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Fudgie Frottage
Drag King Deluxe
Fudgie Frottage
has been a fixture on the San Francisco night scene for years,
producing, promoting and performing in every venue, at every event and
with every outrageous drag personality from both coasts. ErosZine spent
some time hangin’ out in swingin’ bachelor pad for an insightful
conversation:
ErosZine: So what was the genesis of Fudgie Frottage?
Fudgie Frottage: I’m French; my last name is usually mispronounced. It
rhymes with fromage. I went to Catholic schools on the East Coast, so I
have a great deal of damage and high sense of drama resulting from
that. As the story goes, I was discovered (quite accidentally) by
Versace in 1996 while felching Donatella in a K-Hole after-hours
in his Miami showroom. Heavily influenced by the late 60's (free love)
and early 70's (free drugs).
EZ: When did you first crossdress?
FF: I was always male identified. When I first went to kindergarten,
there were two large tables; one was where the girls sat and one was
where the boys sat. I sat at the boy table (but I used the girls’
bathroom.) It’s difficult for me to answer the crossdressing question.
I had to wear a uniform in Catholic school, starting in 1st Grade. I
always felt that was a form of crossdressing, more like forced
feminization, since I really hated wearing dresses.
EZ: Is it strictly a gender identification thing?
FF: Before I conceived my drag king character, Fudgie, I did a faux
queen character, Rusty Scrotum. I prefer the word drag to crossdress,
since drag applies to any and all fashion that one wears and is all
encompassing.
EZ: Is it, or was it ever, a sexual thing?
FF: I have had plenty of sex in drag. Girls seem to be very excited by
drag kings and trannies. Strapping on a dick and getting your “package”
to look right is very important -- crucial!
I have a signature piece I do (with another king) to Devo’s “Workin’ In
A Coal Mine.” During a portion of the number our cocks squirt. To a
straight audience that is a major highlight; to a savvy (gay, queer,
fetish) audience the finale is the actual showstopper. I can’t explain
it and do it justice. You have to come out and see the number.
EZ: You and Murray Hill are both considered "the hardest working man in show business." How do your styles differ?
FF: I have to correct you on that. Murray is “the hardest working
middle-aged man in show business” while Fudgie is “the man with the
biggest balls in show business.”
EZ: Oh, sorry!
FF: I adore Murray and catch him every time I’m in New York. He’s a
truly funny guy. His drag is a pair of glasses, a little spirit gum, a
mustache, a suit and a clip-on tie. I’m funny too, but a lot more bent.
The best way to describe how our styles differ is Murray’s humor is
quick and dirty while Fudgie’s is just plain dirty. Or is the term
filthy-gorgeous now? I do acts where I’m stripped naked and look like a
male porn star. I think Murray’s too wholesome for that, but if he
tried I think he’d look a little too much like Ron Jeremy—from the
waist up only that is.
EZ: I see you out on the town with some pretty hot babes. You're quite the Casanova. What's your secret with the ladies?
FF: I’ve got a big tool and I know how to use it!
EZ: Tell me about the events you've produced.
FF: I’ve been producing events since the 80s when the Del Rubio
Triplets asked me to book shows for them in the San Francisco Bay Area.
I don’t think there could be anyone more difficult than those three
were. I also produce the annual San Francisco Drag King Contest,
scheduled this year on Thursday, August 18th at DNA Lounge. Then
there’s Mondo Porno, which you know all about since I only help you
produce those shows when you do them here in San Francisco. I
occasionally produce a show called Merkinstock which I first launched
in ’93 as the Left Coast’s answer to Lady Bunny’s Wigstock.
[I produced] a monthly show called DragStrip started in ’95 and
continued on through ’96 at the DNA Lounge on Sundays. It was a
combination of drag acts and strippers, complete with a Fetish Lounge.
I stopped doing it when the club changed hands years ago. Now I use
DragStrip on all clubs I produce. I’ve got Fudgie Fridays running at
The Transfer right now, but the bar’s been sold, so I’ll have to
relocate. I briefly had a club called Transfusion/Smackdown, which was
tranny wrestling; it was a lot of fun, but people would really get
carried away and hurt themselves. Broken heels are one thing; broken
ribs another.
EZ: You're a performer as well as a producer and promoter. Tell me about some of your favorite acts.
FF: I’ll just name names, the usual suspects: Justin Bond/Kiki &
Herb, Varla Jean Merman, Lady Bunny, Dirty Martini, *BOB*, Tigger...San
Francisco people: Wood (the drag king 70’s hard rock band),
Pepperspray, Precious Moments, Arturo Galster, Trauma Flintstone,
DeeDee Luxe, Roky Roulette, The Indra, Kellita of Hot Pink Feathers...
EZ: Talk about consummate showman. I meant your favorite acts! The performances you’ve given that went over big.
FF: "Coal Mine," my signature piece, brought the house down at Murray
Hill's Drag King Invitational in New York in 2001, as it did at the
Slick Anniversary Party last year. The kinky "Mama Told Me Not To Cum"
with Selina Raven and Trashina is always a crowd pleaser. "To Sir With
Love" remix, with Crickett Bardot, Marcy Meow and The Indra at the
Folsom Street Fair 2003 and "Sweet Pee" with The Indra and Wendy
O'Matic at Folsom 2004. "Pornstar" with Putanesca and Precious Moments
at Trannyshack and The (original) Stripper's Ball. I really enjoy
taking a song and embellishing it with new or changed lyrics, then
completing it with a staged, choreographed and usually hilarious story
line. I plan to have video clips on my website, which should launch
later this summer.
