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ADAM BRODSKYinterview

January 8th 2003:

Antifolk Online's

With Adam Brodsky

The following EXACT same questions appeared in R.S. issue 913 and were asked to Bernie Mac.   Antifolk Online gave them to Adam Brodsky with the instructions to answer them however he would choose to.  And to have fun with em.  Here are his responses:

RS- So what do you do in your downtime? Adam- its so hard to tell what exactly is downtime? When your a folksinger the only time you know you're at work is when you're actually playing a show. But most of the rest of the time you should be working too, but am I just dicking around on the guitar, or am I composing? Am I downloading porn, or researching a folksong, Who can say. I suppose chillin and kicking it with my bitches is what I would love to say, but that isn't even close to true. sometimes I watch trading spaces. RS- Targets? Skeet? Adam- yeah, I know Target's skeet. And Walmart be Skeet too if you go on a Sunday in the early morning, but K-mart was the superbadest most skeetest of them all, till the Reorg yo. But after the double ones kick it chapter style the big K be coming back badder than ever. They be the skezzeet motherfucker, yo. RS- What do you hunt? Adam- bargains. I found 100 CD-R's for $21 including shipping. I also found a home burnt DVD of Asia Carerra movies all from before the implants, (which is the only asia as far as im concerned) for $14.95 plus shipping. o and california condors, but only when im on the coast. and I'd like to try to hunt Milf's but the fish and game comish was out of permits RS- You've come a long way from street performing. Adam- yes, I haven't done that in a couple of weeks. It seems like so long ago. I really wish that guy hadn't taken my guitar like that, but I guess he had a good reason. RS- Do you look at the news for material? Adam- of course. Dude, I've written 300 songs about Me, and 150 songs about the girls I had bad relationships with. I've coverd the topic. Now it is time to write about others. And since most of my others have jobs they have to go to all day, that just leaves me home alone with MSNBC and CNN online. besides its a good time to be watching and writing. I gotta tell you, I don't think there was really any good song material in monica lewinsky (despite the fact that it rhymed with Kaczynski) I hear there are a lot of political songs being wrote these days, and I'm assuming most of them are no damn good, but its good that its in vogue again, perhaps some conciousness will be raised somewhere. RS- What about Bush? have you found anything funny to do with him? Adam- like to bomb his house and other buildings, iconic to america, he gets so mad when you do that. The other thing I like to do is give him first drafts of his speeches before the big words are spelled out FOE-NET-IK-LEE and listen to him sound them out. Its cute. RS- Tell me about your first club gigs.  Were there black and white clubs then ? Adam- nah they were in color, you're making a common mistake, it was the cameras that were black and white I used to make the same mistake, don't be ashamed. RS- A disco would be a hard room. Adam- yes it would. I'll keep that in mind. RS- How much did you make at those gigs? Adam- ahhh those gigs...that takes me back...you mentioning those gigs...um...what gigs? RS- Did you work a lot of other jobs? Adam- sadly being a folk singer is what I'm best at. I was a bad waiter for a time. and I was a bernie mac stand-in for a short while. And there was the horse shit shoveling. That's good honest work, and you don't stink as much as when you come home from playing folk music. RS- What was your worst job? Adam- I graduated from college 2 days before sadam husein invaded our old ally in democracy, kuwait. And then the economy went in the toilet, so people were being laid off, which I thought was great. Cause that meant lots of open jobs for a newbie like me...apparatnly it doesn't work that way, but I didn't know cause my business economics class was at 8am on mon wed and fri, so you can figure out the rest of that story. anwyay I took a job as a busboy at a restaurant where I was 6 years older than all the busboys and 3 years older than most of the waitresses. It was humiliating...well I thought it was, that was before I played 4 shows in one week in 4 states to 5 people, total. but I was getting something like $2.09 an hour plus some tips, and in food service, everythings on a tight margin, at this level. but I tried to get all zen about it. or at least all art of motorcycle maintnence about it. my attitude was, look for $2.09 per hour there is a point below which my day can not sink. and the owner would get all upset cause he said I didn't have passion for my job. "dude, you're not paying me enough to care" once he asked me to clean the toilet (it