transcript

Speaker 1:
[00:01] For adults with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis symptoms, every choice matters. Tramfya offers self-injection or intravenous infusion from the start. Tramfya is administered as injections under the skin or infusions through a vein every four weeks, followed by injections under the skin every four or eight weeks. If your doctor decides that you can self-inject Tramfya, proper training is required. Tramfya is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease and adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis. Serious allergic reactions and increased risk of infections and liver problems may occur. Before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms or if you need a vaccine. Explore what's possible. Ask your doctor about Tramfya today. Call 1-800-526-7736 to learn more or visit tramfyaradio.com.

Speaker 2:
[01:06] Hello, everyone, welcome to another episode of Good Hang. So excited that my old friend, my dear friend, Fred Armisen, is joining me today. And it's always the best to talk to Fred. And we're gonna talk about so much stuff. We're gonna talk about SNL, of course. We're gonna talk about how we don't like taking physical risks. We're gonna talk about our different conflict styles. And we're gonna talk about Wednesday, the big hit show on Netflix that he is a part of. We're gonna discuss the past, the present, the future. But we have a great guest joining us to discuss Fred and how wonderful Fred is. A person who is here to talk well behind his back and give me a question to ask Fred, that person is Carrie Brownstein. She is the star of Portlandia, Slater Kinney. She's an actor, director, a writer, and just all around cool, awesome person. Carrie, thank you for joining us. Hi. This episode is presented by Allstate. Checking Allstate first could save you hundreds on car insurance. That's smart. Not checking that the fake roast chicken is, in fact, a fake roast chicken before chomping into a wing? Rookie mistake. Yeah, checking first is smart. So check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate. Potential savings vary, subject to terms, conditions and availability. Allstate North American Insurance Company and affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois. Hi. Hi.

Speaker 3:
[02:51] Nice to see you, how are you?

Speaker 2:
[02:52] I'm great, it's so good to see you. Look at how nice your background is.

Speaker 3:
[02:56] Well, I could say the same for yours.

Speaker 2:
[02:58] Well, we're talking to Fred today, and we can talk about Fred forever, but I just want to talk about you for a second. I was a fan of yours long before I met you. And I just remember saying to Fred, like, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, Carrie from Sleater-Kinney, like, wait, that Carrie? Like, I can remember this feeling of, oh my God, I might get a chance to meet you. But meeting you is so important to me because I thought you were so cool. I loved you. I loved your band. I loved your music. And then to find out that you are so deeply funny, talented, prolific, interesting.

Speaker 3:
[03:36] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[03:37] I mean, I don't have a question here. I just want to say, remember that?

Speaker 3:
[03:41] Yes. Well, I mean, you're right. That wasn't a question. But I will. My retort will be that I felt the same. I mean, I was such a big fan of yours. And I think Fred did. There were a lot of people I met through Fred, obviously, like so many people from SNL that I already admired.

Speaker 2:
[04:03] You and Fred are such partners in so many different. How do you define your relationship? How do you describe your relationship with each other?

Speaker 3:
[04:11] Now, I was thinking about this because it's not romantic. We've never had that kind of relationship. But there is something that is deeply loving in a slightly romantic way. And I mean that because it's kind of heightened in the way that romance is heightened. And so it is just a seamless, like kind of loving, like heart to heart, a platonic, you know, friendship. But it feels like family.

Speaker 2:
[04:40] How did you two meet?

Speaker 3:
[04:41] We differ on this slightly. The one that we definitely agree on where we hung out was he was on SNL at this point. Slater and Keeney were playing at Irving Plaza in New York. So we weren't able to go to see SNL. He invited me and the rest of my band to the show. But because, you know, we had this conflict, he said, okay, we'll just come to the after party. And it was 2003, it was Jennifer Garner and Beck who were the, you know, host and musical guest. And we went to this after party and Fred came up in the way that he's always magnanimous and friendly. And he was wearing a little button with my face on it. Which is, you know, from someone else, that might be weird. You know, you're like, hi, nice to meet you. Oh, there I am on your shirt. But with Fred, it's just, he wears both his heart and his fandom on his sleeve.

Speaker 2:
[05:31] Totally.

Speaker 3:
[05:32] You know, kind of literally and figuratively. I think that's why he, people just want to be around him because he's just not cynical in that way. So anyway, we hung out that night and then started to just talk about collaborating. I assumed he'd want to do music. And instead, he had all these little comedic shorts he wanted to start making with me, which was very surprising and surreal, but just completely based on our friendship. It was very organic. It wasn't like, let's pitch this, or let's try to do something bigger than it is. It's like, let's just hang out and make little videos. And we did that for years before Portlandia.

Speaker 2:
[06:09] Yeah, and with Portlandia, did you guys go in and pitch Lauren a Broadway video?

Speaker 3:
[06:14] Well, we did. Eventually, we did. I think it was Fred's manager, who then became mine, Tim Sarkis, who said, hey, you guys are really developing this chemistry. There's a whole sensibility here in this series of videos that you've done. And then you have to pitch to Lauren if you're on SNL. And Fred thought, there's no way. Lauren's just going to look at this and say, okay, good luck. Thank you. No. And instead, Lauren and Andrew Singer, Broadway Video said, yeah, we'd love to be part of this. We got really lucky. And Fred was still on SNL for the first four seasons of the show. So we made a pilot super quickly. And we basically said to IFC, like you either pick this up now or we just don't do it because he's got to get back to SNL in September.

Speaker 2:
[07:00] Both you and Fred were musicians and reformers. You're a writer, you're a director, you're an actor. You're also, you know, you go back on tour. Like this idea that you have to be the one thing felt like Fred was the embodiment of that at SNL. Like he showed up at the show and I want to talk to him about it. But you know, his, he was doing, he was interviewing bands as a character. That's how he made up, he made his own show basically, playing like a very kind of rude German interviewer who didn't understand, you know, social protocol. And he would let, and he would, and he would interview musicians. And, but he also was in the Blue Man Group before he was, like he has, yeah, there's like kind of like nothing he doesn't want to try. And by being around him, you feel really comfortable trying things too.

Speaker 3:
[07:54] For sure. He is almost like the Swiss Army knife in this way where you know what the sort of familiar elements are of a Swiss Army knife, but he uses them in ways that surprise you. And I just, I can't believe all that he's capable of. I still, I'll be watching something and I'm like, there's Fred. When did he do this? Like he's just, he's everywhere and he can do so many things. Like when he goes on a show and just decides to do an accent from every 50 states, then you're like, oh, I didn't, like he surprises me all the time.

Speaker 2:
[08:27] You're right. And I kind of want to talk to him about that too, because why I think that bit is genius. I mean, I really do think Fred is a genius, a comedic genius. But why that bit is especially genius speaks I think to the bigger way that Fred participates in his work is he's just making a choice, like whether or not it's the best choice or the most like, he's just deciding that that's how people talk from that state. And the comfort that you get knowing that Fred has made a choice is what is funny. It's and it's the same way with any impression that he does or any comedic choice that he makes. He's just in the moment deciding, I'm going to do it like this. And it's very relaxing.

Speaker 3:
[09:07] Oh, relaxing. He and there's just this like kindness and generosity. I think because he can be his taste is actually kind of esoteric, but he makes the audience feel like they don't need to know that stuff. You know, it's there's something alienating about it. So when he makes a decision, a choice, as you're saying, to like, pick an accent for Alabama, it doesn't matter. People just think like, oh, that's something I trust this because you're just making me feel okay to believe it. You know, he's just, and Fred just really, he believes in it. He believes in comedy. He believes in like connecting with people. That's very comforting.

Speaker 2:
[09:45] Yes. He has a specific taste, but he's not a snob.

Speaker 3:
[09:49] He's not a snob. And he doesn't, he really is averse to that.

Speaker 2:
[09:53] And he's one of the few people in my life that like, he can do an impression of me to me, and it doesn't hurt my feelings.

Speaker 3:
[10:01] Yes.

Speaker 2:
[10:01] A lot of impressions, a lot of impressions are like the things that you don't want to hear people doing, that you want to be done behind your back and the hopes that, but Fred can do impressions of people to them and they feel seen, but it's got, it's, it's just as fascinating. Like he, he can do that.

Speaker 3:
[10:20] Fred's impression of me, he tells me he can't do my voice, but so what he does is he walks. And I didn't realize until Fred did an impression of me that I'm a treacher. I trudge, it's a weird, it's a, but it was inoffensive. And there's also something very loving about it. Like you're like, yeah, you, you notice something about me that someone else doesn't. What's his impression of you?

Speaker 2:
[10:43] His impression of me is like asking kind of the leading question. It's kind of like a suspicious question. It's like a little, but it, I, it delights me. Like when he does it, I just feel so like, hee hee, that's me. Like you got it or whatever.

