It is funny how a small moment can become part of pop culture. When the party supply chain Party City started opening stores in Alberta many RuPaul’s Drag Race fans would think I need to go back there where I belong in reference to an argument between Phi Phi O’Hara and Sharon Needles on the show.
"You know Party City, me and Phi Phi are waiting for that cheque!" Needles said when we caught up with her, laughing. "When the quotes first start you love it because it is something that solidifies your place in pop culture. Then it gets a little old because you work your ass off just to be summed up by these sound bytes that fell out of your pie hole. Then it comes full circle, and you treasure and relish the moments that are a part of pop culture. The name Sharon Needles will go on as long as Party City stores. Celebrities can be associated with a lot worse things, so I’ll take it!"
Needles will be part of the RuPaul’s Drag Race: Battle of the Seasons tour in Calgary February 13th and in Edmonton February 14th. Putting seven queens together sounds like a recipe for drama, but it is a very different environment from the show.
"Real life and making a TV show are completely different things," she said. "Being on the TV show was being locked in a studio for 16 hours a day under cameras and lights while producers are bringing up your deepest insecurities. Once the show is over, it’s over. We are like any other family; we are completely dysfunctional, but we all love each other. The road can be a very lonely place – to have the opportunity to be with people that really understand what we do for a living, and how much hard work we put into the show, makes it that much more fun. We are all such different personalities, but we are huge personalities. It really is a family reunion of people who won’t shut the fuck up."
Working with an ex can be awkward, but Needles has no such issues being reunited with former boyfriend Alaska.
"When we decided we were no longer going to be boyfriends we just turned the word ‘boy’ into ‘best’. The four years we spent together – you can’t deny how much fun we had, how much creative product we put out, and what great friends we were. We really enjoy each others’ company; we just don’t fuck each other anymore."
The multi-city tour visits theatres and major concert venues. It is a different experience from smaller gay bars.
"Whether we are in a gay bar or a Hard Rock café, anyone and everyone over the age of 18 is welcome to see us perform. I appreciate when straight fans come to gay bars and test their own limitations and see what they can handle. These bigger venues are great because you are in Calgary, it is freezing, and the chance to see this many girls on one stage is not just a treat for us to perform for you guys, but it has to be a treat for you guys to see all of us in one night, in one venue, doing our best work. They both have their perks. Working in smaller venues and gay bars allows you to be much more connected with your audience. It takes you back to what we were all doing before we were on Drag Race, which was performing in small bars. Performing in these large venues makes us feel like the fucking rock stars that we are! We can utilize so much more technology to tell our stories and express our art. The lighting, props, backdrop, sets and video are all insane. It’s a Beyonce show at half the ticket price."
The show is hosted by Michelle Visage. Needles praised the Drag Race judge for being on the road.
"I really give my props to Michelle Visage; she doesn’t have to do this. You don’t really see Santino or RuPaul heavily involved in our tour schedules. For Michelle Visage to be the face of RuPaul’s Drag Race and to put herself on our level – to get two hours of sleep to be at the airport at 6am and do show after show after show – doesn’t just show her tenacity, but her true love and respect for what we do, past our time on the show."
This is Needle’s second time in Calgary. She previously appeared at Cowboys, hosting a competition won by DevaDave. Seeing the different talent around the world is one of the highlights of the job, Needles said.
"Since being on Drag Race I have had the opportunity to travel all over the world. It is great to see the variety of drag that is in different regions everywhere. Canada is definitely on tops of its game. The thing I like about Canadian drag is that you can’t pinpoint that it is specifically Canadian; it is everything from camp to pageants, comedy to performance art. Canadian drag queens have it all. I will be in my fucking snowsuit. I know it will be cold as hell."
The Season 5 winner is will be making sure to track down TVs on tour in order to catch Season 7 of Drag Race.
"I haven’t been excited about a season of RuPaul’s Drag Race since my own. This season these girls are all basically unknowns. There are no huge superstars, or what I like to call girls who didn’t need Drag Race – girls like Bianca Del Rio, who were already so established in their career. These girls are all unknowns and that makes it exciting for me. Usually with the meet the queens videos you can really see a super stand-out or tell who the mega star is. These girls all seem to be on the same playing field. I think there will be more twists and turns this season than any season of Drag Race."
Past seasons have featured queens that were tightly connected, whether by dating, drag mother and daughter relationships, or as close friends. This new batch of queens are a fresh crop.
"The family was starting to get a little bit of incest so now it is great to put a new gene pool into the family so we don’t all end up Ru-tarded. I am so fucking excited to watch it because I don’t know a thing that is going on. We are a close-knit sisterhood, and we love to gossip, so most of the alumni of Drag Race know everything that happens before it happens. I don’t think any of us knows one of these bitches. Not only [can we] be an alumni to the show, we can sit back and enjoy the bumpy ride with the rest of the world. The only girl I kind of know from this season is Max; she is kind of a stand-out outsider artist. We used to correspond online and she was a big fan of Sharon Needles. It is great to watch this kid evolve into a superstar right alongside me."
As RuPaul’s Drag Race continues to be a juggernaut, undoubtedly there will be more seasons. Season 7 is already taped, but Needles has some advice for queens auditioning for future seasons.
"Stay true to yourself and make sure that what you do for a living is not copying someone who inspires you. Make sure everything you do is genuine and comes from not just the heart, but the brain. When in doubt freak ’em out bro! If you look like every other queen out there no one is going to notice you. A pretty face may look good on camera, but it will do nothing for you in this industry."
The queens know that they won’t find out the winner until the finale airs. Endings are recorded with all three of the top queens crowned winners, a twist that was first revealed during Season 4.
"At the end of the day it really doesn’t matter. To get to the top three you have used your sweat, blood, tears and hairspray to get there. Whether the decision is prolonged or not, I don’t think it hinders the anxiety that comes along with it. I preferred it because it gave me eight extra months to get plastic surgery and look better when I won."
It is clear in talking to Needles that she is very excited about this tour. Part of the appeal of the Battle of the Seasons tour is getting to socialize with fans before the show.
"The fans are life and death to me. I wouldn’t have a job if I didn’t have them. RuPaul may have put that crown on my head, but it was the fans that allowed me to wear it, and the reason why I won. Ours was the first season where the fans were asked who should win. I personally didn’t think I was the bee’s knees, but fans said that is who they wanted. Usually in a club setting they are lined up – these poor, great kids have to stand in a line for two hours just to get 20 seconds with you. With the BotS tour we do it a little different. We meet them before the show, instead of after, so we are not completely exhausted, and we make it a cocktail party. It is enjoyable for everyone. We all have a drink in our hand, and it is more of a party than a classic meet and greet where you get two seconds, picture, and move along."
