Maggot Banks on Positive Masculinity, Community, and Drag Kinging
The Kings of Joy Show
Episode 8 Season 2
Danica Lani: Ever looked in the mirror and thought, "I'd make a damn fine Drag King." Welcome to Kings of Joy, the Drag King podcast where gender isn't something to fear, it's something to play with. I'm Danica Lani, The King Coach, mentor to over 150 first-time Drag Kings, and I'm taking you backstage into the unruly, magical world of Drag King transformation. If you're craving confidence, community, and a crew that gets it, you just found your crown. Connect with us on Instagram at Kings of Joy for behind the scenes content and updates. We'd love to hear from you. And the second I saw them, I was like, "Oh, I have to do that." Really? Yeah. Like literally that night was I like, "Oh my effing god, I have to try this." I cannot recommend playing with gender enough. Like gender is such a fun thing to play with and I think we forget that it is a chess piece that you can move around the board. Right. At Kings of Joy, we acknowledge and pay our respects to the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, the traditional custodians of the land on which we live, work, and play. In this episode, I had the privilege of speaking with Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks. Kaitlyn is a Kings of Joy producer working to build the Drag King scene in Sydney. Her Drag King persona, Maggot Banks, is a diamond in the rough. Underneath his gruff exterior, this stage diving King is actually a snuggly teddy bear living for the roar of the crowds and the love of his bros. Welcome, Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks to The Kings of Joy Show.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Thanks for having me.
Danica Lani: Yeah, what a pleasure. No, I'm so excited. This space looks beautiful. Such a good vibe.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: It looks so amazing, doesn't it? Thanks to Bambuddha Studios.
Danica Lani: Yes. Very exciting. I thought we'd dive straight in because we all want to know what your origin story is. Like how and why did you become a Drag King?
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Yeah. It's actually an interesting one. So, I had never really encountered Drag Kings out in the wild, but during COVID I was living with a roommate who was falling madly in love with this gorgeous, gorgeous woman named Sarah and they invited us to the Queers of Joy show that they were performing their first ever group as a Drag King.
Danica Lani: Wow.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: And so we being like good roommates and supporters and it was like sort of post-COVID times and we're very excited to get out of the house. We'd heard so much about it. We go to Queers of Joy and I see my good friend John Howard. Sorry that is an Australian cultural reference. A former prime minister was John Howard and this King was called John Howard.
Danica Lani: Yes.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: So Sarah's debut was as John Howard and the song was Todrick Hall's I Like Boys.
Danica Lani: Love it.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: And it was so brilliant. I just could not believe my eyes. And the second I saw them I was like, "Oh, I have to do that."
Danica Lani: Really?
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Yeah. Like literally that night was I like, "Oh my effing god, I have to try this." And so yeah, I think I scanned a QR code on the wall that evening and signed up and then did the meet and greet like a week later. And I was hooked. But I was really really excited because some of Sarah's group routine had been done over Zoom I believe. That group in particular because of the pandemic and the lockdowns ended up being a very long program online throughout the whole lockdowns.
Danica Lani: Yeah.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: And I knew I didn't want to do that.
Danica Lani: Yeah.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: So I was really grateful that we got to do it in person. And yeah, I just was so hooked. The people I met were amazing and have become like lifelong friends. Kiki aka, yes, has been my roommate since and have absolutely fallen in love with. They will be in my life forever. I'm going to see them in New Zealand. They've moved back to New Zealand.
Danica Lani: Amazing.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: And I'm going to see them in the new year, which I'm really excited about.
Danica Lani: Oh, that's so good because I know that their Drag King career has just kicked off, killing it. They did Palmy Fest in New Zealand on the main stage and it looked like the most professional King performance I think I've ever seen. Like a video behind them. They had edited a song. They'd edited their voiceover. It was so brilliant, a light routine.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Yeah. So I think watching their journey has really inspired me to really stick with it. But then just the people that I've met from my group and then subsequent groups. Yeah, I just can't stop really.
