The Party Archives - Kreative Kontrol

Hari Kondabolu is a very funny and incisive stand-up comedian who lives in Brooklyn, New York. He has written for shows like Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, he’s appeared on the many late night talk shows, and he co-hosts the Politically Re-Active podcast with Bell. In 2014, Kill Rock Stars released his highly acclaimed and hilarious stand-up album, Waiting for 2042 and they have just released his excellent, uncompromising follow-up, Mainstream American Comic, which is a wonderful mix of absurd observational stories and socio-political commentary. He’s just about to kick off an extensive American tour in Detroit on July 29 with more dates up the end of September and here, we discuss the many mistakes I made in the intro, peaking personally as the world is falling apart, the RNC and DNC conventions and what they say about the future of America, the Mickey Mouse candidate is a maniac, rewarding the asshole and how people like a heel, the ‘Million Dollar Man’ Ted DiBiase and Virgil and a bunch of questionable WWF comparisons, mocking the mockery and the media, people who mistrust facts and the truth because of how they view the messengers, less coverage and media monsters, Senator Bernie Sanders’ campaign and his recent support of Hillary Clinton, President Barack Obama’s acknowledgement of Sanders in his speech at the DNC, Bernie’s heroic effort, Obama’s presidency and legacy, when Obama dumbs down his rhetoric, placating people and Jimmy Carter, Hari’s hilarious mom and talking about his parents, being a brown man in pop culture and living in the word today, no Asians on Saturday Night Live, more immigrants need to be represented in culture, things Aziz Ansari obsesses about, how to start addressing and breaking down our differences, white people don’t like games, Uncle Raj, why Hari hasn’t toured Canada yet and is avoiding Toronto, The Problem with Apu film, co-hosting the Politically Re-Active and Bugle podcasts, starting a series, why Apu is offensive and the weirdly benign yet insidious depictions of Indians, Peter Sellers in The Party, the bit “My Mom (Accent Not Included),” and that was another nice chat with Hari.

Related links: harikondabolu.com killrockstars.com vishkhanna.com

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Andy Shauf is a talented songwriter, singer, and multi-instrumentalist who originally hails from Saskatchewan. Over the past four years, Shauf has released critically acclaimed and vibrant pop records whose dark textures contain clever lyrics and infectious melodies. He made quite a statement with 2015’s The Bearer of Bad News and has possibly even topped that wondrous record with this year’s conceptual LP, The Party, which is out now via ANTI- and Arts & Crafts Records. He’s been busy touring and will be playing the Hillside Festival in Guelph the weekend of July 22 before heading across the United States with case/lang/veirs. Here, Andy and I discuss being in Winnipeg vs. being in Regina, the East India Company restaurant, Portage and Main, missing home and moving to Toronto, renting a condo and buying a piano and a bed, elevators are hell, dizziness and astronaut material, entering outer space on a big plane, celebrity condo, Andy’s excellent cross Canada adventure to get a new van, on the level, making The Party in a former CBC Radio studio in Regina, Jason Plumb of the Waltons, recording and working in seclusion, people who think they know what to do, the live band, being a multi-instrumentalist, drum lessons, attending a Christian high school and not thinking about that stuff too much, Olivier Fairfield, Josh Daignault, Colin Nealis, the band Fet.Nat, poaching musicians, The Party and Blake Edwards’ 1968 film starring Peter Sellers called The Party, the loose concept of The Party, drinking alcohol at a party, dumb things Andy does at parties, party life, The Party’s characters like Jeremy, Sherri, Alexander, and Martha, character studies in songs and giving them lives, “Jack and Diane II,” getting into Randy Newman, pop-punk and Elliott Smith, finding his voice and writing 100 songs, artistic trajectories and foresight, critical feedback loops, Saskatchewan gives you time, when Andy’s music transcended Canada and he got busy, gradual success, writing one new song, playing the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, the song “To You,” and then things elevated.

Related links: andyshauf.com vishkhanna.com

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