September 28, 2022 • 56 mins
Coco Montrese and Alexis Mateo take us all the way back to their humble beginnings - theme park shows! The same shows Jonathan and Jaymes both got their start in. Plus the most iconic RuPaul’s Drag Race Lip Sync of all time, how BAM was born, behind the scenes of Drag Race Live in Vegas and Alexis and Coco announce their exciting new Vegas Strip plans that have them not only starring but also producing.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is Pridecast with Jonathan Bennett James on I Heart Radio.
It's time for another episode of Pridecast. Welcome everyone to
the best gay podcast in the world, says me. It's
me Jonathan Bennett, and I'm joined here by my beautiful, handsome, hot, hunky,
(00:26):
and handsome sauce husband, James Vaughan. Handsome handsome song. Yeah,
there's two different things. One is handsome and one is
handsome sauce. Handsome sauce feel like you actually were thinking
for a second about referencing my very um injured back
right now, and then you opted out of it. James
is one. You know what's so funny is because we're
going to talk about musicals right now. But what's so
(00:47):
great is that James actually is the age of one
of the songs from Rent. He is five thousand, six
hundred years old. To bail, He's we're just at the
age mirror. We're moving a giant mirror and a portal
or something, and it has has not come back from
it yet. So here I sit in a very precarious position.
(01:09):
Here I sit lonely hearted. Tried to poop but only farted.
You know that was a sign that hung up. Do
you say we're going to talk about musicals and we're
talking about music very very Jonathan Bennett of did, Hey,
we're gonna talk about musicals, but first, oh we are. Yeah, well,
I wanted to bring in the musical for our ference
and talk about how old you were, and then we're
gonna get into musicals because guess what, guys, we are
(01:29):
going to New York City this week to shoot a
commercial and then we're going to see two of my
favorite musicals. Well, one i've seen, the other one I
don't know if it's my favorite, but it will be
my favorite after I see it. James, tell them what
we're seeing first, Well, first I think I know the
order we're seeing them. We're seeing a musical that was
(01:50):
actually banned in my household as a child. As a kid,
this movie was on VHS. What the musical? And it
was taken from our VHS. You know this very very
very overly conservative, overly police what's the word I'm looking
for here? I had a warden instead of a mother,
(02:11):
very overprotective household. And so this musical, the Old School
one that was on VHS was removed from our collection
because why well it was removed, as well as other
classics like et, which was also removed. But why was
it removed? Well, um, this one particularly was removed because
there was a song in it that you quote with
(02:34):
several boys in the household, this this kind of stuff happens.
There's a song that you may know from the musical
that is called Shapoopy, Shop poopy, Shop poopy. Yep, absolutely,
and um, well you get boys in the house and
we just ran round singing about how she poopied, and
so it got taken from because we didn't understand what
(02:56):
it meant. And so she poopy became a thing and
that got taken from us. Eat got taken for a
totally different reason. But the point is we're seeing the
music man Broadway with you, jack Man. It's Unfoster, and
I hope as a grown adult man when Shapoopy happens,
I would be able to be a grown adult man
and appreciate the musical number and not be taken back
(03:17):
to me as a five year old with my brothers.
I'm gonna laugh the whole time they sing Shapoopy, but
I'm also going to be at the edge of my
see for singing Shapoopy. So I can't wait to see
Shapoopy in person. This is if everyone goes. Why don't
you go home with James when he goes to visit
his family? This is why, this is why I don't go,
because they when you get the boys together, it's just
(03:39):
like I can't have the energy exactly. So we're seeing
The Music Man on Broadway with Hugh Jackman, which I'm
very excited about because I love I love you Jackman.
I love musicals and I love the music Man, and
to like see him in this role with Sutton Foster,
It's gonna be like one of those once in a
lifetime moments where like, Wow, we're seeing the best of
(04:00):
the best be the best, you know what I mean? Yeah, baby,
I'm I'm I'm super stoked to be doing And guess what,
I'll tell him what else we're seeing? Tell him we
are going to see. We're actually gonna go see this.
This is probably one of my favorite musicals. Now, you know,
Jonathan is the musical person and I'm still warming up
to him right but this one is the one that
(04:20):
we saw him. We were last there. I loved the movie,
I loved the musical, and I was seeing a totally
different casts, which would be really fun. We're seeing Mulan
Rouge and we saw Aaron Tivate. We saw the original
cast Aarontivate. Everyone knows if you're listening to this and
you know me, Aaron Tivate has been my number one
since day one of seeing musicals. He is, he can
do no wrong. I think he's the most brilliant performer
(04:41):
in the world. For sentences around him is hilarious. I
met him one time. I turned into a thirteen yeard girl,
couldn't speak, like, couldn't control tugging on my t shirt
like a little kid I was. I became just a psychopath.
And it's because I'm so when I'm around someone that talented,
that's that good, like I can't speak and so going
to see the new cast with Derek Klena, who I'm
(05:03):
also super excited to see. I don't think I'll become
such a psychopath with Derek because even though I do
love Derek and I think he's brilliant in his voice
is one of the most pure voices I've ever heard.
I don't think I'll be that like starstruck like it
was but with Aaron Debate. But you never know. Why
do you think you wanta be a star struck? Well,
because I just feel Okay, here's the honest, God's truth.
(05:25):
Because I followed Derek Kleana on Instagram and his family
with his kid. He just had a kid. Him and
his wife just had I think, like a baby a
month and a half ago. Not that I'm counting or no,
exactly everything, um, but I think it's because when Aaron Debate,
when I became a fan of Aaron Debate, it was
before social media, so it was like the mystery of like,
(05:45):
who is this person that just shows up on the
stage and can do that eight times a week? That's insane?
And then when I see like Derek, it's like, well,
I follow you, I know, like, oh, you just had
your kid, you're on the two week hiatus, Like I know.
More so I'm a little more like it's like the
shock value has worn off, right, that makes sense, Okay,
I get that. And he's also doing a Hallmark movie,
which is like Create Radio City Christmas Spectacular or Holiday
(06:08):
Spectacular on Hallmark. And so he's in a Hallmark movie,
so we will be meeting him, I'm sure when we're
they're doing Hamewark Press stuff, it's gonna be hilarious. I'm
gonna be different. Let's psycho around him and not be
able to talk. But the only people my baby ever
freaks out about his musical musical people like I can
work with Steve Martin, I can work with some of
the biggest celebrities in the world, and like, don't care
(06:33):
um James Vaughan from Celebrity Page TV um from The
Amazing Race. Yeah, the Double Z, the Double Z list Um.
But when I'm around musical theater people, I lose my
I just lose my cool because I can't because they're
so talented and what they do on stage is so
(06:54):
enthralling and vibrant and brilliant that like the fact that
a person can do that on at age is just incomprehensible, uncomprehensible.
What's the word, Oh my god? Is inconceivable? How the
dog is laying on my phone by focus we're talking
about musical I thought, oh my god, the dog is
laying on my foot because we're talking about your favorite
(07:15):
thing and you are still distracted. Sorry, but I do
love them and we can't wait. We're going to New
York City. Took good All broad Way And the fun
part about this, I guess, which is probably only a
fun fact to us, is that we're going to see
Mulan Rouge and Music Man in the same week. The
last time we saw Music Man, our friend Max Clayton
was in No last time we saw Mulan Rouge from
Max Klayton wasn't Ulan Rouge. Now he is in Music
(07:36):
Man as the under study for Hugh Jackman. So it's
I'm torn because it's like, I really want to see
Hugh Jackman, but like I kind of want to see
what if we did like a half and half, Like
you you do the first half, Max, you do the
second half so we can see you. That'd be perfect.
I don't think that's how it works. No, well no,
he could. He could call out that's halfway through. Yeah,
that's literally what you know what, Hugh Jackman is really hard.
(07:58):
I'm gonna take a break from that. That's literally why
Max Clayton sits backstage every day is for that moment.
But that's very exciting. We basically follow Max Clayton around
the world and just follow him to different musicals. And
speaking of his husband, Matt Doyle, who won his Tony
for Company was a masterclass in comedic singing on stage
if anyone got a chance to see it. It's the
(08:20):
best thing of every very talented couple. Like I mean,
do you think they just sit there and are like,
I'm so talented? No, I'm so talent. Like do you
think like when they sing in the shower and the
two of them are just at home, like singing around
like silly like you and I do, it just sounds
like professional And you and I it sounds like you're
a good singer and I'm killing a cat. Well, how
(08:41):
we're half professional? Love? But that's like me trying to
act though, But you know what, you don't want to
see Sailors the acting clown When James has to read.
When James has to read auditions with me, he turns
into this weird, weird just like psycho person. And I
call him Sillers the person. Yeah, you become weird. It's
(09:01):
not psycho baby, Okay, what's the word? Somebody who has
forgotten how normal humans speak? He called? I call him
Sillers the acting clown. And so I go, do you
want to be Sillers the acting clown? And he goes, no,
it's too silly. I'm too silly. When I act. It's
very cute, very weird. You could like I could be like, hey,
hold that door for me, but the minute I've got
to say it in a script and I'm like, hold
(09:23):
that door for me. Oh, I wonder if this is
why my auditions never work. They're probably like, who is this?
It's probably me. That's probably me. But speaking of people
that are super talented, we have Coco Montrees and Alexis
Mateo right now on the podcast. So excited about this.
Coco and I go wait, wait, wait, wait, way back
one of my favorite people in the entire world, and
(09:44):
of course Alexis Mateo is also talented. We'll be right
back with them on broadcast. Welcome Act to Pridecast. I'm
bringing us in for this one because one of these guests.
(10:04):
I dore both of these guests. They're so incredibly talented,
but one of them is is his family to me,
so I'm doing this. Uh So, Welcome back to Pridcast
with Alexis Mateo and my baby Mama, one of my
dearest friends, one of my oldest meeting oldest that I've
known the longest, but not oldest because stays locked in
looking thirty one at all times. Cocomntrees joining us podcast. Yeah, well,
(10:31):
then send over that information. I can't believe you haven't
shared it with me yet. For sure, for sure, welcome
to podcast. I was so excited at both of you
all because y'all have this really cute best friendship going
on to see on social media? How long have you
all known each other? Twenty two years? Years? Twenty two
twenty two years we've been friends. I met Coco when
(10:54):
um I started working at Disney in two thousand. Yes,
twenty two years of friendship. This was awesome. I was
twelve years old, Coca was forty eight. Back then, you
were not twelve years old. I may have been forty eight,
but you are not. Wait, so you were a Disney
(11:15):
kids who hadn't know this because Coca, you were a
Disney kid. That's where you started in the world at Disney.
What shows did you do there? I did the Castle Show,
I did Cinderella Celebration, Cinderella Surprise Celebration, I did all
the Christmas shows. All I did fantastic for five years.
(11:36):
What else did I do? I did everything? And what
did you do there at the park? I started tapes
through your nation's tapes through your dreams on Disney Magic Kingdom,
everything from trolley show to three o'clock parades, the Spectrum,
Magic Cerella clebration, Um, yeah, explains your drag like it's
(11:59):
all a libration. It's that it's that three o'clock parade
down May that's what you're living for. Well, we're all
theme park kids, all of us started performing at the parks.
Jonathan was that what was that Paramount? I was up
Paramounts King's Island. And I like to certain stories because
(12:21):
I remember a point in our lives when we were kids,
were like we would have killed just to get that
job at the theme park. That was that all be
all job everybody wanted. And so I want to point
it out that like, if that's what you're striving for
right now, there's this whole other world beyond it that
you can get to too. And we all did it,
so you can do it. That's the thing, Like you're
talking to drag superstars now that we're theme park girls
(12:45):
back in the day and are now global icons in
the whole well, in the world, in the world, in
the universe. I think I think our I think our
Disney Training gives us the stamina and ability to do
what we do. The discipline, and um, I like my
career is thirty years now. Alexis just like right behind me.
