The Boston Comedy Interview: Neil Innes

Neil Innes plays the Regent Theatre
in Arlington tonight at 8PM.

Neil Innes is a serious-minded silly man. He helped create the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band while still in art school in England, followed Eric Idle’s Sir Robin the Chicken-Hearted around singing about having his elbows broken, and played Ron Nasty, the John Lennon character in The Rutles. He’s an accomplished musician and satirist who sings songs like “I’m the Urban Spaceman” and “Slaves of Freedom.” Death Cab for Cutie took their name from one of his creations, and he’s friends with Yo La Tengo.

If that’s not an eclectic enough CV for you, Innes is also a self-proclaimed “Ego Warrior,” and is toying with the idea of branding himself a “Fame Slut.” That’s one of many things we spoke about last week by phone when Innes first arrived Stateside. He tours regularly, but doesn’t get over to America too often, so tonight’s show at the Regent Theatre in Arlington is a fairly rare chance to catch him in action. The last time he was this close to Boston was 2004 – he played the Regent then, too, a fantastic night of absurdity and music. Or musical absurdity. And duck hats.

Innes is working on several new projects, including a book that may not turn out to be a book, podcasting, and finding inspiration through the Garage Band home recording program. Which means even more Innes to enjoy, all of which you can find at his Web site, InnesBookOfRecords.com.

I don’t have an ending for this introduction. So here’s the questions.

Are you touring to promote the Anthology?

The Rutles I’ve put to one side now. I mean, they’re thirty years old. Although on the Web site, InnesBookOfRecords.com, you can still see the final Rutles song, which is called “Imitation Song.” And there’s a couple of videos, one done by Bonnie Rose, an animation thing. And then one done by Ed Bertinshaw.

So that’s available, but what I’ve been doing recently is, I’ve revisited four half-hour radio programs I did for the BBC Radio Four called Innes Own World. And forgotten, it was a lot of work. I did all the voices in a soap opera. Four episodes. And I did a kind of Current Affairs/24/7 news thing called The Breakfast Things. Because personally, I’m absolutely fed up with 24/7 news. It just drives you mad. Because it isn’t really news, it’s 24/7 conjecture, or the very worst, emotional engineering. What’s the most shrill thing, what’s the most panic we can cause? So I’ve had enough.



So this Breakfast Things was featuring Dick Headline, anchorman, talking to his breakfast things. Like a tea pot and a beverage container and an egg cup. And the headlines are, a child’s small Wellington boot was found in the garden at long last. That sort of thing, with all the dramatic music. And silly adverts.

I started playing around with Garage Band and being able to edit things myself by trial and error. But it felt more like when I was a painter and I was in art school. You’ve got control over it. You’re not saying to someone, go forward a bit, go back a bit. You actually do it. So I started editing the thing, and I found you could ply in all these other things from Garage Band, lewd music, loops and things you can put in.

So I put all that together and took them to a friend who’s got all the singing/dancing Pro Tools and whatnot and we made it sound really, really good. That’s basically what we’re traveling with this time around, Innes Own World, Best Bits Part I and Best Bits Part II. People have been very positive in the feedback. But it’s not mainstream recording. I joke. I say they’re the first recordings that have ever been recorded in 2D. It’s different because you’ve got highly-produced comedy with stuff you can listen to more and more and hear again and again.

Is what people see on this tour going to be more audio sketch comedy or music?

No. What I learned with the Bonzos is, you can’t make faces on records. You have to do something else. What I’m doing this time around is, it’s going to vary, Nick. Some places just want me to do ninety minutes in one go, which I kind of hate. I don’t think anybody should be alone onstage for more than forty-five minutes in one go. I will modify things. But what I’m happiest doing is making this two parts, kind of two part, People’s Guide To World Domination. And just laughing at the absurdities of life and featuring immature themes like blowing raspberries and cocking snoots, if you know what that it.

No, I don’t.

Oh. It’s when you thumb your nose. I just feel more and more that because of the 24/7, the way the media is now, in your face all the time, and even the great Randy Newman has said that fear is color-coded now. I think it’s time that people celebrated their individuality, really, and just stepped aside from the herd. It’s plain to see. It’s like people farming. I think they treat battery chickens better. You know what I mean by battery chickens? Intensive farming where they put animals in cages. Television’s almost doing that to people, sort of shaking them upside down for whatever disposable income they’ve got. And it’s relentless. So that’s what the movement Ego Warriors is about, and what the show’s about, really. To sort of sidestep from it, to say, hang on, hang on, it’s all pretty silly.



That seems to be part and parcel of what the Bonzos were about, as well.

Yeah, I think so. I don’t think you change your spots. I’m sixty-seven now. But I think I’ve never grown older than six. My naivety is six. My sense of fair play is a six-year-old’s.

What I was referring to was the Back Catalogue on Amazon, not the Anthology. Amazon had that as released July of last year.

That’s right. It’s taken a while to find out how to do these things. But last year, I got my catalog back, and now I can actually make it available, so people can go and get what they want from it, if they like. The age of the record is almost done. Some people still like to have CDs, which is nice. But I’m actually moving forward since finding out about Garage Band. I want to do this podcasting called Radio Noir. Because you can put things on a shuffle, you know. It’s quite interesting. I’ve done a few experiments with it. And I’m also working on a book, which I don’t particularly want to put into book form. I might narrate it and have those put into the mix on Radio Noir. I’m thinking of calling How Sweet To Be An Idiot: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Neil Innes: Ego Warrior and Style Guru. Something like that. Nothing like a long title.

Ego Warrior and style guru go together quite well.

I think so. I have toyed with the idea of adding “Fame Slut,” but I think people wouldn’t believe me.

Well, then you wouldn’t get carried in Wal*Mart. I know that’d be important to you.

Absolutely. One day people will get what I do. But I don’t mind. I’m not in any hurry.

Do you feel like people don’t?

Oh, the ones that do, do. But the vast majority probably don’t. I don’t know, maybe my irony’s a bit rusty. No, but it’s counter, if you like, to the idea of getting in a big crowd and whooping at some flashing lights.

Although, you know, that can be fun, too.

Of course, of course. Somebody’s got to do that job.

We don’t want to exclude anything.

I may be part of the human immune system. You never know. That would be awful, if all the human race was there for was there for was to sort of make the planet mutate from putting plastic in the oceans. That’s our achievement, that’s our legacy.



I would love to see you tour with just the flashing lights and encourage people to come and whoop, and see if that becomes successful. That’s at least two of the seals broken.

No, but I have written a song called “Stadium Love,” which is on the Bonzos very final album that we did in 2007. And I have been onstage with a smoke machine. And one or two twinkling, flickering rope lights, which I used for a kind of an Elton John song. But no, after forty years at the cold face of satire, I think all I’ve achieved is a graceful state of futility. Somebody’s got to do it.

Well, an achievement is an achievement.

Yes, of course it is. Anyway I don’t understand this obsession with fame. I can understand wanting money because, as Groucho said, it can’t buy happiness, but it’s a good down payment. But the fame thing, you’re not supposed to be famous unless you’ve done something that you were doing anyway that happened to be good. Or considered, yeah, that’s useful.

People are seeking recognition for existing.

Yeah. Or being loud and vulgar on television. It’s depressing.

Which they consider a skill, as well.

Yes, they consider it skillful. I think every now and again you just have to turn back and marvel at how many godless, brainless, talented, and rich people there are.



Was the reunion a few years ago of the Bonzos the last?

It certainly is as far as I’m concerned. I thought just the one show, A Night To Remember the Bonzos: The 40th Anniversary, I thought, well, I can bear that. Lovely people, actually, Stephen Fry, Adrian Edmonson, Phil Jupitus, and Paul Merton came along. And I thought that was going to be it. And then I got a phone call saying, “Do you fancy doing some more,” and I said, “No, I thought that was it.” They said the others would like to do it, and I said let them do it. They said, no, no, it’s not the band, it’s the guests. The guests want to do more.

