So that’s actually not her name. Sherman became “Squirm” years ago, and it stuck — it drops you straight into her colorful, freaky, and sort of fucked-up world.

Sarah came to the studio and stuck her head through a magic portal. Here’s where she wound up.

Is there something that you’ve dreamed of doing for a long time?

Making a fuckin movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (not the porno kind)

Did you have a job in high school?

Lifeguard for 5 years. Never saved anyone.

Would you rather have seven fingers on each hand or seven toes on each foot?

Fingers... all the better to grab you with!!!!!!

Before making a telephone call, do you rehearse what you are going to say?

No. I spend 10000 million hours a day on the phone. I’m very comfortable on a phone call. I’m a phone girl.

Favorite SNL skits?

Been in that I wrote - EYES

Been in that I didn’t write - Bob Army

Wasn’t in from the past - Boss Dinner

What’s something you’re hoping to get better at?

Everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I want to be better at everything. I’m only a little good at some things. I want to get better at everything all the time.

What 90’s movie do you identify with most?

CLIFFORD

Your most-used phrase or catchphrase?

I’m hungrier than a bitch.

Watch her magical special Sarah Squirm: Live + in the Flesh on HBO. Text me after!

Retouching by Zach Vitale

Makeup by Will Sullivan

Set design, creative direction and photo by Dev Bowman

Developed and scanned in partnership with Nice Film Club

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Lenny Kaye just released his first solo album at 79 years old.

He isn’t new to this — Kaye’s been in music for nearly 60 years, best known as the longest-serving member of the Patti Smith Group. We talk finding yourself through music, YouTube algorithms, and chasing artistic closure. Here he is.

So tell me a little about the project — what’s coming out here?

I’m celebrating the release of my debut solo album ‘Goin’ Local’ after nearly six decades in the music business. The songs I felt I needed to write for myself. I thought it was time to have artistic closure. I found a studio near my house so I could drop in and spend five or six hours piling up tracks. After a year, I had enough to make a record.

How often do you write?

I write more if I’m working with people like Patti [Smith], or whoever. But sometimes you just have the need to write a song. There’s a lot of music in this world — probably too much to appreciate. So if you’re going to write one, it has to mean something. It has to have a reason for being.

This album doesn’t sound like my stuff with Patti. This is a way for me to realize my potential at a time when I need a new evolution in my life.

Tell me about the six decades of working with other musicians. Was there always a whisper of wanting to do this?

I love working with musicians. I always enter their soundscapes — sometimes it requires seeing the world of music through their eyes. After all this time, I wanted to see my music unfiltered. Who I am, not through somebody else’s sense of inspiration.

Have you always been that way?

I hope so. I think so. I’ve written three books, and they took me down deep rabbit holes. I have a good work ethic. No matter how much I like to stay out late dancing to “White Wedding” at 3:30 in the morning, I want to get up in the morning and do my work.

What are you listening to lately?

My friend Alejandro Escovedo just finished recording a new album, and I’ve had it on repeat the past couple days. I’m very much taken with a woman from Denmark named Kira Skov — beautiful voice, presents it in many different genres. And when I feel the need to rev it up, Deep Purple’s greatest hits.

How do you find music? That’s a skill in itself.

Sometimes I just follow the bouncing ball of YouTube’s algorithm and see what wacky place I wind up in. I spend a lot of time in record stores and record fairs — people are always introducing me to things I’ve never heard before. The internet, as maddening as it can be, gives you instant access.

There’s always music coming into my house, not too much going out — which can be a problem, as my song “The Things You Leave Behind” will show you.

My mother-in-law started learning guitar around the time she turned 60. It’s become her whole life. Any message for people picking up hobbies later in life?

Good for her. I’m all about learning stuff later in life — I’m learning slide guitar now. Never mastered it, but I can at least make a sound.

My only thing is: keep doing it, don’t have a direction. Play for the sheer joy of the instrument. Tell her she should keep it on the couch, so she doesn’t have to take it out of the case. So it doesn’t become something she has to do, but something that’s easy, that she likes to do.

Do it with no expectation — same way I did my album. I worked on these songs for my own sheer musical pleasure. David Lynch has a little motto: “the pleasure is in the doing.”

What do you think of goals? Are they helpful to you?

Goals are good — they give you reach. But don’t get blindsided by your goal. A lot of people like music, and then they decide they need to make money at it, or get successful, get famous. I’ve never been like that. I like to get paid, and I like beers bought for me by people who recognize me. But that’s not why I’m doing it. I’m doing it for personal fulfillment, and that’s how you become who you want. I’ll never be a great pedal steel player. I’ll be adequate in some situations. But I don’t care — when I hit those pedals and it goes, I’m a happy guy.

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Lauren Chan and I met up in Chinatown on the hottest day of the year.

Lauren is strikingly gorgeous, but her effortlessly chic and warm vibes are entirely disarming. We’d only texted before the shoot date, but I felt calm, eager, and inspired as soon as she walked into the dumpling shop we’d coordinated to meet up at.

Lauren creates a new meaning to being a jack-of-all-trades. She famously was the first out lesbian to grace the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue — off the heels of selling her fashion brand, Henning, to Universal Standard, and that was off the heels of appearing on Canada’s The Traitors. Like, okay!!

Shooting with Lauren was the easiest shoot of my life — she’s a complete supermodel, and I feel honored to have worked with her. I think you’ll see why.

Here’s our shoot and conversation, enjoy!

Who were you in your middle school friend group?

The jock.

Fuck, marry, kill: plane, car, train.

Fuck the plane (private plane, obviously — trying to get on one), marry the car, kill the train.

What’s one thing you’re feeling hopeful about right now?

Gay people.

What are you wearing when you feel most yourself?

Something inspired by drag, something camp, something that makes me feel powerful. Today: a thrifted MIU MIU gray dress with a ribbon, found on Etsy, plus Naturalizer heels — the most comfortable heels I’ve ever worn. Second outfit: a custom T-shirt by Willy Norris (my favorite designer of all time), a thrifted Saint Laurent jacket, and a pin from my friend Olivia at Dauphinette — it belonged to her mother.

You’re an activist, writer, editor, model, performer, host — what keeps you reaching for all of it?

I have a very clear North Star: making people who’ve felt marginalized — particularly in communities I’m part of, like the Asian community, the plus-size community, and the queer community — feel powerful and celebrated. Everything I do falls under that. It’s a wide variety of things, but it all makes sense to me.

What’s your favorite New York restaurant?

Wo Hop, in Chinatown. We had our wedding rehearsal dinner there.

Best place to cry in the city?

C’Mon Everybody — in the company of drag queens.

Developed and scanned in partnership with Nice Film Club

One Hour Photo Creative Production: Carly Kane

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By the grace of god herself, I met Danielle Perez during her Pride weekend in NYC. We’d just been at the same show, and we hit it off on a rooftop. You can’t miss her — a bright smile with a laugh that carries gracefully. People throw around the saying “knows no stranger,” but with Danielle, it’s just true.

Of all things, we broke the ice talking about how to use credit card points and our S-Corps... okay, random! Danielle is warm, she’s funny, and I noticed she has a knack for asking thoughtful questions. It’s genuinely delightful to talk with her.

You’ve seen her in Overcompensating and Curb Your Enthusiasm — and as you’ll see, she’s just generally a girl about town in LA.

We got to squeeze in a ONE HOUR PHOTO session before she flew home that evening. We met at the Chelsea Hotel, per her request. I’m so happy to call her my friend — here she is:

Does the Chelsea Hotel mean anything to you?

It’s iconic. It’s New York history. Andy Warhol is haunting this place, obviously.

Favorite food?

Thai. [Groans.] This is a groundbreaking interview, right? I love a toro hand roll. I love sushi. And fresh rigatoni, with a really simple pasta sauce.

Have you always been bougie?

Yes.

What does the perfect day look like for you?

Honestly? Something close to this. Wake up in a fabulous city. Sleep in. Meet up at a historic, spooky hotel. Martini, French fries, get interviewed, get photographed, fly home to LA.

What’s your airline of choice?

Delta One. Period.

What made you want to do stand-up in the first place?

I saw a really unfunny man do it. My best friend’s roommate was an actor living in Hollywood who also did stand-up, and he invited us to a show — The Comedy Store, we figured, must be legit. It was so bad. I still have the text I sent her afterward — something like: hey, how do we do stand-up? Because he’s doing it, and we’re actually funny.

Do you remember what it actually felt like — the first time you got up there yourself?

It just felt fun. That first open mic was kind of a lightbulb moment. I remember thinking: I need this for the rest of my life. Nothing feels better than this.

What did you talk about?

