Fun Fun Fun Fest Interviews: Sunday
Getting down like double G's
By Doug Freeman, Fri., Nov. 7, 2008
Tim and Eric Awesome Show
8:45pm, Stage 2"We come out and sing and dance and vomit on the crowd and throw pizza. Kind of a train wreck, really. Gwar meets Gallagher," deadpans Eric Wareheim of his comedy duo's live act.
"Ooh, the double Gs!" exclaims his partner in crime, Tim Heidecker.
Creators of the Adult Swim sensation named for their act, Wareheim and Heidecker banter with the same off-kilter chemistry that defines their skits. Though the two have nurtured a devoted following since their brilliantly awkward Web animation Tom Goes to the Mayor began airing on Cartoon Network in 2004, neither considered comedy a viable avenue when they first began collaborating as film students at Temple University.
"At that time, there wasn't really an alternative comedy scene," offers Heidecker. "It was basically just Saturday Night Live and brick-wall stand-up kind of people, which wasn't very anti-establishment or anything. Now that there's more outlets for it; the big boys have less control over it. You can be a lot more risky, and thanks to computer editing, the production costs are lower, so you can take more chances."
Most recently, the pair is responsible for Ben Folds' music video "You Don't Know Me." This weekend marks their first appearance on the increasingly multifaceted music-festival circuit.
"I'm coming the day before for the Dead Milkmen reunion," says Wareheim. "That band's probably accountable for 50 percent of my comedy in this world. My friends and I listened to them when we were like 13, and their songs about taking retards to the zoo and really stupid things like that were really, really funny. They're huge heroes of mine."
"I think I'm going to see Brooks & Dunn the night that we're done," counters Heidecker. "Oh, they're not part of the festival? I see. I just assumed they'd be playing."
