Pickin’ Brains: Inside the Head of James Johann

They don’t call him the Rural Genius for nothing.

Behind his warm, boyish smile and polite Midwestern charm lies a comedic mastermind who is more than well-poised to redefine the concept of ‘southern-style’ comedy.

A nineteen-year veteran of the comedy world, James Johann began his career in 1991 performing stand-up in Kansas City.  His sometimes intimately-personal and usually self-deprecating brand of humor gave him a niche in an industry which, at the time, found itself struggling to capture audiences in a market flooded with what some considered to be mediocre comics.

“That’s my fault,” Johann jests.  “When I started, political comedians weren’t as rampant as they have become these days.  I think now with guys like Bill Mahr and Jon Stewart and others it’s more fashionable to put your political views out there.”

But political wasn’t always so fashionable, particularly in the early 1990’s.

“Everyone was doing Crocodile Hunter, talking about fast food and twisting up balloon poodles or whatever. So, I just kind of stayed away from it from the beginning.”

Sticking to the comedy basics was certainly a recipe for success for Johann, who eventually found himself a cozy little spot performing with Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy in their national blue-collar comedy tours.  In 2003, Johann was featured on the Paying for the New Trailer tour along with Foxworthy as well and went on to be a key part of The Slackers Tour, a national tour from one of the producers of The Blue Collar Comedy Tour, from 2005 to 2007.

I asked Johann if he finds himself pigeon-holed by his blue-collar brand of humor.

“That style of comedy is very polarized. You either really like that style or you really don’t. There’s not a lot of middle ground. The hard part is that people who don’t like ‘redneck’ or ‘southern’ style humor also tend to look down on it. Its comedy for the unwashed masses and anyone who deems themselves intellectually superior to it takes a very dim view of it. It almost induces a sickening feeling in certain comedians. And that’s fine. I’ve come to the conclusion that there is room for all of us, from the bright and shiny antics of Carrot-Top to the arcane references of Dennis Miller’s rants. I just think funny comes in many different packages. Someone may not be your cup of tea, and that’s fine.”

Johann’s success with the Blue Collar Comedy Tour eventually led to the incarnation of his “Rural Genius” persona, a concept which he’d long been formulating well before working the ‘redneck’ route.  Fortunately for Johann, he didn’t have to look far for inspiration.

“I always thought it would be funny to have some redneck know-it-all telling his point of view no matter how asinine it was. I have family like that and I think I’ve nailed the premise pretty well so far, but it’s still developing. I sent this idea with a list of other ideas that I thought made me stand out a little and that is the one the management latched on to. At first I was really uncomfortable with it because I didn’t know if it was supposed to be a “character” or what and I struggled with how to present it. But more and more, I’m seeing that it’s just – me. I’m a guy from a small Midwest town and I think I’m smarter than I am sometimes. So really it has the potential to be a stupid or as sophisticated as I want it to be and I like that flexibility. I can make a Descartes reference and do a fart joke in the same breath and its not really breaking any rules of the persona. Plus, it’s something that people do remember, which is really the whole point.”

Johann has always had a natural inclination towards comedy, as he recounts his earliest attempts to win over a crowd.

“In kindergarten I dressed as a clown for the talent show,” Johann recalls. “I pulled a red wagon full of props onto the stage. I took out a rubber duck and threw it at the crowd as I yelled ‘DUCK!’ So, I’m guessing the desire has been there since I was that young. Yes, I think I always wanted to be a comedian. They seemed like the best kind of people.”

And the best kind of people they often are.  In June 2009, James Johann, along with eight other nationally-known comedians, brought their humor and heart to Boston, MA for the first-ever Comics Against Cancer show, a comedy benefit to raise funds and awareness for the American Cancer Society’s signature event, Relay For Life.  Johann and his cohorts not only performed pro-bono for the Boston crowd, but also gathered at the AstraZeneca Hope Lodge Center in Boston to prepare and serve an Italian-style dinner for the Lodge’s guests, cancer patients who are currently undergoing treatment in the city along with their caregivers.  It was an event that was particularly close to Johann’s heart.

