Violet & Gottmik Talk about Tour and New Single

Just to start out easy, what's a fun fact that fans may not know about you guys?

Oh, they may not know. I don't eat fish.

That is maybe not the most interesting factor, but I really don't like seafood. It is annoying and we all, we go out to eat a lot and, um, you're very, you're such a good sport about it. There's just something about the unknown of the waters that scares me. It's about the water, it's the texture, and it's the, just like, you don't know, it's in the water.

Like, it's like the water's scary. Like, you know, like in SpongeBob when there's like those like. Freaky when they go to the deep ocean. Yeah. And it's like freaky looking fish and stuff. I'm not what? I don't even, I feel the aliens. I'm too open. Like what is something about me I don't even know. People don't know.

I don't know. We're pretty open books, we podcasts. I know. Like I like talk too much. We talk about everything. I think like maybe something, I don't know. I'm like kind of like a psychopath. I'm like, I am a horror fan. Like everyone knows. No, everyone knows that. But I like actually have the biggest fear of ghosts ever.

Like I always think everything's a ghost. I love that. Like it's actually kind of, I never talk about that, but like, like someone could be breaking in my apartment and I don't think it's a person. I'd be like, there's a ghost. Like it always is a ghost to me. Honestly. I'm the same way though. I know. Didn't you have sex with a ghost?

You thought it once? No. Oh, I did have a weird thing with the ghost. Yeah, that was weird. Yeah. Yeah. Can you elaborate on that? If this is a interview? So sorry. I dunno. No, this is perfect. No, it's fine. Gosh. So how did your friendship start and when did you realize you guys had creative chemistry? I. Well, I, uh, violet was on Drag Race so long ago.

So long ago, and I was a fan. I loved Violet's Drag. I thought it was just everything. And you have just everything. What else? I love that. Gimme some more adjectives. What was I serving 10 years ago? I mean, when I saw Violet on Drag Race, I just thought it was like very. Tailored and gorgeous, and I loved it.

I just like love specifics, perfection and fashion. And so I like loved her. Oh. Um, and then I did her makeup a couple times and we became friendly. And then I got on Drag Race and we went on tour together and we just kind of realized that we both had this like. Burning desire to push drag forward and be taken seriously, ar as artists in like a way that, um, isn't really a normalized usually.

So I think our like drive of like perfection and pushing our artistry to the max really brought us together. Anna used to fuck her best friend. Oh, iconic. Yeah. That's really when really the glue really stuck. Well, that would, that'll do it for sure. Do it totally. Hey, Dustin, let's talk.

Tell us about your new song that you guys just put out.

Our new song is called TKO. It is a jog jam, like dance song. It's, it's, uh, kind of has like a dark syn. I'm gonna say that it's the best song that's ever been put out ever. Okay. I think Adele can kick rock. Period. Shut off. Think that what said about like creating a new genre and about like. Never being done before.

Vibes ever is what we actually just did today with the release of TKO and that it's probably gonna shatter records. I would say I believe it. A hundred. I hope comedy come. Good writing. Oh yeah. This, um, no, but honestly, if I'm being real, if I'm being a hundred percent honest with you, please it. Was a labor of love collaborating with you.

And we both have our own perspectives and we both really have the same goals, I think. Mm-hmm. But we just have different ways of going about it sometimes. And we just had to collaborate and we had so many revisions of the song. It was like just work, work, work, work. And we had writers and producers, no, Alex Chapman, night Feelings.

Jesse St. John. So many, it was a lot of of work collaborating to her. 'cause I mean, I, you know, am an amazing singer and it just needed some finessing to really get it to sound like the music, to sound really good with my vocals. Is this a written interview? No, I'm gonna do a video. Okay. I was like, I don't know if this is gonna come through.

No, it in a text. The comedy. Yeah. No, I honestly hate written ones because of that. Because you, it never comes through. Right. But the video ones, it's so much more authentic. I a comedy right now. I don't know if that's good. Comedy's not a joke. This is real life and this is my real, and you guys also look iconic.

