June Peep Show!

WOW!  WOW!  WOW!  That's about all I can say about Peep Show this past Tuesday!  Last month was brilliant with Sherry Vine and Joey Arias!  But this month we featured 100% local Portland talent and they truly blew me away!  It was one of those rare shows that just seemed magical to me and will forever be one I will remember and hold dear to my heart!

I opened the evening with a parody of "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga called "Outer Space" where it claims that Gaga is an alien.  Many thanks to Allison, Kim, and Nichole for ally being in the number with me!  You were all brilliant (and gorgeous)!

Sally Ingus Wilder then took to the stage with her rewrite of Shirley Bassey's "Hey Big Spender" done as "Hey Big Boner" complete with deep throating balloons and juggling.  The most amazing thing about that number for me is that Sally lip synchs while Allison May sings the song live from off-stage.  And let me tell you...that's NOT easy to do!

We got more live vocals right after with Zora Phoenix performing "Hot Child in the City", with a few humorously rewritten lyrics of course!

One of the most exciting surprises for me was seeing the incredibly talented Mona "Sphongledhoops" perform her hoola hoop act!  It was truly sensational and I don't know how she pulled it off on our little stage!

Laura Beth and Little Tommy Bang Bang brought us a tribute to Marilyn Monroe's birthday with an adorable rendition of "You Ain't Nothin' But a Houndog" sang live by Laura Beth while Tommy hammed it up on stage as only he can!

Burlesque sensation Sadie LaGuerre gave us a fabulous number set to Goldfrapp and I learned a fabulous new trick of filling a giant balloon with confetti and popping it on stage.  Yes girl, yes!

My dear friend Vegas Platinum is leaving Portland in a few weeks, so I had to get her to perform at Peep Show once before she left.  And she tore it up like I knew she would with her outstanding "Plastic Surgery Mix"!

After intermission the incredibly talented boys of Burlesquire got the crowd all worked up with their super sexy dancing!

Little Tommy Bang Bang returned to the stage with his lady friend Dixie Cup for a hilarious white trash rendition of "Livin La Vida Loca" that had me laughing from start to finish!

One performer I was absolutely thrilled agreed to be in the show was one of the legendary Sissy Boys, Fannie Mae Darling!  She enraptured the crowd as she belted out "Purple Rain"!

Sally Ingus Wilder and I both returned with second numbers.  Sally doing her funny as all hell "Party in the USA" and my "Whitney on Crack" number.

And finally we saved what many would call the best for last!  Ecstasy Inferno TORE UP the stage with her 4 backup dancers to "Sex Shooter" and a new track by Erika Jayne!  Nobody in Portland can touch Ecstasy when it comes to dance numbers and I am so blessed to count her among my many talented friends!

If you would like to see videos from the night check out our brand new youtube page at http://www.youtube.com/user/PeepShowVideos and add the Peep Show Facebook Page to stay up to date on all the latest party news!

Peep Show is a Smashing Success!

The time has come for a change in Portland's drag scene!  And Tuesday night we began that change with the the incredible kickoff of my new monthly event, Peep Show @ The Red Cap Garage!  Opening night we brought in the legendary and epic talents of Sherry Vine and Joey Arias and they truly were phenomenal!  Their singing, humor, and even when they were just chatting with the audience took drag to a whole new level!  I was incredibly inspired and thankful to be able to have them here!


I kicked off the night with my tribe of cannibal queens for a gruesome yet funny rendition of "Maneater".  Many thanks to my backup performers Sally Ingus Wilder, Saturn, and Brandon!  It was by far one of the favorite numbers I've done since moving back to Portland!

The second set was opened by the always amazing Ecstasy Inferno with a rousing Missy Elliot mix!  Now this was a seven minute number, which usually would have me shaking my head in frustration, but this girl pulled it off!  And we will be seeing much more of her in the coming months!