Speaker 3:
[10:57] Yeah, because what he's pointing out is just that you're curious and you're in, you're, he's pointing on intelligence. Like that's very flattering. You're like, yeah, I guess I am smart and I ask really good questions. Thank you for noticing.

Speaker 2:
[11:10] OK, so I ask my, my first guest to give me, give a question for my second guest. And I was wondering, you probably know so much about Fred. What do you think would be a question maybe he'd want to answer, you'd want to know, or that people listening might want to know?

Speaker 3:
[11:24] We touched on this, you know, with just the like the music stuff. So I guess my question is, I would want him to describe the way that one of his musical heroes, humor, sensibility, playfulness, informed his own comedy. That is something I'm actually curious about.

Speaker 2:
[11:44] Such a good question.

Speaker 3:
[11:46] I just can't wait to hear your talk with Fred. So I just want to...

Speaker 2:
[11:49] Carrie, you're the best. Thank you so much for doing this. I really want us to deep dive soon together. I cannot wait for those live shows. I definitely want to go. That sounds so fun. And I just love spending time with you. Thank you so much for this time.

Speaker 3:
[12:04] Thank you, Amy. Take care. Good to see you.

Speaker 2:
[12:06] You too. Bye, Carrie. This episode is brought to you by Visible. Let's be honest. Wireless can feel like a world of traps. Expensive bills, hidden fees and promises that just don't hold up. You start to feel stuck. Don't fall for the trap. Escape to Visible, the ultimate wireless hack. Get unlimited data and hotspot powered by Verizon. One line, all for just $25 a month. Taxes and fees included. You heard that right. Just $25 a month. Get great coverage and a reliable connection with Visible. Switch today at visible.com and start saving on wireless. Terms apply. See visible.com for plan features and network management details. Oh, my God, Fred and I, we got our khaki on.

Speaker 4:
[12:59] That is really funny.

Speaker 2:
[13:01] I'm dressing today like one of my favorite characters of yours, Nicholas Fane.

Speaker 4:
[13:05] Oh, but I think we're all starting to dress like that.

Speaker 2:
[13:10] I feel like we men and women are all dressing the same and we're all dressing the same way.

Speaker 4:
[13:15] Yeah. I forgot what store I went to, but there was sort of a department store where all the guys' clothes were stuff like all the colors I would like.

Speaker 2:
[13:23] Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[13:23] So it felt very like.

Speaker 2:
[13:26] I like to dress pretty mask in general. I feel safe when I'm buttoned up and like. So Fred Armisen is here and we both have similar colors on today.

Speaker 4:
[13:39] Yeah. Amy, I can't even begin. Thank you so much for this. I love this. I'm going to call it a show. Yeah. I love it. And I can't believe it's happening. I also, I mean, you know this every week. We could talk forever. I know.

Speaker 2:
[13:55] I don't even know what we're going to talk about.

Speaker 4:
[13:56] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[13:59] I know. I was just like, I have notes and we were going over and I was like, I feel like we could talk about talking on podcasts for an hour and a half.

Speaker 4:
[14:10] We could. Like the tone because people's tones do change a little bit.

Speaker 2:
[14:14] Fred, you're probably talked about more than almost anybody on this podcast. I don't know if you've heard how well you've been spoken of here.

Speaker 4:
[14:22] It's really, it makes me very happy. It's flattering. It's the nicest thing. It's all people who I love and respect and it's the best.

Speaker 2:
[14:32] You were on the first Zoom that Dratchi could get her headphones on. You were nice enough to do that. Thank you. One of a million times you have come through and helped me out and not ever been like, what is this?

Speaker 4:
[14:46] No, but that's easy because everything you're working on, it just seems like, oh, of course, that's going to be great.

Speaker 2:
[14:53] But not everybody is like that. I mean, I want to talk about it today, but I feel like I learn a lot from the way you approach saying yes to things. And when you're actually there, you're actually there. You're actually a present person, which is pretty hard to be.

Speaker 4:
[15:07] Thank you, but it's for stuff that I want to do. So that's like most of the battle of being there.

Speaker 2:
[15:15] But I don't even know how to start this conversation because I love it so much. I'm so excited. But okay, I feel like you are a comedic genius. And of all the funny people of which we know the funniest people, everybody loves you the most and says you're the funniest. And Martin Short told a really sweet anecdote on this where you made him laugh in that moment. You told him that you tricked him into thinking that he said Tony McCartney. So Paul McCartney when he introduced Paul McCartney at the SNL 50th.

Speaker 4:
[15:49] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[15:50] I guess what is it like to make your heroes laugh?

Speaker 4:
[15:56] Well, first of all, thank you for those really kind words.

Speaker 2:
[15:58] Well, we need you to live up to it. Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[16:01] Wait till you see what I do on this. I memorized all these bits to do. It is like, it's going to sound like it is a mutual thing.

Speaker 2:
[16:13] Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[16:14] Like it's a very, like I don't, when I'm around Martin Short, I'm not like, hey, I'm going to, it's just like, it really does feel like he's so funny, let's just goof around. It really does feel that way.

Speaker 2:
[16:24] Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[16:24] And with the Tony McCartney thing, I thought for sure I thought he knew it just by me talking about it that I was joking.

Speaker 2:
[16:32] But did he actually get fooled for a second?

Speaker 4:
[16:34] He got fooled. Yeah. Because I guess it was a very heightened moment. It's like the end, that was after Good Nights of the 50th. And so it might have just been a moment where he thought it really happened.

Speaker 2:
[16:48] But that's the thing I love about working with you and knowing you is there's like an impish, playful side to you that never feels mean but feels very fun. I feel like if shit went down, I want to turn to you, Fred, because I feel like if someone's yelling, or if something uncomfortable is happening, it's fun to turn to you. And if something great is happening, it's fun to turn to you.

Speaker 4:
[17:18] Likewise, but I feel like I lean on you, though, because you have a gauge of like, this is what's really happening. There is one thing you told me when I was thinking of leaving SNL. I think I already decided that I was leaving SNL. And you said, I didn't even ask you, but you were like, don't worry, Lauren always stays in your life. That's what I mean. It's a bigger, it's like a map. It's like a little further away and you just know the thing to say.

Speaker 2:
[17:48] How many years were you on SNL?

Speaker 4:
[17:50] Eleven.

Speaker 2:
[17:51] Oh, wow.

Speaker 4:
[17:52] Yeah. And I remember right at the end, I was just sort of like trying to decide and you had already left. So I looked to you as like, what is this?

Speaker 2:
[18:03] I mean, there's so many things to talk about. One thing I learned today is, is this true or is the Internet wrong? That your full name is Faridun?

Speaker 4:
[18:12] Faridun.

Speaker 2:
[18:13] Faridun.

Speaker 4:
[18:13] Yeah. That's my given name.

Speaker 2:
[18:15] Faridun.

Speaker 4:
[18:16] Yeah. Faridun.

Speaker 2:
[18:17] And it is your father's name.

Speaker 4:
[18:18] Yep.

Speaker 2:
[18:19] And it is a Iranian name?

Speaker 4:
[18:21] Yep.

Speaker 2:
[18:22] But he is German.

Speaker 4:
[18:23] Yes.

Speaker 2:
[18:23] And Korean.

Speaker 4:
[18:24] Yes.

Speaker 2:
[18:25] Why does he have an Iranian name?

Speaker 4:
[18:27] Because his mom in Germany was dating a Persian man at the time when she got pregnant. Not by him.

Speaker 2:
[18:35] So she gave her child her boyfriend's name.

Speaker 4:
[18:38] Yeah. He chimed in on what his name should be. There were Persian workers in Germany at the time. And even though it wasn't his baby, she was like, what should I call this kid? And he came up with that name.

Speaker 2:
[18:55] You have German descent, Korean descent, your mom is from Venezuela. And you have an Iranian name even though you don't have any Persian. That's you in a nutshell.

Speaker 4:
[19:07] That's crazy.

Speaker 2:
[19:08] I know. And so then you were just called Fred from when you were a little kid?

Speaker 4:
[19:12] Yeah. And my dad was as well. When I say it was crazy, I'm not talking about myself like I'm like amazed, like, yeah, it's crazy. I mean more that learning the history of what I thought Germany was like, that there were immigrants there and foreign workers. Things are just more complex than I ever learned originally, or that there was racism against Koreans in Japan.

Speaker 2:
[19:35] Right.

Speaker 4:
[19:35] I had no idea.

Speaker 2:
[19:36] And much like Andy Samberg, who was on here talking about how he did his roots, when you did your roots, you found out that you always thought that your dad was Japanese, and you found out that his relatives were Japanese.