So it would be a shame to not have you guys on video right now. All of this. Exactly what I mean. No, I mean it, I like Jo, I love Jock Jams. I like working out. I liked on the treadmill. I like working out the Swish. Swish. Okay. Okay. And I wanted to create a track that had that same feeling, that same vibe, that same what can do energy, that same kick your ass sort of like.

You can do it, pump it harder. Vibe. Vibe. Mm-hmm. And I feel like we really accomplished it with TKO. I agree. And I also like to play on words, you know, like being a total knockout. Mm-hmm. Hello. And then like hitting someone in the face, knocking 'em out. Yes. See what inspired your guys' music video for it.

It's really intellectual. Uh, the music video was pretty much in tandem with the Knockout tour, which was, uh, inspired by real events. We just as chosen family, we do end up fighting sometimes. Mick is violent. Oh my God. I don't know what the heck your energy is giving for Violet, but she's on a sick one in this interview.

No, we've just been doing press all day. We and Mick are siblings and we are chosen family. And just like any family, sometimes you fight and you have to work it out on the, you know what I mean? Yeah. Mm-hmm. As the kids say. And, um. Yeah, we, we fight, we love and we are passionate about our friendship, our relationship, our art, and that really is what inspired.

The concept of the knockout tour and then you really ran with it when you saw a Mike Tyson advertisement, I think. Yeah, I saw some boxing ad and I was like, whoa. I got, and it was just like crazy. And I got into it and I was like, this is literally drag. They were wearing like diamond shorts, so it's like millions of dollars in feathers.

And I was like, this is actually a performance. It's drag. It's crazy. And we could have so much fun with this. So it just really took off. Yeah. And then from there we were like, we have to have this. Stop. We're gonna do a tour. And then from there it was like we have to do the video with the boxing, we have to have roky gloves.

And then it really works out that like a boxing match is really. Set up in rounds, and that's sort of how we're formatting the show. And the show is just gonna have everything. It's gonna have live vocals, live instruments, ariel high drag comedy, standup. I am gonna breathe fire, maybe it's gonna be iconic fire.

So not this fire permits pending. Permits pending, but it's gonna be everything you could ever imagine. And then probably more. So something people cannot miss, that's for sure. No, I mean, I'm probably gonna retire after this tour, so if anything you should come see my swan song, period. What do you guys think the biggest miscon or misconception people have about drag artists today?

Hmm. Such a good question and such a hard one to answer. Um, I think a big misconception is that we're role models. I was gonna say that They're nice. Yeah. I think people like think that we're supposed to be like role models and I, I don't know. I, I don't, I don't like that. I never, ever signed up to be a role model.

But like, I'm happy to inspire people in the same sentence. You know what I mean? If that's the case, I don't know what you mean. It's sort of like, I don't know. I, I grew up with more of a punk rock kind of drag queen. I. Say what you want. No fuck given. This is who I am. Take it or leave it Mentality. Really filter ourselves in pri, I mean everyone, not just drag queens, but everyone is really having to like curate like what they want.

To be seen as, and instead of just being super, super authentic. And I think if anyone should be a hundred percent authentic in the world, it should be drag queens. I mean, we're, that's like the whole point Yeah. Is to no fucks given. Um, so I think that is something that we're, we've lost the plot with slightly.

I'd agree in some ways. But ways, do you not agree specifically? No.

No. How do you balance the demands of being fashion icons, performers, and content creators?

There's no balance. There's no balance. We're suffering in silence. All right. Um, yeah. Okay. So kind balance, and I put pretty much everything into my art and I, I get really inspired by like a lot of documentaries where they. Discuss how you kind of have to pick your, like career or like personal life.

Mm-hmm. And I kind of do think there's like some like balance shift in the universe where you really just can't have it on and you kind of have to like pick to some degree. And, um, currently I'm in career mode, which is like super cool. But I think the only thing keeping me sane is. Attending hot yoga every once in a while.

