They’ll be singing in drag but talking about their personal life on the upcoming LP
Aly Laube – Staff Writer
@godalyshutup
Vancouver beard queen Dust Cwaine started drag in the summer of 2016 for what was supposed to be a one-off performance with their drag mom Shanda Leer. As fate would have it, they never stopped, getting their own show within six months of starting and preparing to release their first full-length album of all-original music. While it’s sure to be available for public listening soon, the record is unnamed and has no release date.
After about a year of performing in drag, they realized they preferred singing live over lip syncing. Being able to make the audience laugh, talking to them and being able to interact with them became their primary joy, which eventually led them to begin Western Canada’s only all-live singing drag show.
“It was us turning songs into duets that weren’t duets. I would be like, ‘You know what’s a good duet? Time after time,’” Dust laughs.
With time, though, Dust started struggling to find new local musicians to participate. This showed them that they “had to step out of drag,” which they’re trying to do for the first time this year.
But just as the show was getting rolling, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. During one of their last hangouts with a friend, they were told to pursue their dreams of making original music and went for it, setting up an at-home studio in their closet a few days later. The record that came out was Amateur, fittingly titled for their first-ever recording experience, but they regretted being unable to collaborate with other artists during the quarantine. The product is an album they describe as “what you would get if Liz Phair, Bruce Springsteen, the Indigo Girls, and Taylor Swift had a baby, and then that baby’s name was Betty Who.” They dream of being a drag musician like Trixie Mattel, who produces music separately from her persona as a performer.
Dust’s follow-up to Amateur was the single “She’s a Gemini,” which they wrote with a producer they met on Twitter. After enjoying some success with that release, a family emergency brought them to Calgary. Tragically, two days later Cwaine lost their father to an aneurism.
That November, Alberta shut down, and the same month Dust connected with Josh Eastman at Helm Studios over Zoom. Within a few days, they were planning to put together a full album featuring other queer locals like Devours.
While much of their drag was born from comedy, their music will be serious and substantial.
“What it’s like to be in queer community, what it’s like to be aromantic, what it’s like to be fat, those are all really important things for me and those are themes I want to explore as I continue to write these songs — and to feel like you don’t belong and don’t have to belong,” they say.
That’s what feels authentic to them right now, they say, and they’re looking forward to exploring and expressing their identity through music.
“Now I just want to write something honest to me because that will have the genuine reaction that I’m looking for. Before COVID, I was very focused on building spaces for other people and giving space to other people and I still want to do that. I will always do that, but I suffered, and now is my time to really explore who I am as an artist,” they say.
“COVID really gave me time to sit and think and cry and let myself do something for myself.”
Dust’s mission as a performer is to nurture, care, and provide material energy through their exuberance and art. The image behind their art will remain drag-focused, though, even as a musician.
Dust’s album is due to be released soon. For updates, follow Dust’s bandcamp page here. To follow them on social media, follow them on Instagram.
