A-LISTS rage rhythms
There have been several notable artists produced from
Toledo, Ohio. Actors Jamie Farr and Katie Holmes, musi- cians Tom Scholz and Scott Shriner are some. However, there’s one glistening jewel who has made her presence known that has yet to make it to Wikipedia’s notables from Toledo…enter Wendy Ho. Wendy Ho’s very young parents, Howard and Kim
Smith brought up Wendy Jo Smith, in a trailer court. By the time she was 5, Wendy was belting along to Bette Midler, Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding records. She also enjoyed watching 227, The Jeffersons and Good Times. “Maybe it was all the white trash who I was sur- rounded by in my early years, but I was always fascinated by all things deemed ‘African-American.’” Wendy was first encouraged to perform by her best friend and token black girl, Tameko Cook. Their time together came to an end when Wendy’s family relocated to the birthplace of Blues and BBQ, Kansas City. Although Ho was devastated by the move west, this
was pivotal in shaping her as an artist. She became heavily involved in theatre at Olathe East High School. The teenager auditioned many times for various singing
DON’T YA KNOW!
An interview
IT’S HO!
with comedian Wendy Ho
by jared cox
roles, but was constantly discouraged by reviews that her voice was too soulful. After much disappointment, she shut down her singing aspirations and focused on acting. The character, Wendy Ho, began to emerge while attending Southwest Missouri State University. It was through drug experimentation and remembering the good times with her best friend Tameko that “The Ho” was birthed. Wendy wrote her first official rap, “Yo Teef,” about a man who had invaded their theatre department who looked like Splinter from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. She began to gain notoriety from her fellow students. Wendy Ho relocated to New York City in the summer of
2002. She moved directly uptown to 127th Street, Har- lem, USA. She continued to dabble in theatre and sang with a band meanwhile continuing her experimentation with all things “street.” When she fell on tough financial times she found herself dealing, drugging and running the hustle on the streets of Harlem. Wendy Ho was no longer just a character she acted on stage; she lived the character off stage as well. Wendy Ho comes from some sense of truth. “Wendy Ho came from my real life, moving
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RAGE monthly | MAY 2010
to NYC, and living in Harlem, it comes from my soul.” In the fall of 2004 she met music producer Craig Levy,
aka Little Pioneer. In 2007, Wendy and music producer Craig Levy released a 10-track CD titled, The Gospel Ac- cording to Ho. Since her first release, “The Ho has been the hardest working Ho in Hobizness.” Her theatricality, irreverence and larger-than-life femininity has struck a chord with the gay community and most of her songs have been covered by drag queens around the world. MTV’s Logo Network voted Wendy’s music video, “Bitch, I Stole Yo Purse!” number one funniest video of 2008. Her act can’t be narrowed down into one category.
Her bold humor and raunchy R&B covers have made their way into venues of all kinds. Wendy states that of course, she’ll always be able to click her heels and be right at home in any gay bar across the country! In 2009 she toured in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Washington D.C., San
Francisco, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. In April 2009, she also made an appearance on Showtime’s I Can’t Believe I’m Still Single, where she met and fell in love with the director of photography, Stas Tagios. In January of 2010 she relocated to Los Angeles to be with her now fiancé and she is now working on finishing her sophomore al- bum with Little Pioneer, Yes, I’m a Ho! to be released in the summer of 2010. Ho and Tagios also plan on produc- ing music videos and are currently working on Wendy
Ho: The True Hollywood Behind the Music Rockumentary.
Wendy Ho can be seen on the first and third Saturdays
of every month with DJ Zach Moos hosting Boybar at Hamburger Mary’s and the second Friday of every month at Faultline in Los Angeles hosting “Truck Stop.” For more information on seeing Wendy near you and her upcoming performances, please visit her website:
wendyho.net.
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