Play, Girl Bunny: DJ Lady Bunny turns the beat around every Sunday at Splash.
Think disco is dead? Just don’t tell that to dragdom’s legendary DJ Lady Bunny, who spins Splash’s new Disco Tea Sundays. From 7pm to 11pm, this boogilicious brainchild of promoter Christina Visca also features bad girl (and Katrina refugee) Bianca Del Rio, who schmoozes and passes out goodies before passing out herself. On a recent Sunday, Wigstock founder and politically charged blogger Bunny put on Donna Summer’s 17-minute version of “MacArthur Park Suite” so that we could duck into a stall, suck down shots, and discuss why this retro party is raining men of all ages.
HX: What’s so great about disco?
Lady Bunny: It’s only the greatest dance music ever! With its gospel, soul, and Latin influences, disco has a joyous, celebratory vibe — not like today’s dark, “it’s 5am and I’ve just peed my pants in a k-hole” dance music. “Soundtrack to Tweak By” is so worn out that yes, I think a 30-year-old disco track is fresh by comparison. At its height, the genre attracted the top songwriters, producers, and artists, so the quality of this music is incredible. The disco era cultivated some of the gay community’s best-loved stars and some truly outrageous talents and characters with strong identities like Sylvester and Grace Jones. Who are today’s true dance divas? Kevin Aviance hasn’t had a smash in a while — unless you count her face!
Why is Splash the perfect home for Disco Tea?
The sound system is amazing, the cover’s low, the drinks are cheap, the half-naked bartenders are even cheaper, and Avalon’s closed! I’ve only DJed at Splash one other time when they were trying out DJs in the coatcheck downstairs. It was winter, so we just gave up on the DJ idea since the coats were being dragged over the turntables — I spun vinyl then. But I was happy to help security rifle through coat pockets for drugs.
Is the night more about attracting an older crowd that lived through the disco era or introducing the music to a younger crowd?
The crowd that knew disco the first time around goes nuts to hear songs like “Native New Yorker” played on a big sound system. But last week I put on “(You Make Me Feel) Mighty Real” and a group of 20-something twinks were squealing alongside 40-somethings. Or maybe they were all in their 40s and some had better plastic surgeons. Anyway, half of today’s hip-hop and dance hits are based on a one-bar sample of an old disco tune — like the ABBA sample used in Madonna’s “Hung Up.” So come out and hear the whole songs! These kids needs to be educated and I mean to do it!
Do you take requests?
Once, in a huge London gay club in 1978, I asked the DJ, “Have you played ‘Shame’ by Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King yet?” He snarled, “Yeah, six months ago!” I’ve shied away from making requests ever since then, though I don’t mind taking them myself. As long as your request isn’t “Give me a drink ticket,” “Can you hold my coat?” or “Please retire!”
Disco or not, why can’t boys get enough of Sunday tea dances?
Once thing hasn’t changed over the decades — besides Lypsinka’s act. Hairdressers usually have Mondays off, so Sunday is a perfect night out for the gays. If you do have to go to work the next day, you can take advantage of the dollar drafts and two-for-one special until 9pm and be in bed, drunk, before midnight. But really, do that many people in Bush’s America even have jobs anymore?
Do you drink on the job?
Bianca’s a terrible influence on me. She’s constantly bringing me my favorite shot — Geritol with a splash of GHB. It’s killer. Literally! I got so merry on Christmas Eve that I recall removing my wig and swinging it over my head to the tune of “Turn the Beat Around.” But what other DJ is on the floor carrying on with their crowd? Sure, sometimes the song ends and I’m caught on the dance floor with no music playing. Look, there are a million DJs with seamless mixing skills, but only a few who look great in seamless stockings!
If disco is dead, I think you’re the one who could bring it back.
Honey, if I could raise the dead, I’d become Flotilla DeBarge’s manager.
LADY BUNNY’S DISCO TEA TOP 10:
1. “Star Love,” Cheryl Lynn
2. “Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel,” Tavares
3. “Get Off,” Foxy
4. “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough,” Michael Jackson
5. “Can’t Fake the Feeling,” Geraldine Hunt
6. “Gonna Get Over You,” France Jolie
7. “Red Light,” Linda Clifford
8. “Disco Heat,” Sylvester
9. “Instant Replay,” Dan Hartman
10. “I’m Coming Out,” Diana Ross
HX, January 2007.
Energizer Bunny: This drag legend keeps going and going with LadyBunny.net.
