We’ll say it: There are way too many songs about Christmas—and not nearly enough about Halloween.
But why should that be? If there’s two things we queers love, it’s earworm-y bops and the spookiest season of the year, so doesn’t it stand to reason we’d have more ghoulish & gay music to listen to all October long?
Well, thank god Lucifer for The Boulet Brothers, Dracmorda and Swanthula (a.k.a. Drac & Swan), who just dropped their Halloween House Party EP, which delivers exactly what it promises: playlist-ready original tracks to celebrate All Hallow’s Eve, harkening back to psychobilly surf-rock sounds with a modern electronic edge.
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Further cementing Drac & Swan’s status as the Queens Of Halloween, the monster mash-up of an EP comes hot on the heels of the (66)6th season of The Boulet Brothers‘ Dragula on Shudder, the filthiest and freakiest drag series in the world (and we mean that in the beast way).
With the competition just kicking into hellish high gear, this season’s already shaping up to be one for the books with truly horrifying challenges, gaggy guest judges (hello Child’s Play legends Don Mancini & Jennifer Tilly!), and a cast of drag ghouls so talented you almost hate to see them get exterminated—almost!
From music to television to your nightmares, The Boulet Brothers are truly every where this Halloween season, and that’s exactly how we like it. To help us get a head start on celebrating the holiday, we invited Drac & Swan to be the latest guests of our rapid-fire Q&A series, Dishin’ It. In our conversation, the glam goblins sing the praises of the (apparently still controversial) Rocky Horror Picture Show, share their favorite horror flicks of the year so far, and reveal their favorite costumes from Halloweens of yore.
Is there a piece of media—whether a movie, TV series, book, album, theater, video game, etc…—that has played an important role in your understanding of queerness and the queer community? Why does it stand out to you?
DRAC & SWAN: I would say the one film that awakened both of our queerness would be The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It’s horror themed, campy, vulnerable, it’s both funny and sad, and it’s raw. There is representation in the cast from every persuasion, so most people in the queer community can find one of them to relate to.
It’s amazing to think that we’ve now had 6 seasons of The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula—and that’s not even counting Titans! In terms of coming up with wildly inventive challenges and floor shows week after week, season after season, what have you found helps you keep things creative and fresh (and by that we mean rotted)?
DRAC: Being sadists helps. Just kidding! For me, I love the art of fear. I am someone who has suffered from anxiety my whole life, so terror (in all its forms) fascinates me. Also seeing people overcome their fears – I believe there is nothing more transformative to an artist’s perspective than being pushed beyond their comfortability.
SWAN: Also, ideas are something we never run out of. The show is a true labor of love for us, and it really is everything we crave rolled up into one package, so it constantly keeps us inspired. We love horror, camp, glam, and shocking reality tv, and so we’re always getting excited about new themes, challenges, and tortures.
By now we’ve met our incredible ghouls for Season 6, and we know about the killer Dead By Daylight crossover, but what’s something else you’re specifically excited about for this season that you can tease?
DRAC: The exterminations! In past years, we admittedly have gotten soft with the cast as the season goes on, but not this time. Every single extermination is definitely something you would not want to do.
Speaking of Dead By Daylight, if you could put yourselves—and the world of Dragula—into another other video game, what would it be and why?
SWAN: Probably World Of Warcraft (because I used to love it), or the old Ghosts ‘n Goblins arcade game because the aesthetic is perfectly spooky and retro at the same time.
Over the years, in your work on Dragula and beyond, you’ve gotten to work alongside some venerable horror ICONS! Who is a celebrity that has surprised you most?
DRAC: Lauren Lavera from Terrifier. She was such a natural, and took to the judging so effortlessly! Also, David Dastmalchian is a very close friend of ours, and that relationship begun on the set of the show. He was really direct and firm with his critiques, and that resonated with me. He cared about giving them honest, sincere, and useful feedback.
Halloween is rapidly approaching, and nobody does the season up like the two of you. But we’re so curious: What’s a childhood Halloween costume of yours that you still feel proud of to this day?
SWAN: I had a vampire costume (when I was maybe six years old) that I loved! I wore the cape around the house for a long time after Halloween.
DRAC: One year we transformed this entire club into a horror farm themed event, and we were running around almost naked covered in blood with pig masks, high heels, and chainsaws. Those were the days.
When it comes to “holiday songs,” Christmas gets all the attention, but in the grand tradition of “The Monster Mash,” you’re finally giving us the Halloween music we’ve been so desperately craving with the Halloween House Party EP. But how do you find the right sonic vibe for the season—is it scary, is it campy, is it something else entirely? What soundscape did you want to give with this new music?
SWAN: Well first, thank you for noticing our contribution to the Halloween holiday music genre!
DRAC: You know how every family has a holiday record that they play through the season? Well we wanted to make the Halloween album version of that! It was important to us for it to feel retro and nostalgic, warm, familiar, and of course, a little spooky.
It has been a MASSIVE year for horror at the movies. What’s your favorite horror film of the year so far and why?
DRAC: Longlegs. It was atmospheric, creepy, and left a lasting impression.
SWAN: Maxxxine. What’s better than 80’s style gore, sex, and horror?
Who is a queer or trans artist/performer/creator that you think is doing really cool work right now? Why are they someone we should all be paying attention to?
DRAC: Nobody in particular because artists (that you’ve heard about) are not necessarily the best at what they do, or revolutionary in any way – often times they were lucky, or in the right place at the right time, or they knew someone, etc., or an algorithm shined its blessed light on them. I think people should birth and nurture their own inner artists and pay attention to them. That’s who matters.
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