Tynan's Anger

At 3 p.m last Tuesday, I had no idea who the Auctioneers were, but I was trying to finalize my plans for the evening. I then got an email from a rep at Shore Fire Media, who had told me that he had just signed the Auctioneers today. He directed me to two songs on their MySpace page, which I dug, and then said that drinks were on him at their Mercury Lounge show tonight. Out of many emails I get like this daily, it was ultimately three factors--new band with two good songs, free drinks, and tonight--that got me to the show.

Sure enough, I was there with a friend at 10 p.m., and though I've seen shows with Jon Spencer and the XX at the Mercury Lounge in the past, the Auctioneers set was the most packed I've ever seen the already tiny venue for an opening band. The only difference was the music, which, as my friend Pat said within the first two songs, sounded like a Counting Crows cover band. I did not disagree.

Nonetheless, by the end of the set, I heard the two songs I liked, one ("Young Man's Blues") I still liked by the end of the night. A more impressionable young scab might have stayed loyal to the Auctioneers for much longer, mainly to save the cred they had with the Auctioneers until it was embarrassing (no doubt the Counting Crows were a small local band who only 6 people saw at some point). Nor did I have anything against the Shore Fire rep who sent me the email and paid for my beer; he had done his job exceptionally well, in the same O.J. Simpson's defense team had done their jobs well.

When I spoke to the rep after I got my beer back, he said that the band had already had finished an EP (later confirmed over emai), and that they'd spend the next 6 months shopping to a label while touring. That way they'd keep contol over the actual artistc product, a noble goal indeed. The only problems were a) the ambiguous group of people referred to as "they," and b) the artistic product itself.

In reality, this kind of story is pretty commonplace now; Shore Fire Media is basically one big publicity firm with a handful of A & R functions for new bands, founded in 1990. Their clients, who include Norah Jones, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello and Wynston Marsalis, won 9 Grammys on Sunday, and were nominated for 28. Shore Fire happens to be particularly good at what they do; their strategy to get me to the Auctioneers show on Tuesday night was a textbook example of an effective email marketing campaign. (Don't get me wrong, I love music and beer in any form, even if it sucks, and especially when it's free.)

My main concern is what exactly Shore Fire's rep meant when he said they had just signed the Auctioneers today. Even though no major label was involved, my hunch is that the contract was negotiated in the same way major labels use to negotiate contracts; Shore Fire has a lot of industry veterans on board, and I wouldn't be surprised if the contract resembles the kind that Steve Albini infamously blew the whistle on in his 1993 article, "The Problem With Music". I also know that, for all intensive purposes, the Auctioneers should treat this day with the same enthusiasm bands use to receive when handed major label contracts in the '90s, no matter how dangerous that excitement may be. The gleam in the band's eyes when performing on signing day was certainly the same.

I don't mean to pick on Shore Fire or the Auctioneers in any significant way, but this particular exchange is crucial because of the particulars of the situation. Overall, Shore Fire clients are much more commercially successful and Grammy-winning than clients of similar companies who engage in identical tactics. Some of those other companies, however aim less for commercial success than critical plaudits for many bands, a good review on Pitchfork can be more valuable than a major label deal once a marketing firm is on board. The marketing tactics are the same independent of anything related to art. In many cases, critics will give well-marketed bands plaudits that are not independent of art, but based on the marketing campaigns that are. Most critics that do this are probably unaware that they are doing so.

It's important to note that in all these cases, the success rate of rock stardom is significantly lower than 100%, and always has been. If the Auctioneers are successful, I wish them all the best, and glad I was able to see them last week.

But it's these kind of confounded online scenarios that are often responsible for a band's success, and these scenarios never get covered by editorial media--the arm of the media world that still claims to be charged with defending artistic integrity, not good marketing.

I've seen a real failure on this front of late, and the development is understandable. Why should a bitter, impoverished group of music journalists avoid a free drink for passing plaudits? After all, it's just music, surely there are bigger injustices to call out, even in the music world. The Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger is a lot more evil and destructive to good music than a successfully deceptive marketing campaign by an independent marketing group for an independent band, right?

My problem is, I'm not sure; I'm not sure if the butterfly of a clever little marketing deception doesn't lead to a massively deceptive music conglomerate tsunami. And this is what this new feature, named in honor of the song "Collagen Rock", by Mclusky, aims to find out:

Labels: auctioneers, Grammy Award, marketing, music industry, myspace, one of those bands got paid, pop music, shore fire

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

In a perfect world, Friday would be the day we stop worrying, shut off our brains, and seek the rest and relaxation we sorely need. Unfortunately, in today's world, we're using too busy getting drunk, trying to get laid, and worrying about if our jobs will be there on Monday. To help purge the bad thoughts,I will conclude every Friday on this blog with a story that will hopefully help to put things in perspective, and shut off the delta brain waves without the need for chemical enhancement, a moment Zen you won't get on The Daily Show.

