Imperial Palace

Queen of the Month May 2013

Furiously Fierce comes Imperial Palaces Queen of the Month for May 2013San Franciscos very own Sheena Rose! Sheena is a stunning and sexy independent queen and shes been giving me the 411 on what shes about Sheena Rose (aka Jacob Paiva) is a San Francisco-based drag queen who has graced every notable stage on the scene in the city and does anywhere from one-to-three shows each week (sometimes even more than that!). Shes a regular performer at Hot Boxxx Girls and Dream Queens Revue, which are both at Aunt Charlies Lounge in San Francisco. Sheena tells us I love Aunt Charlies Lounge! It is my all time favorite show bar. Joe, the bar manager, is the best, he is so sweet and really takes good care of us girls. I love all the girls there and the regulars, and they love Sheena back. Sheena can also be seen performing at Divas in San Francisco at The Midnight Show, The Edge for Monster Show, The Stud for Meow Mix and SomeThing, as well as many others. Recently, Sheena Rose made her GlamaZONE debut at The Cafe with Pollo Del Mar, about which she tell us, I had such a fabulous time and got to meet a lot of new, very talented girls and made some new friends and hope to be back in the future. And if that wasnt enough, Sheena also performs around town often to raise awareness and funds for local charities in the community. Sheena began performing in drag during the summer of 2006. Her very first show ever was at a small punk rock and roll drag show called Charlie Horse, hosted by Anna Conda at The Cinch Bar (aka The Last Standing Bar on Polk) in San Francisco. She says, I loved this show, you could do whatever you felt, and you were encouraged to do so. Though I love the more traditional showgirl type of drag, at Charlie Horse I could do more performance art/punk pieces, which at times were very over the top.

One of Sheenas most memorable performances was at a "Blood Bath" themed party, where she was part of a back alley abortion number set to Annie Lennox's "A Thousand Beautiful Things". During the number, she had an abortion by a demented doctor who used wire hangers (dont roll over in your grave Ms. Crawford!) to conduct the abortion, while eating pieces of the dead baby and throwing body parts at the crowd. Sheena continues on to tell us In the end he (doctor) kills mestabbing me to death with his surgical scissors, tons of fake blood everywhere. I practically lip-synced the whole song laying on a makeshift gurney. Another fond memory that Sheena shares with us is the time for my dear sister Marcy Playground's birthday show, where she smoked a joint on stage and passed it around. She gave joints to the crowd while performing to Ike and Tina Turner's "I Wanna Take You Higher". Around the same time, she also performed a lot at Marlena's Bar (which very sadly closed its doors in March 2013) with the Imperial Council of San Francisco, where she would do more traditional drag performances with big hair, big gowns, feathers and sequins. Sheena says that, In the beginning I wanted to be like Miss Vida Boheme (played by Patrick Swayze) in To Wong Foo. Drag is fantasy. You can be whatever you want to be, do whatever you want to do. If you can dream it you can be it. I thought she (Vida) was glamorous, a star, and I wanted to be just like her, a star. Today, Sheena drags inspiration from other queens around her, who came up long before she did and paved the way for other queens. Sheena says, Like Anna Conda, who is strong-willed, very political in taking a stand for gay rights and fighting bigotry. She lives life in and out of drag on her terms and doesnt really care what others may think. I've always admired her for that., and continued on to say, My drag mama, Nikki Star, who has taught me so much and has always been there. I love our talks. Shes one of the sweetest people I know., and Sheena also mentions, Collette LeGrande, San Francisco Ducal royalty, I love her classic, timeless style of drag and performances, shes a class act with a big heart. Theres so manytoo many to name. Sheenas musical taste and performance style is very eclectic. She loves all kinds of music. In a lot of her shows, she does 3-5 numbers, so she likes her variety! About her musical influences, she says I love my Dolly Parton country classics like "Jolene" and most recently Lorrie Morgan's "Very Marilyn" and usually open with that song. Then I

will follow it up with a dance pop song, then bring it down a little and do a ballad like my signature performance piece "When A Man Loves A Woman" as The Rose or the Tina Turner rock balled "Rock & Roll Widow", then do some punk rock Courtney Love or P!nk Some of Sheena Roses favorite performing artists that she draws inspiration from are Tina Turner, Cyndi Lauper, Kristine W., Courtney Love, RuPaul, Stevie Nicks, Dolly Parton, Amanda Lear, Boy George, Nina Flowers, Manila Luzon, and so many more. Theres no doubt about it, Sheena Rose is unique and one of kind. She marches to her own drum, and has a very eclectic style and musical taste. From country at one moment, then balls to the wall rock & roll and punk the next! At times she is a bluesy chanteuse, and a fun loving dance/pop diva Sheena loves it all! Blonde haired, green eyed, wonderfully big breasted, a heart of gold, and a thirst for life, Sheena has often been compared to one of her idols, Dolly Parton. Sheena shares with us, I have this fire in me, a drive and need to create. To me drag is an art form. It takes a lot for us to do what we do and to do it well. I love and breathe music. I love to take a song by any of my favorite artists and to interpret it for the stage, while entertaining others. I love creating and the creative process of recording my own dance music. Im an aspiring dance recording artist, and Ive had the wonderful opportunity of working with some of the hottest DJs/remix producers on my latest dance record, Make Me Over produced by Leo Frappier of LFB (now available on iTunes and Amazon.com). By putting myself out there, I think drag has helped me to take chances on myself and my art and in life in general, and has given me the oppurtunity to work with these other amazing artists whom I love and respect like, LFB, Subgroover, William Umana, DJ MDW, Doctorz MD, Klubjumpers, Naked Highway, MJC, Mickey Martyr and more. By taking a risk and reaching out, even my all-time favorite drag racer Nina Flowers did a remix for my new dance record. That meant the world to me to have her stamp of approval and her love and support on my project. Sheenas advice to up and coming queens out there is to always be yourself and stay true to you and who you are. Do you to the fullest. Always remember to be humble and

gracious at ALL times. No one likes a bitchy queen. And always remember to have fun! Drag is fantasy. You can be whatever you want to be, do whatever you want to do. If you can dream it you can be it. All you have to do is make a wish. Thank you very much Sheena for sharing yourself with us and people dont forget to check out Sheenas new dance record, Make Me Over on iTunes and Amazon!

http://imperial-palace2013.tumblr.com