Roz Chast in her Ridgefield, CT, studio, March 2015. Photo by Jeremy Clowe for Norman Rockwell Museum. All rights reserved.
Last week I had the pleasure of meeting cartoonist Roz Chast, whose humorous works have been appearing over 35 years in the pages of The New Yorker. Along with Norman Rockwell Museum's chief curator, I traveled to the artist's home in Connecticut to film an interview to be featured in our upcoming exhibition, Roz Chast: Cartoon Memories. Although it was Friday the 13th, I think we all felt lucky: the weather was feeling more comfortable, and I looked forward to another opportunity to create an exhibition video for the Museum.
Chast was also in good spirits: her memoir, Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? had just won "Best Autobiography" the night before from the National Book Critics Circle. I was told that this was the first time that an illustrated book has won the prestigious NBCC Award, and this added to other honors that Chast's graphic novel has picked up over the past year.
Leading up to the interview, I did a bit of research on the artist, whose work I was not familiar with (we only recently were gifted a subscription to The New Yorker). A longtime fan of comic books and cartoons (and practitioner of the art form myself), I wasn't sure what to make of Chast's quirky illustrations at first; she draws in a rather hastily, scribbled style, with liberal doses of sarcastic humor. By the time I was pouring through the fourth collection of her cartoons, I unfortunately had come down with a pretty nasty cold but suddenly found myself appreciating the style, which I learned was inspired by Charles Addams... it was sort of a release, if that makes sense. I asked her during the interview if making cartoons dealing with frustrating themes was therapeutic, and she heartily agreed.
Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? is Roz Chast's tale of caring for her parents in their declining years. We talked a bit about her work on this more personal work, as well as her long history with The New Yorker. It was actually quite inspiring to hear her identify her limitations as a draftsman, followed by the surprisingly confident statement that she did not really care, and if she wanted to create cartoons she was going to. I thought this was unique to hear from an artist; you would think any hint of criticism would deter those of a sensitive bent. As I have gotten older, I have found myself getting much more perfectionistic about my drawing, which has unfortunately taken away the ease and enjoyment that I used to have when I was a kid, churning out mass numbers of doodles and comic books. Maybe working on this video documentary will be useful for me in other ways I had not expected...
Birds of a feather: Roz and her pet parrot. Photo by Jeremy Clowe for NRM.
Of course, the rest of my preparation for the interview was getting used to the Museum's new HD video camera, light kit, and accessories, recently made possible through some generous members of our National Council. I assembled a nice three-point lighting set up, and was pleased with how it all looked in my monitor. I'm never sure how the subjects will be in front of or behind the camera, but Chast was quite pleasant, and immediately offered to give us a tour of the house (including her two animated parrots), which I also filmed. We ended up in her studio, where I took some footage of her working on one of her latest cartoons. All in all, it was a great day and all my preparation paid off considerably. I am now looking forward to the post-production, and have some ideas about incorporating some animation and other elements that could be fun.
Roz Chast: Cartoon Memories will be on view at Norman Rockwell Museum from June 6 through October 26, 2015. A special gala opening will be held on Saturday, June 6, with the chance to meet the artist. I found her to be a charming lady, so it should be fun working with her on this upcoming show.
"Good evening Mr. and Mrs. America, and all the ships at seas"... photo by Deborah Greene.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
This morning I spent some time back in front of a microphone, practicing my best "1940s radio voice" for some digital modules the Museum is working on. Basically, I was asked to record a letter from our archives, that had been written to Norman Rockwell back in 1948 by an executive involved with the production of his Lineman illustration for AT&T (the original painting is part of our permanent collection). The executive is asking Rockwell to make corrections to the work, in order to make it appear more accurate. Something about the formality of the letter reminded me of old audio you come across from those days, when public figures seemed to talk in an affected, clipped manner (why was that?). I think it was the right call.
Rockwell on the line... photo of NRM's George Church with the original painting.
The cordial yet firm reply from Rockwell was read by my dapper colleague George Church, who actually had a career in radio for many years (I always enjoy hearing George's stories of working in the Los Angeles market, interviewing Bobby Darin and the like). These digital modules, linked to paintings from the Museum's collection, will also include excerpts from video interviews I have conducted with Rockwell models over the years, and should be ready by the end of the year (most likely in the form of a mobile app).
Below is a further look at the Museum's archives and collections, courtesy of an interview I conducted with American Lifestyle TV last year. It's a little weird to see myself on the other side of the camera here, but my responses come across pretty solid (lucky me!).
Live from New York… it’s Saturday night… well, afternoon.
