We're Michael Biello & Dan Martin and we've been creating as well as living and loving together for the past 43 years.  From the beginning, music, theatre and art were how we understood, expressed and celebrated ourselves as friends, lovers, gay men.  Our songs reflect the history of our lives and the times we've lived through - growing up in the closeted 1950's, coming out to our families, exploring intimacy and sexuality in the swirl of the sexual revolution of the 1960's and 70's, building our relationship, dealing with the loss of friends and colleagues in the 1980's and 90's, marching for LGBTQ liberation, celebrating our pride in the new millennium, legally marrying in 2013.

We've chosen 20 of our songs - from the many we've written - to document our life and work from when we met in 1975 to the present.  Songs originally created for our performance art musicals and theatre pieces as well as some inspired by the amazing people we've met along the way - from pleasure activist Annie Sprinkle to marriage activist Edie Windsor.

We're inviting some of the great musical theatre performers we've worked with over the years to film and record each song.  We plan to rent a space in New York this fall and simply yet beautifully film and record each tune.  We’ll then launch an online platform to share the films.  We envision these recordings as part of a multimedia project that will eventually include lyrics and lead sheets (for those who want to sing and play along) as well as archival photos and text that document what was happening in our lives, our collaboration, and our relationship when we were writing each tune.

We're seeking $25,000 for the recording/filming/launch of our Songbook.  $10,000. will pay the performers and musical director, $10,000. will cover the costs of our crew, space and equipment rentals, $5000. will go toward pre and post production expenses, and support the launch of an online platform to share the songs.  We've created a variety of giving levels and rewards including special thanks on our Amazing Queer Songbook website, copies of lyrics and lead sheets of your choice, one-of-a-kind Biello art pieces, and credits/thanks on the films themselves.

Even though many of our songs express universal themes and are often performed by singers of all genders and sexual orientations, we decided to call our project Michael & Dan’s Amazing QUEER Songbook as a way to celebrate how we two gawky artsy gay boys found each other and nurtured and sustained our love and our collaboration for more than 40 years - choosing to write and sing about our lives honestly from the very start - before it was safe, legal, accepted or trendy.

This is a legacy project for us – so that our songs will be shared, known, and live on past us. Not that we're planning on checking out anytime soon - but we are both in our mid-60's and feeling like this is the right time for us to beautifully record these 20 songs that tell our unique story of love and collaboration.  Some of you generously supported our 2016 Biello Martin Songbook concert in Philadelphia - which was inspired by Dan’s solo concert in 2015 - and which we’re now taking to the next level - so our songs can live beyond us, outside of any particular temporal performance.

We’re tremendously grateful to those of you who’ve supported us over the years and we welcome and thank you for your support now!