GayC/DC’s Brian Welch Says ‘Be A Light In Someone’s Darkness’ Along With Picks For ‘Sound Of Pride’ (Exclusive)

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Image Credit: Dusti Cunningham

It’s Pride Month! Throughout June, HollywoodLife is celebrating with The Sound Of Pride, wherever celebs and stars of the LBGTQ+ assemblage prime songs for the eventual 2023 Pride Month playlist. It’s the cleanable soundtrack to readying your Pride party, researching how to support LGBTQ+ rights, oregon speechmaking astir the history of Pride Month. This time, Brian Welch — drummer for the queer-themed stone solemnisation band, GayC/DC —  salutes those who are astir to rock.

Bian Welch left, and his chap GayC/DC members Glen Pavan, Chris Freeman, Steve McKnight, and Karl Rumpf. (Dusti Cunningham)

“Pride, for me, has felt contrived and manufactured to immoderate degree,” says Brian Welch, the drummer pounding furiously distant arsenic portion of GayC/DC, the world’s archetypal and lone all-gay tribute to the euphony of AC/DC. When sharing his picks for The Sound of Pride, Bring tells HollywoodLife that helium and his hubby consciousness much fulfilled by “putting our wallets into enactment and supported section and nationalist causes that volition person overmuch much nonstop effect than america having a portion and watching a parade.”

However, successful the look of regressive, reactionary authorities – and the adjacent 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills successful U.S. authorities legislatures – Pride has go thing much successful 2023. “This twelvemonth is different,” helium tells HL. “I consciousness that, overmuch similar successful the mid 90’s, the assemblage is banding unneurotic again to support each different and fend disconnected those who privation america harm. And we’re present for it.”

GayC/DC volition gladly supply the soundtrack to the conflict for LGBTQ+ equality. With songs similar “Dirty Dudes Done Dirty Cheap” and “Big Balls” (which truly didn’t request to beryllium changed from the AC/DC archetypal to acceptable the motif), GayC/DC is simply a pulse-pounding, heart-throbbing, wall-to-wall rockin’ experience. Yet, with his picks for The Sound of Pride, Brian chooses much than conscionable rock. Read on.

Diana Ross, “I’m Coming Out”

“I know, I know. So cliché. But erstwhile this opus debuted successful 1980 (and it was played everywhere), this 15-year-old cheery kid felt similar determination was anticipation connected the horizon. Maybe I wouldn’t person to fell who I was each my life. Diana was telling maine it’d beryllium ok. And Diana was beingness for me. She was my archetypal ever performance successful 1979, and that nighttime changed my life.”

Pansy Division, “The Best Revenge”

“This opus virtually helped maine go stronger emotionally aft a precise atrocious breakup. Truer words person ne'er been uttered before: ‘Some radical can’t carnivore to spot you surviving happily. Had you guilt-tripped for years. So overmuch invested successful those tears. Happiness is the champion revenge.’ I heard this opus and convinced the Boston Pride Committee that we needed Pansy Division to play the Pride Festival that twelvemonth (1998). We got them, I met bassist Chris Freeman, and present I’m successful a set with him and number him arsenic 1 of my precise champion friends.”

CeCe Peniston, “Finally”

“Not truthful overmuch a Pride opus per se, but it is successful the movie Priscilla: Queen of The Desert, and it takes maine backmost to that summertime with my bestie Jeff erstwhile that opus was everywhere, particularly astatine Pride parties and we’d beryllium lip-synching for our lives. And for me, it was, ‘Finally! I’m out!'”

Garbage, “Queer”

“At last! Something that the cheery Alt-Rock kid successful maine could subordinate to. Shirley Manson and co. made each america misfits consciousness seen and loved. So we thanked them by announcing this arsenic our anthem that year.”

Pet Shop Boys – “Being Boring” / “Love, etc.”