Danica Lani: We can't stop you. That's good. I love that. I know I remember your group was a very special routine as well. Like it holds a place in my heart for sure. That routine because it allowed for everyone to have their own Drag King personas that was so different. Tell us about the backstory of that.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: The backstory was that we had met each other in a record store. So, we didn't know each other entering this record store. We were all listening to our, we had headphones on. We were all listening to our own records. We're all in our own sections and then a song comes over the radio and it's I Believe in a Thing Called Love by The Darkness which is again just such an iconic jam. And so somebody realizes that that's the song that's on and they're like, "Oh, yeah." And they're really getting into it and then each one of us joins in. So all very different personas and backgrounds. Like we have a cat daddy.
Danica Lani: Yeah.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Muse, cat daddy. We've got like a glam rocker in the scene. We've got...
Danica Lani: Was that David Blowy?
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: David Blowy. David Blowy who had fans in the audience who made t-shirts and came up afterwards. That was amazing.
Danica Lani: Yeah, truly. Who else do we have in that group?
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Kaiser was in that group. So, German sort of punk rock scene. Maggot, my persona, which is like a bit of a Scottish lad come over to Australia. He's a bit of a bear. He's like the youngest of ten.
Danica Lani: So, this is the persona. This is the history. Yeah. Please tell us, introduce us to Maggot Banks.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Yeah. So, Maggot Banks is a Scottish lad. Come over. He's the youngest of ten brothers. So he is developed from a personal family story. So my grandma, she's a Marjorie Banks which is like a fairly well-known Scottish clan and she was the youngest of nine brothers. She was their baby sister and she just wanted to play footie and she wanted to be this roughouser and she has an older brother who's my father's namesake Alan and he was soft, he was soft and he was gentle and he's the youngest of eight brothers and yeah he's a bit of a bear and a bit of a nomad. All the boys played footie and yeah I just wanted to play with the family and so Maggot came from that. He looks really rough and tough, but he's really soft and tender when he's with his boys.
Danica Lani: Like a marshmallow, like soft on the inside.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Exactly. So, yeah, he's ready to kick himself across the stage and have a beer with the boys, but then he wants to go home afterwards and have a cuddle. So that's with the boys.
Danica Lani: Yeah, with the boys.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Because yeah, I just loved that. And the name Maggot Banks actually came from one of my fellow Kings. So during the process of doing like the group rehearsals in the lead-up to Queers of Joy, did we have like a little makeup session at home? And so me, Kaiser, and Martin Ventasmol, who's another King, absolutely brilliant.
Danica Lani: Yeah.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Got together at my house and we're playing with makeup. And as a queer woman, I have never played with makeup as much as I have as a King, which is so crazy.
Danica Lani: How strange, it's so funny.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: I was like, "Oh, I've got to buy brushes now. Like, I got to do all these things." And we were talking about pulling from our heritage and I was talking about the persona of being a rocker and falling into that space and not knowing what my name would be because I didn't want to be a parody of another person in history. I wanted to be really authentic to me and my story. And then I was playing with Marjorie Banks and then Martin Ventasmol came up with Maggot and I was hooked and Maggot was born from there.
Danica Lani: Maggot as a name was perfect. And you know, you can picture this Maggot Banks coming out on stage with the kilt.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Yeah. With the kilt and the leather and the leather gloves and the...
Danica Lani: Yeah.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Yeah. Leather studded gloves. Sometimes a mesh shirt under a leather jacket. Leather boots with sometimes studs in those as well. Sometimes work boots.
Danica Lani: Yeah, that's right.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Yeah, he's pretty rough and ready.
Danica Lani: Yeah.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Which I love about Maggot because yeah. I feel that way in my day-to-day a lot of the time.
Danica Lani: Rough and ready.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Yeah. I'm not the most, I don't know. I don't, I do clean up, but I don't care to, you know. It doesn't bring a lot to me. I do it for other people, not for myself.
Danica Lani: Yeah. These are all things that we get to discover along the way.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Yeah. Exactly. If I could live in the bush and never shower again, I would be a happy happy person.
Danica Lani: Well, it's possible. You know, I did that in my 20s. So, lived in the bush for three and a half years.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Yes.
