New England Now: People Audio Recordings

Miss. Mama Mayhem interviewed by Greg Sharrow and Evie Lovett at the Rainbow Cattle Co. (Dummerston, Vermont) Not a beautiful drag queen from "Backstage at the Rainbow Cattle Co.” series, 2010-18 Digital recordings Interviews by the Vermont Folklife Center, Middlebury, Vermont

Not a beautiful drag queen transcription (strong language warning): The first year that The Cattle Company was in business, they were having a Miss Cattle Company contest and they asked if I would emcee the show, because you know what? I would get trashed and be funny. So, at first I said, "Oh, you know what? I don't think I could do that." And I was m- I'm a nurse here in Brattleboro and I was driving to work to do a 12-hour 3A to 3P shift, and I love Bette Midler. I lived in Keene at the time, and I popped her Beaches, you know, CD into the car, and I started listening to “Under the Boardwalk” and I had this image of this fat lady singing Under the Boardwalk, you know, and talk about, you know, the smell of French fries, and I said, "Oh, you know what? I can do this."

So, I went to the club next and I said, "You know what? I'll do that." I said, "But, and- and I'll perform, but I'm not gonna, you know, I'm not a beautiful drag queen. I'm not gonna do that." And I rented a fat lady costume with a bikini (laughs) and I came out and I did Under the Boardwalk as this fat lady, and I started, after that performing, a little bit more. But, for a long time I would not, like, my costumes had to have panels placed in them. It would drive Kitty crazy. She'd make this outrageous gown or dress and then she'd have to put some kind of a panel in it because I wouldn't shave my chest, um, and wig was certainly too hot for me to wear.

So, it took a while for me to get into the full ... because I just couldn't be that serious about it. I have always thought, you know what? All of these people are so, you know, they think that they, you know, dressed up and put all of this on and they come out and they're beautiful women, but you know what? They're really just men in dresses (laughs), and that's kind of how I began. And so, it wasn't my beauty that caught people, I think it was my- my personality. Um, I think I'm naturally an outspoken person, but put me in a dress and give me a drink and I'm a bitch and people love that.