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.”