Gene Dante and the Future Starlets have made a career out of picking glitter from the gutter and wearing it to their black-tie affairs. Shuffling down the sordid streets of Boston, the indie rock rat pack travel shoulder-to-shoulder with the deviants and debutantes about town, stepping out to the beat of their own banged-up drum kit.
In 2021, their waltz kicks down the door to DL/UX, the group’s forthcoming full-length album, due out 2021. The 15-track record pulls back the velvet curtain on a modern speakeasy, the fabrication of lead singer Gene Dante. But little beyond the concept itself is made-up; beneath the group’s jewel-encrusted facade are the lyrics that Dante writes — and later, croons — entirely captured from his own experiences. Elegance, debauchery, and sweaty tales from New York and Los Angeles stages come perfectly preserved in the headspace of DL/UX, wrapped up in risqué realism.
“It crashes through the wall of pop,” Dante explains. And once that wall’s in pieces, DL/UX takes the sledgehammer to all of mainstream music’s formalities.
DL/UX builds upon the group’s past successes, which began with their previous opus The Romantic Lead, released via Omnirox Entertainment. Produced by Peter Lubin, the record’s single “A Madness To His Method” made its way into rotation at MTV’s LOGO Network. Follow-up single “The Love Letter Is Dead” peaked at number 2 on local radio airplay charts, and remained on the charts for 16 consecutive months. Most recently, Gene Dante nabbed a Boston Music Award nomination for “Best Male Vocalist” (now simply titled “Vocalist of the Year”) in 2014.
What the Press has to Say
“When sex gets drunk, sex calls up Gene Dante. If you maintain eye contact with Gene Dante for longer than 15 seconds, you will become pregnant. Period. If Gene Dante’s erection persists for longer than four hours, that’s called a Tuesday. Gene Dante has been known to sweat entire olives. Gene Dante doesn’t apply eyeshadow to his eyes—he applies eyes to his shadow. Gene Dante and his band, the Future Starlets, will be onstage at Church, and he will be singing only to you. “M-m-m-me?,” you’ll ask, not willing to believe that such an angelic being could have interest in something so base. “Yes, you,” he’ll respond devilishly, using his sexy telepathy. Selexpathy.”
– Dig Boston
“Boston’s favorite glam dynamo.”
– Boston Phoenix
“Dante is an anomaly in Boston’s music scene: an artist who has refused to pigeonhole his talents. Yes, he’s a singer – and quite a good one, with a laconic croon reminiscent of Bryan Ferry and Lou Reed – who fronts a glam-rock band called Gene Dante & The Future Starlets. And yes, he’s an actor, but he’s never defined himself strictly as one or the other.”
– Boston Globe
“In concert, Gene Dante is the Chiseled White Duke. Leading his Future Starlets, Dante mixes Bowie’s makeup, Iggy Pop’s shirtless-ness, and Freddie Mercury’s theatrics into a glammy groove.”
– Boston Herald
“A renaissance man [who] may have come up with a new style: streamlined theatrical rock.”
– All Music Guide
“Dante’s vocals and songwriting style conjure up visions of a mad scientist’s experiment where Dean Martin and Alice Cooper were made into one slick monster of a crooner”
– Elmore Magazine
“From the moment he steps on a stage, Dante reaches into your soul and holds it passionately in his pocket while he and the Starlets gently ram a full set of music down your throat – and you gladly accept it.”
– The Noise
“His voice is knock-out and his charisma utterly engrossing.”
– Portland Phoenix
“Once you see them perform live, it’s impossible to not fall for their razor-sharp, high energy live performances. So addictively catchy and unbelievably well put together!”
– Ryan’s Smashing Life
“Gene Dante is becoming one of my favorite performers in town. Whether he’s playing solo, doing Joan Jett covers in leather chaps, or rocking out with The Future Starlets, the guy delivers. He’s frickin’ magnetic.”
– Daykamp Music