Dating. I’d just been on a date with a little person, and every single server in the restaurant kept stopping by to check on us, like we were the it-couple of the bar. Everyone was like, “are you guys okay, do you need anything?” I genuinely don’t know if they thought we were punking them. He scooped his salad onto his fork with his hand.

So there wasn’t a second date.

There was not a second date.

And then he turned up at my thirty-second birthday party. This man shows up, with his girlfriend, then proceeds to make-out with her the entire time. She had polka-dot tattoos on her legs. I remember thinking: this clown-ass bitch.

The last time you did your hour in New York, something happened right before you even got on stage.

Yep! I got a concussion right before I went on.

Where was this?

Union Hall. The green room has these dumb little side tables. I was trying to navigate out from underneath one of the tables, turning to go deeper into the room, and my wheelchair got caught on the table legs. I tried to pop it up — do a little wheelie — to get over it, and it didn’t work. I hit the table hard, flew back, and my head slammed into the corner of a locker, then onto the floor. My friends ran back — what day is it, what year is it — and I answered all the questions. So I went up and did my hour.

The next day someone was like, wait, is something up with your wig? And I said, “babe, I don’t wear a wig.” She thought my “wig” looked lumpy, because the welt on my head was so big my hair was sitting up at a weird angle.

How did the show go?

I don’t remember! But people said it was fine. Good, even.

If you were a professor and had to build a syllabus — what’s required watching?

Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion. Clueless. The Comeback. Paris Is Burning. Basically a Pride playlist. There’d also be a whole unit on the Free Britney movement and what we did to her in the early 2000s — a genuinely important cultural moment. We’d cover Lindsay, Britney, Paris, the Porsche on the way to the Chateau. The Bling Ring and Pretty Wild. Very specific, very early-2000s pop culture, but it matters to me personally.

Mount Rushmore of musicians?

Mariah Carey. Stevie Nicks. Cardi B. Lauryn Hill.

Tell me about a time you felt completely in your element.

Shooting Curb Your Enthusiasm. It was the first thing I booked in the pandemic, off a self-tape, and it’s Larry David. Huge.

A year before I auditioned for Allison Jones and completely bombed a producer’s session with Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo. Allison told me “you’re very pretty” which is not what you want to hear when you’re doing comedy. She gave me another shot with Curb and I killed it.

When I got to set, I was so calm, in a way I’m still trying to get back to. I just trusted that this wasn’t an accident — nobody’s being nice to you, nobody made a mistake, you’re here because they chose you, and they trust you. Before we shot the director came up to me and just said, here’s the scene, have fun. The set was small, because of COVID, but I got the sense it’s usually small anyway. The show’s been on for eleven seasons, everyone is so dialed in, there’s trust that everyone’s doing what they’re supposed to be doing. Maybe that energy is what put me at ease. Like, “oh, this is normal. It’s normal to be on set with Larry David.” It was one of the best experiences I’ve had on a set, genuinely. Flow state. Just in the pocket, trusting myself and my own abilities.

What’s the hottest thing a person can be?

Funny. Genuinely the most attractive thing to me. You can look like a troll and if you’re funny, I’m interested — I have slept with so many trolls, unfortunately, purely because they made me laugh. I’m trying to break the pattern, but it’s hard when you meet someone who looks like an actual Greek god, and there’s absolutely nothing else going on. It doesn’t matter how good looking you are, if I can hear the wind blowing between your ears, pussy is dry.

What’s your advice to your suitors?

Step it up… Reach out! Slide into the DMs. New Yorkers shoot their shot — they come out of the woodwork to say they’re into you, which I respect.

What do you care about?

Having fun. I know that sounds basic. But life is short, you only get one, and it’s objectively very bad out there right now — the SAVE Act just passed, which isn’t “saving” anything, it’s enshrining voter suppression. Vote-by-mail restrictions, ID requirements that don’t account for married name changes or trans people’s documentation — it’s all just authoritarianism with a nicer name.

Part of having fun, for me, is being a genuinely good person: showing up for friends, being part of a community, celebrating other people’s wins, going and looking at beautiful art.

Developed and scanned in partnership with Nice Film Club

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This is what it looks like when best friends lock in…

On a sunny June afternoon, we met up and found some shade in Transmitter Park. Maia and Sasha have been singing together since day one of college. Not much has changed since then, they just have a name now: The Army, The Navy. A powerhouse duo with a cult following. Here’s our conversation:

So tell me about the new project — who you guys are, where the name came from, how you met, all that.

MAIA: We’re The Army, The Navy. We grew up in the same hometown, Marin County, right outside San Francisco, we had the same voice coach, Amber Morris — she’s the reason we knew each other, and why we were trained the exact same way. Amber was also the one who told us to look at Loyola University in New Orleans. We roomed together there and never stopped living together — we were music students, so a lot of our homework was literally “write a song,” and we’d just do it together. That’s the origin story of how we bloomed into a band.

SASHA: The name is completely random. We had a list of names we liked and picked one — nobody else really loved it except one friend we thought was really cool, and we thought she understood the vibe, so we went with it.

MAIA: I’m still not totally sure what the meaning behind The Army, The Navy is — it’s just two forces joining as one to make powerful music.

When you’re explaining the project to someone who’s never heard your music — what’s the elevator pitch?

SASHA: Heavy, rich — songs that are really dense, lyrically and melodically, and production-wise too. Dark. Misty. Intense.

MAIA: Kind of like a rolling cloud of fog, honestly — there’s a certain depth to it.

Who were your musical influences growing up — who did you bond over?

MAIA: Growing up we had pretty different tastes. I had Maroon 5, Katy Perry, The Beatles — my dad loves The Beatles — and Bruce Springsteen.

SASHA: I had Cat Stevens — my parents listened to a lot of Cat Stevens — David Gray, Beyoncé, Alicia Keys. I also feel like once you get to music school, everybody starts geeking out over the craziest chords and the most “indie” stuff of all time, and that’s kind of what we were geeking out over. Snarky Puppy, Tank and the Bangas.

MAIA: I remember the very first day of college, Sasha and I were in the dorm together, and we watched some kind of festival set — this is my new friend, and this is college.

Are you touring?

SASHA: Yes — we’re opening for Lord Huron in a few weeks, at the end of July. Then we’re playing Lollapalooza, which is super exciting. Our headline tour for the album is in the fall, and we’ll be playing Warsaw, in Brooklyn.

What was your first show like, together?

SASHA: We had a bunch of shows before we were The Army, The Navy — it was just the two of us singing together. We played this little venue in New Orleans, a coffee shop that hosted local artists at night — we didn’t have original songs yet, it was all covers vibes. We were 18.

What’s surprised you about the album cycle?

SASHA: We’re doing press for the first time, so this is all really new.

MAIA: Learning how to be interviewed — we were just talking about how, when someone puts what you say in quotes, you can’t adjust it after the fact. Whatever you say is what’s going in the article.

MAIA: Recording an album — a big piece of work — was also new and challenging, working with a lot of live instrumentalists rather than just one person behind a computer. It was new for us to work with people who are so good at guitar, so good at drums, who have their own niche on their instrument, and to let them creatively express our music in a way we trust, while still giving guidance. I learned a lot about communicating with musicians who aren’t singers.

SASHA: We play guitar as well, but singing and songwriting are really our thing.

What’s the album about?

SASHA: The record is about how putting your art into the world can be a really scary thing. When Maia and I first started this, we did it purely out of love for the craft — we never really thought about the fact that it was going to be critiqued and listened to by people, that people can take your art and make it their own once it exists outside of you.

MAIA: Writing music together is what created our friendship and our bond in the first place — it’s very sacred to us. I didn’t have that relationship with anyone else in my life. So there was also this element of, okay, we’re sharing this with the world now, it’s not just our special thing anymore. I had to find our own intimacy within the music even while sharing it — to keep nourishing our own connection to it, even though it’s public. That’s pretty much what the album’s about. It’s vulnerable — we write about things that directly happen to us, so it’s like a little diary entry in the world.

Do you remember when something clicked — when you knew this was going to be the project, that you’d be The Army, The Navy?

SASHA: I don’t really have a specific memory of deciding to be The Army, The Navy — it felt so natural. People already saw us as a duo. Whenever someone asked one of us to sing on a song or do a harmony at a show, we’d always show up together. So much so that senior year, when each senior got assigned a freshman buddy, Maia and I just got given one buddy, together — that’s how much we were seen as a pair.

MAIA: It’s special that our school, since it was a smaller, creative-based program, let us do that — let us write songs together when we were technically supposed to be writing one song per person. That’s not really what you typically hear, but it shows how creative-based our school was, and it really helped us.

What do you each admire in the other?

MAIA: Sasha is the most driven person I’ve ever known — really good at the business side, very tech-savvy, she’s the one posting, making the TikToks, she just has great taste. She also comes up with melodies I would never even imagine — even though we were vocally trained the exact same way, what’s in her head is influenced by so many things, and it’s pushed my voice in directions it’s never gone before. I think it adds a real uniqueness to our sound as a band.

