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[0:10] Robert Bannon: Are you ready? It's the Roundtable with me, Robert Bannon. You know, it's not the Ho Ho Holidays without a good old Christmas show, holiday show, and I have the perfect show for you. Everybody, get yourself together because Alaska is going on tour. It's beginning to look a lot like Alaska, a Christmas show coming all across this country. Alaska's been here. She's one of our favorite queens. The brilliant Alaska's back. Welcome to the show.

[0:40] Alaska Thunderfuck: Hi. I am so excited to have you here for this project in particular. I love Christmas, Alaska.

[0:47] Alaska Thunderfuck: You do?

[0:49] Robert Bannon: I do.

[0:50] Alaska Thunderfuck: I'm glad. I'm glad there are still people who like Christmas.

[0:53] Alaska Thunderfuck: I oh I maybe it's a little corny, but you know, I love a little a little fall la la la moment.

[0:59] Robert Bannon: No, it's totally great.

[1:01] Alaska Thunderfuck: Yeah, it's great. Why not? Can you tell us what what is uh it's beginning to look a lot like Alaska gonna be like? What is this concert experience?

[1:11] Alaska Thunderfuck: Well, it's not really about it's not about Christmas that much. It's more about like um it's more about like robots and artificial intelligence taking over the earth. That's what it's actually about.

[1:27] Robert Bannon: That's very timely. I think it's current.

[1:33] Alaska Thunderfuck: That sounds about right to me. You're no stranger though to Christmas music.

[1:38] Alaska Thunderfuck: Yeah, I know. I mean, we've all streamed the Christmas Queens and Every Day is Christmas and Santa bring me a man, dear Santa bring me a man, and you know, slay my name, and all of these are songs you uh you've worked with. What kind of music do we see when we come to it's beginning to look like a lot like Alaska?

[1:59] Alaska Thunderfuck: I I don't think you're gonna sing Chestnuts Roasting on an open fire.

[2:02] Robert Bannon: Is that is that I might, but no, probably not.

[2:07] Alaska Thunderfuck: No, literally, my mom was like, my mom was like, You're not gonna be just doing a bunch of Christmas songs, are you? Like, I'm like, well, I wasn't planning on it, and I good thing, because mom would be pissed. Um, but no, like Jeremy and I have been doing like Christmas cabarets for years, and so we our goal is usually to do no Christmas music, but this show has like a little, like a drop of it.

[2:39] Robert Bannon: Well, we know your other music too. You know, your albums, I think I couldn't name my albums your albums titles because you took them before I was ready. Anus and Pound Cake and Vagina and Red for Filth. And I they're I'm obsessed with them. And now if you have a record player, Pound Cake is available now on vinyl. Why should we get a record player, Alaska? Why should we be buying this limited edition collector's piece?

[3:10] Alaska Thunderfuck: And it's pink vinyl. And it's pink. I was like, uh I had forgotten all the songs that are on there that like are really good. They're like some of my most popular songs, and the album never got to come out on vinyl. So we had a chance to do like a really limited run of it. So we did it. Alaska Thunderfuck, AlaskaThunderfuck.com. We'll have the dates for the tour. You can buy the vinyl, you can get a VIP experience, you can meet Alaska and go to the sound check, which I can only imagine how much fun that whole thing must be.

[3:48] Robert Bannon: Oh, yeah. What's it like when you meet your fans? They must come dressed in all of their regalia, ready for an Alaska moment. What is it like when you get to meet them during the meet and greet? What is that experience like for them and for you?

[4:01] Alaska Thunderfuck: I don't know. I think it's nice. It's nice to like go to different cities and talk to people who are from there and just like I don't know, say hi. It's great.

[4:11] Robert Bannon: Absolutely. Well, when I was looking at the dates, I mean, you're everywhere from New York City to Seattle to Portland, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Boston, even Erie, Pennsylvania, which Erie, Pennsylvania, get ready. Alaska's coming to town for two shows. But what's so important? This little queer boy here, for you to go to somewhere like Erie, Pennsylvania or Pittsburgh, which we don't think of as this epicenter of queer culture. There are people there that are dying to be represented, and your show is for everyone.

