She’s lived all ovah, but currently Ritz resident Jam Eden is sweetening the palettes of New York’s drag fans.
Thotyssey: Hi Jam, thanks for chatting with us today! How is Holiday Month treating you?
Jam Eden: Hi hi of course, lovely chatting with you. The holiday month is treating me with a lot of blessings and gigs!
Gorge! I know you were at The Ritz doing your thing last night, but did you get a chance to catch any of Ariana and Cher on SNL today?
No I didn’t! I was actually out at The Ritz the night the SNL crew were running around the Hell’s Kitchen area. I probably should catch up though, considering I’m a clone of Miss Grande!
Yes I can see that! Do you do a lot of her numbers in your shows?
No, honestly. But I’ve been leaning more into it recently, considering everywhere I go people say “Hi Ariana.”
How might you describe your drag in general these days, as far as aesthetics and numbers go?
Honestly, I’ve always viewed Jam as a little customizable character. I played so many video games growing up, so my aesthetic is just an amalgamation of all the little pretty Barbie dress ups, Pixie Hollows, Bratz and Monster High dolls.
Numbers wise, I love a number where I can really connect with people. Something I’m especially known for is my crowd work — engaging with an audience. Something about it is so much more rewarding than just doing a split, or twirling around to a high energy dance Top 40 for me.
Where is your original hometown, and did you grow up with dance, performance, etc.?
New Jersey is where I’m originally from. It’s actually funny, because my form of art growing up was poetry… and I was (and honestly still kinda am) a horrible dancer. My family would make fun of me for having absolutely no rhythm, and I was a huge shut in. I’d spend hours grinding video games, watching YouTube, and just about anything to avoid being outside and having to interact with people
Wow! How did you ultimately discover drag?
When I moved to Colorado around 19, my friends who were also underage had this one club we could sneak into… but only if we were in drag. So every week we’d get into the ugliest little wigs we had, thrifted outfits we tore apart and tried to make something cute out of, heels from Goodwill, and absolutely no makeup experience, and go to this open stage and twirl around for damn near $4. We discovered this place by accident, and that’s where I saw my first drag show and also got named Jam Eden.
Ah, I was just gonna ask about the origin of that name.
I was also always Jam, before Jam Eden. One day we showed up to the club and I got asked to play a game (my first ever drag show and drag show game), and the queen (Brittany Blaze Shears) gave everyone drag names and made us twerk battle. The name she gave me was Jam Eden, and it’s been that way ever since.
Cute! So I believe you’ve been a part of The Ritz drag family now since the venue reopened in May. How did that come to be?
I actually have [Ritz resident queen] Lanyé Armön to thank for that! She recommended me for shot girl, and [Saturday night “Squirt” show queens] Stasi, QueenLee, and Boy Gorge wanted to keep me around. Now they’re my favorite people I get to see every Saturday.
You’re also doing a fun and festive party on December 26 at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Bar: “Summer in December!”
Yes! I’m super excited for it! I’ll be with my newly found girlie pop DJ Guilty Pleasures, and I’ll be working at a new bar for the first time! I plan on giving them “bikini babe but during a blizzard!”
Amazing! What else is coming up for you?
I also would like to be the first to tell you, even before the flyer has been made… I will be debuting my brand new show “Pump up the Jam” as a new happy hour show at The Ritz! The opening show will be January 1st starting at 7:00 pm with Guilty Pleasures as the DJ, featuring Nicole Glossier and Ella Vader as my special guests!
That’s very exciting, congrats! Okay, let us end with: what do you want from Santa this year?
A human unit… so I can stop whipping my Cynthias around!
Thanks, Jam!
Check Thotyssey’s calendar for Jam Eden’s upcoming appearances, and follow her on Instagram.
Thotyssey 