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Linda Simpson
High Profile NYC Drag Queen
Linda
Simpson is a Manhattan celebrity in many worlds. She runs the Gay &
Lesbian Listings for TimeOut and contributes her editorial acumen to
their general nightlife articles. As editor of My Comrade, her recently
revived “revolutionary gay magazine,” she brings together politics,
humor, local legends and more humor. And as an integral part of the New
York nightlife scene, Linda has served as a beauty pageant judge
alongside Michael Musto, emceed at the astounding Motherfucker and
hostessed plenty of her very own hilarious events. The always amusing
Miss Simpson shared a few tidbits about her past, her present and her
future with ErosZine.
ErosZine: Tell us a little bit about your background.
Linda Simpson: I was born and bred in Minnesota and escaped as soon as
possible to New York City. From a very early age, I knew I wanted to
live here. I was infatuated with any magazine article, movie and TV
show that had anything to do with glamorous NYC!
EZ: How long have you lived in New York?
LS: Let’s just say I was here for much of the ’80s—the 1980s, that is!
EZ: Tell us about the first time you crossdressed.
LS: I experimented a little in college as a lark, and then later a few
times for Halloween, but I really took the plunge circa 1989. I had
immersed myself in the drag scene at the Pyramid Club on Avenue A and
become friendly with a lot of the performers. They were having a blast,
so I decided to join the gang. It was peer pressure, really.
EZ: Do you consider yourself a drag queen?
LS: Yes, definitely. I’m basically a larger-than-life woman, as well as
an entertainer. However, I probably do have a few transvestite
tendencies, as well. Dressing up isn’t an erotic charge for me, per se,
but it does often transport me into erotic situations.
EZ: Tells us about what New York drag clubs were like “back in the day.”
LS: Back in the early 1980s, I remember frequenting the
walk-on-the-wild transsexual hangouts in Times Square. I loved being a
voyeur and found the girls to be incredibly entertaining, although I
didn’t necessarily want to be like them. I was also very involved in
the 1980s new wave nightlife scene and I especially enjoyed hanging out
at Danceteria, which didn’t include a lot of drag queens, but everyone
back then—men and women—caked on the makeup and used tons of hairspray
and gel. It might not have been crossdressing, but it was definitely a
form of drag. Things really clicked for me at the Pyramid. The club’s
kooky royalty, including Lady Bunny, Hapi Phace, Tabboo! and Sister
Dimension were such a departure from old-school drag queens in dusty
gowns lipsynching to Judy Garland. The Pyramid’s superstars were a hip
new breed who wore thrift-store-chic outfits and radiated their own
distinctive fab personae. It really was the underground capital of
newfangled drag.
EZ: How has New York nightlife changed?
LS: Well, the wildness has definitely been tamed. Giuliani cracked down
hard on the clubs and the scene has never really recovered. Also, there
used to be a lot of people who moved to New York basically just to
indulge in the fabulous club life—they didn’t care about climbing the
corporate ladder and making money. Now if you live in New York, at
least in Manhattan, you have to have some ball-and-chain office job to
pay the rent. There just isn’t a huge pool of fabulous nightcrawlers
anymore.
EZ: As a writer for TimeOut, you’re pretty in the know. What are the
hottest gay/drag/etc/ trends in performance? In other nightlife?
LS: Actually, there’s a really lively young-lesbian scene. Recently, I
was a judge at drag king Murray Hill’s Miss Lower East Side pageant,
featuring lovely and talented lesbian contestants. It was an absolute
scream and the most fun I’d had in ages. There was a party immediately
afterwards and everyone was so sexy and friendly and very hip in that
Williamsburg kind of way.
EZ: So you're a writer, an editor, an emcee, a general celeb about town. Do youperform?
LS: I’m not musically inclined so I don’t lipsynch or sing. My schtick is emceeing and hosting and just hanging out.
EZ: You're friends with every drag legend in New York. Give us a little gossip! Disha little dirt! Who has the tackiest wigs?
LS: I hate to disappoint you, but the drag scene isn’t as catty as you
might think. Oh sure, there’s competition and gossip, but most of the
queens really do look out for each other. The best part of being a New
York drag queen is that you become part of a very unique sorority.
EZ: Okay then, who do you think is the most talented? The funniest?
LS: Even though Lady Bunny needles me constantly in public, I must
admit that she is the most talented. She is hysterically funny and
raunchy. And off-stage, she’s even more so. I’ve never met someone who
is so constantly entertaining.
EZ: A lot of people have gone on to great success—Joey Arias, for
example—and others have faded into obscurity. Whose success do you
admire?
LS: I knew RuPaul before she became a big star and watched her soar to
the top. A lot of her success was due to being at the right place at
the right time, but she was also incredibly disciplined and focused,
which meant she had to divorce herself from the downtown scene and let
go of a lot of the people that were an important part of her life. It
made me realize that one often has to pay a big price in order to
achieve fame.
EZ: Tell us about My Comrade.
LS: I used to publish My Comrade, which is basically a gay humor
magazine, in the late 1980s and early ’90s. Over the years it evolved
from a zine into a not-quite mainstream magazine. And recently, after a
10-year hiatus, I revived it by printing a new issue, which looks even
more professional.
EZ: In what ways was/is it "revolutionary"?
LS: I think it’s revolutionary because it’s so different from the rest
of the gay press. Back when I started, people rejoiced when they
discovered My Comrade because it was such a breath of fresh air. Well,
guess what? These days, gay media is as stale as ever and My Comrade
once again offers a fresh alternative!
EZ: What was it like publishing a zine?
LS: Back when I first started, publishing a zine meant running off
copies on a Xerox machine. I used to do a lot of printing at my office
temp jobs. Sneaky, sneaky!
EZ: How is "publishing" a web site different? Easier? Bigger audience? Moremainstream media attention?
LS: Right now, the My Comrade's website
just supports the print issue, including listing stores where it's
available. But down the road, I would like to add content and make the
site much more extensive. I want to be able to reach those young gay
kids in the Midwest who long for something more… Hey, just like me back
in the day!
EZ: How does what you're doing now differ from the original "vision" of
thezine? The social climate has changed so much in the last 10 or 20
years.
LS: As you can see from the new issue of My Comrade, the magazine has
undergone a makeover, but it still retains its feisty, underground
flavor. And even though the world has changed a lot since we
first printed, the format is still the same. I like to describe it as a
kind of Vanity Fair/Art Forum/Mad magazine for the gay smart set,
reveling in outrageous camp, witty social satire and celebratory
coverage of the cultural fringe.
EZ: Okay, so on yet another topic, do you have any personal fashion tips?
LS: Frederick’s of Hollywood has great shoes in large sizes. And best of all, they’re cheap!
EZ: Any general advice for aspiring drag queens?
LS: Rule number one is learn how to put on makeup. Go to an expert and
let them do your face. Take notes and then try it yourself. Don’t be
discouraged at first—practice makes perfect.
EZ: Are you looking for submissions?
LS: Submissives? Of course. And dominants, too. I’m versatile.
EZ: Have you spotted any future stars recently?
LS: Yes, when I woke up today and looked in the mirror!
EZ: Oy, you are so multifaceted! It’s hard for me to concentrate on one thing!
LS: I’ll say. It’s great being a Renaissance woman, but there is much
to be said for streamlining. Perhaps someday I’ll just concentrate on
one thing…but for now, the world is my oyster.
[Written March 2005]
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