So how was The Tyra Banks Show?

I was nervous as shit! But it was fantastic. I had worked with her many, many, many times before, so it made me relaxed about coming out.

Was your sexuality always an open secret among models?

Nobody talked about it, but I’m sure they knew. I didn’t look very straight, you know? It was upsetting, because I could see Christy Turlington and Claudia Schiffer walk down the runway and look so beautiful, so hot, and I wasn’t able to do that myself. I was so dykey! So I made a conscious effort to change it by moving in with a drag queen and studying his every fucking move.

Model Jenny Shimizu was out in the ’90s. Did you feel pressured to come out too?

No. If I was confronted with it during an interview, I would deny it because of personal choice. I didn’t want my private life to be out there. I feel more comfortable with it now.

But in 2000, The Advocate reported that during a guest stint on Chaunce Hayden’s radio show, you drank tequila and then told him you were a lesbian.

He made me drink tequila! Seriously, he did get me drunk and started asking me about the lesbian thing, and I was not ready to talk about it. I never really drank or did drugs, so I can’t remember what I said. I’ll take the Fifth Amendment on this.

What’s the story with the head tattoo?

That’s what I was known for. It’s of an 800-year-old bronze Chinese dragon sculpture. I was very into art back then. When I did it, I told my dad, “I’m going to be the first model with a shaved head!” And he said, “That’s déjà vu.” Sinead O’Connor had just came out with her first album and he was like, “Sinead did it; it’s so passé.” I fucking love him! My parents are the bomb. They’re my critics, my help, my sanity.

For years now, you’ve been fronting bands and writing music. How did that segue into deejaying?

It started because I was a karaoke whore! I went to a karaoke party every Monday at Suede, and one night the DJ couldn’t come and they called me and said, “Bring some ’80s CDs, you’re going to be deejaying tonight.” The DJ quit and I stuck with the job. It was just nerve-racking because I knew nothing! But I learned from this DJ there, Devon, who was just fantastic. What I like about deejaying right now is two things: pleasing people—if they ask me to play the same song five times in one night, I’ll do it—and traveling. I’m not tying myself down to a residency.

How do you stay so thin?

I know it sounds fucked up, but I swear to God, I struggle to gain weight! If I stress out, I’ll shed weight like there’s no tomorrow and I don’t look well. I do not make myself throw up—it’s actually my phobia in life. I’m really scared of it.

Tell me about your girlfriend.

Her name is Chelsea. I love her. She loves her family, she models, she’s the bomb. She has a fear of throwing up, too. That’s how we bonded.

Visit evesalvail.com to find out about upcoming DJ gigs.