Don't Cry For Me Argentina...

...because, the Truth is, I don't promote you...

Drag is a dying art in the state of Maine.  Shows are becoming more and more of a rarity, and they're a surprise, when they actually happen.

Styxx, last weekend, hosted: An Evening with Danielle Dior.  I found out about the show about a week before it was supposed to happen.  And, given that I definitely didn't have time to get the time off for the show, I figured that it wasn't going to be one that I would make it to.  Surprisingly, due to the time warp that is caused by drag, I was able to get out of work, and back to Portland, in time to make it to the show.

But, it got me thinking.  The lack of shows, is compounded by the fact that gay bars in general, in the state of Maine, are not doing well.  And, as someone who has been doing a lot of promoting, and making promotional materials, to use online, or printed out, as hand outs, I have a few suggestions...again.

After hearing from Mimi Imfurst, that Styxx knew, months in advance that Mimi was going to be coming to do her show, why is it that we only got a poster a few weeks before the show?  Why would you not, as soon as you book a show, get promotional materials together?

I get that gathering together all the information, a month or more in advance, is a hassle, but promotion is your friend.  If you can't promote, you can't bring people in.  If you can't bring people in, you lose money.  If you lose money, your bar closes.  It's as simple as that.  Take the time, get the information together, and get a responsible graphic artist to throw something together.  I'm always game for making a poster.  It gets my work out there. It gets your event out there.  It's a win-win for us both.  (BTW, if you're interested in poster work, email me, for pricing details.)  The longer you have your promotional stuff out there, the more people will see it, and potentially, the more people you will get to your events.

Truth be told, making a poster or flyer for a show, really doesn't take long.  An hour, if you have all the information ready up front, maybe two.  There's probably a few adjustments that will need to be made.  But, nothing major, unless the artist and the patron have completely different ideas about what the material should look like.  (Occasionally, it does happen.)

I want to make it clear, that this is not just an issue with Styxx.  This is an issue with multiple venues for shows.  Styxx just happened to be the catalyst for the post. Queens get frustrated with the bars, because nobody knows that the show is happening, so nobody comes.  Bars get frustrated with the queens, because nobody knows that the show is happening, so nobody comes.  If you give the queens and the bars a chance to advertise the shows, there is potential for much more business...especially, given the fact that the queens I hang out with, often end up having drinks bought for them, by audience members.  This can only be good for the bars.  Especially, since half the time, the performing queens are not getting paid for the shows, or they're getting paid very little.

RANT OVER:

Graphic Art is Hard

My first Drag Show Poster

Over the past few weeks, I haven't really had much to say about drag, because, well, there hasn't been anything going on.  I mean, for real, we live in Maine.  Unfortunately, it's not like there's a drag show every night everywhere here, like there is in Boston.

So, instead of doing my usual escort/chauffeur/bag boy thing, I've been doing the other side of what a good drag husband would do.  I've been making posters, and helping get out the word about shows that are coming up. (Quick plug for Seacoast Rep theater in Portsmouth, NH, tomorrow night, August 6th, with RuPaul's Drag Race past contestant, Manilla Luzon.)

Sept 13, 2014

Originally, my posters started off as a "Hey, can you just throw something together for me for this show?" from Shaunna Rai.  A couple of them, have come off because I had time, and I was excited for the show, like my old Jujubee poster, and the new Latrice Royale poster.

In my own mind, these posters are going to make me famous, somehow.  I'm going to be like Brian Kinney's character from Queer as Folk, only with a lot less sex and drugs.  In my mind, I'll be making money off from my posters, instead of just doing them because I can. The truth of the matter is, I have a lot of fun making the posters.  Until I don't.

Sept. 6, 2014

Generally, I ask the patron for an idea of what they're looking for in a poster (unless it's an "I'm bored, so I'm just making one".)  From there, I can usually get something put out really quickly.  This, to me, is a good thing.  If I were getting paid, the more that I could do, keeping the client's idea in the forefront, the better I would be making off from them.

My biggest pet peeve, however, is a client who says, "I don't really know what I want, so just use your own judgment."  Because, really, they do know what they want, and it usually isn't the same as what I want.  Dan tells me all the time, "You need to use your words, and tell me what you want, because I can't read your mind."  It's good advice if you ever decide that you need a poster from me.  Because what I think looks good, may be far different than what you think looks good.  So, we need to have a common ground somewhere, where we can start off, and go from there.

Honestly, it's not a big deal if I'm working up a poster, and you say, "Scrap the idea, it's not working, try this."  It's not even a big deal if I have seven different saved copies of your poster...unless after the seventh, you decide to go with the first after all.

April 12, 2014

My issue here, is that I'm currently working for free, to get myself some experience, and some exposure.  I don't always mind that.  For instance, back in December, I had done a quick poster for Styxx/Frannie Peabody Center, to advertise that they were doing free HIV testing.  Given that Frannie, through Shaunna Rai, has become my charity of choice, I would have done the poster for free anyway, because it's a way for me to give back.  And, the Styxx shows with the RuPaul girls, I'm getting tickets for not only myself, but, my parents too.  These posters, I don't mind doing, because I'm getting some kind of "reimbursement" for...be it the ability to feel like I'm doing something important, or the opportunity to get to go to a show that I don't have to pay for.

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I do art.  That's my thing.  I can't always do it on command.  I may start a project 5 times, before I show you what looks like the first version of it that you can critique and change.  It takes time.  It takes the right mood.  And, it takes a little bit of understanding from the person ordering the poster to get that I have a full time job, and I do this on my own time.  Art is fun for me.  But, when a poster turns into a monster, I'm going to want to be done with it as soon as I possibly can, to never think about again.

And, now for the shameless plug for myself.  I'm open to doing posters.  You can shoot me a message on Facebook, or via email.  We can work something out.  A little cash would be appreciated, because I do have bills to pay, but as I said before, I'm willing to barter as well.  If it's a show, I'll work for tickets, if it's realistic for me to get to it.