by tim parks
In these uncertain times where your favorite watering holes, restaurants and venues are shuttered with no firm opening date in sight, there is one certainty in the guise of those that are taking to social media to keep us entertained. With the re-opening of bars and nightclubs in question as to when that might be, given the mandated restrictions involving the gathering of crowds – what’s an entertainer to do?
To get the answer to that question, The Rage Monthly spoke with Lips – San Diego icon Tootie Nefertootiee, San Diego DJ extraordinaire Taj Al-Taji – the artist currently known as DJ Taj – and MO’s Bar & Grill Dreamgirl Jesse Greika, aka the incomparable Glitz Glam, about what it’s like to perform in the time of coronavirus.
There have obviously been some adjustments to taking their respective professions to a wholly different venue, the world of the internet. But these performers have found that they are malleable, even without the usual suspect of having a live audience.
“Nothing beats a live audience,” Nefertootiee professed. “It’s like sex. It takes two to tango, but with a group, you’ve got an audience.”
“This whole experience of being forced to livestream from my living room has reinforced what I’ve already known. I really feed off of the energy of the people on a dance floor,” Al-Taji concurred. “DJing for an audience of my two dogs doesn’t quite feel the same as a packed dance floor.”
“There’s a synergy between the DJ and the crowd in a club that heightens the overall energy in the room,” he said. “I think what I’ve been doing online to try to mimic that feeling is to read the chat comments and respond to everyone over the mic; that definitely helps me to feel a connection with the audience.”
For Glam, it presented a brand-new challenge. One that involved facial hair, or lack thereof, as he explained.
“So, with the MO’s Ho’s Beat, I was super nervous; I had never done my face start to finish on camera, none-the-less live, and I had agreed to shave my beard,” Glam said. “I hadn’t shaved my beard and done drag without one in three years. I hadn’t even wanted to put drag on at all until this project came up and honestly, I didn’t want to even do the first challenge. Believe it or not, I was so nervous to try and replicate Kickxy Vixen’s face.
“However, we had so much fun learning a new way of connecting with each other online. Strange, but it felt familiar often,” he explained. “COVID-19 is happening all around us and we are just some drag queens having a Kiki.”
One common thread that weaves these three talented individuals together is the belief that it’s vitally important for people to support the community during this time.
Al-Taji has been promoting Urban Mo’s “6 Feet! Gurl 6 Feet” T-shirts that benefit Urban Mo’s staff and are available on their website at www.urbanmos.com/product-category/t-shirts. Neffertootiee is involved with the neighbors-helping neighbors weekly fruit swap Fair@44; while Glam has been making masks, on sale at www.ovahfx.com, with all proceeds going back to those struggling within the community in the form of grocery store gift cards.
“I think it’s important that we all support each other in times like these, of course. But as a DJ, I will say that we are going to get the shorter end of the stick in a lot of ways,” Al-Taji explained. “For example, as independent contractors working for ourselves essentially, a lot of federal assistance hasn’t been readily available to us in a timely manner as compared to everyone else. Another element a lot of people don’t consider is that when the economy does start to reopen, we are probably going to be the last to see our jobs return.”
Glam, who along with his live streams for MO’s has also been doing a coronavirus video diary on his Facebook page, feels that art and music therapy “are some of the most powerful tools to combat depression and anxiety.”
“All are needed right now to create content of light and vibration to lift those around them,” Glam summarized. “Humans crave interaction and touch; we need artists to keep our senses tuned and imagination engaged. Music and performance create emotion and countless positive reactions. We must cultivate and support all artists at this time.”
“If you can please consider donating to any of the many live stream events online; one dollar, two dollars, anything helps,” he said. “And if you can’t afford to donate; promote [the events], sharing is caring, and the queens will love you for it.”
Nefertootiee falls into that latter category of gratitude, whether it’s the support she receives from Lips fans via live streams or with the online Lips Cast & Family Fund GoFundMe page. And she sees the need between supporting artists in an effort to circumvent the harsh realities of the times we live in, as she explained.
“So, it’s not just important to support artists just as it’s important to support your local grocer or your corner cafe. Artists end up giving back so much and are expected in times like this to work for free, to help benefit those that are in need but so many times it’s our artist friends who are the ones who are in need,” she said. “In a painting or photograph you may see hope and beauty; in a drag performance you may see comedy, transformation or escapism. Yes, we need food on the table, and we need to keep the lights on, but we also need these qualities of hope, beauty, comedy and escapism in our lives.”
And while this symbiosis between artists and audiences has taken a drastic turn from how it’s been done in the past, each performer is grateful in the here and now for their respective fan base for supporting their online endeavors.
“I want them to know that their love and support has literally have gotten me through these hard, uncertain times and that I appreciate them with all my heart now more than ever! I feel like these online gigs help us all feel ‘connected’ in a time we’re being asked to ‘distance,’” Al-Taji professed. “And, of course, everyone that has helped me out by donating a tip; you’ve literally helped keep a roof over my head. I can’t even put into words how appreciative I am of that! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!”
With the human connectivity element gone from getting up on stage, Nefertootiee lamented about missing that and what’s in store for Lips.
“We’ve been saying it over and over again we’re coming back, and we’ll be back soon. We miss the number of smiles that we see in the low-light of the showroom, the familiar faces,” she said. “We are working on a live stream Gospel Brunch that should be happening within the next two weeks. We are also working on a series of interviews with the girls about what this time has been like.”
The experience of getting personal on his daily video diary and the response that he has received has meant a lot to Glam.
“It’s not easy to expose your talents and beliefs publicly. So, I truly appreciate all of the kind comments and personal messages they send,” Glam stated. “I will continue to support positive mental health and promote enlightenment. The message I want to convey to both of the fan bases is we can learn new ways of connecting with each other online and still be responsible by maintaining social distance per CDC guidelines… so do it! We all need to stay in and keep each other safe. The sooner we all work together, the sooner we can start the road to the ‘new’ normal.”
As to what this new normal will take shape as remains to be seen, but this time of reinvention has assuredly changed each of them, both personally and professionally.
“I’ve definitely grown as an artist and pleased by my ability to adapt to the new format. So professionally, I look forward to learning new techniques and having the time to practice them,” Glam said. “Personally, this has been an emotional rollercoaster at times. On one hand, I am blessed to have my husband here with me to calm me and make me feel safe. On the other hand, I desperately crave the attention my work environment used to provide; so, I am going stir crazy. I am learning more patience and creating new disciplines in my life. I know I will come out a stronger, more compassionate human being and artist that will thrive again.”
“Personally, I think I see the world through different eyes. We were all dealt with an unforeseen challenge that has thrust us into a time of uncertainly and hardship,” Al-Taji said. “But instead of just lying down and accepting my fate, I rose to that challenge, through creativity and made things happen for me instead to me! That has been a huge personal growth that has come out of this for me.”
“It’s made us all a lot more conscious of technology and how we can use that medium to express ourselves and promote what we do,” Nefertootiee explained. “For me, since I live my life in gratitude, it makes me value the moment with the audience, the recurring customer, my employer my castmates and the crew. Maybe out of that will come a slower more in the moment presence.”
To keep apprised of upcoming performances, you can follow each on Facebook.
Taj: www.facebook.com/taj.altaji
Tootie: www.facebook.com/Tootiedotcom
Glitz: www.facebook.com/GlitzGlam69