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Sunday, January 28, 2007

Donnie Davies: Third Time’s The Charm?

posted by on January 28 at 1:26 AM

Donnie Davies… exposed… again… no really… this time we got it right…

joelogelsby.jpg

Joe My God is on the case. Forget about that actor in LA and that drummer in Chicago. Donnie Davies? His real name is Joel Ogelsby, not Quillen or whatever the hell the name of that drummer was. Ogelsby. Trust the blogosphere—have we ever steered you wrong before?

Says JoeMyGod…

“Pastor Donnie Davies” has been exposed as Dallas-area actor Joey Oglesby. Here he is. Joey Oglesby recently appeared in a production of Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical. Joey Oglesby is a former member of the Chicken & Pickle Guys sketch comedy duo.

Finally. Our long national nightmare is over. I tip my hat to Joey Oglesby and his crew for
a fun diversion.

I swore I wasn’t going to post about this again until it was all over. And it’s all over now. Whew! I mean, look at the crease in that guy’s forehead! The stache! The… wide face? He’s got to be Donnie Davies! He’s got to be. Because I can’t take this anymore.

RSS icon Comments

1

Who cares if it's him or not, what he says is so effin' rediculous that it can not be taken seriously, whether he straight or queer or means it or not. Yeah, it was funny, and weird, but all the bloggers out there got way too foamy at the mouth.

Posted by Brandon H | January 28, 2007 1:19 AM
2

The comedy troupe description says, "The show is a comedy stew of dance, homophobic/gay experimentation, male chauvinism, obscure racism, and spiritual revelation." Sounds like Donnie Davies to me.

Posted by John | January 28, 2007 1:37 AM
3

Okay, when you go to his resume at http://www.kimdawsonagency.com he was in a theatre piece called, "Jesus Hates Me."

Posted by John | January 28, 2007 2:30 AM
4

KA-CHING!!!

I expect a full length soul-searching interview covering early childhood traumas, medical records, and Freudian reconciliations.

Oh wait... this is The Stranger.

-Reverend Foot

Posted by ReverendFoot | January 28, 2007 3:39 AM
5

Okay, I've always considered myself as someone with a very specific type. But now, thanks to this revelation, I've got this really spectacular urge to hump him.

What does the bible say about that?

(Perhaps I should resubmit this to your column.)

Posted by Trevor | January 28, 2007 3:58 AM
6

So this is scary, but I love collaborative irrational obsessions, particularly when they involve rationalizing doing things like, um, looking up profiles on myspace.

http://www.myspace.com/joeyindallas

(IN THE 'HEROES' CATEGORY)

"All the people who put their lives on the line in the military, sounds corny, but i don't know if i could do it. You are a better person than me. My friends who have dedicated their lives to the ministry, Martin Luther King Jr., the greatest American to ever live . ANd on a lighter level The funniest person alive: Ricky Gervais, i would make manlove to you on a mountain"

Okay, first off? So many conflicting interpretations I don't exactly know where to begin. There was point not so long ago where I believed in doing something valuable with my time. Like planning my prepubescent glove line enterprise and sleeping with my boyfriend. Those days are obviously long gone.

So he's a nondemoninational Christian who, with some guilt, he suggests, admires men who have given themselves to the military but would maul - no - make manlove to Ricky Gervais on a mountain?

Or...

Or he wants to make manlove to Ricky Gervais on a mountain and admires men who have given themselves to the military out of guilt, he implies, of being a nondemoninational Christian...

Or none of the above. And none of the below.

I must be going fucking crazy. You know you are totally collectively responsible for a national epidemic, right? Have you thought of what's in store for you in the afterlife?

Posted by Dadatrala (DRUNK) | January 28, 2007 4:24 AM
7

Ok, Dadatrala:

That was pretty pathetic.

Posted by The Real Donnie Davies | January 28, 2007 4:48 AM
8

Only because you knew you were thinking the same.