EZ: You travel between San Francisco and New York City a lot. What are the differences between nightlife in the two cities?
FF: New York’s got the all-night action and way more clubs, so there’s
more work. Restaurants stay open well past 10pm. San Francisco’s got
more alternative shit because most of our clubs close at 2am, and with
a smaller population many of our clubs end up being monthly clubs.
We’ve got to work harder to come up with ways to entertain ourselves.
There are more after-parties and private parties as a result.
New York has it over San Francisco with their Halloween parade but San
Francisco has it over New York with the Hairrison (sic), Dore St. and
Folsom Street Fairs. San Francisco also has the Faux Queen and Faux
King Contests, since our gender shit is all over the place. Manhattan
hasn’t caught up with us yet on those two parties.
EZ: Any similarities?
FF: Many performers are bi-coastal so I can be in New York and/or Los Angeles and see people I know from here and vice versa.
EZ: You've also been involved in nightlife for quite some time. How have things changed?
FF: In the 70’s, when I first moved to San Francisco, all the clubs
South of Market were leather bars and bath houses; the streets were
lined with gay men in leather: chaps, jackets, boots and caps
everywhere! Then the clubs started to turn over; first there was the
DNA Lounge, then the Paradise. The music venues started moving in. Now,
30 years later, most of these clubs have changed hands a few times and
each time the city has created more red tape, fees and restrictions. I
was not here in the 60’s but San Francisco’s history (Haight/Ashbury,
Janis, Jimi, etc.) speaks for itself. I did catch the tail end of The
Angels of Light once I moved here. I saw Divine perform at the I-Beam
and the Alcazar Theatre. There always seemed to be outrageous activity
onstage and off—disco, punk rock, drag—it was all outlandish!
The 70’s were so much about androgyny that the drag had to be over the
top! Doris Fish and the Sluts A-Go-Go (of “Vegas in Space” fame) are a
perfect example. Anyone who doesn’t know what I’m talking about needs
to watch these movies: “Vegas In Space”; all the early John Waters
movies; a perfect film that illustrates just how trashy the 70’s really
were is “The Stud,” starring Joan Collins, written by her sister,
Jackie Collins.
EZ: You've been photographed by a lot of famous fetish photographers. Any comments on "posing" or being a "model"?
FF: I’ve only been photographed by friends, many of whom are well known
fetish photographers. I just did a shoot with Larry Utley, who is my
favorite. I’m in one of his books. I’ve also modeled for Paige White,
Heidi “Bluegirl” Calvert and some others who aren’t specifically fetish
photographers.
EZ: What other drag kings/queens have you worked with?
FF: I’ve worked with just about everyone: the old Club Casanova gang:
Mo B. Dick, Dred, Murray Hill, Whacked Willy, *BOB*. Here in San
Francisco Rusty Hips and I will be hosting the Drag King Contest
together again. When I started doing Merkinstock in ’93, which turned
into a monthly show called DragStrip, all the queens were there: Justin
Bond, Jerome Caja, Pussy Tourette, Hattie Hathaway, Arturo Galster,
Matthew Martin, Elvis Herselvis, Needles Jones, Steve Lady, Timmie
Spence. Then when I started doing the Drag King Contest and
Transfusion/Smackdown: Vinsantos, Shack “The Shack” Shackwell, Howie
Weenis. I’ve worked with everyone in San Francisco and some performers
from Los Angeles and New York if they’re here or I’m there. I also
enjoy working with cabaret and burlesque shows like Cabaret Verdalet
and The VaVaVoom Room as well as fetish parties like Slick.
EZ: Wanna dish any dirt?
FF: No, I can’t think of anything “special” right now.
EZ: Who are the biggest geniuses you've worked with?
FF: The people I’ve already mentioned are all geniuses. I also worked
with Wendy O. Williams in New York, right before the Plasmatics formed;
she was quite a character! I consider her my drag mother, as she taught
me how to apply false eyelashes.
EZ: Any fetishes? A weak spot for dominatrices? Strippers?
FF: Butt-Popping is my current favorite fetish. It’s that move that
certain talented strippers/dancers do, mostly featured in rap videos on
BET and late-night MTV. As for Dommes, I have my favorites: Selina
Raven, who I’ve worked with in my “Mama Told Me Not To Cum” number,
among others.
EZ: Okay, promote away! And be funny!
FF: On Friday, June 24th I’ve got Fudgie Fridays at The Transfer. It’ll
be Pride Friday and Fudgie’s Birthday with special guest DJ Sini
Anderson. Vicious and Vivacious Variety show at midnight and spin the
“Wheel of Fudge” for free drinks and prizes. At The Transfer, where the
drinks and bartenders are strong and cheap! Thursday, August 18th is
The 10th Annual SF Drag King Contest at DNA Lounge starring myself and
Rusty Hips as MCs and featuring The Transformers, The Momma’s Boyz,
Arty Fishal, Wood and more. It’s a benefit for PAWS (pets are wonderful
support), so come out and show all the bitches and studs that you care
and that you, too, know how to strut your stuff!
EZ: You never quit, Fudgie! Thanks for your time. Readers, you can keep
up with all Fudgie’s San Francisco drag extravaganzas at www.sfdragkingcontest.com.
[Written May 2005]
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