This multifaceted “esoteric drag fish” has been busy this past summer, and looks to be even busier in September. From open stages to the DJ booth to an epic take on a literary classic, heed the haunting song of Siren!
Thotyssey: Thanks for chatting with us, Siren! We are now in early September… how was your summer?
Siren: My summer has been so amazing! Honestly it’s one of the best I’ve ever had. Between being in some incredible shows, hosting my (first) very own show, adventuring around with my divas, soaking up the sun and even celebrating my birthday… so many incredible memories were made!
Sounds incredible indeed! How might you describe what you do in a nightlife setting for those not in the know?
I would describe myself as the esoteric drag fish, serving mystical and ethereal cunt through songs with dark and sultry cadences. Aesthetically it’s lots of big hair and vibrant makeup, occasionally with my aquatic accoutrements (think fins, seaweed, pearls and the like). Genre-wise it’s lots of electronic, alternative, and synthwave tracks from black and queer artists. I love to indulge in the narratives songs provide and embody for audiences, the stories latent in lyrics and instrumentation. I’m a delight in all things sexy, scary and even a lil’ silly too.
Where are you from originally, and what sort of art or influences did you grow up with that may have ultimately put you on this path?
I’m originally from Long Island, but I’ve spent so many years living upstate and in the city that at this point I just think of myself as a tried and true New Yorker.
In terms of art and influences, well… I grew up in a pretty volatile and emotionally and financially unstable environment where the adults weren’t very helpful in making sense of the world. So I took to escapism pretty early on in life, drawn to stories and fantasies. I just spending a lot of time living in my own little world, taking in what I liked and repressing whatever I didn’t, as it were. And so by way of that I loved movies, I loved animation, I loved books, I loved to draw and read comics and manga, I loved to write my own stories, I loved to act.
And most of all, I loved music. I remember being exposed to so much music through my family, friends and the internet. I had my mother who loved rap and r&b, my brother who was obsessed with grunge and alternative rock, my aunt who would blast 90s dancehall in her car everywhere she went, my gay cousin who I would runway walk around the house with to gay 2000s club mixes on YouTube, my grandma who liked soul, my grandma who liked gospel, my best friend who liked emo and punk, my Tumblr friends who liked K-pop and J-rock – the list goes on forever.
Music became my prime gateway to other worlds. Whether it was giving stadium level production with my flashlight at home, laying my head pensively against a car window, or striking a lil’ pose on beat to the music while walking down the street. I was obsessed and I was always giving shows.
And then don’t get me started on the mermaids, I loved mermaids, and mermaid related media, so much. Going to the beach, lake or pool were my highlights of the summer because I would get in the water and play mermaids for hours. And then a few years ago I read this book called The Deep by Rivers Solomon that featured these mermaid-like creatures who were born from the pregnant women who were thrown off transatlantic slave ships. The book was about how they discovered this Utopia at the cost of forgetting their ancestry. As a person who has sort of reclaimed their life from generational trauma, I find that my personal Utopia requires me to remember.
And thus Siren was born, as a sort of somatic ritual in achieving just that. Oneness with the memory of selfhood, and the many influences that have woven said selfhood.
How did you come to find yourself in the rocky waters of Brooklyn nightlife, and what have been some of your formative experiences there?
So I first went to an open stage that used to happen at C’mon Everybody called In Living Color like five years ago. They used to have audience lip sync competitions where you could perform in the show if you won. And when I won a couple of them, and when I performed, I knew that drag was something I wanted to do. I sat on it for a few years though before finally going back to another now bygone open stage called Another One at Purgatory. From there I did a few more open stage performances, and then took another break for about five months before returning again in May of 2025 and forcing myself to go to open stages every single week. I haven’t found myself wanting to stop again ever since.
I think the most formative experience in Brooklyn nightlife has been meeting so many incredible performers who have become my family, friends, and divas that I love and cherish so much. I have to especially shout out Junior Mintt, Xaddy Addy and my drag mother Selena Surreal. The first two gave me the affirmation (and the stage) I needed to become Siren. And becoming Selena’s child created so many opportunities for me to grow and thrive. So I am eternally grateful to have been witnessed and uplifted by such incredibly talented black people.
I’ve also got to perform in some big shows this year that still don’t feel real. Switch n’ Play’s Noobies show in April, Dyke Drag in July, and competing in Mx. Nobody in August (where I was in the top 3!) — to name a few. I can’t even describe how deeply blessed I feel to have shared the stage with so many certified legends this year. I also got to host my very own drag show titled Sweetwater back in June, which was an incredible success too! I began drag with a huge fear of being perceived. Now, seeing my success thus far in sharing my art with others has changed the entire way I view the trajectory of my life.
Speaking of open stages, it looks like you’ll be taking part in one this Saturday: The Most at Sandy Jack’s, hosted by Afrosephone Applegate and Anne J. Tifah. Good times!
