Jonny McGovern is a comedian and cast member on LOGO's Big Gay Sketch Show. But he's also known by his alter-ego, the Gay Pimp; a young, hyper-gay Hugh Hefner-type party boy who writes songs about sexy gentlemen and throws fantastically dirty parties around New York. In between shoots during his busy creative schedule, Jonny spilled the tea about his exploits around town and the performance lifestyle he lives.
You started here doing one-man shows and you're a notorious party promoter -- but how do you define yourself?
I'm a comedian, first and foremost -- I'm Sir Fag-a-lot, your Gay Pimp Daddy -- and I work in nightlife.
How did you get started running parties?
Well, the very first party I did was thanks to Mr. Dean Johnson, who called me after seeing me at a homo-core show at CBGB's. Out of the blue he told me he wanted someone young to help throw a party at the Hole. Now I had no idea what the hell that meant! I thought maybe that meant we had to bring the money to pay for the club that night, and I was like "I don't have any money, Dean!"
"Don't worry about it, just show up," he told me. That was a party called XXX, which became a sensation, people lined up around the block. This was right after 9/11 so the police were not looking for violations involving shameful activities.
Before this I had been babysitting, taking these two boys from the East Village to Hebrew school every day and hanging out with Jamaican nannies -- I couldn't believe it, but one of them recently had their Bar Mitzvah where Opaline used to be…
What other parties have you done?
Popular ones were Magnum at the Park; the Rambles at the Park (with DJ Jonjon Battles); Strip Club with Josh Wood; Area with Mistress Formika; and my signature Boys Gone Wild at Boys Room; and the many incarnations of Mr. Black. Now in May, I'm starting a summer-only fest called Big Banana and it's at a new place: Club Gorilla --the old Knitting Factory -- and it'll be cheap booze and summer cruisin'.
I'm still confused by the role of the host -- you get paid just to walk around and drink?
The role of a host, depending on your party, can be many different things. Some hosts just come, wear black and drink a bottle. If you want a young sexy vibe, you want the host to be a sexy guy that hangs out with and invites other sexy guys to the party. Someone like Ericka Toure Aviance is show-hosting -- she's there to dance around and make a scene. Someone like Ladyfag or Amanda Lepore are there for people to be like "ooh girl, what is she wearing?" Sofia Lamar doesn't necessarily perform, but she'll read you and will have a fierce look, if that's what you're trying to bring to the party. As a promoter, you pick the person as the job changes. Like Roze [hostess and door mistress at Mr. Black], she fills in lots of people and has a great attitude -- a founder of the Tubway attitude.
Right… Roze scares the crap outta me!
You better be scared because she can kick your ass! Her vibe is that she wants you to know that she can kick your ass and look good doing it!
Pictured above: Jonny McGovern (second from the right) and models from his t-shirt line
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