Boys' Entrance

Taking up the flank for old school queer rock we have Tim Cain and Boy's Entrance and the new Tunnelvision on iTunes. Cain has been rocking the queer message since 1991 and with gay life going through so many extreme changes since then the first question would be "Does he have anything new to offer 'modern' audiences and would those audiences want to hear what he has to say.?" The answer is a resounding "Yes" to both questions and then some.

Tunnelvision is Cain's magnum opus and somewhere in its seventeen songs is a concept album and love story. Truth be told I fell hard for the sound of the recording with its non-retro, sassy glam-punk edge and a certain "throw it on the floor" sloppiness. The new CD sounds incredibly fresh and passionate while reminding me of a voice from thirty years ago (Mott the Hoople comes to mind) and a salaciousness which feels vintage but has a harder edge (a starting point would be Paul McCartney's "Venus and Mars Rock Show"). Somehow Cain has turned the trick of making a modern recording that sounds like the 70s, rocks like the 90s, and has an immediacy for 2016.

Never one to hide who he is (back in the day, Cain was singing punk songs about Harry Hay), the CD kicks off with "Mr. Sissy" and "Rock and Roll Swisher," upfront statements that don't fiddle around with who or where the protagonist is coming from. The real surprises are the unexpected little gems sandwiched between the rockers. "(I Know I) Can't have You" is adorned with gentle chiming guitars and the nuanced treatment Cain gives it makes it jarringly beautiful and elegiac. "Kissed Me in the Rain" is almost as lovely with a measured haunted reading that makes it more than a ballad. Here's hoping that Cain will get to Chicago soon for a live take on Tunnelvision - Windy City Times

"Cain's tenor has a crackling intensity that leaves you wanting to hear more."
- Larry Flick, BILLBOARD Magazine - Billboard

"Brewing an Eno-esque electro-melody with jittery guitars and confrontational lyrics, the band playfully flirts '80s new wave nostalgia while taking a large musical step forward. A deliciously experimental album."
- Larry Flick, BILLBOARD Magazine - Billboard

"On the "Queer Punk Folder", their third album, Boys' Entrance takes listeners back to punk's glory days, when grinding guitars backed screechy vocals while cheesy keyboards whirred. Lyrics are half the fun on the Queer Punk Folder. The album brims with same-sex odes to frustration and longing."
- Ernie Glam, The Village Voice - The Village Voice

"...melding classic glam-rock ala Roxy Music, Brian Eno, and T-Rex with more updated alternative and techno flavorings and sharp, funny, politically barbed lyrics."”
- Jim DeRogatis, The Chicago Sun Times - Chicago Sun Times

"B.E. have found a sound that falls somewhere between Eno, Devo, and Nine Inch Nails with self-described 'synth-glam homocore' lyrics and attitude. This is a very good listen."
- Alternative Press - Alternative Press

Members of political pop band Boys' Entrance is returning to Chicago after a five-year hiatus to celebrate their 25th anniversary and catch up with old friends.

OutMusic Award winner Tim Cain is no stranger to the scene in the Windy City, having established himself here years ago. The latest project, Tunnelvision, tackles a doomed relationship in the wake of the age of AIDS.

Windy City Times: Hi, Tim. We last talked when you had a show back in 2011.

Tim Cain: Right—when we did the ABSOLUTE Fringe shows. We did three of those shows. It was fun because we had acts performing upstairs and downstairs. It was lots of gay entertainment for your money.

WCT: Where is your home base now?

TC: I live in St. Petersburg, Florida. I'm calling you from my deck right now, overlooking Tampa Bay.

I'm looking forward to visiting Chicago. I was contacted by Jimmy Morehead—who is the artistic director for the Chicago Gay Men's Chorus—back last November. He was planning a show called My Kind of Town that is a LGBT retrospective connected to Chicago. He wanted to use on of our songs. He ended up choosing a song called "Give 'Em Hope" that is a tribute to Harvey Milk.

It is a punk-rock song so I have no idea how that is going to translate to the Gay Men's Chorus. We will be at the Harris Theater show on May 20 to find out.

On the day after that, we are playing a benefit for Bear Radio with Scott Free and a bunch of other folks.

WCT: What is Bear Radio?

TC: I haven't tuned in but it is an internet radio station that is geared toward bears. Scott had wanted to do a benefit and he thought this would kill to bears with one stone.