(13:05):
He is probably about thirty years too. And um, it's
the discipline from being at the theme parts that I
think played a big role because five shows a day,
it's yeah, working with the heat. Yeah, ten hour days
sometimes ten out four ten hour days and then we
would do the two overtime days, so you never had
time to not, you know, groom yourself to be did
(13:29):
you guys? Did you guys have to do like because
at King's Island we had to like pre show setups,
like you had like your job, like your pre show
load for like what you had to do. And I
had a very special one because I had to make
the slime like we did Nickelodeon. So I had to
make the green slime for the show that we're going
(13:49):
to slime the kids with. Do you know what it is?
Mostly what I'm allowed to say this, but who cares
what they gonna do? Fire me? It's been years. Like
it's apple sauce, vanilla pudding, food coloring and like water
and a couple other things. But it's mostly just green
apple sauce. You can eat Could you eat this? It's
(14:10):
completely out of bowl? Oh, because you gotta think about
it and then like runs on their face or in
their mouth, Like it's just apple sauce that's like green,
but it's got a whole bunch of other stuff in it.
But like if I didn't know that and then something
was dripping down my face and go out of my
mouth and it was sweet, would be a little alarmed. Right,
why is this taste? Should I know what this is? Honey?
Look who we're talking to. This is g rated, but
(14:36):
I'm talking to apple sauce, folks, I'm talking app Come
on that. Listen. You learn all the fun here on podcast.
You learn all the insider industry secrets. So let's talk
about this because you know, I Heart Radio presents Pridcast
(14:59):
and so y'all are doing something very fun with my
heart to talk about the festival that y'all are presenting at.
Oh wow, Umm, I'm just I'm just excited to even
be asked to do this. It's it's pretty incredible, and
it's it's pretty incredible to be a part of it.
Just like, yeah, you'll get to like We're at a
(15:21):
place where now drag performers are in the mainstream, and
our celebrities and our superstars, and you are getting to
do things like this. So what exactly you're rolling at
the festival representing and we are introducing an amazing artist.
But back to what you were saying, though, it's it is,
you know drag right now, it's so mainstream. And it
was amazing to sit and watch like some of your
(15:42):
peers sitting at the Emmys in full drag. It was
just like, whoa, this is awesome. It was crazy to see.
And I mean we've done red Carpet. I mean we've
done the Grammys, We've done um, the MTB Music Awards,
We've done all of those. But it's still every time
something like this pops up and you see the community
(16:05):
starting to merge together and people are more accepting of
allowing you to sit alongside them or have a seat
at the table. It's pretty amazing. It's pretty well, Cocoa,
it excites me as somebody who's known you for so long,
Like just just see y'all know, listening at home, Coco
and I with those girls in Vegas doing the gigs.
The yeah, we did our shows on the strip, but
(16:26):
cocon I are the same as if if there was
a gig we could do before our show, after our show,
in between two shows, we would find a way to
do it. And I think, gosh, I want to say
we were like tow or something, do it a gig.
And I remember you came in um as a couple
of other girls. I think Derek might be with you,
but remember you were coming and you had just got
back from doing Drag Race. You wanted so bad to
(16:49):
say you had done it, but you couldn't, and so
you were giving me all the Coco phases you possibly
could to let me know this had happened. And I
just remember like the excitement of knowing that the world
was now going to know the Coco that I knew
that the paget world already knew, that, the drag world
already knew was a superstar. Now the world was gonna
know she was a superstar. And it's just so cool
(17:10):
to see, like from that moment and then I'm seeing
you on the carpets at the Grammy's at Yeah, it
was crazy. I mean, me and Alexis vote for kind
of like what in the world is going on. Is
this really happening? And then we got hit the other
day alexis um send me a message and we were like,
whoa Channgela is on Dancing with the Stars. It's off.
(17:31):
It's crazy, like the way things are are moving. You know,
we still have battles to fight, you know, with our
legislation and everything else and the government, but it's still
good to see in the entertainment realm a different level
of acceptance now. Just because we have a fight and
because we still have a lot of work to do,
(17:51):
doesn't negate the fact that we can celebrate the winds
we have right It's okay to say, hey, we got
a lot of work, but right now we're winning in
a lot of way. You know, we have a lot
of cool stuff going on for the community. And I,
as someone that was on Dancing with the Stars, when
I saw that ch Angela announcement, my first reaction was, oh,
my gosh, that's so awesome. And then my second reaction
(18:11):
was like, I feel so bad for change of that
because she did not even know what she's about to
get into. If you thought drag race was hard, yeah,
you don't even know what you're about to experience. It
is an exhausting thing you'll ever do. However, but like
we see some of the drag Race schedule of when
you guys are filming the show, so I think it
(18:32):
is kind of comparable. I think her drag Race training
of being in the different seasons is going to help
her on Dancing with the Stars because she understands that
like twelve week cut off from the world and just
focus on what you have to do, bubble. And she's
done it before, so it's not such like a crazy thing,
you know. And if you yeah, and if you know
anything about her, you know she's a hardy did do
(18:57):
what she's saying. She's so um, super excited. I think
when you are so excited, you cannot not gonna feel
how hard you're gonna work at. But I am so excited.
And we got to sit down and talk about all
school times because like I met Chances, I before Chances,
I was a drag queen, so like that was super
awesome to me to see her grow up in front
(19:19):
of me, the entire drag Race journey, you know. So
this was for me when I saw her with the Stars,
because we always thought about it, like we were like
I don't know why we don't. We don't do dance
it with the stars. But when I saw the announcement,
I was like, oh my god, this is gonna be
super fun, not just for her but for the entire
drag race community. Yeah, she's a she's a hard worker,
(19:40):
and it's gonna it's gonna be pretty amazing to watch her.
And I'm gonna be teen chancellor and I'm gonna vote
for her, and I expecting everybody to vote for her
even if you don't like the girl, because that's our girl.
And and Alexis that's such a good point right there,
because I said that Sometimes two with stuff with people
like oh I don't want to support this. To that,
I'm like, any time and time, our community is getting
(20:02):
a seat at the table, a chance in the spotlight
show up. Whether it's a thing or not, it's our community.
And we are stronger together alphabet mafia, add all the
letters up. We are bigger and better than more there
are of us. Just like I mean the movie that's
coming out, Bros. I know there's been some people like,
oh I don't want to see it because of this,
and that I'm like, I know, I know, I know,
(20:22):
like maybe it's not even my thing either, but less
support it because when we show them support for that
and it does well, that allows more opportunity for more
people from our community to tell more different stories as well.
So the point is, vote for Shangi and vote for
the community every time you can, absolutely right, it's true
and even and that not even just with the voting,
(20:43):
but when we are when there are things that happen
in the community that certain parts of the community are
fighting for, we need to we need to understand. You know,
that may not be our thing. You know, I'm a
drag queen. I'm a complete drag queen. I'm not trans,
but trans issues are very close to me because to me,
that's a part of our community. So when they're fighting
for something, yes, I'm gonna standing with them and fight
(21:05):
with them because it's still a part of our community.
You know, we can't or if the Bears are having something,
I'm I'm like nine eight pounds, so can wet. I'm
still a fan of the Bearer community, and I'm going
to help the Bear community do what they're what they
want to do. You know, it's important to me. I
think it's important. Yeah, it's okay. So it's like a
(21:27):
little bit of a jealousy situation when it comes to
these these things. UM, that got to stop for some
kind of reason. We're kind of like competing with each other.
It's not a competition. We are in the same time,
at the same place. Um. One of the best things
that I have connected with Coco is the fact that
(21:47):
we don't see each other as competitions and we celebrate everything.
It has allowed us to have a real friendship for
twenty two years. And I don't know if everybody knows this,
but Coco put me in drag for first time, and
it has been my mentors since the first time you
put me in drag, not only in my drag career,
but in my personal life and even my English. Um,
(22:10):
it has been. It has been super cool. And every
time we do something, we do it together or we're
fans of each other, like team each other no matter what.
And I never had seen Coco with a Oh Coco
went to drag with five and I think someone else
should have been or somebody somebody else was better for
(22:33):
the opportunity. You know. It's just so weird to me
that sometimes a little jealousy devil sit on each other
and whisper to new things, and that it happens a
lot in our community. And it's crazy. It's crazy. It is,
it really is. It's different. I don't I don't get it. Yeah,
we all about it a lot. Yeah, we talked about
it a lot on on podcasts. It's so funny because
(22:54):
you're not the only two people to come on here
and mention this. Right. Almost every time we're kind of
talking about the space, someone brings this up, and it's
something James and I've talked about a long time too.
It's like, you know, James and I do the similar
things that we both host TV shows, are both on TV.
But from day one, he's been my number one fan
since day one, Like from the day we met, it's
(23:15):
been like and I and I've been his number one fan.
Like if if I get a job, he's excited, If
he gets a job, I'm excited. Like it's two kings
ruling one kingdom, is what we always say. It's not
like there you have to have your own kingdoms. You
can both be kings and live in this world. And
I feel like in the gay community the same applies,
Like we can all be kings and queens and whatever
(23:36):
you want to call yourself a jester, you know what,
whatever you want to be, a night affair, a fair affair, maiden,
whatever you want to be in that you can everyone
can be. There's plenty of room in the Kingdom, and
it's not like there has to be like a competition
between everyone. But I think it cuts back to something
I talked about last podcast, which is scarcity of opportunity.
I think there was a lot of you know, for decades,
(23:58):
there was scarcity of opportunity for queer people and their
representation in the media. And now that there is more
representation and there are more pieces of pie to be had,
everyone doesn't have to fight over the pie, like there's
prices for everybody. Right before, it was like I wasn't
like Willem was like on Law and Order or something
like back in the day. He was like the first,
(24:20):
like one of the first times you're like, oh, one
of the kind of current drag queens did like a
a show on TV and had like a guest star
and that was a huge deal. And it was like
he's always like he was always like, well, when do
I get other guest star opportunities? Like one of there's
going to be more, why can't I be lad? And
so I remember back to those days to where we
are now, like that, there's just been so many pies
(24:41):
made and there's plenty of opportunity. Yeah, just support, support
and remember that we were stronger together together. And it's
so funny now because even now with Alexis and I
we're embarking on this new ownership adventure together. Because we've
worked in the community for so long, under so many
(25:01):
different people and so many you know, different elements, is
we feel like it's time for us to do it,
not only for ourselves, but for the other girls that
UM work with us or around us, to give them
opportunities where they can be treated the way that they're
supposed to be treated, you know, so they can go
out there and entertain everybody else. We've decided we're gonna,
(25:22):
you know, go on this business venture together and actually
own our own production company and to put on our
own UM events in Vegas and even abroad. We're gonna
go further and UM So that launches October nine in
Vegas and we're very excited about it. Y'all. Y'all know
the gig that better to put on the gig the
people that have done it and been there. What's the
(25:43):
first venture? I seen you posting about stuff on Instagram?
What's the very first one? October nine? A whole brunch,
A whole bunch of queens. We are opening our own brunch.
It's for the queens, by the queens um And a
part of the reason why we're doing this is because
we want We've worked in establishments and been wanting to
create these things and wanting to do bigger things, but
(26:05):
we're not in charge, so we get held back. We're
not able to do to implement those things, or we
do implement those things, and then those ideas are taken
from us, and then they run with the idea and
then they we don't need you anymore in that. So
we're to the point now we're like, Okay, well that's happened.
We're good. We're good with that. We're gonna create our
(26:26):
own and we're in charge. But we are model for
ourselves inside the company is we're not gonna do anything
to anyone who works for us that we wouldn't want
done to ourselves. If I don't want to get dressed
in a broom closet for dressing room. You best to
believe I'm gonna have the most amazing dressing room space.