Speaker 4:
[19:48] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[19:48] You found out they were Korean.

Speaker 4:
[19:49] Yeah. I was in this room for four hours as they're opening these books, and it really feels at first, it is disbelief, like this cannot be true. Have you done it?

Speaker 2:
[20:01] No, because I'm Irish-white, it's not going to go well. I mean, there's no way.

Speaker 4:
[20:07] You'll be surprised, and that's also their job.

Speaker 2:
[20:10] Yes, I will be surprised. I mean, it's never going to go back to something good.

Speaker 4:
[20:15] What if you're full-blooded Canadian?

Speaker 2:
[20:17] People would be like, no way, my relatives are from Canada? But when you were growing up, you have German and Korean dad, you thought was Japanese, Korean, you have Venezuelan mom. How did you identify, culturally?

Speaker 4:
[20:32] Venezuelan. Because my dad's from East Germany, which means that it was communist Germany at the time, so we had no relatives around us. With Venezuela, the relatives are over all the time, we were traveling there, so it was a distant relationship with Germany.

Speaker 2:
[20:50] You could speak Spanish from when you were young? You just learned, your mom speaks Spanish in the home?

Speaker 4:
[20:56] That was a lucky thing. Because at the time, I didn't appreciate it.

Speaker 2:
[21:00] Of course.

Speaker 4:
[21:00] I was like, what is this? Then now, it's just like it's just a gift.

Speaker 2:
[21:04] Also, a lot of first generation didn't always speak there. They wanted to speak English in the home to try to, but your mom spoke both.

Speaker 4:
[21:15] She did. Yeah. She kept it going, thankfully. I still write to her, if there are things that I'm like, what is the Spanish word for this? It's great. She's helped me. A lot of SNL stuff, a lot of cold opens and stuff.

Speaker 2:
[21:28] One of the nice things about working at SNL is you just meet people's parents. Because over the years, they come to the show. You're just like, you see.

Speaker 4:
[21:37] When you were talking about the name Poehler, I pictured your dad. He's got like a smirk.

Speaker 2:
[21:42] Oh my God. My dad, my parents are such fans of Fred Armisen.

Speaker 4:
[21:46] I'm a fan of theirs.

Speaker 2:
[21:48] We always had our relatives there. We were always hosting family. It's like you would go to sit at the table. Your mom, who I have such warm feelings for when I think about, is you guys look a lot alike. Like really, you have her face. Yeah. So little Freddie, growing up in?

Speaker 4:
[22:12] Long Island a little bit and then Brazil a little bit.

Speaker 2:
[22:15] Right.

Speaker 4:
[22:16] For a couple of years.

Speaker 2:
[22:17] A couple of years in Brazil?

Speaker 4:
[22:18] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[22:19] How old when you went to Brazil?

Speaker 4:
[22:21] That was like first, second, second and third grade.

Speaker 2:
[22:24] Okay. So do you remember what it was like?

Speaker 4:
[22:26] Oh, yeah.

Speaker 2:
[22:27] Arriving in Brazil. What was it like?

Speaker 4:
[22:29] I just wanted to be home. I was homesick.

Speaker 2:
[22:31] Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[22:31] So now I can color the story with like, oh, it was so exotic and there were drums everywhere. But at the time, I just wanted to be with my friends back in Long Island.

Speaker 2:
[22:43] It's so true though, you're right. Like we look back at stuff and we're like, it was such an amazing experience. And like when I would travel, I'd be like, this food is weird.

Speaker 4:
[22:52] I hate this place. The word hate got used so much. I hate it. I hate it. I must have said that most of the time. I hate it here.

Speaker 2:
[23:01] Were you sad when you had to move back? Or had you gotten used to it?

Speaker 4:
[23:05] I had gotten used to it, but I don't know if I was sad. I think I was okay moving back.

Speaker 2:
[23:08] You were ready to go back.

Speaker 4:
[23:09] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[23:09] So then you go back to Long Island. Then you think about going to college for visual arts. Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[23:15] That took a while. That was more like, I went back to Long Island, went to high school there, and then I really had it in my head that I wanted to be in a band. So the common way to go is to go to art school. So then-

Speaker 2:
[23:33] Why is it a common way to get in a band is to go to art school? You just want to be around artists and just like-

Speaker 4:
[23:38] Yeah. Like all my favorites that was Talking Heads, The Beatles were all like art school. I don't know what it is, but I'm glad I did it. I mean-

Speaker 2:
[23:46] Did you think you were going to be like, was it like a medium that you were into working with? Like were you painting or-

Speaker 4:
[23:52] You know what? Photography? I went for film.

Speaker 2:
[23:55] Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[23:56] And to be honest, people say it to be honest so much. I hate that I just said that.

Speaker 2:
[24:00] Oh my God. Everything I say in this podcast, I hate. To be honest.

Speaker 4:
[24:05] I don't think I was really drawn to it because I went to school with like filmmakers.

Speaker 2:
[24:10] Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[24:10] And they would talk about it so much. And I'd be like, why are we actually talking about this? They would talk about editing and we're supposed to get good grades, but we're not supposed to like talk all day about this stuff. And that's the difference in like a passion for doing something. I thought I was like, no, we're just going to art school to be in art school.

Speaker 2:
[24:28] That's so true. That's such a good distinction. As you realize you don't have a passion for something when you see other people wanting to spend all day, every day doing it and you're like, we're going to do other things, right?

Speaker 4:
[24:38] Yeah. That was exactly that.

Speaker 2:
[24:41] And so then you meet your bandmates at art school.

Speaker 4:
[24:45] Yes.

Speaker 2:
[24:46] And you're in a band called?

Speaker 4:
[24:48] Trenchmouth.

Speaker 2:
[24:49] And Trenchmouth is like what, 1988 Chicago?

Speaker 4:
[24:52] That's right. More like 89, 90. When it really took shape.

Speaker 2:
[25:00] So let's just for the heck of it, let's listen to a little Trenchmouth.

Speaker 4:
[25:04] Let's go back.

Speaker 2:
[25:05] Let's go back. Do you still remember how to play this?

Speaker 4:
[25:08] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[25:17] This photo of you guys is so of this era. You guys are all in front of a VW van. I'm just being like, I don't even know how we got here.

Speaker 4:
[25:27] We loved being on tour.

Speaker 2:
[25:28] Okay, what was it like playing? What was that feeling?

Speaker 4:
[25:33] The feeling was like, it's like a campaign. We're gonna do it. We're gonna drop our jobs, we're gonna do it. This band did it, this band did it. Go, what's the gig? Des Moines, Iowa?

Speaker 3:
[25:44] Great.

Speaker 4:
[25:45] No money? Fine. Go, go, go. Fill the tank. You know, we kept the van running and clean and it was like being Boy Scouts and packing up the drums, come on, come on, lifting and putting things on. What time are we going on? Hey, let's all dress in black for this. Great. Let's all dress in white. Great. Everything.

Speaker 2:
[26:06] The energy.

Speaker 4:
[26:06] The energy of, it's us. How'd you like that? They were awesome. Let's exchange information with them. Didn't like that band so much. That's okay. They're lame. I don't want to be like them. A lot of looking up to bands like that's the way to go.

Speaker 2:
[26:21] Who were you looking up to at the time?

Speaker 4:
[26:22] Lungfish, No Means No, Fugazi, Jawbox, Nation of Ulysses. We looked up at these, because they were also really possessed. They're possessed with this thing. How much longer can we be on the road? Go, go. It was just this. And then playing, as you hear with this music, everything, come on, there's a change here, another change, and louder. And everything was kind of mathematical. This wasn't like jam out music. Like, let's enjoy. How about something, there was no groove.

Speaker 2:
[26:57] I laugh and I love the feelings that I remember at that age where you would argue about like something for hours. Like you had the luxury of time.

Speaker 4:
[27:08] Oh, yes.

Speaker 2:
[27:09] Like you just would just like, you know, I remember thinking about like jokes we would write or whatever and would we just spend hours talking about it. And it was so important. And it was so important. And like, just the energy of getting everything right.

Speaker 4:
[27:23] God, that.

Speaker 2:
[27:24] Did you guys have like, were you an arguing band?

Speaker 4:
[27:27] You know, a couple normal arguments, but what you're talking about, about those discussions, they would go into the night. Well, as it's getting dark, as we're driving, everything's getting dark and we're still like, but that's not, that's not what punk is then. Or by your definition, that's not what it is. Well, that's not what I'm saying. And then silence. And then endless, endless. And into, you know, like the feeling it's giving me now of like, I remember like, it's like you have a flag in your head and you're like, no, this is the way it's gotta be.

