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Ginger Snap

Bringing down the house is one of the many qualities Ginger Snap has besides being one of the best impersonators, MC, hostess and performer San Francisco has to offer. If you've ever seen her perform you know you cannot hold the tears of laughter. I had the wonderful opportunity to sit down with her and just chat about life and drag and this is what she has to say.

JR: Since this is your first interview, are you nervous?

GS: No I've had a couple drinks. I just came from a photo shoot.

JR: To begin, tell me about Ginger Snaps? What is she about?

GS: What I try to bring to an audience when I perform is to make people laugh, I like to bring comedy and just entertain people. Be able to perform and look out at the audience and see people smiling, cheering, and laughing feeds me and in return feeds them. I grew up in the Baptist church and was in almost every single play: a lead singer starting as the little baby Jesus when I was two-years-old to a Sheppard when I was a teenager.

JR: So are you a singer?

GS: You know I sang until I was about 19. Then I started doing drag and smoking cigarettes and quit singing, it was so much easier to lip sync.

JR: So I read somewhere that you used to be a construction worker.

GS: No way how did you get this information?

JR: Myspace.com

GS: Oh my gosh, the things we put in our Myspace get back to us. So I started my drag career in '99 and I did it for 3 years here in San Francisco. After 3 years of doing drag full time and not finding a boyfriend I decided to put drag away and look for a boyfriend and after 2 weekends of no drag I found a boy, well a man, a construction worker who was up here visiting and decided to move to southern California with him. We owned our own construction company. And I built 3 custom homes and 4 spec homes. Went from being a daytime office homo and drag queen by night to no drag for 4 years and building houses. The relationship was shit so I left him and ran kicking and screaming back to San Francisco, moved in with my friend who got me into drag, miss Grizzilla Prestley, and jumped right back into drag. 2 and a half years later here I am.

JR: I have to say you're outfits and image as Ginger Snap is just amazing, you look beautiful. What inspired that look, the huge tits and hips?

GS: When I first started drag I didn't pad very much. The outfits were flashy because its drag and you have to give a lot of sparkle and pizzazz, but I thought I was going to be as realistic looking and have little tits and be a skinny drag queen. When I came back from southern California I realized "I'm a big guy. I'm tall I'm 6'3'' and flat footed, no wig on" so to compensate for the shoulders I figured lets go big, tits need to be as wide as your shoulders, your hips have to be bigger than your tits. So we went big.

JR: How did you start performing with The Hot Boxx Girls?

GS: Through Miss Gina la Divina. The Hot Boxx Girls Show is a unique one in that you get a wide range of ages, styles, and every aspect of the transgender community. You get a mix of comedy and drama, we don't judge, we let anyone perform. It's a thrill back to an older classic show with a fun young twist added into it.

JR: Talking about shows, can you now tell me about Snap-a-licious?

GS: Of course my new show, not so new anymore with four months in going on our fifth next month. It's at Deco Lounge, which is 510 Larkin at Turk it's the third Friday of each month. Doors open at 9pm, show is ten to midnight with a $5 cover. The concept of my show is high energy and comedy. I want to entertain people and make them laugh, a few ballad songs but I don't want to bring the audience down. I bring 4 to 5 of my best drag sisters and I try to mix it up every month by bringing someone new in, this next month November 21st I'm bringing Venus D Lite from southern California, she's a Madonna impersonator. I've got Daffney Deluxe, Aurora Styles, and Mini Minerva performing with me this month and DJ Lambchop.

JR: I also know that you host the All Male Amateur Strip Show tell me more about it?

GS: Also at Deco Lounge, which is my other home bar. Every Sunday night from 10pm to about 12:30 we do an all-amateur male strip show, anybody can sign up, have to take your clothes off to two songs and have the opportunity to win $100 cash. I give out 3 prizes; 1st prize is $100 cash, 2nd is a $25 bar tab and $25 cash, and 3rd prize is a $25 bar tab. You can come and take your clothes off and just come and watch the debauchery.

JR: Now going in a different direction, what prompted you to run for Miss Desperate Diva?

GS: Miss Bebe Sweetbriar actually came to me about a year and a half ago and said she was going to be the sponsor for Miss July 2009 and that there was a competition at Jet and that she had seen me do my Cher impersonation of "Take me Home" at Harvey's for the Monster Show and she said "Girl, you got to bring that number to this pageant, its going to support a good cause, it supports the AIDS Housing Alliance" and a lot of my sisters were already involve in it so I said what the hell. Tried out at Jet, did the competition, won and got me a secured spot into the pageant and I thought what a better pageant to do, its not just for a title its actually going to raise money for AIDS in the community. I was so happy to be a part of it. I made it to the top 5 and I'm so happy Estee Longah won, she really deserved it, and she did a great job.

JR: Do you plan to run for any other titles?

GS: I've never been one that needed the recognition or the title, it'd be cute to have a big beautiful crown up on my shelve with all my wigs but I feel like I've already won by having my show Snap-a-licious. Its been so rewarding, so exciting to be able to have my own show and entertain people my way with my girls.

JR: How has Ginger Snap involved herself in the community?

GS: Being Ginger Snap as often as I can at multiple benefits, like for example at The Mix fundraising money. The main group I've worked with is the AIDS Housing Alliance doing events for them, going to the Desperate Divas Calendar signing and stuff like that. I've also done work for the Stop AIDS Project at multiple events and advocating for them through my show.

JR: How do you balance life between Ginger Snap and Tim?

GS: That's one of my main struggles. I had this issue back in 2002 and it's why I gave drag up and went complete opposite of the spectrum to being masculine and building houses. I think I'm now finding that balance by going out 3 or 4 nights a week as Tim and reminding myself that I don't need to be in drag to go out and be social.

JR: How did you come up with the name Ginger Snap?

GS: My first time in drag was Halloween like most drag queens and I didn't have a name then, so a few months later I was at a Christmas show with Snatch and he said "We have to come up with a name for you" and he came up with some really tacky names, so then he started throwing Christmas names and he suggested Ginger Bread house so I snapped my finger up in the air and said "Bread house? What do I look like a big girl?" and he sat back and said "No but the attitude and the snap is cute, how about Ginger Snap?" and I thought it works and I like it.

JR: Now let me ask you some of your favorites:

Favorite song?

"Please don't stop the music" by Rihanna

Movie?

"Girls will be Girls"

Drink?

Its coming to be the holiday season so a snuggler

Dish?

Pizza

Celebrity?

Goldie Hawn

JR: What tips can you give to future divas?

GS: I've always been myself so just be you; Ginger Snap is a lot like Tim. I don't alter my voice, nor pretend to be a completely different. Some people alter their personalities and are amazing so if that works for you then go for it, but what works for me is being myself and being real.

JR: What are some upcoming parties Ginger Snap can be seen at?

GS: Well every third Friday of each month at my show Snap-a-licious at Deco Lounge.

JR: All right cutie, thank you very much for the interview, I've had a great time.

GS: Thank you very much Jovan, I've also had a great time.