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Thursday, January 12, 2006
It's been said before, but damned if I won't say it again... Ted Leo is the Man
[transmission from...Tyler Sonnichsen]
The Official TDC/20Watts Interview
An abbreviated version of this interview I conducted in April of 2005 was featured in the
premiere print edition of 20Watts magazine in Syracuse. I was the editor-in-chief of the publication during my senior year
there, and the complete interview, which I conducted in tandem with my ever-so-chipper friend Alex Coon (note the sarcasm
in my tone while I type). Since Mr. Leo and his Pharmacists will be paying various east coast venues a visit, I thought I'd
put this up here, since the unabridged interview was never actually published. Enjoy.
TYLER SONNICHSEN: Considering how The Pharmacists started out as a concept, and you’ve stuck with the tag “Ted Leo and
the Pharmacists,” would you say you’ve been working since The Tyranny of Distance to make the band more of a band in the democratic
sense?
TED LEO: Yeah, for the most part. Actually, I’ll say this: I don’t think there’s been any conscious effort in any direction.
It’s just evolving as it evolves, you know what I mean? When I write songs, I certainly write them knowing that we’re going
to be playing them, all three of us. That is very important in the process. But then again, it’s all been one gradual evolution
from me playing alone, to me playing with tapes, to me playing with other people, to us really solidifying as a unit.
TS: You can’t say there was a definitive date when the Pharmacists formed, but the whole thing came about right around
the time of the whole Napster thing. And I’d imagine the crowds you have now are a lot different than the ones you had for
Chisel, in certain respects.
TL: Hmm. I don’t know, why do you say that?
TS: The question’s basically about internet file-sharing and downloading, this decade so far, in how it’s affected
you as a band and in how you’re able to publicize yourself back in the day.
TL: Well, I mean… I have to say, I don’t think it’s very different. I think that [pauses] I definitely think that there
are more people, generally.
ALEX COON: It’s a good direction to move towards.
TL: Yeah. [Laughs]. But I actually feel like there’s been an amazing continuity in-
AC: Skinny white people?
TL: [Laughs] Yeah, well, that. This is the burden of anyone that plays guitar-bass music, you know? But, I have to say
that one of the most gratifying aspects about the grown that we have experienced, is just how little the audience has changed.
That might not sound like a good thing, initially, but I think it is a really positive thing, when I can go from filling say…
By the end of Chisel, in New York, around ’97, right before we broke up, we would play Brownie’s. 250 capacity. Totally sell
it out, totally jam-packed. Felt amazing. But it’s only 250. It was amazing for us back then, it was a real achievement. But
now, to go to overselling something like two nights at the Bowery is, in numbers a really massive difference. But in vibe,
I swear to God it feels exactly the same to me. I really see that as a positive thing because there’s so much that can be
lost in that transition to a bigger room and to a bigger crowd. It’s almost like it’s really hard to not lose something in
that transition. And one of the greatest things about our growth, to me, has been not losing those things that made it so
exciting to be playing to a full, small room. I mean, we just do what we always do, so I have to chalk that up to the nature
of the crowd.
TS: It seems like you guys have a really good relationship with Lookout! Records, especially being, from what I can
imagine, the biggest band on it right now.
TL: The biggest-selling active band, yeah. Their biggest seller is still Op Ivy. In terms of active bands, I don’t see
the other bands’ numbers and stuff so I don’t really know, but I imagine.
TS: Have you had to deal with people asking you about being courted by major labels?
TL: The funny thing is, I deal with people asking me that question more than I actually do with the labels approaching
me. [Laughs]
TS: Sorry.
TL: No, no, I don’t mean to be like “why are you asking me that?” but it’s just a really interesting dynamic. People assume
that that’s the case. I don’t necessarily know why. I mean, I have some ideas about why we aren’t often approached by majors.
Some are wrapped up in egotistical reasons, like the fact that I’ve gone on record so many times saying “fuck major labels,”
you know? [Laughs] But then, you have to step back and think, you know, I’m sure they just don’t read those publications,
so maybe they just don’t care. We actually don’t get approached very often at all.
AC: Would you sign to Dischord?
TL: At this point, no. If you’d asked me that about ten years ago, I’d say yeah. But nothing against Dischord, but at
this point, that would really be just a weird lateral move for me to make. I have friendship relationships with everybody
at Dischord, but it would be forging a whole new business and friendship thing that wouldn’t really make sense. They would
also have to want to do a record with me, so…[laughs].
