GURL: Give us a little introduction, who are ya?
Erika: I’m Erika Klash, a drag artist specialising in drag cosplay and monster drag. I’ve been doing drag for the past six years, and a lot of folks know me from Season 2 of The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula. I always aim to put across a living cartoon quality in my looks, and my looks are strongly inspired by video games, anime, and Japanese street fashion.
GURL: It’s safe to say you’re an anime fan, who are your 3 biggest inspirations for looks?
Erika: I always go back to the villains and the “monsters of the week” for my drag inspirations. Queen Nehelenia from Sailor Moon and the witches from Madoka Magica are all really striking to me. Of all the Sailor Senshi, Sailor Neptune is the ultimate in controlled, feminine power to me.
GURL: We can totally see that in your art and it makes for some incredible looks <3
GURL: When did you first bring Erika to life?
Erika: Right before I turned 21, I had my sister put me in drag at my mother’s house. I had no padding/corset, or shoes (we cropped the shot) and my eldest sister who had dabbled with drag previously put me in a black velvet gown and black wig she used to wear. The look was… very real girl which is not what I serve these days! But Erika the character really came to life on that night.
GURL: Your sister is an absolute babe, setting you up to become super fabulous!
GURL: Outside of Dragula, what has been your favourite drag experience?
Erika: I got to perform in Berlin in 2016, and that was really amazing. I really tend to enjoy the gigs that are somewhat atypical… performing for colleges/universities and for private companies (like Twitch) are really fun and really are about educating the more uninitiated on what drag is all about.
GURL: Is there a character you’re dying to cosplay?
Erika: I always have a running list of cosplay ideas… King Ghidorah and King Caesar of the Godzilla universe are high on my list but would be a huge undertaking. There’s Hsien Ko from Darkstalkers… I think I’ll have to do (Shiny) Obstagoon really soon, as Pokémon Sword and Shield are fresh on my mind at the moment.
GURL: We would fully live for a Pokemon moment, that colour scheme is everything, we’ll be keeping an eye out for it.
GURL: What’s your fave song right now?
Erika: I just found a really fierce Eurobeat remix of a track from Super Metroid that is giving me all the life right now! 97% of the music I listen to is original video game soundtracks and chiptune artists.
GURL: Fully agreed, sometimes a good soundtrack is exactly what an afternoon calls for. This is so fun!
GURL: Is there a part of the world you want to visit that you haven’t yet had a chance?
Erika: Japan! Getting to perform there would be the ultimate dream come true for me. I’ve also wanted to visit Switzerland and the Black Forest in Germany, but that’s less drag related and has more to do with my love of Dario Argento’s Suspiria.
GURL: It’s almost a crime that you’ve yet to visit Japan, pop us in your suitcase if you get a chance.
GURL: Give us your best dad joke?
Erika: I’m not the best at dad jokes, but I have a million drag names that I can rattle off at any given moment. Viagara Falls, Urethra Franklin, Carole Baskin-Robbins and Sh’Tonya Carpet all come to mind just off the top of my head.
GURL: Omg :’) Dying at all of them, that bitch Carole Baskin-Robbins!
GURL: Which of your looks is your proudest creation?
Erika: Anime Enema and Pastel Gore: Peach were both milestone moments, both in terms of creative vision and in terms of my ability to execute more intricate looks!
GURL: Incredible as always, we even made the peach the cover image cos it’s just too damn good.
GURL: Give us 2 fellow performers to follow?
Erika: Crimson Kitty and KaiKai Bee Michaels! These two have been such close friends of mine and they are both such technically skilled drag artists. Kitty has blazed trails as an AFAB performer in NYC. Kai was a huge part of the development of Pastel Gore, my monthly show in San Francisco and collaborated with me on YouTube a bunch. Kitty and I will be working together on Pastel Gore’s NYC chapter in the coming months!
GURL: Consider both of those amazing people followed, we love a good trailblazer and of course a friend of Erika!
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