I've known Miss Kitty Diggins for a few years now and I always enjoy talking to her. I always feel like we have similar ideas (therefore they are ALWAYS good ideas) and interests. She's a kind person who cares very deeply for people, animals, and the environment.

Kitty is a true performance artist, but I DO mean that in a good way. Even before the rest of the world started catching on to the Neo-Burlesque scene, she was already doing it, waving fans and twirling tassels on stage next to many of the moden day legends we've been hearing about these days. She helped run the Miss Exotic World pageant back when it was still in Helendale, California in the middle of nowhere. She has performed in plays. She's been sent to Europe to perform Burlesque! She's starred in the films Superstarlet A.D. and Broad Daylight!! She's even opened up for THE CRAMPS!!!

We've always talked about doing an interview, but we never really got it together until now and the timing couldn't be more perfect. As of this week, she'll be doing the first Halloween themed edition of her club DANDY at Safari Sams in Hollywood.

So just what IS Dandy and who is Kitty Diggins really? Read on and you'll see...

K = Kitty Diggins (the interview subject)
C = Chris Beyond (the interviewer)

C: When was the first time you remember wanting to be a performer and what inspired it?

K: For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a performer but I cannot recall the first initial thing that inspired me It's just that it seemed natural. The problem was that I was horrendously shy, so it took many years to get through that. I can say that going to parties with my parents and seeing people dancing and wearing fabulous clothing was a big plus. I was very influenced by what my parents were into. I loved to dance and I loved music. I became quite the fanatic when I was really little. I loved almost anything I saw on TV or in the movies that involved costuming and dancing. I used to take bubble baths as a little kid and I would make the suds into big hair do's on my head and boobs. I would act out the credits from TV shows. I used to also do dance performances for my parents and I would strip to the song The Stripper and kick my Jon Bonnet Ramsey plastic heels across the room. Little did I know I would be flinging shoes at unsuspecting audience members later on in life.

C: We've had some very interesting conversations about being a performance artist in today's political environment. After the last election, controversial electronic votes aside, can we start putting some of the blame on the people who keep voting these people in even though there is plenty of evidence that the people they vote in aren't in it for their best interests?

K: Can you rephrase that question?

C: Um...Is it OK to say that the BULK of the blame on the last election lays with certain voters who still refuse to educate themselves on the issues now that we're in an age where we can see what our government is doing around the world just by turning on the computer?

K: This question is multi faceted. I could speak volumes on this topic. I'm not sure how it relates to Dandy

C: It's more about how it relates to you.

K: In a Nut's Hell.....We haven't absorbed the torment of our Grandparents who went through the depression. We are products of the Populuxe Culture...an awesome book by the way! Post WW Two was all about convenience, taking it easy, and product packaging. From there came the big social revolution...which held tremendous possibility and hopeful idealism..but two things happened. One is that when people get older they get tired and just want to relax. Nothing wrong with that. Labor destroys the body mind and soul... Actually three things...lots of drugs were involved. I am not against drugs, but because it was such a free for all, a generation of brain cells were damaged. Combine that with tired worn out freedom fighters and well, the rest is history. And THEN - there is the not so Divine plan. I could go on an endless tirade, but I think through study and observation that the history of this nation has been laid down by hands which in a certain way are untouchable. The psychology of this nation I think is quite unlike most others, and I think it's very difficult for the majority of individuals to make clear sensible decisions. This involves a heavy dose of confusion about who we are , what we want and how much responsibility we are willing to accept to make our dreams come true. I refer again to the post WW Two psychology of taking it easy, fused with the American dream of living by your own rules while having a panel of elected officials making big decisions. Americans want to go where they want to go and do what they want to do, but don't want to take responsibility for the Big Picture. We are like a bunch of teenagers. Rebels without a cause. We don't respect those who fought and died for a cause and what it means to suffer , what it means to do without. We don't remember our Grandparents and great Grandparents. We don't want responsibilities. We want our parents to pay the bills and do the work so we can take our allowance and buy stuff and run around around after curfew. I am not speaking for myself. My Grandparents and their predecessors worked their asses off...and I respect that,...ut I mean our culture as a whole. Our political parties have lost their hutzpah, and we just want to shop or die.

C: So speaking of scary subjects, what is the best spooky themed ride you've ever been on?

