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Issue one: Contents Peaches
Christ |
If you like your drag tinged with deranged humour and B-movie horror schtick, then get a load of Peaches Christ. Bold enough to name herself after "the ultimate celebrity", Ms Christ has been wowing audiences at San Francisco's Trannyshack with her unique and irreverent brand of entertainment for over 11 years.
Trannyshack is the now legendary venue where drag queens shun the traditional show tunes and disco in favour of punk rock music and attitudes. One of Peaches most memorable appearances involved her performing a musical tribute to the Manson murders with fellow club regular, Squeaky Blonde. Elsewhere on her impressive CV, Peaches also hosts her own annual programme of offbeat cinema and performance - Midnight Mass - and co-produces the SF Underground Short Film Festival. Peaches is the creation of writer, film producer and theatre manager Joshua Grannell. He developed the character in 1995: "She is the result of many years of Catholic schooling, improv-theatre training and teenrage. "Peaches is inspired by horror movies, shock value, dark humour, retarded comedy, dark divas, scream queens and human flaw." Joshua's induction to drag came about almost by accident when he was a 21-year-old student. "I always knew I wanted to make movies and started making films at college. I first did Peaches for my senior year production - Jizzmopper: A Love Story. "I was directing the film and the actor we'd hired to play the queen was flakey. I stepped in to play the part and saved the movie. Little did I know this would lead to a career in drag infused with movies and film making." A year later Joshua moved to San Francisco where Trannyshack had just begun. "When I started performing there we had no idea the night club would grow to become an entire new movement in drag and performance. 11 years later it's still going strong." So how much of the Peaches character is performance, and how much is the real Joshua Grannell? "I think there are similarities but I'm increasingly finding out that others see the two as being very different. "The SF Chronicle described Joshua as ordinary and mundane but went on to rave about how groundbreaking and exciting Peaches is. Should I be offended by that? I guess I accept that Joshua is a bit awkward and nerdy. He's the horror film fan, the writer and director. Peaches is the star, the comedian, the performer ...she's the public face. "Obviously, there are some similarities between the two but I think of it as a sort of "superhero" drag. They really are two different personas. People rarely recognize Joshua, but Peaches can stop traffic." After cutting her teeth at Trannyshack, it was time for Peaches to start her own show. Midnight Mass was launched in the summer of 1998, allowing Joshua to "create a show that merged my love for drag with my love for B-movies and cult cinema". Midnight Mass presents movies that are masterpieces of cinematic trash - Showgirls appears in every season - alongside anarchic pre-show performances and exclusive special guests. "I get to do really theatrical preshows with my drag friends. Our musical Trannie before the film Annie was a favourite. I also get to work with my idols - I'm a fan first and I love my idols. I've done shows with Mink Stole, Tura Satana and Elvira." The concept for the programme was partly inspired by The Cockettes, a group of radical drag performers who took over SF's Palace Theatre in the 60s (see Five Documentaries You Should Own). "San Francisco is full of artists and freaks. We are the other and many of us ran away to SF to become the people we were meant to become. "It wasn't about having a career, that's often a happy accident. People perform for the sake of performing in SF, the audiences are the best in the world and the performers support and love one another. The city is beautiful and inspiring, I don't think I'd have the same career or support in any other American city." Peaches also finds time to write and produce her own films and recently released her first compilation of horror shorts on DVD. Her plans for the future include, "more movie shows, film making and idol worship. I'm working hard on developing my first big feature film and we're currently looking for investors. Do you know any rich people?" If you've got a tubby wallet, catch up with Peaches on her website - www.peacheschrist.com |
