Pleasant Gehman
Encyclopedia
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, actor, dancer and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
from Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
In the 1980s, she was the singer for the punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band Screamin' Sirens
Screamin' Sirens
Screamin' Sirens were an all-women band that combined country music, punk rock, rockabilly and a dash of funk for their own wild party music. They pre-dated what is usually referred to as alternative country, but undoubtedly influenced it. They were based in Hollywood, California...
, and later, The RIngling Sisters and Honk If Yer Horny. All three bands have released numerous titles on vinyl, as well as cd. Her articles on rock 'n' roll, American pop culture, sex, the arts and human interest have appeared in L.A. Weekly, The Los Angeles Reader, Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
, Genre, as well as many others, including online publications. Her poetry, essays and short stories have been widely anthologized in a number of literary journals and collections and she has written and/or edited a number of books. The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
called her writing "... startling; full of passion", USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
described it as "A wildly fascinating walk on the wild side!" while Ray Gun raved: "…tough and tender, with a trademark air of seen-it-all innocence that makes it glow". In 1994, she recorded a collection of her poetry and spoken-word routines entitled Ruined. Among the venues where she has performed spoken-word pieces include The Unhappy Hour at the Parlour Club
Parlour Club
The Parlour Club was a venue located on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, California and managed by Andrew Gould. Among its notable events included the speakeasy-themed night Bricktops, series of spoken-word sessions The Unhappy Hour , and performance art night Touché .- Notable...
. A professional belly dancer since 1991, and a burlesque performer since 1995, she was a seminal member of America's premiere burlesque troupe, "The Velvet Hammer", and appears in the 2001 documentary film The Velvet Hammer Burlesque. She co-starred in 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...
's Off Broadway variety show The Sensuous Woman in 2007. She has appeared dancing and acting in many films, television shows (including the sitcom The Nanny
The Nanny
Nanny may refer to:* Nanny, a child's caregiver* A grandmother * A Cajun word for godmother * A female goat* Nanny , a 1981–83 British drama series starring Wendy Craig* Nanny of the Maroons...
) documentaries on punk rock, belly dance and exotic dance and music videos both under her own name and under her stage name, Princess Farhana. Her music video credits include work with Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
and Ricky Martin
Ricky Martin
Enrique "Ricky" Martín Morales , better known as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican and Spanish pop singer and actor who achieved prominence, first as a member of the Latin boy band Menudo, then as a solo artist since 1991.During his career he has sold more than 60 million album copies worldwide...
. In 1989, she co-wrote and starred in MGM's film The Runnin' Kind, and also appeared as Estelle in Steve Balderson
Steve Balderson
Stephen Clark Balderson is an American film director.-Early life:Balderson was born in Manhattan, Kansas and raised in nearby Wamego, Kansas until the age of twelve, when his family moved to Manhattan. Balderson attended Manhattan High School. Though his class attendance was poor, Balderson...
's film Firecracker
Firecracker (2005 film)
Firecracker is a 2005 thriller film directed by Steve Balderson, starring Karen Black and Mike Patton of Faith No More.-Synopsis:Firecracker is a tale of murder in small town Wamego, Kansas. The film portrays abuse, suffering, denial, and dreams of escape...
. In 2007 she acted as assistant choreographer to Fatima Robinson, for the belly dance sequence in Charlie Wilson's War
Charlie Wilson's War
Charlie Wilson's War is a 2007 American biographical comedy drama film recounting the true story of U.S. Congressman Charlie Wilson who partnered with "bare knuckle attitude" CIA operative Gust Avrakotos to launch Operation Cyclone, a program to organize and support the Afghan mujahideen in their...
. Under the name Princess Farhana, she has released a series of eleven belly dance and burlesque instructional and performance DVDs. In 2006, she recorded the lead vocal for Blacklight Sleaze with British house music duo Peace Division
Peace Division
Peace Division is the production name for the tribal house duo Clive Henry and Justin Drake. Together, they have proven to be one of the most prolific UK tribal house producers starting with their first record in 1994....
, which entered the UK music charts.