By Brandon Voss
Notorious drag comedienne, popular party DJ, and omnipresent emcee Lady Bunny just launched an official website as eye-popping, glamorous, and versatile as she is. Aside from celebrity-studded photos, flashy videos, and a politically charged bitchy blog, the Wigstock founder’s site shows off her impressive singing and songwriting skills with 12 funky, flirty, feel-good tracks, including “I Get High,” “Let’s Get Jumpin’,” and the scandalous “Fuck With You.” We recently caught up with the dirty diva during her rare downtime to dish some dirt and welcome her into the computer age.
HX: Your spankin’ new site, LadyBunny.net, is fabulous, but what took you so damn long to get it up and running?
Lady Bunny: Well, senior citizens don’t always take to these high-falutin’ new devices.
What sets your site apart from the rest, aside from Otty’s amazing design?
The fact that it’s all about me! [Laughs] When I realized I should get a site together, I would check out other peoples’ sites and take notes. Basically, I just ripped off all the other drag queens — I have no shame. Though Hedda Lettuce didn’t have anything on her site worth stealing.
Besides visiting your own site, how do you spend time online?
I google “Lady Bunny.” [Laughs uproariously] Well, I’m on Friendster — I used to check that shit three times a day. I’ve never gotten into the sex thing online, although people have contacted me through the web site and sent me a few nude photos, which is to be encouraged from well-endowed males. Or German Shepherds.
The new songs available through the site feature your patented brand of humor, but they’re also well-crafted and professional — definitely not novelty songs. How do you find that balance?
I make a living performing filthy comedy and song parodies, and I haven’t really worked these new songs into my act yet. When writing music, I don’t have to be Lady Bunny. People like Martha Wash, Patti LaBelle, and Jocelyn Brown are my idols. I consider these songs to be demos, but people have contacted the site wanting to buy them! They’re all looking for the next Britney Spears. She’s young, slim, and beautiful and I’m only young and beautiful. So if I can get my music out there, that’s fantastic.
Tell me about your experience creating these songs.
Well, I’ve been lucky to work with some great producers, such as Warren Rigg, Frankie Feliciano, and Gomi. DJ Disciple, for example, does everything from gospel to Latin disco to the hard stuff, so it’s fun for me to experiment. I’m thrilled that such a credible producer has accepted six of my compositions — three for me to sing and three for others. Sometimes I’ll start writing [the lyrics] from an instrumental track, but I do write music as well.
So, just how big do you want to get?
Well, I hear there might be an opening at the Vatican soon. [Laughs] I’ve never been the type to watch old Wigstock videos and pat myself on the back. I’m currently developing a comedy show to pitch to these gay channels that are popping up. I’ve also become increasingly political since 9/11. But writing music is something that I will continue to do even if it never makes me a dime. I would love to start pitching songs to other artists. I know Beyoncé’s old choir director! I know somebody who styles Gwen Stefani! It’s time to start working these connections, because I do still live in a one-room studio in Greenwich Village.
Well, it’s all about location.
It’s a great location, but I’m a little old for a dorm room. I mean, 25 in a dorm room? That’s ridiculous!
What are your current pop-cultural obsessions? Personally, I can’t get enough of Paris.
At last year’s Dance Star Awards, they had me present an award with Frankie Knuckles after Paris Hilton had just won Best Celebrity DJ. I came out and said, “Well, Frankie, I didn’t even know she DJed. I knew she BJed because I saw the video.” The crowd went nuts! But I’m not a Paris Hilton fan. The thing I hate right now is Oscarmania. I hate America’s constant focus on competition. And how tacky is it to have an awards ceremony in the daytime? That is not glamorous at all!
C’mon, you have a fair bit of competition with other drag performers in town.
No, I don’t.
No?
Not as long as I’m still winning. [Laughs] I’m kidding! The drag community in New York City sticks together. Now, if a drag queen walks into Edelweiss, the transsexual hookers might look down on her because the drag queen doesn’t go the whole nine yards. Plus, as hookers, they know that the drag queens are probably going to be giving it away for free!
Is it ever stressful having to get so decked out and fabulous just to go out?
Oh, I leave the house incognito plenty of times, I just don’t go to a bar. I go to the Port Authority men’s room.
What’s the highest your hair has ever been?
I was shooting a video to put on my site for the song “Sneakin’” yesterday in the Meatpacking District, and I had on a wig that was 16 wigs in one. Honey, Marie Antoinette never knew! And I ran into Hogs & Heifers, got up on the bar and did a little impromptu go-go dancing. [Snorts] How appropriate, as this sow crawled up on the bar, attempting to look fetching. Then this woman said, “If you’re going to dance on my bar, you need to take your bra off.” I said, “Honey, if I take my bra off, my boobs come off.” “Well, then,” she said, “you have to contribute something to breast cancer.”
Was she kidding?
No! So I did. Hey, if I ever get breasts, I sure don’t want to get no cancer in ’em.
HX, March 2005.