WCT: It is your 25th anniversary?

TC: Yes; we started the band in 1991. We were listed in a book called Chicago Out and Proud that [Windy City Times Publisher] Tracy Baim edited. It listed us as "Chicago's first queer boy rock band." There were lesbian groups before us but we were the first male gay rock band in Chicago.

WCT: Before it was Boys' Entrance—but now isn't it Men's Entrance?

TC: It could be Granddaddy's Entrance these days!

WCT: Where did the name come from?

TC: In 1991, I traveled out to San Francisco and saw my friend Jon Ginoli of Pansy Division. He was working on his first demos and played them for me. I was shocked how it took a different stance from his solo work. It made me want to perform in a band.

When I returned to Chicago and was driving down Belmont past Lincoln and there was this old schoolhouse. Carved in stone over the door were the words "Boys' Entrance." So I decided that was a band I should be in.

WCT: Did you just release new music?

TC: We have a new album called Tunnelvision. It is a gay rock opera. It is a double album with 17 songs. It is the arc of a relationship from beginning to end of two characters, Tim and Troy. It is a disastrous love affair and full of drama. In the middle of act one aliens make an appearance.

We are working with a couple of theater groups down here in Florida on producing the show. When you get the Boys' Entrance Tunnelvision album, it will be presented as a rock album with myself singing throughout. If you went to the show you will find the songs broken up as dialogue between more than one person.

It took me 10 years to produce. We are very excited about it and just got the CDs physically in yesterday. It will be available for purchase on CD Baby, iTunes, Amazon and all of that stuff on May 25 for my 25th anniversary.

WCT: Is the Tim character on the album based on you?

TC: Oh, Jerry, Jerry, Jerry. I toyed with changing the names the protect the innocent!

WCT: I need to read the lyrics to these songs.

TC: There is a song on there called "The 13th Step" with the chorus "I'm a sex addict so…"

WCT: So a confessional album?

TC: No; I have never been visited by aliens. It is fiction but based on some facts. The character Tim is a lead singer in a gay rock band, so that part is true. Interaction with this other character never happened.

WCT: What do you think of openly gay singers now like Ricky Martin or Adam Lambert?

TC: I adore Adam. He has been out from the get-go, which you can't say for Ricky Martin. A lot of rock stars play the game at the first then reveal at the end. I always prefer the ones that are up front at the first.

Generally, I think things are good. I look at Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and that is a real mile-marker for me. At one point Stephen Trask, who is the musical writer from Hedwig, was going to fly to Chicago to sing the Troy part on "The 13th Step" that I mentioned. I had been in contact with him but he wanted too much money so that didn't happen. I love the story, though, and them being so queer. The song "The Origin of Love" made me stop writing for a long time because I thought I am never going to produce anything as good as that. It took me a while to find a reason to write more, but there you have it.

WCT: Have you ever performed a cover from Hedwig?

TC: No, but it is on my bucket list.

WCT: We can talk about it in another five years.

TC: I hope we don't have to wait that long. Don't be such a stranger!

Visit BoysEntrance.com for more information about the Saturday, May 21, Silvie's Lounge show at 1902 W. Irving Park Rd. Chicago Gay Men's Chorus performance information can be found at www.cgmc.org . Pansy Division performs at Schubas, 3159 N. Southport, on Friday, May 20, with tickets at Lh-st.com . - Windy City Times

"Tim Cain's music is mesmerizing in it's execution. He's managed to craft a sound that elevates each piece to high art, much the same way Jimmy Page turned raw Led Zepplin tracks into sheer audio poetry."
- Will Gregga, Outsounds - Outsounds

"They sound like David Bowie at his most flamboyant."
- Gwen Innat, The Illinois Entertainer - The Illinois Entertainer

"This is synthpop at its best, indulgent and approachable at the same time. Highly recommended."
- Daniel Jenkins, Outvoice - Outvoice

"It sounds like T-Rex meets Bauhaus"
- Bassist of Pansy Division, Chris Freeman - Pansy Division

“Most reviewers I talk to think the record is a downer. They say it’s heavy, and it is,” Tim Cain tells CL about a new album that chronicles the emotional toll of loss. “But tragedy is the currency of opera, and I think that’s always been the case.”

