"When Rob KcElroy and Santo Ragno, members of the vocal quartet, MEN OUT LOUD arrived at the Orange Co. Cultural Pride Festival, I took one look at them, raised an eyebrow and said, 'So, are they going to sing?'
These boys definitely have the West Hollywood look: they strolled in wearing black spandex with black mesh and lace shirts, a smattering of leather and a little bit of metal hardware fastenings in just the right places. They looked like they probably spent most of their time in the gym working out and drinking protein powder smoothies: They couldn't possibly have time for voice lessons, I thought. They'll probably get up on stage and shake their tushes and girate with the music cranked up so loud that it won't matter if they can't sing.
Boy was I wrong!
Although many of the gay men in the audience would clearly be mesmerized by their campy and sexy little dance moves, these boys are not just pretty faces with bodies to match. It is their tight harmonies, not their tight bodies, that make this openly gay quartet stand out. They didn't need a lot of loud technology to enhance their sound. On the contrary, they brought the traditional a capella style into the nineties.
As everyone knows, I don't write music reviews. But there is something special about MEN OUT LOUD that goes beyond the fact that they are talented musicians. It is significant to point out they are not only openly gay, but blantantly celebrate their sexuality in their music and on-stage. 'The fact is we're four guys who like to sing, but we're also four gay guys who love to sing and we're not going to hide that,' says Steve Steinberg, the quartet's de facto leader.
Yet, in many ways, MEN OUT LOUD is very traditional: 'Iwas classically trained for close to ten years in school,' says baritone Rob McElroy, who is originally from Texas. 'I started singing when I was five, and realized that I wanted to be a peofessional singer when I was eighteen.'
This would seem to be a paradox: the celebration of sexuality and traditional form. It is most evident when the foursome perform gospel music. For the encore of their performance at Highways, they sang the Hallelujah chorus from 'The Messiah,' sometimes substituting the phrase "Queen of Queens" for "King of Kings" in the chorus. Despite the fact that this is cute and campy, it isn't irreverent. After all, these are real choir boys.
'I started out as a boy soprano singing in church choir,' says first tenor Santo Ragno. 'Then in junior high school I started doing musicals, but I always learned music by ear. Then I went to college and got an Acting degree, and put music aside for awhile. When I came to L.A., I started singing with the Gay Men's Chorus, which I still do now. I've been with them for about four years now.'
Second tenor Joseph Pearce is an escapee from Salt Lake City Mormonism: 'I have been singing my whole life. I come from a very musical family - Mormon Tabernacle Choir and all that - and I was in choirs my whole life and I became a hairdresser because I didn't think I could be a professional singer. But I guess I was wrong.'
The ultimate example of apple pie is that the biggest fan in the audience is Steve Steinberg's mother. 'He started singing in the third grade and was in the chorus in elementary school,' Marion Steinberg says. 'He's always been interested in music and dramatics. In high school he was in a lot of plays: "Cabaret" and "My Fair Lady" and went to UCLA and majored in Theatre Arts.'
'Steve told us he was gay when he was a freshman at UCLA. He was only about seventeen. I was chrushed. I didn't know what was going to happen to him and his life. My husband said, "He's my son and I love him and that's that." ' Steve's Mom says. 'This group is sensational. This really is his life - he's living his dream, and I want to be right here with him. I'm proud of him and I would do anything to help him.'
Our sexuality is an integral part of us, and thus, is intertwined with our spirituality. At last, choir boys for our culture."