“My mother died of cancer in the early 90’s and even though I have done benefits for all kinds of things, the fight against cancer is a personal one for me. It’s a dreadful disease and anything I can do to help eradicate it is worth the time,” explains Johann.  “Being invited back to Boston, where I lived for 3 years, was a treat in itself. I love that city and the whole East Coast vibe. Even if they do drive like (M)assholes. I miss living there and I’d come back anytime.”

Johann’s focus is not always on the lighter side of life, however.  When he’s not eliciting mass amounts of belly-laughs from his audiences he can often be found doing the other thing he loves to do – writing.  Citing such influences as Cervantes, Salinger, Kerouac, Johann happily provides a glimpse into his literary side.

“I was recently delighted to hear one of my favorite modern writers, Christopher Hitchens, make a comment about my all time literal hero, Vladimir Nabokov. Hitchens was asked why he hadn’t done a work about Nabokov, as he too is a huge admirer and Hitchen’s replied that he “just wasn’t ready yet”. And this is coming from someone who is immensely talented himself and yet still admits that he is probably not up to the task of doing justice to a writer like Nabokov. Nabokov’s work is astoundingly beautiful and tricky. And there’s a gem in nearly every line. This is made doubly impressive by the fact that he’s not even writing in his native Russian tongue. I could go on and on about him.”

But where would he find the time to? Johann is not only currently hard at work putting the finishing touches on his new comedy album – one that will feature both standup as well another passion of James’ – music.

“I’m hoping to collaborate with a couple of people, including a fantastic singer/songwriter named Kristie Stremel (www.KristieStremel.com) who can hopefully add some really cool music to my goofy lyrics, which can’t help but be a good combination.”

Johann also has a book in the works, tentatively titled, “The Sweltering Misadventures of a Mediocre Liar”, which promises to show readers the not-so-rural side of Johann.

“Hopefully, the book will have very little to do with ‘Rural Genius’. That’s a shadow I’m still getting used to walking with. But ideally it will be something along the lines of Woody Allen’s ‘Without Feathers’ which is an incredibly funny book. I can only hope to come close to that. As far as when, I really couldn’t say. My muse is fickle.”

And just what advice would James Johann offer to aspiring comics hoping to follow in his footsteps?

“A couple lines from Bob Dylan may apply here: ‘If you don’t think there’s a price for this sweet Paradise, just remind me to show you the scars.’  ‘Sacrifice is the code of the road.’ But perhaps AC/DC put it best: ‘It’s a long way to the top if you wanna Rock N Roll.’

But I would give the same advice that I was given by Kansas City comic David Naster who signed my first-ever official autograph and who is a great comic in his own right. On a bar napkin he wrote the most sage advice you can get: Go be funny. Thanks David! And thank you Angela!!”

You can catch James Johann performing live at Crackers in Indianapolis from December 9–12, or at the Looney Bin in Little Rock, Arkansas from November 25-29.

James Johann on the Late Show with Craig Ferguson 1/25/08

Also check out http://www.cmt.com/videos/misc/314624/rural-genius-steroids.jhtml?id=1600624 for the latest Rural Genius clip!

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Pickin’ Brains: Inside the Head of James Johann

Pickin’ Brains: Inside the Head of Lamont Price

UPDATE: Congratulations to Lamont Price on WINNING the NY Underground Comedy Festival’s Emerging Comics Contest!!!

On October 2^nd, New York City kicks off its 2009 Underground Comedy Festival featuring some of comedy’s best and brightest performers from all over the world.  Now in its sixth year, the festival has featured over a thousand comics, ranging from Chris Rock to 2007 Emerging Comic’s Contest winner Josh Homer.  The festival event went international in 2007, with shows taking place in China and South Africa.

Well, this year, the competition just got a lot fiercer.

I recently sat down with Lamont Price, recently inducted into this year’s Emerging Comic’s Contest.  Price, a Boston native, rose to prominence on the Boston scene before expanding his comedy portfolio to New York City. Don’t let the title fool you, however – Price has been in the game since the tender age of seventeen, after a friend turned him on to a comedy class at Boston Center for Adult Education.   Having dreamed of being a comic since he was twelve, the class provided Price with his first opportunity to perform for an audience on February 27, 1997, where he performed with Rick Jenkins.