SASHA: Maia leads with kindness wherever she goes, and that’s taught me a lot. She’s also gotten so much better at everything — guitar, singing, writing — and watching someone grow like that is really cool.

Anything else you want to plug?

MAIA: We have a show October 28th at Warsaw. Also — our Discord is popping.

SASHA: We’re always in the Discord, it’s super fun — a great way for us to connect with people who love the music. People post their own creative work in there, and we post our own stuff too, since a lot of our listeners like to send music back to us. If you’re going to a show alone, people will post asking if anyone wants to meet up beforehand — so many people have found real friends for life through it.

MAIA: It’s such an unexpected thing about being an artist, creating a community like that. Our community is so beautiful, so welcoming and safe, and I’m just so proud of the people — I feel blessed to have such good people listening. Honestly, that’s what I’m most proud of.

Developed and scanned in partnership with Nice Film Club

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From American Idol to fronting Queen to singing alongside Cynthia Erivo in Jesus Christ Superstar, he’s spent the better part of two decades proving himself. Now he’s released a self-titled album — less to prove, just more to say.

I met him at a subway station to shoot before we walked and talked. You won’t be surprised to hear Adam is exactly as kind, as thoughtful with his words, and as genuinely passionate about his art as you’d want him to be. Here he is:

Tell me about the new album.

It’s called ADAM. Self-titled, it’s time. I’d never done that before, and I was toying with other titles, but they felt kind of pretentious, or vague. Once I’d sequenced everything and sat with it, I realized, this is just me. It’s not some abstract concept, it’s moments from the last couple years of my life, built around different types of relationships. Romantic, sexual, my relationship with myself, with the world. The good, the bad, the ugly of it. That’s just me, that’s me right now. Felt like the right thing to call it.

A self-titled album is iconic. It shows where you’re at.

I think it’s easier to see now that I’m just in a different place, honestly, maybe it lines up with the move. I got out of a long relationship, single again, these chapters closing, new ones opening. I feel more settled than I have in a long time.

Your life looks pretty different than it did a year ago.

I was doing eight shows a week on Broadway a year ago, which is not real life. It’s a time warp. You’re constantly thinking about when you’re on next, and you don’t really have time for anything else. One day off a week, and you’re mostly just trying to sleep.

What does the perfect day look like for you?

I love just lounging with the dog, waking up, coffee, some TV. A perfect day is: so-and-so calls me out of nowhere, hey, want to get lunch, let’s get a drink. That’s a perfect day.

You moved to NYC! Tell me about it.

I was in LA for twenty-five years, basically my whole adult life, and — change is good. When I was fourteen I thought to myself, I want to live in New York someday. It was always this fantasy, especially because I was into musical theater, so I figured this is where I’d end up. It just never happened. Not until now.

Do you remember the first time you were ever in New York?

I was fourteen. My mom brought me, just the two of us. We saw four Broadway shows, stayed at the Michelangelo Hotel in Midtown — the pink marble one. I drove by it the other day and thought, oh my god, that’s the hotel we stayed at. We saw Rent right when it opened, in ‘96, it had been running a couple months. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Kiss Me, Kate... and a fourth one I can’t remember. We had to pack it in. I was a big musical theater nerd. Still kind am.

Where did that come from?

My parents tried me out in sports — that didn’t stick, surprise surprise. My mom heard about a children’s theater group that met on the weekends, and we tried it, and I took to it immediately. I was a hyperactive kid, really talkative, a lot of imagination. It just fit.

What’s different about New York vs. LA?

Here, I’ll be walking the dog, and we’ll be stopped at a crosswalk, and a total stranger will just strike up a conversation. I love that. In LA, people think that’s weird — everyone’s so sealed off.

How do you feel about photo shoots, generally?

I like clothes, I like wearing makeup, I like creating together, I just never really know if it’s good. If I really like what I’m wearing, that makes me feel more confident. I like looking a certain way. And I know almost immediately when it’s not going to work. I’ve got tips and tricks, lotions, potions, smoke and mirrors. I know what’s going to work and what’s not. That’s when it gets tricky.

Do you remember the first time you got your nails done?

I do remember going with my friend Allison Porter to CT Nails on Santa Monica, getting little art, decals, cute stuff.

What would people be surprised to know about you?

I don’t know anymore, honestly, I’m pretty open. But I’ve said this before: during the pandemic, I got really into video games.

What’s your console of choice?

PlayStation. PS5. It’s unfuckingbelievable what they’ve built, some of these games are stunningly gorgeous, fully immersive, you get invested in the characters. I don’t think most people would peg me as a gaymer.

If you had to build a syllabus, a few movies people have to watch to get you, what comes to mind?

Movie-wise, you’ve got to see Mommy Dearest, it’s so bizarre, so trippy. You’ve got to watch Cabaret, obviously, Liza Minnelli. And then genuinely one of my favorite movies of all time, a Todd Haynes film from the ‘90s : Velvet Goldmine.

Music-wise, Eva Cassidy is worth a real deep dive, her voice was something else. And everybody should spend some real time in the world of Prince. It’s just necessary. If you haven’t gotten into Prince, you’re missing out.

Last question: Whataya Want From Me?

I want to know who did your tattoos!

Developed and scanned in partnership with Nice Film Club

One Hour Photo Creative Production: Carly Kane

Thank you Avery Robinson + Gabi Hollander

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“My darling I will be in NYC 6/20-6/30,” Roz DM’d me after I asked if she’d be open to being featured on ONE HOUR PHOTO. I’ve been a fan of hers for years. We’ve all seen the reel of a ghost calling her the f-slur, or the chaser heckling her (flirtatiously?), or iconic clips from her YouTube show.

I had the pleasure of shooting with Roz the day her audiobook was released, Peeing in an Empty Bottle and Other Glamorous Shenanigans of an Almost-Famous Transgender Comedienne on the Road. We took a round trip on the Staten Island Ferry and chatted while we took photos. Since the audiobook came out the day of the shoot, I hadn’t been able to listen yet. That’s changed since then — I devoured the book. A freshly Windexed peek into being trans in America. An optimistic one. She booked over 50 shows across the USA and drove herself to each.

I was so happy to hear a shoutout to the Boise gay bar, The Balcony, which I’ve been going to for years on my trips to Jordan’s hometown. I felt proud.

I finished the audiobook smiling, feeling proud to be queer and proud to be friends with the author of such an important cultural document. Here’s Roz:

Tell me about the audiobook!

It’s called Peeing in an Empty Bottle and Other Glamorous Shenanigans of an Almost Famous Transgender Comedienne on the Road. Last year I really needed work, and I wanted to travel and perform for the LGBT community — but there are so many places I’ve never played. I’m six-foot-one and trans, and if I don’t sell out the room, it’s just people staring at me. So I thought: why not do it at places that already do drag shows? I posted online asking where the good drag clubs and gay clubs were — I just needed somewhere with chairs, a stage, and a microphone. I ended up booking 50 shows and decided to make it an adventure. I rented cars and drove myself, city to city.

Where was your favorite stretch to drive?

The middle of the country, honestly — places I’d never really been, like Oklahoma City, Omaha, Kansas City. And I loved Asheville. I love the South. Asheville is so trans — they don’t even have an official gay bar, because the locals told me every place there is gay-friendly. The spot I performed at was unofficially split: sports and pool upstairs, drag downstairs.

When did the idea to turn it into an audiobook happen?

On the drive. It started as just a tour, and then I brought a recorder with me. I recorded my shows, and then I started recording conversations with people I met on the road — local drag performers who opened for me, hearing what it’s like where they live, how everyone’s actually doing in America right now. All of that’s in the book.

What surprised you most on this project?

Honestly, I already knew there were LGBT communities and allies all over this country — that part wasn’t a surprise. What got me was how special it felt to spend real time with these people, that shorthand you find when you travel. It made me feel less alone.

Who’s a big inspiration for you?

Definitely John Waters — he actually makes an appearance in the audiobook. Margaret Cho was another huge one. But honestly, these days I’m most inspired by the trans divas of the world, especially the ones in the drag world. I relate to them so deeply — if it was a subspecies of human, that’s me: trans drag. I met so many of them out on the tour, some who’ve been performing for decades, with incredible stories.

And you have drag queens open for your shows?

I love it. It turns the whole thing into more of a variety show, and a high-energy lip sync is such a good opener for a gay bar crowd — way better than jumping straight into stand-up. And once I started doing drag clubs, I figured, well, then you guys have to tip me. I put a bucket at the foot of the stage — if you hear a good one, come on up. All my gas money, all my hotel money, was paid in ones.

