MIKE JEKNAVORIAN Local Interviews

ADAM BARTA

The world is on fire listening to the single and watching the video for Adam Barta’s smash hit with Tan Mom, “Free 2 Be Me.”  But stars must also keep up their appearances.  You’ll never guess who Barta wants to get lipo from.

PHOTOGRAPH BY SYUJI HONDA

By Mike Jeknavorian

Where did you grow up?  In the Bronx.  I’m New York born and raised!  What do you miss about it there?  I have so many wonderful memories with my mom there.  So, more than anything, I miss our Sunday brunches and shopping trips.  How long have you lived in South Florida?  About two and a half years.  Why did you move here?  Because I have tons of family here, for the warm weather, and for the more relaxed lifestyle.  I’m a senior citizen at heart (laughs).  What part of South Florida do you live in?  Port St. Lucie.  What do you like most about living here?  The fact that I can swim in my pool in the middle of January!  What South Florida venue do you miss that’s gone?  The Saint!  That probably dates me (laughs), but it’s where I had my first gay kiss.  Where do you hang out in South Florida?  I love Rosie’s—the “Big Helga” is my favorite appetizer of all time.  Wilton in general is a ton of fun.  Clematis for dinner, or even Jensen Beach in Port St. Lucie. 

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What’s your claim-to-fame?  That depends on who you ask, but it could be as a Billboard chart-topping musician, or as a reality star, or as a guest on the Howard Stern Show!  Which one of your old jobs least prepared you for what you do now?  Doing proposals at IBM.  Who’s your favorite pop star?  Lady Gaga.  Who’s your favorite songwriter?  That’s also Gaga.  If God were to take you tomorrow, how would you like to be remembered?  I would like to tell them I was more than just a great set of boobs.  I was also an incredible pair of legs.  What do you want to live long enough to see?  Myself on my own reality TV franchise.  Will you ever retire?  Yeah, when I’m dead!  What’s the weirdest question that a fan’s asked you?  What my biggest fetish was.  What other celebrity did you act like a “fan” around?  Traci Lords.  Even though we’re friends, she’s an icon!  What’s the last thing that you looked at online?  Tumblr, but not for long.  What’s the best place that you’ve visited?  I love Chicago.  Who would play you in a movie?  Zac Efron, or Fred from Nickelodeon.

What are you superstitious about?  Nothing, really.  I believe in actions more than superstitions.  Do you believe in aliens?  Yes!  And if they ever abduct me, all I ask is that they just give me some lipo before they return me.  What’s the gayest concert that you ever went to?  The Night of a 1,000 Queens.  What’s the most times that you watched a movie or read a book?  I’ve seen the movie Clue probably easily over 100 times.  What’s something that you learned in life only when you got older? Patience.  What did you learn from your parents?  The value of hard work, and to never give up.  Who’s your favorite performer?  RuPaul.  What’s your best characteristic?  My work ethic, my loyalty, and my perseverance.  How do you enjoy spending your time?  With my family, with my boyfriend, and with my friends.  Oh, and eating.  What celebrity do you have a crush on?  Ryan Phillippe.  Who do you admire?  Marti Gould Cummings.  If you could bring one person back from the dead, who would it be?  My mom. 

PHOTOGRAPH BY SYUJI HONDA

Where would you go in a time machine?  To see my mom on a Christmas past.  What would your last meal be?  Ravioli a la vodka.  What do you worry about?  Falling short, and not making money.  What are you afraid of?  Death.  If you were a musical instrument, what would you be?  A rock guitar.  Are you more like a sheep or a wolf?  A wolf in sheep’s clothing.  Who depends on you?  My family and boyfriend.  Who are you closest with?  My boyfriend, my aunts, and my best friends.  What would your autobiography be called?  To Vodka, Thanks For Everything—Adam Barta.  What’s on your bucket list?  Scuba diving.  What’s your greatest regret in life?  Not meeting Gaga when I had the opportunity.  And I had it three times.  What’s something secretive about you that people don’t know?  It wouldn’t be a secret then if I told you! Where can we see you?  You can follow me on Instagram, or you can see me on my website!

