Lewis Black Interview

Reprinted from the Independent Weekly

Durham
Lewis Black
Durham Performing Arts Center—Lewis Black became famous for his hand-waving, hair-pulling apoplectic rants on the “Back in Black” segments of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show. On the phone promoting his upcoming appearance at the DPAC, he’s calm and polite, though he admits people often ask him to demonstrate his famous stage persona. “What they do is ask me to do the thing with my fingers,” Black says. “And if I’m at a bar, there’s no telling what they’ll ask.”

Black is one of the most high-profile comedians around—in the past year, along with his Daily Show work and touring, he’s published a bestselling book of essays on religion, Me of Little Faith, released his seventh CD, headlined the History Channel documentary History of the Joke with Lewis Black, and hosted the now-defunct Comedy Central series Root of All Evil.

Black says he’s not certain what the topic of his DPAC performance will be, but “I’m pretty sure it’s going to be about alternative energy and the economy and the election.” Despite the results of the presidential race, Black suspects that he’ll still have plenty of material to rant about: “This administration will keep pumping stuff at us long after they’ve left office.” And of course, there’s Sarah Palin. “In the tradition of American Idol, where those who came in second and third continue to perform, and sometimes become as big as those who became No. 1, she’ll be around. She’s not easy to shake. That one is not easy to shake.”

A UNC grad, Black keeps a house in Chapel Hill, where he wrote most of Me of Little Faith. “I liked my time [in Chapel Hill]—I always felt like that was where I would come back to.” He’s keeping up his busy schedule, including a new film for the History Channel, Surviving the Holidays with Lewis Black. How does Black really survive the holidays? By leaving the country, “to take a break from the psychosis.”

Black’s not worried about slowing down: “The worst-case scenario is that I get to keep wandering around, ranting and raving. You can’t beat that.” As for his performance in Durham, does he think the sound system at DPAC will be a problem? “I doubt it.” —Zack Smith

Black performs at 8 p.m. Tickets are $38-$58. Visit www.dpacnc.com for more information

 

Interview with RENO 911’s Carlos Alazraqui

Note: This interview is a good five months old; I just realized I never posted it on this site after it ran in the Indpendent Weekly

Thursday 6.19

18 JUN 2008

Raleigh
Carlos Alazraqui
Goodnight’s—On the phone, Carlos Alazraqui has about the most gentle, calm voice you can imagine. As a performer, it’s a much different story. Best known for his role as gun-crazed, ultraviolent Deputy Garcia on Comedy Central’s Reno 911!, Alazraqui brings a manic, intense physicality to his work as a comedian, whether it’s describing a bout of road rage or doing a video of his Reno character catching a crook while skydiving.

This weekend, Alazraqui brings his act to Goodnight’s for what promises to be a high-energy show. How does he find his material? “That’s stuff that comes out in therapy—good old-fashioned bottled-up rage,” Alazraqui says, speaking recently by telephone. “As a comedian, you realize you have to be stronger than the audience—you have to be in control. It’s not an absolute for being a comedian, but it helps—it’s like fighting your ghosts.”

Those who don’t know Alazraqui as an actor probably know his voice—he has an extensive list of voiceover credits that include the titular characters in Nickelodeon’s Rocko’s Modern Life and Cartoon Network’s Camp Lazlo, effeminate boss Mr. Weed on Family Guy and, perhaps most infamously, the Chihuahua who uttered the words “Yo quiero Taco Bell” in a series of commercials.

Alazraqui cites Tom Kenny, the voice of Spongebob Squarepants, as a model for his voiceover performances. “I used to just sit there and read my lines, but I saw Tom perform—he really makes it a physical thing, doing lots of gestures and acting out his roles,” Alazraqui says. “So I do a lot of that myself—you become animated with your body to make your voice move.” His work has brought him a unique fan base—at college comedy performances, he’ll have fans quoting lines from shows he doesn’t even remember. “Voice actors live in relative anonymity in the Hollywood world,” Alazraqui says. “The best are like these really good jazz musicians who perform in these out-of-the-way speakeasies—you’ll see all these people on American Idol and then go to one of these clubs and go, ‘Oh, that’s how it’s done!’”