Peep Show will continue to happen on the first Tuesday of every month!  We are going to be bringing you the hottest drag talent as well as a mixture of singing, dance, comedy, and so much more!  We want to take Portland's nightlife entertainment to an entirely new level and I think we are off to a great start!  Plus we are working on bringing you more very special out of town guests in the upcoming months!  One hint...think outside the boxx!  So make sure to mark your calendars for Tuesday, June 1st for the next installment of Peep Show!

(Photos by Marty Davis, Just Out)

Queen of the Week - Sally Ingus Wilder

Name: Sally Ingus Wilder

Age: 26

Location: Portland, OR

Single or taken? I'm a single Sally

What is your drag style like?  Being from the Midwest originally, there's definitely a bit of "Minnesota Nice" in my personality. When I perform I tend towards theatrical, choreographed numbers. I love props, magic and special effects! I'm more interested in performance and spectacle than straight up dancing, lip-synching, or pageantry.

How long does it take you to get ready in drag? Around and hour and a half, or 3 PBR tallboys.

Do you have a favorite number you perform? It's too soon to say. I'm working on a more serious piece involving projected home videos of me as a child when I used to secretly dress in drag and videotape myself, which I hope will be tragically hilarious and moving at the same time.

Where can we see you perform? I'm currently loving performing at Miss Thing each month here in Portland, hosted by the legendary Heklina of Trannyshack! I'm also really excited to be performing in the new alternative drag show Artemis is hosting beginning in May!

How did you first get into drag? I've always had an interest in performance, makeup and costume, but never had the right connections growing up in Minneapolis. It wasn't until moving to Portland that I found an encouraging network of friends and professionals. It's here that I met my drag mother Allison May, who has a rich background in theater and loves drag queens more than anything on earth. She really helped me make the leap, and I'm oh so glad she did!

Who have been your biggest inspirations? Traditional drag really does nothing for me. I love anything androgynous, experimental, and spectacular. I'm currently a huge fan of Suppositori Spelling for the rawness of her performances. I love the look of Minneapolis's Kysa Bong. Sissyboy is super inspiring — I love a good gender fuck! I also have a huge crush on Portland performance artist/Sissyboy Kaj-anne Pepper.

What would be your three biggest tips for a new drag queen? Well being a new drag queen myself, that's a tough one, so here's advice I've received that's been really helpful:

1. BE HUMBLE. Your drag persona is one thing, but you personally must always remain humble (thanks Fannie May Darling!)

2. Drag queens are allowed to be filthy as fuck, but do it with just a touch of class… sometimes.

3. Drag is addicting, no one can do it just once!

If you could perform anywhere in the world where would it be and why? I was raised in an evangelical home, and I performed in one of those Christian Hell Houses as a teenager — I played the role of a tortured soul in hell (ha!) and it was really homophobic and horrible. I'd like to go back in full drag, and reach out to all the poor young queer kids and tell them they're beautiful the way they are.

What is something that might surprise us all about you? In addition to my day job as a graphic designer and illustrator, I've been a professional live caricature artist for 8 years, and have drawn over 10,000 faces at all sorts of venues including Theme Parks, County Fairs, and San Francisco Pride. And you thought drag was trashy…

What makeup items could you not live without? Portland diva Poison Waters once said never to spend more than $2 on a pair of lashes, and its true. I'm a regular at the local Mid-K beauty supply store… they've got the goods for cheap! The people at Hollywood Lights here in Portland are really helpful with stage makeup as well.

Do you design any of your clothes, create any of your wigs, etc? My outfits are usually pieced together from thrift stores, things I've made, and borrowed items. My sewing machine is my best friend! I've just started learning to style my own wigs. It's amazing what you can do with a cheap wig, synthetic hair extensions, a can of Aqua Net and a blow dryer!

What has been your all time greatest moment in drag? Winning the March 2010 title in the Miss Thing talent search! I did a lyrically-altered version of "Big Spender", lip-synched to live vocals, swallowed a balloon, and there was a juggler on stage. Besides walking away with the title for that month, it was also my first time on stage in drag, so that would have to be the greatest moment of my young career.

What else should we know about you? Friend me on Facebook and find out! 

Miss Thing!

