|
|
It’s officially February now, but there’s still time for one last interview celebrating January as Drag History Month! And here 'tis...
The divine Sweetie is NYC’s own self-proclaimed “big-tittied honky soul mama,” but that ain’t all she is. This peerless drag veteran and Detroit native has been rocking the city for over a decade, coming of age and holding her own with some of the most formidable drag superstars ever – such as RuPaul, Lady Bunny, Linda Simpson, Misstress Formika...
Sweetie cut her teeth onstage a legendary homo haunts such as Boy Bar, Pyramid and Jackie60, and her weekly Cheez Whiz and High Life/Low Life nights out were some of the most fun, talent-filled events NYC has seen. Ever.
She’s a scathingly funny and brilliantly smart comedienne, a sassy glamourpuss, and she can lip-synch the sh*t out of any tune, branding it with her own sizzling drama. She’s appeared on film (Starrbooty), onstage (most recently, in Off-Broadway hit Wig Out) and on TV (you saw her on Project Runway last season, right?) and whenever she hits the stage in NYC it’s a truly blissful delight.
Sweetie’s one of the creators of a fab documentary about drag, the hard work and shear artistry that goes into it, called Charmed Life. She’s working hard to educate the world. Give her props!
But most of all, Sweetie is uncannily hilarious and a general agent for goodness and integrity in the world. But don’t just take my word for it, check out her interview (and a video snippet!) after the jump!
Continue reading "National Drag History Month: A Scintillating Interview with Sweetie!" »
Ladies and Gentleman, your hostess, Linda Simpson!
Linda Simpson is the Fran Lebowitz of the NYC drag scene. Only less rumpled. She's the sharp wit, the smart cookie, the funny hostess, the savvy writer, the sly comedienne... And she's been doing it forever!
Somewhere between 1987 and 1992 Linda founded My Comrade magazine, "the revolutionary gay magazine," which was a compendium of art and words celebrating downtown NYC in all of it's twisted, draggy, hard-living, high-art, grungy pre-Giuliani hey-day. She cut her teeth in the NYC club scene alongside such talents as Lady Bunny, RuPaul, Sweetie and Misstress Formika, and Linda was also a cohost of the legendary gay cable show Party Talk in the mid-90s!
Basically, Linda's never stopped. MyComrade.com thrives now as a blog. And Linda also has found time to work as a magazine editor at Time Out New York, a playwright (her play The Bad Hostess recently debuted in NYC) and a bon vivant, a weekly bingo hostess and cultural superstar.
Paper Magazine even dubbed Linda "the thinking woman's drag queen." Such a brainy girl... But still very popular!
Please enjoy an interview with Linda after the jump. It's short! After all, brevity is the soul of wit. And so is Linda!
Continue reading "National Drag History Month: A Pretty & Witty Interview with High-Profile Drag Queen Linda Simpson" »
Sherry Vine works hard for the money. The longtime NYC drag darling sings, hosts, cracks jokes, travels the globe, acts -- and she's been doing it for aeons! When she puts her lips around a song (either a parody, or just by twisting a pop gem around her titanic vocal chords), watch out.
One of Manhattan's nightlife veterans, she's worked stages in unforgettable Theater Couture shows in the East Village throughout the 1990s with troupers like Jackie Beat and Mario Diaz, and Sherry was also one of the legendary Bar d'O divas, belting tunes weekly alongside mega-talents like Joey Arias, Raven O and Sade Pendarvis.
Sherry's always had a scathing wit, big hair, masses of lipstick and a yeoman-like dedication to her gorgeous craft. She's even becoming a burgeoning video star: Check her Britney-inspired "Supersizer" for which she teamed up with porn pup Ben Andrews. It's big.
You can also glimpse Sherry in the fierce video for up-and-coming Brooklyn band Neon Glitter Bliss' scorching electropop nugget "Wilted Flower." It's in the running to be named "Ultimate Drag Video" (which gets announced later night on Logo's Click List, 11pm EST), and I'm guessing it'll be up there!
For National Drag History Month, we quizzed Ms. V about her inspirations, gender issues, drag icons and the high cost of looking so fabulously cheap. Read the full exchange after the jump!
Continue reading "National Drag History Month: An Intoxicating Interview with Sherry Vine" »
 
Charo coochies on the RuPaul Red Carpet; Santino still concerned with his Project Runway costar Andrae... Cute!
