Vee is Kingsville’s only drag king
Bright lights flashed upon the stage; the audience silenced immediately as the music slowly started up. The blaring sound of the beginning of “Bernadette” by IAMX quickly overtook the open space and applause and cheer filled the air as the performer popped out of a cardboard jack in the box for their act at the June 2022 Austin International Drag Festival.
After watching her first drag show in 2019, Kingsville resident Ashley Vee knew right then and there becoming a drag king was her true calling. Now, Vee performs under the name Arson Nick, who also happens to be the community’s only drag king.
Being a “humongous fan of true crime,” played a huge part on the day Vee was coming up with her drag name. She was watching a true crime documentary and thought, “I love a poison name, like arsenic” and thus the name was born. Vee identifies as her/she, but when in drag as Arson Nick, Vee identifies as he/him/they.
Although her debut drag show was at Joe Cools Bar in 2021, Vee has been doing costume work since she was just a kid, as it was something she found so alluring.
Growing up in a conservative town and area meant the performing artist had to constantly watch her back when doing any kind of costume work, cosplay or drag, since art in that form is typically not supported in areas like Kingsville.
However, given the opportunity to perform for Javelina Nation earlier this semester at Texas A&M University-Kingsville’s very first drag show, So You Think You Can Drag, showed Vee how quickly things can change. For it being the university’s first show, the event had a huge turnout and the audience showed nothing but love and support for the drag queens and king.
“My performance that evening was an extension of myself: the ugliness I felt and the exhaustion of being someone I didn’t want to be,” Vee said. “The moral was to release your inhibitions and give into the person of your own creation.”
While Arson Nick’s drag could be considered different from your typical drag queens and kings because he presents as masculine during shows, Vee describes her drag aesthetic as very glamorous and campy, with a bit of horror and spookiness.
Being the only drag king in the area, Vee has an opportunity to show people what that is like. She is able to perform whatever she wants, which is mostly determined by how she feels that day. Throughout many past performances, Vee has done wild things on stage, which range from drowning in digital shows to being buried alive on stage.
“Arson has quickly become one of my favorite performers and a good friend,” fellow drag queen and colleague Robyn Valentine said. “He always brings amazing energy and he makes himself available to help his fellow performers. I find his art incredibly thoughtful, exciting and intriguing because I never know what tricks are up their sleeves.”
Since her drag debut, Vee has been with AZUL Entertainment, a drag and live artist entertainment business based out of Portland, Texas, and is currently managed by her mother, JoAnn Vasquez. Vee is also AZUL’s first drag king and has been performing with the owners since last year.
“I originally had some reservations about their coming out and wanting to make a career of performing as a drag king,” Vasquez said. “However, I started attending Arson’s performances and supported [their career]. I soon thereafter became his assistant and am now their manager. Arson is an absolute pleasure and professional artist to work with. We would all be hard pressed to find someone as dedicated to their craft as Arson.”