The 60-year-old songwriter is responding to critical assessments of Tunnelvision, a new rock opera from his band Boy’s Entrance. The group formed in ‘91 after Cain placed an ad looking for gay musicians in a Chicago paper. Boy’s Entrance made its live debut in ‘93 and spent the following years being a loud, proud and out gay American rock band — one of the first of its kind. When we catch up with him, Cain is loading equipment into St. Pete’s Studio@620, where he’ll turn Tunnelvision (essentially a concept album about sexual obsession) into a stage production. He is a little winded from load-in, but it’s a wonder he’s not winded from the life he lived in the course of writing, recording and releasing Tunnelvision.

DO THIS: TUNNELVISION AT STUDIO@620 [OPENS JUNE 9]

The album — 17 tracks that bounce around glam-rock, new wave, quiet ballads and even lounge-ready jazz — took a decade to complete, and Cain (living in Illinois at the time) was in a very bad relationship that stunted Tunnelvision’s development. His father — a gifted pianist in his own right — passed away at one point in the process, and Cain underestimated the effect that death would have on him. At times he even felt suicidal.

“It lasted a long time. Things went south and my then partner threatened me with a gun,” he says reluctantly. “I was already depressed and didn’t want it around, but he kept it out in clear view. It felt like an effort to get me to take myself out.” Cain says the universe was telling him that he was in the wrong place and asking, “Why aren’t you listening to me? I’m getting louder and louder.”

It took convincing from Cain’s sister and brother-in-law to eventually get him to Florida, where he pieced himself back together. Cain married Bay area musician Bill Ramsey and then met guitarist Jaybo Key after local record store employees advised him to find Key (a descendant of Francis Scott Key) at St. Pete guitar store Mad Music. It was Key’s musical muscle that would help Cain complete Tunnelvision.

“When I got down here the universe just started flowing again. Jaybo is a fantastic lead player, kind of in the Jimmy Page mold — he really gave this record the texture it needed,” Cain explains, adding that he’d been looking for someone like Key since the death his original guitar player, Cie Fletcher, in 1995. Cain and Fletcher — who’d worked on demos for unrelated bands in years prior to forming Boy’s Entrance — had a contentious relationship in which they’d wrestle over power of the band. Fletcher was also fighting AIDS, but told nobody.

“He hid it from the band. I had no idea,” Cain says, adding Fletcher’s death made the purpose of the already political Boy’s Entrance crystal clear.

“The music is delicious, and the themes — gay men, gay sex, HIV, all of that — are very challenging. The collaborative process has brought me way out of the comfort zone.” — director Bob Devin Jones

Tunnelvision — set in San Francisco during the ‘80s AIDS crisis — finds Tampa actor and pop singer Jimmy Dudding playing an out, gay male rock star who begins a tumultuous relationship with a closeted straight man, Troy. While Cain insists that it is not an autobiographical musical, Tunnelvision does have several parallels to his own life.

“He’s as out of the closet as I am,” Cain says about Dudding’s character, who is also named Tim. “But there’s not one particular Troy character that is part of my idea for this production.”

Instead, Cain says Troy embodies an element of the gay community that likes to go out with men who are straight acting and appearing, but not necessarily so. Troy grapples with self-hate during the course of the play, for which songs lay the drama (and sexuality) on thick. At one point in the musical (“The 13th Step”), Troy and Tim are actually having a conversation with each other during a sexual compulsives anonymous meeting. The entire production — much like the Tunnelvision album itself — is a roller coaster. Cain says the production process with Studio@620 artistic director Bob Devin Jones has been a fun ride, too. Jones, 63, really wanted the production to be a part of Pride Month. He also wanted to learn something new himself and hadn’t directed many musicals from start to finish.

“I’ve definitely never done a queer rock opera,” Jones tells CL, while adding that Cain is a lovely collaborator. “The music is delicious, and the themes — gay men, gay sex, HIV, all of that — are very challenging. The collaborative process has brought me way out of the comfort zone.”

And that’s apropos, since Cain really came out of his comfort zone to create the music, dialogue and vibe of Tunnelvision. “The whole thing is a tug-of-war between the characters. They find each other fascinating, but it’s a tough fit. They come in and out of love, and come back together again,” Cain says. “They ultimately part, but hopefully wiser and more hopeful about everything. I hope the audience can feel the toll of the journey.”

If it’s anything like this our conversation with Cain, then the audience certainly will. They’ll probably be much wiser and hopeful for the tragedy, too.