K: I hate rides. I have terrible motion sickness, so avoid them at all costs. Elevators are bad enough, however the Pirates Of The Caribbean scared the shit out of me when I was little. If I didn't despise Disney so much, I would go to Disneyland and do the ride as an adult , but I don't know that this will happen.

C: Tell me about the first Halloween show you put together.

K: I can't remember which one was my first , but I did do an old time Victorian type Parlour show which might have been the first one I put on by myself. It was held at a cafe called Umbra Penumbra in Portland. I did all the tech and everything myself. I had become very inspired by the old time ghost shows from the days of yore, and got much inspiration from old stage illusion books and rigged the props to fly around at certain key times. I have often started shows off as a funeral taking place, and the person whose funeral it was...mine...would come out of a coffin, tell the story of how they died and keep coming back to life. There have been many different variations of this theme. Sometimes in a Victorian theme and sometimes in an Orgy Of The Dead kind of way. I always like to have people do musical numbers either performing old spooky cabaret, jazz, blues songs or originals.

C: Are you excited about the first Halloween themed Dandy show? Are there any surprises we can expect? Errr.....

K: Of course I am excited! Halloween themes are my favorites! As far as surprises go, I think for people to go to a halloween event that is not based on gore , the usual Goth fare , or modern special effects is different. This will actually be my first non gore spook show....which is a surprise for me... It's just a very different aesthetic . Halloween and Horror have degenerated greatly. I didn't really relate to the modern concept of horror. In regards to Halloween... I am saddened that it is one of the biggest industries in this country and yet so terribly misunderstood... I have rarely attended any kind of creep shows that are simply about darkness and fun. Halloween brings out the kid in most of us, yet many do not really understand the celebration of Halloween anymore. I have a rather dark sense of humor , and I have also had a lot of experience with death and very unhappy subjects since a young age. All this kind of thing was not always fun or humorous to me, but for me , I have had to out of survival find humor in a lot of depressing things...and if we cannot laugh at our predicaments, we are lost. I would say that is one of the strengths or motivations behind much of what I do . Not laugh and forget, but acknowledge these predicaments and find the subtle humor in them. As they say, laughter is medicine. As far as what kind of surprises to expect... Well, if I told you, there wouldn't be any surprise, correct?

C: Damn! Foiled again, Batgirl! What was the inspiration behind Dandy?

K: Well it's a long winded story... I am really inspired by every great party scene in movies from the 1960's. I also love the 1920's. In the 60's there was a revival, sort of like what preceded the New Romantic thing of the 80's. In swinging London they embraced the elements of style and rebellion of the 20's through fashion and music...fusing the two together. This marriage of old Hollywood glamour , Victorian fashion and psychedelia is just embedded into all my aesthetics. It later carried through to Glam Rock and Punk. I have always had an affinity with the outlandish, but carefully attended cultivation of personal style. I don't care about following trends,...as nowadays they are so flimsy,... but personal style is very important. For me, getting dressed has always been a creative endeavor. If you look around in this day and age, people are so sloppy. I saw what was happening in the 90's with the whole "loser" aesthetic and it was telling of a generation that had no real identity. No self respect. In the realm of night life, people are so lazy. They put on something they think is supposed to be cool and go out and stand around like damp mops, hoping someone will make their day. I say you've got to be part of the "happening." Social situations are a relationship. It takes two or more to tango. People expect Andy Warhol to have a party and invite you and it doesn't work that way . If you are boring and dress for the occasion ...then that is what you are going to get. Now when I say "dress for the occasion" this is a metaphor. Some of the most interesting people I have known do not even know how to put together an outfit. If you read between the lines , this means animate your wrinkled appearance... Take part... The social world is like a potluck. If only one person brings some microwave popcorn the guests will starve. I am not really the most social person, but in my understanding and need to participate , I try to create a place where people can come and have an experience, because I need that too. The Dandy concept is multi faceted, but I go out and see a lot of conformists spending a lot of money on jeans, t-shirts and shag hair cuts standing around, waiting for the fairy Godmother to wave her magic wand and tell them they are blessed or it's ok to dance ...and that is just absurd!! I mean , when these people go out and take their 678th look in the mirror- what does it mean? There are a lot of hardcore Dandy lifestyle people out there who I am sure hate what I am doing, hate me for using the name "Dandy", because Dandy is supposed to be some sacred order of the elite,...but in the words of a certain historical Dandy...the abbreviated version...is that what you put on the outside of your body is a reflection of what is on the inside. I am asking people to make an effort. Have some manners , be polite be daring and have a fucking sense of humor for gods sake!