Danica Lani: Yeah. Off the grid. It's a good story. So, there you are and you've done your first group debut experience. What was that like being on stage?
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: It was thrilling. Like, I remember we were backstage and we're all together. We're kind of huddled around each other and we're like giving each other a pep talk and we're like, "Boys, boys, boys, boys, boys." Because we're like amping each other up before we get up and we all start on stage and somebody yells my name in the audience and I think it was my partner but I was like, "Ah," and I look to the audience and I can just see lights and I turn back because if we start sort of looking off to the side and then my song comes on. The other great thing is that we all got like little clippets as if you could hear what we were listening to in our headphones and brilliant concept if I do say so myself.
Danica Lani: I love it. Was that such a good set?
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: It was fun to choreograph.
Danica Lani: It was really fun. That was my song choice too. I Believe in a Thing Called Love. Everybody at the beginning of Kings of Joy puts in their suggested songs and we dance around and start trying to move in masculine ways discovering that stuff. But then I go away and listen to all the songs and then choose one. And that was the one that I chose that time.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Yeah. So I Believe in a Thing Called Love felt really authentic to Maggot which I was so excited about. Because I felt especially when I started I was very like I really settled in that rocker space but having continued with Kings of Joy and having been able to play on stage. The first time on stage was just like pure adrenaline. Like it really is you're being cheered for. You want to just like give it to the audience. Like I just had so much fun, so much energy and that I can ride that for a few days afterwards. Like some people drop, I just can hold on to it for a really long time. So every time I've gotten on stage I've gotten to play with what Maggot is on stage and what he brings. And I thought I was really stuck in that rocker space and I'm not. Which has been really fun. Every time I'm on stage I find like another little facet of Maggot that I can play with.
Danica Lani: Yes.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: And I've done pop numbers now and I've done boy band routines and...
Danica Lani: Good on you.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Things that I don't think I imagined Maggot being capable of or even Kaitlyn to be honest. Like Maggot's got much more capacity than Kaitlyn does. Um, yes, it's definitely been a lot of fun and being on stage is like a really special feeling for me. I didn't grow up on stages. I didn't grow up in theatre. Like I know lots of Kings have a theatre background or a performance background and I don't. So this was really my first ever time on a stage.
Danica Lani: I mean that's wild for you to say because Maggot has such incredible stage presence and such a raw energy on stage that it's been amazing to watch you.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: It feels really natural for me on stage. And I think that's one of the great things that I've discovered is that there is something on stage that I love. Like deep down in my core, it energizes me. It gives me creativity in a way that I don't get in my day-to-day. Like it's such a fun space to be in. And to be able to play with other Kings on stage for the first time emboldens you to be bigger and to feed off of each other and I love that like being in a group routine I think is also really unique.
Danica Lani: Yes.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: I think a lot of drag artists do go through those solo explorations and that's how they get into drag. They do it often on their own or if it's a drag mother, but maybe they don't, I don't see a lot of drag mothers and children doing routines together. Right. So being in a group is something that is so precious. I love it so much.
Danica Lani: And you know, we designed it that way so that everyone's a first timer, first-time Drag King. So you've got that equal level playing field even if someone has a performance background or dance background or doesn't, maybe has never performed or danced or never picked up a paint brush in their life. Like it doesn't matter. Like everyone's starting out as a first-time Drag King.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Yeah. Which is really great. And it's a really bonding experience for everyone because we're sharing where we're at in the journey. Like some people in my group had dance experience, but a lot of us had none. Like I think there was four of us that had no stage experience. Max Muse was two left feet and was amazing on stage.
Danica Lani: Really great. Nailed it.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Nailed it. Yeah, it was really, really great. And to be able to pick each other up when there was a little anxious moment or a little uncertainty. We had each other's backs, which was really, really great experience. I really needed that. That was another major reason I signed up was I hadn't really found my community yet in Sydney. I'd been in Sydney for a couple years when I came to see Queers of Joy, but besides Abby and Sarah, who were my roommates and Sarah came to do Kings of Joy as well, I didn't have a lot of community. So, that was a huge reason I did it. I just wanted to be surrounded by other queer people.