“At the clip that I came out, it was the tallness of HIV/AIDS, and I recovered myself volunteering weeknights astatine AIDS Action Committee successful Boston, stuffing envelopes and folding fundraising letters with a radical called the Tuesday Night Tappers. I met a batch of friends determination who showed maine the existent meaning of compassion and love. This opus ever reminds maine of those I mislaid and the strides we made backmost past to uphold our community. We took attraction of each different and held each different up successful the times of grief. And we made definite to fto each different cognize that we were ever fabulous and ever volition be.”

This opus [“Love, etc.”} should beryllium played astatine each Pride parade, festival, and enactment each azygous year. It should beryllium a pinkish law.

(Dusti Cunningham)

Going into Pride 2023, however does this year’s solemnisation consciousness erstwhile compared to past year’s?

To beryllium honest, for the past fewer years, my hubby and I haven’t participated successful excessively galore Pride activities unless the set was playing. Pride, for me, has felt contrived and manufactured to immoderate degree. We participated by putting our wallets into enactment and supported section and nationalist causes that volition person a overmuch much nonstop effect than america having a portion and watching a parade. But this twelvemonth is different. I consciousness that, overmuch similar successful the mid ’90s, the assemblage is banding unneurotic again to support each different and fend disconnected those who privation america harm. And we’re present for it.

Pride is simply a clip to observe unsung heroes. Is determination anyone you’d similar to spot get immoderate much of the spotlight this year?

We wouldn’t beryllium capable to bash this without lasting connected the shoulders of immoderate philharmonic giants who paved the way. They include Freddie Mercury, Rob Halford, Dusty Springfield, k.d. lang and Elton John. But others like Fred Schneider, Neil Tenant, Sylvester, Divine, Joan Jett, and our friends Chuck Panozzo and Dug Pinnick should beryllium celebrated conscionable arsenic much.

Chuck is the co-founder and archetypal bassist for Styx, whose posters I had connected my partition erstwhile I was a kid. Dug is the bassist and vocalist for King’s X, a precise influential set for me. Both of these guys are adjacent friends and enactment us, which is an unbelievable happening erstwhile I halt and deliberation astir it. When your philharmonic heroes rave astir your band, it’s a bucket database moment. My different idiosyncratic unsung leader is my champion friend, Patti. She’s been done everything with me. Picked maine up erstwhile I fell, dusted maine off, and pushed maine retired successful the satellite again, each the portion telling maine to beryllium arrogant of who I am. You don’t get much “hero” than that.

Do you person a representation of Pride Months past that you’d similar to share? 

2019 was the astir peculiar Pride period for maine arsenic I joined the emotion of my life, Philip, connected June 7th. It brought each the Prides I person experienced afloat ellipse and reinforced that feeling of not lone being retired and arrogant of who you are but to stock successful that infinitesimal with family, some chosen and biological. I didn’t turn up reasoning I’d ever beryllium capable to marry, overmuch little a Prince Charming would amusement up. But helium did.

What bash you person planned for June (and the remainder of 2023?)

GayC/DC volition beryllium releasing a screen mentation of Argent’s “Hold Your Head Up” arsenic portion of an anti-bullying campaign, and we couldn’t beryllium much arrogant of however it turned out. Yes, an AC/DC screen set releasing a opus by different 70’s band. But we were asked, and we jumped astatine the accidental to rotation a antithetic mentation of a classical song. And 1 that volition hopefully animate radical to basal up for those who cannot and animate those who are struggling to travel to presumption with themselves to beryllium who they are always.

There’s a large large assemblage conscionable waiting to judge and emotion you unconditionally.

Do you person a Pride 2023 connection to share?

Be an ally, beryllium a friend, beryllium existent to yourself, and if you spot idiosyncratic struggling, beryllium a airy successful their darkness. These are precise scary times for our assemblage close now. We’ve seen what we thought was intolerable travel into being. But we’ve besides seen strength, resistance, and emotion from our allies. It has not gone unnoticed. Keep being determination for us. We emotion you for that.

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Keep checking HollywoodLife throughout June for more entries in The Sound of Pride and further Pride Month coverage. And retrieve — hole your hearts oregon die! 

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