Get to know DavidxDaisy
For our second feature, we switch focus onto our own UltraMaroon Family. Our team is comprised of an amazing set of multitalented campy creatures who do much more than bop around the dance floor, and we think you should get to know them!
To complement DavidXDaisy’s DJ profiles (check out last week’s interview with CALAGNA), each month Matty Glitterati will pick a member of our team to profile. What better way to start than to give DavidXDaisy a dose of their own medicine, eh?
Greetings Reader! A massive part of why our party works and feels the way it does is the people that work each event. They come through early, set the tone, and get the ball rolling while y’all are just starting to shake loose. For our first Family Feature we had a quick chat with everyone’s favorite Easter Bunny, the incomparable DavidXDaisy!
MG: Daisy! Why Daisy? How’d you get your name?
D: Daisy comes from my drag name, Daisy GlammourHammour. My best friend and good sister in college went by Jaja, and we lived together during our senior year above the gay bar in town, Icon Tuscaloosa. During that wacky year, I started drag and needed a name. I wanted it to match my sis, but DayDay is what my aunt called me growing up and was a no-go. I kept saying DayDay and finally Daisy fell out of my mouth and has stuck ever since. When I moved to New York, I had very separate identities as David and Daisy, but my work required my daylife and nightlife identities to become one. Rather than leave Daisy behind since she had been such a saving grace for me, I combined the two together as both my homme and femme expressions to be DavidXDaisy. I let people choose which name they'd prefer to call me, and let the moment determine how each side is expressed.
MG: How long have you been in NYC? Where do you hail from?
D: I lived in NYC for four glorious years, moving back South just before the pandemic to begin work on a long-term project I couldn't do if I stayed in New York. I am from rural Alabama, and am a classic case of moving to NYC with only a suitcase, my last paycheck, and a dream. With a lot of work and way more luck, I got exactly what I wanted. And yes, I will be back.
MG: How long have you been a part of the UM Crew? What’s your favorite UM memory?
D: I received a message from Raf after the soft launch of UM at The Lately in Chelsea at the end of 2018. I had recently resigned from my job to restart my creative engine. I immediately saw what they were doing as something that aligned with my nightlife beliefs. Raf and Scott Martin took a chance on me to be a floor manager during the party so that they could focus on the music – a gig that became part of my heart. I popped in during Season 2 after leaving NYC, but it was Season 3 that I was able to ask Raf for a spot as a host again, and now I come back monthly to be part of the shenanigans. I've been so pleased watching this party grow thanks to the vision of its leadership, the light of its crew, and the patrons that keep coming back for more.
My favorite memory is incredibly hard to pinpoint, but I have to take it back to the days of Season 1, dancing with Iman Le Caire under the disco-skull as the UltraMaroon vibe was taking shape around us. Also all the moments that my nightlife heroes have allowed me to chat their ears completely off. Oh, and Rimarkable's set Season 3. Just all of it really.
MG: Your creativity is like a river! Where does it come from? What has been your favorite look from past UM seasons?
D: Thank you! Ultimately it comes from imagination, daydreaming, fashion, cartoons, old films, and my wanderings here and there. I'm very passionate about this subject because there was a time in NYC when that river felt like it was running dry, and I had to go find it at its source again. I knew I was heading into an uncomfortable period, leaving behind a very fun life to go recapture my creativity. I've come out on the other side in the most creative space I have ever experienced in my life. So to anyone feeling your sparkle dimming, I say to follow your North Star and relight that fire again full-force. My favorite UM lqqk might be coming as full-on Peter Rabbit. It was so stupid, and really gave that "Huh?" moment that I love to bring to UM.
MG: How long have you been spinning? Tell us more about your latest mix! How’d you come up with the name?
D: I knew I wanted to learn DJing as part of a long-term plan for my nightlife career. During my year in Atlanta, I started learning the tracks and artists of the sounds I loved, categorizing them as I went. I got the equipment at the start of 2021, releasing my first SoundCream that July. I created the visual concept based on the sour cream product in late 2020, thinking it would be funny (but also visually appealing) to adopt the “Daisy Brand” with a little tweak of the wordmark. I’ve recently started SoundCream Light as I’ve shortened the set time, lowered the BPM range, and dropped the big room tracks as my nightlife perspective has shifted the past couple years. I also release DaisyTech quarterly for those techno moments that strike me in the night. Dipping into DJing has brought me closer to the music I love, and most importantly creates space where I can center myself at home when I’m not feeling my most Daisy self.
MG: Where can we find you and your music? (Gigs/IG/SoundCloud)
D: Everything about me can be found on: DavidXDaisy.com
MG: Favorite Disney Princess?
D: Great question. I featured my latest Disney Princess lunchbox for the UM Season Opener after all! I’m very much a Belle, escaping small life inside my books and talking to the tea pots and candelabras around the castle.
MG: What is your current Power-Strut song?
D: Good Thing by Lily McKenzie.
MG: Jockstrap? Thong? Lace Panties?
D: Lace Panties may be more on-brand, but it’s actually a Nasty Pig jockstrap. Don’t tell anyone for heaven’s sake. I’ve got a reputation to uphold!
Thank you for chatting with us Daisy! Daisy will be back at Blue Midtown on October 2 for Season 4, Episode 2 with Pagano, Someone From Berlin and ME! That’s right! ME! I’ll be serving you happy hour vibes, so grab your tickets and come through early to bop!
<3 Matty Glitterati