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.

Developed and scanned in partnership with Nice Film Club

One Hour Photo Creative Production: Carly Kane

Read more

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.

Developed and scanned in partnership with Nice Film Club

One Hour Photo Creative Production: Carly Kane

Read more

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.

Developed and scanned in partnership with Nice Film Club

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.

Developed and scanned in partnership with

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.

Developed and scanned in partnership with Nice Film Club

One Hour Photo Creative Production: Carly Kane

Read more

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.

Developed and scanned in partnership with Nice Film Club

One Hour Photo Creative Production: Carly Kane

Nails: @clawsbydom

Read more

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

Read more

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

Read more

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

Read more

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

Read more

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

Read more

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

Read more

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

Read more

Recently, I showed someone Season 5 of RuPaul’s Drag Race for the first time. There’s nothing like introducing someone to Jinkx Monsoon—you get to watch them fall in love in real time. Her laugh, the timing, the way she pulls you in. It’s impossible not to fall under her spell.

Over the past few years, Jinkx has been steadily taking over Broadway—starring as Mama Morton in Chicago, appearing in Pirates! The Penzance Musical, and most recently completing an eight-week sold-out run as Mary Todd Lincoln in Oh, Mary!, followed by another sold-out four-week run. Next, she’s headed to London to play Judy Garland in End of the Rainbow.

Last fall, we shot together for Interview Magazine—a series of photos that have since been referred to (affectionately, and accurately) as “The Cuntification of Jinkx Monsoon.” We got to shoot together again for One Hour Photo, and Jinkx did not disappoint. The shoot was lively—and the interview, even more so.

What’s your relationship to New York right now?

I don’t live here yet, but I’m looking for a second place. I have a home base in Portland that I love, so New York would be a second location—Monsoon Manor East.

I never thought I could handle New York until recently. I think I’ve hybridized my Pacific Northwest passive aggression with New York active aggression.

When has your narcolepsy betrayed you most?

I fall asleep in cars a lot and wake up really disoriented.

Recently I had what I call a “sleep attack” and woke up in a meeting—with no idea what meeting it was. I faked my way through the whole thing. Then I looked it up after and was like… okay, everything I said still stands.

There was also a press junket where I was asleep between every interview. My music partner would nudge me awake, I’d sit up, do the interview, and then pass back out. You learn how to just snap into gear.

Tell me about this production of End of the Rainbow. What is it?

End of the Rainbow is a really lovely, heavy play about the end of Judy Garland’s life. It’s an intimate look behind the curtain at her final days—what she was dealing with. If you’ve seen the Judy with Renée Zellweger, it’s based on this play. It’s running in London at Soho Theatre Walthamstow.

Have you always been passionate about taking jobs from British people?

Yes! Specifically British people.

What do you think about AI?

AI can eat it.

AI itself isn’t evil—but what capitalism is doing with it is. I can see benefits in medical research, maybe. But we don’t need it for entertainment. That’s what I’m here for.

What would people be surprised to know about you?

I styled a music video recently. It was last minute—the stylist situation didn’t line up—so I just did it myself.

You’ve used our Interview Magazine photos on dating apps?

I’m not on Grindr anymore, but I’d use those photos to show “This is me… and this is also me. You need to know what I look like out of makeup too, because, like a team built that.”

There’s been a lot of gender affirmation in the last few years. I waited until I was 35 to transition, but then it was off to the races.

One Hour Photo Creative Production: Carly Kane

Stylist: @americanwastoid

Hair: @daveydidmyhair

Makeup: @velisadiku

Read more

I will always smile if Tefi Pessoa is on my screen. The cultural commentator, host of Tefi Talks with The Cut, and all-around NYC cool girl has a way of making you feel like you’re in on the joke with her. I’m one of millions who feel “she’s my girl…” but she absolutely is my girl…

Tefi is exactly the kind of creator I hoped to photograph through One Hour Photo. On social, she’s charismatic, magnetic, and completely herself. When she walked on set, I was immediately relieved to find out she’s everything I’d built her up to be: charming, cool as a cucumber, and down to play. We chatted while we shot, and she was every bit as funny, warm, and effortless as you’d hope.

A gem of all gems.

Most dramatic celebrity breakup of the early 2000s?

I think people just don’t understand the cultural impact of Jessica Simpson and Nicholas Lachey. It birthed the “Reality TV Curse” theory, the idea that inviting cameras into your relationship is a death sentence.

What were you like in middle school?

Let’s just say I watched Holmes in Overcompensating and her character Hailee felt very familiar.

Favorite age so far?