In April 2009, Pleasant reunited with cult director Steve Balderson for Stuck! - an homage to film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
women in prison dramas. Co-starring Karen Black
Karen Black
Karen Black is an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She is noted for appearing in such films as Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, The Great Gatsby, Rhinoceros, The Day of the Locust, Nashville, Airport 1975, and Alfred Hitchcock's final film, Family Plot...
, Mink Stole
Mink Stole
Nancy Paine Stoll better known by the stage name Mink Stole, is an American actress from Baltimore, Maryland. She began her career working for director John Waters, having appeared in all of his feature films to date...
, Susan Traylor, and The Go-Go's
The Go-Go's
The Go-Go’s are an all-female American rock band formed in 1978. They made history as the first all-female band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts....
Jane Wiedlin
Jane Wiedlin
Jane Marie Genevieve Wiedlin is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and actress. She is best known as the rhythm guitarist of the all-female New Wave band The Go-Go's.-Early life:...
, Stuck! was filmed in Macon, Georgia and released in 2010.
Underbelly
Underbelly is an acclaimed year-in-the-life documentary of Pleasant Gehman (aka Princess Farhana). Through a fortuitous chance meeting at the age of thirty-two, Pleasant discovered belly dancing. After years of punk rock rebellion, debauched cross-country indie- band tours, substance abuse, low self-esteem and bulimia, this twist of fate literally changed her life. Embarking on a dance career after training with well-known American dancers such as Zahra Zuhair and famed Egyptian dancers such as Raqia Hassan, at an age when many professionals are considering retirement, she reinvented herself as Princess Farhana, and became an international belly dance star.Filming for Underbelly began in November 2006 at Tribal Dreams in Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
, and continued throughout all of 2007 -- in Sebastopol
Sebastopol
Sebastopol is a former spelling and frequent variant of Sevastopol, the port on the Crimean peninsula.Sebastopol may refer to the following:Places:* Sebastopol, California, USA* Sebastopol, Mississippi, USA...
for Tribal Fest 7, to the Mexican Riviera
Mexican Riviera
The Mexican Riviera refers collectively to twenty cities and lagoons lying on the western coast of Mexico. Although there are long distances between these cities, they are often referred to as the Mexican Riviera because of their popularity among tourists. Cruise ships often visit three or four of...
for the Sun Bellies belly dance cruise, in New York for Margaret Cho's off broadway hit The Sensuous Woman, to Hollywood, California - where Pleasant was given a commendation from the City of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
for her years of artistic contribution.
The World Premieres were held in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and at the Boston Underground Film Festival
Boston Underground Film Festival
The Boston Underground Film Festival is an annual event held in the Boston, Massachusetts area that specializes in alternative film and video. The Boston Underground Film Festival, also known as BUFF, is the largest underground film festival in New England, spotlighting short films and feature...
in March 2008.
Books
- Escape From Houdini Mountain And Other Stories (Manic D PressManic D PressManic D Press is an American literary press based in San Francisco, California publishing fiction , poetry, cultural studies, art, narrative-oriented comix, and alternative travel trade paperbacks...
) - Senorita Sin (1994, Incommunicado Press)
- Princess Of Hollywood (1997, Incommunicado)
- The Underground Guide To Los Angeles (1999, Manic D PressManic D PressManic D Press is an American literary press based in San Francisco, California publishing fiction , poetry, cultural studies, art, narrative-oriented comix, and alternative travel trade paperbacks...
)-which spent nine weeks on The Los Angeles Times Best Sellers List. Since then, The Underground Guide To Los Angeles has had all new up-dated editions published in 2002 and 2006.
External links
- www.plezonline.com - Official Pleasant Gehman site
- www.PrincessFarhana.com - Official Princess Farhana site
- www.stucknoir.com - Stuck! movie site
- Women of Punk - interview with Pleasant Gehaman
- 3am Magazine - interview with Pleasant Gehaman
- Gilded Serpent - article by Pleasant Gehaman
- LA's Better Half - blog about Pleasant
- princessfarhana.thebellydancers.tv - Website about Princess Farhana