(upbeat music) - Hey everybody,
It's Michelle Visage,
and welcome to another episode Whatcha Packin'.
(upbeat music)
Today my guest actually should be from New Jersey
with this name, but they're from Arizona.
So what do you figure?
It's Joey Jay, how are ya doing Joey?
- Joey Jay, I am doing so good, gay as ever.
- I love the purple hairs.
- Thank you so much. I was born this way, baby.
- You're freshly dipped. It's absolutely gorgeous.
So you live in Arizona now, right Joey Jay?
- Yes ma'am, I live in Phoenix.
I was actually born in Iowa
but I was raised in Madison, Wisconsin.
- Oh my gosh, the countries safest town, yeah.
- Oh, you betcha.
You should come out and we can go to the Farmers Market.
- My in-laws live in Lake Geneva.
- Oh, shut up work.
- So I spend lots of time there.
I know Wisconsin very well.
- I love that.
- Were you friends with the Trixie's
and that lot in the drag world?
- When Trixie moved out of the apartment to come to LA,
I moved in to the apartment.
- Oh no!
- Mutual roommates, mutual friends.
We call it the Lake Drive Drag Academy.
I didn't do drag before I moved in there, and here we are.
- What about Jaida Essence Hall?
- She had a little bit more budget, so she didn't quite live
(laughing) in the
Lake Drive Drag Academy, but she was down the street.
- Is your out of drag name, Joey?
- Yeah.
- And where's the Jay?
- So, my last name is (beep).
My mom did not want me to put my last name on social media
for safety purposes.
And so I was like, well, I'll just be J-A-Y, Joey Jay.
And then when I decided I was gonna pursue drag,
I was trying to come up with a drag name
and I couldn't marry one.
I was like, I don't feel quite like
this is an alter ego per se, and finally, I was like,
you know what?
I've been going by Joey Jay forever.
It's not really my name, but I'm so comfortable with that.
And it's kind of you know gender-fluid a little bit.
- Do you identify as gender-fluid?
- It doesn't matter to me like his, her, she, work.
Like I'll turn around like, let's have a conversation.
- I love that.
I think let it be known if you prefer something else
and this is you, and you're saying whatever, let it fly,
I just wanna talk, and I think that's fantastic.
Are you on the newish side to drag then?
- I kind of started out like a Shangela.
I have been surrounded by drag for many, many years.
So I used to backup dance, I used to choreograph,
I used to edit a lot of girls numbers
when they would compete in pageants.
I took all of me sitting in the audience
and all of the experience of traveling,
and dancing, and judging, and then I applied it
when I started doing drag.
- I think that's really smart.
- I stayed inside and practice almost every day
for like six months 'cause there's always the booger stage.
Like I don't care who you are,
you're always gonna look like a booger when you're starting.
(laughing) Let's try to keep it
contained inside.
Then we'll like try to do a booking.
- Tell me about your fascination of not really wearing wigs
- Back in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
I was doing like a couple of gigs and I decided to do pink
and I had like bleached blonde hair.
And I was like, am I going to do it?
Am I going to not wear a wig?
I live for it.
I'm a dancer.
So I'm like, I can move.
It's not in my face.
I feel like bad-ass.
And then it kind of just became a thing.
I was like, I love this pink lipstick, lesbian rocker vibe.
You'll never catch me, like, without nails.
I'll always have pads on finished paint, big lashes.
If I really want to brand this and not always
have a wig on everything else to me needs to be perfect.
- You don't have to wear a wig.
I just feel on RuPaul's drag race
having that difference each time you're
on the runway gives you a little bit more
of an edge because it does show versatility.
I hate to use that word, but ultimately
that's what we like to see adaptability, we'll say.
You did wear a couple of wigs
which I was grateful for.
- I did, yeah.
- So I was happy to see when you did come out and act.
So it was like, okay, she's willing to play.
- Oh, for sure.
- You were the very first person
to lose that first lipstick.
- I was so nervous walking on that runway,
and baby, like I made some choices,
but I'm going to embrace those choices.
And those feathers were coming for me like, oh my God.
- Did you think you were gone?
- There was a moment where I thought I was gone.
And then I remember she said the pork chop
and I was like, wait a minute.
The pork chop, that's interesting.
And I was like, wait a minute, no trophy, wait a minute.
Where's the van.
Where are the cameras?
Oh, wait a minute.
And I'm like, let's see what the twist is.
- You came back
and you were able to compete in the ball challenge.
Correct?
- That was the ball talent, yeah.
Going home on a construction challenge.
That is not the challenge
I would think I would have gone home on.
I had so much fun making that garment.
Denali says to me, she was like,
"How are you doing today?"
And I'm like, I feel, so zen right now with this piping
and this glue gun, I'm having a blast making this dress.
So it's only natural,
like when you get comfortable, careful.
- Was it Poison Ivy?
- It was Poison Ivy.
And I was doing a play on it, but there's no such thing
as the Poison Ivy bag.
And we had to have something with the word bag in it.
So I was like, I'll do IV bag,
and I'll do Ivy coming up, poison, hospital,
kind of creepy nurse with the IV pull.
And then Carson's like, but you didn't do
like poison Ivy bag?
And I'm like, but that's not a thing.
Like, I didn't want to say yes because it's not a thing.
And that wasn't the challenge.
But I wanted to have that twist on having that Ivy
that poison Ivy side of it.
But there was no opportunity to say that
- I think that's where the confusion lies.
So that's where we were all like, but it's Poison Ivy.
And it was actually very smart,
but you know, the chips fell where they may
if you were to get to do one of your looks all
over again and redo it, which one would it be?
- My entrance.
- The chicken feathers?
What would you have done differently?
- I wouldn't have worn a wig and I would have done ostrich.
- Bold move, not wearing a wig.
Now that you've done it, it is very different
and very cutthroat compared to sitting home
and watching it and saying, oh, I can do this.
I can do that.
Did you get any tips
from our Queens that have, you know, slayed the game?
- I did get a few, I'm not going to lie.
The fear of God is put into you when you get the call.
And I did reach out to Trixie and Trixie was like
they're going to eat you up.
They're going to love it.
You've got the no wig thing
but I think you're going to be able to make it work.
And if not
you're going to be able to inspire someone else
to try this new aesthetic.
Maybe this is a new realm
that people can experiment with then, like who knows.
- Looking different to me is good.
Different is not good or bad.
It's just different.
And there's nothing wrong with it.
Just like you said
sometimes it just takes time to get used to.
Is this a dress that you would've worn for the finale?
- A friend of mine, Brandon Bermudas made this dress
and it is covered in feathers
at the bottom. (laughing)
I call this my Edgar Allen Poe gown.
- Oh, I love that.
And how were you going to do your hair?
- It was like a wet, swampy green.
So it was going to be like glamor, swamp,
black nail gloves, and big jewels.
It kind of reminds me of Aquarius oil spill.
- I love that.
- And then the green matches
the iridescent in the feathers of the gown when I walk.
- All you kids that put these together
and spend money and time on them.
They're so amazing
that you need to do like a proper photo shoot in them.
- Oh, it's done.
- And Joey Jay, who would you have done on snatch game?
- I was going to be Jamie Lee Curtis.
- Oh, really?
What era of Jamie Lee Curtis.
- I was going to do a couple references.
(mischievous music)
I was going to make these jokes and they were going to
be the (beep) baby.
I was gonna have my yogurt.
- Yes.
- Yes, and then
I was going to I'm like having a moment right now.
(beeping)
famous horror movie.
- Halloween.
- Halloween, yeah.
And I was gonna like have moments where like, oh my God.
It's like hitting.
(crickets chirping)
I think that would have been the challenge
that I was going to go home on.
(laughing)
- You Joey, Jay are so much fun to watch,
you're such a joy.
You bring an individual presence
to the race and I can't wait to see you in person, Joey Jay.
- When it's time, it will be the best hug of your life.
- Oh, I can't wait, I'm such a hugger.
Thanks Joey Jay!
- Of course, darling.
- Thank you so much for watching another episode
of Whatcha Packin, and I'll see you next time!
Bye!
(upbeat music)