Dynamic duos in the world of drag are a staple, but Jackie Cox and Jan have managed to take their New York City sensibilities & their stunning vocal pipes on the road, bringing “Jackie & Jan’s Jingle Jam” across America! Not only have they been making large city stops in places like New York City, Atlanta, and Los Angeles, but they have also made stops in Midwest cities across the country, finding that even the smallest cities have vibrant LGBTQ communities ready for some amazing holiday talent. I sat down with these two New York City dolls as they toured the country to speak about the Jingle Jam tour, what they love about performing together the most, and how they each plan to celebrate the upcoming holiday.
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Michael Cook: What has the tour been like so far? At this point in our country we definitely cannot have too much Christmas cheer!
Jan: We started off on such a strong foot in New York City and it was so nice to have our friends and people that have been seeing us for years see us do something that is very different from what you would see at a Jan and Jackie show. As we keep going throughout all of these cities, it just keeps getting better and more fun every night. We are just having so much fun on this tour.
Jackie Cox: I think the best thing so far is that the people that only come and see us during our club numbers on a Friday with a bunch of girls lip synching. Now to see us in a full produced, conceived and conceptualized Christmas show it’s really fun. There is more of us, they get to see more sides of us, I love that.
MC: How would you each encapsalize and sum up the show if you had to?
JC/J: Imagine Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” meets “Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion”. It’s stuff that is very traditional Christmas, but with stuff that is very non-traditional with a drag twist and a pop twist. We’re singing and we’re doing it all.
MC: You both were in each other’s oeuvre during your New York City days, but when you have joined forces, your talents and superpowers seem to have been doubled! When did you realize that a collaboration might be magical?
Jackie Cox “When they’re together, their superpowers are doubled” I love that (laughs)!
Jan: I think brunch was one thing for sure..we started doing brunch at Therapy with Kizha Carr. I would also say that we have been lucky enough to be with the same incredible manager and she and a bunch of other clubs and bars have booked us together. Every single time that we go and do something together at one one of those venues, people always say “You two are so much fun together”! We thought about maybe bringing that to the stage!
Jackie is an absolute legend when it comes to cabaret and she has put together such a wonderfully crafted show. It’s funny because we are bringing both of our selves and our personalities to the structure that Jackie has mastered. It’s been a lot of fun and really easy to work with her.
Jackie: I’ll tell you, I get to not sing as much because I make Jan sing all the high notes (laughs)!
MC: You are one of the duos where you are not trying to outdo each other and it’s truly a mutual admiration society. Why don’t you tell me what you each love the most about working with the other?
Jan: I think what like the most about working with and being on stage with Jackie is that I always feel very taken care of. Jackie definitely has her foot in the pedal and we are going full steam ahead, but she definitely has her seat belt on and has two hands on the wheel. She is driving the ship and she makes me feel very comfortable when I am on stage that I can do anything on stage, It doesn’t have to be perfect all of the time, I know that my sister has got me.
Jackie: I just love honestly that I can get lost watching Jan on stage. I remember at one of our first shows, I forgot to sing my part of the song because I got lost looking at how pretty her makeup was (laughs)! Jan is so fun to be on stage with. Our whole things is that we were rivals, but we’re really friends. I think a lot of people play up a playful rivalry, but that’s not what we do, we’re just trying to have fun.
MC: What does the holidays and this time of year mean for both of you?
JC: I didn’t spend a lot of time with my family during the holidays, I mostly stay in New York City. For me, the holidays are about taking time to reflect and being with your chosen family and enjoying that time together. I do also love Christmas drag; I will say, that has become part of of the holidays for me also, I love putting together Christmas shows. A lot of queens do a lot of Halloween stuff, I do a lot more Christmas drag. Even though I am not religious at all and don’t celebrate Christmas in the religous way, I love the Christmas tree and all of the songs, that to me is the holidays.
J: To me, it is very much a reflection of the year to celebrate my friends and my family and all of the accomplishments. Really just get to be excited about what really matters in life. We can get really focused on all of the other things and distractions in life, but I think having a close bond with the people you love is most important. I really feel like that is strengthened around this time of year.
MC: You are traveling all of the country and now more than ever, visibility is truly power. What has it been like for both of you to travel outside of the bubble that we both are in and to bring them drag and performances that they may not typically have available to them?
JC: I will say this, for this part of the tour tight now we are with Hard Candy Events that really goes to communities where they may not naturally have that big of a drag presence. What is amazing is that as you go into each city and find that there is a vibrant queer community in every part of America in every town, and they just want to be celebrated as much as the people in the big cities and it is so cool to see that. I would even say that some of the audiences in the small towns have been more engaged and excited than some of our big cities and that has been amazing. We also notice that in the cities where we come back two or three times that they start building a relationship with us and its gets bigger and bigger.
Jan and I have been in Columbus Ohio six times in the last two year and we were there recently on a Monday to a packed house which is awesome to come back. We love being in towns where we people really appreciate drag, its amazing.
J: I totally agree with everything Jackie said. Yesterday during the meet and greet someone came up to me and said “I bet you guys must be so tired of this” and I said “No”! (laughs). We are just two little girls from New York City who really love and care about what we do. It’s a beautiful and special thing; I love meeting the fans, especially in the Midwest. We do things throughout the year, but to come and celebrate throughout the year where everyone is feeling very grateful or even if they’re feeling the opposite and need a pick me up, it’s just great that we get to be there for everyone throughout the year.
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