It’s another punishingly cold, winter day, so I’m just hibernating here at
home with my pooch. Fortunately, this month has offered us some interesting
“event TV” to distract us from the weather. Indeed, the Super Bowl was one of
the most exciting games I remember, and last Sunday they aired a three and a
half hour special celebrating the 40th anniversary of Saturday Night Live.
I enjoyed the SNL40 special (even if, like the regular show,
the strongest material was at the beginning). The opening with Jimmy Fallon and
Justin Timberlake rapping about the show’s history was impressive, and it was
cool to see many of the former cast members return as favorite characters ("Wayne’s
World, Wayne’s World!").Will Ferrell
was probably the highlight for me, and Celebrity
Jeopardy! was hilarious (with Jim Carrey doing a spot-on Matthew
McConaughey). The only true disappointment was the return of Eddie Murphy, who
did not do much but thank the crowd. I learned later in the week that Murphy had
been asked to portray Bill Cosby (the subject of so many rape allegations) during
the Jeopardy sketch, which would have
been amazing…but probably smart that he declined.
I was too young to have witnessed the brilliance of the original
Not Ready for Primetime Players (John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray), but
have fond memories of Eddie Murphy’s stint on the show in the early 1980s. His
impressions of Stevie Wonder and James Brown, Mister Robinson’s Neighborhood, Gumby, Buckwheat…I was particularly
mesmerized by the “Who Shot Buckwheat” sketches... O-tay!
SNL's talented Season 10 cast- clockwise, left to right: Billy Crystal, Gary Kroeger, Rich Hall, Pamela Stephenson, Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jim Belushi, Martin Short, Mary Gross. Photo credit: NBC
One thing I have seen repeated in article after article
about the show’s anniversary, is the idea that the show never seems as funny as we remember
when we were 13 or 14 years old. This theory seems pretty accurate to me because,
to this day, my fondest memories of SNL are reserved for the year I really
started watching: 1984/1985. Eddie Murphy had left for the movies, and Season
10 was the year they brought in several “high-profile" comedians to save the show
(jokingly referred to as the “Steinbrenner Season”).
Billy Crystal became a bit of a sensation with his “You Look
Mahvelous” Fernando bit (my friends and I used to play his comedy album over
and over). I was surprised to learn, later on, that he was supposed to appear
on the first show with the original cast back in 1975, but his stand-up routine
was cut due to time.He made up
for it during this season, where you could say he emerged the true star (his Sammy Davis, Jr. impression was amazing).
Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer were fresh off their success
with the hilarious rock mockumentary, This
Is Spinal Tap (1984), and they contributed some truly memorable skits and
short films (including a hilarious 6o
Minutes parody, looking at the manufacturing of fake novelty items like
whoopee cushions and fake vomit).
Guest and Crystal also teamed up for Willie and Frankie, two
guys who were always hurting themselves (“I hate when that happens”).
As deadpan as Guest was, I think Rich Hall took the prize.
The creator of Sniglets, he had some really funny stand-up segments, impersonated
radio host Paul Harvey (“good day!”) and magician Doug Henning, and played a
character who used to wander on to the news set.
The cast member who probably made the greatest impression
on me that season was Martin Short. The spastic Ed Grimley... defensive lawyer
Nathan Thurm… the weird albino performer, Jackie Rogers Jr (that “$100,000 Jackpot Wad”
game show segment is a classic)… Short’s manic energy really fit the live show
format. He also teamed up with Shearer and Guest for the unforgettable male sychronized swimmers film.
This was the last season before the show's creator, Lorne Michaels returned from a five year hiatus. All of the 84/85 cast, which included a pre-SeinfeldJulia Louis-Dreyfus, left at
the end of the year to make room for a horrible cast that included Anthony
Michael Hall and Robert Downey Jr. (who else suffered through that? Hands up).
The show eventually got it’s groove back in the late 80s/early 90s with the
introduction of such talents as Phil Hartman, Chris Farley, Mike Meyers, and
Dana Carvey (who I think is one of the funniest comedians ever), resulting in a second "golden age" for the show.
But every once in a while I get a bit obsessive, trying to find
out more details about that “oddball” tenth season that I remember from my
youth. Last week’s special sparked that interest again. I can hear Ed
Grimley... “this is insane!” So, in an attempt to put that fascination to rest and perhaps connect with
other kindred souls, here’s what I learned (surprise, most of the cast wasn't that happy):
*Harry Shearer left halfway through the season, although he
continued to be featured in the really cool Season 10 show opening credits (Who
remembers? In the style of the Cars’ music video, “You Might Think”). It sounds
like Shearer might have been hard to get along with, and frustrated with the
lack of material he was getting on the air. This may explain why, when I met
the Spinal Tap cast during an “audition” in Los Angeles back in 1991, they were
a little cold about my suggestion to guest on SNL again (although Michael
McKean later joined the cast in 1994). Shearer has gone on to do some funny
political comedy on a radio show, and contribute several memorable voices to The Simpsons.
