Transvocalizers — Heklina

Heklina

San Francisco seems to be Drag Central for a lot of people. Now, that’s not meant to disparage other cities such as New York, L.A., Chicago, Miami, etc., etc.. It’s just that San Francisco seems so fanatically dedicated to drag as both a form of entertainment, and as art.

Case in point is this month’s featured entertainer, Heklina. Starting in 1996, she hosted a now legendary weekly party called Trannyshack. At one time, the weekly event was given a sort of semi-official recognition by San Francisco’s Mayor Gavin Newsom.

Trannyshack started in the STUD Bar, and eventually moved on  to becoming a larger monthly event. And this wasn’t your standard issue drag fare either.  The girls who performed were more likely to do songs by artists such as Arcade Fire, Peaches, Missy Elliot, Bjork, and Kate Bush, instead of material by Donna Summer, Cher, and Barbara Streisand.

As a hostess, Heklina has the kind of clout that brought in celebrities such Mary Wilson of The Supremes, Charo, Gwen Stafani, and Lady Bunny for co-hosting duty.  The band The Scissors Sisters also performed at various Trannyshack events.

Heklina also co-produces and co-hosts the Miss Trannyshack Pageant, which has become one of the nation’s largest pageants.  In 2009, she was given the Pride Creativity Award for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to the LGBT community.  In 2004, she was honored with the position of Grand Marshall for that year’s San Francisco Pride Parade.

She has also starred in a series of short film, the Tran-ilogy of Terror. On top of all she has on her busy schedule, Heklina has been gracious enough to submit to our Transvocalizers interview process. We thank her for that, and think you’ll find her fascinating.

TGForum: First off, some basic background information if you don’t mind…

Heklina: I am originally from Minneapolis, but I moved around my entire life.  (I lived for a long time in Iceland.)

TGF: Any formal musical training?  And how did you first start doing drag?

H: Goodness, no . . . no formal training, and I think that was a blessing. I was just inspired by the people I met when I first moved to San Francisco 20 years ago. I first started doing drag in theater productions here in SF, and it evolved from there.

TGF: How much music do you use in your show?

Heklina at Trannyshack (Photo by Eric in SF)

H: It’s all music!  Trannyshack is basically a rock and roll, sort of non-traditional version of a traditional drag cabaret. I host the show, sing, and do lip-synched performances, whatever is called for.

TGF: What are your musical influences?

H: I am very influenced by punk rock, glam rock, ’80s artists (such as The Cure, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Soft Cell), iconoclastic performers such as Bjork or David Bowie (Bowie is my all time favorite).  I also love musical theater, Shirley Bassey, Liza Minnelli, Andy Warhol’s Factory.  It’s a huge hodge-podge.

TGF: I’m curious about the name Heklina. What kind of significance does it have for you? The name is taken from an Icelandic volcano, correct?

H: It’s simply a name I chose when I first moved to SF from Iceland. On a lark, I performed in drag at a night club called Uranus, in the Miss Uranus Pageant. Yes, the name Heklina is taken from the Icelandic volcano Hekla.

TGF: What type of criteria do you use for selecting material for Heklina?   Is there anything you won’t use?

H: I will use anything that fits whatever themed show I am doing, although you can be sure that if I am performing anything by a middle-of-the-road artist such as Celine Dion or Mariah Carey, the performance is drenched in irony.

TGF: I know that Trannyshack has has changed somewhat over the years. You also do some hosting and work as an MC at times as well, correct?  How often do you perform?

H: Trannyshack is now a monthly event, taking place at the DNA Lounge in SF. Bigger stage, bigger venue, better lights, better sound, etc..  And yes, I also do events around town. As always, check out trannyshack.com for a complete list of my activities!

TGF: What is your opinion on the current state of drag entertainment?

H: Wow, that’s a difficult one. I look at it in terms of regions. As always, the most interesting drag stuff comes out of NYC and SF, but there are great queens in Seattle and  L.A. also, and Portland. There is tired, derivative drag everywhere also. You don’ t have to look far for that.

TGF: How political are you? Are you involved in GLBT politics to any extent?

H: I am political in private. I don’t shove my views down other peoples throats, and I certainly do not lecture my audience — they come to be entertained, not lectured.

TGF: What kind of advice would you offer to anyone considering drag entertainment as a career?  What are the  “ups and downs” you’ve experienced as a working performer?

H: I would not advise anyone to take up drag as a career! It’s very difficult to make a living doing it!