So we did twelve really big two, three thousand seaters and a really ridiculous tour. We had two buses, one for us, one for the crew. And articulated lorry with all this stuff. We did this tour. And Adrian and Phil were on the tour all the way through. And that was a really, really happy bubble to be in. Then we made an album in 2007 and then I felt, we should really leave it alone now, because the only band I want to be part of is the Bonzo Dog Gaga Band. It was good fun, but I think it’s run its course. Now, of course, Adrian and Phil are full Bonzo members, being the last phase of the Bonzos.

People probably don’t realize there were about four or five phase of it. The first one was fourteen or eighteen people at the Royal College of Art, playing this terrible old twenties and thirties English jazz on a Tuesday evening at the canteen. And then there were nine of us that went out to the pubs. And then it became eight, and then six, and that’s when the Bonzos packed in, around 1970, ’71. Something like that. And then the new version was obviously this century. Odd! Odd to think the Bonzos have spanned two centuries.

I was hoping it would reach out to the States when I heard about it.

No, I don’t think so. The Bonzos are similar to me, really. They’ve got their adherents, but… let’s put it this way, we’re not halftime at the Super Bowl.

Although that would be great to see.

It would be, wouldn’t it? And now, hold up the game, we’re going to play, “I’m Going To Bring A Watermelon To My Girl Tonight.” You wouldn’t be able to print this or say this, but it would be called “What the Fuck?”

Free Tig Notaro Track From the Forthcoming Album Good One

Tig Notaro’s album, Good One, won’t be out until August 2 on the indie rock label Secretly Canadian, but you can download a free track from it below. I remember being impressed with Notaro several years ago when she first came to the Boston Comedy Festival, and have been happy to see her get more exposure on late night TV and as a regular on The Sarah Silverman Program. She also popped up on Community.

There will also be a deluxe version of the CD available with a DVD called Have Tig At Your Party, which is described in the press release as “the human equivalent to the ‘burning log’ DVDS.”

Notaro will kick off a US tour with the album’s release, and though there is nothing on the books, Notaro’s PR folks tell me there is “a good chance” there will be a Boston date. Until then, click the link below and enjoy your free track, compliments of The Boston Comedy Blog.

Boston Comedy Interview: Sam Brown On the Whitest Kids U'Know Final Seaon

Sam Brown from Whitest
Kids U'Know

Tonight on IFC, The Whitest Kids U’Know begins its fifth and final season as a TV sketch group entity. They will remain a loose group working together, but there are too many outside projects and concerns tugging at the five individual members to keep it going. As Sandwich native Sam Brown told me, it’s hard to keep a sketch show fresh, and it’s time to move on. The Kids did manage to sneak a full-length movie into the show, called The Civil War On Drugs, a portion of which will end each episode. They’ll be screening that on its own Monday in LA at the Steve Allen Theater.

Brown’s comedy career started in Sandwich at the local cable access channel, where he was part of a show called TV Galactica. He met the other Kids in college in New York, where the troupe started and went through various permutations before settling with Brown, Trevor Moore, Zach Cregger, Darren Trumeter, and Timmy Williams. For a little more about them, read my profile here or see my video interview with Brown after the Kids’ 2009 show at Great Scott.

I spoke with Brown by e-mail about the new season and what’s next.  

How did you decide this will be the final season of Whitest Kids?

It was a lot of stuff. My whole thing is when writing sketch you are constantly coming up with funny ideas that get shot down because there's an SNL sketch you never saw that’s like it, or a Kids in the Hall sketch, or a State sketch, etc. I think this is something that happens to anyone writing a lot of sketch. Well after doing five seasons and over a hundred sketches a season I started to notice I was having more and more sketches shot down because we already did a sketch like that.  I think we were successful at keeping it fresh up till now so it’s good that we didn't push it too far.

Is the group staying together to work on other project, like feature films or touring?

Think of it like what Jackass did where they stopped doing a show on MTV. They still went on and did their own TV shows that involved each other and every few years they would get together and do a movie.  

How hard has it been to keep doing the show given everyone’s individual schedules?

It’s tough and its only getting tougher. Now Trevor has his Fox show [Breaking In], we all live in three different cities and Timmy has kid on the way.  Scheduling is the reason we haven't toured more.

Will you be screening The Civil War On Drugs as a complete film anywhere else besides LA?

Hopefully we will. I'm really happy with how it came out and my ideal outcome is that ten years down the line the Civil War on Drugs is seen as its own thing. 

Was Civil War written to be broken up at the end of a series of episodes, or was it meant to be a feature film?

The Civil War on Drugs was an idea we came up with a long time ago for a movie. Way before we had a TV show even.  At the time a lot of people told us that it would be hard to get a studio to pay for you to make a civil war pot comedy.  That’s one of the things that made the it the perfect story to make into a movie within the show. We're making the movie that people told us we couldn't. For that I think it was important to write it all as a movie and worry about cutting it up into segments later. I've watched it as segments though and think it’s successful as both. We'll see though. Maybe we're just stubborn. 

Did you approach this season any differently since it’s the last?

A little. I mean we weren't 100% sure that it would be the last season while we were in production but we were conscious of the fact that it could be. I think the only real difference it made was when writing the Civil War on Drugs. We knew we wanted it to end the season, so when we got to the ending it made a difference that it wasn't only the end of the movie but possibly the end of the series. As that, I think it works.

Have you been performing frequently on your own as a stand-up?

I actually had to make a new years resolution to start doing stand-up again. I had been doing it for about five years now but when I moved to LA a year ago, I got lazy and didn't end up really doing it out here at all until recently. It's been good though, I didn't realize how much I missed it.

Has the transition to stand-up been difficult? Some people seem to think you can use some of the same disciplines as sketch, but some see them as completely different.

Stand up is a lot scarier for me because in a sketch group you have other people to laugh at the jokes before you perform it live. You don't know exactly how they'll do but you definitely have a sense.  With stand up you don't really have any idea how your jokes will work till you tell them in front of an audience for the first time.  There's been times where I've said something I thought would be great and it'd flop and there have been times when I've told a joke that I was certain would fail and it would get a huge laugh. That's also part of stand ups charm to me. You never know.  All that being said, there have been times where I've flopped at both and at least at sketch I've had four other people commiserate with.

What other shows are you producing?

Trevor and I are in the early stages of writing something for a network.  So early that I think it'd be jumping the gun if we started to talk about it.

Are there any videos floating around from TV Galactica?

I think there is an outside chance that at the Sandwich Cable Access Television station there is a 3/4" tape cassette that they no longer have the decks for, collecting dust in a dark corner. My mom is friends with the manager there so I was able to give it a quick look but no luck.  I bet one day if I get famous the tape will surface. That's what I'm working towards.

Any plans to perform in Boston, either as a group or just yourself, doing stand-up?

I'm sure when we do a tour we'll play Boston.  That’s where all my friends and family are.  Plus that show at Great Scott's was one the more memorable ones on the last tour. Now that I’m thinking about it, it was after that show we went to the Middlesex Lounge where my brother works and about fifteen minutes before the bar was closing they set up the mic and Timmy and I did an impromptu stand-up show. There was hardly anyone there and I could barely stand I was so drunk but I got some jokes off and made some people laugh. That was what eventually started a series of monthly stand-up shows I did there with Boston comedian Rob Crean. Maybe next time I'm going home we'll set up another one of those.

