Rob Potylo and Metropolitan Pictures pulled Quiet Desperation from MyTV this week. They never got the chance to do the same with the children's show, Worried All the Time. They shot a pilot for it, and MyTV didn't pick it up. According to Potylo, the network was worried about a lot of the same people from Quiet Desperation being involved in a kid's show. Tonight at the Armory in Somerville might be your only chance to see the whole thing.
The night is being billed as The Premier Of Boston's Only Children Show For Adults: Worried All The Time and will feature performances from The Galactic Army Of Toys (featuring members of Walter Sickert And The Army Of Broken Toys), The Space Balloons (featuring Michael Epstein and Sophia Cacciola), The Tiny Space Instrument Revue (featuring jojo and a visit from various projections of Mefflike beings), Eliza Rickman, The Frog, and of course, Rob Potylo And The Lonely Planets. Kevin Harrington emcees.
What began in December as a promising venture to bring Boston comedians and musicians to a larger officially ended today when Rob Potylo and Metropolitan Pitcures announced they were pulling Quiet Desperation from MyTV. In a press release posted this afternoon on Facebook, Potylo and Metropolitan announced the decision, citing MyTV’s new ownership and subsequent stricter censorship of the show as their motivation.
Carlisle One Media bought WZMY in March, and have said they plan to continue the association with the MyNetworkTV. Shooting Star Broadcasting had owned the station since 2004.
The press release says the new ownership has a different vision for the station, and had asked Potylo and Metropolitan to removed some content and to “bleep” some words. They contend they had already vetted the show for content that would comply with FCC standards.
“Principal filming has been completed according to the original standards we agreed to with MyTV management when we made our broadcast deal,” said Metropolitan Pictures Creative Director Warren Lynch in the statement. “Now that we’re more than halfway through the season what are we supposed to do, re-shoot it?”
Potylo contends much of the shift has to do with Carlisle owner Bill Binnie. “Last week they (MyTV) ran an infomercial for tooth whitening instead of a repeat episode they had already broadcast – simply because of the new owner’s personal taste,” he said in the release. “He already wants us to remove humor related to marijuana and bleep words that don't violate TV-MA/18 standards, and it’s the start of a slippery slope which, for me, would destroy my vision of the program. I know QUIETD has a mass appeal that is undeniable, and we’re willing to stand by that.”
Rob Potylo posted on his Facebook page that tonight’s Quiet Desperation Night at Great Scott will be his “last little musical performance for a loooong while.” That’s not terribly surprising when you realize he is now working on two different shows for MyTV – Queit Desperation, and a children’s show called Worried All the Time that Potylo expects will debut in May or June.
Potylo has been hyping Worried on Facebook as a kind of surreal take on The Little Prince. “Worried All the Time is a kid's show geared towards kids that grew up like me,” he said by e-mail, “Not quite fitting in... Bullied.... Nervous.... Just trying to stay afloat.”
But considering Quiet Desperation has the backing of WBOS 92.9 and music is such a big part of the show, it is surprising to hear Potylo say he’s backing off live shows for a while. When I asked him if he might be planning live shows that weren’t music oriented, he said, “Who knows? I’d rather be creative than social.”
So if you want to see Potylo playing music, get out to Great Scott tonight. He’s playing with Taiwan Typhoon and Hooker Clops.
First, the Wilbur Theatre published a photo of Rob Potlyo and tomorrow’s headliner, Jennifer Coolidge, with the teaser, “What is Jennifer Coolidge & Quiet Desperation's Rob Potylo cooking up for tomorrow's Wilbur show?”
Then Potylo posted this on his own Facebook site: “Lovely evening. TTs was an epic show! But before that Jennifer Coolidge (Best In Show, American Pie, Legally Blonde) came over to the ole' Allston crib to go over some tunes I'm playing with her show at her Wilbur Saturday night.... And even grabbed a Clif Bar. We had some sick vocals cooking. Wish I cleaned the room a little bit better.”
When I reached Potylo to see what was up, he said only, “Looking to sing happy birthday.”
What, exactly, is going to happen? I couldn't say, but it will involve music, and hopefully, we'll see this end up on Potylo's Quiet Desperation on MyTV.
Coolidge was born in Boston and spent her early years in Norwell. After establishing herself as a popular character actor, she has been trying her hand at stand-up. Here are a few thoughts on her last performance in Boston from Brian Joyce.