Listen to Tunnelvision below, and get more information on the production via local.cltampa.com. A full schedule is available via Studio@620. - Creative Loafing

Tunnelvision is a rock opera set during the AIDS epidemic of the ’80s. The musical was written by Tim Cain over a 10-year period and started out as an album for his award-winning band, Boys’ Entrance.

The show begins with Tim (Jimmy Dudding) singing in a gay bar. Some men at the bar make fun of him for being flamboyant, but Tim accepts the title Mr. Sissy with pride. Dudding gives the first song his all, dancing and writhing in platform boots and what might be the coolest jacket I have ever seen. It was sort of Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, except gay and awesome.

Tunnelvision at Studio@620Chris Jackson/Jackson Fresh PicturesThe opening number is followed by an immediate, if not abrupt, delve into the existential as Tim sings about how he sometimes wishes he could procreate and be a father. But his crisis is forgotten when he sees a handsome, brooding stranger, Troy. Tim sings about how much he wants him. But Troy (Stevie Rayder) is closeted. In the next song Troy belts “I’m straight” like 12 times, then they have sex.

Troy takes some time to explore his new non-closeted lifestyle. He hooks up with a wide variety of only white dudes. At one point there are figures in bodysuits, who might be kinky aliens (?) Tim and Troy meet again later, as they confront sex addiction and each other.

All the cast members give committed performances and seem to have a lot of fun, despite the tragic undertones of the plot. Dudding and Rayder have serious chemistry. They infuse each dramatic lyric with extra melodrama while belting out song after song and undressing and redressing and undressing again. The most poignant moment comes when Dudding sings an a cappella soliloquy.

Some of the show was an enigma due to loud music and muffled mics. But such is the plight of a rock opera — a designation well-deserved, by the way, since Boys’ Entrance rocks and rolls like nobody’s business.

See Tunnelvision for a great band and lots of pride. - Creative Loafing

In celebration of LGBT Pride Month, The Studio @ 620 will present the world debut of the new gay rock opera, "Tunnelvision: The Musical."

Set during the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, the new queer rock opera, Tunnelvision: The Musical, tells the story of Tim and Troy and their tumultuous relationship, from beginning to end.

Written by Tim Cain, the lead singer of the glam rock band, Boys' Entrance, the show is being called the next Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Both use the power of rock to convey a dramatic and powerful story, but while Hedwig uses humor to defuse a personal tragedy, Tunnelvision is more operatic and dramatic, incorporating a wide array of music genres into its story.

There is Heavy Metal and Goth; also Soul, Industrial, New Wave, Hip Hop, Jazz, Psychedelic, Gospel and even Cabaret. The songs flow in style and type, helping to inform the lyrics.

Tunnelvision: The Musical opens at Studio 620 in St Petersburg, FL on June 9. Tunnelvision by Boys' Entrance is available on iTunes now.

The opera opens with rocker Tim on stage, getting jeered by the audience for being queer. He responds by unabashedly claiming the title of "Mr. Sissy". His bold declaration wins the crowd over, then, in "Creation," he explains how the purpose of gay men is to create, not procreate.

Troy, a closeted straight man, happens to be in the audience. The two hook up after the show and begin a rollercoaster ride of a relationship that involves break-ups and make-ups, drugs, alien encounters and one of the men becoming a call boy. The two say they want to be in a committed relationship together, but they simply don't know how to navigate the uncharted territory. The physical relationship between Tim and Troy eventually breaks down, but their desires continue unabated. That is when the "wolf" comes knocking at the door.

The wolf in "The Wolf Is At The Door" is temptation. The song is Peter Gabriel meets Duran Duran meets David Bowie. It is funky like Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" with a Duran Duran veneer and a final verse that pays homage to Bowie. It is the climax of the opera, coming at a point of intense exasperation between Tim and Troy, conveying sexual appetite and frustration.

"Who hasn't experienced both?" questions Cain. "It is a song that grabs listeners by the balls and won't let go. It makes you want to move," he says.

In the 25 years since Tim Cain created his band, Boys' Entrance, he has produced some of Queer Rock's most iconic, political, and galvanizing music. The band features Cain on vocals and guitar; his multi-instrumentalist husband, Billy Ramsey on bass; lead guitarist, Jaybo Key; and drummer, John Spinelli.