was befouled), I just laughed and walked away. He said, "I'm not kidding, do it" I I said nope. he said, "please" I said, dude, two dollars and nine cents an hour, there aren't enough pleases in your pants for me to do that...or something like that, but I remember he cleaned the toilet himself. small victories. however, somedays after you drive 400 miles to play to 3 people, $2.09 seems like the land of milk and honey. RS- When did you feel like you finally nailed your act? Adam- I still don't I fuck up words and stuff all the time so people probably think I don't care and stuff. But I really work hard on the thing. Maybe I'm fooling myself and if I just winged it, it would be just as unprofessional and would still be fine, but maybe not. there've been times when I haven't played the guitar for a week or so and then I'll have a show and I'll forget to practice or anything. Then I'll step up on stage and realize, damn, its been a while, do I even know any songs. What should I say to these people. I try stuff out on girls, if they sleep with me, I figure I said something funny. (I almost never say something funny) RS- Do you think of Bernie Mac onstage as a character or an extension of yourself? Adam- well the comparison is a natural thing, I get it quite often. Sometimes in a fast food restaurant or something or in a rolling stone interview. once my girlfriend even slept with him, she said she thought it was me. I tried to sleep with his wife, but she just laughed and laughed and laughed...then stabbed me RS- What kinds of reactions do you get when you meet people offstage? Adam- passive agression usually. usually after you pay the girl shes a bit nicer to you until your party is over RS- Did you ever drink? Adam- I'm 89%water, so I should hope so RS- And no clubs? Adam- its mostly a political thing, most courses aren't thrilled about jews joining anyway. They only accept a token few to keep some funding coming in. they'd rather have the kykes then the coloreds. And a bunch are down right restricted, right there in the membership bylaws. A friend of mine is half jewish, she want's to know if she can play 9 holes. sometimes I play putt putt, but they usually just give you clubs to use. but also I'm left handed so finding a starter set would be harder and more expensive. But mostly its political...and boring. RS- Why? Adam- 400 acres trying to hit a tiny hole its like prom night only you keep the rented pants on. And the car you borrowed is electric. RS- Was having a sitcom ever a goal for you? still is, I'd like to be one of those characters who has the same first name and a similar last name. like adam Brody or something I come up with about 2 situations a week, but writing them down is not where its at man. Someday. my latest idea doesn't really have a place for me, so its much more probable. it takes place at camp X-ray. two cuban nationals need a part for their 1956 chevy pick up and you can't get parts like that. But they figure they can steal something from the motorpool at guitmo. well they almost have the manifold off, when MP's turn the lights on them and think they're captured terrorists. they protest in espanol but to no avail well for a day or so they try to explain their case, but then they realize that their incarcerated life at xray is better than their free life in cuba. So they put on those head things and pretend to prey to allah and stuff like that. hilarity ensues. We'd need a chick though, maybe one lesbian in the motor pool...no a bisexual in the motor pool knows their secret. And the camp commendant is a numbskull based on klink. I smell syndication. RS- Was it important not to have a laugh track? Adam- to my life, yes, I masturbate too much for that. RS- What are your favorite movies? Adam- almost anything by robert altman is okey dokey with me, I love the way he films dialogue. I also am a big kevin smith fan. Although I don't know if making a movie with j-lo is ever a good idea. however my new old favorite film is broadcast news. I watched it the other day and realized it is pure prophecy of the degeneration of television news into television news magazines, and the victory of flash over substance in everythign from music to the presidency. and it has albert brooks and holly hunter when she was a mensapixie. most coen brother movies are fantastic as well. this summer I drove by maracopa county correctional facility for men, and considered visiting my old friends. I also have a tendancy to be fond of movies that are on the alltime worst list. I really like 3 films that everyone loathes ishtar hudson hawk and howard the duck I enjoyed them all. oh, also the opening of misty beethoven or any classic porn with annette haven. RS- Would you like to do straight drama? Adam- gay straight, sheep, manatees, whatever as long as I don't have to drive to Iowa to play for $90.