May 26-June 8 . 2012 qnotes

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LIFEDrag, not just forqueens anymoreA look at the drag king community and Hunter Downby O’Neale Atkinson :: oneale@goqnotes.comThe drag queen community seemsto have reached a new high with itsmainstream media breakthrough,thanks largely to drag long-timecelebrity figures such as RuPaul andthe attention her Logo shows havebrought to the art form. Their dragking counterparts are still in the earlystages of breaking into the forefrontof the community. Despite their lack ofmainstream presence, the drag kingcommunity can be found everywherewith a lot of local talent here in theCarolinas, as well as a rich history bothabroad and here in the U.S.Charlotte artist Kit Thomas is knownfor both her colorful punk style art, aswell as her alter ego, Hunter Down. TheNew York native is an Iroquois of theSt. Regis Mohawk tribe located partlyin upstate New York and Canada. Inthe past two years, along with delvingfurther into her artistic interests, Kit hasalso discovered a love of being a dragking performer.Thomas had not considered dragbefore until she was asked to fill in aspot for Men of Petra’s, a local annualamateur drag competition which isheld at Petra’s Piano Bar in Charlotte.During her initial performance asHunter Down, Thomas says she got into thePhoto Credit: Jennifer Hoganenergy and excitement of performing in frontof crowds and liked getting into the character.Drag queens seek to emulate the beautyand grace of the fairer sex while drag kingsdraw upon machismo and masculine energyto create their personas. According toThomas, Hunter Down is “the dirty, dark, mysterious,‘sexy-Mexi’, rock lovin’, lady lovin’,motorcycle ridin’, uber male side” of herself.When channeling Hunter Down, she drawsinspiration from rock music, especially classicrockabilly style. “Rock has always crossedinto that boundary of raw sexuality.”While a new or aspiring drag queen hasa plethora of resources to choose from to gettips and advice for developing a drag personaand breaking into the community, there is lessout there for novice drag kings. Unlike manyup and coming queens who find support fromlocal mentors, Thomas had to do her ownresearch and create her identity from scratch.When first looking for guidance, shesearched the internet and watched other dragking performances online. “I was looking forsomething I just couldn’t find,” says Thomas.“Nothing stuck out and then it hit me; I’m goingto just do my own thing. What do I want tosee when I go to a show? I want to be entertained.I want loud rock music, people havingfun, sexuality and to be taken away from thereality of stereotypes and gender.”According to Thomas, there are severalperformers from the Charlotte, Rock Hill andGastonia areas who make up the local dragking community. “It’s a small community andsometimes it’s overlooked, but there is somereally great talent out there.”While Hunter Down typically performsalone, the drag king collaborated with localtalents Landon Haze, Justin Durango andTyson Mack for last year’s Pride Charlottefestival. The four formed to create the qnotes May 26-June 8 . 2012see Drag on 20
SPORTPlaying the fieldMatch-ups from across the Carolinas:Charlotte Royals prep for Bingham Cup, Roller Girlsfight hard and softball beginsby Jon Hoppel :: qnotes contributorRugbyAll dressed up and someplace to go:The Charlotte Royals are playing tought on theirway to the Bingham Cup in England in June.Momentum. That’s what the CharlotteRoyals now have going into the Bingham Cupduring the first weekend of June, by avengingtwo early season losses. The mid-Aprilclash between the Royals and the NashvilleGrizzlies was a rematch of the third-placegame from the St. Louis Spring InvitationalTournament last month, which Nashville won35-22. This time around, however, the Royalswere able to get out to an early two-try leadand were able to maintain that advantageuntil the final whistle, winning 27-15. Scoringfor Charlotte were backs Thomas Southerlandand BJ Smith and for the forward, David June,who earned man of the match honors.On Cinco de Mayo, the Royals took onthe Columbus Coyotes for the second gameof their home series. Earlier this season, theRoyals traveled to Columbus and lost, givingthe Coyotes their first and only win of theseason. Determined to defend their home turf,Charlotte put the pressure on early, scoring6 tries in the first half to Columbus’ 1 try. Byforcing turnovers and aggressive tackling, theRoyals’ defense stood out, which limited theiropponents to only the one first-half try andnothing after. BJ Smith had an outstandinggame at scrum half, earning man of the matchhonors after racking up 4 tries and numerousassists. Also with multiple scores forthe backs were Zach Anderson and ThomasSoutherland. Scoring for the forwards wereCoty Webb and J.T. Wentz, who earned manof the match honors, as well.These two wins are a good sign that theRoyals might be peaking at just the right time,because up next for the team is the BinghamCup. The international tournament startsJune 3rd in Manchester, England. To showtheir gratitude for anyone and everyone whohelped make this trip possible, the CharlotteRoyals Rugby Football Club will be hosting anAuxiliary Appreciation/Bingham Cup Sendoffparty on May 19 at Sidelines Sports Bar.Check them out on Facebook at facebook.com/groups/27609515058 or visit charlotteroyals.org for more information.Roller GirlsMay 5 was a big sports weekend herein the Queen City with the Charlotte RollerGirls All-Stars and B-Dazzlers also taking onformidable opponents. The evening startedwith B-Dazzlers going against Star City out ofRoanoke, Va. Star City was coming off a hardfought win in Greensboro and they maintainedthat determination by holding off a late rallyfrom Charlotte to win the bout 137-108.The All-Stars were more fortunate bygetting out to an early, but slim lead over theLittle City Roller Girls from Johnson City, Tenn.The slender advantage made for a very competitiveand tense match with the All-Starscoming out on top 147-118. Bomb Shelly fromthe LCRG had this to say after the bout, “Theentire evening was so exciting! Charlottedefinitely trains their girls to be some of thebest competitors around.” Be sure to comeout and see what she is talking about atCharlotte’s next home match on June 9 andcheck them out on Facebook at facebook.com/CharlotteRollerGirls or visit carolinarollergirls.com for more information.SoftballThe Carolina Softball Alliance’s seasonhas gotten off to an exciting start with fiveteams vying for the league championship.see Playing on 22Meeting Date: Tuesday, June 19, 2012Program: Scott Bishop’s Path to the DNC Host CommitteeLGBT Community Center of CharlotteWant to maximize your exposure/involvement at the2012 DNC? Scott Bishop, longtime Charlotte LGBTactivist, HRC NC Board Member/Honoree, and MeckPACChair gives us the inside scoop on the upcomingConvention as he discusses his journey from bankemployee to Project Management Management.820 Hamilton St. @ the NC Music FactoryTime:5:30-8 p.m.Cost:$20 admission. Includes appetizer, dinner, dessert, tea.Reservations: email businessguild@yahoo.com or reserve/pay inadvance online on www.charlottebusinessguild.orgwww.charlottebusinessguild.orgMay 26-June 8 . 2012 qnotes
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Page 3 and 4: insideMay 26-June 8, 2012Vol 27 No
Page 5 and 6: LIFE20 QuestionsKevin Grooms aka Mi
Page 7: people to protect the people we inc
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Page 13 and 14: VIEWStalkbackIs Drag still a releva
Page 15 and 16: A&Etell trinityby trinityqnotes con
Page 17 and 18: Positive PostingsResponding to Lati
Page 19 and 20: on the mapnightlifeSundayBarbeque &
Page 21: Drag event supports charitiescontin
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May 26-June 8 . 2012 qnotes

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