Speaker 2:
[27:58] Yes. And very like, I mean, so much of it, I feel like in your twenties is like, rejecting some version that you think if you're not careful, you'll turn into.

Speaker 4:
[28:07] Yes.

Speaker 2:
[28:07] And playing punk is such a true expression of that, of like being like, I'm not gonna be that person.

Speaker 4:
[28:13] Absolutely.

Speaker 2:
[28:14] I always find that interesting that like bands have to keep reinvesting in the band, like every couple of years, like, and I can relate because it felt that way with like sketch, like you were in a group and you were like, no, let's and then, you know, certain people would like get opportunities and you'd have to decide like, no, I'm doubling down, I'm staying with the band and then you'd see other success happening and you'd think like, it's because we're not like, it was like, we need to be more committed for that success to happen, but sometimes that isn't always the case. It's so-

Speaker 4:
[28:48] It's exactly that. Yeah. That's so funny. So you went through the same thing.

Speaker 2:
[28:51] I did with UCB because we were like doing shows and people were trying to cherry pick us and you had to just keep renewing the contract.

Speaker 4:
[29:03] Yeah. Renewing the goal.

Speaker 2:
[29:05] Yeah. Renewing the goal.

Speaker 4:
[29:06] Now as long as we're this, now if we get on this label or whatever.

Speaker 2:
[29:10] We were in Chicago at the same time, all that smashing pumpkins lose fair, like so cool.

Speaker 4:
[29:15] So cool.

Speaker 2:
[29:19] This episode is brought to you by Burlington. Here's a question for you. When was the last time you stopped by a Burlington? Oh, they just do coats? That's what you're going with? Well, they got way more going on. Sure, you can pick up a coat, but you're probably going to leave with a dress, sneakers, brand name beauty, something for your dog and a candle you didn't know you needed. At Burlington's prices, you can just get it all. You don't need to sacrifice style for savings. Plus, their store has got to glow up. So if you haven't been in lately, you should pop by. It's better than you remember. Find a store near you at burlington.com. This episode is brought to you by All Free Clear Detergent. Are you trying to be a bit more mindful of the things you buy for you and your family? You know, reading the labels, checking the ingredients, trying to understand what all those letters, numbers and long words mean. I get it. Sometimes we don't really know what's in the things we buy and we want to feel good about our choices. So when it comes to laundry detergent, choose All Free Clear. 100% free from dyes and perfumes, All Free Clear Detergent uses only essential ingredients that tackle tough stains and odors. And it's gentle on skin. It's a powerful clean you can feel good about. So go on, pick up a bottle of All Free Clear for your next laundry day. This episode is brought to you by Too Good & Co. Coffee Creamers. How do you take your coffee? Piping hot, iced, strong, frothy? If you love rich, creamy goodness and delicious flavor in every sip, try Too Good & Co. Creamers. They're made with farm fresh cream, real milk and contain 3 grams of sugar per serving. That's 40% less than the 5 gram per serving in leading traditional coffee creamers. Too Good Creamers are available in sweet cream, roasted vanilla and lavender. So which one are you trying first? Find Too Good Creamers at your local retailer in the creamer aisle. This episode is brought to you by K-18. So you've tried a million different hair masks. Only to watch your results literally wash down the drain? Well you should know that K-18 Molecular Repair Hair Mask actually reverses damage. Thanks to the patented K-18 Peptide, you'll get strong, soft, bouncy hair in just 4 minutes. Color, bleach, heat, however your hair has been damaged, this totally transforms it from the inside out. Shop at Sephora or get 10% off your first purchase at k18hair.com with the code AMY. Okay so you're there, you're in the band, you're like, we're close but we're not quite there yet, then you, how does joining Blue Man Group happen?

Speaker 4:
[32:00] Oh. Well you know, I have to give credit to my wife at the time, Sally, she's in this band, The Mekons, and she was kind of a little bit like, if you're gonna do stuff, you have to sort of open up to not just being in this one band. They were coming to Chicago and I auditioned, I went to this rehearsal space.

Speaker 2:
[32:24] What was it, were you just drumming for the audition? Is that all? Did you have to do anything else?

Speaker 4:
[32:28] I was drumming and they were like, there were other musicians there kind of playing, and they did a thing where they were like, do a fill but don't end on the one. So usually, you know, you do a fill and it's like a resolve that's very predictable. They're like, make it a little, which is kind of like what Trench Mouth was like anyway. It was a little jagged. So then I got it. Then they had a series of drummers, different rotations of bands.

Speaker 2:
[32:58] Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[32:59] And it was like my first showbiz paycheck.

Speaker 2:
[33:03] What was it like? Like how was it like a Broadway run? You had to be performing all the time? Did you rotate it?

Speaker 4:
[33:09] I rotated. So there's a full time drummer and I would play like two or three shows a week or something out of whatever eight. What was it like? It was fantastic.

Speaker 2:
[33:16] What was your favorite part? I never saw the Blue Man Group but they were such a big, humongous.

Speaker 4:
[33:21] We'll pull it up.

Speaker 2:
[33:22] Let's pull it up. Is there footage of you in the Blue Man Group? I wonder.

Speaker 4:
[33:26] I wonder.

Speaker 2:
[33:27] But what was your favorite part of the show? You know how it's always like, oh, I like that song. Oh, I like that moment.

Speaker 4:
[33:32] I like when the- The opening. So the opening like, the first there's just three blue men on these paint drums and they do their own thing. Then the band kicks in when they're done and it was great because we were lit by those black light. And so we had like stick figure drawings on us, on our costumes and there's a stick player, a zither player, so we'd start playing and that was just like, it really felt like a proper beginning of a show. Very loud, huge drum kit, huge.

Speaker 2:
[34:04] Really?

Speaker 4:
[34:04] Yeah, I went through training for it. I trained a little bit in Boston, in New York and it made my drumming better. It was really frenetic and crazy and I really loved it. I learned a lot.

Speaker 2:
[34:17] And the dumb question is like, what was the makeup application and removal like?

Speaker 4:
[34:23] Well for me-

Speaker 2:
[34:24] For people who don't remember, you had to paint yourself blue.

Speaker 4:
[34:27] Yeah, but the band didn't. The band we had, we had like- We painted like stick, yeah, like sort of on our hands and-

Speaker 2:
[34:35] But easy to get off.

Speaker 4:
[34:36] Easy to get off with water. The Blue Man had like a bald cap that went over their ears and layers of like glow-in-the-dark paint, then blue paint, and they had a lot. They had like blue gloves on. That was a real ordeal. And then the rest of the time, they would walk around with like, they'd always have a little blue in their nose and ears. And they were like interesting people. They're like all kind of, I would say, like juggler, performance artist, athlete, those types, like those perfect, you know, like perfectly fit people.

Speaker 2:
[35:13] Yes.

Speaker 4:
[35:13] Who also drummed. So they were really great to be around.

Speaker 2:
[35:17] Okay, so then you do that. And then there's so much that happens after that, but you create this video series, that pre-SNL, that is a version of a character that you played interviewing musicians. And you kind of play this, like, hilarious German interviewer who knows nothing about the bands.

Speaker 4:
[35:40] Yeah, or is very mean to bands. Because we experienced it all the time. And I don't think they meant to be mean. I think they just, that's their way they are. Is that they would always tell us how poorly we were doing. You know, they'd always say like, Oh, your group is not so good. Fugazi was here a week ago and it was very crowded and that's not so crowded today. And it was just based on that.

Speaker 2:
[36:02] It was so genius because it didn't, it didn't expect much of the musicians. Like the musicians could just kind of play it real. And you were steering, like you were doing the comedy basically. But what was so fun is watching all these musicians who, and realizing that a lot of them were very naturally funny. That like, that was so fun is watching them make choices with your character.

Speaker 4:
[36:26] Yes, Steve Albini did it, a bunch of people, Bob from Pavement. Yeah, it was, I just put a video together.

Speaker 2:
[36:36] I mean, that was back when you just like filmed it and made a...

Speaker 4:
[36:38] Asked someone to edit it. Can you edit this? No concept of money. Just like, can you do it? Yeah, and then they did it.

Speaker 2:
[36:45] And then they give it back to you and you carried it around.

Speaker 4:
[36:47] Thank you. And then that's what existed.

Speaker 2:
[36:49] I mean, to like age us, I don't know if this was like when you started in 2003, but in 2001 at SNL, there was still, when we wanted to do an impression, you'd have to go.

Speaker 4:
[37:01] VHS.

Speaker 2:
[37:02] Get a VHS tape.

Speaker 4:
[37:03] Yep. Can you believe it?

Speaker 2:
[37:05] No, and they'd tape it off the Today show or TV. And then you'd get a big bulky tape that you would put in a VCR and you'd watch like six minutes of whatever thing that they had. And they'd have tapes and tapes of people that you were impersonating.

