Monet X Change in her own words, is one of the most fashion forward gals around. Combine that with raw talent, razor sharp lip synch and the knack for making amazing mixes, and you have one of the hardest working queens in New York City. She sat down with us to chat about pride, how she crafts her amazing mixes, and why her own daytime talk show, "The Monet Show" is her ultimate goal!
For those that have never seen Monet X Change on stage, how would you describe your performance style and "drag" as a whole?
Monét X Change is a queen who blurs the lines of comedy, beauty, and New York City grit to create mixes and numbers that altogether make you laugh, cry, and want to twerk! My drag is very fashion forward, edgy, beautiful and sexy, but still with a huge air of camp to it. I think it comes from my degree in Opera Performance, girl! Mozart, and Verdi were turning the opera game-so I learned from the best!
You are known to perform some real dance floor stompers. How do you choose your material? Do you have any favorites that really stand out?
A lot of the stuff I choose comes from the YouTube "related videos" section. I'm usually watching something, see an interesting video, then click, and think, "Oh! I have to put have that in a mix!" Then, I do my research to find more clips to make it a showstopper-i.e. women's rights, sex, slavery...and those are just the unoffensive ones!
How did Monet X Change get her start in the extremely competitive New York City drag scene? I got my start like how the old school kids did it. Begging the senior class to let me do a number at their regular gigs, or just working for drink tickets, or working for tips. I did that for about a solid year and a half/two years, until Phoenix Bar saw me, and gave me my first monthly show! It was '1999 Tuesday's and it happened every other Tuesday if Jupiter was in retrograde, AND the moon was in the 7th house, AND pigs happened to be flying! Then, and only then would I do a show lol. Nowadays, everybody wants a booking fee; never mind the fact you've only been doing drag for five minutes!
It's so hard to stand out in New York City and in drag; how have you carved out your own niche?
I carved out my own niche by just being me, and being myself on stage; because the reality is, I am the only one that can do me! New York City is a very raw city; we're not fickle, we don't bullshit, we don't play games. Either we like you, we "like you like you", or we don't want to see you at all. I lucked out with who I am as a person and an entertainer, that New York City generally receives me well...generally [hehe].
What are some of your career highlights so far?
Honestly-the Chipotle Holiday party. Nirvana.
What is left that you want to achieve as Monet X Change? Any aspirations to be on "RuPaul's Drag Race" perhaps?
Probably my biggest goal ever since I was a little kid, was to be a daytime talk show host! Like every morning on Channel 7 ABC, the 10:00 am slot would be, "The Monét Show"! Interviewing celebrities, doing cooking demos, playing with exotic animals...the whole shebang. "RuPaul's Drag Race" is definitely something I would like to do because I have so much that I want to show the world, and that is a great way to come out the gate screaming and showing er'body what I can do.
Speaking of "Drag Race"several NYC girls have won. How do you think the show as a whole has been for the drag community?
I think like anything in life, it has pros and cons. I think it is pushing drag into the mainstream, thus creating more opportunities for the drag community. Years ago, drag was this weird taboo thing that we pushed under the rug and didn't look at it in the daylight. Now you have drag queens on covers of magazines, on "HGTV", on "Entertainment Tonight"; it's CRAZY! On the other side, it makes it harder for the local queens who are not on the show to get these spots, or movies, or television shows or what have you. At this point, there have been one hundred queens who have amassed these followings, and they are deemed the crème de la crème. It pushes us local girls to work even harder to get to the proverbial cherry on top.
Speaking of "Drag Race", your New York City pride appearance with a surprise appearance by Season Eight winner Bob the Drag Queen is the stuff that goes down as legendary in nightclubs. How did that come about? Did the crowd go as nuts as it looked on video?
Haha,the audience went berserk! I made the mix for an event I did at The Monster the night after he got crowned, and he had no clue about it; he loved it! So when I moved to do it at Industry, he happened to be in town that day. I called him and said, "Hey, I'm doing your number, you have to come surprise the audience"..and he said, "ok Monét", and the rest was "herstory". We snuck him through the back, and he had to sit there for the whole show like a regular civilian, and wait to be in my number for 13 seconds LOL!
What does Kevin do when Monet is not on stage?
Watch Netflix, and eat Chinese Food.
The gay community had a very trying summer. What do you think are the biggest issues facing our community and what do you see as your part in helping to address them?
I think the issues that we have extend beyond just our community, it seems to really be a global epidemic. It seems nowadays folk are choosing to accept this victimized persona and helpless mentality; and I don't really understand why that's a thing. Since I was a kid, I was always taught to be strong, but to never take life too seriously; those two things have caused me to maintain a generally jolly disposition. As a queen/voice in our community, I try my best to raise awareness as much as possible (i.e sharing links, doing fundraisers), and to infect people with as much joy as I can because A) Life/Shit happens; B) Anger literally never solves anything.
What does "pride" mean to you?
Pride to me means being proud, [and REALLY proud, like fucking OWNING IT!] of the skin you are in (gay, white, muslim, trans, whatever), and not letting what other people think shake that core of who you are, because what other people think is literally "none of your business".
Most importantly-where can people see you perform?!
You can check out my website monetxchange.com or at my appearances throughout New York City.
Sunday - Hardware Bar (10PM)
Monday - Barracuda Bar (Midnight)
Tuesday - Industry Bar (Midnight)
Wednesday - Therapy Bar (11PM)
Thursday - Industry Bar (Midnight)
Photo Credit 1-Steven Trumon Gray
Photo Credit 2-David Ayllon