Two seasons of Drag Race have passed since the comedy and fashion legend Alaska Thunderfuck took home the All Stars crown, but just because she’s not on a reality show anymore doesn’t mean Alaska isn’t potentially the biggest name in all of drag. Her projects post-victory have included everything from starring in the campy blockbuster Sharknado 6 to releasing a young adult novel, distributing two chart-topping solo albums and an “indica-inspired” mellow album with her musical partner, Jeremy Mikush.

Alaska’s new record Amethyst Journey represents a totally new chapter in the queen’s work, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t expect Alaska’s full, electric charm to be on display for the public this weekend at Bushwig. It’s the first year she’s ever attended the explosive Brooklyn drag festival, and she intends to perform in a way she’s never shown us before.

We caught up with the legendary multi-hyphenate to chat about Amethyst Journey, Bushwig, and (of course) her tea on that whole Pearl-RuPaul drama.

Magnus Hastings

How did your artistic collaboration with musical partner Jeremy Mikush begin?

I met Jeremy 15 years ago. We met in Introduction to Psychology class at the University of Pittsburgh. And I was really brave. Usually college students try and sit in the back of the lecture hall and hide, but I thought, ‘I’m going to be really bold and I’m going to sit right in the front.’ And I did this for most of my classes. Jeremy was sitting — I think in front of me, or behind me — and we became study partners. I think he was hitting on me, but I had a boyfriend at the time. We became really good friends. I was really taken with him as a person, because he’s such an amazing listener and is really open-hearted and open-minded. We both really love The Golden Girls and we both love music, so we’ve been best friends ever since.

Had you already begun doing drag when you met him?

No, I hadn’t done drag at all. It wasn’t until I was 22 and coming to the end of college — and I discovered marijuana — and I didn’t really know what was going on in my life or what I was going to do. That’s when I started to be like, ‘I want to be radical, I want to be femme. I want to not care about trying to be masculine just so I can date these muscular gay men.’

What would you say — as a headlining performer now — to that 22-year-old getting into drag for the first time?

I don’t know that I would say anything. I would want to go to one of those early shows and observe. But it’s the mistakes I made that put me on a path. I can’t be anything but grateful for the path I’m on, and that I’ve been on. I once did this pageant in Pittsburgh, and I would have won, but… it was in this downtown bar that you entered through the kitchen, and right before I walked out for evening gown, I picked up this plunger that was sitting in the doorway. And I did the most serious, committed pageant walk, except I happened to be holding this plunger. And I would have won the pageant if I wasn’t holding the plunger. But then, I would have won that pageant, and then, I don’t know — would I have pursued being a pageant girl, and not cared about Drag Race as an alternative? I definitely want to watch back my early years.