Tomas Ford wants to get a rise out of you, but not in the way you might think. Musician, actor, comedian and all-round performer, the boy from Rockingham is making waves.

You’re infamous for having a large stage presence. How do you get the energy?

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I drink a lot of caffeinated products and that helps! I feed off the energy of the crowd. I try to get a reaction out of people, and if you can do that, it’s such a rush. You get into this headspace where you’re running around in this anarchic mode where you feel like anything could happen. I like getting a rise out of people because we live in such an apathetic town! I grew up in Rockingham which is so conservative.

How did you come up with the electro-infused, punk theatrics that define your shows and simultaneously frighten and awe crowds?

When I was in uni I was out clubbing a lot listening to heaps of gay house, electro, techno, music like that. At the same time I was getting into heavier stuff like the Beasts of Bourbon and heavy rock stuff. I wanted to find something that was high-energy and in between those two themes. I like the punk rock energy, but I get bored and I hate drummers.

I hear that you’re a pretty decent rapper. Do you have any other hidden talents?

I can do spoken word stuff. My show has gone around fringe festivals, which is a pretty limited market and a pretty underdeveloped art form in this country. After around six months I’d achieved everything I wanted.

Who are some of your favourite acts?

Iggy Pop is amazing – I almost passed out when I saw him at the Big Day Out – Craftwork, I love what Brash and Sassy are doing. I like the Voltaire Twins and that whole mini electro scene that’s going on in Perth at the minute is fun. Everyone knows each other, and it’s a nice scene. On the punk side of things I like Project Mayhem.

I hear the gay boys love you… why haven’t you played at Connections or the Court yet?

I don’t know who to get in contact with for that! I’d love to play the Court and Connections! It would be interesting…

AND, now… we here at OUTinPerth have a confession, we thought that Tomas Ford, with all his glittery camped-up goodness was gay. But alas, one day, we were shocked to discover that he is a happily, heterosexually married man (though, of course, that in no way changed our opinion of him as an all around fabulous human being and talented artist). After much joking about his admittedly bisexual past and great fondness for Kylie, Tomas made us feel better by giving us ‘7 Reasons Why You Might Be Mistaken for Thinking Tomas Ford is Gay’.

• 1. You want me but you can’t have me. I know, surely I’m too sexy to be straight. Sorry fellas.
• 2. OUTinPerth thought I was gay, and they’re always my go-to people for that kind of stuff.
• 3. If you’re into archetypes, my predilection for makeup and shiny things is a dead giveaway.
• 4. My favourite Kylie song is “Light Years” and I will fight you if you say it’s nothing but camp trash.
• 5. By “I will fight you”, I mean I will say some really mean things about your clothes, the mess in your apartment and your ability to have an adult relationship; I will make you cry. No straight man could bitchfight like I do.
• 6. I went through a pretty long phase of doing a lot of community theatre musicals. Highlights included playing Frederick in “Pirates Of Penzance”, the Indian Chief in “Peter Pan” and Seymour in “Little Shop Of Horrors”.
• 7. I work a day job as a receptionist. You might think that in this liberated age that wouldn’t count as a bullet point, but I dare you to try not wondering if a male receptionist is gay next time you see one. Bet you can’t.