Ask the Flying Monkey! (September 28, 2009)

Have a question about gay male entertainment? Send it to aftereltonflyingmonkey@yahoo.com! (Please include your city and state and/or country.)

Q: There are so many songs on each episode of Glee! How in the world do they record it all? And how do they pick the songs? – Velma, New Orleans, LA

A: It’s a hell of a lot of work! For the first thirteen episodes, they recorded well over 60 songs.

“On the first episodes, we were preparing weeks in advance,” says Kevin McHale, who plays Artie (the guy in the wheelchair). “But as we got down to doing episodes twelve and thirteen, we’d record it Monday, rehearse on Tuesday, and shoot it on Wednesday. It just got crazy. We’re recording for an episode before while shooting the current episode and rehearsing another episode. It can be anywhere from ten to 16 hours on the set.”

The cast of Glee

As for how they pick the songs, most are chosen by the producers to fit the storyline, but “they’re really open to what we say,” Kevin tells me. “We’ll be just singing around the set, and it’ll be in the next episode. They really listen. Storylines, too.”

“I was singing ‘Bust Your Windows,’ one of my favorite songs, [on the set] during the pilot,” says Amber Riley, who plays Mercedes. “I came back, and they said, ‘You’re doing “Bust Your Windows” [in the next episode].’ I was like, ‘Oh, my God!’”

Amber Riley performs "Bust Your Windows"

I suggested the very real possibility that the young actors on the show might be asked to tour, much like the Kids from Fame did back in the 80s. But if that ever happens, the young actors have some demands:

“I want my own bus, and I want everyone saying my name before every sentence,” jokes Amber.

“I don’t want anyone making eye contact with me,” McHale adds.

Individual songs are already available on iTunes. A soundtrack is going to be released in November, and if that goes well, there’ll be another out in December.

Q: What have you heard about Nip/Tuck for next season? Any spoilers of the gay variety for that show? -- Bernard, Hartford, CT

A: Gay fave guest stars this season (which will be the series’ last) include Kathy Griffin, Joan Rivers, and Vanessa Redgrave (Joely Richardson’s real-life mother, as a doctor, not a patient). Eric Stonestreet (who played Dr. Benson in Girls Will Be Girls and now plays Cameron, one half a gay couple in the new sitcom Modern Family) also has a guest role.

Next page! Mario Lopez in a corset and garters.