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  WINDY CITY TIMES

Gay singer shines on 'Eastwood' reality show
NUNN ON ONE: TELEVISION
by Jerry Nunn, Windy City Times
2012-05-23

This article shared 10699 times since Wed May 23, 2012
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Move over Kardashians, the E! Channel is introducing Mrs. Eastwood & Company to the world of reality television. Dina Eastwood, who is married to actor/director Clint Eastwood, is opening their home in more ways than one.

She has two daughters and six members of a boy band called Overtone from South Africa that all live under one roof. That—plus animals, including five chickens, a chinchilla, a pig, and two tortoises—keeps the place jumping with activity.

Eduard Leonard Janse van Rensburg, one of the members of Overtone, comes out of the closet during the course of the show. He talked with Windy City Times about that pivotal event.

Windy City Times: Hi, Leonard. How is life for you these days?

Eduard Leonard: We are really working on our music at the moment. We are doing a few corporate shows but otherwise we are focusing on new music and recording new material.

WCT: So you are from South Africa?

EL: That's right. We are from Johannesburg, South Africa.

WCT: How did you become an Overtone in the first place?

EL: I am actually one of the founding members of the band. The band originated as a serenade group in our fraternity at the University of Johannesburg. We really enjoyed the singing and after our studies, Emile, one of the other members, and myself decided to get a few other guys together that we had known from singing in previous choirs and at church. So that is how we formed Overtone.

WCT: How did Clint Eastwood find the group?

EL: It is quite a random story. It was almost like winning the lottery. We were in Cape Town, South Africa, busy doing a Queen tribute show. Dina Eastwood, Clint's wife, picked a flyer up from the sidewalk; it was advertising our show, and she decided to go to ladies' night at the show. She introduced herself afterwards and said she would like to organize a private event where we would sing for the cast and the crew of Invictus, which included Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman.

After that we were offered to do a song on the soundtrack for the film. One song became nine songs and the majority of the soundtrack, and that is how our relationship with the Eastwoods started off.

WCT: I loved Invictus, by the way…

EL: Oh, great. Thank you.

WCT: This series shows you moving in with the family, correct?

EL: Well, we have been in the United States for the last three years. Only two years after we moved here, Dina met with Jeff Jenkins from Bunim-Murray Productions proposing a show with Overtone and the unique family dynamics. That is how the show started off only three years after we got here. It was quite a process but now down the pipeline it has arrived.

WCT: These producers make The Real World for MTV, among other shows, so they know what they are doing.

EL: They make The Real World and the Kardashians. They are the groundbreakers for reality television.

WCT: How was it having the cameras around for you?

EL: First of all it was a little intimidating but it seemed to become part of our nature to have them there. I think we adapted well because obviously they are in your personal space most of the day. Now it is kind of weird not having them around! [Laughs]

WCT: Your coming-out process is going to be covered in the show?

EL: Yes. Originally coming from South Africa and being an Afrikaner is a culture where they are quite conservative. Dina always says we remind her of the 1950s America there. It was very difficult for me. The band has known for quite a while. So it wasn't coming out to them but it was more coming out to the world. It is an interesting story and still a work in progress for me. It is not something that is just overnight.

Originally, I did not want to have my sexuality portrayed in any way on the show but I realized you have to be true to yourself—not only in who you are, but also in reality TV. Otherwise, it is not reality television.

WCT: That is a good point. The band does a cappella versions of popular songs such as "Move It." It is very much like the Warblers on Glee. Do you watch that show?

EL: Yes, I do.

WCT: Your sound reminded me of them.

EL: Yes, I think so, too, since we originated as a serenade group—a glee-clubbish kind of thing. We try to mimic the instruments to sound as close as possible.

WCT: You play an African bongo drum in addition to singing.

EL: It is called a djembe and a mandolin, so random. It is something I play but not really something we use in our music at the moment.

WCT: You sing a pretty high range in the group, correct?

EL: My vocal spot in the band is soprano because I can sing the highest. When I am not singing lead, that is pretty much where I am.

WCT: How many languages do you speak?

EL: I speak African and English; those are my two main languages. I am not too bad in German and Dutch. I am learning Spanish and Hebrew at the moment.

WCT: When are you touring out to Chicago?

EL: That is a good question. I have always wanted to see the Windy City. Hopefully, that will happen soon.

WCT: Are you single? I am sure our readers will want to know that.

EL: Yes, very single at the moment.

WCT: Are you excited about this reality show finally being out in the world?

EL: I am terrified and excited at the same time because I am not out in South Africa so I have that whole thing looming. But, hey—if you want to do something, then go big, right? If you are going to come out, then come out on the national news or a reality show!

WCT: Your family already knows though, right?

EL: My dad has yet to find out and my mom has only known for a few months so she is still digesting the fact. My sister also knows and she is very supportive.

WCT: That's good. We will all be supporting you, too.

EL: Thank you!

WCT: It is a big decision to come out publicly but makes it easier for others to do the same.

EL: That is part of the reason I am doing it. I grew up with no mentor or figures in my life, no one to look up to and say that celebrity is out and actually successful. When Ricky Martin came out, I had someone to look up to. I was already much older then.

If there is someone out there in a small town that is maybe in the same situation that I was in then they can look at me and see that I am out and it will hopefully be easier for them. If I can touch one life, then it will all be worth it to me.

Look for Mrs. Eastwood & Company on Sunday nights on E!


This article shared 10699 times since Wed May 23, 2012
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