In his voice acting and live-action performances, Alazraqui has one rule: “Keep it real.” And where does he find things to be angry about for his act? “A lot of it comes from watching cable news.” —Zack Smith

For more information, visit www. carlosalazraqui.com or www.goodnightscomedy.com.

 

Richard Lewis (CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM) Interview

Reprinted from The Indepndent Weekly

Raleigh
Richard Lewis
Goodnight’s—By the time Richard Lewis begins his latest gig at Charlie Goodnight’s on Thursday, the United States should have a new president. The tone and content of the comedian’s stand-up act hinges on the winner: “This is sort of a wild gig,” says the lifelong Democrat. “I’m going to be on fire either way. If Obama wins, I’m going to be in an extraordinary mood. If he loses … honestly, it might be a better show. I’m curious to see how I might be feeling: elated or absolutely distraught.”

Lewis has become one of the best-known stand-up comedians in America for his neurotic, cynical stage persona, though, as even he admits, there is little difference between who he is on stage and who he is in real life. Over the course of our conversation, he apologized at least four times for rambling, changing the subject or saying things he felt were uninteresting. His performance at Goodnight’s will be drawn, he says, from roughly four or five hours of material he has on his computer, plus what’s on his mind: “It’s like a bad MapQuest, my show. But hopefully, I’ll get to the destination, and make some comedic points.”

Goodnight’s promises to be a “relaxing gig” for Lewis, who adds that it’s a welcome change of pace from his recent gigs, which have included multiple town halls and TV appearances (he had done three in the week before the interview). He’s gained new fans from his TV work, ranging from a guest role on the family drama 7th Heaven (“Kids come up to me and go ‘You’re that rabbi!’”) and his long-running role as a version of himself on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, which was recently renewed for a seventh season. For Lewis, playing himself is a strange experience. “You do so much improvising, you have no idea what [Curb creator and star Larry David is] going to use in an episode,” Lewis says. “It’s the oddest sensation. I have no idea if I’m acting.” Considering how far being himself has taken him, it’s obviously a formula that works. —Zack Smith

Richard Lewis performs through Nov. 9 at Goodnight’s. Visit www.ticketbiscuit.com/goodnightscomedy for more information.

 

Interview with Doug Benson (SUPER HIGH ME, BEST WEEK EVER)

Reprinted from the Independent Weekly

Doug Benson just did a film about smoking marijuana every day for a full month but still doesn’t consider himself a “pot comic.” The comedian, who starred in the documentary Super High Me and co-starred in the Off-Broadway hit The Marijuana-Logues plays Goodnight’s starting tonight but isn’t worried about police frisking him for illegal substances. “I don’t think any policemen actually saw Super High Me,” Benson says. “I do tend to ask ‘Is there a cop in the audience?’ It gets a laugh, but I am really curious.”

Benson, who recently released a live album, Professional Humoredian, promises a unique performance. “Pretty much every show is different—I have some set material I rely on for a while until I get sick of it,” Benson says. “Even the performance on the live CD has a lot of twists and turns and comments I haven’t made before or since—and even when you’ve heard a joke of mine before, chances are it’s not going to be told exactly the same way.”

Benson’s most recognizable as a regular commentator on VH1’s current-event-riffing Best Week Ever, which he credits for helping make it okay for people to hate mediocre celebrities. “When I was growing up, if you hated Zsa Zsa Gabor, there weren’t too many people talking smack about her on TV. Now, when you hate a celebrity, you can turn on the TV and watch us make fun of them, and it’s a bit of a release.” He admits there are some “Celebreality” shows, particularly the ones on E!, he doesn’t like. “When the point of the show is, ‘We’ll just follow them around each week and not much of interest will happen,’ those are the ones that drive me nuts,” Benson says.

Though his most recent album was recorded on the marijuana-friendly holiday April 20 while under the influence, Benson says his Goodnight’s performance will be done without the aid of chemical additives: “I don’t want anyone to show up to see some rambling mess of a person who can’t get to a point.” He does warn that he might engage in some alcohol consumption: “If it’s a two-show night, I might have some drinks after the first show. That’s something for the people in Raleigh to look forward to.”