What city tips the best?

Dallas. Overflowed the bucket. They’ve got such a strong drag culture — they know.

What does everyone get wrong about you?

A lot of people think I’m goth — It’s because there’s a chunk of my audience that only knows me from the ghost-hunting stuff, so they assume ghost hunter, goth, spooky.

Two movies you loved growing up?

Romy and Michele, and Carrie.

How do you produce your YouTube show?

I meet guys on Grindr and go ghost hunting with them in hotel rooms that are allegedly haunted. To me, ghost hunting has so much potential to be funny, but it never is — it’s always people taking it way too seriously, way too straight. I think it’s fun doing it in heels with guys from Grindr.

I don’t message them first, actually — I just make a profile and see who reaches out. People assume I’m angling for a piece of trade, but I want fun gay guys, not sexual tension — I’m there to work. I bring a couple tripods, four cameras, and I’m very clear with the guys going in: we are not hooking up, this is strictly for the show.

When did you get bangs?

March 1st, 2021. Everything changed.

What’s your advice for everyone at home on finding their own version of getting bangs — metaphorically?

Give yourself a little mystery. That’s kind of what bangs are — what are they hiding? What are you hiding under there? I’m not telling. I think that’s true in life, too: have a little mystery, leave them wanting more.

Do people find you mysterious?

I’ve heard that, but I think I’m actually pretty open. Especially since doing the audiobook — I used to be more guarded, but lately I don’t really care. Whatever people want to know, I’ll talk about it.

The hottest thing a person can be?

Bisexual. More so than pan — though honestly, as long as they’re into me, I don’t care what you call it.

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Roz’s message to this heckler

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Emma Zack is the founder of Berriez, a chic-as-hell store that was shouted out in the very first ONE HOUR PHOTO feature, with Nori Reed. Berriez is first and foremost size-inclusive — you’ll see in our conversation that they proudly carry sizes 0-30. People throw around “good vibes,” but Emma genuinely has the best vibes. Welcoming and down to clown, it’s easy to see how she’s built such a successful business. I just wanted to keep hanging out with her in her gorgeous, colorful store. Here she is:

When did you fall in love with vintage clothes?

I fell in love with vintage as a kid when I’d try on my grandma’s clothes. I never met her, but my mom says I’m her reincarnated. There are a bunch of pictures of me wearing her vintage slips, specifically stuffing them with tissue because I wanted boobs. I’ve been thrifting since high school. I’ve always been able to find something that fits at the thrift — I’ve always been curvy, and it’s easier to find something at a thrift store than at the mall.

Talk about the space of plus-size within vintage.

There’s actually a lot of plus-size vintage sellers now. When I first started Berriez, there was only one, maybe two. Now there’s a good community of us. But still — I’d say 99% of vintage stores in New York don’t carry anything above a size 10. Berriez carries zero to 30. We’re one of the only stores in the entire world that does.

Fuck, Marry, Kill: blazers, skirts, crop tops.

Marry skirts — fucking love a skirt, a skirt always has your back. Kill the crop top — I’m tall, they always ride up. Fuck the blazer... sometimes blazers fuck, sometimes they don’t. Easy.

What are you doing on a day off?

Honestly, I never take days off — I’m still figuring out how to rest. But I love walking around, being outside. I like going into stores that aren’t mine and seeing how they set up shop. It’s fun, relaxing. And I love to eat.

Song that calms your nervous system?

“Peace Piece” by Bill Evans — my favorite jazz pianist. It’s just him on the keys, six minutes, beautiful. “Peace” like world peace, “piece” like a piece of a puzzle.

What’s next for Berriez?

We’re moving two doors down in the same building — taking over a much nicer space. AC on the walls, built-in dressing rooms, a built-in office. We’re also deciding whether to open in LA, or start a clothing line.

If Berriez was in another city, where would it be — and why?

Definitely LA. I was just there and realized we already have a ton of fans and customers out there. I was looking for places to shop while I was there and there wasn’t much. Berriez LA could be a thing.

Last thing that made you laugh?

Hard one. I’m on Lexapro.

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I say this with so much love, but if you don’t follow Zachariah Porter — the genius turning every woman you’ve ever worked retail with into a five-minute character study — I don’t think I can take our relationship any further. Actually, no… I’m jealous that you get to fall down the Zachariah rabbit hole for the first time.

He makes me laugh, laugh, laugh with the characters he conjures — the exact type of women I’m dying to hang out with. Favorites include: The one time you decide to get Subway, Mom before the beach, and The cousin you only see on holidays.

We met on the West Side Highway on a weekday afternoon, right when spring turned to summer. I was thrilled to see Zachariah arrive with his boyfriend — now fiancé! — Jonathan, who served as chief lighting designer. I wanted to ditch flash for a gold reflector, which is (part of) how Zachariah is glowing so wonderfully in the photos. We took photos, talked, laughed — the exact kind of afternoon that reminds me why I started this thing in the first place. Here he is.

Were you popular in high school? Did you win any superlatives?

This is going to sound insufferable, but yes, I was. I won a couple. I won Most Likely to Be Famous, which did kind of speak truth to me, and Most Talkative. I wanted Class Clown, but I didn’t get it — someone kept erasing my name and writing theirs in instead. His name is Nolan Canberra. Don’t redact that.

What — or who — is the biggest inspiration for your videos?

People I’m around. Someone shopping, or someone cutting me off in a car. I’m not inspired by TV as much as by real people — specifically, women of a certain age. I was raised by women, and I’ve surrounded myself with women at every job I’ve had. Restaurants were big for me; I was always a restaurant worker. I’d still be a server and a bartender if I weren’t doing this. Happily.

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?

Brown University. I lied to get the job — I said I had experience with Microsoft Excel. This was before ChatGPT, so you couldn’t fake that; you had to actually know it. It was just me panicking every day, Googling how to do things until they caught on. But they still needed a body in the seat. So technically I have Ivy League experience now. Like Emma Watson.

What’s bringing you the most joy right now?

Real Housewives of Rhode Island. It’s brand new — we’re only about five episodes in as we record this — and it’s so good. Every Bravo show does this, but they say everything sixteen times, so you can leave the room, come back an hour and a half later, and you’ve missed nothing. It’s soothing. I’m obsessed.

How do you think you got so funny?

That’s a sweet question — I’m still shocked anyone wants to listen. I think it comes from being the youngest and needing attention. And from growing up very flamboyant: I had to make people laugh, which a lot of queer people relate to. I think it made me faster. Quicker.

Who was your favorite teacher?

Mr. Grillo, my Spanish teacher. He was four foot eleven and looked like he could make a really good pizza. He just loved me — he thought everything I did was silly and funny, and he championed my rowdiness. He still reaches out on Facebook. He’ll message me, “I’ve seen your videos.” I think everyone from back then is happy I did something with it. I was so rowdy that it all kind of makes sense to them now.

Do you pick guys out of the crowd and wait until you get a laugh?

Sometimes. A lot of the men who are there have been dragged along, and I’ve called certain ones out or flirted with them in character. When they love it, it’s great; when they freeze up and get uncomfortable, I feel terrible — that wasn’t the point. And there’s nothing worse than getting nothing back. That deer-in-headlights thing — I’d almost rather they heckle me.

A lot of people drink at my shows, so I get more positive heckling than mean heckling, but it can tip into chaos. I once had a woman throw up into her popcorn bucket — after spending half the show asking to see my pussy.

And in Denver a woman got so drunk she had to be removed; I couldn’t even see her, she was so far back, but people DMed me afterward saying she’d been carried out on a stretcher. The show let out while she was still in the lobby, so everyone leaving was patting her shoulder going, “Feel better,” and she was just waving back. Mama’s night out.

If you were a color, which one — and why?

Sky blue. I think my personality is bright — there’s a lot of energy to it. People are sometimes surprised because they expect something more intense, but that’s how I see it. And before anyone asks, I don’t read color as gendered; I’ve never defaulted to blue as a “boy” thing.

Best season, and why?

Winter, easily. I love the cold and the reset it brings — there’s a peace to it, a slow-down. It gets a bad rap, and I understand why, but I love the snow and even the dark. My best ideas and my best moments tend to come in those down seasons, when I can figure out what’s next. The rest of the year there’s so much pressure to maximize and do everything, but winter is when I can actually lock in. I get my best flow when I’m alone.

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Watching Symone on Season 13 of Drag Race is ASMR. From the first second she appears on screen, you’re at ease. That’s a star. So easy to root for. A legend from Arkansas whose charisma and fashion were almost unfair for the other girls to compete with. More than anyone I’ve shot before, Symone was a joy — so fun, so kind, so open, with that same ease she has on screen.

Now she’s starring in the new film Stop! That! Train!, which Jordan and I of course saw at 11am the day it came out. She’s incredible, and the reviews agree.

