Well-Strung – Fire Island: June 27

Well-Strung is an amazingly unique group, or quartet, who are all classically trained musicians and singers. They perform pop songs in a new and innovative fashion and are currently in the midst of recording a new album. They are all gay, hot and talented, and most of them are also actors who have appeared in such productions as Rent, 8 Naked Men Singing, Cabaret and various other shows. Although Edmund, Chris, Daniel and Trevor have performed mainly in Provincetown for the last three summers, they are now headed to Fire Island to share their new material with New York.

Edmund
What do you play exactly?
I play the violin. I’m first violinist.

How is it that you came to be invited into the group?
I auditioned for the group. They were looking for a violinist, so I went and auditioned for the group. It worked out. In the three years we’ve been together, we were a little bit more like a theatre piece. Now we function much more as a band

I’ve heard people refer to you as like a boy band.
Some people, yeah. We’ll take that.

You’re also an actor, correct?
Yes. I did a play like a year and a half ago, but otherwise we’ve been so busy.

You guys are doing something so unique. I think the only thing that compares to you are 2 Cellos, and they don’t sing.
That’s right. We certainly welcome the comparison.

So you’re going to be performing on Fire Island in June?
Oh, yeah. I’ve never been, so…

Really?
Yeah, I’ve never been.

So all of you are gay?
We’re all gay. We got started playing in Provincetown, and I’d never been there either, but now I’ve been there every summer for the last three summers.

What is your favorite quality about yourself?
I think I’m kind.

That’s a great quality. Which out of all of you have the worst quality?
You know, it’s so funny. We all have, well … we’re like brothers. We all have little things that kind of bug each of us at different moments.
How about this, I’ll just name one of you and you can tell me his worst quality. Trevor, what is his?
It’s kind of a compliment. He’s kind of a perfectionist. So he just wants everything to be absolutely right, and sometimes there is not time for it. Does that make sense?

It absolutely does. If you were a porn star, what would your name be?
You know, I would be brave and keep my name. There aren’t too many Edmunds in the world.

Who’s the youngest in the group?
Trevor.

The oldest?
Daniel.

Where do you see the group heading?
Well, I would love more albums. I would love original music. That is something I keep wanting to do. Not that anyone is stopping us, but we’re having such success with pop music. I’d love to be on the radio, on a top 40 station.

Icould so see that happening.

Chris
I understand you are the founder and creator of Well-Strung.
Yeah, with Mark, our manager. He and I kinda came up with it together. I was in Provincetown where he was producing other things. He was doing a show, and I was playing my violin on the streets to make extra money. He approached me about doing a show. He was like, make a band, a string quartet. So we started just running with that.

And you auditioned the rest of the members, correct?
Yeah. Daniel, the cellist, didn’t audition. I found him on Facebook.

When you were looking for members, did they have to be gay or you didn’t care?
No, we actually at first hired a straight violinist, who ended up hurting his wrist and not being able to do the project, but it was never a requirement that you had to be gay. It just worked out like that.

A cool coincidence. So you’re going to do Fire Island. Have you ever been?
I went for my first time last summer for one day.

I’m taking away all of your gay cards.
Yeah, because we always go to Provincetown.

Are you also an actor?
Yeah, not quite as much as Edmund was. From like 23 to 28 I was doing theatre stuff.

I asked Edmund his opinion on 2 Cellos. What is yours?
Fantastic musicians. They have wonderful musicality. They are a fantastic act. World’s best.

They write original music. Do you?
No, not yet. It’s something I would like to venture into. I’m just now getting to a point where I feel like I’m good at arranging songs for us, so I think composition will be the next step. We have a lot to do before then.

So are you all “besties”?
You know what, it’s been so interesting. Our relationship has gotten so much closer over the last six months, I would say. First it was kind of like we were colleagues, and then it was like we were brothers who saw each other all of the time. Now I would say it’s a mixture of colleagues, brothers and friends. It’s a very cool dynamic. I’ve never had this type of working relationship with anyone. I love it.

