VOL.06
AJA
DORIAN ELECTRA
PANGINA HEALS
ALLIE X
MISTER WALLACE
SCOOTER MCCREIGHT
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Ethereal Awe of Post Renaissance Watercolor
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@mistercoolmom
PHOTOS // ERIK M. KOMMER // @lad_of_leisure WORDS // EVAN BRECHTEL // @evanbrechtel 68
REVOLUTIONS AREN’T FOUGHT ON ONLY BATTLEFIELDS. MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, THE MOST FIERY OF REVOLUTIONS BEGIN THROUGH SPARKS IGNITED BY THE WORDS AND IDEAS OF A SOCIETY’S ARTISTS. MISTER WALLACE KNOWS THIS.
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TR/ST’s third album,
The Destroyer (Part One), will be released on April 19th. You can visit
www.tr-st.xyz
for
upcoming
tour
dates. 91
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ON LIVING OTP WITH HER 19 CATS:
[I live in] Mableton, Austell, that area. It’s good because to go into Atlanta, it’s not that bad. It’s pretty close. I can get into Atlanta pretty easy, but you get better bargains out here with houses and things. I got a house out here for what you would spend hundreds of thousand for in Atlanta. Unbelievable. So it’s worth living out here. It’s a lot quieter. And I’ve yards - backyard, front yard. I have this large house, it’s a long house, but I’ve gotta have it big, long because I have a lot of cats. I live with 19 cats. It’s like their house, really. And I gotta live with them. (Laughs)
I take ‘em in, try to get them adopted, and I’ve quite a few kitty cats now living with me. They have their own cat section. I have one big room that’s just for them. I’ve got a lot of fenced-in area; they’ve the carport fenced in for them as well, so they can go outside but still be safe, you know? Keep the coyotes from getting them, because we’ve had coyotes in the past, and they nasty. They’ll get your kitties. Small dogs, too. One of the cats just did a big one. It’s stinky, stinky! Ringo! Did you do a stinky stinky? I’ll get the spray on them. So Ringo, my little kitty Ringo, has a problem. He’s decided he’s not going to poop in his tray anymore. He’s decided he’s going to poop next to the tray. And I can’t seem to break it from him. I have to pick it up myself and everything.
You gotta really love cats I think, to put up with them, because there’s a lot of that type of stuff with the litter and stuff, and they scratch up your furniture. They do all kinds of stuff. They’re very destructive. You have to really cat-a-ize your house, and you gotta really love them, love the cats, to take care of them, because they can really be damaging. But I love them. I just let them do what they want; they’re my kitty cats. I buy second-hand furniture that way if they ruin it, it doesn’t matter. (Laughs) I’m trying to adopt them out. A lot of them are adults; some of them have health problems and they’re un-adoptable. So I take care of them. Like Ringo has eye problems and I take care of him, I have to bring him to the vet and all this kind of stuff. You know, nobody would adopt him, I don’t think, and I’m too attached to him anyway.
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@
ajathekween
Aja, the reigning MVP of RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars season three, has fought an uphill battle to change their narrative and combat the double standards gender non-conforming people face in the drag community. Coming off their tour de force run on All-Stars, Aja shifted the focus from their time on the show to pursuing a music career with their first EP, ‘In My Feelings.’ A mixture of haus, trap, and rap, ‘In My Feelings’ gave the music and Drag Race world an intimate glimpse into Aja’s transformation, from a reality tv star to powerhouse rapper. Looking back, it was the beginning of Aja challenging many expectations and norms audiences associated with former Drag Race contestants. Leading up to and during the release of their debut album, ‘Box Office,’ Aja discussed not wanting to be labeled as a drag queen anymore. This was met with backlash from a culmination of fans and Drag Race peers who mistook the rapper’s words as disingenuous. But truthfully, they were far from it. As someone who identifies as gender non-conforming, Aja is making it loud and clear that drag isn’t about 15 seconds of fame on a reality tv show. Ultimately, they see drag as way to express different forms of gender and reveal the most intimate facet of their complex identity.
WORDS: STEVIE KING @halfdadallwoman
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PHOTOS: RYAN DUFFIN @ryanduffin
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If If If If If If If If If If If If If If If If If If 134
you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you
want want want want want want want want want want want want want want want want want want
me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me
to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to
shut shut shut shut shut shut shut shut shut shut shut shut shut shut shut shut shut shut
up, up, up, up, up, up, up, up, up, up, up, up, up, up, up, up, up, up,
you’re gonna have to kill me. you’re gonna have to kill me. you’re gonna have to kill me. you’re gonna have to kill me. you’re gonna have to kill me. you’re gonna have to kill me. you’re gonna have to kill me. you’re gonna have to kill me. you’re gonna have to kill me. you’re gonna have to kill me. you’re gonna have to kill me. you’re gonna have to kill me. you’re gonna have to kill me. you’re gonna have to kill me. you’re gonna have to kill me. you’re gonna have to kill me. you’re gonna have to kill me. you’re gonna have to kill me. 135
Canada: The American Dream When Allie X moved from Canada to LA, she had a moment of realization akin to what I had experienced in moving from Atlanta to Seattle, or Seattle to LA - a moment, I think, many of us have had: you realize that you love your home (or, rather, homes), but the excitement of a new city motivates you to take risks. To participate in artistic endeavors you never thought possible, like, say, collaborations with Troye Sivan or working with Tove Lo. Moving to LA gives you the room to dream. Even as a famous musician, Allie X still dreams, and therein likes her appeal. But her path to LA wasn’t necessarily an easy one - she came out to the big city on a publishing deal, during which she was put up in a house, got a visa, and was given a little money to get by on. Once the deal was in place, Allie X started selling and pitching songs. Success soon followed, but Allie still managed to view her newfound fame with humility without sacrificing her confidence. “I didn’t listen to my new album for like, four months. I put it out on October 29th, and when I finally listened to it, I got in the bath and thought, ‘Wow, I’m really proud.’ With just the intro, you’re getting into this elevator and going down to this fantastical world. It’s as if I made a Hollywood movie of my Hollywood story, and I exagetarged the personas. I feel like its my most cohesive, conceptual body of work.” Cohesive and conceptual indeed. 160
Weird Women & Dark Dreams “I would love to duet with so many female artists that I admire in my circle. I just did a show with Charlie XCX. Charlie, Tove, Bebe, Dua, Bishop Briggs - there are so many in like my extended circle that I know and would love to write with.” Despite her yearning for collaboration with artists she admires, both musically and non, like Kate Bush or author Haruki Murakami, Allie X maintains her humility, even when working with the aforementioned big leaguers. “Troye is a good friend. We have the same management. We really developed this synergy and friendship and this, I don’t know - we write in this way that’s never really radio-driven, just Troye talking through what he’s feeling and creating these really natural vibes songs in a organic way, which is super refreshing in LA.” To me, LA has always been a gorgeous, at times grotesque combination of neon lights and scenic views, smog and clear skies, broken hearts and the highest of highs. Everything about the city inspires me personally, even the dark, seedy underbelly that is so often written about in neo-noir pieces. Allie X appears to agree, citing “fashion images, cupric, drag and drag makeup, and queer culture” as inspirations, all of which are tropes I associate with the City of Angels, too.
“...you go inward and live a truth that makes sense to you.
Allie X is kind of like unknown. She’s still trying to find herself, and she’s a little confused. She’s trying to find the truth.” 161
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