There's more to Alexandra Silk than just a pretty face. Silk, who hails from Long Island, New York, studied business management at the State University of New York at Albany, where she earned an Associates De-gree, while working her way through school as an exotic dancer. From 1993 to 1995, Silk went on to dance in Las Vegas, where she developed a following, then started working in California. Silk got into the adult industry with the help of porn superstar and feature dancer Jenna Jameson. They appeared aboard a yacht together in Wicked Pictures' Dangerous Tides.
Since her start in the biz, Silk has appeared in more than 250 features, including the title role in Vivid Video's The Mobster's Wife, as well as numerous projects for director Bud Lee, and others.
Silk confesses to being an exhibitionist. "I enjoy being watched; it adds a little naughtiness to what I'm doing. It doesn't surprise me that today, I'm in the adult industry, because it seems to be natural, something I enjoy doing. I'm very comfortable with my body, and I also like to share and spread pleasure among the world," Silk states.
"I prefer to keep myself in situations where I can just be myself. This way I don't have to act," she adds with a sly laugh.
In addition to performing, Silk has also directed three titles, including Silk Panties, as part of an ongoing series for Fallen Angel (www.fallenangelxxx.com). "Directing is a challenge for me," says Silk. "It's an opportunity for me to use my five years of experience in the industry, watching and learning and observing. I enjoy it. I do a very good job, because I've seen so many mistakes in the industry, that I've learned not to make them."
But Silk's biggest claim to fame is probably Playboy TV's Sex Court (www.playboy.com/pbtv/sex_court), where she plays Bailiff Silk, opposite Judge Julie (B-Queen Julie Strain), as the magistrate who presides over a courtroom which rules on the sexual crimes and misdemeanors of a variety of plaintiffs and defendants. The Keystone Kops have nothing on Silk, who, in the best Stooges tradition, keeps disorder in the court. Witnesses place their hands on her butt, rather than a bible, to be sworn in. The blue-leather clad vixen's other injudicious hi-jinks and antics - she's not above joining a Judge Julie-mandated striptease or orgy - are lightly scripted, and draw on Silk's playful, mischievous side. "It's a great opportunity for me to spread a little laughter in the world," the whimsical Silk says in her breathy, naughty-girl voice.
After about four years of performing in features and on the tube, Silk realized she had a significant and devoted coterie of fans. Playboy TV runs the website addresses of Sex Court performers in the show's credits for its 40 million worldwide viewers to see. This is a huge boon for Silk, who enjoys financial and creative control of her own website, www.alexandrasilk.com. Silk first went online in 1997, learning as she went along. At first, Silk's site consisted mainly of a small photo gallery and an e-mail address, allowing her fans to get in touch with the starlet. "That's when I realized I had so many fans out there," Silk gushes. From the beginning, the free site had an e-commerce function - albeit a highly customized, modest one, minus a shopping cart - selling articles of Silk's clothing, or her videos.
Over time, Silk's site and its online merchandising have grown. "I developed a permanent storefront, where you can order select items that are available, rather than customizing each order," she says. By early 1999, Silk added live nude chat to her site about once a month, wherein she generally flies solo, with sex toys as her co-pilots. "It's another way for me to interact with my fans, who'd want to see different parts of my body, so they can see what I look like that day. It's a way for me to give back to them, thanking them for being my fans."
But one thing which makes Silk's chats stand out from many others is that they're wired for sound, setting them apart from the majority of chats in the same way that the early "talkies" differed from silent films.
Silk's servers are based in Baltimore; the live streaming video from her posh home/studio in Southern California requires Silk and a one or two man crew. "The way we do our broadcasts, which are very simple, anybody can do it," Silk insists. "You just need a video capture card, and we work off of a Sony digital camcorder. We also put up a boom mike, so you get good audio, as well. Users basically need RealPlayer G2 (www.realplayer.com) installed on their computers, and you log into the chat room. But sometimes you may not be able to get into the chat room, because there are just too many people, so you have to get in early." An assistant types in Silk's replies for fans who aren't yet wired for sound.
In September, Silk was planning to launch a second online venture. "I am developing - I hate to say it - the pay site," she says with an ironic tone. "It's hardore, at www.alexandrasilkxxx.com. It will contain all of the explicit stuff people have been wanting to see, that I unfortunately have to charge for, because of the Internet laws. Viewers have to prove they're over 18 to see the good stuff - explicit photos, video on demand, a lot of streaming and live appearances, special guest performers, male or female. I'll invite viewers onto a porno set, and to some of my live appearances around the country via streaming. The site will be updated twice a month. Everything you've always wanted to see, but were afraid to ask," Silk jests.
Another feature will be a weekly session with viewers using CUCMe technology (which Silk says can easily be downloaded online), so that Silk can see her avid fans in the buff doing the nasty, even as they watch her in the altogether. And there will also be a contest on her site wherein the winner will get to join Silk and company on the road, as she shoots an installment in the Adam & Eve (www.adameve.com) travelogue series Sex Across America, produced by Luc Wylder, who has been involved in the Internet throughout the 1990s, and is Silk's off- and online partner.
Silk asserts she'll continue to do the tamer solitaire version of her live chat monthly at www.alexandrasilk.com. "Absolutely. It will always remain a free site," she declares. But Silk's motivations aren't entirely altruistic. "The free site is what will make my hardcore site successful. It invites a lot of people to see what I'm about. And it's like a free sample. A majority of my fans want to see more, and are willing to pay for it. Memberships start at $9.95 a month. When my public knows it's finally available, I'll get a good response," Silk confidently asserts.
Just as Silk's original site expanded, she plans on offering more and more content on the hardcore version, plus additional e-commerce. "Apparel, dance-wear, lots of slut clothes - dresses that are very trampy, erotic lingerie, sexy shoes, such as pumps and dance shoes. That's exciting."
In addition to Luc Wylder, N. Smith is Silk's other webmaster. Smith stresses the importance of customer service for the success of a website; and Silk, who also acts as webmistress, says she's learned how to customize her site over the years, in order to make it personalized for her fans. "What people really want is to know the real me. My site has to reflect my personality, which is fun, unpredictable, and erotic," Silk says with a chuckle.
