Filter Magazine Interview - October 2, 2008

Flight of the Conchords: Birds of Vintage Leather
by Patrick Strange, photo by Michael Muller | 10.02.2008

Over the past couple of years, Flight of the Conchords has been flying circles around comedians and musicians alike when it comes to making catchy, side-splitting tunes and drop-dead funny jokes. With a new full-length album dropping this spring via Sub Pop and the second season of their hit HBO television series touching down this fall, the Wellington duo has the whole world looking up to the skies. Still, not only are Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie known for their distinct Kiwi musical-comedy, but also for their distinguishable—and very cool—style of fashion as seen on T.V. (from sweatshirts covered with kittens to the “classic rock and roll move” of leather suits). Many birds may be known for their songs, but only a few are revered for their plumage. The Guide caught up with Clement and McKenzie for an impromptu discussion about the joys of playing dress-up, living out of suitcases and the hair-raising genius of Battlestar Galactica.

Your characters on television have very distinct clothing—the urban-vintage-hipster style of dress. Were the costumes intentional, or just how you arrived on set for the first day of shooting?

Jemaine Clement: I guess it’s more like what we used to dress like before we could afford new clothes. Both of us have been trying to avoid dressing like the show’s characters, even though they dress like how we dressed before. [laughs] Does this make any sense?

I think so. Are you self-conscious about making sure that people don’t conflate your characters’ appearance with the “real” you?

Clement: People seem to be concerned about it more now that we’re on T.V. They’re worried about how we look; it’s strange. Man, we went to a party at New Year’s last year and when we got home, we had all these messages on MySpace. I got so many comments about how I wore sneakers with trousers. People were really being critical. It was ridiculous. I mean, we had hundreds of them.

Bret McKenzie: Me and Jemaine; we live out of suitcases. We travel all the time and it’s funny that we now have to not only live out of suitcases, but have to dress very snappily since we’re on television.

It seems people want to think of you as your characters—it must get frustrating to always have to impress…

Clement: Well, I have quite a few things that I wore on the show hanging in my bedroom closet. Sometimes, depending on what we got, I would just keep a piece of clothing or the whole costume. We dressed how we dressed. It’s sort of a different connotation in New Zealand. In Wellington, a lot of people dress like that because it’s cheaper. And sure, it’s cool. I love ’60s, ’70s and ’80s clothes. I think they’re great—partly because I grew up with all that and even in the ’80s, when people were wearing shoulder pads and skinny ties, I used to watch television and love the stuff they were wearing on those old programs. Even though I didn’t have the spiky hair, I used to love the hair in Battlestar Galactica.

Is it fun to play dress-up even if it’s still technically considered “work”?

Clement: One of the coolest things we got to do on the show—even though it gets boring after an hour or so—is go down with the costume woman to the vintage stores and choose anything we want. And even though we only got to keep some of it, it was like one of those competitions where people run through a supermarket and stuff their trolley with everything they can keep.  

McKenzie: Besides the clothes, another great thing about doing the show is getting to make the instrumental music. No one really appreciates that it’s our music, but that’s a really fun part. Just to get to make instrumental tunes—even though we should probably give that job to someone else [laughs]—is one of the more fun things to do because everything else is so stressful.

Clement: You know in the beginning of the show, the “Cha—cha-cha-cha-cha—cha”? That’s ours.

McKenzie: So that’s two cool things: wearing clothes and making music.

Awesome find!

Awh and i love vintage clothing so much too, Jemaine has great taste!  

That's rad!

People seem to be concerned about it more now that we’re on T.V. They’re worried about how we look; it’s strange. Man, we went to a party at New Year’s last year and when we got home, we had all these messages on MySpace. I got so many comments about how I wore sneakers with trousers. People were really being critical. It was ridiculous. I mean, we had hundreds of them.

Haha. Wtf. I can just imagine people yelling at Jemaine for wearing sneakers with trousers.

& Ditto that to Luisa's comment,vintage clothing ftw!

Aw! They're so sweet!!!  

I want to go shopping with Jemaine soooo badly. Oh yeah, Bret can come too.  

McKenzie: So that’s two cool things: wearing clothes and making music.

SO cute.

pukeko wrote:
McKenzie: Besides the clothes, another great thing about doing the show is getting to make the instrumental music. No one really appreciates that it’s our music, but that’s a really fun part. Just to get to make instrumental tunes—even though we should probably give that job to someone else [laughs]—is one of the more fun things to do because everything else is so stressful.

In the Yoko episode, when Bret and Coco are going around the art museum, the music playing there sounds like Bret singing. The first few times I heard it, I thought it was just instrumental.. but I'm pretty sure it is Bret.

In The Third Conchord, the scene where Bret and Jemaine are sitting on the steps discussing their new bands, I like how it begins with Bret playing the transition music on his guitar.

I guess those two instances made me think that they probably did write the theme song, etc... which made me respect them even more (if that's possible!).

Great little article!

nikki78 wrote:In The Third Conchord, the scene where Bret and Jemaine are sitting on the steps discussing their new bands, I like how it begins with Bret playing the transition music on his guitar.

That's one of my favorite moments on the show.  I just wanted him to keep playing.  

nikki78 wrote:
In the Yoko episode, when Bret and Coco are going around the art museum, the music playing there sounds like Bret singing. The first few times I heard it, I thought it was just instrumental.. but I'm pretty sure it is Bret.

I love that music, and I agree, I think it's Bret. I catch myself singing it sometimes. It's cute and catchy.

Clement: You know in the beginning of the show, the “Cha—cha-cha-cha-cha—cha”? That’s ours.

I have the ringtone of that ^3^
it plays when I get a text message HAHAHA

Great interview. I hate that making the show is so stressful for them, but I love 'em for it.