Brandon James Gwinn’s ‘Black Nail Polish’ Is About Having a Good-Ass Queer-Ass Time
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Brandon James Gwinn’s new single, “Black Nail Polish” is a guitar-laden, Hedwig-sounding, rock track about those flashbacks that creep up on us the morning after a night of partying. “It’s about having a good-ass queer-ass time, getting out of your comfort zone, and then paying a price for it at breakfast,” Brandon laughs. He wrote “Black Nail Polish” and co-produced it with M.P. Kuo. The song is a marked departure from the heavily country-pop sound of the other tracks on his BULLIT album. To give it the rock edge, BJG enlisted Dan Berkery on drums, Jeff Koch on bass, and Tim Basom, who shreds all the guitar layers and very Tom Dumont-esque glissandos. “It’s rock-and-roll but equally as queer and theatrical as the other tracks on BULLIT,” Brandon insists. “Black Nail Polish” is being distributed by Indie Chameleon and is available now on Apple Music, Spotify and all digital platforms. Its video will be available on IGTV and YouTube.
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“There are good and bad things about letting yourself get a little extreme and misbehaving,” continues Brandon James Gwinn from his NYC home. ““As the song says ‘it’s bleak and babe, it’s beautiful…’ Ultimately, I say, go crazy, be wild. You only live once!”
“Black Nail Polish” has been a fan favorite on Spotify and Apple Music since the album’s release, earlier this summer. “The response from folx has been pretty incredible,” Brandon reflects. “As we watched the popularity of the song grow through the fall, we knew it was ripe for a sexy, creepy video.”
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Kyleigh Nelson directs the “Black Nail Polish” music video. Her idea was to juxtapose a working professional Brandon with a post-apocalyptic, glam-rock version. A typical day at the office turns into a frenetic night in the queer dungeon sex club with lots of fun, super sexy and sinister looks. Comedian Sarah Fye’s raunchy Boss lady character is a particular stand-out. “Sarah flew from Nashville to NYC to film her part in this video and she does not disappoint!” says Brandon.
Shooting took several days. Brandon recalls the hardest scene to shoot was the elevator scene. “I’m claustrophobic and terrified of getting stuck in one, which has happened to me,” he explains. “It took every ounce of courage I had to not lose my shit and freak out!”
Brandon James Gwinn was raised in the suburbs of Nashville, Tennessee. He began wearing black nail polish in middle school. “Probably because Carson Daly wore it on TRL,” he recalls. “I shopped at Hot Topic in the early 2000s and loved anything where glam rock and gothic intersected. Still do. I don’t leave the house without nails and eye make up most nights. Why would I?”
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“There’s a certain amount of seriousness in the color black,” he continues. “It is very witchy which is obviously my jam. It’s also sexy AF. Give me a smokey eye on a guy —or a gal, or a they — literally, anytime, anywhere, any occasion.”
In addition to his solo music work, Brandon James Gwinn has enjoyed a prolific career in theatre, writing ten stage musicals that have had various levels of production from college to regional and even Off-Broadway. He was nominated for a Drama League Award and won the American Academy of Arts and Letters’ Richard Rodgers Award for his and EllaRose Chary’s musical TL;DR: Thelma Louise; Dyke Remix.
He produced two albums for RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars winner Trixie Mattel: 2017’s Two Birds and 2018’s One Stone; both of which he performed on. He released his first EP, Not Too Late, in 2018 and toured the USA, performing the songs live as opening act of Trixie Mattel’s USA tour.
Visit brandonjamesgwinn.com. Follow him on Instagram.
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