patrick buckmaster: sativa diva

There’s people in The Bible. And then, there’s people who smoke biblically… Can strike a pose. Know a thing or two…

Patrick Buckmaster is the latter. A Portland performer, DJ, and party producer with “bad attitudes towards drag,” seethes kindness, charm, and a loaded subversiveness. It is within this aesthetic of genderfucked gorgeousness, “glamorous but deranged” that we embark...

Smoking weed with a drag queen is like eating honey with the bumblebees.

Nothing sweeter.

Let’s chat.

All photos courtesy of the artist.

What songs do you listen to while high & getting ready for the club?

I listen to lots of disco and 60’s girl groups. That sound really gets me in the mood to groove. It also helps me prepare to talk to and communicate with people. Sounds crazy, but even giants like me are small too. I live a life of solitude and would rather be alone than anywhere on earth. When I’m alone, I restore myself so I can be the (anti)social butterfly that a night in nightlife requires. Dusty Springfield, Cher, The Supremes, Diana Ross, The Crystals, and my ab-fav Deee-Lite all get me in the mode. “Groove is in the Heart” is my favorite song and will be played at my funeral. And the meet and greet with my dead body is $300.

Who are some thinkers whose work that you believe in (modern-day or ancient)?

I think for myself. I don’t read anything by anyone or listen to anyone. Maybe I’m a spoiled brat, or genius, or both or neither. I don’t really pay attention to new films, media, music, or TV because I like my mind untainted and a world of my own. Being in control of myself is the only true control I have in this world. I am aware that can sound arrogant and insane and inspiring but I really do just keep to myself and my own path. I used to spend a lot of my time focused on other people’s lives and thoughts and that really didn’t get me anywhere. So I take all that time and focus and apply it to myself! But nothing has really changed but I’m certainly headed somewhere…

What motivates your creativity?

Money! Scamming! The pursuit to get paid/laid! My creativity is never ending to the point it’s overbearing. I can make anything I want happen. The entire creativity process—from the initial thought to seeing it through—is what I enjoy. Sometimes I get bored of the end result because I am already onto the next idea. I only share my creations as a mean to survive. I keep the best to only myself. Nightlife is my life so it’s usually in the form of entertainment: performances, DJing, hosting, event production. I’m a born entertainer who gets off making others happy: win/win. My entertainment/self-expression is my greatest form of creativity. I’m sharing it, though, because it comes so naturally and I have bills to pay. As Dolly Parton says “It costs a lot of money to look this cheap.”

What personal and/or spiritual needs does drag satisfy, for you?

Drag is therapy. Drag is creativity. Drag is family. To be celebrated and loved for who you are is what every single human is searching for. And to find that and share it with others is what life is actually all about.

If we all have a part in the world, what's yours? How do you see your role, and how does your art fit-in?

My role in this world is lead actress/producer/director/the academy. I am here to shake shit up, stir the pot, AND smoke the pot. I am here to entertain, push buttons/boundaries, and be a living example that you can do and be anyone/anything/everything you want. I just wanted to be a supermodel and now I’m a role model.

How do you stay motivated? Focused?

I have no idea. If you find out, let a bitch know.

Favorite strains of weed?

Sativa Diva!

  Julia Laxer lives for the stories and writes in the afternoons from a messy desk in a rose-lit room in Portland, Oregon. She is obsessed with rose and oud perfumes, Lana Del Rey, and wants to eat all the peaches. She uses performance art and spiritual practice to explore archetype and ritual, and writes poems, essays, erotica, and memoir.