Barry Sobel first hit it big in the late 80s and went on to be nominated for an Emmy for his work on Saturday Night Live. His many TV and film appearances include the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Revenge of the Nerds II, Doc Hollywood, MTV’s Lip Service, as well as The Barry Sobel Show on Comedy Central. Barry started his comedy career in San Francisco and returns next week for an appearance at the Rickshaw Stop.

December 27th @ Rickshaw Stop
155 Fell Street, San Francisco

Hi Barry. Might as well jump right in. Appearing on Carson at such a young age must’ve been nerve-wracking. Were you petrified? How did that all come about and what was it like?

Barry Sobel: My appearance on Johnny Carson, currently being bootlegged on the web, was the second time I was ever on. In fact, it was just the opposite of nerve-wracking. When Johnny was intro-ing me, I yelled out from backstage. Not a lot of people do that. I just knew it was going to be one of the greatest moments of my life. I was so excited to get out there. It surprised Johnny, and Ed covered by going, “Voice from above sir…”

How did you get to be the first guest? That’s like Billy Crystal-style.

BS: I didn’t learn ‘til hours before that I would be on first, followed by Betty White and Tiffany, which of course is hilarious. I got to stay on for two segments. That just happened. I had superpowers of confidence instilled in me by Jim McCauley, to whom I attribute my total success. He said that I had ‘a lot’ of material, so I didn’t think twice.

Jim McCauley was the talent booker that broke all those careers?

BS: He was the ‘man who changed your life’. A year before, Jim saw me at The Improv and asked me to do the show. I said “Just like that?” He said, “No, you worked for years, this is the easy part.” And that was the first Tonight Show. The second one was more what is referred to in a comedy career as the ‘big break.’

What led up to it?

BS: A surreal amount of events, all at the same time… I worked on Punchline, a movie with Tom Hanks, who chose me to write with him and teach him how to do stand-up comedy. In the middle of Punchline, I went off and filmed Nerds II, I had appeared on “Showtime at the Apollo” with my rap inspiration, the Beastie Boys. I had been on many HBO specials, I was VJing on MTV (my all-time favorite job!). Comedy Central was running a commercial with me and my Mom. I even played myself on a freakin’ “21 Jump Street”! It was insane! Many things went into my big break, and in fact, Jim was right, it was the easy part.

Are you making any of this up?

BS: Not a word. It was a very big year and since this is a web interview, I am hoping this spills over to Wikipedia or that other Internet Data Base. ‘Daay don’t know me! …daay don’t know my b’tness… (Can you tell the people I am doing this in a wigger voice and that I still got it?).

So you were quite the big deal for awhile there. So, no offense, but what happened?

BS: Well my much publicized break up with Madonna didn’t help, nor did that incident with Robbie Williams at a Blur concert.

Let’s leave it at that. You started in SF, right?

BS: Yeah, and everything happened because I started in SF at the Holy City Zoo and The Other Café, both magical places. I cannot begin to describe their coolness. Then there was The Punchline that was connected to The Old Waldorf. I was there every night doing comedy or watching acts like Pat Benatar or Huey Lewis. One night, Bruce shows up…

Your all time idol Bruce Springsteen…

BS: Bruce Springsteen! The reason for my very existence… right after I did a set next door! Bill Graham owned both the Punchline and the Waldorf and had me open for many of the acts, and once in a crazy notion, he would put me on in front of a quarter of a million people at a rock festival.

The era when Comedians were Rock Stars!

BS: Nowhere more prevalent than in the Bay. For example, Joel Selvin once had me in the same ‘pink section’ article as The Clash… I showed it to Mick Jones who autographed it for me at the SF Civic Center while passing me a joint.

That all sounds crazy.

BS: There was this benefit once at Oakland Stadium. Comedians in between the bands, it was sick. Warren Thomas was on, then Tracy Chapman, Barry Sobel, The Grateful Dead. I’m not kidding! I was so lucky to be a part of it. In SF, I was part of a time where I had to do 20 minutes when I only had 5, 45 when I had 15… It made ya have to be great.

