Gay Music Video Getting Lots of Youtube Hits. Enjoy:

[Rod Hagen]

[video=youtube;pjiyjYCwNyY]

[bigvalboy]

Thanks Rod. I saw an interview with him the other day. It was quite interesting, and he seemed to be an amazing kid. Being a country music fan of sorts, I thought it was a gutsy video to make considering the demographic of the country music crowd. "Times they are a changin"

[+ purplekow]

Interesting video How many have been there, in the gray area between attraction and friendship.

[playwrestler]

Wow! Heartbreaking and inspiring... Thanks so much for posting this!

[JT Brooklyn]

Purdy/Purdy

 

Too bad all the guys looking for a Boyfriend don't look like this Hunk! I know it's shallow BUT!

 

I'm sure there's a certain amount of Down Low... Down on the Farms of America...

[dfw2sfo]

He's modeled under a few different names. Steve Chatham. Steve Starchild. Here are some scorching photos:

 

http://www.google.com/search?q=steve+grand+chatham+model&client=safari&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=xYrdUZLOD_f94APp54GgBA&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAA&biw=1024&bih=672

[bigvalboy]

He's modeled under a few different names. Steve Chatham. Steve Starchild. Here are some scorching photos:

 

http://www.google.com/search?q=steve+grand+chatham+model&client=safari&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=xYrdUZLOD_f94APp54GgBA&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAA&biw=1024&bih=672

 

 

Nice!!! what a smoking little hottie. Thanks for the post. Made me smile today.

[JT Brooklyn]

Thanks dfw2sfo! This Hunk doesn't take a Bad Pix! :p

[BSR]

There's an old joke about what happens when you play a country record backwards (obviously in the era before CDs, forget MP3s) -- the guy remarries his ex-wife, gets his farm back, and his pickup repaired. The snarkiness ignores, however, the beauty of country music as the white man's blues. As much as this song/video are a very different and very modern take on country music, its themes of heartbreak and unrequited love aren't much different from country classics like Keith Whitley's

or Dolly Parton's Jolene.

 

Putting aside the gay sexuality for a moment, I wonder if the problem a lot of country music fans will have with this song is that it just doesn't sound very country. We country fans expect our singers to sound a certain way, so much so that even Keith Urban, who

in his native Aussie accent, sings with an American twang. Then the arrangement is very heavy, with the instruments almost drowning out the vocal. Country music tells a story, and that storytelling shouldn't be drowned out. Finally, there is the selection of instruments - no fiddle, no banjo, no steel guitar. It's not a bad song. I just don't care for the arrangement.

 

Then again, much to traditionalists' dismay, country music is changing, and its audience is expanding. Even Bon Jovi had a monster hit on the country charts. Whatever the song (in my opinion) lacks, the video more than makes up for. Hottie factor aside, it's a very well-done and professional-looking video. It's a bit hard to tell with the overwrought instrumentals, but the singer sounds like he has a decent voice. I wish him the best of luck.

[+ friendofsheila]

I won't give anything away about the story except to say that I'm disappointed this was very much the same story we get to see about ourselves.

[+ friendofsheila]

 

Putting aside the gay sexuality for a moment, I wonder if the problem a lot of country music fans will have with this song is that it just doesn't sound very country.

 

Agreed.

[bigvalboy]

Putting aside the gay sexuality for a moment, I wonder if the problem a lot of country music fans will have with this song is that it just doesn't sound very country

I think they might say the problem is that it doesn't sound country, but I think the reality is that many C&W fans will have a problem with the subject matter. In my opinion, the focus should be on that fact that he had the guts to tackle this subject matter at all. At any rate, regardless of how successful he ultimately is, I applaud his effort.

[down_to_business]

I really couldn't get past staring at him to really pay attention to the song. I guess the vocals were ok. Like BVB says the country demo is not likely going to embrace the performer or the subject matter.

 

Bottom line- not great, not terrible but sure is pretty to look at.

[BSR]

a quick search revealed lots of information about Steve Grand, the 23-year-old star of the video, which he paid for by putting $7K on his credit card. He's broke, deep in debt, and fears losing his "day job" as an accompanist for Catholic churches in the Chicago area (taking a moment to savor the irony). He knew all the risks of producing this video yet went ahead and did so because he was obsessed about telling the story. While there were surely a number of factors that drove him, five years of conversion therapy (eek!) undoubtedly played no small role. While most response from the gay community has been very supportive, he's received some criticism too. Here's a gay columnist who rakes Mr. Grand over the coals for portraying gay men as sad, predatory drunks. Wow, awfully harsh, and a bad misread of the song/video, imho.

 

The good news is that Steve Grand's video has gotten well over 1 million hits on youtube, with no signs of slowing down. On the

, there's a link to download the song, which also asks for donations. I gave the guy 5 bucks, even if I'm not crazy about the song, because I applaud his courage.

 

Finally, for all you horn-dog perverts out there (I'm head of the class), here's a photo collection of some of Grand's modeling work. No nudes, but a few underwear pix that leave nothing to the imagination. Uh yeah, the boy sure is purdy. By the way, the song was playing in the background while I was surfing elsewhere on the web, and after listening to it again without the, um, distracting visuals, I decided that I like the song. I don't love it, but I like it OK. I really hope this guy finds the success he's striving so hard for. But the selfish part of me wishes that he never give up his underwear modeling.

[tyro]

Where's the photo collection?

T

[bigvalboy]

Where's the photo collection?

T

 

 

....See dfw2sfo's post, or in BSR's post in the last paragraph he highlights a link entitled "Photo Collection" His link will get you started, then it just becomes visual overload after awhile. lol lol lol....I would suggest a nice cocktail before you start your search.

[tyro]

I did go back to the earlier post and got an eyeful! Shoot, two eyefuls! He's much better looking than the "love interest" in the video, IMO.

T

[bigvalboy]

I did go back to the earlier post and got an eyeful! Shoot, two eyefuls! He's much better looking than the "love interest" in the video, IMO.

T

 

Oh he's a cutie pie alright......

[+ azdr0710]

wow, feeling pretty dense here....

 

is Steve Grand, the guy in the video, also the actual artist/singer/songwriter?....or is he just the actor for it and the actual singer/songwriter is some average dude just doing the singing?....sorry to be clueless, but the fact that this ultra-in-shape underwear model suddenly can write a song and sing it very well has me a bit...uh....clueless!....I know most/all music videos have the actual artist in them, but this guy is so in-shape to be a singer/songwriter!....

 

anyway, I heard this song several days ago on my local mainstream country station and liked it....I don't know if all listeners (or the conservative station I heard it on) know the back-story without seeing the video.....

[BSR]

Yes, the hunky underwear model who stars in the video is also the singer & songwriter. His YouTube stardom has gone beyond just the gay press. Here is a brief interview on ABC in which he talks about the song, as well as the pain of ex-gay therapy. Not just mainstream press, but the song is even getting play on mainstream country stations? Wow, that's big. I just hope that he realizes he's hit upon a winning formula and incorporates shirtless bromance and skinnydipping in all his future videos ;-)