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SXSW Comedy Preview: Austinist Talks To Aziz Ansari
Friday, March 14 - Saturday, March 15
Various Venues (Austin)
Pitchfork Party @ Emo’s (3/14), SXSW Showcase @ Esther’s Follies (3/14), Mess With Texas 2 @ Waterloo Park (3/15)
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"Shittiest Mixtape Boombox Blast", "Clell Tickle: Marketing Guru", "Indie Ad Exec", "Other Music"
Aziz and the rest of the Human Giant cast will perform three gigs in Austin this week, including sets at the free "Mess With Texas 2" event Saturday and the Pitchfork party at Emo's on Friday afternoon. They'll also play an official SXSW showcase at Esther's Follies on Friday night. We recently chatted with Ansari about Billy Joel, hot dogs, and being typecast as a racist fruit stand owner.
You often incorporate music into your comedy - past bits included M.I.A., Kanye West, and Ghostface Killah. Have you gotten any feedback from these artists about your bits?
Let's see...
M.I.A.: She said if troubles arise with her visa/green card, she'd be up for a sham marriage with me.
Kanye West: I ran into him at SNL and told him he was funny in that sketch he did. He didn't seem to know me, though.
Ghostface: Unfortunately, due to our shoot schedule that day, I didn't get to meet Ghostface when he filmed his part in Human Giant. We were actually put in that scene together with the magic of television. Raekwon actually is my roommate, though, and he said that Ghost dug it.
Billy Joel: I have not included him in any bits, but he's a solid fan nonetheless.
Another music-related piece was the "Shittiest Mixtape Challenge." Was that just a bit, or did that actually happen to you? We can't imagine cruising the LES listening to Paula Cole and Sixpence None The Richer, so we salute your resolve regardless.
I had to do it for real! The drummer from Sixpence None the Richer ("Kiss Me") actually posted the video on his website, and said something like: "Oh, this song I worked on is on this shit mix." I emailed him and assured him the drumming on that song was not what made it shitty.
We were a little shocked when MTV gave Human Giant the network for a day. How did you feel about how that turned out?
It was a great experience. I can't believe we were given so much freedom on the channel for that long. We really have to thank all our comedy friends for helping us out through the whole thing. And the bands that stopped by all did a great job.
How is everything going on Season 2 of Human Giant? Any teasers you'd like to share?
We are all wrapped with filming, and our director Jason Woliner and show-runner Tom Gianas are tirelessly working on editing. Here are some things I'm excited for in Season Two: a gay porn ghost, Omar from The Wire, T-shirt guns, and [child actor] Bobb'e J with a Anton Chigurh-style cattle gun.
On a related note, how did you get the part of a racist fruit stand owner in Flight Of The Conchords?
I've known the Conchords from doing stand-up shows with them, so it was really fun to work with them on their show. I'd played several other mean, racist characters, so it worked out nicely.
We've seen you around SXSW the last couple of years. Do you have a good SXSW story or memory for us?
One time it was like 4am and I was wandering 6th Street and everyone was gone. Out of nowhere, I ran into Stephen Malkmus. We ate some hot dogs, and then burned an abandoned building down, while we talked about love, life, and art all night long. That never happened, but I'm afraid most of my true tales of SXSW are pretty generic.
Finally, any band you'd like to recommend everyone catch at SX 08?
I haven't had a chance to really look at the lineups, but I'm psyched for Jay Reatard and Clipse. Also, don't miss the Live reunion show. They're going to play all of Throwing Copper every night of SXSW at a different secret location.
Thanks for talking to Austinist, Aziz.
Thanks for talking to me, Austinist.
