GREG SCARNICI.
This story begins in 2010 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. During college, I had a platonic domestic parter for two years until I royally pissed him off, as I am wont to do on occasion. During that period, we would gather at a friend’s home on week nights to peruse the gay ether, including Madonna’s Confessions Tour, queer iconic films, and local gossip. Most notable in our findings was none other than a voguing, kicking queen known as Levonia. Quite frankly, we were obsessed. “Siri Cruise? Siri Cruise?”
New York City has a wild way of connecting you with those you’ve admired from afar. As it would happen, Levonia comes to us by way of the incredibly talented native New Yorker, Greg Scarnici.
Greg represents the heart of what I strive to be – a prolific artist that explores all possible avenues of expression while not taking it all too serious, in the most serious of manners. With multiple books, publications, shows, and hit cassingles under his garter belt, he represents the best of what a queer creative can accomplish in NYC if they are tenacious, clever, and stupid enough to try anything. Forgive my cheekiness, but it feels fitting for the queen that has vied for the title of “Worst Drag Queen in Cherry Grove,” so many times that they let her give out the title herself now at Johny Pool’s Annual Drag Attack.
The following interview is an absolute honor to share, so without further ado, I present an intimate look into the world of Greg Scarnici.
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DXD: Author, DeeJay, Screenwriter, Producer, Actor, Actress, Chanteuse, Drag Queen, Hot Mess, General Nuisance, and Community Icon. These are words that have been used to describe me. How would you describe yourself?
GS: “What do you do?” is a question that comes up all the time in NYC and it’s hard for me to answer because I don’t want to sound like a lunatic when I tell them I’m a writer/director/producer/performer/writer/DJ and drag queen. Like that person sounds unhinged and unfocused! And saying I’m an artist just sounds pretentious, so I usually just say I’m a creative person who works in lots of different mediums, which, of course, sounds equally as pretentious.
DXD: Quite so. What creative medium came first for you and what feels like your greatest creative strength?
GS: I was your typical theater kid in high school, but knew I had other interests besides acting, so I went to college for film production. As far as my greatest creative strength, I would say it’s being open to finding inspiration and direction from the universe and other creative people instead of just my egocentric mind.
DXD: How did you get your start in nightlife?
GS: I grew up in Queens and started going to nightclubs when I was 16-years-old with a fake ID that I got at Busy Bee Mall in Flushing, Queens. I was partying at Red Zone, Mars, Limelight, and The World when I was still in high school and realized I felt so much more at home in these clubs than heteronormative, Catholic high school.
DXD: Your drag persona, Levonia, is a trifecta of face, farce, and fierce. How did she come into your life and what do you consider her greatest strength?
GS: Levonia was created when I threw on a ratty wig and a $14 gold lamé dress I bought at Rainbow and decided to shoot an improvised video on the roof deck of my Cherry Grove rental with my friend and frequent collaborator, La Lopez. The video, entitled Vogue Revolution, went viral and an internet “star” was born. As for her greatest strength, I would say it’s that she never takes herself seriously. AT ALL.
DXD: As a DJ, what music speaks to you most in the booth?
GS: I love a soulful house moment with a bit of a disco throwback mixed in. I’ve recently been playing the Kaz James & Nick Morgan remix of Sade’s Paradise and Never Dull’s Turning You On and I love to see the smiles on people’s faces when an uplifting song comes on that transports them to a joyous space. Here’s a mix of mine with lots of disco-inspired re-edits I recorded live on Fire Island:
DXD: My introduction to your writing was “Dungeons and Drag Queens,” detailing your exploits throughout Fire Island over the years. Even as I prepare these questions, I’ve reread a few bits with great cackling. Is there a story in those pages that stands out as a favorite for you?
GS: I’ve always loved the story called Drag Attack, which is about an annual pageant that crowns the Worst Drag Queen in Cherry Grove because it really highlights the humorous and subversive side of The Grove while also paying homage to the elders of the island like Johny Pool, China, and Charity Charles – icons who have been coming to Fire Island since the 1950s.
