(the) fundamentalists
"exiles from clubland"
Available at Just 4 Us in Ferndale
Show: OutFest in Ann Arbor, Sept. 30
Interestingly enough, (the) fundamentalists' debut album title, "Exiled From Clubland," emerged from a drag queen's comment made while band mate Chris Taylor played some music for his friends.
"We were minding our own business when this drag queen sashayed by, overheard what I was playing and said, 'Honey! Playing music like that in a gay bar will get you exiled from clubland,'" Taylor remembers. "I never forgot it and thought someday that'd be a killer album title."
As a couple, Taylor finds working with his partner and band mate Jim Marker Jr. the easiest and hardest thing. "As a couple, if you've been together for any length of time, you already have a connection and a 'shorthand' or way of doing things," Taylor says.
Originally from Saginaw, Taylor, who works for a university's Managed Care division, and Marker, a manager for Bed, Bath and Beyond, met at a Discount Tire store in '99, but weren't an official couple until 2002.
Now residing in Eastpointe, the two musicians, both in their 40s, say their new album is a new flavor for those in the gay community high-strung on diva-licious music.
"I definitely think having men singing rather than your typical diva-driven dance music adds something as well, plus the fact that most of our stuff does have a gay message to it, so the target audience is a little more unique," Marker says about their electro, high-energy dance music.
While (the) fundamentalists played to a crowd of 2,000 at Motor City Pride, they've also played for a group of three – and the sound woman – at Ann Arbor Pride.
"It's certainly more intimate!" Marker laughs. "In some ways you get back more of that 'give and take' of energy with the people you're performing for."
Someday Taylor hopes to perform alongside rock/pop duo Romanovsky and Phillips because they're "GLBT music pioneers." Marker, on the other hand, wants to open for Madonna and Rob Thomas.
"How gay!" Taylor retorts. "Didn't I tell you that contributions to stereotypes aren't tax deductible?"