[4:44] Alaska Thunderfuck: Well, that's the thing. When like when this tour came about, I was like, I really want to do Erie because that's where all my family lives. And I was like, I want my grandma to get to come see a show, like where she can sit in a seat in a theater. Like, I just really want that. And they were like, I don't know if we can really make Erie work, but we'll try. And then like Erie was the first show to sell out. So I was like, where yes. Hometown show.

[5:12] Alaska Thunderfuck: That's it. Hometown show. Um, I I'm very excited about all of it. Again, AlaskaThunderfuck.com is where you can go. When you're creating music, do you're a writer as well? You write material, you write what is your process like? Do these songs just come to you? Like, when do you sit down and say, my next album is called Vagina? How does that happen?

[5:38] Alaska Thunderfuck: Well, that was because I I wanted to like move through the like chakra systems of the of the body. So like anus was the first one, and then vagina is like um the sacral chakra. So it's like moving through the and then Red for Filth is kind of like heart, and Alaska and Jeremy's kind of like crown or like third eye. So I like to like do music that corresponds to we'll see.

[6:07] Robert Bannon: And here I am with my dirty mind thinking that this was gonna be something, and it's got a real good solid meaning. See, shame on see you can't judge a book by its cover, Alaska ever.

[6:18] Alaska Thunderfuck: No, you can't ever. That's that's the truth. Are we gonna get? I know this is a big undertaking. The tour, the vinyl release. Is there more music? I know you're always tinkering. You up you everyone that is a queen in this entire country or a singer in queer culture, straight culture, anywhere? You are asked to do so many features. How many people come on and they say, Alaska's on my album, Alaska's on my show, Alaska's on my album? What is it like when some of these other people reach out and they want they want you? They want you to be a part of their project.

[6:51] Alaska Thunderfuck: I usually say yes, because it's usually like friends of mine who are asking, and I like doing it. So yeah, I'm like catch up. You can just like put me on the put me on the the meal.

[7:06] Robert Bannon: I might steal that. I would like I'm like catch up.

[7:11] Alaska Thunderfuck: Yeah, that's perfect. Do you have plans when the tour's over? Do you celebrate Christmas?

[7:17] Alaska Thunderfuck: I do. And I we are we're ending the tour in Erie, so I'm just gonna stay there and like hang out with my family and probably get drunk. Like that's what we kind of do.

[7:29] Robert Bannon: Your family sounds fun.

[7:30] Alaska Thunderfuck: They are really fun.

[7:32] Robert Bannon: That sounds like a fun. You don't have an it doesn't sound like an uptight, uppity kind of thing. It sounds like you're gonna have a good old party.

[7:39] Alaska Thunderfuck: No, we have so much fun. I don't know what I'm gonna buy everybody. I don't know. Gift cards. I don't, I literally don't know.

[7:47] Robert Bannon: Are you somebody that is are you're based in Los Angeles?

[7:51] Alaska Thunderfuck: Yeah.

[7:52] Robert Bannon: So are you at the grove or at the or at a mall somewhere and and shopping away?

[7:57] Alaska Thunderfuck: No. No. No, I'm not. I'm really bad at it. And I have so much stuff to do that I'm like, but I'm like, I'm going to physically just be there, and like anything else that happens is just like that'll just be bonus. Cause I can't, I don't know. I don't know how to do all that.

[8:18] Robert Bannon: That works for me. How how do you if I ask you a professional question? How do you organize your career where it's like I'm gonna do drag me to dinner? I'm gonna do a podcast, I'm gonna go on a concert tour, I'm gonna release a record. Do you plan things out a year in advance? Do they just come to you in your head and it's just whatever you're feeling in the moment? How do you differentiate all the hats that you wear?

