Bust Magazine Interview - April / May 2008

LOVE AT FIRST FLIGHT

Flight of the Conchords Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement get down to business with BUST about everything from female fans, to feminism, to facial hair
By Debbie Stoller

It's hard to describe the intense appeal of New Zealand musical-comedy duo Flight of the Conchords and their eponymous HBO show. The best I can do is tell you to imagine a mash-up Curb Your Enthusiasm, Weird Al Yankovic, Borat, The Monkees, The Muppet Show, The Office, and Keith Partridge. Better yet, just buy the DVD of their first season, watch every episode, and then sing their songs to yourself all day long. Because that's pretty much how it went for those of us lucky enough to catch their show when it first aired, last summer. Following the adventures of New Zealand's hapless "fourth most popular folk-rock duo" as they attempted to find their way both musically and romantically in New York City, the series incorporated one or two spot-on musical parodies per episode and was so smartly funny it made even the most media-weary hipsters and media-savvy feminists LOL. Instantly addicting, Flight of the Conchords had viewers obsessively talking (and blogging) about the pair, and wondering, "Who are these guys?", "Where did they come from?", and "How can I get in their pants?".

The latter comes as nothing new to the sensuously handsome Jemaine Clement, 34, and the sweetly pretty Bret McKenzie, 31, who have been having this sort of effect on women for years. Bret first hit many girls' radars back in 2001, when, as an extra in Lord of the Rings, his elfin loveliness so distracted female viewers that, during a scene when they were supposed to be thinking, "Frodo is great," they were interrupted by wanting to know, "Who is that?" Thus, "Frodo is great--who is that?", or "Figwit as his fans named him, soon became the focus of numerous Web sites, as well as a documentary film, Figwit, which detailed Bret's online rise to fame. Jemaine's first fan club, "Saint Clements," was started in 2003 by a smitten kiwi. Today, there are dozens of fan sites devoted to the two, as well as tribute videos on YouTube.

But this duo's overnight success has been 10 years in the making. After becoming college buds, the two formed the band in 1998 and toured various fringe festivals, eventually producing a radio series for the BBC before being "discovered" by HBO. And all the while, each was involved in a variety of other creative projects. Bret is a longtime member of the reggae band the Black Seeds and performs in the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra. Back in 2001, Jemaine helped create a series of animated shorts about a barfly sheep and starred in last years film Eagle vs Shark (and, more randomly, in a series of Outback Steakhouse commercials).

At the BUST cover shoot at a small house in the Echo Park neighborhood of L.A.--the Wellington-based duo are stateside to promote their recent CD release, Flight of the Conchords--the boys are friendly and easy going, good-naturedly allowing themselves to be made up and dressed for a variety of setups. They're as charming and handsome as you'd expect, and, counter to the prevailing cliché, Bret seems taller in real life. Clearly comfortable in front of the camera, they laugh and joke (wearing a sleeveless vest with Jemaine's head resting on his, Bret dryly asks, "This isn't gay, right?") while still remaining completely professional. They know it's business time, and it's time to get the job done. Yet, when I interview them, away from the cameras, they become far more serious. Bret is open and honest, willing to answer every question posed, while Jemaine seems reserved and even a bit shy. They're earnest rather than comic, and it's clear that they've got a lot more going on upstairs than the naive duo they play on TV. Insanely creative, smart, funny, and so beautiful they could be part-time models--what more could a girl want?

Can you tell me a little bit about growing up in New Zealand?
B: My mom is a ballet teacher, and my dad is a horse trainer and breeder. I grew up between riding horses on the farm and in the city doing ballet.

You did ballet as a kid?
B: I had three brothers, and we all did ballet. We had to; otherwise we needed a babysitter.
J: I grew up in a small town. No ballet, nothing like that. Me and my two brothers were raised by my mom. And my mom did lots of different jobs. At one point, everyone in my family worked in factories: my grandmother worked in a clothes factory, my mom worked at a cheese factory, and my father worked in the slaughterhouse.

