With her first booking under her belt, Zodi is well on her way to starting her drag journey for all of us to see. Whilst being from a small town nothing can beat stop anyone from reaching their goals and dreams. A vision in her creative grunge esque makeup, she takes inspiration from the Grunge princess herself Adore Delano as well as music and lyrics. We can all agree she is one talented lady, we chat drag scenes as well as local drag, so don’t forget to not only support your local drag scene, follow them on social media and give them all the encouragement possible…. and be sure to check out Miss Zodi’s first gig in August!Dragadventures: You’ve recently been booked for your very first drag show, How did it feel to get your very first drag booking?Zodi: It felt amazing honestly, I really didn’t expect to be booked at all in general or at least within the next few years. It’s just crazy to me that people want to see me perform, it’s a dream come true!
DA: When does the show take place and where can readers find you perform?
MZ: The show is on the 21st of August at an event called ‘Bingo Wigs’ in Dundee, I’m not sure when I’ll be performing after that but as soon as I’m able to I’ll be pushing to get out on the scene and performing in Plymouth/Exeter area. Although if people are reading this and would like to book me at all I’m more than happy to travel for it (laughs).
DA: For your first show what can people expect, have you a certain routine or a favourite lip sync you cannot wait to perform?
MZ: Now I’m not a very athletic person so to speak so there won’t be all these cartwheels and such although that is something I would like to work on for the future. People can expect a stunning look, a lot of energy but more importantly a lot of emotion and fun! Oh, and of course the odd prop or reveal. I have lots of songs I’d really like to perform but the majority of them are by Gaga (Electric Chapel, Bloody Mary etc.) or Todrick Hall, Sinner by Trevor Moran is another I’d really like to bring to life on stage.
DA: You’re from Cornwall which is known for being a peaceful serene getaway, what is the drag scene like there?
MZ: Cornwall doesn’t really have a drag scene at all or at least not one that I know about, the nearest place with a drag scene would be Devon but even then it’s quite limited compared to bigger city areas. It’s tough because you can’t really find people like you easily, it gets very lonely and disheartening sometimes but maybe I’ll be able to spice up the Cornwall scene myself sometime. Cornwall is a beautiful place but it’s much better for a Holiday than for Living especially if you are a young, queer individual. I’m looking forward to when I can go out to these areas within Plymouth, Devon and be a part of it all fully.
DA: What drag queens do you look up to for inspiration be it through looks or just general life attitude?
MZ: I look up to a lot of queens generally but some of my bigger influencers has definitely been Adore Delano, They just have this thing about them where they go against the grain of ‘Drag Norms’ and completely make the art they create their own even if that means some people may invalidate it, this has definitely helped me not be afraid to explore drag as an art form and to push any boundaries I may think are stopping me.
Miss Zodi, in general, wouldn’t exist without Adore as I only started this journey because of the inspiration they gave me so really I owe them a lot. I also really look up to London Drag artist Charity Kase, being the main reason I even started my Drag account after I discovered her 365 Days of Drag near the start of 2017.
The level of creativeness and diversity I was seeing really inspired me to push myself further with the looks I was creating and to really improve my creativeness in general. Another queen I’ve been inspired by is Paris Queen Cookie Kunty, she has one of the best Drag Mugs going and is generally one of my favourite performers I’ve ever come across, her drag is just extremely refined and beautiful, just generally very aesthetically pleasing as well as insanely talented.
I’m just generally quite in love with Paris Drag (Cherry Kunty, Veida Shiminazzo, Calypso Overkill, The Arseniek, Pariz Hair), to name a few. Oh and of course I can’t not mention Kameron Michaels, seeing her come from a small area like me and go on to such amazing things really gives me some hope that I will be able to do the same, she is also just incredibly hard-working and talented, having followed her for a while now and watch her grow from the drag race exposure has really been such a pleasure. She is generally just a very inspiring being.
DA: Your looks are incredibly creative, what concepts do you think up, are they well planned out in advance?
MZ: Most often my looks are inspired from songs and lyrics, if a particular line sticks with me or sparks some kind of mental image I will feel an impulse to bring it to life in my own way, a lot of my looks are also prompted by a challenge or a specific word/emotion.
I also do some look recreations of other queens’ looks which I think are rather important to do as even if you are having a personal creative block you are still exercising the practical aspect of your work and learning new methods and techniques. How planned my looks are varies depending on what I’m doing, some looks I will have planned for weeks to months where I slowly create different pieces for it and gather materials however a lot of my looks are also very impulse and I will do on the day I think of them, sometimes I’ll even sit down to do a look with no general concept and just see where they take me. My mind is a bit crazy with concepts and ideas sometimes (laughs.)
DA: How long had you been experimenting with makeup looks to progress to such a fantastic level of creativeness?
MZ: Believe it or not I’ve not actually been doing makeup very long, I think I did my first ‘Look’ about a year and a half ago now and I’d never really touched makeup until two years ago, I was a very ‘tomboyish’ child and thought makeup was very much not something I was allowed to do and that it was purely for the ‘pretty girls’.
I think my biggest creative leap with it though has definitely been from the start of the year (Galaxy Skull Look) to now. If I’m ever feeling disheartened with my current work I look back at my older looks and things I was creating a year ago and it really does help me remember that I am always developing and evolving even if it doesn’t seem like it at the time.
DA: Out of all the stunning looks what is your absolute favourite and was it difficult to do?
MZ: Now that’s a difficult question (laughing), I have many favourite looks for different reasons but I think one of my number ones is the ‘Pretty Boys Cry’ look from my ‘Whatever Album’ series, it got a really amazing response from a lot of queens I very much adore and look up to, I was also generally very happy with how it came out and think it looked quite beautiful, I didn’t necessarily find it difficult to do practically but it’s always difficult to create looks regarding the mental aspect of it as I can be extremely self-critical during my work, this can make it hard to finish looks sometimes instead of just scrapping them as I often feel impulse to do. I also really liked my ‘Hole Nine Yards’ look as well as the looks I’ve worn out to shows such as Courtney Act’s Under the Covers.
DA: What three staple makeup products could you not live without?
MZ: Three makeup products I couldn’t live without would be Blue Eyeshadow, Eyeliner and a Heavy Lash for sure. Blue eyeshadow comes up in my looks very often and we all know that Zodi doesn’t shy away from eyeliner, I also use my eyeliner for my signature nose slit so it’s very important for my looks.
DA: Now you’ve been booked for your first drag show, what would you like to happen in the future?
MZ: Going on from now I would like to further improve myself with the looks I create and the level I push them too, I would also like to continue pushing for bookings and start making a name for myself out on the local scenes and in the UK in general. A big dream for me is to also develop myself enough to compete in bigger drag competitions around the UK and beyond. Generally, I just want Zodi to grow and inspire others as well as be a good advocate for AFAB Queens and Drag Artists that are overlooked whether that be for their Gender Identity or Style of Drag.
Follow all things Zodi follow her drag journey on the below social media:Instagram: @misszodiTwitter: @Pastel_Adore
