| HERE! Magazine Feature Story |
Bimonthly $4.95 [The Gay Entertainment Magazine] Vol 5, Issue 1, GAY PIMP goes to HollywoodWith a stage name like "Gay Pimp," you know Jonny McGovern has an eye for fashion. The New York City-based actor/comedian/musician has been flashing his diamond bracelets and necklaces ”not to mention his pearly whites” for audiences around the globe ever since his breakout single, "Soccer Practice," climbed the club charts in 2003. Certainly, McGovern's cheeky lyrics (such as this example from "Soccer Practice": I'm a dirty frat boy on a dirty soccer team. Go into the locker room after wrestling) deserve some of the credit for his appeal. He owes his tongue-in-cheek music videos a bit of thanks, too. Just as important to his rise to fame (and his upcoming return), though, has been his silly-meets-sexy sense of fashion. Fans shouldn't get too attached to the duds McGovern displayed during his first run at the charts, though. Although the part-time party promoter and podcast producer admits a fondness for his early "look" of sleeveless tees and rhinestone-encrusted jeans (which he calls "butch glamour"), he has updated it to promote his latest release, This is NYC Bitch: The East Village Mixtape. "I'm a big guy," he says. "So I can't really get too couture with my look. Sassed up basics is how I like to play it."Don't worry, that doesn't mean he's packing away the bling. "I've been getting into heavy diamond bracelets and necklaces", McGovern says. "My friend Faraz recently made me a pair of sunglasses covered in rhinestones that you can still see out of. I'm saving those for my next video." "What can I say? I love sparkle. It glams everything up," he adds. The Gay Pimp isn't forgetting the "gay" part of his persona, either. "I'm really into over-the-top color right now," he says. "Everyone wears so much black in New York City. I like to stand out." McGovern shares that he has a soft spot for anything from Bathing Ape. "They make camo hoodies in blue, pink and yellow, and sneakers in neon clashing colors," he says. "I like to work what I call a man's twin set: a hoodie and t-shirt that match in crazy bright patterns and colors." He also swoons over garb from Kid Robot and 10 Deep. "I get a lot of crazy looks on the street, but kindergartners and black girls love it." McGovern says with a throaty laugh."I've also been rocking Dsquared jeans, which are really distressed and interesting. And for a simpler look, Balenciaga jeans rock." McGovern's barely clothed cohorts rock another look altogether. "I like the boys around me to be dressed as sexy cartoon versions of frat boys," he says. "And I like my drag queens to have that '[Kevin] Aviance' look-- lunatic New York City couture with a twist." A New Look for a New ProjectMcGovern soon will be surrounded by a group of guys and gals of a different sort (and sense of fashion) when he returns to television as a cast member of "The Big Gay Sketch Show", produced by Rosie O'Donnell and airing on Logo, MTV's gay-themed cable channel. Amanda Bearse who played Marcy D'Arcy on the hit TV series "Married With Children"is the show's director, and MADtv's Scott King is head writer. McGovern's fellow cast members include Erica Ash, Dion Flynn, Julie Goldman, Stephen Guarino, Kate McKinnon, Nicol Paone and Michael Serrato. "They're amazing," he says, "and the show is extremely funny. It's edgy without scaring off all of Logo's advertisers. "I can't say much about the content of the show, or I'll get taken away by transgender assassins from the network," McGovern playfully adds, though he shares "it's like a mix of Kids in the Hall and MADtv with a whole lot of gay juice."
"The Big Gay Sketch Show" isn't McGovern's first foray into the world of TV. He appeared on Comedy Central's "Out on the Edge" special in 2004 and spent a year working as a correspondent for The Ricki Lake Show as well. "Ricki Lake was a lot of fun," McGovern says. "I was living in Harlem at the time, and being on Ricki was like being Britney Spears above 125th Street. At the check cashing place, they showed me mad love!" Although his stint on the popular talk show required McGovern to stretch his improvisational skills, he says The Big Gay Sketch Show is a whole different animal. "We had an amazing writing staff and an amazing production team,? he said of the six episodes that have been shot and picked up by Logo. "I got to go back to my acting roots and play a lot of different characters with full-on makeup and costumes and sets. I felt like Mr. Hollywood, but I was filming in New York City, so it was even better." That's not to say the set was walk-on-eggshells serious. "Rosie was just starting The View when we were in rehearsals, so we got some juicy behind-thescenes dish from her," McGovern says. "But I sure can't repeat any of that." Back in BusinessWhat's next for the lanky entertainer? A new album, perhaps? Another stint on the boob tube? Or maybe he'll say "sayonara" to it all and focus on his current obsession: Podcasts! Unsurprisingly, his answer is along the lines of "all of the above." "Music and music videos are great because they can get your point across very quickly," he says. "Plus you look cool doing it." That said, "there's nothing like being in a club and hearing the crowd go wild for your song or seeing YouTube videos of kids lip-syncing your songs. That's fun!" Of course, he also likes the immediacy of the Podcasts he's been producing. "They're great because I get to comment immediately on things as they happen and the listeners get an idea of what I'm like in real life." Another idea rolling around in McGovern's surely full brain is hitting the road with his new super group, Team Pimp (featuring Linda James, Erickatoure, Maxine Innis and Adam Joseph). "And I want to put out as many videos for my CD as possible," he adds. "I've already been thinking about The East Village Mixtape Volume 2. And that's just a couple of the things I got cooking!" Regardless of which project shows up next on the Gay Pimp's busy schedule, you can be sure he'll be having fun feeling fabulous. That's been an apt description of his career thus far, McGovern adds, "so why should it change?" |



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