Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer Larry Dvoskin is on a mission to unite gay America and country music.
The songwriter/producer who has worked with Ricky Martin, David Bowie, Brandy, Fischerspooner, the Beach Boys, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Cheap Trick, is conducting the search for America's first openly gay country music star. Open auditions begin in New York on 7 Aug, followed by a dozen other cities around the country. The whole process will be filmed for an as-yet-titled reality TV series.
The project is the result of a debate with a media friend who suggested that the music business would never accept an openly gay country singer. Dvoskin, who is gay, subsequently placed a wanted ad in the Nashville Scene: "Gay country singer wanted . . . 18-23-ish, exceptionally good-looking, extraordinary singer who plays guitar . . . [and] grew up in Nashville, the South or the Midwest."
Dvoskin said: "People would chicken out or they'd use aliases. It was as if they were doing something naughty or illegal. But I'm a New Yorker, so I'm very liberal. I thought, 'What's the big deal here? You're just singing. Haven't we all heard of Elton John?'"