Spooky, Kooky, and Rad as Hell: Asa Queen

After moving to the Mile High City from North Carolina in search for a fresh start in life, Asa Queen was encouraged to pursue the art of drag. Immediately, they found a place among the community’s diverse range of talent. 

Whether it’s spooky, alternative, or downright bizarre, one can always expect greatness from an Asa Queen performance. OFM caught up with the self-proclaimed “cartoon demon hooker” to learn more about what they are all about.

Can you begin by telling us more about how you discovered your love and passion for drag?

My first experience with drag was probably RuPaul’s Drag Race, the season that Sharon Needles was in. Don’t love her, but it was a great opportunity to see other alternative people that do drag before that was really a thing, especially in North Carolina where it’s very pageantry and dance. So, that was my first experience with drag, and I never even thought about doing drag until I moved out here. It was kind of accidental. I used to go to these Tuesday shows at Pride and Swagger, and it was a drag king bar, so the drag kings encouraged me to start drag and gave me a little home to begin at.

Scrolling through your Instagram, I cannot believe how fierce your looks are. How long does it usually take you to get dolled up?

An easy look, probably an hour. Whenever I paint head to toe, like a solid color, or I’m doing some interesting, weird stuff, that takes me about three hours. 

When you think about some of your looks, is there one that always stands out in your mind? 

I really enjoyed it, and somebody did some artwork of it too for some merch—Essentially, I had a cheap little drugstore foundation on and some fake bruises. I was doing the photoshoot where I was just swimming around in dirty water in someone’s bath, but I really like it because it shows I don’t have to do a lot to make impactful statements with my looks or drag.

What makes Asa Queen unique and different from all the other Mile High drag artists?

That’s a hard question because Denver is very diverse when it comes to drag, but there’s not a lot of people that do what I do. One of my first competitions, the note that I got, and it was seen as a negative thing, but I see it as a positive for myself, they told me they weren’t sure if I was trying to be scary or sexy. So, I enjoy the fact that I can even confuse drag people with what I’m doing. 

Spooky and alternative drag has always been around, but do you think it’s finding more of a niche in the mainstream?

It is definitely becoming more popular, and I think other pop culture has to do with that, like goth and e-boy/e-girl fashion. It’s just evolving to a point where people don’t feel as weird to express that they like spooky or gross things.

Who are some of your biggest drag influences?

I am obsessed with Trixie Mattel. I think a lot of people who have known me for a while have seen my makeup slowly get into that overdrawn kind of look. So, I really love them, and somebody else that inspires me a lot is Jinkx Monsoon because of the way they speak out on things and actually do a lot for their community, all while continuing their drag career and doing as much as they can.

Do you have a resident club or bar that you perform at in Denver?

I perform at least three shows a month at the Electric Cure in Edgewater, but I generally just go from bar to bar most of the time. 

What kind of shows do you do?

I do a lot of nightlife shows, so a lot of 8 p.m.-and-after kind of stuff. I’m slowly moving into the brunch shows, but it’s weird for me because it’s gals with their friends having lunch and not people that are trashed and getting blacked out (laughs). 

What can one always expect from an Asa Queen performance?

A lot of energy. My numbers may have slow moments, but it’s never a dull fucking moment. I’ve never done a park and bark. 

Do you have a favorite number to perform?

“Bloody Mary” by Lady Gaga is my known number. I’ve probably done it at least once at every bar I’ve performed at. I love Gaga, and this is a dark song that’s also very poppy. It’s fun to perform because I love to act, as well as perform. So, I get to do a little bit of acting and dancing, and then I always love to do a spit blood take all over myself. This is just a perfect song that feeds into that.

What makes the Denver drag community so special to you?

Like I said earlier, I just love the diversity. I guess we have our BINGO queens, if that’s what you would want to call them, but there’s a lot of artsy performers. I think the past two winners of Drag Race from Denver really speak volumes for what drag is here. Yvie Oddly and Willow Pill really represent what we have going on here. Drag in Denver may be pretty, but it’s still alternative, weird, and hard to understand for some people.

What are some of your interests outside of drag?

Over quarantine, I started doing taxidermy. So, there’s that, and I’ve been painting since high school.

What are some future goals you hope to achieve with your drag career?

You’re actually helping me with a goal for this year. I hoped to be published or written about in a queer magazine, but as for other long-term goals, I definitely want to see myself branch out a little bit more. Currently, I’m still very uncomfortable with doing shows out of state by myself, but hopefully I’ll get to a point where that doesn’t bother me as much. I have a drag sister, Arachnophobia, Chärlotte is her human name, and she helps me a lot. She’s a drag artist as well, and it really helps to have family at your show with you whenever you’re surrounded by people who want to touch and grab you.

Do you have any desire to be on Drag Race or any other reality competition series?

I have hoped to maybe be on Dragula in the next three to five years. I’m working myself up to that. 

Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or anything else you’d like to mention or plug?

I am currently working on a YouTube show coming soon where it will be me hanging out with other queens and kings called Mentally Ill with Friends. First episode will be posted on October 28, my birthday! Other than that, I hope everyone had an amazing Pride Month!

Stay up-to-date and connect with Asa Queen by following them on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube @_asaqueen_.   

Photos Courtesy of Asa Queen and Kendra Colleen