What about your first time on stage?

BS: I started in an improv group called “Spaghetti Jam”. When I was 17, in my second show ever, I was on stage with Robin Williams who at the time was the most famous person on the planet. When he would ‘show up’ at a club, the word spread like wildfire and people would run down the streets to pack the place. It was a like A Hard Days Night. Well, he blew me off the stage, but I learned a thing or two.

Did he ever see you do stand-up?

BS: Years later at the Comedy Store, I was on in the Main Room. Mitzi was my champion. Eddie Murphy always had me go on before him and Richard Pryor was performing and wanted me there, as he was a big fan, which of course is inconceivable. So Robin was going to surprise close the show because who can follow that. I knew he was watching, and afterwards Robin told me he was proud. It meant the world to me. And this from a kid with absolutely no show business aspirations whatsoever. I wanted to grow up and become a harness race driver at Monticello Raceway. I was going to be the next Luc Ouellette.

I’m not sure I know who that is…

BS: After all that blatant name-dropping, I figured I’d give you something to Google.

How did you get involved in writing on SNL?

BS: In ‘96 I thought up a three-minute talk show that I sold to Comedy Central. Jimmy Fallon made his ‘network debut’ on our first show. Although many people on SNL had opened for me, or were my peers, it was only Jimmy that was gracious enough to invite me to “the party.”

SNL was an amazing experience. I loved the place. I went in early on Thursdays cause that was when the musical guest came in. My friend Marci Klein and I would sit just a few feet away from Radiohead and I would take in every second of all the rehearsals. I’m a TV kid. It wasn’t lost on me that SNL was the greatest, most legendary place ever to work. I will always be grateful.

You went on to produce from there?

BS: I got an overall deal at MTV Networks and made a talk show pilot for VH1 called “Old School.” We wanted to bring back everyone we ever loved in the history of pop culture… and here’s the hook… We’d treat them like the stars and heroes that they are. It turned out not to be the right tone for that network. I’m not sure VH1 really ‘Loves the 80’s/90’s’ at all. They make shows where people you never heard of, who have done NOTHING, make fun of pop icons, who have accomplished more than all of those ‘talking heads’ combined.

How did you get back into stand up?

BS: I sort of never stopped, but I wasn’t touring. I saw Mitch Hedberg on Letterman and we became buds. He made me want to be a comedian again.

There’s stories all over the place about how Mitch was as cool to new guys just starting out as he was to established acts…

BS: By the way, I can’t leave it at that.

Didn’t mean to get off topic. What else were you up to during that time?

BS: I did a gaggle of projects, movies, and TV shows during the next part of my career, more than most, including inventing a ‘three minute talk show’ for Comedy Central which is back in production for the web. It’s just, you know, no one ever likes the second Album, er CD, I mean download. I assure you the third one will be my “OK Computer.”

How did you get involved with Tom Hanks on Cartoon03?

BS: I never brought Tom a project before. I never felt anything was worthy ‘til two aliens sent me a spacerocket and I… “left on a journey, and came back with an adventure!” 02 and 03 are my dudes. We live together on Planet Earth and do EVERYTHING… inspired by the music of Radiohead. Tom thinks it is “sorta brilliant.” My friendship with Tom is the coolest thing. I am the luckiest boy in the world that he picked me.

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Pop icon-comedian Barry Sobel Barry Sobel, most recently seen on “Chocolate news”, is back on tour. Barry, who changed the face of comedy in the late 80’s and 90’s with his Beastie Boys rap and his homage to Soul Singer’s “I can’t do no more”, made his mark on HBO, and wowed Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. Slamming on “Showtime at the Apollo” and rapping as the new nerd in “Revenge of the Nerds II”, Barry appeared in many movies, including “Punchline” – in which he wrote and acted with Tom Hanks. Other film credits include “Doc Hollywood”, “Martians Go Home”, “Blind Date”, and “That Thing You Do”. Barry Guest-VJ’ed for years on MTV and sat in on “Lip Service”. He also starred on NBC’s “227″ as well as VH1’s “Vinyl Justice,” and was also nominated for an Emmy for his work on SNL.