 

MIKE JEKNAVORIAN National Interviews

AMANDA LEPORE

Not many can claim that they have a watch, a doll and a rubber duck made of them, on top of being a LGBT icon.  But beneath the glitz and the glamour, and beyond the whimsical tips about hair bleaching and other ephemeral precepts, what’s the one thing that Amanda Lepore regrets in life?

PHOTOGRAPH BY VIJAT MOHINDRAI

Where do you live now?  In New York.  If you had to live somewhere else, where would it be, and why?  In Paris, because it’s so pretty and it’s the “City of Love.”  What New York venue do you miss that’s gone?  The Diamond Horseshoe.  It was such a gorgeous venue—very glamorous, with an old Hollywood vibe.  What’s your claim-to-fame?  Working with David LaChapelle, and being his muse.  What’s your favorite LaChapelle photograph?  Addicted to Diamonds.

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What’s your ultimate goal in show business?  I would love to have my own show.  Something beautiful and elaborate, like Zumanity in Las Vegas.  How would you like to be remembered?  For making people happy.  Will you ever retire?  No, not anytime soon.  Since you’re known for makeup, did you ever read Joan Crawford’s book, My Way of Life?  I never read it.  I do love the movie Mommie Dearest, though!  What’s the weirdest question that a fan has asked?  Nothing weird.  My fans are amazing and super respectful—I’m a fan of my fans!

PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID LACHAPELLE

What celebrity did you act like a “fan” around?  Traci Lords.  It was such a treat to work with her recently, since I admire her so much.  I think she’s so smart, especially with how she turned a scandal around and formed her own company to keep the rights to her work.  And then she went on to do real movies, TV and became a singer.  As you can see, I’m a “fan-girl” to follow her career like this (laughs).  What the last thing that you looked at online?  Shopping.  I’m always shopping and looking for unique items to make my own costumes and accessories.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOEY FALSETTA

What the best place that you’ve visited, and why?  Ibiza.  It’s a continuous party there.  It’s like an extended, twenty-hour version of one of my shows (laughs).  What’s something that you learned in life only when you got older?  Not to overlap bleach.  What did you learn from your parents?  When I was picked on as a kid, my mother would tell me to hold my head high with pride, and to always be myself.  Other than Marilyn Monroe, what actress do you admire?  Jayne Mansfield.  She’s a cartoon version of Marilyn Monroe.  What performer do you admire, and why?  David Bowie, because he was ahead of his time, gender-fluid, gorgeous, had great style, and he made great music, too.

PHOTOGRAPH BY VICTORIA JANASHVILI.

What’s your best characteristic?  My petite hour-glass figure, and my lips.  How do you enjoy spending your time?  Working on looks for my shows, and working on new costumes and accessories.  What celebrity do you have a crush on?  David Bowie.  If you could bring one person back from the dead, who would it be, and why?  David Bowie, for all the reasons that I previously mentioned!  Where would you go in a time machine?  I like to stay in the present.  What would your last meal be?  One cornflake.  What do you worry about?  I’m too busy.  I don’t have time to worry.

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If you were a musical instrument, what would you be, and why?  A violin, because of its hourglass figure.  Are you more like a sheep or a wolf?  A sheep, duh!  I’m soft, curly and blonde.  If you wrote a sequel to Doll Parts, what would it be called?  Doll Parts II.  What’s your greatest regret in life?  Not being born genetically a female.  It would have saved a lot of time and a lot of money!  What’s something that you never told anyone else?  That I’ve had plastic surgery (laughs)!  Where can we see you?  At Deryck Todd’s STRUT! at Acme on 3/13/2018, at Suzanne Bartsch’s Bareback Follies at The McKittrick Hotel on 3/16/2018, and at the Twisted Circus Tour UK from March 30 to April 7.

PHOTOGRAPH BY MARCO OVANDO