(26:47):
I don't care what it's gonna cost me for those
girls to come and work so they can go out
and feel comfortable entertaining people. Yeah, may feel good about
what they're about to do. You know, it's absolutely like
the moment before, Like I I can kind of identify
this with acting, like the moment before that we have
(27:08):
when we're acting. When you're about to play a character,
like the moments that have been leading up to you,
like standing on your market saying your lines, or you
walking out on the stage and performing at a brunge
and doing your show, Like how you get ready and
what that environment like is is like in hair and
makeup or in your dressing room when you're trailer, like
that puts you in a certain mood or not, Like
(27:28):
if I'm in a trailer, like I worked on a
show called Uh Fantasy Island on Fox last year, and
I've never seen a show with so much money in
my life. Like, I mean, they had cranes just sitting
around to hoist lights up, and I'm like, those are
like a thousand dollars a day to rent one of
(27:50):
them and there's like twelve of them. They're like everything
was there was so much money and like just the
way they like, like they would set this whole set
up up for like one shot and I'm like, that
took four hours to set up lighting for one shot
and that was the whole scene and they're gonna move on.
I'm like, guys, you don't need all this stuff, but
(28:10):
like you better believe when I walked on set after
going into that giant s you like that giant Uh
what's it called trailer? But what's the truck called semi truck?
It was a semi truck trailer like massive, like brand new,
state of the art, like gorgeous. And I was like,
you feel different when you step on that on that set,
if you got ready with those people and got carded
(28:32):
around in a nice little brand new golf cart, Like
I'm sorry, but I feel like a star. You feel great,
you feel great about giving your best, you feel grace,
you feel I'm prepared now. They put me in a
space mentally where I'm prepared now to be the star
that you guys are treating me like, you know, and
it's important. You know, people say, oh, it's it's a
(28:55):
diva moment, it's this, Oh you're being av No, I've
I've all across the world and I've really experienced these
things now, And for me, I look back and say,
those are the times that I gave a thousand percent,
not even thousand percent, because I felt in that space
that I knew I needed to give that. You know,
(29:16):
but because of the two of you, we've seen you
perform so many times. We're big fans of both of you.
We watch you on Instagram, we follow you on socials
and everything. But what's it's easy to give a thousand
percent when you're getting ready in that million dollar trailer.
It's the challenge is to give a thousand percent when
you're getting ready in the back of your car and
you're making up on the trunk and guess what you do.
(29:38):
You still go in and you still slap it on
and you give that a thousand percent because you two
are what stars? That's why. Because you guys are stars.
And we're gonna talk about why you guys are such stars,
and we're gonna talk about drag race life too when
we come back. All right, U, alright, We're back with
(30:05):
Coco and Alexis. We're talking. We're talking careers, we're talking
their new ventures, but we got to dive into um.
We talk about our favorite show. We're talking about our
favorite show in the world. Probably. I think we've gone
four times, and I think every time we go to
see drag Race live it's okay. Every time we go
to see drag Race live in Las Vegas, I feel
(30:27):
like such a nerd because I geek out because I'm
a super fan. So it's like I'm in the crowd
screaming and like going nuts, and like after the show
to meet everyone, I'm like shaking and I'm so excited
I can I can barely control it. So I feel
like this like psycho super fan in the audience. Do
you guys think I'm psychotic when I'm sitting there, like
do or do you not notice? And it's okay, we
(30:49):
don't notice. We don't think. We think you're okay, good.
You know. I think I see it not well because
he's screaming Coco at the top of it, and when
I'm the one that sings like I like weirdly do
(31:11):
the choreography and the thing like baby, I've made it.
I made like I know, like but I know some
of it because I watched him on YouTube enough that
I like picked it up. It's like when I go
to see Hairspray and I'm in the audience and I'm like,
you can't sap the motion of the us, and I'm
like doing all the dances. I like know all the
words to every song and I sing it and like
(31:33):
I know when, like, oh, the one dancer is gonna
pop up from behind the thing, and so I'm looking
over there and then I start to get real psycho fan,
and I like watch for presets. I'm like, Okay, this happens,
but that means he's got to get behind there at
some point. So then I'm watching tracking the dancers to
see like when's he go behind that, because he's gotta
wait for like two minutes so he can pop up
(31:54):
in surprise. Like all the things that are like done,
I start tracking the tracks, which is when you know
you've hit a new level of super fandom. Yes, well,
do you get confused? Do you get confused when you
come see the show and we're like Alexis and I
are in totally different tracks, like we're all yes, it's
so funny. It's it's really really funny. But I think
(32:15):
at this point in both for both of us, we
almost know the entire show, like entire like entire entire show.
So Drag Race Live. I think we all probably have
our favorite numbers. But Coco, when you do the Greatest
Showman number, that's like high level drag right there. That's
that's the kind of stuff you expect to see from
(32:36):
a headliner in Vegas. Do you just feel like when
you're doing that number, like you know, this is what
I deserve, this is how it should because you've been
in that theater before. Yeah, I was in that theater.
I was in that theater, and I was in the
theater to Hotels down Um for like five years, and
M Drag Race Live is just a whole different level.
(32:58):
It's a what's it like? I know that's a real
boring question, what's it like? But just tell us things
honestly for us, and I don't. I mean, I I
can speak for Alexis because I know we feel the
same way. It is kind of a surreal moment. Even
when you're coming into work, you're like, am I really here?
This is the Las Vegas strip. I chose the career
(33:21):
of female impersonator and I am here on the strip
every night. That's crazy to me, It's absolutely crazy. The
feeling is like emotional. I don't know Alexis has a
feeling for you because it's, oh my god, Like for me,
it's like crazy that the magnitude of the show because
(33:41):
you guys don't get to see this, but the curtains
closed every certain seconds and you just go change. But
at that same time, um, it's a whole world changing
behind you. It's massive props, um dancers everywhere, like cost
to me, people hair and makeup people, Like it's just
(34:02):
incredible to me to see how prepare and how organized
and how professional these things are. Um, we are trained.
We play with fire to bumping, jumping from the ceiling,
fans on the ceiling of the theater, like this is
like song. This is not just a drag show. We're
literally playing with certified people security, like are invested and
(34:28):
dressing you're dressing and dressing rooms that Donnie and Mavie,
I mean, all these big name people have have great
like they were their homes, they were their residencies, you know,
Tony Braxton, all of them were in these same dressing
rooms that we're in now. It's we don't take it
for granted, I guess because we're like like, we're not.
(34:50):
We're not like from this generation of Queen's were like
a little bit older, Like we were like in the
middle of the crossover between the cassette tape, the cassette
tape and the big thing in your car, you know,
being U with the cord. Were crossover from that into
nounced technology. So for us, we're still we acknowledge it
a little bit more in a different way because we
(35:11):
were able to We can reminisce with the past when
it was nowhere near like this. You know, you can
really appreciate it. Yeah, we appreciate it a lot differently.
And it's just I can't even explain the experience of
drag race life. It is unbelievable to be there, and
ru gets so tired. I'm sure ruined Jamal gets so
tired of hearing thank you so much for this, thank
(35:34):
you so much for this, because they're like, rule, see
me come in here and be like, I know, Coco,
it's thank you because I say it so much. I
have so much um gratitude, not only for you know,
drag Race Lab, but for the entire franchise. You know,
the franchise is like a family. Families don't always agree
on everything, but when they do agree on this that
they are family and they're gonna they're gonna have each
(35:55):
other's back. So that's the thing with drag Race period.
For me, is I I love it. I love I
love watching the new girls grow up and come into this.
It's it's wonderful to watch and then to come and
watch drag Race live. And then they sit there and
they tell us, how, oh my god, we you inspire us.
(36:16):
You're such a legend, and you're here on the stage.
We want to this is our next plateau. This is
what we want to do next. It's pretty cool. Yes, Alexis,
what's your favorite number to do in that show? Oh
my god? Okay, what what I like about I know,
what I really like about the show is that the
(36:36):
numbers were literally invented for other girls. Yes, but we
get the chance to reinvent the numbers for ourselves, you know.
And um, just like you said, like one of my
favorite musicals is the Greatest Showman. And I really love
how every time Eureka or Latrice or Coco or me
(36:57):
do the number like we have certain way, certain story
behind the number that makes the number unique. And I
think that's my favorite number. First of all, it's a
number that you don't have to dance, but you do
have to really give emotion or it's not gonna work out.
And I think that's the it goes back to the
one on one class of drag because now you know
(37:20):
people that think the now drag is just splitting and
back flips and just a high energy situation, but but
a real entertainer, it's defined by a moment where you
don't get to do all the stunts, like take all
the glam, take all the stunts out, and what you have,
(37:42):
what you really have. And that's I think that's my
favorite number because it does show who has the magic
to do drag because you have yeah, you have booty
shaking here. It's not about who flied to who's flying
with fires, absolutely nothing than just something that comes from
the inside and you have to transfer that emotion to
(38:05):
the audience. And that's the that's the most difficult one
for me because it's that number is everybody needs to relate,
you know, everybody needs to relate in a different way.
So you you're in charge of their emotions. You're supposed
to make them feel what you feel. And I think
that is, like Alexi said, that's a lot harder. Just
(38:26):
I'm gonna jump in the air and give a split
and everybody go up. That doesn't you know require it?
If you know the emotion is what requires UM, You're
required to do to get people's attention. And they're like
the majority of the people that go intoe the show
UM are hardcore fans of the show. They know who's
(38:47):
in the show, when the cast announced, happens, they screened
for the favorites, they know everything, and that go the
show goes through the entire show. But that is the
only number that I can say, UM a highlight the
journey of each one of us on the show. As
(39:07):
soon as the show's the number starts, you identify quickly
with everything that Coco went through in the show. So
it makes it more personal for the girl and it's
it's just very very fun to watch the reactions of
the people why the whole number starts and they get
to flashback into the journey on drag race, So yeah,
(39:29):
it's awesome. Alexis, I see you and all I ever
think is bam and there's It makes me so happy
every time because all of us from that from that
season of Drag Race where that's why I first discovered
you and was like, oh my gosh, I love this Girlbercues.
(39:50):
Was that a thing that you planned going in like
I need to dragons? Was that a plant or just
hit and you were like, oh, Rude is laughing, this
works and you just right with it. Um. It's a
it literally was back in the days, a fight against
my inner sarrator um. Every time that I feel very,
very like insecure of something, I say, bam for me
(40:12):
means beautiful Alexis Matteil. That's what the three letters um means. UM.
So when I'm not feeling a d invested, I say
it a lot to kind of like give me like
the fire that I needed. I'm like, oh, I know,
I'm everything, baby, you know, like it's that little bush.
It's that little bush. Um. When I was doing the
challenge on season three, um, I was I don't know.
(40:37):
I was like, I'm not even a hundred percent American
because I was wondering pute Rigo. So I'm like I
don't know what I'm supposed to be doing. I was
so literally like insecure, So I started saying it a
lot through my commercial filming. Um RuPaul loved it and
it's became such a big deal. But I never even
noticed I said it so many times. So wait, but
(40:58):
I loved it for what I thought it was. But
now that I know what it is to you, that's
something that I feel it could be valuable to so
many people. Is that it is that moment is that
you really need it and sometimes you just have to
push it. Can I use the bam, I'm gonna ask
your permission, Yeah, because I feel like that would help
me so many times. So watch next time you see
(41:21):
me having a moment. I just started shouting bam. You
know that I'm over. That is beautiful. I learned that Lexis.
Thank you for sharing that with that. I don't I
think mine would be if yours this beautiful Lexis tale,
mine would be beautiful Jonathan Bennett, But that means I
would just go on going b J B. I don't
think that's the same. I don't think I should go
around streaming that. I don't think that would end well.
