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1995 - SAN FRANCISCO The SF Weeklydoes an in-depth cover story on the San Francisco Drag King phenomena with interviews with and photos of Leigh Crow and Annie Toone, Club Confidential hosts Jordy Jones (right), Stafford and Bucktooth Varmint drummer J. Byrd Hosch who has recently won the Mr. Klubstitute Kontest. Lu Read and Diane Torr are also interviewed for the piece.

Toone produces the all drag Queer Ole Opry with performances by Elvis, Patsy, Minnie Pearl Necklace, Sweetness and The Bucktooth Varmints. Lavender Lounge television broadcasts the event.

Theater Rhinoceros hears about Leigh's musical idea and commissions' Toone, Elvis & Kelly Kittel to write, star and produce the first ever Drag King musical. Leigh and Toone appear as the protagonists Deke & Zeke Rivers - The Hillbilly Kings all over town to promote the musical. Gigs include being the first Drag Kings ever to appear at Wigstock and Trannyshack, and the entertainment for the first FTM Conference of The Americas.

LONDON Writer Cherry Smyth holds London's first Drag King contest. Stafford and Jordy fly over to host. Della is a contestant as is Hans Scheirl.

Sophie Moorcock and her partner Jewels start the Drag King club Knave.

PHILADELPHIA Grassroots Queers produce their first contest and Philly crowns their first King.

NEW YORK In December after reading the above article in SF Weekly and seeing Buster Hymen in Provincetown, Mo Fischer creates Mo B. Dick and goes to clubs in the city in drag.

1996 - SAN FRANCISCO May 11th Hillbillies on the Moon debuts at Theater Rhinoceros. Starring Leigh Crow and Annie Toone with an all king cast including Laurie Bushman as Tiberius and original songs by Toone. Toone and Leigh release it's single with Swing Like a King and Hillbillies on the Moon. Deke & Zeke make the cover of The Bay Times (below right). They're also reviewed in all the local straight and alternative press and have the privilege of playing to packed houses, which twice include Butch-Femme heroes and Gay Liberators Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon.

Toone & Erin O'Neill launch the Madkats website to promote and document the emerging Drag King scene.

THE SOUTH Elvis Herselvis & The Straight White Males tour the south and get national press coverage when she appears at The 2^nd Annual Elvis Presley Conference at the University of Mississippi. Graceland withdraws their support when they find out she's a Lezzzbian Drag King! Controversy ensues.

VANCOUVER CANADA KC founds the Vancouver Kings. They are featured on the cover of Xtra West. Flare starts out as a member of this early troupe.

FLORIDA Pilou Miller, Mother progenitor, founds The House of Ma in Gainesville. They have had as many as 15 performers in their drag cabaret burlesque extravaganzas.

NEW YORK Mo Fischer (left) launches Club Casanova with Wigstock dragstar and Squeezebox boss Mistress Formika and begins to perform as Mo. B Dick. Starting at the Pyramid Club, it soon moves to CAKE.

As a weekly Drag King club, Club Casanova goes on to get the word out about Kinging, garnering coverage in The New York Post in 96, and The Daily News and the The Face in 97. They closed their doors in 1998, but not before establishing Drag King on the east coast and being written up in The New York Times. Along with Mo, many influential Kings emerge from Casanova including Dred, Lizerace, Willy Ryder and Sir Real as well as jordi N Y C's website and the Drag King discussion list.

Dred wins the King of Manhattan contest at the He/She Bar. Dany Johnson (from The Club 57 days) has made a web cartoon of Dred. See the trailer at her fabulous Dyxploitation website.

COLUMBUS, OH In September, Fast Friday Productions puts on the first Fast Friday. The show consists of Helen [Billy], Ivett [Derek], and Sue [Tony] performing, Julia [qu?ery] spinning and Si'le [Lustivious de la Virgion] as the Master of Ceremonies. H.I.S. Kings are born.

NEW YORK Peggy Shaw plays trans bandleader Billy Tipton off Broadway in Slow Drag.

1997- SAN FRANCISCO Duke aka painter Cooper Lee Bombadier wins the 2^nd Official San Francisco Drag King contest at The King Street Garage. Elvis and Joan Jett Black MC. Harry Dodge, Erin O'Neill, Rodney O'Neill Austin, Crush Velvet and Annie Toone are the Celebrity Judges. Lu Read produces from here on (yes Virginia, 2 years were skipped entirely).

THE SOUTH Elvis Herselvis makes the national news again touring the south in the name of 'The King'.

NEW YORK John Waters' interviews Mo B. Dick for Dreamland News.

TORONTO, CANADA Flare (left) founds the The Fabulous Toronto Drag Kings. Their first show, which features Mitch and Christopher Noelle takes place in November. They go on to perform regularly and are written up in Siren Magazine, Xtra, NOW, Trade Magazine (cover) and MacLeans Magazine. They also make appearances on Maury Povich, The View, in a Showtime commercial and on QTV.

CALIFORNIA Also in November, Mo takes The Men of Casanova to California.

San Francisco hosts The New York Kings for two events called "More for Les" to benefit Stone Butch Blues author Leslie Feinberg. Produced by Stafford, Jordy Jones and Lu Read. Performances at the legendary Club Confidential and DragStrip include New Yorkers: Mo B. Dick, Willy Ryder, Lucky 7, Nicky Fingers. And San Franciscans Whiskey Dick, Elvis Herselvis, Toone as Dodge Dakota, The Dodge Brothers, Fudgie Frottage, Crush Velvet, the debut of Vinnie & Mario Testosteroni, and Texas Tomboy.

Monika Treut chronicles it all for her documentary feature Gendernauts released in 1999, which specifically profiles local genderatti like Stafford (left, with Jake), Jordy Jones and Tex. Madkats has Erin's photos of both nights of performance.

The Casanova boyz also play The CoCo Club in San Francisco and The Flame in San Diego before returning to New York.

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