Blackbook Magazine Interview - October 1, 2007

Let The Boys From ‘Flight of the Conchords’ Eat Cake

October 1, 2007



Only a year ago, singer-comics Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement—co-stars of HBO’s “Flight of the Conchords”—were hungry for recognition. Now they’re the century’s new Cheech and Chong, cracking jokes while making hilarious music. But success hasn’t gone to their heads, considering their choice of venue for an L.A. power lunch: the picnic-benched Trails.

BLACKBOOK: So, um, why did you two choose this place?

BRET McKENZIE: I just love the apple pie. Write that down. Our producer sort of owns it and it’s not doing very well.

BB: How’s the show doing?

JEMAINE CLEMENT: People really seem to like it. If you’d asked while we were filming it, though, we’d have said it was a disaster.

B.M.: Yeah, it was a mess.

BB: Why so difficult?

B.M.: Have you tried working? Working is a drag.

BB: Most people would kill for this gig.

J.C.: We did.

B.M.: And you’d think it would be more fun.

J.C.: But we filmed 12-hour days, five days a week, so that’s 60 hours. Out of those 60 hours, we had to find 27 minutes where it looks like we’re having fun.

BB: That’s the film ratio?

B.M.: That’s the fun ratio.

BB: Do you feel dead sometimes?

J.C.: I’m sorry?

B.M.: I haven’t thought about killing myself, but I suppose I get dark sometimes. I get down and really lonely. Oh, you mean creatively?

J.C.: While filming, Bret and I had these rooms next to each other. There was one truck—it wasn’t a trailer—and they’ve got these rooms, like little cells that we go into for four months.

B.M.: They were probably one-third the size of a prison cell, twice the size of an airplane toilet.

BB: Business or coach?

J.C.: Coach.

B.M.: I’ve only flown first class once.

J.C.: Bret had food poisoning, so he was in the first-class toilet the whole time.

B.M.: Flying over here to write the show, I spent eight hours in the bathroom. Eight hours. It was like a scene from our show. They had to quarantine the plane. When we landed in Los Angeles, three paramedics escorted us off the tarmac straight to the hospital.

[Avocado sandwiches arrive, with lemonade and hot tea.]

Since we’ve been on TV, we’ve started to get recognized a little bit. And we get little perks, maybe a free dessert or entrance to a bar.

J.C.: [to McKenzie] You saw me get that sandwich.

B.M.: [to Clement] You didn’t have to pay.

J.C.: No.

B.M.: Jemaine went to the Viper Room the other night, got to the door and the woman said, “$10, please.” Then somebody turns to her [mimes whispering] and she goes, “$5, please.” That’s my favorite experience. Not free, but celebrity discount—half-off entrance to a club.

BB: What did you both do before the show?

B.M.: I drove a lot. I just drove around.

J.C.: I walked. I did theater shows and plays. I made some short films.

B.M.: I made albums and toured in a really popular reggae band in New Zealand.

BB: Did you have dreadlocks?

B.M.: No, I was black. I only got white when I came to L.A.

J.C.: It’s a lot easier to get a TV show when you’re white.

BB: What’s it like now that you’re celebrities, you know, with girls?

J.C.: I’m even more ‘what what’ with the bitches.

BB: Do you have groupies?

B.M.: There’s a small but very committed fan base.

J.C.: A couple of girls made me kiss them after our last show. They made me.

B.M.: It doesn’t sound that bad, sucking face with strangers.

J.C.: It can be awkward.

BB: Are you really high when you’re in front of the camera?

B.M.: Do we look like we’re high?

J.C.: No, but we’ve added a few references to smoking pot just because we find them funny. It’s the kind of funny that only we find funny.

BB: So, it’s really not funny then.

JC: It’s funny to us.

BB: Did you have dreadlocks?

B.M.: No, I was black. I only got white when I came to L.A.

J.C.: It’s a lot easier to get a TV show when you’re white.

BB: What’s it like now that you’re celebrities, you know, with girls?

J.C.: I’m even more ‘what what’ with the bitches.

BB: Do you feel dead sometimes?

J.C.: I’m sorry?

B.M.: I haven’t thought about killing myself, but I suppose I get dark sometimes. I get down and really lonely. Oh, you mean creatively?

[Avocado sandwiches arrive, with lemonade and hot tea.]

Since we’ve been on TV, we’ve started to get recognized a little bit. And we get little perks, maybe a free dessert or entrance to a bar.

J.C.: [to McKenzie] You saw me get that sandwich.

B.M.: [to Clement] You didn’t have to pay.

J.C.: No.

B.M.: Jemaine went to the Viper Room the other night, got to the door and the woman said, “$10, please.” Then somebody turns to her [mimes whispering] and she goes, “$5, please.” That’s my favorite experience. Not free, but celebrity discount—half-off entrance to a club.