By Timothy Rawles, March 2020 Issue.
Greg
Driscoll and Brendan Eprile make up the pop-defying group known as Fab the Duo.
They are colorful, flashy, fashionable and in best of all, in love. They have a
new single out now titled “No Prince Charming” that might just raise them to
status of their diva idol if they keep doing what they’re doing.
But even in this current musical landscape
where LGBTQ artists are making history, Fab the Duo want to be more than just a
label, in fact they would like to do away with it altogether.
“We don’t like to confine ourselves to one
genre, but the way we describe it is ‘pop-rock plus,’ or ‘Instagram pop-rock
plus,’ like it’s kinda like that,” Driscoll laughs. “Honestly, we are kinda
anything and everything at any given time.”
The couple first met on Tinder three years
ago and it didn’t take long for both of them to realize they shared more than
just their love of music.
They both have a musical background which
also means music has always been a part of their scenery.
Driscoll was heavily into musical theater
growing up and Eprile pursued his dreams through singing and songwriting. Their
dynamic is palpable, and you can see that when you view any of their music videos.
But that energy is also prominent when they speak, sometimes finishing each
other’s sentences or thoughts without reprimand.
They are a couple for sure, but they don’t
want audiences to concentrate on that at first.
“I feel like there are artists who are
genre-based and then there are artists who are story-based,” says Driscoll.
“And I feel like we are just trying to tell a story and the music helps us do
that in whatever way it does.”
Eprile speaks with enthusiasm and
interjects, “I think that the musical landscape is changing a lot and I think a
lot of the newer artists like Lil Nas who did a country rap song, people don’t
really care about specific genres anymore. It’s a lot more crossing over and
using a lot of different elements. I feel like in the future we are going to
find people are less and less defined by genre.”
For now, the dance chart is where
mainstream LGBTQ artists seem to land. The heavy beats of EDM or dense synth
recipes get powerplays across the DJ decks in clubs and YouTube. And if that
sound is not fast enough, BPM injections through remixing
garner downloads.
This isn’t necessarily where Fab the Duo
want their journey to take them right now. “We don’t want to be labeled as gay
first,” Driscoll says that’s a given, “we are not going into a closet, but we
want to be music. Our whole thing is about being you and being proud, so for us
we don’t particularly care if we fit in with the typical gay scene so to
speak.”
Eprile adds to that by saying the gay scene
isn’t just one scene. “I’m hoping that people will see other kinds of
LGBT music which could be LGBT rock, and soul and hip-hop even, because our
latest song has some hip-hop in it and that’s pretty rare. There’s not that
many LGBT rappers. It’s just showing the world that you can do anything and not
just stuck to one of the, like you know, what society labeled you.”
The couple have already made a name for
themselves. They released the singles “American Icon,” and “I Want a Man” with
moderate success last year and their fanbase is growing. The guys are gaining
ground among an unexpected section of people too.
“We’ve been really shocked that some of our
biggest fans are straight guys,” chuckles Eprile. “It’s not just the LGBT
market and I feel like people, especially when we’re live, I think people can
tell we are authentic and not trying to be anything. We just like releasing
music that we believe in, that we love and that tells our story. Pretty much
every song is like telling our story.”
They want to make it clear that they aren’t
actively trying to discount their LGBTQ listeners. “We just do what we do and
people like it or they don’t, and we just keep doing what we do,” Driscoll
says.
With all of this fierceness, you may wonder
why they don’t have it in their band name. Well they do, you just don’t see it.
“It’s a funny story,” Driscoll explains.
“We were just talking one day about band names and kept rolling things out,
some good, some bad and then I remember somehow we were taking about something
and ‘fierce ass bitches’ came up and I was like I wish that was a name — then I
was like F-A-B, and then boom! So it’s actually an acronym for Fierce Ass
Bitches.”
“Yeah, it’s fun because it’s sort of a
double-entendre,” Eprile adds. “We always ask during our shows, ‘what do you
think ‘fab’ stands for, of course everyone’s like ‘fabulous!’ and we’re like,
‘no, fierce ass bitches.’ And then the duo part was literally due to social
media, we couldn’t just be called ‘fab’ because no one would be able to find
us. So we put the ‘duo’ and it kind of just stuck.”
It fits for more than just their singing.
They love fashion and incorporate it into all of their shows. They wear high
heels, jewelry and different gender-bending outfits. This showmanship is a
product of Driscoll’s history in musical theater, something that inspired them
to do showstopping live shows.
“When I first met Greg I didn’t like
musical theater at all and I thought it was super campy and like Greg always
tells me, ‘No, it’s literally just music telling a story.”
These components are front and center in
their video for “No Prince Charming,” featuring Mariahlynn. The video follows a
jilted woman who with the help of her fairy godfathers gets her confidence back
and moves beyond the grief.
“I think the ideas behind our song is
super-universal,” says Eprile. “Like in terms of ‘No Prince Charming’ sure
we’re gay men singing about how we don’t need a man even though we’re a couple.
There are so many of our friends who are girls who say they identify with it so
much.”
Their upcoming EP is going to tell a story,
too, they say. It’s kind of like an earbud confidential that will take
listeners on a journey that reveals a lot about who they are but will also be
relatable.
When it comes down to it, Fab the Duo
has what it takes to go all the way to the top and straight through the
roof. What they told their younger selves about success is finally coming true
and that path has brought them together. Their harmony transcends the art they
are making and just like Sonny and Cher, there’s more to their composition than
just the music.
“Our thing has always been we make music that we like that we think will help other people in whatever way,” says Driscoll. “We want to be the heroes we never had as kids. We do it for us first and then hopefully that resonates for other people.”
