Tim Cain has been bringing LGBT music to the masses since 1991. He is hosting a monthly music festival called ABSOLUTE Fringe at the Elbo Room where he performs with a variety of acts including his group Boys' Entrance.
Windy City Times: Hi, Tim. It was great attending your first Fringe night.
Tim Cain: It was a good turnout. We had over 50 people there so it was a nice start for us.
WCT: The next one is going to be mainly girl groups.
Tim Cain: Mostly. There will be some men present because in the group Plain Ole Delicious, her back-up band is male. The only act in the evening that is male is Scott Free. He will be performing in the acoustic lounge so similar to when we see him play a Homolatte gig.
WCT: The softer side of Scott...
Tim Cain: What is totally blowing my mind is that I got Tret Fure to play. She is a huge performer in women's music. She started as a major label artist and toured with Yes at one point. She has been at it for four decades.
WCT: Wow. How did you get her involved with the festival?
Tim Cain: I saw her perform at one of Scott Free's Q music festivals. I was blown away by her and bought a bunch of her CDs at that show. She walked away from her label and everything mainstream so it is a big feather in our hat to have her here. She is coming down from Madison so we are picking up acts from all over the region.
WCT: Who else is playing in February?
Tim Cain: Stewed Tomatoes, who are huge in Chicago, along with Ellen Rosner; I saw play before and [she] has a fabulous backup band. This is not a night where men are not allowed. I want to do something more inclusive. I wanted to make a statement in the second Fringe that this is a place for women and they will be supported here so I put a focus on it for the second one. Have you heard of Congress of Starlings?
WCT: No, I haven't.
Tim Cain: It is a duo who are playing the acoustic stage. Scott plays first, then Tret and they will be third. I liked how it went last time with the audience moving up and down between the floors at the Elbo Room.
WCT: It was good mix in the crowd as well. There were gay, lesbian, transgender and straight people all there that night.
Tim Cain: I love it!
WCT: How did this gay Lollapalooza get started?
Tim Cain: I wanted to book my band, Boys' Entrance, at the Elbo Room and called the venue. When I met with them I asked if they would consider doing a whole night of gay music here. The manager said, "Yes, I think I booked the L's, the G's and the T's here all before so it would be cool to have a whole night of it!"
WCT: That's great!
Tim Cain: They really have their stuff together and a good reputation in the musician community. What I really wanted to do was give gay musicians a place that is a genuine rock club, a professional venue, that plays music seven days a week year round. It is different than playing a makeshift stage on a disco floor in a club or in a coffeehouse. I wanted lights and that whole level of professionalism. I think that is the whole thing that will be benefit everyone. Everyone can play in a professional venue and work up their chops.
WCT: I loved seeing my friends The Joans play at the last event. They did an awesome job.
Tim Cain: Yes, they did. They really brought it.
WCT: Is there a dream act that you would like to get?
Tim Cain: Oh, there are a few that I am working on right now, like 8 Inch Betsy, who plays at the Flesh Hungry Dog shows. I would love to get The Gossip as well.
WCT: You have to get them!
Tim Cain: They are international now and it is hard.
WCT: We can always dream…
Tim Cain: Lady Gaga is on the way to Chicago the night before my February show. I would love to get the Scissor Sisters. Those are my dreams.
WCT: They are good dreams to have. Have you always been dreaming of music?
Tim Cain: In 2005 I got an award for being 30 years in the business as an out musician. I have always been out and suffered discrimination. People in the past didn't want to book me because I was too outrageous. I had band members quit on me because I wore a French leotard onstage. I didn't know the difference between that and any other leotard. They told me that was for women because it was a French cut. I asked, "How the hell do you know all about it?"
WCT: That's "leotarded," as RuPaul would say.
Tim Cain: Yeah, it has been a long ride. To play at a place like the Elbo Room that is cool about it. Maybe it says more about how things have changed in our culture but it was never that easy when I was coming up.
WCT: Where is the name Boys' Entrance from?
Tim Cain: I was driving by a school on Belmont and saw a door with a sign carved in stone that said "Boys' Entrance" and I thought, "That sounds like a band I should be in." I started recording my first album in '91. We have had four albums and a multitude of singles since that.
WCT: Who is playing Fringe in March?
Tim Cain: I have Shawn Thomas coming in from Florida. He is an out gay Christian act from down there. He consistently has top 10 singles and won a lot of awards. He did a remix of one of my singles so we have been friends for a while.
I have known this group for about 10 years called The Fundamentalists that are coming from Detroit for that same show. I am excited about the regional talent as well as promoting local music.
WCT: So it is a love fest?
Tim Cain: ABSOLUTE-ly!
The last Sunday of the month is ABSOLUTE Fringe night at the Elbo Room, 2871 N. Lincoln. Sunday, Feb. 27, will be girl-group night, so "chick" it out! For details and directions visit www.elboroomchicago.com .