“The night the earth stood still,” Price reflects.

Since then, Price has grown to become a staple in the Boston comedy scene, having shared the stage with talents such as Dane Cook, Pablo Francisco, Patrice O’Neal, Tommy Davidson and John Witherspoon.  But Boston hasn’t always been the easiest city for Price, who has often found race to add some disparity in his career.

“It’s a segregated city, man,” Price explains. “You’ve got Dorchester, Southie, Roslindale…Somerville, Cambridge. It’s like, everywhere you go – you’re here, we’re here, they’re there.”

More than familiar in the NYC comedy scene, Price has performed at Stand-Up New York, Gotham Comedy Club, and NY Comedy Club, and finds the city to be far more race-neutral than his hometown.

“Sometimes I’ll get asked to do a show, and it’s…specific – it’s the urban show,” Price says. “And while it’s work, I mean, come on, man – you see me as that dude, really?  You do a show in New York, and everybody’s just doing a show. There might be a black guy hosting, but, so what? There’s no specifics about it – he’s just a comedian.”

Price’s recent success at the 2009 Boston International Comedy and Movie Festival should certainly help break that subtle barrier. Competing against almost one-hundred other uber-talented comics, Price finished in third place, sharing the spotlight with winner Dave McDonough and runner-up Kelly MacFarland.   While a newcomer to the contest itself, Price has been performing in the annual festival for years.

“I will admit that I’m a bit stubborn at times, and I don’t do well in contests,” claimed Price, who admits to having a bit of an ego.  “That ego told me, Lamont – fuck contests…but I’m over that now.  You can’t really judge comedy; it’s totally subjective. This year, I entered – finally – and I came in third, had a great time.  Dave McDonough who won – awesome job, very funny comic; Kelly Macfarland, second, and everyone else – awesome.  It’s more about being seen than it is about actually winning the whole shebang.”

Coming in third certainly doesn’t hurt, though. Neither does having a feature film credit.

Not just a master of the microphone, Price was cast in the 2004 feature Overserved, which was directed by Joseph Gatto and followed the tale of two bartenders, insane customers, dwarfs with attitudes, psychotic ex-girlfriends, and lots of booze.  The film debuted at the 2004 Boston International Comedy and Movie Festival, where it won the coveted title of Best Feature Film, along with taking home a Bunny award at the 2004 Boston Underground Film Festival.

In 2006, Price had the opportunity to work along side director Topper Carew (“Martin”, “Talkin’ Dirty After Dark”)  after being approached by Carew in Los Angeles.  Price was cast as street poet ‘Jellybean’ in the guerilla film Facedance, a mockumentary film which pokes fun at the American Idol-style of stage auditioning in its hilarious tale of a face-dancing competition.  Carew’s film expertise allowed Price to see a whole new, slightly funnier side of him.

“It’s one of the few times where I got to see myself funnier than I was, because of how Topper cut the movie.  I was watching in and was like, I had no idea I could be that funny!”

Price explains, in describing his experience with Carew. This past spring, Price furthered his acting experience by working with Kevin Bright (“Friends”, “In Living Color”) on a sitcom project, in which Price portrayed a rapper.

“I play a black guy…who likes to rap,” Price laughs.  “I played a rapper.”

But big-screen stardom hasn’t quite gone to his head…yet.  I asked Price about Rude Boyz Productions, a group of comics that he’s been associated with going on seven years and who share the same edgy and laid-back brand of humor.

“We’re just a group of cats who don’t give a fuuuuck……we just…roll with it,” he laughed.  “We don’t like rules.  I mean, what the hell’s a comedy club with rules? I just wanna do shit…can I just talk? Give me the microphone and let me talk!”

That attitude is clearly conveyed in the advice Price has for aspiring comics.

“Don’t listen to anybody,” he suggests. Stressing the need to get one’s self on stage as much as possible, Price is careful to point out that one should not expect to write the best joke ever. “You can have the best joke of all time, but if you can’t sell it…you know what I’m saying?”

