QBliss: Tell me about dressing in drag. What does that mean to you?

Brian Viglione: For me, it's about expressing a very uncomplicated side of who I am physically. I was nine-years-old when I first discovered I had a feminine side. I was with a cousin in a pool, and I had a mullet. When I got out of the pool, my hair was wrapped around my head. He said I looked like a girl, and I couldn't deny it. I felt empowered by it. I never possessed that brute masculinity that a man s supposed to have. I just decided to embrace my natural physique, which was sort of feminine.

QBliss: And did you continue to explore this side when you were growing up?

Brian Viglione: Yes. When I was 14, I discovered THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. It had everything-rock and roll, sexuality, humor. All the things that seemed so vital. To me, Frankenfurter was self-evolved and empowered, a model for individualism. That was right in line with all the things I wanted.

QBliss: And how did your parents feel?

Brian Viglione: They were supportive, but they urged me to be cautious. It was the kind of thing where I might have wanted to go out in a garter belt for Halloween, but they didn't want me to get beat up. They said, "Don't live in fear, but have your head about you."

QBliss: And the other kids in high school? How did they feel?

Brian Viglione: I grew up in the mid-90s, which was a pretty progressive era. I grew up thinking that high school was going to be like THE BREAKFAST CLUB, that people were going to beat me up all the time. But when I was in high school, it was cool to dress weird. Even before high school, I went in drag to one of my 8th grade dances, and the other kids were like, "Oh, man, you look awesome." They thought it was cool. They knew I was having a good time.

QBliss: It's a stereotype that all men who dress in drag are gay. Have you gotten that?

Brian Viglione: That happens to me all the time anyway. Dressing in drag hasn't increased the amount of times that people have asked me if I'm gay. Mostly, people are curious about the ways in which I'm able to uncover different parts of myself. People have said, "I thought you were a punk rocker" or "I thought you were a transvestite freak." I am--I'm both! I like what I like, and I do what I want.

QBliss: You dress in drag onstage as well.

Brian Viglione: Yes, but I'm not a drag queen. When I get dressed up for the band, it's because I feel like looking hot. I could wear a boring suit, but why not dress in an awesome gown and stockings? It's what I look better in.

QBliss: I know you get a lot of gay people writing to thank you for inspiring them to be themselves.

Brian Viglione: We have gay people writing us all the time. They say things like, "Thank you for giving me the strength to be who I am even though my family was against it." We've had people who were sexually abused thank us for helping them come out with their story. Mostly, people write that we helped them conquer a fear or motivated them to express themselves.

The Dresden Dolls' New Album "No, Virginia" Comes Out May 20, 2008, Pre-order the new album or buy other The Dresden Dolls stuff Through these below links and a portion of the sale goes to support QBliss.