(41:46):
All right, we gotta ask about these iconic Drag Race
moments when we have you here as super fans of
the show, Because Coco, I that still to this day
people ask me, and it's not just because you are
family to me. It's not just because we have so
much history and we've been friends for so long. When
people ask me what is your favorite lip sync ever
on Drag Race, I will always say your performance of
(42:09):
cold Hearted Snake against Alyssa, because oh my gosh, and
I didn't even realize. I mean, I knew how iconic
it was when you pointed out your mouth and like,
look at these lips. I got every word. So then
I go, like years later, and I'm doing this thing
with Paula Abduel at her show in Vegas for my
show I was hosting at the time, Celebrity Page and
I'm with Paula following around for the show, and I
(42:30):
asked her, I'm like, hey, can you just some indulge
me for a minute in this part because my favorite
drag queen performance ever happened to this song. Can you
help me figure out these words? Coco, I had Paula
Abdul herself with me, and I still couldn't figure out
the words? How did you figure those out? For that
lip sync? To get every single little thing right, because
it's like, how come, how come? How come? He could?
He could? He? Cal's all the little like stutter parts.
(42:53):
It's literally it's that song is literally repeating the words twice.
That's all she was doing. Didn't for that whole section
of it. It was just how come, how come you come?
You can tell it? Tell it? You could? You It's
it's all. It's a repeat. It's a repeat. Where were
you when I was making a fool out of myself
in front of Yeah, she just duels like, yeah, James,
(43:16):
you just say the words twice? No, But that's that's
not That's not how Paula will phrase it. Paula will
the phrase it intercute little Paula away where you're like
what huh, and then you're more confused afterwards, but you
love her more afterwards. To it just works out. You know.
I was always a fan of Paula anyway, because she
you know, her choreographing for Janet was just her being
a Laker girl for me, Her spun her just that
(43:38):
was always something for me. So when that song was selected,
I mean, you already know a listen, as a trained dancer,
You're not going to get her on dancing. It's not
gonna happen. So for the little thing, for me, it
was I had to make it all about the words.
It had to be about the words. And then the sleeve.
Literally none of it was planned, this me wearing that
(43:59):
for that live think, none of that was planned. It
just iconically worked out that way. It was one of
the craziest moments for us. Cook Sometimes I go back
and watch that lipsine just to put me in a
good mood. Yeah, and as if I was Paula Abdul
herself lives Rentfrey in my mind at all times because
it's just iconic, iconic, iconic. So thank you for that.
(44:22):
I've never told you, thank you for that. Thank you
for that welcome and cool. You and I have been
to a ton of prides together. You had a bunch
of pride events together, Gay days, you name it. But
do you remember your very first pride? Each of you,
the very first time you went to pride? You remember
what it was? Oh? Do you remember yours? Alexis mine,
(44:42):
Mike was some pete pride? What was and what was
it like? It was hot. That's hell, like, it was
hot and human. I remember how much I walking high
heels and it was but it was awesome. It was
like a big festival and I got to see how
people celebrate their own pride. You know. It was the
(45:04):
first time I probably can tell you that I'm I
saw a real community out of a bar. Does that
make sense because we normally get to see each other
inside a bar or a big event, But I had
never seen somebody so many people together outside of a bar.
(45:24):
So this was a big It was a big thing
for me because I get to see people going into
chops and eating together and buying things together and carrying
their kids and family into the place, things that you
don't get to see at the bar. It was very
important to me. Yeah, look, my first pride was actually,
(45:45):
and it's a very weird story, my first pride was
actually I had to watch it from afar. I went
to college in um Alabama, Montgomery, Alabama. So the event
of going to a club then was like you were
it was like you were sneaking to do everything because
the gay clubs there were kind of under it was
(46:08):
this was you remember, this was like nine two, so
we had just gotten out of the eighties. We were
going in I am old. So for me than I
had to watch watch Pride from afar We couldn't because
we were still in college, so we were trying not
We couldn't really out our you know, ourselves like that.
(46:31):
It was it was a weird time for me, my
first Pride, But do you remember seeing that Seeing everybody
have pride was it was like hoping that what did
you get from that when you saw them from afar um.
For me at that point in my life, you know,
because I amost a late bloomer. When it came to
all of that, um, it was almost like, oh, wow,
there are a lot of people like me. There are
a lot of people like me. I may not be
(46:53):
comfortable yet like being as open as they are about
you know, marching in the parade and stuff like that,
because I'm just finding out, you know, really who I am.
But I'm not. I'm not weird. You know. It was like, Okay,
I'm not weird. This is normal. There are other people
that are like this. So it's kind of like a
good feeling for me. Even though I was still kind
(47:15):
of like hiding, it was still a good moment. For
me because I realized, Okay, you're not crazy. You know
this is there are other people like this. I'm not
alone moment, right, So it was a good feeling. It
was a good feeling. Montgomery was tough though she got
out and she's a global superstar. Now look at it, Hey,
(47:37):
what does pride mean to you? When you think about
your pride? What does pride mean to you? Pride to me,
Pride to me. A lot of people, you know, they're like,
they don't understand. They're like, oh, you guys, what's the
point of having a parade and to parade on and
say I'm proud of who I am? Um? For me,
Pride's visibility, you know, it's it's it's letting people see
(47:58):
that you are here, you know. Um, it's it's help
to help remind if we celebrate, to help remind other people,
you know, that we are, we exist, that we do exist,
and that we Their strength in numbers, their strength and numbers,
because those numbers can change things. Those numbers can decide
you know, legislation, those numbers can you know, we can
(48:20):
fight for certain things even right now, you know with
the women with women fighting for what they're fighting for,
I was like, you're not a woman. You're fighting for
that too. Yes, I am m h. Because everything else, Yeah,
because that means other things might be on the chopping
block to you. Gotta you gotta support people right where
(48:40):
they are. You know, you have to right. That's what
it means to me. Pride for me means happiness. I
tell you since I was little. Um, it's a it's
an inner fight with acceptance and and loving yourself because
you don't understand certain things in life. When you reach
(49:04):
the moment when you realize that that's you, that's what
makes you. Um, you realize that you become happy. So
your pride, it's just your happiness. It's a it's a
level that you're reach in your life that you realize
that you're complete. And I think it's gonna stop you
from there on. Bamn, complete baby. When you sent me
(49:31):
up some gay history, I want to share some gay
history with the girl. That's a that's a good. So
now it's time for gay history. Each week, we like
to look back at where we've come from because before
we can move forward and make sure we open up
all the doors, we always have to remember the doors
that were opened before us So, Jay, what happened this
week in gay history? Well, this week in gay history
(49:52):
September of two thousand and twelve, shout out to California
for becoming the first state to ban gay conversion therapy
on minors to air quote cure them of being amazing.
So shout out to that. That's that's ten years ago.
If you think about right now, and currently there's only
(50:14):
twenty states that fully banned conversion therapy. So as Coco
was just saying so eloquently, we there is legislation that
needs to be done. There there are is strength and numbers,
and so think about that if you were in one
of those twenties state, that one of those not twenty states,
thirty states. There's my math. Look at that thirty that
you can be doing things to help advance legislation to
(50:36):
get rid of ridiculous things like conversion therapy, because that's
that's that's a hot that was just ten years ago,
ten years ago perspective perspectively there it was ten years ago.
But you know what, for me, I look at it
and say to myself, how many young people's lives did
it save for them to implement that and saying no,
(50:59):
that that can't happen anymore, because I mean I look
at it and say, as a young kid, what I
would have done. I don't know how I would have
reacted if I didn't wasn't allowed that aha moment of
old people are like me, and you had a bunch
of people telling you that you're there's something wrong with
you psychologically, there's something wrong with you, and you need
to go to conversion therapy to make you not feel
(51:22):
what you're feeling. That to me is one of the
biggest struggles, and it's it hurts. It hurts our young people.
It hurts our young people, and and how many lives
that you know that people kids would have committed suicide
had that still been you know, they're like in the
state of California, that would have been like, oh okay,
(51:44):
you know these people don't think I'm okay, you know,
let me just end it so I don't have to
deal with that. You know, it's a lot. It's a
that happens a lot. But because of them saying no,
we're not doing that anymore, We're not allowing that they
could have they could save, but it could save a
lot of lines are definitely safe. That's why also while
we still fight to get conversion therapy band everywhere, visibility
(52:06):
is so important and like, I'm so thankful we live
in the social media age where you can show people.
You don't have to sneak in on a Pride event
going off in the distance. You can actually see it
right there on your screens, people being themselves. You know,
you are not alone. You're not alone by far, that's
I mean, we have a podcast about Pride now there
is I mean, you're not alone even just here amongst
(52:29):
our community. But you can open up your phone, open
if your computer, turn on your TV and and see
that you're not alone. It's a beautiful time to be alive, truly,
is it really is? It really is? It's a It's
a great time to be alive. I'm doing a podcast
right now too. I'm co host up a podcast now.
It's called Go Deep, No Sleep, and it's about UM.
It's definitely about their therapy, you know, basically mental the
(52:51):
mental state of the l g B t Q UM
plus community and our mental state and what we need
to do to UM have our mental state healthy, you know,
UM dealing with all the stuff that we're dealing with
every day. Yeah, because that's the one thing that someone said,
describe Cocoa to you. I would definitely say, go deep,
no sleep because she's always working, always hustling, and I'm like,
(53:13):
when do you sleep, ma'am? That's a good title for
the podcast. You were doing slips in the back of
the car. She's like, she's you're that, You're that lady
GGA thing that gets shared? What is it? Another club? Sleep?
Playing another club? You've always been that way. You've always
been that girl that hustles and takes every gig, it
(53:34):
works every opportunity. I'm I'm, I'm always impressed by you can.
Let's let's shine a big gay spotlight, shall we? All Right,
each week we'd like to shine our big gay spotlight
on someone in the l g B t Q plus
community that is doing extraordinary things, which are extraordinary things. James,
who we shine in your Big Gay spotlet on this week? Well,
I have to do this one because we have Coco
(53:56):
here with us, because I think if I ever did drag, well,
because I have tried it once and I'm so sorry,
and please, I would not let Coco claim me. Um,
I have the receipts. It's I feel like I would
be a Montrese because you know, I mean our history
(54:18):
number one and number two just like what you know.
And then number three that also from the years two
thousand to two thousand twelve, I was also Orange. Um.
I feel like we really go well together because we
both kind of figured some things out, Coco. But let's shine.
Let's shine my big a spotlight on your fabulous drag
daughter that that you created, Kahana Mantries. She's such a
(54:41):
good representation of what love and support and somebody have
in your back and building you up can do. So
it's kind of a little bit of a spotlight on
you to Coco. You can also see Kahana in Drag Race,
and and I also like to claim her as my
own Cocoa, and I call her our daughters sometimes. So
whenever whenever you see me at the show posting, look
at our daughter, look at her go, I get so excited.
(55:01):
Number one because of how amazing and what a superstar
she's become. But number two because no, and Coco was
the driving force behind that. Well, I mean there's a
lot of there's a lot of tough love there. There's
a lot of tough love there because you always. You know,
as much as it hurts to give them self love,
you want them to be able to stand on their
own two feet and be able to you know, make
(55:22):
their own path in this in this industry, um and
not just you know, be like oh the last name,
the last name. No, you want to give them the tools,
but you don't want to walk them through it too
much because they need to be able to learn it
on their own. So it's it our um. Our mother
daughter relationship is crazy, Alexis, Alexis, she said, that's your daughter. Yeah,
(55:49):
I gotta. I have a problem though, keeping keep her
keeping clothes on these days. I don't know about that.
I'm trying to get her out of that stage. I'm like,
she got it from her mama. We have seen your
we have seen your social media. We all have seen it.
The apple go far far from the tree. No, uh,
(56:10):
that's my baby. I love her. Well, listen, we adore
y'all both such superstars. Thank you for taking the time
to talk to us. Alexis, Matteo, Cocoa trees, Coca. I
love you, Alexis, I love you. I love you too.