Speaker 4:
[37:20] This is so funny talking to you about all this, because I've, you don't need to put this in, but like I've known you for so long.

Speaker 2:
[37:26] I know.

Speaker 4:
[37:26] And to talk about Blue Man Group actually makes me like, it jumps like a track in my head of like, oh yeah, we've never talked about Blue Man Group.

Speaker 2:
[37:36] We've never talked about it. We talked about it very briefly, but everybody's road to where they get is so circuitous. Like one different change and we're not where we are. But I would say, Freddie, more than anyone I know, you know that every day. Like you really know every day. I can't believe I got here. Like you say it, you live your life that way. Like what are we doing here?

Speaker 4:
[38:04] Every bit of it. Standing on that stage, auditioning for SNL, that already felt like this is insane. Whatever from Blue Man Group to be here in front of Tina.

Speaker 2:
[38:18] Yeah, how did you get the audition?

Speaker 4:
[38:20] Through Marcy Klein.

Speaker 2:
[38:22] Yeah, a producer on the show, Marcy Klein.

Speaker 4:
[38:24] Yeah, she found a video of all the stuff that I had done.

Speaker 2:
[38:28] Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[38:29] She made Lauren watch it, and then they called me in.

Speaker 2:
[38:33] Wow.

Speaker 4:
[38:34] Insane.

Speaker 2:
[38:35] You were 30 what when you auditioned?

Speaker 4:
[38:40] Three, 32, 33.

Speaker 2:
[38:42] I was 30 when I got the show, and I just wonder, there's something about having a little bit of life before that really helped.

Speaker 4:
[38:51] I appreciated it so much because, also because I've been through being in the band for so long, so that, I mean it, it all felt like icing. The whole thing felt like, I was just in the van. Yeah. Whatever. Maybe five years before that, it felt very like, oh, this is all, even with like the money part of it. Yeah. Where some people would say like, that's not a lot to get paid for your first year. I was like, are you kidding me? To me, it was so much money. Yeah. To me, it felt like a million dollars.

Speaker 2:
[39:25] Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 4:
[39:25] And it was a million dollars.

Speaker 2:
[39:26] And it was a million dollars. Fred insisted on a million dollars a week, and it almost took the show down.

Speaker 4:
[39:31] But I asked really nicely. I was like, please, come on, come on. Give me a break. Come on, come on, come on. It's just me.

Speaker 2:
[39:39] It's me, your friend, Fred.

Speaker 4:
[39:41] Spending? Come on. Lauren, look at me. Buddy.

Speaker 2:
[39:48] You're like, all right. I feel like a lot of people that got on SNL have evidence when they were younger of like, see you on SNL or writing in their journals. Was it a dream growing up? Did you watch the show and think I want to be on it?

Speaker 4:
[40:01] The relationship I had to SNL was, I watched it all the time.

Speaker 2:
[40:06] Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[40:06] But I really connected to the B-52s and Devo and Talking Heads. I'm not saying it in a way that's like, I just only like the bands. I'm saying that like, Lorne was communicating with me these bands that he had on. I did feel like there's something I understood about the show. Then like Mr. Bill and the sketches, but also like the bands on there. I was like, that must be fun.

Speaker 2:
[40:31] Yes.

Speaker 4:
[40:32] That kind of was like, and then as the years went on, when Mike Myers was on, was more of a like, I felt like that was a direct message of like, there's got to be some way to, that I felt like we were speaking the same language.

Speaker 2:
[40:49] Have you ever told Mike Myers that?

Speaker 4:
[40:51] I think I might have told him. Yeah. But.

Speaker 2:
[40:55] It's a good way to put it.

Speaker 4:
[40:56] Yeah. Like that sketch, Sprockets.

Speaker 2:
[40:59] Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[40:59] Was a favorite sketch of mine before I'd even seen it. Someone described it and I was like, what is going on over there?

Speaker 2:
[41:06] So then you make, you're on SNL, you like, some of my most fun memories of being on that show, is doing bits with you when we weren't on camera, and the in-between-ness of that job, like, I'll never have anything like it. The, talk about luxury of time, like just the amount of time wasted, not even wasted, amount of time, the amount of time, like thinking about sketches and talking about stuff and fucking around basically, which is like the most, which is like, that was the preciousness of it.

Speaker 4:
[41:45] Oh, that's the best. I have a million memories of it too. And of you, it's for me to even describe bits you've done, it doesn't do it justice.

Speaker 2:
[41:53] I just, I knew I was gonna describe all your bits and that was like, it's like inside jokey.

Speaker 4:
[41:57] Yeah, it's like too difficult to even, but I remember like voices and faces you've done, who knows where, in some dressing room somewhere, for no reason. And it's the funniest times of my life.

Speaker 2:
[42:08] Same. And what I love about and always loved about playing around with you is, and I'm just gonna say it, Freddie, I do think that you and I share this, which is, we definitely liked... We wanted to not forget that we were having a good time. Like we really... It matters to us. It matters to us that we don't forget the joy part in all of the hard stuff. We don't love a complainer.

Speaker 4:
[42:38] No.

Speaker 2:
[42:39] You and I do not love a complainer.

Speaker 4:
[42:40] That's a real crime.

Speaker 2:
[42:42] If SNL is a microcosm of life, you can spend your whole life figuring out what you don't have. It doesn't matter how much you have, you can focus on what you don't have.

Speaker 4:
[42:50] You sure can.

Speaker 2:
[42:51] The more you talk about what you don't have, the more you-

Speaker 4:
[42:54] It's wild.

Speaker 2:
[42:55] I know.

Speaker 4:
[42:56] I've met some real complainers. It's really shocking.

Speaker 2:
[43:00] It isn't really interesting. When I'm complaining, because we all complain, but when I find myself complaining, I'm like, something's off.

Speaker 4:
[43:10] Yes.

Speaker 2:
[43:11] Something's off. Like not other people. I'm off.

Speaker 4:
[43:14] I'm trying to get better at spotting it, because sometimes you fool yourself into, like this isn't really a complaint, and that might actually be a complaint.

Speaker 2:
[43:23] But I don't think of you as conflict diverse, but you don't love conflict.

Speaker 4:
[43:28] No.

Speaker 2:
[43:28] So let's say you're getting ready for your tour, and like the lights aren't working the way you want them to work, and you're like, hey, can we adjust the lights, and it still isn't working. What do you do next?

Speaker 4:
[43:45] I, let's say...

Speaker 2:
[43:49] So Fred, you have a very intense light show, and you're like, here's how the lights go, and then you've run it, and the lights aren't working, and you're like, okay, and then, okay, I'm just going to talk out this thought experiment. And then the show happened, and you're like, just make sure that the blues come up at the right time. They don't. What do you do?

Speaker 4:
[44:08] Oh, well, if it's hour to hour, day to day, it's gone. It's, I really do feel, treat it like a page that's turned. I'm like, oh, that didn't work out. But to your point, let's say, if I'm being asked too much, you okay? All good? See, we're very, you know, and I'm like, how do you tell someone?

Speaker 2:
[44:29] I know exactly, because I've done it. This is where Fred and I are a little different. I've said, I've noticed you're asking me a lot. Fred hates this. This is where, because I don't think you like this direct conflict.

Speaker 4:
[44:47] I envy it. I wish I could do it.

Speaker 2:
[44:49] I wish I could be a little less direct, because sometimes I feel like it comes on too strong. But I would say, I'm noticing that you're asking Fred so uncontrollably. I think about it like when I'm in, like I'm getting my, let's say you're getting your hair, like I'm getting my hair done for a scene. And if you're doing a couple of days in a new show, in new people, they don't exactly know what you like, and they're trying to figure out, or they're giving you a hairdo or whatever. I've had very nice people be like, just checking in, do you like, is this working? And I'll say, I notice that you're asking a lot. I promise you, I won't suffer if I don't like something. You'll know. If I don't like something, I'll let you know. But I have to nip it in the bud, because it makes me insane. Because are you okay? Are you okay? Are you mad? Are you okay? It makes me nuts. It makes you nuts too. But what do you do instead?

Speaker 4:
[45:46] For me, I just sort of, I know that it's temporary. And I think, well, the next tour, that person isn't, they'll be on, they'll be doing that to somebody else. And maybe that other person loves it. I'm not saying that the way that I do it is correct.

Speaker 2:
[46:00] Same.

Speaker 4:
[46:00] I just sort of, gently, like, if it's like on water, like, the little boat just goes the other way, I'm like, shh, and you go, shh, shh, shh. I'm okay. Now I'm okay. And then they're off.

Speaker 2:
[46:13] Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[46:14] But I'm like, I can get my own things. I can get my water. I can get to be asked if, you know.

