SFBayTimes.com – By Jacob Anderson-Minshall
It?s difficult to sum up the accomplishments of trans performer Anderson (nee Annie) Toone in a few paragraphs. Ever since the late ?70s, when a teenaged, harmonica playing Toone backed legendary San Francisco blues musicians and beat poets, he?s been a ?genre fluid? musician, drag king and performer who changes personas as often as some guys switch partners.
?It?s always been my nature to mix, mutate, experiment with and collage together [musical] styles, instruments and cultures.?
A founding member of the New York no-wave girl group The Bloods?who he calls ?a butch amalgam? of rap, jazz and punk?Toone toured Northeastern U.S. and Western Europe for two years, opening for bands like The Clash, REM and The Go-Gos, while their single, ?Button Up? became a dance hall favorite.