6. The tamagotchi was invented in 1996. Changed lives and frontal lobes for many.

Most memorable meal you’ve ever had?

My mom’s tuna casserole. If you’ve had it, you know. It sounds disgusting, I am aware.

What are you most passionate about right now?

Perfecting a smokey eye. I have learned that the perfect smokey eye is putting eyeliner all over above and below the eye and then smudging it in with your finger. Victoria Beckham Beauty’s eyeliner has changed lives (mine).

How do you define success?

When you receive any kind of accolade or reach any kind of goal and don’t think about who it might impress.

Current vice?

Certified oversharer since 1993, baby.

Celebrity crush?

Me (in ten years)

Styling: Porch Finds

Hair: Josué Perez

Makeup: Amanda Thesen

One Hour Photo Creative Production: Carly Kane

Read more

I haven’t been this electrified by an artist in a long time. Gelli Haha—the new project of L.A.-based Angel Abaya—has pulled me in hard.

Her debut album Switcheroo dropped last June, and almost immediately, Gelli became a bit of a Pitchfork darling. Playful, erratic, dancey—the music is its own kind of high. What really has me obsessed, though, is the world she’s built around it: the Gelliverse. Think Pee-wee’s Playhouse meets Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans. Or, as Gelli puts it, “somewhere between Studio 54 and Area 51.”

The Gelliverse began as an impressively monochrome world of red, punctuated by flashes of yellow, but has since blown open into a full-spectrum fantasy with her new single, Klouds Will Carry Me To Sleep. Released just last Friday, the video feels like The Magic School Bus on acid—meant as the highest compliment.

I’ve had Switcheroo on loop for the past year, so calling a new favorite feels strange—but this new single is making a strong case. (This is also the same album that gave us “Piss Artist,” a song about peeing in a jar at a house party.) Other personal favorites include “Bounce House” and “Dynamite.” Truly, there are no skips.

If you get the chance, go see her live. I’ve caught two shows already, and she runs the full album top to bottom, flanked by her two dancers—two “Gellis.” It’s tight, weird, surprising, and genuinely a party.

You’ve described Gelli Haha as somewhere between Studio 54 and Area 51. What parts of each world made their way into the project?

I love strange art parties like Studio 54. And that era of music and style is iconic and very influential to me. And I love the mystery of Area 51. The whole Gelli Kompany is from outer space, in the Gelliverse, and every planet is like a different art party. Gelli Haha is a glamorous weirdo alien transmission disguised as a DIY pop show.

Is there a moment on the album (Switcheroo) where you feel like listeners fully enter the Gelliverse?

“Spit” is the second track on the record. It’s a hypnotic bass-heavy dance track. When we play it live, it feels like I’m casting a spell on the entire audience, and by the end of the song we’ve fully blasted off to the Gelliverse and have transformed into a giant parachute monster.

Gelli Haha is such a fully realized universe—musically and visually. What has collaborating on it been like, and what do the people around you bring that helps expand the vision?

I love collaborating. I love making art with people. Collaboration has always been an important part of creating for me. I love the Gelli Kompany, we love each other, and we support each other as humans and artists. Everyone brings their own special, unique perspective to the project and shares their gifts with us, whether that’s performing, designing, directing, writing - we do it all together.

When you’re building the Gelli World, how do you know when an idea belongs in the Gelliverse and when it doesn’t?

Gut feeling. My brain categorizes things like, Gelli / Not Gelli, all day every day. Sometimes there’s Maybe Gelli things and it can take some testing out. We’re not always getting it perfect, we’re just always trying things on and staying curious, but of course there’s a groundedness to it all as well which helps keep it focused.

I love that at a Switcheroo show the album runs start to finish—no breaks. The room turns sparkly and bright—balloons everywhere, people jumping, everyone smiling like they don’t want the party to end. When you look out and see that, what does it feel like?

It feels like we’re exactly where we’re supposed to be, that we are all connected and on the same wavelength and get to share this jubilant little moment together <3

Do you ever feel like you’re observing your own life a little bit like an alien?

100%. I’m an Aquarius moon (and Mercury in Virgo), so I’m always poking and prodding at my soul, experimenting, questioning, thinking thinking thinking.

What expression do you make when you’re alone and an idea suddenly arrives?

My eyes probably bulge a little bit.

Did you really pee in a jar? :)

Yessss I did!! I was at a party, I was 20 years old, and it seemed appropriate. And yes I did convince all my friends to take their shirts off, for like a majority of the night.