And Price can certainly sell it.  A regular at the Boston’s Comedy Connection and Nick’s Comedy Stop, he’s a name that will not be soon forgotten.  Be sure to catch Lamont Price on Monday, October 5 at Gotham Comedy Club in NYC, as he battles it out with nine other rising stars in the Emerging Comic’s Contest at the New York Underground Comedy Festival, or locally on Wednesday, October 28 with the Rude Boyz at the Sweetwater Café in Boston.

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Pickin’ Brains: Inside the Head of Lamont Price

I will never forget my older brother exposing me to the wonderful world of Mystery Science Theater 3000 in my younger days, and to this day I still credit him with my long-running addiction to the show’s utter hilarity. Like many fans of the show, I can think of nothing more thrilling than the possibility of sitting in that dark little theater on the Satellite of Love, alongside Joel or Mike and the ‘bots, laughing uncontrollably at the clever, little well-timed comments and jokes being made.

Fortunately for those of you lucky enough to be in certain geographic areas, you just may get that chance…or just about as close as you can come, as Cinematic Titanic sets sail on a raucous, cheese-filled, B-movie voyage through five major US cities this winter.

In honor of the event, which provides audiences from San Francisco to Boston the opportunity to experience the original cast of MST3K as they riff the best of the worst in film, I recently took advantage of the opportunity to have a virtual fire-side chat with Mystery Science Theater 3000’s Frank Conniff.

Lovingly known by many as TV’s Frank, Conniff took on the role of side-kick to the mad scientist Dr. Clayton Forrester in 1990, shortly after meeting Joel Hodgson, Trace Beaulieu and Bridget Jones while working the Minneapolis/Twin Cities comedy scene as a stand-up comic. Conniff naturally evolved into the role, adding his brand of burlesque comedy to the show both in his writing contributions and his performance.

But Conniff wasn’t just a pretty face. While he portrayed TV’s Frank for five years during the 1990s, he was also an integral part of the MST3K writing crew and was responsible for selecting the various bad movies showcased in the series. Tempted as one might be, in such a position, to seek revenge here and there with a particularly unsettling hunk of movie cheese, Conniff insists he never abused his power.

“Any passive-aggression on my part was probably subconscious,” Conniff explains. “I would just look for the films that would be appropriate for the show. There are millions of bad movies, but not every bad movie is really good to be riffed, for various reasons.”

Citing issues like the overuse of dialog, Conniff struggles to pinpoint the exact process of riff-worthy selection. He may not be able to describe it, but he certainly knows it when he sees it.

“Kind of like the Supreme Court’s definition on pornography,” he chimes.

Conniff was exposed to comedy at an early age, having spent his childhood in Manhattan during the 1960’s. Influenced by comedy legends such as the Marx Brothers, WC Fields, Laurel & Hardy, and Abbott & Costello, the concept of making a living with comedy was not an outlandish idea.

“It was an intimidating idea, but it didn’t seem as out of ordinary as it would to someone growing up in a small town that was far away from that,” Conniff recalls. “I grew up in a family that was very tuned in to the media…My father was a journalist, and so the worlds of politics and show biz and the arts were kind of in the air and something I had a lot of exposure to.”

One of Conniff’s latest projects, Cartoon Dump, stems from some of his New York childhood influences; locally-produced, low budget cartoon shows hosted by live action characters such as Captain Jack McCarthy and Officer Joe Bolton. Together with noted animation historian Jerry Beck, Conniff created the live, theatrical show that was a take-off of those old local cartoon shows. Satirically geared towards a childhood audience, however, Cartoon Dump is not your average cartoon show.

“It’s that kind of show but much darker, with really emotionally disturbed characters and not appropriate for children at all,” Conniff details, “but it’s presented as a children’s show.”

Cartoon Dump can be seen live, monthly at The Steve Allen Theater in Los Angeles, and Conniff and his team are currently in talks to potentially create a television pilot for the show.

