The Sound of Queer Music, Vol. 6

Celebrating artists and bands that fuck with the heteronormative cultural bias...

Homer Marrs and the Excellent Adventure. I've followed Chicago-based indie musician Homer Marrs for a couple of years now as a solo act. There's an observational, stand-up comic vibe to his music. Now Marrs, his guitar and quirky sense of humor have successfully merged with a band, the Excellent Adventure. He sums up this collaboration on his YouTube channel: "We are at once stupid and fierce."

Homer Marrs (top left) and the Excellent Adventure

Song & Video: "It's Amazing." A witty, winning  blast of pop rock. The video features Homer and the band, plus Gia Gunn, a contestant from season 5 of RuPaul's Drag Race, and a bevy of enthusiastic drag performers.

Baathhaus. They're a Chicago-based queer-performance-art-group-band that weaves its songs together with narrative, choreography and costumes. More specifically, they describe the music as "queer-electro-fuck." Yes, that's fuck, not funk. Need more info? Website is here.

Baathhaus
Left to right: Jesse Hozeny, Jesse Young, Dan Foley & Patrick Andrews

Song & Video: "Cave Song." Frontman Dan Foley describes the song as "a stream of consciousness of musings on your past self and looking back at growing up gay." Don't worry, you can definitely dance to it. The video is inspired by a classic Italian horror film (Suspiria) and a soft-core gay film (Pink Narcissus). Directed by Katie Isaacson, it's erotically theatrical, plenty queer and bathed in glitter. Thus, it's not really safe for work... unless you work in a gay bar or an adult superstore.

Tawnee Kendall and the Hangover Brigade. This San Francisco-based solo performer needed a backup band to record her debut album back in 2011. A musically diverse group of friends came to together and the Hangover Brigade was born -- after some whiskey-soaked evenings. For more about Tawnee and the band, go here. The Hangover Brigade's YouTube channel is here.

Song & Video: "Exit Strategy." According to Kendall, it's a love song about having someone you can depend on to get you out of any situation. Conceived as a duet, Kendall works a folk pop groove with Jeb Havens. The video -- shot in Guernville, California -- is just the band doing it's lovingly-crafted thing.