Yep muchachas, Charo & Santino Rice co-hosted Logo's music video dancefest NewNowNext Poplab on Wednesday night. OMG -- Charo's new music video "España Cañi"??? Genius! Insane! And for a nice cause. (FYI: Charo's a big animal rights supporter, thus the mantra for this tune: "Dance, Don't Bullfight!"
Below you can ogle Charo in a photo shoot promotion she did last fall with PETA and Telemundo. Ain't no bullfighter gonna pull one over on Señorita Charo!
After the jump, a video interview with Santino, and take a listen to his fierce dance single (I'm not lying!).
Continue reading "Charo & Santino: Fresh from PopLab, Ready for RuPaul!" »
Dennis Hensley is a fab Hollywood journalist/author/writer/director and performer. He does it all! And he also is happy to grab a camera and attack a party, so with this in mind he headed to the L.A. launch event for RuPaul's Drag Race (coming next Monday, Feb. 2nd on Logo).
There he chatted with the contestants (Nina Flowers, Ongina, Victoria Parker, Jade, Tammie Brown), the star (RuPaul!) and even one delicious guest star -- Charo! Plus... BRITNEY!!! The results are cute, and Dennis is quick and a blast to watch. "Were there catfights? Is it like Survivor where you can't eat at all? Do you have any scars or wounds from the show? How much did you cry?"
Dennis also reveals what will be Ru's signature catchphrase (or one of them) from the show when one contestant gets kicked to the curb, and one gets to stay... "Chantay, you can stay" or "Sashay, away!" Wurk, indeed.
Blue Monday got ya down? Well, perk up Pussycat! What you need is a bewigged angel of hope and happiness to lift your spirits! That's where the completely amazing, life-altering service from Daily Drag Queen Affirmations comes in!
Why didn't some faggy fairy godmother think of this sooner??? You subscribe to this genius service ($20 for a year) and every day, 365 big ones, you get a video affirmation emailed to your sad little inbox. Before you know it, your world will be full of daisies, heart-shaped candies, kittens, and wispy wigs!
Best of all, they're short. But they pack some drag star-power from the likes of Jackie Beat! Gina Lotrimin aka Mr. Dan, Terrence (founder of the Nellie Olesons) and many more heart-warming happy he-she's!
 
Jackie Beat tells your fortune; and this Pippi-looking thing'll cheer you up, too. Seriously.
Get a free Drag Drag Queen Affirmation sample, and you'll be hooked. And happier. And, er... $20 poorer. Bless!
The kids at NYC's lovely gay rag HX have a cover story interview with RuPaul this week. It's all about RuPaul's Drag Race, the new drag queen reality show coming to Logo starting Monday, Feb. 2nd.
Ru makes some pretty sweeping statements - "All the things that make being on this planet worthwhile are tied back to drag." - but why not? She's the Supermodel of the World, so whattya gonna do?
My favorite line from the interview is about her fellow judge of this drag-queen version of Project Runway-meet- Top Model. Of Santino Rice, Ru quips: "Santino is one big d*ck sexy mother f*cker and he cracks my sh*t up..." Oh, my. Well props to Santy and his prodigious talents!
After the jump more pics of Ru from HX and a lovely artpiece: RuPaul done entirely in hair products!
Continue reading "RuPaul Does HX Cover! Gets Immortalized in Nair!" »
Megan Brooks and Phoenix are back with another installment of their handy, how-to "What a Drag!" series. This week, they take their willing drag-wannabe into the world of weaves and wigs. Yep, it's hair-time!
Why aren't these gals on RuPaul's Drag Race? I'm thinking they'd snatch up a trophy or two, for sure! Either way, it's all part of the sassy month-long tribute that is National Drag History Month.
It's enough to make me wanna dig up my classic auburn wig from my, ahem, "costume drawer."
NYC's Golden Girl: Peppermint! Photo by Karl Giant.
If there’s the NYC’s gay scene were high school (and it pretty much is) it’s not hard to guess who’d be the homecoming queen, the head cheerleader, the sassy diva, and the show pony – that’s because they’re all one luscious person: Miss Peppermint!
