Brian’s life was a series of skits, antics, and anecdotes shared among his family and friends.
This website was created with the intent of becoming a repository for the collective memories we hold of Brian. We welcome your memories, thoughts and contributions.
I met Brian as Hattie at the Pyramid in the early 1990s when I was a photography student at SVA and was photographing in clubs around the city. She was always so warm and friendly and welcoming to me. I have many fond memories of her in the dressing room and onstage. Her shows were brilliant – I think they were called Fuck!
I will miss her
Brian was such a beautiful part of my being young in New York, when it was really a very different city, but then New York is always such a different city. Every generation gets to rediscover and remake it.
I knew Brian mostly through Anado McLauchlin, back in a period in New York, in the mid to late 1970s, when we were all part of a circle of friends that included poets, writers, and artists. He was such a sweet kid, tall, thin, and soft spoken. Brian, David Wojnarowicz, Anado, and several other people were part of a group of performance poets who beautifully illuminated that period. Later, Brian and I became reconnected through Facebook. I am very sorry that he has left us, but glad that George Butterick and his other friends and family are doing something to preserve his work and legacy here.
When you wandered into the 1980s Pyramid, lost, just off the B.F.E. boat…
When you risked it & asked about doing something at Jackie 60, and the answer was ‘absolutely’,
When you worked at a different ‘hot’ club and were able to trade notes & ideas,
When you’d run into each other and the question was “What are YOU up to? How are YOU?”,
When you went through a really rough patch, and a smile was always on offer,
When you moved across The Pond, and kept in touch online,
When you come home to NYC for a visit, and an unsolicited email comes in: “See you at 1000 Stevies, your names’ on the list”
When you get your memoir published, do a NYC reading who was one of the first in line? (And didn’t ask for a free copy, even?)
It was Hattie Brian Sharp-as-a-Tack, Innovative, Future-thinking, Supportive & Always Energetic Butterick Hathaway.
Thank You.
Brian, thanks for love and friendship to all those of us who sought to bond with others like us in the pulsing caverns of Manhattan. Thank you for your kindness. Thanks for your keen understanding of the living art of THIS MOMENT NOW. You are alive. You are listening. You respond. You said: “It is always the end of one thing and the beginning of another. But it is never the end. There is no end.” Love, Kestutis
I met Brain when he first began working the door at Pyramid Club maybe 1983. He soon was into every aspect of the clubs management and entertainment. He really brought a lot to the troop of “house regulars” adding the musical talents he brought to our dance and art educations as Performance art evolved in the crucibule of the clubs nightly theme changes. He caught the bug to explore dressing and playing with her femme side and slowly evolved a few different personas. The first was Loretta Nicks with lots of tips & help from George Castens (South African exile) we called them the Nicks or Nichts sisters and they worked that routine for a while. Then came Hattie… I remember doing some songs on stage with Loretta on guitar and leading with her powerful voice in D I V O R C E , it tore at my heart strings and burned in my memory that warm feeling of knowing we gave a powerful emotionally felt performance. I didn’t really know the song but the chorus is easy to follow. He always impressed me with his intellect and knowledge and shared interest in history. I thank him for a series of evenings “Whispers” done on the history of gay life. Beginning with the queer bars of 1800’s Bowery where men dressed as women and danced and cavorted with other men. It opened my eyes to the reality that queer has always been part of our humanity so it’s not really that odd.
Lastly having lived away from NYC since about 1987 I was honored to get a request from Brian to share one of my modern art quilts in the “Secrets of the Great Pyramid” exhibition. Our class reunion for me a very uplifting moment to see all those survivors still making art like we did at the Pyramid. I am truely sorry for your loss. I feel love for Brian and Hattie is overflowing now as we realize all we are missing with his passing.
Love, Betti Bin-Wa & Frederick.
Brian/Hattie was a good friend…a real sweetheart who will be truly missed. Without him, many of us downtown artists and musicians would not have been given a chance to exhibit or perform. My band, rat at rat r, headlined at the Pyramid often…thanks to Brian. Our drummer, David Rat/Tritt, worked there…thanks to Brian. David, who adored Hattie, passed away last March. I know he is waiting, martini in hand, to give her a great big kiss!
I am grateful and honored to have known such a wonderful soul. Love you, Hattie!
My heartfelt condolences to Brian’s first family. I was a member of his second family 3 Teens Kill 4. I’ve never met any of you but I’d like to say that you turned out a magically wonderful person that my bandmates and I truly benefited and learned from. It must have been your love for Brian that we certainly shared. Thank you – Jesse Hultberg
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Hattie will be forever loved ! She was a driving force of creativity and love in the community of arts in Alphabet City and the EV.
Hagala Forever ! ???
Dear Brian,
Something you said one very cold night as we walked East towards 20 Clinton St. In the mid-80’s helped to change my life.
It was honest, gentle, and caring, at a time when letting others in was not something that came easily.
Thank you for you warmth, humor, and humility.
Memories of the few years I was part of the Pyramid-Wah Wah Hut family are some of my dearest.
Hugo Moro aka Margarita LaMierda