Lucas Silveira
Encyclopedia
Lucas Silveira is the Canadian
vocalist/guitarist and songwriter for the rock
band The Cliks
. He has recently released his first solo effort "MOCKINGBIRD" since founding The Cliks and is currently touring the US and Canada promoting it.
Silveira is a transgender
man. The Cliks made history as the first band with an overtly transgender male leader signed by a major record label, Tommy Boy Entertainment’s gay-friendly imprint Silver Label.
, part of the Azorean
archipelago (an autonomous region of Portugal
). At age ten, Lucas’ working-class, family moved back to the suburbs of Toronto and enthusiastically supported his fervor for music.
He was about three when "I knew exactly who I was at that age, which sucked, not having words for it and being told I was something else." He knew he was a boy and asked his mother to buy him a penis like his brothers. His mother told him that was "ridiculous", but his yearning for a penis never went away. He suppressed his feelings about his identity and tried to make it go away. He spent years telling himself that he had mental problems and that he needed to get help. He didn't talk to anyone about it. He said, "Then when he was in my middle teens, the first time I heard about Transgender
people, or even the word "transgender" was on Geraldo Rivera
. I remember seeing this guy with a beard, and they were like, "This man was born a woman!" I was like, "Holy shit! That's me." Then he heard about the murdered transman, Brandon Teena
and was "completely and utterly horrified". At 17, he then decided to come out and live as a lesbian, as a safer alternative.
, is a website
that focuses on the portrayal of lesbian
and bisexual women in the media
. In their interview with Silveira, they asked: "Do you find yourself having to educate people about transgender issues all the time?"
Silveira replied ": I wouldn't say educate. It's more like trying to explain where I'm coming from, because a lot of people are just curious about what it means. If people want to ask me about myself, I got no issue with that. I think it's important to just be who you are, and if you have the capacity to do it, then do it, because it really helps people. I've had kids come up to me at shows and it blows my mind, they just open themselves up to me. I had this kid came up to me and told me that he identified as transgender. He said to me, "You're my hero. If it wasn't for you, I'd feel like a freak." I'm not the poster boy for anything, but it sure makes me feel a certain type of validity, and happy at the choice I've made in my life to be out there and be who I am. Because it's obviously making a difference to a couple of people. So I'm very happy to talk about it. It's not a burden or anything like that. I am very happy.
Lucas founded The Cliks in 2004 when his musical and self identity transitioned from being a solitary folk singer/songwriter lesbian, to an 'over the top' rock n' roll front man. This shift reflected a vision he had carried his entire life and had now found the courage to make significant life changes and create a vehicle for the music in his head.
After six years, two major record label releases (Snakehouse 2006/Dirty King 2009), became international successes, many line up changes, major tours (True Colors 2007/2008, The Cult 2007/2008), TV appearances, awards MTV
Logo New Now Next Artist On The Brink, Chart Attack Pole 2009, and the Sexiest Man In Canada. He has broken entrenched societal boundaries, and garnered praise from his musical peers, Cyndi Lauper
, Margaret Cho
, and The Cult's Ian Astbury
. It soon became obvious that the only constant in The Cliks was Lucas. His courageous attitude, rock star energy and progressive approach to self-determination have created an ever changing musical identity that encourages all outsiders to feel a sense of connection, belonging and mutual respect between audience and performer.
Not phased by life's passages and skirmishes, Lucas has plunged ahead by continuing to fulfill his vision of The Cliks. Now traveling with a variety of guest performers, Lucas leads The Cliks' with the kind of attitude, toughness and unfettered energy that has been compared to Green Day's Billie Joe, Joan Jett and Chrissie Hinde of The Pretenders.
Silveira has also been interviewed by the Boston Globe, as well as many radio stations, quickly becoming one of the most visible transgender people in the music industry. He also appeared in a 2008 episode of LA Ink
, getting a tattoo that reminded him of whom he is now. Having chosen a different path, he says he is celebrating "going from a struggle to being really happy with who I am."
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
vocalist/guitarist and songwriter for the rock
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
band The Cliks
The Cliks
The Cliks are a Canadian rock band consisting of Lucas Silveira , Tobi Parks and Brian Viglione . The Cliks' major label debut album, Snakehouse was released on April 24, 2007 by Warner Music in Canada and by Tommy Boy Records in the United States.-History:In an In The Life interview, Silveira...
. He has recently released his first solo effort "MOCKINGBIRD" since founding The Cliks and is currently touring the US and Canada promoting it.
Silveira is a transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
man. The Cliks made history as the first band with an overtly transgender male leader signed by a major record label, Tommy Boy Entertainment’s gay-friendly imprint Silver Label.
Early life
Born in Canada as Lilia Silveira to a musical Portuguese-Canadian family, he lived from the age of four to the age of ten on Pico IslandPico Island
Pico Island , is an island in the Central Group of the Portuguese Azores noted for its eponymous volcano, Ponta do Pico, which is the highest mountain in Portugal, the Azores, and the highest elevation of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge...
, part of the Azorean
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
archipelago (an autonomous region of Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
). At age ten, Lucas’ working-class, family moved back to the suburbs of Toronto and enthusiastically supported his fervor for music.
