The end of last month was an incredible mix performing, fetish, fashion, photoshoots, best good friends, and sleep deprivation… and I’ve loved every minute of it!
The first two days began with the 2011 North Carolina Fetish Art Festival in Raleigh, followed by a shoot in Atlanta with amazing photographer Ama and makeup/hair artist Cherry Dame. I spent an overwhelming amount of time in my car and very little time in my bed.
The NCFAF was fantastic! This year I had the pleasure of performing as well as directing the first annual fashion design contest. We had amazing contestants! Every outfit submitted was beautiful, creative, intricate works of art. The designers, models, and performers were brilliant and helpful and I enjoyed every minute of working with all of them. I’ll post some photos if some photos ever appear…
Until then, here is a video of my performance later that night from the awesome Spike Digital…
Queen April @ NCFAF 2011 from Spike Digital on Vimeo.
Due to my shoot commitment in Atlanta the next afternoon, I was forced to drive home immediately following the show. Home by 6 AM, up by 10, and on the road at noon. I was running on empty, but Ama is worth it. This shoot was quite a different experience for me, as you all will see once the photos are posted… 
Once back from Atlanta, I had two days respite before hitting the road again for a three day stint with Voltaire’s Black Unicorn Cabaret tour. My leg of the tour began in Charlotte, NC at the Milestone, a dirty dive bar with punk street cred galore. I had a great time dancing along with local burlesque vixen Cherry Von Bomb (hawt!) and hanging out with some of my most favorite Charlotte people…
The ever beautiful and tall DJ Spider! She was wearing flat shoes and I had on five inchers and I’m still that short next to her… *sigh*
Here be a review of the show…
After the show, I drove back to Asheville, grabbed a few hours of sleep, then got up early to hit the road for Georgia. The first part of the day was spent in the company of awesome photographer and designer Tracy Thornton shooting for her Victoria Velvet line. Tracy makes gorgeous costumes and is just a pleasure to work with and to be around in general.
Just look at what happens when we get together…
After the shoot, I made my way to the Masquerade for the show and I have to say that Atlanta traffic can suck it. Fuck, what a nightmare. Once at the venue, I was informed that I would be the only dancer. From an attention whore perspective, this was great news. From a completely-unprepared-for-an-extra-act perspective, this was frightening news. So here’s a secret I’m gonna share… My entire act to Voltaire’s “Zombie Prostitute” was improvised. Yep, completely made up right on stage.
The stage space was limited, but we made it work. And the people in the front of the crowd were a hoot! I tend to be very interactive with an audience and appreciate when they’re good sports.
Here’s a couple of shots of my performance with This Way To The Egress…
(Photos by Ken Lackner)
I had a fantastic time at the Masquerade. I love meeting new people and making friends of fellow artists. And I wanna give a shout out to the awesome old man playing trumpet on the sidewalk in front of the parking lot. That was a fabulous end to a fabulous night…
I left Atlanta after the show and drove down to Augusta, where my best good friends Gene and Michelle let me crash for the night. After spending most of the next day on their soul-sucking couch, I eventually made my way to Savannah for my final night of the tour. Again, I was the only dancer and this was made even more daunting by not having a backstage (I made do with a tiny, partially shielded area next to the stage), but since I’m a professional (ha!) I handled my business like a big girl.
It was so great to see some best good friends and to listen to DJ Codec mix it up. His setlist was awesome! (Find it here )
I could have done without the cigarette smoke hovering in the air and the obnoxious drunk dude, but I can’t complain too much about an enthusiastic audience, I guess… 
photo by Bonnie Godbee
Due to my commitments in Asheville, I was forced to drive home after the show. It’s a five hour drive from Savannah to Asheville and I left at 3 am. Coffee, RedBull, and sugary snacks got me most of the way home. I stopped at a rest area 40 miles from Asheville for a brief one hour nap before continuing the rest of the way home. It was rough, but as most of you know, on limited sleep is how I roll.
Of course, once I finally hit the sack at two o’clock the next morning, it was epic…
So to sum up, I got my kink on, I got to play dress up, and I finally did something which impressed my kids (I’m now a cool mom because I performed with Voltaire). We’ll mark this tour of the South under the win column…
Photos by Bonnie Stanley
