Written By: Jayme Face

From making his first appearance as “Fancy Pants” in School of Rock at age 11 to being named one of the “20 most influential, outspoken, and optimistic individuals on the planet” by PrideLife Magazine in their 20th Anniversary #20intheir20s issue, Brian Falduto has been very busy! We caught up with him about the latest including his soon to be released album Stage Two!

upfrontNY: Can you tell us about your acoustic EP “Love One Another”?

Brian Falduto: We released Love One Another in June 2017. It was an important step in my career because it was an invaluable moment for me where I just started doing something even if I wasn’t quite ready. I knew I wanted to begin sharing my music on a larger scale but the perfectionist in me wanted to wait until I had a producer and a record deal and a budget. Eventually, I realized I just had to get going. No more waiting. The 5-track piece was recorded in my friend’s bedroom (not a joke).

That considered, I am so proud of what we delivered. It’s exactly as advertised: an acoustic rendering of some of the first messages I wanted to get out there with music. The ripple effect of this small splash of mine was surprisingly large, much to my enjoyment. It was a great example of me facing the unknown and trying anyway, which reminds me of a quote, “We discourage failure and by doing so we subtly discourage success.”

 

upfrontNY: What made you want to go acoustic for your first EP?

Brian Falduto: Honestly, lack of budget, resources, and time. But I will say that I’d vote acoustic over full production any day. The majority of the music I listen to is stripped-down stuff. To me, the lyric is the most important thing and an acoustic arrangement serves that well. Just earlier today, I was listening to “Tin Man” by Miranda Lambert. “I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt. As far as I’m concerned, nothing replaces four chords and the truth. It doesn’t get much better than that.

 

upfrontNY: Now you are gearing up to release your full-length album, Stage Two, can you tell us more about that and how it is different from your first EP?

Brian Falduto: Yes! I’m so excited. The primary difference is quality. This is a professionally recorded studio album; a big step up from my friend’s bedroom. The second big difference is arrangement. One of the tracks has a total of 10 instruments and three vocalists on it.

I carefully selected the tracks for this album surrounding a philosophy on gay psychology by Alan Downs. In his book, “The Velvet Rage,” he describes the gay man’s life as occurring in three stages: stage one – shame, stage two – compensating for shame, and stage three – authenticity. The songs that are on this album were all written during a time in my life where I often confused my self-worth with validation received in toxic relationships. As I wrap up my time in stage two and head towards authenticity, I’m happy to leave this album behind as a hopefully relatable collection of experiences. I think we all have times where we forget how loveable we are and that’s when we get ourselves into situations that we might not be in if we had a little more respect and love for ourselves and stopped seeking it elsewhere.

There’s a variety of moods and tempos on this album. You’ll be dancing and stomping around one moment and crying your eyes out the next. Isn’t that how life is though?

 

upfrontNY: Can you tell us what it’s like to be in the audience at one of your shows?

Brian Falduto: Not accurately because I’ve never been in the actual audience during one of my shows, haha. That would be quite the trick! But you can definitely expect some storytelling, some vulnerability, and even some life coaching. Music and life are so intertwined and before I know it, I’m often off on a tangent about something. The vibe depends on our set up: sometimes it’s just me and a guitar, other times it’s me and a 9-piece band. We throw in fun covers. I like to think I’m good at piecing together a setlist with a good up-beat/ballad ratio. I try to keep the energy going with a few tugs at your heart strings along the way. My audience is usually very kind and receptive to what I bring to the stage. I’d say I’ve been blessed in that respect so far.

 

upfrontNY: Which artists are you most influenced by?

Brian Falduto: I could go on and on but at the moment my top influence is Matt Alber. His songwriting is beautiful and his work in the LGBTQ community is important. I listen to a lot of country music and a lot of older music. I’ve been throwing Chris Stapleton and Brandi Carlile on a lot lately. A lot of my influence as an artist comes from my time working in radio. I saw concerts and interviews and in-studio performances weekly. I picked up on what was landing and what wasn’t. I mean, music, songwriting, and performing have just always been on my radar in general. Before American Idol went off the air, I had never missed an episode. You can’t watch a talent show like that with that much dedication and not pick up on a thing or two.

 

upfrontNY: You played Billy, a.k.a “Fancy Pants”, in School of Rock as a kid and you seem to embrace that. Even though many artists may shy away from the iconic characters they once played what makes you want to embrace it?