But this glowing glamazon isn’t just a nightlife hostess and late-night entertainer. She can dance, sing and crank out blistering fun pop/dance hits. She’s already had two fierce scorchers which have gotten tons of play on Logo and in venues nationwide. “Servin’ It Up” and “Thought Ya Knew” are slick joints! Think of it as Drag 2.0. It’s not about lip-synching on a pool-table anymore... Today’s up-and-comers tend to be full-fledged entertainers.
And is there any prettier out there than Miss P? Good luck with that one.
After the jump, check our cute Q&A celebrating Drag History Month. Plus, watch her hot music videos, and a clip of her guest appearance on this week’s Real World: Brooklyn! She is seriously, “servin’ it up.”
Continue reading "Drag History Month: A Tasty Interview with Miss Peppermint" »
The Lady Chablis calls it "hiding her candy." But the folks at RuPaul's Drag Race (premiering on Monday, Feb. 2nd) are happy to call it what is. It's all about "tucking," and they tell you how it works! Yes, children all the contestants on the forthcoming drag-queen reality series are here to share their most intimate secrets...
You can yank it forward or whip it back, no matter. Get your goods down, please! It's all about illusion, after all... Isn't nice how we're all learning so many new things during National Drag History Month?
Next time your undies are riding up on you, think how much worse it could be...
"Cover Girl does NOT cover man..." Oh, such pearls of wisdom! There's more where that came from.
To satisfy the inner drag queen yearning to bust free in all of us, here's a new regular vlog hosted by two of L.A.'s loveliest dragsters, Megan Brooks and Phoenix. What a Drag! (based on the gals' site/series on their Life's a Drag site) is gonna teach you all you need to know about being a top-notch "lady." These Georgia-born peaches know their stuff, so watch and learn. Lesson #1: Makeup. Cake it on, please!
Has all the world gone draggy all of a sudden? Maybe. Why not? Blame National Drag History Month or blame the foxy approach of RuPaul's Drag Race coming to Logo. Or maybe some folks are just taking the ever-present mantra of "change" to a new level...
Last night, Oxygen hosted a NYC party for America's Next Top Model: Obsessed, a new Sunday night show that's a weekly mash-up of the series' craziest clips (or something like that).
Anyway, I stopped in and while I didn't get a chance to bend Tyra's ear (her bulldogish lady-publicist whooshed her by all of the reporters from the likes of Us Weekly, In Touch, the Enquirer and me), the uber-legendary ANTM judge/runway-coach Miss J Alexander did chat for a hot mo'.
Most importantly, since RuPaul claimed last week that she taught Tyra everything she knows, I wanted J's take on this tidbit of tiff-tempting trivia.
Quoth Miss J: "Well, everybody’s got a teacher. It goes from one drag queen to the next. Why not? I’m sure RuPaul taught her how to do her makeup and her wigs!"
When asked who'd win a supermodel walk-off between Tyra & Ru, Miss J was quick to answer: "RuPaul. He would bring a little extra something special."
Ouch... Ya think Mama Ty would condone such treason?
 
Tyra vs. RuPaul: Who truly owns the runway?
Continue reading "RuPaul Vs. Tyra: Miss J Weighs In! Jaslene Loves Drag Queens! Duh." »
RuPaul circa 1995: She's STILL raising -- and plucking -- eyebrows.
So, RuPaul and some of the RuPaul's Drag Race gals held court at the Television Critics Association big mega-conference today in L.A., and evidently, the bitch turned it out!
The L.A. Times says: "RuPaul Rocks the Critics!"
Entertainment Tonight asked Ru about her old pal Patrick Swayze (Ru coached Swayze for his dragtastic roll in To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar). Ru said of the cancer-battling actor: "If you see the movie, he sold it. Not on how he looked, but on his body. He really nailed it." And Ru said Swayze was a real sweet fella, too.
Best of all, when asked if she was stealing reality-show techniques from fellow former supermodel Tyra Banks. The exchange went something like this:
RuPaul: "She learned everything from me darling!"
The critic attempted a follow-up: "But what if I said that the show reminds me of Top Model?"
"Then you're retarded. Don't give me no Tyra! I let her borrow all my used wigs. That's it!"
And apparently Ru goaded an aging TV critic from New Jersey to join her and her Drag Race girls onstage for some bumping and grinding.