Posted by Dadatrala (STILL DRUNK) | January 28, 2007 5:50 AM
9

Why is the background of that myspace page pink? Even teenage girls stay away from such cute stuff? What can be more gay than this?

Posted by Sonny | January 28, 2007 7:22 AM
10

Dan: Are you one of those people that when it's snowing and beautiful out, you say things like..."I can't wait until this is over, and things get back to normal."? The Donnie Davies drama was like beautiful refreshing snow...and you're like some annoying Q13 weatherman who can't wait for things to get back to the usual drizzle.

Thank you Donnie Davies, I can't wait for the movie.

Posted by Dan hates snow | January 28, 2007 10:51 AM
11

I don't think there should be a reason why. Art has no reason.

Posted by cowboyx | January 28, 2007 12:31 PM
12

I think it's hilarious how everyone is saying they knew it from the start. No one was fooled, no one is interested, oh it's all so tedious. I am so glad all the cool kids are able to rise above it/everything. They win at not caring, hooray.

As for Joey, I'll be interested to see how he delivers the punchline on this thing. He's about three days late already, and everyone's already got tomatoes rotting in their manpurses for the moment of truth.

Posted by Pope Nyx | January 28, 2007 3:22 PM
13

Well, Joey certainly looks more like Donnie than any of the other guys have!

Posted by Joey the Girl | January 28, 2007 5:02 PM
14

Donnie Davis. He's so last week. :-D

Posted by Simon Jones | January 28, 2007 6:48 PM
15

I would totally hit that.

Posted by craig | January 28, 2007 8:19 PM
16

But is he a sodomite?

Posted by Inquiring Mind | January 28, 2007 8:56 PM
17

Jesus Christ, Dan. Go to sleep. Or beat off to Mika until you pass out. (Changed my mind about that one. He's sweeeet. Looks just like the boy version of my female Beiruti housemate. So there.)

Posted by Jonathan | January 29, 2007 3:38 AM
18

Well, it very well could have been real. Anyone (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_phelps) knows that this kind of foaming at the mouth hate mongering can happen.

Posted by martini | January 29, 2007 11:47 AM
19

Wonder how long Tony Clifton would have lasted if they'd had the Internet back then?

Posted by Jim Treacher | January 29, 2007 1:09 PM
20

Well Done Joey!

Below is a review I wrote before we all knew who this brilliant man was:
God Hates a Fag! Blindingly brilliant satire by “Reverend Donnie Davies”

The name of the website is “God’s Love Ministry” and at first blush appears to be just another self-righteous, homophobic, self-loathing Christian ministry which is all too prevalent today. Slightly closer examination reveals the site and connected material to be what I believe is one of the most wonderful works of social satire on the internet.

The divine brilliance of this material lies in the complete and absolute commitment to the form that it is parodying. Never does the author state outright that this is a comment on the state of Christian homophobia. Only within the content of the site does the artist wink at the audience and show his distain for the hate speech of the religious right. Even in “Donnie’s” response to others praising his comedy, he skillfully exhibits an ignorant and parochial inability to distinguish nuance by willfully misinterpreting satire as hoax, and comically declaring his ability to dunk a basketball!

I still have no idea if the actor’s name is actually Donnie Davies or if that’s just the character’s name, so complete is his commitment to this avant-garde adventure. My first exposure to this piece of art was a link forwarded in my direction via the good people of World War IX www.worldwarix.com, Gary E. and Jenn P.B. The link is “Reverend Donnie’s” list of Gay Bands, warning parents of the invasive danger of homosexual music:
http://www.lovegodsway.org/GayBands

Mixed in with the more obvious artists like Queen, Rufus Wainwright, and Judas Priest, are head scratchers including Ravi Shankar, Eminem, and Jay-Z. The list is headed by a quote by Oscar Wilde, who is credited as a reformed homosexual. That should have been my first clue that this list is intended as a parody, but I must admit that Davies’ skillful writing only raised my ire, even as I was confused by his side notes. Boy George’s name is followed by an asterisk that is connected to no note. I first assumed that the asterisk might mean that Boy George is REALLY GAY, but that designation is given parenthetically after Elton John’s name. Even funnier parenthetical notes include:
Ted Nugent (loincloth)
George Michael (texan)
Morrissey(?questionable?)