TGF: There’s a great quote of yours that I found. You describe drag queens as “. . . still the eunuch clown . . .”   Has your perspective changed over the years?

H: I was saying that drag queens in general are safe for people ( and I mean straight people) to have at parties, etc., because they are not shoving their sexuality in people’s faces the same way, say, leather queens would be.  We are sort of these sexless, entertaining clowns in the eyes of certain people, and I like to challenge that perspective.

I think drag queens are still not taken seriously, because many queens themselves are so frivolous and unreliable. I hate when people who don’t known me think I am going to be late or drunk if I show up to a gig.  I hate the saying “She’s running on drag time” for instance. If I book someone for a gig, they better be reliable.

TGF: As a sort of correlation to that last question, how do you think transgender people in general are being treated, in the media and elsewhere?

H: I’m sorry but I can’t speak for transgender people because I am not transgender.  The controversy around the term “tranny” is something I have found very interesting though, since obviously I have a club called Trannyshack. The name of the club was a reference to transvestites, not transgender, but of course I have had numerous transgender performers over the years. I appreciate the controversy, but I would say that the transgender community should pick it’s battles carefully. The GLADD incident over the use of the word “tranny” on Glee was amusing because you can’t find a more supportive show towards the LGBT community than Glee!

In general, though, people need to be enlightened. It’s odd how people outside the community (including my own family) seem to lump it all under one umbrella and think that drag queens, crossdressers, and trans people, are all the same thing.  It’s all very fluid, and I have found that people tend to not like having labels put on them.

ALSO THIS MONTH

Quite a lot of new music has just been released, so for your dining and dancing pleasure, Transvocalizers would like to offer our take on some music you’ll no doubt soon hear on the dance floor, and some you won’t.

Lady Gaga Born This Way

The hype surrounding the release of Gaga’s third album, Born This Way, which comes out today, in fact, isn’t surprising.  The media feeding frenzy will continue all this week with a series of Born This Way “Haus Parties.”  For more information, go to www. polaroid.com/greylabel.

Jennifer Lopez Love

Jennifer Lopez’s new project Love is going to help keep the dance clubs full.  The best dance cuts are On The Floor (which is also available on a remix disc, with three remixes of that tune and three of I’m Into You), Invading My Mind, One Love, and Run The World.

Ms. Lopez has an amazing voice, but this particular album is following some very annoying trends. More than one producer is involved, the vocoder is all over the place, and rap is unnecessarily inserted here and there.   Why the hell a vocalist with the ability and track record Lopez has needs to rely on rap is inconceivable. The only logical reason I can think of to include rap on an otherwise decent song is probably because the producer owes a favor and that’s easier than a blowjob.

Sade The Ultimate Collection

Sade has just released a two disc project , The Ultimate Collection, which of course includes the hits Smooth Operator, Your Love Is King, and The Sweetest Taboo. Okay, so this isn’t dance music, but for anyone who appreciates great vocals over a smooth jazz backing, this is a must have. Sade has also released a remix disc of Moon And The Sky from her last album, Soldier Of Love.

Yelle Safari Disco Club

French band Yelle has released Safari Disco Club.  The band is comprised of Julie Budet, Jean-Francois Perrier (a.k.a. GrandMarnier), and Tepr.  Sung entirely in French, this is truly techno-pop-disco, with a very minimalistic feel, that will work on any dance floor.  The stand out cut is the title track, Safari Disco Club, but there are two ’80s era inspired pop tunes, Mon Pays and Unillusion, that are quite interesting and that are also the best musical moments on the project.

The Shondes have announced that their that their third album, Searchlight, is now scheduled for a fall release. On May 25, the band will be headlining a Planned Parenthood event in Brooklyn, NY, and another such event on June 11 in Baltimore.

Israeli vocalist Aderet will be releasing new music soon. However, she tells us that only her home country of Israel will get first listen. We’ll have to wait a bit before anything is available here. We’ll keep you posted.  (Aderet has quite a lot of videos on YouTube and a good presence of Facebook.)

Foxxjazell’s management emailed us with the news that the rapper has been nominated at the Out Music Awards (which will be presented later today, in fact), in the category of Outstanding Hip-hop Song Of The Year.  We’ll let you know about this one as well.

New Videos

Eva has new vid for Not My Daddy, which by the way is very sexy and can be seen on YouTube and Myspace, with the song available on iTunes; and of course Gaga’s Judas.

As always, thanks for your indulgence.

Tags: drag, featured, music

Category: Music