Go see it in theaters and drink a massive Mr. Pibb for me.

Okay, Symone. Tell me about this movie.

So the name of it is Stop! That! Train!, and it is about two friends, Tess and DeeDee, who sneak onto the Glamazonian Express. Together — the two of them, with help from the President — have to stop this train from crashing because of a Stormaganza. And will the train crash? I don’t know, you’ve got to watch the film.

Is acting something you’ve always wanted to do?

It is. I’ve always loved television — I lived and breathed it as a kid. It’s how I escaped reality. So to be on TV, and then on the big screen? I’m addicted to it. I would love to keep doing it.

What were your shows growing up?

I watched Charmed, I watched That’s So Raven. When Bravo came out with the Housewives, that was a big thing for me. And I loved The Vampire Diaries on The CW.

What’s your Housewives franchise of choice?

That’s hard, because I’m an Atlanta stan — NeNe is my favorite housewife of all time. But as of now — 2026, in the year of our Lord — I’m loving Salt Lake. I love Mary, she’s my second fave.

What does a day off look like for you?

A day off is me in my house or my studio, chilling with my friends — watching YouTube videos, creating, talking about our next thing. Right now we’re doing the AMC Stubs thing, so we go see a movie or two a week.

What do you listen to to get pumped up before a show?

Right now, Janet Jackson — I’m in her bag. The All For You album is in me. Also Jessie Ware’s album. And Drake’s new one — MAID OF HONOUR. It’s very gay, in my opinion.

What’s your big three?

I am a Capricorn sun, Gemini moon, Scorpio rising — January 14, baby.

Where’s your favorite place to take a trip — or what’s been your favorite vacation?

I’ve been very lucky. Rome comes to mind a lot — maybe it’s the history. So much of our society comes from it, and I’m kind of a history nerd.

Was history your favorite subject growing up?

Kind of. I wasn’t very good at the papers and stuff, but I liked learning about how we as people went through the world. History and sociology were always my favorites.

How do you feel about photo shoots?

Oh, I love them. I used to get very anxious — that Capricorn in me, wanting the perfect shot and not letting myself have fun with it. Now I’ve gone to the other side of that: just have fun. Let the camera get what it gets.

You were a joy to shoot. You made me feel comfortable doing my thing. I can’t wait to see the photos.

Me either. I’m excited.

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One Hour Photo Creative Production: Carly Kane

I met Tommy Dorfman in the fall of 2024. She was in the Broadway production of Romeo + Juliet, and I’d been hired to shoot portraits of her for a magazine. I was led into her dressing room by a gaggle of publicists and stage managers who briefed me on how little time we had, and reminded me not to linger.

As as I walked in, the sound of publicists and stage managers was cut short by Tommy pulling the door shut behind me. Tommy spoke to me with such ease that it made me nervous, like I was back talking to my crush in middle school. We shot a roll of film, and I left hoping I’d made a new friend.

About a year later, her memoir, Maybe This Will Save Me, came out. Newly sober at the time, I read it in my Edinburgh Airbnb while visiting for the Fringe Festival. I was shook by how much felt familiar. Both from the South. Both drawn early toward softness, and femininity. Both desperate to be older — to get through the part of life where you aren’t in full control yet.

These days, Tommy is spending most of her time in Toronto, where she’s building her production company, Good Girl. We met up in Dimes Square to talk sobriety, directing, love, and the internet.

Reading your book created a unique imbalance: I suddenly knew so much more about you than you knew about me. What’s it like when people arrive with that kind of one-sided intimacy?

Fine, because it’s so niche. The people who read the book are the people who are supposed to find the book.

What’s your elevator pitch for what sobriety gives you?

At this point, thirteen years in: vanity.

But in general, I like being able to make decisions, escape places, and be aware. All of that stuff I perhaps wasn’t interested in before, I really appreciate now. I’d be scared to lose it or give it up.

What has surprised you most?

That I get to keep doing what I love doing. Between jobs, I’m always like, “I’m never going to get to do this again.” So every time I get to keep doing it, that’s the surprise.

And in my life: falling in love. Every time I’ve fallen in love and gone through a breakup, I’m like, “Never again. The cards are played.” And then it happens again in a new way.

Tell me about what you’re doing with Good Girl.

The Substack is a space for free-form, low-stakes fun — to think, collaborate with friends, build community, and engage with people on a shorter lead time.

Good Girl, the production company, is different. Projects take years. We’re a development and production company, so we develop projects with talent, writers, directors, actors, and sometimes myself. It’s more than a nine-to-five, but it’s really fulfilling.

What’s been your favorite part of directing?

I’m a deeply collaborative person by nature, so my favorite part is working with a team of 100 or 200 people and bringing something to life collectively.

I find it really exciting and engaging. It keeps me focused. I appreciate the lifestyle of directing. When I’m on set or in prep or post, it simplifies my life. It gives me a place to go, things to be responsible for, and an outlet for my creative vision that I couldn’t execute on my own.

It’s not a job you do in isolation.

Have you always known you were a collaborative person?

I’ve always been a person who feeds off other people’s energy, for better or worse. So in some ways, yes.

That said, I’m really discerning, so those things can be in conflict with each other. But I’m always interested in what other people have to say and what their ideas are. When I’m directing, it doesn’t mean those are always the ideas we go with, but there’s always room for that, or an adjustment of that.

Are you always working?

I’m always working. But I do give myself days off. At least, not every week, but I try.

What does a day off look like for you?

Just doing whatever I want to do. Spending a full day going back to bed multiple times. Bopping around town.

Is there a piece of advice or a mantra that has carried you through?

“You can’t run a horse race looking at other horses.” Keep looking forward. Focus. Stay in your lane.

The internet makes us believe we’re supposed to be in other people’s business all the time, and I don’t think that’s true.

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One Hour Photo Creative Production: Carly Kane

For kids, friendship forms instantly over the tiniest things in common. You both like pepperoni pizza. Or pink. Boom, best friends. Easy. As I got older, taste in music became that magnet. And when I met someone else who loved Sylvan Esso, we were instant friends.

My life has been punctuated by Sylvan’s music. I was 18 years old, scooping ice cream at Amy’s Ice Creams in Austin, TX, when my best friend (and, technically, my boss) Lou sent me a link to “Coffee”. I did something rare — I bought the full album on iTunes, sight unseen. (Sound unheard?)

It ended up being my first “no-skip album,” and it was worth every scoop of Mexican Vanilla I served. Lou and I saw them at Emo’s in 2015. I distinctly remember Amelia ending the show with, “That’s it! We’re all out of songs, dudes!”

Around that time, I met Ryan, a potential roommate for freshman year. He had the CD in his Honda the day we met — looking back, that sealed the deal. We’ve been best friends for over a decade.

When Ryan and I interned in NYC in the summer of 2017, we scored day-of tickets to see Sylvan in Prospect Park right after work. We met up, our work totes tucked between our feet at the show. As “Radio” played, I remember thinking, “can life really be like this?”

I got to tell Amelia and Nick these sweet anecdotes; they listened so kindly. This shoot was a dream. They’re a dream. Their new single, “Hot Slob,” out yesterday, is a dream too — video here.

Can you tell me about the new single “Hot Slob”?

Nick: We’ve been saying the phrase “hot slob” for, like, a decade.

Amelia: It means you’re a fucking weirdo. You’re trying to scrabble your little life together and figure out how to be a person as the world melts around us. And it’s about rage and joy.

That’s what I love about “PARAD(w/m)E.” It’s about the world ending, but it’s so happy. How do you blend those two things?

Amelia: It’s so easy, because it’s exactly what’s happening all the time. If we’re going to write a song, we usually have to figure out how to talk about the nature of existence and the nature of being alive right now — trying to find the joy you can while also acknowledging everything’s on fire. The general, actual chaos of the whole wide world.

Nick: Every moment has a very specific cognitive dissonance. For us, it’s always been about one more holistic thing. If we made stuff that was just “everything’s great,” or conversely “here’s the pain of the world in your hand,” something would feel dishonest. We kind of have to have both.

How do you want people to listen to “Hot Slob”?

Amelia: Really, really loud. While they’re leaving a party or going to a party. Or when they’re really mad. Or when they’re really sad.

Nick: Leaving a party in tears.

Amelia: Weeping at the grocery store. I feel like we all know that moment.

Nick: Hard crying. Listen to it on the train.

What do you think about music that doesn’t really have much to say?

Amelia: There’s a time and a place for everything. I love a song that’s just about “I’m going out tonight and I’m feeling myself.” I’m really into that.

Nick: But there’s so much music that might not be saying anything explicitly, and the artist is still coming from a certain place. It allows you to fill in your own emotional experience. Even with techno — one person could hear it and think it doesn’t have anything to say, and another person could be like, this defines my entire life.