The Doors are clearly gay but Morrissey is questionable? I am embarrassed to admit that at this point I was still taking this man more or less seriously. Even while browsing through the Love God’s Way website, which explains their C.H.O.P.S. program: Changing Homosexuals (into) Ordinary People (the “S” is unaccounted for) I continued to miss the joke.
“Follow me and together we'll C.H.O.P.S away the Gay.”

Had I not stumbled across the site of his band, Evening Service, I may have closed my browser simply thinking Mr. Davies one of the many gay Christians sadly and forcibly closeted as a result of his limited and selective interpretation of Mosaic Law. But then I hit “play” on the video:


The song is officially named “The Bible Says” but is more commonly referred to by reference to its refrain: “God Hates Fags”. The scene opens as the effeminate, awkward “Reverend Donnie Davies” walks out of a blinding godly light inexpertly holding a guitar. On first viewing of the video one might not notice that the competent guitar chords are being incompetently aped by Davies.

Here is the absolute brilliance of Davies’ comedy. After reading his Christian based rhetoric about “curing” gays, I was more than willing at this point to mock this video for being not just bigoted and narrow minded, but silly, awkward, and musically unsophisticated. I listened to the first verses of the song, simultaneously amused and appalled:

Mmmmmmm / Yeah Yeah
Give me strength / To fight temptation / Lord lead me / To your salvation.
The bible says / As plain as day / That with a man / You shalt not lay

[Yes, getting sillier, but not yet a big enough clue for yours truly.]

Lord help them hear me / And make clear my voice / ‘Cause being gay / is NOTHING BUT A CHOICE!

(chorus)
God hates a fag / God hates fags / God hates fags / If you’re a fag he hates you too!

[yes, of course at this point I’m laughing out loud, but I still think I’m laughing AT Donnie Davies, not as a result of his masterfully laid out comic timing!]

Read the bible / You’ll be sure / To enter heaven / There’s no back door!

As Donnie enters the back door of his studio during this line, it hits me! An epiphany as clear as any religious revelation: I am witnessing one of the most brilliant comic minds of our time! He’s a clown with LOVE and HATE almost literally tattooed across his knuckles. His amazingly powerful one-two punch-line is not only holding the hypocrisy of the religious right up to well deserved ridicule, but also taking the piss out of my own liberal indignation by forcing me to take his hate speech completely seriously up until the point that I realized it was a joke.
By utilizing several different websites and links, Davies builds the tension of his setup and creates a meta-environment that will be appreciated by each viewer at a different time. Some viewers will achieve that orgasmic punch line in seeing the Dresden Dolls listed as the penultimate “Safe (not gay) Band”. Others when they first view the C.H.O.P.S. logo:


Donnie Davies is a trickster worthy of Lenny Bruce, Andy Kaufman, and Mark Twain, utilizing the technology of the twenty-first century to brilliantly make his satiric point. The three hundred and sixty degree commitment to his character will cost him a number of fans. Certainly this piece has the ability to offend homosexuals who have suffered under fundamentalist attitudes, and Christians who don’t share the same literal and hypocritical biblical views as those that Davies is mocking.
You Tube and Google Video have already censored this video. One can’t blame them for confusing it with the hate speech that Davies is parodying. As long as that sort of sentiment is truly being conveyed by more ignorant and less tolerant members of our society, we can take refuge in the brilliant satire of artists like Davies, deflating the true threat that such hypocritical hatred engenders.

God hates a fag,
God hates fags,
Yeah Yeah!
God hates fags,
If you’re a fag He hates you too!
He haaaaates,
He hates you too.
Yeaaaahhhh!

Go Get ‘em, Donnie!


Rob Reese is a freelance writer and the Artistic Director of the theater and video production company Amnesia Wars.

Posted by Rob Reese | January 30, 2007 11:10 AM

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