Music Maven Ash Gordon Talks Solo Career and Drag Queens

After several years of styling songs for music performers, film, and television, Ash Gordon is stepping out on her own as a solo artist.

The guitar slingin’ New Yorker residing in LA and founder of The Blah Blah Blahs released her debut single “Cosmic Colors” in June, which features world-renowned drag queen Trixie Mattel. A feel-good track complete with acid-trippy lyrics, the song brings a taste of early-2000s girl bands and modernizes it for 2022. Gordon then went on to release a catchy and wildly fun Pride anthem with Alaska Thunderfuck entitled “Everybody Is a Little Bit Gay.”

Last month, she truly showed off her musical chops with a double album, featuring collaborations with Trixie and Alaska, as well as BONAVEGA, Bob the Drag Queen, and many others. They provide 16 psychedelic songs that perfectly encompass Gordon’s lipstick, garage-rock vision.

OFM caught up with the music maven to talk more about her solo career, working with drag queens, and being a co-creator of Drag the Musical.

Let me begin by asking, how has it been making your way as a solo artist?

It’s interesting because I have been behind the scenes for so long riding with a lot of the queens that come off RuPaul’s Drag Race, so most of my career has been focused on other people’s visions and what they’re trying to say musically and lyrically. After 10 years of collaborating with others, it became very clear to me what I was interested in just by studying different types of music and seeing how my favorite types of music, like garage rock, has evolved over the years, and I wanted to put something out in the world that I wanted more of. Something I wasn’t seeing enough of as a music fan. That is the main goal for me. It’s like, “OK, let me put music that I like into the world, and then the rest will fall into place.” It’s been working!

Can we expect anything more from The Blah Blah Blahs?

Yes, the Blah Blah Blahs are always going to make music. The Blah Blah Blahs are my conduit to writing very ad-centric music, which kept the lights on and allowed me to work with queens for many years. The Blah Blah Blahs are still going to be alive and well, but certainly, my focus is on my messaging and what I’m trying to say as Ash Gordon.

Have you always had a passion for singing and songwriting?

Always. I can’t read any music, to be honest with you, but I know chords and stuff like that. When I first picked up guitar, my guitar teacher was like, “I’ve got to teach you how to read music,” and I would fight him on it. Just teach me the chords, and I’ll be good. I don’t want to say he gave up, but he realized what my learning style was, so I was able to learn the chords that helped me get the songs out of my head. I call it the good schizophrenia (laughs). Nobody’s telling me to kill anybody up there; it’s just, like, music. As long as I can accompany myself and sing, it was fine. So, yeah, music has always been a part of me.

Ultimately, what do you always hope listeners take away from your music?

I feel like it’s important to embrace the fact that you can be different, weird, and left of center. The music that I made for the double album is all very left of center, and that is not something that’s necessarily popular in my business. I work with a lot of people who roll in the pop camps and top 40 rooms, and it feels like there’s really no room to go off the beaten path because I’ve been in those rooms too, and it feels very stifling. So, it’s very important for me to have the freedom so I can channel my favorite bands like Devo and the B-52’s.

The double albums you just mentioned, which are called Ash Gordon and Ash Gordon II, came out on July 15. Can you talk about the concept and inspiration behind them?

I started writing the album a little bit before I got engaged, and I didn’t even know it was going to happen. The Blah Blah Blahs, they were doing something for me musically, but I could kind of only go down one path with that, and I’m multitudes when it comes to music. Like, what’s something I really want to put out in the world? The music that I love to listen to and brings me so much joy is garage rock, alternative pop, indie pop, stuff like that. Goldfrapp, 45 ACIDBABIES, L7, that’s the music that I love.

So, I challenged myself over the pandemic to learn Ableton and really dig into my own production because up until Ash Gordon, I was producing, but not at a grassroots level of creating the track per se. It was really important for me to be like, “OK, if I were to produce, what kind of producer would I be?” I hope that journey translates in both albums, but one album for sure is more garage rock, and the other album is more like indie pop because they are both a part of me.

