Jimmy, 54

So you’re an icon in the New York punk scene. How does one achieve that status?
I’ve been around a long time. I don’t what makes an icon an icon. I’ve lived through a lot. [laughs] I have all my limbs, no diseases. I’m not easy to kill.

You’ve got some pretty crazy clothes.
My clothes are from this woman Agatha, who runs New York City Custom Leather. She’s just a girl who came straight from the streets. She came here, started sewing, now she sells $3,000 pants. I once lent Iggy Pop a pair and he took me to Germany for, like five days, because those pants were so fucking good. Now that’s a good pair of pants — if they get Iggy Pop to pay for your trip to Germany.

You’ve got some cool bracelets. Barbed wire?
Thorns, baby! Barbed wire’s pretty normal. Thorns are very Jesus, and very painful!

How long have you been dressing this way?
For a while. New York just makes it easier — I think it’s easier to get away with here. You look back at all those trannys in the ‘60s — the Warhol era — on to the ‘70s, and New York’s always had a great look. I arrived in New York in 1970 with all the platform shoes and the pimps with the great hats, the hookers with the little mini-skirts, and that culture has always blended with rock & roll culture and goes on and on. 

Let’s talk about your tattoos. What are they and how long have you had them?
They’ve just kind of grown. Every tattoo I have, there’s a story behind it. I never go: “Oh, I need another tattoo.” At this point, I find no tattoos the sexiest thing. I see tattoos everywhere, so when I see someone with virgin skin, I’m like, “Yo!” My very first tattoo was the name of a little kid I raised for years. He’s part of my heart.  It was his name, Jamie, on my ankle. For a while, I actually had no tattoos at all except that one. Oh, wait, I did have “fever” on my back. You know that Cramps song? Or, actually — it came from Peggy Lee. “You give me fever...”

Oh, yeah!
“When you kiss me, fever all through the night.” Then The Cramps did it, then Madonna did it, then everybody did it. And it kinda sucked, cause right after I got “fever” tattooed on my back, Saturday Night Fever came out. I was fucked.

Is it a bummer to you that people my age could never experience New York during the punk era?
It’s odd that they don’t know where they came from. Some of the kids who work are just the coolest, and I’ll be like: “Do you know who Jayne County is?” They’ll be like: “No.” You don’t know who Jayne County is? Well, you kinda wouldn’t be who you are without Jayne County. 

How old are you?
I was told not say, but I don’t care about age. I’m fifty-four, which is awesome! I just think about getting off the bus in New York with my clothes in a pillow case, no money, not knowing a single soul — I was sixteen years old. And now I’m at a store that’s been here forever. Still selling the little bondage pants and leopard miniskirts to girls with pink hair. It’s great! Been open since ‘75! Just wait till I turn seventy-five... it’ll be perfect!

That’s going to be a hell of a birthday!
I just want to be naked in front of a sold-out house.

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