Order Dungeons & Drag Queens Here
DXD: How was this summer for you in Fire Island? Would anything make the D&DQ sequel?
GS: This summer on Fire Island was joyous – in the summer of 2020, we had COVID, then in the summer of 2021, COVID made a rebound, and then in 2022, we had monkeypox to deal with. But this year, the pandemic and monkeypox were finally put to rest, and people were able to commune without fear; the love and freeness everyone felt was palpable. And as for a sequel to D&D, that book was impossible to sell because every agent told me Fire Island was a “niche within a niche” so there is no way in hell I’m writing a sequel.
DXD: As you return to the city for fall, your ninth season of Below Tea is back at The Monster, hosted by your partner-in-crime, Robin Byrd. How did you two meet and what do you feel is the secret sauce to the spaces you create together in the city and on the island?
GS: Fittingly, Robin Byrd and I met on Fire Island when we were paired to DJ and host High Tea in The Pines. We instantly hit it off and became fast friends. Later that summer, The Monster approached us about bringing our party to the city during the off-season and nine years later, we’re still at it. I would say the secret sauce to our parties is creating a space where everyone is free to be who they are without any judgment so they can let loose and dance. There is zero pretension at our parties and I think people pick up on that.
DXD: You released your mix set, “Disco 2000 Techno & Rave Anthems,” not only as homage to the legendary NYC clubs of the 90s, but also as a response to modern techno, which you described as, “rather tame.” What do you feel has contributed to the taming of techno over the years?
GS: I wouldn’t say that techno has tamed - you can still find plenty of it with high BPMs and pulsating, high-energy rhythm lines at parties like Wrecked and at Berghain, but what a lot of the younger generation calls techno seems more like tech-house to me. It lacks the in-your-face energy of the techno and rave music I experienced in the early 90s, which was filled with songs that were so big, they would split your brain in half.
DXD: What in current New York nightlife do you see as interesting and reflective of New York’s longstanding history of quality debauchery?
GS: For me, the obvious answer is how just about every party has a back room right now. I mean, it feels like you can’t even go to a drag brunch without dropping a load in the back room these days. Or how open and free everyone has gotten about doing poppers or ketamine openly on the dance floor.
DXD: You are a force of creative work. Is there anything you haven’t done yet that you still want to tackle?
GS: I have been working on a TV show that shines a spotlight on Cherry Grove and Fire Island and I’m hoping it’s an easier sell than Dungeons and Drag Queens.
DXD: Would love to see that! Is there an artist that has been inspiring you lately?
GS: I have loved Charlene Incarnate from the first time I ever saw her perform and am so excited she’s expanding her capabilities to DJ. She is so open and free as a performer and it’s great to see her bringing that energy and creativity to her DJ sets.
DXD: What’s next for you on the horizon that we should mark on our calendars?
GS: Well, my next Below Tea at the Monster will be on Sunday, October 29th from 6-10pm and then Levonia will be bringing her annual Christmas show to The Laurie Beechman Theater on Wednesday, December 20th, with surprise special guests (AKA I haven’t booked them yet!)
DXD: Three things you love seeing at parties.
GS: Dancing, smiling, and queer expression.
DXD: Three things you loathe seeing at parties.
GS: Guys barreling through the crowd on G, straight girls running up to the DJ to request bad music, and overflowing trash cans.
DXD: Spanx or Spam?
GS: Spamx - delicious and shape-shifting!
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Thank you Greg! My pill box hat is off to you, pills and all. Be sure to follow Greg and Levonia on IG for more antics, engagements, and astute observations. You can boogie with Greg and Robin Byrd every last Sunday of the month, 6-10pm, at The Monster for Below Tea. And be sure to book your tickets for Levonia's annual Christmas show before you blow all your cash on Spamx for your friends and family this holiday season.
Xx,
