FEATURING: (l-r) John Whitley, Elliot Pilshaw, Bob Stern, Ken Browne and Deian McBryde. Produced by Sons & Lovers and David Ranada.
Sons & Lovers was recorded in May 1994 at the American Opera Project in New York. Each song was captured in its entirety using single mic ensemble recording with no edits or punches. In fact, the stereo effect actually recreates the positions of the singers around the single mic. In 2000, Sons & Lovers became MYSTERY DATE, whose members now include three S&L members, John Whitley, Bob Stern, and Ken Browne, plus Joshua Kaufman. MYSTERY DATE released a new CD, "Sweet Sixteen," in 2001.
What they're doing now:
ELLIOT PILSHAW (baritone/bass). Before S&L, Elliot co-founded another gay ensemble, THE FLIRTATIONS, and released a solo album, FEELS LIKE HOME. Elliot left S&L in 1997. In 2000, he founded a new acappella group, THE COSMOPOLITANS, based in NYC.
DEIAN McBRYDE (tenor/countertenor). After leaving S&L in 1996, Deian went on to a solo career in nightclubs and cabarets, where he continues to perform today in the US, Europe and Australia. His two CD releases, MOLLYBOY (1998) and LOVE & OTHER DISTRACTIONS (2000) are also available on CD Baby, and he is currently recording a Christmas CD (A PERFECT CHRISTMAS) for 2003. In 2001, Deian received an OMA Award as OUTMUSICIAN of the Year as well as a fellowship to the International Musicians Retreat sponsored by the prestigious Art/Omi. For more information on Deian, go to www.evanmedia.net.
JOHN WHITLEY (baritone). John continues to perform with Mystery Date, the successor to S&L. He also is a solo performer with two releases, HISTORY REMEMBERS (1997) and SIMPLY GERSHWIN (2000), and tours the US performing with concert pianist, Paul Bisaccia. Bookings and info at http://hometown.aol.com/swankyjohn/
BOB STERN (tenor/countertenor) and KEN BROWNE (tenor): These two guys were there at the 1st rehearsal of S&L, before the group even had a name, and continue today with Mystery Date. They are particularly involved in the release of the upcoming Mystery Date debut CD, SWEET SIXTEEN. For more information on Mystery Date, http://hometown.aol.com/mstrydate/
Commentary by EvAnMedia:
"This is the only recording manufactured by the gay acappella group, SONS & LOVERS (1993-1999). The CD is important not only for the its fun arrangements, but also for the personalities involved and the place in gay music held by this unique ensemble and its members.
The album was recorded at a time when gay music was changing along with the make-up of the audiences. Many gay listeners were quickly moving away from live community-based artists and toward national performers with more commercial appeal. Fewer and fewer of the old "social-political movement" singers could maintain celebrity status with the greater gay community. The Flirts were on the wane, Holly Near was taken off off-Broadway, Olivia Records started running cruise ships. So, what makes this album is remarkable is not only the music, but also the programming. Hearing gay men sing actualization songs by Cris Williamson is a bit of a time warp; as is the one about relationships by popular 80s gay artists, Romanovsky & Phillips, whose faces were in every gay newspaper in the 80s but who'd actively disappeared by 1997, replaced most often by non-gay mainstream pop singers.
With that, this album is a bridge. The songs here are a time capsule, a connection to music and a way of making music that moved the gay community from coffee houses to concert stages only to find its market usurped by the major labels. Perhaps it is a question of timing but, inspite of its simple production, had this CD been made just five years earlier, it would be in every gay man's library and remembered as a classic of gay music. Missing that, it is nevertheless a beautiful album, a testament to community and an essential piece of any well-informed collection."
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