TS: Were you into a lot of indie labels like Dischord in the 80’s when they weren’t being constantly asked “what’s it like
being courted by major labels?” because they weren’t looked at as minor leagues for the majors back then?
TL: Oh, yeah. Dischord was a big example, although, it really wasn’t until the 90’s that Fugazi became the paradigm for
the successful indie band. Lookout! was actually a great example. With Op Ivy back then, with Green Day. There was the whole
punk side of it. But then there was the whole beginning of what was actually known as “indie.” Galaxie 500, Dinosaur Jr right
before they signed.. AC: [waving fist in the air] Mission of Burma.TL: Mission of Burma, exactly. The stuff
with Taang! It was just a really vibrant scene.
AC: What do you think about the state of indie rock today? It’s really refreshing to see you guys play something that’s
just so straightforward, not claiming to be directly derivative of anything. Do I sound bitter at all?
TL: Oh yeah, you do, actually. But that’s okay, because we’re all bitter. As for indie rock [long pause] I don’t know.
I don’t know how to answer that. We’re really not trying to reinvent the wheel, or reinterpret something. Not even really
educate, we just kind of play our songs.
AC: Well, whatever you’re doing, it works really well. It’s a refreshing attitude to see. You seem like you’re about as
concerned about the tightness of your pants.TL: I am, actually. [Laughs]
Thu, January 12, 2006 | link
Sunday, January 8, 2006
Greatest Moments in Comedic History, Part One
[transmission from... Tyler Sonnichsen]
I Love Lucy Episode 138: “The Passports” Airdate: 12/19/55I got back into ‘I Love Lucy’ during the
summer of 2004, the first time I ever had TV Land. I don’t know if I’d ever really lost interest in the show, since I watched
it pretty constantly through most of my adolescence. I just wasn’t able to watch it as often during that limbo period after
the morons at Nick at Nite phased it out of their programming in favor of ‘Full House’ and ‘Who’s the Boss?’ but before DVD
box sets became all the rage. Nick at Nite’s selling out notwithstanding (I’m still bitter about the lack of ‘Get Smart’ and
‘Dick van Dyke’ in the past decade), my rediscovery of how incredible this show was made me think a lot about Television in
general. TV sucks, in general. Most of it does. A vast majority. Since The Simpsons hit its peak ca. 1995, we’ve been
blessed with the occasional 'Mr. Show' or 'The West Wing' or 'Arrested Development' or 'King of the Hill' that gives you a
hint of faith in the medium’s capacity for entertainment. Needless to point out, though, is the endless barrage of horseshit
we’ve had to countenance in this period. I’m referring ‘According to Jim’-type horseshit that just about any of my friends
I studied with in Syracuse could out-write after a long night at Darwin’s (inside joke...it’s a bar…in Syracuse). What
is it about the American sit-com that creates such a cultural buzzbomb of mediocrity? I could rant about it for hours and
spell out my theories, but I highly doubt that that would win over that stupid ‘Friends’ theme song coming on in the other
room in a battle for your attention. So I’ll cut to the chase: ‘I Love Lucy’ was, and will always be the standard for the
great American sitcom. It explored plenty of controversial issues at the time (women’s rights, pregnancy onscreen, interracial
marriages, etc.), and did it with archetypically great television writing from the pen of Jess Oppenheimer and his cronies.
Very few of the episodes within the first five seasons fell limp under these pretenses, but a few episodes, notably
their climaxes, stick out as brilliant comedic moments that may never be precisely equaled. Take, for example, this great
episode during the sequence leading up to the Ricardos’ and Mertz’s European trip. Lucy is contacting the Jamestown, NY (her
place of birth) hall of records to find her birth certificate, but they can’t find it. Her mother’s on a road trip and out
of reach. Her only option is to find two people who’ve known her since she was born to sign affidavits so she can obtain her
passport. The first one is an old friend who, being a chronic liar about her age, ultimately refuses to sign it. The second
is Lucy’s childhood doctor, who happens to be visiting New York. Lucy, thinking that she may have to stow away, gets
into an old Vaudeville trunk that Fred brought upstairs, just to see how it feels. Of course, the key gets trapped in there
with her, so Ethel tries to find Fred to break it open. At that moment, Doc shows up, older but still pretty neurotic. He
doesn’t know if the woman yelling from the trunk is actually Lucy, so she has to prove it by singing “Skip to m’Lou” the song
she and Doc used to sing together when she was a little girl. Doc gets into it, and begins to dance a jig, singing his part.