Colin Quinn - Not A Boston Comic

Colin Quinn is not a Boston comedian, but I have seen him listed as such more than once. For the records, he is Brooklyn born and raised, but he says it’s a common mistake to associate him with the Hub. During a recent interview for TVSquad.com about his new one-man show, Long Story Short (tonight, HBO 10PM), I asked him why he thought that was. Is it just his Irish connections or something else?

“The Irish and the loud,” he said. “It’s because I’m Irish and I have self esteem, which only Boston Irish have.”

Clip - Civility

Long Story Short has enjoyed a successful run on Broadway (with an assist from Quinn’s longtime friend, director Jerry Seinfeld), and Quinn will be putting the show up again in the Hamptons in June. There might be other engagements after that, Quinn isn’t sure. If it’s a hit on HBO, Quinn would like to bring back his critically acclaimed one-man show from 1998, An Irish Wake, and possibly try to film that, too.

“I’d like to put it up for a few weeks, anyway,” said Quinn. “Maybe I’ll put it up in Boston. That’s where it belongs, anyway.”

Which probably won’t help him clear up the Boston myth. To debunk that once and for all, watch the Boston comedy documentary When Stand Up Stood Out. Quinn always wanted to make Boston a “go-to” town. He figured there would be a decent Irish, working class base to which he could play. He was wrong.

He came in the 80s, and the film talks about a New York/Boston rivalry that extended to the comedy world. Quinn said he faced a sea of hostility, and Joe Yannetty had to use all his good will as a Boston native to get Quinn out without being attacked.

Things have improved for Quinn in Boston. He sometimes appears at the annual Comics Come Home show and he used to play the Comedy Connection when it was still in Faneuil Hall. If he brings An Irish Wake to town, my guess is that it would play The Wilbur.

Boston Comedy Q&A: Kate Clinton

Kate Clinton is in Boston
tonight for Fenway Health

Kate Clinton celebrated thirty years in stand-up comedy on March 21. Since then, she has established herself not only as a stand-up comedian but as an author and columnist with The Progressive magazine, and overall as a satirist and astute observer of modern politics. She was out from that first performance, and a lot has changed in the LGBT community in thirty years, something we spoke about in our conversation a couple of days after her anniversary.

Clinton is currently on her Glee Party Tour, and though there is no stop currently listed for Boston, she will be in town for fundraising events for the Fenway on April 9 and May 7. She’ll also renew her longstanding relationship with Provincetown and the Crown and Anchor when she begins another summer run there on May 28.

Clinton, a former English teacher in Syracuse, NY, is always personable and witty, a fun interview. We explored a lot in this conversation, from her stand-up origins to teachers’ unions, and she graciously indulged my tangents (some of which have been expurgated for the sake of space and sanity here).

So did you do anything to celebrate thirty years on Monday?

Yes, I was in Charleston, North Carolina and I bored friends with the long story of how I got my start. And then I took a nap… No. I can’t believe it. It seems so quick on the one hand and then if I add up all of the hours spent circling Newark, it’s really kind of a long career. But the actual performing and doing what I love to do is exciting.

It seems like you just celebrated twenty-five years, and then five years went by so quickly.

I know. I think I was recovering from the twenty-fifth anniversary tour. My people were like, are you going to do a thirtieth? And I was like, no. They were like, [gives a relieved sigh].

Do you remember your first official gig? What was March 21, 1981?

It was in Syracuse, New York. I had been talking about wanting to try stand-up comedy, and my best friend got sick of it and just booked me in a club. We hung up a poster. It was a bar called Ms. Adventure. [laughs] It had a picture of me and we cut it up to put my head on the poster. We jammed in about 180 of my closest friends. And I did probably 45 minutes.

That’s a lot for your first gig.

I know. I know.

How much of it was funny?

Oh, well… It was a very codependent crowd, laughing. And then a friend of mine actually heckled me. I said, “What are you doing?” She was from New York and she had black turtlenecks aplenty, and she said, “Well, you’re supposed to heckle in a comedy club.” And I said, “Stop it.” It was like, total high school English teacher still. And she shut right up. I was like, “Stop it.” I was like, “Rita, what are you doing?” She was like, “You’re supposed to heckle.” “Cut it out.”

You don’t often get to call your heckler by name. You don’t get to say, “Rita, what are you doing?”

I’ll call them all Rita. I don’t really get that many hecklers. I think I still kind of throw an old school, high school English teacher vibe. The next day I remember I was flat out on the couch, just flat out, and my partner at the time said, she looked at me and she said, “I don’t know if you’ve thought of this but you really have to do it more than once.” It had never occurred to me. I had said I wanted to try it. And in that moment, she became my manager. She was always ahead of me.



Are you glad you’re no longer in teaching?

I do think I’m part of the cadre, the wide cadre of teachers who have destroyed state budgets everywhere with their $24,000 salaries. The way teachers are getting roughed up makes me insane. I loved my students, but it truly was the hardest job I’ve ever done. When people say to me, “Wow, you’re doing two shows today!” I’m like, I used to do five day. So no, I’m fine. It’s the hardest job.

So what do you make of collective bargaining in Wisconsin and the teachers’ unions?

You know, I think it’s really, as Rachel Maddow has been blasting away, night after night, it’s really not budget balancing. It’s punishing unions who did not support the person who won. I just think it’s a scandal.

They’re saying that teachers’ unions al support Democrats and it becomes a feedback loop, that they do favors for each other.

Do the Republicans have to have all of those people? They’ve got their own things, can’t we have one?

So what’s the biggest change since you started, and what’s still the same?

For my thirtieth anniversary, I am going to put out at the end of the year like a “best of,” a highlights reel. I have nine other CDs, so I’ve been listening to all my CDs. The three early albums, the tape, and then the CD. In 1981, or ’82 when I did the first album, I was not talking about gay marriage. It wasn’t even on the horizon. There’s that. There’s the whole issue of gays serving openly in the military, was not even on the horizon and we have it now. We had Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and then we had it repealed.

So I just think one of the biggest changes that I can see is, a couple of things. First of all, I came up through a very lesbian circuit, but now, it’s definitely a very LGBT circuit. I think that during the Clinton, because he was able to say “gay and lesbian” without spitting up, a lot of people came out. So I think there’s been there’s been much more visibility and people coming out at an earlier and earlier age. I just read this study that debunked the whole thing about women in college having same-sex experiences, and they’re really not doing it much. Well, because they’re all doing it in middle school. It’s astounding.

I was at a conference in January called the Creating Change Conference, and I think there were 2,700 activists from all over the country and different countries. And probably fifty percent of them were under thirty-five. And have jobs in the gay movement. That’s astounding. I hear young people talking about career moves, like, I’m leaving my job with my national organization for my statewide organization, but I hope to go with a national organization. Wow. We used to just do this at night. They have real jobs. So that’s amazing.

When you first started, were you out onstage?

Oh, god, yes. A lot of my friends just thought it was a sophisticated career death wish. And I called myself a “feminist humorist.” Isn’t that adorable? And it ran together, it was a typo, so I called myself a “fumorist.” Then those morning drive time shock jocks had to talk to me. Like, “Hey, little lady, ‘feminist humorist?’ Isn’t that an oxymoron?” They all said that. And I was like, “Yes, you’re half right.”

Do you think LGBT comedy is its own genre?

You know, I think it probably certainly was in the first twenty years. But I do think it’s a genre in the mainstream now. Before you had to do so much explaining to get to the jokes, with like footnotes. But now people know gay people, they know gay issues. It’s not like they were ignorant, definitely I don’t think homophobic, just homo-ignorant. So I think it can be part of the mainstream. It’s on LOGO, it’s on Sirius Radio. There are venues for it. And I do think that it’s certainly more a part of the mainstream than when I started.

