An Official Introduction To Hot Tawdry

Now, I know that I’ve mentioned my burlesque baby Hot Tawdry before but I don’t think Ive ever really told you about our history. 

Right around 2011 Pickers was hot hot hot! I never anticipated that much success that fast. I truly had no idea the way my life would change over the next years. Overwhelmed with my new life and what it meant I chose to leave LeClaire, Iowa. At the time I was living very close to the shop and was an easy target for weirdness. 

I had tried to move down the road to have  more privacy but kept dealing with break ins and curious fans of the show. I would find them camped out on my lawn, trying to enter my home  through doors and windows, taking pictures with my dog or  my car or  taking video of my kids to post for bragging rights on social media. I  had to leave, go far away, get away from the strange newness of fame.

So, I ran away to Chicago. I knew that folks there had more important things  to think about and there were actual real famous people there, way more exciting than me so I felt nobody would bother me there, I could blend in better. My kids could have some sort of normalcy. They wouldn’t have  to worry about photographers climbing in the windows of their home  anymore. We could all just be safe and have a more normal existence. 

I found a great spot in Logan Square at 2125 north Whipple street right  next to a catholic school and down the street from Dante’s Pizza, my daughters favorite pizza spot. There was a great little restaurant down the way in Humboldt Park called  “Grandma J’s” owned by a fellow Chicago entrepreneur and party girl named Layla. She was very much a Chicago legend in her own way.

The breakfast at Grandma J’s was insane! Being that the restaurant was within walking distance we ate there regularly. I was often waited on by  a bubbly brunette who called herself “Tawdry”.  Grandma J’s was a teeny tiny little itty bitty place that could  accommodate only a few small tables with an open kitchen. The Chef was, like most  Chicago chefs, a raging drunk with an over inflated  ego who  had a thing for my niece Alaina (who also moved with me to help me with my kids while I was on the road for work). But damn...... that chef was  good.... too good...

I remember one particular Sunday Brunch Tawdry asked me to come see one of her Burlesque shows at Grandma J’s. The restaurant doubled as an off  the radar nightclub scene where Tawdry would produce her very first Chicago Burlesque shows in the city. Back when Michelle L’Amour, Red Hot Annie and Angela Eve ruled the striptease nightlife. They had no  interest in us. There was little to no room for newbies. There was little to no thought of newcomers to the city. I always supported their shows and enjoyed their performances and watched them all from a great distance. I had hired Michelle L’Amour a few times for shows. She was always quite expensive but very professional and always worth it. Because of her cult following, her shows we’re always well attended and tight! She  earned my respect through the years and I think I may have earned hers, through the years, as well.  The other Two I never got to know. I watched them from a distance and and chose to stay away. We simply had nothing in common.

I had seen everything Chicago nightlife had to offer from the 'Viagra Triangle's' tangled web of sex and politics to the dark not so mysterious  dungeons of the domme world. What I had not seen in the city was a newbie stripper slinging hash by  day in the same tiny venue she would sling her bra by night. I excitedly accepted her invitation and came to see the show. It was  beginner burlesque at its finest! It was dark, dirty, late night fun  with absolutely zero pretense. It was raw and undefined. It simply was  what it was... entertainment for entertainment sake. If you were there you knew.

As I recall the first time I ever saw Hot Tawdry perform, she came out in a Statue of Liberty costume and stepped into a baby pool, I knew shit  was going to get weirdly fun. I stomped and hollered as she stripped down to nothing and doused herself in cheap beer. America.... this is why I love you.

That night I was also graced by the presence of Lilly Rascal (I will talk more on this great performer soon) and Stella Cheeks. All of these incredible performers are still performing in Chicago to this day. After that Tawdry asked (or I inserted myself and invited myself as I’m  known to do. I honestly can’t recall) if I would ever want to perform with them. The rest is history.

Maybe someday I’ll post more stories and pics from those performances but honestly I would really have to leave out most of the details. Illegal activities to the right and the left as well as the need to  outgrow that space sadly ended up closing down the show. As we all know nothing good lasts forever so soon after, grandma Jay’s restaurant closed as well.

Before a late night show we changed our clothes and costumes in a tiny wet, dirty kitchen (now, when I say dirty, I don’t mean that the kitchen itself was a dirty place I mean that no burlesque performer in their  right mind would ever want to change their expensive beautiful handmade  garments in a fucking industrial kitchen especially one that’s smaller  than most peoples bathroom.)  Speaking of bathrooms.... I can’t even speak to how many times I had to literally carry a body outside to air out so that I could change a  tampon or go pee in the restroom. At times I didn’t even bother carrying  them out. I just stepped over them and did my thing. Why put my back out, they wouldn’t remember anyhow.

Why did I continue to go back? Because That shit was punk rock as fuck and I LOVED it!!!! People say punk is dead. I disagree. Those folks just don’t know where  to find it anymore. They probably wouldn’t have known where to find it back in the day either honestly. Punk isn’t dead it’s very much alive in performance art. Maybe the music is different but the message us the  same. FUCK THE ESTABLISHMENT (while at the same time trying to make your  own little establishment)

Out of all of the anarchy sprang forth this beautifully intense performer that would soon become my burlesque daughter. Who knew that my burlesque baby, Hot Tawdry would eventually grow to become one of Chicago’s most respected and recognized performers and  producers. With her own show at House of Blues where we actually had  beautiful dressing rooms with showers and got paid!

Tawdry has been producing incredible diverse shows celebrating the  human form in all of its splendor, size, color and shape and age for  many years now. She has worked hard to avoid shaping her shows in her  own physical image and has advocated to keep it weird and wild.

I keep trying to convince her to start a Patreon. I hope one day that will happen till then you can follow her here on her Instagram.

Please go say hi and show love and support to my dear one. Tell her to start a Patreon...