!! OMG, a Q&A with Violet Chachki and Gottmik !!

As summer comes to a close, the surongs are wrapped and the weather begins to, well… shrivel, the heat still finds a way to keep itself around with The Knockout Tour. Conceptualized and produced by RuPaul’s Drag Race alumnae Violet Chachki and Gottmik. With 50 tour dates, running until December 12 in Nashville, TN, the No Gorge co-hosts are mixing glamour, rock and athleticism. The tour is a new venture for the duo, who now face the ring with a plethora of acts, live music and local support.

Mid-summer, the duo released their single “TKO” as a precursor teaser to their tour. The video features bedazzled boxing gloves, tight ponytails (for indurances, of course), Jesse Pattinson and a ring girl in the form of Fantasia Royale Gaga. The single cleverly plays on the tour’s ethos, asking you the question “who will win?” and “what team are YOU on?”

Both Chachki and Gottmik have solidified their careers sonically over the years, with Gottmik’s most recent “Holy Disco” ft. Grammy nominee and Chicago house legend Felix Da Housecat. Biblically punchy and possibly could only be described as a disco ball built with mirrored stones laced in ecstasy. Not to be outdone, Chachki put nightlife in a chokehold with “Mistress Violet,” the dark synthwave latex-coated track created alongside Allie X.

While “TKO” might seem the ultimate drag battle royale, at its core it’s about the duo’s passion to fuse their looks, explore and expand their sound, and create a theatrical space that provides escapism in a universe they’ve built for their audience.

We sat down with Violet and Gottmik on the eve of their tour to go deeper on their collab. Read the full Q&A after the jump!

So, tell me about these visions that you’re bringing to life! Tell me how this tour even got started…

GOTTMIK: It all just got started because I randomly saw some actual boxing on TV. I was like, “Wait, this is the campiest, draggiest thing I’ve ever seen.” It was straight guys in diamond shorts and feathers doing these grand, Drag Race-esque entrances and feeling it. This is a show.

We both have very different vibes of glamour versus rock and roll, and we always come together and have a median end goal that works. It would be so fun if it were a show where it was Violet’s classic burlesque glamour versus my rock-and-roll, edgy punk rock vibes. Whose team are you on?

What can we expect from the show?

VIOLET CHACHKI: It’s going to be one of the highest production value drag shows you’ve ever seen. We’re doing insane over-the-top couture-level costumes, lip sync battles, live vocals, live music, live instruments, aerial pyrotechnics, choreography, and burlesque. It’s turning into quite the variety show.

We just want to do the most fantastical production possible and create, you know, a 90-minute escape from reality.

You know, even when you both released “TKO,” it was a great insight into what to expect. The boxing, the glamour, but even just listening to the track itself, it’s almost like everything we’re about to see and experience on the tour. Tell me more about the high-NRG track.

G: It was fun to create the vibe of the tour, plus we were both working on our solo music projects, so it was just natural that we had a song together. We wanted to keep it this jock jam athletic vibe,  but still have our vibes in it. It was a great challenge to figure out how to keep it high fashion and glam all at the same time.

The music video was a little bit more. It was fun to play with the juxtaposition of us being in Louboutin boxing thigh-high boots with this rugged set and boxing ring. The show version is definitely a little more Swarovski crystal gorge-around-the-edge vibe. The music video, but glammed up time 300,000.

I know “Holy Disco” came out recently, how have you been feeling? It’s very reminiscent of an electronic Donna Summer-esque crazy vibe.

G: It’s with Felix The Housecat, which is very his vibe. He loves Prince, and then he’s obviously worked for so long in the underground scene to create his very distinct sound. It’s really an honor that I got to collab with him and have him trust me with his iconic sound and then bring my vibe as well. It fits with the religious gothic style that I have going on, and more underground dance than my usual sound.

Tell me more about the album coming out soon.

G: It’s six songs, so it’s more of an EP at this point. I think the second I got on Drag Race I knew I would really like to perform my own music. As fun as it is to go perform Britney every day at every bar, I would just love to have my own story and words out there.

My little edgy gays out there are definitely going to live.

Violet, can you talk to me about what’s going on with your music? What can we expect?

VC: Well, I put out a song a few years ago called “Mistress Violet” with Allie X and Lecomte De Brégeot, my amazing dear friend. I’m actually good friends with Allie; we go way back, and I’m collaborating with them both again to put out my next single. Those two in particular, I feel like I found people who understand what I want as far as sound is concerned and my capabilities.

They really, really just get me and see me as an artist.

Can you tell us any more about the new single… or is it under wraps?

VC: I can say that’s it’s going to be very important.

I know you both have previously talked about this, but your DJing, even being a part of nightlife, something you both love… Tell me more about that part of your life.

VC: What I’m learning as an artist, I’ve been doing it at this level for 10 years now, it’s just like working out. It ties into athletics; it’s a muscle. The more experience you get, the better you become at it. That’s how it is for me with being a vocalist or a DJ. If you look at early videos of me, I’m really bad at pretty much everything. So, it all does go together.

They’re all connected; it really does help. DJing helps dancing, dancing helps DJing. And I really, really love music and I’ve always used it as an escape, and I’ve always loved drag because it incorporates all of my favourite elements. Fashion, music, performance, theatre, lighting, tech, aerial, makeup, hair, it’s all connected.

I hope to DJ more, learn more, and strengthen my music muscle.

Okay, so going back to what we talked about before, you both have very distinct styles and aesthetics. How do you find working together and bringing those together?

G: It’s kind of cool because we do have our separate styles, but they kind of work together. Violet has her vintage, fetish vibe, and I have my edgy rocker style, and then the umbrella of it is this beautiful leather industry that brings us together. I feel like when we have the same prompt, we design differently, but they’re always really cohesive.

VC: Absolutely. That’s why we came up with this concept for the tour, because this format puts us in an aesthetic that we both normally don’t do, which is athletic. Before I retire from drag, I want to make sure I’ve worn every outfit and been every sort of character I could be. It also sets us up to showcase our individual staples against each other, playing to our strengths and then the aesthetic we came up together as this boxing athletic fetish style.

That’s really how we’re looping it all together. Making it all work with athleticism and strength, which I think we need more than ever now.

I feel like that’s at the core of this tour: strength. You’re doing 50 cities, I don’t know how y’all are doing that, but honestly, it’s amazing. Were you working with anyone to put the production together?

VC: The truth is that we really are self-producing this, and we really are creative directing everything. We’ve definitely been overseeing other people who are helping us produce, but the vision ultimately is ours. From the background visuals to the vocals, to the mixes to the costumes. We’re overseeing everything. We’re really the bosses.

In terms of music and this tour, what should we expect next?

VC: I believe Mik has amazing music projects coming out. Well.. “Holy Disco,” yes.

G: I mean, we both have gorgeous music coming out, and I think it’s going to be really fun to do that. It really excites me to perform my own music, a lot more than doing mixes. I’m very excited to get into this era of my life and start pushing it out.

I think this music projects a little more on the dance side, and I really want to transition to my next one, next year. More rocky stuff. So, it’s going to be a full journey that is this tour.

—Q&A by Rhea Singh (@cnt____mag)

The Knockout Tour is on now. Purchase tickets here.