Speaker 2:
[46:22] Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[46:23] But now that sounded like complaining. That was very complainy of me.

Speaker 2:
[46:26] No, that was not complainy of you. You never ever complain. That would be a funny sketch you should have done where you were like the head of the complaint department. And you were like, what?

Speaker 4:
[46:36] Are you joking?

Speaker 2:
[46:37] You have a complaint?

Speaker 4:
[46:38] You've got a job in show business? And there's a problem of some kind?

Speaker 2:
[46:43] God, it's true though. And that's what's fun about working at a place like SNL, is you have someone come through every week as a new guest. They're really vulnerable. When people are vulnerable, they're kind of they're like, a lot of stuff comes up. And when people are scared, they get they act all different kinds of ways. And you kind of see like this very human moment where people feel vulnerable. And sometimes they misbehave. And it's like, and also often they're often they're great.

Speaker 4:
[47:16] You don't have to put this in, or you probably won't. But you your reaction to some hosts, oh my god, it's delicious. It's the best thing in the world. Like, you really, I'm like, you said this. Not even like, actually, and you're not insulting to them. You just put it in a way that is so good. You're like, I don't know. And I'm like, oh, that's exactly what's happening.

Speaker 2:
[47:41] I mean, people are audacious.

Speaker 4:
[47:44] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[47:45] Outrageous.

Speaker 4:
[47:46] Outrageous. I mean. And people ask in interviews, who's been the worst host of Beth? And I always keep it.

Speaker 2:
[47:52] Same. Wow, what am I gonna? Yeah, that's the most low-hanging rule. Yeah, why would I ever say that? But I have a lot of thoughts. Oh, yeah. I have a lot of thoughts. And I do. I mean, I've actually tried to work on it because that's my stuff. I like to be paying attention to detective-y, like, you know, like, I hate that part of myself that's very like, you did it right, you did it wrong. But I pay attention.

Speaker 4:
[48:21] Yeah, you do.

Speaker 2:
[48:23] And I remember, I'm like, I remember that you were not very nice or I remember that you were very late.

Speaker 4:
[48:29] Tina has a good memory for that stuff, too.

Speaker 2:
[48:31] That's Tina and I that were like yummy food. She's like, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum. That's our favorite food. We love it so much. And that's what I mean is bad behavior is sometimes kind of fun because I'm like, holy shit. My favorite feeling sometimes in the world is when someone's acting badly, and you can feel everybody else watching them and just like, I can't wait to talk about this.

Speaker 4:
[48:58] It's like telepathy. And it's almost like everyone's waiting for the moment to be done. Everyone's like, let this finish.

Speaker 2:
[49:03] And there's electricity. And no one's looking at each other. Everyone's like, I'm just trying to remember every moment.

Speaker 4:
[49:11] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[49:12] So I can move. I know.

Speaker 4:
[49:13] And try to have a face that's like, oh.

Speaker 2:
[49:16] I know. But in general, and I think you would say the same thing, I found people to be awesome to work with.

Speaker 4:
[49:22] Oh, incredible.

Speaker 2:
[49:23] Who did you meet on SNL that you just think about now, and you're just like, they just met what you thought they'd be like. You just think about them and love them.

Speaker 4:
[49:32] So many. Do you mean hosts?

Speaker 2:
[49:34] Anyone. Hosts or people that came in to do a bit, or old cast members. For example, I'll give you one right now. I didn't really know Lorraine Newman that well.

Speaker 1:
[49:44] Oh, she's great.

Speaker 2:
[49:45] And hung out with her at the 50th. Fuck, she's so cool.

Speaker 4:
[49:49] She's so cool.

Speaker 2:
[49:50] I knew she would be cool, and I didn't really get a chance very much to talk to her over the years. And she's the fucking coolest.

Speaker 4:
[49:56] She is the coolest.

Speaker 2:
[49:57] Excuse my language.

Speaker 4:
[49:59] That's okay. Lorraine. Yes.

Speaker 2:
[50:03] You and Lorraine had a really, you have a very sweet relationship. How would you define it? How would you explain it?

Speaker 4:
[50:10] Both fans. I think he's a fan as well. Whenever he describes, because I grill him all the time on musical guests, you know how some people are like, I don't know what you're talking about?

Speaker 2:
[50:21] Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[50:21] He knows what I'm talking about.

Speaker 2:
[50:24] Who do you talk, like, I mean, there was an amazing Kueslov doc about all the musical guests. But if you can remember, like, who were like the, you know, I'm thinking of like Elvis Costello's performance. The Specials.

Speaker 4:
[50:39] The Specials was the best thing I've ever seen of a musical guest. Because for me, I'm from Long Island, you know. So we were like Long Island and we had kind of like longer hair and these guys with these little suits and crew cuts. This like energetic band running off the stage when they were done. I, that really-

Speaker 2:
[51:01] Hold on. I want to watch it again with you right now. I have a laptop.

Speaker 4:
[51:05] I've watched it so much. There's a song called Gangsters. I wonder if you'll find it because-

Speaker 2:
[51:09] It's right here.

Speaker 4:
[51:10] Look at the drummer. It's like, back straight. Jumping around.

Speaker 2:
[51:19] Holding a machine gun. Yeah, they're so cool. Did you like drummers that played like this?

Speaker 4:
[51:28] Yeah. I like- Clem Burke was that way. Really good posture.

Speaker 2:
[51:32] Clem Burke?

Speaker 4:
[51:33] From Blondie. The Blondie drummer. My favorite drummer ever.

Speaker 2:
[51:36] Really?

Speaker 4:
[51:36] Oh, yeah. And really like my suit. I think he had a turtleneck on SNL. Just really like, you know, placed on the drum throne. Loved it. And Blondie was great on SNL, Devo, and the B-52 is really like- that was like, I remember that was the first moment of like, oh, there are weirdos in the world.

Speaker 2:
[52:01] Yes. And like, talk about Full Circle. At the SNL 50th, you get to play with B-52s and Devo.

Speaker 4:
[52:08] And Devo.

Speaker 2:
[52:08] What was that like?

Speaker 4:
[52:10] It was like the top, like the very crystallized top of a mountain. Like, it's almost scary because I was like, that's it. Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[52:21] You're like, I'm going to have a heart attack.

Speaker 4:
[52:23] It felt that way.

Speaker 2:
[52:24] Yeah. You're like, all right.

Speaker 4:
[52:26] That is the very like, you know, that shows at Radio City Music Hall. I had seen Devo when I was 14 at Radio City Music Hall. I had paid for tickets to see them and also getting to meet them. They're great people. Being friends with them, it's like, it really, yeah, those two, that was unreal. And also on SNL, not at some gig, not some show somewhere. Like, hey, I got up on SNL. Yeah. It's it's everything at once. Yeah. I can't believe it. Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[53:00] Okay. So now I want to just get on to a new section, but the person that will help us get to this section is Carrie Brownstein. Because we talked to her today.

Speaker 4:
[53:11] You did? Yes.

Speaker 2:
[53:13] You know, I was saying this to Carrie, but maybe you can speak to this too. Like, your relationship with Carrie is very special. It's like, how do you define your relationship with her?

Speaker 4:
[53:22] She's like, she's my soulmate. She is a person who I feel like I've known forever. I don't mean to speak in those terms. I know that, you know, those like, sort of spiritual terms, but it does feel spiritual. And it's immediate. It's just a feeling I had as soon as I met her. And every time I talk to her, it feels the same. I'm completely stripped of being worried if I'm boring or talking too much or anything. I'm completely, completely myself around her. And it's always been that way. And I just love her so much. And I'm really into everything she does. When I watch her play guitar, I'm like, there's nothing better than watching her play guitar and sing. And then getting she's so smart and so funny that I feel like getting to do that show with her was just that was a lucky thing. But that keeps going. We just keep.

Speaker 2:
[54:28] It's so it like remains like it has such a life, Portlandia. And those characters in Portlandia are so fun, are so specific, and therefore feels so universal.

Speaker 4:
[54:41] God, it was the best. I got to hang out with her all the time. She's a great writer. She's not that you need me to tell you that, but so funny, brilliant. And she came up with like a lot of those ideas that are now sort of things that people repeat. Put a bird on it and all that stuff is like, that's all Carrie. OK.

Speaker 2:
[55:00] Carrie said, describe the way one of your musical heroes informed your comedy.

Speaker 4:
[55:06] Oh, that's easy. David Byrne, the way that he would direct a movie and then sort of choreograph part of his show, like the way that he presented everything to me was like, that really informed like, you know, what a comedian can be. Like there was a way that he was like, not exactly making a joke, but also not being totally serious. That whatever that was.

Speaker 2:
[55:40] Right.