We are so excited to see you present at the
I Heart Radio Music Festival. It'll air on the c
(56:32):
W October seven and eight at eight seventh Central
This is Pridecast with Jonathan Bennett James on I Heart Radio.
It's time for another episode of Pridecast. Welcome everyone to
the best gay podcast in the world, says me. It's
me Jonathan Bennett, and I'm joined here by my beautiful, handsome, hot, hunky,
(00:26):
and handsome sauce husband, James Vaughan. Handsome handsome song. Yeah,
there's two different things. One is handsome and one is
handsome sauce. Handsome sauce feel like you actually were thinking
for a second about referencing my very um injured back
right now, and then you opted out of it. James
is one. You know what's so funny is because we're
going to talk about musicals right now. But what's so
(00:47):
great is that James actually is the age of one
of the songs from Rent. He is five thousand, six
hundred years old. To bail, He's we're just at the
age mirror. We're moving a giant mirror and a portal
or something, and it has has not come back from
it yet. So here I sit in a very precarious position.
(01:09):
Here I sit lonely hearted. Tried to poop but only farted.
You know that was a sign that hung up. Do
you say we're going to talk about musicals and we're
talking about music very very Jonathan Bennett of did, Hey,
we're gonna talk about musicals, but first, oh we are. Yeah, well,
I wanted to bring in the musical for our ference
and talk about how old you were, and then we're
gonna get into musicals because guess what, guys, we are
(01:29):
going to New York City this week to shoot a
commercial and then we're going to see two of my
favorite musicals. Well, one i've seen, the other one I
don't know if it's my favorite, but it will be
my favorite after I see it. James, tell them what
we're seeing first, Well, first I think I know the
order we're seeing them. We're seeing a musical that was
(01:50):
actually banned in my household as a child. As a kid,
this movie was on VHS. What the musical? And it
was taken from our VHS. You know this very very
very overly conservative, overly police what's the word I'm looking
for here? I had a warden instead of a mother,
(02:11):
very overprotective household. And so this musical, the Old School
one that was on VHS was removed from our collection
because why well it was removed, as well as other
classics like et, which was also removed. But why was
it removed? Well, um, this one particularly was removed because
there was a song in it that you quote with
(02:34):
several boys in the household, this this kind of stuff happens.
There's a song that you may know from the musical
that is called Shapoopy, Shop poopy, Shop poopy. Yep, absolutely,
and um, well you get boys in the house and
we just ran round singing about how she poopied, and
so it got taken from because we didn't understand what
(02:56):
it meant. And so she poopy became a thing and
that got taken from us. Eat got taken for a
totally different reason. But the point is we're seeing the
music man Broadway with you, jack Man. It's Unfoster, and
I hope as a grown adult man when Shapoopy happens,
I would be able to be a grown adult man
and appreciate the musical number and not be taken back
(03:17):
to me as a five year old with my brothers.
I'm gonna laugh the whole time they sing Shapoopy, but
I'm also going to be at the edge of my
see for singing Shapoopy. So I can't wait to see
Shapoopy in person. This is if everyone goes. Why don't
you go home with James when he goes to visit
his family? This is why, this is why I don't go,
because they when you get the boys together, it's just
(03:39):
like I can't have the energy exactly. So we're seeing
The Music Man on Broadway with Hugh Jackman, which I'm
very excited about because I love I love you Jackman.
I love musicals and I love the music Man, and
to like see him in this role with Sutton Foster,
It's gonna be like one of those once in a
lifetime moments where like, Wow, we're seeing the best of
(04:00):
the best be the best, you know what I mean? Yeah, baby,
I'm I'm I'm super stoked to be doing And guess what,
I'll tell him what else we're seeing? Tell him we
are going to see. We're actually gonna go see this.
This is probably one of my favorite musicals. Now, you know,
Jonathan is the musical person and I'm still warming up
to him right but this one is the one that
(04:20):
we saw him. We were last there. I loved the movie,
I loved the musical, and I was seeing a totally
different casts, which would be really fun. We're seeing Mulan
Rouge and we saw Aaron Tivate. We saw the original
cast Aarontivate. Everyone knows if you're listening to this and
you know me, Aaron Tivate has been my number one
since day one of seeing musicals. He is, he can
do no wrong. I think he's the most brilliant performer
(04:41):
in the world. For sentences around him is hilarious. I
met him one time. I turned into a thirteen yeard girl,
couldn't speak, like, couldn't control tugging on my t shirt
like a little kid I was. I became just a psychopath.
And it's because I'm so when I'm around someone that talented,
that's that good, like I can't speak and so going
to see the new cast with Derek Klena, who I'm
(05:03):
also super excited to see. I don't think I'll become
such a psychopath with Derek because even though I do
love Derek and I think he's brilliant in his voice
is one of the most pure voices I've ever heard.
I don't think I'll be that like starstruck like it
was but with Aaron Debate. But you never know. Why
do you think you wanta be a star struck? Well,
because I just feel Okay, here's the honest, God's truth.
(05:25):
Because I followed Derek Kleana on Instagram and his family
with his kid. He just had a kid. Him and
his wife just had I think, like a baby a
month and a half ago. Not that I'm counting or no,
exactly everything, um, but I think it's because when Aaron Debate,
when I became a fan of Aaron Debate, it was
before social media, so it was like the mystery of like,
(05:45):
who is this person that just shows up on the
stage and can do that eight times a week? That's insane?
And then when I see like Derek, it's like, well,
I follow you, I know, like, oh, you just had
your kid, you're on the two week hiatus, Like I know.
More so I'm a little more like it's like the
shock value has worn off, right, that makes sense, Okay,
I get that. And he's also doing a Hallmark movie,
which is like Create Radio City Christmas Spectacular or Holiday
(06:08):
Spectacular on Hallmark. And so he's in a Hallmark movie,
so we will be meeting him, I'm sure when we're
they're doing Hamewark Press stuff, it's gonna be hilarious. I'm
gonna be different. Let's psycho around him and not be
able to talk. But the only people my baby ever
freaks out about his musical musical people like I can
work with Steve Martin, I can work with some of
the biggest celebrities in the world, and like, don't care
(06:33):
um James Vaughan from Celebrity Page TV um from The
Amazing Race. Yeah, the Double Z, the Double Z list Um.
But when I'm around musical theater people, I lose my
I just lose my cool because I can't because they're
so talented and what they do on stage is so
(06:54):
enthralling and vibrant and brilliant that like the fact that
a person can do that on at age is just incomprehensible, uncomprehensible.
What's the word, Oh my god? Is inconceivable? How the
dog is laying on my phone by focus we're talking
about musical I thought, oh my god, the dog is
laying on my foot because we're talking about your favorite
(07:15):
thing and you are still distracted. Sorry, but I do
love them and we can't wait. We're going to New
York City. Took good All broad Way And the fun
part about this, I guess, which is probably only a
fun fact to us, is that we're going to see
Mulan Rouge and Music Man in the same week. The
last time we saw Music Man, our friend Max Clayton
was in No last time we saw Mulan Rouge from
Max Klayton wasn't Ulan Rouge. Now he is in Music
(07:36):
Man as the under study for Hugh Jackman. So it's
I'm torn because it's like, I really want to see
Hugh Jackman, but like I kind of want to see
what if we did like a half and half, Like
you you do the first half, Max, you do the
second half so we can see you. That'd be perfect.
I don't think that's how it works. No, well no,
he could. He could call out that's halfway through. Yeah,
that's literally what you know what, Hugh Jackman is really hard.
(07:58):
I'm gonna take a break from that. That's literally why
Max Clayton sits backstage every day is for that moment.
But that's very exciting. We basically follow Max Clayton around
the world and just follow him to different musicals. And
speaking of his husband, Matt Doyle, who won his Tony
for Company was a masterclass in comedic singing on stage
if anyone got a chance to see it. It's the
(08:20):
best thing of every very talented couple. Like I mean,
do you think they just sit there and are like,
I'm so talented? No, I'm so talent. Like do you
think like when they sing in the shower and the
two of them are just at home, like singing around
like silly like you and I do, it just sounds
like professional And you and I it sounds like you're
a good singer and I'm killing a cat. Well, how
(08:41):
we're half professional? Love? But that's like me trying to
act though, But you know what, you don't want to
see Sailors the acting clown When James has to read.
When James has to read auditions with me, he turns
into this weird, weird just like psycho person. And I
call him Sillers the person. Yeah, you become weird. It's
(09:01):
not psycho baby, Okay, what's the word? Somebody who has
forgotten how normal humans speak? He called? I call him
Sillers the acting clown. And so I go, do you
want to be Sillers the acting clown? And he goes, no,
it's too silly. I'm too silly. When I act. It's
very cute, very weird. You could like I could be like, hey,
hold that door for me, but the minute I've got
to say it in a script and I'm like, hold
(09:23):
that door for me. Oh, I wonder if this is
why my auditions never work. They're probably like, who is this?
It's probably me. That's probably me. But speaking of people
that are super talented, we have Coco Montrees and Alexis
Mateo right now on the podcast. So excited about this.
Coco and I go wait, wait, wait, wait, way back
one of my favorite people in the entire world, and
(09:44):
of course Alexis Mateo is also talented. We'll be right
back with them on broadcast. Welcome Act to Pridecast. I'm
bringing us in for this one because one of these guests.
(10:04):
I dore both of these guests. They're so incredibly talented,
but one of them is is his family to me,
so I'm doing this. Uh So, Welcome back to Pridcast
with Alexis Mateo and my baby Mama, one of my
dearest friends, one of my oldest meeting oldest that I've
known the longest, but not oldest because stays locked in
looking thirty one at all times. Cocomntrees joining us podcast. Yeah, well,
(10:31):
then send over that information. I can't believe you haven't
shared it with me yet. For sure, for sure, welcome
to podcast. I was so excited at both of you
all because y'all have this really cute best friendship going
on to see on social media? How long have you
all known each other? Twenty two years? Years? Twenty two
twenty two years we've been friends. I met Coco when
(10:54):
um I started working at Disney in two thousand. Yes,
twenty two years of friendship. This was awesome. I was
twelve years old, Coca was forty eight. Back then, you
were not twelve years old. I may have been forty eight,
but you are not. Wait, so you were a Disney
(11:15):
kids who hadn't know this because Coca, you were a
Disney kid. That's where you started in the world at Disney.
What shows did you do there? I did the Castle Show,
I did Cinderella Celebration, Cinderella Surprise Celebration, I did all
the Christmas shows. All I did fantastic for five years.
(11:36):
What else did I do? I did everything? And what
did you do there at the park? I started tapes
through your nation's tapes through your dreams on Disney Magic Kingdom,
everything from trolley show to three o'clock parades, the Spectrum,
Magic Cerella clebration, Um, yeah, explains your drag like it's
(11:59):
all a libration. It's that it's that three o'clock parade
down May that's what you're living for. Well, we're all
theme park kids, all of us started performing at the parks.
Jonathan was that what was that Paramount? I was up
Paramounts King's Island. And I like to certain stories because
(12:21):
I remember a point in our lives when we were kids,
were like we would have killed just to get that
job at the theme park. That was that all be
all job everybody wanted. And so I want to point
it out that like, if that's what you're striving for
right now, there's this whole other world beyond it that
you can get to too. And we all did it,
so you can do it. That's the thing, Like you're
talking to drag superstars now that we're theme park girls
(12:45):
back in the day and are now global icons in
the whole well, in the world, in the world, in
the universe. I think I think our I think our
Disney Training gives us the stamina and ability to do
what we do. The discipline, and um, I like my
career is thirty years now. Alexis just like right behind me.