Oh, it’s going to be such a good time! Both of those divas are so talented and so kind. I can’t wait to share the stage with them again. Afrosephone and I did this very silly Saw themed roulette last year that I still watch clips from.
Then next Saturday, you’ll be out at Freddy’s Bar for a special Rocky Horror themed fundraiser show, Absolute Pleasure! What can you tell us about this show, your Rocky Horror fandom, and any thoughts about the recently departed iconic star of the original stage and screen versions of that show, Tim Curry?
Oh I’m so excited for that show! It’s hosted by my drag brother Oliver Herface, who’s raising money to pay for the rights to use the film in his shadowcast production this Halloween. I remember during my five month hiatus from drag, I was feeling really down on myself as an artist… and it was eating away at the other areas of my life unconsciously.
One day I randomly thought about the pool scene in Rocky Horror, and remembered how it made me feel the first time I saw it. Then I went to watch the scene, and when Tim starts singing “Don’t Dream it, Be It” I just cried because I realized how much of my life I’d spent feeling safer in fantasy. Whenever I see it now, it serves as a reminder that my fantasies are actually so much more fun when they come to life!
This piece of art has touched and moved so many people close to me as well. I am surrounded by many divas actively producing and performing in shadowcasts. So when Tim died, it was incredibly sad for us all. But I think to have lived such a long and prosperous life is as much of a blessing as it is to witness one live it. I hope he departed this world knowing the significance of his contribution to it.
We’ll get our skewers ready for Sunday the 13th, because you’re gonna be on the panel for Problem Child and your mom Selena’s “Oh That’s Hot” birthday roast at All Night Skate! How low are you gonna go?
Oh I’m fully intending to terrorize the Esoterrorists (am I allowed to use that word, lol?). For too long Problem Child and Selena Surreal’s crimes against drag have gone unpunished, and I’m gonna change that. And knowing that sick and twisted pair, they’re gonna love every second of it.
I see that the Purgatory’s open stage, now called Revisions, returns September 16th. You’ve been DJing that lately; how has that been?
Oh yes, I am the resident sound siren over at Revisions. You can catch me there every other Wednesday either making noise and giving snarky commentary from the rafters, or making noise and giving snarky commentary from the rafters and giving shows.. It’s become such an incredible show, and I look forward to when we get to convene for our little gay church. It’s crazy to think Siren was born on the Purgatory open stage… now I work it!
Then it’s what looks like a major event at 3 Dollar Bill on September 17th and 18th: Inferno, based on Dante’s literary Hellscape epic. Can you tell us what this is all about exactly?
It’s a performance art piece choreographed and directed by my friend and drag king, Baby Blue. We actually got to perform Inferno once earlier this year, and it was such a flourish that it didn’t feel right to just leave it at just those two shows. So we’ve spent the latter half of the summer polishing up and getting it ready for an even bigger and more complex stage.
I play the role of Virgil, the poet and Dante’s guide through hell. Baby Blue approached me earlier in the year and asked me if I wanted to be a part of this project that had been a long time dream of his. I agreed, thinking we would just be putting on shows for ourselves, friends, and a few others at best. But then once we started rehearsing, it became clear to us all that this was something big–something made so big by the overwhelming amount of talent and dedication concentrated in one space.
This piece has become a huge deal to me. Not only do I find deep resonance with the character of Virgil, his place and movement throughout Hell… but I also find deep resonance as an artist working amongst other artists to create a living and breathing (under)world together. It is such an intimate and visceral composition of art, and I feel honored to be so trusted and held in our time together. I also love working with our Dante, Ginger Ail. We’ve become such good friends through conspiring on many a narrative choice for the expression of Dante and Virgil’s dynamic, and I think we feed off of each other extremely well.
Inferno is sure to be the highlight of my September, and anyone who’s willing to descend with us on the 17th and 18th is likely to feel the same. I’m eager to show what we’ve been working on.
What else is coming up for you?
I’ve got a couple other shows lined up this month. I’m making my Gay Bareburger debut on the 19th and 26th, which is also very exciting. I am also currently planning the next volume of my show Sweetwater, which will be happening again at Gladys Books and Wine in Brooklyn. Very excited to continue hosting shows, and I’ve got some other ideas I’m pitching up now.
There’s also one more thing I have scheduled for next month that I am not at liberty to share at this time… but will be very soon! Until then I can only leave you in suspense… which I do love to do anyway.
We will be refreshing your IG all month! Okay lastly: what is your most essential item in your drag bag?
I feel like a mother being forced to choose her favorite child! If it were truly to come down to one item though… it would have to be my many various back eye liners. I could come out naked and wigless, but if my lil’ moustache isn’t on then I really feel like Siren isn’t truly complete. Even in my most decadent drags, the facial hair is what makes me feel most affirmed in my look as a performer and persona.
Thanks, Siren!
Check Thotyssey’s calendar for Siren’s upcoming appearances, and follow him / her on Instagram.
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