UPDATE I got a little more info on how this came together from Potylo this afternoon. "I did the wilbur opening for Jon Lajoie last year and crushed, left an impression," he says. "She needs someone to sing happy birthday to her dad. They called yesterday and asked if I was interested and I spoke with her. She came over. I also told her about Quiet D and we could be filming shit with her too."
Rob Potylo told his Facebook friends a few days ago that big news was coming about Quiet Desperation, his Web-based sitcom satirizing the local music and comedy scene. Tonight he revealed that the show will move from the Web to MyTV starting Christmas Eve. Here's Potylo's interview on the future of the show.
As Rob Potylo gets heavier into the band side of his creativity (he's playing Great SCott May 31 with his band), Quiet Desperation is back to focusing on the music side of things, although there are still plenty of comedians in different roles in the current episode. Here's QD 20, posted earlier today. I have more from the Quiet Depseration Rumble show to post soon, so keep checking back.
I first met Sam Walters shortly after I moved to Boston and started covering comedy in 1998. He was part of a comedy group that included The Walsh Brothers, Kyria Abrahams, Val Kappa, Ben Joplin, Dan Sulman, and Tim McIntire, a bunch of regulars at The Comedy Studio, trying to do something a little different, and generally succeeding.
I spoke with him by Facebook about the show yesterday.
Do you perform comedy anymore, or are you strictly staying with music now?
I'm not doing stand-up at the moment--my long suffering liver would up and quit if I started attending both comedy AND rock shows--but there's plenty of comedy in King Hell. I've got a two-horned anvil now... Christ, I've become the Carrot Top of metal.
Do you still get out to see comedy?
Not too often, though we played the Jerkus Circus earlier this month in Worcester, which was phenomenal. The hosts, the Steamy Bohemians, were as hilarious and deplorable as I remembered them... which isn't too clearly. Man, stand-up was a boozy time. I remember coming out of the Comedy Studio one night and thinking, "Damn, I'm drunk AGAIN." Thanks Jenkins...
What's the difference in dynamics between fronting a band and doing stand-up?
Stand-up, for me, was an intellectual exercise in crowd seduction; "intellectual", in my case, consisted of high-brow dick jokes (a genius concept). I was trying to solve the riddle of the audience, poking and prodding them 'til something clicked. Fronting a rock band is much more of a one-sided physical display; the audience comes to you. Some comics can bridge that gap though, like Kevin Knox (may he rest in peace, though he's probably not resting, wherever he is). That guy was a rock star. Ask Brian Longwell about his night at the Kowloon with Kevin and these twin sisters who... um, ask Brian. Don't let him leave out the part about the snakes.
For the uninitiated, how would you describe King Hell?
We're like Parliament meets Metallica (though, mercifully, without a band member in diapers). We're a funk-fueled, old-school metal band chock fulla melodic hooks and bawdy humor that, according to a recent review, will make you break out in a maniacal grin and new dance called "the fist pumping booty shake". Call it Berzerk Du Soleil.
Anyone you're looking forward to seeing again in Boston?
Certainly not Tim McIntire. Now that he's vegan, he won't take me fishing. Otherwise, being a metal front man, I'm entitled to say, "I love you all!!!"
For the first time in his career, Rob Potylo is truly himself. He's no longer Robby Roadsteamer, the over-the-top rock and roll character he created for himself roughly five years ago. He's out of the comedy clubs, and tonight will play a two-hour set at Great Scott by himself, as himself, covering material from his first "solo" album, Worried All the time I'll Make Mistakes. The show starts around 8PM.
After his last project, Super Time Pilot, released an album, on Ernie Boch's label, the band imploded, and Potylo is now self-releasing albums again (visit www.roadsteamer.com for more info). And Mistakes features songs not played for laughs, which might surprise a few fans.
I caught up with Roadsteamer in the place most really big comedy interviews happen, outside of the Texas Roadhouse in Danvers on Route 1, a short walk from a Staples (one of Roadsteam-- er Potylo's former employers). He discusses the new album, his fantastic line-up of guest musicians, his webcom Quiet Desperation, and tonight's show. And if you're watching at work, turn the sound down a tad.
Robby Roadsteamer/Rob Potylo has a new solo album to promote. So obviously, the thing to do is visit Santa in New Hampshire and eat a big bag o' mushrooms. Also, the return of Chippah!
