Ten percent of the Ten Tenors is singing for our team, and his name is Dion Molinas. The Tenors are bringing their eighth studio album, Nostalgica, to town, along with past renditions of pop and holiday classics.
Windy City Times: Hi Dion. How long have you been singing with this group?
Dion Molinas: Ten years.
WCT: Where are you originally from?
DM: I am originally from a small town in Queensland, Australia. It's called Mackay. But I now live in Brisbane, which is the capitol city of Queensland.
WCT: How did the group come about?
DM: It was put together for a corporate function back in 1995. It was more like a gimmick back then. At the Conservatorium of Music in Queensland they literally threw together ten singers and that's how the idea was conceived. From there it kept snowballing.
WCT: You are playing tracks from your new album?
DM: Yes we are touring Nostalgica. It's one of my favorite albums, actually. It's music from the 1920s to contemporary times. It has the old favorites like "Danny Boy" and many songs that our fans have requested over the years, so that is mainly why we did this album.
WCT: Is there a favorite that you like to sing?
DM: "The Boxer" by Simon & Garfunkel. We put a different spin on it. We give it the Ten Tenor treatment.
WCT: You also cover the Bee Gees, Abba and Queen.
DM: The Bee Gees are not in our current show but they are in our repertoire. We do Queen in the show with "Who Wants to Live Forever" and "Bohemian Rhapsody." Those are crowd-pleasers and have been in our show for quite a while.
WCT: What's playing in your iPod right now?
DM: I am a bit of a top-40 kind of person. I really love Kelly Clarkson, to be honest. She is a great singer. I know she came from American Idol but she has really proven herself outside of that.
WCT: I just saw her in concert.
DM: That's the problem with touring so much: We rarely have the time to go and watch another show. We only get off work on Monday nights when all theaters are normally dark.
WCT: Well, I am seeing your show on a Tuesday so I thought I would take you out to Boystown to a bar if you would like.
DM: I forgot to mention that we are partaking in something called Movember. For the month of November we put down our shaving razors and grow mustaches. It is to raise awareness for men's health. It came out of Australia in 2003 with men sitting around a pub and saying we need to do more for men's causes such as prostate cancer and depression in men. So we all have dirty mustaches at the moment! I am not sure I want to go out in public.
WCT: You will be fine. It is '80s night at Sidetrack.
DM: Well, I look like a '70s porn star so I might fit in! I am looking forward to shaving it off at the end of the month.
WCT: I bet. Where is this tour taking you?
DM: We started off in Florida, then went to Pennsylvania and right now we are in Colorado. We will be in Chicago this Tuesday.
WCT: I look forward to meeting you face to face backstage then.
The Ten Tenors are performing Nov. 24-29 at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress. Visit BroadwayInChicago.com or all Ticketmaster locations.