They've experienced acclaim and awards over the years. In the '90s, Boys' Entrance received two "Rock Single of the Week" reviews in Billboard Magazine. In 2005, Cain was awarded an OutMusic Award for his 30 year career as a gay musician.

Cain is thrilled that Tunnelvision, his magnum opus, will follow The Who's Tommy with both album and stage versions. "They will stand alone as separate projects," he says. "The album offers the old school idea of sitting down and listening, going somewhere in your mind. Tunnelvision: The Musical will be a tour de force. It will be filled with lust, drama, sex in parks and naked men. Yes, naked men! It is a definite must-see!"

In both the album and stage versions, the story of Tim and Troy ends not-so-happily-ever-after. "It is a rock opera, after all," explains Cain. "Tragedy is the currency of opera."

Still, the music of the finale, "Back to One," sounds like a sunrise. It conjures up those first few moments when the sky begins to turn and the sun appears. For rocker Tim, there is satisfaction at having removed himself from the madness of his relationship with Troy. There is also a pride that comes from realizing he is ok, alone. "It's a reminder that at the end of the day, we all ride solo in this journey of life," says Cain.

"Tunnelvision - the Musical" will debut in St. Petersburg, FL at Studio 620 on June 9. Special preview performance on June 8th. Tickets at www.thestudioat620.org/events/tunnelvision-by-tim-cain. - BroadwayWorld.com

Tim Cain is the front man for one of the only two all gay male bands left in the US (according to Tim), Boys Entrance. They just released a 17 track rock opera album called Tunnelvision, which chronicles the doomed relationship of Tim and Troy, and the devastation left during the age of AIDS.

Louder Than War’s Eileen Shapiro interviews Tim Cain.

Boys Entrance originated in 1991, after Tim visited his friend Jon Ginoli, a member of The Pansy Division (the other gay band) and heard his demo for their first album. He thought the songs to be bold, gay, and unapologetic. When returning to his hometown of Chicago Tim happen to pass an old school house. Carved in stone above the door were the words ‘Boys Entrance’ and Tim thought that sounded like a band he should be in.

Louder Than War: Your music is very brave. What are your plans for this album?

The single is called The Wolf is at the Door. This album took me ten years to make. There was a lot of stuff that got in the way of completing it, or maybe it was the universe waiting until I had the right players. I made a demo in 2006. It wasn’t the best time in my life so I was actually documenting it in case I decided to check out. I was very suicidal.

So I went into the studio, and brought in ten years of songs I’d been writing, thinking that I wouldn’t be around much longer. After I got seven songs down I adjourned to write a song about Princess Diana, which I got an award for. However, it never got wide distribution. Then right after the single my dad died. Then the record got shelved for a period, until I move down to St. Petersburg Florida. That was the best thing for me. Then I met our guitar player, Jaybo Key, who’s a descendent of Francis Scott Key who wrote the words for The Star-Spangled Banner.

Tunnelvision is a rock opera?

It’s completed, and going into production, and will debut at Studio 61 on 8 June. We got the Alternative Rock Single Award of the year in Los Angeles.

Are you planning on touring the rock opera?

We would love to, but we are an indie label, and we don’t have the backing. The thing is to get the word out on the record and maybe create some demand. Right now we are playing festivals, we just did four of them. We’re enjoying that. We’re on 50 International radio stations right now, and we’re getting a lot of response in England. Most of the music would appeal more to European audiences.

So I absolutely love The Pansy Division, what’s the story on that?

I’ve know Jon since 1981. My boyfriend worked a college radio station that he worked at. I went to an Ultra Vox concert in 1981, and Jon was there. He always hated my music because mine was better produced than his. Then he was a DJ at one gay bar, and I was a DJ at a competing gay bar. Then he and I worked together at two different music stores, as managers. Then I moved to Chicago and he moved to San Francisco.

Then in 1990 when I went up to visit him in San Francisco, and I sat on his bed, and he played for me with an acoustic guitar, the first demos for the first Pansy Division album. I was the first gay musician he ever knew because I was out, I was never in the closet – I like to say they never built one big enough to hold me. Then of course we slept together, there was that. They came out with a record last year. Our two bands are really the only two all male, gay bands left that I know of. They are of course more prominent, but for us to still be around after 25 years…

You’re married to a member of your band?

The bass player in the band is my husband. I love him. We got married a year ago in January. It was amazing. We had a beach wedding, and he is the most supportive music companion that I’ve ever had. - Louder Than War (London)