I am officially proclaiming Miss Thing as the best drag event in all of Portland!  Our second show last Wednesday was so incredible even I was surprised!  Thank you to everyone who came out to the show, all our performers, and everyone else involved in making this idea become a reality!

The theme was Broadway Babes and we got so many different dimensions of the stage musical!  The show kicks off every month with Heklina and all the judges performing.  I tore up the stage with my band of cardboard guitar toting hippies to "Jesus Christ Superstar" and we were given hilarious renditions of "My Favorite Things" by Heklina and "Little Girls" from Annie by Jeffrey Darling.  Poison Waters wowed us all with a super sexy number (that tragically I can't remember the name of) and Raya Light gave us classic scary Raya complete with decapitated heads!  There definitely was a little something for everyone!

But we were all put to shame when last months Miss Thing winner Ecstasy Inferno (who returned to us as a guest judge) took to the stage!  Ecstasy put together an incredibly choreographed sequence from Cabaret combining Willkommen and Don't Tell Mama that was almost broadway quality, complete with leading man and four super sexy backup girls!  If Ecstasy's performance last month might have been the best thing I had seen since moving to Portland, this performance definitely was!  I just heard that Ecstasy has agreed to return to us for a special intermission performance at our upcoming Miss Thing - Ladies of the 80's night, so can't wait to see what she will bring us next!

Finally our contestants took to the stage!  We had a crazy time with contestants this time around with 3 of our girls (Saturn, Onyx Valentine, and Vivica Valentine) all having to drop out at the last minute for various reasons.  But our three remaining girls were fabulous!  Vegas Platinum served us classic glamour with "And I'm Telling You" from Dreamgirls.  Bulimianne Rhapsody brought us Cats in a hilarious number complete with 2 almost naked dancers that had the judges drooling.  However her attention to costume detailing (complete with little pink kitty asshole) is what had the judges really falling over in their seats!  And finally Sally Ingus Wilder (who had never performed in drag before that night) took to the stage with a version of "Big Spender" rewritten as "Big Boner".  There was judggling, balloon swallowing, and all sorts of dirty innuendo worked into the number.  To top it all off the song was sung live by the incredible Allison May off stage, while Sally lipsynced the number!

Once all the contestants had performed it was time for the judges to deliberate and determine a winner.  While we went backstage the fabulous burlesque sensation Sadie LaGuerre gave a rousing performance that sadly I only got to see the last 20 seconds of.  But I was told it was fabulous!

Finally the moment was here and we announced the second Miss Thing winner was our first time performer, Sally Ingus Wilder!  She will be joining us again next month as one of our guest judges and I can't wait to see what she will bring to the stage!

Next month's contest will be on Wednesday, April 14th and the theme is "Ladies of the 80's".  So far confirmed for the show we have Bulimianne Rhapsody, Alexis Campbell Starr, and Vegas Platinum as well as a whole list of other divas I am waiting to hear back from!  So make sure to get your tickets in advance because with the success of our last show it is possible we will completely sell out the venue this time around!

Miss Thing - Broadway Babes!

I wanted to remind everyone that next Wednesday, March 10th is the second Miss Thing talent search hosted by the one and only Heklina!  The theme is Broadway Babes and we have an ever so fabulous lineup for you all!  You are going to get numbers ranging from classic Broadway to the craziest reinterpretations you have ever seen!

This months contestants are Vivica Valentine, Saturn, Bulimianne Rhapsody, Onyx Valentine, and Sally Ingus Wilder!

Plus fabulous performances by your panel of celebrity judges including Raya Light (former Miss Trannyshack from San Francisco), Jeffrey Darling (of Sissy Boy fame), Poison Waters (all around diva of Portand), Exstasy Inferno (last months Miss Thing winner), and of course yours truly Artemis Chase!

Tickets are $10 at the door, but you can get them for only $5 if you pre-order them at TicketWeb!

Miss Thing @ The Fez Ballroom
316 SW 11th St., Portland
Wed, March 10th.
Doors at 9pm, Showtime at 10pm.