At this moment, Ricky walks in, unaware that Lucy’s in the trunk, that Ethel’s trying to find Fred, or who the hell this cooky
old guy dancing around in his apartment is. Amazing. That ranks among the most substantive laughs of anything I’ve
ever seen. My favorite things in the world of entertainment (TV, music, and film) and comedy all boil down to moments like
this, so I’ll be back with some more of these moments. Make sure to email TDC with any of your own.
Sun, January 8, 2006 | link
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Hey! Do This!   Want to help bring THE BIG TAKEOVER back, an onto the air?! How to donate and more info here.
Saturday, November 29th NELLIE GREEN'S COMEDY
50 Maple St., Branford, CT 9pm, $8 with Davin Rosenblatt, Howie Mason, and Pat Oates! I think it's
all ages. Call 203-483-8300 to make sure, and to make reservations if you want to come out!
Tuesday, December
9 LIVE HUMANS IN DC I'm the featured artist. Free, 7:30pm, at the Palace
of Wonders. Hope you see you out! 2210 H St. NE, DC, 21+ Saturday,
December 13th LAUGHING LIZARD COMEDY at O'Shaughnessy's 1324 King St., Alexandria 10pm, 21+ Hosted by Keith Irvin! Lineup coming soon!
Check out TDC
on... Thanks Josh!
Sign the Guestbook! (It's been there for some time, but seriously, sign it).
 Watch the video for Wes Mann's "If Only You Knew" right here! THROUGH THE WASHWhat happens to common appliances and gadgets mistakenly go through the wash and dry cycle? Do they come out alive?
Check out this handy site, with appearances from myself, Jake, and Aparna. Hosted by Chris and filmed my Joe "the man"
Deeley.
MUZAK!? NoFX, Dillinger 4, Teenage Bottlerocket and more at Ram's
Head Live in Baltimore on Friday the 24th....
The Bouncing Souls are headlining the
Black Cat on Wednesday, Oct 27th...
It's time for The Pietasters' obnoxious,
drunken Halloween show at the 9:30 Club!!...
Cafe Tacuba (aka the Mexican Flaming Lips)
are playing The State Theater on Sunday, 11/2...
The Gutter Twins
are competing for my audience on November 7th, playing the Black Cat...
The Spinto Band
will be pimpin' Moonwink at The Black Cat on Friday the 14th...
The
Aquabats. The Black Cat. November 17th. Enough Said...
Robyn Hitchcock is
performing I Often Dream of Trains at the Birchmere on the 18th. Ideally, Eli and I can reunite
with him and have another awkward conversation about comedy...
Sondre Lerche is returning!
9:30 club on November 24th...
IF
YOU LIVE IN THE DC AREA, HAVE A SOUL, AND ENJOY GOOD LIVE COMEDY, I highly recommend these weekly/biweekly shows.
MONDAY 11TH ST. LOUNGE First and third mondays of every month. It's
intimate, friendly, and the servers upstairs are fine. Even an audience of 10 non-comics can whip the place into a frenzy.
Hosted by Lou Giglio, or Bart Voisin if he couldn't escape the calling. Oh Highland Dr, right across from the Clarendon
Grill.
SPY LOUNGE Eli "the man" Sairs and Tyler "da man" Richardson run this
open mic at a bizarrely posh but still fun place right in the heart of Adam's Morgan, on 18th St. Starts around 8pm.
CHIEF IKE'S MAMBO ROOM Run by the luminaries behind DCC4N. On Columbia Rd. right north of that intersection
in Adams-Morgan.
TUESDAY Nema is gone, but info about Takoma Station and the Library
(both in Northeast) coming soon.
Wiseacre's happens on this night, out in Tyson's.
WEDNESDAY Wiseacres will always be there, hopefully, out in Tyson's.
DR. DREMO'S IS DEAD. LONG LIVE DR. DREMO'S.
THURSDAY College Perk First and third Thursday of every month, this is probably
the most fun you'll have at an open mic in the area. Maybe because it's a college hangout with a liquor license. 9078
Baltimore Avenue, College Park, MD
RIDICULOUSLY GOOD SONG OF THE WEEK
The Lillingtons - "Don't
Trust the Humanoids"
The TDC Archive of the Greatest Things Ever Said, Ever"Holy
shit. Did we just elect a black dude president?" - Eric Moberg, in a text to me, 11:32 pm ET, 11/4/08
[Firth. It's pronounced Firth. Like the actor. Like our planet if it started with F.]
Welcome to the official TDC Productions website. Glad you could make it. Hope you enjoy yourself. If you want to check out
any recent postings, just check out the archive below the blog at the bottom of this page. If you've got anything to publish
here, send it right here.
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