When I started, I remember I was out of the closet in L.A. and I did a lot of lesbian material, and club owners said to my afterwards, “You can’t be doing that gay stuff.” And then I went back to the same club probably ten years later and the guy said to me, “I think I’m going to do more gay stuff.”

Well, were they talking about comedy?

Yes!

Okay.

Or they wanted to watch. I’m not sure.

That could be an even bigger change. So when did you first start playing Provincetown? I know it’s been eight years or it will be eight years at the Crown and Anchor.

I think I started in maybe the late 80s, in ’86, ’87. I did a couple of years at the Pilgrim House. Then a number of years at the Post Office Cabaret. Then back to the Pilgrim House, which had been rebuilt after a fire, I did a number of years there. And then the last have been at the Crown and Anchor.

So you were there pretty early in your career.

Oh, yes. And I was there for longer and longer periods of time. I think the first time I performed there it was a weekend, then let’s do two weeks, and then let’s do a month, and then one summer I was moving back to Upstate New York and I thought, why? So I found an apartment to rent. Now I’m so blessed I have a house that I think I bought in 1990. I feel bad for friends who come and perform in Provincetown for the summer and it’s completely away from their home. I’m very lucky.

How important has Provincetown been in your career? It’s something you’ve been doing for so long.

Well, you know it’s just an opportunity for me to write every day and try it out at night. So by the end of a summer there, I have a lot of material. It’s good for a workshop, creating stuff. The danger is that there’s just so much to talk about, just about Provincetown, you can write great material about Provincetown that is nearly useless in, you know, Northern California.

I would think also for someone like you who writes about current events and the news so much, being in one place to digest that would be a big help as well.

Right. Right. I was on a cross-country flight to a show, and that night a woman said, “I can’t believe you didn’t say anything about Terry Schiavo. Well, it had happened while I was flying. I think the challenge also is, when I listen to my CD, to have universal enough material, that stands the test of time.

I think people may think political humor is just so reactive that you naturally hae a chunk on something that happened that day, just because of your reaction. I’m assuming in some cases that’s true, but this is hard stuff to make light of a lot of time.

I know. I went to Charleston and did a show last weekend and I looked at my show and thought, well, they should be crying. It really is the challenge of what comedians do, is to transform that thing. And that’s exhausting sometimes. And I also think it’s great to be known for doing really topical stuff, but I like a comedian who can sort of contextualize things or try to make it into a bigger picture. Like there’s this part and parcel, some of these people who cannot accept having a black president. You can say it all you want, but the old white guy is really nervous. That’s what’s happening. So to be able to take that information and put it into a bigger picture, is less a daily and perhaps more like a monthly thing.

How long does it take you to digest something? Say something happened today, how long is it before you have a good couple of minutes on it that you’re comfortable with?

That’s a great question. My career has changed a bit in that I’m doing a lot more conferences and dinners and different types of shows. A lot of times I’m slicing up a routine to be the emcee. That’d change things a little bit. I would say after maybe two or three times I can place it. Like maybe something at the front of the show will be very topical and maybe of that day, but maybe after two or three performances, it will be in the scabrously irreligious part of the show. [laughs]

Does something ever happen in the news, and you see that it’s incredibly sad, and you know you have to write about it because you feel some obligation to find some way to make this funny?

Well, like Japan. I have found if you take that to… You can’t do Gilbert Gottfrief type of thing where you lose your job in the Afflac commercial. I think it really is more about if you can personalize it. For example, in Charleston, I was whining about the weather, and then, it’s not a hilarious joke, but I can mention, I just don’t feel I can complain anymore after Japan.


Lady HAHA Clip 1 from Kate Clinton on Vimeo.

The Gilbert Gottfried question, I think that brings up the fact that a lot of the best comedy is uncomfortable. And I think some comedians use that as their rule of thumb, if they feel uncomfortable about something they need to react to it and say something. And I think sometimes that’s the context for something like what Gottfried said. But not everything that’s uncomfortable is edgy or worthwhile saying.

Right. And I do think if you come from a baseline of compassion, you can do it. But if you’re really mocking, you just pounding on somebody, I think you’re in dangerous territory.

But there are a lot of comics who border on nihilistic that I enjoy.

I bet you do. [laughs] “Who’s that one guy laughing?” “It’s Nick!” I’ve been talking about race and racism much more in my show. It’s time for white people to talk about racism. It’s past time, actually. It’s not black people’s job. It’s our job.

So I do this whole thing, and then at the end, I say, sometimes I like to go up to old white guys in mesh caps, maybe they’re looking out at something, and I look out with them for a while, then I just kind of say, “Embrace your extinction.”

Wow.

In the high school teacher way that I can do. And people gasp.

What are the Fenway Health dates you’re doing? Are those open to the public?

They’re fundraising dinners for the Fenway. They’re open to the public. The first one is the Men’s Dinner, and then a month later there’s the Women’s Dinner and I do both. I used to just do the women’s dinner, but now, apparently, I’ve amused men as well. I guess I do a little [material] but it’s mostly just introducing people and fundraising.

It turns out I’m a great auctioneer because I’m so horrible at it. I can say, “This is worth six thousand dollars, give it to me right now and we won’t have to go through this.” And I never can remember the last bid. They know now they have to have someone next to me, because I’ll go, “It’s forty thousand,” and somebody will look stricken and have a heart attack because they bid four thousand. So it’s not a full on show, it’s more like fundraising and chastising.

How does the writing versus the performance aspect of what you do split up these days? Has one become any more important than the other?

When I’m circling Newark, I go, I wish I were at my desk. Then when I’m at my desk I think, “Oh, god,” trying to write. But I think one thing feed the other. Sometimes an idea in a Tweet or a little blog becomes part of the show.

What do the next thirty years look like?

Two words. George Burns. I’ll just keep going. See how long I can ride this thing.

Jimmy Dunn's "Drunken Fan" Wishes You A Happy Home Opener

The Drunken Fan wishes you a happy home opener. The Red Sox may be in the toilet so far this season, but Jimmy Dunn is doing all right. He’s gotten a lot of attention for being the cabbie on the Olympia Sports commercials. Now he has The Drunken Fan from his own company, Jimmy Dunn Creative. Dunn, who plays the Kowloon next week, says he has big plans for the Drunken Fan, including a beer sponsor and a clothing line. Next week, he’s hoping to launch an iPhone app, the “Eck App,” for Dennis Eckersley.

Jimmy Dunn: April 15 at 8:30PM, and April 16 at 7:30PM and 9:45PM. $20. With Martin Montana and Will Noonan. Kowloon Komedy, at Kowloon Restaurant, 948 Broadway (Route 1), Saugus. 781.484.6002

The Magic Room: Jerkus Circus Welcomes Rob Potylo and Barry Crimmins

The Jerkus Circus Bootlegger's Ball
at The Magic Room Saturday

The Jerkus Circus moves to yet another home Saturday with their Bootlegger’s Ball show at The Magic Room Gallery in Brighton. The Circus has a more permanent home in Worcester at Ralph’s Diner but has bounced around several locations close to Boston, including the Lizard Lounge, Oberon, and even the Burren for one show.

According to Niki Luparelli, the blonde half of Circus’s host and creator The Steamy Bohemians, the Magic Room’s speakeasy environment is a perfect fit for the Ball. “The Jerkus Circus is always looking for a couch to crash on,” says Luparelli. “Niki fell in love with the room after doing one of Rob Potylo's Quiet Desperation shows there, and Lainey has seen a lot of pictures on Facebook, so we've been dying to try out our brand of semi-nudity and weirdos there.”

The bill includes Rob Potylo, reportedly doing his last solo set, Barry Crimmins, Dr. Finnegan’s 10 in 1 Circus Sideshow, burlesque with BettySioux Tailor and Mary Widow, and 1920s tap sensation Kristen Minsky.