(13:05):
He is probably about thirty years too. And um, it's
the discipline from being at the theme parts that I
think played a big role because five shows a day,
it's yeah, working with the heat. Yeah, ten hour days
sometimes ten out four ten hour days and then we
would do the two overtime days, so you never had
time to not, you know, groom yourself to be did
(13:29):
you guys? Did you guys have to do like because
at King's Island we had to like pre show setups,
like you had like your job, like your pre show
load for like what you had to do. And I
had a very special one because I had to make
the slime like we did Nickelodeon. So I had to
make the green slime for the show that we're going
(13:49):
to slime the kids with. Do you know what it is?
Mostly what I'm allowed to say this, but who cares
what they gonna do? Fire me? It's been years. Like
it's apple sauce, vanilla pudding, food coloring and like water
and a couple other things. But it's mostly just green
apple sauce. You can eat Could you eat this? It's
(14:10):
completely out of bowl? Oh, because you gotta think about
it and then like runs on their face or in
their mouth, Like it's just apple sauce that's like green,
but it's got a whole bunch of other stuff in it.
But like if I didn't know that and then something
was dripping down my face and go out of my
mouth and it was sweet, would be a little alarmed. Right,
why is this taste? Should I know what this is? Honey?
Look who we're talking to. This is g rated, but
(14:36):
I'm talking to apple sauce, folks, I'm talking app Come
on that. Listen. You learn all the fun here on podcast.
You learn all the insider industry secrets. So let's talk
about this because you know, I Heart Radio presents Pridcast
(14:59):
and so y'all are doing something very fun with my
heart to talk about the festival that y'all are presenting at.
Oh wow, Umm, I'm just I'm just excited to even
be asked to do this. It's it's pretty incredible, and
it's it's pretty incredible to be a part of it.
Just like, yeah, you'll get to like We're at a
(15:21):
place where now drag performers are in the mainstream, and
our celebrities and our superstars, and you are getting to
do things like this. So what exactly you're rolling at
the festival representing and we are introducing an amazing artist.
But back to what you were saying, though, it's it is,
you know drag right now, it's so mainstream. And it
was amazing to sit and watch like some of your
(15:42):
peers sitting at the Emmys in full drag. It was
just like, whoa, this is awesome. It was crazy to see.
And I mean we've done red Carpet. I mean we've
done the Grammys, We've done um, the MTB Music Awards,
We've done all of those. But it's still every time
something like this pops up and you see the community
(16:05):
starting to merge together and people are more accepting of
allowing you to sit alongside them or have a seat
at the table. It's pretty amazing. It's pretty well, Cocoa,
it excites me as somebody who's known you for so long,
Like just just see y'all know, listening at home, Coco
and I with those girls in Vegas doing the gigs.
The yeah, we did our shows on the strip, but
(16:26):
cocon I are the same as if if there was
a gig we could do before our show, after our show,
in between two shows, we would find a way to
do it. And I think, gosh, I want to say
we were like tow or something, do it a gig.
And I remember you came in um as a couple
of other girls. I think Derek might be with you,
but remember you were coming and you had just got
back from doing Drag Race. You wanted so bad to
(16:49):
say you had done it, but you couldn't, and so
you were giving me all the Coco phases you possibly
could to let me know this had happened. And I
just remember like the excitement of knowing that the world
was now going to know the Coco that I knew
that the paget world already knew, that, the drag world
already knew was a superstar. Now the world was gonna
know she was a superstar. And it's just so cool
(17:10):
to see, like from that moment and then I'm seeing
you on the carpets at the Grammy's at Yeah, it
was crazy. I mean, me and Alexis vote for kind
of like what in the world is going on. Is
this really happening? And then we got hit the other
day alexis um send me a message and we were like,
whoa Channgela is on Dancing with the Stars. It's off.
(17:31):
It's crazy, like the way things are are moving. You know,
we still have battles to fight, you know, with our
legislation and everything else and the government, but it's still
good to see in the entertainment realm a different level
of acceptance now. Just because we have a fight and
because we still have a lot of work to do,
(17:51):
doesn't negate the fact that we can celebrate the winds
we have right It's okay to say, hey, we got
a lot of work, but right now we're winning in
a lot of way. You know, we have a lot
of cool stuff going on for the community. And I,
as someone that was on Dancing with the Stars, when
I saw that ch Angela announcement, my first reaction was, oh,
my gosh, that's so awesome. And then my second reaction
(18:11):
was like, I feel so bad for change of that
because she did not even know what she's about to
get into. If you thought drag race was hard, yeah,
you don't even know what you're about to experience. It
is an exhausting thing you'll ever do. However, but like
we see some of the drag Race schedule of when
you guys are filming the show, so I think it
(18:32):
is kind of comparable. I think her drag Race training
of being in the different seasons is going to help
her on Dancing with the Stars because she understands that
like twelve week cut off from the world and just
focus on what you have to do, bubble. And she's
done it before, so it's not such like a crazy thing,
you know. And if you yeah, and if you know
anything about her, you know she's a hardy did do
(18:57):
what she's saying. She's so um, super excited. I think
when you are so excited, you cannot not gonna feel
how hard you're gonna work at. But I am so excited.
And we got to sit down and talk about all
school times because like I met Chances, I before Chances,
I was a drag queen, so like that was super
awesome to me to see her grow up in front
(19:19):
of me, the entire drag Race journey, you know. So
this was for me when I saw her with the Stars,
because we always thought about it, like we were like
I don't know why we don't. We don't do dance
it with the stars. But when I saw the announcement,
I was like, oh my god, this is gonna be
super fun, not just for her but for the entire
drag race community. Yeah, she's a she's a hard worker,
(19:40):
and it's gonna it's gonna be pretty amazing to watch her.
And I'm gonna be teen chancellor and I'm gonna vote
for her, and I expecting everybody to vote for her
even if you don't like the girl, because that's our girl.
And and Alexis that's such a good point right there,
because I said that Sometimes two with stuff with people
like oh I don't want to support this. To that,
I'm like, any time and time, our community is getting
(20:02):
a seat at the table, a chance in the spotlight
show up. Whether it's a thing or not, it's our community.
And we are stronger together alphabet mafia, add all the
letters up. We are bigger and better than more there
are of us. Just like I mean the movie that's
coming out, Bros. I know there's been some people like,
oh I don't want to see it because of this,
and that I'm like, I know, I know, I know,
(20:22):
like maybe it's not even my thing either, but less
support it because when we show them support for that
and it does well, that allows more opportunity for more
people from our community to tell more different stories as well.
So the point is, vote for Shangi and vote for
the community every time you can, absolutely right, it's true
and even and that not even just with the voting,
(20:43):
but when we are when there are things that happen
in the community that certain parts of the community are
fighting for, we need to we need to understand. You know,
that may not be our thing. You know, I'm a
drag queen. I'm a complete drag queen. I'm not trans,
but trans issues are very close to me because to me,
that's a part of our community. So when they're fighting
for something, yes, I'm gonna standing with them and fight
(21:05):
with them because it's still a part of our community.
You know, we can't or if the Bears are having something,
I'm I'm like nine eight pounds, so can wet. I'm
still a fan of the Bearer community, and I'm going
to help the Bear community do what they're what they
want to do. You know, it's important to me. I
think it's important. Yeah, it's okay. So it's like a
(21:27):
little bit of a jealousy situation when it comes to
these these things. UM, that got to stop for some
kind of reason. We're kind of like competing with each other.
It's not a competition. We are in the same time,
at the same place. Um. One of the best things
that I have connected with Coco is the fact that
(21:47):
we don't see each other as competitions and we celebrate everything.
It has allowed us to have a real friendship for
twenty two years. And I don't know if everybody knows this,
but Coco put me in drag for first time, and
it has been my mentors since the first time you
put me in drag, not only in my drag career,
but in my personal life and even my English. Um,
(22:10):
it has been. It has been super cool. And every
time we do something, we do it together or we're
fans of each other, like team each other no matter what.
And I never had seen Coco with a Oh Coco
went to drag with five and I think someone else
should have been or somebody somebody else was better for
(22:33):
the opportunity. You know. It's just so weird to me
that sometimes a little jealousy devil sit on each other
and whisper to new things, and that it happens a
lot in our community. And it's crazy. It's crazy. It is,
it really is. It's different. I don't I don't get it. Yeah,
we all about it a lot. Yeah, we talked about
it a lot on on podcasts. It's so funny because
(22:54):
you're not the only two people to come on here
and mention this. Right. Almost every time we're kind of
talking about the space, someone brings this up, and it's
something James and I've talked about a long time too.
It's like, you know, James and I do the similar
things that we both host TV shows, are both on TV.
But from day one, he's been my number one fan
since day one, Like from the day we met, it's
(23:15):
been like and I and I've been his number one fan.
Like if if I get a job, he's excited, If
he gets a job, I'm excited. Like it's two kings
ruling one kingdom, is what we always say. It's not
like there you have to have your own kingdoms. You
can both be kings and live in this world. And
I feel like in the gay community the same applies,
Like we can all be kings and queens and whatever
(23:36):
you want to call yourself a jester, you know what,
whatever you want to be, a night affair, a fair affair, maiden,
whatever you want to be in that you can everyone
can be. There's plenty of room in the Kingdom, and
it's not like there has to be like a competition
between everyone. But I think it cuts back to something
I talked about last podcast, which is scarcity of opportunity.
I think there was a lot of you know, for decades,
(23:58):
there was scarcity of opportunity for queer people and their
representation in the media. And now that there is more
representation and there are more pieces of pie to be had,
everyone doesn't have to fight over the pie, like there's
prices for everybody. Right before, it was like I wasn't
like Willem was like on Law and Order or something
like back in the day. He was like the first,
(24:20):
like one of the first times you're like, oh, one
of the kind of current drag queens did like a
a show on TV and had like a guest star
and that was a huge deal. And it was like
he's always like he was always like, well, when do
I get other guest star opportunities? Like one of there's
going to be more, why can't I be lad? And
so I remember back to those days to where we
are now, like that, there's just been so many pies
(24:41):
made and there's plenty of opportunity. Yeah, just support, support
and remember that we were stronger together together. And it's
so funny now because even now with Alexis and I
we're embarking on this new ownership adventure together. Because we've
worked in the community for so long, under so many
(25:01):
different people and so many you know, different elements, is
we feel like it's time for us to do it,
not only for ourselves, but for the other girls that
UM work with us or around us, to give them
opportunities where they can be treated the way that they're
supposed to be treated, you know, so they can go
out there and entertain everybody else. We've decided we're gonna,
(25:22):
you know, go on this business venture together and actually
own our own production company and to put on our
own UM events in Vegas and even abroad. We're gonna
go further and UM So that launches October nine in
Vegas and we're very excited about it. Y'all. Y'all know
the gig that better to put on the gig the
people that have done it and been there. What's the
(25:43):
first venture? I seen you posting about stuff on Instagram?
What's the very first one? October nine? A whole brunch,
A whole bunch of queens. We are opening our own brunch.
It's for the queens, by the queens um And a
part of the reason why we're doing this is because
we want We've worked in establishments and been wanting to
create these things and wanting to do bigger things, but
(26:05):
we're not in charge, so we get held back. We're
not able to do to implement those things, or we
do implement those things, and then those ideas are taken
from us, and then they run with the idea and
then they we don't need you anymore in that. So
we're to the point now we're like, Okay, well that's happened.
We're good. We're good with that. We're gonna create our
(26:26):
own and we're in charge. But we are model for
ourselves inside the company is we're not gonna do anything
to anyone who works for us that we wouldn't want
done to ourselves. If I don't want to get dressed
in a broom closet for dressing room. You best to
believe I'm gonna have the most amazing dressing room space.
