STRAIGHT EYE FOR THE QUEER GUY
I have been a 'Queer Eyes For The Straight Guy' fan since its initial airing last year so I was excited at the opportunity to meet Jai Rodriguez for a short interview and photo shoot. Jai is the Culture Vulture of the Fav 5. The others are Kyan Douglas-Grooming guru, Ted Allen-Food & Wine Connoisseur, Carson Kreesley-Fashion Savant, and Thom Filicia-Design Doctor. Jai is the youngest of the five and he looks it. Born in Brentwood, New York, Jai is currently starring in the lead role of Zanna in the off Broadway musical hit Zanna, Don't!. Jai, who's full name is David Jai Rodriguez, joined the cast of Queer Eye after a casting change in episode 4. Before Queer Eye, he had a long stint on Broadway as Angel in the Tony Award-winning musical Rent. He recently release a club single "Love is Good" and is in San Francisco promoting his musical talents.
Since I am a photographer and not a print journalist, I'll refrain from quoting Jai directly since I just had a casual conversation with him. I found him personable and easy going. We met just after his sound check at Ruby Skye where he would later perform two songs. Unfortunately, he will miss the SF Pride parade because he is departing to perform in Seattle as part of their Pride celebrations. I asked Jai if he was between seasons and he said they shoot 40 episode a year so they don't really get time off except for Christmas. Each episode takes about a week to produce and airs as if it was done in a 'television day'. It's kind of an inside joke that the production pretends to do everything in one day. The time from production to airing is about 3 months. Plans are already in the works for a west coast version of Queer Eye to be called Queer Eye For The Straight Woman. It will consist of a Fav 3 instead of the Fav 5. When asked if there were any plans to go on the road with Queer Eye, Jai said they will be doing a episode in Dallas but there are no plans to go on the road. Many people don't know that the first episode was done in Boston but the show was moved to New York shortly after that. The original episode also included a female during the final segment when they review the show but that concept was quickly dropped.