The Steamies are particularly happy with the late addition of Crimmins, political satirist and one of the main architects of the 80s Boston scene. Crimmins is coming to town to attend meetings about saving Boston’s Peace Abbey, which is facing foreclosure.

“When Lainey heard he'd be in town this weekend she begged him to be on the show in a scheme to help her win Niki's heart back after a mayonnaise fight that went awry,” says Luparelli. “We are honored to have Barry's subversive wit grace the stage of Bootlegger's Ball. And now Lainey and Niki will probably make out at some point during the show.”

Truly something for everyone.

Jerkus Circus -- Bootlegger's Ball: 9PM. $20. With Rob Potylo and special guest Barry Crimmins. The Magic Room, 155North Beacon St., Brighton. 617.775.4009

The Comedy Studio's Comic In Residence Interview - Dave McDonough

Dave McDonough is the April
Comic In Residence

Every month, The Comedy Studio picks a comedian to be the “Comic In Residence,” playing every show on the schedule. For April, the Studio has chosen a bit of a ringer in Dave McDonough, who starts his run tonight. McDonough won the Boston Comedy Festival’s competition in 2009 and has opened for Doug Stanhope and others. He’s got a deadpan style that has drawn natural comparisons to Steven Wright, but McDonough has more of a scatological bent.

The Marshfield native has always loved watching stand-up, and it came natural for him to transition from class clown to comedian. He says he likes to listen to Bill Burr, Louis CK, Rodney Dangerfield, and Don Rickles, a mix of edgier local comics and classic comedy idols. “Pretty much any comic who says whatever they want,” he says. “I like edgy comics. Not that you can’t be clean and funny it's just that I think it's more fun to be a jerk sometimes.”

I gave McDonough the usual Comic In Residence Questionnaire.

When did you start doing comedy?

I did my first show in 2000 then I quit until 2004. I quit because it was much harder than I thought it would be. I didn't realize how much work you had to put into it. I came back because I couldn't stop thinking about it and I thought I might be good if I put the time in. Also I lived far from the city at the time and that also dissuaded me a little.

How often have you played the Studio?

I play the studio fairly often, probably every other month or so.

What other clubs do you play?

I also play at Mottley's, Dicks Beantown Comedy Vault, and Nick’s Comedy Stop. My favorite club to perform at is the Studio because of the room itself and the audience and I'm not just kissing ass.



What local comedians have influenced you?

Tony Moschetto and Gary Gulman. I saw Gary before he did Last Comic Standing and you could just tell he was going to be big. He really made it look easy just a really good writer. And Tony was really dry and kind of out there, extremely clever and approachable. Watching him made me realize that being really dry and appearing like you don't care can sometimes draw the biggest laughs.

What's the average number of gigs you've played in a month before this?

I'm pretty lazy, so the most I've ever done before this is probably between fifteen and twenty.

How will you approach your time -- work on new stuff, refine older stuff, or a mix of both?

I plan on trying a lot of different sets, some new stuff, some clean stuff and some dirty stuff.

What do you expect to have gotten out of the experience when the month is over?

My timing and work ethic are two things I need to work on. If I develop some new jokes or tags then I'll be happy but I'm really just trying to get down what I have to a point where I can't screw it up.

Do you plan to make comedy a job, or is it something you do as a hobby?

I don't do stand up for a hobby, I take it very seriously so hopefully within the next few yrs I'll be doing it full time.

Music: The Grownup Noise CD Release at the Middle East Downstairs

The Grownup Noise celebrate the release
of This Time With Feeling

For almost ten years, guitarist and songwriter Paul Hansen has been playing comedy shows, providing a musical backdrop for sketch and stand-up. He started at ImprovBoston, and got drawn in by The Walsh Brothers’ old Thursday night Great and Secret Shows, one of the most creative and influential scenes in recent Boston comedy history. Hansen calls it “an inclusive and inspired community.”

Of course, that was never Hansen’s main gig. He plays in a band called The Grownup Noise, which will celebrate the release of its second album, This Time With Feeling, tonight at the Middle East Downstairs with Kingsley Flood, Spouse, and Joe Fletcher & The Wrong Reasons. The whole band has joined in on the fun at times. Hansen and bass player Adam Sankowski played Chris Coxen’s farewell show in February. The whole band used to rock out behind The Walsh Brothers for their tribute to the Fung Wah.



Hansen finds there is a certain camaraderie between the music and comedy scenes in Boston. “I think there's a lot of mutual respect between the two,” he says. “Comedians respect musicians because they think they get laid all the time, and musicians respect comedians because it's so impressive to take on a crowd without the protection of an instrument or band."

The Grownup Noise made its mark in 2008 with its eponymous debut album, a dreamy mix of progressive indie pop, folk, and rock. It’s a sound that’s hard to easily categorize, even for Hansen. "You know we feel that might be our biggest weakness, or strength," he says. "We see ourselves as somewhere in a gray area, between Indie and Americana/Folk. I like to think we're the missing link between the two, but yeah it's been difficult to figure out how to promote ourselves."

The line-up has changed slightly, with a revolving drummer’s chair, but the core remains Hansen, Sankowski, and cello player/singer Katie Franich. They’ve gone the DIY route, driving themselves across the country and back on tours they booked themselves. That experience has made its way into the music. “We've gained some confidence, as well as some scars from touring the country several times," says Hansen, "so I think we're bringing a lot more life into this record."



Feeling picks up where the first album left off in terms of the quality and power of the songwriting. Many of the songs, like “Carnival” and “Just So You Know,” have been staples of the band’s live shows for the past few years, but they’ve added a few twists in the studio. “We definitely enjoy adding little things to the recordings that we can't necessarily get away with live," says Hansen. "For example, the mellotron and Wurlitzer are beautiful instruments, but can be a real pain in the ass to deal with in a live setting. Vintage instruments have a lot of ghosts inside of them."

Hansen is an evocative lyricist, but his songs don’t always follow a linear narrative logic. You get the feeling there are stories behind everything, but you are often left to your own imagination to fill in the blanks. “I'd say about half of the songs come from specific experiences and half come from me trying to get outside of myself and just explore a sentiment or imagery,” he says.

The Grownup Noise is a band on the rise, and they’re excited to be headlining the Middle East Downstairs, one of the premiere rock and roll rooms in Boston, and one with a lot of history. So where do they go from here? “That's a damn good question,” says Hansen. “I guess continue to write and hope that someday a hip Indie label will swoop in and help a brother out. That's if we can convince them were not too folky…"

The Grownup Noise CD Release Party: 8PM, $10. With Kingsley Flood, Spouse, and Joe Fletcher & The Wrong Reasons. The Middle East Downstairs, 472 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, Ma. 866.777.8932

The Back Page: Shawn Donovan On His New CD, Few Mourn

Shawn Donovan's comedy CD,
Few Mourn

Shawn Donovan doesn’t have much faith in his friends. That’s why he named his self-produced CD Few Mourn and made the cover look like a cheesy tribute for a fallen friend you didn’t know that well on Facebook. It’s a shame – he looks so young.

But that also sums up Donovan’s comic point of view. He would be pessimistic, if it were worth the energy. Over the past year or so, he has been hitting a stride, telling more personal stories onstage that sometimes roam a little. You can catch him tonight out in Lowell at the new Back Page Jazz & Comedy Club on a show with Brian Brinegar. And you can find the CD on CDBaby.com.

I spoke with Donovan by e-mail this week.

So how many people do you think will actually attend your funeral?

No idea. Probably a few enemies coming by just to make sure I'm really dead.

Will any of them be from the audience from this show?