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From Wikipedia:

Chairman of the Board is a 1998 movie starring Courtney Thorne-Smith and Carrot Top in which a surfer/inventor (Carrot Top) inherits and runs a billionaire's company. To some critics, it is considered Carrot Top's rendition of Billy Madison. It was poorly received by critics and moviegoers alike.

The movie cost an estimated $10,000,000 to produce, but made $306,710.^[1]

...The movie appears in IMDB's top 20 worst rated films of all time^[3]. Comedian and former Mystery Science Theater 3000 host Michael J. Nelson named the film the fifth worst comedy ever made.^[4]

So why does this merit Brain Detox Friday? Because Norm MacDonald, as usual, called it months beforehand, and broke all the showbiz rules in doing so:



I do hope Courtney Thorne-Smith has spoken to Norm since this night. I'd like to think she has a sense of humor about herself. Have a good weekend everybody

Labels: bad movies, Carrot Top, comedy, conan o'brien, courtney thorne-smith, marketing, movie stars, norm macdonald

Jim Gaffigan has become one of America’s favorite comics, a uniter of Red and Blue States alike, by basing his material on pure sloth. The Indiana native, who has lived in New York City for 20 years, first became a major player with his revered 2000 Comedy Central Presents special that introduced the world to his jokes on laziness, Mexican food and the plight of the Manatee. Gaffigan would then build a small but devoted following through his appearances on David Letterman, a highly successful Sierra Mist ad campaign with Michael Ian Black, and the occasional well-timed movie and TV role (Super Troopers, Flight of the Concords, That ‘70s Show). Arguably his biggest breakthrough came with his sensational 2006 special Beyond the Pale, which probably had a higher food joke-per-minute ratio than any previous comedy special in television history. His new special, King Baby, premieres this Sunday, and the act is already picking up steam on YouTube for his soon-to-be-legendary routine on bacon. I spoke with the Gaffigan, the oft-described everyman comedian, over the phone about how he’s really not as lazy as he seems, why he doesn’t like telling dirty jokes on stage anymore, and why he’d never do an ad for Hot Pockets.

Ethan Stanislawski: Me and a lot of my friends always talk about how our lives turn into Jim Gaffigan routines, except when we experience it it’s really depressing. Does the type of laziness you describe on stage ever stop being funny?

Jim Gaffigan: I like to think that I romanticize those lazy moments. Like, when we finally do indulge in some of the laziness, there’s always some guilt, like “Oh man, all I did was watch Roadhouse for the weekend.” And that’s pretty depressing, but in hindsight it’s pretty hysterical. I think it’s something everyone’s kind of guilty of.

ES: I kind of feel these moments are even more universal than even most observational comedy, like you don’t even have to put on pants to have these moments apply to your life.

JG: I do think that everyone can relate to moments of being a lazy slob.

ES: You’re one of the only comedians I’ve seen who works better on Comedy Central than when you’re uncensored. Do you think there’s something that helps your appeal when you’re less dirty?

JG: Well, I feel that I used to be kinda dirty, but I never was that dirty of a comic. I would do it in the past, but part of stand-up for me is setting up personal challenges. So I cut out cursing from my act as a personal challenge. Any comedian can throw in a “fuck” and get a reaction from an audience. For me when I’d use it, I’d always feel it was more that the joke wasn’t necessarily done. I also didn’t want to not be able to follow myself…if you have a great dirty joke, it’s kinda hard to go back to talking about cake or bacon. It’s more how the show is going. I mean, I love dirty comics. I’ve been doing stand-up forever, so it’s just how my act is starting to change. I don’t really miss cursing on stage—it’s more about good writing for me.

ES: A lot of comedians fall into the trap of being best known for one routine (Dave Chappelle comes to mind.) You did a YouTube video spoofing fans coming up to you talking about the Hot Pockets routine. How do you try to avoid being known as “the Hot Pockets guy?”

JG: I mean, it’s not the end of the world. I definitely don’t want my tombstone to read “Jim the Hot Pockets Guy.” But it doesn’t really bother me because there was a time not long ago where I was the “meow guy” from Super Troopers, or with my earlier standup it was just “the manatee guy.” So if I’m now known as “the bacon guy,” it’s not the end of the world. I’ll keep writing and hopefully I’ll come up with another joke that will replace that. Now I’m being known as this “food comic guy.” I mean you write about what you’re passion is, and right now it’s about being lazy and eating.

ES: One more Hot Pockets question and I swear we’ll move on. Do you think you’ve ultimately helped or hurt Hot Pockets’ marketing department? Lewis Black ended up doing promos for the Weather Channel. Have they approached you to do ads for Hot Pockets?

JG: It’s interesting. A guy emailed me saying he was part of a focus group of Hot Pocket consumers who watched my material and were asked whether it encouraged them to eat it or not. So they’ve done research, and I think I’ve definitely helped them; I mean, they know it’s not caviar. But again, though, I wouldn’t want to be known as the Hot Pockets guy, so I wouldn’t do a commercial for them. That’s not to say I’m against commercials. But for awhile on my last tour they’d do guerilla marketing where they’d have a guy show up at my show dressed as a Hot Pocket passing out coupons. We had to put a stop to them because people thought I was working with Hot Pockets.