He was about three when "I knew exactly who I was at that age, which sucked, not having words for it and being told I was something else." He knew he was a boy and asked his mother to buy him a penis like his brothers. His mother told him that was "ridiculous", but his yearning for a penis never went away. He suppressed his feelings about his identity and tried to make it go away. He spent years telling himself that he had mental problems and that he needed to get help. He didn't talk to anyone about it. He said, "Then when he was in my middle teens, the first time I heard about Transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
people, or even the word "transgender" was on Geraldo Rivera
Geraldo Rivera
Geraldo Rivera is an American attorney, journalist, author, reporter, and former talk show host...
. I remember seeing this guy with a beard, and they were like, "This man was born a woman!" I was like, "Holy shit! That's me." Then he heard about the murdered transman, Brandon Teena
Brandon Teena
Brandon Teena was an American trans man who was raped and murdered in Humboldt, Nebraska. His life and death were the subject of the Academy Award-winning 1999 film Boys Don't Cry, which was based on the documentary film The Brandon Teena Story.-Life:Teena was born Teena Renae Brandon in Lincoln,...
and was "completely and utterly horrified". At 17, he then decided to come out and live as a lesbian, as a safer alternative.
Living as a Transman
AfterEllen.comAfterEllen.com
AfterEllen.com, founded in April 2002, is a website that focuses on the portrayal of lesbian and bisexual women in the media. AfterElton.com, its brother site for gay and bisexual men, was launched in January 2005. The websites were founded by Sarah Warn, who initially served as the editor in...
, is a website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
that focuses on the portrayal of lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
and bisexual women in the media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
. In their interview with Silveira, they asked: "Do you find yourself having to educate people about transgender issues all the time?"
Silveira replied ": I wouldn't say educate. It's more like trying to explain where I'm coming from, because a lot of people are just curious about what it means. If people want to ask me about myself, I got no issue with that. I think it's important to just be who you are, and if you have the capacity to do it, then do it, because it really helps people. I've had kids come up to me at shows and it blows my mind, they just open themselves up to me. I had this kid came up to me and told me that he identified as transgender. He said to me, "You're my hero. If it wasn't for you, I'd feel like a freak." I'm not the poster boy for anything, but it sure makes me feel a certain type of validity, and happy at the choice I've made in my life to be out there and be who I am. Because it's obviously making a difference to a couple of people. So I'm very happy to talk about it. It's not a burden or anything like that. I am very happy.
The transition
After realizing he could not, in truth, live his life as a lesbian, he decided to take undergo top surgery to be his true self. Silveira chose not to take testosterone because of all the negative effects it could have on his singing voice. He has had "top surgery". A mistaken belief is that "all" top surgery encompasses is a double mastectomy, but in reality, it is a much more complicated surgery. Using part of the breast tissue that has been removed, a male chest is constructed that looks natural and is socially acceptable to go shirtless. He said it makes him feel "grounded."Career
Lucas Silveira's revolution began with a fearless attitude that embraced radical change.Lucas founded The Cliks in 2004 when his musical and self identity transitioned from being a solitary folk singer/songwriter lesbian, to an 'over the top' rock n' roll front man. This shift reflected a vision he had carried his entire life and had now found the courage to make significant life changes and create a vehicle for the music in his head.
After six years, two major record label releases (Snakehouse 2006/Dirty King 2009), became international successes, many line up changes, major tours (True Colors 2007/2008, The Cult 2007/2008), TV appearances, awards MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
Logo New Now Next Artist On The Brink, Chart Attack Pole 2009, and the Sexiest Man In Canada. He has broken entrenched societal boundaries, and garnered praise from his musical peers, Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
, Margaret Cho
Margaret Cho
Margaret Cho is an American comedian, fashion designer, actress, author, and recording artist. Cho is best known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially those pertaining to race and sexuality. She has also directed and appeared in music...
, and The Cult's Ian Astbury
Ian Astbury
Ian Astbury is an English rock musician and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist for the rock band, The Cult.-Pre-Cult:...
. It soon became obvious that the only constant in The Cliks was Lucas. His courageous attitude, rock star energy and progressive approach to self-determination have created an ever changing musical identity that encourages all outsiders to feel a sense of connection, belonging and mutual respect between audience and performer.
Not phased by life's passages and skirmishes, Lucas has plunged ahead by continuing to fulfill his vision of The Cliks. Now traveling with a variety of guest performers, Lucas leads The Cliks' with the kind of attitude, toughness and unfettered energy that has been compared to Green Day's Billie Joe, Joan Jett and Chrissie Hinde of The Pretenders.
Silveira has also been interviewed by the Boston Globe, as well as many radio stations, quickly becoming one of the most visible transgender people in the music industry. He also appeared in a 2008 episode of LA Ink
LA Ink
LA Ink is an American reality show on TLC that follows the events of the High Voltage Tattoo tattoo studios in Los Angeles, California...
, getting a tattoo that reminded him of whom he is now. Having chosen a different path, he says he is celebrating "going from a struggle to being really happy with who I am."