GayC/DC On Tour with New Member and Highway To Hell Music Video
AC/DC has been around for over 50 years, their music, ageless, still has fans buying CDs, merchandise, and attending tribute concerts all over the world, few bands are as appreciated and celebrated worldwide as AC/DC. Putting a refreshing rose-colored perspective on the legendary group, Gay/C/DC, a gay AC/DC tribute band, is making their way to Denver with a new member for their 2024 tour!
The late 70s and 80s were an extremely formative time for classic rock, bands we know and love were going on tours, making new music, and everyone seemed to be in on the fun. Despite this, many didn’t feel that the music produced was an authentic representation of themselves and their community. Attempting to create a more inclusive setting for LGBTQ fans of AC/DC, GayC/DC Founded by Chris Freeman (Vocalist for the band who also plays bass for Pansy Division) and drummer Brian Welch, with bassist Glen Pavan, Patrick Goodwin on guitar and Steve McKnight on lead guitar, those in attendance can be assured something drastically different than the heterosexual jock rock music they might be expecting at an AC/DC tribute concert.
“I grew up listening to AC/DC, they’re part of my DNA,” says drummer Brian Welch in an interview with Classic Rock. “But that whole ‘boy/girl/boy bangs girl’ thing wasn’t something I could relate to. I wanted the songs to speak to me and that’s a big reason we started this band. Now, those iconic songs can speak to others who felt the way I did. And who can resist taking it to the most fabulous extreme! We love AC/DC. That’s why we do the music spot on, but we have a bit of cheeky fun changing the lyrics around.”
Featuring their tantalizing and unique renditions of classic rock songs including Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Dirty Dudes Done Dirt Cheap) , Problem Child (Bottom Child), Let There Be Rock (Let There Be Cock) , Whole Lotta Rosie (Whole Lotta Jose), and Big Balls, which needed no alteration, GayC/DC remains the most flamboyant AC/DC tribute band out there.
“Around 2003, a bunch of us got together and formed an all-gay tribute to The Go-Go’s called The Gay-Gays,” Freeman says in an interview with LA Weekly. “We ended up playing Jane Wiedlin’s afterparty when they played at the Greek for their last show. But that started to trail off, and several of us said, ‘well, what else could we do? What other all-gay tributes could we come up with?’ Our guitar player Karl (Rumpf) threw out GayC/DC. All of us were AC/DC fans, but grew up with the feeling that they’re extremely heterosexual. What would we bring to that to turn it on its ear, and also remain faithful to the music that we love?”
Earlier this year GayC/DC released a music video for “Highway To Hell” which features not only Johnny Martin, musician of L.A. Guns, but also John Bush (Armored Saint, Anthrax) and dUg Pinnick (King’s X) as none other than Satan himself. “When GayC/DC decided to do the ‘Highway To Hell’ video, Brian [Welch, drummer] asked me if I would be interested in doing a cameo,” says Bush. “He said dUg and Johnny were also doing it, so I said, ‘Let’s do it!”
The “Highway to Hell” cover comes at a pivotal time for GayC/DC. Having lost their long-time guitarist Clint Yeager who passed away suddenly and unexpectedly in late 2023, they were tasked with finding a new guitarist for the ‘Malcolm Young’ position. “Losing Clint was a huge blow to the band and to each of us personally,” Chris says. “He was a long-time friend before he was even in the band. It was so sudden and there was no closure. We had shows that we were scheduled to play, so we had our original rhythm guitarist, Karl Rumpf step in to help us fulfill our obligations, as well as original Gay Gay’s lead guitarist, Chris Ganser and original Pansy Division guitarist, Patrick Goodwin. After that, we took several months off to find our center again.”
Eventually, Goodwin stepped in as the permanent member. “After rehearsing and playing with Patrick, the rest of us realized that we may have found our replacement,” he continues. “Being that I was in Pansy Division with Patrick for seven years (1997 – 2004) and knowing how big of an AC/DC fan he is, I knew he would nail the parts—and he did! He blew us all away, honestly. It felt very natural, and we all got along so well, so after a break, we got together and discussed having him join the band. The biggest hurdle was that he lives in Denver. But we knew we simply had to deal with it; he was going to be the one to help us move forward.” Now with a new single and the band back on firm footing, they’re ready to unleash the fury once again with two shows in Colorado this pride month!
You can stay up to date with GayC/DC on their Facebook or Instagram while tickets to their June 21st show at the oriental can be found Here and tickets for the June 22nd show at Vultures in CO Springs can be found Here
Featured image courtesy of Alex Solca