In reality, I don't even want a funeral. I feel the same way about funerals as I do about weddings. What's the point? It seems like a big to do when only a handful of people actually care. I don't want to be buried anyway. I take up enough space as it is now, no need to continue taking up space for eternity. I rent now, so maybe it'll be my only chance to be a landowner. Still, I'd prefer my body to be left to rot in the ocean. Can this blog act as my last will and testament?

More than anyone, Doug Stanhope seems to have been a huge influence on you. Is that something you're aware of as you're writing and performing? Is there anything specific you've learned from listening to him?

Doug's great and obviously a favorite of mine. I've always been drawn to ranty comics like him, Bill Hicks, Marc Maron, Bill Burr, Chris Rock. Ranty social satire is my favorite kind of comedy - don't know why, just a personal preference I guess. In terms writing and performing, something either happens to me that I find funny or I read something that pisses me off then I take it to the stage. I do nearly all my writing on stage. I don't know how effective of a process it is, but that's what I do.

How did you go about producing the CD? Who handled the technical end?

My friend Rob Hughes handled the recording, production and technical aspects of the album. He's a musician in a band called Fishing the Sky. Yup, that's a plug. I think he did a great job. He's recorded bands in studio before, but it was his first time recording a live comedy event like this. I think he did a great job.

How did you decide on Grandma's Basement to tape?

Ha...probably because they're the only ones who would have me. Benny was really on board with me recording an album and it was something I had been thinking about and working towards. That room is small enough where I could actually fill it and if I totally ate my cock, it wouldn't have mattered. It's not like I'd have to answer to anyone afterwards. Total no pressure environment. A perfect setting for a coward like me.

How hard is it to promote a self-released CD like this for a comedian? Musicians can send out to radio, but outside of satellite radio, comedians don't really have that option.

It's nearly impossible. CD Baby is a great resource though. They handled the distribution and provide a lot of resource for independent artists, it's really a great site. I'm the worst at self promotion though. I have no idea what to do. I plug it at shows I do and comics and friends of mine have been really great about passing it around. I think the only hope for something like this is word of mouth. Maybe it'll slowly gain momentum and something good will come of it. Probably not. That's just a pipe dream.

How has it sold?

Sales have exceeded my expectations. I hate myself and have very little self esteem, so the fact that one copy sold is great. I don't know an exact number. I keep getting sales reports every month from the online distributors and I've sold a few download cards after shows. I've made a profit and I consider that a victory at least for me. The consumer is probably losing out.

The CD is under comedy, and also "moods: mood: brooding" on CDBaby. How big do you think the "moods: mood: brooding" crowd is? You seem to be in there with mostly metal and synth bands.

Comedy has such a small market anyway. Is Bauhaus still a band? Maybe I can tour with them.

How is the Back Page as a venue? How did you find out about that?

The Back Page is a cool, little jazz/comedy venue that just opened in Lowell. They're running a comedy open mic on Tuesdays and I believe they just started doing weekend comedy stuff. Nick David, who's a bluesman in the band Mr. Nick and the Dirty Tricks - yup that's a plug - runs the comedy shows. He also runs the comedy open mic up at the Shaskeen in Manchester NH. I met him there and he's had me on a few shows that he's booked. How 'bout it!

The standard overly general closing question -- what'd I miss?

I feel like this is an opportunity for me to make a joke. I got nothing.

Brian Brinegar: 9PM. With Shawn Donovan, Kevin Cotter, Nick Lavallee, Alana Eisner, and Kate Nee. The Back Page, 15 Kearney Sq Lowell, MA. 978.455.4418

Berklee: Igudesman and Joo Make A Little Nightmare Music

Igudesman and Joo at the Berklee
Performance Center Saturday

Aleksey Igudesman and Hyung-ki Joo are classically trained virtuoso musicians, knowledgeable and versatile. They have worked with big name musicians across genres – violinist Iguedesman with Bobby McFerrin and film composer Hans Zimmer, Joo with Billy Joel, for whom he arranged his classical compositions. They have serious credentials, but the show they are bringing to Boston for the first time Saturday at the Berklee Performance Center is anything but.

A Little Nightmare Music is a two-man revue of sorts, showing off Igudesman’s and Joo’s skills as players, but also a silly stew of classical music, broad physical comedy, parody, and pop culture references. It’s a mash-up of Rachmaninov, Mozart, “I Will Survive,” “All By Myself,” and the Beatles. They pair have been performing together since they were 14, and put together their first stage show in 2004. Their YouTube fans number in the millions, and they have sold out their New York City show.

I interviewed them by e-mail while they were busy touring and getting ready to invade the States.

How did you choose Boston for your US debut?

JOO: We throw darts randomly at the map of the world. No, seriously, Boston has been a dream for us to play for a long time. Aleksey's bow is made by a wonderful Boston bowmaker called Roland Benoit, whom he will meet for the first time. And we are both fans and friends of the Boston based great pianist Gabriella Montera, who will hopefully also attend the performance.

The US in general is a place we have always wanted to perform as so much of our inspiration has come from American sitcoms and comedians! The audience in the US s also extremely open minded, appreciative and very warm, a rather fabulous combination!

How receptive are classical music fans to the humor?

JOO: We have been very blessed, with good critics from the press and positive response from the public and especially from great musicians. Whether this will stay this way, we will see! The public is understandably enthusiastic: the regular concert breaks out of its routine and goes off into a new fresher direction, with humour and music that we hope to be fun and original, but yet of high quality.

From the professional side, we have had wonderful feedback so far, even from great artists such as Julian Rachlin, Janine Jansen, Mischa Maisky, Emanuel Ax and Gidon Kremer, all of whom we have had the great pleasure of performing with and including in various humorous ways in our performances.



Do you have to show a certain level of knowledge and virtuosity to get the classical audiences to respond, do you think? To show that you take it seriously before you can have fun with it?

IGUDESMAN : We believe its important to show that one can play before the fun begins. But classical music has many faces. It can be serious, it can be funny, it can be highly emotional, or simply light and entertaining. Opera is a mix of many things. Perhaps what we do is like an own kind of "piccola opera buffa moderna." We sing, we play, we speak, we even dance at times.

Interestingly enough, when working on a "humorous" program, the preparation is even more serious than a "regular" concert. This has many reasons. The "timing" of a humour is just as vital as the timing of the music, so one is constantly working on more than one level. There is also the theatrical and the visual aspect. Then again one has to feel so comfortable in the music, that the humour has space to feel natural and vica versa, so virtuosity is required on many levels. And this has to be practiced and rehearsed separately and together. So it is double the work, but often also double the fun!

Do you remember the first piece the two of you performed together?

JOO: The first piece we ever played together was when we were both 14 years old. It was a piece written by Aleksey called "Bastard Sonata," which by now is published on Universal Edition. It involves a short improvisation section, where, in the first performance, Aleksey lost half of the hair on his bow and forgot to come in after that.



How about the first piece into which you injected humor?

IGUDESMAN: We tend to try to find humor in music, rather than inject it, most of the time. If one were to pick up a historical account of how music was performed in the last three centuries, one may be astounded as one would see that the performance of classical music of the past has no resemblance whatsoever with today's performance. This is not to say that the way in which classical music was performed and received at those times is ideal but one thing is certain: there was a lot more spontaneity and fun in those times and less of a barrier between the performers and the public. But we digress - the first piece with humor was probably also Alekseys "Bastard Sonata."

Is there much speaking in the show? Does it overcome language barriers in that way?

IGUDESMAN & JOO: Our show is an international show and uses little language. Whatever language might be used, it is secondary to the presentation. It is not important to understand the humor of a sketch, however, we do our very best to adapt those bits of language into the local language, wherever and whenever possible and we have managed to perform the show in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian and even Korean and even used bits and sentences in Japanese, Malaysian, Mandarin and Cantonese! What is wonderful for us is the way the different parts of the world react to different parts of the show. Humor is the same everywhere, but every culture has its own "preferences" Some nations laugh more about the slapstick, where as others prefer the musical or the linguistic jokes.