Shot at Idaho Film Society in Boise, ID

One Hour Photo Creative Production: Carly Kane

Special thanks to Selby Jenkins ❤️

Read more

Púca is one of those people you can’t help but adore. Jordan and I first saw him perform at Treefort in Idaho in 2024 and were immediately obsessed. He has a stage presence that’s bold, true, and unmistakably queer—a stunning voice, an iconic beard, big Disney prince eyes—and he dances so well I guarantee you’ll develop a crush by the second song, like we did. (It happens.)

An Irish musician and songwriter who makes music as Púca, he lives and works on a farm in rural Ireland when he’s not touring—which feels shocking when you see him onstage, and then makes total sense once you spend time with him. I originally found him through CMAT and The Very Sexy CMAT Band, in which he plays piano, and we finally hung out properly this New Year’s Day. We walked around the city in the freezing cold, took the ferry, waited in line at FAO Schwarz to see the piano from Big, and ended the day with a double date at Three Decker Diner in Greenpoint.

We talked about sobriety, Irishness, masculinity, Kate Bush, beards, and what happens when you start becoming more fully yourself.

Who’s your number one?

Kate Bush, definitely. It’s an interesting time to be a Kate Bush fan because of Stranger Things, but she’s still number one for me.

Do you have a favorite Kate Bush song?

I do — “And Dream of Sheep.” It’s from The Ninth Wave section of Hounds of Love. It’s about being lost at sea, waiting to be rescued. The live version she did in 2014 means a lot to me. She filmed it in a water tank and got hypothermia doing take after take, and you can hear that in her voice. It makes the performance feel so real and vulnerable.

What was young Púca like?

I was into Irish dancing and all of that. I learned instruments too — fiddle, whistle. Irish dancing is really hard. I wasn’t terrible at sports, but I wasn’t great either.

When did things start to click for you?

I’d been a very good kid, and then at eighteen I was just like, let’s go. I came out of the closet like a bobsled.

You’re sober now. What has surprised you most?

That it doesn’t fix everything. I’ve had to rebuild some friendships that were formed around partying, and they’re people I love, so you have to figure out totally different ways to hang out.

Someone said to me once — he doesn’t mourn the fact that I don’t drink anymore, but he was like, “You were so good at it.” And I was. I could drink anyone under the table. I thought that was kind of awesome, but I felt terrible for days after, and then I’d drink again just to blunt that feeling.

How long have you had your beard?

Five or six years, I’d say. I had a very baby face and was always getting read as younger than I was, and as a gay guy you kind of want to feel grown up.

We first met in Idaho… What was that tour like?

It was strange. The first time, we landed in Denver, drove to Idaho, and then went to L.A. It was a very odd introduction to touring America.

Check out the music video for his single And I Gleam Along A Knife Edge and follow along on Instagram.

One Hour Photo Creative Production: Carly Kane

Read more

Annie DiRusso — New York, through and through. Born and raised in New York, she detoured through Nashville for a few years to sharpen the edges, and is now back home as of this winter—right on time.

She walked on set and the energy clicked instantly—exciting, magnetic, confident—the kind that makes you want to make something good.

Her debut album Super Pedestrian is out now—sharp, self-aware, and alive in a way that doesn’t try too hard. Watch her Tiny Desk performance here.

Favorite venue to perform in?

Probably Webster Hall. I love playing there, it just feels electric. The crowd always shows up in such a fun way, and it’s one of those rooms where you really feel the energy bouncing back at you.

What song is on repeat right now?

“Gimme More” by Britney Spears. Honestly the whole Blackout album is perfect. It’s one of the best albums ever made.

What does your perfect morning look like?

I wake up with a perfect breeze coming through the window, and I’m that exact level of warm under the covers where you don’t want to get up yet. Ideally I did something awesome the day before, so I can have a super chill morning. I’ll make a matcha in the kitchen, maybe read for a bit, then go meet a friend or take a walk. If it’s sunny, I’m definitely laying in the sun somewhere.

If you weren’t a musician what would you be doing right now?

Maybe I’d be a retired collegiate women’s lacrosse player. Like somehow I had a big career and now I’m retired and living a fabulous life.

What’s your song writing process?

It changes all the time, but it usually starts with a lyric in my Notes app. I’ll write a bunch of little fragments and ideas, and then later I sit down with my guitar and see what fits together.

Sometimes it’s the opposite and I’m just playing guitar and something comes out. But having those notes helps a lot because you’re never starting from a blank page. I also journal a lot and will go back through and underline things that could become lyrics.

Voice memos?

I love them. I use them all the time when I’m writing ideas. The only annoying thing is that little lag when you hit record… you always miss the first second of inspiration.