Danica Lani: And did you have any idea like the community that was available? Like what's happened since in terms of community?
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Yeah, I don't think I knew how close the Kings were when I started. I just knew that Sarah was having a really great time and I was like, "Yeah, let's do that. That sounds fun. I want to be around more queer people." But since my first debut, did I do a group routine with Drag Kingdom, which I think was quite a few months after my routine. I was in the Mardi Gras season, so I had done in February.
Danica Lani: Yeah.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: And then I think Drag Kingdom that year, I don't know if it was at the end of the year, maybe November.
Danica Lani: Yeah. Or there was maybe a June because we tend to do Drag Kingdom twice a year.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Yeah.
Danica Lani: And it's a reunion of all the Kings of Joy coming back to do their group numbers or your duos or new solos. Yeah. So it could have been a few months later or even at the end of the year.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Yeah. And that was I think solidified some of those friendships. It's like I hadn't kept up with everybody, but that Drag King reunion show where we all get together, we're all rehearsing in the lead-up to it, you're meeting other Kings from other groups, that had really solidified quite a few friendships for me, including Kaiser. I'd met other Kings like Randy Rootrat, who is now one of my closest friends, and I do a duet with them. Maggot and Randy do a duet together and it was inspired by Randy's birthday. So there are lots of opportunities since Kings of Joy, my first group, that I've embedded with the people in this community which has been such a joy. Have gone to art galleries of fellow Kings, have gone to events that they've produced, have gone to their houses for housewarmings and have helped Kings move and Kings have helped me move. And I've taken a King to hospital because they needed a friend. Like the space has been so beautiful, so kind, so caring. I think anytime I want a friend to go to an event with, it doesn't matter if I have anyone in mind or not. I can pop it in the King community chat and I know that somebody will respond. And it's an opportunity where we sort of know we have shared values. We have shared values, we have shared interests and we know that we're going to have a good time together because we're fellow Kings, you know, like there's something about it that's really special.
Danica Lani: Absolutely.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Um but I think almost every single person that I am friends with in Sydney is a Drag King.
Danica Lani: I love that. That's so good. Yeah. Let's circle back to your performance, your debut solo which was done with Randy Rootrat. Tell us about Eat Randy.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: So Eat Randy came about because so Katie Akari, I can't remember they were hosting an event at Tap Gallery in Sydney and it was a little art exhibition and they're an artist as well. And I think they had invited a couple of performers to perform for their birthday.
Danica Lani: Yeah.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: And I was like, "Oh, well, it's Katie's birthday. I better do something special." And then I remembered this very deep cut from YouTube. The song is called Eat Randy and it's by Julian Smith and he's like a bit of a parody musician on YouTube, but no one had heard of it, which I was like, "Beautiful." And so I did this number where I kind of sit Randy in the middle of the stage and I tell everybody how much I love Randy and Randy's my best friend and I want to take Randy to a picnic and all these sorts of things, but all I really want is to eat them and then I just devour Randy on stage, which I've had so much fun playing with. I think the first iteration I had like a baguette jammed between Randy's legs and I ate the baguette live during the performance which was very fun and silly. We've now levelled up to sauce and now I just cover them in sauce and I lick the sauce off of them.
Danica Lani: Um...
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: And mustard.
Danica Lani: And mustard. Yeah. Ketchup and mustard on stage. So, it's a very beautiful colourful take on eating Randy.
Danica Lani: I have to admit when you came to me with that idea in that solo and you said, "Oh, I've done it. I've already done a version of it at Randy's birthday," and I read the lyrics and we were talking about themes of like cannibalism and I'm like, what? How am I going to do this? Like, we don't do representations of toxic masculinity on stage. To really think about it and come up with a way to enter into a space of parody and find the parody in that. And it's worked out brilliantly. One of my favourite routines.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Because Eat Randy isn't necessarily meant to be gory. It's not like he wants to murder his friend. That's not where we're at. He really just wants to devour him in this really loving, beautiful way that honours his body because like Randy is a piece. You know, and it would be an honour to do that. So yeah, we had to play with how do I show my love and appreciation for Randy, but then also play with this very silly idea of me taking that love maybe a step too far.