[8:40] Alaska Thunderfuck: I don't know. No, I just do it.

[8:45] Alaska Thunderfuck: You just do it. No, the opportunities come up, and I say yes or I say no, and I just do that.

[8:52] Robert Bannon: You got it. I I love that. It works for me. When we come to see you, I want to come to New York. I have to come, I love Town Hall. It's a great place.

[9:00] Alaska Thunderfuck: It is a it's a historic venue. It's in the middle of Times Square in the middle of Christmas time. You need to get your tickets because they're gonna go. They're not gonna be there. New York's gonna show up. What should we wear? What kind of energy should we bring? Do you want full regalia? You want sequins and hats and yeah, be fancy.

[9:21] Alaska Thunderfuck: I like that. I like to do that anyway, but uh like especially around the holidays, especially if you're going to like a drag queens show, like, yeah, wear something a little outside your normal something.

[9:34] Robert Bannon: Okay, that's that's your homework assignment, everybody. And we need to like be streaming and be up to speed on all of the music in the back catalog of Alaska. Like, don't show up just without knowledge, be prepared.

[9:47] Alaska Thunderfuck: Yeah, yeah. We we want to be ready. We like to do our homework here. Um, do you have any routines when you're on the road that I know it is a pain, it's it's a hard job to get ready and to put on a show that's exhausting every single night. Do you have a team? Is there a band? Is there is there anyone? Is it just you? Like, what is the show like?

[10:06] Alaska Thunderfuck: Well, it's me and my best friend Jeremy is really good at playing the piano, and so uh it's me and Jeremy, and um my rituals include um chipotle. Like I'm really I'm really um obsessed with eating chipotle, and it's become like a thing that like anytime I'm in drag, I don't trust any other food to like give me fuel to like do a show. And if you're in a different city, you're like, what am I gonna eat? Am I gonna like try a new restaurant? And you're like, can't because it's like, what if it's isn't good, then I don't so I always eat Chipotle. And I've been taking a picture of myself every time I eat Chipotle, and I'm gonna do like a compilation when I get to like a hundred.

[10:56] Robert Bannon: I'm ready for Chipotle. Chipotle should be sponsoring this tour at that rate.

[11:00] Alaska Thunderfuck: That's tell them because that's true.

[11:05] Robert Bannon: Wait, wait for the next album, which is I don't know, a burrito bowl or something.

[11:08] Alaska Thunderfuck: It's wait, that's it. Come on, Chipotle.

[11:13] Robert Bannon: Well, I'm excited for this event. I think it is the event of the of the season. You if you're ready to be festive and a little bawdy and a little fun, and especially if you're in Pennsylvania, I mean now we just build that. I mean, his grandma's gonna be there. You gotta buy a ticket. There's a sad show. Um we are here for the whole experience. What I love so much, uh you know, in real life, I teach fifth grade, and a lot of my students have watched Drag Race. A lot of the the queer students, the musical theater students, they watch what you all do because you're an artistic outlet and and drag allows everybody to be who they are. So it's you don't have to be gay, you don't have to be straight, you don't have to be LGBTQIA plus to be a part of the show. Just buy a ticket, come out and support Alaska and or a local drag queen, and because you can let yourself just be you, it's a place for everybody.

[12:00] Alaska Thunderfuck: Totally. I guess.

[12:02] Robert Bannon: Yeah. So we're everyone stream, stream the music, buy Pound Cake, which how does that fit into the chakra? I'm not gonna even ask, but I like it.

[12:15] Alaska Thunderfuck: It's like the taint.

[12:22] Robert Bannon: And get your tickets. Go to it's beginning to look a lot like Alaska, a Christmas show. Go to AlaskaThunderfuck.com to see where you're gonna be and make sure you follow Alaska on social media so that you can stay up with whatever I could only imagine what's next. 2024, hold on to your hat. It's always a good time to see you. Thank you for being here.

[12:43] Alaska Thunderfuck: Thank you so much.