Speaker 4:
[55:41] Really, I was like, that's a really great way to be.

Speaker 2:
[55:44] Like a playfulness. And he kind of also, he was also like, I guess not afraid to, he like wasn't trying to be cool at all.

Speaker 4:
[55:53] Nope.

Speaker 2:
[55:54] But he was very cool.

Speaker 4:
[55:55] Yeah, just the way like, for no reason, he'll have a fuzzy suit or something.

Speaker 2:
[56:01] So I'm gonna do a rapid fire. Tell me what you think about these things or what you remember. You can be as fast or as slow as you want. Freddie, you do many accents really well. And one of the things I love about you is you can do accents from anywhere. What are some of your favorite state or countries that you like hearing?

Speaker 4:
[56:17] I really love how Texas just really, it just changes from city to city. There's something about it that there's something about Texas that has so much varying personality.

Speaker 2:
[56:31] Yes.

Speaker 4:
[56:33] That always, that does exceed my expectations.

Speaker 2:
[56:37] So with that in mind, can you please do someone from Houston and someone from Dallas?

Speaker 4:
[56:41] Houston, I feel like has got to whisper to it. Houston, some people I know from there are going through some personal growth. Dallas, my idea about them is that they're kind of businesslike. I hear them on planes on a conference call. I had been, I was on a layover. We know someone from Beaumont and that's kind of, Beaumont is the biggest I've ever heard. I can't imagine. They're like this little Y before I imagine.

Speaker 2:
[57:23] The longest word.

Speaker 4:
[57:24] Yeah, right.

Speaker 2:
[57:26] And then countries, can you do Iceland?

Speaker 4:
[57:30] Iceland, Iceland, Iceland. Iceland has a whisper to it.

Speaker 1:
[57:35] Iceland has a hushed, we're pushing to the throat, I think.

Speaker 2:
[57:41] It's like, it's.

Speaker 4:
[57:43] It's, it's very light and I, I feel like Sweden is so devoid of accent that I hear people from Sweden and they sound almost like they're American. They sound like, I don't love it. The door is closing right now. There's like this thing where they no longer are Swedish people.

Speaker 2:
[58:02] Yes, you're right.

Speaker 4:
[58:03] There's this like thing where they're like so casual with English that I actually feel like I'm talking to someone.

Speaker 2:
[58:09] But you know, what gives the Swedes away is the. That is the Swedish thing people don't know is, you know, instead of going, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh, Swedes go.

Speaker 4:
[58:19] Yeah, it's true.

Speaker 2:
[58:20] And you hear them on the phone, you just always think they're getting the worst news.

Speaker 4:
[58:23] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[58:23] They're like, but they're just saying, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh.

Speaker 4:
[58:26] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[58:26] That is.

Speaker 4:
[58:29] Because their face doesn't change.

Speaker 2:
[58:30] No. OK, what do you like to do when you travel?

Speaker 4:
[58:34] Oh, wake up early, have breakfast, coffee alone. Just down in the restaurant.

Speaker 2:
[58:41] Yes.

Speaker 4:
[58:42] Not room service. OK. I love, then I really feel like I'm in a country. So I've like landed somewhere. That's why I can't wait for breakfast.

Speaker 2:
[58:51] Breakfast.

Speaker 4:
[58:52] Oh, I love it.

Speaker 2:
[58:53] And then you want, then do you, let's say you're doing a show in another country, do you walk during it?

Speaker 4:
[58:59] Not that much. I kind of stick around like a hotel, maybe there's a little store of some kind. I'm not a big like, I'm going to go explore this side of the city. I'm a little bit like, I get the g, by the way, this is an ignorant thing to say and I'm sorry, but I just kind of like, this seems like Berlin.

Speaker 2:
[59:18] Okay. And then, what do you hate doing when you travel? What do you, what do you not do? Like, do you ever check a bag?

Speaker 4:
[59:26] I try not to.

Speaker 2:
[59:27] But sometimes you do?

Speaker 4:
[59:30] Sometimes you have to, but no, I'm pretty good about it. I travel pretty light.

Speaker 2:
[59:34] Got it.

Speaker 4:
[59:35] But I did a tour recently and I did have to bring some equipment. Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[59:40] Okay. Got it. Broad City.

Speaker 4:
[59:42] Oh, yeah.

Speaker 2:
[59:43] That was so fun. Amy, that's so- And parks. I mean, we did so much-

Speaker 4:
[59:48] People talk to me about Broad City all the time, all the time. When I, everywhere I go, someone brings it up. Some people do it as a deep cut. They think they're like, I'm actually a real fan.

Speaker 2:
[60:00] Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[60:00] Which is great. Yeah. But, oh my God.

Speaker 2:
[60:04] Fred came and did the first episode of Broad City, which was a huge get for us. And-

Speaker 4:
[60:08] I see people dressed up as it, as Halloween.

Speaker 2:
[60:10] As the baby. I'm just a baby.

Speaker 4:
[60:12] Little mustache.

Speaker 2:
[60:13] Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[60:14] Thanks for that. Thank you very much for that.

Speaker 2:
[60:16] You're so welcome that I could put you in a diaper and make you a Halloween costume.

Speaker 4:
[60:19] For real. Thank you for that. That was like, that really kept on going.

Speaker 2:
[60:24] Okay. Dogs or cats?

Speaker 4:
[60:25] Cats.

Speaker 2:
[60:26] Interesting. I didn't know that. No doubt. Like just no thank you to dogs?

Speaker 4:
[60:28] When we first met, the first thing I told you, I was like, cats. I just met Lauren. Cats. You know that, right? I love cats.

Speaker 2:
[60:37] I mean, that makes sense that you're a cat person. I feel like you're more of a cat than a dog as a person, I would say. Although you have a lot of dog qualities because you're very loyal and friendly, but you are a cat.

Speaker 4:
[60:48] I like how that they don't ask anything and they sort of- They don't. Yeah, their own business.

Speaker 2:
[60:55] Yeah. Sweet or salty?

Speaker 4:
[60:59] Sweet.

Speaker 2:
[61:01] Did you say that?

Speaker 4:
[61:02] I wish it wasn't that way.

Speaker 2:
[61:03] Salty is not good either.

Speaker 4:
[61:05] I don't believe that.

Speaker 2:
[61:06] I don't either. I think salty is better.

Speaker 4:
[61:07] I think when people say that salt causes problems, I never believe it.

Speaker 2:
[61:12] But it does.

Speaker 4:
[61:12] I know. But I'm like, why? What is it to me that it's like, it's just salt?

Speaker 2:
[61:17] High blood pressure.

Speaker 4:
[61:19] I know you're right.

Speaker 2:
[61:21] I know what you mean.

Speaker 4:
[61:21] But whenever they're like, there was too much salt in it. I'm like, I don't think that's going to be the thing. That's the ignorance.

Speaker 2:
[61:28] Do you ever put salt on anything?

Speaker 4:
[61:30] No.

Speaker 2:
[61:30] You never salt your chocolate chip cookies?

Speaker 4:
[61:34] I see what you mean. If there's a chocolate bar that has salt in it, great.

Speaker 2:
[61:37] I like that very much.

Speaker 4:
[61:38] You like that.

Speaker 2:
[61:39] Okay.

Speaker 4:
[61:39] But I love sweet. I love chocolate so much. Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[61:43] Too much, do you think? Yeah. Are you trying to cut down or like you have to cut down?

Speaker 4:
[61:47] I'm too dependent on it at the end of the day, especially after a show. I'm always like, oh, there's a cookie, there's a cookie treat. Oh, it's the best.

Speaker 2:
[61:56] Yeah. You guys had a hard time. I have a harder time with sugar because I get on a real ride and I have crashed pretty hard after sugar.

Speaker 4:
[62:03] Oh, you do?

Speaker 2:
[62:03] I have big sugar crashes.

Speaker 4:
[62:05] Oh, yeah.

Speaker 2:
[62:06] But salty, perfect. It is. Do you like to be scared?

Speaker 4:
[62:12] Yeah. I like horror movies and all that stuff. I do. But I don't like to be scared in real life on a flight.

Speaker 2:
[62:20] Have you ever been scared on a flight?

Speaker 4:
[62:24] The usual. I'm not afraid of flying.

Speaker 2:
[62:26] Do you have any phobias?

Speaker 4:
[62:27] Oh, heights.

Speaker 2:
[62:29] That's right.

Speaker 4:
[62:29] Fred is right. I couldn't do a taping of this because of it.

Speaker 2:
[62:32] Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[62:33] Because they were like, it's on the whatever floor. And I'm like, I can't do it.

Speaker 2:
[62:37] That's right. In New York. May we speak of that? Is that okay?

Speaker 4:
[62:40] Okay.