*Speaking of The
Simpsons, apparently the character of Moe was based on Rich Hall. I was
floored to realize this… but yes, can totally see it! I had a chance to see
Hall perform comedy in my hometown many years ago, and was delighted to have the chance to meet him afterwards.
I’m not sure the SNL format was for him, since he seemed most comfortable doing
stand-up. Apparently he has become a big name in the UK... I’m glad to hear it,
because I always appreciated his style (as well as the Brits, actually).
*Larry David, the creator of Seinfeld, served as a writer on Season 10. The catch is that he
could never get his material on the air, and finally “quit” the show in a
tirade against then producer, Dick Ebersol. Realizing what he had done (and the
money he would be missing), David returned to work the following Monday, as if
nothing had happened. David would later use this real-life event for the
inspiration behind the Seinfeld episode, "The Revenge,” where George quits, only to sneak back to the job the next week.
Ha ha… amazingly, in real-life, David was able to continue through the season…
and he met future Seinfeld collaborator,
Dreyfus, so it wasn’t a total loss.
*Martin Short also tried to quit after a couple episodes.
Like Guest, apparently he was a little wary about his one-year contract, and
the unrelenting pressure of the show was different from his experience on SCTV. Ebersol talked him out of it, and
in his awesome new biography, I Must Say,
Short notes that he found his groove on the show; perhaps that anxious energy
made him so funny and memorable! I was pleasantly surprised by his lengthy part
on the SNL40 special (singing against a wind machine alongside a hilarious Maya
Rudolph, impersonating Beyoncé).
Of course, Crystal and Short went on to become big Hollywood
stars, and Guest went on to become a pretty funny film director. Such movies as
When Harry Met Sally and City Slickers (starring Crystal); and Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show (directed by Guest) are
certainly classics. Some of their recent work strikes me as annoyingly “showbiz,” but I think that thread was present even back in their lone SNL
season.
So, that brings the question… was the 84/85 season really as funny as I remember? On the whole, maybe
not fall-down funny... but extremely clever. I admit that it is the type of
comedy I tend to gravitate towards, and perhaps resulted in my interest in doing
improv and such strange shows as Woman in
Mind, Lives of the Saints and Under
Milkwood (where I impersonated, SNL-style, a half a dozen bizarre characters). There
was also something “heart-warming” about that season; the comedy was far from
mean-spirited, with the likable cast and other writers continually presenting a “tolerance” for the weirdness that was unfolding (maybe some
SCTV carryover there). A reserved, artistic teen at the time, I think I
appreciated that message.
So here’s to Saturday
Night Live and, in particular, the season of 1984—this “big brother” has certainly been watching. To my delight, NBC has just posted highlights from
every episode and season of SNL on their website...now that looks mahvelous!
The Oscars are on the horizon! Just when I began to lose faith in the overall quality of feature films, the nominees are actually pretty interesting this year. My money is on Birdman, one of the best movies I have seen...ever. Also good:Boyhoodand Grand Budapest Hotel... I still need to see many of the others, which I have heard good things about.
If you can't wait until Sunday to celebrate an evening of film, join me tonightat The Albany Institute of History & Artwhere I will be showing and talking about some of my own work, as part of a screening of motion pictures created by Capital Region filmmakers. The event starts at 6 p.m., and is free to the public (along with general admission).
The Albany Institute is a great museum (of course I'm a little biased, since my wife works there). They just opened an interesting baseball exhibition, and over the weekend held a LEGO building competition (I served as one of the judges, which was fun). AIHA's permanent collection includes everything from Hudson River School paintings to contemporary works to local artifacts (even the old bottling company owned by Sarah's family is represented!). Also, I absolutely love their sculpture gallery—Erastus Dow Palmer (1817-1904) is long overdue for a documentary of his own.
Exciting news to share: I made it into the finals of the karaoke competition at Bourbon Street Bar & Grill! Around 22 talented contestants took to the Colonie, NY venue's stage last Wednesday, singing to a full house on a cold, wintery night. With both friends and family there to cheer me on, I won myself a spot as one of the lucky ten finalists chosen to advance to the final round next Wednesday night. I say "lucky" because the competition was quite strong—there are some seriously talented singers in the Capital Region... I have my work cut out for me next week! Nevertheless, I have been doing my fair share of practicing, and my stage presence continues to receive high marks... thanks to everyone for the continued support and well-wishes.
