The Kinsey Sicks

The Kinsey Sicks are an a cappella quartet who bill themselves as "America's Favorite Dragapella Beautyshop Quartet."
They perform both original music and lyrics as well as parodies of well-known songs a cappella. Their work, while extremely comedic, is often highly politically charged. Their name is a play of words on "Kinsey 6", the end of the Kinsey scale defined as exclusively homosexual.
Origin.
The Kinsey Sicks began in 1993 when a group of five friends (largely lawyers and professional activists) went to a Bette Midler concert in San Francisco, dressed as the Andrews Sisters. Assuming they would be among many drag queens, they found themselves to be the only ones. They were approached that night by a woman who asked them to perform at her upcoming 50th birthday party. Though their initial reply was, "we don't sing," the group was surprised to learn that all of them had previous musical experience.
In July 1994, The Kinsey Sicks (then consisting of Ben Schatz as "Rachel", Irwin Keller as "Winnie", Maurice Kelly as "Trixie", Jerry Friedman as "Vaselina", and Abatto Avilez as "Begoña") drew a large and enthusiastic crowd at their first public performance on a street corner in San Francisco's Castro District. A year later, Avilez died, and was never replaced, leaving the Kinsey Sicks as a quartet (a formation that has remained consistent ever since.) Since then, The Kinsey Sicks have produced and performed full-length theatrical productions and concerts around the country. The group eventually became successful enough for its members to leave their former occupations to concentrate on performance.
Members.
Since its initial formation, the lineup of the Kinsey Sicks has undergone several changes and iterations. Schatz has been the group's only constant through all incarnations. Each member of the group performs a fully realized character, and as new members have joined, they have been encouraged to personally expand and develop their own "history". The members of the group over the years have been:
Current Members
Former Members
2001-2011: Off-Broadway, Las Vegas Run & Beyond.
In 2001 the Kinsey Sicks produced and starred off-Broadway in the critically acclaimed "DRAGAPELLA! Starring the Kinsey Sicks" at New York's Studio 54. That production received a nomination for a Lucille Lortel award for Best Musical of 2001 and a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Lyrics for lyricist Ben Schatz.
In 2006 the Kinsey Sicks performed an extended engagement at the Las Vegas Hilton. In addition, their first feature film, "Kinsey Sicks: I Wanna Be a Republican," premiered at the 30th San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. The documentary "The Kinsey Sicks: Almost Infamous," covering the history of the group and their run at the Las Vegas Hilton was released in 2008.
The group has also appeared in such venues as the Herbst Theatre and New Conservatory Theatre Center, San Francisco; Boston Center for the Arts and The Theater Offensive, Boston; Just for Laughs Comedy Festival and Club Soda, Montreal; the Nordstrom Recital Hall and Triple Door Seattle; the Ogden Theatre, Denver; the Colony Theatre, South Beach; the Wheeler Opera Hall, Aspen; Studio 54, Caroline's on Broadway, and Gotham Comedy Club, New York City; Hobby Center for the Performing Arts and The Improv, Houston; Crown & Anchor and Town Hall, The Palm, Blue Chairs, and Club Manana, Provincetown. Their stage productions have included "The Balled Sopranos", "Motel Sicks: A Dragapella Summer Vacation", "Everything But the Kitsch 'n'Synch" and "GreatesTits", all of which premiered at San Francisco's New Conservatory Theatre Center. They are also frequently invited to perform at colleges; those performances are usually followed by a question-and-answer session with the group, out of costume.
In 2010, the group began releasing music videos, many about current events, such as the oil-spill satire "BP is Creepy", the TSA-mocking Rocky-Horror parody "Touch-A Touch Me, TSA Security", a satirical video about Republican Party economic policy titled "The Official GOP Economic Platform (as sung by The Kinsey Sicks)", which suggests a policy of selling the poor to curb the national deficit, and the black comedy song "Get A Gun" about America's obsession with firearms, Other music subjects include pop icons, such as the Lady Gaga parody "Bedroom Ants" and modern internet and TV culture in videos like, "I Must Watch YouTube" and "Why the F@#k Aren't We Famous".
2012-Present.
In 2012, The Kinsey Sicks premiered a new show commissioned by Theatre J in Washington, D.C., called "Electile Dysfunction: Kinsey Sicks for President" using the tag line "Sometimes it's hard being Republican" which toured through the November 2012 elections.
In 2013–14, the group celebrated its 20th anniversary touring the show "America's Next Top Bachelor Housewife Celebrity Hoarder Makeover Star Gone Wild" which parodies reality television while showcasing the group's wide range of musical tastes over the past twenty years. Also released in July 2014 was a 20th anniversary historic video "The Kinsey Sicks: Live in the Castro (1994)", which featured footage from the group's first-ever street performance.
On December 28, 2013 the group had a sold out one-time homecoming performance at San Francisco's historic Castro Theatre, with encore appearances by former members of the group.
In December 2014, original member, Irwin Keller (Winnie), retired from the group during their "Oy Vey in a Manger" tour. San Francisco-based Nathan Marken stepped in the role of Winnie. The group premiered a brand new show featuring 21 new songs in February 2015 with plans for a new album and launched a successful Kickstarter campaign to send them to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the world's largest performing arts festivals, in August 2015.
In February 2016, The Kinsey Sicks launched their new tour "Electile Dysfunction 2016". Their 9th album, "Eight Is Enough", was released May 2016. That August, group returned to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival at the Gilded Balloon with their show, "The Lady Cocks of Bang Boys".
In 2017 the group began touring a highly political and autobiographical show titled, "Things You Shouldn't Say", an abridged version of which was performed in their third year at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The show drew rave reviews and led to it being booked for a run at the off Broadway Soho Playhouse in New York City.
In June 2019, The Kinsey Sicks returned to Provincetown to perform "Naked Drag Queens Singing!" joined by their newest member, Angel (J.B. McLendon). In January 2020, the group revamped their election year show, "Electile Dysfunction". Due to COVID-19, the tour has been postponed. The group has continued to produce online content for social media during the pandemic with a slew of music videos including, "Social Distance", "Don'tcha Touch-a Touch-a Touch Me", and "The Sound of Sirens" all available on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
Discography.
All albums available on iTunes
Music videos.
All music videos viewable on the Kinsey Sicks YouTube channel.