Danica Lani: So, picture this: Maggot Banks. There's a restaurant setting. There's a table with a menu and a tablecloth. Randy's the waiter wearing a badge that Randy always wears. Hi, my name's Randy. It suits Randy to a tee. And then in comes Maggot Banks as a patron of the restaurant.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Yeah.
Danica Lani: Randy is there being of service and is a version of Randy that is very much like someone from the Book of Mormons. Hello. Hi. Like very happy and cheerful and happy to go along with absolutely anything. And you know, and then sits Maggot Banks down. And what are some of the opening lyrics of that song?
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: It goes "The menu at this restaurant has everything you'd ever want, but nothing that quite fancies me."
Danica Lani: And look at Randy.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Yeah. "I do not want the steak bones. I do not want the duck flambé. These specials don't sound special to me. I'd rather eat Randy. I'd rather eat Randy. Randy. Randy. I'd rather eat Randy. Randy. Randy."
Danica Lani: That honestly turned out to be one of my favourite routines to choreograph and working with the two of you was so easy and so joyful and fun. But you end up having Randy on the table wrapped in the tablecloth with the...
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Yeah. And I cover them and just really dig my face in there. It was really funny actually at the last Bois Night Out which is a show that we've produced together with other Kings of Joy producers. But it's a monthly Drag King show. And so for November's performance, we pulled out Eat Randy again, but because it's a little bit of setup, it takes we it's usually at the start of a set, right? And it's the table and the tablecloth and the mustards. And somebody pulled me aside after the show and was like, "I knew it was going to be Eat Randy based on the set. And I was so excited." And I pulled Randy aside and I was like, "Randy, we're famous. People know when we're going to be on stage because we have like a brand." And Maggot. So I think it's going to have to be a series.
Danica Lani: I agree.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Where like Randy maybe it's a picnic setting another time. Like I think we have to evolve all the different places that I take Randy before I eat them.
Danica Lani: Yes, I think it and I can see the bike, you know, that bike, a bike with the double seats, you know, you and Randy, Maggot and Randy on the double seated bike, that would be fun riding along on a push bike, honey, when I noticed you. Something fun like that. 100%. So, yeah. No, I feel really happy being able to play in the space and to be able to have Kings to bounce off of. Like Randy wouldn't have happened without me meeting Katie and without that opportunity to perform at the Tap Gallery and without being able to go, "Hey, I have a gig lined up and I want to evolve it. I want it to be bigger. I want it to be for a main stage and not just like a small space," you know, like how can I evolve that? And then obviously had a couple of choreography sessions with you and that was just a dream to be able to have somebody to help with that process because I don't know that I would have known where to start choreographing a scene like that especially two people but I had an idea and yeah you were just so there for me which I'm just so appreciative of.
Danica Lani: Yeah, thank you. And you know, it's very fulfilling for me personally because not only am I, have I nearly paid off my HECS debt with my student loan...
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Look, that's much further along than I am.
Danica Lani: Almost after all these years, but I'm actually using my degree in dance, drama, performance studies, feminist studies, you know, being able to use it with this with Kings of Joy as a business. So, yeah, really grateful for that.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Don't remind me of my HECS status.
Danica Lani: I know. Sorry. Sorry to bring it down for a second. Um, but yeah, I'm curious to hear what you would say to any aspiring Drag Kings who might be listening today.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Oh, so many things. So many things. I cannot recommend playing with gender enough. Like gender is such a fun thing to play with and I think we forget that it is a chess piece that you can move around the board, right? Like I think we forget because of our upbringing or school or whatever it is and societal expectations, all these things that I recognize plague people. But if you are in a space where you can carve out a little moment for yourself, whether it's with other people that you feel safe or in your own room, it is so much fun. I've learned so much about myself playing with my masculinity. I've learned so much about what brings me joy and how to care for myself and who to surround myself with and how to recognize toxic masculinity in the spaces that I'm in because I've spent so much time studying positive forms of masculinity. Like it was like a lesson that I wanted to learn almost. But it now means that like as a woman in the world, I don't tolerate toxic masculinity because I know good forms of it. I know it exists. I see it in the world and I look for it. And I talk about it when it comes up with people. I don't tolerate it anymore. So that's been a really unexpected joy I think and unexpected lesson from kinging which is crazy. You wouldn't necessarily expect that.