So what’s Daniel’s worst quality?
Well, his worst quality is also sometimes his best in that he’s pretty unbridled with how he’s feeling at any given moment. He doesn’t really try to hide anything. He’s very up front about what’s going on in his head, which sometimes is like, “Daniel, shut up!”

If you were naked in a store window and could hold up a sign, what would it say?
You get a point for an original question asker. No one’s ever asked that.

You’re a new addition to a crayon box. What color are you?
I’m picturing like a pine tree, kind of like forest green and silver. Winfry Forest.

That was creative. Now where do you see this band going?
I think that’s changed since we started the group. We didn’t really know where we were heading at all, the first six months. But now it’s becoming clear that we can push this as far as we want to take it pretty much. As much effort as we are willing to put into it is what we can do with it. I think we’re all so excited at this point by the amount of touring we’ve been doing, and we’re excited about recording the album that we’re recording now. We’re excited to have new music in the next couple of months. More videos. It seems like we’re on a path to really make Well-Strung more of like a household name.

DANIEL
So you are the cellist, correct?
That is correct.

You’re the only one who plays something “bigger.”
I don’t hold it on my shoulder, so I stand and play or sit and play.

How did the group find you?
So when the idea started, Chris reached out to me. He was doing a show with one of my friends at the time, who recommended me, because he knew I played cello and sang. He reached out to me on Facebook. He was like, “Hey, you wanna join a quartet?” I was living in Denver at the time. I was just out there working, I was either playing cello or acting out there in shows. I sort of left New York just to sort of take a little break. So I was talking to Chris about the idea, and I was like, “OK, I think we can make this work.” For me, I think it was the emphasis to go back to New York City. Now I’m glad I did.

How long have you been playing the cello?
Over 20 years. I think I stated when I was 10.

What do you think is Chris’ worst quality?
My God. I would say that sometimes he gets a little too into being on time, on schedule, and he gets a little abrasive when he’s trying to stick to that. He is very consistent, and he really sticks to a schedule, and he just goes off. He gets very anxious, and it makes me anxious. He’s very regimented.

If you were a superhero, what would your powers be?
Obviously, I would wanna fly. I would wanna be one of those people that could morph, like Mystic from X-Men.

What’s your favorite quality about yourself?
Let’s see, I have so many. I think that I can be extremely loyal.

You’re also an actor?
I am.

What have you done?
I was in Rent, Cabaret. It was really fun.

If you could perform anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Australia. I feel like we’d do well there. For personal reasons, for me, I’d want to go to Australia.

TREVOR
So what instrument do you play?
I play viola.

Why don’t you guys have a bass?
It’s just too much work. We’re kind of a traditional ensemble. Two violins, cello and bass is actually very rarely seen. It would sound great, but traveling with a bass would be like having an extra car.

How long have you been playing viola?
Fifteen years, I think.

You’re the youngest of the group?
I am the youngest.

Do you write original music?
Me personally? No. I’ve been playing around with different arrangements.

What’s Edmunds worst quality?
He is ultimately kind, and he never wants to give anyone a chance to feel bad.

You are all so nice to each other. If you were a porn star, what would your name be?
Buffalo Bill.

Where are you from?
Seattle area.

You guys are about to play at Fire Island. Have you ever been there?
I have not, but we have been in Provincetown the last three summers. Have you been to Provincetown?

Yes, I have.
There’s an ultimate kind of rivalry between them.

Fire Island’s more fun.
I’m real excited to be on Fire Island. I hope we have a minute to actually take it in.

Make sure that you do. You will love it. If we could see into your heart, what would we find?
Four chambers and arteries.

So what’s up next for you?
We’re going to California. We’re focusing on our new show for this June.

Tell me about the new show.
It’s going to be fantastic. It’s gonna be fun, entertaining, funny, deep and all the adjectives. It’s gonna be a very unexpected night of music put together in a way you wouldn’t expect. You’ll be like, “Wow, I wasn’t expecting that, but I really enjoyed it.”

well-strung.com