{"id":8041,"date":"2022-11-07T18:22:10","date_gmt":"2022-11-07T18:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesouthtexan.com\/?p=8041"},"modified":"2022-11-07T18:22:10","modified_gmt":"2022-11-07T18:22:10","slug":"the-king-of-kingsville","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesouthtexan.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/07\/the-king-of-kingsville\/","title":{"rendered":"The King of Kingsville"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Vee is\u00a0Kingsville\u2019s only drag\u00a0king<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bright lights flashed upon the stage; the audience silenced immediately as the music slowly started up. The blaring sound of the beginning of \u201cBernadette\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s only drag king.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being a \u201chumongous fan of true crime,\u201d played a huge part on the day Vee was coming up with her drag name. She was watching a true crime documentary and thought, \u201cI love a poison name, like arsenic\u201d and thus the name was born. Vee identifies as her\/she, but when in drag as Arson Nick, Vee identifies as he\/him\/they.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 However, given the opportunity to perform for Javelina Nation earlier this semester at Texas A&M University-Kingsville\u2019s very first drag show, So You Think You Can Drag, showed Vee how quickly things can change. For it being the university\u2019s first show, the event had a huge turnout and the audience showed nothing but love and support for the drag queens and king.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy performance that evening was an extension of myself: the ugliness I felt and the exhaustion of being someone I didn\u2019t want to be,\u201d Vee said. \u201cThe moral was to release your inhibitions and give into the person of your own creation.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Arson Nick\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cArson has quickly become one of my favorite performers and a good friend,\u201d fellow drag queen and colleague Robyn Valentine said. \u201cHe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s first drag king and has been performing with the owners since last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI originally had some reservations about their coming out and wanting to make a career of performing as a drag king,\u201d Vasquez said. \u201cHowever, I started attending Arson\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n