“We did shows in New York last year, and doing it as a live show in other cities is a big goal of ours…one thing that would help that, I think, is if we end up doing it on TV. That will build up a bigger audience for it and…would make it more viable for us to do in different cities.”

While we outside of the general Los Angeles area must wait, patiently and hopefully, for Cartoon Dump to come to our hometowns, Conniff’s latest masterpiece is making a triumphant stop in Boston on February 20^th and 21^st.

Cinematic Titanic, which is probably the greatest concept for a live show – ever, brings the original cast of Mystery Science Theater 3000 back together to do what they do best. Riff really, really bad movies.

Shortly after Joel Hodgson took in a performance of Cartoon Dump, he approached Conniff with the idea of getting the old cast back together again. The spark of genius that might have graced us with an MST3K reprisal, however, was quickly smothered and extinguished by Jim Mallon’s lack of interest in the project.

“Jim Mallon ultimately wasn’t interested in it,” Conniff explains,” and he went on and was more interested in doing these flash cartoons for the MST3K website…he just had no interest in it ultimately.”

Unwavering in his drive, Hodgson quickly came up with the idea for Cinematic Titanic, a project in which the crew invested their own funds and maintained ownership of the rights. The first Cinematic Titanic DVDs were released in late 2007, soon followed by a live performance at Industrial Light and Magic in San Francisco in February 2008. Before long, Conniff and crew were taking their project to Minneapolis, St. Louis and Chicago.

“We’re actually going on an official tour and have been working with this theatrical production company who’s producing and booking it,” Conniff states enthusiastically. “We’re doing five cities and then, hopefully if that goes well, we’re going to do more live shows, do more touring later in the year. It’s something we’re all very excited about.”

And we, the masses, are just as excited.

Conniff openly attributes a lot of his early successes to sheer luck, citing the opportunities he had while performing stand-up in Minneapolis as well as his upbringing in Manhattan. But what advice does he have for those of us who may not happen to be in the right place at the right time?

“The best advice is to just write as much as you can,” Conniff encourages. “Write, write, write, write, write…really devote yourself to that, because…that’s how you learn how to do it, is the process of doing it. Develop some kind of community, some kind of creative community, of like-minded people…then you can kind of support each other.”

Conniff also suggests taking a class – not particularly to learn something new, but to take advantage of the structure a class offers in terms of deadlines and critical feedback. He also stresses the importance of getting your work out there.

“If you’re just in your apartment writing, and nobody ever sees what you’re writing, then nothing is gonna happen,” Conniff advises. “That’s the great thing about the internet…of course, a gazillion people are putting stuff up on the internet, so it’s not like if you put a video out that you’ll necessarily become, like, the ‘Leave Britney Alone’ guy, become a sensation. But other people will see it and you will get feedback, and it will go out into the world, and that is a very valuable thing.”

So to those of you whose friends refuse to watch movies with you anymore, those who still make sarcastic comments at the movie screen, and those of you who just love a good, belly-busting laugh fest, you don’t want to miss Conniff and the gang as Cinematic Titanic makes its way across five major cities in the next two months. I will certainly be anxiously waiting for the day when I can witness Conniff’s comedic genius live and in-person.

http://www.cartoondump.com/

http://www.cinematictitanic.com/

http://www.mst3kinfo.com/

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On Friday, January 16, Dear Leader will descend upon the Paradise Rock Club in Boston, bearing post-holiday gifts of rock excellence for the masses, along with Hallelujah The Hills and Faces on Film. This is certainly an event not to be missed by anyone who has ever enjoyed live rock music. It just may even be an event not to be missed by anyone with a functioning sense of hearing.

In honor of the upcoming show, I recently had the opportunity to pull up a virtual seat with one of Boston’s most talented drummers, Dear Leader’s own Paul Buckley.

You just might have heard of this guy before. It turns out, he’s everywhere.

Buckley’s resume is extensive, which is not surprising, since he proudly boasts he’s a workaholic. Now a staple in the Boston indie music scene, he began releasing records in the early 90’s on his indie label, Lunch Records, having had little luck getting his first band signed in the vast, overpopulated wasteland of Boston indie bands.