ES: Yeah, it must have seemed like you were on the inside of a Hot Pockets conspiracy.

JG: Yeah, you know what I mean? And it’s not like there’s a whole message to the Hot Pockets joke. It’s basically just “Hot Pockets give you diarrhea.”

ES: I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone do the politically correct audience member voice in quite the same way you do. Did that come from a need in your show early on, or did it just come about spontaneously that just stuck?

JG: I mean, I started out definitely doing these characters from the Lower East Side. And there was a lady where the voice came from, going back, like, 12, or 14 years. But the whole idea of talking for other people has always been an aspect of my personality. It’s just an effective way to diffuse a situation in a funny way. Like if you walk into a room and there are people waiting for you, you say “I can’t believe he’s late.” In doing that, I end up where people aren’t that mad at me. There’s an awareness, and they’re more likely to forgive you.

ES: So you use that voice in everyday life in addition to on stage?

JG: Yeah, I do. I kind of do it involuntarily.

ES: I’m from New York but I went to school in Chicago, so I’ve kinda got the reverse dynamic of you saw came from the Midwest culture and then moved to New York. I feel like you definitely play with the Midwest/East Coast dynamic a lot in your show. Do you feel that’s been an influence in your act?

JG: I mean, I’ve lived in New York for 20 years, and I’m still treated like a tourist. There’s no getting around how bland Midwestern I am. I wouldn’t be able to describe it, but there is kind of a Midwestern sensibility. It’s a kind of sarcasm and cynicism, but in a different kind of way than it is in New York and the Northeast. But there is kind of a New York element of my pacing, like an efficiency, that is a sign of a New York comic. I don’t take too long in getting to the joke…I like that wherever I go, audiences are responsive. I would never want to be just a regional comic.

ES: There’s been a return in popularity of observational humor the last couple of years (Mitch Hedburg in his time, Demetri Martin etc.) after a lot of years of angry political comedy. How much do you think cultural timing has played into your popularity?

JG: There are a ton of styles; for awhile there was a lot of high energy, angry comics, I was thinking I could be a lot of people’s second favorite comic, but they’d also like me, so I could be something of a crossover. But nowadays you can’t just be one thing as a comic. In the '80s, you could be the topical comic or the guy who did impressions. Now, you have to be more eccentric in how you do even observational comedy. What Demetri does is very different from what I do. Each comic has to do their own thing; both me and Demetri are just doing the kind of stand-up we like doing. That’s pretty much how it is for every comic; I love Chris Rock and Lewis Black, but they’re just doing their own thing.

ES: How much does Twitter and social media play into your comedy now? It seems like the format of Twitter (just 140 characters) is sort of perfectly suited to your style? Do you see is as part of your comedy or more to help your career?

JG: I honestly have no idea. I’m doing an hour special on Sunday, and I want people to know about it. On the internet, it’s more useful if you want to find out when I’m performing in your area. Most people I meet say “I’d go if you were performing in my area.” So with Facebook, Twitter, and Vlogs and everything, I'm more trying to get the word out. I’m not really trying to convert anyone. Awhile ago I was in a club in D.C., and when I got back I got an email saying “Hey, when are you coming to D.C.?” I was just there! So I decided, “alright, I’ll just have an email list.” Facebook’s great because you can promote your event without really bugging people who aren’t interested. And with the twitter and vlogging, it’s just another way of getting the word out. I was on a plane the other night, so I was just horsing around on Twitter. I mean, it’s all in the hope of getting people to watch my special. I mean, I spent three years writing it…and I worked really hard on it. All this lets me do self-promotion without being obnoxious about it.

ES: The line on TV between marketing and material has gotten blurrier, at least. You’ve been good with that. I think people who’ve seen you on social media will certainly not miss your special for lack of information.

JG: Oh yeah, cool. I mean it’s an essential part to get the word out. I’ve worked for awhile to get my act out there. I mean, I really do work hard. There’s a whole kind of coolness to saying something like you don’t do your homework. It’s cool to say “I didn’t work on this, I just show up.” But I do work hard, and I certainly want people to know about it. So if sending a message on Twitter gets 20 more people to see my show, it's doing important work. I mean it seems like I’m not trying, but I push myself to go really far.

ES: To wrap things up on a more serious note, one of my best friends is a militant feminist who has completely lost her sense of humor after a bad relationship, and she will still cry from laughing when she sees your act.

JG: I mean, I feel like I’m just doing my thing and it’s nothing exceptional, but I love it when I talk to audience members after my shows and I see a lesbian couple along with a Mormon couple. I really had no elaborate plan with my stand-up. But I love to see how many different types of people like my stuff.

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Jim Gaffigan’s King Baby premieres on Comedy Central Sunday, March 29, at 9/8 c. The DVD of King Baby, as well as the CD, come out on March 31. Photo by Martin Crook. This review was originally published on Blogcritics

Labels: advertisements, bacon, comedy, comedy central special, hot pockets, Jim Gaffigan, king baby, manatees, marketing, observational comedy, Social media, super troopers, twitter, youtube