by Alex Solca
“Put on your party pants and get in girls, we’re going to dance at the GayC/DC show!” – what I said when I told 3 of my girlfriends to meet me at Beat Kitchen this Friday. Tickets to the 8/30 show at Beat Kitchen
How did the idea for the band come about, and what inspired you to blend your love for AC/DC with a queer twist?
CHRIS FREEMAN: Around 2003, a bunch of queer musicians in the Silver Lake area of LA formed an all-gay male tribute to the Go Go’s: the Gay Gay’s. Band members changed over the years and after over a decade, the singer decided that his heart wasn’t into it anymore. The rest of us met and realized that we really wanted to keep playing together, but what band? Karl Rumpf threw out GayC/DC and I thought, ‘hang on, that could be something!’ Within minutes I had the logo in my head and the presentation and all, and now here we are over 10 years later!
BRIAN WELCH: The nucleus of the band started with our original rhythm guitarist Karl. Karl, Chris and I had been in the Gay-Gays, an all-gay tribute to the Go-Go’s. The three of us really bonded over music and playing together, and when it came time to think about what we wanted to do next, Karl had the masterstroke of genius. It was our last rehearsal and before the rest of the guys got there, Karl was playing a few riffs, of which “Back In Black” was one of them. He then stopped, looked at both Chris and I, and said “GayC/DC”. Of course, we all jumped on our phones, Googling wildly, because that had to already exist, right? Well, it did not. Within 20 minutes, the three of us had the full idea of the band. Logo, image, song titles, and costume changes galore! And why not change some of the lyrics to reflect lyrics that we wished we‘d heard growing up as little gay kids? The song titles wrote themselves. But the first thing we all agreed on was that we didn’t want to LOOK like AC/DC, but we wanted to do the songs justice. There are so many amazing AC/DC tributes who look and sound exactly like them. We wanted to be different and fabulous! With that as our mission statement, Chris began the task of recruiting guys that believed in this as much as we did.
Can you tell us about the journey from when you first formed to where you are now? Have there been any challenges you faced as an LGBTQ+ band in the rock scene?
BW: This road we’ve been on has been unexpected for all of us. At first, we thought we’d play some friend’s parties, maybe play the local Eagle, a leather bar.
CF: It’s certainly one thing to play for your community and your friends, and it’s another to play for people you don’t know and who may have different expectations as audience members who have never seen you before.
BW: And actually, our first show was at the LA Eagle. But as word got out, we were getting offers to play the Viper Room, and other well-known LA venues. And man, they did not know what they were in for.
CF: Some are excited about the idea of an all-gay re-interpretation of AC/DC and wait eagerly at the front for us to start, some may have been dragged to the club or are may be there to see another band on the bill, and stand in the back with their arms folded.
BW: We were then asked to play the world- famous Whisky A Go Go as part of the weekly “Ultimate Jam Night” and their benefit for the Pulse Orlando nightclub shooting. That show alone opened many doors for us and we’re forever grateful that we were able to be a part of that night. It was a sobering moment to see these world class musicians pull together for a cause that affected us and our LGBTQIA community. But on the flip side of that, being a gay band, we do face a lot of challenges. We call it the “Rainbow Glass Ceiling”. We get the looks and the attitudes of “oh, gays can’t play rock and metal seriously”.
CF: Our challenge every night is to not let down the eager fan and to win over that curmudgeon in the back. We definitely knew that we had taken on a very high hurdle; we worked for months getting that distinctive swing and swagger in the music down before anything else. We studied those tracks endlessly. Then, we decided not to follow the typical path of a tribute band–none of us resembles any member anyway. Instead, we decided that we would take their live presentation to the extreme
BW: Folks come to our shows expecting us to butcher their favorite band, and then they leave with our t-shirts, guitar pics, photos with the band and big smiles. We know every show is another chance to show that not only do we rock, but our love for AC/DC runs deep. Considering I saw them for the first time in 1981 and have never missed a tour since, I’d say those boys run in my DNA. Our performances prove we know EXACTLY what we’re doing. Even AC/DC’s crew came to see us at the Whisky last year and told us they loved it. They even took video to show the guys.
CF: Instead of only Angus running around the stage, everyone but the drummer is running around, and instead of jeans and t-shirts, we wear anything *but* jeans and t-shirts, and we use a ton of color. I also use humor a lot to win people over–if I can make them laugh, they’re mine! Ha! Thankfully, we are building on the groundwork of my other band, Pansy Division, who took the brunt of being one of the only gay bands that were fully out in ’91. GayC/DC can play the same network of clubs across the country but since we are a ‘refresh’ band, we also want to ensure that people understand that we *love* AC/DC. We are not trying to poke fun at them at all.
Your cover of “Highway to Hell” features some big names in the metal and hard rock world. How did those collaborations come to be, and what was it like working with artists like Johnny Martin, John Bush, and dUg Pinnick?
BW: I’ve known dUg for years, and John Bush is my neighbor. Johnny Martin has been a good friend to this band since we started. We played with him (and dUg) at one of the Whisky’s “Ultimate Jam Nights” and the friendship was born.
CF: What a rush! Watching dUg getting transformed by makeup? Priceless! John Bush’s facial expressions were just epic, and Johnny jumped right into that nerdy character and walked around the set that way; hilarious!
