We’re all stuck in varying stages of quarantine…so how do you make the most of your time at home? When our theatres are closed and public art is on hold amidst social distancing, how do you fuel your creativity?
These five alumni (Brian Bogart (B.A. in Theatre and Dance, 2013), Ja’Michael Darnell (B.A. in Theatre and Dance, 2014), Joseph Dailey (B.F.A. in Theatre Studies, 2013), Sam Gorena (B.A. in Theatre and Dance, 2013) and Ethan Galis (B.A. in Biology, 2013)) have the perfect solution – start a boy band. Now streaming online (and into our hearts), Kwar[N]Teens is rocking social distancing jams that bring the perfect blend of creativity and levity to these strange times. They’re here to remind us all that even amidst tough times, they’ll be there as long as you love them.
We sat down with the Kwar[N]Teens to discuss their process, how they came up with the idea for their single Quarantine Body, the challenges of creating a music video remotely and what’s on the horizon for the band.
How did you all come up with the idea to make a boy band music video?
Joseph “JR” Dailey: I’m a teacher and when the quarantine was just starting to happen, it was about to be my spring break. I thought, if this quarantine goes on for a while and I’m stuck at home, I want to try and do something creative. I’m a musician and an actor, so I thought I might write some music or make a video. A bunch of ideas later, I thought, “maybe a boy band?” I kept tossing the boy band idea around in my head and it struck me how Quarantine, containing the “teen” homophone, was too good to pass up. I thought about the premise and ran with it.
Boy bands exist to tell you that you are loved; that you are not alone. They reassure you that they would take care of you, no matter who you are, as long as you love them. What reassurance do we need now? What struggles are we facing as a community and how can we be together, in spirit, by acknowledging our shared challenges? And how can we make fun of it? Thus, the Kwar[N]Teens were born.
Ja’Michael “Ja’Mike” Darnell: Joseph is the main visionary that has been driving the boat! He thought of the song, idea and overall concept. He and I surprisingly saw each other on a Zoom chat that the LAByrinth Theatre Company put together to bring our cohort a sense of connection during this challenging time. He and I were texting each other while it was happening and he was like, “you sing though, right? I have an idea for something and you might be a fit.” I was blown away by the quality of the song and his enthusiasm about everything just spilled over to me. So, I said yes! I jumped right in.
I honestly feel that I needed that connection as it has been challenging filling my cup being isolated in the epicenter of this pandemic. Seeing it all come together was a beautiful sight to see. Every one of us did our parts. Joseph conceived the baby with all of his musical magic. BB brought his marketing and comedic brain. Russell brought his video-editing brain and spectacular voice. And, Sammy came in with quick tenacity and commitment to go all-in. I am so grateful that I was finally able to be a part of this with a phenomenal group of artists and live my dream of being in a boy band.
Brian “BB” Bogart: All credit to the man, the legend, Joseph “JR” Dailey. Joe sent me a recording one morning of an incredibly raw version of Quarantine Body and I knew instantly this was a piece of art that needed to be realized to its full potential. Once he started involving other friends of ours during our time at UT, I knew we had something special on our hands.
Ethan “Russell” Galis: We are all creatives and wanted (maybe NEEDED) a project to work on while being cooped up in quarantine. Sort of the precursor to all this (at least for me) was… Joseph and I had been talking for some time about working on a comedy video series, loosely structured around the ‘2 struggling musician’s trying to make it’ theme. We were really just in the brainstorming phase when BOOM quarantine hit and while I was scrambling and preparing for that, Joseph (who is constantly ahead of the creative curve) called me with an idea he had discussed with Ja’Michael about a music video featuring a boy band group in quarantine.
Really more than anything we were all so excited to give people some comedic relief during these trying times with a well crafted song and a fun video that people could get behind and also use a motivation to stay healthy and #stayhome!
Tell me more about the group – who all is part of this project? How do you all know each other?
Ja’Michael “Ja’Mike” Darnell: I met Brian, Joseph and Sam while [at the Department of Theatre and Dance]. They were always great artists and good spirits that I looked up to. [Joseph and I] reconnected recently when we both participated in the LAByrinth Theatre Company’s Summer Education Intensive in 2019.