Speaker 2:
[62:41] We record in Spotify in New York and it's a really, really high floor. And Fred was like, nope.

Speaker 4:
[62:48] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[62:49] And I totally forgot about that.

Speaker 4:
[62:51] Yeah. But I told you about that. I think one time we were at a hotel and you guys were so nice because I just went up to your hotel. Me, you and Tina went up to your hotel. And it was I told you and you guys were so nice. You just closed the blinds. But I did it. I wasn't like, I'm not going up there.

Speaker 2:
[63:08] Yeah. But you don't like it.

Speaker 4:
[63:10] I don't like it. And I don't like that I don't like it.

Speaker 2:
[63:13] How come?

Speaker 4:
[63:14] Because it's too like, it's not real. Like, buildings are built well for centuries. There's never been like, hey, watch out going up in buildings. That one fell. I've never seen that in the news. Like, oh, New York, don't go up there.

Speaker 2:
[63:33] This one's going to fall. I actually never even think about heights until I'm reminded that when someone who's afraid of heights, then you go like, whoa, wait, that is weird that we're up here so high.

Speaker 4:
[63:46] But there's so much engineering that's gone into it.

Speaker 2:
[63:48] Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[63:48] An engineer would actually be insulted by that. Like, you have any idea? Like, we studied.

Speaker 2:
[63:53] Like, hundreds and thousands of people going to build it. Millions of people going to buildings every day.

Speaker 4:
[63:57] Around the world.

Speaker 2:
[63:58] Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[63:59] Everywhere. Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[64:00] But could you ever, like, climb a tree or, like, is it that kind of height, too? Like, you could, a ladder, would you be able to get, like?

Speaker 4:
[64:10] I don't love it, but I, you know, I do try to, like, expand a little, just so I'm not.

Speaker 2:
[64:14] Have you ever done any kind of, like, a bungee or a?

Speaker 4:
[64:16] No, no, nothing like that.

Speaker 2:
[64:17] No, nothing like that. I like that about you, Freddie. I feel like we're very similar. I don't like, I don't like. Like, I'm one of my insane, like, I don't like taking risks.

Speaker 4:
[64:26] No, no, no, no. None of that. I'm not interested.

Speaker 2:
[64:29] No.

Speaker 4:
[64:29] I'm also not interested in watching it. I'm not like, stories about it. Like, all of that. I'm not.

Speaker 2:
[64:35] No. Like, if you're going to free, if you're going to free climb, you know, I don't want to know about it.

Speaker 4:
[64:41] I don't want to know. I don't want to know about it.

Speaker 2:
[64:43] I don't want to know. I don't want to see it.

Speaker 4:
[64:44] I'm oddly not impressed.

Speaker 2:
[64:46] Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[64:46] Of all things. The thing you want me to be, I'm like.

Speaker 2:
[64:48] I'm like, whatever.

Speaker 4:
[64:49] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[64:49] I don't know.

Speaker 4:
[64:52] What is free climbing? That's when you do the ropes and you're like.

Speaker 2:
[64:54] When you do the like, no, with no, with no ropes and just like, you just crevice and crevice and just thumb and foot.

Speaker 4:
[65:06] Yeah. And then like one more slow and then.

Speaker 2:
[65:09] No.

Speaker 4:
[65:10] And then you get, what happens? You get to.

Speaker 2:
[65:12] If you had to do that by accident, if you, if you were stuck somewhere and you did it, I'd, I want to know everything about your story. If you do that for fun.

Speaker 4:
[65:21] I was chased and I saw this mountain. I was like, there's no where to go. And I was like, get out of here. And then the person couldn't, they were like, they were like, and then.

Speaker 2:
[65:34] Yeah. And then you stayed on there.

Speaker 4:
[65:35] I feel bad because if someone's watching.

Speaker 2:
[65:38] I don't feel bad for people who recreationally free climb. What's wrong with you? What's, what is wrong with you? I think there's something wrong with them. I'm going to say it.

Speaker 4:
[65:50] Wow.

Speaker 2:
[65:50] With no ropes. No one's making you do it.

Speaker 4:
[65:56] What if it's your job? Some people are unemployed and they fill out the application. They're like, I guess I have to. No way.

Speaker 2:
[66:04] There's not one.

Speaker 4:
[66:05] How much does it pay?

Speaker 3:
[66:06] There's no one.

Speaker 4:
[66:08] Monday. I hate this job.

Speaker 2:
[66:13] You're right. There might be a few people. That's their job. I'm sorry for those people. I'm sorry. Then last question. What kind of stuff do you watch, read, go to to make you laugh? What comedy are you watching? Who are you watching? Anything you'd recommend.

Speaker 4:
[66:36] Wow. For real? The thing that I'm most religious about, of actually catching is SNL.

Speaker 2:
[66:44] Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[66:46] It's the one thing that I'm like, I watch it when it's live and there's moments that you're like, that was pretty great.

Speaker 2:
[66:53] Oh, God. I could talk forever. I know we've ended this. But I just want to say, I do feel like you and I, I think we've played this game before. It's like an improv game of experts. But I think I talked to you about this. I always wanted to do a fake Ted Talk, like a fake experts symposium, where you just can talk about anything for like a minute. For a minute, you can seem like an expert on almost anything.

Speaker 4:
[67:18] I think so. You have to memorize a couple of things, a couple of terms.

Speaker 2:
[67:21] There'll be a word or something where people will go, huh? She doesn't know what she's talking about. But I think almost anything.

Speaker 4:
[67:28] It's reachable.

Speaker 2:
[67:29] It's reachable. It's a fun. So on our way out, I'm going to give you something that I want you to pretend to be an expert in for one minute.

Speaker 4:
[67:35] Okay.

Speaker 2:
[67:35] I'm going to set the timer. I'm going to say the Alaskan pipeline.

Speaker 4:
[67:40] The Alaskan pipeline.

Speaker 2:
[67:41] Yeah. Ready? So with me today is an expert, Fred Armisen, who has been studying the Alaskan pipeline and is here to talk to us about it. Fred, what should we know about the Alaskan pipeline?

Speaker 4:
[67:52] Well, the first misnomer is Alaskan. So many people do know this, that it's originally the Siberian pipeline. Why is it the Siberian pipeline? Oh, because it goes through Siberia. No, because the shipping magnates shipped oil through there, from Siberia and through Russia. And the only people who benefited from it were people from Canada. You think it would be Alaska, since Alaska was not yet a state and the pipeline was built in 1951? Canadians were the first to benefit it, but they didn't have oil refineries. Ah, why didn't they have oil refineries? Because of World War II. And as we knew Canada to be a series of provinces, they did not have the capacity to have these refineries. Ah, who comes in then? But Mexico.

Speaker 2:
[68:53] And that's a minute, fantastic. Ah, answering your own question. Ah, you did it. I don't know if any of that's true. When you said 1951?

Speaker 4:
[69:05] I have no idea.

Speaker 2:
[69:06] No idea. Thank you, Fred. Love you. Thank you so much for doing this.

Speaker 4:
[69:09] I love you. Thank you so much for...

Speaker 2:
[69:10] You're the best. I'm glad we dressed you. I like you.

Speaker 4:
[69:13] We did.

Speaker 2:
[69:16] Thank you so much, Fred Armisen. Thank you for coming and being on the pod. I love talking to you. And for this Polar Plunge, we like to go deep on something that we talked about. And there's so many things that we could go deep on. We could talk about David Byrne. We could talk about the specials. We could talk about Lorraine Newman. All cool, cool things. But I just want to shout out Fred's new record that he made with Drag City called 100 Sound Effects. But in this case, I believe he does 101. Spoiler alert. Check out his record and everything that Fred does all the time. And go back and look at old performances of all the music on SNL. It's an incredible, impressive, gigantic mix of culture all in one place. Thanks so much for listening to Good Hang. Thank you always for tuning in and checking us out, and we'll see you soon. Bye. You've been listening to Good Hang. The executive producers for this show are Bill Simmons, Jenna Weiss-Berman, and me, Amy Poehler. The show is produced by The Ringer and Paper Kite. For The Ringer, production by Jack Wilson, Kat Spillane, Kaya McMullen, and Aleya Zenieris. For Paper Kite, production by Sam Green, Joel Lovell, and Jenna Weiss-Berman. Original music by Amy Miles. This episode is brought to you by TaxAct. It's everyone's favorite time of year, tax time. Okay, that may not be true, but TaxAct does make it easy to do taxes online. They offer step-by-step guidance so you can finish your taxes ahead of the April 15 deadline and get your maximum refund guaranteed. If you get stuck, just add Expert Assist and get unlimited help from a credentialed U.S.-based tax expert. Visit taxact.com to learn more.