Kinda of a drag...or is it?

Justin Moyer raises a lot of questions with his latest musical incarnation. Why, for example, does a self-described ''straight dude from the suburbs" perform in drag under the moniker Edie Sedgwick, a tragic pop-culture figure whose fame hinged on being part of Andy Warhol's Factory in the mid-'60s? And why does Moyer use a celebrity alter ego to lampoon the very subject matter, namely fame, he writes about?

''In a way, Edie's an obvious choice because she's a person that's not incredibly well known but was famous for being famous," Moyer says. ''I got into her about six years ago when I read a biography of Andy Warhol, and I got hooked."

The details of Sedgwick's life -- bouts of anorexia, stints in mental hospitals, and her death from an overdose at age 28 -- are sordid to most, but not to Moyer, who lives in Washington, D.C., and also plays with an electronic-rock band called Supersystem (formerly El Guapo).

''I'm not really trying to mimic her; she's more of a vehicle for these songs," he says. ''I guess this is an indie art project for me."

As for his performance, which includes traveling the country with just an iPod, Moyer doesn't consider himself a drag queen or female impersonator.

''Drag is this venerable tradition in which men imitate women, and that's not what I'm doing," he says. ''I like to think of it as alternative drag or punk drag. But in general, I don't feel comfortable saying I'm a drag artist."

He makes that clear with his latest record, ''Her Love Is Real . . . But She Is Not" and the forthcoming DVD of the same name. Moyer doesn't seem to get any personal fulfillment from performing as a woman. He makes no concessions to look like the blond-haired Sedgwick, donning instead a black wig, careless makeup, and a hip-hugging, sparkly dress that surely even Sedgwick would have found too gauche.

Moyer's music is what you'd call frenetic electroclash along the lines of Le Tigre or Tracy + the Plastics (with whom Moyer has toured). It's his lyrics that sting in songs titled after celebrities. No one is spared Moyer's insights. In ''Molly Ringwald," Moyer asks, ''What clothes for you to wear for genocide in pink? A shawl of nerve, skirt of flesh." Other times Moyer hopes to be informative about politics, such as when he advocates Martin Sheen for president.

Moyer's lack of kitsch is notable in that he doesn't lip-synch his songs or vamp his way through them. He spits out his vocals like a punk rocker until you almost wonder why he's in drag at all.

''It's interesting that you say that, because to me that means I'm doing a good job," he says. ''This is serious to me. I don't think the music is all that groundbreaking, but the lyrics are very dark and sort of preachy."

For all his observations on celebrity culture, Moyer admits he's not much of a culture vulture. He doesn't read tabloids or keep up on all the latest music and movies. ''It would probably help with my project, but I find it all kind of tedious," he says.

How very art star of him. No doubt Sedgwick would approve of her modern-day disciple. James Reed can be reached at jreed@globe.com.