What were you guys like as kids? Were you popular or dorks?
B: I thought I was pretty cool.
J: I knew I wasn't very cool; I think I was probably a dork. I used to do well in class and badly at sports, and I always used to think that because of those things I was supposed to like science fiction and stuff like that. And I would try, but I wouldn't like it. Also, the trouble with living in a small town is you don't hear any good music--I thought I just didn't like music. I didn't realize there was good music.

So you guys met in college?
J: We went to the same university. Victoria University of Wellington. We call high school "college"--
B: --and college "university." But we know what you mean.
J: But it might be an interesting thing to know.
B: There was a drama club that I ended up hanging out with, and Jemaine was in that. We did a big group show about body image, where we all wore skin-colored bike pants and detatchable penises that Velcro-ed on and off, and then put on some fake breasts and we'd change gender on stage.

So then what happened?
J: Well, Bret put on a play about a man who ran a funeral service from his own house, so he rented out a big, creepy house, and to pay for it, he got a bunch of his friends to move in. And I was one of those. And we just started practicing guitar during the day, when we had a lot of free time, because we would mostly work at night.
B: And we sat around learning chords and started writing songs. Partly because we found other people's songs too hard to play. So our first songs were just one chord. And then, as it went on, we added two or three, and now we have up to five or six chords in a song.

Just think about five years from now.
B: Yeah, I know. We'll be having ten.

Were they serious songs, or was it comedy from the start?
B: They were kinda weird.
J: [singing] I pulled a muscle last night, dancing to a--
B: Rock...beat!
J: A rock be-de-be-de-beat-beat! [both laugh]

How did you two become Flight of the Conchords?
B: It was just this thing that grew over a few years. We collected about 15 songs, and we went to Canada to do fringe festivals, and then we went to Edinburgh [Scotland] where there's a big comedy and arts festival.

So eventually, someone from HBO saw you?
J: Yeah, in Edinburgh someone from the Montreal festival saw us and got us to go over there, and then someone from over there saw us and got us to do the HBO comedy festival in Aspen, and someone there saw us and got us to do a special.
B: One Night Stand, which was a half-hour HBO special. And then, at the same time as we were doing that [in 2004], we had a deal with NBC to write a pilot for them, and that was the first job we got in America. NBC passed on it, and then HBO asked us to write a pilot.

And now a bunch of your songs from the show are being released on CD. What was going into the studio like for you?
J:Well, it was very different. Like, the first time I went on stage to do a song, I couldn't even move my hand I was so nervous about it. I don't have a problem with being on stage, but the idea of people listening to the music--for some reason, I had a block with that.
B: Yeah. We could practice at the flat, we could play the song fairly confidently, and then we'd get up on stage and we'd pretty much fall apart. It would just be, like, the worst version of the song.
J: We survived because our audiences were very kind. But then it sort of happens again when you're in the studio, because then you hear if there are any imperfections, and you've got to decide whether people want to hear the imperfections or if they throw the whole thing off and make the song fall apart.

We share an office with the AstroTwins, who are astrologers, and they said that since you're a Capricorn Jemaine, and Bret, you're a cancer--
J: They're right!
B: Those girls are good!

[laughs] They said that the Capricorn would be like the father, and the Cancer would be like the mother.
B: That's right; I do more of the cooking.
J: And I'm bossier.
B: But I'd say it's more like an older brother/younger brother thing.
J: [Show co-creator] James [Bobin] and I are both older brothers, so we can be quite bossy. And Bret's used to having to deal with that. I don't think I've worked with an older brother before, and I'm like, "Oh, man, this guy's kind of like me. It's quite annoying."

Female Interviewees always get asked this question, so I thought I'd ask you, too: would you like to have families of your own some day?
B: What, the two of us?
J: [laughs] If it's possible, with technology.
B: I would like to have about 10 children and start a family band. And force them to tour around with me.
J: Yeah, I think I will one day.

