Sir Honey Davenport

The winner of this year’s Miss’d America in Atlantic City, host of The Get Out! Awards and one of the most hard-working queens in New York, Sir Honey Davenport is radiating with overwhelming talent. She’s a DJ, she performs with her own voice, she has a band called Electrohoney and she is beautiful as well. I was fortunate to catch Ms. Davenport (which wasn’t easy with her extreme schedule) and have a very entertaining conversation with her.

How did you get started doing drag?
I toured the world, literally, with Peppermint. I travel to London, Dublin, Germany and Australia. I was a backup dancer for Peppermint for four years. Then one day we were going to London, and I wanted some extra spending money, and I was like, “You know what, why don’t I put on a little sort of drag show with my brother? What if I put on a little drag show for a little extra spending money?” It wasn’t necessarily drag at the time, it was more like interactive dancing.
Do you sing with your own voice?
I do, I do. Actually, I have my own band, and we’re called Electrohoney, and my album is available.

And you’ve just won the Miss’d America Pageant.
Yeah, I did.

Tell me about that.
It’s a competition. This is my second year doing it, and it’s held in Atlantic City. It’s a really big deal: It pulls queens from all over the country. This year I spent my whole entire year working really, really hard to make sure my whole package was together and that I was really ready to go and turn it out, and I’m very happy, and I nearly almost passed out. It was just such a surprise, and all my effort paid off.

I thought you should have won The Big Apple Pageant.
Oh, thank you. I wish I did.

Did you ever enter the Miss Fire Island Pageant?
Last year was my very first time trying out for Miss Fire Island, and I got first runner up.

Sweet! You did an amazing job at The Get Out! Awards too, and you’re going to host Get Out!’s Holiday Party along with Ariel Sinclair.
Yeah, I’m excited about it. Every time I get the opportunity to host a show with Get Out!, it’s pretty awesome, because I’ve written for the magazine and I’ve worked with the magazine for the last couple of years. Any time Mike Todd is like, “Do this for me,” I’m like, “Whatever you need!” He’s been like a really big supporter of me, and the magazine has been a really big supporter of me, helping me get the word out about new gigs I’m starting. I’m always excited to get to work with Get Out!

Where exactly do you work right now and when?
I work right now Monday 6 to 8 at Boots and Saddle for the happy hour show called You Mad Mondays, and one Monday a month I DJ at The Cock. One Tuesday a month I DJ at Westgate.

You DJ too?
Yeah, I do. Wednesday I do the party called Hamilton Lodge at Buddha Bar, which is a straight bar uptown. Thursdays I do the Spunk party at The Monster. Fridays I DJ at Boots and Saddle. Saturdays I do a Dirty Ho show at Boots and Saddle and Manster at The Monster. Then Sundays I do a new brunch called Sundays Are a Drag at Shadowboxers. So I have one Tuesday and one Wednesday a month off.

No wonder you have little time left for interviews—you’re a busy queen! How long have you been doing drag anyway?
I’ve been doing drag almost 6 years now.

That’s all?
Yeah, that’s it.

Wow, I’m impressed.
It’s been a wild ride, because after I had so much help from Peppermint in the beginning, and then I also had a lot of help from my drag mother, Deja Davenport. I had a whole lot of support from my drag mother. She really like got me together and gave me all the things I need. It’s been a really big, very fun ride.

Did you say your brother does drag too?
Not too much anymore. Occasionally he’ll put on a wig. We started out together, but then he decided it wasn’t for him. Actually, we were a group when we first started. We were called The Hunties. It’s kind of like where my name comes from, because I went to a book signing for RuPaul, and I asked him to sign the book “To the Hunties,” and she signed it, “To Honey.” Then like the next day my brother was like, “I don’t wanna do The Hunties. I want to focus on my musical career. I got a booking from a club, and they asked to book The Hunties, and I was like, “I guess it’s just one of us now!” I was looking at the book from RuPaul, and I was like, “I guess it’s just Honey!” That’s how it all came about.

I love it! Do you have anything special coming up?
I would say that my brunch parties, Sundays Are a Drag, is the thing that I’m putting the most energy into right now. It’s phenomenal; I’ve got a wonderful cast of girls. The girls all serve and perform. Sunday was our first brunch, and it was just a fabulous, fabulous, wonderful time. I think the concept of what’s going on is a little different than what’s going on at Lips. Either way, the variety of girls is completely different. The setup of the show is different; the menu is just out of this world. So I think it’s the party that I’m most excited about happening right now.

So Honey, if you could pick two celebrities to be your parents, who would they be?
I would pick Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jackson.

Love it! Now, you’re in a store and you’re naked. You’re holding a sign up, but the sign can only say one word. What’s the word?
Sale.

You’re a new addition to a crayon box. What color are you?
Black-ish.

Who would you pick to go on a date with to outer space?
It would have to be my husband. I love him so much.

You know, it never even dawned on me when asking that question that you had a husband. I like that.
We’ve been married two years in December, and we’ve been together four. He’s the apple of my eye.

What’s his name?
John.

He doesn’t mind that you do drag?
Oh no, he doesn’t. He’s very supportive. It pays our bills.

If you could perform anywhere in the world – where would it be?
The Life Ball; that’s a dream gig of mine. It’s in Austria every year.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I don’t necessarily have a set plan where I definitely want my career to go, but as long as I’m creating…also, it’s an amazing art. I’m really happy and fulfilled, so, if I could be doing drag for the next 10 years, then I’m happy.

How is your life different than you thought it might be when you were a child?
Oh, it’s completely different! I never thought I’d wear wigs for a living. I never thought I’d wear wigs, period! But it’s completely different and awesome. Like I said, I have a husband that loves me and a career that’s just blossoming and beautiful. I didn’t expect either of them to be the case.

sirhoneydavenport.com

Photo By
Preston Burford
Makeup By
Sapphira Cristàl