OKC drag up-and-comer conjures provocative new EP to soundtrack shameless antics
“So I created an Instagram a couple of years ago, but I wanted to change my name and make it more poppy and make it more edgy, so I was thinking of two different words that just sounded really gross together, and I was like, ‘Oh my god, DumpsterFacial is disgusting and it’s not taken, so I just used that,” said OKC drag performer DumpsterFacial (they/she). “And it kind of stood out. People will be like, ‘Oh, you’re that DumpsterFacial,’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I am. What’s up?’”
DumpsterFacial released their three-track debut Bimbo Affirmations on April 15.
“I am hot as fuck,” she affirms on opening track “everyday is tuesday.” “My tits are so fucking big, and I’m definitely going to get that guy’s number at 7/11 today.”
We spoke to them about Bimbo Affirmations, the Oklahoma City drag scene and how to fake cannibalism.
Make Oklahoma Weirder: How would you describe Bimbo Affirmations? I listened to it earlier, but I’d still like to know how you describe it.
DumpsterFacial: It’s definitely interesting. It’s more kind of like a niche-type thing. I’ve always liked to be kind of a chaotic person whenever I’m going under DumpsterFacial. … A lot of people act like being a bimbo is a bad thing. And I wanted to bring light on that. It doesn’t matter. Words are just words. What matters is what you put behind it.
How would you describe the DumpsterFacial persona?
Have you ever heard the quote? What was that quote? Ever heard the quote “Born to shit, forced to wipe?”
No. [Writer’s note: As an elderly millennial, I feel a responsibility to caution younger, more impressionable readers against this type of laissez-faire approach to butthole hygiene.]
That’s how I would describe DumpsterFacial’s persona.
What made you want to record this album specifically?
I was at work, and I had this idea for drag. I was like, ‘Oh my god, it’d be so cool to, like, eat meat. You know, just have meat that looks raw and bloody and eat it. So I was trying to find a song to match it, that I could perform it to. But I could not find any song that captured what I was wanting to do. So I hit up my friend [Diamond Harper] who makes music and I was like, ‘Hi, I have this idea. Can you help me?’ And he made [“it’s giving cannibalism”] in two days. That kind of started the whole thing. I’ve never really done electronic music or dance music or whatever. It’s a first for me entirely. It’s a first for my friend, as well. But yeah, I don’t know. I just was like, ‘Let’s run with this.’ I had a lot of fun doing it. I had a lot of fun performing it. Whenever I performed it, I got a lot of good feedback. People were, like, singing it back to me already in the crowd. And I was like, ‘Hmm. We can do something with this.” .. I also had a couple of other friends [producer Honey Payton, creative director Danny Laffoon and photographer Evan Anderson] help me out with this. It was just a friendly, like, “Hey, I know you’re really good at this, and I know you’re really good at this. Let’s all just fuck around and hang out.” And that ended up working.
It makes sense that you’ve made Bimbo Affirmations to do drag to. I was trying to think of what the genre of music was, and that makes as much sense as anything, I think.
Yeah, it helps, because I can just be as chaotic and crazy and outlandish as I want, and I can be like, “Oh, it’s for drag. It’s fine.”
Will people see you doing this performance out anywhere or is it over and done with?
It’s one of my more popular performances. … I might pull it out of my sleeve every once in a while for, like, a new venue or something. In September, I’m going to host my first drag show. I’m actually working with a DJ right now who’s kind of remixing my EP to make a live version of it that I’m going to have for my birthday rave-slash-drag show.
What else is happening in DumpsterFacial world?
Well, I’m working on a music video currently for the song “it’s giving cannibalism,” just because that’s my favorite song off the whole EP. I feel like it has more of a song structure, and the other ones are just kind of like me talking because I can’t sing or anything. … My goal is to try to have a music video or at least a short skit for each song on there by September, just to keep myself busy. …I just quit my job last month because I was able to do drag full time. I probably wouldn’t have been able to make this little EP if I had a job, because we made it very fast.
What does doing drag as a job in Oklahoma City look like?
It’s not easy, but you’d be surprised. Now that the pandemic’s over, everyone has a drag show. There’s probably three-to-five drag shows a week. I don’t do all of those, obviously. I would say I have a different style of drag. It’s more alternative, so I have to really look for venues and hosts that appreciate that kind of art. It can be a little harder because a lot of people don’t want to see you eating meat on the ground and putting it in their face. It’s frowned upon sometimes. It can be a little difficult to find where I feel comfortable, but it’s really, really freeing. There’s always something going on. The community has literally saved me. I was in a really bad relationship last year, and it ended in January. So drag has really saved me, because I started doing drag in December. So it really has changed my whole entire life. And I’m happy now, and I’m confident, and I just feel like I can do whatever I’d like to do because I have the support.
How has drag helped you?
Earlier I mentioned I can’t sing. I’ve tried to being a rapper. I can’t really rap. So to be able to put my weirdness in this nice little DumpsterFacial person I created into a character and do literally whatever I want, and people respect it—or they at least act like they do, they clap and scream—it’s a lot of validation. And it makes me feel like my ideas are valid and people fuck with them and it’s cool. It makes me feel like I’m a cool person.
Let’s talk a little bit about the performance with the meat. Was the initial thought just that it would look cool and be weird and off-putting, or was there a deeper metaphorical thing you’re going for?
I wish there was, but my goal is always just to be gross. I just really want to disgust people. It just makes me happy to have people come up and be like, “Oh girl, you’re crazy.” I live off that. I’m like, “Thank you. I’m doing this for you.” So , yeah, I just thought it would be disgusting, and I was telling my coworkers about it, and they were like, “Ew, sis, go off. You’re gross.”
What kind of meat is it?
It’s actually carne asada meat I got from a little market down the street from my house. I don’t know what it’s called. Shout out to them, though. … I mixed up some red hot sauces and ketchup and barbecue and food coloring. I dipped the meat in there, and the last time I did this performance, I had it on a plate, and I just kind of picked up the plate and ate it, but … after the EP has been released, I was wanting to make it a bit more exciting, so I’m having a couple of people who will have the meat Saran Wrapped under their shirts, and they’ll be laying on the floor and during the song I will rip open their shirts and eat the meat from their bodies.
Wow. Is the meat cooked?
It is cooked. I’m not that disgusting. Don’t tell anybody that, though.
Jeremy Martin
Jeremy Martin writes about music and other stuff in OKC. He's also the less funny half of comedy duo The Martin Duprass and the proud father of two delightful baby turtles (pictured).