C: So show up,...but be prepared to participate, right? I know you want to take some time off, but can you reveal any ideas for the next show?

K: Yes, the next Dandy is November nine and it is called Dandies of the Old West. I have done many Old West themes , but I must say, I became so inspired by deadwood and also a friend who is a quite serious ( as in Lifestyle ) Dandy who frequently comprises pictorial essays of various types of Dandy impressions. He had come up with a really great one of Western Dandies , this really revved my motor. Give me a theme, and I'll run away with it! So the next Dandy will feature one of my favorite bands who happen to be local to LA. They are called SPINDRIFT. They write and perform a really unique and varied repertoire of, sort of, psychedelic spaghetti western compositions. I cannot disclose all performers , but my wet dream is to get someone from Deadwood. There will be a gambling table, snake oil salesmen and most likely some gay cowboy kind of thing. In December we are planning a holiday show, but I don't yet know where it will be.

C: Have you ever held a monkey?

K: Yes, I had a pet monkey for a brief period when I was 9 years old. It was quite funny and sad at the same time...like clowns are. It shat upon my head once after dinner.

C: I think you may be the first person I've ever asked that question of that actually OWNED a monkey!!! You, my friend, have my respect. Speaking of monkeys, if you could tell Paris Hilton anything, what would you say?

K: I would say "OH - MY - GAWD! You have GOT to let Danger Mouse produce your next CD!!!"

C: Describe a perfect day.

K: Depends on my mood. I love Nature. I'd say "picture yourself in a boat , on a river with tangerine trees and marmalade skies..." but that is also invocative of chemical tarnished ozone clouds...so I would maybe change the color scheme a bit...

C: What is the best spooky movie ever?

K: That is impossible!! I'll just say that Vincent Price and Hammer, the later stuff, are my faves! I also of course LOVE Murnau and Jean Rollin!

C: Who are some of your favorite local or "unknown" bands?

K: I have to admit I have been a social drop out this past year, but I LOVE SPINDRIFT! This is one band I have seen many times...listened to their CDs so many times they skip and I hope to see KP make some great soundtracks. I also really dig THE WARLOCKS, THE MORLOCKS, NEW COLLAPSE, Nora Keyes, HOBO JAZZ, LAVANDER DIAMOND and Robbie D aka Jer Ber Jones. All people I know or sort of know.... I am jaded about seeing bands. I don't go out that often. I see Drag shows more than anything else...and when I say Drag shows, I mean the really off the beaten path ones. I am so archaic you know...

C: If you were in a band what kind of band would it be?

K: It would have to be a creepy, psychedelic kind of thing. Very very lo-fi...or maybe even No-Fi!


C: What was your favorite halloween costume ever?

K: Do you mean for myself or someone else?

C: You, silly!

K: I am usually myself on Halloween. I really like the store bought ones from the 60's and early 70's. You know , the plastic mask that makes your face sweat...like Wonder Woman or an Astronaut and the silly little jumpers that along with them. I am still impressed by a Halloween party I went to in my teens where two people went together. One was a fly and the other a piece of shit. The fly kept attacking the shit. It was unbelievable!

C: Where can people find you online and find out when your next shows are?

K: They can find me on Myspace or www.kittydiggins.com although my website is horrendously out of date, as it is still from when I was doing Burlesque full time, which now I am not, but shows get listed there.

C: What are your closing words of wisdom for this interview?

K: Come to the show.



The latest DANDY (the Club - this month dubbed "Dandies Of The Dead") will take place on Thursday, October 14th, at Safari Sam's in Hollywood, California and will feature musical acts Mr. Uncertain, The Ragwater Review, magic from Zack Strange, and the return of the Vintage Hearse parade to L.A..

Kitty is a great performer and a great friend and I look forword to seeing what she has up her sleeves (when she's wearing them) for the future. She's not performing Burlesque as much these days, but she's still got a lot to share with everyone on stage. I hope to see you all at the show!

The End!


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