This isn’t the Year of the Rabbit. It’s the Year of the Bunny. That’s Lady Bunny, bitches!
The drag superstar, musician and all-around showstopper has always had a busy schedule, filming music video clips for YouTube and bouncing around the globe from her home base in New York City for her many DJ gigs and personal appearances. This year is no exception.
In the midst of all her performances, Lady Bunny is about to begin filming the second season of “RuPaul’s Drag U” for the Logo Network.
But before all that TV fun can begin, Lady Bunny is hopping through the area for a performance on a bill that includes Gunner from gunnerworld.com, Feb. 24 at Maingate Nightclub in Allentown.
Yeah, we know. Organize a carpool with some friends or something.
PGN caught up with Lady Bunny while she was doing her thing on the West Coast, and she gave us the skinny on what new outrageousness she plans to let loose when she blows through the area.
PGN: Everybody we’ve talked to is being hush-hush about the details of your upcoming show in Allentown. Can you tell us anything about it? LB: No. [Laughs.] It wouldn’t be a secret. I’m just teasing. I do have lots of new material and I will be making my rap debut, since that seems the way to go. I do a lot of song parodies, so I’ve added a lot of new songs and one of them is set to a popular rap song, so look out Jay-Z and Kanye West — Lady B and her hippity-hop is about to burst on the scene. I’m also doing a comical tribute to the movie “Burlesque.” I’m about to do a YouTube movie about “Burlesque” but it hasn’t been seen very much on stage. That’s a new component to the act. I’ve been doing these YouTube [videos] and there’s one that’s really popular called “The Ballad of Sarah Palin.” I don’t know whether I’m going to perform this because it’s not all together suitable to a nightclub. It’s more for a cabaret environment.
PGN: Are there any hip-hop artists in particular that you draw inspiration from for your new act? LB: Absolutely none. I don’t care for rap. I think it has a lot of negativity toward women and gays. The imagery is very violent. It glamorizes gangsters and thuggery. I don’t care for it. I like rap that makes me laugh and I do like vulgar material. Lil’ Kim has been up front like “I’m a slut” with her raps. If you’re going to be a slut, be a proud slut and wear it out there for everyone to see without shame. If there was a rapper that I liked, it would be her. And my rap is certainly rather risqué.
PGN: Is there going to be a second season of “Drag U”? LB: There is. I’m starting to film that with Ru in March. So, yes, that is coming up again and I’ll be getting away from the blistering cold for a month, which I will certainly enjoy.
PGN: Did you think that “Drag Race” would catch on in the mainstream like it did? LB: Well, Ru has certainly had a knack for hitting the nail on the head and defining a cultural moment. “Supermodel,” when he put that out, the whole world was buzzing about Naomi Campbell. It certainly brought drag to the forefront and made it relevant again. It is reality TV, so we all know reality TV isn’t always real. People get so wrapped up in “Drag Race” and whether it’s fair or not. It’s reality TV. They set up situations and it’s not like they’ve gone around and found the very best queens to compete in the show and whoever wins the show is the best drag performer in the country. That’s just not the way it works. They just pick a mix of people that are going to make interesting TV and that’s what he’s done.
PGN: Do you think with the popularity of “Drag Race” and “Drag U” that you’ll be able to bring back “Wigstock” someday. LB: I gave that event 20 years and it was loads of fun, but New York was a different place then. Never say never, but it’s just not on my list of things to do. We’re going to change up the format of “Drag U,” which was not as popular as “Drag Race,” and see if we can fine-tune that and get it to be more popular. That’s pretty much my main focus for now. I’m still going around DJing and performing a lot.”
Lady Bunny performs Feb. 24 at Maingate Nightclub in Allentown. For more information, visit maingateclub.com or www.ladybunny.net.