Brian Falduto: I didn’t always embrace it. Because of how much my role was tied to being gay and how negatively that was perceived as a child, I actually rejected the character and its effect on my life for a very long time. When I finally came out and began to accept myself, the character became less of a burden to carry. Plus, fifteen years later, I’m realizing that my School of Rock reputation and particularly that gosh darn GIF, aren’t going anywhere. Despite how long I ran from it, embracing this part of my past ended up being one of the more fruitful things I’ve done. Sharing my story and speaking out about my struggles has allowed me to connect with people in the LGBTQ community who identified with me at a young age. I wouldn’t have this chance to impact others had I not went through what I went through. I’m so grateful to everyone who has reached out and shared their story with me. I feel honored to be having these exchanges with people just because of a role I played 15 years ago. I view it as my chance to resurface and shine a light at the end of the tunnel for anyone who is different. Differences should make us feel unique and special but sometimes they make us feel flawed and like there’s something wrong with us.

 

upfrontNY: You are also a certified life coach with a business called “Love Life” can you tell us more about how you became interested in life coaching and your business?

Brian Falduto: I always get worried that because I am a Life Coach, people probably think that I think that I have life figured out. It’s actually the opposite. I’ve accepted how crazy and unsolvable life is. It’s full of constant struggles. We have to choose what we want to struggle for and who we want to struggle with.

 Life Coaching is great because it means you don’t have to do it alone. It’s a partnership towards a happier you and it’s often mutually beneficial. I learn just as much from my clients are they learn from me.  It’s taken a lot of time as well as a lot of self-awareness & self-exploration for me to get to where I am today. Too many times, it seems like the answer was right in front of me all along. I think there’s ways for us to unlock those answers faster and it’s important that we each, individually, figure out what we want that relationship with ourselves to look like. That process of determining what we need to get what we want out of life is going to look different for everyone. Life Coaching is just one option for getting to that place.

 

upfrontNY: What might fans be surprised to find out about you?

Brian Falduto: Gah, I don’t know! I’m a bit boring, actually. I love fitness so I’ll elaborate on that for a moment in case people find that interesting. I love working out, especially in a group setting .. big fan of ClassPass. I do different types of workouts all the time so that I’m constantly challenging my body: Yoga, Barre, HIIT, dance classes, circuit training. I rotate them into my week so that I’m never doing the same workout multiple days in a row. I also just walk a lot, often meditatively. I LOVE hiking. I enjoy skiing, swimming. If I’m super rushed and I don’t have much time, I’ll still wake up even just a little early to do some stretches and roll out my muscles a little. Feeling connected with my body every day is important to me. But if I’m being honest, I primarily love eating and being on top of my workouts lets me feel less guilty about the amount of french fries I consume. 

 

upfrontNY: You are heavily involved in several charities can you tell us more about these organizations and your involvement?

Brian Falduto: Sure! Some of the charities I’ve been involved in are H.D.S.A. (Huntington’s Disease Society of America), S.A.G.E. (Services & Advocacy for LGBT Elders), Children’s Specialized Hospital, H.E.A.R.T. (Help Educate At Risk Teens), The Tyler Clementi Foundation, and The Trevor Project. Most of my involvement with these organizations has been as a performer or through various events and fundraising efforts. I’ve recently been volunteering with the Human Rights Campaign a lot because I feel it is an important time to do so. Much like my other areas of focus (music, life coaching, advocacy), any chance to connect with and impact others or even just meet new people and grow together; it’s all very much in my wheelhouse of interests.

 

NYC FAVORITES

Favorite New York place for a slice of  pizza :  I’m a terrible New Yorker because I’ll honestly eat any pizza you hand me .. my favorite type of pizza is actually Amy’s frozen organic pizza. I just lost like half my New York fan base.

Favorite NYC place for inspiration: Riverside Park

Favorite New York music spot: I think that new concert venue, Pier 17, is jaw-droppingly beautiful. I hope it becomes a more accessible spot over time. I saw Carrie Underwood there and the views are to die for.

Favorite New York icon: Jackie Curtis, but only because I dressed as her in drag once.

Favorite New York hang out spot: I like to hang out in the West Village or you can often find me doing work at a Le Pain Quotidien. Great wifi, great coffee, healthy & tasty food.

 

upfrontNY: p.s. Are there any other upcoming projects or things you would like to share with our readers?

Brian Falduto: My big plug is to encourage people to check out my stuff obviously, but if y’all like it, it’s important that you go that extra step and press “follow,” or “share,” or “subscribe.” I believe in and I’m proud of what I’m doing so I’ve no shame in stressing how important that extra step is for budding artists. Tons of people could listen to my new single, “Rainy Day” on Spotify but if no one scrolls to the top of the app and clicks “follow,” I’m less likely to peak the interest of someone else who stumbles across the song. Support new artists!