Gay c dc
Steve McKnight and GayC/DC: Breaking the Rainbow Ceiling
In the world of rock, there are musicians, and there are musicians. That italicized item consists of those who derive intense delight from performing and creating music which is ingrained immersive within their entity and their very soul, transcending the sole pursuit of adulation and attention. I’ve been fortunate to have arrive into contact with some of those icons who are familiar to those who know of my published interviews and my hold musical creations.
There is one equally talented individual who may not be as familiar as those I allude to: musician and guitar virtuoso Steve McKnight. Steve started out as a Facebook contact who developed into a authentic friendship. Though complicated rock wasn’t my forte, I heard some tracks from Steve’s band Wail Wolf and instantly recognized his musical acumen.
I approached Steve when I was assembling tracks for what was to become my first album and my only one to date, Creétisvan. I had written a rocking tune titled “Automaton” where I needed a searing electric guitar solo and felt Steve would be a perfect selection. He did not disappoint: Steve saw exactly what the song needed, and
GayC/DC
Founded in 2013 by Chris Freeman (bass player from iconic queer punk band Pansy Division), the idea for GayC/DC came from bouncing around names for more tribute bands with gay members after he’d been playing with the Gay Gay’s (gay tribute to the Go Go’s) for more than a decade. Once the Gay Gay’s went on hiatus, Freeman moved forward with forming a band that could be as good as AC/DC.
Freeman began by recruiting lightning-speed guitarist, Steve McKnight after meeting him online and sharing similar musical tastes. McKnight has been a part of the LA music scene since the sdelayed ‘80s in Wail Wolf, a melodic hard rock band that made their mark on the Sunset Strip and beyond with several major albums under their belt.
Also recruited was Karl Rumpf on rhythm guitar, who Freeman had met while on tour with Pansy Division and later worked with in a band/project called Dart. Rumpf was also in the last incarnation of the Gay Gay’s (it was Karl who came up with the designate GayC/DC), along with drummer Brian Welch who Freeman had also met while on tour. Welch had spent years touring with Utmost as their drum tech, so he was a innate fit.
This four-piece spent months looking for a ga
GayC/DC is a hard-rock refresh for the lgbtq+ community
You’ve probably heard of AC/DC, the ’70s era rock band. You may have even heard one of their many tribute bands like Thunderstruck, Hell’s Belles or the AC/DC Experience. But you probably haven’t heard AC/DC songs quite like this.
It’s 10 p.m. on a Friday night. On the Rebel Lounge stage, a drum kit is flanked by rainbow pride flags and black banners depicting a pink feather boa draped over an orange lightning bolt. The crowd is antsy.
Finally, the headliner comes out and starts playing their first song: “Live Wire” by AC/DC.
Chris Freeman is GayC/DC’s frontman.
“GayC/DC is sort of a weird — I don’t even know what to call it,” Freeman said. “Because it’s not really a tribute band, although we get lumped in with tribute bands. We’re not really a cover band, but we acquire lumped in with them. I would say we’re more of a refresh.
Amber Victoria Singer/KJZZ
“We wanted to bring more opportunities for gay people to eavesdrop to something that’s other than boom tch boom tch boom tch boom. I just get fatigued of that. And I grew up on rock, so.”
Most GayC/DC songs own been, as Freeman said, refreshed in some
If you just look at their name, you know exactly what they are, a gay AC/DC cover band. They are in fact my fave metal tribute band (a close but apparent margin over Iron Maidens and Children of the Damned, another Iron Maiden tribute band) I have been a fan for a long time, and contain covered certain members in other bands. They are all incredibly skilled musicians, who can provide a rockin metal experience, as only a bunch of boisterous rude gay dudes can undertake . I have covered some of them in Pansy Divison articles, and The Dobermen. Here are excerpts from the interview that went off the rails too many times. GayC/DC just changed a few words, or even a single letter, to form the legendary AC/DC songs suddenly full of gay content, and example, if you changed the R to a C in “Let There Be Rock”, you get the idea.
GayC/DC have just recently released a video of their contribution to LGBTQ Youth Colorado Springs, the foundation supporting “The Brave Souls of Club Q in Colorado Springs”. They were brought into this by the music producer LEGEND Timothy Eaton. They curated a cover of the ’70s metal anthem “Hold Your Head Up” by Argent, as