Tell me about when you first started the band. When was the moment it felt like, oh, this is going to work?

Amelia: When I first got Nick’s email with the beat he made for “Hey Mami.”

Where were you?

Amelia: In Red Hook, in my apartment. I’d written that that week, I think. You responded really fast.

Nick: Yeah. I’d made “Play It Right” before that, but we weren’t talking about being in a band yet. Technically it was a remix when I made it. But “Hey Mami” was totally the one where I was like, oh — what if maybe there’s more?

What’s your favorite song you’ve ever written?

Amelia: My favorite song we’ve ever written is “Numb,” on Free Love.

Nick: “Uncatena” on the first one, “Rewind” on the second, “Make It Easy” on Free Love. I love the ballads — “Coming Back to You,” another ballad. And a new one, “Plastic Sword.” It’s the closer. When you were talking about “PARAD(w/m)E,” I was thinking that “Plastic Sword” is kind of the flip side of the “Parade” coin.

How was making the “PARAD(w/m)E” video? I watched the video again on the way here.

Amelia: It was in rural New Mexico. We found an abandoned building and made it a gas station. It was so fun.

Nick: We cast all the dancers out of Albuquerque. All locals.

Amelia: And we shot it in winter, so we were very, very cold.

How do you all feel about photo shoots?

Amelia: I love photo shoots.

Nick: This has been very easy, but I don’t love them.

Amelia: I like them. I think they’re fun.

Nick: I don’t hate them. I just feel like I want to be good at them.

I’m a photographer, but I haven’t really had many photos taken of me. I did a shoot recently to launch the column, and I didn’t think about how much trust people have to have in me.

Nick: Oh yeah. It’s a lot.

Amelia: It’s very intimate.

That’s why I started this column — the interview and the photo blending together. You learn so much about somebody, even in a five-second shoot, when you’re telling them how to stand or move.

I’m going to the Lily Allen show tonight.

Nick: Yesterday I was talking about a TV show and described someone in it as “the bad guy from the last Lily Allen record.” I love how the album is her saying exactly what happened.

Amelia: It feels like Vulnicura.

Nick: Yeah — Björk. That one is just her being really, really heartbroken.

Amelia: I’ve been thinking I’m going to give up on rhyming. Fuck rhyming.

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One Hour Photo Creative Production: Carly Kane

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Amber Singletary would make millions if she could bottle to sell her charisma. It is limitless and it is addictive. We met at a party a few months ago, and I immediately loved her. I wanted to be around her. We shot in my studio and chatted Judgey, who she was in high school and who she’s becoming. Here she is.

What were you like in high school?

Absurd. I want to apologize to anyone who dated me in high school. Absolutely absurd.

But so fun. So tea. I am so similar to how I was in high school. To be honest, when I go on stage, I think about myself and her so much because she did not give a fuck what anybody was talking about. She was very carefree. I feel like I was always encouraging people to be carefree.

And I was an athlete, so I was so confident. Shout out to you, young Amber. You are so cute, girl.

What’s the worst thing someone can do on your show?

Come not being down to clown. Sorry, celebrities. I love y’all, and I understand that there’s PR, but please don’t forget the person inside yourself who wanted to become an artist.

This is not a sit-down interview. You do not have to be there. This is supposed to be fun. We made all of this up. The internet is a made-up thing. We all made it up, and we should just have more fun on it.

What are your favorite venues to perform?

I love Union Hall. I love Club Cumming. I also love Greenwich Village Comedy Club. When it’s a full room, like a Friday night or a Thursday night, it’s so intimate and so small. I think that room is the best.

I love a dark, intimate room where people can laugh at horrible things. I feel like people are honest there.

Fuck, marry, kill: subway, bus, and ferry.

Unfortunately, I’m gonna fuck the subway.

As a person who drives in New York, there are some moments where I’m like, “Damn, I should have just taken the subway.”

I’m gonna kill the bus, because the bus— you cannot control. I can’t drive around people. I can’t run. I’m just sitting there. People stink. Some people are throwing up. God forbid it’s 2:30 and school just got out.

On the subway, I can get in another car. I can be like, “Okay, not this car.” But the bus? Baby, you’re kidnapped.

And then I’ll marry the ferry because I rarely ride the ferry, and I feel like I’ve rarely been married, so that seems right. It just hasn’t happened.

What’s your favorite day of the week?

I like Wednesdays and Sundays a lot.

Wednesday is the only day of the week where my day starts really late. I don’t have to be anywhere until 4:45 or five, so I literally get to just sit with myself.

And Sundays are the day that all my shows come on. And I get to rest.

What are you excited for?

I’m excited for time with my family this summer. It’s the first year that I won’t have to work literally three or four jobs just to be in New York. So even being able to enjoy going back and forth from home, I’m excited for that.

I’m also excited because I have a short film that I wrote. I wrote it alone, but it was ideated by my boyfriend, Ben, and then produced by my friend’s production company. It is so beautiful. We just shot it over this past weekend, and it’s so beautiful. I’m excited to show another side of myself besides stand-up and Judgey. Writing is really what I love, so I’m so excited.

What’s the best thing to do after a breakup?

Meet somebody else. That person could also be yourself. That person could be a new friend. But you have to meet somebody else after a breakup.

I feel like in all my breakups, as soon as I found a new hobby and unlocked another version of myself, it was like, “Oh, who’s this girl?”

I think when you’re not in a relationship, there’s so much freedom to explore things you like and things maybe you didn’t pay attention to before.

So girl, go out there and meet somebody else. Again, the person could be yourself, but we gotta add somebody to the circle. Somebody else. You gotta replace. It’s just what happens. The universe giveth and taketh away.

What are you judging the most right now?

What people are willing to do for attention.

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One Hour Photo Creative Production: Carly Kane

Nails: @clawsbydom

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I met E.R. Fightmaster in the Bowery Ballroom green room a few hours before their sold-out show. Outside, a line had already started forming. Inside, the venue was empty except for soundcheck spilling from the stage.

Fightmaster was immediately warm, greeting me with a handshake. We talked while I set up, then walked through the empty venue and found a corner to shoot and chat.

I was struck by how easy they were to be around: charming, curious, and genuinely engaged. They asked me as many questions as I asked them. There was a looseness to the conversation that felt rare for strangers.

When I asked what it felt like to be there, with soundcheck happening below us and people already waiting outside, Fightmaster told me their brain felt “trifurcated.” There was the band, the logistics, the performance ahead. But on stage, they said, everything narrows. “That’s the thing I’m here for.”

How was making the setlist for this tour? Did that come easily?

We lucked out because we were opening for Lucy Dacus before the headline portion of the tour, so we had time to try out the flow of the show.

Now, we’re not giving people a short show, but people keep saying it feels short. I think it feels short because it flows nicely. It’s clipped and tight. I cut a lot of the slower stuff for this tour.

What does it feel like to be here, with soundcheck happening for your own show in the background?

I’m feeling very ADHD. My brain feels trifurcated. There are so many places I have to be mentally, and I’m working really hard on being present.

The only time I feel really focused is when I’m on stage. That’s the thing I’m here for. When I’m performing, I’m not thinking about merch or budgets or whether everybody’s comfortable. I’m living for the performance.

Which song off this album came easiest for you to write?

There’s a song called “All Fours.” It was one of the first songs I taught myself how to produce. You can hear these little choices in it that feel like something you would do as a first-timer, but there’s something wonderfully juvenile about that.

It feels like the easiest one I made, maybe because I had no judgment of myself yet. There’s a freedom in that — just exploring before you know enough to stop yourself.

I feel that way about photography, I’m self-taught. I took a lighting class last year and learned a lot, but I look back at old work and there’s this physicality in it that I don’t always see in the newer work. It’s like you develop taste before you develop talent. Do you feel that way about music?

I do. And I think part of that is the queer thing. There’s so much longing in watching other people and trying to figure out where you fit.

I really love “Glide.” What was making that video like? How did you concept it?

My team texted me after I sent them the song and said, “Great, now send us the music video when you get a chance.” And I was like, “Hmmmmm.”

This was maybe two weeks before the release. So I called Anu Valia, who I worked with on Shrill. She directed me on that show, and we had such an easy time together. I told her, “You can say no to this, this is insane, but I need to make a music video in three to ten days.”

I told her my favorite music video of all time is Fiona Apple’s “Criminal,” and I wanted to make a queer version of it. In that video, she’s waking up from an orgy, everyone in these compromising positions. I wanted to take all of that aesthetic and sexy energy, but flip the power. Make it feel like everyone is there because they want to be there.

The funny thing was, Anu was like, “That’s crazy. I recreated that video shot-for-shot in film school.”