(26:47):
I don't care what it's gonna cost me for those
girls to come and work so they can go out
and feel comfortable entertaining people. Yeah, may feel good about
what they're about to do. You know, it's absolutely like
the moment before, Like I I can kind of identify
this with acting, like the moment before that we have
(27:08):
when we're acting. When you're about to play a character,
like the moments that have been leading up to you,
like standing on your market saying your lines, or you
walking out on the stage and performing at a brunge
and doing your show, Like how you get ready and
what that environment like is is like in hair and
makeup or in your dressing room when you're trailer, like
that puts you in a certain mood or not, Like
(27:28):
if I'm in a trailer, like I worked on a
show called Uh Fantasy Island on Fox last year, and
I've never seen a show with so much money in
my life. Like, I mean, they had cranes just sitting
around to hoist lights up, and I'm like, those are
like a thousand dollars a day to rent one of
(27:50):
them and there's like twelve of them. They're like everything
was there was so much money and like just the
way they like, like they would set this whole set
up up for like one shot and I'm like, that
took four hours to set up lighting for one shot
and that was the whole scene and they're gonna move on.
I'm like, guys, you don't need all this stuff, but
(28:10):
like you better believe when I walked on set after
going into that giant s you like that giant Uh
what's it called trailer? But what's the truck called semi truck?
It was a semi truck trailer like massive, like brand new,
state of the art, like gorgeous. And I was like,
you feel different when you step on that on that set,
if you got ready with those people and got carded
(28:32):
around in a nice little brand new golf cart, Like
I'm sorry, but I feel like a star. You feel great,
you feel great about giving your best, you feel grace,
you feel I'm prepared now. They put me in a
space mentally where I'm prepared now to be the star
that you guys are treating me like, you know, and
it's important. You know, people say, oh, it's it's a
(28:55):
diva moment, it's this, Oh you're being av No, I've
I've all across the world and I've really experienced these
things now, And for me, I look back and say,
those are the times that I gave a thousand percent,
not even thousand percent, because I felt in that space
that I knew I needed to give that. You know,
(29:16):
but because of the two of you, we've seen you
perform so many times. We're big fans of both of you.
We watch you on Instagram, we follow you on socials
and everything. But what's it's easy to give a thousand
percent when you're getting ready in that million dollar trailer.
It's the challenge is to give a thousand percent when
you're getting ready in the back of your car and
you're making up on the trunk and guess what you do.
(29:38):
You still go in and you still slap it on
and you give that a thousand percent because you two
are what stars? That's why. Because you guys are stars.
And we're gonna talk about why you guys are such stars,
and we're gonna talk about drag race life too when
we come back. All right, U, alright, We're back with
(30:05):
Coco and Alexis. We're talking. We're talking careers, we're talking
their new ventures, but we got to dive into um.
We talk about our favorite show. We're talking about our
favorite show in the world. Probably. I think we've gone
four times, and I think every time we go to
see drag Race live it's okay. Every time we go
to see drag Race live in Las Vegas, I feel
(30:27):
like such a nerd because I geek out because I'm
a super fan. So it's like I'm in the crowd
screaming and like going nuts, and like after the show
to meet everyone, I'm like shaking and I'm so excited
I can I can barely control it. So I feel
like this like psycho super fan in the audience. Do
you guys think I'm psychotic when I'm sitting there, like
do or do you not notice? And it's okay, we
(30:49):
don't notice. We don't think. We think you're okay, good.
You know. I think I see it not well because
he's screaming Coco at the top of it, and when
I'm the one that sings like I like weirdly do
(31:11):
the choreography and the thing like baby, I've made it.
I made like I know, like but I know some
of it because I watched him on YouTube enough that
I like picked it up. It's like when I go
to see Hairspray and I'm in the audience and I'm like,
you can't sap the motion of the us, and I'm
like doing all the dances. I like know all the
words to every song and I sing it and like
(31:33):
I know when, like, oh, the one dancer is gonna
pop up from behind the thing, and so I'm looking
over there and then I start to get real psycho fan,
and I like watch for presets. I'm like, Okay, this happens,
but that means he's got to get behind there at
some point. So then I'm watching tracking the dancers to
see like when's he go behind that, because he's gotta
wait for like two minutes so he can pop up
(31:54):
in surprise. Like all the things that are like done,
I start tracking the tracks, which is when you know
you've hit a new level of super fandom. Yes, well,
do you get confused? Do you get confused when you
come see the show and we're like Alexis and I
are in totally different tracks, like we're all yes, it's
so funny. It's it's really really funny. But I think
(32:15):
at this point in both for both of us, we
almost know the entire show, like entire like entire entire show.
So Drag Race Live. I think we all probably have
our favorite numbers. But Coco, when you do the Greatest
Showman number, that's like high level drag right there. That's
that's the kind of stuff you expect to see from
(32:36):
a headliner in Vegas. Do you just feel like when
you're doing that number, like you know, this is what
I deserve, this is how it should because you've been
in that theater before. Yeah, I was in that theater.
I was in that theater, and I was in the
theater to Hotels down Um for like five years, and
M Drag Race Live is just a whole different level.
(32:58):
It's a what's it like? I know that's a real
boring question, what's it like? But just tell us things
honestly for us, and I don't. I mean, I I
can speak for Alexis because I know we feel the
same way. It is kind of a surreal moment. Even
when you're coming into work, you're like, am I really here?
This is the Las Vegas strip. I chose the career
(33:21):
of female impersonator and I am here on the strip
every night. That's crazy to me, It's absolutely crazy. The
feeling is like emotional. I don't know Alexis has a
feeling for you because it's, oh my god, Like for me,
it's like crazy that the magnitude of the show because
(33:41):
you guys don't get to see this, but the curtains
closed every certain seconds and you just go change. But
at that same time, um, it's a whole world changing
behind you. It's massive props, um dancers everywhere, like cost
to me, people hair and makeup people, Like it's just
(34:02):
incredible to me to see how prepare and how organized
and how professional these things are. Um, we are trained.
We play with fire to bumping, jumping from the ceiling,
fans on the ceiling of the theater, like this is
like song. This is not just a drag show. We're
literally playing with certified people security, like are invested and
(34:28):
dressing you're dressing and dressing rooms that Donnie and Mavie,
I mean, all these big name people have have great
like they were their homes, they were their residencies, you know,
Tony Braxton, all of them were in these same dressing
rooms that we're in now. It's we don't take it
for granted, I guess because we're like like, we're not.
(34:50):
We're not like from this generation of Queen's were like
a little bit older, Like we were like in the
middle of the crossover between the cassette tape, the cassette
tape and the big thing in your car, you know,
being U with the cord. Were crossover from that into
nounced technology. So for us, we're still we acknowledge it
a little bit more in a different way because we
(35:11):
were able to We can reminisce with the past when
it was nowhere near like this. You know, you can
really appreciate it. Yeah, we appreciate it a lot differently.
And it's just I can't even explain the experience of
drag race life. It is unbelievable to be there, and
ru gets so tired. I'm sure ruined Jamal gets so
tired of hearing thank you so much for this, thank
(35:34):
you so much for this, because they're like, rule, see
me come in here and be like, I know, Coco,
it's thank you because I say it so much. I
have so much um gratitude, not only for you know,
drag Race Lab, but for the entire franchise. You know,
the franchise is like a family. Families don't always agree
on everything, but when they do agree on this that
they are family and they're gonna they're gonna have each
(35:55):
other's back. So that's the thing with drag Race period.
For me, is I I love it. I love I
love watching the new girls grow up and come into this.
It's it's wonderful to watch and then to come and
watch drag Race live. And then they sit there and
they tell us, how, oh my god, we you inspire us.
(36:16):
You're such a legend, and you're here on the stage.
We want to this is our next plateau. This is
what we want to do next. It's pretty cool. Yes, Alexis,
what's your favorite number to do in that show? Oh
my god? Okay, what what I like about I know,
what I really like about the show is that the
(36:36):
numbers were literally invented for other girls. Yes, but we
get the chance to reinvent the numbers for ourselves, you know.
And um, just like you said, like one of my
favorite musicals is the Greatest Showman. And I really love
how every time Eureka or Latrice or Coco or me
(36:57):
do the number like we have certain way, certain story
behind the number that makes the number unique. And I
think that's my favorite number. First of all, it's a
number that you don't have to dance, but you do
have to really give emotion or it's not gonna work out.
And I think that's the it goes back to the
one on one class of drag because now you know
(37:20):
people that think the now drag is just splitting and
back flips and just a high energy situation, but but
a real entertainer, it's defined by a moment where you
don't get to do all the stunts, like take all
the glam, take all the stunts out, and what you have,
(37:42):
what you really have. And that's I think that's my
favorite number because it does show who has the magic
to do drag because you have yeah, you have booty
shaking here. It's not about who flied to who's flying
with fires, absolutely nothing than just something that comes from
the inside and you have to transfer that emotion to
(38:05):
the audience. And that's the that's the most difficult one
for me because it's that number is everybody needs to relate,
you know, everybody needs to relate in a different way.
So you you're in charge of their emotions. You're supposed
to make them feel what you feel. And I think
that is, like Alexi said, that's a lot harder. Just
(38:26):
I'm gonna jump in the air and give a split
and everybody go up. That doesn't you know require it?
If you know the emotion is what requires UM, You're
required to do to get people's attention. And they're like
the majority of the people that go intoe the show
UM are hardcore fans of the show. They know who's
(38:47):
in the show, when the cast announced, happens, they screened
for the favorites, they know everything, and that go the
show goes through the entire show. But that is the
only number that I can say, UM a highlight the
journey of each one of us on the show. As
(39:07):
soon as the show's the number starts, you identify quickly
with everything that Coco went through in the show. So
it makes it more personal for the girl and it's
it's just very very fun to watch the reactions of
the people why the whole number starts and they get
to flashback into the journey on drag race, So yeah,
(39:29):
it's awesome. Alexis, I see you and all I ever
think is bam and there's It makes me so happy
every time because all of us from that from that
season of Drag Race where that's why I first discovered
you and was like, oh my gosh, I love this Girlbercues.
(39:50):
Was that a thing that you planned going in like
I need to dragons? Was that a plant or just
hit and you were like, oh, Rude is laughing, this
works and you just right with it. Um. It's a
it literally was back in the days, a fight against
my inner sarrator um. Every time that I feel very,
very like insecure of something, I say, bam for me
(40:12):
means beautiful Alexis Matteil. That's what the three letters um means. UM.
So when I'm not feeling a d invested, I say
it a lot to kind of like give me like
the fire that I needed. I'm like, oh, I know,
I'm everything, baby, you know, like it's that little bush.
It's that little bush. Um. When I was doing the
challenge on season three, um, I was I don't know.
(40:37):
I was like, I'm not even a hundred percent American
because I was wondering pute Rigo. So I'm like I
don't know what I'm supposed to be doing. I was
so literally like insecure, So I started saying it a
lot through my commercial filming. Um RuPaul loved it and
it's became such a big deal. But I never even
noticed I said it so many times. So wait, but
(40:58):
I loved it for what I thought it was. But
now that I know what it is to you, that's
something that I feel it could be valuable to so
many people. Is that it is that moment is that
you really need it and sometimes you just have to
push it. Can I use the bam, I'm gonna ask
your permission, Yeah, because I feel like that would help
me so many times. So watch next time you see
(41:21):
me having a moment. I just started shouting bam. You
know that I'm over. That is beautiful. I learned that Lexis.
Thank you for sharing that with that. I don't I
think mine would be if yours this beautiful Lexis tale,
mine would be beautiful Jonathan Bennett, But that means I
would just go on going b J B. I don't
think that's the same. I don't think I should go
around streaming that. I don't think that would end well.
