From a religious background in a small East Texas town to drag stardom in Big D, May May Graves tells all
TAMMYE NASH | Managing Editor
Nash@DallasVoice.com
What better cover girl for Dallas Voice’s 2024 Halloween issue than a drag queen who based her persona on a reanimated 1980s teen and who has the last name “Graves”?
Halloween is much more than a one-night-a-year party for May May Graves, and, as this year’s Spooky Season rolls around, May May has even more reason to celebrate: She has new music coming out monthly leading up to the release of her new album, Here Lies May May Graves, dropping next year.
Read on to find out where and how May May came to be and where you can find her around Big D.
Dallas Voice: Tell us about yourself. How long have you been doing drag; how did you get into drag? May May Graves: I’ve been doing drag for 15 years. I learned how to host gigs by preaching in the Church of Christ before I came out. Once I realized I was in a cult, I shaved my eyebrows and started a punk band. We wanted to be “androgynous” like Bowie, but not in a gay way.
One day, my government teacher in my Christian school (who was secretly an ally) asked me if I was into drag. I was so scared of drag queens at the time and scared of being gay, so I said, “Oh my god, absolutely not. They’re basically clowns!” And she responded with, “Well, I think they’re fabulous, and I think you’re just as fabulous.”
Shortly after, I snuck out to the gay club in town, Decisions (formerly called Choices), and saw my first drag queen, while I was dressed in pumps that were too small, bad makeup, cheap red tracks and a plaid skirt. They called me “Raggedy Anne,” and I figured I’d make drag my profession out of spite.
Now, 15 years later, I’m still a menace — just prettier.
What about your life outside of drag? Are you from this area? If not, how did you end up here? Do you have a partner/spouse? What kind of work do you do, or is drag your main job? Since drag is my full-time job, it’s always tough to put focus on my life outside of the wigs and glitter. I originally come from a tree farm in a little shire outside of Longview, Texas, called Harleton. A whole lot of nothing. I’m happy to report they now have a blinking red light.
Once I finally felt ready to hit the stage and be serious about crossdressing, Decisions had closed down, and the new gay club was 21 and older only. At 19, my opportunities were limited, and my experience being a weird kid in a small town was dangerous for my physical safety and my mental health, so staying there would have easily killed me.
A friend of mine convinced me to come with him to Dallas for burlesque classes, and I instantly fell in love with the city. I finally felt at home, and my options were endless. In November of 2014, 10 years ago, I did the dumbest thing imaginable and packed up what I could fit in my car, mostly cheap rhinestones and duct tape, and moved to Dallas to sleep under my friend’s sewing table and work at the Burlesque School.
A year later in October, I met my now-husband Scott. He’s the best, and almost a decade together will really test your mental strength and emotional stability. He’s the one who has always been there to push me to be the fabulous creative person that my government teacher saw.
A lot has changed since then. I owned the school by 2019 and decided to close it to pursue performing, music and producing shows full-time.
How do you describe your personal drag style? How did you develop that style? How did you develop the character of May May? May May has always been the same character from the beginning. I never had the same pop divas — the ones that a lot of artists are inspired by — speak to me the same way. Britney and Madonna are amazing, but I was always looking in the shadows for my people. Siouxsie Sioux, Vanity 6, Poly Styrene, and Jack Off Jill spoke to me — the weird girls with a jaded backstory and a concerning eye twitch. Badass women in horror like Jennifer Tilly and Linnea Quigley. I wanted to be that.
I wanted to be the cassette-futuristic “Final Girl” from the ’80s — black pumps, a slutty dress, torn fishnets, big hair and a sharp tongue. So I spent a long time curating this backstory of a blue-haired girl who died in 1989 and woke up in her own grave decades later. That’s who May May Graves is: “The Dead Girl of Dallas.” I’m currently writing a book all about it.
Stage-wise, I’m so lucky to work in a city that prides itself on drag excellence, especially working as an employee of Caven, performing at JR.’s and S4, having mentors and friends like Cassie Nova and Raquel Blake who have taught me about attention to detail. Just because you don’t do pageant drag doesn’t mean you can’t set high standards for your personal brand of glamour.
I understand you have some new music and a new video coming out. Tell me about that. Is it May May who is the singer, or are you involved in the music business outside of drag, too? Did you write the songs? Who are you collaborating with on the music and the video? Yes! I released my first album, Monsters in 2018 in collaboration with one of my musical idols, Zoog Von Rock from the band Angelspit. He has been like a drag mother to me, but with music, and he is working with me as my producer on this new album.
I wanted to get back into music as a drag queen, but it is hard to be taken seriously when every Drag Race girl has a new terrible bitch-track come out after every season. This new album I’m releasing next year is titled Here Lies May May Graves, and it contains the most sweat, tears and heart I’ve put into my music. It is the soundtrack to my drag persona’s story. Think of it as a rock opera starring a gorgeous zombie.
The album will have 13 tracks, and we will be releasing a new track on all platforms every month until the final album drop next year. My first track I wrote, “Suicide Bride,” which I just released this week, tells the story of the trials I faced over the past six years working on this album while being the mother of a new drag family at the time.
I used the analogy of this old ghost story I remembered hearing in East Texas about a jilted bride who takes her own life after being left at the altar. It’s a constant emotional battle being a woman or femme-presenting person, especially in this political climate. I feel like this track is a siren call to a lot of people who might be fighting the same battle, and maybe we can all fight it together.
And speaking of sirens, I’m so lucky to have Lorelei K join me on this track. Her vocals add such a haunting atmosphere to the song. I approached Mark Mayr, who I’ve known and loved for years, to direct and shoot the video in the actual haunted Jefferson Hotel in Jefferson, Texas, which was even more beautiful in person. The hotel is also the location of the “Ghost Bride” story I mentioned, and we were able to film in the room where she allegedly died.
Being able to create such a beautiful product with some of my favorite people makes this one of my favorite collaborative efforts I’ve ever been a part of.
What genre do you work in? When will the music and video be available? Now that I’m jumping back into the music business, I’m a lot more open with genres, but I like to call what I do “Electro-Horrorpunk.” I take a lot of inspiration from Synthpop, darkwave, punk rock, metal and even hip-hop. “Suicide Bride” is streaming everywhere now, and the music video will be released on my Youtube channel and other platforms on Monday, Oct. 28!
What else do people need to know about you? What’s coming up next? What have I not asked about that you want to mention? Not much else to me besides everything! You can find what you need at MayMayGraves.com. And continue to look out for a new single from my album dropping every month!
If you want to see me live, you can catch me all around DFW with the rest of the Graves Family as well as my fellow Caven Girls. Every second Tuesday, I DJ at Charlie’s Star Lounge. I host a quarterly Halloween Party called “Black Glitter” at The Nines, and I have my monthly drag show and horror movie screening called “May May’s Nightmares” at the Historic Texas Theatre!