Meet Cherie Lily, the fantabulous faux-queen-meets-dance-instructor wife of modern rock icon Andrew WK. Oh yes, we love this gurl here at Menergy! Her latest single "WERK" is quickly becoming anthem and it's not hard to hear why - it's a modern call to arms for dancers and drag queens to VOGUE THE FUCK OUT!
"Icon" "Give Me Face" "It's Ovah" "Tens Across The Board" OH YES.
Cherie has put together a video featuring lots of voguing routines and some future legend and nightworld faces from New York City. Check it out and GET YR WERK ON QUEENS:
We've got an exclusive interview with Ms Lily in the pipeline, but for more info check out her website, and you can buy "Werk" and its remixes here.
Here's a wee mash-up by Menergy resident The Niallist. It's MIA's "XXXO" vocal over Pineapples "Come On Closer". Fierce bitches and Italo - two of our favourite things!
ZSA ZSA NOIR is our live musical guest at tomorrow night's MENERGY. She also happens to be one of the hottest gender benders from the San Francisco of the south, Manchester. We sent her a few questions to get her lips around:
Who is Zsa Zsa Noir?
Zsa Zsa Noir is the seven foot tall, sorded incarnation of all my subversive kinks in musical, gender queer form.
When did you start performing? And why did you start?
I started performing when I realised I wanted to be a mermaid at the age of six. I've never looked back except now I can hold the attention of a whole crowd of freaks and scream obscene lyrics over polished electronic disco filth. I'm compelled.
You produce all your own tracks, so who/what are your main musical influences?
I loved Uffie and double rate Peaches. My voice was created from a love vibration emitted by David Bowie, Tina Turner and Marilyn Monroe. I have tonnes of influences but Miss Noir is an original.
And you style yourself too, talented girl, who are your fashion/design icons?
Shit loads.
What is the gay scene like in Manchester? How does it compare to other cities?
People sometimes see me as a 'gay' act. 'Queer' is correct and 'Queer Happenings' by and large exist outside of Manchester's gay scene for me. I'm part of the Queer Scene. Sorry that didn't answer your question.. You should ask someone who shops on the high street.
Bonus question! Asked by Midnight Growler: What does an octopus' arse taste like?
Octopus arse.. It fucking stinks beyond the capabilities of my vocabulary but tastes a delicate balance of salt and fish. Rather nice even when raw.
Here's a taste of what will be on offer tomorrow night - ZsaZsa's current single "Hey Lean Diggy Doggy" (available to buy from iTunes)
Wow, that was fuckin fierce! Big thanks to everyone who came down, and to our all star performing queens - Nancy Lashes, Candi Latte, Peaches, Gazelle, Avon Starr, Vanity Von Glow and the one and only Lady M. Pics and vidz coming very soon, but in the meantime you can like Menergy on Facebook by going here: http://www.facebook.com/menergygaydanceparty
CHRISTINE VALE is one fucking fierce bitch and we are DELIGHTED to bring you an exclusive interview with one of the States' hottest genderfuck acts. She hails from Austin, Texas and has a NSFW style like no other. If you need more of an introduction, here's our previous post about Christeene. I shot over her her over some questions:
What's Christeene's story/history?
I CUM FROM NOWHERE.
What are your main musical influences? Any particular MCs?
I LIKE DA MUSIC DAT MAKE ME HIT IT HARD. DER AINT UH SPECIFIC PERSON IN MY BRAIN, JUZ DA MUSIC DAT HIT. I LIKE DA DUB STEP A HOLE BUNCH NOW AND DAT SOUND DAT VIBRATES YA HOLE BODY A LOT RIYEET NOW. What is the track "Bustin Brown" about?
DIZ IS WHUT MY FRIEND SAY ABOUT IT FERR SOME PRESS ....
" In “Bustin’ Brown”, the fourth installment of the CHRISTEENE Video Collection, CHRISTEENE confronts the ever-present bastardization of anal sex from mainstream bourgeois heterosexuals by returning “da buh-hole” to its rightful owners. "
You're getting a lot of gigs - how's it going?
WE RET TO HURT IT. WE RET TOO HURT IT REAL BAD. WE KEEP WAKIN UP IN DIFFRENT PLACES AND WE COME ALIVE AND KILL IT.
Who are the hot boys at the back?
T GRAVEL IZ DA HAIRY ONE, AND C BABY IS DA SMOOTH ONE. THEY MAKE MY LIFE GOOOOOD.
There's been some negative reactions to Christeene - what do you think of that? I'm especially interested in the issues of gender, class and race that are brought up a lot. How does Christeene herself feel about that and how it relates to her own background?
JUZ EAT IT WHOLE AN FINISH UR PLATE. IF YOU NOT HUNGRY KEEP WALKIN. I DONT LIKE MEAN PEOPLE.
Does Christeene have any kind of "message"?
HUH? If Christeene was to make me a fried breakfast, what would I get?
SOMETHIN DAT WOULD STAY IN YERR MOUTH ALL DAY LONG.
Aww yeah!
Menergy is paying Christeene the ultimate compliment this Saturday when LADY MUNTER will lip sync to Christeene's very own "Fix My Dick"! There will be live performances from VANITY VON GLOW and AVON STARR, bringing you some Nicky Minaj, MIA and Anthony & the Jonsons. But will Munter be ablt to top THIS?!
So the Fierce Ruling Diva's Ball was AMAZING!! Thanks to everyone who came down and to all the amazing children who walked - you were all FABULOUS!
We are still waiting on pictures from the night, but here's a wee video shot by Style Scanner that should give you a taste of what it was like - COMPLETE TRANARCHY!
And now for some more voguing classics - consider this stuff "Vogue Music - New Way".