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Eugene Mirman has a recurring role on HBO’s Flight of the Conchords and has also appeared on Late Night With Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Presents, and Aqua Teen Hunger Force. He is currently traveling with the Stand Uppity Tour, starring himself, Marc Maron, and Andy Kindler, as 3 comedians who will make you “feel better about yourself and superior to others.” Eugene spoke to us from New York ahead of his performance at Mezzanine in San Francisco on Tuesday.

The Stand Uppity Tour @ Mezzanine
444 Jessie St, SF
May 20th, 2008
$16, 21+, 9pm (doors at 8pm)

You were born in Russia, grew up in Massachusetts, and live in Brooklyn- if someone in a street gang asked you where you “claim,” what would you say?

EM: I would say all three of those. Because it’s the accurate answer.

When did you start doing comedy?

EM: The first time I ever did stand-up was just after high school. Then I did it throughout college, in Western Mass. I actually created my own major. I went to Hampshire College where you could design your own major, so I did comedy. And then I moved to Boston after college, and started pursuing comedy as a career.

Was the Boston comedy scene really good then?

EM: It was. At the time I was there, it was great. I think it goes through cycles. Really, I got into comedy the year people say it crashed, like meaning… ’92. But yeah, the Boston scene has always been great. A lot of amazing people have come from there, or been through. I mean, David Cross, Steven Wright, Louis CK, a lot of people who write for Conan, Marc Maron, Janeane (Garofalo). It’s got a super-rich history, but I was there with Brendon Small, we started out together, and Patrick Borelli, and a lot of great people.

Now that you’re more established, is there anything you miss from those old “open-mic” days?

EM: I still do sorta-similar things, like I run a show in New York…

“Invite Them Up?”

EM: Well, I used to do “Invite Them Up.” We wrapped that up a few months ago. But I do a show with Michael Showalter every Sunday. In Boston, I never really did open-mics, per se, but I performed at the Comedy Studio regularly. It was amateur, partially, but there were also professional comedians. Dr. Katz was taped in Boston, so often when people would come to record Dr. Katz, they would end up doing a set at this club. So I met Ron Lynch, Louis CK, Jon Benjamin, and Todd Barry. But, essentially I still do a weekly show where I try new stuff every week, and it’s a lot of fun. In that sense, I do a similar thing still. Do I miss being less-confident? A little, but not overly.

Your last CD was on Sub Pop. How is it being a comic on a rock label?

EM: It’s great. Sub Pop also has a handful of comedy albums. I love Sub Pop. In general, my career is much more like a band’s career, so it’s very fitting.

Speaking of which, you’re performing at the Sasquatch Music Festival in Washington, you’ve performed at South by SouthWest in Austin, and you live in Brooklyn- are you an indie-rock connoisseur?

EM: I really do like indie-rock. It’s funny, cuz I couldn’t tell where you were going; because the first two are music festivals and the third is a city. But yes, I do like indie-rock. I don’t know if I’d describe myself as a connoisseur, I also like lots of classic rock. I play a lot of the places that bands I’m a big fan of play.

Are there any bands you have to see when you’re up in Washington for the festival?

EM: Actually, I’m really excited to see R.E.M. I saw them at SxSW and they were great. There are a bunch of bands… The Heavenly States. I just performed in Fargo and they did a show right after us and they were great. I’m honestly forgetting which bands are playing there, but I’m coming up Saturday to see stuff and it’s because I remember looking at it and being really excited about a bunch of the bands. It’s a great line-up.

In your short films, you do a great job of mixing social commentary and absurdity, like when you’re parodying the Oscars or Congressional hearings. Does society annoy you, or do you just love making fun of it?