Camera guy to camera guy, the Fiona Apple video is incredible because of the spotlight. There’s something about it that feels perverted — like ’70s porn lighting.

How did you make yourself feel comfortable looking so seductive on camera?

I’m an actor, so I fully needed a storyline. I knew I was going to feel so cheesy staring at the camera for twelve hours trying to be horny.

The narrative we landed on was: You know when people look in the mirror and say the boogeyman’s name three times? What if, when they say “glide, glide, glide” at the beginning of the song, I’m who gets conjured?

Who came up with the conjuring idea — was that you?

Yeah. And then once we had it, Anu just built on it. The first shot of me is coming out of the red bathtub, and I’m drying off as the video goes on, and then I’m re-submerged at the end. It became this horny haunting.

Where did you look for inspiration before you had queer icons?

Someone asked me in another interview, “Who were your queer icons growing up?” And I was like, we didn’t have those. If they were there, I didn’t see them, and my parents weren’t showing them to me.

Honestly, I look back and the figures that stick out in my brain were the men in Armani perfume ads. I was like, “Oh my god, they’re so suave. They’re so cool.” Even now, as an adult, I can see how much of my actual style is built on those perfume ads I had on my bedroom wall.

You said when you think about influences, you think about your parents. What do you mean?

I don’t think I give my parents enough credit for their gender queerness. My mom was six feet tall, my dad was 6’3”, and when I was growing up they had the same haircut. My mom was better with math and money, and my dad was the one who cooked.

I had a very genderqueer experience growing up, even if nobody was calling it that. They never talked about it. My dad never said stupid shit like, “Your mother emasculates me.” My mom wasn’t complaining about not being treated like a princess. They were real peers.

Your parents sound like they really had something figured out.

Yeah, and my brother got it too — he immediately married a fantastically smart wife who’s going to run his life forever. He gets it.

Developed and scanned in partnership with

Shot at Bowery Ballroom

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Bosco is mesmerizing. She first crossed my desk on Season 14 of Drag Race as the razor-sharp burlesque legend from Seattle who stole everyone’s heart. Every time I see her perform, she somehow gets sharper — more fully herself than ever before. Now, she’s setting out on her biggest tour yet: The Marvelous Miss Gender.

The 33-city tour runs from July through August, with Bosco directing, co-writing, and co-producing the whole thing herself. A cinematic two-act musical lip-sync comedy, The Marvelous Miss Gender introduces Bosco’s supervillain alter ego, Miss Gender, and places her in a theatrical universe of noir, burlesque, camp, practical effects, and high glamour. Um, hello?!

We met up in Brooklyn to chat writing, directing, the women who inspire us, and building her own theatrical universe.

First song you performed to?

Back to Black by Amy Winehouse

A movie you’ve watched a million times?

Kill Bill

When did it all begin?

Who’s to say?

What makes you feel sexy on an off-day?

My fiancé Blake

Favorite color to have on your nails?

French tip in black, coffin shaped

How do you pass the time?

Anxiously

Who inspires you most?

Women who are fly, hot, sexy, and beautiful

One Hour Photo Creative Production: Carly Kane

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The first time I met Carolina Montesquieu was on a rainy morning in Times Square for this shoot. An hour later, she was driving me home in her Mini Cooper, and somehow it felt like we’d been friends since high school. She’s the kind of person who can be funny and sharp, while making you feel completely at ease.

She’s new to New York, having just moved here from Boston, but there’s nothing tentative about her. Carolina is a force. Warm, quick, and already moving like someone Brooklyn is going to have to catch up to. Here she is.

What’s your favorite show you’ve ever done?

I opened for my mentor, Vladimir Camagno. I was in my bag because it was a Spanglish show with a full Dominican audience, so I could do every reference and switched back and forth from English to Spanish, and they knew exactly what I was talking about.

I came out to “Los Palos,” which has a witchcraft vibe. I went onstage and pretended like I was possessed, and they were living for it.

That was the best show ever. I did 22 minutes and murdered. I was supposed to do maybe 12, but they let me ride.

What song do you listen to when you’re getting ready to perform?

For my walkout song, I’ll usually pick Bad Bunny to let them know that a star is coming onstage. I’m humble… That’s one of my main characteristics.

Why did you start stand-up?

I mean, I’ve always been funny.

Fuck, marry, kill: summer, spring, fall.

We’re going to kill summer because I’m a sweaty little pig, so we can just kill summer and get it over with.

We’ll marry fall because I’m from New England. I’m a foliage girly.

And then we’ll fuck spring because it just makes me want to open up my pussy. The flowers are blooming, my pussy is blooming. It’s so beautiful.

What are your thoughts on crushes?

I have a crush on everyone.

A boyfriend once said that to me. He was like, “You like everyone.” Some are short-lived. Some are longer. But I do have a crush on everyone.

So if you want to kiss me, come to my house.

What are you most excited about right now?

I’m doing two dates with Ilana Glazer at the end of the month.

It’s my first real comedy experience, getting flown out to do 20 minutes and getting that theater experience in. I’m very excited.

Where do you see yourself in three years?

This summer will be my four-year anniversary doing stand-up, so the trajectory is trajectorizing. I should have a special somewhere. Paid for by somebody else that’s not me.

One Hour Photo Creative Production: Carly Kane

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Ivy Wolk is completely everywhere. What should feel like a daring flirtation with overexposure just leaves us wanting more.

An actress, comedian, and internet native who built a following at 13 and has been clipped, reposted, and obsessively catalogued ever since, Ivy has the kind of impossibly quick wit I can’t help but be jealous of. Now 21, she is captivating to talk to and even more captivating to be a fan of.

She has also been, by a mile, the most requested feature for One Hour Photo. So when we finally locked in a date, I wanted to do a shoot with Ivy that had a little bite to it: tabloid-era mug shots, very 2007 DUI-core.

“A mug shot can easily be iconic,” she told me between photos.

Mug shots are public record, and Ivy has been living, in some form, on the record since she was 13. Here she is.

What’s something people don’t know about you?

People know pretty much absolutely everything about me — every medication I take, every diagnosis I have, everything I’ve ever experienced. At least in the past 10 years that I’ve been on the internet, I think it’s been chronicled. There’s not much to not know about me. I leave it all out on the field.

When did you get on the internet?

I mean, I’ve always been on the internet. I got a following online when I was 13.

What’s your relationship with mug shots?

It’s a great piece of celebrity iconography. I think a mug shot can easily be iconic. I follow local mug shot Instagram accounts — Raleigh mug shots, Tulsa mug shots. It’s fun to see what rowdy local people in places I’ve never been to are getting up to.

What’s your relationship to Lindsay Lohan?

Love her. I find her to be one of our most fascinating texts. I think Lindsay is endlessly fascinating, and I love her work.

If you got arrested, what would it be for?

I would like to say it would be for protesting, but I don’t be going outside like that.

It would probably be for public indecency. In college, I was really experimenting with taking my tits out as a punchline, and it was always funny. The right people found it funny, the wrong people would find it arrestable.

What pisses you off?

People who are sanctimonious. People who are aggressively morally righteous, or think absolutely everything has to be a virtuosic pursuit, or that everything has to represent your politics and your morals all the time. I think it flattens the human experience. I think it flattens art.

Things can be fun and transgressive and risky, and it doesn’t have to be indicative of how somebody actually feels about the world. Of course art is inherently political, but I think we can play with different shades and levels of that.

Is stand-up forever?

Stand-up is completely and totally forever. I don’t see myself ever abandoning it. I have no interest in abandoning it, the same way I don’t think I’ll ever abandon the internet. It’s just another medium through which I can express myself and disseminate my ideas. It’s very important to me, and it’s totally fulfilling.

What does stand-up give you that acting doesn’t?

Acting has so many gatekeepers in it. There are so many people you’re waiting for permission from all the time. But stand-up, you can just do it on sheer will and motivation. It’s endless freedom for artistic expression. Same with the internet.

What was your first stand-up show like?

I was wearing a bright green trench coat. It was electric and incredible. I was kind of manic and wily, and I was crushing. It was the craziest feeling.

My whole squad of guy friends who got me into doing open mics were there filming me and losing their minds in the back. Then we all loaded into my friend Gio’s van after the show and drove around the city. I felt like I was on the precipice of the rest of my life. I felt so young and awesome and unburdened. It was wonderful.

When was that?

I started doing stand-up in August 2023.

What was growing up in LA like?

Psychically torturous.

What kind of diva do you gravitate toward?

Spiritually, the divas I care about are people who were once divas and then crashed out, or people people thought were going to be the diva and then never made it to be the diva. Whether they died, went so crazy, or just flopped. A full flop diva is important to me. Like Valerie Cherish from The Comeback. That’s the kind of woman I really gravitate toward.