Who are some of your musical influences?
B: We go through phases of listening to music, and often that phase has an influence on the songs we write.
J: Yeah, for instance, when we wrote that French song ["Foux du Fafa"], we were both listening to Serge Gainsbourg a lot.
B: And I guess Bowie was always being played in the flat.
J: But [the Conchords' song "Bowie's in Space"] came from...not even a song. We just started imitating his voice around the place.
B: And then there was this radio competition.
J: It was from a bottle store, and it was called "Brown Paper Bag," and the question was: What kind of things would you put in a brown paper bag?
B: It was in the early days of cell phones, and so we called up and said--
J: [Bowie voice] "You'd put Bowie in a brown paper bag. I think you'd put David Bowie in a brown paper bag!"
B: I think we spent about 70 hours pretending to be Bowie, and at the end of it, we came out with that song.
J: And I think that is our highest amount of chords in a song.

So what were your lives like in New Zealand before the show hit? I mean, are you pretty famous over there now, like you are here?
B: The show has just aired on television now, and I've definitely noticed a huge change, in terms of going out.
J:But that's the only part--going out. Inside it's the same.
B: Yeah. If you stay inside your room, it's the same.
J: We're working for HBO, so we don't get huge packets, and it's expensive for us to come over here, so we don't really make a lot of money out of it or anything. We're not living in mansions.
B: Yeah. I think there's quite a contrast between the lifestyle people presume we have and how we really live.
J: And also the lifestyle I presumed we were going to have.
B: Yeah, even I'm slightly disappointed. [laughs] Like, I'm living at my mom's house at the moment, which is funny, because I've been working for 10 years, touring for 5 years, I'm on television, and every day we're in the newspaper in New Zealand. But apart from that, I'm still borrowing my mom's car, and living at home, and it's like, "What?" But that's just because I haven't been there long enough to find a flat.

What do people do when they see you? Has anyone been really outrageous or horrible?
J: No, people have been really good.
B: I signed a woman's breast when I was in a bar. Which was pretty awkward. [Feigning macho] "Yeah! Aw shii, yeah!" Is that a measure of success?

It depends on the girl, really. Maybe she asks everyone to sign her breast?
B: There were a lot of signatures on it...

So many girls are totally crushed out on you guys. Why do you think that is?
J: Well, we're very handsome. [laughs] Actually, it's so weird because the characters are so--
B: Hopeless? Maybe people want to mother us. I dunno.
J: Well, we have accents here, which is something we sort of forget about. You always like an accent.
B: Yeah. And I think we're slightly exotic. It's a mystery.
J: Definitely, women in New Zealand find it a bit of a mystery as well.
B: Yeah. There isn't that quality in New Zealand as much as it is here.

How do you moms feel  about your success?
B: Lots of pride. My mom came to visit me in Los Angeles last year when the show had just come out, and we went to a café for lunch and this girl came up and was like, "
Would you mind signing this?" And my mom was like, "Would you mind if I took a photo of you?" She wanted to get a photo of me with a fan to prove to her friends--
J: "There was the girl who knew who Bret was!"

[At this point, the photographer interrupts: it's time for the guys to suit up and pose for some photos by the pool. Immediately after, Bret is picked up by his fiancée--sorry, ladies--and whisked off to the airport, to fly back to New Zealand. But luckily, Jemaine (also taken, btw) stays to talk with me some more.]

So, we were talking about how all these girls are really into you guys. I saw on the internet that your fans call themselves Jemainiacs.
Yeah, but I started that. That used to be a joke at our live show. We'd talk about whether there were more Jemainiacs or Breterosexuals. But we didn't have fans like that then.

So here's another question that people always ask the ladies: What are your turn-ons?
Oh, that's an embarassing question! I've always thought that when I read those men's magazines. that that's a tough thing to be asked. [laughs] I might play this one safe and say--I don't know what to say! I'm embarassed.

It's OK. You can skip it if you want.
It's funny, because if Bret was here then we could both--

Riff off of it?
Yeah, it's obviously a joke.

Well, what would Bret say? What are Bret's turn-ons?
Bret's turn-ons are...jumpsuits.