Danica Lani: No.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: But yeah I think just being able to shape the world around you and play with it is so important. I think we forget it as adults. So, if you're feeling a bit stagnant or a bit stuck or a bit depressed or oppressed, like I think Kinging can be a real liberator for a lot of reasons like personally, politically, artistically. Yeah, it's a real great space to be in.
Danica Lani: Awesome. Great. I love that. And you know, I am committed to helping Drag Kings become and people being empowered and at home in their 100% at home in their own skin. And I've got a free resource for aspiring Drag Kings. If you want a place to start some people start with their name and so I've got a free downloadable guide, Claim your Drag King name in four simple steps that you can download that at danicalani.com/dragkingname. So yeah, go ahead and help yourselves. It also goes through the archetypes of Drag Kinging, possible archetypes that you could use to develop your Drag King persona. And I think Maggot probably falls into the category, the archetype that's like the rebel.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Yeah, he's very much in the rebel. And he might have a sprinkling of something else, but he's definitely a rebel. He started playing more with like having that like more desire, like trying to pull desire from the audience. I think it's not something that I used to play with but now I'm like yeah I want to make you feel something. So yeah. No but yeah 100%. I love the archetypes though. That sounds so cool.
Danica Lani: Yeah. They're so useful.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Because yeah. You really do just have like no you don't know where to begin. You have no idea where to begin. And I remember like even just writing down all the Drag King names I could think of. Like I had a session at home where we were just throwing names and puns at each other and I had Jimmy Tendix at one point. And so you have all of these crazy ideas which I love. But yeah, to be able to go, oh, this is how to develop a really great persona as opposed to a character. I think is really great because I didn't want to be a rendition of Jimi Hendrix, you know what I mean? I didn't want to be stuck. I didn't want to feel stuck in. So, yeah, I think having archetypes you can play with. Does this feel good to me and my experience. That's great.
Danica Lani: And it's been amazing to see how quickly we can do it as well because in a group especially because so many Drag Kings that I've spoken to over the years, I mean I started Drag Kinging in 2011 and it took me years to come up with my name that I really resonated with Dello, but it also taken a lot of Drag Kings to come up with their persona and taken them 3 years you know and we've found a way to do it in 5 weeks where you come out with your name, your look, your backstory and have done like a performance together in a crew so...
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: And like to be able to keep playing with it. For me Maggot feels really authentic and I haven't wanted to change the name but Maggot as a persona has really developed over time and like I said I'm already going, "Oh, what more can I do with Maggot? How else can I play with Maggot?" And it comes from a place of like what does Kaitlyn need right now? So like I'm going through a body positivity journey because I'm a different weight than I have been for a long time in my adult life. So, Maggot is a way for me to go, okay, how do I feel good in my skin and how do I feel sexy in my body? And so I get to do that outside of my day-to-day like I get to go, okay, no, I'm preparing for this show and I want to feel and look sexy.
Danica Lani: Yes.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: And how do I do that? And that's really great.
Danica Lani: I love that sharing because I so relate to that. You know, I manage endometriosis and so I deal with chronic pain and have done for over a decade now. And having endometriosis changed my body shape. You know, there's the endo belly and the protrusion and physicalness of the inflammation and the webbing that grows and the pain and it impacted my sense of experiencing myself as hot, you know, as attractive. And then recently, even just recently, I did that Dario Debello Drag King performance at Drag Kingdom. Head and Heart.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Yes. Oh, such a good number.
