits
Seth for teaching her about “being positive and putting yourself out
there without fear.”
Separately, Seth and Sarah Gottesdiener are a pair of white-hot
queer artists on the ascendant. Together, they’re a force of queer
sibling fierceness to be reckoned with.
are they single?