(41:46):
All right, we gotta ask about these iconic Drag Race
moments when we have you here as super fans of
the show, Because Coco, I that still to this day
people ask me, and it's not just because you are
family to me. It's not just because we have so
much history and we've been friends for so long. When
people ask me what is your favorite lip sync ever
on Drag Race, I will always say your performance of
(42:09):
cold Hearted Snake against Alyssa, because oh my gosh, and
I didn't even realize. I mean, I knew how iconic
it was when you pointed out your mouth and like,
look at these lips. I got every word. So then
I go, like years later, and I'm doing this thing
with Paula Abduel at her show in Vegas for my
show I was hosting at the time, Celebrity Page and
I'm with Paula following around for the show, and I
(42:30):
asked her, I'm like, hey, can you just some indulge
me for a minute in this part because my favorite
drag queen performance ever happened to this song. Can you
help me figure out these words? Coco, I had Paula
Abdul herself with me, and I still couldn't figure out
the words? How did you figure those out? For that
lip sync? To get every single little thing right, because
it's like, how come, how come? How come? He could?
He could? He? Cal's all the little like stutter parts.
(42:53):
It's literally it's that song is literally repeating the words twice.
That's all she was doing. Didn't for that whole section
of it. It was just how come, how come you come?
You can tell it? Tell it? You could? You It's
it's all. It's a repeat. It's a repeat. Where were
you when I was making a fool out of myself
in front of Yeah, she just duels like, yeah, James,
(43:16):
you just say the words twice? No, But that's that's
not That's not how Paula will phrase it. Paula will
the phrase it intercute little Paula away where you're like
what huh, and then you're more confused afterwards, but you
love her more afterwards. To it just works out. You know.
I was always a fan of Paula anyway, because she
you know, her choreographing for Janet was just her being
a Laker girl for me, Her spun her just that
(43:38):
was always something for me. So when that song was selected,
I mean, you already know a listen, as a trained dancer,
You're not going to get her on dancing. It's not
gonna happen. So for the little thing, for me, it
was I had to make it all about the words.
It had to be about the words. And then the sleeve.
Literally none of it was planned, this me wearing that
(43:59):
for that live think, none of that was planned. It
just iconically worked out that way. It was one of
the craziest moments for us. Cook Sometimes I go back
and watch that lipsine just to put me in a
good mood. Yeah, and as if I was Paula Abdul
herself lives Rentfrey in my mind at all times because
it's just iconic, iconic, iconic. So thank you for that.
(44:22):
I've never told you, thank you for that. Thank you
for that welcome and cool. You and I have been
to a ton of prides together. You had a bunch
of pride events together, Gay days, you name it. But
do you remember your very first pride? Each of you,
the very first time you went to pride? You remember
what it was? Oh? Do you remember yours? Alexis mine,
(44:42):
Mike was some pete pride? What was and what was
it like? It was hot. That's hell, like, it was
hot and human. I remember how much I walking high
heels and it was but it was awesome. It was
like a big festival and I got to see how
people celebrate their own pride. You know. It was the
(45:04):
first time I probably can tell you that I'm I
saw a real community out of a bar. Does that
make sense because we normally get to see each other
inside a bar or a big event, But I had
never seen somebody so many people together outside of a bar.
(45:24):
So this was a big It was a big thing
for me because I get to see people going into
chops and eating together and buying things together and carrying
their kids and family into the place, things that you
don't get to see at the bar. It was very
important to me. Yeah, look, my first pride was actually,
(45:45):
and it's a very weird story, my first pride was
actually I had to watch it from afar. I went
to college in um Alabama, Montgomery, Alabama. So the event
of going to a club then was like you were
it was like you were sneaking to do everything because
the gay clubs there were kind of under it was
(46:08):
this was you remember, this was like nine two, so
we had just gotten out of the eighties. We were
going in I am old. So for me than I
had to watch watch Pride from afar We couldn't because
we were still in college, so we were trying not
We couldn't really out our you know, ourselves like that.
(46:31):
It was it was a weird time for me, my
first Pride, But do you remember seeing that Seeing everybody
have pride was it was like hoping that what did
you get from that when you saw them from afar um.
For me at that point in my life, you know,
because I amost a late bloomer. When it came to
all of that, um, it was almost like, oh, wow,
there are a lot of people like me. There are
a lot of people like me. I may not be
(46:53):
comfortable yet like being as open as they are about
you know, marching in the parade and stuff like that,
because I'm just finding out, you know, really who I am.
But I'm not. I'm not weird. You know. It was like, Okay,
I'm not weird. This is normal. There are other people
that are like this. So it's kind of like a
good feeling for me. Even though I was still kind
(47:15):
of like hiding, it was still a good moment. For
me because I realized, Okay, you're not crazy. You know
this is there are other people like this. I'm not
alone moment, right, So it was a good feeling. It
was a good feeling. Montgomery was tough though she got
out and she's a global superstar. Now look at it, Hey,
(47:37):
what does pride mean to you? When you think about
your pride? What does pride mean to you? Pride to me,
Pride to me. A lot of people, you know, they're like,
they don't understand. They're like, oh, you guys, what's the
point of having a parade and to parade on and
say I'm proud of who I am? Um? For me,
Pride's visibility, you know, it's it's it's letting people see
(47:58):
that you are here, you know. Um, it's it's help
to help remind if we celebrate, to help remind other people,
you know, that we are, we exist, that we do exist,
and that we Their strength in numbers, their strength and numbers,
because those numbers can change things. Those numbers can decide
you know, legislation, those numbers can you know, we can
(48:20):
fight for certain things even right now, you know with
the women with women fighting for what they're fighting for,
I was like, you're not a woman. You're fighting for
that too. Yes, I am m h. Because everything else, Yeah,
because that means other things might be on the chopping
block to you. Gotta you gotta support people right where
(48:40):
they are. You know, you have to right. That's what
it means to me. Pride for me means happiness. I
tell you since I was little. Um, it's a it's
an inner fight with acceptance and and loving yourself because
you don't understand certain things in life. When you reach
(49:04):
the moment when you realize that that's you, that's what
makes you. Um, you realize that you become happy. So
your pride, it's just your happiness. It's a it's a
level that you're reach in your life that you realize
that you're complete. And I think it's gonna stop you
from there on. Bamn, complete baby. When you sent me
(49:31):
up some gay history, I want to share some gay
history with the girl. That's a that's a good. So
now it's time for gay history. Each week, we like
to look back at where we've come from because before
we can move forward and make sure we open up
all the doors, we always have to remember the doors
that were opened before us So, Jay, what happened this
week in gay history? Well, this week in gay history
(49:52):
September of two thousand and twelve, shout out to California
for becoming the first state to ban gay conversion therapy
on minors to air quote cure them of being amazing.
So shout out to that. That's that's ten years ago.
If you think about right now, and currently there's only
(50:14):
twenty states that fully banned conversion therapy. So as Coco
was just saying so eloquently, we there is legislation that
needs to be done. There there are is strength and numbers,
and so think about that if you were in one
of those twenties state, that one of those not twenty states,
thirty states. There's my math. Look at that thirty that
you can be doing things to help advance legislation to
(50:36):
get rid of ridiculous things like conversion therapy, because that's
that's that's a hot that was just ten years ago,
ten years ago perspective perspectively there it was ten years ago.
But you know what, for me, I look at it
and say to myself, how many young people's lives did
it save for them to implement that and saying no,
(50:59):
that that can't happen anymore, because I mean I look
at it and say, as a young kid, what I
would have done. I don't know how I would have
reacted if I didn't wasn't allowed that aha moment of
old people are like me, and you had a bunch
of people telling you that you're there's something wrong with
you psychologically, there's something wrong with you, and you need
to go to conversion therapy to make you not feel
(51:22):
what you're feeling. That to me is one of the
biggest struggles, and it's it hurts. It hurts our young people.
It hurts our young people, and and how many lives
that you know that people kids would have committed suicide
had that still been you know, they're like in the
state of California, that would have been like, oh okay,
(51:44):
you know these people don't think I'm okay, you know,
let me just end it so I don't have to
deal with that. You know, it's a lot. It's a
that happens a lot. But because of them saying no,
we're not doing that anymore, We're not allowing that they
could have they could save, but it could save a
lot of lines are definitely safe. That's why also while
we still fight to get conversion therapy band everywhere, visibility
(52:06):
is so important and like, I'm so thankful we live
in the social media age where you can show people.
You don't have to sneak in on a Pride event
going off in the distance. You can actually see it
right there on your screens, people being themselves. You know,
you are not alone. You're not alone by far, that's
I mean, we have a podcast about Pride now there
is I mean, you're not alone even just here amongst
(52:29):
our community. But you can open up your phone, open
if your computer, turn on your TV and and see
that you're not alone. It's a beautiful time to be alive, truly,
is it really is? It really is? It's a It's
a great time to be alive. I'm doing a podcast
right now too. I'm co host up a podcast now.
It's called Go Deep, No Sleep, and it's about UM.
It's definitely about their therapy, you know, basically mental the
(52:51):
mental state of the l g B t Q UM
plus community and our mental state and what we need
to do to UM have our mental state healthy, you know,
UM dealing with all the stuff that we're dealing with
every day. Yeah, because that's the one thing that someone said,
describe Cocoa to you. I would definitely say, go deep,
no sleep because she's always working, always hustling, and I'm like,
(53:13):
when do you sleep, ma'am? That's a good title for
the podcast. You were doing slips in the back of
the car. She's like, she's you're that, You're that lady
GGA thing that gets shared? What is it? Another club? Sleep?
Playing another club? You've always been that way. You've always
been that girl that hustles and takes every gig, it
(53:34):
works every opportunity. I'm I'm, I'm always impressed by you can.
Let's let's shine a big gay spotlight, shall we? All Right,
each week we'd like to shine our big gay spotlight
on someone in the l g B t Q plus
community that is doing extraordinary things, which are extraordinary things. James,
who we shine in your Big Gay spotlet on this week? Well,
I have to do this one because we have Coco
(53:56):
here with us, because I think if I ever did drag, well,
because I have tried it once and I'm so sorry,
and please, I would not let Coco claim me. Um,
I have the receipts. It's I feel like I would
be a Montrese because you know, I mean our history
(54:18):
number one and number two just like what you know.
And then number three that also from the years two
thousand to two thousand twelve, I was also Orange. Um.
I feel like we really go well together because we
both kind of figured some things out, Coco. But let's shine.
Let's shine my big a spotlight on your fabulous drag
daughter that that you created, Kahana Mantries. She's such a
(54:41):
good representation of what love and support and somebody have
in your back and building you up can do. So
it's kind of a little bit of a spotlight on
you to Coco. You can also see Kahana in Drag Race,
and and I also like to claim her as my
own Cocoa, and I call her our daughters sometimes. So
whenever whenever you see me at the show posting, look
at our daughter, look at her go, I get so excited.
(55:01):
Number one because of how amazing and what a superstar
she's become. But number two because no, and Coco was
the driving force behind that. Well, I mean there's a
lot of there's a lot of tough love there. There's
a lot of tough love there because you always. You know,
as much as it hurts to give them self love,
you want them to be able to stand on their
own two feet and be able to you know, make
(55:22):
their own path in this in this industry, um and
not just you know, be like oh the last name,
the last name. No, you want to give them the tools,
but you don't want to walk them through it too
much because they need to be able to learn it
on their own. So it's it our um. Our mother
daughter relationship is crazy, Alexis, Alexis, she said, that's your daughter. Yeah,
(55:49):
I gotta. I have a problem though, keeping keep her
keeping clothes on these days. I don't know about that.
I'm trying to get her out of that stage. I'm like,
she got it from her mama. We have seen your
we have seen your social media. We all have seen it.
The apple go far far from the tree. No, uh,
(56:10):
that's my baby. I love her. Well, listen, we adore
y'all both such superstars. Thank you for taking the time
to talk to us. Alexis, Matteo, Cocoa trees, Coca. I
love you, Alexis, I love you. I love you too.
We are so excited to see you present at the
I Heart Radio Music Festival. It'll air on the c
(56:32):
W October seven and eight at eight seventh Central
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