Fall TV offers vampires, royals, and return to Gilead – Washington Blade

Foxs new musical nighttime soap opera Monarch is to country music as the networks Empire was to hip-hop. Complete with over-the-top characters, familial intrigue, infidelity, and tragedy. Oh, and a few queer characters, too. Among those characters is hair and makeup artist Earl, played by out actor and singer Kevin Cahoon. In addition to occasionally being the much-needed source of comic relief, Earl also plays the irreplaceable best friend of country music queen Dottie Roman, played by none other than Oscar-winner Susan Sarandon. Fortunately for us, Kevin was kind enough to make time in his schedule to answer a few questions.

BLADE: I first became aware of you as a performer via your music and your band Ghetto Cowboy. Your debut album Doll won an OutMusic Award in 2006. When you look back at that time, how do you feel about it?

KEVIN CAHOON: Thats one of the proudest achievements Ive ever had in my life; winning an OutMusic Award for Doll. It really is! Its on every bio, every rsum. I was so proud to have received it because, in a way, I was coming from the theater, and to do this as my first foray into music, creating rock n roll and pop songs; it just felt like the warmest embrace. I was so honored to receive that. That whole period of my life, with Ghetto Cowboy, and playing all of those incredible venues, like Don Hill and CBGBs. To have been a part of that and to have been a part of the queer music scene at that time felt special. The LGBTQIA community is still moving forward, trying to gain equality across the board. But at that time this was (during) dont ask, dont tell. This was before marriage equality.

BLADE: The early 2000s.

CAHOON: Yes, it was even before RuPauls Drag Race. The culture had no understanding about this music and these people that really were making this music. So, it really felt like the outsiders were crashing their way through the door. I even felt that way naming the band Ghetto Cowboy. I thought, People who are disenfranchised and pushed to the outskirts of society are forced to live in a ghetto. Whether its a Jewish ghetto or a Spanish ghetto or African American, or even rural people in Appalachia or in rural parts of this country, they are pushed, pushed, pushed to the boundaries. By naming the band that I thought, Oh, this is what it is. Were gonna come in. Were gonna be cowboys in this and we are going to stake our claim from the outside. It was an incredible moment, and it was so exciting, and it was one of the greatest times of my life.

BLADE: Have you had the time to work on any new original music?

CAHOON: I havent, and I want to. I think about it all the time. Its coming, I promise. I have an idea for the long-awaited second album [laughs].

BLADE: As you mentioned, at the same time you were making this music, you were doing a lot of theater and have continued to focus on your acting career. Would you say youre a singer who acts or an actor who sings?

CAHOON: I would say that Im an actor who sings. Even with the rock n roll, it was coming from a place of character, and a place of story. I felt like I was playing a character when I was fronting my band.

BLADE: Youre currently in the new Texas-set Fox series Monarch in which you play Earl Clark. What was it about the character of Earl that appealed to you as an actor?

CAHOON: First of all, its a network series with Susan Sarandon and Trace Adkins. That was a giant appeal. As an actor, I was connected to the world because I grew up in Texas, I grew up in the rodeo and I have a real soft spot for it, if theres a pair of cowboy boots and a cowboy hat, Im gonna grab them and put them on. I love the whole aesthetic. I love the world. I love the outsider going out into the plains and staking a claim for himself. Thats the world of Monarch. This show biz, country-western family. It is the juiciest of fun soap operas you could ever imagine.

BLADE: Its very much in the mold of a classic nighttime soap opera.

CAHOON: It is! In the greatest way. Who doesnt love that? We all loved Desperate Housewives, Nashville, Dallas, and Dynasty. The character (I play) was inspired by a real person named Earl Cox. He is the premier hairstylist to every country star you can ever imagine. So, the (Monarch) creator, Melissa London Hilfers, saw his place in their world and thought, Lets create a character that is inspired by him. So, its loosely inspired, but she ran with it. I (Earl) have worked for the family for decades. I have been the best friend of Dottie Roman, played by Susan Sarandon. The series evolves when you get to episodes six, seven, and eight, more is revealed as to what Earl knows, and how long hes been around. He lives on the ranch (The Brambles) with the family. We shot on this incredible 140-acre ranch right outside of Atlanta. It was a dream. The job was a dream. Im praying that I continue to have more of that dream [laughs]. Well see what happens when it gets to season two.

BLADE: Im so glad you said what you did about Earl and Dottie. There is a palpable exchange of affectionate feelings between them. Would you agree that without their gay hair and makeup people, most country divas would end up looking like Marjorie Taylor Greene?

CAHOON: Gay people are the motor in the pickup truck of the country music industry. I say that Earl Clark showed up to The Brambles with a suitcase full of rhinestones and a dream. His dream was to be in show business. To be close to an iconic diva of country music, which is Dottie Roman, played by Susan and he enjoys being that close to the first lady, and he enjoys his place as the major domo gatekeeper. He will do anything he has to do to retain that position. I think he loves getting dressed up. In the show, they have a fantastic rockabilly hairstyle for me and great, sparkly clothes. I told the wardrobe and hair team that he enjoys getting made-up just as much as he enjoys making Dottie up. That should be part of his essence. That he loves to be seen and he loves to show off and I think they accomplished that with their incredible wardrobe and hair.

BLADE: Is there any possibility of Earl having a love interest?

CAHOON: There is. If a season two happens, I think that that is in the pipeline.

BLADE: The queer energy in Monarchis powerful with you and singer/songwriter Beth Ditto, who plays Dotties and Albies (Trace Adkins) daughter Gigi, representing for us. What is it like working with Beth?

CAHOON: We fell in love immediately. Im from Texas, Beth is from Arkansas. We fell in love over Zoom. Thats how much I love her. She said to me over the Zoom, Oh, I can tell Im gonna fall in love with you. And I said, Well, Ive been in love with you for years because I know who you are. Im afraid youre stuck with me for the rest of your life. We have a daily text exchange, Beth and I, which I cherish, and it happens late at night, usually, because were both night owls. This text exchange can be about how much we both love Ritz crackers [laughs]. It can go deep, or it can go surface. But I love her and I cherish her, and Im so lucky that Ill have her in my life for the rest of my life.

BLADE: Could there someday be a creative collaboration between Kevin and Beth?

CAHOON: Yes! Come on. I would just die and go to heaven. That would be a dream. Maybe we can come up with a song for the show.

BLADE: Fantastic. Will Monarchs audience ever have a chance to hear you sing?

CAHOON: Well, I hope thats another thing in season two. Lets get a boyfriend and lets get a song.

BLADE: Monarchis set in Texas. As a Houston native, how do you feel about the way Texas is depicted in Monarch,as well as in other shows set in the state?

CAHOON: Texas is such an interesting place. Because you have these hotbeds of liberal progressiveness.

BLADE: Austin.

CAHOON: Austin, Houston, Dallas. Then, on the outskirts, its pretty red. But I do have to say that within those red pockets, LGBTQIA people are there. They are part of the fabric. They are accepted, they are beloved. They are part of the world.

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Fall TV offers vampires, royals, and return to Gilead - Washington Blade