I immediately fell in love with the Pride anthem you released in June, “Everyone Is a Little Bit Gay.” How did that song come to fruition, and how would you say it stands out from all the other Pride releases that came out throughout the month?

I feel like Pride releases can sometimes be like Christmas songs (laughs). From a writer’s perspective, it’s like, we need to get a Pride anthem out and la, la, la, la, la. Everybody in the queer space that makes music kind of has this sense of urgency about Pride Month, and there’s nothing wrong with it at all. It’s like the writing world for advertisements and stuff. Now’s the time we start thinking about Christmas music, and I see similarities there.

“Everyone Is a Little Bit Gay” was super organic. I wrote it a week before the “Don’t Say Gay” bill came out, and I was actually at a drag show. I was watching this drag queen give a lap dance to this straight guy, who was clearly dragged there by his girlfriend and felt a little uneasy, but he was having a good time with it. So, I’m watching this, and I forget what song was playing, but I was like, “I want to write the song that I feel like should be playing.” Then it immediately popped into my head.

I was like, “everyone is a little bit gay, a little bit gay, a little bit gay,” and I had to go into the bathroom and voice memo it really quick. Immediately when I got home from that drag brunch, I started working and it was done in about an hour.

The song features Alaska Thunderfuck, and like you said, you have worked with several Ru girls. What do you enjoy the most about collaborating with drag queens?

I’ve always had a kinship with drag queens. Like, my favorite movie growing up was The Birdcage, and that was before I even knew what a drag queen was. To Wong Foo, that entire generation of drag movies, they had their problems, but they made you feel really good about drag. So, that made a huge impression on me.

The first album I worked on was Sharon Needles’ PG-13, and I was still living in New York at the time. My mentor/best friend/co-writer, his name’s Tomas Costanza, we’ve worked on a lot of drag queen stuff together, he called me up and was like, “Hey, I have this girl, Sharon Needles; she’s a drag queen and she’s looking to make an album. Would you be interested in flying out and working on it?” I nearly fell out of my chair because I’ve been watching Drag Race since Season One.

I came in as a fan, and I’m still a fan. Like, whenever I see Trixie Mattel in drag, I get so starstruck. It’s crazy. Same with Alaska. So, first and foremost, I am a fan of the queens, and I think the folks at Producer Entertainment Group know that I genuinely care. I want these girls to put amazing music out into the world. Drag music used to kind of be derogatory, but now it’s a totally different vibe, and it feels so good to have been a part of that because I’m trusted. I don’t take that for granted.

You are also the co-creator of the concept album Drag the Musical. Are there plans to move forward and turn this into a live musical production?

We did a live stage production in June, but it was more of a workshop. The whole point was to give our friends at Netflix and our friends in higher places what the whole vibe of the show is. We had drag queens and a full band, but we only did select songs and scenes. However, we are going to have a full show in September, the whole music from top to bottom, at the Bourbon Room in Hollywood. Same place where the workshop was. This has been six years in the making, and we killed it. We’re now in the phase of tightening up the script, making changes to the lyrics if we need to.

As someone who has been styling songs for music artists, film, and TV for over 10 years, is there anyone in particular you would love to collaborate with someday?

Oh my God, this answer changes every day, but I love, love, love Betty Who. I just love her story and how she wanted to take back control of her music. Her backstory isn’t uncommon, unfortunately, but the fact that she had to kind of go against her label. I see a lot of artist friends go through the same story, but she was able to move through the business so beautifully and be true to her art. It’s such a joy to see in a queer woman out there working and killing it. I’m obsessed with her. She’s amazing.

What are some other future goals you hope to accomplish with your career?

Right now, Drag the Musical has taken a front row seat to everything because it got received so well. We knew it was going to do well, but I am in Drag the Musical mode, and it’s great because it does coincide with me putting out solo work. The timing is crazy, and it feels very Kismet to me. Then in terms of the future, I would love to maybe score a Netflix show or something like that or be in charge of the music of a show. That’s always been a dream of mine.

Stay up-to-date and connect with Gordon by following her on Instagram @ashgordon_.

Photos courtesy of Parker Day