My Life Was a Game of Survivor (Ep 332 - School of Rock/Brian Falduto)

You may recognize my guest Brian Falduto for his music, his coaching, or his role in the 2003 movie School of Rock as Billy, the stylist kid. When he shot his scenes, Brian had no idea what gay even meant, but as soon as the movie came out, it seemed like the whole world was telling him who he was. That pushed him deep into the closet, until another musical experience helped him find his authentic self again in an unlikely genre — country. We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a quick thanks to everyone who supports the Sewers of Paris on Patreon. And to everyone who’s reviewed it on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. And just a reminder that I’ve got a newsletter where you can see the stuff I’m working on and fun surprises I’ve discovered. Last week’s newsletter was about how I came to realize how wrong I’ve been about Fran Drescher and Steve Urkle. You can sign up at mattbaume.com. Also check out my YouTube videos for deep dives into queer pop culture history. That’s at youtube.com/mattbaume. I’ve got a new video in the works about the show The Nanny! If you like weird old pop culture nostalgia, I livestream a lot of my research for my YouTube videos. Join me as we dive through old archives, discovering obscure clips and news articles — the next of those streams is coming up on Sunday, April 25 — not Saturday, as they’ve been in the past — at 11am pacific. There’s a link on my twitter @mattbaume.  And I hope you’ll join me for regular videogame livestreams over atTwitch.tv/mattbaume every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon!