Around the World: Our Conversation with Harmonica Sunbeam: Part 5

Backstage at Escuelita night club with Harmonica Sunbeam

Harmonica talks about going to high school with Queen Latifah and about other celebrities, who come calling on Harmonica at Escuelita.

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LF: Did you know Queen Latifah back in high school?

Harmonica Sunbeam: Uh-huh. We hung out. Sitting in the lunch room, with her rapping and doing the beatbox, and stuff like that.

Wolfgang Busch: You did beatbox?

Harmonica Sunbeam: No, her. And years later, for her to be this, you know what I mean, this woman of all this: where she started with just a little rapping, to her own TV show, to producing, directing – it's just wonderful, wonderful. Spokesperson for all these commercials. Wow! It makes you know that it can happen to the little people, because everyone thinks that, "Well, it all happens overnight." And I think it's a journey, and that journey makes everyone humble. And in that, there are going to be ups and downs and trials and tribulations. And it just keeps you humble.

LF: Did you know that Queen Latifah did a video where she had vogue dancers? She hired Willi Ninja for the music video for Come Into My House.

Harmonica Sunbeam: I've seen quite some stuff, because she's always been gay friendly. Even in some of her lyrics, you can hear some gay slang. In some of her earlier lyrics, you hear some gay slang, which shows that she was in touch with the community. And then we lost – she lived in Jersey City for some time, and we would run into each other – and we kind of lost track with each other, and stuff like that. But it would be nice to hear from her.

LF: What kind of celebrities come visit you hear, to see the show?

Harmonica Sunbeam: Well, we've had a few and far between – just people in the industry, like there's a stylist that comes every once in a while, his name is Phillip Bloch. And also Frenchie Davis has been here in the past, Freddie Jackson. And people just pop in. You know, I try not to make a scene, because I know when I go somewhere, and I'm just trying to enjoy myself, I don't want to be noticed. And some people don't mind, and some people do mind. The director of Noah's Ark comes through every once in a while, as well as the cast members of Noah's Ark.

Wolfgang Busch: What's the director's name?

Harmonica Sunbeam: Patrik-Ian Polk.

LF: Where did you find influences in your stage performance and in your music?

Harmonica Sunbeam: Well, comedy wise, I've always been a fan of Carol Burnett and Rita Rudner. And show-wise, there's a lot of great female entertainers that I feel really give a show and put in 110% into a show, like Tina Turner, and who just go all-out for their audience. And that's my aim each and every time I get on the stage. I'd rather not do a show than half-way do a show, because the audience will never understand. If I came out, saying, "I'm not feeling that great tonight, so I'm not going to do this, this, this, and this." Some people will say, "O.K., we understand. You give us 120% each week." But there will always be somebody in the audience who will say, "Then, bitch, why did you come out?"

LF: You don't only play in New York?

Harmonica Sunbeam: No, I go wherever the money is.

LF: Where have you gone that's been interesting for you? Where has your career taken you?

Harmonica Sunbeam: To Bermuda. To Manchester, England; there's a festival up there called It's Queer Up North. And I've performed in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, as well as Lyon, France.

LF: Lyon, France?

Harmonica Sunbeam: Yeah, because I tour with a dance company called Evidence.

LF: When you go on the road, do you do your show from here over there, or do you do something else? With Evidence, you are doing dancing?

Harmonica Sunbeam: No. My friend, who is the choreographer and director, Ronald K. Brown, he wrote a piece called, Dirt Road: Morticia Supreme's Revue. And I play Morticia Supreme, and I host the show. And I kind of like fill the audience in as to what is going on, with the dance piece. So, basically, when I travel, I'm either doing my own one-woman show, so to speak, or I'm a guest or a part of a show with other people involved.

LF: For all the time that you've been here at Escuelita, over 10 years, obviously you have a very loyal following. How does that feel to have people who are very loyal to you, follow you, and support you?

Harmonica Sunbeam: It feels wonderful. It's nice to know that you have people on your side, people who care, people who will be there for you in more ways than one. Even some of the, quote-unquote, fans, I develop friendships with them on a more friendship level than opposed to me entertainer, you fan. A lot of people invite me to their different family events, and I can't always go because of my own schedule, and they understand that, as well, but it feels nice that people want to get to know more of you than just the stage persona.

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Read the next installments of this exclusive interview:

Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, and Part VI

For another unique experience with Harmonica Sunbeam, please watch the independent documentary, How Do I Look, directed by Wolfgang Busch.

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Power of Community: Our Conversation with Harmonica Sunbeam: Part 6

Backstage at Escuelita night club with Harmonica Sunbeam

Harmonica tells us about the marketing aspects of being a famous female impersonator; she also gracefully lets us know who Willi Ninja was to her.

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Wolfgang Busch: How is Myspace affecting your audience?

Harmonica Sunbeam: I've heard of Myspace for quite some time, and I was totally against it only because I had my own website, and I was like, "Well, that was sufficient enough." And I didn't know the whole workings of the whole Myspace site.

LF: And wasn't there someone at some point trading on your name?

Harmonica Sunbeam: Right, there was someone who had opened up a profile with my name and my pictures from my website – on Myspace. And people were saying, "Oh, I sent you a message on Myspace." I said, "Well, I'm not on Myspace." And they said, "Oh, yes you are." And in order to get that person off, I joined. So, that's why my Myspace is under the Real Harmonica Sunbeam. And I didn't realize that Myspace was a community within a community. It really helps to get you in touch with long-lost people. And as an entertainer or artist with something to offer, it works out well for anyone, because it's free exposure. And who doesn't want that?

Wolfgang Busch: It helps to build an audience.

Harmonica Sunbeam: It's 24 hour exposure. You know, Myspace has also gotten me some bookings, so it works out.

LF: What does gay pride mean to you, if I can ask that kind of question?

Harmonica Sunbeam: It means accepting what you are and who you are, and not letting anyone bring you down about those two facts.

LF: How do you relate to other performers, other drag queens? Do you see yourself competing, always having to be better?

Harmonica Sunbeam: Well, I don't compete with other people. I compete with myself. I'm always trying to improve myself. I don't worry about other people, necessarily, with what they're doing. I focus on myself and making my own situation better. I think that there are a lot of people who use the term drag queen or female illusionist or female impersonator, and you have to do what you need do to in order to stay on top and keep your name out there. And keep the people – the managers and the owners of these clubs – calling you. And I think I try to be a better drag persona, because I opened doors for people. I helped other people, who are just coming into the business. I give them the chance that I had to fight for when I was just coming up. Some people are very insecure and don't want their light, so to speak, stolen from them, and so they won't give you a chance. There's enough light and stardom and money for all of us. And whatever you're going to get is what's coming to you. So, if you stop me from being in your show because you're jealous of me, you're not going to get the accolades if you don't deserve them, anyway.

LF: Just one quick follow-up: what you said about helping other people, didn't you help organize or host a mini-ball here?

Wolfgang Busch: That was in reference to the Eric Christian Bazaar -

Harmonica Sunbeam: - right.

LF: - yes, what did you do there to support the Ball community? What happened? Was that you being an example of - ?

Wolfgang Busch: - because there was a team from the BBC, and we needed an event, and we kind of tied that in?

Harmonica Sunbeam: Look, we are all part of the community, and it's all about us helping us. And if no one is going to help us, then we need to help ourselves. And there are many people who have come and gone and … we need to acknowledge and remember that it could be us. And you would want the same treatment for yourself as you would give to someone else. We all want to be loved and remembered and supported, and in order for that to happen, it has to be a give-and-take type of situation. So, I am always doing what I can. I can't always do much, but it's the thought that counts. So, we had this event. And it was a mini-ball, and we had the ball here.

Wolfgang Busch: And Willi was working coat check. And I don't know who was M.C.-ing, Kevin or somebody, called him out. And he came out.

LF: So, did you know Willi Ninja?

Harmonica Sunbeam: Yeah. Willi worked here on Thursday nights as one of the door people. Well, I had known him from the Ballroom scene before I started working here.

LF: What did you think about him?

Harmonica Sunbeam: I think he was an inspiration and a role model for a lot of young kids in the scene, and for many more to come. And I think his name and legacy will always live on. And it's good that we remind the upcoming kids of who paved the way – the people who helped pave the way, that were there. I'm not one of the people. When I first started coming out – I graduated high school in 1987 – and I started coming out about '88, '89, these were the people that I saw when I was just going to the Balls and sitting in the audience, as opposed to before I stared walking. This is back in the days when everything was basically located in Harlem.

LF: What Balls did you go to up there?

Harmonica Sunbeam: Pretty much it was at the Elks Lodge. It was such a fascinating culture for me that, as often as I could and being a young person having a mediocre-paying job and stuff like that, I couldn't always afford to go. And transportation, curfew, and so many other issues, that when I did go, it was a fun and enjoyable event.

LF: Good. Thank you for allowing Wolfgang and I to come visit you here at Escuelita.

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Go back and read the previous installments of this exclusive interview:

Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, and Part VI

For another unique experience with Harmonica Sunbeam, please watch the independent documentary, How Do I Look, directed by Wolfgang Busch.

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Jonté's 'Make-Up:' Pop culture trends begin by being inspiring

After the dancer and singer Jonté performed to the song Make-Up by Vanity 6, he began a new trend in dance, fashion, and performance.

Inspiring performance by Jonté to Make-Up at Webster Hall in 2007

I invite you to watch this video from 2007, and to see for yourself how performance can be a fusion of dance, fashion, and attitude. Watch as Jonté turns it out. And then see how he has been able to influence others with this song, his fashion, and his style.

Music Video for Make-Up by Jonté

Having met so much success, Jonté recorded his own music video for Make-Up, increasing the connection his fans make between Jonté's dancing and fashion with the song.

"Make-Up not only combines dance with creative styling but it is daring and so inspiring and it raises the bar for the people in the scene that would like to venture in the same area (video making)." Read the complete interview with Jonté by Gazelle.

Fashion model Marco da Silva shows the influence Jonté has had in his dance and choreography

Marco da Silva posted a video on YouTube, showing himself in a dance studio, where he was learning a choreographed dance set to Jonté's popular song, Make-Up. That a model takes Jonté seriously enough to study dance is recognition that Jonté's act is original enough to be inspiring the most recognised form of flattery: immitation.

On this video, possibly made sometime in 2007, de Silva credits the routine to Shaun Capewell (Dance2xs); however, the influence is undeniable. The video was taped at Pineapples Pineapples London.

Do you think a trend is created only if other celebrities pick up on a new dance or fashion style? Or do you think the mass culture has to be in on it from the beginning?

KOOan s/s 2008 collection

And then at a fashion show for KOOan, not only did the designer feature dancers on the runway, but there was the song Make-Up playing as music during a segment of the fashion show. Can you guess who showed up?

I invite you to check out a beginner page on Squidoo that aims to track new trends in Pop Culture Trends. Post your comments if you think Jonté's performance to Make-Up has already started to show signs of becoming a pop culture trend on its own.

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Old School Balls

Old School stars from New York Drag Balls

Here is a video I found on YouTube, which shows examples of some of the "Old School Balls" and of some of the stars that helped to start artistic trends in dance, fashion, and runway.

"A look at how it was done back in the early 90s. Milan, Xtravaganza, Pendavis, Revlon, LaBeija, Richards, and many, many more."

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What a commentator offers dancers and models on the runway: energy and inspiration

RuPaul as a 'Commentator'

I think part of the reason that RuPaul's hit song, Supermodel of the World, was such a big hit was because the listeners of the song were inspired to see themselves "work" the runway. If having a singer like RuPaul can make her music fans imagine themselves as models at the sound of her lyrics ("wet your lips and make love to the camera"), you can imagine that her lyrics can also be encouraging to an actual model working during a fashion show.