Danica Lani: Head and heart. I still point down to the crown jewels because that head and Dar is very confused about whether it's his head or his heart. But watching back that video, I was like, "Ah, I come out just in silk pajamas bottoms, black with red lipstick, you know, kisses all over them and just binding on top." And I watched back that video and I was like, "Oh, no. I can see the hotness again." And it helped change, heal that.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: 100%.
Danica Lani: Have you found that with Drag Kinging?
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Yeah, I was terrified to watch back my first performance because I am bare-chested and I am bigger and I was really worried looking back. It took me a long long time. I picked a good day where I was feeling good in myself and I watched it and I was like I look so hot. I look great. I look like I'm having a great time. My body is like enjoying itself on stage.
Danica Lani: Yes.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: And you can tell people are cheering for me, like they're loving it. And I just felt like the most beautiful. Like I felt so hot. I felt handsome. I felt hot. I felt sexy. All of these things that I don't necessarily feel in my day-to-day. But when I'm doing drag, I do, like I really feel myself. And I love that. I love that escape of day-to-day wear and just like, oh, no, put on something a little extra or a little less. Maggot isn't always the most clothed person in the world and is often flashing his bum.
Danica Lani: Yes.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: On stage under the kilt.
Danica Lani: Under the kilt.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Yeah. And I feel good in my body doing that because Maggot gives me, I don't know, a little extra confidence and I take it out into my day-to-day as much as I can.
Danica Lani: Yes. So good. And now you're a Kings of Joy producer as well, which is so amazing. You've been a massive contribution to helping these events run in Sydney. If I gave you or Maggot a magic wand and you could make a thriving Drag King scene happen, what would that look like?
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Oh gosh, there are so many things on the wish list. I think even just taking it back to the basics, if I never had to answer what's a Drag King again, that would be amazing. Every time I tell people I'm a Drag King they're like, "What's that?" and I'm like, "What do you mean what's that? It's a drag queen but it's a King. Can you connect the dots yourself?" I'm excited to talk about Drag Kings, but I would love to be just like, not myself Maggot but just Drag Kings in general to be commonplace in queer history and I feel like we don't have to dig for it. We know the history. Drag Kings have been here as long as drag queens have.
Danica Lani: Yes.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: But I think mainstream media doesn't have a lot of King representation. I would love to see more Kings on main stages in main events, on Mardi Gras stages. Just for two years ago, three years ago, did a Drag King make their first debut on a Mardi Gras mainstage.
Danica Lani: Yes.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: Like that's only a couple years ago and how long have we been here? So I think I would love to see every single queer event that has a queen also has a King, right? That would make me so happy. Yeah, I think that what else do I want? I feel like there's so many different things. I think to have more representation on television would have more unique stories. I think we could have a movie. We could have a reality show. Like the reality of Kings is so funny, like so actually hilarious. Watching a King get ready backstage is one of the biggest joys in my life. Like just recently we were in the green room and somebody was just like, "Oh, hey, can you do my lipstick? I just need to pack." And I was just like, "Yeah, of course I'll do your lipstick while you pack." And I just think to have more representation in mainstream media would be really cool. To have more paid gigs. I think not a lot of the wealth is shared with the women and non-binary people doing drag. The gay men seem to really have a monopoly on a lot of spaces. And it's not to say that women aren't welcome in those spaces and non-binary people aren't welcome in those spaces but I think it's just been catered to them for such a long time. So, yeah, to have more inclusive spaces where we can thrive would be really great.
Danica Lani: I love your vision. Great. Let's make that happen. Doing it together. Amazing. Thank you so much, Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks for being on The Kings of Joy Show. So appreciate you.
Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks: No, thank you so much for having me. I love talking everything Drag King. So yeah, have me back anytime.
Danica Lani: You bet. Thanks. Welcome to the kingdom. Pull up a chair. Real Kings, real stories. We go there from debut to crew the journey we're making. This is Kings of Joy. Here's the crown you're claiming. Welcome to the kingdom. Kings, real... the journey of the kingdom. This is Kings of Joy. Here's the crown. Here's the crown. Welcome to the kingdom. Kings... from debut to crew the journey we're making. This is Kings of Joy. Here's the crown you're claiming.