What’s your love language?

Riffing. Just going back and forth, hard, funny jokes.

So your ideal partner has to be funny?

Yeah, and really quick.

What gives you the ick the fastest?

Not having anything to say. Not making things that communicate how you feel about the world. Bad art, or just no drive or zeal to make anything of substance. I guess that would be it.

One Hour Photo Creative Production: Carly Kane

Photo & wigs: Dev Bowman

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There’s nothing like finding someone with undeniable star quality. Even the first time you see them in a video or at a show, you can just tell: This person is going to deliver. That’s Tina Hand. “Just four awards short of an EGOT,” she says.

The Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter is also a comedian, something she fell into — she can’t help being funny, especially when there’s a microphone. Her discography can be explored here, and I’d start with her kinetic single Bobby’s hobby. My favorite!

Now, she’s working on her sophomore album, set to be released this summer. She’s exploring a new sound that she says feels more lived-in, more grounded, and more Tina — and she told me she’s never been more excited to release anything.

This is Tina Hand.

Where do you get inspiration for your style?

Auntie’s treasure chest.

Song writing or performing?

Songwriting is giving birth - gritty, magical, often arduous. Performing is holding the baby out the window Michael Jackson-style so everyone who wasn’t in the delivery room can catch a glimpse of the miracle. So, both.

Gay guys?

Ironic homophobia is out. But guess what - so is talking about it. I’m yawning! How To Be Woke In A Chic Way: altogether ignore #THAT discourse popularized within #THOSE TikTok forums circa 2020. It’s not worth the attention, and they’ll tire themselves out eventually so it’s really a non-issue. Honestly I’ve already given them way too much in these few short sentences. All this to say, LET GAY GUYS BE GAY GUYS! I won’t be so extreme as to say we’d be nothing without them, but we’d certainly be noticeably less. Imagine Mona Lisa never had a gay guy to paint her into immortality - Mona WHO? Crying laughing emoji (which I’ve come around on btw, I’m heavy on her again). I love gay guys and they love me.

Where does your funny come from?

Raven Baxter and “Sweet Dee” Reynolds.

Attachment style?

And you know what? I’ve never really taken the time to learn what an “attachment style” is, because baby… I’m busy running businesses. But if you wanna know how I approach relationships just listen to any love song Miley Cyrus has ever written. We’re both Sagittarius with Venus in Capricorn. “Miss You So Much,” “Lighter,” “Never Be Me” - to name a few. Or ask my boyfriend.

What are you looking forward to?

I’m flying home to Colorado in a few weeks, so I’m looking forward to all but blacking out at the airport bar beforehand. It serves as a necessity to abate my terrible fear of planes, but it’s also just become a fun ritual for me. I always sit at the same little bar near my usual gate in LaGuardia. I order a Bloody Mary (double) followed by a gin and tonic (triple - kiddinggg double again). To fly while drunk out of your bazinga is to be held in the naked unwavering palm of God. I’m also birthing a new genre of music this summer so basically it’s all very exciting, this life is magic, and I feel like Katy Perry in 2009. Girl who is going to be okay.

Drink match the nails match the panties?

That interview where Anderson Cooper asks Lady Gaga point blank if she has a “male appendage” and she responds, while sucking on a giant diamond, “Would it be so terrible?”

Back in high school I used to say I could never leave the house without a cohesive outfit on. Okay gay guy! I suppose that sentiment stuck with me and evolved into an even more pressing motto demanding not just cohesion, but the building of worlds: #DRINKMATCHTHENAILSMATCHTHEPANTIES

One Hour Photo Creative Production: Carly Kane

Styling: Tina Hand

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Tanner DeVore is no stranger to the green screen—but that undersells his craft. What he’s done is cast short-form video into something denser. He’s world building!

Take this video. The door chimes… An employee yells from back of house. Tanner’s standing at an impossible angle inside a screenshot of a Subway that doesn’t quite obey physics. Scooby’s there. A stoned Shaggy. It plays like chaos, but it’s crafted. Underneath the lo-fi aesthetic is something closer to film studies than TikTok. Please watch this.

We had so much fun that day. Over grilled cheese, we talked about our relationships, growing up as gay boys, and what’s next. I started the day as just a fan—but I left with a new friend.

With your podcast, TANGENT, what has surprised you the most about long form content?

Surprisingly, rambling for 40 minutes without a script is easy when you’re ADHD.

Are you Type A or Type B?

Type A. Type B after a few drinks

What’s one thing about you that tells me you’re from the Midwest?

My love for Scotcharoos. Please google Scotcharoos. You will thank me later.

Last time you followed your gut?

I decided to impulsively travel to NYC just to feel something. No plans and couch hopping. It was such a routine break and it woke me up.

What was your dream job as a kid?

I wanted to be a crime lab worker. Just in everybody’s business. And a pediatrician. But I’m too squeamish.

Sound effect that describes your personality?

Arooo?

Middle school memory that still makes you laugh?

I used to tell people my iPod touch was an iPhone.

Least favorite social media app and why?

Pinterest has so much potential, but the ads are ruining it.

One Hour Photo Creative Production: Carly Kane

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Before going on stage at Treefort Music Fest, I got to spend time with hemlocke springs — talking nerves, instinct, and becoming something in real time. You probably know her from “girlfriend” — the song with That Bridge™. Or perhaps you caught her while she was on tour with Chappell Roan!

The name might be lowercase — the presence is not.

When did hemlocke springs click for you? When were you like, “Oh, this is the project that’s going to take me there”?

Honestly, I think I’m still kind of like, wow, this is really cool.

It was a natural progression. Probably around “girlfriend” was when I was like, okay, this is it. I was like, “Yeah, let’s go.”

It’s really nice to be able to say, this is my role, this is my job. I feel very lucky in that aspect.

Where does the name “hemlocke springs” come from?

One day, I used a random name generator, and things just built from there.

What was making “girlfriend” like?

Pretty chill, honestly. I miss that.

That’s sort of what I miss about making songs nowadays — nobody was really on my coat. I didn’t have a label back then, so I could just make something with no additional pressure.

Not that pressure is bad, but it’s new. Back then it was just, oh, I’ll do this song because I think it’s catchy, and I’ll release it and see what happens.

Congratulations on your debut album, the apple tree under the sea! Favorite song?

I’d say it’s probably be the girl! I kind of poured everything I had into that song.

I was really happy with how it sounds like the end of a film — fades to black. I was like, oh, this is what I want me to be playing.

What’s your favorite song to perform?

Honestly, “girlfriend.” It’s my most popular song. It’s almost easy — I can pull it out of the back of my pocket.

When you wrote that bridge, were you like, “I’m just going to do the damn thing”?

I was just like, oh, I like this. I didn’t think too hard about it. And I feel like that’s the way I need to go — I can’t think too hard about things.

If you had to name three artists who inspired hemlocke, who would they be?

I always put Avicii on there. I listened to a lot of Christian music growing up, and then in middle school I saw one of Avicii’s music videos and got into a very deep electronic phase. I credit him for that because I love that kind of music. It really got me out of my shell musically.

I always say Kate Bush too. I love what she does with her voice. I love how many different avenues she pushed musically, and how much she’s inspired so many artists across genres.

She’s one of those epicenter people. And I’m constantly amazed by the fact that she wrote and produced so much of her work. Like on The Dreaming, on Hounds of Love — that was all her. That’s crazy to me.

And then another one I don’t say a lot is Tears for Fears.

They’re such quintessential ’80s people, but what I really want to recreate is the feeling they give me. It’s like being transported. Like you’re in a car, sunroof open, and you’re just ahhh.

I sent a new song to my boyfriend a few days ago, and he said, “I really hear hemlocke in this.” That means you’ve established a sound people can trace.

Oh, that’s awesome. Thank you.

My favorite thing in the world is color. Tell me about your relationship with color.

I feel like we’re in a bleak world, so color just adds a little pizzazz to life.

I’m really a pink, blue, and purple person. This is going to sound deep, but I feel like I have a deep relationship with color.

Even today, I was wearing a pink Snoopy sweatshirt, and I was having anxiety about the set, but I was like, yeah, no, I can do this. I put on my pink Snoopy shirt, I got my black and white earrings, I made everything mismatched, and I can tackle the day.

What goes through your head before a performance?

“Don’t mess up. Don’t mess up.” I’m joking… kind of.

When you’re having fun, the audience will have fun. That’s what I try to instill in my brain nowadays.

This is actually the first kind of show I’ve done since touring with Conan and Chappell, so I’m relearning how to do that — just go out there and have fun, and be the person you want to see on stage.

Sort of… be the girl?

Literally. Exactly.

One Hour Photo Creative Production: Carly Kane

Special thank you to Eli Kramer, Reid Kutrow, & Megan Manowitz

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