BW: When it came time to flesh out the concept of the “Highway…” video, it was a no-brainer to ask those three. It was probably the most fun we’ve ever had on a shoot. All three of those guys brought their A-game and just had fun playing their characters. dUg actually left the shoot in full devil make-up and costume to go across the street and get a bite. He certainly stopped traffic. The director of that video, Frank Meyer, has been a long-time friend of ours. His band The Streetwalking Cheetahs played a benefit we put on at the Viper Room for the Pulse Orlando shooting called “Highway To Help”. We saw their set and they blew us away. We’ve been friends ever since. Fun fact: Frank is also the singer in an original side project Chris, Steve and myself had called The Dobermen.
Chris mentioned pulling inspiration from one of my favorite horror films “From Dusk Till Dawn” to make the music video, have there been any other movies or pop culture moments you guys have used to create a vision?
CF: Unfortunately, no; all of our other videos are based around what we could afford or what we could pull off, especially during the pandemic when I was using a green screen at home. That’s why we are especially proud of this one since we got to visualize it first.
BW: “Highway To Hell” is our first “concept” video, so that inspiration really came in handy when developing the story. We’re all big film buffs, but Chris especially loves horror movies and the funnier, the better. So, throwing a bit of that into the video was something we all absolutely got behind. We always throw around film quotes and one-liners at rehearsals and down-times in dressing rooms. I think that’s where we come up with concepts for the show, for photo shoots, and costume ideas. We joke around that one day we’d do a video that’s also an homage to “Priscilla Queen Of The Desert”. Now that would be SOMETHING!
As the “the gayest AC/DC cover band out there”, how do you balance the campy aspects of your performance with your serious musicianship?
CF: [laughs] I think I answered this above–that’s what I get for rambling!
BW: To be honest, we really don’t have to think about it. It just comes naturally with each of our personalities. For us, throughout our lives, music has always come first. Making sure we did AC/DC proud was the first thing we all HAD to agree on, and then the rest just flowed out. Each guy in this band has developed their own persona, their own stage presence, their own “look”. We made a very conscious choice that we wouldn’t wear the obligatory jeans and black t-shirts the band is famous for. Instead, we thought “what is going to make us different?” We can play around with the music to a degree with changing lyrics and even song titles (“Let There Be Cock”, “Whole Lotta’ Jose”, Dirty Dudes Done Dirt Cheap”, etc.), we can play around with the set list and segue ways into songs, but the one thing most AC/DC tributes DON’T do is mess around with their look. So…BINGO! Let’s be the band that we’d love to see on stage doing these songs! Let’s give ‘em a show! And thus…costume changes, short skirts, jock straps, fishnets, mascara, and platform heels were born. Not sure there are other AC/DC tribute acts that can say that. We like to think of ourselves as a refresh instead of a tribute. And we do certainly freshen up a crowd.
After this tour, what’s next for GayC/DC? Are there any upcoming projects we should be looking out for?
CF: We are currently planning the next video and photo shoot to unveil next year. We spend the time in the tour bus planning and scheming.
BW: We’ve got shows booked already well into 2025, so we’re staying busy. We’ll take a break after October and brainstorm our next video, possibly for “Gay Boy Boogie”. More photo shoots will happen because we love any excuse to jump into frocks! And more feather boas darling!
With each performance and video, it seems like GayC/DC is having an absolute blast. What has been the most rewarding or memorable moment for you as a band so far?
CF: You are absolutely right, we have a blast! Otherwise, there’s really no reason to do it. It’s certainly not for the money! Ha! That said, playing live is really the thing we love the most.
BW: Yeah, we’re constantly saying to ourselves how much fun this is! One of my most memorable moments was meeting Simon Wright at a show we did at the Whisky and getting a photo with him. In truth, there really have been so many “pinch-me” moments for all of us. Sebastian Bach getting up and singing with us at the Viper Room is another. dUg Pinnick playing “Let There Be Cock” with us on stage, John Bush singing back ups on “Highway To Hell” at the Whisky, our video for “Long Way To The Top” with our friends in Well Hung Heart being voted one of the most popular videos in the U.K.’s Classic Rock Magazine, getting to play my hometown of Boston the first time, playing cities like Seattle, Phoenix and Detroit where the crowds were just wild and singing all the changed lyrics! Those are a few that really stand out for me!
CF: We are lucky to have a number of shows under our belt that rival each other for our most favorite show, and fortunate that those benchmark shows keep coming! If our best shows were behind us, that would mean we might want to rethink our future.
Can we get some behind the scenes information about how these fabulous stage outfits come together?
CF: We like shopping together and trying outrageous new pieces in front of each other for feedback. One of our favorite places is Santee Alley in downtown LA.
BW: A lot of thought and a lot of shopping go into our outfits. Things from everyday wear we find laying around the house and at thrift shops, to custom-made jackets and garments, we run the gamut. Our biggest question is always “Yes, but how well will it breathe?” Trust us, you don’t want to be in the same room as Steve’s outfit when it’s drying out. And sometimes, in the case of myself, it’s last-minute outfit changes that I love the best. One thing is certain, between our up-lighting and outfits, you’ll see us on that stage.
If you could go back in time and give advice to yourselves when you were first starting out, what would you say?
CF: “You’re gonna love where you’ll be in 10 years!”
BW: Gurl, hold on tight ‘cause we’re in for the ride of our lives! And your merch is on point!
Check out their remaining tour dates below!