The humor in you show translates so well to a kind of ironic hipster humor in America. Do you have hipsters in New Zealand?
We don't have that word. But we get called that here. Back home, it's much more normal to dress like we do, in second-hand clothes and stuff. But people don't go as far. America seems like a country where everyone's trying to stand out, and New Zealand is a country where everyone's terrified of standing out. That can be endearing, and it can be annoying as well.

Do you know any feminists in New Zealand?
I think New Zealand is quite different. Like, our prime minister is a woman, and the prime minister before her was a woman. New Zealand is very PC, especially Wellington, so we're kind of used to that. And both Bret and I were raised by solo moms. My mom would put up posters like, "A woman has to work twice as hard as a man to be considered half as good." But there's a slightly different attitude. There's no way that you would say in New Zealand that a woman couldn't rule the country. No one would say that.

Would you consider yourself a feminist?
I should be, from my upbringing, but it's really hard, because sometimes I wonder if some of those gender roles really are from genetics. Like, I didn't grow up liking things like sports;
quite the opposite. I loved to draw and go to the park and things like that. But now nothing's better than playing basketball. So, I don't know.

So maybe there are things you've heard some feminists say that you disagree with.
Well, if you mean do I think women should cook for their husbands and not work while their husband goes out and works, I don't think like that. I would love that [laughs], but I in no way agree with that. But if I get in that situation, then I definitely would like that.

Well, basically, when we talk about it at BUST, we just mean that men and women are of equal value.
Well, then, of course, yes. I mean, once you start thinking about it, it's there in every aspect, from the smalled part of your life to the highest part part of government.

One last question: I've seen pictures of both of you guys with and without beards. How do you feel about beards?
I started to enjoy my beard, which I just shaved off yesterday. When you grow it quite long, it becomes kind of soft and silky. I liken it to having a pit on your face.

Wait--it's like having a what on your face?
A pet. Like having a dog or a cat. But it's your face.

That's nice;
then you probably don't feel so alone.
[laughs] Yeah, I can just stroke my beard.

That took me forever!! You better all appreciate this! lol

BTW, while typing this I noticed Bret likes to begin with "Yeah" a lot lol.

Female Interviewees always get asked this question, so I thought I'd ask you, too: would you like to have families of your own some day?
B: What, the two of us?
J: [laughs] If it's possible, with technology.
B: I would like to have about 10 children and start a family band. And force them to tour around with me.
J: Yeah, I think I will one day.

He forgot the "with Misty" part...  silly jemaine forgetting to answer questions in full

That's actually quite hot that Jem is thinking about kids with Bret lol

it would be the most awesome child ever!

certainly the most beautiful child ever!

hmmm....Bret is "pretty"

and Jemaine is flippin HOT.. soo that makes a pretty hot baby! haha

i was so excited i made the girls in my class i stayed with last night listen to me read the articles outloud! lol

I know what you mean, though, about others not really knowing them.  I've been majorly obsessing about them for a while now (and you are so right about their MySpace--that must be why they limit everyone to one comment a day!), yet so many of the people I know are like 'who?'  I admit that I myself am rather late to the FotC game (I don't have cable and don't really follow a lot of pop culture stuff), but come on!!!  I don't know though--those concert tix were awfully hard to get....

Just an observation....I received my new issue of Bust in the mail today, and FotC must've gotten a lot of good feedback from that article, because there's a full page ad for their album in this month's issue.  No photos of the guys--just the album cover.  Thought this was interesting.

Oh, also, in the letters to the editor a girl complained about Bust spilling the beans on Jemaine being 'also taken, btw'.  Her words:

"I'm sure you have lofty ideals about journalistic integrity, but we, your loyal readers, have spent a good number of hours carefully crafting fantasies involving Jemaine (and sometimes Bret, too), and it does us no good to have you dash all our hopes to hell."


Guess her imagination has limits.  Glad mine doesn't!

Enjoy!  

Dude!! thanks for these.

amazing. Much appreciated!