Do you think those people even know that it's Drag History Month. Shouldn't they be paying Ru proper homage?
One wish for the weekend: Spend some time dancing on a rooftop with old people!!! If you can't swing that, then just watch the freaky kids of Neon Glitter Bliss, Brooklyn's own little trio of youngsters making smurfy pop tunes which you can dance around in your panties to!
Their video for "Wilted Flower" is getting some airplay, and why not? It's got a cameo by drag superstar Sherry Vine (she's the nurse who gets rufied!), a swell NYC location, and NBG's Blake, Beth and Gordy in their gay goth best!
"Wilted Flower" will appear on Logo's NewNowNext Music show this Sunday night, which still cranks out some of the best music you've never heard each week. But since it's National Drag History Month, this clip with Sherry seemed appropo!
Pay attention to NBG's MySpace and what-not. You might get a chance to see the band naked onstage sometime again soon! 
NBG's Gordy & Blake: Isn't it nice when boys get along? After the jump, some more slick pics.
Continue reading "Neon Glitter Bliss Video - "Wilted Flower"" »
 Lady Bunny is drag royalty. If someone had to declare a queen of all drag queens, Bunny would be up there! Blame it longevity. Blame it on the wigs. Blame it on her organizational skills (She created Wigstock, hello!) or her outspoken activist tendancies. Maybe it's because she's a world-class DJ. But no doubt... She is a queen on top!
Bunny circulates in all circles, DJing at skanky downtown clubs or a glamorous Fashion Week shindig, hobnobbing with uber-celebs, or with taxi drivers on the West Side Highway. The Lady gets around; she's a legend.
As the esteemed QueenMother website records it, Bunny was raised in Chattanooga and first "up in drag" professionally in Atlanta's fertile bar scene with friends Flloyd, Lahoma Van Zandt and RuPaul" back in the day. She hit NYC in the late 80s and the rest is, well... herstory!
We chatted up Bunny for a Q&A to get her take on National Drag History Month, and she had much to say. (The dear does go on...). After the jump enjoy the lengthy, legendary interview. And if you're in Atlanta this month, see her show!
Continue reading "Drag History Month: A Legendary Interview with Lady Bunny" »
Mercy, it's a drag-tastic day! First Varla's announcement of "Drag History Month" and now this! RuPaul and her fresh princes at World of Wonder have whipped up an amazing music video for her upcoming single which also showcases tons of stunning footage from the forthcoming Logo series RuPaul's Drag Race.
The tune is "Cover Girl (Put the Bass in Your Walk)" from Ru's full-on album, Faster! Faster! coming soon, and its beats are chunky and on. But even better is the steaming-hot montage of clips from the Drag Race show...
In an unrelated World of Wonder item, check out this pic of RuPaul's Drag Race judge Santino Rice (formerly of Project Runway) getting his Xmas cheer on at a roller rink in L.A. He's one tall drink of gay water! Nice abs! 
Drag queens everywhere, REJOICE! Stand a little taller in your pumps, high atop that plywood-covered pool table! As the delicious Varla Jean Merman is proud to announce today, "January is National Drag History Month!"
Yes, children... Finally, all of those pioneering trans-tastic visionaries who've fought to entertain, enlighten and educate us for decades are getting their due! Think of the societal and cultural strides made by queens at Stonewall, at pride marches and on stages around the world. And trust: Whenever there's a cause that affects the queer community, drag queens and kings have led the charge on our behalf!
Varla's heart-warming PSA (above) will be airing on Logo all month, and there's a bunch of drag-tastic videos online you can watch at DragHistoryMonth.com to celebrate. Here at NewNowNext.com, expect posts and tributes all month long. Expect to hear from Lady Bunny, RuPaul and other legendary frocked freedom fighters recounting what "Drag History Month" means to them.
So when you're out this month, and you see a queen giving her all in a blind rage onstage somewhere, you might wanna tip her just a little bit more. After all... She does it all for you. 
|
Put NewNowNext headlines on your site/blog:
Disclaimer:
The opinions expressed on the blog
are the personal opinions of our bloggers, and in no way reflect the opinions
of Logo, MTV Networks or Viacom.
Warning:
Some blogs or websites linked from this site may contain objectionable or uncensored content. Logo is not affiliated with these websites and makes no representations or warranties as to their content.
|
Recent Comments