 

Interview with Comedian Mike Birbiglia

Goodnight’s Comedy Club—Mike Birbiglia has made a career out of revealing things most people would rather keep quiet. Case in point: The subject of his hour-plus of all-new material he’s workshopping at Goodnight’s. “I’m working on a whole new show called Sleepwalk with Me, where I go into detail about a sleepwalking disorder I have,” says the 29-year-old comedian. “For a long time, I was kind of in denial about it, and that’s one of the themes of my shows—how we’re in denial about our various issues.”

Birbiglia, who calls his blog his “Secret Public Journal,” has parlayed his most embarrassing moments into a regular feature on the Bob and Tom radio show, three Comedy Central specials and, most recently, a CBS pilot with Bob Odenkirk and Six Feet Under’s Frances Conroy. He says his comedy has taught him “the degree to which I push aside things I don’t want to deal with.”

Sleepwalk, which Birbiglia hopes to turn into an off-Broadway show and TV special, chronicles his battles with his disorder, which sometimes leads him to act out his dreams. “For instance, I’d have a recurring dream where there was an insect jackal thing hovering over my bed, and I would jump on the bed in real life in a karate pose and go, ‘There’s a jackal in the room!’ to my girlfriend,” Birbiglia says. “She got so used to it that she could talk me down: ‘There’s no jackal.’”

Birbiglia is excited about performing at Goodnight’s and feels that Sleepwalk features “the most real and true and intense and revealing stories, but it’s the funniest of my shows.” How does he make his humor work? “A lot of my comedy has its roots in the fact that the joke is on myself, so that’s made it easier.” —Zack Smith

For more information, visit www.goodnightscomedy.com or www.birbigs.com.

Reprinted from the Independent Weekly

 

Interview with Will Ferrell…Yes, Will Ferrell.

Dean for a day

Will Ferrell goes for the hole

27 FEB 2008  •  by Zack Smith

Starring in such “Frat Pack” films as Old School and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy has immortalized Will Ferrell’s name on campuses across the country, and on Friday, Feb. 22, the actor and comedian proved he knows his audience well. In the next-to-last show of a seven-week tour promoting his new film Semi-Pro and his FunnyorDie.com Web site, Ferrell regaled the packed house at the Dean Smith Center with UNC/ Duke jokes, including a show-stopping bit with UNC men’s basketball coach Roy Williams.Full story here!

 

Sebastian Maniscalo on VINCE VAUGHAN’S WILD WEST COMEDY SHOW

From the Independent Weekly’s “Eight Days a Week” feature

Chapel Hill
Sebastian Maniscalco and Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show
Student Union, UNC Campus—When comedian Sebastian Maniscalco (left in the picture) got to spend a month touring major venues across the country with Vince Vaughn, he was careful not to quit his day job as a waiter. “When I left to go on tour, I had every intention of going back to my day job,” says Maniscalco, whose tour is chronicled in the new documentary Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show, which premieres tomorrow. “It’s basically the biggest break I’ve had in my career up to this point.”

The exposure Maniscalco received from the tour helped him finally go into comedy full time. January saw his second appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and his own Comedy Central Presents special. Tonight, he’ll appear at UNC as part of a special advance screening of the film at 7:30. Though Vaughn’s tour took Maniscalco everywhere from Bakersfield, Calif. to Des Moines, Iowa, this will mark the comedian’s first visit to North Carolina (he says he’d love to perform at Goodnight’s in Raleigh).

Maniscalco has nothing but praise for Vaughn, whom he calls “a truly unselfish guy.” He says the tour helped him learn to perform before a large audience: “It gave me a confidence that I didn’t have before.” He’s planning his own cross-country tour, along with trying to get a distributor for an hour-long DVD of his act. Eventually, he’d like to try his own tour with other up-and-comers. “It’d be a great thing to give back and pay it forward and do it for some other rising comedians,” Maniscalco says. —Zack Smith

For more information, visit www.wildwestcomedy.com or www.sebastianlive.com.

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