Um, Amanda Lear put it just so beautifully in the HPO documentary Enigma, she said that you really have to sell your soul to the devil and sa and she's right. Mm-hmm. A hundred percent. It's really about sacrificing. It's like sacrificing yourself and it's a lot of sacrifice. It's a lot of sacrifice for art.

Good art. And anyone will tell you that. A hundred percent. Yeah. That's how we don't, it's there's no balance. I try to balance, we try to touch grass. Um, I went to Far Island and I just laid in the sand, um, and I said, this is what they meant by touching grass. I'm like, one with the earth, and I talked to God.

You're no wonder they do this shit. Yeah, you have to touch grass sometimes. That's how you find the balance. If you had to describe each other's drag in one word, what would it be? Crunchy. Oh, oh my God. You're drug punk. Well, yeah, yeah. Punk. You're punk. I think the whole cross system thing is pretty punk.

Yeah, but it's a crunchy punk. Right. Can I do two words? Shut up. Um, I had to describe you currently. Yeah, go for it. Read me. I mean, I would describe your drag as like. I'm spicy. No, I don't Piss me off. Let's go. I don't know. Referential. That's so rude. Is it? Yes. Uh, I think you like know your ference. You don't think I'm my own thing?

No, I think you're your own thing, but you definitely are like, but when we come very studied and you're like, you, ooh, you're studied and you like have your. When we That's so rude. You have your burlesque tropes, you have your things. Everything is like, I am studied and gorg. I know my references and you your own thing.

Listen Marilyn Manson, and when we call people studied and we call people referential, we mean that they're just like ripping bitches off. No, that's, we do. There's like specific people that we are like, I know who you're talking about. They, they only do references. That's not, and that's like what I meant.

Is that not what you meant? No, I think referential is like, kind of shady. You called me crunchy. That was a joke. Okay. See it. The fighting is real. Come see who wins. Honestly, I love it. I love it. Um, uh, at the House of Blues. In San Diego, you have to come see who wins the battle. No, for real.

How do you, or sorry, what's the wildest or most unexpected thing that's happened at a live show?

Um, the mafia rolled up on me one time in Italy with a gun and demanded 23,000 euros. Oh, damn. And I said to them, I said. Bring me to the guy with the gun. Bring me to the guy with the gun. What is he gonna do? Shoot me. You know how much press I'm gonna get if he shoots me at my show in full drag. So that was crazy.

Um, another fun thing that happened is my dick fell out on stage one time. Oh, iconic. Um, I put it back in. I'm, I'm someone who's murdered at our show. Yeah, someone, the show was so bad. That death? No, actually, literally, we were on their way and they were like, someone guys got murdered. It wasn't murder, it was actually a suicide.

Oh yeah. He shot himself. He shot himself. That's, that's wild. We're not joking. I, I don't think so. It's dark. Huh? That's crazy. I was, are you ready for that? Well, no, I was, I'm totally ready for that. But I was like gonna say if somebody was murdered at your show, like I feel like I would've been like on top of that, like I would be using that as press.

Like somebody was fucking murdered. No, that's why it was bad. Yeah. But that they killed, I was like, there was some reason we don't talk about it. It was like. Yeah, it was 'cause he killed himself. Yeah, he killed himself. But it was because the cops had him at gunpoint. It was a whole, it was a whole thing. We should really be putting this on the podcast.

Yeah. Killed himself because he was, cops had had gun, gun down standoff, and it was so crazy. And I was like, oh my. But then the club told us, I, I was like, I cannot do the show. I, the club said that we have to go on and change, turn the beat around, essentially. Oh, that's crazy. So that was, and I was like, I was like crying.

It was on our shoulders. It was on our shoulders to do the vibe switch. So how do you Um, that's a crazy one. Those are all crazy ones. Those are some great, what were, what were you expecting? Ours got kind of dark there. No, honestly, I actually really like that because I've asked that before and it's always like something really lame.

