Romanovsky Turns Up the Fun

If you're a queer of a certain age, you no doubt remember Romanovsky & Phillips, the pioneering gay musical duo whose quirky, politically aware albums (featuring song titles like "If There's a God, He's a Queen" and "What Kind of Self-respecting Faggot Am I?") and real life romance earned them monikers like "the gay Sonny and Cher." The duo parted ways in 1999 and Paul Phillips retired from the business. But Ron Romanovsky went in new musical directions, picking up the accordion, recording in French and composing a musical. This January Romanovsky returns to his "queer music roots" with his fourth solo album, Turn up the Fun!.

"I'm very proud of this album," Romanovsky says. "I think I've really matured as a musician. Sometimes I think I had success too early with R&P."

The music may be more advanced, but the lyrics are vintage Romanovsky, a blend of folksy silliness, political observations and joyous gay pride. Even in 2007 this kind of music is hard to come by; it was a real breath of fresh air in 1982 when Romanovsky began his musical career as a filler act at a stand-up night in San Francisco.

The novelty of Romanovsky & Phillips was both a blessing and a curse; although they had little competition they weren't considered commercially viable. Yet Romanovsky can't imagine they could have done it any other way.

"I've always liked songs that deal with social change and political satire," Romanovsky continues. "I like writing about things that other people don't write about. I always thought that was an advantage for us." He says that the San Francisco women's music scene was a major inspiration: " I saw all these lesbians producing concerts and records, and I wondered why gay men weren't doing this?"

Despite discouragement from within and without the community, including a lesbian publicist who asked them to be less gay, Romanovsky and Phillips carved out an impressive career for themselves: seven albums, extensive touring and a 2002 Heritage Award from Outmusic. "No one had really marketed gay music before," recalls Romanovsky. "So we were celebrating gay culture, and we were also creating it."

"We lasted 17 years, which is longer than The Beatles," he adds with a laugh.

But all things must end, and the musician found himself at odds when the partnership dissolved. "I had no idea if I could continue to make a living during those years," he reveals. "I just kept putting one foot forward."

To recharge and refocus, Romanovsky took up the accordion. Learning a new instrument helped him "fall in love with music all over again" and took Romanovsky in new professional and personal directions. Looking for accordion music led him to classic French singers like Edith Piaf and Charles Aznavour, kindling his dormant Francophilia. French classes soon followed, and in 2002 he released Je m'appelle Dadou, an all-French album. 2006 saw Pittsburgh to Paris, something of a synthesis of Romanovsky's career to date.

But while he was moving forward, something from the past kept tugging at him: Romanovsky & Phillips's last, unfinished album.

"We started recording an album about 10 years ago," Romanovsky recalls, "right around the beginning of the end, but we ran out of money. I thought the songs were some of the strongest stuff I'd ever written, and they'd been in the back of my mind for years."

It's a bit of a surprise to learn that half of Turn up the Fun! was written in the early 90s: With subjects like gay marriage, queer parenting and the pharmacological industry, the disc is tres au courant. Romanovsky has enjoyed getting back into political songwriting, and was inspired to reprint the R&P catalog for old and new fans.

And what does the future hold for the always forward-thinking singer-songwriter? Not another musical duo, although his current boyfriend is also a musician. Been there, done that. Romanovsky put together a full band for this album, and he's considering a tour. Though he's ambivalent about getting back on the road, he's certain he won't be putting down his accordion anytime soon.

"There are always more songs," he says.

Turn Up the Fun! and other CDs are available at www.romanovskyandphilllips.com.