You’ve played for a wide variety of audiences – what pop culture touchstones have transcended cultures, have you found? Has it ever surprised you that a reference to a specific song, say “I Will Survive,” worked with a specific audience?

IGUDESMAN : "I Will Survive" has become a very significant song for us. We have managed to transcend cultures in that song, simply because the harmonic structure is such a common one. And that is not saying its bad. Just the opposite. A lot of great music is based on the same chord structure. And at one point in the song, we combine Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Bach, Vivaldi, "Autumn Leaves," "Killing Me Softly," and many other songs of composers that are based on those chords. For us, it signifies that it all comes from the same roots and that pop, jazz, ethnic and classical music are much closer linked than one thinks. In our eyes, this song also stands for the survival of classical music in particular and music in general. And why does Aleksey sing it with a Russian accent, you may well ask. You may ask that.



Who are your influences musically, and comically?

IGUDESMAN : Already back at the Yehudi Menuhin School in England, where we met at the age of 12, we were always listening and watching great comedians, parallel to great performers. We were influenced by people who were both, wonderful musicians and had a great sense of humour, such as Victor Borge, Dudley Moore or even Glenn Gould, who did some sketches for Canadian TV, which many people don’t know. Even the great violinist Yehudi Menuhin himself, who Aleksey was lucky enough to have lessons with, spread the word of being open to all things around and not just "classical music" itself.

We have always been very close to the theater, the cinema and acting. As a teenager Aleksey went through a phase of reading the entire works of Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde and Anton Chekhov. We have both done many projects on and off stage, written music for the stage and the screen and acted in shows and plays.

It is difficult to say which composers influenced us the most, but the Russian neoclassical movement has always been a big inspiration to both of us. Aleksey listened to anything he could get his hands on by Prokofiev and Hyung-ki, has always been a big admirer of Stravinsky - he even won the Stravinsky piano competition at a very young age. But we have also been influenced by various types of non-classical music, like Frank Zappa, Queen, The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Billy Joel, who Hyung-ki has worked closely with for many years.

You also work for other people, like Hans Zimmer or Billy Joel. Do you have to approach that sort of work for hire with a different mindset from what you do for yourselves?

JOO: Primarily we are passionate musicians (besides being absolute loonies, that is). All music we play or write is done with complete and utter dedication, whether it is with or for Hans Zimmer, Billy Joel, or the girl next door who has asks us to sing a lullaby to her baby. And all creative work requires our full dedication which we always give. We try to have an open mind for all work, breath deeply into our chakras, stand on one foot and chant old Hebrew songs, but then again, we do that before every show anyway!

Have you seen that you’ve opened up classical music to people who otherwise hadn’t responded to it? Have you gotten feedback from fans to that effect?

IGUDESMAN & JOO: We have a lot of feedback from fans and people who didn't give a damn about classical music and now are into Rachmaninov and Mozart! Needless to say we are overjoyed about that! From a young age on, we felt that the whole business and ceremony surrounding classical music was way too serious for its own good and found that people were afraid to go to concerts. Some of our aim is to dispel this fear by making classical music more accessible to the public.

We would like to say that our audience is mostly female and between the ages of 18 and 38, but that would simply not be true. It truly is as varied as advertised, which is, in actual fact, a beautiful thing. Any age, race, sex, species can enjoy our show. You can be musically educated or not, a lover of classical music or of heavy metal.

Igudesman and Joo: A Little Nightmare Music: 8PM, $37-$67. Berklee Performance Center, 136 Massachusetts Ave, Ma. 617.747.2261

Mottley's: Ken Reid on Firsts of Fury and The Comedy Studio

Ken Reid's Firsts of Fury

Ken Reid debut's his new show Firsts of Fury tomorrow at Mottley's Comedy Club. He'll be talking about firsts in his life, continuing his trend of storytelling comedy, joined by Mehran, Lamont Price, Jenny Zigrino, and musician Mark Lind. If all goes well, you'll see this show regularly at Mottley's. And more of Ken Reid is a good thing.

I spoke with Reid last night in this interview, a tribute to Mystery Science Theater 3000. We talked about Firsts, Reid hosting at The Comedy Studio, and dipped into the Bag of Pop Culture to test Reid's considerable knowledge.

I learned a lot. My own first -- this is where I learned that I look like a Walt Kelly drawing in profile.



Ken Reid's Firsts of Fury: 8PM, $12. Ken Reid hosts a night of comics talking about their "firsts," with Mehran, Lamont Price, Jenny Zigrino, and Mark Lind. Mottley's Comedy Club, 61 Chatham Street, Boston, Ma 02109. 877-615-2844

It’s Tony V Week

Tony V on Showtime, YouTube

Let’s go ahead and call this Tony V Week. If you have Showtime 2, you can see the Boston veteran in World’s Greatest Dad putting his social worker skills from another life to work as a school psychologist. Director Bobcat Goldthwait and Tony V are old friends, and you can read a bit about the movie from both of them in my interviews with them from the Boston Comedy archives. Archived Interviews: Bobcat | Tony

Someone also posted this video of Tony from early in his career, when he was the gorilla in the American Tourister luggage ads in the late eighties/early nineties. It’s an interview for Evening Magazine in Philadelphia, and shows Tony hamming it up as the gorilla in the Commons. If you want to see him live this week, head out to Lenzi’s in Dracut Wednesday. He’ll be headlining a benefit for Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Check the Facebook page for details.

The Wilbur: Jim Norton is Despicable

Jim Norton plays two shows at
The Wilbur tonight

Jim Norton recorded his new CD, Despicable, in Boston. The New Jersey native is comfortable here. Boston has long been one of Norton’s go-to cities, a place where he started drawing theater crowds early in his career. Boston crowds appreciate his darker side, whether he’s talking about his dalliances with transsexuals or describing Britney Spears’ genitalia. They’ve known Norton long enough not to be shocked.

Despicable is a good snapshot of who Norton is as a comedian, taking on gay bashers and race issues, with a great piece on "bombing etiquette" for anyone who tries to be funny in their everyday life. You also get a glimpse into Norton's personal life in the liner notes, with photos of his IDs and a newspaper clipping of a story about young Jim trying to beat the local record on Asteroids.

Norton is back in Boston tonight at The Wilbur. The early show is sold out, but as of Friday morning, there may be seats for the later show. You can also hear him frequently on the Opie and Anthony show on Sirius Radio. "Having more fun on SiriusXM than I EVER did on regular radio," he says. "It’s an amazing platform."

I caught up with Norton via e-mail while he was taping a segment for The Tonight Show to air next week.

What are you taping for Leno? When will that air?

I taped a spring break piece in Florida which airs this Tuesday. I was the creepy older guy on the beach. Unintentionally.

How difficult is it to translate your humor to network TV? I feel like, rather than just chopping language, censors would have problems with the concepts of a lot of your material.

Depends on the show. Leno is great because of all the late night shows, they let me do the edgiest material by far. I’ve gotten away with lines on that show that I NEVER could have done on other shows.

Was Despicable one take of the same show, or a mix of a couple of different shows?

It was taken from a couple of different shows. It’s currently the number two comedy CD in the country. (In sales. As far as content, it’s probably somewhere in the low 70s).

What made you record at the Connection?

I truly love Boston crowds. They’re very cranky white people, but they listen to the material. Probably my favorite city to perform in.

Are those real IDs on the sleeve?

They really are, yes. My new passport photo is in there, too (it’s the one where I’m kind of biting my lip, looking not unlike a rapist.