So like, I feel like that was the most iconic answer that I could have ever gotten. So I really appreciate it, honestly. All true. There's probably crazier stuff you threw up that's worse than suicide. I'm not saying worse, just I'm thinking of other crazy things, like a lot of crazy shit goes down. Um, a lot of crazy stuff's happened.

I think the suicide's number one, I would say. But there's other fun stuff too. We'll have to write a book one day or something. If you could add a surprise third competitor to Knockout, who would it be?

Nicole Paige Brooks. A hundred percent. That would be so fun on the tour. Us with Nicole Paige Brooks. Oh my God. That'd be crazy. That would be so much fun. I bet she could fuck up, uh, fucking wetzels pretzels with us. What? Yeah. Okay. And a Panera. I bet she loves Panera. We love eating Panera on the road. And um, I think Nicole would probably go with a tomato basil, and then probably a pick two chicken FTE panini.

Okay. Who do you think should be the third? Um, is it a drag queen? Beyonce? It has to be a drag artist. No, it could be any, anyone. I mean, if I got to pick anyone, I. I would bring Rob Zombie on the tour. I'm want someone that's gonna really spice things up. That's cool. I guess he would spice it up. I was taking that girl, Rebecca, from that one YouTube series.

She's trans, she lives downtown. Hmm. She's like famous. We love her. Rebecca? Rebecca? She's announced. Oh, okay. We love her. That's a really random person. It's like a wild card. You know what I mean? I really, we love touring with Lady Bunny. She's really funny. She. Bunny's really funny lady. Bunny's fun on tour.

You gotta, it's not just about who's gonna bring it on stage, it's also about who's gonna vibe in the tour bus. Exactly. There's like layers to this. It's not just about the prettiest of them all, it's about who's gonna fuck it up at Panera with you. Exactly. Okay. Speaking of Panera, what is your guys married to Rob order at Appera?

I like to go with a bowl, not a cup. Of the broccoli cheddar, and then I like to get chips with that. And then I put the whole bag of chips in the bowl of broccoli cheddar. I let the chips get soggy. And then I eat them like a big chunky soup. And then I also will go for the chicken frantic panini or the smokehouse barbecue 'cause they have these crunchies in it.

And sometimes I'll dip the smokehouse barbecue into the broccoli cheddar and then I'll do the cookie. Um, or the brownie, the brownies used to have icing on them, and the icing is no more, which I think is really, if anyone at corporate Panera is out there, you should really bring the icing back to the brownie.

Yeah, the icing. I think that will do better for you. And then I like, yeah, as the best part. And so then I usually go for the cookie, the seasonal cookie. Uh, if the brownie doesn't have icing, and then I'll make my own, like Arnold Palmer drink. Lemonade tea, what do you get? I get the Mediterranean veggie sandwich.

Classic. Simple. Alright, final question. What's, what are you guys looking forward to most on the upcoming tour?

I am looking forward to. I mean, it's just, I've never, uh, done a theater show like this where it's like my visions start to finish. I've never performed my own music live. Like there's just such. New moments every sec. What are you doing? Are you on? Okay, why? I'm not, okay. This is the craziest interview ever.

Like what is happening? We've been doing interviews all day long. I'm just trying to make sure my hair is still moving. Oh my God. It doesn't need to move right now, but, um, so I'm really excited to like perform my music live and. Just, I feel like it's like entering a new era and I'm really excited to get into it.

It's gonna be really fun. And the outfits, I'm excited to fuck a bunch of guys along the way, period. No, no, no. That's just an added benefit. We have a really glamorous bus. I'm excited to tour with you. Fame and make memories and like all the content and stuff. And then we're gonna also. Just do like the costumes we're talking about creating right now are nothing like I've ever worn before, nothing like I've ever seen before, and I think we're just gonna really like shit on these hoes.

Oh, amazing. Just like in general, across the board. And that always feels good to do. I like to do iconic things.