Speaking of music awards, I was reminded that last week marked the 24th anniversary of my favorite band, A-ha setting a Guinness World Record for largest concert attendance during their show at Rio de Janeiro's Maracanã Stadium on January 26, 1991. Over 198,000 people attended the concert, which was presented as part of the Rock in Rio II festival. Here is a link to a video of me interviewing band member Magne Furuholmen about the experience, back in 2005.
Brazil's Rock in Rio festival began in 1985, the same year that A-ha had their worldwide breakthrough with the song "Take On Me" and debut album Hunting High and Low (to say those works made an impact on me is an understatement). Late last year it was announced that this year's Rock in Rio will celebrate the 30th anniversary of both festival and band, by inviting A-ha back for a reunion concert. The Norwegian trio, which officially disbanded at the end of 2010, will play together once again for this special September show in the country where they were a household name, with a string of top charting hits. You can read more about the upcoming concert on the band's website.
As far as I have heard, this reunion concert will be a one-off, but who knows... maybe A-ha will take us on once more?(there is an offshoot Rock in Rio festival taking place in the U.S. this May but... I won't hold my breath.
It's Norman Rockwell's birthday—America and my Dad's favorite illustrator would have been 121 years old! Join us, starting at 1:30 p.m. today, at Norman Rockwell Museum for cake and a look at highlights from each decade of the artist's career.
If you can't make it to Stockbridge, enjoy this articleI was asked to write for biography.com (cool website), sharing interesting facts about some of the artist's most iconic works.
As if that wasn't enough, last month I spoke at length about Rockwell's career and the Museum's 2015 season on WGBY's Connecting Point. My friends at the Springfield, Massachusetts PBS affiliate interviewed me on a bone-chilling winter afternoon at nearby Naumkeag (the beautiful 19th century estate, formerly owned by lawyer Joseph Choate). Here's the segment:
The Museum and I certainly appreciate all the great exposure— so here's to you, Norman!
Happy New Year! 2015 is off to a great... dare I say, rockin' start.
One of my favorite hangouts, Bourbon Street Bar & Grill has been running a singing competition, picking two qualifiers each week to square off during the finals, with $1000 to be awarded the winner. So, last week I entered... and won, landing a perfect score for stage presence in the process. From here I advance to the semi-finals, to be held next Wednesday, February 4— I love a challenge and, of course, the chance to perform... wish me luck!
This is great motivation, since I have really been concentrating on music lately, actively singing and taking electric guitar lessons since last summer. It's taking some time, but slowly and surely I'm adding songs to my repertoire, while practicing general scales and chords, reading music, and so on.
As I type this, I'm listening to Mark Ronson's latest album, Uptown Special—I have long admired the producer's skill at bringing back retro sounds in a soulful new way (i.e. Amy Winehouse), and this album certainly continues on that promise. Refreshing! Here is the first hit single off the album: "Uptown Funk":
I have only started listening to Uptown Special, but I wonder if it will be on my best album list by year's end? Quite possibly.
Black Keys turnin' blue in Philadelphia, September 20, 2014. Photo by Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.
2014 certainly had its share of soulful moments. My favorite of the year was the Black Keys' Turn Blue—the album offered a slightly new sound for this veteran blues/rock duo, as it ventured into more introspective territory (for instance, the title track, which I love). Well, I had merely a passing interest in the Keys' music, but I think I finally got it... so much so that we had to head to Philadelphia last September to see them perform live for the first time. They did not disappoint in concert (even covered Edwyn Collins' epic "A Girl Like You"... wow), and I was excited to hear that they will be playing at this year's Mountain Jam in the Catskills—that's a little closer to home, and I'll definitely take them up on it! Keeping guitar rock alive... thank God.
Another great album from last year was Sean Rowe'sMadman. Originally from Troy, New York, Rowe has already made quite a name for himself in the Capital Region.. but one listen to the single "Desiree" made me realize why there is so much national buzz going on about the guy! In addition to smart lyrics and melodies, one of the attractions is the singer's vocice—sort of a cross between Tom Waits and Otis Redding (the latter I was pleased to learn was an influence). Sarah and I had a chance to catch him during a very intimate concert last week at the historic Caffe Lena's in Saratoga. Rowe is now embarking on a European tour, but I hope to see him perform again in the area, sometime later in the new year... local boy done good.
Looking back at year-end music countdowns from our favorite local radio stations (WEQX, WEXT), I was hardly surprised to see that Irish singer, Hozier's "Take Me To Church" made the top spot for both stations in 2014—the heartfelt song was an instant classic, and one I need to try sometime at open mic:
