.
.
In this episode, Phil and Alex look back at his story and catch up with Keith on where he is today, the current state of drag, and why it’s important to enjoy what you do.
Transcript provided by YouTube:
00:02
[Music]
00:09
hey this is Phil a ka Corinne and I’m
00:11
Alex Berg and you’re listening to the
00:13
I’m from the Buddha podcast
00:18
back in July 2014 I’m from driftwood sat
00:21
down with sherry vine and listened as
00:23
she shared stories about a life of a
00:25
true drag legend from Columbia Maryland
00:28
and my entire life and vision was on
00:32
this path of being a movie star
00:35
then it just kind of was like oh there’s
00:37
the song black coffee this torch song
00:40
always wanted to sing and I was like
00:42
well I can’t really do that as a guy no
00:45
one wants to see Keith up there singing
00:47
this song I was like maybe would I do it
00:50
as this tattered ex showgirl and people
00:54
really responded to it and was like oh
00:57
you have to come and perform here and
00:58
was like okay but I really was trying to
01:02
keep that at a distance I was still like
01:05
auditioning and doing stuff and I was
01:07
like no I’m gonna do this and I’m not
01:09
gonna be a professional drag queen I’m
01:10
not going to do it I’m not gonna do it
01:12
I’m gonna do it why are you fighting
01:14
this
01:15
why are you not embracing this I mean do
01:18
you really want to get up at 6:00 in the
01:19
morning to stand in line all day to
01:22
audition to be in the road show of some
01:25
musical or do you want to be like the
01:28
star of these shows I don’t think my
01:34
whole life was geared towards like I
01:36
said getting to LA to become a movie
01:39
star and now I have to tell my parents
01:41
I’m moving to New York to be a drag
01:42
queen and they were like all you’ve
01:45
talked about for 20 years is going to
01:47
Los Angeles and you’re there and now
01:49
you’re leaving it can be very actually
01:52
kind of cathartic inspiring that chapter
01:54
is done and now I’m excited because what
01:57
this next chapter gonna be and it’s been
02:00
22 years of doing sherry vine and I
02:02
still love it and it’s fun and inspiring
02:06
and have so many things that I want to
02:08
do that I haven’t done yet I’ve been
02:09
really lucky and fortunate with this
02:12
career to travel all over the world I
02:14
mean I sang with Debbie Harry and Nina
02:16
Hagen and Marc almond and boy short I
02:19
performed on MTV Awards they had a bunch
02:21
of drag queens come out and do different
02:23
eras of Madonna and it was this whole
02:26
Madonna retrospective and the crowds go
02:28
crazy and they all the Queen’s come out
02:30
and then Madonna
02:31
comes out and she’s walking up and down
02:32
and talking to us is shaking her hand
02:35
and everything and that was like really
02:37
really cool that was fun I want to make
02:40
people laugh and I do comedy
02:43
so I rarely do something that’s
02:45
political but just the fact that you’re
02:48
a man who puts on women’s clothes and
02:50
when you walk out that door and you’re
02:52
bombarded sometimes with hate and anger
02:55
then it does become political I mean
02:58
I’ve been chased on the street with a by
03:01
a gang with bats that was scary
03:03
I’ve had bottles thrown at me literally
03:06
I could walk out and stand on that
03:07
Street and it Texas slowed down and then
03:09
take off people who perform and drag
03:12
have an important voice to share
03:15
especially within the gay community if
03:18
you will and we all have to come out
03:19
twice because we come out once it’s gay
03:21
and then we come out again as drag and
03:25
for people who are like oh yeah my
03:26
parents are no problem to me being gay
03:28
but they hate it they freaked out when
03:31
they found out that it did drag there
03:32
are a lot of gays that don’t like drag
03:34
and hate drag queens I’ve had people say
03:37
things to me not knowing like oh if I
03:39
can hate drag even like you know what
03:41
the parade they don’t want the drag
03:42
queens or the leather queens
03:44
representing them or that we’re slowing
03:46
down the process of assimilation it’s
03:49
like I don’t want to assimilate
03:54
six years later and she’s back with us
03:56
now welcome back to I’m from driftwood
03:58
sherry vine what would you prefer we
04:00
call you Keith or sherry you can call me
04:02
sherry that’s fine I don’t care
04:05
honestly we’ll go with sherry so before
04:07
we get into all of it I don’t know how
04:10
are you doing right now I’m how have you
04:12
been coping with all of this corona
04:14
virus pandemic social distancing stuff
04:17
oh honey working off this COBIT
04:19
toleration changing my name to Yeti by
04:36
two performances it’s amazing
04:39
you know I loved your I’m from driftwood
04:42
original interview which happened about
04:43
six years ago I thought it was
04:45
incredible what’s happened in your life
04:47
what’s changed in your life since then
04:48
I’m six years ago I don’t remember no I
04:52
moved to Los Angeles last year and it
04:55
was me I mean I Love New York so much I
04:57
Love New York so I didn’t leave because
04:59
though I hate it I’m sick of it or
05:01
whatever I left just because I was ready
05:04
to do something different
05:06
still in drag and they just happened to
05:08
be here a lot of it’s with Jackie
05:10
because we started a production company
05:12
we’ve been doing a lot of stage stuff
05:14
like we do the Golden Girls Live and now
05:17
we’ve expanded it into doing like
05:18
Three’s Company who’s the boss different
05:22
shows we’re writing some original shows
05:23
we’ve been writing shows for other
05:26
Queens like a lot of these drag queens
05:27
that come off drag race you go on tour
05:30
they don’t really have an hour show so
05:34
we wrote a show for Brooklyn Heights we
05:36
wrote one for Eureka O’Hara we’re
05:38
working on some other ones we’re trying
05:40
to get development deals we’ve written
05:42
pilots I mean there’s so much we
05:45
couldn’t have a lot of things on the
05:47
stove and then our solar stuff and one
05:50
of the goals I had when I moved here was
05:52
I knew I would be able to get an agent
05:54
as sherry which I did but I was like you
05:57
know I really miss acting out of drag
05:59
and so I would like to have that
06:01
opportunity and they were very very like
06:03
okay great had to get headshots which I
06:06
hadn’t done
06:06
thirty years as Keith and started taking
06:09
an acting class just to kind of get you
06:12
know my feet back in the water and so
06:14
that’s been really fun until this
06:15
happened I was literally on the road and
06:18
on tour for the most I was ever at home
06:21
in LA was like a week Wow I kind of love
06:23
that we’re talking to you right now
06:24
because it feels like almost a very full
06:26
circle moment from what you talked about
06:28
in your I’m from driftwood interview you
06:30
talked about leaving Los Angeles behind
06:33
and touching gears from trying to break
06:36
into Hollywood so it’s really cool to
06:38
get to talk to you now about how you
06:40
decided to kind of revisit that path I
06:43
mean yes it’s fun and full circle I just
06:45
did a I have a new show called Hollywood
06:47
and Vine that I was touring and now it’s
06:50
on hold and hopefully coming back but
06:52
that is all about that full circle well
06:55
let me jog your memory for a moment
06:57
because you said in the original
06:58
interview that actually at first you
07:00
fought being a drag queen so do you
07:02
remember the reasons you didn’t want to
07:03
pursue it as a career initially I was
07:07
fighting against drag because from the
07:09
time I was like four years old I wanted
07:11
to be a TV movie star I mean that was my
07:13
plan I actually lived in LA before
07:16
because I went to graduate school here
07:18
and for theater and came out of there
07:21
and had agents and was auditioning and
07:23
doing commercials and duh-de-duh
07:24
I was like I’m on my path to being a
07:26
movie star and then I literally just
07:29
stage dived off of that track onto the
07:32
drag track but it wasn’t so easy it was
07:35
I was very kind of gonna be track you
07:37
know would it be a move sir I’m gonna do
07:38
this I’m an actor I’m an actor I’m not a
07:40
drag queen and and once I let go of that
07:43
then it’s when I was really like happy
07:45
obviously worked out I mean sherry vine
07:47
is known far and wide drag being what it
07:50
is right now you know you have RuPaul’s
07:51
Drag Race with that all happening what
07:54
do you make of the current state of drag
07:56
well I mean I have so many opinions and
07:59
ultimately I would rather watch someone
08:03
who’s entertaining whether it’s a bio
08:06
cisgender drag queen a straight man a
08:09
gay man whatever I want it to be
08:12
entertaining so that is kind of the
08:15
current state of drag like I don’t want
08:17
to like I’m not putting anyone down
08:19
I’m not saying one is right or when it’s
08:21
wrong but I’m just saying there are a
08:22
lot of people who know our famous drag
08:24
queens because they know how to make do
08:26
their makeup our one-trick pony and
08:29
that’s great
08:31
for what’s going on now great good luck
08:33
to you also like drag queens doing
08:36
storybooks for kids
08:37
gorgeous great I’m glad that’s there do
08:40
I want to do it no well what about
08:42
RuPaul’s Drag Race has that enhanced
08:44
drag or hasn’t heard it what do you
08:46
think well both in one way it’s
08:48
definitely enhanced it because I think
08:49
that RuPaul’s Drag Race says absolutely
08:53
gets credit for legitimizing the art of
08:56
drag taking it out of like you know a
08:59
bar and making it mainstream and giving
09:02
it legitimacy of like oh there is the
09:05
money here and there is an audience and
09:06
HBO wants it and every and very movie
09:09
now wants a drag queen and some of the
09:11
girls have millions of followers on
09:13
Instagram so so it’s definitely given it
09:16
legitimacy and then the flip side of
09:18
that is it’s also homogenized a little
09:22
which again is great I mean the core
09:25
audience of drag race is
09:26
fifteen-year-old girls so that’s great
09:29
but I like my drag like divine I like a
09:32
little subversion well that’s just me
09:36
and that’s not to say that this
09:38
shouldn’t be a variety and something for
09:40
everybody
09:40
great well tell us a little bit more
09:43
about the drag that resonates with you
09:45
who are some of your favorite Queens
09:47
working today and even like who are some
09:50
of the icons that you look back on well
09:53
I mean luckily I get to call most of my
09:56
drag idols friends which I love and I’m
10:00
very very lucky you know Jackie beat I
10:02
always say Jackie beat is the funniest
10:04
in a smart way and Lady Bunny is the
10:08
funniest in a dumb way and that’s a
10:10
confident she’s so dumb that no one who
10:16
can make me laugh like Lady Bunny and
10:18
Jackie Beats smart in a really funny in
10:20
a very very smart way and I love Alaska
10:23
I can just there’s something about
10:25
Alaska that I can just watch her for
10:27
hours and be like she’s like she’s not
10:29
even human Joey arias of course
10:32
the legend Bianca Del Rio is hilarious
10:36
jinkx monsoon there’s just so many that
10:39
are super talented and so I’m kind of
10:41
say things about drag race I have to say
10:44
it there’s a lot of super talented
10:47
worthy Queens that have come off that
10:49
show for sure what have been some of
10:52
your own career highlights and looking
10:54
back since 2014 especially when you did
10:56
your original I’m from driftwood
10:57
interview are there moments you look
10:59
back on and you’re like gosh so many I
11:03
think even just recently I mean like the
11:06
golden doing the Golden Girls live on
11:08
stage it’s one of the most joyful
11:10
experiences I’ve ever had it’s just
11:13
nothing but fun we laugh and it makes
11:17
people happy and we’re happy and it’s
11:20
something that we all really look
11:21
forward to doing and then this new show
11:25
Hollywood and Vine I was so focused on
11:27
bar and Club gigs and especially because
11:30
of the success I had on YouTube it
11:33
really opened that door and certainly
11:35
before drag raced I was constantly in a
11:39
bar or Club traveling traveling and now
11:41
I’ve kind of segwayed into more like
11:44
theater cabaret spaces I’m so blessed I
11:47
love traveling I love being in a hotel I
11:50
love being on a plane I love meeting new
11:52
people and going new places so I’ve been
11:54
very lucky how do you see online content
11:56
as fitting in with the future of
11:58
performing for Queens well I think this
12:01
has changed people’s perception of
12:03
what’s possible a lot but I think then
12:06
it’s the possibility of now being able
12:07
to do like oh I can do a show online and
12:10
people around the world can watch I’m
12:12
surprised
12:13
when I did my last show their people in
12:15
Tel Aviv and Europe and it’s like four
12:18
o’clock in the morning there I’m like
12:19
big stayed up just to see the show great
12:21
I always think as a performer you almost
12:24
feed off of the audience’s energy and so
12:27
it would seem like that is something
12:28
that you have to adjust you if you’re
12:29
performing to people over oh my god it
12:31
is so challenging Jackie
12:34
we both do shows for PE Jesus digital
12:38
drag fest which has a lot of the drag
12:40
race girls where they do their shows and
12:42
Jackie was like I’ve never had to work
12:43
so hard when you
12:45
on stage someone’s doing your music
12:47
someone’s doing the lights you pretty
12:49
much can focus on performing one hat and
12:53
when we’re doing shows them on I’m like
12:56
I’m looking I’m setting the lights I
12:58
have to watch myself to make sure I’m
13:00
standing in the right place and I look
13:02
good I have to cue the music
13:04
on the iPad I have to make sure that the
13:07
levels are okay I’m looking at the fee
13:10
I’m singing and reading the feed and
13:12
looking at the levels everything that
13:14
needs a lot of multi tasking you just
13:18
kind of have to let go of it being
13:21
perfect and have fun with the train
13:23
wreck aspect because the audience loves
13:27
that to something bizarre like that was
13:31
my favorite part of the show right
13:33
what about you’ve got a bunch of baby
13:36
Queens out here who are watching you and
13:38
are looking for direction any advice to
13:40
those baby Queens I’m surprised too how
13:42
great some of them are doing in the work
13:44
that they’re doing there’s a group of
13:46
Queens from $3 bill which is the queer
13:49
space in Brooklyn they’re doing
13:51
Instagram shows and contests and I’ve
13:55
been guest judge a couple times and
13:57
they’re always like oh thank you so much
13:59
for capably be doing I’m like I love
14:01
drag I love new Queens
14:04
I love talented new Queens so I’m so
14:07
happy to like support that like I said I
14:10
do I really do sincerely love drag and
14:13
so if someone’s entertaining and working
14:15
hard then I’m on board one of the things
14:17
that you mentioned in your original I
14:19
from driftwood interview was about how
14:21
to you being in drag kind of feels
14:23
inherently political but you also said
14:25
you didn’t want to be straight-up
14:27
political but it’s interesting because
14:29
that interview was in 2014 it was there
14:32
was a different presidential
14:33
administration how has your feeling
14:35
about being political has it changed at
14:38
all since the climate became much more
14:39
polarized well no and I’ll tell you why
14:43
because my job is to make people forget
14:46
about all of that for one hour so
14:49
it’s not to create a sense of like fake
14:52
reality or that it doesn’t really exist
14:55
and that’s not really going on no it’s
14:58
that’s all we see from the minute we
15:01
wake up until we go to bed you’re just
15:03
bombarded with all of this the best
15:05
compliment I can get is for someone to
15:07
come up after me like oh my god
15:09
I haven’t laughed and so long all right
15:11
whatever and it’s like okay my job is
15:13
done
15:14
so of course I’m political and very
15:16
political and I might say something like
15:18
don’t forget to vote or makes jokes
15:20
about Trump but I don’t want people to
15:22
pay to come and then have more of like
15:26
CNN and I’m grateful that there’s those
15:28
Queens out there but that’s just not who
15:31
I am or what I are what I do yeah you
15:33
know what there are times when we all
15:35
need a rest by people want to be able to
15:37
have a time when they can forget about
15:39
just the horrors of the things in the
15:41
world so I I hear you on that one it’s
15:43
just making me think about what you said
15:44
how as drag becomes very mainstream how
15:47
it takes on a whole other life of its
15:49
own
15:49
it can be both subversive it can be
15:51
mainstream it could be all of these
15:52
different things which is kind of
15:53
interesting to think about depending
15:55
what the political climate is like what
15:57
have you learned in this journey I mean
15:59
you’ve been doing this for a long time
16:00
you’re so experienced you’re so talented
16:03
what have you learned well it sounds
16:05
super kind of cliche I have learned to
16:07
let and it’s kind of also goes just
16:09
along with getting older because I’m at
16:11
an age now where it’s like there’s an
16:13
onion and you peel away these layers of
16:15
we’re just like that’s not
16:18
important why did I think that was so
16:20
important you just have to kind of do
16:22
the things that make you happy and find
16:24
the joy and say no to the things and to
16:27
the people who are not bringing you joy
16:30
sherry bond will always be the top
16:33
priority and everything I do that’s what
16:36
I do and so even now that I am
16:38
auditioning and pursuing stuff out of
16:40
drag as an actor it definitely takes a
16:44
backseat to Sherry I would never stop
16:47
performing a shirt if it stopped being
16:49
fun I would stop I wouldn’t do it but
16:51
after 30 years it’s still fun you know
16:54
you fought doing it at first and now
16:55
it’s just brought you so much success
16:57
and it’s so good to hear you saying that
16:59
where can we find you where can people
17:00
find you I mean you have to plug go to
17:03
Sheree Viacom you can see all the cities
17:05
I’m not performing in
17:08
and know everything that’s kind of going
17:11
on all the videos are on YouTube
17:12
miss sherry vine Instagram miss sherry
17:15
vine but sherry vine calm has the links
17:17
to all of that thank you so much it was
17:20
so delightful getting to talk to you my
17:22
pleasure you guys take care wash your
17:24
hands wash your holes keep it clean
17:27
[Music]
17:34
the I’m from driftwood podcast is hosted
17:37
by phil AKA corinne and alex berg and is
17:39
produced by Andy Egan Thorp the podcast
17:42
is recorded as part of I’m from
17:43
driftwood a worldwide nonprofit lgbtqia+
17:48
story archive and is funded in part from
17:50
TD Bank and heritage of Pride New York
17:53
I’m from driftwood was created by Nathan
17:55
Manske to help queer and trans people
17:56
learn more about their community help
17:58
straight people learn more about their
18:00
neighbors and help everyone learn more
18:02
about themselves all through the power
18:03
of storytelling the IFD program director
18:06
is Damien middle felt the stories you
18:07
hear today are available in their
18:09
entirety plus thousands more and I’m
18:11
from driftwood org please follow us on
18:13
Instagram Facebook and YouTube and our
18:16
score is provided by elevate audio be
18:18
sure to subscribe to our podcast
18:20
wherever you get your podcasts thanks
18:22
y’all for listening
18:23
[Music]
18:27
you
—
This post was previously published on YouTube and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
—
***
If you believe in the work we are doing here at The Good Men Project and want to join our calls on a regular basis, please join us as a Premium Member, today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS.
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
Talk to you soon.
—
Photo credit: Screenshot from video