WONDERFUL WORLD OF WIGS #13
I'm on tour, I LOVE saying that, in Europe and after you picture me lounging in first class or being wined and dined by royalty and such or being served tea and pastries in my penthouse, suite allow me to give you the real story beneath the glamour…
I flew into Frankfurt, Germany to do a show in Heidelberg, about one hour from Frankfurt. But the promoter of that event fled town with the entire budget so the event was canceled. It was too late to change my ticket so I shacked up at a hotel next to the airport (I was able to get a refund on the room from the Agency) and cocooned it for 30 hours! Fabulous actually as I have been working my buns off and needed to sleep. Then I flew to Warsaw for Euro Pride. I was so excited to be performing in Poland for the first time and to be there with my dear old friend Lady Bunny (did I mention old?), Amanda LePore, Daniel Nardicio, Go Go Harder, Matt, Julie Atlas Muz and mien Titten Schwester from Berlin, Gloria Viagra. I love all these people. Sadly, it was such a nightmare! In the 18 years I've been doing drag it was one of the low points and not because Bunny had jet-lag gas but because it was the most unorganized event ever - and I didn't get paid!! First they said the hotel was booked up and I would have to stay in some apartment. I was like, "um, no". So I booked my own room where Bunny and Amanda were, not full at all. The gang arrived a few days before me and were already complaining about paying for their own taxis etc. So the red flag was up! I spent the day at the parade with Gloria. This was an experience. I forget sometimes how easy we really have it in NYC. Our pride is more of a party. Here it was political activism! Dodging eggs and firecrackers, being sprayed with Holy Water (it was actually hot as hell so thank u) and maneuvering between the police who were trying to control the skinheads. So kudos to the brave LGTB community in Warsaw and all those who came to support them. I went back and got ready for the show. When the Polish promoter came to pick me up I refused to leave until he paid for the room. Diva, no! Jewish, yes! We drove quite a distance out of the center of town to this warehouse. The band Betty was playing and they were great! LOVE those gals. There was a decent crowd but then most of them left. The promoter kept saying, "Don't worry, we pre-sold 500 tickets! It's going to be packed". I was hanging out with this really sweet Polish drag queen in the dressing room who said, "No way. No one is coming. It's too far away and too expensive". So what does a drop dead gorgeous professional drag queen do? Booze it up! At the peak there were about 30 people there who wanted a show and I was drunk and ready. I asked for the microphone and they guy looked at me like I had asked for a plane ticket to Mars. "Microphone????". That's when we all split. It's kind of my fault as I broke Rule #1 of International Prostitution - GET THE MONEY FIRST!
Luckily, I had a gorgeous time performing the next night at gmf in Berlin. gmf is one of the longest running gay dance parties in Berlin run by my friends Bob and Mickey. It was the first club I did a show at in Berlin in 1998 with Jackie Beat. The roof top was open and performing up there in front of the Fernsehturm was breathtaking. Gloria Viagra was DJing and so many Berlin queens were there. It was packed and people were loving the Lady GaGa parodies. But I guess my screeching was a bit too annoying as the police arrived just as I was finishing and turned off the sound. It was quite a scandal as some old biddy threatened to sue for permanent ear damage (I was not that off key) and the venue owners were furious. But the audience was happy, Bob and Mickey were thrilled and I GOT PAID!
I'm off to perform in Hamburg, Helsinki, The Atlantis Gay Cruise and then Amsterdam so much more to come… I hope to check out some local drag shows.
Meow!