Would they Nomi now?

I have a new hero and his name is Klaus Nomi.

dAS and I just rented the DVD entitled Nomi Song from Netflix, and I haven't even made it all the way through it yet but I've been kicking myself for not finding out more about Klaus Nomi until now. You can watch trailers for the documentary here.

I can't believe that up until this point, all I ever knew about the man was from his performance with David Bowie on Saturday Night Live back in 1979. I remember begging my mom to let me stay up late to watch it (I was in 8th grade at the time) and thinking to myself, wow-- there's David Bowie with these two really freaky guys behind him singing. I had absolutely no clue that one of those amazing looking people was Klaus Nomi. I realize now, especially after watching the documentary and doing some reading about him online that a lot of the reason why I didn't really know much about him back in the 80's was due to the fact that most of his popularity hit Europe and not America. I was crushed when I heard he died so young, right in the prime of his life and creativity. He was only 39.

If you have no idea who I'm talking about but you're intrigued to find out more, definitely rent the DVD, which covers a lot more ground than any resource that I've found online. Highlights include segments of performances from many of his earlier theatrical appearances in New York, candid interviews with Nomi and many of his friends and family. My favorite bit has got to be the television show he was on that featured him, in full makeup and white gloves, giving a cooking lesson on how to make a lime tart, one of the exquisite pastries he was well known for among his closest friends and associates--- in fact, at one point in the beginning of his career, he used to trade lime tarts for his proof sheets and photo shoots by one of his photographers instead of money.

WATCH VIDEO
of Klaus Nomi singing "NOMI SONG" (via YouTube)



"The way I look is part of it. It sounds affected but I do see myself as a piece of living art. People do accuse me of being just decorative or an escapist. Well, I am. That’s what I do. So long as they realize that I am other things as well. I do kind of transcend the song and give it a different meaning. But satire would be too simple. There are moments in my show which are very moving as well as amusing. People should allow me to be many things, really give me room to put things in another dimension." --- KLAUS NOMI