Kind of dickish for the writer on the Asteroids piece you included inside to note you weren’t playing on the “more deadly deluxe” machine.

Yes, it was. ‘Deluxe Asteroids” sucked. It was only deadlier because no one wanted to play it long enough to get good.

That’s quite a gallery of thank-yous in the liner notes – Sean Hannity, Louis CK, Kevin Smith, Marc Maron, Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne, Bob Levy. Do these people ever inhabit the same space, or are they all separate worlds in a way?

They’re all people who have helped me along the way, and they’re all uniquely mentally ill.

You had a great conversation with Maron on WTF about sexuality – what kind of feedback do you get from fans about that material? Do people think you’re making it up for the act?

People generally love it because they know it’s coming from an honest place. (Except for the tranny stories of course, I MADE THEM ALL UP). (no i didn’t)

Do you find your fans fall mostly in any one place on the political spectrum? It seems you have definite opinions, but you’re rarely explicitly political, and you say things that people on the left and on the right might be uncomfortable with.

I think they come from both sides. I embrace certain aspects of both ideologies, but don’t really respect either. As a comic, I never worry about offending the beliefs of the audience. If you can’t laugh at an opinion just because you don’t agree with it, then fuck you.

Any word on appearing on season two of Louie?

Louie has requested a few cock pics from me and I have sent. Waiting to hear back…

Jim Norton: 7:30PM and 10PM. $20-$33. The Wilbur Theatre, 246 Tremont St., Boston. 866.448.7849

Happy St. Patrick's Day from the Dropkick Murphys and Lenny Clarke

The Dropkick Murphys are at the House of Blues supporting their new album, Going Out In Style, and Lenny Clarke is at Giggles tonight with Tony V supporting his new hair color. The Murphys tapped Clarke and his plunger, as well as Micky Ward from The Fighter, Bobby Orr, Milan Lucic, and Shawn Thornton from the Bruins, Kevin Youkilis of the Red Sox, and NESN's Heidi Watney for the video of the title track from the album. Clarke will be at Giggles tomorrow and Saturday, as well.

Check out the video:

Lenny Clarke:Thursday at 8PM with Tony V, Dave Russo, Graig Murphy, and Mark Riley. Friday and Saturday at 7:15PM and 9:30PM. With Artie Januario and Todd Kane. Giggles Comedy Club, at Prince's Pizzeria, 517 Broadway (Route 1), Saugus, Ma. 781.233.9950

Jimmy Tingle In Lynn, Jimmy Tingle's American Dream

Jimmy Tingle play the Lynn Community
Coffee House Friday

Having moved to Lynn in 2006, I like to promote shows going on in my own backyard. Friday, Jimmy Tingle will be kicking off the Lynn Community Coffee House at St. Stephen’s Church on Common Street. There is a heavy community angle to the show, which will also feature works from local artists and a silent auction to benefit ECCO, an organization that helps to create jobs for Lynn youth.

Jocelyn Almy-Testa, one of the organizers of the event, hopes will help the city develop more of an arts and entertainment scene. “I think events like this, and also other things going on in the city, like The Lynn Auditorium programming, events being held at LynnArts, Walnut Street, and Arts After Hours, are all contributing to an environment in which people see Lynn as a place to go to have meaningful experiences, and quality entertainment options,” she says. “It helps commerce, helps our quality of life, gives people a chance to enjoy themselves, and overall brings the community together in a positive way.”

Tingle ran Jimmy Tingle’s Off-Broadway Theater for five years in Somerville, and he knows what a good venue or show can do for the local economy. “It helps the performers, it helps the local community, it helps the church, it helps all the people who benefit from the church, and it helps the local economy in a big way,” he says. “For every one dollar that is spent on an entertainment ticket, three dollars is spent in the surrounding neighborhood.”

Don White, one of the other organizers of the event, will host the show.

Tingle’s documentary, Jimmy Tingle’s American Dream, just won best documentary at the Independent Film Quarterly Film and New Media Festival last month. He’s looking to tour more festivals with the film this year. Here’s a quick preview:

WICF Interviews - Kristen Schaal, Morgan Murphy, and Jen Kirkman

This year's Women In Comedy Festival was another success. The high point came Saturday at the headliner show with Kurt and Kristen, Morgan Murphy, and Jen Kirkman at the Brattle Theatre, all of whom participated in a panel discussion Saturday afternoon, with Rachel Dratch and Myq Kaplan. I spoke with Kristen Schaal, Murphy, and Kirkman backstage after the panel, a few hours before their shows.

Kristen Schaal and Morgan Murphy:


Jen Kirkman:

WICF Spotlight: Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting at ImprovBoston

Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting at
ImprovBoston tonight

One of my favorite finds from last year’s Women In Comedy Festival was the sketch duo Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting. They were strange, aggressively offensive, and most importantly, funny. They are part of the Festival again this year, at ImprovBoston tonight. I spoke with Leah Ruddick and Katie Hartman by e-mail – not sure who answered what question.

How did you get involved with the Women In Comedy Festival?

Our very good friends (and hilarious stand-ups) Selena Coppock and Carolyn Castiglia participated in the festival it’s inaugural year and spoke very highly of it. We had never performed in Boston before, so we applied, got in and tried not to murder each other on the 5 hour bus ride.

What were your thoughts on last year’s edition?

We had a great time performing last year! It’s always fun to perform outside of NYC and the Boston audience didn’t throw anything at us! What a pleasure! It was also kind of awesome literally running smack into Maria Bamford in the tiny bathroom at ImprovBoston.

Have you performed at other festivals that include other comic artforms – stand-up, sketch, improv, and storytelling?

Yes! We’ve traveled all over for various festivals including the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland, Ladies Are Funny Festival in Austin, SketchFest NYC, Los Angeles Comedy Festival, Capital Fringe in DC and AYE Arts and Music Festival in Cincinnati. Randomly. we also performed at the National Roller Derby Tournament, which is perhaps the highlight of our career. The only disappointment was that nobody body checked us.



How did the two of you come together as Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting?

We met doing theatre at Sarah Lawrence College, where we acted in a lot of very earnest girl dramas together. Then we realized it was more fun to make fun of that kind of theater than to actually do it. We started doing sketch comedy in a larger group as soon as we graduated and through that we formed the duo that is Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting.

How did you come up with the name?

It was the name of our prayer circle. Just kidding. Kind of. ”Skinny Bitch Meeting” was an inside joke with a few friends and Jesus found his way in there somehow, as He tends to do. Obviously our mothers are thrilled with the name (no they aren’t) and obviously we are masters in marketing (no we’re not), ‘cause newspapers LOVE to print the words “bitch” and “Jesus” next to each other. BRILLIANT.

How would you describe what SBJM does?

We’re a little weird, absurd, dark and dirty. We tend towards more theatrical, character-based stuff because that’s what our background is, and generally that’s the kind of thing that makes us laugh. Some other ways to describe what we do? “Mama’s Crack fix” and “Fun Ass”.

Who are you looking forward to seeing at the Festival?

Oh, everyone! We love anything Kurt and Kristen does. Leibya Rogers is a genius with tofu nipples. Amy Albert as Delilah Dix makes our private parts feel gross in the best way possible. Doppleganger is hands down one of the best improv troupes in NYC. Ben Lerman is a uke wizard! Leah Dubie rocks it every time! We could go on.

Why should people come to see your show?

Because if they don’t we will hunt them down and eat their children. If they don’t have children then we will seduce their wives. If they aren’t married to women we’ll leave them alone.

Women In Comedy Festival - Full Tilt Comedy: Sketch: 10PM, $20. Mainstage. With Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting, OBV, and Harry Roasts America. ImprovBoston, 40 Prospect Street, Cambridge, Ma, 02139. 617-576-1253