Gay Church Folk        
Jacklyn Guay
Hidden Cameras caught in the act

The Hidden Cameras, a group who once described their sound as “gay church folk music,” is coming out of the indie music closet. The group got together in Toronto and are currently members of the Arts and Crafts label, which also represents the widely successful Stars and Broken Social Scene. Their success has made lead vocalist/guitarist, Joel Gibb, say that “[all] gay church folk music” is actually “an incarnation of the Hidden Cameras”. But for now Gibb would rather steer clear of labelling their sound. “I’m recording a lot of material all over the place and each song is really different”, he explains. Different is definitely an appropriate way of describing the Cameras. The group has been known to produce some off-beat performances, including the occasional go-go dancer and frequent church performances.

“We love to play churches,” states Gibb, “whether we play them often is up to other circumstances. You can’t really book a church tour, but you can play a church here and there.” One might find churches an ironic choice for an openly gay performer like Gibb, considering Christianity's traditional views on homosexuality. Gibb, however, would beg to differ; “Churches are the perfect place to showcase our music. They give you a natural reverb so it’s just down to the music.” However, he does admit that the band had to be wary of the Christian denomination prior to booking. “In the old days I would just go to all the churches in Toronto with queer symbols on the door. There are a few Anglican churches with very inclusive attitudes so playing those churches is not a problem” he says. Yet churches are only part of the variety of places the Cameras have been known to perform in, which includes porn theatres.

Go-go dancers are another uncommon element the band presents. Gibb says “We never stopped having go-go dancers, but we never started either. A Hidden Camera show can be and will be whatever it is on that given day. You do with what you have for the show. You don’t always want to be like ‘We have to do this all the time’, because that’s just so boring. That’s the fun of live music; it’s unpredictable.” He argues, however, that the Hidden Cameras don't need to rely on unpredictability to interest listeners, as many critics determined. “People can say whatever they want and that’s great.” he says and adds “I’m not desperately trying to shock like Marilyn Manson. My intention is to be true to myself and to be a songwriter. That’s the ultimate goal.” The Hidden Cameras have also run into some controversy regarding their overtly homosexual lyrics. But Gibb finds this concept “ridiculous” and wonders why it would be so “shocking for a gay guy to have something gay in his art.” He admits, however, that this is not the worst possible reaction to their lyrics; “Indifference is always the worst. It’s always bad when people walk out of the room.”