I asked Buckley about the origins of the label, particularly its original name, Breakfast Records. The name change seemed to imply to me an evolution – perhaps a maturing of the label over time.

“When I released Orbit’s first 7″ single ‘Motorama’ [in 1994], we got a glowing review in Magnet Magazine, which triggered a nasty letter to the editor from another Breakfast Records.” Buckley explained. “This was also around the time that 6 major labels wanted to sign Orbit, so to avoid any legal problems I changed the name to the next possible name, Lunch Records…while traveling back from a show in New York.”

Orbit came to be in the early 90’s after Buckley was approached (while broadcasting live on Mass Ave for WFNX) by Jeff Robbins. After a few jam sessions and a free ad in the Boston Phoenix, Wally Gagel joined the cause, offering to record for the newly-forming band. With the addition of Mark Brookner on bass, Orbit recorded their first EP, “La Mano”. Gagel would eventually reconsider his early pass on playing bass for the band, and joins them on their 1997 A&M release, “Libido Speedway”.

Eventually, Buckley’s path would cross that of Aaron Perrino, when Perrino’s former band The Sheila Divine opened for Orbit at a 1998 gig in Burlington, Vermont. Impressed, Buckley offered to manage the band and even filled in on drums for some live shows while TSD looked for a replacement for Shawn Sears (which they would ultimately find in Ryan Dolan). After the split of The Sheila Divine in April 2003, Buckley encouraged Perrino to make a solo record, which Buckley offered to release on Lunch.

Perrino quickly went to work recording six tracks which featured Buckley on the drums, later to be released as the 2003 EP ‘War Chords’ (recorded by Darren Ottaviani with additional production and mixing by John Dragonetti).

“Aaron chose friends Jon Sulkow (of the band Tugboat Annie) and Will Claflin (of the band Cheerleadr) and asked me to fill in on drums as they audition new drummers,” Buckley explained. “He didn’t want to bother me as I just became a dad of twin daughters 18 months prior. After three shows together, I was really feeling the chemistry, and then Aaron asked that I join on.”

Since then, Dear Leader has released three full-length records and a split EP with fellow Lunch-mates Taxpayer, which was released in the summer of 2007. The gents are currently hard at work in the studio working on their fourth full-length release, to be released later this year on Lunch.

It would seem to be any music fan’s dream to walk a mile in Buckley’s shoes – aside from being a part of one of the freshest and hottest indie bands to come out of Boston since 1993, there are some perks to running your own label.

“All the artists on Lunch have been hand picked by myself and they’ve all been committed to their art,” said Buckley, when asked about his own musical influences. “I’ve tried to do my best throughout the years to deal with the commerce side, so they can just create.”

And his best is truly paying off. In February, Lunch artist Taxpayer is slated to release their second full-length, ‘Don’t Steal My Night Vision’, produced by Paul Kolderie. Kolderie has also produced the Dear Leader albums ‘All I Ever Wanted Was Tonight’ and ‘The Alarmist.’

“I think people are really going to be shocked at the song writing and playing growth on this record,” Buckley reflected. “It’s sort of a classic record, in a Queen sort of way, lots of emotion. You’re gonna love it!”

Truly a success story in the realm of self-starters and entrepreneurs, Buckley’s talent and expertise has given Boston’s indie scene the Midas touch. With Lunch artists like The Shods, Helicopter Helicopter and Rockets to Mars, it certainly seems that whatever Buckley touches turns into a brilliant slice of fried gold. I asked Buckley what advice he’d offer to bands that may be just starting out and feeling lost in the shuffle.

“Make art and put it out there for people to hear, see, and feel it, and make sure you’re enjoying the process. If you’re not, it’s probably not going to work.”

So if you haven’t done so already, be sure to grab your tickets for Friday’s Dear Leader show at the Paradise before they’re all gone (which I am sure they will be soon), as it promises, as usual, to be a night to remember. And be sure to keep an eye out for the upcoming Taxpayer release next month, which is shaping up to kick copious amounts of behind, all the while taking names.

http://www.dear-leader.com

http://www.lunchrecords.com

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