EM: I’m not annoyed. Some things I think are silly and I guess it is a comment on it, but I don’t go through it all grumpy. But I do think there are things that are stupid and should be made fun of. Comedy can be used as a way to correct things, or comment on stuff, or point things out… but I also think it’s a powerful way to comment, and a lot of fun.

Is it easy for you?

EM: I wouldn’t say it’s easy, but I enjoy it.

That reminds me of a great quote from Lenny Bruce where he essentially said, being a comic, if he woke up tomorrow and everything in society was perfect, he would be out of a job. Do you ever worry about things getting better?

EM: No. I mean, do you worry that things will be perfect? Is that a possibility? I mean, there are plenty of things that are silly and weird in the world. My career doesn’t require political instability and hunger. So, I would be fine with huge social ills being solved, and I’m sure I’d still find ways to make fun of people’s interpersonal relationships.

Let’s talk about the New York comedy scene. One of your good friends, Demetri Martin told me your personality wouldn’t change at all if you walked around wearing a cape. Do you know what he’s talking about?

EM: (laughs) I do know what he’s talking about. I think what he means is, I’m his only friend that if he put a cape on me it wouldn’t change how he perceived me. I guess what he’s saying is I could pull off a cape, or that I’m a silly person, which I think is really funny.

Some of the San Francisco comics like to joke about which SF comics they’d like to see get into a fist-fight. Who in the New York comedy scene would you like to see fight?

EM: I don’t think I want to see anybody fight, but if I had to answer, how about… Woody Allen and… Kristen Schaal?

How’s the Stand Uppity Tour going?

EM: It’s going great. It’s actually been super-fun so far.

I won’t ask you which of your co-comics you like more, but let me put it this way: if both Marc Maron and Andy Kindler needed a kidney transplant and you could only donate to one, who would get the kidney?

EM: Oh, I don’t know… Especially since they’re both so neurotic that whichever I say, I’m never going to hear the end of it. So I’m going to say… neither.

So you’d let them both… ?

EM: I wouldn’t let them both die but… You know what it is, I’d try to find a second kidney.

I think that’s the correct answer.

EM: But no, you don’t understand, it’s not because I want to save their lives, it’s because I’d never hear the end of it from the one that lived (or died). It would be overwhelming to hear them talk to me about it.

All three of you comics are admittedly liberal-leaning, but you’re performing in a lot of “so-called” red-states like Idaho and North Dakota. Have the crowds been receptive?

EM: Mostly, as you can imagine, old angry women come to our shows, and it’s a disaster. No, it’s great, because, as you know, this isn’t really a “Red State/Blue State” country. It’s all a lie of the media. I mean… are there 23 year old kids who like comedy in every city? Yeah. So it’s been fine. We haven’t been met with that. And the truth is, it would be fine. I know lots of people who are conservative, and it’s not like they’re crazy neo-cons. There are lots of people who have valid points of view that are different from mine. So the shows have been good.

So, is there a chance any of the Stand Uppity comics are going to “Dennis Miller-out” when you get older and turn into a grumpy Republican?

EM: Probably not grumpy, but possibly. If the question is, “Will any of us turn into unfunny conservatives?”, then no. But, “Will we turn into moderate, or conservative, funny people?” Maybe. It just depends. Will I ever want to ban abortion or gay rights? No. Will I think the country is fiscally irresponsible after watching it for 50 years? Maybe. Will I ever try to pass a law that prevents Chinese people from working? No, probably not. But I might be like, “We need a strong military.” Some people who are conservative survived the Cold War and World War II and they have lived through threats that we haven’t really seen. I’m sorry if my answer is extraordinarily wise.

It is. You’re going to be performing with the Stand Uppity show at Mezzanine on the 20th. You seem to perform in San Francisco a lot- what do you do here when you’re not on stage?

EM: I go to nice Chinese restaurants, and visit a bunch of friends. I have a lot of friends out there.

Did you ever live in San Francisco?

EM: No, but I have visited there a lot and I have a bunch of friends out there.

Good luck on the tour and we’ll see you on the 20th.

EM: Thanks.

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