Sometimes I actually use Photo Booth instead so I get a video of myself writing the song. It’s kind of cool to have those little moments documented.

For voice memos from friends—I like them if you’re flirting with someone. It’s very flirty. But when someone sends you a four-minute voice memo, it can take me like a week to respond because I have to find a moment where I can actually listen.

What’s bringing you joy right now?

The weather getting warmer. Being closer to my family. My roommate’s dog.

I just moved from Nashville and officially started my lease in New York in December, so everything still feels really new and exciting. Being back [home] feels very life-giving. I feel really engaged with life in a way that’s been great.

Makeup: Georgia Lim

One Hour Photo Creative Production: Carly Kane

Read more

They say there are people who give energy and people who take energy. Eric Sedeño is definitely the kind of person who gives it. His radiant smile and infectious laugh make it feel like you’re hanging with a friend rather than watching a creator.

Like past iconic One Hour Photo guests (Kay Poyer), Eric is a fellow Texan. I tend to love people from Texas…

Eric is a designer, so I wanted to show his creativity and sense of color a little more directly. I ran the idea by him of painting on a pane of plexiglass—basically just letting him go wild with paint markers and see what happened—and he was immediately game.

We talked about where we’re from, who inspires us, and the people we’re working on becoming.

This is Eric.

Are you traveling with type A or type B friends?

Oh, Type A down. I need a Type A support system around me, especially while traveling.

Favorite place to cry in Texas?

By a swimming pool in 110 degree weather. That’s the best place to be in Texas, near a swimming pool!

If you had to be on a reality show, which one would you pick?

It’s definitely a tie between Traitors or Real Housewives of Salt Lake City… I want to be the first gay guy housewife.

Who in your life makes you laugh the most?

Me! Can I say that?

Who’s inspiring you right now?

Issa Rae and Quinta Brunson. The fact that they’re internet girls who made it happen…

Were you born funny?

We’re all born funny, and the rest is drag! Right?

Favorite word right now?

Energy… It’s my word of the year.

Read more

Spike Einbinder is a Brooklyn staple, and for good reason. He does stand-up, drag, and acting, often in ways that feel like all three at once.

Spike has famously been a professional dog walker for years. A few weeks ago I joined him for his Thursday morning route through Crown Heights. When I met up with him that morning, he had four dogs in tow.

It was actually the first time we’d hung out in person. Within thirty seconds, I adored him. Spike is immediately comfortable company.

I love the way he loves these dogs. They’re his clients and, more importantly, his friends. He knows each one so well, and most of them he’s known since they were puppies. He told me he’s the only person who’s ever walked a few of them.

This is Spike. Here are a few highlights from our conversation.

Stand up, drag, or acting?

Whenever I’m doing one of the above it’s never far from the other two. I can promise you that. I really want to get into a new performance paradigm… maybe endurance Shakespeare. Like doing a “stay on one foot without falling into the water” challenge à la Survivor while acting as Caliban from The Tempest.

Dream role?

Someone screaming and covered in blood, like a psycho killer in a horror movie. That, or anyone who wields a crossbow but has a heart of gold!

I’m obsessed with your drag. Where do you get inspiration for your performances?

I’m very inspired by imagery perverted by capitalism and grafting sexuality and hubris onto iconography. So basically: what if the green M&M mascot had a mother who was an uber right-wing conservative and simultaneously a repressed lesbian who needs an abortion. You know, stuff like that.

I want to entertain people and show them something they’ve never seen before every time, while still paying homage to the classics. Does that make sense? Do I sound insane? Comment below…

Your favorite dog walking story:

It’s too long to type but can be found in this episode of Greta Titelman’s podcast starting at 25:00 and ending whenever you don’t want to listen anymore.

Editor’s note: Involves a highway, a truck driver, and a lot of screaming.

Favorite city to tour in?

I have a lot of love for the PNW and the West Coast because I’m an LA native, but I have big aspirations to do a Euro comedy tour… bopping around from Bratislava to Prague to see if they dig my stuff.

What does your perfect night look like?

Weather that supports my love of trespassing. Looking so good we have to take a photobooth picture kissing my boyfriends. Seeing a repertory screening of some movie beforehand and making it home in time to give my 14-year-old dog his seizure medication.

Favorite deadly sin?

I’m a wrath sun, lust rising, and pride moon.

Catch Spike on tour with Honey Pluton kicking off March 10, with stops across the Midwest, the PNW, and the West Coast.

One Hour Photo Creative Production: Carly Kane

Read more