MASTERS AT WORK The Ha Dance
KENLOU The Bounce
STEVE POINDEXTER Work That Motherfucker
ROBIN S Show Me Love
yes, it's cheesy but it has to be done: MADONNA Vogue
And even though he'll hate us for saying this, this is TOTALLY going on the list. This is a produtcion by none other than Daniel Wang, and it's fucking fierce:
CHROMA OSCURA Glow Worms
Oh, and I left "Deep In Vogue" by Malcolm McLaren & The Bootzilla Orchestra (William Orbit & Mark Moore Banjee Realness Mix) off this list because I posted about it below, but THAT is the ultimate vogue house track.
Probably the most famous voguing house in the world is the House of Ninja, formed by the legendary Willi Ninja back (I'm guessing here) in the early 80's or late 70s. Even though drag balls already existed, as did the dance, Willi Ninja is regarded as the godfather of voguing, and is featured heavily in both the Paris Is Burning film and the "Deep In Vogue" video by Malcolm McLaren. In anticipation of our own Fierce Ruling Divas Ball on Saturday, here's a selection of some of the best moves by the house, that can also serve as a kind of introduction to how voguing (and "houses") work.
First here's "Overall Mother" Willi Ninja in Paris Is Burning. This is the perfect introduction to this dance style:
And here is the "Deep In Vogue" video, though I have to say, the quality of this upload sucks, and the extended 9 minute mix is much better (with more dancing in the video). Still, it's worth a watch as it's some of the best voguing on film, IMO:
Here's another clip of Willi doing his thing in a club, and the catwalk/fashion connections are more clear here (as are the clubby origins of the dance):
Unfortunately Willi died in 2006. Thankfully, the house is still going strong - here they are in a group performance, and this clip also gives some insight into the voguing scene and its participants.
There are three main types of voguing, "new way", "old way" and "femme". Here is Aus Ninja demonstrating old way vogue, the classic style as seen in the late 80's videos:
In a nutshell, new way is more athletic and faster, and came to prominence after 1990. Here is rising star Javier Ninja showing some new way moves:
The third type of voguing is "femme" and has to do with extreme posing (in a very feminine style), coupled with some more acrobatic moves. Here is a clip of Danielle Ninja at the House of Mizrahi's 2006 Willi Ninja-tribute Latex Ball. (Note the signature vogue "dip" move where the dancer falls on to her back but with her leg tucked up under her bum):
Voguing is also closely related to "waacking", in which hand and arm movements are the focus. Here is Javier Ninja again with an amazing performance from the same House of Mizrahi's Latex Ball. Note how the MC Selvin Mizrahi is left speechless - THAT is how you dig status:
Perhaps the most famous current memnber of the House of Ninja is Benny Ninja, after his appearnace on America's Next Top Model teaching the contestants how to pose. This clip makes explicit the links between voguing and modelling, and the dance and fashion scenes. Benny appears around three and a half minutes in (so skip to that if you're not interested in some serious mega-bitchery).
Benny was given the title of Father of the House of Ninja by Willi himself before he died. And as the saying goes, "boys learn, men teach". Here's Benny giving a demo at a workshop in Paris:
And here's one of my favourite clips of all - House of Ninja performing at a party thrown by the SoBe drinks company, with Benny Ninja dressed in a giant lizard outfit (after the company's logo). With him are Javier and (I think) Aus, and they work to Madonna's "Vogue". What starts off looking like just some people messing around soon turns into an incredible routine:
So, hopefully this will teach all you budding children what you need to know for Saturday - doors open at 9pm (fashion show at 10pm) and the voguing/drag ball takes place at midnight. So come down, look fierce, throw shade and BRING IT!
I know nothing about Timaya except that she is FIERCE! I discovered these vids last night randomly on Youtube and now I'm hooked. The music is like a more way-out-the-closet version of Cajmere or something. With a minimalist, Afro-centric feel. You can buy the music on iTunes, the artist name is Qaadir Howard.
This is the first video I found, after searching the term "throwing shade".
There's a very special event happening tomorrow night here in Manchester. San Francisco drag legend Peaches Christ is debuting her film "All About Evil" at a very special one-off midnight screening at the Cornerhouse cinema. There is going to be a drag show before the film, a "Gore Couture" beauty contest, songs, dance, love, laughter, blood, death, AND we hear that some concerned community groups are planning to picket the screening! Rip them to shreds, I say.
Tickets are almost gone for this horror spooktacular, so if you do fancy it, be sure to get down early. The film itself is fast gaining a cult reputation, and stars some serious legends like Mink Stole, Natasha Lyonne, Cassandra Peterson (aka Elvira Mistress of the Dark), Patrick Bristow (from Showgirls/Austin Powers) and more. It'll be VERY. Here's the Facebook event page:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=121933004524904&ref=ts.
And here's some more of Peaches in action, in "Children of the Popcorn", where we get to see inside her very special factory of fear(ce):
And as if THAT wasn't enough, Peaches also hosts a midnight-movie screening series called "Midnight Mass", at which each film is accompanied by a corresponding drag show and audience participation is heartily encouraged. You will be delighted to know that they have shown Heathers, but the big show each year, which attracts up to 1500 people (some in costume, some in very little) is none other than Menergy's other favourite film Showgirls!! FEROCHE! There are plans afoot to get a convoy from the UK over to next year's screening. If you need some convincing, here's a report on this year's "Night Of 1000 Showgirls" by the delightful Lady Bear:
There's much more fun, including some great film reviews, behind the scenes action and John Waters over on the Peaches Christ Youtube channel.
We LOVE Brenda Dickson!! She's fucking insane!! So mad she's taken down all copies of hilariously bad "Welcome To My Home" video from Youtube. But still, fair use says she couldn't touch those pesky parodies. Fnar...
