Speaking to IN Magazine the RuPaul’s Drag Race alums discussed producing The Knockout Tour and collaborating on their first single together…
Category is…knockout couture. Best friends and international drag sensations Gottmik and Violet Chachki are hitting the road and stepping into the boxing ring for their first ever headlining theatre tour.
The Knockout Tour is hitting 50 cities across North America with five stops in Canada. The show will see the pair battling it out on stage with showstopping fashion, drag, music and burlesque.
“This concept really came from us both having our own styles, but also having an overlap in our drag aesthetics and what we believe in as far as our artistry goes,” Chachki tells IN Magazine. Opening for the queens in each city will be local 2SLGBTQI+ acts, which the pair say is a way to support local performers.
Tickets are on sale now for the tour which will visit Montréal (Sept. 24), Toronto (Sept. 27), Edmonton (Oct. 22), Calgary (Oct. 23) and Vancouver (Oct. 28). The queens are excited to return to Canada for the show to see fans and revisit each city. “I love Canadian nightlife,” Gottmik shared. “There are some really fun strip clubs in Montréal.”
Violet went on to praise the drag queens at Woody’s in Toronto. “I remember I saw one queen doing number after number after number after number,” she said. “I love Woodys.” The two also recall doing some fabulous vintage shopping in Vancouver.
For the tour, the queens have also released their first single together called TKO (short for Technical Knock Out). The song was co-written and produced by the pair alongside producers and writers who have worked with Troye Sivan, Kim Petras and Britney Spears. It’s a high energy song that features some sharp attitude and impressive vocals.
IN Magazine spoke to the queens from Los Angeles about producing the 50 city tour, their music and more.
IN Magazine: What can people expect from The Knockout Tour?
Violet: It’s rock versus glam. That’s where the battle concepts came from. So, expect high glamour drag and high production value. We are pulling out all the bells and whistles – aerial, live vocals, live instruments, over the top costumes, crazy lip syncs and crowd participation. It is going to be one of the best drag shows that I’ve ever produced by far.
IN: What influenced the theme of the tour? Are you boxing fans?
Gottmik: I was getting into boxing a little bit, which kind of got me into this. I was watching it on Netflix and was like ‘wow, this is actually campy and has drag vibes.’ They were wearing full diamond shorts and feathers, and the entrances and promotion was just full movie level craziness. I was like ‘this is campy and I need to do this.’
IN: You two are very involved in the tour’s production. I know you work on the podcast [No Gorge] together, but did you learn anything new about each other or yourselves during this process?
Gottmik: I’ve never done a tour at this level before, let alone produce it all. It was definitely a learning experience for me about how to time manage and get everything done and have backups for the backups for the backups of the plans. Getting to the finish line has been really fun and exciting.
Violet: I’ve done many tours before, so I’m using a lot of my previous experience and applying it here. I’m definitely learning to share the spotlight. I’ve done ensemble tours before, I’ve worked under a headliner like Dita Von Teese, was the main star at Crazy Horse Paris and toured solo. This is the first time I’m really co-headlining with somebody and it’s become a collaborative process. It also presents new challenges as well.
IN: What kind of new challenges did you face?
Violet: The reason Gottmik and I are attracted and gravitate towards each other is because we’re both perfectionists. We both think drag is such a special art form and a sacred form of therapy that it needs to be held on a special platform and go beyond bars and into different higher production entertainment spaces.
Because of that, we both have a very strong point of view. Sometimes I think things should be done a certain way and then sometimes Gottmik thinks things should be done a different way. We both have different approaches and it’s a little bit of ‘oh, I never thought of doing it that way.’
IN: You’ve teased live vocals in the show. Do you find the transition from lip syncing to live vocals difficult or is it an evolution?
Violet: It’s definitely different. I did a live vocals tour last year, opening for Canadian superstar Allie X…If you have the stage presence, then you have the stage presence and that’s really what people want to see, someone doing something that they love confidently. There’s definitely a distinction between lip syncing and singing live, but if you have the star power, you have star power.
IN: Why was it important to incorporate local talent into the show?
Violet: We love to support local drag. I like seeing how drag is done in different parts of the country and how it can be a regional art form. I’ve been touring a long time and love to see how different people do different things and pick up tips and tricks all over the world. It is just good to support local drag.
When I was a local queen, before Drag Race, I remember I got to perform with Manila Luzon, Lady Bunny, Amanda Lepore, Alaska Thunderfuck and Morgan McMichaels. It was really special as a local queen to get that opportunity and to see how they do drag. I remember those experiences very vividly.
IN: Let’s talk about the single TKO. Whose idea was it to collaborate on a song?
Gottmik: We were working on our separate music projects and when we were planning the tour I was like this has to happen.
IN: So the tour came first and then the song?
Gottmik: We’ve always floated around the idea of music collaborations. But when the music started getting serious and the tour started getting serious, we pushed the needle forward with the duo song.
IN: TKO has a lot of big names on it from producers who worked with Troye Sivan to writers who did tracks for Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. What was it like working alongside those people who have worked with these big names?
Gottmik: It’s amazing that we get to work alongside some iconic artists like that. I’ve been working on my little music project for years now and I’ve had Jesse Saint John, who has written for Britney and Cher, by my side the whole time. He connected us with our producer, Nick [Arthur Weiss], who’s done a lot of music…and it slowly started snowballing…It was so collaborative and everyone’s just super down to make art.
IN: The music video was a lot of fun too by the way. I hope you wear those costumes on stage.
Gottmik: Thank you so much. We have crazier glammed up versions of those outfits. Those outfits [in the music video] times 10 honey!
IN: Did you design your outfits? I know you’re both designers.
Gottmik: We designed all of our stuff. That’s, I think, kind of the main part of drag.
Violet: For me drag, step one, is that queer expression you put on. So for me the costumes are maybe the most important part.
Gottmik: If I don’t have a new gorgeous costume. I don’t want to get in drag. It’s not happening for me. It’s actually what keeps me going.
Violet: As artists we know exactly how we want to look and what we want to wear. So costume design and fashion design are pivotal and we do everything. We design everything, we source the fabrics and the materials. A lot of stuff gets made and it’s not right, so we don’t wear it. That’s where that perfectionist element comes in. Everything you see we’ve designed. Pencil to paper, picking the fabrics, hiring the staff to create these things and overseeing all the production.
IN: Tell me a little bit about what we can expect from your individual music projects.
Gottmik: I have a song with Felix Ds Housecat [Holy Disco] that I’m super excited for. It’s like electro goth club vibes. Then I have music coming out all through the beginning of the tour that I’m going to be performing live. I’m trying to go very rock vibe with it, but still keep that fun gay dance element.
Violet: I am working on a song collaborating again with Allie X and Lecomte De Brégeot from Mistress Violet. We are cooking up something sickening as well.
IN: Anything else you want to say about the tour?
Gottmik: Just thank you everyone for supporting us so far. I can’t wait for you guys to start seeing clips of it. We worked really hard on it. It’s been really fun to be able to build sets with your own original music! See you guys there.
Violet: We’re excited to see the fans and see our supporters. It’s really touching to hear queer people come and tell us their experiences and how we might have impacted them or vice versa. It’s a special thing. I think the world needs a little 90 minute break from the chaos right now. That is what we’re here to provide, some escapism. And we can’t wait to see everyone there.
Gottmik and Violet Chachki’s The Knockout Tour is hitting 50 cities across North America with five stops in Canada: Montréal (September 24), Toronto (September 27), Edmonton (October 22), Calgary (October 23) and Vancouver (October 28). Tickets are on sale now.
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