Ethan “Russell” Galis: We’re all UT grads. Although I wasn’t in the Department of Theatre and Dance I did take part in a few shows with Joseph and Sam during my college years when I could find the time around my Biology class load and UT Polo (horse polo) Club presidential duties. Since then I have been loosely involved in the Austin comedy scene in addition to being a musician. I’ve been in multiple Austin-based bands (Lead Singer/Guitarist) throughout the years, pretty much since I first got here in 2009–the main one being The Grapes & Friends.
Can you share a bit about what sparked the idea for Quarantine Body?
Joseph “JR” Dailey: The idea for Quarantine Body came from the idea that, now that there is nothing to do and nothing to leave your house for, almost everyone feels this immense pressure to do something with it. Artists and creatives feel obligated to make a masterpiece. People want to finally get in shape, catch up on chores, or work on changing their mindset. It can feel like “prove or improve,” and that’s not really the best motivator for people who are scared, deprived, stressed, depressed or lonely. At the end of the day, adapting to this way of life, for many people, is exhausting.
The song, I think, touches on both of those feelings. Kwar[N]Teens have that same insecurity and want you, the listener, to like them, and they are willing to change for YOU. At the same time, they acknowledge that this situation is out of their control and this is their way of making the best of it. However shallow of a solution it is. They love you and need you to know that you are so special, this boy band isn’t even good enough for you, yet. But we’re working on it.
What was the process of writing, choreographing and ultimately staging this music video? Can you share more about how that process worked?
Joseph “JR” Dailey: I thought [Quarantine Body] had potential to be something fun and over-ambitious, so I sent it to some people to put a team in place. I sent it to my good friend and musical confidant and collaborator, KC Taylor. He and I had been in a band called Warren Moon together and the guy is a groove machine. I asked for his feedback, then asked him if he’d be willing to write a bass part and help construct the beat around guitar, synth and drum machine parts I’d assembled.
I finished the lyrics and I sent the track to my high school friend Brad Bebee in Utah who is currently finishing his degree in audio engineering and had him on board to mix and master the track. Then I began casting the band. I knew I needed people who would be willing to carve out the time to make this happen, the talent to execute and a good mix of personalities.
The part that took the longest was getting everybody’s shots (everyone had 32 shots to film), because, sometimes a person wouldn’t record their action while the audio played making it difficult to sync. Or the proportions of a shot would be different from the rest of the group’s and we’d have to get them to re-shoot it. Also, most of the guys, except for Ethan and I, were just using their phones to record their audio. So, syncing that up and making phone-microphone-quality audio sound radio- friendly took some Brad-mixing-magic.
The main dance on “I’m just a hottie with a Quarantine Body” is Ja’Michael’s choreography. What an angel. He did some boy band research and put together a really fun homage to the genre. For the rest of the choreography, we met on zoom and, line by line, people would pitch ideas for different moves. I created what amounts to a shot-by-shot storyboard for Ethan and Ethan edited the video together.
The reality was that it took three weeks, because life happens and the process necessitated more time. And, ultimately, I think it was definitely worth it. At the end of the day, it took a lot of good friends being willing to do their part energetically and tirelessly to make something.
Ja’Michael “Ja’Mike” Darnell: Choreographing the chorus was like retapping into my inner child. I was always obsessed with choreographing dances and filming talent shows with my cousins in my granny’s living room. When he sent me the song, I was like “this song has to be tik-tok-able.”
Since we’ve been in quarantine, everyone has been diving into social media. The chorus was already great and the concept of the song was perfect. I couldn’t let that creative impulse leave me, so I just jumped into it. I started researching my favorite movement from Backstreet Boys to N’Sync. From there, I pushed my bed aside in my NYC apartment and went to work. I kinda felt bad for my roommates and neighbors because I kept playing the song over and over again, but it just felt so good creating—I kept going. I used a Jacques Lecoq movement that I learned while studying in Italy that was the perfect fit. It was a mimed sequence of dead lifting. After I got it to a place that I liked, I ran it a couple of times and sent it to Joseph by the end of the night.
Brian “BB” Bogart: We certainly had it easy with J-Mike being our head choreographer. Within 24 hours of JR showing him the song, J-Mike had already choreo’d our entire chorus dance, which we’re challenging our fans to do on social media with the #QBChallenge!
What’s next for the band? Any new tracks in the works?
Sam “Sammy” Gorena: Oh yeah, we already got something in the works! I know we have a few ideas we wanna expand on to help build the boyband “universe” and make our characters more fleshed out.
Ethan “Russell” Galis: Oh yes, new tracks are on the horizon, but that’s all I’ll say for now .