In essence, RuPaul's lyrics act as instruction or direction to models (real or imaginary), and in a fashion show, that commentary can be performed by a commentator (a master of ceremonies, of sorts).

RuPaul, in her own way, was doing in her song what the commentator (and to a certain extent, the audience) does at ball competitions: motivate and inspire the models. Because, in every sense of the word, it can be said that the dancers and performers at ball competitions are "models" working on a "runway."

will.i.am as a 'Commentator'

In another video I found on YouTube, I found a portion of the CBS broadcast of the 2007 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. In the video (at 2:30), the singer will.i.am begins to sing in the style of a commentator (like RuPaul, if we can call her that for the purpose of this blog post, for we know that she is much more than just that).

(I also liked the novice "hands" performance that the Victoria's Secret angel Izabel Goulart turns out (at 3:09).)

There is a way to distinguish what will.i.am did to make the models walk with more energy and enthusiasm than when Seal took his turn to sing on the runway. Whereas will.i.am's lyrics were set to the a thumping beat (that can be matched by the strut of the model's gait, Seal's song was more of a ballad whose storyline was competing with the pace of the action and movement on the runway. This isn't to say that Seal added nothing to the fashion show, but his energy level was different.

Kool-Aid Mizrahi: the best 'Commentator'

Well, if you can imagine someone along the lines of RuPaul and will.i.am, an MC who would animate, cheer, and incite performers as well as an audience, then you would begin to imagine what a really talented commentator could do to rise and swell the passions of dancers, models, and performers on the runway in the Ball community.

And one of the best commentators there is in the Ball community is Kool-Aid Mizrahi. There are many examples of his work, including in the documentary How Do I Look. But here is one video I found on YouTube, which an example of his skills and talents. Kool-Aid Mizrahi adds both energy and inspiration to a ball.

In this video, Kool-Aid Mizrahi inspired a dancer to take to the dance floor and perform to the meter of Kool-Aid's commentary.

The job of the commentator is to challenge dancers and performers. His commentary adds another level of creativity to the performance that is taking place on the runway, and this combination of verbal and visual can be very influential to the spectators. If the commentator changes the meter of his rhythm or speeds up his beat, he is asking the dancer to show the audience the dancer’s skill in performing to new beats or rhythms. What the commentator adds is like a whole other performance: The commentator brings to the runway his own improvisational commentary, and the dancer must keep up with that improvisation, separate to any music that may be playing in the background. The commentary is another aspect of the pure creativity that is at the heart of Ball competitions.

And just last week, Kool-Aid Mizrahi was in the news about a ball competition in Oakland, California ("Gay and Transgender Divas Battle for Stardom in Bay Area's Ballroom Scene").

I would have loved to have seen what Kool-Aid Mizrahi would have done had he had been the commentator at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show....

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Paris video: Dancing to tribal music

House music dancing

After filming a Paris dance battle, someone posted this video on YouTube of the house music dancing portion of the event. The type of house music in the video is tribal.

Juste Debout ("just upright") is an annual dance competition originated from France which focuses on upright street dance styles. The four main categories are hip hop new style, house, locking and popping (wiki/Juste_Debout).

For more information about this dance competition in France, please visit the Juste Debout website.

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When the Runway is the Subway: New York Street Dancers in Times Square

What I love most about living in New York City is how people embrace life, culture, music, dance, and art. Here is a fusion of that flair: an urban dance performance in New York City's Times Square subway station.

Performing to Michael Jackson's classic, "Don't Stop 'Til you Get Enough," these dancers prove that dancing is a showman's sport. You do it because you have a passion for it, and your audience always likes the show you put on.

I am posting this video, in spite of a bigotted comment that can be overheard at one point. I'm overlooking that pejorative in favor of highlighting all the more the talent, spirit, and courage it takes to dance before a public both eager for inspiration and sometimes peppered with bigotry and ignorance.

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